FORT YUMA TO MOJAVE CANON--MONUMENT MOUNTAINS. 55 
some of them delicate, nicely-cut features, with little of the Indian phy siognomy. Unlike 
their neighbors—who, though warlike, are domestic, and seldom leave their own valleys—the 
Chemehueris are a wandering race, and travel great distances on hunting and predatory excur- 
sions. They wear sandals and hunting shirts of buckskin, and carry tastefully-made quivers 
of the same material. They are notorious rogues, and have a peculiar cunning, elfish expres- 
sion, which is a sufficient certificate of their rascality. One of them tried to cheat me while 
fulfilling a bargain for a deerskin; but I detected him at it, and, in spite of his denial, proved 
the fraud upon him. He was highly amused at being fairly caught, and it raised me very much 
in his estimation; if I had tried to cheat him, and had succeeded, his admiration would have 
been unlimited. 
Camp 32, Beaver island, January 31.—Forty-two miles of navigation generally similar to 
that of the preceding week have brought us to the head of the Great Colorado valley. For 
twenty miles of this distance the Half-way range bounds the west bank. A broad and even 
swell extends from the water to the edge of the acclivity. At the northern extremity of the 
range are two prominent peaks. The most northerly, which is the highest, stands close to the 
river side, and forms a conspicuous feature in the scenery for a long distance above and below. 
We are now at the verge of the foot-hills of a continuous chain of mountains, that crosses the 
Colorado ten miles above, and has been in sight for many days. Among the group of fantastic 
peaks that surmount this chain is a slender and perfectly symmetrical spire that furnishes a 
Fig. 9—Monument Mountains. 
striking landmark, as it can be seen from a great way down the river in beautiful relief against 
the sky. Through a gap in the range some lofty snow-topped summits are visible to the north. 
Between us and the Riverside mountains the bluffs of the desert come to the brink of the river; 
but below this confined passage is a stretch of several miles, which we call the Sand Island 
