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Show RECONNAISSANCE IN THE UTE COUNTRY. 47 Arkansas Valley. The mountains on the left bank tarn abruptly northward near the west end of the upper lake, and fall toward the Arkansas in a series of low, rolling ranges, the whole forming a triangular valley, with sides apparently seven or eight miles long. The lakes are beautifully clear, and abound with very large trout. I was informed by a settler living in a large, handsome house, on the bank of the lower lake, that ice forms 3 feet thick in winter. Our Camp 25 was on the river, between lower lake and Arkansas. About a mile and a quarter below the lower lake the Lake Fork joins the Arkansas, which runs southwardly in a valley about 7,000 feet wide, the river running close to the eastern side. Arkansas River.- The valley gradually contracts, until it is nothing but a narrow gorge below Granite City. About two miles below the junction of Lake Fork our trail entered the canon of Cacti Creek, iu which were placer- mines, and this was followed for about a mile to Oranite City. The mountains on the east or left bank were rugged and of syenitic formation. On the right the mountains of the main range* the foot- hills of which compose the valley of the Upper Arkansas. They break down into rounded, low hills and plains, covered with a loose,, gravelly soil, many bowlders underneath, as is shown where the soil i* cut through by the action of water. Gold is found in all of these mesas, but not in paying quantities. Some washing has been done, but the u diggings" are nearly deserted. On Cacti Creek is an extensive placer-mine, now abandoned, and a village nearly deserted. . Oranite City.- Granite City is a mining- town at the junction of Cacti Creek and the Arkansas, and is the county- seat of Lake County. It does not appear to be very prosperous. From this town a very excellent wagon- road has been built down the valley to Canon City, in many places cut out of the solid rock, and in others built of bowlders under the cliff in the torrents of the river. It is a creditable monument to the enterprise of the citizens of the vicinity. . From the upper end of the Twin Lakes to Canon City the road is good and practicable for wagons without exception. Below Granite City the valley for a distance of about five miles is. very narrow, generally a mere caiion, with scarcely room for river and road. Below this the valley opens gradually, and at our Camp 26, about six and a half miles below Granite City, the valley was about 2,000 feet wide, the river running close to its eastern side. I overtook the party at this point. From Camp 26 to 27 was a distance of nine miles, the valley becoming wider as we descended, until at Camp 27 it was about two miles wide, nearly level, cut by shallow gullies. Soil thin and gravelly. Little grassy that poor, and sparse growth of pinon. Fair crops of oats, barley, and potatoes are raised on the small portion which is cultivated. On the east of the valley is the spur dividing Arkansas waters from the headwaters of the South Platte, a low range, 800 to 1,200 feet, sparsely timbered, with rugged slopes of bare, broken syenitic rock. Cotton- wood Creek.- Camp 27 was on Cotton- wood Creek, in a thicket of cotton- woods perhaps a mile wide, extending across half of the valley. These cotton- woods were 30 to 50 feet high, but twisted and of no value as timber. Good grass and fair water. Cotton- wood Creek is a clear, cold mountain- stream about twelve feet wide, one foot deep, and swift, with bowlder bed. For six miles below Camp 27 the valley is about two miles wide, and has the same general characteristics. The river runs under the eastern mountains for about two miles, and then runs in the middle of the valley. At the point where the river recedes, |