The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1859-10-27

| 10 Ceu lceG niEH, anu from IOoI uOWu-
ward in diameter near the ground
White Pines of like size, and of equally
scrubty character, are quite common in
the western part OF the mountains trav-
ersed, and there is some Balssm Fir 10
the deeper canons, which attains diam
eter of Is to 20 inches, and a hight OF
40 to go feet. Of this Fir, several of the
mail station cabins are constructed; in
Ruby Valley, they have one OF Red or
Indian Pine; but they are quite comm on
ly built OF stones and mud. One on the
Humboldt is built of dwarf-willow canes
or wattles-not one of cedar or the dwarf
ed White Pine of this regien. Neither
could be made to answer.
But | must hurry on. At Pleasant
Valley we turned north west up broad
raviDe. and thence forth held that gene
raj course to reach the Humbolt. instead
OF still making west south west directly
toward Carson Valley, as it is proposed
hereafter to do if that be found practca
BILE. For the next l40 miles or there
abouts, our trail led Us mainly up one
side of mountain range and down the
other, thence across valley of some ten
miles in width to the foot of another chain,
and SO op As the trail naturally runs
up the deepest canoDs and over the low
est passes, the ascent and descent are
rarely abrupt for any con-iderab!e dis
tance, and we seldom lacked water. but
o,,r roufa NO. tba r,ocf davious i'm nina
ble-ranging from northeast on one
hand to south on the other. Sometimes
two or three hundred square miles were
visible at a glance-the mountain sides
half covered With Cedar and Pine, with
with some dwarf Willows and Rose bush
es, often fringiDg their slender rivulets;
but not tree o.ber than Evergreen in
sight. There is large, pine-leaved
shrub or small tree which driver termed
Mountain Mahogany and passenger
called Red Hsw, growing sparingly "a
mong the evergreens on some mountain
slopes, which seems about half way be-
tween a thornbush and an untrimmed ap-
ple-tree, bot nothing else deciduou. above
the size of the dwarf Willow. Even the
Sagebush and Grea-ewood appear to be
evcrgreens Grass is here not abundant
but unfaliDg. as it aust be where water
is perennial and wood 10 fair supply
The plains or valleys remain as further
east. save that they are smaller. and. be-
cause Of the less scanty supply of water,
more susceptible Of improvement. At
Shell Creek, as miles from Pleasant VAL
ley, where We spent our next night, there
is little gardcn--the first since Camp
Floyd-aud at Ruby Valley, SO miles or
so further on, the Government has farm
in crop. intended for the benefit and part
ly cultivated by the labor Of the neigh.
boring Indians The mail-station also
has its garden. and is cutting an abuBd-
ance Of hay. From this station, it is ez-
pected that the new cutoff. saving 100
miles or more in distance TO Carson Val
ley, will be made, so soon as those DOW
scrutiniziug it shall have pronounced it
practicable
At Ruby, the stage usually stops for
the night; but we bad been six days ma-
king rather less than 300 n.iles, and be-
gan to grow impatient. The driver had
bis own reasons for pushing on. and did
SO, over road partly mountainous, rough
and sdelins; hut, starting at 8 p. m, we
had reached the next Pine Valley sta
ton, 40 miles distant, before sunrise
Here We were detained three or four
hours for mules-those We should have
taken being astray-but at We started
with new driver. and were soon entan-
gled in pole-bridge over deep, miry
stream-a drove of thousand head of
cettle (the fr>t ever driven over this road)
having recently passed, aud torn the frail
bridge to pieces. Oar lead mules vent
down in pile, but we're got up and out
and the wagon run over, after delay of
an hour. We soon rose from Pine Val
ley by long Irregular, generally mode
rate ascent. to a mountain divide, from
which our trail took abruptly down the
widest and worst canou | ever saw trav-
ersed by a carriage. 1t is in places bare
ly wide enough at bottom for carriage,
and if two should meet here it is scarcely
possible that they should pass. The
length of this canon is mile and half;
the descent hardly less than 1000 feet;
the side Of the road next to the water
course often far lower than the other; the
road he'd is often made Of sharp edged
fragments OF broken rock, hard enough
to stand on, harder still to hold back Oh.
The heat in this canon on Summer al
ternoon is intense, the sun being able to
enter it while the wind is not Two or
three glorious springs afford partial con
ISOLATION 10 the weary, thirsty traveller
| am confident no passenger ever rode
down this rocky ladder; trust that none
will until a better road is made here;
though good road in such guch is
possible. Fifteen miles further,
across a plain and a lower range of hills,
brought our mail-wagon at last, about I
p. ~, Of its seventh day from Salt Lake
City, to
THE HUMBOLDT.
I am not going to describe the route
ou, th;s riuar "a III Is the old emigrant