The grizzly bear is not exclusively carnivorous, as has by some persons been imagined; but also, and perhaps in a still greater degree, derives nourishment [242] from vegetables, both fruits and roots; the latter he digs up by means of his long fore-claws.
That they formerly inhabited the Atlantic states, and that they were then equally formidable to the Indians, we have some foundation for belief in the tradition of the Delaware Indians, respecting the big naked bear; the last one of which they believe formerly existed east of the Hudson river, and which Mr. Heckewelder31 assures us, is often arraigned by the Indians before the minds of their crying children, to frighten them to quietness.
Governor Clinton, in the notes appended to his learned Introductory Discourse,32 says, "Dixon, the Indian trader, told a friend of mine, that this animal had been seen fourteen feet long; that notwithstanding its ferocity, it has been sometimes domesticated; and that an Indian belonging to a tribe on the head waters of the Mississippi, had one in a reclaimed state, which he sportively directed to go into a canoe belonging to another tribe of Indians then about returning from a visit. The bear obeyed, and was struck by an Indian; being considered one of the family, this was deemed an insult, was resented accordingly, and produced a war between these nations."
A half-grown specimen was kept chained in the yard of the Missouri fur-company, near Engineer Cantonment; last winter he was fed chiefly on vegetable food, as it was observed that he became furious when too plentifully supplied with animal fare. He was in continual motion during the greater part of the day, pacing backwards and forwards to the extent of his chain. His attendants ventured to play with him, though always in a reserved manner, fearful of trusting him too far or placing themselves absolutely within his grasp. He several times broke loose from his chain; on which occasions he would manifest [243] the utmost joy, running about the yard in every direction, rearing up on his hind-feet, and capering about. I was present at one of these exhibitions; the squaws and children belonging to the establishment ran precipitately to their huts, and closed the doors. He appeared much delighted with his temporary freedom; he ran to the dogs who were straying about the yard, but they avoided him. In his round he came to me; and rearing up, placed his paws on my breast. Wishing to rid myself of so rough a playfellow, I turned him round; upon which he ran down the bank of the river, plunged into the water, and swam about for some time.
Mr. J. Dougherty has had several narrow escapes from the grizzly bear. He was once hunting with a companion on one of the upper tributaries to the Missouri: he heard the report of his companion's rifle; and looking round, beheld him at a little distance, endeavouring to escape from one of these bears, which he had wounded as it was advancing on him. Mr. D., attentive only to the preservation of his friend, immediately hastened to divert the attention and pursuit of the bear to himself, and arrived within rifle-shot distance just in time to effect his generous object. He lodged his ball in the animal, and was obliged to fly in his turn; whilst his friend, relieved from imminent danger, prepared for another onset, by charging his piece, with which he again wounded the bear, and relieved Mr. D. from pursuit. In this most hazardous encounter neither of them were injured, and the bear was fortunately destroyed.
Several hunters were pursued by a grizzly bear that gained rapidly upon them. A boy belonging to the party, who possessed less speed than his companions, seeing the bear at his heels, fell with his face to the soil; the bear reared up on his hind-feet over the boy, looked down for a moment upon him, then bounded over him in pursuit of the fugitives.
A hunter, just returned from a solitary excursion [244] to the Qui Court river, informed me at Engineer cantonment, that going one morning to examine his traps, he was pursued by a bear, and had merely time to get into a small tree, when the bear passed beneath him; and without halting, or even looking up, passed on at the same pace.
Another hunter received a blow from the fore-paw of one of these animals, which carried away his eye and cheek-bone.
In proof of the great muscular power with which this animal is endowed, a circumstance related to us by Mr. J. Dougherty may be stated. He shot down a bison; and leaving the carcass to obtain assistance to butcher it, he was surprised on his return to find that it had been dragged entire, to a considerable distance, by one of these bears, and was now lodged in a concavity of the earth, which the animal had scooped out for its reception.
Notwithstanding the formidable character of this bear, we have not made use of any precautions against their attacks; and although they have been several times prowling about us in the night, they have not evinced any disposition to attack us at that season.
They appear to be more readily intimidated by the voice, than by the appearance of men.
Some grizzly bears were brought, when very young, from the country of the Sioux by Lieutenant Pike, and were presented to the Philadelphia Museum. They were kept several years in that splendid institution, secured in a strong cage; during which time they gradually increased in size, until at length they became dangerous from their strength and unsubdued ferocity, and it was judged proper to prepare them for the cabinet. From these specimens our description is chiefly taken.33
Natural Mounds—Kaskaia Indian and Squaw—Preparations for a Division of the Party—Sandstones of the High Plains South of the Arkansa—Fletz Trap Formation.
In the afternoon of the 19th of July we passed the mouth of the river St. Charles, called by Pike the Third Fork, which enters the Arkansa from the south-west. It is about twenty yards wide; and receives, eight miles above its confluence, the Green Horn creek, a small stream from the south-west. The Green Horn rises in the mountains, and passes between the Spanish peaks into the plains. These two peaks had been for several days visible, standing close to each other, and appearing entirely insulated. If they are not completely so, the other parts of the same range fall far below them in point of elevation. They are of a sharp conic form, and their summits are white with snow at midsummer.34
This day we travelled twenty-five miles, the general direction of our course being a little south of east, and encamped at five P. M. in a grassy point on the north side of the river. The soil of the islands and the immediate valley of the river were found somewhat more fertile than above. Immediately after encamping, the hunters were sent out, who soon returned with two deers and a turkey.
In the evening the altitude of Antares was taken. Throughout the night we were much annoyed by mosquitos, the first we had met for some weeks in sufficient numbers to be troublesome.
July 20th. We left our encampment on the following morning at five, the weather warm and fair. [246] Soon afterwards we passed the mouth of a creek on the south side, which our guide informed us is called by the Spaniards Wharf creek, probably from the circumstance of its washing the base of numerous perpendicular precipices of moderate height, which is said to be the case. It is the stream designated in Pike's map as the Second Fork. A party of hunters in the employ of Choteau, who were taken prisoners by the Spaniards in the month of May, 1817, were conducted up this creek to the mountains, thence across the mountains to Santa Fé.35
We observed this morning some traces of Indians, but none very recent. On the preceding day we had passed the site of a large encampment, where we saw several horse-pens well fenced.
Near the place where we halted to dine, a large herd of elk was seen; but unfortunately they "took the wind of us," and disappeared, giving us no opportunity to fire upon them.
Along the river bluffs we saw numerous conic mounds, resembling those of artificial formation so frequently met with near the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, but differing from them by their surface from the apex to the base being terminated by a strait or concave instead of a convex curve, which is usual in those of artificial origin. The natural mounds of which we speak appear usually to contain a nucleus of sandstone, which is sometimes laid bare at the summit or on the sides, and sometimes entirely concealed by the accumulated débris resting upon it, but often contains petrified remains of marine animals.
