ng of
every ridge displayed some unknown lake or river, we were yet almost
afraid to believe that we were at last to escape into the genial country
of which we have heard so many glowing descriptions, and dreaded again
to find some vast interior lake, whose bitter waters would bring us
disappointment. On the southern shore of what appeared to be the bay,
could be traced the gleaming line where entered another large stream;
and again the Buenaventura rose up in our mind.

"Carson had entered the valley along the southern side of the bay, but
the country then was so entirely covered with water from snow and rain,
that he had been able to form no correct impression of watercourses.

"We had the satisfaction to know that at least there were people below.
Fires were lit up in the valley just at night, appearing to be in answer
to ours; and these signs of life renewed, in some measure, the gayety
of the camp. They appeared so near, that we judged them to be among the
timber of some of the neighboring ridges; but, having them constantly in
view day after day, and night after night, we afterwards found them to
be fires that had been kindled by the Indians among the tulares, on the
shore of the bay, eighty miles distant.

"Axes and mauls were necessary today to make a road through the snow.
Going ahead with Carson to reconnoitre the road, we reached in the
afternoon the river which made the outlet of the lake. Carson sprang
over, clear across a place where the stream was compressed among rocks,
but the parfleche sole of my moccasin glanced from the icy rock, and
precipitated me into the river. It was some few seconds before I could
recover myself in the current, and Carson, thinking me hurt, jumped in
after me, and we both had an icy bath. We tried to search a while for
my gun, which had been lost in the fall, but the cold drove us out; and
making a large fire on the bank, after we had partially dried ourselves
we went back to meet the camp. We afterwards found that the gun had been
slung under the ice which lined the banks of the creek.

"The sky was clear and pure, with a sharp wind from the northeast, and
the thermometer 20 below the freezing point.

"We continued down the south face of the mountain; our road leading
over dry ground, we were able to avoid the snow almost entirely. In the
course of the morning we struck a foot path, which we were generally
able to keep; and the ground was soft to our animals feet, being sa