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Show 604 Ex. Doc. No. 41. · little below tbi , we crossed a rocky ridge compos~d .of t~e nver, a ' 1 I cut up with igneous rocks, and altered 1n 1lS lunesto~e, clappec. alnl . .. that portioliS of it bad once been ren-n at u r 1 n I> a c (' s, s ' ow l n ,.. c • • b . t . e- · · k 1· . \ now changed a,vatn 1nto a su s ance I deretl 10t0 qulC une, cln( 0 • f . kinds sembl 1ing ohl m~r~~1l ~;;:lr~'i1~ 1~t~ ~~'~:~ ~,1:i: \~a~l :::~~ucsovcrcd o f v o can 1 . l bl c ·kr o c •a'm of basa l t f o'r many ml'1 s A b o v c tins o n the t' • ' w1t 1 a . l ac f steh .. ver t·h re . t· ·1n peale of volcanic rock lS a moun a . c ~~;~~i~~ ~eotwu~~1 1 ;wo 'peaks formed by tlle ~eds of igneous ro.cks h . t .bt 1 lt't a und er and upheaved, as 1t rose from the .g1eat w· 1 c 11 1 1 as s P · f l t The road was .'& · Ine< 1 w1· t h t h e rema 1 n s of mternal reservoir o 1ea · ancient houRes, the brok n stones and yo~tery b{·ing the only indications for nine miles. I foll nwed thts line of hous~·s . I~ ~~t1 p 1 a c c ~ q u anti t i e s of sea s lu .. II s , b r o k en , we r e to b c . s c <> 1~' f foun 1J'two or three shells whicl1 had bern c h~n~t!ll 1n s ape, or some purpose of ornament. Of the pottery, a few p1eces, only, were D colored. After crossing the ridge, we came to a ~mall bill uf vol- .. rock~ upon which the Ind1ans had markrd, 1n a 1 \Hle m~nner, ac avualcs t num·b'e r of hu.~ rocr 1) P l · . Th 1 . · s fr<>quen ted still by \lCS. e Pace l I l'ans as their mark~ were still visible, and 11\aees :v'herc they nc lc • , 1 . n 1 COI'll or m·Hle me'dicine. A few mdes further appear to 1ave grou l ' ' 1 f b r 0 i..1 h l 11 ~ t 0 the r i v l' r , w here w ,~ f o u n d n o g r ass, b u t p e u t y o •galong the border of the slrram. The count.ry we have pa1sed ~~~~ to-d:1.y affon1~ no pasture, but a gre~t quanl1tr of land l'~ p~ble f I · cr by 1·rr'1o pro< rrat'1on It nev e r rams here 111 summcx t1me. unnb b( · . · 1 · h Q u cry _"' h y ? 0 u r c a m p i ~.; o p p o s 1 t e to . a b 1 u. e bas a 1 tl c p e a <., ": 1 t nothing but an occasional tu.ft of som~·~hmg like grass upon ~t, and that in 8 t r e a k ~ d 0 w n i l s s Hl e s, as 1 f t h c s c ~ d had f o \;ow .e d l he streams of rain i'lS they flowe1l to the level. Dtstanc<>, 20~ mdes. Jf01_, c1nb er 17'.-M a.rc hell at 8, and ron tin ur. d tl o wu the 1 eft ~.an~~ our fitsl two mi les through a de<'p sand, the former hul of the nve1, very bart travelling; we ero~f'ed a small rlry dusty bottom.' ancl came to a creek in the bed of which we found a good 'leal of grass; we halted to gra~e the animals a few rniuutes, aud then ascen?ed the basaltic beach about 50 feet high, and (llcl not s~e the nver for seven or eight miles. Ilel'(·, again, on the alluvtal bottom, we found some lufts of grass, where we nooned it for half an hour, and I • Ex. Doc. No. 41. 605 then came to camp, about, distance, 18 miles, with a good deal of hunting along the river, the brush being quite thick. We got a camp on both sides of the river, with a very small allowance of g r as ~ an d c a n e . W c w r tl t h c r o u t , h owe Y e r, a n d r e m a i n 1 i Jl m o r ning; to get this camp, we had to leave the trail. Th€' coun;e of lhe river hrrc appears to be we t southwest. On the right b~nk of the riv<:'r, this evening, there app<'ars to be a vny extrnsivc alluvial plain, reaching for miJes f1om the river. No cvtclence of former habitat i on was s e (' n . T h (' r r we r c on some or the v o l can i e roc· k s whi ch we passed, some marks like those of yl'~t r rd a y. About miclday, we ~aw some old trail roads lcadiug .. out h. A derr was killed by one of the ~crvants, ancl Carson caught a beaver; a hare crossed our palh; a few little birds; the ravens, as u ~ ual, and a number of flocks of get>se and ducks were all the animate objects we saw; the lan fl might produce grapes and grain, but th c pcopJ e of this r egion will not be evPr able to kPep ca ttle unl ess rains are produced, for tht.'re is literally no pasture; a seanty camp may now and then be found. If we were supplied with boats, we eo uld easily float to the mouth of the river. There is uo timber here, howevl'r, out of which a CC1noe could be dug. Our road was rocky and rough to-day in many places. , _ Novembe'l' 18.-l\'Iarched at a quarter past 8, and passed close to a rock of basalt, upon which various Amerienns h ad scratehe<l their i1,itials and names. This point Carson callrd "Independen ce Rock." Here there had been a little grass, which had been grazed off. We travelled 16 mil~s, and found a good nooniug place in a slough, which we left for the rear, and came on over the tab1e-Jand for 10 mih·s, and encamped on the left bwk of the river, at a scanty·camp in a slough, containing ponls of water saturated with salt. Distance, 20 miles west southwest. The belt of tabl c-hmd here, from mountaiu to mountain, i') ahout 15 miles, with plains running up bet w e c n the p e a k s . T h i " t <1 b 1 e - ] an d is co m p o "c < 1 o f s m a lJ p c b 111 e s of all the rocks I have sren 011 the :fila, vPry muc}l rounded by attrition. These are cemented by carbonate of lime into a tonqrete abont as hard as what would be marlc by comnwn mortar. The peaks on both sides of the river arc very rugged, pflrtic4larly on the north, one of thern looking 1ike a large. city on a hill \hrce or four miles below our camp. On the plain near the Gila, is a blaGk pyramid of basalt, standing isolated, and about 300 feet high. On ~. the high plain, we founJ little tufts of grass undeJ the ~unches of Fremonti1; the country almost bare, and only an occas.wnal mesquite tree, and no tree on the mountain. On the plams of the river this morning, saw some sign of former habitation, l·ut very little; two of our mules were abandoned to-day. - |
