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EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF 
THE MISSOURI,, 


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BY 


E. H. RUFFNER, 


FIRST LIEUTENANT OF ENGINEERS, U. S. A. 3 


BEING 


APPENDIX SS 


OF THE 


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS FOR 1878. 


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WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
. 1878. ’ 


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[EXTRACT FROM THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS 
TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR.] 


OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, 
Washington, D. C., October 19, 1878. 


* * * * * * * 


RECONNATSSANCES AND EXPLORATIONS. 


The engineer officers on the staffs of the generals commanding the 
military divisions and departments have been engaged during the year 
in surveys in the field, and in collecting and plotting geographical and 
other information obtained from the note-books, sketches, and maps 
made by the officers and soldiers in the scouts and campaigns in the 
West. The estimate of $50,000 made by this department for the sur 
veys by these officers failed at the last session of Congress, thus leav- 
ing unprovided for the work which was desired to be accomplished in 
the seven military departments embracing the country west of the Mis- 
sissippi River, in each one of which there is an engineer or acting engi- 
neer officer. This work includes surveys in the field by the department 
engineers, the purchase and repair of instruments, and the expenses at- 
- tending the draughting and printing of maps required for distribution to 
the Army. 

The maps of the country covered by the recent campaigns against 
hostile Indians have proved in the highest degree useful to the officers 
engaged, and it is especially desirable that the great unexplored areas 
in the hostile country, and areas which in future campaigns are liable to 
be traversed by the troops, or by the enemy, should be surveyed and 
plotted and added to these campaign maps. The enlistment of topo- 
graphical assistants to the engineer officers attached to the headquarters 
of each of the Western military geographical divisions and departments, 
which was authorized by the Secretary of War in July, 1877, will very 
much facilitate the surveys of those officers, and it is hoped, if the small 
appropriation asked for these surveys is granted by Congress, that much 
more can be accomplished than has been heretofore by the same amount 
of expenditure. 

An estimate for the amount required to be appropriated for this pur- 
pose has been included in the estimate of this department. 


* * * ¥ * * * 


Lieut. E. H. Ruffner, on the staff of the general commanding the De- 
partment of the Missouri, reports that but little progress has been made 
during the past year in the preparation of maps, or in the examination 
and survey of new country. Wantof means and small number of troops 
in the department available for marches or scouts are assigned as the 
reasons. The total mileage of journals of scouts and marches is given 
at 7,214, and an additional 2,030 miles for the reconnaissance in South- 
west Colorado conducted by Lieut. C. A. H. McCauley, Third Artillery, 
assistant to Lieutenant Ruffner. This report is submitted by Lieu- 
tenant McCauley, and is considered as very valuable and of interest to 
all connected with that region of country. 


IV REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


An edition of map No. 2, Department of the Missouri, revised and cor- 
rected to date, was issued last fall. Lieutenant Ruffner submitted a 
second report on lines of communication between Colorado and New 
Mexico, which was printed as Ex. Doc. No. 66, House of Representa- 
tives, Forty-fifth Congress, second session. The report covers 38 pages 
of print, and is accompanied by three maps. 

Lieutenant Ruffner has employed his spare time during the year in 
preparing a compilation or descriptive index of the reports of the Corps 
of Engineers for the ten years 1866-1876, entitled “A Record of Ten 
Years of Engineering by the Corps of Engineers, U. 8. A.” The manu- 
seript is now completed. 

(See Appendix 88.) 


* * * * * * * 


! 


ERRATA. 


[Appendix S S, Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, 1878.] 


Page 1750, line 4 from bottom, for ‘‘ mess” read ‘‘ mesa.” 

Page 1754, line 24, omit ‘ ‘south.” 

Page 1754, line 36, for ‘‘ peak” read ‘ summit.” 

Page 1755, line 17, for ‘‘ Pundio Pass,” read ‘‘ Puncho Pass.” 

Page 1755, line 42, for ‘‘ hillrocks” read “hillock.” 

Page 1756, line 23 from bottom, for ‘‘rivers” read ‘‘ views.” 

Page 1760, line 40, for ‘‘ summit ” read “Summit.” 

Page 1763, line 13, for ‘“‘stage” read “ stages.” 

Page 1766, line 8, for “flourishing ” yead “ flourishes.” 

Page 1766, line 14 from bottom, for ‘and noticed” read “and were noticed.” 

Page 1768, line 17, for “declaring” read ‘‘ declared.” 

Page 1768, line 31, for “it” read “its.” 

Page 17 68, line 11 from bottom, for ‘‘ burned” read “ buried.” 

Page 1769, line 20, for ‘ ‘Southern” read “Eastern.” 

Page 1770, line 30 from bottom, for ‘‘ are merged” read ‘‘is merged.” 

Page 1771, line 20 from bottom, for ‘‘ then” read ‘‘ there.” 

Page 1772, strike out quotation marks before and after ‘‘fine.” 

Page 1774, line 12, for ‘‘ indicating action” read “indicating watery action.” 

Page 1775, line 41, for “‘ east” read ‘‘ west.” 

Page 1775, line 46, after ‘‘ valley,” insert ‘‘ there results.” 

Page 1776, line 9, for ‘‘locatted ” read ‘‘ located.” 

Page 1778, line 22 from bottom, for ‘‘ value of” read ‘‘ value for.” 

Page 1778, line 14 from bottom, for ‘‘ along on a” read ‘‘ along a.” 

Page 1779, line 4, insert ‘‘and” before ‘‘ received.” 

Page 1779, line 5 from bottom, for ‘‘Sierra Carriza” read ‘‘ Sierra Carrizo.” 

Page 1780, line 38, for ‘‘is” read ‘ in.” 

Page 1780, line 41, for ‘‘rise” read “rises.” 

Page 1780, line 2 from bottom, for “provided” read ‘‘ obtained.” 

Page 1781, lines 11 and 12, for § ‘Pay-Utes” read ‘‘ Pah-Utes.” 

Page 1781, line 27, for ‘ from Mancos” 1ead “ from the Mancos.” 

Pave 1782, line 34, for “mountainous” read “monotonous.” 

Page 1782, line 37, for ‘‘is a” read ‘‘is all a.” 

Page 1783, line 10, omit comma after ‘‘ beyond.” 

Page 1783, line 29, omit quotation marks before and after “‘ Lake City.” 

Page 1783, lines 15 and 16 from bottom, omit quotation marks before and after 
“Wagon Wheel Gap.” 

Page 1783, line 6 from bottom, for ‘‘ Ionea” read ‘‘ Loma.” 

Page 1785, line 23, for ‘‘90°” read ‘‘9°.” 

Page 1785, last line, for ‘‘Ternichi” read ‘‘ Tomichi.” 

Page 1787, line 5, for “at Mexican” read ‘at the Mexican.” 

Page 1787, line 11 from bottom, for ‘‘Chavez’s” read ‘‘ Valdez’.” 

Page 1787, line 9 from bottom, for “rivers” read “ wagons.” 

Page 1788, line 1, for ‘‘ Caledonia” read ‘‘Celedonia.” — 

Page 1788, line 31, for ‘‘ Chavez” read ‘‘ Valdez.” 
a Page 1? 1791, line 13 from bottom, insert comma after ‘ below,” and omit comma after 

valle 

Page 1796, line 7, for “‘ Pogosa” read ‘ Pagosa.” 

Page 1797, line 25 from bottom, for ‘ Animas” read “ Animas Forks.” 

Page 1797, line 9 from bottom, for toll-road” read ‘ county-road.” 

Page 1797, line 5 from bottom, for ‘‘ lake” read ‘‘ Lake.” 

Page 1798, line 13, for “forms” read “ftom.” 

Page 1798, line 33, for 100” read ‘‘ 110.” 

Page 1800, line 15 from bottom, for ‘‘100” read ‘‘90.” 

Bare 1800, last line, for “therefore” read “therefor.” 

Page 1802, line 14 from bottom, for ‘‘ summit” read ‘ Summit.” 

Page 1803, line 29 from bottom, for ‘‘covers” read ‘‘comes.” 

Page 1805, line 13 from bottom, for “ Front Lake” read “‘Trout Lake.” 

Page 1806, line 33, for “ Abiquin ” read ‘‘ Abiquiu.” 

Page 1806, line 42/ for ‘‘though to” read ‘‘ though known to.” 

Page 1807, line 16, for ‘ Zan Miguel” read ‘‘ San Miguel. is 

Page 1811, line 8 from bottom, for ‘‘100” read ‘‘ 110,” 


2 


Page 1812, line 15, for ‘‘ with” read ‘ without. f 

Page 1816, line 28, for ‘‘ highest mine” read ‘‘ highest gold mine.” 

Page 1816, line 4 of table, for “The Adams Miller” read “The Adams.” 

Page 1819, last line, tor ‘ ’ Atrastro” read “ Arastro.” 

Page 1823, line 26 from bottom, for ‘‘ quinches” read ‘‘9 inches.” 

Page 1825, line’#, for:** lixiviature” read “lixiviation.” 

Page 1825, line 20, for ‘‘ Hillsdale” read ‘‘ Hinsdale. y 

Page 1825, line a7, for ‘‘ nearly” read ‘near by.” 

Page 1825, lines 32 and 33, for “diocrasite” read ‘ discrasite.” 

Page 1825, line 33, for “py ragyrite” read “ pyrargyriie.” 

Page 1825, line 7 from bottom, for ‘‘ Read” read as Red.” 

Page 1826, line 15, for ‘* 120” read ‘130.” 

Page 1826, line 32, for ‘‘Out Pat” read ‘‘ Our Pat.” 

Page 1828, line 22 from bottom, for ‘‘ Ute” read ‘ Ule.” 

Page 1832, line 13, for ‘‘Galma” read ‘‘ Galena.” 

Page 1833, line 31. from bottom, for ‘‘Ranunculus nivalis L.,” read ‘ Ranunculus 
pygmeeus.” 

Page 1833, line 29 from bottom, for ‘‘cymbalaria” read ‘‘ Cymbalaria.” 

Page 1834, line 2, for ‘‘ Aralis” read ‘‘ Arabis.” 

Page 1834, line 3, for “‘Cardanime” read ‘“ Cardamine.” 

Page 1834, line 4 from bottom, for ‘‘Nigundo” read ‘‘ Negundo.” 

Page 1835, line 26, for ‘‘ Nutkanas” read “ Nutkanus.” 

Page 1835, line Q7, for ‘“‘rarely” read ‘‘rare.” ; 

Page 1835, line 37, after ‘‘ Potentilla Pennsylvanica, L., var.” insert ‘‘Strigosa, 
Pursh.” 

Page 1835, line 4 from bottom, for ‘‘aaueum” read ‘ aureum.” 

Page 1835, line 2 from bottom, for “L.” read ‘‘ DC.” 

Page 1836, line 22, for ‘‘scopularum” read ‘‘ scopulorum.” 

Page 1836, line 6 from | bottom, after ‘‘ Solidago viryo-aurea, L., var.” ins2rt ‘‘ Mul- 
tiradiata, Torr. & Gray. 

Page 1838, lime 17, for ‘* Brug.” read ‘ Bong.” 

Page 1838, line 25, tors ‘ erontandica ” read “ Groenlandica.” 

Page 1838, line 37, after © Stachys palustris, L., var. (240)” insert “cordata, Gray.” 

Page 1839, line 17, ‘‘ Polygonum viviparum” should be printed in Roman type. 

Page 1839, line 19, ‘* Polygonum Bistorta” should be printed in Roman type. 

Page 1839, line 27, for ‘‘ Comandra pallida” read ‘*Comandra pallida DC.” 

Page 1839, line 7 from botton, for ‘‘ Veratrum” read ‘ Veratrum.” 

Page 1840, line 9, for ‘‘ Burg.” read ‘‘ Bong.” 

Page 1840, line 32, for ‘‘rizopyrum” read ‘‘ Brizopyrum.” P 

Page 1840, line 20 from bottom, for ‘‘canicum,” read ‘‘ caninum.” , : 

Page 1840, line 17 from bottom, for ‘‘ strigosun” read ‘‘strigosum.” 


APPENDIX SS. 


ANNUAL REPORT OF LIEUTENANT EB. H. RUFFNER, CORPS 
OF ENGINEERS, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 
30, 1878. 


EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI. 


a ERTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, 
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER, 
Fort Leavenworth, Kans., July 22, 1878. 


Str: In rendering you my annual report for the fiscal year ending 
June 30, 1878, I regret to say that the operations of the office have been 
very meager. There being but a small sum at my disposal, no oppor- 
tunity has arisen to conduct surveys, and beyond the routine calls upon 
the draughtsmen no maps have been prepared. 

An edition of sheet No. 2, Department of the Missouri, revised and 
corrected to date, was engraved and issued last fall. 

The total mileage of journals of marches and scouts recorded in this 
office for the calendar year 1877 was 7,214; and the mileage of recon- 
naissance in the southwest of Colorado, conducted by Lieut. C. A. H. 
McCauley, my assistant, was 2,030 miles. 

The report of Lieutenant McCauley, herewith submitted, illustrates 
what may be done by the indefatigable energy and untiring ‘industry of 
one man. The results of his observations are given in a shape which 
presents the present condition of that section of country in a manner 
which will be of interest to all connected with it. Great credit should 
be given to Lieutenant McCauley for his systematic collection of notes 
and carefully prepared report, and it is suggested that a large edition of 
it be prepared separately for distribution to the many who are seeking 
information of this section. 

A second report on lines of communication between Colorado and 
New Mexico, in which much of Lieutenant McCauley’s notes were used, 
was submitted to the department commander on January 11, 1878, and 
was printed March 9, 1878, as Ex. Doc. No. 66, House of Representa- 
tives, Forty-fifth Congress, second session. This report covers 38 pages 
of print and is accompanied by three maps. In accordance with its 
recommendations an appropriation was made by Congress of $5,000, to 
commence the roads required. This amount will not complete what was 
desired, as the estimates called for $24,000. 

I have employed my spare time during the year in the compilation of 
a work which has been thought necessary, and of which the title-page 
and table of contents are herewith submitted. The manuscript of this 
work is now in the hands of the Chief of Engineers. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

EK. H. RUFFNER, 
First Ineutenant of Engineers. 

The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, U.S. A. 


1750 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


REPORT ON THE SAN JUAN RECONNAISSANCE OF 1877, BY LIEUTEN- 
ANT C. A. H. WCAULEY, THIRD ARTILLERY, IN CHARGE. 
) 


LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 


HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI, 
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER, 
Fort Leavenworth, Kans., July 15, 1878. 

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith my report of the San Juan reconnaissance 
of 1877, made pursuant to Special Orders No. 106, Headquarters, Department of the 
Missouri, June 6, 1877, and instructions in detail that were furnished me. 

The country examined consisted of that part of Southwest Colorado which is known 
as the San Juan Region and a portion of New Mexico. Leaving Fort Leavenworth 
June 10, 1877, for Fort Garland, Colo., the rendezvous of the party, an escort was ob- 
tained there consisting of First Lieut. G. Valois and 22 men of the Ninth Cavalry, and 
the field taken June 20; being absent from Fort Leavenworth five months, of which 
time 123 days were in the field, 96 different camps were occupied, not including those 
of a supply nature. 

The total distance traveled after leaving Fort Garland was 2,030 miles; this was 
wholly in the field, mainly with pack-trains, and is confined to that made in person, 
not including the mileage made by detached wagon and pack trains, or by any members - 
of my party unaccompanied by myself. 

Of the total, 1,850 miles were meander work, careful topographical notes, &c., being 
taken. 

In addition to the regular work of the reconnaissance and the special orders in de- 
tail regarding the selection of a site for a new military post in the San Juan region, 
the relations between the Indians and white settlers, the intertribal relations among 
the Indians themselves (the three southern tribes of Utes being dissaffected), and 
matters upon which reports not intended for publication have been rendered to the 
department commander, a representation of the flora, the avifauna, &c., was essayed, 
in accordance with my instructions that ‘‘natural history collections made would be 
of interest,” with the following results: 

In botany, a collection of 1,300 specimens, the classification of which was made by 
Prof. Asa Gray, and will be found in Chapter VI, relating thereto. The notes of Mr. 
T. S. Brandegee, civil engineer, of Canyon City, Colo., the only botanist personally 
acquainted with the San Juan country, were contributed gratis, and will be found in 
the same chapter. 

In zoology, between one and two thousand of the Articulata, especial attention being 
paid to the Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, and the Acridide of the Orthoptera. 

Classification and report upon the Orthoptera was made by Prof. Cyrus Thomas; 
upon the Lepidoptera, &c., by Prof. Herman Strecker, the subjects treated being con- 
tained in Chapter VII,in Entomology. Being now under orders to proceed to the field 
for duty with the commission appointed by the President to treat with the Ute Indians, 
and to make further ‘explorations in the San Juan country and portions of Colorado 
beyond,” the reports of Professor Strecker, which are not yet completed, will be for- 
warded by him to the Chief of Engineers direct about the 15th proximo. 

A general collection of the Vertebrata (skins), enibracing mammals, birds, and fishes, 
was also made. The classification and report in preparation by the writer has not 
been concluded, and is retained for future use. 

A general collection of mineralogy, consisting of about 800 specimens, largely gold | 
and silver ore from the various mining districts, to accompany statistical and de- 
scriptive memoranda, all of which will be found in Chapter V; a number of fossils 
were also collected? no examination or report on which has as yet been made. 

A large quantity of fragmentary pottery, &c., of the Aztec (so called) or prehistorice 
dwellers in mess houses previously known, and also found on the Rio Piedra, the Upper 
and Lower Rio de las Animas, and, in addition, upon the dry and desert region south of 
the Rio Dolores, sketches of habitations, masonry, &¢c., accompanying. Photographs 
of a cranium, sent to the Army Medical Museum, were furnished through the kindness 


APPENDIX SS. 1751 


of Asst. Surg. George A. Otis, curator. The notes taken are not in shape for publica- 
tion, and are retained for future use. 

Specimens from mineral and thermal springs were shipped to Washington for analy- 
sis promised by a government chemist; owing to a great press of business, as we were 
informed, the waters were overlooked, and no report thereon can consequently be fur- 
nished. 

In accordance with instructions, outline and brush sketches in pencil and water- 
color were taken at various points, a few of which are transmitted. 

An effort has been made to render the report as interesting as possible, the great 
drawback being that no money was available for assistance or other purposes during 
the reconnaissance and pending the preparation of the report; in consequence thereof, 
both labor and time, which they could illy afford to spare, had to be asked of scientific 
men in the specialties hereafter treated. 

I desire to tender my thanks to all who have furnished me information and aid at 
various points when in the field and since, and especially to Lieutenant Valois, who 
performed the not wholly pleasant duties of quartermaster of the expedition, with the 
labor incident thereto, in addition to escorting an officer whom he ‘‘ranked”; to Major 
Shorkley, commanding officer; and Captain Bean, quartermaster at Fort Garland, the 
base of supplies; and to Dr. P. G. Skillern, of the University of Pennsylvania, whose 
medical attendance on the expedition for over three mouths was without cost to the 
government. 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
C. A. H. McCauLey, 
Second Lieutenant Third Artillery, Acting Engineer Officer, 
In charge San Juan Reconnaissance. 

Lieut. EK. H. RUFFNER, 

United States Engineers, Chief Engineer Department of the Missouri, 
Fort Leavenworth, Kans. 


1752 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. . 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I.—THE COUNTRY AND ITS NATURE: 


J. Its name, area, and early settlement. 
II. Its general character. 
Ill. Trends of slopes. 
IV. Seasons. 

V. Climate. 


CHAPTER IJ.—AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL PURSUITS. 


CHAPTER III.—LINES OF COMMUNICATION: 


- I. Railroads. 
II. Wagon-roads. 
TLE “Praals, 


CHAPTER IV.—POPULATION. 
CHAPTER V.—MINES AND MINERAL WEALTH. 


CHAPTER VI.—BOTANY: 
I. Classification of collection by Prof. Asa Gray. 
II. Notes on the botany of the San Juan by Mr. T. 8. Brandegee, C. E. 
CHAPTER VII.—ENTOMOLOGY: 


I. Classification and reports on Orthoptera by Prof. Cyrus Thomas. 
II. Classification and reports on Lepidoptera by Prof. Herman Strecker. 


APPENDIX SS. 4753 


THE SAN JUAN REGION. 


CHAPTER I.—THE COUNTRY AND ITS NATURE. 
SEcTION I.—ITS NAME, AREA, AND EARLY SETTLEMENT. 


The noted region known as the San Juan country, bidding fair to become in time 
one of the richest silver-producing sections in the world, is that portion of Colorado 
lying in the southwestern part of the State, to which of late emigration has rapidly 
increased, and the attention of capital been attracted by its fine agricultural valleys 
and the great mineral wealth of its mountains, so that in remote localities several 
towns and numerous settlements have spring into existence, while much of the coun- 
try has been occupied with a view to farming and pastoral pursuits. 

The appellation of San Juan is derived from the river of the same name, into which 
pour all the streams and waters of the lower country. 

Long before the advent of the white man upon the continent its banks teemed with 
an unknown population, of whose habits and mode of life history speaks not and tra- 
dition is silent, with naught to aid the intelligent investigator save fragmentary pot- 
tery and the ruins of their dwellings. After long lapses of time their former lands are 
being occupied by the progressive Anglo-Saxon in his inexorable movement westward. 

Within the last quarter of a century the country had been penetrated in part by 
explorers, and reports of the wonderful wealth in its mountains had attracted thither, 
at the risk of death from hostile red men, numbers of prospectors. A tide of immi- 
gration set in, and nearly two decades have passed since the same kind of adventur- 
ous spirits as at present may be found there were flocking to the country. Disap- 
pointments, continual attacks of hostile Indians, and other causes combined to stay 
the tide, and with its reflux the lands were left to the tribes that possessed them by 
virtue of original habitation. 

