tJ" 



X. Doc; ^o. 41. 



/ 



[^kj^dge composed of 



i^eotfs^rocks, and altered in its 

 nature in places, showing that portions of it had once been renr 



dered into quick lime, and now changed again into a substance re- 

 sembling old mortar; this ridgejiad peaks upon it of various kinds 

 of volcanic rock, and west of it, the upper plain had been covered 

 with a black seam of basalt for many miles. Above this, on the 

 north side of the river, there is a mountain peak of volcanic rock 

 standing between two peaks formed by the beds of igneous rocks 

 which it has split asunder and upheaved, as it rose from the great 

 internal reservoir of heat. The road was lined with the remains of 



4 



iinc,ient houses, the broken stones and pottery being the only indi- 

 cations for nine miles. I followed this line of houses. In many 

 places, quantities of sea shells, broken, were to be seenj and I 

 found two or three sheHs which had been changed in shape, for 

 some purpose of ornament. Of the pottery, a few pieces, only, were 



colored. - After crossing the ridge, we came to a small hill of vol- 

 tianic rocks, upon which the Indians had marked, in a rud^ manp.er, 

 a vast number of hieroglyphics. The place is frequented still by 

 Indians, as their marks were still visible, and places where tliey 

 appea? to have ground corn, or made medicine. A iew miles further 

 brought us to the river, where wi found no grass, but plenty of 

 cane along the border of the stream. The country we have parsed 

 over to-day affords no pasture, but a great quantity of land capable 

 of producing by irrigation. It never rains here in summer time. 

 Query —why'? Our camp is opposite to a blue basaltic f)eak, with 

 nothing but an occasional tuft of something like^rass upon it, and 

 that in streaks down its sides, as if the seed bad followed the 

 streams of rain, as they flowed to the level. Distance, 20| miles. . 

 JSTovember 17. — Marched at 8, and continued down the left bank; 

 our first two miles through a deep sand, the former bed of the riverj 

 very bad travelling; wc crossed a small dry dusty bottom, and came 

 to a creek, in the bed of which we found a good deal of grass; we 

 halted to graze the animals a few minutes, and then ascended the 

 basaltic beach about 50 feet high, and did not see the river /or 



ere, again, on the alluvial bottom, we 



seven or eight miles. 



H 



found some tufts of grass, where we nooned it for half an hour, and 



