16 . DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 
station 16. The country sloping from them is prairie. Station 17 is in a ravine with a few 
cotton-wood trees. At station 18, the slopes are covered with mezquite bushes. Beneath the 
Llano bluffs, near Camp 45, there is a pleasant valley abounding in grapes and sprinkled with 
cotton-wood trees. It is tete by several springs and a small stream called Rincon de la Crux. 
The ravine in which Camp 45 is situated extends far back among the hills, breaking the 
continuity of the precipitous cliffs, and affording facilities for an ascent to the top of the Llano. 
Upon the edge of it there is a spur of uniform acclivity, which the trail ascends. Station 4 is 
upon the summit, which, towards the south, appears smooth, level, and of unlimited extent. 
It is covered with short buffalo-grass, but contains neither shrub nor tree to vary the landscape. 
Eight miles beyond, the plain is cut by a deep ravine, in which a small stream, called Encamp- 
ment creek, flows towards the Canadian. It branches, where we crossed it to obtain water, 
and might have been headed by a slight detour towards the south. Rising to the plain, we 
continued upon the northerly tongue of the Llano, about eighteen miles, to its western edge, 
which affords an extensive view. At the foot lies Rocky Dell creek, a rapid brook flowing to 
the Canadian. From fifty to sixty miles distant, towards the west, are seen the Tucumcari 
hills. The intermediate country appears like a vast basin, bounded upon the south by escarped 
bluffs of the Llano Estacado. Near the base of the slopes are dense groves of cedar and pifion, 
and lines of small cotton-wood mark the courses of many little valleys and streams which tra- 
verse this region. 
Rocky Dell creek heads in a re-entering angle of the Llano bluffs, near the trail, and affords 
a way for a descent along its banks to Camp 46. The maximum grade, according to the topo- 
graphical sketches, need not exceed sixty feet per mile. 
Beyond Camp 46, the country is prairie, with gentle slopes, traversed by small rivulets which 
take their rise in springs beneath the Llano cliffs. Between stations 4 and 5 the trail crosses 
a ravine containing water, but destitute of trees. The foot of the Llano is two miles distant, 
and there cedars and pifions are abundant. Emigrant creek is crossed between stations 9 and 
10. Station 10 is upon the side of a dry ravine, which is lined with small cotton-wood trees. 
The remainder of this day’s march was upon a plain, a large portion of which possesses a loose 
friable soil, which, with sufficient water, would doubtless be fertile. It is almost destitute of 
trees, Camp 47 is near a ravine, which contains large pools of water and excellent grass. Be- 
tween stations 19 and 20, a grade of fifty-five feet per mile would be required ; elsewhere the 
grades would be easy. 
The ground rises gently between Camp 47 and station 2. Between stations 2 and 3 is the 
crossing of Halt creek, eight feet wide and three deep. It has no trees upon its banks. Opposite 
stations 4 and 5, the bluffs of the Llano are four miles distant. Further westward, a salient 
point of it is within a mile and a half of station 12. There, as elsewhere, the foot of it is cov- 
ered with cedars, excellent for fuel. The whole route to Camp 48 is but slightly undulating, 
and much of the soil appears favorable for tillage. Several arroyos, containing pools of water, 
were passed. 
Between Camp 48 and station 1 there is a muddy creek. Its banks are destitute of trees. 
Station 2 is in the valley of Fossil creek, or a branch of it, which contains a sluggish stream of 
water, bordered by a few cotton-wood trees. Between ations 5 and 6 is a larger rivulet of 
flowing water, of a clay color; its width is 150 yards. Upon the right of the trail, towards the 
Canadian, its valley is well supplied with cotton-wood timber. There are trees, also, a mile 
distant upon the left. Its valley is 300 yards wide. Station 6 is on the bank of this stream, 
four feet above the water. Station 11 is upon a branch of Tucumcari creek. Near this stream, 
the trail continues to Camp 49. There is much timber in its valley towards the Canadian. To 
the left of the trail there are few trees, except at the base of the Llano bluffs. From station 12, 
the slopes to the river are gentle. The average width of this branch of Tucumcari valley is 
about half a mile. From station 13 to station 17, the trail is within a few hundred yards of 
the water; thence to Camp 49, it follows near the valley of Tucumcari creek. In the construc- 
