= 
e 
‘* ~~, pene a bes new and beautiful varieties of the cactus. 
uate hy 
- ; Meine. .. 2. 
a | 63 : ee < : Tae 
however, to the south of this. Under this date, in the catalogue of 
plants wi:l be found many differing from those heretofore observed; 
amongst them the zanschneria Californica, also a new shrub with 
an edible nut, a grass allied to the grama, Adam’s needle, artemisia 
cana, and many varieties of mez quite. 
October 22.—The howitzers came up about nine o’clock, having, ” 
in the previous day’s work, their shafts broken, and, indeed, every-- — 
thing that was possible to ‘break about them. We again left the 
river to avoid a caiion, which I examined in several places, and 
saw no obstacles to a good road. The caiion was formed by a seam’ ee 
of basalt, overlaying limestone sand-stone in regular strata. 
Through these the river cuts its w 
Mary deep arroyos have paid tribute to the Gila, but in none have 
-we yet found water. Following the bed of one "of these, to exa- . 
mine the eccentric geological formatioi Apr pepee I found un- 
known characters written on a rock, | opies of which were made, 
but their antiquity is questionable. ~~ ‘ 
ere now fast approaching the srotid where rumor and the 
maps of the day place the ruins of the so called Aztec towns. This 
gave the’ characters alluded to additional interest; they were in- 
dented on a calcareous sandstone rock, chrome colored on the out- 
side, presenting a perfectly white fracture. a ge them very 
conspicuous, and easily seen from a distance coloring mat- 
ter of the’external face of the. rock may proceed from water, as 
there was above the characters a distinct rate line, and every ap- 
a that th pearee pe st more than once b n the scene of over- 
= 4 
4 
% 
e Decl nae a “bluff. hi above the river, in view e a- rock < 
which we named, from its general appearance, Steeple roc 
_Latitude of Sub camp to-night ) by 17 circum- -meridian stad 
i SB! 33" 7' 30’. 
amp, and we expected for the first time since leaving Santa re, (a 4 
month to-morrow,) to have a sprinkle of rain; but, at 9 this morn- | 
ing, the clouds had all been chased away, and the sun Be e 
up in as possession of all above the horizon, The atmos- a 
phere | resumed its dryness and elas ea and ‘at aight abe 
stars looked brighter, and the depth of. paces between greater, ; 
than ever. 
The changes of temperature are very great, owing to the distance . a 
from the influence, of large masses of water, and, if they were 4 4 
companied by corresponding changes: in humidity, they would 
insupportable. Last night we went to bed with thermometer at — 
70° Fahrenheit, and awakened this .morning shivering, the ther- 
mometer marking 25°; yet, g rifesoertiag a) our blankets were as 
dry as though we nadatlibe t in a house eo 
The table land, 150 feet above the river, was covered — 80 - 
thick with large paving pebbles, as.to make it difficult to get a o 
smooth place to lie u cad vale : 
The growth of to 7 , ai yesterday, on the hills and in the val 2 
leys, very much Fesnbles that on the Del Norte, the only exeep- $ 
a ” re : - Ag 3 
