HIEROGLYPHICS.—GAME. 15 
thirty feet deep, and as we neared the river they were soldered together into a conglomerate, of 
which lime was the cement. 
We saw to-day on the rocks other rude carvings of the Indians, hut their modern date was 
apparent. 
To-day there was a dead calm, about meridian intensely hot, and the dust rose in volumes 
as our party advanced. 
We found the river spread over a greater surface—about one hundred yards wide—and flow¬ 
ing gently along over a sandy bottom, the banks fringed with cane, willow, and myrtle. 
Last night I took an involuntary plunge into it, for my mule sunk in a quicksand while I 
was searching for a place to cross my party. To-night I took a swim, but found the waters 
disagreeably cold. 
The chain of broken hills still continued on the north side, and, when near our camp of this 
date, circled in an amphitheatre, with its arch to the north. The basaltic columns, rising into 
the shape of spires, domes, and towers, gave it the appearance, as we approached, of a vast 
city on the hills. The distance of the crown of this amphitheatre, determined by angulation, 
is-miles, and Francisco informs me that against its north base the Colorado strikes. So at 
this point, which is about six miles below our camp of this date, the Gila and Colorado must 
be near together. The hills and mountains appeared entirely destitute of vegetation, and on 
the plains could be seen, only at long intervals, a few stunted tufts of larrea Mexicana and 
wild wormwood, artemisia cana. 
November 19.—The table-lands were the same as those described yesterday, but the valley 
widens gradually, and for most of the way is six or eight miles wide, and the soil excel¬ 
lent. Some remains of former settlements in broken pottery, corn-grinders, &c., but much 
fewer in number than above. Nine miles from camp a spur of mountains of an altered silicious 
sandstone came in from the southeast, sharp as the edge of a case-knife, and shooting into pin¬ 
nacles. At their base we passed for half a mile over the sharp edges of a red, altered sand¬ 
stone, dipping southwest about 80°, indeed nearly vertical. 
On this spur was killed a mountain sheep, one of a large flock, from which we named it 
Goat’s spur. We encamped on an island where the valley is contracted by sand buttes into what 
had been very recently the bed of the river. It was overgrown with willow, cane, Gila grass, 
flag-grass, &c. The pools in the old bed of the river were full of ducks, and all night the swan, 
brant, and geese, were passing; but they were as shy as if they had received their tuition on 
the Chesapeake bay, where they are continually chased by sportsmen. The whole island was 
tremulous with the motion of the mules grazing, and my observations were, therefore, not very 
satisfactory. 
Eleven circum-meridian altitudes of Procyon, and twelve altitudes of Polaris, give the latitude 
of the camp 32° 43' 38". 
November 20.—The table-lands were of sand, and the bottom of the river constantly received 
deposites from them, which changed its bed frequently, as might be seen from the different 
growths of cotton-wood marking the old land. Our road, about five miles from last night’s 
camp, was traversed by a spur of coarse-grained granite, underlaid by old red sandstone, dipping 
some eighty degrees to the south and west. The direction of the spur was nearly parallel to 
those before noted, northwest and southeast, which is the direction of the axis of the maximum 
elevation of most of the mountains traversing the course of the Gila. 
Our camp was pitched on a little patch of grass two miles from the river; night came on 
before the horses reached it, and they were without water for twenty-four hours; there was a 
pond near the camp, but so salt that the horses could not drink it. 
At noon the thermometer was 74°, at 6 p. m. 52°, and at 6 o’clock the next morning 19°, 
which has been about the average range of temperature for the last two weeks. 
November 21.—To-day we marched only eight and a half miles, and halted for a patch of 
