Ex. Doc. No. 41 



605 



then came to camp, about, distance, 18 miles, with a good deal of 

 hunting along the river, the brush being quite thick. We got a 

 camp on both sides of the ^ river, with a very small allowance of 

 grass and cane. We weather out, however, and remain till morn- 



mg; to get this camp, we had to leave the trail. The course of the 



river here appears to be west southwest. On the right bauk of the 

 river, this evening, there appears to be a very extensive alluvial 

 plain, reaching for miles from the river. No evidence of former 

 habitation was seen. There were on some of the volcanic rocks 

 which we passed, some marks like those of yesterday. About mid- 



a 



A deer was killed 



a rock of basalt^ upon which 

 initials and names. This poin 



by one of the servantSj"^ and Carson caught a beaver; a hare crossed 

 our path; a few little birds; the ravens, as usual, and a number of 

 nocks of geese and ducks were all the animate objects we saw; the 

 land might produce grapes and grain, but the people of this region 

 will not be ever able to keep cattle unless rains are produced, for 

 there is literally no pasture; a scanty camp ma;^now and then be 

 found. If we were supplied with boats, we could easily float to' 

 the mouth of the river. There is no timber here, however, out of 

 which a canoe could be dug. Our road was rocky and rough to-^ 

 day in many places. ' * 



jy^oy ember 18. — Marched at a quarter past 8, and passed close to 



various Americans had scratched their 

 t Carson called ^^ Independence Rock." 

 Here there had been a little grass, which had been grazed off. We 

 fravelled 16 miles, and found a good nooning place in a slough, 

 which we left for the rear, and came on over the table-land for 10 

 miles, and. encamped on the left bank of the river, at a scanty camp 

 in a slough, containing pools of water saturated with sjijj. 

 tance, 20 miles west southwest. The belt of table-land here, frcia 

 mountain to mountain, is about 15 miles, with plains runnings up 

 between the peaks. This table-land is composed of small pebbles 

 of ail the rocks T have seen on the Gila, verj much rounded by at- 

 trition. These are cemented by carbonate of Itme into a concrete^ 

 about as hard as what would be made by common ^mortar. The 

 peaks on both sides of the river are very rugged, particularly on. 

 tl^e north, one of them looking like a large city on a h.i!l three or 

 four miles below our camp. On the plain near the Gila, is a black 

 pyramid of basalt, standing isolated, and about 300 feet high. Oa 



DiSr 



r. 



i\ 



the high plain, we foufiJ little tufts of grass under the burtches of 

 Fr6raontii; the country almost bare, and anly an occasional mes* 

 qtiite tree, and no tree on the mountain. On the plains of Ihe 

 river this morning, saw some sign of former habitation, but rerj 

 little; two of our mules were abanJoned^ to-day. 



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