Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-03-17
THE PLAINS ACROSS.
J. NJ. HixsOn's Journey te
California in 1849.
THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT
The Sinks of the Humboldt and the
Head Waters of the Snake
River Reached.

Following is one of the closing chap
ters of J. M. Hixson's diary, which the
HERALD has been publishing:
July I'd we pitched camp No. 5S. Next
day it rained so hard we did not leave
camp until 10 a. m. The road was gen
orally hilly, following the Snake or Upper
Columbia river, the banks of which are
high. The small streams flowing into
the main river have steep banks, making
. "hard road to travel" The crossings
of many OF these streams were very bad
Snake river continues to fall very rapidly
from where we first came to it, and along
here is very rocky. The water is beaten
into foam and presents very beautiful
appearance. Just here the river passes
through cleft in the mountains present
ing scene almost as grand as the Devils
Gate on the Sweetwater. Near here we
crossed Raft river, where the beaver had
displayed his greatest skill and
done the most work of any
place we had seen. This must
have been an important colony, if not
the headquarters of all the beavers. II
would have taxed the ingenuity of man
and taken q great many laborers years
to have built the dams these animals
have made. 1t was wonderful to see
how they had felleo the trees, cut them
off, placed the logs in position and then
plastered the cracks with mortar, having
no implements but their teeth to cut the
trees and their tails to use as trowels to
plaster the cracks with the mud. Three
miles below Fall river we had turned to
the left, southerly, over plain, coming
to Raft river in about six miles. The
road in the afternoon was fairly good,
and we travelled this day twenty-five
miles, camping on Raft river, with
plenty of good feed and water, but fuel
was scarce
On July Sd the night was cold, with
heavy ice, and having no wood to make
Q fire, it was anything but pleasant, there
being barely fuel enough to make coffee
fry bacon and cook elapjacks. At this
point the road forks, the right hand 90.
ing to Oregon. The left hand was the
ore travelled by the emigrants to Califor
mia. For long way we travelled north
OF west, then nearly due north, ther
southwest. Our course was from south
to southwest until we reached Mary't
river, or the Humboldt. We had heard
q great deal about "Uncle Sam being
rich enough to give every man farm -
and when we travelled over this vast
territory we saw every man might have
. farm, and pretty big one, and there
would be enough land left to give the
women calf pastures. But one thing ap.
peared strange, and that was that with
all of Uncle Samuel's wealth and large
possessions, he did not do more towards
opening up roads and communication to
the different parts of his possessions. In
the best map we can get hold Of, this il
all marked the Great American Desert
and while much of the land would not be
considered desirable to people of the
Western States, who still had plenty OF
room. this is better than much of the
country we had travelled over. At the
same time, we had seen great deal that
would make desirable homes. There
were millions of acres better than some
of our older States, and tens of millions
that would be called paradise by those
living in the north of Europe.
Our road followed the course of the
river, sometimes leaving it for miles.
Travelling over high points, where the
river ran through rocky passes in the
mountains, late in the afternoon we
came into the river bottom for the third
time during the day. After travelling
some four miles we encamped, having
travelled twenty. five miles.
HERE WAS JULY 4, 1S49.
We were out early. all feeling enthusec
at the thought of this being the 4th O
July. If we could not celebrate by going
to q barbecue or in some other way
years, we could hurrsh to our hearts
the sound until one could imagine hs
had large audience. After travelling
some three miles up the stream, we
turned easterly eight miles across 6
plain, and struck ON a most beautiful
stream. where we stopped for noon
Having procured some fresh meat,
gave the boys q sumptuous Fourth o
July dinner. They celebrated while din
ner vas being prepared by throwing ant
shoeing the Indian horse we got at Pc
Leg Smiths. 1t was about as good as
circus to see the performance of throw
ing and shoeing that horse by lot q
novices in the shot ing business, ant
it might have been of interest if not G
profit to some of the boss cooks to hav
seen the preparations and dis
play made at that Fourth .
July dinner. But like all goo
times it had to end, and we PFC
ceeded on our journey, having all kind
of road some rocky, some alkali fats
80 swampy we could scarcely get through
and some fairly good bottom, firm an
good travelling. After drive of twenty
five miles, the last portion of which wa
through a gap in the high mountains
that divide the water of the Columbi
from those of the Great Basin, we Cam
to the City of Rocks, where the roa
from Salt Lake intercepts the old ira
for California. 180 miles from Salt Lake
July 5th-Ws started early; crossed
swampy bottom some three miles, the
assembled the mountain dividing th
waters of Goose creek from thos
of the stream we called Rattle
snake. We travelled eleven mile
and stopped for noon. We foun
parties here prospecting for golt
There was quite an excitement, as com
of the parties obtained mica, and thoe
Who pretended to be posted in gold di,
giDg said the finding of mica was SUI
sign that there was gold in that section
Ii there was any gold found we did NJ
hear OF it. We watched with interest th
manner of ''panning out," and felt quit
disappointed when the last particles {
gravel and sand were reached, to fin