Chap. VII. OLD SEA-SHOEE. 531 
party, consisting of seven waggons and about one hundred 
mules. 
On the 6th of August, at seven in the evening, we left 
the dusty shores of the Colorado, in a west and north- 
west direction towards the Sandhills, bordering the higher 
portion of the desert on the side of the valley. These Sand- 
hills form a kind of girdle before this higher portion, and 
denote, according to American geologists, an old sea-shore. 
A desert covered with dust lies below, the level of which 
is somewhat lower than that of the Colorado, and even 
than that of the Gulf of California. One of the channels 
of this river flows in a north-westerly direction into the 
desert, and ceases in some lagoons, which, in certain 
seasons, become dry by evaporation. A plain of hard 
argillaceous earth extends above, and, rising gradually 
to the Californian Mountains, passes into a stony desert, 
from which, descending through the first valley defile, an 
extensive formation of gypsum is reached. 
Along the road from the Colorado to the first Cali- 
fornian watering-place, therefore, a desert of dust, of 
sand, of clay, of stone, and of gypsum, are following 
each other. 
After the first night's journey we arrived, at sunrise the 
next morning, at the first watering-place, named Cook's 
Well. This well is a hole dug in the bed of a dry arm of 
the Colorado, lying about twenty feet lower than the 
general level of the ground hereabouts. I do not know 
whether it is the so-called New Eiver itself, or only a 
branch of it. The watering of our animals was a trouble- 
some operation : we were obliged to draw the water in 
buckets. It was soon exhausted, and we were obliged to 
wait some hours, until it had collected again. However, 
as we rested here the whole day, we were able to give 
2 m 2 
