

36 Ex. Doc. No. 41. 



continues as good to the Pacific, will be one of the routes to be 

 considered, over which the United States will pass immense quanti- 

 ties of merchandise into what may become^ in time, the rich and 

 populous States of Sono/a, Durango, and Southern California. 



s a military position, it is important and necessary. The moun- 

 tain fastnesses have long been the retreating places of the warlike 

 parties of Indians and robbers, who sally out to intercept our cara- 

 vans moving over the different lines of travel to the Pacific. 



The latitude of Santa Fe, determined by 52 circum-meridian al- 

 titudes of alpha aquilse, 23 of beta aquarii, and 36 altitudes of polaris 

 out of the meridian, is N. 35^ 44' 06". The longitude, by the meas- 

 urement of 8 distances between the ^ alpha aquilce and the d jand 8 

 between * antares and the d , is respectively 7A. 04ot. lis.l and 

 Ih. 04m. 225.4. The mejm of which is 7A. 04m; 18^. and the 

 longitude brought by the chronometer from the meridian of Fort 

 Leavenworth is Ih. 04m. 05^.5, — (See Appendix No. 4.)' 



The place of observation was the court hear the northeast corner 

 of the public square. The latitude may be considered fixed; but 

 satisfactory asjhe longitude may appear, I should, nevertheless, 

 have greatly multiplied the number of lunar distances, ha.d I not 

 been in daily expectation of " receiving a transit instrument, with 

 which a set of observations on moon culminating stars could have 

 been made at this important geographical point. 



The mean of all the barometric readings at Santa Te indicates, 

 as the height of this point above the sea, 6,846 feet, and the neigh- 

 boring peaks to the north are many thousand feet higher. 



August 31. — Lieutenant Warner arrived to-day, but cannot yet 

 be relieved from ordnance duty.. To-morrow an expedition goes to 

 Taos, but, as Mr. Peck is sick, I have no officer to send with it. 

 To-day apparently well authenticated accounts have arrived that 

 Armijo met Ugarte, about 150 miles below, coming up with a force 

 of 500 regulars and some pieces of artillery; that he turned back^ 

 and is now marching towards us wuth a large force, rallying the 

 people as he passes, and that numbers are joining him from the 

 uppers towns. In consequence^ of these reports, the general has 

 strengthened the force with which he is to march the day after to- 

 morrow to meet him, 



September 2. — We marched out of Santa Fe at 9 o'clock, a. m., 

 taking no one of my party except Mr. Bestor, and leaving Lieuten- 

 ant Peck, who is still an invalid, to assist Lieutenant Gilmer. We 

 descended the valley of the Santa Fe river, nearly west for five 

 miles, when we left the river and struck across a dry arid plain in- 

 tersected by arroyos, (dry beds of streams,) in a southwesterly 

 course. Twenty-three miles brought us .to. the Galisteo creek, 

 which, at that time, was barely running. The bed of; the creek is 

 sand and pebbles of the primitive rock, and lies between steep 

 clay and lime-stone, traversed occasionally, by trap dykes which 

 in one place are so regular as to resemble a wall pierced with win- ■ 

 dows. From this place to its mouth there is scarcely the sien of 1 

 vegetation. At the dry mouth of the Galisteo, and directlv on the 



Del Norte, is the town of Santo Domingo. Before reachincr Galis- 



