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Show 126 sea. Tncson lies west of them; and east we have the headwaters of the Cienega. Davidson's Spring is on the road to the Sonoita, and twelve miles from the Cienega. Here there is found a good spring, and plenty of forage in the country near by. Following to the south, we ascended first through a fine valley, with everywhere abundance of grama and bunch grasses. Lateral valleys, here and there connected with the main one and the hills between, besides being well covered with the above-named grasses, had oak, pine, and mesquite clumps, the whole combining into a landscape of more than usual attractiveness. In addition to this, a small stream ran through the valley, supplying enough of water for all purposes except irrigation. The valley gradually narrows into a cafton, and then " heads out" on a ridge, which once crossed, we were again in the Cienega, but much nearer its head. We had in twenty miles reached a point the river takes a niuchjpeater distance to gain. Here a wide, beautiful view opened up before us; for miles, fouth, east, and west, the magnificent rolling plain spread out. It is, indeed, the promised land for stock- raising. Every foot of the surface was covered with grass. Toward the base of the Santa Rita beautiful clumps of Emory's oak and Quercus covfertifiora were growing. They were just dense enough to afford a shade, and yet did not interfere with the growth of the grass. There was no undergrowth of bushes, so that the scene would fairly bear comparison with a park. Streams, with water warm but pure, from the mountain, were flowing down almost every ravine. Springs broke out from the ground frequently, and usually furnished a large volume of water. Higher up on the mountain- side Pinus ponderosa. P, flcxili8y P. chihuahuana, and scrub- oaks were growing abundantly. The supply of lumber for Tucson comes from this mountain. It sold at $ 125 per thousand feet. The dwarf Souora deer and the black- tail were ranging in great numbers over the hills. I have never seen them so abundant as in this region. The same character of country extended past the now abandoned site of Camp Crittenden to within a few miles of the Sonora line. The Sonoita Valley proper begins at Camp Crittenden, thence extending south. For fertility of soil it is uusnrpassed in Arizona. At one ranch we saw about one hundred acres covered with corn that would equal any in Illinois. It stood on an average over 10 feet high, and was splendidly eared. What the soil was capable of doing had it been properly cultivated I do not know, bnt this field was literally overrun with tho large sun- flower ( Helianthus petiolarie) and other equally vile weeds. The sight of such a crop of weeds and corn on the same soil was certainly indicative of an abounding fertility, and naturally enough suggested the question as to how much heavier either would have been without the other. Potatoes of good quality were produced iu the same soil, and gave an abundant yield. Watermelons, onions, and smaller vegetables grew luxuriantly. Bordering the stream was a tangled mass of vegetation so dense that a way had to be cut through it. That this valley in no distant past supported a much larger population than at present is evident from the abandoned dwellings, some so old as to be falling from age. It is not unlikely that the incessant raids of the Apaches may have been the cause. The water- supply failing may possibly explain the desertion of the ranches higher up the valley. The Sonoita Creek rises and sinks several times within twelve miles below old Camp Crittenden. Camp Lowell is situated six miles north of Tucson, at an elevation of about 2,000 feet above the sea- level. A small stream flows by the post, supplying water enough for it and also allowing irrigation of some small fields. The valley of the Santa Crnz, in which Tucson is situated, has along the river a belt of fertile land, on which the Mexicans raise two crops annually, by sowing the barley and wheat in November and cutting it in May. Corn may be planted in the same ground in June and matured iu October. It is worth noting, as indicative of the character of much of the soil of Arizona and New Mexico, that in some places the Mexicans and Indians have for year after year been using the same soil over and over again, removing through their crops the elements of plant- life without even the pretense of returning anything in fertilizers, and still reaping fair crops. The portulaca and chenopodium, which grow on the lower grounds, have been resorted to as anti- scorbutics when other food of proper character could not be obtained. The giant cactus grows more abundantly on the southern slopes of the Santa Catalina, range to the north of the post, than in any other region we traversed. Its skeleton, after the softer material has decayed, is largely used to cover the houses preparatory to their receiving the final covering of earth, and the fruit used by the Indians either fresh or preserved, or is by fermentation transformed into an intoxicating beverage. Returning, we followed much the same route that we have already given a detailed description of, until we reached the northern slope of the Sierra Blanca. Here wo diverged, taking the road leading east to the Rio Grande, which we touched at Fort Craig. From our point of divergence to Coyote Springs, about forty miles, the country was emphatically of the character known as mesa- country. The road taking advantage of all tho valleys, lower plains, and ravines to gain the easting, water existed at |