An immense wilderness, unoccupied by whites, the country remained comparatively 
unnoticed or forgotten until 1870, when it was again penetrated by a small party of 
prospectors, with the resulting discovery, near the present town of Silverton, of the 
‘Little Giant,” a gold lode famous for the value of its ore and notorious in subse- 
quent litigation. Their wonderful discovery, bruited abroad, was the cause of another 
influx, solely of hardy prospectors, resulting in the establishment of a permanent 
population. 

In the treaty of March 2, 1868, setting aside for the Utes all (save a fragment) of 
Colorado west of the 107th meridian, the San Juan land had become a definite portion 
of the Indian reserve. Despite treaty obligations, which solemnly declared that their 
land should not be penetrated for any purpose whatever, small incursions of pros- _ 
pectors into the Indian reserve occurred at intervals, but without success. Wherever . 
appearing and locating, they were met by the Indians, whose numbers and hostility 
were too powerful to be overcome by the settlers within their country. 

The discovery of the Little Giant and its wonderful wealth, spreading like wildfire, 
was followed by so large an immigration, backed by political influence, that the in- 
truders could not be expelled. 

It was the old, old story of the government preserving an Indian treaty inviolate, 
a solemn guarantee strictly kept, till the land becomes worth its breaking. 

In briet, the white man demanded the valuable territory of the weaker one, and 
force compelled him to yield. What is generally known as the Brunot convention, from 
the name of the United States Commissioner, ensued. Articles of agreement for the 
cession of the San Juan were entered into September 13, 1873, by the Confederated 
Utes, and the necessary ratification made by Congress April 29, 1874. 

The portion opened to settlement in accordance with the Brunot convention of 1874 
and the territory proper of the San Juan is bounded on the east by the 107th meridian, 
and limited upon the south, west, and north by the line of the present reserve, rectan- 
gular in shape, save the break in the north of the Uncompahgre Park, which is Indian 
land. It comprises in part the county of Conejos, nearly all of Hinsdale, Ouray, and 
Ae Plata, and entirely San Juan, with a total area slightly exceeding 6,000 square 
miles, 


1754 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Under the general name of the San Juan country, however, are commonly denoted 
sections contiguous thereto, but outlying the San Juan proper, such as the Summit 
Mining District, Del Norte, and many other points. If, therefore, we liberally in- 
clude the region west of the Sangre de Cristo Range as far north as Saguache, all of 
which is directly interested in the industries of the mining country and is adjacent 
thereto, we shall have, including but a small part of the Indian reserve, a total area 
of 13,000 square miles, one-eighth of the entire State, and an area equal to that of 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut combined. 


SECTION IJ].—ITS GENERAL CHARACTER. 


For convenience of treatment of the San Juan proper, the main agricultural region, 
watered by streams and rivers springing from the summits and flowing from the south- 
ern and western trend of the range, all on the Pacific watershed, may be distinguished 
as the lower country; the rest the upper. In the former are included the valley of 
the great San Juan River and those of its tributaries, the Navajo, the Blanco, the 
Piedra with its branch the Nutria, the Los Pinos and its West Fork, or the Vallecito, 
the Animas with its affluent, the Florida, the La Plata, and the Mancos, all flowing 
in a general direction to the south and southwest. 

The San Juan itself passes into New Mexico some 20 miles south of the Colorado 
line, and after receiving the Animas and the La Plata, changes to the northwest, ap- 
proaches so closely the point common to New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona, that 
after leaving New Mexico but little over two miles of Colorado soil is watered ere it 
has entered the arid waste of Utah. 

That part of the Rocky Mountain system which is seen from the, great plains of 
Colorado as we approach from the east, extending from latitude 38° 30’ south to the 
line of New Mexico, latitude 37° north, is known as the Sangre de Cristo Range. Its 
name, the ‘‘Blood of Christ,” arose from the prevailing color of the rocks, and was 
given by the Spanish settlers of the country. Here and hereabout was formerly 
drawn an ethnical line of settlement, which extended west through much of the San 
Juan, as the general nomenclature will indicate; almost wholly on the north are the 
inhabitants Anglo-Saxons, while upon the east the rivers’ names are chiefly of Spanish 
origin, the Purgatoire excepted. The designation of this stream by some explorer or 
immigrant in the language of lovely France has not been successful; it is so written 
or printed only, it is never heard or spoken, and instead of the name with a Parisian 
accent or English signification, the stream is everywhere known as the ‘ Picket- 
wire.” 

While it contains, it is said, the loftiest peak of the chain in the United States, known 
as Sierra Blanca, 14,464 feet, a magnificent peak rising abruptly from the plain upon 
which it stands, nearly 7,000 feet, the post of Fort Garland being at its base, the 
Sangre de Cristo is not a part of the main continental divide, the great backbone of 
the continent, for down its western slopes find their way streams that flow into the 
Atlantic, tributaries of the Rio Grande. 

West of the range exists a great depression, the San Luis Valley, whose synclinal 
axis lies slightly east of south and has the area of its upper part much contracted by 
this mountain range in its westward tendency to meet the great continental divide. 
From this point, the great divide, till its passage into New Mexico, assumes the shape 
of a great Y, with the vertex to the west; the width at its mouth, the distance in an 
air line from summit to summit being over a hundred miles. The Sangre de Cristo 
slopes to the southeast, so that upon the border of New Mexico its mountain tops 
are 80 miles east from the top of the great watershed, the most southern point of 
the <. 


THE RIVERS. 


Springing from the very summits at the vertex of the divide, fed by banks of eternal 
snow, is the Rio Grande, a clear and beautiful stream, flowing down to the east through 
the center. Leaving the mountain slopes at Del Norte, it passes southeast and south 
through San Luis Valley on its long passage to the sea, where it differs as radically 
from its clear and lovely upper waters as do the country and climate from those of 
its origin. 

The lower part of the < or great divide is known locally as the San Juan Mount- 
ains, well named, for while their eastern slopes are washed by streams flowing to the 
Rio Grande, of all the waters draining their western slopes, already called the ‘lower 
country” of this region, the San Juan is the great receptacle. 

Close by the vertex of the <, flowing south, is the Animas, rising a dozen miles to 
the north in the Uncompahgre Mountains. Immediately to the west, beyond the divide 
of the Animas, rises the Dolores, and hard by, scarcely 2 miles away, the San Miguel. 
The latter flows directly northwest, emptying into the Dolores, which, passing south- 
west and northwest in the shape of a rude UY, has traversed twice the distance of the 
San Miguel, and is itself a feeder of the Grand in Utah. 


APPENDIX SS. 1755 


The western ends of the Uncompahgre Mountains are washed by waters belonging 
to the San Miguel; their northern slopes are drained by the river of the same name, and 
in part by streams flowing, like the Uncompahgre itself, into the Gunnison. The lat- 
ter, rising far to the north, has a general westerly course, flows into the Grand, and, 
watering a magnificent country, has for its tributaries streams that drain some of the 
finest mineral and agricultural land in the State, a large part of which, however, is 
the territory of the savage. 


THE SAN LUIS VALLEY. 


The great San Luis Valley, properly so called, though often alluded to as a park, 
is bounded on the east by the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountain sys- 
tem, on the west by the San Juan and other mountains, constituting the great conti- 
nental divide. Although partially in New Mexico, it lies chiefly in Colorado, extending 
from the point where the Rio Grande crosses the line of New Mexico, nearly 100 
miles in direction west of north, with a varying width, being at different places 40 
miles across in an air line. 

In its northern part it is drained by the San Luis Creek, rising in the extreme north 
near the Pundio Pass, receiving the Saguache Creek from the west. 

The Sangre de Cristo Range, rising to over 13,000 feet, has for its prominent passes 
the Pundio in the north, the Mosca in the east, and the Sangre de Cristo and Abeyta, 
further south, the latter two continuous depressions in the range, all four being util- 
ized as passage-ways for wagon-roads. A point near the Abeyta has enabled the 
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (narrow gauge) to surmount the range and enter 
the San Luis Valley. Upon the western side the slopes of the range are far more 
abrupt than upon the eastern. This causes more rapid flow of the streams entering 
the valley, and in its upper part a large number disappear in the sandy soil, reach- 
ing the deepest depression of the valley underground. The San Luis lakes are with- 
out an outlet, and owing to the almost level surface of the water-flow, a series of 
swamps arise, advancing and retreating in area with the rise and fall of the streams, 
the surfaces being the haunts of myriads of water fowl. 

Upon the western side of the valley, emerging from the mountains as if from a gate- 
way, at Del Norte appears the Rio Grande coursing southeast and then to the south, 
gathering in the Alamosa, La Jara, and Conejos on the west, the Trinchera, the 
Culebra, and Costilla upon the east; all streams that enter the valley upon either side 
above these are totally lost. 

About 6 miles below the Culebra’s mouth, not far below the Chavez ferry, where 
the plain is 25 feet above the water, its surface heightens to the south, and the cafion 
ot the Rio Grande begins. Deepening as it proceeds, till it is nearly 1,000 feet below 
the surface, with basaltic sides almost of bare cliffs, it presents a vast gorge, bespeak- 
ing the ruin of the past, through which the river has forced its passage. 

The steep mountain sides, bounding the valley; the glistening dunes piled about 
the Mosca Pass; the depression in its central part receiving all but not yielding any 
waters that flow to it, the little hillrocks of sand lower down, with long stretches 
encountered, from which the whirling winds toss up sandy pillars that may be often 
noticed to an immense height flying here and there; the rise in the plain to the south 
and the canon beyond of undoubted aqueous erosion, all suggest the vast inland sea of: 
the great geological past, when the land above possessed a vegeta.son at present un- 
known; and on water and shore were probably mammalia compared to which ours are 
scarcely more than pigmies. 


MOUNTAIN RANGES AND DETACHED SPURS. 


The large number of outlying masses, separate sierras, and detached spurs from the 
main range, all part and parcel of the Rocky Mountain system, within the San Juan 
proper, may be best understood by assuming the vertex of the great < of the con- 
tinental divide as the center of a square whose side is 30 miles, within which will be 
found more than 240 lofty peaks rising in every direction from 10,000 to 14,000 feet in 
height, silent monuments of the gigantic upheavals of nature. So complicated is the 
topography of this region that a thorough orographic description, defining and de- 
lineating in detail the various geological axes of the distinct sierras or detached 
groups, with their separate radial axes referred to geometrical figures, would, unless 
of great length, be so complicated and perplexing as to result in little save confusion 
worse confounded. We will therefore attempt but. a general summary of the largest 
masses with reference to the great divide, and the rivers already mentioned. 

The section within this square has been aptly likened to one of the ‘‘domes of the 
continent.” It certainly is so of the Rocky Mountain system within the United 
States. Nowhere can be found, for such an area, so great a precipitation. Loftier 
peaks than rise in the continental divide are found without it, particularly north of 
the vertex; the rivers rise here and flow to every point of the compass, as a casual 
glance at the map will demonstrate. The Rio Grande to the east, draining the in- 


1756 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


terior slopes of the great <, the San Juan, the Los Pinos, and others on the southern 
side of the lower part bound south and southwest; the Animas, immediately west of 
the vertex, has forced a passage to the south through the mountain barriers in an 
enormous gorge; the Dolores and San Miguel to the west of the divide of the Animas 
west and northwest; the Uncompahgre beyond the source of the Animas to the north 
and northwest, while near by is the Lake Fork of the Gunnison flowing south, then 
east, and finally to the north into that river. 


THE PAGOSA SPUR. 


One of the handsome spurs in the lower San Juan is the divide between the head- 
waters of San Juan and the Piedra, extending from the main range some 12 miles 
to the southwest and terminating in a very handsome pyramidal peak, rising sym- 
metrically from the mountains about, giving the general effect of a towering cen- 
tral spire in some fine architectural structure. Although but 12,674 feet in height, 
the lower elevations adjoining render it a fine point for triangulation, especially 
from the east, south, and west, for which it has been utilized by both the Wheeler and 
Hayden engineers. Itsname was derived from the celebrated Pagosa Springs of Indian 
nomenclature, which it overlooks. 


THE NEEDLES 


The most remarkable geological formation certainly in Colorado, and probably in 
the entire country, is to the west, mainly between the Los Pinos and the Animas 
Rivers, south of the great divide, and particularly about the heads of the Florida, 
Animas tributaries, and those of the Vallecito or West Fork of the Pinos. They are 
designated as the Quartzite Group or Crags by the geographers, but are locally known 
as the ‘‘ Needles.” 

The metamorphic changes by which the rocks were altered to quartzite, with the 
crystallization peculiar thereto, together with the terrible upheavals and convulsions 
of nature attending these alterations, have combined to distort the strata and render 
the peaks more rugged than any elsewhere to be found. 

Their name arises from.their appearance ata short distance. Instead of encircling 
in graceful rounded slopes, mountain valleys, well timbered and full of nutritious 
grasses, they rise precipitously, abruptly, with sharp summits, with thin and pointed 
tops, most veritable crags. Ascents with animals are impossible; on foot it is a matter 
of extreme difficulty and often bodily suffering. Rising to heights of 12,000 to 14,000 
feet, even when there is a way to reach their summits, it is only accomplished by 
climbing up rock over rock, or over slopes and débris at the foot, lying as steeply as 
hard rocks will lie, the flint-like edges cutting boots and shoes invariably. This mass 
of steep, precipitous slopes, with ravines between well-nigh impassable, withont graz- 
ing in their limits proper, can play but one part in the future economy of the San Juan, 
that of a portion of its mineral wealth, to be hereafter noticed. Two outline sketches 
(Plate I) herewith accompanying, giving east and west rivers from a peak at the 
headwaters of the West Fork of the Vallecito (Camp 52), will serve to convey an idea 
of the formations described. 


THE LA PLATA MOUNTAINS. 


The next range to the west appearing to the traveler in the lower San Juan is the 
La Plata Group, a number of peaks at the lower end of the huge divide between the 
waters of the Animas and those to the west. They trend gently to the west and east, 
and end abruptly to the south, where the La Plata River emerges from the mountains, 
between which, for a dozen miles or more, it has coursed it way southwest and south, 

At this point of departure from the mountains, beautifully situated on a wide platean, 
is Parrott City, the attractions being the lodes of silver, whence the river and mount- 
ains derive their name, and the placer deposits claimed to exist along the stream. 


BAKER’S PARK. 


Passing up the valley of the Animas through the lovely part which the river waters 
and the Grand Cafion beyond, an immense gorge, varying in depth from the summits of 
the quartzite peaks on either side 3,000 to as great as 5,000 feet, Baker’s Park is reached, 
noteworthy for its topographical features and for the mining interests here centered. 
It extends from the mouth of Mineral Creek up the Animas as far as Eureka, 10 miles 
along the river, with a general width of about $ mile. The park proper, however, is 
only the lower part, where at Mineral Creek it is 2 miles wide, narrowing to the north, 
about 3 miles in length along the stream, containing perhaps 2,500 acres. 

We here pause to note this remarkable level piece of land, completely encircled by 
mountains rising abruptly about 4,000 feet above it, excessively steep as are all the — 


Ouflme of peaks and 
ridges of the Animas watershed, 


Angle N.49°W. magnetic . 


Anele N. 64° E. Inagnetic . 


Outline of peaks and 
ridges of the Vallecito Watershed. 


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Sept..4 11878. 


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APPENDIX SS. Lat 


peaks bordering directly along the river. It lies, so to speak, like a little spot at the 
bottom of an immense bowl, whose sides tower nearly a mile into the skies above; the 
mountains are huge sugar-loaf masses of trachyte, fearfully irregular; no gentle slopes 
are present, but successive cliffs, with débris between, sheer precipicas from 400 to 
1,000 feet being observed ; narrow gulches, at whose upper ends alone are passes found, 
separate the peaks themselves, while over the sides with rapid flow dash down the 
mountain-streains.at angles from 40° to 75° into the gulches or the park below. 

By whatever pass you descend to the park there obtains to the newcomer therein 
a sensation of confinement, a feeling of insecurity and dread, as if the huge crags 
above, placed around by gigantic upheavals, might totter and move from their bases; 
and you involuntarily contrast the situation with the huge park of the Animas below, 
which is passed through with a feeling of pleasure and admiration in viewing its 
scenic beauty. This is properly but a widening of the river’s cafion; below there are 
places in the grand cafion of 250 yards in width, but of small extent; here it suddenly 
widens out to over 2,500, and the far-famed Baker’s Park is the result. Elsewhere a 
park of this size would not seem unusual; here it is very attractive, and whether it be 
reached by the ascent of the cation of the Animas, or by descent from any of the lofty 
mountain passes that guard it in every other direction, one is duly impressed with the 
remarkable topography of the situation. Viewed in the light of its central position 
in an immense storehouse of mineral wealth, as the seat of population and industry, 
as a basis of supply and a point whence all business must radiate and return, it 
assumes an additional importance not before possessed. 


THE SAN MIGUEL MOUNTAINS. 


West from San Miguel or Trout Lake, so called from its abounding in fish at an un- 
usually high altitude, stretches, as a divide between the Dolores and San Miguel, a 
group known as the San Miguel Mountains, a number of the peaks exceeding 14,000 
feet. To the peaks themselves names various and unlike have been assigned by the 
engineers of the different government parties surveying them. While this serves an 
economical purpose in perpetuating honor upon several individuals by the use of the 
same identical point, it is rather perplexing to the student of geography. 

The region of the San Miguel is one of the most promising of the undeveloped sec- 
tions. 
THE LAKE FORK MOUNTAINS. 


Passing up the Animas River, east from its headwaters and north from the vertex 
of the great divide, there are found several lofty peaks, about 14,000 feet, the topmost 
summit being known as Handie’s Peak, on whose slopes are the American Basin and 
Burrows Park, promising mining-camps. 

From its slopes flow down waters of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, so called be- 
cause the stream, an affluent of the Gunnison, widens out into a large and beautiful 
lake, called San Cristobal, or Saint Christopher, ere it leaves the mountain region. 
Apparently undecided in its course, this stream, after flowing to the south, turns to 
the east, and then assumes a northerly direction, which it follows until the Gunnison 
is reached. Over 20 miles from its head is Lake City, the most promising town in the 
San Juan, at the mouth of Hensen Creek, a tributary whose headwaters are not far 
distant, and whose course is a little north of due east. 

Between Hensen Creek and the Lake Fork are the Lake Fork Mountains. While 
they might be adjudged but a part of the Uncompahgres themselves, from which they . 
are separated by the gorge of Hensen Creek, they may be otherwise known from their 
being almost entirely encircled by the waters of the two streams mentioned. 

Approaching them from any direction ata distance, they do not give that deep 
impression which a closer view imparts. Instead of low peaks not excessively loftier 
than their surroundings, you come upon deep gorges, cut by the streams washing their 
bases, whence rise up peaks from 3,000 to nearly 4,000 feet above, a magnificent range 
with graceful contours and sky-lines, deep cafions, and dashing mountain-torrents. 
A large lake below, in whose surface are reflected the high colors of its rocks, con- 
trasting with the timber beneath, completes one of the handsomest mountain land- 
scapes in the entire region. Its wealth of mineral has, moreover, attracted thither 
more capital than any other place in the Territory, and prosperity of a substantial 
nature undoubtedly exists. 


THE UNCOMPAHGRE MOUNTAINS. 


This range is situated at the headwaters of the Uncompahgre River and contiguous 
streams, and is drained upon the south by Hensen Creek and streams of the San 
Miguel; by the latter on the west, by the Uncompahgre and Lake Fork waters upon 
the north, and by the latter also upon the east. Except the Elk Mountains, this is 


1758 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS 


the farthest north of the mineral ranges of the San Juan, and has furnished some of 
the finest mines of the entire region. 

The Uncompahgre Peak is, in its eastern part, the highest point, rising to beyond 
14,400 feet, a huge precipitous mass. In its western portion, Mount Sneffles is the 
loftiest, being over 14,200 feet. The latter is the best known and the most important 
in the range on account of its mineral wealth. This has been mapped as Blaine’s 
Peak, in honor probably of the distinguished Senator, in some of the maps of this 
region. By the latter name, however, can it scarcely be perpetuated, as it has long 
been differently called, and, being the seat of most valuable and important mining 
deposits, by official records it has been otherwise designated. 

To the northwest the mountains slope into the Great Uncompahgre Plateau, the 
divide between the waters of the San Miguel on the west and those of the Uncom- 
pahgre and the Gunnison on the east. The slopes on the mountains on the immedi- 
ate north are excessively steep, and the streams have cut most frightful canons. Not 
content with penetrating the deep volcanic rock, they have passed into the underlying 
sandstones. 

The lovely park of the Uncompahgre lies below, inaccessible, intervening a succes- 
sion of precipices, dashing torrents, huge bowlders, and fallen timber crossed and 
interwoven. The only passage-way is a steep and dangerous trail leading through 
this scene of desolation, and the journey to the park below is not made without per- 
sonal danger. 

Beyond stretches the great and rich agricultural valley of the Uncompahgre, from 
which settlers are now interdicted, it being upon the Indian reserve. 


THE RIO GRANDE SLOPES. 


Between masses of trachyte, looking down upon the river, until we have reached 
Wagon Wheel Gap, the Rio Grande is descended. 

The most remarkable geological formation, en route, attracting the attention of the 
passer-by, is the Bristol Head, the southern and culminating point of the Bristol 
Plateau, a great trachytic mass stretching from the continental divide, about 10 miles 
to the south, to the vicinity of the Rio Grande, perhaps 2 and 3 in width, aggregating 
almost 30 square miles in area, with an altitude of nearly 13,000 feet. Along its west- 
ern base, in the cafion, passes the highway from the Rio Grande to Lake City, about 
3,000 feet beneath its summit, the sides of the cliff being mainly vertical. The upper 
part of the < of the great divide, rising to 13,000 feet, is known under the name of 
the Cochetopa Hills, from the stream flowing down the western slopes, an affluent of 
the Gunnison; its eastern sides are drained by Saguache Creek flowing east and south- 
east into San Luis Creek and the San Luis Lakes. The divide between this and the 
waters of the Rio Grande is called La Garita Hills. These sections exhibit in strong 
degree the plateau formations, which, cut by the various streams, give unusually steep 
though short cafions and abrupt mesas. An extension down to and closing upon the 
Rio Grande is reft by the river, giving that attractive little cation and interesting 
point called Wagon Wheel Gap. 