At the end of this day's ride of twenty-six miles, we found the river valley more than a mile in width, and the distant hills or bluffs which bound it low, and of gradual ascent. The boulders, pebbles, and gravel so abundant near the base of the mountain, had been growing gradually less frequent and diminishing in size, till they had now almost entirely disappeared, their place being supplied by a fine [247] sand intermixed with clay, which here composed the surface. The soil is still marked with a character of extreme barrenness, the islands and the immediate margin of the river bearing an inconsiderable growth of cotton-wood and willows, but the great mass of the country being almost destitute of vegetation of any kind. Hunters were sent out immediately on encamping, and returned at dark, bringing a wild cat, an old turkey, and five of her chickens.
A bird was taken, closely resembling in point of colouring a species preserved in the Philadelphia Museum, under the name of ruby-crowned flycatcher, said to be from the East Indies; but the bill differs in being much less dilated. We can hardly think it a new species, yet in the more common books we do not find any distinct description of it. It is certainly allied to the tyrannus griseus and sulphuratus of Vieillot; but in addition to other differential characters, it is distinguished from the former by its yellow belly, and from the latter by the simplicity of the colouring of the wing and tail feathers, and the absence of bands on the side of the head; the bill also is differently formed from that of either of those species, if we may judge from Vieillot's figures.36
Friday, July 21st. We left our encampment at five A. M., and having descended six or eight miles along the river, met an Indian and squaw, who were, as they informed us, of the tribe called Kaskaia; by the French, Bad-hearts. They were on horseback; and the squaw led a third horse of uncommon beauty. They were on their way from the Arkansa below to the mountains near the sources of the Platte, where their nation sometimes resides. They informed us that the greater part of six nations of Indians were encamped about nineteen days' journey below us, on the Arkansa. These were the Kaskaias, Shiennes, Arrapahoes, Kiawas, the Bald-heads, and a few Shoshones or Snakes. These nations, the Kaskaia [248] informed us, had been for some time embodied, and had been engaged in a warlike expedition against the Spaniards. They had recently met a party of Spaniards on Red river, when a battle was fought, in which the Spaniards were defeated with considerable loss.
We now understood the reason of a fact which had appeared a little remarkable; namely, that we should have traversed so great an extent of Indian country as we had done since leaving the Pawnees, without meeting a single savage. The bands above enumerated are supposed to comprise nearly the whole erratic population of the country about the sources of the Platte and Arkansa; and they had all been absent from their usual haunts on a predatory excursion against the Indians of New Mexico.
At our request, the Kaskaia and his squaw returned with us several miles, to point out a place suitable for fording the Arkansa, and to give us any other information or assistance in their power to communicate. Being made to understand that it was the design of some of the party to visit the sources of Red river, he pretended to give us information and advice upon that subject; also to direct us to a place where we might find a mass of rock salt, which he described as existing on one of the upper branches of Red river.
At ten o'clock we arrived at the ford, where we halted to make a distribution of the baggage and other preparations requisite to the proposed division of the party. Our Kaskaia visitor, with his handsome and highly ornamented wife, encamped near us, erecting a little tent covered with skins. They presented us some jerked bison meat, and received in return some tobacco and other inconsiderable articles. A small looking-glass, which was among the presents given him, he immediately stripped of the frame and covering, and inserted it with some ingenuity into a large billet of wood, on which he [249] began to carve the figure of an alligator. Captain Bell bought of him the horse they had led with them; and which, according to their account, had recently been caught from among the wild horses of the prairie. This made some new arrangement of their baggage necessary; and we were surprised to witness the facility and despatch with which the squaw constructed a new pack-saddle. She felled a small cotton-wood tree, from which she cut two large forked sticks. These were soon reduced to the proper dimensions, and adapted to the ends of two flat pieces of wood about two feet in length, and designed to fit accurately to the back of the horse, a longitudinal space of a few inches in width being left between them to receive the ridge of the back. The whole was fastened together without nails, pins, or mortices, by a strong covering of dressed horse hide sewed on wet with fibres of deer's sinew.
The Indian informed us he was called "The Calf." He appeared excessively fond of his squaw; and their caresses and endearments they were at no pains to conceal. It was conjectured by our guide, and afterwards ascertained by those who descended the Arkansa, that they had married contrary to the laws and usages of their tribe, the woman being already the wife of another man, and run away for concealment.
The small point of land on which we encamped has a sandy soil, and is thinly covered with cotton-wood, intermixed with the aspen poplar (P. tremula, Mx.) and a few willows. The undergrowth is scattered and small, consisting principally of the amorpha fruticosa and a syngenecious shrub, probably a vernonia. Along the base of the mountains, and about this encampment, we had observed a small asclepias not easily distinguished from a verticillata, but rarely rising more than two or three inches from the ground. Here, we saw also the A. longifolia and A. viridifolia of Punsh. The scanty [250] catalogue of grassy and herbaceous plants found here comprises two sunflowers, (H. giganteus, N. and an undescribed species,) the great bartonica, the Mexican argemone, the cactus ferox, the andropogon furcatum, and A. ciliatum, cyperus uncinatus, elymus striatus, and a few others. Soon after arriving at this encampment, we commenced the separation of our baggage, horses, &c. preparatory to the division of the party. It was now proposed, pursuant to the plan already detailed, that one division of the party, consisting of Mr. Say, Mr. Seymour, Lieut. Swift, the three Frenchmen, Bijeau, Le Doux, and Julian, with five riflemen, the greater part of the pack-horses, the heavy baggage, and the two dogs, all under the direction of Captain Bell, should proceed directly down the Arkansa by the most direct route to Fort Smith, there to await the arrival of the other division; while Major Long, accompanied by Dr. James, Mr. Peale, and seven men, should cross the Arkansa, and travel southward in search of the sources of Red river.
While several of the party were engaged in making these preparations, hunters were sent out; who were so far successful, that they soon returned, bringing two deer, one antelope, and seven turkeys. The opportunity of an unoccupied moment was taken to collect from Bijeau an account of some part of the Rocky Mountains which we had not seen.
Joseph Bijeau, (or Bessonet, which is his hereditary name, the former having been derived from a second marriage of his mother,) had performed, in a very adequate and faithful manner, the services of guide and interpreter from the Pawnee villages to this place. He had formerly been resident in these western wilds, in the capacity of hunter and trapper, during the greater part of six years.
He had traversed the country lying between the north fork of the Platte and the Arkansa in almost every direction. His pursuits often led him within the [251] Rocky Mountains, where the beaver are particularly abundant. He appears possessed not only of considerable acuteness of observation, but of a degree of candour and veracity which gives credibility to his accounts and descriptions. To him we are indebted for the following account of the country situated within the mountains.
