CHAPTER II. 
THE MIEMBRES MOUNTAINS AND THE RIO MIEMBRES. 
seave the Rio Grande Valley.—‘‘ La Tenaja,” or the Water-bowl.—Mule 
Spring.—Search for Palmer’s Pass.—Survey the Pass.—Cooke’s Caiion.— 
The e Discovery of Copper i in the Miembres oe by the early Spanish 
Work resumed again four years later, but abandoned on account of the 
Indians.—The Pinos Altos Mines.—Mangas Coloradas.—The Days of 
Indian Wars are numbered.—The Rio Miembres.—The City of Rocks.— 
Ojo Caliente.—Colton arrives from Mesilla with Guides.—* Jornadas.” 
Distance, from Rio Grande to Ojo Caliente, vid Palmer’s Pass, fifty miles. 
m erged into rough undulating country formed of bluffs whose 
ridges run at right angles to the river, we bade pantie to 
“* eut o ” by following up one of the ravines to the west- 
ward—the Cafada de St. Barbara—towards the Miembres 
Mountains. Nine miles brought us to a water-hole, called 
“La Tenaja” by the Mexicans, where three basins, one above 
he other, were scooped out in a large mass of rock, which here 
blocks up the channel of the gorge. There is, without doubt, 
: beautiful cascade here at’ times; but then (Oct. 14th) the 
sed of the stream was quite dry, although one of the natural 
basins was nearly full of good soft water. It was, however, 
Yuite inaccessible to the stock, which could only approach the 
owest bowl with difficulty. The water had therefore to be 
oured in bucketfuls from the middle basin down to that below. 
- Another march of ten miles brought us to the foot of the 
nountains, and we camped at a spot called Mule Spring, where 
ye found a good supply of water os digging. - 
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