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<br />REPORT OF AN EXPEDITION DOWN THE
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<br />the fertile gorges of the mountains. The only cultivation in:
<br />the immediate vicinity of the pueblo consisted of small vege-
<br />~able .gardens, tended by the 'Yornen and watered by hand,
<br />m which were grown chleRy omons, beans, and chile.. . Their
<br />orchards produce good peaches, with which we were abun-
<br />dan~ly supplied during our stay at the village. ." '.
<br />September ~5, C.amp No. 2.-A well-beaten trail, foll?wmg
<br />the generallhrectlOn of the stream, enabled us to avpld the
<br />inconvenience 01: travelling over ground rendered soft. and miry
<br />by the recent rams. \Ve encamped onthe banks of the creek,
<br />near some abrupt rochs, from beneath which gushes out a fine
<br />spring. Fragments of pack-saddles and broken hoxes gave
<br />evidence of a Ii-Hmer encampment of white men, probably of
<br />the party of Lieutenant Thom, who escorted Mr. Collier to
<br />Calilornia in 1849.
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<br />SClJtelllbcr 26, Camp No. 3.-The v,alley is here shut in by,
<br />abrupt walls of gray sandstone, occasionally mixed with ba-
<br />salt, having [relluent springs running out from under the~ ;
<br />but further down it expands to several miles in width, other
<br />valleys opening into it. 'fhe faces of the sandstone rocks,
<br />'wherever they presented a smooth surface, were covered
<br />with lndian hieroglyphics or pictures carved or painted upon
<br />them.
<br />The be.ll .01' the strea~ b.ecoming dry, \,:e crossed the point
<br />of a precl\lItou~ btlS~lLIC nclgc, and, kcepmg on the slope of
<br />the 11IIIs bounrhng the valley to the north, encamped on a lit-
<br />tle channel, filed with muddy rain-water, in the middle of a
<br />miry pia i~. Th~ soil on th,e hills was san,dy '. and in t~e plain.
<br />of snnrll11lxerl wllh clay j m both cases ywldmg to the foot.
<br />ScptcmbcT 27, Camp No. 4.-J ust after leaving camp a small
<br />party of Indians came in sight, who proved to be Coyoteros,
<br />(ApacllCii,) driving some asses to ZUlli for the purpose of
<br />trade. (~nc a~llong them was evidently a Mex.ican, captured
<br />probably m clllldhood, for he spoke but few words of Spanish.
<br />The wen-marker.1 trail we had bith~rto. followed brou~ht. us
<br />at length to the LIttle Colorado, wlllch It crosses, contmumg.
<br />on south tu the Salt River, a tributary of the Gila. '
<br />. ~t thi~ point the Little Colorado is an insignificant stream" .
<br />diVided mto several small channels, flowing through a narrOW
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<br />. Since the cSlahlishment of the military post at Calion Bonito, and the COnse-
<br />quent I.adfication of tho Navajos, the amount of cultivation hD.s greatly in-
<br />~reJlsed. During thc !,ast scation the Zuiii Indians had some ten thousand acres-
<br />m corn, ami tho lIIoqui. a still greater quantity.
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<br />ZUNI AND COLORADO RIVERS.
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<br />valley destitute of timber, but covered with a thick growth of
<br />rank. un nutritious grass. The hills bounding it on either side
<br />are of gradual slope, with here and there a rocky point of u
<br />conglomerate of gray sandstone and pebbles jutting out into
<br />the bottom.
<br />Septembe1' 28, Camp No. 5.-Proceeding down the valley, it
<br />widens out into a broad plain, which the recent profuse rains
<br />had made soft and muddy. To avoid this we 'turned off from
<br />the river, and made our way across the hi~h land, but gained
<br />little by the exchange, for the soil was so light and thinly co-
<br />vered with grass that the mules sank to their fetlocks at every
<br />step. The ground was su'ewed with pebbles of agate, jas-
<br />per, and chalcedony, and masses of wh~t appeared to have
<br />been stumps o[ trees petrified into jasper, beautifully striped
<br />with bright shades of red, (the predominating color,) blue,
<br />white, and yellow. The JOclts were gray sandstone, some-
<br />times of a slaty structure. .
<br />. Septcmber 30, Camp No. 7.- The river here runs through a
<br />deep and rocky canon, which we skirted, and crossed below
<br />it to the south banlt, finding the ground much broken by ra-
<br />vines, which were only visible when we came directly upon
<br />them. The surrounding scenery resembled that of the north-
<br />western prairies, the country being bare of trees and the'hor-
<br />izon unbrol;:en, except in one direction, where a high conical
<br />peak, that had served us several days as a lankmark, varied
<br />the uniformity of its outline.
<br />October 1, Camp No. 8.-The river, winding to the north,
<br />gave us a straight course across the high land, solt and sandy,
<br />as usual, and frequently intersected by deep ravines, until we
<br />again encountered it, flowing now between bluff sandy banks
<br />fringed with cotton-wood trees, and presenting at length the
<br />appearance of a river, but still with little water in its bed. I
<br />remarked cropping out of the side of a bluff a seam of fibrous
<br />gypsum three or four inches thick. In the course of the day's
<br />march the San Francisco mountains became visible to the
<br />west, and to the north several singular volcanic peal{s.
<br />October 2. Camp No. 9.-The river here receives a tributa-
<br />ry known among trappers as Chevelon's Fork, from one or
<br />that name who died upon its banks fi'om eating some poison-
<br />ous root. Their confluence produces an intricate labyrinth of.
<br />sloughs, in which we became involved, and were lorced to
<br />encamp. not finding an outlet until late in the day. In several
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