OCR Text |
Show 438 Ex. Doc. No. 41. cacti arc so numerous that one i ~· obliged to thread hi path amongst tbt•m "ith infinite cart>. Sept ember 15 .-This morning we w<'r<' surround c<l by flol'ks of golden heallcd troopials, who mingled most soC'ia.lly with the common cow bircl, an..d all in grt•al glee were cat<'hing grass-hoppers in the vicinity of our "mulada." Soon aflt'r starting, I rode ba.c·k a . hod r eli tancc to examine a volcanic, dike ~hat stret('hcd nearly ca~l and wt•st across the valley on the north sule of the strcarn; havmg collected as many sp<'eimens as I wan U·d I crossed the Purga t 01 y. We now saw on ev<'ry side a beautiful plant covered with <lark ~car1ct flowers, n spcc·ic~ of (nydagiut·a. oxybaphus.) This plant Is one of th most bcauttful that we had s<·<·n . As we moved up the valley we_ found the hills composed of round.ed peb_blc st.oncs, and huge pH•ces of dark purple rock, that fror~ 1ts vcs1culanty and general character we knew to be valcame. After a ~nart~h of six miles, we cncamprd by thr ::;ide of the Pur-gatory ag_aw, n~d at the foot of a l:it upend o us mass of ro('ks, whose flat tops ·ut. mto g1ant step~ arc thus r.onneded with tbe lower lcvds of the fl d f; <'. W h at a fi ~ l d for t h e g e o 1 o gist ; "\dt at p 1 ('as u r e w o u 1 d he have w1th th(• rocks pdecl about and strcwc·d around us. I could not but compare the ~<·gc nd!:i these rorks unfol1l with the doubtful records of l~tslory. St·.e w1th wh~1t <ldail thq prl'sent eH·rything t? u s , · h? w lll g u s ~ p e CL m c n s o f b 1 r d s , o f p 1 an t s , o f a n i m a 1 s an d t h t' hk~,, lclltng .us ,'~:l<'n. arul wh_ere they e_>..istt•d. Sec how they go back ag~s upon .lg<s. b<holtl wtth astonlshmenl th<' mighty det'ds in wluch th 'Y have been COJH.'erned, the graud con rul:-;ions they have undergone. ' t} September lG · -When we got 1. ra1 1y 1.o r our mar ch we found 1a\ tl~c ox tca 1 ms had start!•d long Ol'fore us, but we hc-~d uot proc~: t l!< more t 1:~n three miles through th(• for sts of cedar and Pthmon,l orl nut plllc, \\hen we en<·ounterl'd the wagons. 011<' of c m 1a < •u lL · ct '·a 11 d t h e t t·<' Hl c·1 ·s ' goo< 1s 1a y strewed along th<' bol-t om an. d1' . 1]d t' s o f a. d e <' l) nc v i rl e,. A S 1 (1 .l! l llOt W.t sb t r. be ddat.n <•d V 0.UI 1t~.c partY could not be of auy sc1 vi<·e 1 rcq uest cd Mr. St~ ~a~n lo <He the seton<.l wagon tun ttd a littl/ to one side ~o that J mthl g tt pass. Il<· drew lus· ''V '' tgott Ottl of' tl1 c way Lu ut ·ts' soon as ofefioftxcn wcrelloosled, the_ wagon londcd with tlJ:' imn;~n~c buik hill1· 1y -s·1c v-en ltllH red wclrrht of I 1 1 · ~ goo< s, rus 1ed bacl(\varllH down the t , ' ~H '.1 Y lt turn~·~l ofl thtt road, \\hen aft<·r nushing a few t~ecr m 1.t~. t·ourst', It brought up against a sturdy pine. I was at d ? Jmle r 1 H 1 1 ng round the wagon and just escaped. The foolish nAv efr , Hll -<' tacked the wh. •l 'tl . 1 c e s w 1 1 a }He<' ' of d e l' a y c d wood . bl ff ~w knl \" hcyoiHl the scene of this acci<lrnt we not\c< d a high ul aln] ' w 1 •e r c t h c r c w. r e c '\ i <1c n t s i cr n s o f co a 1. I rod c o v c r an< co cdc< some ~pcctm f fi h · · searchin for fos~ils fo ens 0 . u~e bttummous coal, antl on f g · · · ' und two vanetlcs of dicotyl •do nus phnts· 0 t otc so~t, ;he large and cordate rcscmbli11g the l<•avc.s of th~ b caotal pa,to lt le ohther _lanC'eolat<;, and not unlike the willow leav<;S' 1 sor s 1a< t c vcms arra• nge< 1 ·m pa.u s, and cdg<·s entire. ' Ex. Doc. No. 41. 