SECTION III.—TRENDS OF RANGES AND SLOPES. 


The direction of the surface inclination is an important function of the value of 
certain sections for agricultural and other purposes. The trend of the Sangre de 
Cristo Range to the northwest gives its surfaces within the valley more of southern 
warmth than would otherwise obtain. Snow is found often upon its eastern sides long 
after it has disappeared from that at the same altitude upon the valley slopes. This 
is more noticeable when directly considered with reference to the San Juan Mountains. 
Contrasting the valleys of streams upon the northern flank, affluents of the Rio 
Grande, with those upon the southern trend at the same altitude, we find the valleys 
of portions of the San Juan, Weeminuche, Los Pinos, Vallecito, the plateau of the 
Upper Piedra, &c., notable examples which have been personally observed in regard 
to greater Iuxuriance of vegetable growth. Its effect extending slightly to climatic 
influences gives those upon the northern inclination a more lengthened wintry aspect 
than the others. We have frequently come upon hillocks in a contiguous region of 
an altitude approaching 8,000 feet, where in January the northern slope would be cov- 
ered with nearly a foot of snow, whiley upon the southern the surface would be quite 
bare, affording fine grazing for the deer and elk. Traveling in higher regions during 
a series of snow-storms of continuance, this was more strongly substantiated. 

Considering this influence extended to the regions above, we find the snow falls 
earlier, lies longer upon the ground, and there is less area adapted to the growth of 
cereals than in that upon the southern flank of the mountains with otherwise similar 
situations. 

It has been stated that for a rise of 300 feet there is a decrease of temperature of 1 
degree. This rule is not, however, arbitrary; there are many causes operating as 


APPENDIX SS. 1769 


differentials thereof, of which a prominent one is the southern exposure, and if upon 
the surface, like isothermal curves, could run lines of limit to cereal cultivation, the 
comparison of their elevations upon the opposite sides of the range would be distinctly 
pronounced in favor of the southern. Beyond this area, where stretch at higher alti- 
tudes regions fitted for pasturage, an examination of their proper defining lines and 
above, the limit of arborescent vegetation, better known in the patois of the frontier 
as ‘‘timber-line,” will be found but an extension of the rule. 


SECTION IV.—THE SEASONS. 


In this elevated region there are, strictly speaking, two distinctive seasons prevail- 
ing, the wet and the dry, the former the longer. The long-continued rain-storms ac-~ 
companying the advent of the spring months do not obtain here as in the East with the 
almost daily increment of heat; in summer and early fall occurs the most frequent pre- 
cipitation of rain. This varies somewhat, however, with the locality. In North Cen- 
tral Colorado, September is known, from personal experience, to be the rainy month, 
affected by proximity to the main range, however; elsewhere, within 50 miles, the 
precipitation being much less. The storms generally occur in the afternoon, and from 
the rarity of the air and the arid state of the atmosphere, within a very brief time 
thereafter the surcharging of the air with moisture, noticed subsequent to rain-storms 
in the East, disappears. 

The local variation of rainfall was verified by personal observation and the record 
kept during the reconnaissance. In June, while along the Conejos, the La Jara, and the 
Alamosa rivers, andin the Summit mining district, at elevations varying from 7,800 to 
12,000 feet, the weather was clear and beautiful; no rainfall occurred. 

In July, while along the Conejos, part of the Chama between Tierra Amarilla and 
Pagosa Springs, along the Blanco, the Piedra, and the Upper Los Pinos to the Rio 
Grande, it rained almost daily, mainly during the afternoon and evening, three hail- 
storms being met with. 

During the prevalence of this season, as is well known, the precipitation upon the 
mountain-tops is greater than below, storms there being frequently seen, while lower 
localities escaped. At Pagosa Springs, 7,084 feet (a supply camp), most beautiful sun- 
sets were observed and exemption from storms was had, while they could be seen not 
many miles distant. 

In August, while ascending and descending the San Juan and tributaries to as low 
as 7,000 feet in the Summit district, along the upper Rio Blanco, and the Navajo, the 
Chama, the Nutria, the Piedra, and the Los Pinos, we encountered twelve storms of 
rain, with four of hail, the heaviest met with during the trip, and the most severe 
being near the summits of the mountains. Several times marches were made through 
heavy storms to valleys of less altitude which had escaped, as was found the month 
before. 

In September, the region traversed was the Upper Los Pinos, the Vallecito and trib- 
utaries (where snow-storms were encountered), both upper and lower parts of the same 
the Florida, the Animas to the San Juan and vicinity, the La Plata, the Mancos, the 
Dolores, and the Grand Cafion of the Animas to Silverton and Howardsville. In all 
these marches but six rain-storms (two of them with hail) were met with, chiefly in 
the mountains. All were in the first portion of September, heavy frosts occurring 
daily after the early part of the month. 

In Ocober, the sections passed over included the Lake City region and vicinity, the 
Rio Grande, including its South Fork, the Summit district, and Del Norte, the entire - 
cation of the Rio Alamosa, the Conejos, &c., during which but two rain-storms, with 
Six severe snow-storms, of extended area were encountered, the localities of all being 
near the mountain summits or upon elevated plateaus. 

From the above it will be seen that most of the rainy days were in July and part of 
August, and from the middle of the former for about a month the greatest precipita- 
tion was met with. None befell us anywhere in August after the 18th and scarcely 
any in September; in October, those occurring were but exceptional ones, till the win- 
ter’s inclement season began with heavy snows in the mountains. 

One of the oldest settlers upon the Animas, who came into our camp at Pagosa 
Springs, volunteered the information that the rains in the lower San Juan travel west- 
ward in a regular manner; that is, that the rainy season commences earlier and ceases 
sooner in the eastern portion of this region than in the western; that when over at 
the Chama and the Navajo, they still prevail upon the Los Pinos and the Animas; in 
short, that had we begun in the latter country and worked to the east, this disagreeable 
feature of outdoor life in the mountains would have been escaped. Whether, as he 
insinuated, it would be possible for the traveler to commence at the west and passing 
east to avoid all of the storm limit save at the point of passage must remain a matter 


of conjecture. It is simply mentioned for the benefit of those hereafter in a like 
situation. 


1760 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


All the streams are of course higher, while in the storm area, than before and after. 
This was noticed in various rivers, particularly at points of the Chama, the Navajo, 
and the Blanco, revisited in August, originally passed a month earlier. 

Ascending from the lower \ alley s to the summits of the mountains and points occu- 
pied for mining purposes, the seasons, with reference to warmth, may be said to con- 
sist of but winter and summer, W ith the latter scarcely a fourth of the former. In 
many places snow begins falling i in October, soon blocking the trails and passage-ways, 
and continues until late in the spring, the oreatest snowt fall generally occurring, it is 
affirmed, in March. 

The deep snows of the long seasons render work impracticable, and often access, 
save on snowshoes, impossible, until late in June. In fact, July, August, Septem- 
ber, and October in part, can alone be connted upon as the working-season above 
eround in amining-camp. All such are at a great altitude, probably i in the main 
above 11,000 feet, frequently up to and over 13, 000. Here it rarely rains; save for 
scarcely over a month the storms are all of snow, which accumulate to a great depth. 

The precipitation at Denver (elevation 5,200 feet), situated at the base of the mount- 
ains, was, for the year ending June 30, 1875, 15 inches; during that closing on June 
30, 1876, 24 inches; and the average e annual rainfall for 5 years, from 1872 to 1876, in- 
clusive, but 16.1 inches. 

At the Summit mining district, southwest of Del Norte, in the San Juan, at an alti- 
tude of 11,300 feet, where an accurate meteorological record has been kept for three 
years, and which was kindly furnished me by Prof. Charles E. Robins, of the Little Annie 
Mining Company, the annual precipitation of snow was nearly 290 inches, aggregat- 
ing 24 feet for three years in succession, July being the only month without snowfall. 

The immense precipitation at the summit and like situations along the topmost ridges 
of the continental divide, where le chiefly the most valuable mining-c camps, and the 
resultant severity of the long winters, will at once be understood. 

The average annual temper ature at the summit for the same period, from 7 a. m. to 
9 p. m., was "B20, and during eight and one-third months, save on snowshoes, nothing 
could be done in the way of outdoor employment. 

ve this low temperature is the average between the hours named, the heat of the 
noonday sun is intense, being angmente 1 by the reflection of the snow and other 
causes. There exists, in short, a tropical heat of brief duration, preceded and fol- 
lowed by an arctic cold. 

The rarity of the air and consequent difficulty of physical exertion, the severity 
of the season, the long intervals of isolation from civilization, and the cessation of 
mail facilities, exert deleterious effects upon all subjected thereto. Consequently, dur- 
ing most of the year, mining-camps are found deserted, the population almost wholly 
departing for lower localities with the advent of the wintry season, returning late in 
the spring. Illustrative thereof may be mentioned the population of the summit, 
which, aggregating 125 in June last, was during the previous winter but 12. 

The comparatively small rainfall of Denver, “Colorado Springs, and similar locali- 
ties of the dry region along the high table- lands and bases of the mountains, may be 
better comprehended by a glance at the annual rainfall of the followi ing interior and 
sea-coast points of the ‘United States, obtained from the records of observers of the 
Signal Office, for the year ending June 30, 1875: 


Inches. 
Denver osc sete a kd AP eS ate Oe ee pe aes ee BS i is Cote sare cae = an oo 
Colorado Springs’ ....'. Basse 0. s see es cocene Seem memeedes sce eed os oo 2 
Philadelphiar 2. -25 22 S28 anos Sele geet wide veumeae aoe Hg FARE ae eA 
Washington sso-cs 2! Bee Pat i cig Phe) eee pees Pare 2 th ANP IEE AE deathinca ahbeau 2 eee 
Saint Louis ae tacit dc ae as eis SR aoe 2 Soe bie eb aw kee as ns ee ce oo oe 
Boston, 023 deiese eee ere oF Lee ae ees oe a cons Co cs pana ene 
New York 2. ote ee eas on ree oe ree esas wc ae we eee 
Baltimore: . 262%) Gc See Ie ii ce ee i « aa ce oe oe oe ae ne 
Charleston .-.2 622. 220 ea aa Se ee 8. ok. Se 
Savannah... ic 2. 2S't eee eee re 
Jacksonville: 22:22. See ee ee eee? @ ee ee 
New Orleans ...-.- « vec’ Doe ne a) ae ee! 1) 


High-water season.—With the approach of summer heat the effect upon the great 
accumulation of snow is apparent, producing the ‘‘ June rise” of the rivers flowing 
from the range, wholly a seasonal variation. At this time all streams are at their 
highest period of the year. Dry arroyas and clayey banks are filled with rushing 

waters, small brooks .are transformed into rivers, and the larger streams, the Rio 
Grande i in particular, become formidable barriers. 

Besides the annual rise in the streams of mountain origin, there is during the 
season of high water a distinct variation of daily occurrence. This diurnal rise and 
fall is not abnormal in its action, the period of lowest ebb being about 10 o’clock a. m., 
due to the great increment of heat accompanying the noonday sun. 


APPENDIX SS. 1761 


The huge banks of snow that are thus rendered soft and impassable, sending forth 
from the bottoms of the basins wherein they lie great streams of water, harden as the 
sun descends, and during the night are frozen with the falling temperature. 

A corresponding decrease in the snow-water sent forth, of course, results, locally a 
minimum with the greatest cold, making 10 o’clock the most advantageous hour for 
passing mountain rivers in general. 

This crust on the snow-banks, which fill ravines and block the traveler’s way, fur- 
nishes the only means of passage over such obstacles. As it disappears with the 
advent of the morning sun, we were compelled on such occasions to rise before dawn, 
with the temperature most decidedly arctic. 


SECTION V.—CLIMATE. 


Descriptive remarks on the nature of the country would be incomplete without a 
reference to its climate, one of its chief characteristics. 

Without entering into a formal disquisition thereon, or attempting to discuss in 
detail its varied efiects in the manifold diseases for which it is sought; without inten- 
tion to intrude upon the domain of railroad companies, real-estate agencies, or mining 
corporations, and proclaim it the ‘‘Switzerland ” of the continent, or to advertise it to 
the detriment of Minnesota, Southern California, Florida, or the Bermudas, as the 
Great North American Sanitarium, it is thought a few commonplace notes might not 
be found wholly devoid of interest, being based upon personal observation. 

_ In 1875, while convalescent from an attack of chronic pneumonia in New York Har- 
bor, being directed by my physicians to try the climate of Colorado, the writer was 
accordingly taken thither. A companion from home, suffering from acute phthisis, 
lasted but four weeks. Left alone, horseback-riding was attempted for short distances, 
and continued over mountains and plains with the most markedly beneficial effects, 
and the improvement continued until over 2,000 miles in Colorado, New Mexico, and a 
portion of Old Mexico had been so traversed. An extensive acquaintance with the 
elevated regions of the Rocky Mountains was thus in time obtained. 

The seat of thickest population in the State is thus far in the belt of the great 
plains, along the immediate bases of the mountains on the east, of which Denver is 
the most important point. Its elevation is 5,200 feet, the land rising to the south, 
where is the divide between the waters of the Platte and the Arkansas. Pueblo is 
below 5,000 feet, and Trinidad is nearly 6,000 feet. 

Of elevations in the basin of the San Juan River we have 7,100 feet at Pagosa 
Springs, 5,300 at the mouth of the Animas and the La Plata, descending to 4,600 at 
the mouth of the Mancos, where it leaves the State for Utah. 

To the north are great ranges, as there are to the west of Denver and the towns to 
the south of it. Beyond and to the north of the ‘‘Dome of the Continent,” the great 
mountain center and mining section of the upper San Juan, lies the extensive valley 
of the Gunnison in the Indian reserve, similarly situated as the San Juan below. 

The Indians will ere long be compelled to retreat; this great valley, like the lower 
one, will in time be thickly settled, and whatever peculiarities or advantages of climate 
have been found existing near Denver will without radical difference be found to ob- 
tain here. 

Taking the area‘of mountain and plain, the average altitude of the State is between 
6,000 and 7,000 feet, approximating 6,000. Appertaining to this elevated region are 
several climatic features remarkably different from those of the great States in the 
East, rendering it a most desirable home for invalids suffering from certain diseases. 

Prominent is its altitude, with accompanying atmospheric phenomena, as the large 
amounts of electricity, the large number of bright sunny days, and the increased pro- 
portion of ozone. In addition thereto is the rarity of the atmosphere with its slight 
humidity, its exceptional clearness, and the moderate rainfall already mentioned. 

To those enjoying good health the sensations attendant upon the first entrance into 
these regions are generally pleasant. The nervous system, which controls the vital 
parts so strongly, is at once excited by climatic influences to a marked degree of ten- 
sion. A difficulty of breathing upon slight exertion, dependent on the degree of health, 
at once appears, increasing as the high regions and mountains are penetrated. This 
partly disappears as one becomes acclimated. The physical functions, whether in good 
play or disordered, are immediately excited to a strength of action to which the system 
is a stranger; the appetite is increased, digestion is perfect, and sleepless nights are 
unknown. This is the most marked beneficial result, and one is astonished at his great 
eraving for food. ) 

With the setting sun all warmth departs, the heated summer nights of the East are 
unknown, and one or more blankets are always a necessity. 

The statement has been made that the rise of 300 feet in altitude gives a decrease of 
one degree in temperature—a rule subject to much and local variation, as shown in 
the average climate of various points of Colorado, influenced, doubtless, by sheltering 
ranges, &c. 


Itts 


1762 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


The average temperature is about that of New York and Philadelphia, but heat 
and cold are not so perceptible, since the hot nights experienced in the East are un- 
known here, and on account of the excessive dryness of the air there follow many 
bright and lovely days. The latter fact is attested by any one’s experience, and the 
‘meteorological records of Denver show that during three years there were but twelve 
days during which the sun was totally obscured by clouds. The former is a well- 
known fact, a temperature of 10° above zero in New York Harbor being far more severe 
upon the system than that of 10° below in the mountains. With the moist atmosphere 
of the seashore a similar degree of cold would in the mountains be unbearable. No 
matter how warm it be in the sun, a breeze or current of air will always be felt in the 
shade. The diurnal variation of the temperature is considerable, and increases with 
the altitude. With an increase in rarefaction corresponding tothe elevation, the heat ° 
of the sun passes more readily through the atmosphere, and upon the highest mount- 
ains the midday heat is burning; with the setting of the sun the atmosphere as readily 
gives forth its warmth and an opposite temperature succeeds. Within a valley of 8,500 
feet elevation in August, traveling at noonday was almost intolerable, while during 
the night water was frozen in buckets near our tents. 

The air being at the bases of the mountains, say, one-fifth lighter than at the sea- 
coast, there would be a square inch pressure of 12 pounds instead of 15 as at the sea- 
shore, whence would result the extra exertion of the respiratory organs to the extent 
of one-fifth to obtain the requisite amount of oxygen. 

With increased altitude is associated also greater amounts of electricity. At lofty 
elevations electric phenomena are often more marked than pleasant. In snow-storms 
upon mountain tops we have witnessed the strongest and most disagreeable manifesta- 
tions thereof, with peals of thunder accompanying, to the delight of neither man nor 
mule. 

The increased respiration necessitated, resulting soon in greater chest development, 
the stimulated nervous system, the increased blood circulation, with diminished atmos- 
pheric pressure, all combined with the electrical influences of a tonic nature, have 
directly resulting effects in a more salutary condition of existence. 

The diseases for which this climate should be sought are asthma, chronic bronchitis, 
and incipient phthisis pulmonalis. By invalids suffering chiefly from troubles allied 
to the many stages and forms of pulmonary consumption this region will be always 
sought. All such as go in time will be benefited; with proper care and treatment, and — 
the mode of life adapted to their cases, they will recover. Those going too late, will. 
have their disease assume advanced forms sooner than elsewhere, and the later stages 
and death will sooner occur. 

The number of consumptives who have sought relief in Minnesota and Florida is 
very great, readily understood from the statement by high medical authority that 
over 20 per cent. of deaths in the East from all causes are from this malady. 

The railroad companies have extensively advertised the climate of Colorado as a 
sure specific for this disease, and many in stages far advanced are lured from homes 
and fond ones only to find an earlier grave. But to those who go in time, not hope- 
lessly yielding to the malady, not content to remain in first-class hotels and boarding- 

_houses, but determined to lead an outdoor life, with the fascinations of ‘‘camping ~ 
out” amid magnificent scenery and the sports and pleasures to be found therein, to 
them will come a new lease of life. 

In order, however, to arrive at these gratifying effects, various degrees of altitude 
should be essayed by the invalid, as their adaptation varies with the case and its con- 
dition. Those with weakest lungs and suffering from hemorrhage should avoid great 
elevations. 

In the older time, before the railroad spanned the plains and the journey from the 
Missouri River necessitated a month or more, invalids became acclimated as they 
traveled slowly up the great plateau to the mountains, and when the base was reached, 
a cure had almost been effected. The rapid transit of the present day is to the detri- 
ment of the invalid. If the elevation does not bring improvement, the patient should 
try one of less altitude and ascend later; an exercise of good judgment will soon de- 
termine what point is best suited to his case, when an outdoor life should be. fol- 
lowed. 

There are a number of diseases, chiefly of chronic nature, upon which the effects of | 
high altitudes are not yet positively known and for which they should, therefore, not be 
sought. Such are chronicrheumatism, neuralgia, chronic catarrh, and the periodical 
malady known as ‘‘ hay-fever.” The remedial effect of some of the hot sulphur springs — 

of the State in rheumatic troubles of long standing is yet to be definitely determined. 

Other diseases exist to which these great altitudes are highly aggravating, chiefly epi- 
lepsy, chorea, and all forms of cardiac disease.- To those so afflicted approach to lofty 

elevations should never be made, as in many instances fatal results have ensued. 

To those camping out in the open air, slight inconvenience is at first found in the 
effects of the dryness of the atmosphere and the hot rays of the sun. The skin, when 
exposed, on hands and face, peels off in the most annoying manner and soreness ensues, 


- APPENDIX § 8. 1763 


a most mottled facial appearance resulting. The worst case ever noted was an Eng- 
lishman of title, with whom the writer was hunting for five weeks in the upper parks 
of Colorado. To his facial appearance, while being ‘ acclimated,” the old simile of a 
<“hoiled lobster” would be inadequate. ; 
The enjoyment of traveling is occasionally marred by high wind-storms, with accom- 
panying dust, chiefly in the lower regions. These were noticed mainly in the spring 


| months. 


The many sunny days, the possibility of outdoor sleeping without liability to cold, 
“and the great clearness of the atmosphere are charming realities, that must be seen, 
that must be experienced, to be fully appreciated. The wonderful atmospheric clear- 
_ness is especially to be remarked, rendering distances exceedingly deceptive; mount- 
-ains that seem but ten miles away will often be found more than double the distance. 
_. The sojourner in this reg#on is apt occasionally to suffer from a troublesome malady, 
known locally as the ‘‘mountain fever.” Thoughso called from its prevalence in the 
, higher altitudes, it extends to the lower regions, and at least part of the plains be- 

ond. As severe a case as was ever observed was that of a resident of Pueblo, below 
5,000 feet. Unless aborted at its start, this fever is of a continued nature, with regular 
stage, chills and remissions occuring. While at a mining camp in Upper Colorado in 
1875, the writer was troubled with an attack of this malady and treated by the old 
miners with copious doses of tea of the sage-brush (Artemisia tridentata), afterward 
taking quinine. Dr. Smart, U. 8. A., who has devoted much time and study to this 
obscure malady, has demonstrated its origin as due to the organic taints contained in 
the mountain streams from vegetable matter therein; that these airy substances, 


| arising in microscopic forms from lowlands, are swept by prevailing winds to the 


higherregions above, where precipitation from the upper atmosphere, with falling snow, 


_- oceurs.* 


CHAPTER I1.—AGRICULTURE AND PASTORAL PURSUITS. 


