55 



The walers ari.siiij;- tVotn the sources so far described, mostly sink in tlie valleys before reach- 

 ing any recognized outlet to carry them to the sea. 



In the basin draining toward the Colorado, the downfall of its immense watershed reaches 

 this river largely underneath the soil, except where, finding a home in natural dei)ressions, it 

 remains, giving rise to subterranean basins of water that exist in nearly all the mountain 

 valleys. 



At what ilcptli these shall be reached, and at what points they are most accessible, are ques- 

 tious that reipiire great practical local study. 



Admitting the practicability of reaching these reservoirs, there can be seen in the future some 

 relief to these nianj' desert places from the .sinking of artesian wells, so soon as the development of 

 wealth (followed by population) and industry admit of their introduction. • 



COI.OUADO KiVKi;. 



This slicaiu, magnilicent so far as length and extent of country drained can make it so, was 

 the southern limit of the ai'ea embraced by the reconnaissance. 



At the immediate point at which it was reached by our parties, some four hundred or live hun- 

 dred yards below the mouth of the Itio Virgen, the current is exceedingly rapid, and the width of 

 the river not more than one hundred yards. The water is of a yellowish muddy color, hti;;htened 

 at this vicinity on account of the waters received from the Hio Virgen ; the banksare somewhat 

 steep, the river having encroached concavely into a gravelly mesa, the walls of w hich are from 

 tifteeu to twenty feet iu height. At this point everything is a sceuo of wild desolation ; rocky 

 and rugged mountains of various colors stand out on either side in the most strange and fantastic 

 contour. 



A few miles above this point the river emerges from a slight canon, carved out as it were 

 from the Virgen range that from this i)oint follows on to the southward, .soon breaking away into 

 low foothills, and then entirely disappearing. 



The Muddy Mountains that, turning to the southwest, cross the Colorado about live or six 

 miles below the IJio Virgen, inclose the western and northwestern horizon. A continuation of low 

 foot-hills entirely limit the soatliern view, witli no fai' distant peaks, betokening rugged or impass- 

 able ranges. 



Wo tried to obtain the services of tlie two M.>nni)n lislienni'ii, who iiiliabiti'd a little hut near 

 b\-, w ho.se time was divided between catching poor tish and watching a pile of ore from the Salt Mines, 

 distant eight or ten miles above, on the Virgin River, to row one or two of ns as far as Callville; 

 but their companion not being with them, they did not dare to leave their n-ndezvous. as both would 

 be necdeil iTi order to bring the boat back. This was the occasion of considerable disappointment, 

 as I had hoi)ed to be able to give a personal inspection to the chances for navigation tiirough 

 Virgin or IJoulder Canon. 



!Mr. Gibbons, while cii route to Join the Arizona assembly, traveled by the river from llie mouth 

 of the Virgin to La I'az, passing through the above caFiou, as well as the Ulack Canon, iu a small 

 boat, and he assured me that by far the most formidable hinderauces to navigation were to be found 

 in the latter. He had no doubt that a steamer drawing not more than twenty-four inches, with a 

 powerful engine, could sui-ccsst'nlly jiass both places, when the river is not swollen by the freshets 

 occasioned by the melting snows. This cause would impede, if not altogether suspend, na\igation 

 during the months of April, JMay, and part of June. The irregularities of tho current and the 

 amount of water are not materially changed by the rains that occur in July and January. 



Copper-ore was found near the head of Mrgin Canon ; iron-ore, in a canon leading out to the 

 river immediately at the entrance to the cahon ; w hile alum-beds were encountered in a small canon 

 leading down to the river, about midway of the Honhler Canon. It would be impossible to build a 

 road from the mouth of the Virgin to Callville iu [iroxiiuity to the river. The present one from 

 .Saint Thomas to the latter-mentioned point, follows the banks and beds of the Kio Virgen for 

 about eight or ten miles, then branches to the southwest over a sand-mesa, and follows winding 

 and sandy washes, reaching the Colorado at Callville, a distance of about thirty-live miles. 



Virgin, or Boulder Canon, has been formed by erosion, the sand-mesas giving evidences that 



