[From J. Wells Kelly, First Directory of Nevada Territory (1862)]

LAKE COUNTY.        233

LAKE COUNTY.

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            BEGINNING at the north-west corner of Washoe County, and running easterly along the northern boundary of said county to the mouth of Truckee River ; thence, due east, to the summit of the first range of mountains east of said river; thence, in a northerly direction, along said range, and the main granite range of mountains, to the Oregon line ; thence, west, along said line, to the summit of the Sierra ; thence, south, along said summit, to the place of beginning.

            Of the greater portion of this county, embracing the northwestern corner of the Territory, but little is known ; the information extant in regard to it having been derived chiefly from the trappers who visited it at an early day, or from the prospecting parties that have more recently roamed over it. The reports of the various surveying expeditions that have crossed its southern part in the service of the Government, have also thrown some light upon the geography of this section. A number of Passes through the Sierra Nevada exist in this region, being well adapted for wagon-roads, and, as the governmental surveys show, also entirely feasible for railways. The altitude of the mountains here is much diminished, and in what will constitute the northern portion of Lake County, should the new boundary be obtained, the Sierra subsides into broken hills or detached groups of mountains, admitting of easy passage to wagons through any portion of them. Leading across this rugged country, from the Great Basin into Oregon and Northern California, are several trails and routes struck out by Fremont, Lassen, and other early explorers, after whom they are still called ; and the name of some one of whom should have been given to the county since erected, instead of the insipid and senseless one it now bears. Every dictate of gratitude and propriety suggested the name of Peter Lassen,—the noble old pioneer who, the first to enter, finally lost his life in exploring these wild regions,—as that which should have been bestowed upon the county.

            In Long Valley, about Honey Lake, and in many districts

234      DIRECTORY OF NEVADA TERRITORY.

further north, there is a considerable amount of good land alike adapted to culture and tillage. For stock raising, many portions of this region are especially well-fitted, water being plentiful, and the grass abundant and nutritious, while the climate is so mild that cattle suffer but little from either the cold or storms of winter. In Honey Lake, where many of the settlers own a thousand head of stock, neither feeding or stabling is ever necessary ; the cattle keeping in good condition by what they can pick the entire year round. Great quantities of excellent butter and cheese are made, which hitherto found a good market in the mines of the northern part of Plumas County, but will henceforth be disposed of at even better prices in the Humboldt Mines, lying one hundred miles to the east, and with which this district is connected by means of a good wagon-road. The whole of the arable land in this valley is not only taken up but fenced and improved—the original settlers claiming six hundred and forty acres each. Over ten thousand acres of land were sown last year, the product of which was fully equal to the average yield of California. By the late census, the territory embraced within this county contained one thousand and seventy-three white inhabitants, most of whom reside in Long Valley and the vicinity of Honey Lake.

            At the south end of Pyramid Lake a Reservation has been set apart for the Indians, to which some five or six hundred having been collected, are now living in contentment and peace, subject to Winnemucca, the famed Chief of the Pah Ute nation. Under the just and judicious management of Governor Nye this people have been reconciled with the whites, and assured that this, their favorite place of abode, shall be secured to them as a permanent home ; they are desirous of cultivating the soil and of receiving instructions in the arts of civilized life. To Mr. Warren Wassen, acting as sub-Indian Agent, much credit is due for his wise policy, and humane treatment of the tribes committed to his charge during a long period of difficulty and danger.

            It is the opinion of those who have seen most of this region of country, that it contains valuable deposits of both the useful and precious metals. Both placer diggings and auriferous quartz were discovered, and extensively worked some two

HUMBOLDT COUNTY.      235