The region lying west of the first range of the Rocky Mountains, and between the sources of the Yellow Stone on the north, and Santa Fé on the south, is made up of ridges of mountains, spurs and valleys. The mountains are usually abrupt, often towering into inaccessible peaks covered with perpetual snows. The interior ranges and spurs are generally more elevated than the exterior; this conclusion is at least naturally drawn from the fact, that they are covered with snow to a greater extent below their summits. Although that point which we have denominated James's Peak has been represented as higher than any other part of the mountains within one hundred or one hundred and fifty miles, we are inclined to believe it falls much below several other peaks, and particularly that which was for many days observed by the party when ascending the Platte.37
The valleys within the Rocky Mountains are, many of them, extensive, being from ten to twenty or thirty miles in width, and are traversed by many large and beautiful streams. In these valleys, which are destitute of timber, the soil is frequently fertile and covered with a rich growth of a white-flowered clover, upon which horses and other animals feed with avidity. They have an undulating surface, and are terminated on all sides by gentle slopes leading up to the base of the circumjacent mountains. Timber may be had on the declivities of the hills in sufficient quantity to subserve the purposes of settlement. The soil is deep, well watered, and adapted to cultivation.
[252] The Indians who inhabit within the mountains are roving bands, having no permanent places of residence, and subsisting entirely upon the products of the chase. The people called Padoucas have been often represented as residing in the district now under consideration; but are not at this time to be found here, unless this name be synonymous with that of the Bald-heads, or some other of the six nations already enumerated.
On the morning of the 22d, one of two hunters who had been sent out on the preceding day, but had not returned, came into camp to give notice that a bison had been killed at the distance of eight miles on the other side of the river; men were accordingly despatched with pack-horses to bring in the meat. Astronomical observations were resumed; and all the party were busily employed in the discharge of their ordinary duties, or in preparations for the approaching separation.38 A vocabulary of the Kaskaia language was filled up with words obtained from the Calf, who still remained with us.
The New York bat (vespertilio noveboracensis) which occurs here, does not vary in any degree from the general characters and appearance of individuals of the Atlantic States. The specimen we obtained is most unequivocally furnished with incisores in the superior jaw, which by Pennant39 were denied to exist in the species of this name. These teeth being small, and hardly rising to a level with a line of the intervening callosity, might be readily overlooked by a casual observer, who does not aid his vision by the use of the lens. In adducing this fact, it must not be understood that we affirm the existence of those teeth in individuals of this species generally; we only refer to the single specimen before us.
[253] A small bat was shot this evening during the twilight, as it flew rapidly in various directions over the surface of the creek. It appears to be an immature specimen, as the molares are remarkably long and acute: the canines are very much incurved, and the right inferior one singularly bifid at tip, the divisions resembling short bristles. This species is beyond a doubt distinct from the Carolina bat, (V. Caroliniana, Geoff.) with which the ears are proportionably equally elongated, and, as in that bat, a little ventricose on the anterior edge, so as almost to extend over the eye; but the tragus is much longer, narrower, and more acute, resembling that of the V. emarginatus, Geoff. as well in form as in proportion to the length of the ear. We call it V. subulatus, Say; and it may be thus described,—ears longer than broad, nearly as long as the head; hairy on the basal half; a little ventricose on the anterior edge, and extending near to the eye; tragus elongated, subulate; the hair above blackish at base, tip dull cinereous; the interfemoral membrane hairy at base; the hairs unicoloured, and a few also scattered over its surface and along its edge, as well as that of the brachial membrane; hair beneath black, the tip yellowish-white; hind-feet rather long, a few setæ extending over the nails; only a minute portion of the tail protrudes beyond the membrane; total length, two inches and one-tenth; tail, one and one-fifth.
This encampment was situated about eighteen miles above the confluence of that tributary of the Arkansa called, in Pike's map, "The First Fork;" and by our computation near one hundred miles from the base of the mountain.40 James's Peak was still visible, bearing north, 68° west; and the Spanish peaks, the westernmost of which bore south, 40° west. The observations made here received the most minute and careful attention. The moon was at this time too near the sun to admit of taking her distance from that luminary, and too near Antares [254] for an observation. The distance of Spica Virginus was too great, and the star was too near the horizon; yet we trust accurate deductions may be made from the distances which are given in the Appendix.41
On the evening of both days which our Kaskaia spent with us, we observed him to commence soon after sunset a monotonous and somewhat melancholy song, which he continued for near an hour. He gave us some account of a battle which had lately been fought between the Tabba-boos (Anglo-Americans) and the Spaniards, in which great guns had been used, and when the Spaniards, though superior in number, had been beaten. He appeared well acquainted with the use of fire-arms, and challenged one of the party to a trial of skill in shooting at a mark with the rifle. He had a fusee, kept very carefully in a case of leather, and carried, when travelling, by his squaw. He was also armed with a bow and some light arrows for hunting, which he carried constantly in his hand. He took his leave of us on the morning of the 23d, having received several presents, with which he appeared highly pleased.
The Arkansa, between this point and the mountains, has a rapid current, whose velocity probably varies from five to six miles per hour. It may be forded at many places in a moderate stage of water. The average breadth of the river is from sixty to seventy-five yards; at many places, however, it is much enlarged, including numerous islands. It pursues a remarkably serpentine course within its valley, forming a succession of points on both sides of the river; which, together with the islands, are usually covered with cotton-wood. The bed of the river is gravelly, or composed of waterworn stones, which diminish in size as you recede from the mountains. The water is turbid, but in a less remarkable degree than that of the Platte. The bed of the river has, in many instances, changed its place; and the old [255] channel is sometimes occupied by stagnant water, and sometimes by a small stream, which is rendered transparent by passing through the sand and gravel, forming the recently-raised bank of the river.
On the 24th the movements of the party were resumed. Major Long, with the division destined to Red river, crossed the Arkansa at five A. M. On arriving at the opposite bank three cheers were given, which our late companions returned from the other side. We lost sight of them as they were leaving the camp to descend the Arkansa.
The party, consisting of ten men, took with them six horses and eight mules, most of them in good condition for travelling. A few had sore backs, but one horse only was unfit for service.
