Page:California Historical Society Quarterly vol 22.djvu/204

194 the California Academy of Sciences. Notes on the fauna of California and Oregon are by Professor Tracy M. Storer of the University of California. Anthropological notes are by Dr. Robert F. Heizer.

Space does not permit Hsting here of all the individuals in numerous localities who aided in tracing trails and identifying landmarks. A debt of gratitude to all who assisted is hereby acknowledged. The task of following a trail over a century old was lightened by this generous and enthusiastic aid.

As much of John Work's trail as could be traced practicably by car and foot has been gone over during the past four years when preparation of this journal has been under way. Some of the route remains just trail, and for those portions not reached personally numerous authorities have been consulted in a desire to trace his pathway through what was, in 1832-33, desert and wilderness. Today many sections of Work's route remain more or less in the same condition in which he found them. Good roads make transit of his dangerous, waterless journeys across the sagebrush desert between Malheur and Goose lakes in Oregon a matter of a few hours by automobile. The pass which Work crossed through the Cascade Range of mountains north of Lassen Peak, judging from all available traditions and records, is the first pass used by white men in their penetration of California from the north. Miss Dorothy Huggins, corresponding secretary of the California Historical Society, and the writer drove over the forest road covering this portion of Work's route on August 28, 1942, just one hundred and nine years to the day after Work made his way over the heights on his homeward journey to Fort Vancouver. The road does not follow the exact Indian trail used by the Hudson's Bay Company trappers; nevertheless, we were able to approximate his path and learn something of the difficulties encountered by John Work and his packtrain as they "took the Mountain."

The Bonaventura was for many years a stream of uncertain origin and mythical course. Father Escalante heard of it in 1776 and mentioned it by name. Old maps show it draining Great Salt Lake and flowing directly into the Pacific Ocean. In this journal of John Work its limits are known and its course is clear: "The Bonaventura is the Sacramento." As such, it was well known to the hunters and trappers of the Hudson's Bay Company. In the heat of an August day. Chief Trader John Work and his party of one hundred men, women and children embarked in boats for the first stage of their long expedition to the Bonaventura; a journey that was to take its toll in sickness and death, a journey fraught with perils and burdened by rivalry and disappointments. Nevertheless the record of its day by day progress is a document of historical value, and its revelations throw light on an obscure period of Western history.