88 EXPLOJRLNG EXPEDITION PROM SANTA PJfi 



Sierra la Sal. In the north appeared a new and grand topographical feature. From 

 X. 10' \Y. to X. E. magnetic stretched a chain of great mountains, higher and more 

 picturesque than an\ we had seen. These have no common name, but one of the 

 peaks is called, from the stream which washes its base, Sierra San Miguel. 



Whether these mountains form a single chain or several, and what is their prevail- 

 ing trend cannot be said with certainty without closer inspection ; the overlapping lines 

 of their bases, which would decide that question, being concealed by intervening high- 

 lands. I should infer, however, from the view we had oi them, thai they represent 

 several distinct ranges, with a trend nearly north and south, set &n ecJwlon. Between 

 the most easterly of these mountains and the Sierra de la Plata is a low gap, in which 

 stands ;i remarkable pinnacle of rock; even at a distance oi seventy or eighty miles a 

 striking object. ( me of the mountains in this group hears a large surface oi snow, and 

 its height cannot he less than L3,000 feet Several others are nearly as lofty, and are 

 cones of great beaut v. 



The hill from which we obtained this view is crowned with an extensive series of 

 very ancient ruins. The principal one is a pueblo, nearly loo feet square, once sub- 

 stantially built of dressed stone, now a shapeless heap, in which the plan of the original 

 structure can, however, he traced. lake most ol the ruined puehlos oi Xew Mexico, 



it consisted of a Beries of small rooms clustered ton-ether, like cells in a beehive. Near 

 the principal edifice are mounds of stone, representing subordinate buildings. Among 

 these are numerous large depressions marking the places oi cisterns or estvffas. Quan- 

 tities of broken pottery, similar to that so commonly ^-vw in like circumstances, hut 

 bearing the marks of great age, strew the ground about these ruins. 



A mile oi- two up the river are several other sfone houses built high up in the 



cliffs, 1M) feet above the stream; they are usually placed on ledges covered by pro" 

 jecting rocks, which act as roofs. 'These houses are not large, and were probably 

 only occupied by the guardians of the fields once in cultivation below. All of these, as 

 well as the more extensive ruins before mentioned, are admirably located lor defense, 



and would he easily held l>v a handful oi' determined men against any number ol 

 assailants armed only with the weapons of savage warfare. 



Between our camp on the Dolores and Surouara no new geological feature was 

 noticed. The Lower ( Iretaceous sandstones everywhere form the rockv substratum, 

 here and there covered with patches of the overlying shale. From these shale-heds 

 millions of Gryphssas have washed out, covering the surface and rattling under tin; 

 mule's feet like gravel-stones. Sage is the predominant vegetation, and no water is 

 found in the interval; yet we passed several ruined buildings, and broken pottery is 

 scattered everywhere. 



Surouaro is the name of a ruined town which must once have contained a popu- 

 lation of several thousands. The name is said to be of Indian (Utah) origin, and to 

 signify desolation, and certainly no better could have been selected. 'The surround- 

 ing country is hopelessly sterile; and, whatever it once may have been, Surouaro is 



now desolate enough. Here are two canons, cul in the sandstone by two former 

 streams. These unite nearly a, mile helow camp. All the interval of mesa between 

 them is covered with ruins. The houses are, many of them, large, and all built of 



