waters are warm, strongly impregnated with the alkalies of the soil on its banks, and unwholesome for man or beast. The broken table-lands about the head of this stream, called the Crooked River Valley, are characterized by unexampled ruggedness of surface, so rough and rocky that a cavalry horse losing a shoe would be unable to travel in a few hours. This is a fair grazing country early in the season, these rocky table-lands producing bunch grass of superior quality and in great abundance, that ripens in July and parches and dries up in August. The South Fork of John Days' River heads in some rocky ridges about thirty miles north of Lake Harney, and flows north through a great gorge in the Blue Mountains to the Main Fork. The stream in July was a mere brook. Running through a deep canon nearly its entire length, there are no valleys of any size or consequence of its banks. Cricket Creek, sometimes called Selvie's River, heads near Canyon City and flows south through some straggling spurs of the Blue Mountains to Harney Lake Valley. It has two quite large valleys near its source, and forms the large meadow bottom in the valley before mentioned. Its course until it reaches the Harney lake basin is through a densely timbered country, wild and rugged, and abounding in game of all kinds. It abounds in beaver and other animals of that kind, and was a great deal frequented in times past by the employes of the Hudson Bay Company. A few smaller streams of trifling importance complete the history. Among these may be mentioned Bridge Creek, Rock Creek, and Cottonwood Creek, all heading in the Blue Mountains, the two first flowing north to John Day's River and the last west to Crooked River. Silver Creek heads about fifty miles south of Camp Dahlgren and flows south to a brackish lake near Pleasonton's Butte. It forms a valley fifteen miles from the butte off considerable size, with a rich alluvial bottom, producing an abundance of grass.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JNO. M. DRAKE,

Captain, First Oregon Cavalry, Commanding.

ACTING ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL,

Headquarters District of Oregon, Fort Vancouver, Wash. Ter.

No. 5.

Report of Lieutenant John M. McCall, First Oregon Cavalry, of operations May 17-19.

EXPEDITION TO THE INDIAN COUNTRY, Camp Maury, May 19, 1864.

SIR: I have the honor to report that in obedience to orders on the 17th instant, with twenty-six men from Company D, thirteen men from detachment of Company B, with Lieutenant Stephen Watson and ten Indian scouts, I left Camp No. 17, on Crooked River, at 9. 30 p. m. to attack the camp of Snake Indians that had been discovered by the scouts the same day. We proceeded in a northeasterly direction over a high and extremely rocky country for some twelve or fourteen miles, where we found eleven of our Indians who had been left to watch the Snake camp. They reported that the Snakes had been having a regular war dance, singing, laughing, and shouting so that they could hear them two miles, and had only just got quiet. It was now nearly 2 a. m. We moved up a short distance and halted. Four of our Indians then started out on foot to ascertain if possible the exact locality of the Snake encampment.