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Ex. Doc. No, 41. 583 



b«re there were fragments of broken pottery more ancient looking- 

 one square room, with another house attached, with a hole in th4 

 ground within the foundation, about 20 feet square and now about 

 eight feet deepj its only present inhabitant was a strange looking 

 yellowish grey rat, which retreated to his holej could I have followed 

 him through his burrowjngs, I might have found some clue to the 

 mystery of the former mhabitants. We soon after commenced ap- 

 proaching the third canon of the Gila, and climbed raonntains over 

 paths which once had been used by this people. We diverged 

 from the river again, and, after much rough travelling over broken 

 volcanic rocks, we found a camp of grama grass about 400 feet 

 above the river on a towering hill, with rough descent to the water: 

 distance travelled about 20 miles. A horse which Carson had left 

 here a week or two before, as he came from California, took fright 

 at our approach and fled to the hills at the top of his speed, baf- 

 fling all effort to retake him. 



October 26. — Started at a quarter to 7j as we are warned of a 

 troublesome march, it commenced as we descended to the river, and 

 continued for about 14 miles, up and down steep declivities coy-- 

 ered thick with fragments of black basalt, with scarcely a place 

 where an animal could step without putting his foot on a loose 

 atone, many of them angular and sharp. This terrible journey we 

 had to take to get around the third canon, which is impassable. 

 As the van toiled along, rising hill upon hill, the rear fell behind, 

 until, finally, th^y were lost to view^ the hea 1 of the column " 

 .reached the river about 3 o'clock, and at midnight the cattle and 

 howitzer party came, Lt. Davidsi^n reporting that his men and 

 mules had given out, and had left the howizers 5 miles back; some 

 of the men did not come in until morning. At daylight (27th) we 

 saw one of the dragoons perched on a cliflF, with his kit on his back, 

 just abandoning his mule, which h'e had led down towards our fire 

 the night before, and found himself cut oflf by a precipice, he laid 

 down and spent the night; and the next morning, not being able to 

 get his mule back, he took off his saddle and retraced his steps 

 with all his effects upon his back; the general had a party sent and 

 rescued the animal from its perilous heighth. This journey can no 

 doubt be avoided by leaving the Gila hi'gher" up, and taking more 

 to the south around these basaltic peaks. The action of the water 

 on the diluvion drift was plain for 500 or 600 feet, the pebbles for 

 400 feet, or thereabouts, being of varietiBs from a distance mixed 

 with those of the locality; higher up, the stones, rounded by attri- 

 tion, were wholly those of the locality. The hills were of conical 



form, piled "upon each other; one of them with a cap 



of trap; all sreined to be solid basalt thrust up from 



beneatb; a v^ry few cedars and other shrubs; several 



large kinds of caste and grass tuft Ijetween the rocks was all the 



Tegetation, the grass growing finest on the north side of the hill. 



Having passed this rocky barrierj we find the grass scarce; the 



hills are green with the creosote bush; andj from this on to Cali- 



fornia, we may count upon but scanty picking for our poor ani- 



inals. It is not improbable 



OjQTulsioQS whick 