Our course was a little to the east of south, nearly at right angles to the direction of the Arkansa. It was our intention to cross to and ascend the First Fork, a considerable stream, entering the Arkansa eighteen miles below our last encampment. After leaving the river we found the surface to rise gradually till, at the distance of six or eight miles, it is broken by a few small gravelly ridges. These are of little elevation; and their summits overlook an extensive waste of sand, terminated towards the south and east only by the verge of the sky, on the west and north-west by the snowy summits of the Spanish mountains. As our way led across the general course of the stream, we met with no water, except such as was still standing in puddles, which had been filled by the last night's rain. Near one of these we halted to dine. The thermometer, hanging in the shade of our tent, the most perfect, and indeed the only shade we could find, stood at 100°. The little water we could procure was thick with mud, and swarming with the larva of mosquitos; but this we regretted the less, as we had no cooking to perform. We dined upon jerked meat from our packs. Some animals, seen at a distance, [256] were at first mistaken for bisons; but were found, by the hunters sent in pursuit of them, to be horses, and too wild and vigilant to be taken.
A species of cone-flower (rudbeckia tagetes)42 with an elongated receptacle, and large red brown radial florets, was observed about the margin of the stagnant pool near which we halted.
We also collected the linum rigidum, and a semi-procumbent species of sida, which appears to be undescribed. It is a little larger than the S. spinosa, to which it has some general resemblance.
The whole tract passed in this day's journey of twenty-seven miles, is sterile and sandy. At sunset we were so fortunate as to meet with another small pool of water, by which we pitched our tent, and kindled a fire with the dung of the bison. Since leaving the Arkansa, we had scarcely seen so much wood as, if collected, would have supplied us for a single night.
We passed, in the course of the day, not less than four or five paths, leading south-west, towards the Spanish settlements. Some of them appeared to have been recently travelled by men with horses, such paths being easily distinguished from those of bisons or wild horses.43
Our camp was near the head of a dry ravine, communicating to the south-east, with a considerable stream, which we could distinguish at the distance of eight or ten miles, by a few trees along its course.44 Continuing our journey on the ensuing day, July 25th, we soon found ourselves in a tract of country resembling that on the Arkansa near the mountains. A similar horizontal slaty sandstone occurs, forming the basis of the country. There is also here a coarse, somewhat crystalline, variety, resembling that of St. Michael's in the lead mine district, but exhibiting no trace of metallic ores. These rocks are deeply channeled by the watercourses, sunk to a great depth, but at this time containing but little, if any, [257] water. These ravines are, the greater number of them, destitute of timber, except a few cedars, attached here and there in the crevices of the rock. The larger valleys, which contain streams of water, have a few cotton-wood and willow trees. The box elder, the common elder, (sambucus canadensis,) and one or two species of biburium are seen here.
It was perhaps owing to our having followed more carefully than they deserved, the directions of the Calf, that we did not arrive as early as we had expected, upon the stream we designed to ascend. In the middle of the day on the 25th, we fell in with a small river, at the distance of thirty-six miles from the point where we had left the Arkansa. This we concluded could be no other than that tributary, whose mouth is said to be distant eighteen miles from the same spot. This stream, where we halted upon it to dine, is about ten yards wide and three feet deep, but appeared at this time unusually swollen. Its immediate valley is about three hundred yards in width, bounded on both sides by perpendicular cliffs of sandstone, of near two hundred feet elevation. A very large part of the area included between these, showed convincing evidence, in the slime and rubbish with which its surface was covered, of having been recently inundated. This stream, like all others of similar magnitude, having their sources in high mountains, is subject to great and sudden floods. A short time before we halted, our two hunters, Verplank and Dougherty, were sent forward to hunt, and joined us with a deer soon after we had encamped.
After dinner we moved on, ascending the creek above mentioned, whose valley was sufficiently wide for a little distance, to afford us an easy and unobstructed passage. The stream runs nearly from south to north, in a deep, but narrow and tortuous valley, terminated on both sides by lofty and perpendicular precipices of red sand rock. This sandstone [258] appears entirely to resemble that before mentioned, as occurring in an inclined position along the base of the mountains, on the Arkansa and Boiling-spring creek. Here it is disposed in horizontal strata of immense thickness; it varies in colour, from a bright brick red to a dark, and is sometimes grey, yellow, or white. It consists essentially of rounded particles of quartz and other siliceous stones, varying in size from the finest sand to gravel stones and large pebbles. Extensive beds of pudding-stone occur in every part of it, but are abundant somewhat in proportion to the proximity of the high primitive mountains. In the lower parts of the stratum these beds of coarse conglomerate appear to have the constituent gravel and pebble-stones more loosely cemented than in portions nearer to the upper surface; wherever we have met with them in immediate contact with the granite of the Rocky Mountains, they are nearly destitute of cement, and of a colour approaching to white. This remark, it is highly probable, may not be applicable to many extensive beds of pudding-stone which lie near the base of the mountains. In the instances which came under our notice, the absence of colour and the want of cement may very probably have been accidental. The finer varieties of the sandstone are often met with in the immediate neighbourhood of the granite, and are of a compact structure, and an intense colour. Red is the prevailing colour in every part of the stratum, but stripes of yellow, grey, and white, are frequently interspersed. In hardness and other sensible properties, it varies widely at different points. In many instances it is entirely similar to the sandstone about New Brunswick, in New Jersey, at Nyac, and along the Tappan bay, in New York, and particularly that variety of it which is quarried at Nyac, and extensively used in the cities of New York and Albany for building. It contains a little mica in small scales; oxyde of iron predominates in the cement, and the ore denominated [259] the brown oxyde, occurs in it in seniform botryoidar and irregular masses.
A few miles above our mid-day encampment, we entered the valley of a small creek, tributary from the south-east to the stream we had been ascending; but this we found so narrow and so obstructed by fallen masses of rock, and almost impenetrable thickets of alders and willows, as to render our progress extremely tedious and painful. We were several times induced to attempt passing along the bed of the stream, but as the mud was in many places very deep, this was done at the cost of the most violent and fatiguing exertions on the part of our horses, and the risk to ourselves of being thrown with our baggage into the stream. With the hope of finding an easier route across the hills, we ascended with much difficulty a craggy and abrupt ravine, until we had attained nearly the elevation of the precipitous ramparts which hemmed in the narrow valley of the creek; but all we gained by this ascent was the opportunity of looking down upon a few of our companions still lingering below, diminished to the stature of dwarfs by the distance, and by contrast with the rude and colossal features of the scene. The surface of the country extending on both sides from the summit of the precipices, consisted of abrupt conic piles, narrow ridges, and shapeless fragments of naked rocks, more impassable than the valley below. Counselled therefore by necessity, we resumed our former course, ascending along the bed of the creek.45
Among other birds which occurred in this day's march, we noticed the yellow-bellied fly catcher and the obscure wren.
One of the small striped ground-squirrels already noticed was killed, and an individual belonging to another species,46 distinguished by the extraordinary coarseness and flattened form of the fur, and by three black lines on each side of the tail; these [260] lines at their tips are of course united over the surface of the tail as in the Barbary squirrel. It nestles in holds and crevices of the rocks, and does not appear to ascend trees voluntarily.
