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Show , Ex. Doc. No. 41. 49 .Th sand bank, at the fo,..,t of whi<'h we arc cncamprcl, is fill c(l wtth srrp<'nlitH', hnrdcr than that which is dug in s u('h quantities from thr site of Vortl\'far<'y, n Nir ,'anla ~' 6 . Now ~1.nd then ":r came to spots from whi!'h the waters were }HEvented Jrorn cseapwg by the sand, nnd had <·rapor;ltcd, Jeavino- saline in ·ru lations; about these w · fou1Hl g rowing abuudantly atriple.· and salicornia. We f.ound to-dayly<'ium in grrat ahundancc, scnc('is longilouus, martynta proLos('td<•a , . (cnckold's lwrns,) aud it small shrub with ll ow c r J i k c con v o 1 nd u s. Octobe?· 3.-Thc wagons from tltc rrar not being up, we laid Ly nll day, in hourly expectation of their arrival and an ord('r to mar<"h. An xprrss from Colonel Price cnmc up, informing us of J1is arrival in ~anta 1~'6. About J2 o't'loek in the day, a Mexican came into camp, with his horse foaming, to say that the NavajcH'S had made an attack on the town o i I>ulvidera. One company of dragoons wa: imu1cdia.t(•ly dcspat ·ltcd to the placr, about twclYe miles di~lant. Thi C'am p was OJH' of the prettirst of the whole march, on the curve of the ri\·cr, fringed with large cottonwoods growing at in- • tervals. 'l'hr air was mild and balsami ·, the moon slJOne uriglltly antl all was as still as death, cxcr pL whrn n Jloc·lc of gees or s,trl;l~ cranes were disturbed in their rt'pose . S ·vercll Iaro-e cat fish an<l soft-shell turtle were caught, an(l we saw blue-winged dud:s, p l o v r s, d o v c s, ;w d a f c w m cad ow 1a r k. . No fa ct pro v c s t h <.' in do 1 c n c c an cl i 11 C' a p a city of t he M c 'i <' n n for sport or for W<H more glaringly, than that the~e immense (lights of sancl-cranrs nud g esc nr found quiPlly feeding within gun~hol d istance of' their hou1-ws an<11argrst towns. Uoing into AlbuqucrqH<', l start d a hungry-looking wolf in a water melon p;1teh, close und c r 11t c ,,, a 11 s 0 r t h c t () w 11 • Octobrr 4.-'l'he wnp"· ons mounte<l th <.' sancl hill ~; with .!!.r eed difii- culty. The river inpingcs so close on the hills as to make it rt<' - ce. sary, on theW(' ·t 'rn side, to mount tlH· table lands. These plains, rca chino- to the bas r of t h c m on n t n i n ~, <H c of t h c sam c char a c l e r as heretofore mentioned, of rolling 1'<UH1 hills, covered with obionc, rari'cs e c n ~, pro. o pis dan d ul o ~a , ( r o nH• ria,) rid de II i a t n gel in a, p a g a- p a g a -an abttrHl(lnt shrubby p1n.nt, belonging to the family of lhc amaranths, bul a o-rnns not yet desr.r ilH'd-a new did<·rin, n new fallu-· gin, bnil<'ya u7ultiradiata, abronia.mellift•ra, an.d a f~w P:ltrhl'S or gram a. This last is the only nntrtmellt thr plam'4 aflorci.Jor hon·:t s and caltle· but nudes and as cs, when hard pr<'sscd, wdl c•nt t!Jc l!·ato and the rom ria. The cbamisa ~rows to a considerable lt('ight, an<l the stalk is <.:orndinH'S two or t!Jr<'e inc·hrs in di <nnder; a fire can be made of it suflicirnl to boil a kdtlc or roa. t an <'gg. Toclay I cat, for the first timr, the fruit of th<• J:rid·l y. pear, the" yc·rGa cle Ia vivern," of th<' l\1cxicans; as I was tlursty, 1t tasted truly delicious havinrr the Jl<n or of 11 lemon with crushed sucrar. Belo'w La fo)'a two snnd hill spurs, ovnlaitl wit.h fragments of lava a n d trap pro j l' c t from t h c cas l an d w c s l, c 1 o s 111 g t h e \ a II <' y, just leaving ~uflic'icnt space for the river to pass between. The 4 |
