450 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 
r way forward now will in a few days become a struggle with the 
winter, forcing our way on and preserving the lives of men and ani- 
ls, while at the same time we carry on the work uninterruptedly. 
It will amount to a wintering in the mountains, but will be a progressive , 
one, and will fulfill all the requisitions of a winter there, as the two 
months of December and January exhaust the strength of the winter. 
Rite em ithout some bad mischance, you may expect when 
you next hear from me, to learn of good results.” 
‘Our condition as regards the efficiency of the camp in animals, is 
very bad, as regards the work we have done and are doing, very good. 
Provided we can reach the San Joaquin valley in the same position, our 
main object will be accomplished. Before reaching this place, we had 
lost thirteen animals. I arrived here with difficulty, traveling 10 or 12 
miles a day, and having nearly all my party on foot. In the early part 
of the month we had encountered severe weather, the daylight ther- 
mometer being at 15° and 17°, and the buffalo had so eaten off the 
3s, indifferent as it was, that our animals were nearly starved. [Lam 
determined to carry this enterprise through. We will fight with the 
winter, and every other obstacle, to the end, prudently and cautiously, 
but never giving way. In the mean time, we shall do a valuable work. 
The astronomical, barometrical, and topographical work all goes on 
well. After surmounting some difficulties which required much skill 
to remove, the daguerreotypist has been eminently successful, and we 
are producing a series of pictures of exquisite beauty which will admi- 
rably illustrate the country. Every successive picture improves upon 
its predecessor, and those of yesterday were jewels. They were of 
the Cheyenne village here among the timber. As we go on, and the 
mountains rise before us, the views will become more interesting. 
The coal formation re-appears in this neighborhood, and I have be- 
come acquainted with a locality where the coal-beds are said to be de- 
veloped largely. The coal has been tried and found to burn perfectly 
3. On the Action of Alkalies on Rocks; by M. Devesse, (communica- 
ted for this Journal by the author.)*--In order to study the action of 
alkalies on rocks, | have taken the powder of the rock under trial, and 
have heated it with a solution containing a quintuple weight of potash ; 
I have then determined what substances were contained in the potash 
solution. 
As a large number of rocks contain water, after I have dried the 
residue from the action of the potassa and determined its weight, I 
bring it to a red heat and take anew its weight; in this way | have 
obtained for different rocks the following comparative results : 
* This paper should have had a place among the articles of this number. =~ ’ 
