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ZUNI and COLORADO RIVERS, In 33n CoNGREss, � [SENATE.] { EXECUTIVE. lst Sessum. S REPORT OF AN EXPEDITION DOWN THE ZUNI AND COLORADO RIVERS, In. t?S v.f'•' ; BT CAPTAIN L. �ITGREAVES, OOKPS TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINUIIS. , .lOCOMPANDCD BY HAPS, SKETCHF.'l, VIEWS, AND ILLU8TRATIONtl. ARIZONA STATE LIBRARY ARCHIVES & .iLB.. RECORDS J ... .! t �--14 WASHINGTON: BEVEIU,EY TUCKE!t, SF.NATI': l'IUNTlm. 1854. REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF \VAR, COMMUNICATING, In compliancewiJ,h a resolution oftlte Senate, tlteReport ofan Expe­ ditiondo wnthe Zuni and Coltrado rivers, by Captain Sitgrcaves. FEBRUARY 15, 1853.-Referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. MARCH 3, 1853.-Ordered to be printed ; and that 2,000 extra copies 1,e printed, 200 of which for Captain Sitgreaves. MAT 17, 1854.-Ordered that 3,000 additional copies l,c printed. w AR DEPARTMENT, Washington, Feb. 12, 1853. SIR: In compliance with the Senate resolution of the 28th July last, I have the honor to transmit herewith the "Report of the Expedition down the Zuni and the Colorado, under the command of Captain Sitgreaves, of the Corps of' Topographi­ cal Engineers, and of the maps belonging thereto ; also, the sketches and views and illustrations of Indian customs." Very respectfully, your obedient servant, C. M. CONRAD, Secretary ofWar. Hon. D.R. ATCHISON, President ofthe Senate. 4 REPORT OF AN EXPEDITION DOWN THE ZUNI AND COLORADO RIVERS, 5 BUREAU OF TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEERS, ,make an expedition against the Navajos, directed me to await Washington, Feb. 7, 1853. his departure, so as to take advantage of the protection Sm: I have the honor to submit the Report of the Expe­ afforded by his command as far as our routes coincided, or dition down the Zuni and the Colorado, under Capt:iin Sit­ until he could detach a proper escort for my party. The greaves, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, called for troops assembled at Santo Domingo, on the Rio Grande, and by a resolution of the Senate of July last. took up their march thence on the 1st August. On the 1st Respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, :September we arrived at the pueblo of Zufi.i, the point at J. J. ABERT, which my exploration was to commence. Colonel Corps Top. Engineers. Colonel Sumner had detailed for the escort Brevet Major Hmi. C. M. CoNRAD, H. L. Kendrick, 2d Artillery, with thirty men of his compa­ Secretary ef War. ny, but they were not detached until after they had accompa­ nied him to Cailon Bonito, three days' journey farther into the Navajo country. I was thus compelled to wait at Zuni until WASHINGTON, February 7, 1853. the 24th September, consuming in the mean time part of the Sm: I have the honor to submit the accompanying map of limited supplies provided for the expedition. The mules like­ the route explored by me fromthc•pueblo of Zuni, New Mex­ wise suffered from the delay, for there was scarcely any ico, to Camp Yuma, 011 the Colorado of the West, under . grazing in the immediate vicinity of the pueblo, and I did not instructions from you, of which the following is an extract: deem it prudent to send them to a distance, as small parties " The river Zuni is represented on good authority to empty of NavaJOS had been seen lurking in the neighborhood. The into the Colorado, and it has been partially explored by Lieu­ mules of Major Kendrick's command were still more unfit to tenant Simpson to the r.ueblo of Zuni. You will therefore go undertake a difficult march, many of them having been taken to that place, which will be, in fact, the commencing point of out of wagons after a journey of several weeks' duration. your exploring labors. From the pueblo of Zuni you will I can add very little to the information afforded by the map, pursue the Zuili to its junction with the Colorado, determining almost the entire country traversed being barren, and without its course and character, particularly in reference to its navi­ general interest. Observations with the sextant were made gable properties, and to the character of its adjacent land and as often as occasion served; and the latitude and longitude of productions. The junction of the Zuni and Colorado will be as many points determined as are necessary to establish the accurately determined. You will then pursue the Colorado line of march with suffieient accuracy. Collections were to its junction with the Gulf of Californra, taking those obser­ made of such objects of natural history as could be trans­ vations which will enable you accurately to delineate its ported with our limited facilities. Their description will be course." found in the reports hereto appended. The party was organized at Santa Fe, and consisted of The expedition set out from Zuni the 24tb September. Lieutenant J. G. Parke, Topographical Engineers; S. W. The incidents of the journey are detailed in the following ex­ Woodhouse, l\f. D., physician and naturalist; Mr. R. H. tracts from my journal : Kern, draughtsman; Mr. Antoine Leroux, guide; five Ameri­ September 24, Camp No. 1.