The Placer herald., 1864-11-05
Arizona Territory Correspondence.
PKEsCoTT. A. Il. October 7tb

then had something to say of the unpleas-
ant codness Of that vicinity. AS the season
advanced, that state of the atmosphere gave
place to excessive heat. June, July, Angus,
and September, are excessively hot in those
parls-,he thermometer ranging from SO to
rs deg. That famous furnace, when seven
times heated for the reception of certain
gentlemen, as described in "ye good book"
was refreshing retreat, compared with some
OF the days during the present season. 1t
was hot in the morning-hotter at noon
hottest in the evening-and only bearable
when the bs,ering sun, with its binding
fires, had sunk behind the western hills
Even then, the air you breathe, comes over
sandy wastes and heated rocks, hot and suf
locating. so that one rises in the morning
unreireshed, and wears through the day in
state of nerveless assiude.
Taking the Colorado river at any point
have seen, or have had authentic accounts Of,
and | am able to assure the public, that it is
one of the most desirable ATTITUDES for the
establishment Of a penal colony, provided
always, that extreme torture is a leading ob.
ject in the establishment of such an inslitu
lion.
Any change from such locality must be
an lmprovement-and, acting upon this the
ory, on the l7lh OF August, your CORES.
pondent might have been seen mounted upon
his faithful mule, Susan Jane" and vending
his way out Of the town Of Hardy's Landing,
conveying two ten mule teams, named res
p ctively, the "BIue tail Fly" and Swift
Sure" with freight for this place. My COM
panion, DIR. Pangloss, the teamsters, and one
other man, being five in all, was the party
The roads here, are, of course, in their
primitive state. The wild deer, antelope,
hutfaIo or other animal, makes the first path
to the water-then from water to water the
Indian connects these paths into more di-
rect route called a trail, and the pioneer
comes along with his wagon and widens it
into rough road. For The most of the wav
this was our road; but for the first forty
miles after leaving the river we travelled over
road constructed some years since, under
the supervision of Lieut.. Beale; and as is
true of most Of the Improvements of that
kind, made by that gentleman, it is, for a
mountain road, good,-built upon solid
ground and passes by good and sufficient
waller.
Leaving this last mentioned road to the
left, we wound our way over mountains,
able lands, dove down into canyons, crossed
rolling prairies, through groves of s(unled
cedar and narrow valleys of pine, oak, wal.
nu', cherry, with bushes of wild currants
and vines of grapes. cannot speak of
more than two or three of these valleys
along the route. There is not one stream of
regular running water, and saw no consid-
erab.e BODY of land anywhere that appeared
to me susceptible of cultivation. All the
streams in this interior basin, or system Of
basins, that have seen, and many more
that have heard of, sink and rise at inter,
walls. Indeed it is not uncommon to hear
them speak of rivers that are but dry sandy
wash the year round.
We found the country, after striking the
first range Of mountains, quite we'll grassed,
aud as we neared this place, it increased in
variety, quality and quantity-on mountain,
valley and plain, among the cedars and pine,
struggling up among the rocks-everywhe
was The most tender and nulricious grasses,
upon which our beasts teasted in luxurious
coneDtment.-inde some of our camps
were regular "horse heavens"
This place on a direct line, is, probably,
not more than one hundred and thirty miles
from Hardy's Landing, lying little south of
east from there, but we Travelled north, north
east, east and south, making circuit through
the ranges of mountains and buttes, of near
two hundred miles. With all this twisting
and turning. it is probably the only prarti
cable route from here, for freight, to the
Colorado, the roads striking the river lower
down being for the most part over grassless,
waerless deserts Of sand
We had no wild adventure or hair-breadth
escapes to record. We saw no Indians APP
parenty warlike; those that came to our
camps, not being so desperately bent on
blood and rapine, as on begging food and
tobacco, and picking up little things lying
around loose. After dark one night, fell
low hailed our camp, from the peak of
mountain above u.s. and set the camp in
more walchfuI mood; but we had our stock
herded in the day time, and tied up and
carefully guarded at night. For my part
felt quite secure; Pan9Ioss having served in
the army of Hungary, under General Bem,
-chalepged fellow to fight, the morning
we left Haldy's, and being about four feet
one inch in his stocking feet - fighting
weight seventythree pounds and four ounces
I came near Ioosiug him one day, he having
strayed away from the road, in scientific
search among the roots and herbs. "Susan
Jane" ran away from me one day, forcing
me to walk some dozen miles. excused
this behavior in her, on account of the will
fuI, coquettish airs OF the sex generally-she
being generally we'll behaved mule.
From the first step from the river we
commenced to rise, and so rapidly, that in
coming here we rise about six thousand feet
this place being about seven thousand feet
above the sea. OF course the climate soon
began to change with us. The third day
out we expe' fenced tremendous storm.
From clear, blazing sun, the sky darkened
in about twenty minutes, the lightning flash.
ed and the thunder rolled among the below