378 The American Geologist. june. 1893 
Independence, Mo., to Santa Fe which led them to Anton Chico. 
Some Mexicans were sent back as guides to the other party which 
was led by the way of Tucumcari and along the road afterwards 
pursued b}' emigrants along the Canadian to New Mexico. (Pa- 
cific R. R. Reports, Vol. XI, p. 30, Supplement. ) 
In 1849 Lieut. J. H. Simpson, traveled through the country. 
Keeping along and over the bluffs bordering the south side of the 
Canadian river as far as Rocky Dell creek, the}- graduall}' diverg- 
ed southwest from the river to the Tucumcari hills. Continuing west 
they crossed the Gallinas some ten miles above the mouth and 
struck the Pecos river at Anton Chico. 
Of that part of the trip Lieut. Simpson makes the following 
statement. 
Page 13. — "The next object of interest to the traveler will be Cerro 
de Tucumcari, or Tucumcari hill, which he will begin to see a mile or 
two after crossing Emigrant creek. In relation to this hill I extract 
the following from my journal : 
''Camp 55, June 16. — The route to-day has been interesting, on ac- 
count of its developing the accuracy of my calculations in regard to our 
geographical position. Soon after taking up the line of march, a small, 
faint, cloud-like appearance of small but growing extent, exhibited it- 
self, bearing magnetically nearly west. A few miles further on, this 
appearance gave way to a well defined, truncated cone. Proceeding 
still farther on, and in proportion as we progressed, a domelike appear- 
ance gradually unfolded itself, till at length, when we had almost reach- 
ed our present camp [page 14], an assemblage appeared which did not 
fail to strike many of us as being a most excellent representation of the 
dome of the Capitol at Washington. This object which we have gazed 
at nearly all day with the greatest interest, we take to be the Cerro de 
Tucumcari ; and if so it very satisfactorily accords with the geographi- 
cal position which my observations, in connection with the map of 
lieutenant Abert. give. There have been some among the emigrants 
who have been disposed to be skeptical as to the eflSciency of the watch 
— as they call the chronometer — in determining our position ; but, as 
Capt.Marcy remarked to me this afternoon, 'they must now begin to have 
more faith In its reliability.' The guide we have with us, though ac- 
quainted with the country on the north side of the Canadian (west of 
the Antelope hills) has known nothing of it on this side since we left 
the vicinity of Choutau's."* 
And again: 
"Camp 57, June 18. — This day has been one of interest to us, for two 
*Report of Exploration and Survey of route from Fort Smith, Ar- 
kansas, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, made in 1849 by First Lieut. James 
H. Simpson, Corps of Topographic Engineers. (House of Representa- 
tives Ex. Doc. No. 45, 31st Cong., 1st Session.) 
