Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/176

 seventeen miles this day, over a very dusty road and portions of it rough and stony.

August 4. —This day we traveled nineteen miles over tolerably rough road. About three-fourths of a mile after we left camp we crossed a small creek, where we found water. After watering, we traveled eight and a half miles, which brought us to a barrel creek. Here we found a small creek running through a barrel-shaped valley, which is surrounded by rock bluffs about twenty feet high. We nooned at Barrel creek, and pushing on, crossing several dry branches, we came to a sulphur spring, but not finding sufficient water, we moved on till night and made a dry camp. Here all the hills are covered with good dry grass. This whole country seems to be of volcanic formation. Here, at a long distance in the west, we can see a mountain with smoke continually issuing from its summit.

August 5.—This morning our road was very hilly for three miles. Here we found water and grass plenty, and brush for fire wood. Having had no water since we left Barrel creek, we halted here for a rest. We halted here till 1 o'clock in the afternoon. This evening we traveled four miles and found a good camping ground. Here we stopped for the balance of the day and night.

August 6.—This day we traveled thirteen miles, the first three miles brought us to a creek; here we found plenty of water, and grass here abounds all over the hills. At the end of eleven miles we found a gap in the bluffs of Boyse [Boise] valley, where we turned down and succeeded in reaching the valley in safety, although our road was very steep and stony, and long. Two miles farther brought us to the river. Here we had good water but poor grass; the grass had been burned off. The river here is about four rods wide and runs over a pebbly bottom. The banks of the stream are lined with balm trees. We found pine timber among the drifts here. Black-eared rabbits and prairie chickens are very numerous about here. We succeeded in getting some of them.