MOUTH OF THE COLORADO—APPROACH OF FULL MOON TIDES. 3D 
ing out horizontally in the gale, pantomimed farewell to us as we watched, regretfully, the 
disappearing vessel. 
The necessity of digging a pit to build the steamboat in has been attended with one advan- 
tage, as it has secured a partial shelter to the workmen, without which, for the last day or two, 
the operations would have been at a standstill. The shaft was yesterday raised to its place. 
This was the last heavy piece that had to be handled, and the rest of the work will be attended 
with little risk. An original defect in the steamboat, noticed during the trial trip, was that 
the connecting rods between the piston and crank played in slots cut so deep into the stern 
that when the boat was in motion the water would rush in. The lower portions of the slots 
have had therefore to be covered up, and this has raised the connecting rods and thrown the 
whole engine out of adjustment, occasioning a most perplexing disarrangement, and one that 
has given Mr. Carroll two or three days of troublesome work to remedy. He thinks now he 
has succeeded, and that the parts of the engine are fitted so that it will run smoothly. 
Yesterday several Indians appeared suddenly in camp, as though they had been blown from 
the north by the gale. Fearing lest a too hospitable reception might bring the whole tribe 
upon us, and make a serious inroad upon our moderate supply of rations, I ordered the cook 
not to give them anything to eat. As bed time approached they looked blue with disappoint- 
ment and hunger, and I thought that by morning they would have disappeared; but the latter 
part of the night was dark, and the sentinel, I suppose, not very wakeful after a hard day’s 
labor, for this morning I found them seated around the fire, shining with repletion, and in a 
high state of glee. This evening the preparations to guard the provisions were so elaborate 
that they gave up in despair, and started home in a very unamiable frame of mind. 
Now that the Monterey has gone, our little party has exclusive possession of the mouth of 
the Colorado, and the camp looks drearier than ever. Two of the men were compelled to 
ascend the river this morning for fresh water. They have not returned, and the late hour and 
the storm make us somewhat anxious for their safety. 
December 28 —The last day of the northwester was attended with a pelting rain—the first 
we have experienced since leaving San Francisco. In the midst of it the men sent for water 
returned. The boat had several times been on the eve of swamping in the heavy sea, and 
they were almost worn out with cold and exposure. On the morning of the 23d the gale had 
subsided, and there was a sudden transition to a cloudless sky and soft summer temperature. 
There has been time to place the transit again in the meridian, and to obtain during the last 
two or three nights some good observations of moon culminations for longitude. Having a small 
telescope, I have been able also to observe several occultations, and think that the position of 
the mouth of the river will be accurately fixed. 
Game is now abundant. There have been large accessions of ducks and plover to our neigh- 
borhood since the storm, but no one has any leisure to shoot them. We are straining every 
nerve to get the steamboat built before the approaching spring tides. But for the delays occa- 
sioned by the defects of her original construction she would have been finished two or three 
days ago. The essential parts are now complete. On Christmas day the boiler was filled and 
steam got up. The engine ran beautifully—a great triumph to Mr. Carroll after the trouble 
he has had with it. The boat is well modelled, and presents a gay appearance now that she 
has been painted. The word ‘‘Explorer,’’ printed in large capitals upon the wheel-house, 
designates her title and object. Some of the carpenters’ work has still to be done, but this 
will not occasion any delay. It being necessary to provide a stock of firewood before starting, 
as the men are all busy upon the boat, I told two or three Cocopa Indians, who came to see- 
us yesterday, that if they would go after drift-logs, and haul them to camp until dark, they 
should have plenty to eat and a large piece of cotton cloth. They were strong, athletic fellows, 
and after an hour of solemn deliberation, and the further offer of some beads and a fancy tippet, — < 
they agreed to go, Having once mide the bargain, it is but just to them to say that they per- 
