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Show [ 23] 20 to the Raton pass. It looks .like a hu~e, recta~gu~ar block, whose longest sides are parallel with the honzon, and IS s1tua~ed on a high bluff. . . September 13.-W e started this mormng with the inte~,ti~n of camping at some pools, at the he.a? of an affluent o~ the Rw Purgatorio," called "hole in the praine ;" but, on reachmg the desired locality, we found not one drop of. water; the bottoms of the dry pools were deeply indented w1th the tracks of oxen, so closely crowded together as to encroach upon each other; showing how eagerly the poor beasts had crowded here. The earth was baked hard; not one sign of moisture to be seen.. We had already marched 15 miles, but must now p:oceed 12. miles further to the. Rio Purgatorio, where we were certam of findwg an abundance of water and plenty of wood. On the road we met an ox, walking leisurely in the direction of the United States. It had doubtless failed of its strength, on this long stretch, for want of water. We searched the Purgatory for plums, currants, and grapes. Although we found bushes and vines in abundance, the fruit had all gone. We here . saw several flickers, with red. lined wings :tnd tails (pic us Mexican us.) Also the common flicker, and large flocks of the yel1ow hea.ded black bird, or troopial. As our animals showed great signs of weariness, I concluued to remain here toJmorrow. It was evident that our mules could not support the fatigues of such marches as we made to-day, over a country so destitute of grass, and affording such rn eagre pasturage; for the grass was parched by the excessive drought that has prevailed this summer. The water at "holes in the prairie," is generally considered unfailing. While hunting for water in the neighborhood of these holes, we found in the bluffs, which were of slaty structure, fragments of large fossil shells, resembling the innoceramus; the fractures showing innumerable fibres perpendicular to the surfaces of the shel,l s. Scattered around on the tops of little mounds, we found beautiful romboidal pieces of semi-transparent carbonate of lime. · From this place on, we noticed the abundance of the artemisias, the obione c.anescens, and "Fremontia vermicularis," and a beau· tiful yellow compositact.'ous plant, "senecio filifolus·" cacti of several species, covered the plains. As we approached the river, we began to feel quite disheartened at the number of hills that seemed to spring up in order to separate us from the wished for goal. Our mouths were parched with long enll ured thirst· no one ~ad had~ drop of :v.at.~r since morning, for we were disapp'ointed at . holes m the praine. At length, however, we reached a high ndge, and whtn the top was attained, a splendid scene suddenly burst upo.n us. On ~he right, rose the cloud-capped summits of the. Sp~msh peaks; In ~ront, the g~tes of tbe.. Raton pass, from wht~h Issued the much w~shed for" Rw Purgatorio." This stream, turnmg to the left, held 1ts course onward parallel with the front o.f a high rocky escarpment, i.ts valley ma:ked by dark groves. of t~mber: A ~ist~ vapor seemerl to proceed from both rock and • nver, mcreasmg m softness, veiling both river and escarpment, and I 21 [ 23] .itself blended w!th the sky; the intermediate space filled with variously s4aded hill~ that are ~over.ed wi~h yellow, parched grass; the ~o.regrou?d reheved b~ clus~ermg thickets of silver leafed artemtsta; ~hde . the wh?le .1s umted by . the road that passes along over swelling hill and sinkmg dale; so that the eye travels instantly to the fart~est extre~e, unimpeded by any abruptness. The whole scene was mcreased m effect by the appearance of an ox that came slowly towards . us, whose loneliness perfected the repose of the landscape . . We now began to feel · very anxious for news from San'ta Fe. Mr. Ward, who_ had .gone to Santa Fe, and who promised to be at the fort some time stnce, had not arrived, neither had we met any one on the road, and no news had been received, except the rumor that General Kearny .had , entered Santa Fe. Still, we knew not how he had been received, nor whether the line of communication was not guard~d by guerrillas. . Mr. St. Vrain spoke of going on as far as the R10 "Enseiiada," to gain some information with regard to the ~tate of the country that we woul(l have to pass through. Daily, persons had passed the fort going to Santa Fe but none had come back, " nulla vestiga retrorsum." ' S~ptembe1· ~4.-Spent the day on the bank~ of the Purgatory; not Inappropnately named, as one plunges into a perfect Erebus amongst the rugged rocks of the Raton. ' Our people killed five deer, and Mr. St. Vrain killed a very fat antelope; so the camp was a scene of festivity. At night we gathered around our social fires; the voyageurs grew talkatjve, and told marvellous tales, and we all devoured meat with the voracity of beasts of prey .. It is not unusual for two men to eat a fore quarter of vemson WIthout the accompaniment of bread or even of salt. ' To-day I again saw the red shafted flickers. and endeavored to get a shot at ~hem, but th~y were too shy to' be approached. I, h~wever, obttuned a beautml male specimen of the troopial, (agelatus zanthocephalus.) I ~ade a sketch of the Spanish peaks; there were light clouds hangmg: around them, but although they lent great beauty to the mount~ Ins by the ever varying contour of their shadows, that curved abou ·~ . In " mazes m· tn·c ate, eccentn· c, m· tervolved, yet regular, when most Irregular they seem," and the rays of light that pierced these ]clouds 'Yere ever changing; thus, the same scene presented an endess vanety. Along the ban·ks of the stream we noticed great quantities of c?tt)on wood, (P. monolifera,) and locust trees, (Robina pseudoacaSia; also the box elder, (acer negundo,) and dense thickets, comfosed o~ the plum and the cherry interwoven .with grape vines, o~me? Impenetrable thickets, where the deer, the hare, the rabbit, an wild turkey, found a secure shelter. . Th.e plains are covered with a saline efflorescence, and the. ground 1 ~ qmte bare in many places, where the animals had been licking t e groun.d, and have trampled down the herbage. We still find the dwelhngs of the gopher and prairie dog around us; and the |