.* The agriculture of the San Juan, like the rest of the State, can never be of a very 
_ extensive character; that Colorado can ever produce sufficient cereals for home con- 
' sumption is as yet a matter of speculation, scarcely now affirmed by the most enthu- 
siastic inhabitant. Owing tothe great rarity of the air, the increased dryness of the 
atmosphere, and the lighter rainfall, with alkaline constituents more largely in the 
soil, the moisture precipitated immediately disappearing, the amount is not adequate 
_ for the sustenance of vegetable growth like that existing in regions nearer the level 


' of the sea, and save along water-courses the vegetation is of a limited nature. Such 


obtains upon the great prairies east of the bases of the mountains and near its foot- 
“hills. 

By irrigation alone can agriculture thrive, and, despite statements to the contrary, 
the amount of arable land or tracts that can be cultivated without the expenditure of 
enormous sums for irrigating-canals, the total area producing marketable amounts of 
cereals must, when compared with the territory of the entire State, bear but little 
_ larger proportion than does the flower-garden of the housewife to the great acres of 
the farm. At present the main supply of grain comes from Kansas, destined to be- 
come the great granary of the West. 

The soil in the valleys and near the foot-hills adapted for agriculture, being the 
result. of denundation from the mountains above, is generally dry and sandy, and 
_ owing to the alkaline depositions which frequently appear upon the surface of the 

ground, there results a marked effect on the vegetable products. The crops and pro- 
duce of the soil of all kinds are very rich, more particularly noticeable in the cereals. 
The flour of Colorado is remarkably fine, and the visitor will at once observe the un- 
usually fine and white appearance of the bread. 

It is said there are tricks in every trade, and to the wheat supply there is no excep- 
tion: The supply of Colorado flour being unequal to the demand, a large quantity of 
Kansas production is ground at the flouring-mills, and, in Colorado sacks, is sold for 
the genuine domestic article. 

‘The cereal area is limited to lower elevations, the high valleys possessing seasons 
too long and severe for the perfect maturing of the grain. The exact altitude to which 
this is limited varies locally, and is, of course, higher in the San Juan in general than 
in Northern Colorado, and higher also in the lower region, where its northern flanks 
_ are sheltered by the main range, than in the upper country. Then within each sec- 
. tion of similar elevation the summer season may deviate or alternate within a range 

- which, permitting a harvest during one year, might the next prevent the perfect 
growth of grain. In Northern Colorado, along the Upper Boulder, in a narrow valley 
of about 8,000 feet, less than 10 miles to the east of the main range, in 1875, a crop of 


*Smart, Mountain Fever and Malarious Waters. Am. Jour. Med. Sc., July, 1878, pp. 17-43. 


iti: ie REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


oats is remembered to have failed to ripen and, damaged by early frosts, was harvested 
in the stalk. There was, however, some exceptionally severe weather early in the 
season, and on the 18th of September nearly 10 inches of snow fell, the storm cover- 
ing a very great area in both Northern and Southern Colorado, including the plains. 
The year previous, we were informed, a similar crop had matured and was success- 
fully harvested. 

As the altitude is increased, the diurnal range of temperature is greater, and hence 
the danger from early frosts. 

The agriculture of the San Juan is as yet in its primitive stage, almost all the atten- 
tion and capital of the country having been concentrated in mining interests. 

The San Luis Valley bears witness to the wealth of the produce returned by the 
soil under proper cultivation. In following up the Rio Grande, the Mexicans have 
ascended divers tributary waters, and upon these and alofig the main river can their 
apologies for farms be seen. Generally content with simple existence, but little vari- 
-ety in the produce of their lands is observed. The turning of the soil with oxen and 
a sharpened stick, the thrashing by flail and trampling under foot, and the erushing 
of the grain between stones can be so frequently seen, that the charm of novelty is 
lacking and one’s curiosity is soon satiated. Progress is not their hope or desire, and. 
content to eke out a bare subsistence, their ambition does not extend beyond a baile, 
or the tripping of the “light fantastic,” with surroundings that.are here, as a rule, far 
from enchanting. Their cultivation of the soil tells of Eastern origin and traditions, 
and is by irrigation from acequias or ditches. Smaller ditches at intervals lead out 
from the main, being connected by parallel ones thereto; furrows of earth of varying 
height are raised at stated points parallel and perpendicular to one another, eutting 
up the entire area into many patches nearly square and of small extent. With the 
planting of the seed and the main ditch filled, all the smaller outlets and various sec- 
tions being simultaneously overflowed, the entire area is carefully submerged, the 
little furrows confining the water in each section. To the inexperienced farmer the 
first successful irrigation of his land is a matter of considerable labor and pains. 
Besides the thorough moistening of the earth obtained by the gradual settling of the 
waters, a fertilizing process is at the same time insured. These streams carry in solu- 
tion much rich and valuable material from the denudation of sections drained in their 
passage, which is left in deposit like a superstratum of manure. The latter is never 
-used, the farmer depending upon irrigation for the supply of those constituents ex- 

tracted from the soil in the growth of produce. 

The Rio Grande descends from 7,750 feet at Del Norte to 7,400 on leaving the State 
for New Mexico. Upon its western side numbers of locations are along the Piedra 
Pintada, which sinks a few miles from the Rio Grande, the Alamosa and La Jara, but 
chiefly along the Conejos, the most thickly-settled of all its tributaries; upon the east- 
ern are the Trinchera, Culebra, and Costilla, the Culebra above San Luis being on this 
- side the seat of largest habitation. 

In the upper part of San Luis Valley is situated the finest land of that section. 
With the mountain range encircling it upon the east, north, and west, exposed only 
upon the south, whence do not come the heavy snow-storms and coldest winds, it con- 
tains the finest land for cereal and other productions. Drained by the San Luis Creek 
and the Sawatch, its tributary, the ranchmen who have located along the streams 
have been rewarded for their labor by very abundant crops of all kinds. Thronugh- 
out the valley large herds of cattle find ample sustenance, the property mainly of 
Americans, while numerous herds of sheep of Mexican ownership are driven to and 
fro. 

The valley of the Conejos, with its affluents, the San Antonio and Los Pinos Creek, is 
a most fertile region. Several miles east from Conejos, during the high stages of the 
- rivers in June, water from the San Antonio finds its way into the former river above 
the latter’s mouth, forming an island. This section is especially rich and there exists 
- almost a natural irrigation, the Mexican ranchmen raising large crops of all kinds at 
the cost of but little labor therefor. Of all the regions west of the Rio Grande, that 
from the Conejos to the La Jara is the most desolate, and for ten miles of the way 
from the Conejos, while the hardness of the fragmentary volcanic rock of which it is 
constituted made it the finest of roadways, all other conditions combined to render 
it in June and July naught save a waste and desert. 

The sage-brush and greasewood which elsewhere grew knee and waist high, was 
here literally burnt out to 8 or 10 inches, never exceeding a foot. This was very limited 
in quantity and was all that existed of a general vegetation. Now and then was seen 
a solitary flower, evidently lost from its brethren, with but an occasional cactus or 
- “soap-weed,” the average being not over an inch of vegetation to the square foot. 
Fragments of lava, basalt chiefly, and some trachyte were everywhere about. The 
reflected air, heated and burning the face and filling the lungs, was almost parching. 
Not a single insect was observed, hardly a blade or tuft of grass ina mile. Even all 
the feathered tribe avoided this barren place, no birds whatever being noticed save the 
~ horned lark and a single sparrow near its edge. Passing over this desolate region, 


APPENDIX SS. 1765 


the winds from the mountains to the west alone relieved the terrible heat. For their 
providential occurrence one is.devoutly thankful. 

Three miles east of the La Jara the soil is of a gravelly, sandy nature, with clayey 
constituents, the trend of the land being toward the stream, bordered by ranches or 
farms, very productive in vegetation and crops. Here, as throughout the whole San 
Luis Valley, the only trees are along the banks of the river, all streams being timber 

inged. 

The Alamosa and La J ara, during the lower parts of their courses upon the plain, run 
side by side. At the foot-hills they diverge, the head of the Alamosa being for the 
northwest, its course throughout in a generally narrow and very deep cafion, while 
the upper waters of the La Jara are due west at but half as great a distance. All 
the portions of the former that are available for agriculture are its banks on the plain 
and a short part of its cation valley within the foot-hills, upon which Mexican ranches 
are found. Upon the La Jara are afew more Americans than upon the former, the 
ranch-owners being mainly, however, of Mexican descent. A tributary, called by the 
geographer its North Fork, but locally known as Aguas Calientes, or Hot Springs 
Creek, where land is represented as adapted to grazing only, is found in reality to be 
adapted to the agriculture of the Mexicans, ranches at intervals being passed along 
its course. 

The entire course of the La Jara may be likened in its direction to a huge frying- 
pan in outline, the long handle upon the plain extending to the Rio Grande, the basin 
within the foot-hills to its source. Before reaching the plains the stream flows to the 
south, east, and north, the latter part in a steep precipitous canon strewn with basaltic 
rock, which the road avoids. This road, built by the county over a natural route, is in 
good order and affords the residents of the lower river easy access to its upper part, 
which, as we ascend and pass over the intervening rolling foot-hills, we find within a 
lovely valley, called by the Mexicans El Valle, to which they resort for hay. Its 
headwaters in this region, represented as only timbered and barren, is largely the re- 
verse. The volcanic rock strewn along, as we ascend the foot-hills well timbered with 
pifion, we leave behind us as we descend into the valley, a basin eroded from the gen- 
eral plateau by the waters of the stream, which has cut for itself, in its lower and 
more rapid descent, a small but impassable caiion. This valley is several miles long, 
of a varying width of from three-fourths to one and a half miles, is a beautiful spot, 
and has been located upon by several persons for cattle-ranches. The grazing was 
very fine, and so nearly level was the land, that the stream, here small and at its head- 
waters, pursued a most tortuous course. Trout were found more abundantly than at 
any other point. 

About 5 miles above our camp by the stream, rolling hillocks, as a divide, limit 


the basin of the La Jara on the north, the mountains to the west, beyond which are 


the waters of the Conejos, being over 1,000 feet; to the east the hills are 400. Perhaps 
a mile still farther to the north, in the center and bottom of another depression, is a 
handsome lake, nearly rectangular in shape, 1,820 feet in length by 1,140 feet wide, a 
clear and beautiful sheet of water, not indicated upon any of the maps. Fed by un- 
derground streams or springs, no outlet is visible or could be found. The wind blow- 
ing from the range to the west rolled the water in waves to the eastern shore, sug- 


gestive of an incoming tide, while fragments of sedges blown in upon the banks, 


bleached and white, gave the ground at a distance an alkaline appearance. To the 
north the rising ground is the extreme limit of this plateau. Beyond lies the cafion 
of the Alamosa, of which at this point a magnificent view is obtained. The descent 
of over 1,000 feet to the river below is very abrupt, and it was only after great diffi- 


_ culty that it was reached, the general depth of the caion above being fully 2,000 feet 


and as great at some points as 2,700 feet. | 

No attempts at agriculture in the high valley of the La Jara have as yet been prac- 
tically made by the settlers, whose small herds of stock were observed therein. 

The cation of the Alamosa, while containing some beautiful and high grassed parks 
of no mean dimensions, is of a general height too great to permit any agriculture, 
The largest was a lovely spot of nearly one hundred acres on a bench sloping from the 
river to the mountain walls, containing magnificent pasture. Deserted cabins, near a 
spring of the purest water, with mineral specimens in abundance told of the former 
proprietors, who, disappointed in prospecting, had left the country. 

From the summit of hills east of the head of the La Jara was obtained a fine out- 
look, showing the general plateau-character of the country to the south and east of the 
continental divide, everywhere strewn with volcanic matter. 

The rugged peaks above timber-line to the southwest abruptly ended at the West 


Fork of the Chama, the level to the south broken by the high timbered hills, and 


farther east beside the Conejos, while above the plains to the southeast rose the rounded 
sugar-loaf summit of San Antonio Mountain. Throughout this lower region, without 
exception, streams have with difficulty worn their passage through the great lava- 
flows, making all their beds caiions, narrow and confined, the sides abrupt and steep, 
and filled with sharp volcanic masses broken off from edges of the great flow. Agri- 


1766 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


culture is, therefore, limited to the valleys of the streams, all resulting from erosion, 
and hence narrow at their heads, generally widening out in their lower parts. It is, 
therefore, along the lower portions of the Conejos, San Antonio, and Los Pinos that 
most of the land cultivated is found. Clusters of houses here and there give a village 
or plaza, the largest of which is Conejos or Guadalupe, upon the river of that name. 
Along the Conejos, above this point and to the west about 10 miles, where the river 
emerges from its cation, a rapid and turbid stream, a narrow but beautiful valley of 
8,000 feet elevation extends. Agriculture flourishing in cultivated land well fenced, 
the settlers being the usual Mexican ranchmen. Many thousands of sheep are owned 
along this river, the herds being driven to the northwest and southwest. 


THE CHAMA OR TIERRA AMARILLA SECTION. 


Beyond this point to the west no other place is found where agriculture has been 
attempted, until the Tierra Amarilla section, a collection of Mexican plazas, is reached. 
A half mile above Los Brazos, the most northern one, is the seat of the Park View 
colony, where a settlement was made by inducing Chicago persons to locate here. 


Upon a bench near by the river was the prospective town-site, and in the river-bottom, | — 


of very fine land, the ‘‘ farms,” the total acreage of which under actual cultivation 
was found to be about 8 acres and not exceeding 10. ; 

The plazas of the Tierra Amarilla (signifying yellow earth) are five in number, situ- 
ated in close proximity upon the Rio Chama near the mouth of the Rio Brazos, its 
Eastern Fork, and upon Nutritas Creek near by, and comprise a total of 800 popula- 
tion, whose industry is agriculture and sheep-raising, from 1,200 to 3,000 head being 
passed daily while in this region. 

This section contains the finest agricultural land in this part of New Mexico, being 
chiefly from 7,300 to 7,600 feet in elevation, and aggregating with the valleys of the 
Chama and tributary streams a total of fully 8,000 acres that will be valuable for — 
agriculture under proper irrigation. This is derived from statements of county officials, 
not visiting two of the plazas personally. Personal observations included an acreage 
of about 5,000, of which less than half was under cultivation, and in this, moreover, 
the tracts were not all under proper tillage, the area being much scattered. 

The amounts paid for forage here were in July 3 cents per pound for hay and 5 cents ~ 
for corn, or $60 per ton for the former and $2.80 per bushel for the latter, which may 
certainly be considered as almost ‘‘ bonanza” prices, when the fertility of this land is 
taken into consideration. This was almost 50 per cent. more than was paid at Animas 
City, far to the west. 

The immediate river bottom, near ‘‘ Park View,” averages not over one-quarter mile 
in width and between 5 and 6 miles long, containing some 900 acres, the whole a very 
pretty and attractive valley. Above this were passed two deserted Mexican villages 
of a dozen cabins each, the land about uncultivated. The inhabitants thereof, we 
were informed, had stampeded one night in 1865 from fear of the Indians, who had 
been in grand council near by for six days and nights, and contemplated, it was thought, 
a general massacre. 

That the Park View colonization, popularly denounced from its incipiency as a fraud, 
has culminated in failure is to be greatly regretted, as until ranchmen of American 
energy take hold of this region, its resources in an agricultural point of view will 
never be developed. 


THE NAVAJO. 


From the crossing of the Chama until the Navajo is reached there is but little land 
that will ever be available for anything save grazing; while it is of a nature to con- 
stitute a fine farming region, with sufficient alkaline constituents to insure large crops, 
there is a dearth of water, although upon all the maps it is not properly so indicated. 
During the three day’s march from the Chama to the San Juan, from 3,000 to 7,400 
sheep were daily passed, and also 200 goats. The latter are the favorites of the Indians, 
small herds of which are possessed by various chiefs, and noticed at various points in 
the mountains. 

Along the Navajo, in both Colorado and New Mexico, are considerable areas of land 
finely adapted to agriculture, thus far almost entirely neglected by the ranchmen in 
choosing their locations. Extensive benches, easily irrigated, and abundance of timber 
are readily found, while along its upper part are clusters of hot sulphur springs of — 
varying properties. Vegetation is luxuriant, wild berries of different kinds were found 
abundant, and so attractive is the river, its banks and surroundings, that the southern 
Utes still assert and reassert their ownership of the valleys which it waters and of 
which they were almost wholly dispossessed in the location of their new reserve. 
Upon the Navajo they wished their new agency located, and on its being built upon 
the Los Pinos, much dissatisfaction resulted. ; 

Along this stream for a short distance is part of the route for the Chama-Navajo 
road, the shortest line from Conejos and neighboring points to the west, and when 


APPENDIX SS. 1767 


this road is constructed, which will eventually be done, unless the whole lower San 
Juan shall retrograde in its present rapid settlement, the valleys of this river and afflu- 
ents will certainly be located upon and valuable ranches result. 


THE BLANCO. 


The next river to the west, the Rio Blanco, or White River, so called from the milky 
appearance of its waters, can never play,an important part in the agricultural economy 
of this region. In its upper partis a magnificent valley, butit is only with great diffi- 
culty and by trail accessible. The descent by the road from the Navajo divide is be- 
tween and around very steep hills. Following up the river from this point, it is found 
to be confined by steep mesas or hillsides of abrupt slopes, quite often vertical. 

The ascent of this stream, traveling of course without a guide, was one of the most 
difficult trips experienced. Following the river bed from sheer necessity, we were kept 
therein, and in one day’s march, quite short in miles but apparently long in hardship, 
the river had to be forded 39 times. While mainly a good current, it was occasion- 
ally rough from rapids. At one point for several hundred yards large bowlders of 
granite and other rock blocked the passage-way. They were from 10 to 40 feet in di- 
ameter, while occasionally was noted one of unusual size, 50 feet by 10 or 15 in diame- 
ter, rounded, and bearing the mark of glacial action. In avoiding them, the ascents 
and descents of the steep banks near by caused several accidents of an almost serious 
nature to the pack-train. Afterward there was observed extending down from the foot 
of the mountains and along the river a high bench formation, finely timbered, with 
magnificent grazing. Upon this also were strewn bowlders at intervals, the largest 
observed being pear shaped, some 70 feet long, and over 40 in height. 

In the ascent and descent of this stream (in August) the abundance of wild fruit on 
the hillsides was unusually great, more particularly the service-berries. Fine patches 
of raspberries, light-red and exceedingly luscious, of gooseberries, and also wild cher- 
ries were fortunately met with. 

The Blanco in its upper part flows south and southwest, curving sharply nearly to 
the west, its mouth in the San Juan being nearly due west from this point. 

The Navajo in its upper part flows almost due south and nearly parallel to the 
Blanco, and curves sharply, making also a great beng abruptly to the west, its mouth, 
being nearly or quite on the same parallel as the bend. 

The upper waters of the Blanco and Navajo have a striking similarity, each pos- 
sessing a wide and magnificent valley, separated and inclosed by huge towering 
mountains from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above them. In the upper part of the Blanco, 
where the forks unite and form the main stream, the one from the east, in descending 
from the Cretaceous shales, carries in solution whitish-gray matter in such decided 
quantities as to impart to the main stream throughout its course that milky appear- 
ance which is immediately noticed on reaching it. 

The Upper Blanco was meandered during the season of daily rain and there we hap- 
pened to witness a most magnificent storm effect about sunset. Heavy rain-storms 
had prevailed all afternoon upon the mountain tops whose effects were not entirely 
escaped below. Extending from a meadow on the opposite bank of the river from the 
camp there arose the grandest double rainbow we ever beheld, reaching up to and 
capping the summit of the range east and above us, and circling down to the valley 
on the left, the colors separate and entirely distinct without blending above, and of 
most surpassing brilliancy. While every one was gazing in admiration at the scene 
another storm coming swiftly in an opposite direction above the range stopped in its 
rapid course, suspended above the mountain tops, when the clouds attracted to the 
highest peak, assumed a funnel shape in their descent. It was a grand indescriba- 
ble scene in the contrast of the deep inky blackness, the bright sunlight illuminating 
the peak below, and the gorgeous hues of the rainbow resting upon the mountain’s 
center. 

At the big bend of the Blanco, ascending the river, the valley widens from 500 
yards to over a mile, increasing its width farther up to one and a half and two, which 
continues for a distance of nearly 4 miles. Like that of the Navajo, this is a very 
beautiful spot, of which the beaver holds possession, the largest part, nearly or quite 
level, being filled with willow undergrowth and beaver dams. Continuing on, cut- 
ting our way as the valley narrowed through almost impenetrable masses of aspen 
(Populus tremuloides), the stream at the mouth of a large tributary from the west 
presented an almost impassable barrier in the impediments presented. 

The lofty mountains inclosing the valley approached and almost met, high walls 
from either side running to the water’s edge. From either side an immense wall of 
vertical rock extended to the stream, its former center broken and eroded by the 
water, leaving a perfect gateway, through which the river dashed over bowlders, huge 
logs, and high masses of drift, serious obstacles to passage, the ascent being made only 
with great difficulty. Farther on some side walls of red sandstone were worn into 


1768 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


most fantastic shapes; bowlders and gravel of all kinds, including volcanic rock, fill- 
ing the bed of the stream everywhere. 

At several points near the caiion’s mouth, clinging to the bits of earth on side rocks, 
were bushes of red raspberries, the largest and most luscious seen anywhere, with quan- 
tities of service and goose berries, wild cherries being found in the valley below. 

The Blanco is here a clear and beautiful stream ; no ranchman has at any point above 
the road-crossing penetrated its land. While its upper valley is far handsomer for 
several miles than that of the Navajo, the preferred ground of the red man, on account 
of its being almost inaccessible from all sides no Indian has entered it, although they 
swarm in that of the former in search of game and wild berries, the latter their most 
important article of summer diet. 


