Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 18.djvu/315



Hall Jackson Kbll^y V9

North of the 39tl;i deg, of latitude, the whole character and aspect of the country changes suddenly, a^d decidedly for the tetter. At this latitude commences the southerly slope of the Snowy mountains. The soil upon most of the hills seems admirably adapted to the growth of forest trees, and the prairies and pleasant valleys which there abound furnish the best possible land for farming purposes. Now and then, however, occurs a hill destitute of vegetation, scattered over which are to be found dark-cplored iron stores, of all shapes, with sharp edges, resembling clinkers in the arches of a brick kiln ; and reddish clay and gravel, like pulverized brick.

In this volcanic ridge I found a stratimi of earth which the Mexicans called tepetate, and which forms a sort of cenwnt. When covered by water, or buried so far below the earth as to retain moisture, it is so soft as tQ ^ easily penetrated by an iron bar, but it becomes as solid and impenetrable as a rock on being exposed to the sun or wind.

The prairies in this hilly region arc narrow vales, which stretch like beautiful ribbons along the basis of the high- lands and the margins of rivers. They are variegated with an infinite variety, and abundance of vegetable productions, gay with a thousand blossoms, and fragrant with countless per- fumes. Among the grasses which, in the month of September, were in full growth and vigor, I noticed the red clover, wild rye, wild oats, and a peculiar species of coarse grass, whose seed furnished the native with their most common article of food.

The timber trees of this region are numerous and valuable and deserve some notice.

About the highlands of the Sacrament, I discovered abun- dance of the white pine. But this species, though of great size and value, does not compare with the prodigious size and towering height of the Lambert pine ; (pinus Lambertiana) or pino Colorado. Cabrillo, in 1542, gave the name of "Bahia de los Pino^" to the harbor of Monterey, undoubtedly with ref- erence to this splendid species of the coniferee. The dimensions