Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1848-06-01

began to fear that we should be compelled to
encamp without water, but fortunately, about
shutdown, we found a beautiful lake OF hne wa,
ter, and with a good firm bottom, and surrouhueu
by high sand hills. Here we saw two tlgers:-
Our guide supposed this lake to be forty-hve
miles from Camargo We had veiy tlresome
march on the 18th. We were all day in the
midst of what the men called the "infernal
chapparra"-wth the sun intensely hottie
prickies assaing us at every point-compelled
10 cut our way almost every step, and without
drop of water. The only variety we had was
that one of The men, Cave Kertly, killed one of
The finest buck, | have seen on the march, the
horns OF which he gave inc. Having despaired
of finding water we encamped on smaI. Gle
walton, covered with musquit grass. We spent
the night without water
On the 10Th we were glad to leave this dreary
place early in the morning We dld SO as soo'
us possible, encountering the chapparal at every
step. Every thing around us seemed to nave
thorn or prickle upon il, except the musqu'
grass, and OF that there was but llltie. we
worked our way with very great difficulty, about
fifteen miles. through the chapparal, when we
espied hole of water near our route, and such
was the intense suffering Of the men that their
impetuosty led them in and through the puddle
in almost an instant. In u few minutes it was
as muddy as If ten thousand hogs had been wal
lowing in it. With this .fth we loaded our
stomachs to their utmost capacity, and moved
on. We encamped by the side of a small SAT-
stream, which our horses drank, but which we
could not. Here we found a trace which we
supposed led to Camargo.
On the 20th with the full conviction that we
were not very far from Camargo, we assembled
an elevation of considerable height, and were
not disappointed We discovered the cupolu Of
the Catholic church towering above the rest Of
the buildings. But the ntcrminabe chappara
was still around us every where. At o'clock
we reached the banks of the Rio Grande being
about 100 miles from the Nueccs. We gave
three cheers and fred our guns.
The country from the Nueccs to the valley of
the Rio Grande is poor, sterile, sandy and barren
with not single tree of any size or value on
our whole route. The only tree which we saw
was the musquit tree, and very few of these
The musquit Is small tree resembling an old
and decayed peach tree. The whole country
may be truly called perfect waste, uninhabited
and uninhabitabe. There is not drop of run T..
ming water between the two rivers, except in the
two small streams of San Salvador and Santa
Gartrudus, and these only contain water in the
rainy season. Neither OF them had running wa
ter when we passed them. The chapparal COM
mences within forty or fifty miles of the Rio
Grandc. Tins is poor rocky and sandy; cover.
cd with prickly pear, thistles, and almost every
sticking thlng--containing thick and perfectly
impenetruble underground. For any useful or
agricultural purpose, the country is not worth a
sous.
So far as we were able to form any opinion
of this desert upon the other routes which had
been travelled, its character everywhere between
the two rivers is pretty much the same We
learned that the route pursued by General ray-
lor, south of ours, was through country similar
TO that through which we had passed; as also
was that travelled by General Wool from San
Antonio to Preside, on the Rio Grande From
what we both saw and heard, the whole command
came to the conclusion which have already cX-
pressed-that it is worth nothing. have nc
hesitation in saying that would not hazard the
life of one valuable and useful man for every
foot of land between San Patrcio aud the valley
of the Rio Grande. The country is now and
can never be of the slightest pul,,c.
Up. GAINES.
WAsHrNGToN 18th March, l64S.
Colonel Emory states that:
"The territory from the Arkansas TO this point
more than 1900 miles, in its adaptation to ugr
culture, has peculiarties which must forever
stamp themselves upon the population which in
habits it. All of North Mexico, chihuahua, So
noria and the CALIFORNIA;, as far North as the
Sacramento and as far as the best information
goes, is the same in the physical character Of its
surface, and differs but little in character and
products.
ain no part of this vast track can The rains
from Heaven be relied upon to any extent for
the cultivation of the soil. The earth is desti
tute of trees and in grea. part also of any vege-
tation whatever. A few streams flow in differ
ent directions from the great mountains which
in many places traverse this region. These
streams are separated sometimes by plains and
sometimes by nountans, without water and
without vegetation, and may be called deserts
so far as to perform any part in the sustcnance
of animal life"
To the l,500 miles mentioned by Colonel Elm.
DRY should be added 100 or $50 miles of desert
on the other side of the Colorado, as described
by quotations already made from his journal, 81
that there is an expanse of 400 miles of terri
tory, including new Mexico, which fall within
the perview of his remarks. 1t will be observed
also, that those remarks are highly coDfirmalorl
of the views have expressed of chihuahua, So
nora and Lower California.
OF the Great California BaSin.--I cannot de
vote much time 10 this branch of the subject. |
will be sufficient to say that it is tract of coun
Try Of an oval form, surrounded by high noun
tans, and extends from about tie 35h parable
of north latitude some distance above the AZ
parallel; and of course part of tiles in Oregon
1t has the triangle of the Colorado on the east
and California, upon the Pacific. on the west
Lieutenant Col. Fremont says that it cannot b.
less than four or five hundred miles each way
and must lay principally IN Alta California -ih
demarcaton of AZ degrees probably cutting
segment from the north part of the basin Il
1894, Colonel Fremont then captain by bre
vet of Typographical Engineers) performed, wit
his party, tour entirely around the basin, O
what he calls its "rim," or through the noun
tains which surround it. The description whic
he gives of his progress, and of the difliculte
which he experienced in finding grass and waite
for his beasts, corresponds almost exactly wit
that already given from the report of Colone
Emory of lis journey down the ella and acros
the Colorado.
Of this interior basin Colonel Fremont SAYS
"Bu little is known. 1t is called desert, am
from what saw Of it, sterillty may be lis prom
inent Characteristic; but where there is so muc
water, there must be some oasis. The great ri'
er, and the great lake, reported, may not be equ
to the report; but, wbele there is SO much sno,
there must be streams; and, where there is +
outlet, there must be lakes TO hold the pccum,
loted waters, or sands TO swallow them up.
this eastern part of the bnsn containing Sever
Utah, and the Great Salt Lakes, and the rive
and creeks falling into them, we know there
good soil and good grass adapted to civilized Sc
Elements. In the western part, on Salmon T'ro
river and some other streams, the same rema
may be made. The contents of this grent Bias
n q, l.,