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Show 42 Ex. Doc. No. 41. \l.ltally r; atc<l himself on the tongue of the '~·agon, his time t1ivi< l<:d between belaboring llis bea!:-ts and scrat ·l11ng hi . head. In on • of tb e a violin wa being played, and the women who were itting on their f <'et, m.ade the most of the music by brandishing th eir bar • arms and moving their head~ to the cadence. At night there was a theatrical r('presentation in tlle public square. The piece dramatized was from the Old Testamc~1t. . During tl1c day I hacl been puzzled bysccwg at regular 1ntcrvals on the wall surrounding tlte capi lla, and on the turrets of the capilla itself, (which be it remembered is of mucl,) piles of' dry wood. The mystery was now to be cl eared up. At a given signal all were lig hted, and simultaneously a fli ght of roGkets tonk place from eycry door and ' indow of the chapel, fire-works of all kinds, from th b1azing rocket to childrrn' wlllrligigs, W(•rc now displayed in succes ion. The pyrotechny was the handicraft of the pric l . I must say the '"·hole a{rair did honor to the churC'h, and displayeel considerable chem ical knowledge. '1\'Tost of the. pecta.tor were on m u 1 c:;;, c a c h w it h his w o m an i 11 fro n t, an c l i t \\.as con i d c red a great frat to explode a rocket under a mule' belly without previous intimation to th rider. September 8.-Long shn 11 I remember the fct c of 'Tome, a scene at once so novel and so striking. To-day, my duties called me off early in th e morning. I had to examine guicles in reference to the route to California, and engage such as I might think f1l for the trip. My la ·t interview of thi ·kind to-day was in a specie~ of public building, or g uard-hou:c, where a number of Mexicans had C'Ol] ect cd with arms. Several w ri tlcn tablet hung round the '"a lls, but they were perfectly illegible. Our busi ness was eut short by the sound of pa. sing music. A strange sight presentee! it elf. ln a sed an c h a. i r, b o n 1 e by f o u r men , w a ~·e at c d a wax fi g u r e n carl y as large as life, e.·Lravagantly dressed; following immediately were three or four priest , with long tallow c.mcllcs, a full yard in lrn glh. Some A mcri ·an officers followed, each holding a cand le. Unfortunately I emerged .just as this group was pa. sing; there was noescape, ancl the moment I joined a grave 1\'fcxican (appa.rcntly a m8n in authority,) thrust a candle into my hand . 1 th ought or t_ny coat, my only coat, the roat which wa on my b 8Gk, <unl wluch ~us t tak me to California, and back ao·ain into Llle interior of MexiCO! Sudden1y there was a halt witltot7t any word of command, 8ncl in the confu ion we jostlccl against ca<.:h other a1Hl di stributed the tallow in great profu. ion. It was thought proper that the office rs shoulcl· show cvrry respect to the r.e1igious. o.bse~van~es o[ the country, consequently they did not decl1ne parllc1patl0n In these C<' remonics. 'l'he pr.ocC' ~ ion ended al the chur ·h. After the services th ere wcr concluded we repaired to the hou~e of the padre, wher we fo u n cl a c o 11 at i on . . We hacl prop.osed attcnlling a tlteatri ·al rcp1 csen tation going on m the optn au·, but a heavy squall of wind atl<l a fuv dr.ops of rain put a "top to this amu cment, and a1l rrtir •d to dre, · ior th' I t Ex. Doc. No. 41. 43 fandango, \~hi c h is the name criven to all collections of p eople where th ere is music and dnn ein g . A coti llion was attempt ll in hon or of the Americans p resent bul 1his cold anti formal dance soon gave wny to the more jo~ous dances of the country, the Coona, the Bolero, and the l talia11a . Every Yariety of figure was introcluc d, but the waltz was the basis of all, except tile llolcro, which, as danced .here rcsemulcs our . . ' negrojtg. At.the dance '~? found a ~cry plain, but very in telligent \yomnn, the stster of ArmiJO, who saHl he woulJ return as soon ash sctllctl his affairs in Chihuahua. S epternb e'r J 1.-R turned to Santa F e . Sept crnber ]5.-Sent Lieutenant Warner, with a party consisting of Ltcut<.:nant Peck and three men, to d termine the latitude of Taos anrl the topography of the road. • From the 15th to 25th September I was bu ily encragcd in fitting out for California. b Lieutenant Abert, who was left dangr rously ill at 13ent's Fort h;ul not arrived on the 25th, but accounts rctt chcd me that he wa~ con v a 1 esc t'~ t, a n .cl on h is way to Santa F 6, w h ~ r e h ~ mig h t s h? r t 1 y be expectcu. Lteutenant Peck was also an mvaltd and nc1thcr b?ing .able to ac ·or.n 1~any us to California, I l eft, by the g ncral's due~tJon, the subJ o1ncd order for them to make a map of N ·w Mex~co, ba ·ed upon the astronomical points and measur •menU; dctenmned by myself, ancl to furnish from the best statisti ca l sources, an accou.nt of thj population and rcsour ·c .. , military and civ il, of the provmc.c. ANTA FE, September 14, 1846. Szn : I ttm charge<l hy the general commanding to inform you that you will remain for the present in the territory of N w Mexico, and should your health, or that of L ieutenant P eGk, he suffici nlly re. toretl. to r eturn to duty, that you will continue the .. \HYcy of t.hts ~crnt?ry commct~c;cd by my: elf, an<l follow it to compl lion, provulc.d 1t docs not mlcrferc wtth other mi l:tary tlutic .~ Y'<'hich may be r~cp11recl ~f you by the ofricc_r left in ·ommn nd of the. territory. W 1 t h t h e ] 11n t led n u m b c r o [ 1 n s l r u m c n t s t h a t can h e p I a c c d in yo~u hand . , it is not r -xp edccl that you v.·ill conduct the ·un·ey on . tnct gcocl~tic prin ciples, yet it is bcli vcd that suffi ·icnt precision can be attamcd to answer all the requirements of the military and civil servi c. 'l'lte country from Taos to Fra Cristobal contains nearly all the gro~md that i · uncler cultivation, ilJHl nearly a ll that i ·worth Cldtivattng; and for this whole distance it is open and bounded by ]Jigh and GOnspicuons peal- , affording great fa.cilili s for conducting your operations. I.ha\'C cs.tablishccl the astronomical po. itions of :ix points in this 1erntory, nz: <'amp ·12, al Vegas ; camp 4:3, Vernal .prings, Santa Fe; camp 55, ll miles south of tltc chur ·h of an Fclippe; camp |