bugle sounded to horse, and we were up and pursuing our Tsay. 

 _ .ittle after sunrise, we had passed the summit and \yere descen - 

 ing towards the Gila. This summit was formed by a range oi 

 granite hills running southeast, and standing in pinnacles. , 

 As the sun mounted, the mirage only seen once before sin 

 leaving the plains of the Arkansas, now began to distort the a 

 tant mountains, which everywhere bounded the horizon, i"^° f^!^^^^ 

 . fantastic shapes. The morning was sharp and bracing, and i 

 excessively hungry, having given my breakfast, consisting oi 

 biscuits, to my still more hungry mule. I was describing to _^^j 

 Warner how much more pleasant it would be to be j°?§^"^!- ^ 

 Washington after a fox hunt, with the prospect of a ^^^ /""^ g-j/ 

 when up rose to our astonished view, on the north side of the ? 

 a perfect representation of the capitol, with dome, wmgs, 



It remained for full twenty minutes w 



its proportions and outline perfect, when it dwindled down m 



distant butte. 



stant Dutte. , , tiie 



We went on briskly to the Gila, whose course, marked o) 



green cotton wood, could be easily traced. It looked ^_^ ?,^^ ° ^ ^ ^ m 



than it really was. We reached it after makii 



our camp of yesterday. 



but 



fell to work on the young willows and cane. After ^^^^^"^ ^ to 

 bite a few minutes, we moved down the river five miles fj''*"^ \]^q 

 a large and luxuriant patch of paspalum grass, shaded by 



acacia and prosopis. 



My eyes becoming sore with dust, I took a large ooject ^^^.^ 

 southern star to-night, the planet saturn. 16 circum-meridian ^^^ 

 tudes of saturn and 9 altitudes of polaris give the latitude ol ^^ 

 camp 35° 59' 22", and the longitude given by the chronomete 



112" 50' 01. _ ,gso 



JCovemher 15, — In the morning the general found the inu . 



much worsted by the 45 miles journey without food or water, 

 • f 





88 Ex. Doc. No. 41. 



r 



1 



Indians resort to these old houses to look for trinkets of shells, 

 and a peculiar green stone which I think is nothing more than 



verde antique. • ' ' . . ^ x 



At 12 o'clock, after giving our horses a last watering, we startett 

 off in a southwestern direction to turn the southern foot of the 

 range of hills pointing to the Salt river. Five miles brought us 

 into"^ a grove of the pitahaya, which had yielded a plentiful supply 

 of fruit to the Indians. Our way was over a plain of granitic 

 sand, ascending gradually and almost imperceptibly. After leav- 

 ing the pitahaya, there was no growth except the larrea Mexicana, 

 and occasionally, at long intervals, an acacia or inga. . 



We travelled till long after dark, and dropped down in a dust 

 hole near two large green-barked acacias. There was not a sprig i 

 of grass or a drop of water, and during the whole night the mules ^ 



kept up a piteous cry for both. .,, 



There was jiothing but the offensive larrea, which even mules wiu 



not touch, when so hungry as to eat with avidity the dry twigs oi 



i.\\ other shrubs and trees. As soon as the moon rose, at 3, a. m., 



the 

 A 1 



I 



