VALLEY OF BILL WILLIAMS FORK.—CEREITS GIGANTEUS, 
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spines at a distance glisten beautifully in the sun ; but a near approach requires caution. The 
joints, about three inches in length, are so fragile that, for some distance around, the ground is 
covered with them; and the sharp barbed spines, now difficult to avoid, wound severely the feet of 
men and beasts. The joints thus broken from the parent stem do not decay, but, wherever chance 
has thrown them, take root and propagate with a facility seldom found among useful plants. 
Big Sandy creek abounds in antelope, deer, rabbits, and partridges, feeding upon the rich 
grama-grass, and the.seed which it yields. Wolves (coyotes and lobos) are also numerous, and 
live by preying upon their weaker neighbors. 
February 4.—Pursuing the reconnaissance for about ten miles nearly south, the direction in 
which the water flows, we passed along the valley of Bill Williams’ fork, which averages 
probably two or three miles in width, while the sandy bed of the stream is frequently a quarter 
of a mile wide. For some three miles below the mouth of Big Sandy creek there flowed a 
clear rivulet, which then, to our surprise, disappeared beneath a sandy bed that seemed to have 
been washed by arroyos from the hills. After traversing a mile or two of sand, it gushed out 
from the channel like a magnificent spring; flowing and fertilizing its banks for a considerable 
distance, then sinking again to reappear below. Several kinds of beautiful fishes were found 
in this rivulet, and one was caught. It was quite different from any before seen; had a large 
head, was apparently without scales, with black back, white belly, and a red stripe upon each 
side extending from head to tail. An owl and a black-tailed deer were obtained to-day; the 
latter a long wished for addition to the zoological collection. The botanist, too, has found new 
forms of interest to him in the vegetable kingdom. Varieties of the cactus family have been 
discovered, and the famed Cereus giganteus is scattered upon the hills which bound the valley. 
Cereus Giganteus, on Bill Williams’ Fork. 
I think it has never before been seen except in the vicinity of Rio Gila. The singular appear¬ 
ance of the tall columns, sometimes shooting out one or more branches, communicates a strange 