-Our first day's march was only cans and ten Mexicans as packers and ar·ru:rl)s. six miles. It was made thus short to enable us to correct any As many mules as could he procured in ljme, suitable for defects that might be discovered in the arrangement of the the purpose, were purchased; hut these not being sufficient, packs. the assistant quartermaster at Santa Fe furnished me, on my The Zuni is a mere rivulet, and not entitled to the name of requisition, with forty additimrnl ones, with pack-saddles, river; in most parts of our country it \Vould not be dignified &c. A portion of the provisions for the party were obtained with that of creek. The corn-fieldsof the Zuni Indians cxtend­ from the assistant commissary of subsistence at the same place · ed at intervals for several miles down the stream, tlieir crops The commanding offieer in New Mexico being about to .and orchards being planted on the edge of the valley, or ia 6 REPORT OF AN EXPEDITION DOWN THE ZUNI AND COLORADO RIVERS. 7 the fertile gorges of the mountains. The only cultivation in valley destitute of timber, but covered with a thick growth of the immediate vicinfty of the pueblo consisted of small vege­ rank unnutritious grass. The hills bounding it on either side table gardens, tended by the women and watered by hand, are of gradual slope, with here and there a rocky point of a in which were grown chieflyonions, beans, and chile.• Their conglomerate of gray sandstone and pebbles jutting out into orchards produce good peaches, with which we were abun­ the bottom. dantly supplied during our stay at the village. September 28, Camp No. 5.-Proceeding down the valley, it September 25, Camp No. 2.-A well-beaten trail, following widens out into a broad plain, which the recent profuse rains the general direction of the stream, enabled us to avoid the had made soft and muddy. To avoid this we turned offfrom inconvenience of travelling over ground rendered soft and miry the river, and made our way across the high land, but gained by the recent rains. We encamped on the banks of the creek, little by the exchange, for the soil was so light and thinly co­ near some abrupt rocks, from beneath which gushes out a fine vered with grass that the mules sank to their fetlocks at every spring. Fragments of pack-saddles and broken boxes gave step. The ground was strewed with pebbles of agate, jas­ evidence of a former encampment of white men, probably of per, and chalcedony, and masses of what appeared to have the party of Lieutenant Thom, who escorted Mr. Collier to been stumps of trees petrified into jasper, beautifully striped California in 1849. with bright shades of red, (the predominating color,) blue, September 26, Camp No. 3.-The valley is here shut in by white, and yellow. The rocks were gray sandstone, some­ abrupt walls of gray sandstone, occasionally mixed with ba­ times of a slaty structure. salt, having frequent springs running out from under them; Septemher 30, Camp No. 7.-The river here runs through a but further down it expands to several miles in width, other . deep and rocky canon, which we skirted, and crossed below valleys opening into it. The faces of the sandstone rocks, it to the south bank, finding the ground much broken by ra­ wherever they presented a smooth surface, were covered vines, which were only visible when we came directly upon with Indian hieroglyphics or pictures carved or painted upon them. The surrounding scenery resembled that of the north­ them. western prairies, the country being bare of trees and the hor­ The bed of the stream becoming dry, we crossed the point izon unbroken, except in one direction, where a high conical of a precipitous basaltic ridge, and, keeping on the slope of peak, that had served us several days as a lankmark, varied the hills bounding the valley to the north, encamped on a lit­ the uniformity of its outline. tle channel, filed with muddy rain-water, in the middle of a . October l, Camp No. 8.-The river, winding to the north, miry plain. The soil on the hills was sandy, and in the plain gave us a straight course across the high land, soft and sandy, of sand mixed with clay; in both cases yielding to the foot. as usual, and frequently intersected by deep ravines, until we September 27, Camp No. 4.-Just after leaving camp a small a�ain encountered it, flowing now between bluffsandy banks party of Indians came in sight, who proved to be Coyoteros, fringed with cotton-wood trees, and presenting at length the (Apaches,) driving some asses to Zuni for the purpose of appearance of a river, but still with little water in its bed.
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