.Ex. Doc. No. 41. 01 



F 



Many of the modern symbols are in imitation of the antique, 

 and, doubtless, the medicine men of the present day resort to this 

 mound to invoke their unseen spirits, and work the miracles which 

 enable them to hold their sway amongst their credulous race. 

 I here are many more weird and mysterious lookinrr places than this 

 to be found along the banks of the Gila, and the first attraction to 

 the modern Indian was, without doubt, the strange characters' Ke 

 saw inscribed. " 



Some of the boulders appear to have been written and re-written 

 upon so often it was impossible to get a distinct outline of any 

 01 the characters. 



We descended into the broad valley of the Gila, skirted on the 

 south side of the table land, black with basalt pebbles, resting on 

 a stratum of the carbonate of lime upon which the river impinged 

 at every flood, and widened its valley. 



The hills on the north side were of red and grey rocks, probably 

 granite, irregular in form, varying from 500 to 1,000 feet. Finding 

 no grass, we loosened our mules among the willows and cane, 



Jy OVetyiber 17. The rnnte tn-dav Witt nvor a r-nnntr-L-' muf'' 



The route to-day was over a country much the 

 same as that described yesterday. Wherever we mounted to the 

 table lands to cut off a bend in the river, found them dreary beyond 

 description, covered with blocks of basalt", with a few intervals of 

 dwarf growth of larrea. Now and then a single acacia raised its 

 solitary form and displayed its verdure in the black expanse. We 

 crossed the dry beds of two creeks with sandy bottoms. Under the 

 c^ust of basalt are usually sand-stone and a conglomerate of peb- 

 ".ies, sand-stone, and lime. This last is easily undermined by the 

 ^^ t"^' T^ *^^ basalt or lava then caves in. 



1 "tv"^ pottoms of the river are wide, rich, and thickly overgrown 

 ^ith willow and a tall aromatic weed, and alive with flights of 

 ^i^e brant, (wing tipped with black,) geese, and ducks, with 

 ^^p signs of deer and beaver. , 



At night I heard the song of the sailors calling the depth of the 

 had?' presently, Williams, Lieutenant Warner's servant, w^ho 



ters r^","^'^^^"g ^^1 ^^y^ came out of the river with the hind quar- 

 ces^ ° T ^^^^ tuck, perfectly intoxicated with his unexpected suc- 

 dep^ J ^^^^ ^'^^^^ back, he let his mule loose, went in pursuit of 

 ail ' ^,^^,^^lled a buck. After lugging the whole of it for two 



iv ' ^ 'ightened his load by leaving one-half, 

 whe ^ fJ^^^^Ped down in one of the deser'ted beds of the Gila, 

 was. the ground was cracked and drawn into blisters. The night 



^^ eold, the thermometer at 6, a. m., 20°. 

 f^atitude of the camp 32° 55' 52". Lonj 



25' 25 



Longitude of the camp 113 



A'* 



ttatir^^^*" IS.— High wind from the northwest all day, showing 

 selves ^^^ \?^ ^^^^^ ^ barrier of snow-clad mountains between ou'r- 

 Car^ -^ionterey, which we must turn or scale. 



Jie had -!l P^*^"^ *° ^ ^^^ '°^^ covered with fur, and told that 

 cans ," ^^^'^g^tered a fat mule there. The names of several Ameri- 



Aft t ^^^'^^^t^^ ^^ '-^e same rock. 



er travelling sOine teu or twelve miles through the valley, we 