It appears to inhabit principally about the naked parts of the sandstone cliffs, or where there are only a few cedar bushes. In the pouch of the specimens killed, we found the buds and leaves of a few small plants, common among the rocks.
Following up the bed of the creek, we ascended by a gradual elevation to the surface of the stratum of red sandstone. It is separated by a somewhat distinct boundary from the finer and more compact grey variety which rests upon it. This grey sandstone appears from the organic relics it contains, as well as from its relative position, to have been of more recent deposition than the red. Its prevailing colours are grey or yellowish white; its stratifications distinct; and its cement often argillaceous.
After entering upon this variety, we found the valley of the creek less circuitous in direction, but narrower and more obstructed by detached fragments than below. The impaling cliffs on each side were also more uniformly perpendicular, putting it out of our power to choose any other path than the rugged one before us. As with every step of our advance upon this route, we were gaining a little in point of elevation, we hoped by following it to reach at length its termination in the high and open plain, which we had no doubt existed, extending over the greater part of the surface of the country, wherever the strata of sandstone were still unbroken. At five P. M., supposing we had arrived very near this much-wished-for spot, and finding an indifferent supply of grass for our horses, we halted for the night, having travelled fifteen miles.
July 26th. The water of the large stream we had crossed, and ascended for some distance on the preceding [261] day, was turbid, and so brackish as to be nauseous to the taste. The same was observed, though in a less remarkable degree, of the little tributary we had followed up to our encampment. After leaving the region of red sandstone, we found the water to become perceptibly purer. In the districts occupied by that rock, we have observed several copious springs, but not one whose waters were without a very manifest impregnation of muriate of soda, or other saline substances. In the gray or argillaceous sandstone springs are less frequent, but the water is not so universally impure.
A beautiful dalea, two or three euphorbias, with several species of eriogonum, were among the plants collected about this encampment. Notwithstanding the barrenness of the soil and the aspect of desolation which so widely prevails, we are often surprised by the occurrence of splendid and interesting productions springing up under our feet, in situations that seemed to promise nothing but the most cheerless and unvaried sterility. Operating with unbounded energy in every situation, adapting itself with wonderful versatility to all combinations of circumstances; the principle of life extends its dominion over those portions of nature which seem as if designed for the perpetual abode of inorganic desolation, distributing some of its choicest gifts to the most ungenial regions; fitting them by peculiarity of structure, for the maintenance of life and vigour, in situations apparently the most unfavoured.
At nine o'clock in the evening of the 25th, a fall of rain commenced; we were now ten in company, with a single tent, large enough to cover half the number. In order, however, to make the most equal distribution of our several comforts, it was so arranged that about the half of each man was sheltered under the tent, while the remainder was exposed to the weather. This was effected by placing all our heads near together in the centre of the tent, and [262] allowing our feet to project in all directions, like the radii of a circle.
On the ensuing morning we commenced our ride at an early hour, being encouraged still to pursue the course up the ravine, by a bison path, which we believed would at length conduct us to the open plain. Our progress was slow and laborious, and our narrow path so hemmed in with perpendicular cliffs of sandstone, that our views were nearly as confined, and the surrounding objects as unvaried as if we had been making our way in a subterranean passage. Two black-tailed deer, with a few squirrels, and some small birds, were all the animals seen in the course of the day. Some enormous tracks of the grizzly bear, with the recent signs of bisons, afforded sufficient proof that these animals, though unseen, were near at hand.
Our courses were nearly south during the day, and the distance we travelled, estimated on them, fifteen miles. The actual distance passed must have been much greater, as our real course was extremely circuitous, winding from right to left in conformity to the sinuosities of the valley.
At 4 o'clock we arrived at the head of the stream which we had hitherto ascended; as we were conscious that after leaving this, and emerging into the open country, we could not expect to meet with water again in a distance of several miles, it was resolved to halt here for the night, and the hunters were sent out. Soon afterwards it began to rain. At sun-set the hunters returned, having killed a female of the black-tailed or mule deer. The flesh of this we found in tolerable condition, and extremely grateful to our hungry party.
On the morning of the 27th, we rose at 3 o'clock, and hastened our preparations for an early start. The morning was clear and calm, and the copious dew which was beginning to exhale from the scanty herbage of the valley, gave to the air a delightful [263] freshness. The mercury, as on several of the preceding mornings, stood at about 55°. At sun-rise we resumed our toilsome march, and before 10 o'clock, had arrived at a part of the valley beyond which it was found impossible to penetrate. The distance we had travelled would have been, in a direct line, about three miles; in passing it we had followed no less than ten different courses, running in all possible directions. This fatiguing march had brought us to a point where the valley was so narrow, and so obstructed with large detached rocks, as to be entirely impassable on horseback. We were therefore under the necessity of halting, and as the place afforded some grass, our horses were turned loose to feed, while several persons were sent to discover, if possible, some passage by which we might extricate ourselves from the ravine. One of them at length returned, having found at the distance of a mile and a half below, a pass where it was thought our horses could be led up the cliff.
On the preceding day we had commenced our accustomed march in a valley bounded by perpendicular cliffs of red sandstone, having an elevation of at least two hundred feet. As we ascended gradually along the bed of the stream, we could perceive we were arriving near the surface of this vast horizontal bed of sandrock, and at night we pitched our tent at the very point where the red sandstone began to be overlaid in the bed of the creek by a different variety. This second variety, the gray sandstone, is a horizontal stratum, evidently of more than two hundred feet in thickness. It is usually more compact and imperishable than the red, its fragments remaining longer entire, and retaining the angles and asperities of the surface, which in the other variety are soon softened down by the rapid progress of disintegration.
It is easy to perceive that the sandstone formation, including the two varieties above mentioned, [264] must be at this point of immense thickness. Fifteen hundred feet is probably a very moderate estimate for the aggregate elevation of some insulated, but extensive portions of the gray sandstone, above that part of the valley at which the red sandstone first appears. From this point downwards, the extent of the latter variety may be very great, but no estimate can be formed which would be in any measure entitled to confidence.
After we had dined we retraced our two last courses, and succeeded in ascending the cliff at the place which one of the hunters had pointed out, taking, without the least regret, our final leave of the "valley of the souls in purgatory."47
From the brow of the perpendicular precipice, an ascending slope of a few rods conducted us through scattering groves of junipers, to the border of the open plain. Here the interminable expanse of the grassy desert burst suddenly upon our view. The change was truly grateful. Instead of a narrow crooked avenue, hedged in by impending cliffs and frightful precipices, a boundless and varied landscape lay spread before us. The broad valley of the Arkansa, studded with little groves of timber, and terminated in the back ground by the shining summit of James's Peak, and numerous spurs of the Rocky Mountains, with the snowy pinnacles of the more distant ranges, limited our view on the right; on our left, and before us, lay the extended plain, diversified with vast conic mounds, and insulated table-like hills, while herds of bisons, antelopes, and wild horses, gave life and cheerfulness to the scene.
