JOURNAL OF A TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS, 1851 165 dry valley with a pack of juniper. Here we stopped for the night. All the water we had was what we collected in a little pond, from the previous day's rain, and was a very poor quality. September 1.— This day we traveled fourteen miles. We first crossed a ridge one mile, to where we enter a trough, about a fourth of a mile wide, that lays back of a large cluster of hills, one end terminating at the Columbia river and the other at John Day's river. We traveled in this valley six miles and came to a small spring. Here we halted a short time. Here the road takes over the hills. We traveled seven miles this evening and reached John Day's river, at the bottom of a tremendous steep hill, about a quarter of a mile long. Here crossed the stream, which is 350 feet wide at the ford but quite shallow. Here we found grass plenty and had green willow for fire- wood. The valley here is about one-half mile wide, with very high bluff hills on both sides. September 2.—This day we traveled ten miles. One mile down the valley brought us to where the road leaves the valley and turns up a very steep hill, which we found very difficult to climb. At one place the road enters a very rocky ravine, which we found very difficult to pass. We had to hold our wagons to keep from upsetting. But all succeeded in reaching the top of the hill safely. Here we found a high, rolling, grassy plain, over which we found very good road, wi£h occasionally a short, steep hill. We camped this night without wood and no water for our teams, and only what we had hauled with us. The distance from John Day's river being twenty-four miles, without food or water. September 3. —This morning we started early, having fourteen miles between us and water. The road led over the high plain, which was hilly but not bad, the hills being short. When we reached the Columbia bluffs we found a long, crooked passage down the valley, steep in places but not stony. We followed down the river one mile to
Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/183
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