439 Two miles b yon<l this pseudo coal formation we noticccl a <like of vole ani c rock that runs para ll <'I with the s t rca tn , is six ft> t in thickness, and i ·composed of variou" rolon•(l rork-scoriar<'ous in appearance. Nt•ar thi: pla.t·c· we fourHl soml' of the mossy ('Up oak, ( Q. o li vcrform is.) Turkeys arc very abun<htnt, al.·o the red shafted Hid{ •rs ancl stcuer's jay. 'J'hc beautiful tunnel of dense foliage t.hat we pas c1l through last year, now looks sa(\ indeed; our horses fef'l do not now ~plash in the cool water, and th(• on<:c varit' gatt•d pebbles arc whit<· with dryness. 'fhc former beautiful foliage of the willows that tnl't over o u :· h cad s, n ow a p p a r s y <' 11 o w , an d t h c 1 c a v <' s h a n g as i f wilt c c1 by ftre. Here :uul thcr' sonH' aquatic plants, hid rn d('rp nooks, still retain something of tlu·ir fn·shncss. In one place w<' noticed a fine grove of sprue(', (abies alba,) and passed evcral clt: ters of mossy <'UP oaks. September 17.-W' got over thr rugged acclivitieR and <lecl iv i-ties of the Raton so <'Xpt•ditiously, that we left our fellow travc·11ers far behind. Th<· road we travelled O\ cr yesterday was ind e<'d t 'rribll•. I had wished to <'amp n<·<H the seen<' of th<' upset, but there was no water to be had until we rt•a('hed the foot of the " (llvidt•" that st•p;natcs the waters of the Purgatory , runninp; u ort h, from those of the "Hio Catladiano," ntnn1ng south. 1 wa:-:, thcn·fon·, obliged to march to this p I a C' (', which is 16 m i 1 e s from our 1 as t cam r ing ground . The mouutain siclt!s and ravin ·s wcr<' covcr<•d with grass that is callc!1 by tltc traders "u·rama," a Spanish term, which, I h . a though it means gras~ of any kitHI, is here r<·slrictl'<l lo a partl-cul~ r kin<_l, (athereopogon oligosta!'hium .) .This gra~s S<' ms. to prefer a hilly country, is very hard), and an11nals seem to thnvc well upon it, although they do not like it at first. . . l found to-day a speries of <'il<'lllS ncar "mam!llana," tlu• frutt ~as p y r if or m , on e in (' h I o 11 g, an d con t u i n c d s m a 11 r o u n d s <' <' d s of a hght brown color an1l ,,·as· 1uil'y and well fl avored. Jn the waters f 1 o t 1e stream we ' founcl 8pt.· ('itncns of' the "ranunculus aqut. la 1t' s," also the ":-;ymphori ca~p 11 s glomer.ttis,' and dose lo the water's edge asp •cic: of" angelira." In the afternoon Mr. N o u r~c an1l Pilka went out to hunt turkeys and deer; of the latter tht'rt' an· two varidies, th ' eouunon <l·cr, ancl the black tail, (<'<'rvus manotis.) They did not. g~:t any, but brou~ht SOtnt' Ol'l\Utiful speC'illll'flS of l}~c scarlet gtllta., (cantua 1 o ~ ~ dl or a,) and the b lu c ln rio~ pur, ( d <'I p l~ l n u m azure urn . ) . . I he country around us bears strong cvulcn ·cs of volca_n1e actwn; t~e tops of the high bluffs arc level, and present at tht•tr oulcroppmgs a columnar structure. 'l'h ' fC arc large masses and bould ·rs of scoriaccous rock scattered about through th' gorges of tha mountains. . The song of the blur bird, (sialia Wilsonii,) from his airy flight m the cloud.', tells the approaching cold weather, ~h robm_ now fi~Hl the cedar berries ripe, and "its in th dense foilage callwg to hi~ _companions to come and f •ast on the f;uit that the frost has 80 delightfully ·wcctcncu for them . |