s off, & another such a
broiling, boiling & roasting you never saw, there being more than our
company wanted, we let our nearest neighbors have 2 quarters. we staid
here until the next day noon, it being sunday. [June 13.--61st day] We
drove about 10 ms. & encamped in the midst of volcanic hills, no water,
not much grass, the soil is thin, the ground is covered with cactus, or
prickley pear, the blossom of which is very beautiful of different
colors, some pink, some yellow & some red. Here the earth has felt a
shock at no very distant period, & by a convulsive throe, these enormous
piles of volcanic rocks were upheaved; I went out and climbed upon the
top of one of these mountains of red stone sat down, & looked with
wonder about, & thought of the dreadful scene which it must have once
presented. Then came the question, what has caused the earth to be to
its center shook? Sin! the very rocks seemed to reverberate, Sin has
caused them to be upheaved that they may be eternal monuments of the
curse & fall of man; viewing these symbols of divine wrath, I felt
humbled; I took a small stone & wrote upon a flat rock beside me,
Remember me in mercy O lord. I shall never forget this wild scene, & my
thoughts & reflections there.

[Illustration: _Indian mode of disposing of their dead_]

[June 14--62d day] Roads being good, we traveled about 24 ms. to-day,
returned to the river, encamped, it is quite small here, but runs faster
than ever, the water is not much better, Mountains in the distance on
both sides of the river, with small cedars & pines growing upon them.
Roads rocky & hilly, came to the river at noon [June 15--63d day], where
there was a grove of cottonwood trees, here were several indians
incamped, & a frenchman who kept a few articles to sell, the principle
article was whiskey, which he sold at 12 dollars per gallon, or 25 cts a
drink, there were several indian families, I went round to their lodges,
saw one old indian 106 years old, he shook hands with us, smiled,
appeared well, but he looked very aged; two fine looking young squaws
were seated at the door of the tent, embroidering a deer skin to make a
coat, they showed me one they had already made, & I must say that nicer
work with a needle I never saw, or any thing more beautiful, it looked
like sattin, & was finely ornamented with various colored beeds. These
two girls probably were this old mans descendants of the 3d or 4th
generation.

[June 16--64th day] R