THE COPPER MINES TO RIO SAN PEDRO. 355 
CHAPTER XVL. 
THE COPPER MINES TO RIO SAN PEDRO. 
at El Sauce—Man missing—Oamp in the Chiricahui Mountains— 
Boggy road—Want of water—Dry lake—Reach the Mexican 
Meeting of the Joint Commission—Mr. Gray’s objection to the Boun- 
dary—March resumed—Mules abandoned—Reach San Pedro River— 
Its character. : 
Tue journey we were now about to undertake was 
entirely different from any we had yet made. Since 
leaving the coast in Texas we had, except for eight 
days, followed a well marked and beaten road, practi- 
cable for wagons, and which was constantly followed 
‘by trains of emigrants passing to California. Now we 
had first to traverse a broad tract of country between 
us and the Gila, where there was no road, or even a 
trail; ignorant as to the existence of water or grass, 
or even whether it would be possible to reach our 
place of destination with the wagons. It was neces- 
sary to strike the Gila near the point where it is inter- 
sected by the western boundary of New Mexico, or in 
longitude 109° 47’ west from Greenwich. It was 
known that this river had its rise in lofty mountains, 
_ through which it ran for nearly two hundred miles of 
