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Show 82 atlas- sheet 61c, while I meandered the Gold Fork of the San Miguel to its head and made a station upon the divide between this stream and the Unconipabgre. Returning to camp, a station was made by me at the forks of the San Miguel, and then I meandered the trail to the Trout Lake, near the head of the South Fork, where I was rejoined by Mr. Spiller, September 1. After making two stations upon high peaks in this vicinity, the party proceeded over the divide to the drainage- area of the Dolores, but on the 5th September it began to rain, and continued raining and snowing with but Bhort intermissions until September 21. Advantage was taken of every intermission, and during this interval we succeeded in successfully making two stations in the divide between the Dolores River and Hermosa Creek, one of the tributaries of the Animas River, and in meandering the trails over the heads of the Dolores Cascade and Lime Creeks ; but the delay thus caused, coming upon us while in the midst of the area we desired to complete, caused us serious embarrassment and loss of time when it was too late in the season to regain it. Having completed the drainage of the apper tributaries of the Animas, the trail to Hermosa was meandered, and on September 22 the party started over to the Rio La Plata, which stream was afterward meandered to its head, and two topographical stations were made by Mr. Spiller and myself upon prominent peaks of the Sierra La Plata. The highest of the La Plata peaks, however, which had been selected for a principal station in the scheme of triangulation, was not accessible from the east, so that the party accordingly proceeded to the Rio Maocos, the western fork of which we meandered, and made a very successful station upon the La Plata Peak at its head. Retracing our course, a topographical station was made upon the northern edge of the Mesa Verde, and upon minor points between the La Plata and Animas Rivers. On October 1 and 2, we crossed the low ridge between the Animas and Florida, and, after following the latter several miles to the northeast, crossed another low divide and entered the drainage- area of the Rio Los Pinos. The party was then divided, and the main party sent through the Los Pinos Canon, which Mr. Spiller meandered; while I followed the trail about the heads of the western tributaries of the Piedra, along the divide between the Piedra and Los Pinos River, making the necessary topographical stations en route, and rejoined the party at the head of the Los Pinos Canou. From this point the topographer and small party proceeded to make stations and secure topographical details about the headwaters of the western fork of the Rio Los Pinos, whence my party were driven by snow in 1874, while I went for supplies to Antelope Park, meandering en route the Rio Grande from the Ute Pass to San Juan City, and, in returning, profiled the wagon- road over the head of Crooked Creek as far as to the entrance to the pass; a topographical station was also made by me on a low peak on the western edge of Antelope Park. Upon returning to camp at the head of the Los Pinos, October 9,1 left directions for Mr. Spiller to complete the meanders of the tributaries of the Piedra, to make a trian-gulation- station upon the double- capped peak north of Pagosa Springs, and upon lower points in the Piedra basin, and then to cross over into the Rio Grande basin and proceed with its survey until rejoined by me. This programme was satisfactorily carried out by Mr. Spiller. On October 10 I took one packer and a pack- mule, and, attaining the summit of the continental backbone at the head of the eastern fork of the Rio Los Pinos, followed the divide around the headwaters of the Piedra and the southern tributaries of the Rio Grande as far as to the headwaters of the Rio San Juan, making topographical stations upon ten of the highest peaks, including pne five miles north of the Pagosa Peak, in the dividing range between the San Juan and Piedra, and Macomb's peak, named in honor of Col. J. N. Macomb, Corps of Engineers, who first explored the San Juan basin. Under this peak heads the main or west fork of the San Juan, the east fork of the Piedra and Hot Spring and Thunder Creeks, tributary to the Rio Grande. Although not of very great height, barely exceeding 13,000 feet, this is the culminating point of this portion of the Atlantic and Pacific divide, and a very marked and noteworthy feature of the landscape; a long ridge of brown trachyte, surmounted by a cap of the same material, which is vertical on the south and west sides for many feet; its summit is attained by climbing over the loose masses of trachyte which lie under very steep slopes on the eastern sides. This point was occupied in 1674, but snow and cold prevented any successful notes. A station was made the next day by Mr. Spiller, whom I met near Macomb's Peak, on a high point some miles northeast of Macomb, between the two forks of Hot SpringCreek. From Antelope Park, beginning October 23, the topographer meandered and profiled the new wagon- road from Alden'B Junction to Lake City, meandered Clear Creek and its tributaries, the road from Antelope Park to Del Norte, and the tributaries of the Rio Grande, which had not been completed last year, making en route the necessary three- point and topographical stations, to accurately locate the points adjacent to his lines and to check up his meander, while I made a station upon Bristol Head, taking repeated sights with 10- inch theodolites to our triangulation- Btations, from which the |