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Show 18 RECONNAISSANCE IN THE UTE COUNTRY. Cunningham Pass, peaks of sharp, volcanic rock. Silver, galena, and some gold are found on Mount Galena, and uearly the whole face of the mountain has been u claimed" by miners. In Baker's Park we found fair grazing and abundant wood and water. Baker's Park is a somewhat crescent- shaped valley, concave westwardly, the loug axis lying nearly IS. E. and S. W., and nowhere exceediug one- third of a iniie in width. On the west are the Sierra La Plata Mountains, on the east, above Cunningham Creek, Galena Mountains and the Uncoinpahgres; south of the Cuuningham are the peaks of the main range. Looking-northwardly, the view is ended at a distance of about two miles by the westwardly trend of the valley; southwardly, it is ended by the snow-peaks south of Hamilton Park. The mountains surrounding the Park are mostly of basalt, trap, and kindred rocks more or less metamorphosed. In these rocks are numerous veins of quartz injected in all conceivable directions. These veins are very noticeable on the face of King Solomon Mountain, opposite the mouth of Cunningham. On this mountain a vein of quartz is seen sloping from crown to base, at an angle of about G0° with the horizon, and crossing this, in all directions, are smaller veins, the whole presenting an appearance so remarkable that the attention of the most negligent traveler down the Cunningham Valley is arrested by it. The day after our arrival at Baker's Park a line was run by Mr. Bassel up the valley of the Animas as far as Eureka Canon, and subsequently continued up the Eureka Canon by Mr. Campbell, and by prismatic compass up the valley of the Animas, across to the headwaters of the Lake Fork of the Grand Eiver by myself. An account of the country there seen will be given further on. The Little Giant Company informed me that ore had been assayed yielding from $ 100 to $ 27,000 per ton, averaging $ 500. They were'en-gaged in erecting a Dodge's crusher and amalgamator, which were set to wrork the day we left the valley on our return. The mine is situated in a gulch, on the left bank of the Animas, between Baker and Hamilton Parks, and the drive, about 6 feet wide and 15 or 16 feet high, divided into two stages, had reached a depth of 60 feet iu the side of the cliff. Some silver- ore had been taken out, and some fears were entertained that the lead might run into silver. The lead is a quartz- vein in trap or basalt, said to be 30 inches thick, and crossed by several smaller veins much like those described in the face of King- Solomon. The valley of the Animas, between Baker and Hamilton Parks, is entirely without bottom- land, the only spaces found being here and there a " berme " between the foot of the mountains and the bluff" overhanging the creek. From Camp 25 a miner's trail is found on both sides of the river; that on the left bank leading to the Little Giant Company's mining camp, below which it crosses the river, joining that on the right bank. We took the trail on the right bank, as the ford above Cunningham's was reported the best. The trail between these X> arks was good and, for the country, easy; the divide between the two parks being a little above the Little Giant Gulch. Our Cainp 26 was on Cement Creek, near its junction vrith the Animas, in Hamilton Park, and I here divided the party, leaving Mr. Campbell, Professor Hawn, two rodmen, and a miner guide to make a thorough topographical and geographical survey of the valley of the Upper Animas. The report of Professor Hawn will be found at the proper place in the geological report, and Mr. Campbell's report is here inserted. Mineral Creek.- At this season Mineral Creek is a stream, the size of which varies greatly at different hours of the day. At minimum it is |