THE SOUTH ROAD EXPEDITION 27
separates the waters of the Pacific from those of the great basin which extends from the Blue mountains far southward towards the Colorado. The little stream on which we en- camped before entering this pass is called Lassen creek, tak- ing its name from Peter Lassen, who led a small party of im- migrants across the plains in 1848, following our route from the Humboldt through this pass, thence down Pitt river to the Sacramento. From the summit of the ridge we had a splen- did view. Northward the ridge seemed to widen out, forming several low ranges of timbered mountains, while southward it seemed to rise very high, as we could see patches of snow along the summit in the distance. East and south of us, at the foot of the ridge, was a beautiful green valley, twenty or thirty miles in extent, and containing a small lake. A num- ber of small streams flowed from the mountain into and through the valley, affording an abundance of water for the wants of a settlement. This fertile valley on the border of the desert has since been called Surprise V alley, and now con- tains quite a population.
As we stood on the Sierra ridge, we surveyed the vast des- ert plains to the eastward of Surprise Valley, apparently with- out grass or trees, and marked by numerous high rocky ridges running north and south. After deciding on our course, we descended the mountain and soon came to a little stream, the banks of which were lined with plum bushes completely loaded with fruit. There was a grove of pines at hand, and there we decided to noon, as the day was extremely hot. Game seemed plentiful about this rich valley, and while we were nooning a large band of antelope grazed in sight of us. Spending about two hours among these pines, which were the last we saw dur- ing our long and weary march on the desert, we packed up and moved across the valley eastward. After crossing the valley we entered a very sandy district, where the traveling was laborious, and next ascended to a table land, the surface of which was covered with small gravel. By this time most
