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Show [ 23] 50 .After marching eight miles, we arrive•l at a plac~ '~her_e the roacl forked, and ' taking the plaint!st, we followed. t unt.tl 1t d1sappe~red entirely. It was one of the roads that the mhabltants of Atnsco and Albuquerque travel whP_n they go to get ?re-wo?rl. Many roads of this kind, in the netghborhooc~ of Mexican villages, frequently perplt:'x and entangle the traveLer. Vle now bore due west, and at 4 o'clock reached the "Rio Puerco." After a strict search up and down the river for several miles, we formed our camp near a little pool "of water, the. only one Yie could find. The road we came had been very sandy, and our mules were very much distressed by their labor. · ·fhe valley of the Puerco is wide an-d flat, overgrown with varieties of artemisias and coarse g-rass, fit only for shef>p and goars. The banks of the river are of stiff loam; they are 10 or 12 feet high, and stand verticaHy. The country around. is very much broken with sand hills, that are overgrown with cedar trees, the only kind of timber to be seen, except a few cotton-wood trees that are found in the bed of the river. South 15° west, lies a grand mountain, about 35 mil~s distant; it has two principal peaks, and its present outline greatly resembles that of the S~anish peaks. October 17.-We soon found that by continuing a northerly course, we were leaving the road to Cibolleta; but as our du~ies re. quiretl us to make a survey of the country, more with the object of finding out unknown things than of travelling known routes, we determ1'~.,' 1ed to follow up the Puerco far enough to fix its cou~se, carrying on. a system of triangulation, by the means of the many high and wei~ characterised pei:!ks that are scattered throughout the country. We had a very toilsome march; the sancl was from 5 to 6 inches . deep; in m. any places our 10ad was obstructed by a dense growth of artemisias; our progress was . extremely slow. At length, about 2 o'clock, our . mules gave up and we were forced to halt; fortunately we were near a corn field, and I had them fed with the ears t~ncl green leaves t 1f the corn. We searched about, hoping to find some dwelling J. ,)ace near; found no signs of any kind, except~ narrow path that had not been trod for a long time. The nvens had right of pos 'ession, and had eaten much of the corn, and picked all the seed. s out of the .big pumpkins that were strewed around us. . . We now started oi T to reconnoitre, and found in the bed of .the nver, where it was co upletely hidden by the high banks, a cow·al hut, com».Qsetl of Jig~· ~ poles covered with boughs of trees and mud; also~ corral but' 'O recent sigris of their having been u~~cl. We crossed the ri~er ~· 1 asct'nded a high bluff, noticing remlliDS of buildings on. our w ann built of flat stones plastered with clay. Ascending the bluff ,r ayf, · ~d on its highest pori ion enclosures of . st one; on. e was t.:irc' ul~a re out . h . d . . d. ter 3 ~ 't tn eight an 10 feet In u~m~ ' a. 'ld an aperture had be' I eft for a door. A'nother was elliptiCal, an'- 1 I. ts walls had been en ~. t . ., . h d b en q u ·l 1gh; besides these , there a e 1 te r. · · · ve man•v rettangular sh<lped . t 1 res. We were puzzled to concei!f for w~hat purposes they· h;~ r~ctu. 1\ built. They were more than ba een . • , 51 [ 23 J, a mile from water, a'\ld the approach to them on one siife was steep .and difficult; on the other side impassable, on account of the roL:ks . 1 breaking off with a perpendicular face 180 feet high. These rocks are cowposecl of sandstone, contain ing shark's teeth, shells, and bones of fijsh, many of which we collected. We rt:turned, re·crossed the stream, determined to camp here, and to-morrow to follow ·a little vallt•y that led off to the westward, through which we notic:ed a faint path. Although the banks of the stream are here 30 feet in height, we yet w'ere so fortunate as to ji•,d a place to cross, when we encamp~~' having found several little pools of water. On the east ~icie of the stream, opposite our camp, we visited a collection of stone ruins; they had been arranged so as to form a square enclosttre, whose sides were 200 yards long. Near the town we noticed places of rich black earthi from. 2 to 3 feet -in depth, that markerl the spot where the "cor'r~ls" once stood. We afterwards learned that this place \faS called "Poblazon;" but to all our other questions, with regard to this ancient town, we received the usual Mt:'xican reply of "quien sabe." . October 18.-We arose very early, not knowing but that we should have to march far before we should obtain water. We were at a loss to conceive who could be the owners of the conical ·hut, and of the cornfields wt}ere we staid last night. ' Continuing our march westward, we followed the bed of a valley, on each side of wh'ich sandstone rocks were piled up, in some places near 600 feet high. 'fh~se rocks had an anticlipal dip, with reference to the axis of the valley. , Our route was str~wed with carbonate of lime, in various forms; sometimes beau~ifully crystalized, at others in amorphous fragments of a waxen appearance. We found, also, fragments of large ammonites, and piecrs of inoceramus, and the li-ttle knolls around glittered wit4 plates of selenite. This last mineral is very abundant, 'and we co.uld see it glistening all the day in the sides of the distant mou,ntalns. Towards the latter part of the rlay we entered a volcanic country, our road abounding with fragments of a very hard dark purple and vesicular rock; and to the north of our course, we saw three peaks, or rather columns, of volc.~nic rock, that seemed to. range in a northeasterly direction. They looked so picturesquEt .that I dismounted and mad-e a sketch of them. We had now been tra veiling :all day, and at length night began. ·~o draw on apace; we had not yet found any water, and at last,. J~st as our plight seemed most hope)ess, we caught sight of some d1st~nt moui].tains; that, from their co~rse, .we concluded must. bound a large valley that, without · doubt, cont~i~ed a stream. Soo~, too, we caught sight of several columns of smoke as cending· vertwally; and tracks of cattle, of sheep, and of men, appeared numerous on all sides of us. We now pressed forward, eager to ~each a resting place; but suddenly night cam.e upon us, and it was Indeed a dark night; we endeavored to follow the path, but were. constantly getting off the course; all dismounted and marched along, searc ing out as well as we could for the path. At la:-;t we reached an impassabl~ " arroyo;" the banks o_f w ~ich were perpen- ., |
