Year: 1860

Of the 25th, and took our course across an al.
kaline plain, barren, dreary and desolatc,
and at twenty miles from camp we came to
the celebrated Hot Springs. supposed to he
the nearest wafer on the confines Of the In
ferual Regions and from which Dives agra.
rated his thirst by longing, lingering gaze
from afar off. The water boils up in an i'm
mense column and flows off in brisk run
ming stream. clear as crystal and hot enough
to cook meat finely, ina few hours. Leaving
the bot springs. VIC ascended rocky spur Of
the mountain and taking the emigrant trail
we eamped at Mud Springs, having Travelled
thirty five miles Found next morning that
some Indians. anxious probably for our well
fare, had prospected cur camp during the
night. On the next day We took our line Of
march over rolling country to Smoke creek
along which there was good grass and camp
ed at the lower end Of the Canon. Here we
started in on strict guarding arrangements
Had disagreeable. windy night, but no in
terruption from Indians From Smoke creek
we Travelled over dreory desert country and
eamped at Wall Spring, deep hole in the
plain from which runs stream Of water
emnnnting from n pond some sixty feet in
! diameter of circular form and rather tepid
! Here our camp WAS again prospected by In
dans but at a respectful distance Our boys
are only anxious to get fair squint at these
-, .It oh
in our company of eight, and we claim to
have men that can shoot From Wall Spring
camp We passed over a similar desert to that
heretofore described, passing Deep Springs
to this place in sight of Black Rock, and dis
tance twenty-four miles from that enchanted
spot where silver and gold are reported to
have been found and to have disappeared on
the return of the adventurer to realize the
dreams of wealth that his discovery had in
cited in his brain. So here we are in good
health. in good spirits, rough, ragged, and
ready for any emergency that may come upon
US. Our friends Totman. Foye. Cooper and
Champlin are as iovial and cheerful ne ever,
and seem to enjoy the misery of the trip.


Ever thine, J. E. STEVENS.


P. S.-LanOe Nightingale was here some
two weeks since, prospecting This learn
from B, b. Painter. J.E.S


CAMr CoID SPRINGS,


Monday evening, April 80


Having arrived safely in camp, and having
a few leisure moments | drop line, hoping
that few random thoughts may interest
some of your readers And asking the
kind indulgence of such as may take the
trouble to read these scattered and necessa-
rily imperfect sketches. penned after a hard
days travel and with the cares of camp life |
in the Indian country upon me. l will pro-
eeed to give pen and ink picture, as near as
may be, of the scene of to-day's travel


We left camp at Granite Creek early, and
took the trail along the Black Rock desert,
bearing nearly due north 25 miles to this
camp. 1t is impossible for me to give any
thing like fair idea to your readers of this
desert; smooth as a sheet of unruffled water,
hard as hypocrite's heart, and barren to
desolation itself; with no vestige Of life in
any form, it is well calculated to impress the
mind with the loneliness Of nature without
that pleasing and endless variety that consti-
tutes the beauty and glory of creation. Not
plant, shrub or flower to eniven the eve,
not birds song to float in sweet cadence to
the ear, your very comrades, 10y some strange
phenomena of nature, at n short distance
from you change into gaunt, ungainly spec
tres you feel that you are in n world of !
enchantment, where the surroundings thar
apply to earth are transformed into some
thing ghostly and hedious How strange
then is the contrast between this dreary |
waste and the little "Oasis" which we have |
christened Camp Cold Spring" which is |
sufficiently described by its nome-lying in
gentle slope between the mountain and the
desert, fine grass and its cold gushing water,
it affords place for the weary sojourner to
sit down to rest and refresh himself, while
your readers indulge in the luxury of repose
from the perusal of a dry epitome of dry
and barren country JE.S.


CAN'T CoLD SPnTSG, May lst


Since writing the foregoing, an awful trag
edy has been enacted in our camp, the de-
t'ils of which | give you in the following
extract from MY private memorandum:


Went on guard at 10 o'clock last night it
being the middle watch. At IL o'clock, dis
covered something that thought was slowly
and cautiously approaching the camp /
dropped behind bunch Of grease wood and
observed it carefully till l was satisfied it
moved towards us, when l stole cautiously
to the head of Toiman's bed and whispered to
him that two Indians were approaching, and
asked him to roll out Of bed without rising
up As soon as Totman was up, took de-
liberate aim with my shot gun double bar
reled) and fired. The boys awoko and
Sprang to their feet. Immediately fired
again with the other barrel, and VIM Fov
fired bis rife. after which we rushed to the
spot and found that our supposed enemy was
white man, who had been leading a jennet,
and that the man had been immediate killed
at the first fire, and the jennet mortally
wounded at the second, being filed with
buckshot


should remark that our camps have been
reconnoitered by Indians, who evidently re-
gard us as enemies, and who have recently
Killed several white men nearly every night
since we left Honey Lake Valley, and in the
fore part of the night some Of our animals
stampeded short distance, and other indi-