A large undescribed species of the gaura is common [265] about the banks of all the creeks we had seen since leaving the Arkansa. It attains, ordinarily, the size of G. biennis, but is clearly distinct both from that and all other North American species. It has a broader leaf than any other of the genus met with in this country. The flowers are small, of a purple colour, and incline to form a terminal spike. The whole plant is covered with a dense silky pubescence, and is remarkably soft to the touch. We propose to call it gaura mollis.
After travelling one mile and a half into the plain in a due south course, we halted to take the bearings of several remarkable points. Due east was a solitary and almost naked pile of rocks towering to a great elevation above the surface of the plain. James's Peak bore north 71° west; the west Spanish Peak, south 87°. West magnetic variation, 13½ deg. east. As we proceeded, we were surprised to witness an aspect of unwonted verdure and freshness in the grasses and other plants of the plains, and in searching for the cause of this change, we discovered we had arrived at a region differing both in point of soil and geological features from any portion of the country we had before seen. Several circumstances had induced us to conjecture that rocks of the newest fletz trap formation, existed in some portions of the secondary region along the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains; but until this time we had met with no positive confirmation of the opinion. We are glad to be at length relieved from the tiresome sameness of the sand formation, and promised ourselves in the treasures of a new and more fertile variety of soil, the acquisition of many important plants.
At five P. M. we met with a little stagnant water, near which we encamped, having travelled about ten miles nearly due south from the point where we had left the valley of the creek. The hunters went out on foot in pursuit of bisons, several herds being [266] in sight; but returned at dark, having effected no more than to break the shoulder of a young bull, who ran off, pursued by a gang of wolves. Several of the party understanding the route the animal had taken, and instigated in common with the wolves by the powerful incitement of hunger, resolved to join the chase, and to dispute with their canine competitors the possession of the prey. When they had nearly overtaken the bison, they saw him several times thrown to the ground by the wolves, and afterwards regaining his feet. They soon came near enough to do execution with their pistols, and frightened away the wolves only to make a speedier end of the harassed animal. It was now past nine o'clock, but the starlight was sufficient to enable them to dress the meat, with which they returned loaded to camp, and spent the greater part of the night in regaling on the choice pieces.
Friday, July 28th. From an elevated point, about eight miles south of our encampment of last evening, the high peak at the head of the Arkansa was still visible when we passed this morning. From a computation of our courses and distances we find we cannot, according to our estimate, be less than one hundred and thirty miles distant from its base; but the air at this time happened to be remarkably clear, and our elevation above the common level of the plain considerable. By referring to Pike's "Journal of a Voyage to the Sources of the Arkansa," it will be seen that this peak is the most prominent and conspicuous feature in a great extent of the surrounding country. "It is indeed so remarkable as to be known to all the savage nations for hundreds of miles around, and to be spoken of with admiration by the Spaniards of New Mexico, and was the bounds of their travels north-west. Indeed, in our wanderings in the mountains, it was never out of sight, except when in a valley, from the 14th of November to the 27th of January."48
[267] Notwithstanding this representation, and the fact that the peak in question was seen by ourselves at the distance of one hundred and thirty miles, we are inclined to the opinion, that in point of elevation, it falls far below many portions of the interior ridges of the mountains which are visible from its summit, and from the plains of the Platte, and that it is by standing a little detached from the principal group of the mountains, it acquires a great portion of the imposing grandeur of its appearance.
In the forenoon of this day we passed some tracts of grey sandstone; having, however, met with several inconsiderable conic hills belonging to that interesting formation, called by the disciples of Werner,49 the fletz trap rocks. We perceived before us a striking change in aspect and conformation of the surface. Instead of the wearisome uniformity, the low and pointless ridges which mark the long tract of horizontal sandstone we had passed, we had now the prospect of a country varied by numerous continued ranges of lofty hills, interspersed with insulated cone-like piles, and irregular masses of every variety of magnitude and position. This scenery is not to be compared in point of grandeur with the naked and towering majesty of the great chain of the Andes, which we had lately left, but in its kind it is of uncommon beauty. The hills, though often abrupt and high, are sometimes smooth and grassy to their summits, having a surface, unbroken by a single rock or tree, large enough to be seen at the distance of a mile.
At noon we halted near the base of a hill of this description. It is of green stone, and the sandrock on which it rests is disclosed at the bottom of a ravine which commences near the foot of the hill. This latter rock is of a slaty structure, and embraces narrow beds of bituminous clay slate, which contains pieces of charcoal, or the carbonised remains of vegetables, in every possible respect resembling the charcoal [268] produced by the process of combustion in the open air. In the ravines and over the surface of the soil we observed masses of a light porous reddish-brown substance, greatly resembling that which is so often seen floating down the Missouri, and has by some been considered a product of pseudo-volcanic fires, said to exist on the upper branches of that river.50 We also saw some porphyritic masses with a basis of greenstone, containing crystals of felspar.
In the afternoon several magpies, shore larks, and cow buntings were seen. One of the cow buntings followed us five or six miles, alighting on the ground, near the foremost of our line, and within a few paces of our horses' feet, where he stood gazing at the horses until all had passed him, when he again flew forward to the front, repeating the same movement many times in succession.
We had now arrived near that part of the country, where, according to the information of the Kaskaia, we expected to find the remarkable saline spring from which we were told the Indians often procured large masses of salt. The Kaskaia had, by the aid of a map traced in the sand, given us a minute account of the situation of the spring and of the surrounding country, stating that the salt existed in masses at the bottom of a basin-like cavity, which contained about four and a half feet of reddish water. Thus far we had not found a single feature of the country to correspond in the slightest degree to his descriptions, and as we had been careful to follow the general direction of the course he pointed out to us, it was probably his intention to deceive.
Our course, which was a little east of south, led us across several extensive valleys, having a thin dark coloured soil, closely covered with grasses, and strewed with fragments of greenstone. Descending towards evening into a broad and deep valley, we [269] found ourselves again immured between walls of grey sandstone, similar in elevation and all other particulars to those which limit the valley of Purgatory Creek. It was not until considerable search had been made, that we discovered a place where it was possible to effect the descent, which was at length accomplished, not without danger to the life and limbs of ourselves and horses. The area of the valley was covered with a sandy soil. Here we again saw the great cylindric cactus, the cucumis, and other plants common to the sandy districts, but rarely found in the scanty soils of the fletz trap formation. Pursuing our way along this valley, we arrived towards evening at an inconsiderable stream51 of transparent and nearly pure water, descending along a narrow channel paved with black and shapeless masses of amygdaloidal and imperfectly porphyritic greenstone. This was the first stream we had for a long time seen traversing rocks of the secondary formation, whose waters were free of an impregnation of muriate of soda and other salts. From the very considerable magnitude of the valley, and the quantity of water in the creek, it is reasonable to infer that its sources were distant at least twenty miles to the west, and the purity and transparency of its waters afford sufficient evidence that it flows principally from a surface of trap rocks.
