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Show 128 Ex. Doc. No. 41. in short, similar in very resp cl to the cxis:ing pYcb]o · of N w Mexico, and to the ruin of theCa a Gran de de cribcd, as [ think, crroncou ·ly to the A7.tees. With rcsped to N ·w Mexico, one principal want is lhal of vocabulari 'S, which would at on ·e tlle the que. tion of identity with any of theM ·xican nation . Th ame di!Ti('ulty exi t with rcsp ct lo all lh' tribes of the country drained by the great Rio Colorado of the west. llut there i' an :;tdditional ·mbarra. smrnt respecting the actual situation of what were ca ll ed the. even vil lng s of Cibala; of which we can only say, that they were situat din a narrow vall 'Y six l •ague: long, and on the very sources of some on branch of the Rio Gila. The phenomenon of this insulated semi-civilized population, is in it ·elf remarkable, and difficult to be explained; and the discovery of the pr ci c 'spot, wh re the se en Cibala villages were situated, is especially desirable. With this object in view, I beg leave to submit to you the following queries. 1st. On leaving the copp 'r mines, on the 18th of October, and after having crossed the \ierra Mimbres, you rca ·h d the main branch of the river Gil a on the 20th; now what I wish to kn r w, is, from what quarter did that main branch come, or in other words, ' if you ha<l a cen ded that main bran ·h, what was its apparent course? What was the di tance from th w •stern foot of the Sierra Mimbres to that main bran ·h where you ·truck it? Did you, along that distance, cross any tributary streams of the Rio Gila, and from what quarter did they come? 2d. Can you furnish me with the approximate latitude of some of the principal points observccl when de ·cending the river; principally the junction of the 'alroas, the v ill age of the Pimos Indians, any other ·pol where evident trace' of ruins were dis...: overed, and the mouth of the river Gila. li rom what quarter did the river Salmas come? Did you carry time with you, o as to obtain the relative longitude of some points? The most important would be the spot wh ·re you left the Rio del N orlc, that where you struck the main branch of the Gila, the mouth of the Sal mas, the Pimos villag , and the mouth of the Rio Gila. If you had no other means, till your travelled distance may give a rough approximation. It se ms to me that the a ie t way to an ·wer the e two queries, would be a rough approximate ketch of the ·ountry traver cd by you. I will take special care not lo commit you in any way. I am no plagiari 't, and I must in general term acknowledge that I am intlebtcd to you for omc important information; but I will at the same time refer to your intended comp l tc rrport and map, which will give that precise information which was not within my reach. 3tl. You did not vi it the mouth of the great Rio Colorado: but General Kearny states in his letter that th mouth of the Gila was in about latitud 32°; lhal he eros ed the Colorado ten mil s below, and marched near it for thirty miles, when he left it, (turning off ca lwardly aero s the desert,) without having reached its mouth. Now the generality of our maps place the mouth of the Colorado • |