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Show 52 Ex·. Doc. No. 41. and a. little stuntecl acacia. The ioclco<londa is a new pl :-mt, very ) offcnstve to th.c mell, .and, when cru hrd, re. cmbling krcosotc. Its usual gr~wth ts the hctgbt of a man on h o r s~back, and is the only b t~ h w ln c h n:nll. c s w. tll n o t c a t w h c n ex c ~ s 1 v c I y h u 11 g r y ; besides th1s were vanett es of e~hcdra,.erylhcrma, hclianthus petio!aris, and two we II known and '"' id ely d tff u. cd grasse , the reed grass and a short alty grass, uniola di stiehophyll a. ' Octob e1· 6.-It \~as determin ed to follow the rivrr still farther down b efore turning wet. Great difficulty was experienced in ge~ting teams to assist us. The Mexic.ans we had engaged., as if by umversal agreement, refused to go farther, alleging fear of the Apa ~ ?c, ; but the trutl~ was thry expected to extort money . In AnmJO s day, when a Uung was wanted fof goYernmcnt, it was taken. Our treatm ent turned thetr head , and, like liberated laves there was no limi.t to th ir cxprctations and rxactions. We used' eYery ·means to bnng these P<'~ple to reason, but finding them in t1 actable, and. that the progr:cs oi the army was arre .. ted, the quartermaster, MaJOr Swor<ls, etzed what wagons and anrmals were needed and paid a liberal price for the1~. 'J'o our surprise they were p erf~ctly ~~ehantccl at ,~he wh~l e busmes ; fir st at bein~ ,r~id at all, but prinCipalJy at bemg rchcvetl from the rrsponstbtiJty of de ei ding for thcm sel ves what they would take for. tl1 e. chatt els. A J ike J y boy wh? bad bee.n engaged to go to Cn]Lfornta as arricro, was to-day cla1me<.l by lns cr(;cbtor or master. He o.wecl t~ 'man "'ixly dollars, and was by the law of the coun~ry paymO' tl11s debt by serving at two \.lollars peP- month; out of tlns he wa to feed and clothe himself, his mas1er being sutler. It was plain he could not pay his ~l c?t in hi lifetim e. When such debtors gf'l old and unfit for labor, !t 1. ihe cu tom to manumit them with grc<~t pomp and cerem ony. r ln s rn a k c s t h ~ b (' g gars 0 f t h c . c 0 u n try. '1' h e p 0 0 r d (.' b t 0 1' s t h us cnthr~llcd for hfe for a d<.'bt of stxty dollcu:s nrc cal led peons, and constJtutc, as a cl.a.ss, the ch ap st .laborers 1n the world . The price of the l ab_or for hf c of a man was, 1~ the case \~e have st(l t eel, sixty dollars, wtthout any cxpcns~ of r eanng and matntcnance in infancy or old age, the wages coYcrmg only a um barely ufficient for tbe most scanty supp~y of food an<l lothing. I saw so~ne objects perched on the hills to the west, which were at first ~mstaken for large ·cd~rs, but dwindl ed by distance to a shrub. Chabonea,~ (on~ of our gu1d~s) ex ·Jaim ed "lnclian~! There ?re the Apach s. },1Js more p~·a tu:ed ey dete ·trd hum(ln figures 1r: my ~hrubb y. Ihcy·ramc 1n and lwJd a roun<"i l, swore eternal fnendslup, as. uaJ, no doubt with the mental rcs(;rYation to rob the first Amencan or ~1exi.can tltey should meet unproteeted. The women ~f this 1nbe rode ~'t Ja Duchcssc de ]3 err i, and one of them har] an mfan!, ~bo~tt two montlJs old, swung in a wicker ~asket at her ·back. 'Ihctr I:aturcs :vcre f!at, and much more nrgrohke · than those of our front.Jer Ind1ans; a few Delawares in camp pr.esented a s~:o~g contra~t, 1n pers?nal (lpprarance and intelligence, Wtth the smuk1ng, deceitful lookmg Apache. Sam, of thrm had fi r e arm s, b u t t b e g rca t c r part '"ere arm e d w i l h J an c c an 1 1 bow. ' eTrhed ey. were generally small legged, big bellied, and broad should- Ex. Doc. No. 41. 53 Came into camp latr, ancl found Carson will1 an express from Cali fornia, ucaring intt'lligcnc that that country had surrendered without a blow, and, ~haL ~he Amcr~can llag floated in every port. Oct?be1· 7:-. Camp l>t>.-'J wo .. Mcxit·ans deserted from my party last ntgbt, fnghtened by the accounts or the hard:hips of the trip brought by Carson and lt is party. Y e:- terd ay's news caused some r h an g • s i n o u.r camp ; o nc h u n d red drag o o 11 s, o Hi cered by ()a p t a in .l\Toore an1l Ltcutcnanls Hammond and Davidson, with Ccnl'ral Kearny's p er:onal stalf, Major Swords, C.lptain Johnson, Captain Turner, adjutant general to the army of the west, l\lc ·srs. Car;:;on anclltobiduaux, my own party, orga11izcd as before mentioned and a few hunters of lriecl expcrieuce, formed lhc party for Califo'rnia. ·Major S~mncr, with the dragoons, was ordered to retra ·chi step . ~fany _f~·Jen.d: here 1~n.rtrd that vv:ere never to meet again, some fell ll1 Caldornw,. ome 111 New J\Textco, and some at Cerro Gordo. Arrived in camp late, after a most fatiguing day, watchinO' and directing th.c road for my. overloadctl ~md badly horsed w~gon. I sat up until very !at(', maktng a. tronomtcal ob:ervations. About two miles bl:low the l'amp of last night, w' pa ·eel th' Jast s e ttl c m c n t, an d in a b o u t fo u r m i 1 e s J cf l t h e be ale n road , w h i c h crosses the cast side of th river, and thenceforth a new road was to qe explored . Thr land passed over to-clay, although unsettled, is incomparably the best in New .Mexieo; the valley is broader, the soil firmer, and the growth of timber, along the river, larger and more dense. The ruins of one or two desel'tcd mo<lern townc;, probably Valverde, and remain · of ditching, for irrigatt'on, were pas. ed to-day. 'l'he frequent in cursions of the Indians arc aid to cause the desertion of this part of the valley. As we approach d our camp, the lofly range of mountain sweeping 1o tbe northwest, around the head of the Gila, b came unmasked, at the same moment that the Puerco range showed themselves on the eastern side of the river Del Norte, stretching boldly and far away to the south. This last ridge of mountains ]s to the east, and altogether <li.·tinct from that co111mencing at Zandia, and tapering off to the south clo e to the riYcr. I haYe heretofore rcYclled in the perfect stillness an<1 quietude of the air and scenery of New .f\Iexico; yesterday ;wd to-day have b en exception , for the wind has been very high from the south, and the dust overwhelming. Computed to-day the h<'ight of the Sccoro mountain to be 2,70(1 feet above the level of the plain. Several ofTj ·cr. guessecl at the height of the mountain, and the mean of all the guesses wa 1,200 feet, and the di, lance of' the peak only two and a half mil es, wbilc it was, in fact, upwards of four miles. IJ c who attempts to reckon the height and distance of hills in this pure, dry atmosphere, afler coming from ours, will always fall as much short of the z:nark . .. One or two large white cedars were :ecn to-day, and, tn additiOn • Attention is a~kcd to my mctPorologic:tl rcrorJ in tho Appl'ntlix,. A wonut'rfnl difforcnoo between tlJc thermometer allli wet l.mlL will there Lo secn1 show111g tho tlrynoss of tho atmos ph oro. |