f 



[7] 



20 



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mence; and the roadj for three or four milesj is just passable for 

 a wagon; many of the train were broken in the passage. A few 

 thousand dollars judiciously expended here, would be an immense 

 saving to^the government if the Santa Fe country is to be perma- 

 • nently occupied/ and Bent's Fort road adopted. A few miles from 

 the summit we reached a wide valley. where the mountains open 

 out, and the iphospitable looking hills recede to a respectable dis- 

 tance to the right and left. Sixteen miles from camp 36 brought 

 us to the main branch of the Canadian} a slow running stream, ^ 

 discharging a volume of water the thickness of a man's waist..] 

 We found here Bent's camp.' I dismounted under the shade of a ' 

 cotton-wood, near an ant-hill, and saw something black which had 

 been thrown put bj the busy little insects; and, on examination, ^ 

 found it to be bituminous coal, lumps of which were afterwards 

 _found thickly scattered over the plain. After crossing the river, 

 and proceeding about a mile and a quarter, I found the party from 

 w^hich I had become separated encamped on the river, ^with a plen- 

 tiful supply of grass, wood, and water; and here we saw, for the 

 first time, a few sprigs of the famous grama,^ Atheropogon oligos- 

 ^taclyum. 



The growth on to-day's march was pinon in small quantities, 

 scrub oak, scrub pine, a few^ lamita bushes, and, on the Canadian, 

 a few cotton-wood trees; except at the camp, there was little or 

 no grass. The evening threatened rain, but the clouds passed 

 f away, and we had a good night for observations. We have had 

 no rain since we left Cow creeks, thirty days ago. 



We are now in what may be called the paradise of thfit part of 

 the country between Bent's Fort and San Miguel; and yet he who 

 leaves the edge of the Canadian or its tributaries must make a 

 good day's march to find wood, water, or grass. ' 



There may be mineral wealth in these mountains, but its dis- 

 covery must be left to some explorer not attach^to tLe staif of 

 an army making forced marches into an enemy's country. 

 " To-day commenced our half-rations of bread; though not suffer- 

 ing for meat, we are anxious to seize on Santa Fe and its stock of 

 provisions as soon as possible. 



August 8.— We remained in camp all day to allow Colonel ^ 

 Doniphan's regim,ent^ and the artillery to come up. During the 

 day, we had gusts of wind, and clouds discharging rain to the 

 west. Captain Sumner drilled his three squadrons of dragoons, 

 and made quite an imposing show. 



The latitude of the camp is 36^ 47' 34"; the longitude Qh. 56m. ' 

 59.75. 



„ On the 7th, I measured 8 altitudes of arcturus in the west, and 

 S of alpha aquilse in the east; and, on the 8th, 10 of arcturus 

 and 8^ of alpha aquil^— showing the rate of chronometer 783 to 



.be losing 3^. per day. 



The height determined approximately, is 6,112 feet above the 



sea. 



August 9 —We broke up camp af2^ o'clock, and marched with 

 the colonel's staff and the first dragoons lO^ miles, and encamped 



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