The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-09-09

spit upon him and call him dog?
II that he be dog, beware his fangs.
bay In the Great salt Desert.
The following account Of a days travel acros,
the great Salt Desert that lies nearly In the cen.
ter of this continent 10 very well written, and
will be found highly interesting, 1t Is taken
from Bryani's Journal Of Tour to and through
California;
rose from my bivouac this morning al
halEpast one o'clock. The moon appear.
ing Ike ball Of fire, and shining with a
dim and balefnl light, seemed Struggling
downward through The thick bank OF smoky
vaPor that oyerhung and curtained the high
ridge Of mountains TO the West Of us. This
ridge. stretching far to the North and the
South as the eye can reach, forms the west
ern wall Gf | may so call ID Of the desert
valley we had crossed yesterday, and is CON-
posed of rugged. barren peaks Of dark bas-
attic rock. sometimes exhibiting mishapen
outlines; at Others, towering upward, and
displaying a variety Of architectural forms,
representing domes, spires and ,tuneted for.
tifications.
Our encampment was on the slope OF the
mountain, and the valley lay spread out at
our feet Illuminated sufficiently by the red
glare Of the moon, and the more pallid ef
fulgence Of the stars, to display impeflectly
its broken and frightfnl barrenness, aud its
solemn desolation. No life, except in the
little oasis occupied by our camp, and damp
ened by the sluggish spring, by excavating
which with our hands we obtained impure
wat1r, sufficient % qIiench our own and our
animals thirst, existed as far as the eye could
penetrate over mountain and plain. There
was no voice Of animal, no hum OF insect,
disturbing the tomb-like solemnity. All
was silence and death. The atmosphere
chill and frosty, seemed TO sympathize with
this sepulchral stiffness. No wailing or
whispering sounds sighed through the chasms
Of the mountains, or over the gully and wa
terless ravines, Of the valley. No rustling
zephyr swept over the scant dead grass, or
disturbed the crumbling leaves of the gnarled
and sSunted cedars which seemed to draw a
precarious existence from the small patch Of
damp earth surrounding us.-Like the other
elements sustaining animal and vegetable
life, the winds seemed stagnant and paral.
yzed by the universal death around. con.
templated this scene Of oppressive and dis
NAL solitude until the moon sank behind
the mountain and object after object became
shrouded in its shadow.
Bidding farewell to Mr.. Hudspeth and
the gentleman with him, (Mr. Ferguson)
We commenced The descent Of the mountain.
We had scarcely parted from Mr.. II. when,
standing on one Of the peaks. he stretched
out his long arms, and with voice and ges-
ture as loud and impressive as he could
make them, he called to us and exclaimed,
"Now. boys put your spurs to your mules
and ride like h." The hint was timely
given and well meant, but scarcely neces-
sary, as We all had pretty just apprecia-
ton Of the trials and hardships before us.
The descent from the mountains on the
western side was more difficult than the as
cent; but two or three miles, by winding
and precipitous path, through some stag.
Cling, stunted and tempest-bowed cedars,
brought us to the foot and into the valley,
where after some search, We found blind
trail, which we supposed to be that Of Capt.
Fremont, made last year. Our course for
the day was nearly due West; and following
this trail where il was visible, and did not
deviate from our course, and putting our
mules into brisk gait, we crossed valley
some eight or ten miles in width, sparsely
covered with wild sage (artemisia) and
crossword.
These shrubs display themselves and main.
tain dying existence, bnownish verdure, on
the most aid and sterile plains and noun
tains Of the desert, where no other vegeta-
ton shows ITSELF After crossing the valley,
we rose ridge Of low volcanic hills, thickly
strewn with sharp fragments of bassalts and
a vitreous gravel resembling junk bottle
glass. We passed over this ridge through a
narrow gap. the walls Of which are perpen,
dicular, and composed Of the same dark
scorious material as the debres strewn around.
From the western terminus Of this omin.
Gus looking passage we had n view Of the
vast desert plain before us. which, as far as
the eye could penetrate, was Of n snowy white
ness, and resembled scene Of wintry frosts
and icy desolation. Not shrub or object
Of any kind rose above the surface for the
eye to rest upon. The hiatus in the animal
and vegetable kingdoms was perfect. 1t wa.
a scene which excited mingled emotions o.
admiration and apprehension.
Passing further on we stood on The brow
of steep precipice, the descent from III.
ridge OF hills Immediately below, and be
yond which narrow valley or depression
in the surface Of the plain, a5ou, five mile'
in width. displayed so perfectly the wavy snt
frothy appearance Of highly agitated water
that Col Russell and myself. who were rid
ing together some distance in advance, bot