34 
DESCRIPTION OP THE COUNTRY. 
a third, to Camp 96, in the bottom of the valley, 160 feet. This ridge would be impracticable 
for a railroad, except for the smoothness, regularity, and extent of its western slope. From an 
examination of the ground, it would appear practicable to cut through the crest at the gorge 
referred to, and construct a road upon the side slope, with a grade of about 15 feet per mile. 
This would enable us to strike the trail at station 14, between Camps 96 and 97. 
From Camp 96 we followed the valley, which between stations 1 and 2 is contracted to the width 
of 150 yards, with hanks from 20 to 30 feet in height. Beyond, the slopes upon the left are 
gentle ; and at station 5 a wide branch of the valley comes in from the south. Three miles to 
the right of station A is the continuation of the bluffs, crossed at station B, between Camps 95 
and 96 ; and they continue far towards the west-northwest. The valley between is dotted with 
knolls and sprinkled with cedar thickets. The surface is smooth and covered with grass. A 
quarter of a mile to the right of station 13 there is a hill 200 feet high. -The slopes to the right 
are very gentle ; the surface is prairie, with few trees. Upon the hill-sides, to the right of stations 
14 and 15, much red sandstone appears. Here we passed a low dividing ridge, and entered the 
valley of Partridge creek—-high hills continuing upon the right of the trail. Beyond, the valley 
becomes narrow, and at length enters a canon of Partridge creek, with high bluff hanks, which 
are covered with cedar trees. The trail followed the undulating slopes upon its borders to Camp 
97, situated within a rocky glen, where the creek contained large pools of water. The geolo¬ 
gical outcrops are of the lower carboniferous formation. The country passed over is rough, but 
the general slopes are favorable for a roadway. From station 14 to Camp 97 the maximum 
grade may amount to 80 or 90 feet per mile. 
From Camp 97 to Camp 98 the route lies near the canon of Partridge creek. Its steep banks 
are from 50 to 80 feet in height, varying from one to three hundred yards in width. The top 
of the bluffs, though broken and rough, are upon a level with the general surface of the coun¬ 
try, and, for a road, the labor of graduation would he less at some distance from the creek. 
The stream is not flowing, hut it contains numerous pools of water. Grass and trees are abund¬ 
ant upon the trail. There is hut little arable soil in the vicinity. 
From Camp 98 to station 5, the trail follows the bed of the canon. At that point the banks 
recede, leaving a good-sized valley between. The stream, however, makes a large bend toward 
the southeast ; and, to avoid it, the line of survey took a direct course southwest across the 
nearly level prairie toward Picacho. Between stations 9 and 10 is a dry arroyo leading to 
Partridge creek. The ridge of Black Forest appears aboiit fifteen miles to the left. Another 
chain of hills lies upon the right, about ten miles distant. From station 10 to 14 the country 
is level, producing a few scattered cedar trees ; thence to Camp 99, the trail crossed a rolling 
prairie, intersected by a number of deep ravines, in which water was found. About three 
miles to the northwest is Picacho, with a gravelly spur extending to the vicinity of camp, 
and forming the southern terminus of the range of La Laja ; the Black Forest range, from the 
south-southeast, ends about two miles southeast from the same point, leaving between the two 
ranges an opening through which Partridge creek flows into the great Yal de China. The 
bed of this valley is about- 200 feet below the general surface of the prairie, which borders 
Partridge creek, and ends in a bluff below Camp 99. Camp 100 is situated at the foot of it, 
about one mile distant from, and 188 feet below, Camp 99. By following Partridge creek 
from Camp 98 to its entrance to Valde China, the grades would he light. It would, probably, 
he equally practicable to construct a road along the trail, from station 5 to station 15—between 
Camps 98 and 99—and there entering a ravine, follow it to the confluence with Yal de China, 
near Camp 100. The gradients would he favorable, except upon the latter portion, where 
they might amount to eighty feet per mile. The direct route from New Lear’s spring, referred 
to in the general description of this region, would take the northeast branch of Partridge creek, 
and unite with the survey near Camp 100. 
Between Camps 100 and 101, a distance of seven and a half miles, the trail passes across the 
rich bottom-lands of Val de China, in a southwest course, nearly perpendicular to the general 
direction of the valley at this point. The country is smooth enough for the laying of tracks 
