1850 TO 1865 267 



to bear would induce neither of these fishes to take hold of the hook; 

 but I found one little hole which I could seine and caught one good 

 specimen of a trout with several of the suckers. It is but six miles 

 from here to the Mimbres far above the point where we crossed it. 

 Mr. Wright and myself intend going there if the Indians don't 

 become so hostile as to render it dangerous. The Apaches are en- 

 camped on this river and they or the Navajoes drove off Col. Craig's 

 Cavalada on the nth inst. They have also driven off some of the 

 Col.'s mules which he left at White's Ranch. Col. Craig has gone 

 after them but as his soldiers are afoot it is not probable that he will 

 overtake them. Notwithstanding these acts of depravation more or 

 less of these Apaches are in here every week begging and trading. 

 They are objects of pity and contempt rather than fear. 



I have yet to procure the first wolf's skull; bears are very plenty 

 and several have been killed since I have been here; for the skull 

 of one of them, I walked seven miles and to my great disappointment, 

 found that it had been broken to pieces, for the brain, by the hunter. 

 There are two kinds of squirrels here, living under the rocks, one 

 small, the other rather larger than the common gray squirrel which 

 it resembles very much, except that it has hairless cheek pouches. 

 The smaller one is rather rare and I have not yet been able to procure 

 it. The mountains, which I suppose are a spur of the back-bone 

 ridge, are thinly covered with a stunted growth of cedar, pine, and 

 oak. . . . The common Buck are scarce after leaving the los 

 Moros. 



The box which I put up here and which will be carried back by 

 Capt. French is directed to Prof. Girard, Smith. Inst. by Col. 

 Graham's orders. I made no objection, as I suppose it will come to 

 you anyhow. You will find that I have sent you one of the cans 

 which was the only means of sending you what I had collected; for 

 if I had put up my specimens in a keg, besides taking the most of the 

 alcohol, it would have been apt to have fallen to pieces in this exceed- 

 ingly dry country which fate one of the kegs has already met. I 

 have no occasion to use more than two of these cans at a time; I can 

 therefore spare several yet. 



. . . There has been little or no rain here for two years. The 

 difference between the temperature of the days and that of the nights 

 is between 30 and 40; no sooner is the sun gone than it is at once 



