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We followed its course, and encamped under a high range of 
symmetrically formed hills overhangin@#the river. Our camp resem- 
bled very much the centre of a yard of huge stacks. 
We heard the fish playing in.the water,:and soon those who were 
disengaged were after them. At first it was supposed they were 
the mountain trout, but, being comparatively fresh from the hills of | 
Maine, I soon saw the difference. The shape, general appearance, 
and the color are the same; ata little distance, you will imagine 
the fish covered with delicate scales, but on a closer examination 
you will find that they are only the impression of scales. The meat 
is soft, something between the trout and the cat-fish, but more like 
the latter. They are in great abundance. ~ 
e saw here also, in great numbers, the blue quail. The bottom 
of the river is narrow, covered with large round pebbles. The 
growth of trees and weeds was very luxuriant; the trees chiefly 
cotton-wood, a new sycamore, mezquite, pala, (the tallow tree of 
our hunters,) a few cedars, and one or two larch. There were some — 
grape and hop vines. 
: 16 circum-meridian observations beta aquarii; and 9 of polaris, 
_ give the latitude of this camp 32° 50’ 08”. Its approximate longi- 
“tude is 108° 45’ 00”. 
October 21.—After going a few miles, crossing and recrossing | 
the river a dozen times, it was necessary to leave its bed to avoid 
eco. This led us over a very broken country, traversed b 
huge dykes of trap and walls of basalt. The ground was literally 
covered with the angular fragments of these hard rocks. . 
rom one of these peaks we had an extended view of the country - 
* 4n all directions. The mountains run from northwest to southeast, 
Bs: Mea rise abruptly from the plains in long narrow ridges, resembling 
_ trap dykes on a great scale. These chains seem to terminate at a 
_ certain distance to the south, leaving a level road, from the Del 
Norte about the 32d parallel of latitude, westward to the Gila. 
These observations, though not conclusive, agree with the reports 
_ of the guides, who say Colonel Cooke will have no difficulty with 
chi wagons. 
a2. 4 ‘he mountains were of volcanic rock of various colors, feld- 
me spathic granite, and red sand stone, with a dip to the northwest, 
huge hills of'a conglomerate of angular and rounded fragments of 
_ quartz, basalt, and trap cemented by.a substance that agrees well 
'_-with the description I have read of the puzzolana of Rome. 
_. The earth in the river bed, where it was not paved with the frag- 
ments of rocks, was loose, resembling volcanic dust, making it 
- unsafe to ride out of the beaten track. A mule would sometimes 
. sink to his knee; but the soil was easily packed, and three or four 
il. * 
mules in advance made a good firm trail 
This was.a hard’ day on the animals, the steep ascents and - 
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_ descents shifting the packs, and cutting them dreadfully. 
“ The a did not reach camp at-all. pee ae 
= CA few pounds of powder would blast the projections of rock 
_ from the cafion, and make it passable for packs, and possibly for 
 gwagons also. The ‘route upon which the ragpu sire to follow is, 
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