luent of the Bavispe River which probably has its origin near
Chuhuichupa. The elevation of our camp was 6,620 feet. The summit
of the sierra toward the east appeared to be 2,000 feet high, and
the first ridge, at the foot of which we camped, rises here almost
perpendicularly about a thousand feet. The little stream already
mentioned originates in a deep canon and adjoining it are four large
cordons descending from the ridge east of us and spreading themselves
out like a gigantic fan, which we had noticed from some distance on
the previous day. From our camp led a track eastward, up along one
of these cordons, and a reconnoitring party found a Mormon settlement
ten or twelve miles off.

The day after our arrival I went out to take a look at the
country. South of us, at no great distance from the camp, I found
patches of fertile black soil partly cultivated with corn and
turnips that did not appear to be flourishing, and with potatoes
which were doing well. An old horse stood there, and I also noticed a
small tent. Going up closer I found a plough standing outside. This
made quite a queer impression in these solitary mountains, but the
implement was apparently not out of place, judging from the beautiful
black soil near-by. In the tent I saw a heap of bed-clothes piled up
on some tin pails, and there were also some pots with potatoes and
corn. The owner of all this was not at home; but the atmosphere was
American, not Mexican. I had evidently come upon an outpost of one
of the Mormon colonies.

Throughout January the days continued to be fine, though at times a
southerly cold wind was blowing; but at night it was cold and the
water in our buckets was often frozen. Then we felt what a real
comfort a large camp-fire is. Before sundown we would gather the
fallen trees and such sorts of wood, and roaring fires were built
in front of each tent. The smoke, to be sure, blackened our faces,
but the fire made the tents wonderfully comfortable, filling them
with light and warmth. For beds we used fragrant pine boughs.

We also had several falls of snow, the heaviest two and a half inches,
and on the coldest night, on January 10th, the thermometer went down
to 6 deg. F. As the rays of the sun partly melted the snow in the course
of the day, the animals could at least get a meagre meal. On January
15th a cup of water froze inside of my tent, but during the day we
had 57 deg. F.

We soon found out that in the river Gabilan, some