Ex. Doc. No. 41. 513 



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clufled It was better to revel in the lialls of the Armijos, than fb 



level in the halls of the MontezuraaSj for the latter were poor ua- 

 civilized Indians, while the former may, perhaps, boast to be of 

 the blood of the Hidalgos of Castile and Arragon. 

 ■ December 27. — I had postponed leaving Santa Fe until Mon- 

 ■^ay; nevertheless, I was obliged to atteuil to business during the 

 ^ay, I found that some of the men whom I had engaged had been 

 leinpted, by the price that the government was offering for mules, 

 to dispose of those they had obtained at low rates when we passed 

 through Socorro- Men who would thus break their engagements 

 snd promises were no loss to me. So I had their places filled by 

 others; indeed, I had more applicants than I wished to receive. 



I called to take leave of Colonel Price, and he most kin<lly fur- 

 liished me with copies of all the* papers relating to the intended in-^ 

 eurrection. 



I now found it impossible to obtain the funds which would be 

 necessary to buy corn, and to defray the expenses of my party 

 down the Missouri river. At length, Mr. St. Viain generously of- 

 fered to let me have sufficient for my journey. 



December 28. — This m'orning we had a severe snow storm, wbich, 

 prevented my starting at daylight, as I had intended; for I pro- 

 posed reaching the ruins of Pecos in one day. The snow fell 

 heavily, so that we could not see the road; but, as the sky showed 

 signs of the storm clearing away, I started off my command at 8^ 

 o'clock. 



We had a difficult time clambering up the steep sides of the 

 laountain. The ground was frozen hard, the rocks slippery ^ith 

 SQow and ice, and our animals, unable to get firm footing, were 

 constantiv fallinj:. When wc reached the mountain summit, which 

 li about 11 milles from Santa Fe, we found a party of volunteers 

 "Encamped there. They had built large fires of pine Jogs, aud 

 'Were bo busy warming themselves th^it we could not get a word 

 from them. Still further on, we met the alguazil, Richard D^xllumj 

 ^ho had succeeded in arres ingSalazar. 



Our road was strewed with the carcasses of oxen. Some were 

 lialf devoured by the wolves and ravens, others had not been dead 

 long, for the birds of prey had only torn out their eyes. Con- 

 stantly encountering these repulsive sights, we at length peached 

 ^be cafiun from which Armijo so " ingloriously fled," and then en- 

 camped in the neighborhood of a large train of commissarjr 

 Wagons, which were going to Santa F6. The wagor^crs had been 

 greatly annoyed by the Indians, in crossing the prairies^ they tald 

 ^s frightful tales of the bold daring of the savages. 



December 29. — The sun now came forth from among the clouds^ 

 ^hich he soon dissipated, and his warm rays rapidly melted the 

 snow and \c(^ which impeded our progress. In several of the deep 

 fountain gorges the lofty crags of granite beetle so high that an 

 eternal shadow rests aro'und. In such places the snow and ice 

 J^ad accumulated, and our animals found great difficulty to keep 



tbeir feet. 



I procured a beautifal jay, "corrus stellarius," and was able to^ 



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