Having crossed the creek with some difficulty, we halted on its bank to set up our tent, and prepare ourselves for a thunder shower, which was already commencing. After the rain, the sky became clear, and the sun, which was near setting, gilded with its radiance the dripping foliage of a cluster of oaks and poplars, which stood near our tent. The grassy plain, acquiring an unwonted verdure from the shower, and gemmed with the reflection of innumerable pendant rain-drops, disclosed here and there a conic pile, or a solitary fragment of black and porous amygdaloid. The thinly-wooded banks of the creek [270] resounded to the loud notes of the robin, and the more varied and melodious song of the mocking-bird; the stern features of nature, which we had long contemplated with a feeling almost of terror, seemed to relax into a momentary smile to cheer us on our toilsome journey.
On the morning of the 29th, our course (S. 35° E.) brought us at the distance of three miles from our camp, to the foot of the cliff which separates the valley from the high plain. This mural barrier has an elevation of about two hundred feet, and is impassable, except at particular points, where it is broken by ravines. One of these we were fortunate in finding, without being compelled to deviate greatly from our course, and climbing its rugged declivity, we emerged upon the broad expanse of the high plain. Turning with a sort of involuntary motion towards the west, we again caught a view of the distant summits of the Andes appearing on the verge of our horizon. The scene before us was beautifully varied with smooth valleys, high conic hills, and irregular knobs, scattered in every direction as far as the eye could comprehend. Among these singular eminences nothing could be perceived like a continuous unbroken range. Most of them stand entirely isolated; others in groups and ranges, but all are distinct hills, with unconnected bases. The surface of the country generally, and more especially in the immediate vicinity of these hills, is strewed with fragments of compact or porphyritic greenstone. These are, in some places, accumulated in such quantities as render the passing extremely difficult.
At half-past eleven, A. M., a violent storm, with high and cold wind, came on from the north-east, and continued for two hours. Soon after its commencement we halted to dine, but were unable to find a spot affording wood until so much rain had fallen as to wet our clothing and baggage. Fire was almost the only comfort we could now command, our [271] provisions being so nearly exhausted, that about an ounce of jerked bison meat was all that could be allowed each man for his dinner.
The rain ceasing, we again resumed our journey, but had not proceeded far when we were overtaken by a second storm from the north-east, still more violent than the first, and attended with such pelting hail that our horses refused to proceed in any direction except that of the wind, so that rather than suffer ourselves to be carried off our course, we were compelled to halt, and sit patiently upon our horses; opposing our backs to the storm, we waited for its violence to abate. As soon as the hail ceased we moved on, the water pouring in streams from our mockasins and every part of our dress. The rain continued until dark, when, being unable to find wood, and having no occasion for water, we halted, and without the delay of cooking supper, or eating it, we set up our tent, and piled ourselves together under it in the most social manner possible. During the day the mercury had fallen from 70° to 47°, indicating a change of temperature, which was the more severely felt, as we were hungry, wet, and much fatigued. As we had neither dry clothing or blankets, we could find no other method of restoring the warmth to our benumbed bodies than by placing them together in the least possible compass. We spent a cheerless night, in the course of which Mr. Peale experienced an alarming attack of a spasmodic affection of the stomach, induced probably by cold and inanition. He was somewhat relieved by the free use of opium and whiskey.
30th. We left our comfortless camp at an early hour on the ensuing morning, and traversing a wide plain strewed with fragments of greenstone, amygdaloid, and the vesicular substance already mentioned as the pumice-stone of Bradbury, we arrived in the middle of the day in the sight of a creek, which, like all the watercourses of this region, [272] is situated at the bottom of a deep and almost inaccessible valley. With the customary difficulty and danger, we at length found our way down to the stream, and encamped.
We were much concerned, but by no means surprised, to discover that our horses were rapidly failing under the severe services they were now made to perform. We had been often compelled to encamp without a sufficiency of grass, and the rocky travelling, to which we had for some time accustomed them, was wearing out and destroying their hoofs. Several were becoming lame, and all much exhausted and weakened.
Verplank, our faithful and indefatigable hunter, was so fortunate as to kill a black-tailed deer at a distance from our course. A horse was, however, sent for the remainder of the meat, Verplank having brought the greater part of it on his shoulders; and we once more enjoyed the luxury of a full meal.
In the course of the day we saw several antelopes, all more wild and shy than those between the Pawnee villages and the Missouri. Also a few wild horses, but it was easy to see that all the animals inhabiting this portion of the country had been accustomed to be hunted. Few traces of bison, either old or recent, were to be seen. From these facts we inferred that we were now on the frontiers of some permanent settlement, either of Spaniards or Indians.
Sufferings of the Party from Stormy Weather and Want of Provisions—Indications of an Approach towards Settlements—Inscribed Rock—Cervus Macrotis—Volcanic Origin of Amygdaloid.
The valley in which we halted, is narrow and bounded on both sides by cliffs of greenstone, having manifestly a tendency to columnar or polyhedral structure. It falls readily into large prismatic masses, but obstinately resists that further progress of disintegration which must take place before it can be removed by the water. For this reason the valley is much obstructed by fallen masses retaining their angular form, and little intermixed with soil. The common choke cherry, and the yellow and black currants, are almost the only woody plants met with in this valley.
The stream which may be supposed to exist in it for a part of the year at least, but which was now dry, runs towards the south-east. Having arrived at that part of the country which has by common consent been represented to contain the sources of the Red river of Louisiana, we were induced, by the general inclination of the surface of the country and the direction of this creek, to consider it as one of those sources; and accordingly resolved to descend along its course, hoping it might soon conduct us to a country abounding in game, and presenting fewer obstacles to our progress than that in which we now were. Our sufferings from the want of provisions, and from the late storm, had given us a little distaste for prolonging farther than was necessary our journey towards the south-west. And our horses [274] failing so rapidly, that we did not now believe they would hold out to bring us to the settlements by the nearest and easiest route.52
The country between the sources of Purgatory creek and the stream on which we were now encamped, is a wide and elevated formation of trap rocks, resting upon horizontal sandstone. It has a loose and scanty soil, in which sand, gravel, and rolled pebbles are rarely seen, except in the vicinity of some parts where the sandstone appears to have been uncovered by the action of currents of water. In traversing it we had collected many new and interesting plants. Among these were a large decumbent mentzelia, an unarmed rubus, with species of astragalus, pentstemon, myosotis, helianthus, &c. Beside the common purslane, one of the most frequent plants about the mountains, we had observed on the Arkansa a smaller species, remarkably pilose about the axils of the leaves, which are also narrower than in P. oleracea. A very small cuscuta also occurs almost exclusively parasitic on the common purslane.
