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Show J 91· JOUH.NAL OF A\ O YA(a~ this Yiew combined the sublime and beautiful; the great and lofty n1ountains covered with eternal snows, seemed to surround the luxuriant vale, crowned with perennial flowers, like a terrestrial paradise, shut out from the view of man. 6th February, Friday.-The doctor having some pecuniary demands in the province of New Mexico, con. ceived this to be the most eligible point for him to go in, and return previous to all n1y party having joined me fi·om the Arkansaw, and that I was prepared to descend to Natchitoches : he therefore this day n1ade his preparations for marching to-n1orrow. I went out hunting, and killed a deer at three n1iles distance, which, with great difficulty I brought in whole. We continued to go on with the works of our stockade or breast work, which was situated on the north bank of the west branch, about five miles from its junction with the main river, and was on a strong plan . .s. • The stockade was situated in a small pr:liri t! on the w est fork of the Rio del Norte The south flank joining the edge of the r iver (which at that place was not fordable), the cast and west curtains were flanked by basti1ms in the north-east and north-west angles, which likewise flank ed the curtain of the north si1lc of the work. The stockade frrun the centre of the angle of the bastions was 36 feet square. There were heavy cotton-wood logs, about two feet diameter, laid up all round about six feet, after which lightt:r OJH.:s, until w e made it twelve feet in height : those lof$s were joined together by a lap of about two feet at each end. We then dug a small ditch 011 the inside all round, making it perpendicular on the internal side and sloping next the work. In thia ditch we planted small stakes, of about six inches diameter, slurpened at the upper en1t to a nice point, slanted them over the top of the work, givi11g them about two feet and a half projection. We then secured thlm below and ahove iu that po!'ition, which formed a small poinwl frisc, which must h:lVc been r emoved before the works could h :~vc been scaled. I.astly, we had dug a ditch round the whole four fe et wiJe, and let the water in all round, the earth taken out being thrown agaiust the work formed :~n excellent rampart against small arms three or four feet high. Our mode of getting in was to crawl over the ditch <lll a plarak, and into a small hole sunk bdow the level uf the work ncar the rivl'r for that purpose. Our port-holes wen· J1iffrcd about cigh f• ·r:t from thr g rottntl, anJ a platform prepared to shoot from. TO TIIE SOURCES OF TilE AHKANSA ,V, &c. 1~ 5 7tb February, Saturday.-The doctor n1arched alone for Santa Fe,* and as it was uncertain whether th!s g:?ntlernan voulJ ever join me again, I at that tim , co ndlttt~d 1h1.! following t c·!:>tuuonial of J. ,,~,pect for his good qualities to paper, which I do Hot, at thi~ tiHl·\ f~.;~·l any disposition to efl: tcc. lie has haJ the benefit of a liberal education, without having spent his time as too many of our gentl •men do in colleges, viz. in skimming on the surf~tces of ciences, without ever endeavouring to make thcmsclv s masters of the solid foundations, but R obinson studit=d and r easoned ; with these qualifications he possessed a liberality of mind too great ever to reject an hypothesis, because it was not agreeable to the dogmas of the schools ; or adopt it, because it had all the eclat of novelty- his soul could con .. ceive great actions, and his hanJ was r eady to atchievc them; in short, it 1nay truly be saiJ. that nothing wa~ Thu• fortifi ed, I should not have h:~d th.e kac;t hcoitation of putting- the roo Spani~h horse at defiance until the first ~r second night, and ~hen to haw m.ttk our escape under cover of the d u·knes:. - or nude a :,ally ant! di~pcn~d dtcm, when r eatiug under a full con fidence of our being panic struck by thei1· numhLI·s anrl force. • The demands which Dr. R Pbinson had on persons in New 1\1cxic-o. although lt•gitimate, were in some degree spunous in bis band.: the circumstances were as follow . viz.-In the year 1804 William M orrison Esq. an enterprising ntt:r< h nt, <>f K.askaskias, sent a man by the name of Babtistc La L ande, a Creole uf the country up the M issouri and La Platte, dircctiug him if po~sihlc to p ush is to ~:tnta. Fe. He sent in Indians, and the Spaniards came:; out wath ho1~cs anJ .; arried l1im and his goods into the province. Finding that he sold the gond~ high, hJd land offacd him and the woman kin,! : he concluded to ex patriatt; himself aud com·at the property of Morrison to his own benefit. \Vhcn 1 w.1~ ahout to sail. Morrison, conceiving that it was possible that 1 mi~ht meet some ' pani~h factors (jn the Red river, intrusted me with the claim, in order, if they were acqu tinted with l .a L ande, 1 might negotiate the thiug with some of thl!m. W lH.:n on the frontiers, the idea suggc>ted itsdf to us of rnakinA this clJ lln a pretext for R ol>in~ on to vi~it Santa Fe. Vve therefore g:lVI! it the proper ~ppearancc, auJ he rn;~n heJ for that place. Our views were to gain a knowledge of the country, the prospect <>f trade, force, &c. whilst, at the ~;amc t ime, our treaties with Sp·tin g uaranteed to him, as a citizen of the United ~tates, the right. of seeking the re~.on\'c:ry of all Just d~obts or demands before tht! lcjpl and authori~cJ t1 ibun1l~ of the countt y, .lS a fran . hised inh,tbitant of the same, as ~rccificd in tlH. z zd aniclc of ~.aid tre;tty. |