[From the same]
One more day brought us to this great valley, and the view from the
last hill looking to northwest was quite grand, stretching on one hand
until lost in distance, and on the other the snowy mountains on the
east of the Tulare valley. Here, for the first time, I saw the Lewis
woodpecker, and Steller's jay in this country. I have seen many
California vultures and a new hawk, with a white tail and red
shoulders. During the dry season this great plain may be travelled on,
but now numerous ponds and lakes exist, and the ground is in places,
for miles, too boggy to ride over, so we were forced to skirt the
hills. This compelled us sometimes to take three days when two should
have been ample. Our journeys now are not more than twenty miles a
day, and our nights are so penetrating and cold, that four blankets
are not too many.