July 31st. In attempting to descend the creek from our last encampment, we found the valley so obstructed with fragments of greenstone as to be wholly impassable. We accordingly ascended into the plain; and continuing along on the brink of the precipice, arrived in a few hours at a point where the substratum of sandstone emerges to light at the base of an inconsiderable hill. It is a fine gray sandstone, having an argillaceous cement, and its lamina are so nearly horizontal, that their inclination is not manifest to the eye. It is smooth and fissile, and in every respect remarkably contrasted to the massive and imperfectly columnar greenstone which it supports.
The greenstone of this district is not universally characterized by any tinge of green in the colouring, but often, as in the instance of which we are speaking, its colour is some shade of gray, varying from light [275] gray to grayish black. The hornblende and felspar which enter into its composition, are minutely and intimately blended. Its minute structure is rarely, if ever distinctly crystalline; most frequently it is compact, and the fracture nearly even.
The hunters were kept constantly forward of the party, and in the course of the morning they killed a small fawn and a heron. At one o'clock we arrived at the confluence of a creek tributary from the east to the stream we were following, and descending into its valley by a precipitous declivity of about four hundred feet, we encamped for the remainder of the day. This valley is bounded by perpendicular cliffs of sandstone, surmounted by extensive beds of greenstone. The fragments of the latter have fallen down into the valley, and being less perishable than the sandstone, they constitute the greater part of the débris accumulated along the base of the cliffs.
The sand-rock, which in some places is exposed in perpendicular precipices, is soft and friable, being very readily scratched with the point of a knife, and has been rudely inscribed, probably by the Indians, with emblematic figures commemorative of some past event. Several of the figures intended to represent men are distinguished by the sign of the cross inscribed near the head; some are represented smoking, and some leading horses, from which we infer, that the inscriptions are intended to commemorate some peaceful meeting of the Indians with the Spaniards of N. Mexico for the purposes of trade, when horses were either given as presents or bartered for other articles. Some meeting of this kind has probably happened here at no very distant period, as corn cobs were found near our encampment. From this circumstance it would appear, that the distance to the Spanish settlements cannot be very great.
Mr. Peale, who had been unwell since the cold storm of the 28th, now found some relief in the [276] opening of an abscess which had formed upon his jaw. As several of our horses had been lamed in descending into the valley, and by the rough journey of the preceding day, it was thought necessary to allow ourselves a day of rest. Since arriving in the country inhabited by the hitherto undescribed animal called the black-tailed or mule deer, we had been constantly attentive to the important object of procuring a complete specimen for preservation and description. Hitherto, though several had been killed, none had been brought to camp possessing all the characters of the perfect animal. Supposing we should soon pass beyond their range, a reward had been offered to the hunter who should kill and bring to camp an entire and full-grown buck.
Verplank killed one of this description, on the afternoon of the 1st of August, near enough our camp to call for assistance, and bring it in whole. They did not arrive until dark, and we had such pressing necessity for the flesh of the animal, that we could not defer dressing it until the next morning. The dimensions were accordingly taken, and a drawing made by Mr. Peale, the requisite light being furnished by a large fire. Verplank informed us, that in company with the buck which he killed, were five does, two of the common red deer, (C. virginianus) and three of the other kind.53
We observed about this camp, a yellow-flowering sensitive plant, apparently a congener to the saw-brier, (schrankia uncinata) of the Platte and Arkansa. Its leaves are twice pinnated, and manifestly irritable. We also added to our collection, two new species of gaura, smaller than G. mollis, which is also found here.
Several rattle-snakes were seen, and many orbicular lizards. These are evidently of two different species, differing from each other in the length of the spines and position of the nostrils. Scarce any two of either species are precisely similar in colour, but the markings are permanent. Both species possess, in a slight [277] degree, the power of varying the shades of colour. We can find no conspicuous difference, marking the different sexes in the species with long spines; the other we have not had sufficient opportunity to examine.
Wednesday, August 2d. The rain which had fallen during great part of the preceding day and night, had considerably raised the water in the small creek on which we were encamped. At sunrise we collected our horses and proceeded down the valley, the direction of our course south, 30° east. At the distance of two or three miles we found the valley much expanded in width, and observed a conspicuous change in the sandstone precipices which bound it. This change is the occurrence of a second variety of sand-rock, appearing along the base of the cliff, and supporting the slaty argillaceous stratum already described. These rocks have precisely the same position relative to each other, and nearly the same aggregate elevation, as the two very similar varieties observed in the valley of Purgatory creek; indeed, the conclusion that they are the continuation of the same strata as appeared similarly exposed in that valley, can scarcely be avoided. The lowermost, or red sand-rock, is here very friable and coarse. Its prevailing colour is a yellowish grey or light brown. It is often made up almost exclusively of large rounded particles of white or transparent quartz, united by a scanty cement, which usually contains lime, and sometimes, but not always, oxide of iron. In some instances the cement seems to be wanting. Its stratifications are very indistinct compared to those of the gray sandstone, and like them disposed horizontally.
On entering the wider part of the valley, we perceived before us, insulated in the middle of the plain, an immense circular elevation, rising nearly to the level of the surface of the sandstone table, and apparently inaccessible upon all sides. On its summit [278] is a level area of several acres, bearing a few cedar bushes, probably the habitation of birds only.
Leaving this, we passed three others in succession similar to it in character, but more elevated and remarkable. Of one of them, Mr. Peale has preserved a drawing. After passing the last of these, the hills ceased abruptly, and we found ourselves once more entering a vast unvaried plain of sand. The bed of the creek had become much wider, but its water had disappeared. Meeting at length with a stagnant pool, we halted to dine, but found the water more bitter and nauseous than that of the ocean. As it could neither be used for cooking or to drink, we made but a short halt, dining on a scanty allowance of roasted venison, which we ate without bread, salt, water, or any thing else. Some fragments of amygdaloid were strewed along the bed of the stream, but we saw no more of that rock, or of the other members of the fletz trap formation in place. They may extend far towards the south-west, but of this we have no conclusive evidence. The aspect of these rocks, particularly of the amygdaloid or toad stone, is so peculiar, and its disposition so remarkably dissimilar to that of the sandstones with which it is associated, that nothing seems more natural than that it should be referred to a different origin.