d 



the 



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76 "Ex. Doc No. 41. 



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tiful variety. In tHe canon .we heard in advance of us the crack of 

 a rifle^ on coming up we found that old Francisco, one of the 

 guidesj had killed a calf, left there, douhtless, by the Apaches. 



The dry creek by which we crossed to the ^an Pedro river was • 

 the great highway leading from the mountain fastnesses into the 

 plains of Santa Cruz, Santa Anna, and Tucsoon, frontier towns of 

 Sonora- Along 'this valley was distinctly marked the same fresh 

 trail, noted yesterday, of horses, cattle and mules. 



The bed of this creek was deeply, cut, and turned at sharp angles, 

 forming a zigzag like the bayoux laid by sappers in approaching a 

 fortress, each turn of which (and they were innumerable) formed a 

 strong defensive position. The Apache once in possession of them 

 is secure from pursuit or invasion from the Mexican/ 



Since the 1st November, we have been traversing, with incredi- 

 ble labor and great expenditure of mule power, the stronghold of 

 these mountain robbers, having no other object in view than mak- 

 ing our distance westward; yet here we are at this camp, only five 

 seconJs of time west of camp 89, at Disappointment creek, and one 

 minute and four seconds west of our camp at the mouth of the !>an 



Francisco. , . v- li 



Nature has done her utraost to favor a condition of things whicn 

 has enabled a savage and uncivilized tribe, armed with the bow an 

 lance, to hold as tributary powers three fertile and once flourishin 

 state's, Chihuahua, Sonora, and Durango, peopled by a Christian 

 race, countrymen of the immortal Cortez. These states were a 

 one time flourishing, but such has been the devastation and alai*n^ 

 spread by these children of the mountains, that they are now losing 

 population, commerce and manufactures at a rate which, if not soo 

 arrested, must leave them uninhabited. 



Jfovember 6. — For the double purpose of allowing the howitzers 

 to come up, and to recruit our mules, it is decided this shall be^^ 

 day of rest. The grama is good, but sparsely scattered over 

 hills, and it is necessary to loosen every animal and let thern gr^^: 



at wilL 



We are yet 500 miles from the nearest settlement, and no on 

 surveying our cavalry at this moment would' form notions favora 



to the success of the expedition. . i 



Except a few saddle mules, the private property of officers, win 

 have been allowed to run loose, every animal in camp is cove 

 with patches, scars, and sores, made by the packs in the uneq 

 motion caused by the ascent and descent of. steep hills- 



The failure of the Apaches to bring in their mules, was a serio 

 disappointment, and entirely justifies the name given to th^ ^^^^ r 

 where they agreed to meet us. Besides, being the only means o 

 transportation, they are, in extremity, to serve us as food, and to 

 poor suffering creatures before us, give no very agreeable ^^P'^^t . 

 sion of the soup which their meat will furnish. However grare tn 

 subject may appear, it is the common source of merriment. ^ ^ ^ 

 seem to anticipate it as a matter of course, and the constant r^^^^ ^ 

 rence of the mind to the idea, will no doubt accustom us to itj ^^ 

 make mule as acceptable as other soup. 



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