the rim of the Great Basin.  Afterwards, along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, where we traveled for forty-two days, I saw the line of lakes and rivers which lie at the foot of that Sierra; and which Sierra is the western rim of the Basin.  In going down Lewis’s Fork and the main Columbia, I crossed only inferior streams coming in from the left, such as could draw their water from a short distance only; and I often saw the mountains at their heads, white with snow; which, all accounts said, divided the waters of the desert from those of the Columbia, and which could be no other than the range of mountains which form the rim of the Basin on its northern side.  And in returning from California along the Spanish trail, as far as the head of the Santa Clara Fork of the Rio Virgen, I crossed only small streams making their way south to the Colorado, or lost in sand—­as the Mo-hah-ve; while to the left, lofty mountains, their summits white with snow, were often visible, and which must have turned water to the north as well as to the south, and thus constituted, on this part, the southern rim of the Basin.  At the head of the Santa Clara Fork, and in the Vegas de Santa Clara, we crossed the ridge which parted the two systems of waters.  We entered the Basin at that point, and have traveled in it ever since, having its southeastern rim (the Wahsatch Mountain) on the right, and crossing the streams which flow down into it.  The existence of the Basin is, therefore, an established fact in my mind; its extent and contents are yet to be better ascertained.  It cannot be less than four or five hundred miles each way, and must lie principally in the Alta California; the demarcation latitude of 42 deg. probably cutting a segment from the north part of the rim.  Of its interior, but little is known.  It is called a desert, and, from what I saw of it, sterility may be its prominent characteristic; but where there is so much water there must be some oasis.  The great river and the great lake reported may not be equal to the report; but where there is so much snow, there must be streams; and where there is no outlet, there must be lakes to hold the accumulated waters, or sands to swallow them up.  In this eastern part of the basin, containing Sevier, Utah, and the Great Salt lakes, and the rivers and creeks falling into them, we know there is good soil and good grass, adapted to civilized settlements.  In the western part, on Salmon-trout River, and some other streams, the same remark may be made.”

“The contents of this Great Basin are yet to be examined.  That it is peopled, we know; but miserably and sparsely.  From all that I heard and saw, I should say that humanity here appeared in its lowest form, and in its most elementary state.  Dispersed in single families; without fire-arms; eating seeds and insects; digging roots (and hence their name); such is the condition of the greater part.  Others are a degree higher, and live in communities