102 
VALLEY OF BILL WILLIAMS FORK.-CACTACEiE. 
effect to the landscape. An idea of barrenness is associated with the whole cactus tribe, de¬ 
tracting from the delight with which we witness the rare and beautiful forms here developed. 
Yet the valley itself, except where sand has buried the stream, presents a refreshing prospect 
of fertility. Willows, alamos, and large groves of mezquite, grow in such dense profusion a s 
sometimes to render it difficult to find a passage through them. Beneath the trees, and bor¬ 
dering the water-courses, there is a crop of fresh grass, and occasionally a few spring flowers. 
Upon the hills, or among the ravines which pass through them, there are patches of grama for 
the mules. 
February 5.—After breakfast we mounted and rode onward. Our course was near the stream, 
generally in the valley, hut sometimes crossing spurs to avoid a thick undergrowth of trees. 
We travelled nine miles, and encamped within a canon, which, broken through spurs from 
Blue Kidge, formed a passage for the river. From point to point upon this march something 
new was developed to awaken interest in the exploration. A few miles below our last camp 
the stream changed its character, from alternate fertilizing rills and beds of sand, to a con¬ 
tinuous rivulet, clear, rapid, and several feet in depth. Many fresh beaver dams existed upon 
this portion of the river, enlarging it so as to make the crossing difficult. For a while we 
threaded a well-trodden Indian trail, till at length it was lost amid the mazes of a thicket. 
This, with the traces of a few diminutive camp fires, and a rough metate found upon the water’s 
edge, was the only visible sign of Indians. 
Six miles from last night’s camp the river turned a spur from the mountains, and, entering a 
rocky ravine, pursued a westward course among hills of granite and trap, which were occasion¬ 
ally broken into canons. The width of this pass varied from 300 yards to half a mile. A road 
could be constructed through it to the spur upon which we have bivouaced, either by cutting 
off a few sharp points of its sinuous course, or by tunnelling through them for a few hundred 
yards to maintain the uniform grade of the valley. The wagons, if they follow our trail, will 
be obliged to pass through thickets and over sand-beds and marshes. But pioneers can doubt¬ 
less select a route where, by moderate labor, the way may he made good. Cactaceae become 
still more abundant as we proceed. Our path to-day has truly been a thorny one. There are 
mammillaria, with crimson fruit, just rising above the surface ot the ground; opuntia, of many 
varieties: some with wide leaf-like joints, others of shrubby form and woody fibre, which the 
botanist proposes to name Cactodendron; various kinds of Echino cactus, the most conspicuous 
being that named Wislizenus, and sometimes called the “Turk’s Head;” and Cerei, from the 
little Cloranthus to the Giganteus, inclusive. The latter occur, as upon the Gila, in groups 
upon the hill-sides; sometimes without branches, and, when full grown, average about thirty- 
five feet in height. Ducks, partridges, and deer are numerous upon the river. A badger was 
seen, but, unfortunately, not killed. Near camp, upon the hills, the grass is good, and under 
the spreading mezquite is a green carpet such as has been previously described. 
February 6.—Desc nding the river the pass soon grew wider, and the hills seemed to recede; 
leaving a fertile valley, watered by a stream fifteen feet wide, and from a foot to two feet deep. 
Our course varied from south 15° west to south 10° east. We travelled ten miles, and encamped 
near the river, where it flows through a range of volcanic mountains. Grama is still found 
upon the hills. Rushes are mingled with the green grass that borders the stream. Numerous 
Pitahaya* add to the picturesque effect of rugged hills, sprinkled with shrubs and green-barked 
acacias. Another beautiful addition to the scenery appeared to-day; groves of tall and branch¬ 
ing Yucca, with shining leaves, radiating like a wide-spread fan. They are twenty or thirty 
feet high, with trunks from a foot and a half to two feet in diameter. The leaves grow upon 
the extremities of the branches, and each year are folded back to give place to a new set. It is 
in this way that the trunks attain their great size* A semi-compact substance is formed by 
the interlacing of the leaves, which, when dry, makes pretty good fuel for a camp fire. The 
* Name by which the Cercus Giganteus is known among Mexicans and Indians on Rio Gila. 
