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Show 124 Ex. Doc. No. 41. pa~secl mo~t of. thr_ir days in traY r ~ ng untrod den r gi? ns.' we jogg d alonrr, sluvcnng wtth. th co ld atr of th' e lc~atccl h tll1-i. About twelve, we came to a large pat ·h of lu.'unant gras. , w t with dew. pon this w' loosened our animals ancl attempt •d to get a little slcc1) but in the absrnc of blankets or ftrc, the cold de-priv •cl u of re'p ose,' atHl the dawn of day i' outH I u · aga.m 1. 11 our sad <ll (' . The only habitation on thc road from. an Luis Rei:' to an Di go is a hut about half way, where there ts a goo cl spnng. Its occupants hacl just return 'd from the wars, quite as .hungry as we \~e rr. Th y had pr C('.clcd us not m?re t.han ~w~nty mtnut s,. y 'l they had a fat bullock lolled, and ·hoH' btl: of ht flesh roastmg ~)eforc tl~e fir . We outnumbcr<'cl the. party, and con cquently r c tvecl thcu hospitality, which was ext 'IHl ed to u with a good deal of bon-hommi . Th y conversed frc .1y of ~h.e b~ltl~s fought but a fe\\t (1ays b - for', acknowl dg ·d the1r parltctpatton .w them, a~d pres.sed thcn:sclvcs satisfted of the uselessness of farther res t lance wtthout atu from Mexico. The.fresh meat of a b u1lock is all thai is required by the Califor-nian for breakfast, dinn<>r, and Ruppcr. J3rcad, tea, and cof1'ec arc rarely, if vrr, iL e<l, and even when within their rca h, look •d upon with indilf·r nee. We y • r y so o n fell i 11 to t h c i r h a b i l. , an d. i l i ~ p r o h a h ! tl~ l roo p s in California, at thi · tim , would not con ·tdcr tl. an c ' c . SLY_' h•u:ctS'hip to make a campaign with no other :tor<·R.lll th CD I~tnl ·anal than a plentiful supply of I:resh. bcc.f. The w lut' t.c ' th. o1 ~he Californian and the bloo1l llngltng 111 the ehrcks of theu olt c ~o1- or c\ fac 's would se rn to prov tlli · beef to be a v ' ry healthy dtci. 'l'he advantag 'S in the movem nt of t roop: ~l1at arc contcntc1l with thi kind of suhsistrn cc is v Jry gr •at, enabllllg them to move with 1ut wagons, and with no other care fo r the morrow than herd-ing the animals int ncl •d fo r foo!l. . Our host was so well p1 ·as 'd with the mann.cr in whic~1 we.a.cqutttc< l oursel vcs at his rud c rep a ·t, that fo rgrtltn ~ o 1 d an 11n o~ L t1 e~ , h c sadd1e<t up hi jadccl hor 'c, and piloted us for five or SiX miles, until we reached th broad trail, 1 ading to'the olidad.. . About midday we r ·a heel an Diego, and n x t mornll1g talong leav of my men and the anima!. that had don· us such good scrvic , 1 embark •d on board th prize brig Malek Adh l, commatHll'd by Lieutenant r.henek, of th navy, and pr epared to take my lea.v of \Jpper or Alta \ tlifornia. Before doing so , however, 1 may venture upon a few general remarks, ba ·d upon per ·onal o bscr~ations, upon the topography, climate, and prod uels of that porlton of the country not cov ·red by my survey, or that of oth rs. These observations wer made after lluul be ·om scparate(l from my assi tants and in trum •nt , my mind being engro · ed with other ~bjects. Th information contained in th m is, th refor , less prect ·e than that contain d in other portion of my journal. . . The region extending from the h ad of th ' Gulf of Ca1tfonHa to the paralldl of the Pueblo, or Ciudad de los Angelc.s, is the only portion not heretofore covered by my own notes and JOUrnal, or by Ex. Doc. No. 41. 