THE SAN JUAN. 


Upon the Rio San Juan (signifying the river of Saint John), the next river to the 
west, and the great drainage channel of the country, agriculture has made less progress 
upon the upper river than upon the lower. The Pagosa Hot Springs were a bone of 
contention between Indians and whites, and later have been among the whites them- 
selves, until the executive order of the President declaring them a reservation. 

To the east, west, and northeast of the springs, at an elevation not exceeding 7,200 
feet on both sides of the San Juan lies within a few miles a large area comprising many 
thousands of acres, which, with irrigation, would be very valuable for farming pur- 
poses. As yet but a few log cabins appear, and further no step has been taken to hold 
or improve the land. Many herds of sheep are driven to and fro through this region, 
nearly all tarrying at Pagosa Springs, up to which all the sheep are driven, the Mexi- 
can herders stating that the waters thereof are highly beneficial to the animals. — 

Some 10 or 11 miles above the springs, upon the west fork of the river, locally so 
called, several persons have located and were at work upon their cabins when we 
were there encamped. Bordered by high mountains, over 1,500 feet upon one side and 
approaching 2,500 on the other, at an elevation of about 7,600 feet, this valley con- 
tains a large acreage of land finely adapted to agricultural purposes. The ranchmen 
have already provided an outlet by a passable wagon road of their own construction, 
connecting with the county road at Pagosa. The San Juan and it tributaries all 
cafion in their upper parts, and above this elevation there are no valuable spots worthy 
of mention in this connection. f 

The most fertile region is along the lower part of this river, including the section 
from the east of the Las Animas down, the richest and most valuable land of the San 
Juan being soil of New Mexico. It is rapidly being located upon since the opening 
of the Jicarilla Apache reservation, and settlers will soon fill the entire area to the 
Navajo reserve. 

The climate of this region differs most radically from that of the river above, being 
hot and arid away from the banks of the streams, the vegetation being chiefly of the 
sage and cacti order, with pifion upon the mesasides. Little of a winter season occurs, 
the elevation being in the main embraced between 5,500 feet and 5,100 in altitude. 
Strong alkaline constituents are present in the soil and from the great denudation dur- 
ing the rainy season and the high stages of water which occur, its banks are each time 
resupplied with fertilizing elements in great abundance. ‘Possessed, therefore, in this 
latitude of the mild climate of central New Mexico, several hundred miles to the south, 
the fine agricultural capabilities and the range of production of this region may at 
once be conjectured. Beyond, still farther down the San Juan, the Navajoes are 
industrious farmers, corn being the main product, and as a sample of the crops they 
obtain, a handsome ear was brought back. The crop was raised upon one of the bot- 
tom holes along the San Juan, cultivated without irrigation, watered only during a 
high stage of the river. The corn tassels were of the height of a rider’s head upon 
horseback. 

THE RIO NUTRIA. 


The Rio Nutria is the next upon the west, and a tributary to the Piedra. The name 
of this stream upon the maps seems to be erroneous as we were informed by Colonel 
Pfeiffer, a former agent of the Ute Indians, and a resident of this region for many years; 
that it was originally Notre Francis, being so called after a Frenchman, who with two 
Mexicans, was killed by the Indians near its mouth and there burned. Their graves 
are situated upon the mesa bank of the Piedra, overlooking the mouth of its tribu- 
tary. 

This stream, more properly a creek than a river, possesses but a very limited acreage 
adapted to farming purposes. But one ranch in the locality is worthy of mention, that 
of Messrs. Meyer, Stolzheimer & Co., near a spring hard by the stream, and at the edge 
of the Indian reservation. Their investments are wholly in the shape of stock and in- 
clude some 2,300 head of cattle, 8,000 sheep, and 73 horses. This firm has a sort of 
treaty or agreement with Ignacio’s bands, three tribes of the Utes, who permit their 
stock to range over their land receiving in return at various intervals quantities of the 
choicest beef. 


APPENDIX SS. . 1769 


THE RIO PIEDRA. 


The Rio Piedra or Stony River, is most aptly sonamed. From the junction of its 
forks or the main tributaries in the plateau region to the north the distance by the 
river is about 20 miles to the bridge-crossing on the road. In this, it descends from 
7,800 to 6,400 feet and the land it drains is viewed in its agricultural economy wholly 
barren and worthless. Its cafion is steep and inaccessible. In the ascent from the 
road over the steep mesas and rocks near and along the river to the plateau above, Col- 
onel Pfeiffer accompanied by Indian guides was occupied over 5 days in going the dis- 
tance of 20 miles by the river.. The upper region we reached by avoiding these horri- 
ble mesas, by'a long detour to the east near the head of the Nutria. At the point 
where the waters of the Piedra and affluents begin their erosion of the plateau result- 
ing in the cafion along its course, the descent is abrupt, the rocks eroded assuming fan- 
tastic shapes, frequently chimney-like. 

The descent from the surface over the underlying strata to the harder formation 
below is very rapid, and in a short distance the river has descended to 500 and 1,000 
feet below its level on the plateau surface, the hills on its right bank being here some- 
what higher than on the left. At the entrance of the canon it is very narrow, the 
walls vertical, and occasionally overhanging stones dropped from above, falling into 
the water below. The area above its cafion, comprising the valley of the Weeminu- 
che and the Middle and Southern Forks of the Piedra, with the plateau region to the 
east, is of large extent, and not greatly protected by the gradual slopes to the summit 
of the range on the north. They are only valuable in their relation to the grazing 
interests of the region. In the aggregate there are over 40,000 acres on the water-shed 
of this river that are of the highest value for the rearing of cattle and sheep, being 
all superior summer and fall ranges. A dearth of water near the head of the Nutria 
exists, where lies a large additional area. In the valley of the Weeminuche, the west- 
ern tributary of the Piedra, a most lovely section, luxuriant grasses are passed over, 
which were fully 3 feet in height. 

At the point where the road from the east reaches this river, altitude about 6,400 
feet, it follows up its bank in a bottom for 3 miles, crossing above by a bridge; upon 
the opposite side the bottom continues for half a mile farther. 

This was the only place observed where a farm on even a small scale could be located. 
It has already been taken up by several ranchmen; no land was cultivated, cabins 
only erected. 

- Descending the river the mesa formation continues, and the bottom is occupied wholly 
by the stream, its bed, and the thickly-grown underbrush along its course from wall 
to wall of the out-cropping sandstone which could but very rarely be ascended, it being 
in general vertical. 

The valley of the Nutria, where it empties into the Piedra, is the longest noted upon 
the former stream, being 200 yards in width, and about 800 yards in length, with fair 
grazing, beyond which, on rising land, is sage-brush. The Piedra side is barren. 
This valley is of triangular shape, but scarcely of any value for a ranch. The hills 
upon the left rise sharply to 500 feet, closing in upon those on the opposite bank of the 
Piedra, which here takes a course slightly west of south to its mouth in the San Juan. 
High hills, fully 700 feet, apparently veritable ‘“‘hogbacks,” steep and pifion-clad, in 
long, successive files as far as the eye can reach, close to the waters of the Piedra 
upon every side; the valley is contracted to the nature of the caiion above, and the 
outlook has no appearance save that of desolation. 

On account of the impassable nature of the mesa region bordering the Piedra, the . 
road makes a long detour to the Los Pinos, the air-line distance apart on the line of the 
Indian reserve being 14 miles, that by the wagon road 20, taking a natural route along. 
a tributary stream. Its width between hills is from 150 to 300 yards, with larger open- 
ings occasionally for 6 miles. Ata distance of 4 miles from the Piedra is a very pretty 
bottom, a fine grassy park surrounded by high rocky walls containing 50 acres, beautiful 
agricultural land of easy irrigation. No one had there located, but it bore marks of 
having for some time been occupied as an Indian camp. This was the only spot of 
any size between the Piedra and the summit of the divide whose altitude is 7,010 feet, 
and distance 7.6 miles. 
- Descending, on the Pinos watershed, the country is more prepossessing and better 
adapted for ranches. The hills bordering the road are of a similar nature, ‘‘hog- 
backs” with scrub-oak predominating, well grassed, the pines being chiefly spruce. 
Farther down the hills are lower, the country opens, small valleys 150 to 200 and 300 
yards appear, and along the streams, the profusion of undergrowth and abundance of 
wild hops attest the fruitfulness of the soil if cultivated. Several fine cabins were 
being erected, corrals established, and areas of land fenced in, to be cultivated in 
addition to the more important interests of cattle raising; at several points new set- 
tlers were just arriving. 

It is worthy offnote that while large quantities of service-berries, cherries, and other 
wild fruits were observed in traveling between these rivers, they were not nearly as 


1770 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


far matured as those at and about Pagosa and other points of a higher elevation and 
farther east than here. 


RIO DE LOS PINOS. 


The Rio de los Pinos (River of the Pines) received during last summer a remarkable 
emigration. Its upper waters are in the terrible quartzite region, and the ascent is 
fraught with danger to man and beast. One of the party was seriously injured and 
narrowly escaped with his life in an accident caused by his mule slipping and losing 
his foothold on the bare quartzite over which the trail passed. The large forests about 
the central part of the river were the origin of its name. Its west fork, or the Valle- 
cito (the Stream of Small Valleys), rises in the same wonderful geological formation. 
It contains a large and handsome park near its mouth, and several tiny ones above. 
These valleys both contain magnificent pasturage, are 7,500 to 7,700 feet in altitude, 
and, with the contrast of the brilliant red of the rocky hills inclosing them and the 
long lines of level green below, are very beautiful. Beyond and above rise lofty peaks 
of quartzite towering to 4,000 to 5,000 feet, with snow-covered tops, magnificent, grand, 
and apparently inaccessible, as was afterward found to be almost the case. 

Below the forks of the river there is an area for several miles of 600 yards in width, 
increasing to about 1,200 at their junction. Above, on the Pinos, are detached, park- 
like areas, the first we met being 600 yards in width, 100 yards upon the west bank, 
500 upon the east; the hills, from 800 to 1,500 feet, after circling and closing ab-. 
ruptly on the latter side upon the river, again receded. Again for nearly 4 miles 
they once more recede upon the east, until we find another park of a mile in width. 
This latter is the finest and handsomest area of the whole section; the mountains 
almost meet, and seemingly offer insuperable obstacles to a direct ascent of the river. 
A trail here passes to the right and around the mountains, reaching the Los Pinos 
miles above at its headwaters; itis traveled with much less difficulty than that through 
the cafion. 

Beyond this there is a cafion with a width of 400 yards extending for about 4 
miles, when the mountains close to the width of the stream alone. There are no loca- 
tions in any of these parks, above which no arable land occurs. 

On the Vallecito there is no area above the large park near its mouth at all worthy 
of mention. 

This river, it may be noted, is remarkable in that during the last 13 miles of its 
course no tributary whatever, save that from two small springs not worthy of note, is 
received from the mountains to the east, numbers of streams coming from the west. 
In other words, the mountain slopes of the divide which separates it from the Los 
Pinos are almost vertical, being terribly steep upon their western sides, while upon 
the other they are more gradual to the Pinos. 

The general shape of this park or valley is of a rude diamond. In the upper part 
fully a mile is taken up by a large colony of beaver-dams, in whose waters are merged 
the entire river. The largest of these covers nearly 4 acres of water-surface, grassy 
slopes fringed by pine forest being upon either side. From the large beaver-dams to 
the south the valley rapidly widens, increasing in about 4 miles from 600 to 2,500 
yards in width. From the beaver-dam to the southern end of the ridge in which the 
divide of the Los Pinos watershed terminates there is an area in the Vallecito Valley 
of 2,600 acres, including a small loss by beaver-dams, of which 1,350 is magnificent 
pasturage, the balance of the bottom from the mountain edges being pine-timbered ; 
from this to the junction of the two rivers the area, taking the width of both valleys, 
of which the Vallecito is the wider, is 400 acres more, of which 350 is clear and open 
grazing, the remaining 50 of the valley being timbered. Throughout the park the 
pasturage is everywhere good; all of this is from 7,600 to 7,700 feet in altitude. We 
have in the aggregate a total area of Vallecito land alone of nearly 3,000 acres, about 
half of which is pasturage of the finest kind. 

Below the junction of the forks and down the river to where the valley narrows, 
there‘is an area, lying mainly on the east bank, of 1,400 acres in the bottom, over 
three-fourths of which is open grass-land; the balance is covered with pine timber, 
extending to the base of the mountains bordering the valley and up itssides, 

The bordering hills are 800 feet high on the left bank, some 200 less on the right, 
being lower to the south. Not a single cabin was built or location for agricultural 
purposes made anywhere in this valley, nor were any herds of stock seen above the 
Florida trail. ‘ 

Shortly below the southern end of the valley last mentioned the trail from the Rio 
Florida reaches-the Pinos and is merged in that along the river. The trail descending: 
the Los Pinos here crosses, and we follow down upon the east or left bank. ha: 

The bottom on this side is more open, the hills closing upon the other; at some points 
they are here nearly half a mile distant, closing in to the river toward the south. 
From this point to the bridge at the county road, about 8 miles below, thence down to 
the line of the Indian reserve, a little over 4miles, emigrants have flocked to the east- 
ern bank and located upon all the available land along the river. Above the bridge 


APPENDIX SS. 1771 


were noted six ranches in all; the upper had but a patch cultivated, and were settlers 
ofthe spring. They were building anew and larger cabin, and when passed had been 
busily occupied in fighting the grass-fires about their home, kindled by the vagrant 
Indians, who had stopped to threaten them in case they did not leave and had left the 
fire as memento of their friendship. The smoke was still ascending from the charred 
ground; the fire had extended to the forests on the hills, over which it raged for sey- 
eral days and spread for a long distance. 

Of the next three ranches, all locations merely save one, there were but two build- 
ings finished, the incomers living in regular tents, and improvised ones of wagon- 
sheets; about 9 acres were cultivated, their stock consisting of 12 horses and ‘20 head 
of cattle, in a rough corral near by, with 20 milch-cows grazing upon the hills. Below, 
between this and the bridge, were four or five cabins with corrals and fencing of pine, 
the river-bottom not here exceeding 400 yards on the eastern side, of which but about 
6 acres were being tilled. The elevation is but little over 7,000 feet, and the vege- 
tation was of a rank order close to the river-bank, where the settlers were cutting the 
marshy grasses and heavy masses of sedge and stacking for winter use. 

Considerable quantities of arable land are found upon the western bank of the river, 
but the great rush for the little space unoccupied in this neighborhood was toward 
the eastern bank, and chiefly that from the bridge to the reservation line, about 4 
miles to the south. 

Immediately below the road crossing of the river the bank is high and timbered, 
the bottom opening out beyond. The first ranchman, located 1} miles below the bridge, 
a recent comer (in August), was living ina tent. The river-bottom is here about 100 
yards wide and grazing excellent. At the distance of 1,200 yards beyond was a cabin 
with five wagons and tents about, accommodating three families who possessed 20 
horses and 175 head of stock; of the land claimed 14 acres were being cultivated, their 
locations being along the river near by. 

Within 900 yards beyond were three more cabins, the owners possessing a corral, fine 
fencing of pine timber and stock; 5 acres were planted, the bottom being here 1,200 
yards wide. A thousand yards below was a ranchman with cabin, corral, and outfit 
complete, possessing 200 head of stock. Some 800 yards lower are two fine cabins, an 
inclosure well fenced of 1,500 feet by 600, including a well-built corral and 210 head 
of stock; altogether it was a first-class ranch, evidently a late emigrant, as 10 acres 
iat of standard products had been planted. The bottom has here a width of 1,500 
yards. 

About 1,100 yards beyond another location was being established, the dwelling being 
a ents the foundation only of the cabin was completed, no land as yet under culti- 
vation. 

__ Beyond and about the same distance is the last of the ranches on the river, that of 
Mr. R. O. Bean, which was examined in detail in order to obtain some reliable data 
touching the value of the Los Pinos land in the agricultural economy of the San Juan. 
He has a farm, 25 horses, and 150 head of stock. Settling there in the spring of 1876, 
he possessed in September, 1877, the most advanced and finest ranch on the river, if 
not in the whole lower country, surpassed, if at all, by none save one in the Animas 
Park. To this fact, to this palpable demonstration of the fertility of the soil, we 
attribute the crowding of ranchmen to his immediate neighborhood, as emigrants to 
the country are in general at their start undecided as to exact destination. It usu- 
ally remains for some man of energy and grit to develop the possibilities of a new 
region. 

About 160 acres were fenced in, and rather than be deemed unneighborly to the In- 
dians, whose reservation lay below, and whose land was very rich, he went down the 
river as far as he deemed proper, and then located. He went, in fact, so far that the 
Indian agent, hearing the fact from his wards, paid Bean a visit and required him to 
move his fence some little distance upstream. The reservation line now passes the 
river-bank at his lower fence corner. His buildings are substantial, and 40 acres of 
land were found under cultivation. There was a rich crop of wheat, corn, rye, and 
oats, a trial patch of millet; and among the vegetables were noticed cabbages, beets, 
onions, turnips, various kinds of melons, cucumbers, radishes, peppers, tomatoes, pease, 
beans, and potatoes. Specimens of wheat, oats, millet, &c., including a turnip, were 
brought to the East, scarcely as a curiosity, but rather as indubitable proof of the ex- 
cessive richness of the soil of some of the San Juan, equaling that of Kansas. The 
turnip aforesaid, possessing but two months’ growth, was 8 inches high, 284 inches in 
circumference, and weighed 8} pounds. 

The wheat yield was from 25 to 30 bushels per acre, while a small lot at the river- 
bank was estimated to reach 50 to 60 bushels. The average was, however, 28 bushels 
at least. Everything was unusually large and of almost immense size; wild sugar- 
cane and hops were growing high up among the rank vegetation at the river-bank, 
indicative of the resources of the soil. . 

Tn 1876, no frost had been felt until October, but the night previous to the visit 
(September 8), which was very cold, a heavy storm raging in the mountains had sent 
a blighting cold, which had left its mark on the vines of tomatoes, &c. 


re REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


The precipitation, it was stated, during the rainy season, which had gone by, was 
here very slight. As an experiment some of the corn had not been irrigated; it was 
but 2 to 3 feet high, while the other, which had been watered, was more than twice as 
tall. The chief cause for complaint was the immense number of aphides or plant-lice, 
with which the cabbage was particularly afflicted. 

Of possible import as to the value of a farm in this region, it may be mentioned that 
while the price of everything was lower than earlier or much later, butter was 25 cents 
per pound; cabbages, 25 cents per head; onions (very large), 50 cents per dozen, &c. ; 
the price at Animas City, during the winter previous, being per pound, onions 124 
cents, beets 10, cabbage 6, and potatoes 23. As must be always done, the crops were 
produced by irrigation. The ditch leading from the river is ? mile long, and cost him, 
not including his own time and labor, $60; a most economical and safe investment. 

At this point the river-bottom is a mile across, averaging for about 6 miles below, 
on the reserve, 1; miles in width; including the valley of Beaver Creek, a tributary 
of Pinos near by, the total width is between 4 and 5 miles. The river at this point 
is diverted to the southwest by a great mesa for 3 or 4 miles, after which it flows again 
in a southerly direction. This mesa formation is a group of rugged hills, from 300 to 
500 feet in height, pinon-clad, with dwarfed spruce, which upon the opposite side of 
the river reappears in small mesas or hillocks of equal height, crowned with large 
rocks; the superposed Cretaceous sandstone denuded and bare attests the great erosion 
that formed the valley below. All of this portion is looked upon with envious eyes by 
the emigrant passing on to the west, and as soon as the country is opened to settlement 
by the removal of the Utes, their inevitable fate and merely a question of time, the 
settlers will flock thereto and it will be immediately occupied. : 

About 8 miles below, the middle road crosses the river going northwest to the 
Florida; above this point the sketch given in Plate 2 was taken to represent the gen- 
eral appearance and contour lines of the mountain ranges to the north and northwest, 
abruptly terminating at a point near the western horizon. 

Near here and above were observed quantities of stock, belonging above the reserva- 
tion line. The ranchmen allow them to range at will; dumb brutes are no respecters 
of air-lines, and quietly proceed to range over and eat upon forbidden ground, to the 
indignation of the possessors thereof. 

The land has here the almost semi-tropical look of the soil of central and lower New 
Mexico, arid and parched earth—magnificent material for home-made bricks or 
“adobes.” The vegetation ischiefly of dry and crooked sage from 3 to 4 feet high, and 
the prickly-pear cactus, covering the earth away from the stream. The immediate 
bottom of 150 yards or more upon either side possesses high grasses and is thickly tim- 
bered with cottonwood and undergrowth. Thence upon either side extends a bench, 
1 and 2 miles in width, receding and rising from the river, sparsely grassed, into which, 
from the higher elevations, come low, wide hollows or subvalleys, of the nature of gen- 
tle arroyos. 

Everywhere the pebbly covered ground shows the lines of drainage and former flows 
of water, before erosion of this lower bed had been completed. About 5 miles below 
the crossing of the middle road the width of the land of “bench” character is from 4 
to 5 miles, all of which is susceptible of irrigation. The river for the last 8 miles has 
a considerable fall, though not sufficient to be denoted as rapid. 

Some 12 miles below the road-crossing, rise up lofty mesas in close succession, over 
1,000 feet in height, closing in upon the river. Its whole strength is now confined to 
cutting its way to the San Juan below in a narrow gorge, through the high interposed 
plateau of Cretaceous rock. The agricultural value of the river is changed; its canon 
bottom is narrow, confined, wholly unproductive and inhospitable; the entire region 
is of black forbidding appearance, and a scene of utter desolation as are the true mesa 
formations of New Mexico. The outline sketches accompanying and given on Plates 2, 
3, and 4, showing a view of the Needle Mountains or Quartzite Crags and La Plata 
Mountains to the north and northwest and the outlook to the south of the great plateau, 
will aid in forming a conception of the contrasts in this region of the San Juan, a por- 
tion of a great basin which must prove in future one of the most valuable fields for ag- 
riculture. 

