20 
APACHES AND NAY A JOES.—COLORADO RIVER. 
view to profit; much less would lie purchase slaves for such a purpose. Their labor here, if 
they could he retained as slaves, among peons nearly of their own color, would never repay the 
cost of transportation, much less the additional purchase money. 
I made many inquiries as to the character of the vast region of country embraced in the 
triangle formed by the Colorado of the west, the.Del Norte, and the Gila; and the information 
collected will, at some future time, he thrown into notes for the benefit of future explorers, hut 
are not given in this work, as I profess to write only of what I saw. 
From all that I learn, the country does not differ materially in its physical character from New 
Mexico, except, perhaps, being less denuded of soil and vegetation. The sources of the Salinas, 
the San Francisco, Azul, San Carlos, and Prieto, tributaries of the Gila, take their rise in it. 
About their headwaters, and occasionally along their courses, are presented sections of land 
capable of irrigation. 
The whole extent, except on the margin of streams, is said to he destitute of forest trees. 
The Apaches, a very numerous race, and the Navajoes, are the chief occupants ; hut there are 
many minor hands, who, unlike the Apaches and Navajoes, are not nomadic, hut have fixed 
habitations. Among the most remarkable of these are the Soones, most of whom are said to 
he Albinos. The latter cultivate the soil, and live in peace with their more numerous and 
savage neighbors. 
Departing from the ford of the Colorado in the direction of Sonora, there is a fearful desert 
to encounter. Altar, a small town, with a Mexican garrison, is the nearest settlement. 
All accounts concur in representing the journey as one of extreme hardship, and even peril. 
The distance is not exactly known, hut it is variously represented to he from four to seven days’ 
journey. Persons hound for Sonora from California, who do not mind a circuitous route, should 
ascend the Gila as far as the Pimos village, and thence penetrate the province by way of 
Tucson. 
November 25.—At the ford the Colorado is 1,500 feet wide, and flows at the rate of a mile 
and a half per hour. Its greatest depth in the channel, at the ford where we crossed, is four 
feet. The hanks are low, not more than four feet high, and, judging from indications, some¬ 
times, though not frequently, overflowed. Its general appearance at this point is much like 
that of the Arkansas, with its turbid waters and many shifting sand islands. 
The ford is entered at the lower extremity of the plateau upon which we encamped, and leads 
down the river, crossing three sand islands, which we sketched; hut as they are constantly 
shifting, the sketch will perhaps afford no guide to the traveller, and may even lead him into 
error. It is therefore not furnished. The ford is narrow and circuitous, and a few feet to the 
right or left sets a horse afloat. This happened to my own horse. 
