The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1859-11-03

Is unsutLeu aUU uDacceptaDle 10 tue u;
they desire to be set of. and trust the ,
soon may be. Though Few in plumbers
as yet. they are rapidly increasing, and
will soon possess all the elements Of a
State.
had previously seen some beautiful
valleys, but | place none of these ahead
of Carson. judge that portion of it al
ready in good part under cultivation a.
bout thirty miles long by ten to fifteen
wide an area destined to be largel = in
creased. as l have already indicated.-
This valley. originally grand meadow,
the home of the deer and the antelope. is
nearly inclosed by high mountains. down
which. especially from the north and
west, come iDnuuerable rivulets, lesping
and dancing on their way to form or join
the Carson. Easily arrested and controll-
ed, because of the extreme shallowncss
of their beds, these streams have been
made to irrigate large portion of the
upper valley, producing an abundance of
sweetest Grass and insuring bouuteous
harvest al-o of Vegetables, Barley, Oats,
&c. Wheat seems to do fairly here; Corn
not so we'll; in fact, the nj ghts are too cold
for it if the water were not. For this
spring water, leaping suddenly down from
its mountain sources, is too cold. too pure
to be adapted to irrigation; could it be
held back even week, and exposed in
in shallow ponds or basins to the hot sun
shine. it would be vastly more useful
When the whole river shall have been
made available, twenty to forty miles be-
low, it will prove far more nutritious and
fertilizins.
Genoa stands on the narrow bush or
slope of hard granite gravel which inter-
venes betwixt the mountains and the val
ley, with half a dozen risulets running
through it to fructify the fields and gar
dens below. Just behind it is the steep
ascent of the mountain, its very soil form
ed of white, pulverized granite, glorious
ly covered with fragrant and graceful
pines. As these steep activities are alb
soIutely worthless for any other end than
tree growing, [ entFest the people of &C.
Doa to take care OF these woods, and not
let their place be shorn of half its beauty
merely to save mile or so in the haul.
ing of fuel. l may never see this lovely
valley again-it i. hardly probable that
| ever shall-but its beauty, its seclusion,
its quiet, the brightness of its abundant
riVulets. the grandeur of its inclsoing
mountains, the grace and emerald ver-
dnre of their vesture of pines, have gra-
ven themselves on my memory with
viVidness and force which only be who
has passed weary weeks on some great.
shadeless, verdureless desert can fully
realize
We stopped but to dine in Genoa,
then economical the residue of the day.
light By pressing on IS miles to the point
at which the California road enters the
mountains by the side of the largest of
the brooks which unite to form the Car
son. Here We halted at fair two story
house, the first one | had entered With a
hope of resting in it since left Salt Lake
City. We had bed. here-actual beds,
aud good ones-our first since Camp
Floyd. Though our night was not a
long one, for We we're to start again by 4
a. u., | reckon good use vas made of it
by the four through passengers, who had
not lain down before since they left Shell
Creek, five days ago. and nearly 500
miles away. My own slumber was par
tial and broken, as it generally is; but
the bath which preceded and prepared for
it was a genuine refreshment, ard the
sleep seemed quite sufficient. In fact, l
felt that | could have gone without for
another week, and felt less Inconvenience
than did the first night we rode and
the day after.
We were in motion again at the earli.
est dawn, for we had still about rs miles
of rugged mountain road to traverse be-
fore reaching this place. The Carson
side of the road is not yet half made,
while the half next to this place is 10 the
main good. But in fact. the expense of
a good highway up the eastern slope of
the Sierra must he heavy one. For
that slope is composed of granite sim
pie, naked rock-with scarcely fraction
of its surface thiDly covered by soil. OF
course, no trees but evergreens can live
"a very few small Qusking Asps in the
bottoms OF the ravines scarcely form an
exception-while almost every road is
covered by giant, glorious Pines. l saw
Sugar and Yellow Pines at lea.t eight feet
in diameter and tall in proportion; am
assured that one was recently cut ne ar
this road which measured eight feet a.
cross at height Of eighty feet from the
ground, aud from which two hundred
and forty thousand shingles were made.
Beside these universal Pines, there are
giant Cedars, BaIsam Firs, and some
Redwood, after we cross the summit, We
found also Oaks, which gradually iDcreas-
ed 10 size and number as we descended.
| think saw Oaks the prevalent Cali
fornia species is much like orr White
Oak) at least four feet throug hin short.
| never saw anything like SO much nor
so good timber in the course of any sew
enty-fVe miles travel as saw in cross
ing the Sierra Nevada. How greatly
hle>t California ia in this ahnud aDee