From the Rio de los Pinos to the Rio Florida, 134 miles, the road passes over a sec- 
tion of as little interest in an agricultural point of view as it is devoid of novel and 
startling features of landscape. Following a natural route between low hills, higher 
on the Florida water-shed than on the Los Pinos slopes, the road winds considerably 
through a line of grassy meadows from 400 yards in width at the point of departing - 
from the Los Pinos bottom to 250 and less as we ascend, becoming more narrow upon 
the Florida water-shed. The timber of the region is cedar, in some cases of large size, 
with scrub-oak, a predominant feature in hillside vegetation. 

Three ranches are all that were passed en route, the first nearly a mile from the river, 
the next 1} miles beyond, both locations of hay-cutting chiefly. The last and finest, 
where we noted quite a ‘‘fine” shingle-roof, glass-windows, and out-buildings, a novelty 
among the localranches, is 44 miles from the Florida, east of the divide, occupying a grassy 


Plate 2. 


OuTLINE SKETCH 
on the 
/ Sie ce los Pinos 


to the North and North-west, showing the Needle Mts. 
and the La Plat aRange terminating in south at Parrot Gity 
Station: Above Cros sing of the Middle Road. 


“UPIO hr LYMOOTT — pohtea, [ SHOIIVDJAA) Atf} JS Of 0) SOV Y byy auf) fy waMoUs “pPpwoy ATPPIN 


LO P8801) MOJEG fC Lium).1marw piv eAvqgY JaaJ YOE ‘SOW 807 IP ORY AQ U0. Yes euNng 


“ 


“ayqno sy huagyooT ‘SaaS SNOIIDIEL) aY7 JO Sosa braMmoYys -ipvoar app eyZ Jo hurssot) 
Mojag-FE eum) aoqv 43af-00G PUD VYfri AY} 02 SAIN P'SOUI_T $0) ap og BY? UO YIpayG eurjyng 


ee 
Se ee ree 
SS 


~ m A 

NY a 

S . 
i \\ Se | 


aS IE TE LL TT NE OSES SE 


APPENDIX SS. 73 


bottom; the road here abruptly turns to the north and so continues for a mile, when it 
as sharply pursues its former course tothe west. The top of the Florida divide is but 14 
miles from the river, the rocky hills being closer and steeper than upon the other water- 
shed. A beautiful spring is found about a thousand yards from the river, and along the 
right bank of itsstream the road descends. ' Here for the first time is noticed any work of 
importance, excepting the bridges on the road upon which toll is collected. It is pos- 
sible that half, if not all, of the entire amount expended in its construction is annually 
received into the coffers of the road company. : 


THE RIO FLORIDA. 


The Rio Florida signifies the River of Flowers or flowery banks. Taking the cue 
from eminent and scientific explorers who have gone before, one is inclined to doubt 
the fitness of things on reaching it at the road-crossing. Having observed, however, 
as we traveled, the peculiar adaptation of local names, whether of Spanish or Indian 
origin, and having also heard that the Indians haunted it as they did the Navajo, we 
were inclined to expect a lovelystream. Disappointed at first sight, the portion above 
appeared the more beautiful for that reason. Steep hills, 350 to 500 feet, increasing in 
height to the north, here confine the river, a modest stream of scarcely over 30 feet. 
Boldly protruding on the opposite side is traced a lignitic deposit, which was utilized 
by our blacksmith during our vicinity thereto. 

At a distance of 12 miles up the stream was a handsome park containing 45 acres of 
fine grazing land, well timbered, where a cabin stood. Above this was another, small- 
er but more open, where another ranchman had located, the hillsides being almost 
precipitous, and covered with scrub-oak ; thence up the stream successively are low 
rolling hills within the river depression, above which appear again level bottom 
widths of 350 to 400 yards, increasing to 600, the contents of the parks being 15, 30, 
and 50 acres of fine grass-land, susceptible of irrigation. Below where the general 
surface was 40 feet above the river, came in from the west a tributary from the Animas 
watershed, whose valley in extent over 1,000 yards disclosed its bounding walls of the 
brightest of red sandstones. 

About 7 miles up the river a trail passes due east to the Los Pinos as already men- 
tioned, 4 miles in length. The evidences of Indian camps were abundant at this point. 
Beyond, upon the east bank, after passing closely timbered groves of pine and aspen, 
a pretty park opened before us. Occasionally heavily wooded but chiefly open, the 
valleys succeed one another, increasing in width from 150 yards to 600, of magnificent 
grazing, alternating upon the river-sides, below which the true valley appears to 800 
and 1,000 yards in width.. 

The brilliant red of the towering sandstone cliffs, a sheer vertical for over 600 feet, 
increasing to the north, the stretches of great pine to the grassy bottom below, long 
lines of meadow green sloping to the willow-fringed banks of the river, with an 
abundant flora, were witnesses to the stream’s appropriate name. Deer (C. macrotis 
Say) in the wood, wild turkey (M. gallopavo Barte).and grouse (T. obscurus Say) in 
the grass and trees, and trout (S. fontinalis Mitch.) in the river, did not lessen its at- 
tractions. | 

As we continued in extended opens where the river has spread to a width of 40 feet, 
about 6 inches deep, the girdling mountains rose abruptly ahead upon either side 
nearly 3,000 feet on the east, perhaps 2,000 on the west, meeting beyond on the upper 
stream as links in the great chain of ‘Needles.” The scenery was magnificent, and 
involuntary praise was heard from even our colored cook. The elevation of these 
bottoms extended from 7,600 to 8,000 feet, and nowhere has any one located. ’ 

Nature, lovely and prolific here, is as desolate ahead. An abrupt cafion region fol- 
lows closely upon the last of the parks. Over precipices, down immense mountain 
walls, often inaccessible, dashing over bowlders reft in its struggling descent, its way 
clogged by huge timber and drift, the stream has worn its way; emerging from a 
box cafion, with perpendicular walls of 100 feet without, the river passes forth from 
desolation and war above to peace and quiet below. 

The close proximity of the high mountains does not augur well for agriculture here, 
indicating short season and severe and early frosts. The portion of the river-bottom 
well adapted therefor is limited and near the reservation line. 

__ From the Pagosa road-crossing the transition from the upper region is complete. 
The bottom is, tor 4 or 5 miles, from 200 to 300 yards wide, being contracted and ir- 
regularly sloping, in which the stream winds from side to side; much of the land being 
too high above the water for irrigation renders agriculture impracticable. 

Here passes the middle road from Animas City to Tierra Amarilla, following the 
river down for more than 9 miles. The river’s width and volume has increased to 50 
feet with a foot depth ; its fringe is of cottonwood timber, with pifion upon the hills 
that skirt both sides, being 300 feet high on the east and about half that on the right 
bank. Six miles below the road-crossing there is a widening of the river-bottom to 
600 yards. On account of the reservation line but 2 miles of this wider valley is avail- 


1774 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


able for settlement. Three fine ranches, well fenced, with good irrigating ditches, 
appear, the lower close to the line of the reserve. The two latter are chiefly devoted 
to cattle interests, each having about 500 head of stock. Upon the former were ob- 
served 10 acres of fine wheat harvested, and upon the latter over 15 acres of hay. 
Here, and below where the valley widens to 800 yards upon the reserve, are the best 
agricultural points. 

This is, like the Pinos, in the great basin; the timber growth of cottonwood is here, 
however, much more scant. Sage-brush covers the land reaching out from the imme- 
diate banks; the level is 6 to 12 feet below that of the general valley, and wood is 
abundant. The hills upon either side have their steep slopes covered with pinion; 
their tops are chiefly clothed in sage and cacti, pifon, and serub-oak also at intervals 
appearing. Pebbles and stones, indicating action, are everywhere bestrown, showing 
what vast areas were formerly submerged. The cattle of the settlers encroach upon 
the Indian land, and good grazing patches in the bottom were few and far between. 

Within the reservation the valley spreads out to 1,800 and 2,000 yards of a fine agri- 
cultural appearance with an alkaline tendency. Nearly all of this might be easily 
irrigated. 

The mesas below this point advance and recede, limiting the area along the river 
until the great barrier of the region is encountered. Here the valley per se is at an 
end, the river being turned sharply to the west on meeting the huge Cretaceous sand- 
stones. 

This massive mountain of the Upper Cretaceous series, if it may be so termed, rises 
up almost vertically fully 1,200 to 1,500 feet. Upon eroded strata, on the gradual 
accumulation of sufficient detritus, the pifon appeared, and between the lines the 
yellow sandstone apparently rises in successive ridges, from which great blocks, de- 
tached, have fallen to the water below. They clog the way and, between, the stream 
winds slow and sluggish with difficulty on. 

The aspect here is barren in the extreme. Here and there a narrow ravine or dry 
arroyo enters from the north, down which are well-worn trails of cattle; high reeds 
and bushes conceal the water’s flow; the rocks intrude so closely as to almost render 
passage on the trail impossible, while the vegetation is that of the usual order, befit- 
ting the general aridness. A few openings farther west and above its mouth are but 
oases in a sterile place. 

RIO DE LAS ANIMAS. 


The Rio de las Animas signifies the River of the Souls, in which appellation occurs 
the ellipsis of Perdidas (‘‘lost’’). : 

While its signification is the ‘‘ River of the Lost Souls,” or Purgatory, it is neither 
so mapped by geographers nor thus locally known, the Purgatory of Colorado being a 
tributary of the Arkansas, in the southeastern part of the State. 

Of all the arable land on the river the sections in which agriculture has made any 
notable progress may be known as the upper and lower. The upper part, where it 
has received attention more extensively than any other portion of the San Juan, is 
wholly included in that magnificent valley known as the Animas Park, the finest agri- 
cultural section, as it is the loveliest park, in the San Juan. 

Except the Florida, the largest tributary of the Animas is Hermosa Creek, its name, 
“beautiful,” being not inaptly given. Eight and a half miles below, near the mouth 
of Junction Creek, a town has sprung up on the right or west bank of the river, 
called Animas City, not located upon any Wheeler or Hayden map, and therefore of 
recent birth. Upon Hermosa Creek is the town of Hermosa, above which, about 4 
miles, is a collection of cabins, located upon some of the maps as Animas City, now 
deserted. In mentioning, therefore, the above name, reference is intended to the town 
below, alive and in full existence, and not to the dead one above. 

The most attractive feature of the Animas Park is the appearance of the red sand- 
stones noted previously on the Los Pinos and the Vallecito, at their union, and on the 
Florida, but here more extensively exposed, for some distance appearing with a south- 
ern dip and a thickness approaching 1,000 feet. 

These sandstones we presume pertain to the Triassic period, no reference to their 
geological age and position having been anywhere seen. They appear within the 
Animas Park, to the north of which along the river are exposures indicating the 
pressure of large areas of the Carboniferous formations of the Coal-Measure period.* 
The sandstones are of a brilliant brick red, at points aggregate perhaps a thousand 
feet in thickness, and slope to the south, dipping to that horizon about 20°. Their 
southern inclination and the character of the overlying sedimentary rocks appearing 
to the south undoubtedly so refer them. On both the Florida and the Animas, sec- 
tions of superposed strata carry us into the sandstones and beyond to the overlying. 
shales pertaining to the middle series of the Cretaceous period. 


*F. Hawn, geologist, Lieutenant Ruffner’s Reconnaissance in the Ute Country, 1873, 
p. 83. 


APPENDIX SS. 1775 


Both upon the Animas, to a slight extent, and more largely upon the Florida, occur 
exposures of the lignites belonging to the second Cretaceous series, the upper and later 
sandstones of the period capping the higher mesa exteuding across the river below 
Animas City. 

The handsomest outlook is from the lower part of the park, whose anticlinal axis 
is to the east of the meridional line and where the brilliant coloring most permanently 
occupies the vista of the valley. 

The eroded strata are displayed in their perfect parallelism and original position, 
save their southern dip, resulting from subsidence or geological change of underlying 
strata. Rising in successive terraces, from summit to base, denudation has attracted 
vegetation with the passage of time, until from the long grassy bottoms and great 
meadows of the park the hills, no longer vertical, rise up like the steps of some giant 
stairway, the side or rise most brilliant red, above as bright a green. In no other 
valley has Nature at once been so lavish with large areas of fruitful land and displayed 
so beautifully the hand of the Great Architect. Not even the most uneducated person 
is insensible to landscape beauty; much, therefore, if not all, of the best land of the 
valley has been claimed and located upon. 

Since returning from the reconnaissance, there has been observed a statement in a 
report of one of the early exploring parties that traversed the valley, which is repeated 
by another, that the arable land of the park ‘‘does not amount to more than three or 
four thousand acres.” This is most certainly an error in computation or the result of 
but casual observations. 

In a preliminary report* made soon after returning from the field, during the past 
winter, touching upon this valley, it was stated that ‘‘with over ten thousand acres 
of tillable land I found, last fall, the amount under actual cultivation to be less than 
one-tenth of the total.” Careful computation of field-notes has not served to percep- 
tibly change the amount. 

Instructions touching the acreage of arable and timber land being included in the 
' orders for the field, observations in detail were made during each mile of the park for 
determination of total area, the quantity timbered, the amount of arable land, includ- 
ing the possibility of irrigation, and the area of grazing, the number of ranches and 
the quantity of land belonging thereto under actual cultivation. 

An area easily irrigated and in all respects arable, equal to that above stated to be 
the contents of the entire park, may be found in its lower 4 miles, or from Animas 
City extending to the north to the ranch of Mr. Lamb. This would be practically 
proven if lying in sections of high cultivation like the agricultural valleys of Mary- 
Jand and Pennsylvania. From Animas City to Hermosa the amount is more than 
doubled. At this point there is the greatest width of fertile land in the valley, since 
the valley of the creek, 550 yards at its mouth, should be included. 

From Hermosa the valley decreases more than half in width to the mineral springs 
above, a group upon the east bank, possessing both soda and sulphur constituents, 
covering an acre of area. From Hermosa to this point were found about 1,200 acres ad- 
ditional. North of the springs nothing was calculated as belonging to the arable area, 
although several ranches were observed with patches as great as 2 acres under culti- 
vation near by. Deducting a fair percentage and the amount of timbered ground 
of the valley, an acreage between Animas City and Hermosa of 8,224, with 36 ranches 
noted upon the right or west bank, 33 upon the east, and 710 acres belonging thereto 
under cultivation; between Hermosa and the mineral springs, 1,237, with 10 ranches 
upon the west bank, 9 upon the east, and 106 acres tilled; near Old Animas City, 6 
ranches upon the west side, 3 upon the east, and 3 acres under cultivation. This total 
does not include the arable land at the mouth and along Junction Creek, where 100 
acres in crops were observed, nor that of Lightner Creek, or on the bottom of the Ani-— 
mas itself between that and Animas City, all of which forms a proper part of the 
acreage of this section. This sum, with that above the town already given, will 
somewhat exceed the aggregate that was earlier given. 

The general state of the agriculture of this section, the finest of the San Juan, may 
_ be considered as but little advanced beyond an embryo condition. The ranchmen 
themselves may be divided into three general classes. The acquisition of fortunes 
more rapidly than are realized from the tillage of the soil are primarily the attractions 
to the majority of men entering a mining region. The necessity of a winter home, 
with the approach of the season too long and severe to remain at the altitude of the 
mineral belts, forces some men to locate a ranch; these may be said to constitute the 
first class. Others seek farming as a livelihood, for bare sustenance, or, as they term 
it, for ‘‘grub stakes” when their hopes of ‘‘finds” of silver and gold have vanished, 
while the third and last kind of settlers are those whose days have been passed in farm 
industry and who come to locate, to farm, and to work. 

The first class put up a cabin; oftentimes four logs are simply crossed and sworn to 
as a foundation by which to locate their claim. No improvement of the land is ever 


* Ex. Doc. No. 66, House of Representatives, Forty-fifth Congress, second session, p. 36. 


1776 


REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


made, as the owner is absent at his mines in the laboring season and returns in the 
winter only to live and hold his place. , 
The second class are too lazy to work, or shiftless when they do commence; they 
are satisfied with bare sustenance without realizing the full value of their land. 
The third class are bona-fide farmers; they labor as farmers must do all the world 
over, and find their ground, the gift of a beneficent government, a source of wealth 


ere long. 


No questions were asked and no inquiries made thereon, but from personal observa- 
tions it is presumed that representatives of all three classes have locatted in the Animas 


JOAN 
SVUITI 


“epliony 


LN 
~ 
5 
=r 
— 
{9) 
2 


Park. Too little time has elapsed for the com- 
pletion of ditches and other things incident to 
and connected with thorough and systematic ir- 
rigation, but, unless greatly in error, the settlers 
of the third class are believed to be in a minor- 
itv. Save that little necessary to establish and 
hold their claims, the ranchmen, in general, have 
made no improvements worthy of mention on 
their land. 

A beautiful waterfall on the west side a num- 
ber have utilized, and draw the supplies for their 
main irrigating-ditches, a few miles in length, to 
their several places. ’ 

Several of the ranches, however, make a good 
showing in an agricultural point of view, one of 
which, about 4miles above Animas City, and the 
property, we were informed, of Mr. J. V. Lamb, 
deserves especial mention for the fine appearance 
of the farm, with all the usual outbuildings and 
external signs of thrift and comfort noticeable in 
one of the Eastern States. 

Below the Animas Park the agricultural devel- 
opment of the country has only begun. 

That portion of the valley of this stream, of the 
La Plata, and of the San Juan itself, situated in 
New Mexico, and lying east of the Navajo Reser- 
vation, was formally included in and set aside 
for the Jicarilla Apache Reserve. The Indians 


having never been placed thereon, and never de-: ~ 


siring it as a home, the land was finally opened 
to white settlement, and a heavy immigration for 
that section set in during the past spring, sum- 
mer, and fall. 

While the amount of land under tillage in Sep- 
tember last was inconsiderable, from all things 
observed, itis more than probable that the acreage 
during the season of 1878 will be large, unless the 
ranchmen should be deterred from planting full 
crops by the threats and presumed disturbances 
of the Indians, who regard with unfriendly eye 
any approach to their own lands. 

The soil of these river-banks is very rich and 
capable of returning large crops for the labor ex- 
pended; the timber growth, high sage-brush, 
and other vegetation indicate a most promising 
agricultural section. The altitude itself in each 
case points to a large and varied field for the 
planter’s selection; below the line of the Ute 
Reserve, which is also the boundary of Colorado, 
the La Plata lies at an elevation of 5,600 to 5,300 
at its mouth, in the San Juan River, and the 
Animas from 5,900 at the same north point to 
5,300 below. On the boundary of Colorado and 
New Mexico the Animas is 17 miles due east of the 
La Plata. The latter, with a tortuous course, 
flows to the south, its mouth being 20 miles dis- 
tant; it receives no streams en route, all of its 


tributaries being wholly dry unless during the ~ 


rainy season. In both peculiarities mentioned, 
the La Plata and the Animas are very similar. 
The yalley of the Animas trends so strongly to 


APPENDIX SS. bere’ 


the southwest that at the distance of 27 miles its mouth, in the San Juan, is but 24 
miles due east from the La Plata, and about 4 miles by the windings of the river. 

On the west bank of the Animas, ashort distance below Animas City, are met the 
high abrupt hills of the Upper Cretaceous series, limiting on the west the great basin or 
depression in which lie the Florida and Animas in part, and to a greater extent the Los 
Pinos. Through two lateral spurs, still remaining and extending to the same series 
on the eastern side, the Animas has cut a gorge where it is so deflected from its former 
course as to include a width of a mile where the erosion of long ages has left a level 
area or bench, the intermediate river-bottom being here 600 yards in width. Maga 
From below the second gorge to the mouth of the Florida the terrace formation is 

characteristic and continuous, with lines more nearly than elsewhere equidistant from 
the Animas. About 74 miles above the mouth of the Florida was made the following 
outline, illustrative of the general terrace structure throughout the basin, the distance 
east to the Florida being about 34 miles; at several points, however, the width of the 
section between the rivers lying in this great depression was considerably in excess 
of that distance. ; 

The river was here 250 feet wide and 2feet deep. The height of the lower mesa above 
the river varied, being occasionally as low as 25 feet to the south of the Florida, and 
above varying from 40 to 100 feet; 60 or 70 feet being at least the average. Its width 

possessed as great a variation, as had also the immediate bottom. 

' — Just below the mouth of the Florida, the line of Cretaceous hills on its south extends 
to the west, and the river here passes through a narrow gorge therein, the walls 
abrupt, almost vertical on the east, but considerably eroded upon the west. The fol- 


lowing is an approximate outline at that point: 


1500 ft. 


Yy 


\ 


s . 


\ 


jis 


Animas 
liver. 


The encircling high walls of rock about this huge basin, the uniform level nature of 
these benches within, the drift of pebbly débris covering them everywhere on top and 
sides, suggest the great inland sea that here existed, portions of whose bottom at pres-- 
ent constitute the divide between the three rivers. With the partial erosion of the 
confining walls on the south and the outflow therefrom, the subsidence of the waters. 
left the Animas and the Florida distinct streams, and the latter a tributary from its 
failure to rupture its southern barrier and individually reach the San Juan. With a 
diminution of its waters and the rapid erosion (comparatively speaking) deepening 
its outlet through the confining walls to the south, the water fell to the height of the 
power bench, whence successive and similar operations have depressed it to its present 

evel. 

For over 8 miles from its entrance the river continues in the cafion, cut through the 
huge yellow sandstone cliffs, its passage in general a desolate region, relieved at the 
distance of 44 miles by the successive regression and advance of its walls, leaving 
spaces of 900 yards or less where grazing occurs. 

