Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 7.pdf/101

Rh There are some balm trees on the River, and the Mountains are covered with Pine. Much the largest portion of the soil is very rich, and the whole is covered with a superior quality of grass. From the Grand Round we bore to the left, and began the ascent of the Blue Mountains. It was long but gradual. After reaching the summit, the road was generally passable, excepting some deep ravines, which were frequently very steep and rocky. A great portion of these Mountains are covered with dense forests of lofty pine. Those portions which are destitute of timber are generally covered with good grass, and a considerable portion of the soil appears to be fit for cultivation.

On the third day, we left the Mountains and descended to the Umatila or Utilla River, (generally called in that country, the Utilla,) in the valley of Walawala. From the brow of the Mountain, we had a fine view of the Cascade range, fifty miles distant, forming the Western boundary of the valley, stretching far to the North and South, with its lofty peaks of eternal snow rising among the clouds. The extent of the Walawala valley is not known; but it is probably three hundred miles long, with an average width of about fifty miles. Its course, from and below the junction of Snake River, is nearly South; above, it bends away to the East. The Columbia River runs through it to the Dales; where it leaves the valley, and breaks through the Cascade Mountains. This valley, is elevated above the Columbia from fifty to five hundred feet, and is very uneven, dry, sandy, and entirely unfit for cultivation, except along the base of the Mountains, and immediately on the smaller streams which run through it; the principal of which are the Walawala, Umatila, John Days, and De Chutes Rivers. Almost the whole of the valley is covered with a superior quality of grass; which springs up in the Fall, is green through the Winter and Spring,