32 
VALLEY OP THE APISHPA. 
August 4.—Captain Gunnison, with a small escort, proceeded to examine the cation this 
morning. He found the water at its mouth running over a sandstone ledge for 500 feet, 
with falls of 1 \ feet, occurring at pretty regular distances of about 100 feet. “ This,” he 
remarks, is the first sound which has given me notice of a water-fall since leaving the 
mountains in New York.” Above this he entered a gorge, in which the current is sluggish, 
running in a deep gully, which he followed for a mile, coming to a high perpendicular escarp¬ 
ment of rocks on the right, on which are numerous hieroglyphics or Indian writings, “which 
appear to have been made at various, times, but are mostly of a recent date.” A mile and a 
half from this inscribed rock, large masses of fallen rocks blocked up the way, or bench, six feet in 
width on one side of the creek, the bed of which is fifty feet below with nearly perpendicular 
banks; the passage on the opposite side was even worse than this a few yards above, the creek 
washing under the bluff, preventing the passage of horse or footman. The rocks are soft 
sandstone, easily cut. He then ascended to the second table, or inclined bench, which he found 
covered with broken fragments of prismatic stones with sharp edges; the crevices and open 
parts of the rocks were filled with gigantic cacti, some of which were five feet in height, with 
lobes in whorls around the main stem, the branches themselves standing off like radii from the 
centre of a circle. They had flowered and, the corolla having fallen, had left the top like a 
small cup. Ascending eighty feet above this table, “ we came to some pines of a stunted growth, 
but a few of them a loot in diameter. They are of the three-leaved or pitch-pine species of the 
east. Dwarf cedar also grows in these rocky precipices.” Near this point a canon comes in 
from the south, extending several miles to some high lands. Above this the canon of the main 
creek widens, and could be followed by wagons, but would require working at various points. 
In following along the canon, or near it, several rocky gullies were passed, and were followed 
by canones perpendicular in their course to that of the creek, with sides nearly one hundred feet 
in height. The main course of one of them was slightly north of west, towards the Greenhorn 
mountains, for six miles; then diminishing in size, spread out into several smaller ones.” Following 
this canon, Captain Gunnison came upon the trail of the wagons, and soon after arrived at camp. 
In the mean time the remainder of the party, with the wagon train, finding it impossible to follow 
the course of the creek, in consequence of the side cafiones and deep chasms, with abrupt and 
often vertical walls, of fifty and a hundred feet in height, had followed up one of them by a long 
up-hill march, turning ravines, first in one direction and then in another, until we at length came 
to a practicable pass over the first canon, where we resumed our course for the creek, but were 
almost immediately intercepted by another no less formidable cafion, up which we followed until 
we were fortunate enough to find water remaining in pools from a recent shower, and also a not 
difficult crossing to the canon. We encamped-here, having travelled but fifteen miles; but as 
we were without a guide, and had not been able to get water for our animals during the march, 
it was necessary to halt, not knowing where we should again meet with it. We have all day 
passed limited but luxuriant fields of grass in the canones; grass is also finely scattered over the 
hills. The rocks of the hills and canones are red sandstone. We have been forced, in searching 
for a passage, nearly to the summit of the divide between the waters of the creek at our morning 
camp, and of the Arkansas river; and it is becoming more than doubtful if we are not following 
some other than the Huerfano river. I rode forward several miles before dismounting to ascertain 
something of the nature of the country, and the proper direction for the following march, and 
returned to camp through large herds of antelope. 
August 5.—We pursued our course to-day, from the observations made after our arrival in 
camp yesterday, without difficulty. Passing the head of several dry canones, and branches of 
them to the south, we descended, about three miles from camp, into a broad valley, in which are 
standing two yellow sandstone buttes on a base of soft shale, some hundred feet in height above 
the surrounding country. I ascended one of these with considerable difficulty to its narrow 
summit, and obtained an extensive view of the adjacent country. From one side of this butte 
