I wrote you from this camp 25 I 
u ay a ago. We were then about to 
start on our third trip, to the west ami 
southwest. We pass d along the low 
depression nouh of the Mesa Verdi to ! 
Ute peats, the northeastern summit of 
toe Late group. These mountains are 
Within ten to fifteen miles of the Utah 
line, and almost midway between our 
north and south lines. The drainage 
is entirely to the San Juan. The rock 
is Trachyte. They are a mass of tra- 
cnyte pushed through and piled up 
upon a cretaceous floor. No. 1 ou the 
north and west, Nos. 2 and 3 on the 
east and south From this group to 
our western line we encountered a 
most detestable country to work ; caxl- 
oueh bare and waterless. No. 1 criua- 
ceous forms the mesa caps. The pur- 
assic shales and upper red beds, the j 
slopes ot the canons. We must work ' 
a strip forty mnes wide and nearly one 
hunured mihs long, in which there is i 
no single point to relieve the cornpli 
Gated monotony of this cafioned pla¬ 
teau. The little spring of Ute peak 
was nearly dry when we left it, and 
we were not aware of the existence of 
water in all ihis area, excepting along 
the course of the dan ,juau, which 
flows to the westward just north of 
the line between Arizona and Utah. 
Mr. Aldrich climbed Ute peak with 
us and then returned. Jackson and 
his outfit were traveling with us. 
We left Ute peak expecting to inarch 
down the McElmo to the San Juan, a 
distance of Ihiity-tive miles. Fortu¬ 
nately water was found ou the Haven 
Weep, a branch of the McElmo, and i 
we were able to do two good days” 
work in the middle western part of out- 
country. 
un the 5th we reached the San Juan 
some ten miles on in Utah. Jackson 
left us and pushed on toward the New- 
quois country. We made one more 
march down the river, and encamped 
within four or five miles of our west¬ 
ern 1 ne. That night about 10 o’clock 
our stock was stolen. Turn Cooper 
heard them moving and supposing a 
wolf had scared them went out 
to see that they were in 
good shape. To his surprise they 
were moving rapidly off, and follow¬ 
ing the sound of the hell, he gave 
them chase. For two mdes he toile j 
on, and smi the bell kept ahead. It 
was a stormy night, and as dark as 
pitch, and the country was covered 
with trees ana bushes, and cutup bv 
deep guihes. Finally toe bell stopped, 
a id aii was still. He began to sus¬ 
pect that there were Indians at the 
noit'om of it, aud pushed forward to- 
. ward wnere the last soum.s were 
heard, buddeuly he came upon the 
mules, all buncoed up and standing 
stiii. He passed around them, auu 
was about to put his hand upon the 
bell horse lo caress him, when he dis¬ 
covered that the bed was gone, aud at 
the same moment a flash of lightning 
disclosed an Ionian, almost within ins 
reach, engaged in cutting the hobols 
irom the leetof Old Joe, while another 
Indian stoud near by. They caught 
sight of Tom at the same moment, 
and, obeying their cowardly iostme s, 
spiang instantly upon tht-ir ponitS 
and w ere off like a flash. Tom caught 
a mule, aud mounting him, started 
the herd for camp at full speed, and at 
every jump sent forth sucii a yeli as 
must have made the long hair of the 
retreating red devils fairly stand on 
end. In an nour the animals were aii 
safely iu camp, but seemed to miss the 
bell, and were quitt frightened and 
uneasy. Early in the morning we 
rode out to the point of recapture, auu 
found our beM aud hobbles^and better j 
than all, two good Indian lanattes, ' 
leit by the thieves iu their hasty re- j 
treat. There we keep as trophies. 
Next day we caugut the thieves in 
their camp—actually tracked them 
IfoureT Tuey were eight as fierce aud 
develish redskins as I have ever met. 
'tfffey were impudent aud defiant, aud 
we fully expected to have more trou- 
ble. But for some reason we have es¬ 
caped them. We have watched con- 
stantly aud carefully ever siuce, but 
at the same time have not 1 st an 
J hour’s work. We crossed the San Juan 
into Arizona, and worked for a week 
among the thieving Navajoes ; found 
water at the oase of the Sierra Cnrriss, 
and finished aii of the southwest in 
good time. The dry country, the heat 
and the poor water, have been very 
bard on our stock, but a slow march 
on the return route has revived them, 
and now all are iu excellent shape. 
The Sierra Carriso are in Arizona, 
and geologically correspond very 
closely to the Late Mountains (Ute). 
The floor of the country is mostly of 
Jurassie rock, however. The No. 1 
mesas stand back at a respectable dist 
ance. The Bio San Juan passes iu 
our Territory from the lower tertiary 
down through the Cretaceous aud Jur¬ 
assie into the Red beds. I shall have 
no trouble in mapping and describing 
the geology of the San Juan and its 
drainage. I fear that the Dolans will 
be almost as simple. Dr Peale and I 
unite our forces from this on. We 
shall not be idle. 
On our return from the southwest I 
visited a number of ruins, and have 
Uj 
/S75' 