The cation at its inception is very narrow, and considerably obstructed by huge 

-blocks of yellow sandstone, fallen from the mass above. It can, however, be passed, 
and will in time be undoubtedly utilized as a wagon route from the settlements below, 
which are only reached at present by a long detour via the La Plata. Here the trail 
leaves the river-bottom and passes the narrow point of the ecafion over the second 
bench. Mr. R. L. Smyth, a settler of considerable enterprise, whe immigrated with 


112 & 


Lie REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


his family to the lower river from Cafion City, Colo., in September last, locating, with 
some 60 head of cattle, about 6 miles below the line of the Ute Reserve, deserves the 
credit of having first made the passage of the canon with a wagon, it having been pre- 
viously considered wholly impassable. His team consisted of four yoke of oxen, with 
a second wagon trailing behind. Both were safely gotten through, without damage 
or uncoupling. 

Beyond the Indian Reserve the high hills are broken down to the south, and the val- 
ley opens, increasing rapidly in width to 2,000 and 2,500 yards, which is exceeded be- 
low toward its mouth, making it a most valuable agricultural section. The high 
growth and abundance of sage and cacti are full proof of the fertility of the soil. 
Reaching the immediate bottoms, the luxuriance of willow and a large variety of un- 
dergrowth, including wild oats and varied grasses between the cottonwoods fringing 
the river, attest its richness. 

The bounding rocky walls of the valley have decreased in size but have become 
very attractive, and for some distance, chiefly upon the west side, they possess a sin- 
gular beauty. With funnel-shaped portions of the sides eroded, the rest of the outer 
walls stand forth the frusta of huge pyramids and beautiful bas-reliefs from the 
water-sculpture adorn the valley sides. The huge masses of the Upper Cretaceous 
have disappeared, and underlying strata of shales, and lime, and sandstones are seen. 
(See figure.) Instead of the bright yellow above, beautiful bands stretch over the 


On the Lower Animas. 


fronts of the pyramids, vari-colored and perfectly parallel, of yellow, bluish-gray, and 
other attractive hues. 

This lower valley of the Animas can be easily irrigated. It will produce immense 
‘crops, and affords room for a large population. From its altitude and situation, its . 
winter climate is undoubtedly very fine; and but little snow, if any, can lie in this 
valley. 

Of all the land lying in the Lower Animas and Florida, the most barren and desolate 
sections are contained within the boundaries of the Indian reservation. 

The settlers were much scattered, and few had accomplished more than the building 
of their cabins. In the aggregate were found upon the river about 250 head of horses, 
the cattle amounting to about 1,900, passing en route a herd of 700 sheep, belonging 
to Mexicans, here temporarily only. ice 


THE LA PLATA. 


‘The Rio de la Plata, or the River of Silver, derivesits name from the mountains whence 
it springs, which for a long time have been, by both Mexicans and Indians, believed 
to contain quantities of the precious metal; a tradition not without foundation. 

Between Animas City and the La Plata, the only portions of a possible value of 
vegetal and more extensive crops are the limited areas of the lower parts of Junction 
and Lightner Creeks. Up the former the immediate trail from Animas City passes, 
and along the latter for a short distance is the toll-road to Parrott. 

The area along both streams, already referred to, is inconsiderable save at their 
mouths, being confined and limited between rolling hills. Most of the ranches seen 
were evidently those of late comers, the largest place on Junction Creek being 50 acres, 
all fenced, of which but 3 were under cultivation. 

The toll-road is well located along on a natural route, is in good order, and affords 
easy communication between the two rivers, the trail being some distance to the north, 
and shorter. 

The hills are of the same general series as those on the Animas below the town, not- 
ing the absence of the upper sandstones; along the divide between the two creeks 
exposures of the underlying shales were observed. 

Reaching the La Plata itself about Parrott City, its seat of thickest population, we 
have made but slight descent from the long divide climbed from the Animas. This 
section is therefore, from its height, not adapted to the growth of cereals, its elevation 
being over 2,000 feet above that of the same latitude on the Animas. ¥ 

This river, emerging from a gorge in the La Plata Mountains, at whose mouth lies 
the town ona high and grassy tableland called the Mesa Verde, or “‘ green table,” 
from its level surface, stretching out from the mountains, is a clear and beautiful trout- 
stream, and was 18 feet by 8 inches when crossed there late in September. 


APPENDIX SS. 1779 


/ 


Possessing but a single running affluent, Cherry Creek, coming from the west, it has 
considerable fall in its upper and central part. Its lower section, where the river is 
tortuous and sluggish, belongs to that already described in connection with the lower 
Animas and San Juan, received numbers of immigrants during last season. Like the 
Animas, the valley of this stream is comparatively narrow and confined, the boundary of 
rock being sharp and frequently vertical cliffs. Within, the same fertility and rich- 
ness of the soil obtains on proper irrigation, instanced by the luxuriance of the unculti- 
vated growth immediately adjoining the waters. The fertility and beauty of this 
stream has always been fully appreciated by the Indians, large numbers of Utes, as 
has been their wont, being encamped upon it during the fall. Many a growl will be 
heard before their removal is consummated. 


THE MANCOS, 


The Rio Mancos, or, supplying the ellipsis, the Rio de los Mancos, signifies the River 
of the Maimed, i. e., lacking one or both hands. Its Spanish origin is unknown; 
whether or not it was due to such outrages upon settlers or travelers along its banks 
by hostile Indians, we are not aware. It has of late years gained notoriety from the 
reports of scientific explorers touching the cliff-houses and other vestiges of the dense 
population that once dwelt along its banks. 

This stream rises in the La Plata Mountains, on the western slope of the ridge, and 
near by the La Plata itself. After coursing to the west and south, not far distant, it 
makes a great swing to the southwest and crosses the Colorado line over 40 miles west 
of the latter stream, emptying into the San Juan over 60 miles lower down the river 
than the La Plata. 

The two branches of this stream, sometimes mapped as the North and South forks, are 
locally called the East and West, but erroneously, as the western body of water is the 
main stream, the other being but a tributary of scarcely half its length. The latter 
was, in September, 10 feet in width by 4 inches, the other being deeper and 15 feet in 
width. 

With a rapid fall and greater length, the river is more than 2,000 feet lower than the 
La Plata at Parrott; it has also a less altitude than. the Animas at Animas City. As 
might, therefore, be conjectured, it is a valuable agricultural section, of which it gives 
promise in having been formerly the seat of habitation of a dense population, whose 
vestiges indicate their peaceful habits and devotion to agricultural pursuits. 

The Mesa Verde is a portion of the general plateau country, extending from the 
mountain’s base to the south, west, and northwest. 

This formation is of a sedimentary nature, and in its age belongs to the Cretacecus 
period. The highest exposed masses, formed during long periods of subsidence and 
~ which have since been elevated, are massive sandstones, brilliant yellow on close ap- 
proach, best seen in the lower cafion of the Animas, where they are exposed vertically 
for over 1,200 feet. Underlying the upper sandstones are series of varying strata, 
mainly of dark shales, with alternating bands of sandstones, clays, and limestones, 
which, subjected to no violent action since original deposition, have preserved their 
original parallelism. They may, with finest landscapic effect, be best observed upon the 
lower Animas. This second series being softer than the upper sandstones, which them- 
selves present but little resistance to atmospheric action, are rapidly denuded and worn 
from the rocks upon which they are superposed, the lowest and oldest series of the 
period. With the erosion of the upper sandstones covering them, the underlying 
shales are rapidly denuded in large areas extending underneath the upper rocks, 
which, deprived of suport, fall in masses, leaving vertical cliffs or overhanging rocks. 
Canons, therefore, formed herein would be, in their upper parts, vertical or overhang- 
ing masses of sandstone, and below in steps or narrow benches, grading to the top as 
successively the softer shales are met by the harder but narrower stratifications. 

This mesa, composed of the Middle and Upper series of this geological period, covers 
an area of hundreds of miles, largely in the Indian reservation, and extends down to 
near the San Juan, where it towers to a height of 2,000 feet, and presents the same 
characteristics as the similar formation seen on the Piedra, the Lower Pinos, and Ani- 
mas; steep escarpments of sandstone, almost vertical walls, sparse vegetation, its for- 
estry limited and dwarfed, a region in all respects far from attractive, from which 
agriculture is banished. 

Ascending it from the Animas to the La Plata at Parrott City, we find the stream 
here in an elevated bed, the general surface not deeply eroded. Its western boundary 
is near by, and from this point a fine and most extended view is obtained of the great 
ocean-like surface to the west, upon whose shore or banks high up we stand. Spread 
out before us its level is broken only by the distant tops of the Sierra Carriza in the 
Arizona corner, a little less than a thousand feet higher than our position ; Ute Mount- 
ain, still loftier and nearer, in Colorado; and beyond, in Utah, the Sierra Abajo; and 
far to the northwest, but dimly seen, the tops of the Sierra la Sal, rising to 12,000 and 
13,000 feet. 


1780 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Descending over 1,200 feet, by a fine wagon-road and over a natural route, the Man- 
cos is reached, its eastern branch about 12 miles from the La Plata, the main stream 
half a mile beyond. Grassy hills intervene, of gentle inclination, their slopes covered 
with scrub oak, with larger forest growth beyond. At about 7 miles from Parrott City — 
is passed a magnificent grazing section known as Thompson’s Park, about 4 miles long, 
averaging perhaps 2 in width, well covered with handsome spruce, and containing 
fully 4,500 acres of fine pasturage. The streams which are mapped as watering this 
region were found, unfortunately, wholly dry. 

Before reaching the water of the Mancos, but a few hundred yards distant and on 
the right of the road, was observed a fine mineral spring with a strong but not very 
disagreeable odor, due to the presence of hydrogen sulphide, an element acquired in its 
passage over the black shales, exposed not far distant, and seen also on the opposite 
side of the La Plata. : 

The valley of the Mancos is very attractive. To the traveler from the west, after a 
passage of the deserts, the barren, arid wastes that intervene between running water, 
it seems doubly so, a sort of garden region, with its groves of lofty spruce and cotton- 
wood and willows bordering the clear and sparkling stream with well-grassed banks. 

In the most desirable portion the land is almost wholly taken up; the section pre- 
ferred is that part of the valley from the crossing of the road to the south. In this 
distance, 7 miles altogether, there were located 27 ranches, nearly 20 of which pos- 
sessed improvements generally of a meager character beyond the dwellings. 

The amount of cultivated land was small, a total of but 75 or 100 acres only being 
well farmed; the ranch of Mr. Merritt, apparently in better condition than any on the 
river, contained 30 acres of corn and wheat. The former was still standing; the lat- 
ter, he stated, had yielded 25 bushels per acre. : 

The last place on the river is that of O’Donnell, a ranchman with a genuine Irish 
heart, who, with Mr. Sheets, of Animas City, the principal capitalist, and a few oth- 
ers, are engaged in stock-raising, having about 30 horses and nearly 1,500 head of cat- 
tle. Aside from theirs, scarcely more than 400 head of stock were in the valley. 

The remarkably fine condition of all the stock, which roam about uncared for, attests 
the fertility of the soil in the nutritious grasses growing over the waterless plains. 

The ranch of O’Donnell & Co., occupying a frontier place, has suffered from depre- 
dations chiefly of the Indians. A week before our passing, four horses belonging 
thereto had been stolen by Mexicans. Their trail for 100 miles had been followed, 
thence Navajo Indians had been employed to continue the pursuit, which, without 
success, was not abandoned until after 12 days of very hard riding. Cattle had been 
stolen at various times, and in August a herd of 40 or 50 of their stock had been driven 
off by Indians, their trail going to the northeast is the direction of Ouray. From such 
loss and molestation, not only is the present settlement of the section suffering, but 
that of the future is being discouraged and prevented. 

The aspect hence to the southisuninviting. At the distance of a mile, rise, like a huge 
sea-wall, above us the Mesa Verde, its line extending here directly west. Here and 
there, reft by small chasms or canons, the projecting rectangular masses, desolate, 
black, and forbidding, extend toward us like huge castles upon some towering hills. 

The Mancos now receives no running tributary; the whole region is arid and deso- 
late ; its course is southwest in an imposing cafion, at points 2,000 feet in depth cut 
through the middle and upper series of the mesa. Narrow below, rising in steps and 
abrupt outward slopes, with walls of vertical escarpments in the upper sandstones, 
this region is of great interest to archeologists, from the ruins and clift-houses that lie 
within the cafion. 

Earlier, during the rainy season, the general aspect of the country may be different, 
but when visited in September it had a sterile look. The Mancos itself was sunken 
largely, being merely in occasional holes, and not running during the last 25 to 30 miles 
of its course. 

THE RIO DOLORES. 


The Rio Dolores signifies the River of Grief, and excepting this river on the north, 
whose course is to the northwest, there is no running stream of any kind watering the 
entire section of Colorado from the Mancos to the Utah line, an area of over 1,200 
square miles. 

On leaving the Maneos and ascending the hills near by, over which the trail to 
the Dolores passes, a fine view of the outstretching country is presented; the altitude 
is about 7,500 feet, the atmosphere is clear, and the outlook is only limited by the range 
of vision. 

Direct to the south the high walls of the Mesa Verde stretch out to the west; imme- 
diately below us lies, spread out to Ute Mountain, the ‘‘Montezuma Valley,” filled with. 
ancient ruins, a section susceptible, from its immense sage-brush, almost rendering it 
impassable, of the highest cultivation and fertility, providing water, the one thing 
lacking in this entire region, could be provided. Beyond, 25 miles to the southwest, 
rises Ute Mountain, with other elevations, to over 9,000 feet, near which is a large and 


APPENDIX S8. : 1781 


~ 


beautiful spring, its water sinking in the plain below, utilized by the Indians, whose 
villages are there located, and who cultivate some of the land near by. 

ar to the southwest, about 60 miles distant, near the southwest corner of the State, 
and lying near the Arizona and New Mexico line, rise the summits of the Sierra Car- 
yizo, so named from the abundant reed-grass there; farther east, the sharp and 
pointed summit of the ‘‘Needles,” an isolated and remarkable mass of volcanic rock, 
its tops sharp and needle-like, as if to pierce the great sedimentary rocks through 
which it has arisen solitary and alone to nearly 2,000 feet, its sides vertical, sheer 
elifis for fully half its height. 

To the northwest rise the low tops of the Sierra Abajo, or ‘Low Mountains,” in 
Utah and 70 miles away. These are known locally to the Utes and_Pi-Utes (or Pay- 
Utes) of Utah, roaming here, as the Elk Mountains, but are now called by the white 
settlers the ‘Blue Mountains,” on account of their beautiful color at this distance, but 
chiefly to distinguish them from the magnificent range of that name lying in the San 
Juan between the headwaters of the Gunnison and the Grand. Still farther to the 
north and more distant, nearly 100 miles away, in Utah, in the angle between the 
Dolores and Grand, rise dimly the tops of the highest peaks of the Sierra la Sal, or 
Mountain of Salt, from its large deposits thereof. All this region is one devoid of 
agricultural hope. It is, beyond doubt, a fine grazing region, and the rank growth of 
vegetation in arroyos, Or the dry, narrow beds of streams, is indicative of exceeding 
richness of the soil, but water is everywhere absent. Enthusiasts suggested their 
scheme of a long canal from the Dolores for irrigating the large area to the south and 
southwest. This is unfortunately wholly impracticable, for both the Dolores and 
its tributary on the south here serve their country to but little good, being confined in 
narrow canons of true isolation, whose sides are almost vertical walls in the sedi- 
mentary rocks. 

Before coming tothe Dolores, about 4 n iles therefrom and fourteen from Mancos, an 
affluent of the former is reached, known as the “ Lost Cafion.” The origin of the name 
was not learned, but was probably due to the disappearance of the canon cut through 
sandstone as the stream is ascended. The caion was here not excessively deep, and 
is reached at several points without difficulty. Utes from the Peak to the southwest, 
and Pi-Utes, the latter a rascally looking lot of vagabonds, from the west, were en- 
camped near by to obtain water for their ponies. During our entire stay here, all our 
movements were signaled to and fro by puffs and columns of smoke in the usual Indian 
fashion. 

The vegetation is here largely of grass, sage, and pifion, with cedars near the river, 
and beyond to the south, replacing the pifion, areas are covered with cacti and the 
soap-plant (Yucca angustifolia), whose fruit is the great Indian favorite. 

The river was reached at the point where a direct sweep to the north is made from 
its western course, known locally as the ‘Big Bend” of the Dolores. Not far below the 
mouth of the “Lost Cation” we descended from the plain to the river-bottom, a few hun- 
dred feet below; a narrow, but fertile section, well wooded and grassed, and looking 
more beautiful than elsewhere would appear from the very aridness of the region. 
passed over in reaching it. 

The Big Bend is, in truth, an oasis in the dry desert region surrounding it; it has 
been occupied for ranching purposes, and is the extreme outpost of the agricultural 
region, not of the San Juan only, but of the whole of Colorado. Attracting attention 
from its location at so distant a western point, it becomes the more interesting when to 
other unfavorable surroundings that of unfriendly Indians is added. It was there- 
fore visited for examination. 

The East Fork of the Dolores drains part of the La Plata Mountains and ridges to 
the north; its West Fork rises to the northeast on the southern sides of the Sierra San — 
Miguel, a group of peaks whose general anticlinal axis is apparently east and west, 
waters tributary to the San Miguel flowing from the northern slopes. At the Big 
Bend, therefore, having drained an extended area, the Dolores possessed no mean vol- 
ume; its size in September when we first reached here was 80 feet wide by some 8 
inches deep, 3 miles below being 50 feet with a corresponding increase of depth. The 
river in changing and shifting its bed has worn in the sedimentary rocks a fertile val- 
ley, narrow and limitedin area. Upon either side rise yellow sandstones, in general 
impassable cliffs ; broken down upon the south, easy access is had from the plain above 
to the bottom below, a valley of depression; upon the east or right bank, looking 
down the river, the hills are 300 feet above the water, increasing shortly to 450, ove-: 
hanging the stream, and 500 not far distant, in general steep escarpments ; upon the 
left 200 feet near us, while beyond the mesa is 300 to 350 feet above the valley. Three 
miles below, on the latter side, the walls break off to the left and disappear in the 
general plain, low rolling hillocks replacing them. <A gentle slope outward from the 
bottom to the upper surface exists, and an unusual widening of the little valley 
oceurs; this, however, of limited extent, the hills soon reappearing, confining it as 
above. Approaching those on the eastern bank below they close to a cation nature and 
the valley is at anend. Within the bottom the river, with a rapid current, abuts from 


1782 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


side to side against the sandstone walls and continues the erosion of the past, its de- 
flection giving a tortuous flow. At its inception or southern part the valley is narrow, 
about 400 yards in width, decreasing to 350 farther on; gradually it broadens and 
at 3 miles spreads to 600, rapidly widening at the incoming little valley from the 
west, until, for a limited distance, is found a grassy bottom of 1,200 yards, all of 
which could be irrigated. A thousand yards below, the hills close upon the river, and 
within a mile the opposite walls draw near and the valley abruptly terminates. 

The elevation at the southern part (Camp 64) was 6,980 feet; about 4 miles below, at 
the junction of the Ouray trail, it is but 40 feet less. The area of culture must, how- 
ever, be slightly limited from the serpentine course of the river and the walls of rock, 
defining the initial points of irrigating-ditches. In the aggregate it contains, prob- 
ably, 700 acres of good land, much of which, if not all, can be cultivated. A true 
valley of erosion, the bottom-land is exceedingly rich, and of its yielding fine crops on — 
proper cultivation there can beno doubt. The grass is fine and tall; the timber, mainly 
cottonwood and willow, is of magnificent growth, some of the former being of im- 
mense size, under which were evidences of former Indian camps; the character of the 
undergrowth along the bank is at some points so rank and interwoven as to be almost 
impassable, which was practically learned in getting within gunshot-range of some 
ducks observed at a distance upon the river. Upon the first 3 miles of the valley one 
old and three new cabins were found; beyond that two old ones, all with the owners 
absent save the one at the entrance to the valley on the south. No land anywhere 
cultivated, the last settlers but lately arriving. 

Of the absent cabin-owners a few were said to be prospecting in the mountains, and 
the others, after building their houses, had gone out to return with their families and 
stock. Upon settling here they were ordered to leave by the Indians, who threatened 
them in case of non-compliance, but have since not troubled them save to beg provis- 
ions. The Indians had offered for sale some American horses haying Mormon and 
other brands. A feeling existed that they would remain undisturbed, and that a per- 
manent settlement would be there established. : Numbers of trails from all directions 
center here, and from its geographical situation it is a point of some value, the dis- 
tance to Salt Lake City being stated to be 250 miles, which is undoubtedly incorrect, 
the maps of the General Land Office making it beyond 300. 

Leaving the Dolores, and traversing the country to the west and south, the whole 
region, as already stated, is thoroughly mountainous and sterile. To the south, to the 
west, everywhere, near by and beyond, in Utah, exist immense areas of ruins of the 
ancient cities and towns now reduced, in general, to mounds and piles of débris. Their 
former conditions of being, their mode of life, origin, habits, and disappearanee is a 
problem shrouded in mystery, as yet unsolved; their present existence in this habitat 
would be scarcely possible. The general surface is of the lower sedimentary rocks of 
the Cretaceous period, and everywhere fragments of sandstone and crystals of heavy 
spar were observed; pifion, sage and cacti, soap-plant here and there, with tufts of 
bunch-grass, alone vary the monotony and rescue it from being wholly a barren desert 
with its burning, alkaline soil. 

The proposed irrigation of ‘‘ Lookout Valley” to the south, containing perhaps 3,000 
acres of good grazing, a bright relief to the traveler, may be deemed wholly imprac- 
ticable, as wellas that of Montezuma Valley, farther east, containing some 4,600 acres 
of fertile land. A spring hard by, with alkalescent properties, soon sinking in the 
earth, was the only water found. 

Near the latter point, in Montezuma Valley, a solitary settler had located in a ‘‘dug- 
out,” built, it was said, fora permanent residence. In a hillside, with half of his home 
underground, he had chosen his abiding place with hopes of a better future, doubtless, 
for the outlook then was far from bright. With nothing but grazing here for cattle, 
and in the absence of water, which had to be hauled for any and all purposes from the 
distant Mancos, it was difficult to surmise the object of his location. 


