Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 7.pdf/93

Rh little success in hunting, and on the 28th started down the River.

On the 1st of September it rained, was quite cold, and the hills were covered with snow. This day we struck the trail of the Oregon Company, and during the nights we had heavy frosts. The valley of the River, is from one to eight miles wide. A large portion of it has a good soil, and is covered with an excellent grass. Flax grows spontaneously in this valley, and in considerable quantities. The hills on either side rise very high, and are rugged and barren, and there are only a few Cotton Wood trees scattered along the River. These streams abound with a fine fish called the Mountain Trout. We found wild Goats and large flocks of Geese, Ducks and Cranes, but they had been so much hunted by the Emigrants, that it was almost impossible to kill any of them.

On the 4th we came to where the valley appeared to terminate,—the River turning short to the left, and making a breach through the high range of hills on the West; but the general course of Bear River is nearly North. Here we crossed over the hills, and again came into the valley beyond.

On the 7th, we reached the Soda Springs. They are on the East side of Bear River, and are scattered over a level space, about equal, in extent, to one square mile; with a slight inclination to the River, and elevated above it some fifteen feet. A large portion of this level space is covered with a stinted growth of Pine and Cedar. The earth is of various colors. In some places it is almost perfectly white, and in others, quite red, etc. Above, below, and on the opposite side of the River, the valley is rich, and covered With fine grass. The Mountains, on the North and East, are barren; but on the West, they are covered with Pine. The Springs are deep pots in the earth, from one to fifteen feet across, and generally without an outlet. The water