125 the not nnd journals of ·other cientiftc xpeditions .fitt cl oul lJy the Unit )d Stat •s. Th~ journ<~ls an.d publi ·~ted . a ccounts of the r scv{'J'al c. prclitions comb L ned, w til g 1 v e de fin 1 t ' 1 d c a: of all tho s p or li ons of ~a J i f'o rnia SlL ccptiblc of ·ultivation or ~ •ttl 'lll<.' nt. Ji'rom th is H'ma1 k is to b C'XC<' pte!l th · vast basin wat<'rt'd by the io lorado ~1n d the co u n t r y 1 y in g b ·t we r n that r i v e r an d t h r a 11 g ' o (' Co r d i II t~ r as, rep_ r sent '!l as running ea t of th 'l'ulare lake:-;, and sou th of th , parallel of 36°, a ncl the co untry b tw ·en the Colorado and Gila nv ' ICS. Of these rcgions nothing is kt~own e~c pl from the r Pports of trappers, and th sp eulattons oi g ·ologtsts. A far as tltcs(• nc - counts go , a ll concur in representing it a· a wast of sand and rock unadorned with vrgdation, poorly watd •d, and unfit, it is bcl icvcc!' for any of the. useful purpo .. ·s of Jif'c. J:- g lan ·cat th map wilt show what an 1mm •n ·e area ts rmb ra<"ed 111 these b oundarit>s; :1nd notwith.ll'\nding the oral account · in re ga rd to it, it is diiTi (' ult t~ b ring the mind to the bcli<'f in the <·xist ' ll ·e of su ch a sea of waste and d'S ' rt;. when every .oth r grand division of lltc ea rt h pre: ·n ts some promlllcnt f•at urc tn. t he e~o nomy of natur ' ·administe ring to the want of man. Pos 1bly tlus uncxplor •d r •g10n may be .fiJ Jcd with valuabl min ·ral . I have alJud<'d, cl >where, to th population of this cou ntry the savage charact •r of whi ·h is anoth r ob ·lade to its expl or·aLon, and has tended to v il in mystery its true chara ·tcr <~nd rcsour<"rs. Alta Caltfornia, b tween the :31st and :34th parallel· of latitude present to t ~1e a ·t rn man, ae ·nslom cd to navigabl rivers ancl broad <'Stuan '.' of th ocean, topographi ·al featur •s of a very unusual character. Two ·hains of mountains t rav r c the co untry in a direction nearly parallel lo the sea coa ·t, ·lightly ·onv ·rgiug towards <'<lCh other, and ftnally uniting ncar the pandl ·l of 32°. llrre they form the prot~ont.ory of Lowe~ Ca lifornia, xt · nclin~ its entire lengtl,, and tcrmtnattng ab ruptly m the ocean, at Cape an Lucas . The first chain (that ncarc ·t the coast) may be con~id ·r tl a steppe of th c ·ond o.r .in terior ~· a n g c ,of mountain . lt impinges on th.c coa tat thr e ddlcrent po1ntH,. anta llarbara, an Juan d Capn tano, and b.ctw en an Lui· Rey and .~an Diego-at the first two places w1th :o much boldn •sH a to make it n •c • sary to C? n cl u c t t h c r o cl< I a I on g t h c m a r g i n of t h s a, b c t w c n t h c I i n e s of htgh and low water mark, so t hat uo th Santa Barbara and 'an Juan present points worthy of ·onsidcration to the military commandant charg •d with the defcn · of that country. Between th ~ first and sc ·oncl ra ngr~ cf mountain lh rc is a valley, traver cd by a good road, lead ing dire ·tly from lh' gr at de · •rt to the Pueblo d • los .Angel s, and a dl'f'nding fo rce would m • tits a.uversary to the gr 'atcHt advantag at ariso Creek, tht· tcrmiuaho~ of the "jornada" a ross th d · rt. Th description and 1oca ~tty of Car iso ,r ck has already b en given. r h c sec on d or p r in · i pal range o f m o u n t a in 5 I i e s at n o great dist~ n ce [rom th first, anclthc valley between offers ·ome a rable land. 1he d1stancc between the .first range and the sc:t coast varies from |
