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Show (32 Ex. Doc. No. 41. \Vc followed it' course, and ncamJH!<l UJHlcr a l1igh range of s y m met r i c a] I y form c d h i 11 s o ~· t' r h a n g i n g t h e rive r . 0 u r c a 111 p r l' scmbled H'ry much th tC'nlre o{ a yard of huge stacks . 'W c h c <tr ( l the fi. It p 1 a y i n g in t h ' w at c r, a n d soon tho s c who ·w· r e di:cnn·ag<'d wer afler lhc1n. At ftrst it was supposed they were the n~ountam trout, but, being <'Omparativcly frc ·h from th hills of ~fain~, 1 soon saw th dill'crcnce. The ~hapc, general appcaran ·c, and th • color ar' the same; at a littl distan ·c, you will imagine th fi.-h <'OV<'rcd ''ith delicate f'<'a.lt•s, but on a closer l'X(tmination you will lin~! tltat they ar ·only the imprcs ion of ~ca1cs. The m.cat i · soft, something between the trout and the cat-ftsh, but more like tht' latter. They arc in great abundancr. \Ve saw here a.l. o, in great numb<·r·, the blue quail. Th bottom of the rivrr i · narrow, rov •rc(l with large round pebbles. Th growth of trc and weed . w, s very lu 'uriant; the tree rhicf1y olton-wood, a new sycamore, mczquite, pala, (the tallow tree of our htlnt(•r·,) a few cedars, and one or two larch. There were some grape antl hop vin ·. 16 cirC'urn-mrridian obs 'rvation . b •Ia aquarii, and 9 of po1ari., give the latitude of this camp 32° 50' 08" . Its approximate longitud · is 108° 45' 00". October 21 .-After going a few m i]e~, cro ·sing and recrossing the river a dozen times, il was n<'<'<'ssary to leave its bed to avoid a caiion. This led us ovrr a V<·ry broken country, traversed by huge dykes of trap a11tl walls of basalt. The ground was literally covered with the (lngul:.n fragments of these hard rode~. From on, of these peak· we had <111 •xtendctl view of the country in all directions. The mountain. run fro111 northwest to southea t, and ri~e abruptly from the plains in long narrow ridg ·s, re~cmbJing trap dykes on a grca.t sca.l'c. Th ·se chains . eem to terminal al <L certain distnHce to the south, lcaving a level road, from the Del Norte about th' 32d parallel of latitu<lr, westward to the Gila. These ob crvations, though not conclusive, agree with the report. of the guid •s, who ay Colonel Cooke will have no dilri c:ully with his wagons. Th mountains were of volcani rock of Yarious colo!'s, f ldspalhi<' granite, antl red sand lotH', with a dip to the norll~wcst, huge hills of a conglomerate of angular ancl rounded fragments of quartz, !Ja...,alt, alld trap cemented by a suh ·tance that agrees welt with the de:criplion I have read of the ]Htz:tolana of Rom . The ·arlh in the river bed, wb •rp i~ was not P.avctl with the fragments of rocks, was loos , resembltng vol ·ante dust, makin()' it un n.fc to ride out of the beaten track. A mule would somel~nes sink to his knee; but the soi l was easily packed, and three or four mulcH in a<lvancc made ::t good firm trail. Thi · "as a hard <lay on the animal , the st ep ascents antl de. cents ~hifling tlic pa.dcR, and cutting them dreadfully. The howitzers did not reach camp at all. A few pound· of powder would hla t the projections of rock from th' caiion, and make it passable for pack , and possibly for w<1gons abo. The route upon \'r hich the wagons arc to follow is, .c._;:. ~ r- b:j ~ C, ) Q .::,:: - '-l 3 ::c ,.... 0 .:;, :. ~ - |