Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/164

 shrub about the size of common currant bushes. In the afternoon four miles travel brought us to Alcaly ponds. Here we gathered salaratus, which answered a good purpose. A few miles farther brought us to Independence Rock. This huge rock is 700 yards long, 200 wide, and from 50 to 80 feet high, a solid granite, except one crack where it appears to have broken in two. We find thousands of names written on this rock.

June 18.—This morning we have a beautiful valley to pass through, of from four to five miles wide. Five miles of travel brought us to the Devil's Gate on Sweetwater. Here the stream runs through a deep crevice in the rock, where it has separated from the main bluff. We traveled 13 miles today. Our road led up the Sweetwater valley near the stream. We camped on the bank, found plenty of grass and greasewood.

June 18.—This day our course was a little south of west all forenoon, afternoon north of west all of the time. Near the stream, on our right continuing nearby are lofty peaks of solid gray granite, almost smooth, some of them being as much as 1,000 feet high and gradually sloping on all sides, while on our left at a distance of eight or ten miles the rugged mountains are covered with a forest of pine about half way up and with snow the rest of the way.

June 20.—This day at noon we came to the narrows. Here we passed between high rocky bluffs crossing the stream several times in a short distance. We had to prop up our wagonbeds to keep the water out of them.

June 21.—This morning our course was northeast for about six miles to Marble creek, a small creek. Here is a great abundance of beautiful white marble. The hills around here are very red. For the next five miles the road was very rough. Along here we find strata ....

June 23.—The altitude here is 7,000 feet. This day our course led over a rolling plain, crossing several small, clear mountain streams, finding snow drifts within their banks, while the snowy mountains are on our right, were continually in sight. Weather delightful. We reached the