REPORT. 



WASHINGTON, D. d, Noiriiilirr 1, 1S(!(). 



SIR: For the information of the War Department, I beg leave to submit the fol- 

 lowing remarks upon the exploration made by me, during the summer of 1859, in 

 New Mexico and Utah. 



About the middle of July, 1S5!, my party set out from Santa Fe, New Mexico, 

 and pursued a northwesterly course, crossing the Rio Grande Bravo del Norte at tin- 

 old Indian pueblo of San Juan, and following up the valley of the Rio Cliania, pas. 

 ing by the pueblo of Abiquiu, the outpost, of settlement in that direction, being about 

 fifty-two miles from Santa Fe. We continued up the Chama Valley for some forty -five 

 miles more, when we left, it and crossed the dividing ridge between the waters of the 

 Gulf of Mexico and those of the Gulf of California, at a remarkable point, where then- 

 is a small lake called Laguna de los Caballos, when we struck upon the headwaters 

 of the San Juan River, crossing several branches before we came to the main stream. 

 This we crossed in latitude 37 14' 48" north and longitude 107 2' 47" west*wh<-iv there 

 is a hot spring, of temperature about 140 Fahrenheit and of magnificent dimensions. 

 We looked down through its limpid waters until the power of vision was lost in the 

 cavernous depths whence the waters now. From this point our route was westerly for 

 about seventy miles, over a region very much broken and intersected by rapid mount- 

 ain streams (branches of the San Juan), which afford an abundant supply of good 

 water and have the appearance of being permanent. We had fryjruent rains, however, 

 in this part of our route, and the grazing was thus far excellent. Up to a point abouf 

 forty-five miles westward from the " Pagosa," or great hot spring above alluded to, we 

 were accompanied by Mr. Albert II. Pfeiffer, sub-agent for the Utah Indians, and his 

 interpreter, Neponocino Valdez, to both of whom we are indebted for acts of hospi- 

 tality and for facilitating our passage through the country of the Capotes and other 

 bands of the Utah Indians, in whose vicinity our route happened to lead us. 



In latitude 37 16' and longitude 108 4', we passed along the southern base ol 

 the mountain group 1< no wi i as "Sierra de la Plata,;" hence in a northwesterly direction 

 for about one hundred and twenty miles, over gloomy barrens, covered chieily with 

 ArtcmesicB, but affording a scanty pasturage in some of the small valleys. The August 

 rains favored us, and we had no scarcity of water on our route to the "Ojo Verde," in 

 latitude 38 14' 50", longitude 10 ( J 26' 40", a point about three hundred and forty 

 miles from Santa Fe. The greater part of our journey from Abiquiu to this point was 



