"The great lake receives about a dozen tributaries on its eastern side,
which all rise in the great range of the Snowy Mountains. Some of these
streams flow through broad and fertile valleys within the mountain's
range, and, from thence emerging, irrigate the plains of the great
valley for the distance of twenty or thirty miles. The largest of these
rivers is called by the Spanish inhabitants the river Reyes, and falls
into the lake near its northern end; it is a well-timbered stream, and
flows through a country of great fertility and beauty. The tributaries
of the San Joaquin are all on the east side.
"On ascending the stream we first meet with the Stanislaus, a clear
rapid mountain stream, some forty or fifty yards wide, with a
considerable depth of water in its lower portion. The Mormons have
commenced a settlement, called New Hope, and built some two or three
houses near the mouth.
"There are considerable bodies of fertile land along the river, and the
higher plains afford good pasturage.
"Ten miles higher up is the river of the Tawalomes; it is about the
size of the Stanislaus, which it greatly resembles, except that the
soil is somewhat better, and that it particularly abounds with salmon.
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