The woods were full of wild turkeys and mountain grouse, made fat on
the pine-nuts, and Frank and Henry and the soldier huntsmen secured a
generous supply for our first meal in our new military home.
It took us from early morning until noon of the last day's march to
reach the highest point of the road. What with the frequent halts for
the men to fasten a rope to the wagon-poles and aid the severely taxed
mules up the steepest places, to fill gullies and sloughs with stones
and brush, to pry mired wheels up to firm ground, and repair broken
harnesses and wagons, we were over half a day in going a distance
which could have been accomplished in two hours by soldiers
unencumbered with a baggage and supply train.
The downward march on the western slope of the mountain-range was
rapidly made over a smooth road through a continuous avenue of
overarching forest trees, and without a halt. From the lower limit of
the forest we caught the first glimpse of the Great Valleys. The
valley before us was fourteen miles long, and of a nearly uniform
width of eight miles.
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