overrunning the dead sage-brush.

Then we came to the most barren country I ever saw,--nothing but broken,
rusty, worm-eaten looking rocks, where the rattlesnakes live. But here
grew the most beautiful flower, peach-blossom color. It just thrust its
head out of the earth, and the long pink buds stretched themselves out
over the dingy bits of rock; and that was all there was of it. We took
some of the roots, which are bulbous, and shall try to furnish them with
sufficient hardships to make them grow.

One night, while in this region, we camped on a hill where the cayotes
came up and cried round us, which made it seem quite wild.

Wherever there was any soil, there was another little plant that was
very pretty to notice, both for itself, and because of its adaptation to
the climate in the dry season. It was coated with a delicate fur; and
long after the hot sun was up, and when every thing else was dry, great
diamonds of dew glistened in its soft hair. We saw a great many plants
of the lupine family, in every variety of shade, from crimson, blue, and
purple, to white.

On the last days we had all the time before us dark mountains, with snow
on their summits, and troops of trees on their sides, and ravines with
sun-lighted mists travelling through them. It was like getting into an
inhabited country, to reach the trees again: they were almost like human
beings, after what we had seen. The Spokane River divides the great
treeless plain on the south from the timbered mountainous country to the
north.

During this journey, we came upon various little bands of Indians, of
different tribes. We noticed the superiority of the "stick" Indians
(those who live in the woods) over those who live by the sea. The former
have herds of horses, and hunt for their living. The Indians who live by
fishing are of tamer natures, poor and degraded, compared to those of
the interior.

We saw at Walla Walla some of the Klickatats, from the mountains. They
were very bright and animated in their appearance, and wore fringed
dresses and ornamented leggings, and moccasins of buffalo-skin. They
were mounted upon fancy-colored and spotted horses, which they prize
above all others. They presented such a striking contrast to the lazy
Clalams on the Sound,--who used to say to us in reply to our inquiries
as to their occupations and designs, "_Cultus nannitsh, cultus
mitlight_" (look about and do nothing), as if that were their whole
business all day