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Show [ 7 J 18 Pa~sing the rear wagons ~f th infantry, we found their hor:-:;cs almost worn out, and the tram followt'tl by '''o lv cs. Ca )tain Cook, of 1he lsl dragoons, was sent ahead the day l~efore JCStc 1 nlay, to sound Armij~. Mr .. Liffe.ndor~·cr, a lra~ler, man~1 :1 to a anta F(! lady, wa sent 111 the cllrcctJon o{ Tao , wtth.two lucblo Indians, to frel the pulse of ~l~e Pueblos and the Mcx1 ·an p.co p~c, and, probably, to buy whcal1f any ('ould be pur ·h.ascd, antl to dtstribnle the p~·oelamatjons of th.e ·oloncl com1~1andmg. Yesterday Wm. Bent, and .1x others, formtng a spy-~uard, were sent forward to reconnoitre the mountain pas~cs. .ln tlus company was Mr. li'. P. ]Hair, j r., who hacl been In tlus couu try some month for the benrflt of his health. . . · Mcas~red ' 13 double altitudes of polaris, tn the north, for latitude and 7 of alpha aquila!, in the cast, for local time, and the rcsu1ti~ 1g latitude is 37° 12' 10", and longitude 6h. 56m. 4 s. rrhe height indicated by the barometer is 5,896 feet. . , . Jluwnst 6.-Colonel Kearny left 'olonel Don tphan s rrgt~oent and .Major Clarke's artill ry al our old camp-gro~nJ of last J)lght, and scattered Sumner's dragoons three or four mtl.es up the cr?ek, to pa.· the day in renovating the animals by ntps at, ,tl:e lt~lle bunches of grass spread at intervals in the v<llley. ] lns be~ng done we commenced the ascent of the Raton, and, after marchwg 17 miles, halted with the infantry anc.l g ner~l slail', within a halfmile of the summit of the pass. Strong parttes were sent forward to repair the ro<ul, which winds thr.ougb a pict:uesq\te. valley, with the Raton towering to the .left. Pme trees (pmus ngula) here obtain a respectable size, and lined the valley through the whole day's march. A few oak , (quercus olivaformi ·,) big enough for axl s, were found near th halting-place of to-night. When we first left the camp this morning, '"~-·e saw several clumps of the pinon, (pinus monophyllus.) It bears a resinous nut, eaten by Mexicans and Indians. ·we fourHl also the Jamila in great abun1lance. It re. embles the wild currant, and i::::, probably, one of its varieties; grows to the hE-;ight of several feet, and bears a red berry, which is gal11crecl, 1lricd, pound <1, and then mixed with sugar and water, rna king a very p 1 casant drink, res em blin g currant cordial. vVe were unfortunate iu llOl lH: ing able to get either the fruit or flowCI'. Ntither this plant, the pinon, nor any of the plum treC's, nor grape vines, had any fruit on them; which is attributable to the xc ssive drought. The stream, '\' hit..:h was last year a rushing torrent, is this year dry, and in pools. The view from our camp is inc pressibly beautiful, antl reminds persons of the landscapes of l>a.lcsline. Without ~1.ltempting a description, I refer to the ketch. 'l'he rocks of the mountain were chiefly ~ light sanustone-in strata, not far from horizontal; and the roa-cl was covered with many fragments of vol ·anic rocks, ef purplish brown color, porou~, and melting over a slow fire. . The road is well lo cated. The general appearance is something like the pa. s at the summit of the Boston and Albany railroad, but the scenery bolder, and less adorned with vegetation . • • 19 [7] . An xprl"ss re~urnecl from the :-:py-g:uar<l, which rcporte<l all clear In front. .Cnp~ain Cook and .l\'Tr. LdTendorfer have only reached the Canndtan nver. I~ w:1s reported to me that, at Captain Sumncr's camp, ab.out 7 mtlcs a.bove .where we C'ncampcd last night, and 12 mile. from the summtt, an 1.mmense fie~d of coal crops out; the scam b lllg 30 fed de('P· To·n1ght our animals were rcfrel)hetl with good gra::;s and water. Nine observation · on polaris give, for the latitude of the 1 )Jacc 37°00'21". ' Sevc.n on arcturus, in the we. t, antl 7 on alpha aquila' in the cast, .gtve the ch ronometric lon g itude 6/t. 57m. 01.35s. ' Il 1ght above the sea, 7,169 feet. .!lugust 7, camp 46.-W e re commenced the ascen l of the Raton which we rea ched with case, with our wagons, in about two miles~ The height of this point above the sea, as indicated by the barometer, is 7,500 feel. From the ummit we had a beautiful view of Pike's peak, the Wattahynh, an<l the chain o~ mountains running south from the Wattahyah. Several large wlnte ma scs were discernible ncar the summits of the ran ge, which we at first took for !ino~, but whi.ch, ~n examination with the teles cope, were found to cons1 t of wh1te lunestone, or granular quartz, of whi ·h we aflerwart~ s saw so much in this country. As we drew ncar, the vie,~ was no less imposing. To the east rose the Raton, which appeared still as high as fro.m th.e camp, 1?500 feel. below.· On the. 'top of the Raton the geological iormat10n IS very singular, prcsentmcr the ap· pcar.a~c~· of a succe~sion of castles. As a day woul£1 be brequired to VISit 1t, I was obliged to fore<ro that plea 'ttre, and examine it merely with th~ glass .. The mountain .appears to be formed chiefly of sandstone, d1spo ~c d w strata of vanous shades of color, dipping gently to the east, until you reach ncar the summit, where the castellated appearance comnH•nces, the sides become perpendicular nnd the seams vertical. The \alley i.· strewed with pebbles and fragments of lra.p rock, and the fu:iblc rock described ye::>terclay cellu lar laYa, antl some pumice. ' For two days our way .wa: strewecl witl.1 flow.er.s; exhilarated by the ascent, the green foltage of the trees m stnkmg contrast with the deserts we had left behind, they were the most agreeable days of the journ ey . Among the flowers and shrubbery was the campanuh. rolundifolia, (hare bell,) si cla coccinea, galium tri11orum, the snow berry, eriogon u m, geran i urn li'rcmon iii, c] em a tis virpuen na, ranunculus a(1uatilis, euphorbia marginata, linum percnne, malva pedata, lippia cuncifolia, and many pretty varieties of convolvulus. There is said to be a Jake, a~out len miles to the east of the summit, where immense hordes of deer, antelope, ancl buiTalo congregate, but may be doubted. The desc 'nl is much more rapitl than the ascent, and, for the first few miles, tltrough a valley of gootl burned grass and stagnant water, containing many beautiful flowers. But frequently you come to a p 1 ace where the stream (a branch of the Canadian) has wo1 ke<l itself through the mountain·, and the road has to a.s~ end auu then descend a sharp spur. Here the difliculties com- |
