Page 33 - Wood Plenty, Grass Good, Water None

(Opuntia)attaineditsfullgrowth inthechasms on the rocky banks."
Mollhausen's comment about cleanly washed boul ders suggests a relatively open stream bed, similar to that which occurs there today. Coming out of Partridge Creek near its bend to the east, he continues:
states that grama grass was the dominant grass in the valley at this time.
January 14,aftercrossingChinoValley,Mollhausen notes:
"...foundourselvesthenatthewesternendofthe valley, where our progress seemed to be barred by round hills and mountains almost destitute of vegetation.... Withered grass and bushes coveredthebottomofthevalley,which widened and narrowed as the steep hills and rocks ap proached or receded from one another."
"...towards the west lay a plain that appeared
convenient for travelling.... Closely-growing
cedars, whose branches touched the ground,
formedusacapitalroof,andaswe laybeneath
theirverdantscreenwe hadafamousfireburn
ingatourfeet." Viewingthecountryfromthecampinthenarrows
"Leaving Partridge creek, which flows 65 de greeseast,we turnedtowardsthesouthwestand west over a smooth prairie, about eleven miles to the southeast base of Picacho. There finding pools of water, w e again bivouaced a m o n g our favorite cedars. ...beyond is a broad smooth valley sweeping towards the south- southeast, and extending in that direction to the verge of the horizon.... The ridge of the Black Forest bounds this valley on the east."
Riding westward toward Picacho, Mollhausen says:
of Chino Valley, the same one that Whipple described as dreary, Mollhausen wrote:
"A desolate looking table-land, cleft by deep chasms, seemed to extend in alldirections; here and there a crippled-looking cedar rose out of one of the chasms, but there were no signs of life in the wilderness...."
The reconnoitering party proceeded up Big Chino Valleyforanotherday,climbingtwobuttessomewhere alongitswestside.Whippledescribestheroughnessof themountainstothewestandanopenprairie,probably AubreyValley,tothenorth.Hemakesnoothermention of the vegetation. Mollhausen, riding up Big Chino Valley noted that a wooded mountain bound itto the
"The ground was hilly and rugged, alternately
bare and covered with light cedar woods. ..we
encamped...wheresomescatteredcedarsof west.Thiswouldprobablybethenortherlyextensions fered us a tolerable shelter as well as fuel..."
They camped that evening near the southeast base of Picacho Mountain.
O n January 13, 1854, the reconnaissance party turned up Big Chino Valley. Just east of the present Double O Ranchheadquarters,inthenarrowsofBigChino, Whipple wrote:
"This isthe most dreary camp-ground we have had. There is neither water nor wood. Our blankets, with saddles for pillows, have been placed in the middle of the valley, to be as far as possible from any ambitious Indians that might desire to practice archery at night from the hills. There is not a rock nor a bush near us from which a sheltered and h o m e feeling can be derived.... The rich black loamy soil we have passed over is covered most luxuriantly with the excellent grama-grass, so often referred to asbeingabundantthroughoutthisregion,called by Mexicans "de china" ,from which the valley d e r i v e s its n a m e . It is n o w g r a z e d b y n u m e r o u s herds of antelope and deer, and would furnish pasturage for thousands of cattle and sheep."
In this quotation, Whipple not only identifies the source for the name of Chino Valley, he also clearly
of juniper mesa, an area heavily covered with trees today. They camped under a "far spreading cedar" that evening and burned cedar wood.
Whipple, January 15:
"...we descended the broad sloping prairie to Picachospring,wherewefoundthemainparty w i t h t h e t r a i n .T h e y h a d b e e n h e r e t w o d a y s , a n d the mules were literally rolling with sataiety in the luxuriant grass of the valley."
Whipple notes the acquisition of a bighorn sheep skull in this vicinity.
Thewagontrain—PartridgeCreek,Picacho,andBig Chino—While the reconnaissance party was ranging ahead, the wagon train had come along behind and set upanewcampeastofPicachoMountain(fig.2).
Sherburne, on January 12, with the wagon train at Partridge Creek, wrote:
"...plentyofwood,water& grass....Vegetation has already commenced along the route—a pretty good evidence that Spring is coming. Thegrasslooksgreen& thebushesareshoot ing out. In a few weeks the country will be delightful."
USDA ForestServiceRMRS-GTR-177. 2006.
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