Ex. Doc. No. 41. 437 



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itself blended with the skyj the intermediate space filled with va- 

 riously shaded hills that are covered with yellow, parched grass; 

 the foreground relieved by clustering thickets of silver leafed ar- 

 temisiaj while the whole is united by the road that passes along 

 over swelling hill and sinking dale; so that the eye travels instantly 

 to the fartlrest extreme, unimpeded by any abruptness. The whole 

 fiicene was increased in effect by the appearance of an ox that came 

 slowly towards us, whose loneliness perfected the repose of the 

 landscape- 



We now began to feel very anxious for news from Santa Fe. 

 Mr. Ward, who had gone to Santa Fe, and who promised to be at 

 the fort some time since, had not arrived, neither had we met any 

 one on the road, and no news had been received, except the rumor 

 that General Kearny had entered Santa Fe. Still, we knew not 

 how he had been received, nor whether the line of communication 

 was not guarded by guerrillas. Mr. St* Vrain spoke of going on 

 as far as the Rio "Ensenada," to gain some information with re- 

 gard to the state of the country that w;e would have to pass 

 through. Daily, persons had passed the fort going to Santa F6, 

 but none had come back, " nulla vestiga r'etrorsum," ^ 



September 14, — Spent the day on the banks of the Purgatory; 

 not inappropriately named, as one plunges into a perfect Erebus, 

 amongst the rugged rocks of the Raton. 



Our people killed five deer, and Mr. St. Yrain killed a very fat 

 antelope; so the camp was a scene ofTestivity. At night we gath- 

 ered around our social fires; the voyageurs grew talkative, and 

 told marvellous tales, and we all devoured meat with the voracity 

 of beasts of prey. It is not unusual for two men to eat a fore quar- 

 ter of venison without the accompaniment of bread, or even of 

 salt. ' 



To-day I again saw the red shafted flickers, and endeavored to 

 get a shot at them, but they were too shy to be approached. I, 

 howeverj obtained a beautiul male specimen of the troopial, (age- 

 laius zanthocephalus.) 



1 made a sketch of the Spanish peaks: there were light clouds 

 Wnging around them, but although they lent great beauty to the 

 DQountains by the ever varying contour of their shadows, that curved 

 about in ^- mazes intricate, eccentric, intervolved, yet regular, when 

 niost irregular they seem," and the rays of light that pierced these 

 clouds were ever changing; thus, the same scene"presented an end- 

 less variety. - . 



Along the banks of the stream we noticed great quantities of 

 cotton wood, (P. monolifera,) and locust trees, (Robina pseudoaca- 

 sia;) also the box elder, (acer negundo,) and dense thickets, com- 

 posed of the plum and the cherry interwoven with grape vines, 

 formed impenetrable thickets, where the deer, the hare, the rabbit, 

 and wild turkey, found a secure shelter, 



The plains are covered with a saline efflorescence, and the ground 



quite bare in many places, where the animals had been licking 

 the ground, and have trampled down the herbage. \^^e still find 

 the dwellingf? of the gopher and prairie dog around us; and the 



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