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Show 16 Ex. Doc. No. 41. and halted for the day n car running water; the g rass was all burned dry, antl not a g reen sprig t~ be se~n. 'Fhree. buttes ~ere pa.s('d of singular appearance; ome ul~a.oi wluch will be gtvcn by the sketch. They were rompo.ed oi 111ne-s to~u·, a~d were garnt_hcd at their bases with notlule ·of carbonate of hmc, ]dee tho e d cscnbed yestenlay. A par~ of our road was. o_n the dry bed of a ri vcr_, pa vcd with argillaceous ltme- slone? C~)Jllatnmg; now and l~1Cn, l~1e unpression of oyslcr shells very (lt ·ltnctly. 1he vall ey m :vl11 ch ·we are now encamped presents the appearance of a _cr~ler, b e m~ s_nr_roun.decl with buttes capped with st\ol.nted cedar, (Jumperus VHgtntanu~.) The tratiftcalion, however, appears regular, and to correspond on cliff rent side· of the valley. The growth of to-day was similar to that found on the plains yesterday, to which may be addetl an evergreen a_nd a magndi.cenl cactus three feel high' with round l i_mbs sh~ped hke a rop e ,, thr~e and a half inches in diameter, branclllng at nghl angles. Il1s saHl the Mexi ·~ms make hedges of it. Colonel Doniphan's regiment passed our camp about 4, p. m. The ·water was in pools, charged with vegetable matter arid salt. The formation of the adjacent hills was distin c t; first, a stratum of lime-stone, ten feet thi ck, then hard sand-stone, with amonites and a variety of other shells, &c., overlaying blue marl. From the sides of the hills protruded geodes, with crystallizetllime-stone, and the ground was everywhere stre_wcd with detached pieces. of ferrucrinous sand-stone. On these lulls w e found cedar growing, very ~tunted; Missouri flax; several varieties of wild currants; a very stunted growth of plums; moss and cacti in great variety, but diminutive. The latilut1e of this camp, by nine observations on Polaris, out of the meridian, is 37° 44' 5611 • The longitude derived from the chronometer, by an estimate of the local time derived from eight measurements of the double altitude of arcturus on the west, and seven of alpha aquil~ in the east, is 6h. 54m. 06.7s. The barometer reading indicates a height above the sea of 4,761 feet. · .flugust 4.~The road wound through the valley of the Timpas. The soil, being impregnated .with lime, rendereu the dust, which rose in dense <'Olumns, distressing. Dwarfed cedar .kirtcd the road on each sicle. The s1rata of hill~ on either side of the valley were the same as described yesterday; but the ferruginous nodules and blocks of sand-stone were more frequent. Thirteen miles' march brought us to the crossing .of the Tim pas. The only water we found there was in a hole 40 feet in diameter, into which the men rushed with great eagernes , disturbincr the vegetable deposit formed on its surface, and thereby rendering it unfit for use. Nine mil es farther on we came to "the hole in the rock"-a larcre hole fill.ed with stagnant, though drinkable, water. \Ve saw at times, t1uring the day, a few antelopes, rabbit~, wild 17 [7] horses, two jack d a m~, (ma g pie,) meadow lark s, king birds, and boh o'Jineolns. The pa ture was so bacl tllat Colonel Kearny <lctcrminecl to march to the ''hol e in the p rairie," the nci g l1borhootl of whi ·h, thouo-\ saicl to be destitute of water, affor(ls ~omc dry gra~~. 0 \Ve passed a <l e<ul horse belonging to the infcwtry, black, wilh crows, and a wolf in their mid.-t, quietly feeding; on the carcase. This gaYe us uuplt.!a ant foreboding. for our noble, but now atlenu. ated, hor es. We r cach ecl the "bole jn the prairie" at JO, p. m., lhc distanrc being ]4~ mil<'s, and found gra. s, as we expected : we were agreeab 1 y su rprise t1 to fin <1 \\.a l er a I~ o. Th e n i g h t was cl r I i rio us, an tl a 1l _ slept in the open air. The infantry were encamped here. The total distance to-day was 36 miles. Tl1e horsrs were now falling away in an alarming manner, but the mule seem to require the stimulus of di lcntion, and nothing else: this the dry gra s~; afl'ords. On the mar ·h, about sunset, the \Vatlahya h (twin hills) rose s tll1 d en 1 y to view, so u t h. 7 5° w c s l; an d t hen P i k c' p r a k , 2 0 o r 3 0 degrees farther to north. A l the same time the dim outline of the great s p i n e of 1 h e R o d( y m o u n t a i n c h a i n b c g a n l o show i t self. We w ere now eros ing the dividin g line between the waters of the 'I'impas anJ those of the Purgatory, or Los Animos, of lhe ~paniards. The vegetation was the same as that of yesten1ay, as far as we could judge from its burned and parched condition; to whi ·h may be added a plant tl scribed by Dr. 'rorrey, as phy.alis perbnlis, and one eriogonum lomentosum. If ei~ht of this camp 5,5GO feet. .llugust 5.-To-tlny we descended el ven and a half miles~ and rea ched the valley of lhe Purg(llory, ·alled, by the mountain men, Picaloire, a corruption of Purgatoire, a swif't-running stream, a few yards in width, but no grass of any amount al the crossing. The blighted trunks o f large colton-wood and locu l trees were seen for many miles along its course, uul the cau e of decay was not apparent. The growth of the bottom, which is_very nar:~w, wa black loe us l, t h c ever] as lin g eo lt o n -wood , w d I ow, w d d curran l s, lw p s, plum and grape, arlcmi ia, clemali Virginiana, .alix, in many vari eties; aud a species of anr;eli<'a, but no fruit wa' on the bushc'i . ll cyond this stream .fi \ "C and a half miles, we encampet1 on the bed of a tributary to the Puq~alory, which comes down from the north side of the Raton, or 1\fousc, which is the name giyen to a chai• of rfl o-ged lookino- mountains that strikes the course of lhe Purrra. n o h tory nearly al rio-hl ang1(·~, e1ncl separates the wat er~ of the Arkan• sas from those bof the Canadian. The banks of the Purgatory1 where this trN1m cl ('bouche~, b gin to assume something: of a moun~ tain aspect, ·di1fc rcnt from scenery in the lalcs. The hills a1:e ba:e of vcgetatio_n, except a few ·stuntecl_ce(lar ; and th<' valley 1s saul to be, occasiOnally, the resort of gnzzly bear, turkeys, deer, antelope, &c. 2 |