The republic., 1851-01-28
From As Sacramento Times, Dec. IL.
The Colorado and Glla Country.

Among the interesting contributions TO the know
ledge OF surrounding countries which are con-
tinuAlly being made, the exploration Of the great
river smptying into the Gulf Of California prom
ises 10 attract due share Of public attention.
Nothing is known definitely, we believe, az yet OF
the navigabe features of this streams or Of i prin
cipal tributary, the Gila. The expedition lately
fitted out and despatched under Lieut.. Derby, has
for its object the survey Of the Colorado; and the
schooner which conveys him and his little party 70
the of their operations, is one especially cal
culated 10 enable him to enter as far as possible
sinto the bowels of the land" II is contemplated
by Lieut. Derby to make the military post at the
junction ofthe Gila his headquarters II he 10 able to
reach that point. Our own observation, last year,
would induce q doubt of the possibility OF passing,
in a sail vessel, the falls Of the Colorado encoun-
tered at the l0Der crossing, about ten miles below
the confluence. At the last mentioned place the
river isvery wide running over edges Of nat rock;
and, although the channel may be sufficiently un-
obstructed It is probable the rapdty OF the current
will prevent any other passage than by the aid Of
steam. Below these rapids, appearances indicate
obstacle to navigation to ovesses Of much larger
class Above the junction Of the Gila the Colorado
s believed, from the accounts Of trappers and voy
ayers, to pass through narrow canous with fearful
swtness, and falls are reported to be found within
short distance from the Gila confluence. Little
reliance can be placed upon any statements from
such sources; and we the more regret, therefore,
the unfortunate impediments which Col. Fremont
met upon his last overland journey to this country,
which deferred him from prosecuting the route he
uuu Hte inscAAucos uPoAA 'Ao SoAoa NM 's o' va
ern branches.
In relation 10 the agricultural character Of the
lands, lying within the American line on the Colo
RADIO, no information has reached US from authentic
sources and the only intimation OF any enterprise
being undertaken in that direction s from a letter
from Los Angeles, published in the AIta, stating
that an expedition had reached that point, shaving
for its object the settlement of some point the
Rio Colorado and adding further that large tracts
were known to exist in that region admirably
adapted to the cultivation of sugar., &c, SC. The
writer Is Of opinion that still better agricultural
country may be found in the fork Of the two rivers,
and north Of the American fine.
Those who travelled the Gila route have seen the
advancement of the Pimos and Maricopas Indians
in the art Of cutivating the soil. The district in
habited by them is fertile and productive to de-
gree scarcely surpassed; and the little seen Of the
country on the other side Of the river confirms the
opinion that such 10 its character also.
Sonora, the northernmost department of Mexico,
contains many mining towns now deserted by the
natives, who have fed before the incursions Of hos
tile Indians. Should these tribes be restrained by
on the frontier the same mines will again be occu
this section, causing trade TO spring up requiring
the use of all the facilities of intercourse
which nature has bestowed.
Nothingis fmore significant import in its bearing
upon the future of this great State than these early
and simultaneous developments at bothits EXTREMIST
limits. The Klamath and the Colorado may, ere
long, rival in notorety the Sacramento and San
joaquin; and no local prejudice will cause who
has the real good of our young State at heart TO
deprccate the immediate presence of that fortunate
epoch.