Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 22.djvu/34



24 LINDSAY APPLEGATE

assail them from the rocks, they took to their canoes. He said that, seeing the Indians retreating, he concluded he would leave the rocks and ride along the lakeshore where the going was good. We nooned in a beautiful meadow, containing about two sections, near the head of the lake.

After spending a couple of hours in this splendid pasture, we re-packed and started on our way towards the timbered butte, but had not proceeded more than a mile before we came suddenly upon quite a large stream (Lost river) coming into the lake. We found this stream near the lake very deep, with almost perpendicular banks, so that we were compelled to turn northward, up the river. Before proceeding very far we dis- covered an Indian crouching under the bank, and surround- ing him, made him come out. By signs, we indicated to him that we wanted to cross the river. By marking on his legs and pointing up the river, he gave us to understand that there was a place above where we could easily cross. Motioning to him to advance, he led the way up the river about a mile and pointed out a place where an immense rock crossed, the river. The sheet of water running over the rock was about fifteen inches deep, while the principal part of the river seemed to flow under. This was the famous Stone Bridge on Lost river, so often mentioned after this by travelers. For many years the water of Tule Lake have been gradually rising, so that now the beautiful meadow on which we nooned on the day we discovered the bridge is covered by the lake, and the back water in Lost river long ago made the river impassable; is now probably ten feet deep over the bridge.

After crossing the bridge we made our pilot some pres- ents, and all shaking hands with him, left him standing on the river bank. Pursuing our way along the northern shore of the lake a few miles, we came to a beautiful spring, near the base of the mountains on our left, and encamped for the night. After using the alkali water of Lower Klamath Lake the pre- vious night, the fresh, cold water of this spring was a real