hese ; 
8 93 [7] 
jth the motion of the mules grazing, and my observations were, — 
Rrefore; not -very satisfactory. | 
11 circum-meridian, altitudes of procyon, and 12 altitudes of po- 
ris, give the latitude of the camp, 32° 43° 38". fens 
faire 20.—The table lands were of sand, and the bottom of 
the river constantly réceived deposites from them, which changed its 
* frequently, as.might be seen from the different growths of cot- 
¢on wood marking the old land. Our road, about five miles from 
hs night’s camp, was traversed by a spur of coarse grained granite . 
underlaid by old red sandstone dipping some 80° to the south and - 
lwest: The direction of the spur was nearly parallel to those before 
tnoted, northwest and southeast, which is the direction of the axis 
of the maximum elevation of most of the mountains traversing the 
course of the Gila : 
| Our camp was pitched on a little patch of grass two miles from 
the river, night came on before the horses reached it, and they were 
without water for twenty-four hours; there was a pond near the | 
camp, but sd salt that the horses could not drink it. : 
At noon, the thermometer was 74°, at 6, p. m., 52°, and at 6 
o'clock the next morning, 19°, whichhas been about the average 
range of temperature for the last two weeks. ft 
November 21.—To-day we marched only eight and, a half miles, 
and halted for a patch of grama, which was an agreeable and bene- 
ficial change to our mules, that had been living on cane and wil- 
low for some days past. , 
The plains are now almost entirely of sand, and composed of» 
sandy and calcareous loam with iron pyrites and common salt, cov- 
ered sparsely with chamiza, larrea Mexicana, anda shrubby species _ 
of sage, (salvia.) : 
I obseryed at night for latitude and time, and there being two » 
occultations of Jupiter’s satellites, I was.tempted to observe them 
with our inferior telescope, which only gave us another proof of its 
uselessness for the purpose. % 
November 22.—Mr: Warner and I started before the advance 
sounded, and climbed the shatp spur of a continuous comb cf moun- 
tains coming from the southeast, to try if we could see the Colorado 
of the west. The mountains rose abruptly from the plains as they 
| mostly do in this region, resembling in appearance large dykes ter- 
inating at top in a sharp ridge hich a man could, at any part, 
_ Straddle. They were of hard granite, pepper and salt colored,. . 
| traversed by seams of white quartz. This spur gives theriver Gila 
quite a bend to the north, and from ‘that point to its mouth, which 
we reached at night, the river is straight in its general direction; 
but its course is crooked and dotted with sandbars, by ineur- 
7 aenaciacie i aceeeseaniaemeenaatsie: 
is brought down by the winds from the valley of the Colorado. 
ts volume seemed, I 
_ by the sand. B 
_ The day was warm, the dust oppressive, and the march, twenty- 
| two miles, very long for our jaded and ill-fed brutes. The gene- — 
| Tal’s horse gave out, and he was obliged to mount his mule. ne 
Sions from the sandhills which now flank both its sides. The sand — ; 
