CROSS MOUNTAIN.—AQUARIUS RANGE. 
95 
The day has been warm. Scarcely a patch of snow can now he found, except upon northern 
slopes of hills. It has melted so rapidly as to cause the ground to he quite soft, and had for 
the march of the train. 
January 25.—Last night three stampedes of the mules took place, and this morning forty 
were missing. They were at length found, and we prepared for our contemplated exploration. 
With a small party we resumed a westward course. The creek we crossed where it contained 
large pools of water separated by a bed of worn pebbles. A few hundred yards below were 
green willows, denoting springs of water. Leaving to our right the pleasant valley of this 
stream, we passed a low ridge, and in a general course north 45° west, approached a mesa, 
which, from its form, was called Cross mountain. At its base we found the creek we had left, 
bent from its previous course, and flowing in a canon nearly south. Having followed it two 
miles, we encamped upon a sort of island in the bed of the stream, whose steep banks were 
about seventy-five feet in height. Water occurs in large basins, and is not yet found flowing 
above the surface. Cedar forests and excellent grama furnish, wherever we please, the elements 
of a good camp ground. 
We are now twenty miles from the summit at Aztec Pass, with an average descent of fifty or 
sixty feet per mile. For the last fifteen miles the slope has been nearly uniform. Below Cross 
mountain, a short distance from camj), is an arroyo, coming in from the northwest. Savedra 
thinks that it is the same in which, twelve years ago, he saw a flowing stream farther north. 
The weather is warm, and the grass begins to assume a brighter color. The botanist lias found 
some pretty umbelliferous flowers, called by Mexicans gamote. They have a fragrant odor, and 
the root of the plant is much prized by Mexicans and Indians, as food. The formation traversed 
to-day was frequently intersected by beds of lava or trap. About ten miles south of our route 
is a range of mountains, with snow upon the summits, 2,000 feet above the valley, and about 
twelve miles in length. This has been termed Cygnus mountain. 
Signals were made this evening for the train to move on to the bend of the creek at Cross 
mountain. There they can easily cross the canon, and await the result ot turther explorations 
south. 
January 26.—A light fall of snow was produced last night by the wind shifting from south 
to southwest. It seems that moisture brought from the Gulf of California is precipitated by 
the mountain peaks in this vicinity, producing rain and snow, and creating springs in mode¬ 
rate abundance. Farther north, upon the route traversed by Captain Sitgreaves, the country 
becomes an elevated table-land, parched by winds ; which, in their passage over more pointed 
summits towards the coast, are deprived of moisture. Hence the barrenness of that region. 
At 10 a. m. we followed the direction of the canon nearly south ten miles, to the southeast 
point of a small range of mountains, which, from the numerous streams flowing from it, was 
called the Aquarius range, where again we spread our blankets under the cedars. From an 
elevated point we had a view back to where we left the train. The general surface of the 
country, which consists of great beds of lava and trap dikes, overlying or intersecting limestone 
and granite, appeared like a plain. But in various directions it is cut into small canons, 
through which flow rills of clear water. One branch, bearing a fine stream from the north¬ 
west, joins the main creek near this point of Aquarius mountain, the bed being 280 feet below 
the banks'which bound it. The sides of these deep ravines are frequently perpendicular cliffs, 
forming narrow chasms which might easily be bridged. Occasionally the banks recede, afford¬ 
ing a declivity by which a train may effect a passage. Towards the southwest is a break or 
gap through a low mountain chain, where it is evident that the creek leaves the canon and enters 
an open valley. The general course of the stream is direct, and we desire to follow the canon 
to its termination, but there is no hope of taking the wagons through. At the northwest point 
of Aquarius mountain, beyond a wide stretch of apparent plain, has been seen a puerto that 
looked favorable for a passage, and it is decided to examine it first. Afterwards we propose to 
return to the stream we have been following, now determined to be Bill Williams’ fork. 