SUMMARY. 


This closes the Lower San Juan and, with the approach to the Utah line, the section 
most remote, but not devoid of interest in agricultural inquiries, has been traversed. 

Of the San Juan proper, the lower region is the one strictly adapted to agriculture, 
where it has already taken foothold, and where only it can thrive. Glancing at the 
valley of the Chama, the region of the Conejos and similar and adjacent sections, a 
great possible fertility is found to exist; the primitive inhabitants with their anti- 
quated Mexican ideas are in possession, American enterprise has scarcely taken a bare 
foothold, and no material development of the country can be said to be in progress. 

To the west are seen the Navajo, the Blanco, the Upper San Juan, and the Piedra 
rivers, almost untouched. Here and there a solitary spot is being slowly developed, 
lying almost unnoticed in the immense surroundings where settlements have not 
appeared. 

Emigration has passed beyond and located within the depressed area of wide extent | 


APPENDIX SS. 1783 


from the lofty walls of the Piedra to the great mesa heights on the Animas’s western 
bank, through which course the Los Pinos, the Florida, and the Las Animas. From 
the lofty mountains above, they are, apparently, parallel waters, coursing down over 
a great level, but are not so in reality. While ignorant of the geological causes eftect- 
ing such local variation in the eroded valleys, it is yet palpable to the most ordinary 
observer that the groove in the great table-land, through which flows the Los Pinos, 
is loftier than the others, is more gently outspreading, and is less broken by the 
encroachments of the original barriers, whence results, for the same limited area, a 
region better suited to agriculture. 

Within the Animas Park above, upon the Lower Animas beyond, the sandstone bar- 
riers and the contiguous sections of the San Juan and La Plata, previously referred to, 
appear districts of future agricultural wealth. 

The Upper La Plata, elevated and high, within a tableland parallel to that of the 
great basin, coursing over loftier and more recent sedimentary rocks, does not become 
of value until it has descended to the lower and proper cereal elevation; while beyond 
and below it, as if at the base of a great wall, is the valley of the Mancos, not exten- 
sive in area, but fruitful in its products, and already occupied. 


THE UPPER SAN JUAN. 


Ascending the rivers flowing down from the ‘‘Dome of the Continent,” we find 
clusters of mining camps clinging to the mountain sides, or established in the narrow 
synclinal valley of an upper stream, always locally called the “‘gulch.” Occasionally 
in more favored situations of a park-like nature, at points of import, towns appear. So 
situated upon the Animas River in Baker’s Park are Silverton, and above it, next in 
size, Howardsville, while the Lake Fork of the Gunnison claims Lake City, the young 
metropolis of the San Juan. 

Silverton’s altitude is about 9,300 feet above the sea, and Howardsville, some 44 miles 
zbo -e, about 350 higher. They are, therefore, valueless in an agricultural point of view, 
and upon the lower regions must remain dependent for thé produce of the soil. 

At *‘Lake City” the altitude is about 8,600 feet, which may well be considered 
above the agricultural limit. A few enthusiasts have nevertheless endeavored to 
demonstrate, it was said, its capacity as a vegetable-producing region, and had reaped 
after considerable trouble a small harvest of cabbages and turnips. The cost thereof 
was not ascertained, nor whether it bore any relative proportion to their actual value, 
as did the agricultural experiments of a celebrated jurist in the East, who prides him- 
self upon a farm in Pennsylvania where wheat has been raised at an outlay of $25 per 
bushel. : 

A meteorological record was kept during 1876~77 at Crooke’s Works, about a mile 
to the south, and 50 feet above the central part of the town. In January, 1877, the 
coldest night was 10° below zero, the warmest day 40° above; total depth of snow, 2 
inches. In February following, the coldest night was 1° above, the warmest day 42° 
above; snow-fall during month, 5¢ inches. These were the figures furnished. It 
should be remembered, however, that in March and April occurs in this mountainous 
country the greatest precipitation of snow. From Lake City, as from other mining 
towns, those who can depart for the winter to less elevated localities in search of a 
milder temperature. Its prosperity is undoubted, but it is solely as the center of a 
magnificent mining region of undoubted richness. 

Along the Rio Grande, the entire name being Rio Grande del Norte, or the Great 
River of the North, whose course was followed throughout in this region, the altitude 
isin general also too great for agriculture of any note. It is lined with ranches, » 
chiefly for grazing purposes or those of a wayside inn. Antelope Park is the largest 
section, with a general elevation of 9,000 feet 43 miles above Del Norte. 

From the mouth of the South Fork of the Rio Grande, altitude 8,000 feet, 16 miles 
above and west of Del Norte, the plateau or mesa formation, so prominent at ‘Wagon 
Wheel Gap,” has disappeared, low hills are seen sloping to the river, and a true valley 
of 800 yards succeeds, possessing at points a width with incoming streams of 4,500 to 
6,000 yards, narrowing again at Del Norte. The elevation is here 7,750 feet, and be- 
sides the Rio Grande land, many points are cultivated on the lower parts of Los Pinos 
and San Francisco Creeks, the former’s mouth being above and the latter’s below the 
town. 

From the South Fork to Del Norte some 23 ranches were noted en route, with the 
usual scattered herds of stock grazing about. Passing down on the right bank, some 
on the opposite side may have escaped observation, a number lying on the left bank 
along the road to Ionea, a town opposite Del Norte, and a short distance from the 
river. There were, moreover, 8 seen along the Los Pinos; upon later examination, 
they were found to extend up the creek for 11 miles at varying intervals, in the lower 
section being one-fourth of a mile apart, of which scarcely more than one-fourth of the 
land located upon was under cultivation. In the immediate vicinity and below Del 
Norte, 40 ranches were counted lying within three-fourths of a mile toward the south- 


1784 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


east and south. Three-fourths of their area was for hay purposes, and 125 head of 
cattle were near. 

Not far distant was passed a Mexican plaza of eight houses, and a mile beyond one 
still larger of a dozen, with 900 acres of land under fence, of which about half gave 
evidence of having produced fine crops of corn and wheat. The ranches continue 
along the river bank for some distance, the road to Fort Garland crossing 7 miles from 
town and continuing along the east bank; that for Conejos leaves the river and passes 
southeast and south. Sixteen miles distant is the Piedra Pintada, signifying the 
Painted Stone, from the bright-colored peak whence the stream flows down. 

Along this stream (Camp 87), which sinks in marshy ground about 5 miles below 
the road-crossing, 31 ranches were observed. 

Some 8 miles to the south of the Piedra Pintada the bed of Gata Creek was passed, 
entirely dry, no water being met with (October 22) until the Alamosa was reached. 
Along the road the vegetation is sparse, the soil being covered with fragments of 
trachytic and other volcanic rock, largely rounded from watery action. In its passage 
the arid desert region was less disagreeable than in July, from the absence of summer 
heat, and no ranches were found en route until the Rio Alamosa was reached, the stream 
signifying the river of the handsome poplars or cottonwoods, many of the latter fring- 
ing the stream. Outside of cities of old Mexico, lines of grand old cottonwoods, watered 
by running acequias or ditches, carrying the water supply of the place, afford a beauti- 
ay shaded drive, which is always known as Hl Alamo, the word itself signifying a 
poplar. 

The Gunnison, its tributary the Uncompahgre, and farther west the San Miguel, 
all flowing west or northwest, draining extensive lands of the Upper San Juan, em- 
brace within their limits large areas of magnificent agricultural land, lying, however, 
within territory proscribed from settlement by the whites, being within the reserva- 
tion of the Ute Indians. 

This region not being included in the area traversed, its agricultural extent and 
resources are not known. In general, however, experience has demonstrated that the 
ranchman should avoid an elevation exceeding 8,000 feet. To this there may be ex- 
ceptions of a local nature, as southern trends of slopes, sheltering mountains, pro- 
tecting cafion walls, or other advantageous situations. Fair crops of the hardy vege- 
tables have been and may be frequently produced at a greater altitude, but in general 
the attempted cultivation of the more tender cereals will be often fraught with disap- 
pointment. 


CHAPTER III.—LINES OF COMMUNICATION. 


SECTION J.—RAILROADS. 


Roads are the highways of civilization. Their construction is the first and essential 
stage in the gradual development of any section. Without an easy outlet for its re- 
sources, no country, however productive, can acquire that wealth and prosperity which 
free and easy communication alone can furnish. This is particularly so in an inland 
section and a mountainous region. The discovery of the precious metal is almost in- 
variably made by one or more adventurous prospectors, whose outfit, of the most mod- 
est nature, is generally borne upon ‘‘burros,” or jackasses, capable of climbing over 
difficult mountainous country. With the discovery of a fine mineral deposit, their log 
cabin is established, becoming the nucleus of a mining-camp. The outlet and inlet 
by a trail permitting pack-trains only with the advent of new-comers, an embryo 
town appears, and well-watered lands en route are taken up for grazing and farming 

urposes. 
. With increasing signs of permanency and material wealth, the necessities for a 
wagon-road become daily more evident, until it is finally furnished by some enter 
DEINE capitalist, or a stock company, and the settlement is opened to the basis of 
supply. 

Tons this dates permanent prosperity. Slow-moving pack-animals are sueceeded 
by more rapid freight-trains, with greater carrying facilities, high prices for commod- 
ities of life and business are diminished, and the stage-coach appears upon the scene. 
Easy access, well-rewarded labor, and profitable investments invite the laborer and 
immigrant, as well as the speculator. The country increases in agricultural and min- 
ing industry until, with the lapse of time, the railroad approaches and the frontier 
settlement assumes a metropolitan air; and on the march of civilization continues. 

The roads of San Juan are, therefore, of prime importance, and whatever can be 
done to shorten the lines of communication and open as yet undeveloped sections will 
be of the first and most material value. The lines of communication in Colorado are 
of three kinds—railroads, wagon-roads, and trails—and in their relation to the de- 
velopment of San Juan will be considered in the order named, the passage of a river, 
whether by ferry or bridge, being included m the route upon which it lies. 


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APPENDIX SS. 1785 


The advance during 1877 of the Denver and Rio Grande (a narrow-gauge railroad) 
over the Sangre de Cristo Range has enabled it to control all the freight and passenger 
traffic destined for the San Juan, as well as all of New Mexico, save the northeastern 
part. Its present terminus (May, 1878) is Garland City, 64 miles from Fort Garland, 
situated in the eastern part of San Luis Valley, at the foot of the western slope of the 
mountain, whence travel for the upper country passes northwest to Del Norte and via 
the toll-road up the cafion of the Rio Grande to the settlements beyond, while that for 
the lower takes its course due southwest, passing Conejos, a Mexican plaza, known 
also as Guadalupe. 

In the crossing of the mountain range by the line of the narrow-gauge, some points 
are presented of interest to the general observer as well as to the engineer. 

The elevation of La Veta, lying at the eastern base of the mountain, is 6,900 feet 
above the sea; that of the track on the summit of the pass, determined by the line of 
levels, is 9,340. The distance is 14.6 miles, giving an average rise throughout of 167 
feet per mile. Most of the ascending line, however, is of a steeper average, being for 
a long distance 211 feet, the maximum gradient being 217. 

In the accompanying plan and profile (Plate 5), showing the extraordinary alignment 
of the railroad in its mountain-passage from La Veta to Garland City, furnished by 
one of the officials of the company, the crossing of Veta Creek, along which passes a 
wagon-road, is by a viaduct of arched masonry, where exists a 30° curve of 193 feet 
radius, known as the Mule Shoe Bend, being worthy of mention as the sharpest 
railroad curve in the world. 

The renowned Horse Shoe Bend on the Pennsylvania Railroad is stated to be a 90° 
curve of 637 feet radius, while the greatest in the South American Railroad, built by 
Meigs, the famous American contractor, is a 14° curve with a radius of 376 feet. 

Beyond the Mule Shoe Bend, at the point of turning to encircle Dump Mountain, 
the track overlooks its own line, upon the opposite side of the ravine, from a height 
of 400 feet. At the highest point in the southern slope of the same mountain, the 
track, in its ascent, makes another 30° curve. 

The summit of the pass is a natural level, of, however, short extent. 

The descent upon the western side of the range to Garland City, 15 miles distant, is 
not as abrupt as upon the eastern; while the maximum grade reaches 211 feet per 
mile, the average is but 88. 

The rails used were of Cambria steel, 30 pounds to the yard; the cost of the road 
from La Veta to Garland, including equipment, was $16,000 per mile. 

To permanently possess all the trade of the San Juan, of which this line obtained 
absolute control by its strategic crossing of the mountains, an extension to the west- 
ern bank of the Rio Grande has been been built and will be opened during the present 
summer. 

The terminus is Alamosa, 33 miles from Del Norte and 28 from Conejos, the line of 
the extension being a tangent of 32 miles; Alamosa is also 85 miles from Ojo Caliente 
and 138 from Santa Fé via Conejos. 

From Alamosa an extension to the south has been definitely resolved upon by the 
management of the road. The line will approach to within 4 miles of Conejos and 
skirting the eastern base of San Antonio Mountain will, for a long distance, pass over 
the great volcanic plains, finding much of the way a natural road-bed from 10 to 15 
miles west of the Rio Grande. 

We are informed by one of the prominent directors of the company that 100 miles 
of this extension to the south will be almost or quite completed by January 1, 1879. 

The purpose of this road building is to assure possession of all the freight and traffic 
of New Mexico, except the northeastern part, and also in part the Arizona trade. 

A rival company, which has been making advances to secure the heavy trade which 
the Denver and Rio Grande now monopolizes, is reported as tunneling in the Raton 
Mountains, near the boundary line of Northeastern New Mexico. Whichever line, 
therefore, reaches first the objective point to the south will be the winner in the contest. 

The Denver and Rio Grande will, however, always be the medium of rapid trans- 
portation to the Lower San Juan; in addition thereto, it at present possesses and wholly 
controls the trade of the upper country also. In the latter direction the outlook for 
the future gives promise of completion. 

Beyond Caiion City, the old terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande for the San Juan 
trade, before the range was passed to the south and Garland City sprung into existence 
like a mushroom, there exists the Grand Cafion of the Arkansas, 2,000 feet deep, con- 
taining the most feasible and practicable route for a railroad to the west. 

T ie rival company already referred to, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad, 
is now engaged, we are informed, in constructing a line therein. Should it continue 
extensive building operations up the Arkansas to the valuable mining district of Cali- 
fornia Gulch, there might be a possibility of an extension to the west, crossing the 
range and descending the Gunnison. The route would naturally leave the Arkansas 
and ascend via Puncho Creek, crossing the continental divide by the Marshall Pass, 
10,850 feet, and descend the Ternichi to the Cochetopa and the Gunnison. Cochetopa 


1786 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Pass, farther south in the main divide, some 800 feet lower, is naturally fitted for a 
railroad pass, over which and down the Cochetopa a fine wagon-road already exists. 
The greater expense of the long detour might probably prevent its being utilized. 

A reconnaissance for a line to the west was made during 1877 by engineer corps of 
the Santa Fé line to the Gunnison, the Lake Fork, and ‘the Uncompahgre. By the 
chief engineer we are informed that the distance by their survey from Caion City to 
the Lake Fork is 159.9 miles, and to the Uncompahgre 198. 

The construction of this line would be very expensive, but would result in securing the 
entire trade of the Elk Mountain district, which will develop rapidly with the opening 
of the Indian reserve to settlement, that ‘of Lake City and vicinity and of the Uncom- 
pahere region, both mineral and ae gricultural; it would, in fact, soon monopolize the 
whole of the Upper San Juan, which is immense, is’ rapidly increasing, and is well 
worth contention. 


SECTION II.—WAGON-ROADS. 


Of the Lower San Juan the seat of the largest population is the Animas Park, con- 
taining thousands of acres of tillable land susceptible of easy irrigation. Above this, 
however, and beyond the grand cafion of the river lies the largest } populated region of 
the entire country and the seat of its greatest mineral wealth. 

Silverton, upon the Animas, and other towns and contiguous mining camns, may be 
reached from the railroad and Del Norte directly by following up the valley of the 
Rio Grande and crossing the mountain-range that forms the’ divide between the waters 
of that and the Animas; more indirectly, Dy reaching the lower country and the Ani-— 

mas, and thence passing up the canon of the river. 

As the lower country is the least favored with respect to outer communication, it 
may be well to first consider it, Hemmed in upon the north and east, which, with 
outlying spurs that contain many peaks of great altitude and few practicable or nat- 
ural passes, the summits of the mountain-chain lie approximately in the arc of a circle 
with Pagosa Springs nearly at the center. It is, moreover, south of the position of 
Garland City but 11 miles, being about 100 miles west thereof. From the railroad ter- 
minus all roads to the lower country at present have a common point, viz, the crossing 
of the Chama at the plaza of Los Ojos, one of the villages of the Tierra Amarilla sec- 
tion, whence the main-traveled line, known as the ‘‘ Upper road,” passes to the Animas, 
via Pagosa Springs. While the distance to the Animas is greater by this than by the 
route called the ‘‘Middle road,” which, passing by the Laguna de los Caballos, Piedras 
de Legurados, and the Cation Curagoa, to the San Juan below the mouth of the Navajo, 
and crossing BS Rio Piedra and Rio de los Pinos, unites with the upper road on the 
Rio Florida; it is preferable to the latter, on account of more frequent water and the 
fine grazing along the route, timber being everywhere abundant. Hence, from its nat- 
ural position and the relative points of supply, Pagosa becomes a strategic point, and 
the line which will easiest and quickest enable travel to reach it will, and in fact must, 
become the popular and frequented route. 

The Rio Grande River, which emerges from the mountains at Del Norte, taking a 
southeasterly course through the San Luis Valley, is, during most of the year, easily 
passed, being fordable with but little difficulty at a number “of points from Del Norte 
south. Like all streams, however, that spring from lofty summits in the main range 
and are fed by banks of eternal snow, it is subject to great increase in its waters during 
the spring months of the year. The small brooks “become roaring rivers, and with 
difficulty are crossed, where earlier and later the passage may be a matter of no diffi- 
culty. At such times the Rio Grande is a formidable barrier, and can be crossed only 
by bridge or ferry. A few miles below Del Norte a bridge over the river secures travel 
of all kinds from any interruption at all seasons, while that below, bound southwest, 
finds passage during high stages of water in one of two ferries that are located on the 
lines of travel. 


The lower country. 
GARLAND TO CONEJOS. 


From Garland City to Conejos and the southwest two routes are optional. The 
first, in a general southwesterly course north and not far from the Rio Trinchera, 
crosses the Rio Grande just above its mouth, at a distance of 194 miles from Fort Gar- 
land and 26 miles from Garland City. Thence it continues some 264 miles due south- 
westerly along the north bank of the Rio Conejos, a tributary of the Rio Grande, with 
its mouth a mile below the Trinchera, reaching the plaza of Conejos at a distance from 
the railroad of 523 miles. 

Part of the way on this route another road may be taken by crossing the Trinchera 
a few miles below Fort Garland and continuing south of, and near it, about as far dis- 
tant as the former above. It reaches the Rio Grande at the mouth of the Conejos, 
whence, passing due west, it comes into the other road at a distance of 4 miles. While 
no appreciable “distance is saved by this route, its only advantage ordinarily being, 


APPENDIX SS. 1787 


_ perhaps, a preferable ford to the one at Stewart’s, it, like other points, presents no 
crossing-place over the Rio Grande during high-water seasons and hence will not be 
considered. 

The second route from Garland City passes a little west of south to the Rio Culebra, 
crossing it at Mexican plaza of Lower Culebra; thence southwest to the Rio Grande, 
where is the ferry formerly kept by Mr. Fred. Meyer, now in the hands of Sefor 
Valdez, 394 miles from Garland City, 33 from the fort; thence the road passes due 
west to Conejos, 18 miles distant, and 574 from the railroad. Both roads lie wholly in 
San Lais Valley and are natural ones, as easy in traveling and as hard as the ordinary 
prairie, save in a few places where they are heavy from shifting sands, a belt of which 
extends over the valley. 

In June, while in that section, a whirlwind would here or there keep in sight almost 
constantly a cloud of sand, and as they occasionally passed, they shut out completely 
earth and sky, filling eyes and ears, taking along hats and other movables if possible— 
happily a brief visitor, leaving as a souvenir a fine stratumofsand. The height to which 
these moving, flying pillars rose, seemingly gathering strength as they whirled along, 
was very great. The other variation to the usual monotony and far more agreeable 
were the occurrences of mirages, which were noticed almost daily while traveling over 
these level surfaces. Trees lining the banks of streams far away would be uplifted 
from beneath the horizon, and before us lay spread out a lovely sea or huge lake whose 
distant shores were hemmed in by luxurious vegetation, only to fade away as we ap- 
proached, a never-resting will-o’-the-wisp, in whose place were found the burning 
sands of the plain. 

Stewarts Ferry.—The approach to the Rio Grande on the upper or Trinchera road 
is over low ground. During the high-water season the river reaches back for some 
distance upon either side, and with its diurnal fall and rise the ground, at other sea- 
sons hard and dry, is changed to a marsh, and easy access to and from the river-ferry 
is for heavy teams often quite problematical. 

In our crossing the ferry in June last, one of the wagons of the train, in the detour 
which is selected as the best approach upon the eastern bank, mired twice in the boggy 
ground, and caused a delay of two hours; upon the opposite shore another long and 
tedious delay resulted, the road being two feet under water, necessitating unloading 
by hand in water above the knees. There is a bend in the course of the river just 
above the ferry, and as the ground here rises but slowly from the stream outward, it 
is at the best a faulty location for such a purpose. 

The river was then about 150 feet in width, with a very rapid current. The ferry- 
boat, rather a small affair, about 20 feet in length, barely held an army wagon and the 
wheel span of the team; a flimsy rail was along each side, protection chiefly in ap- 
pearance, each mule requiring holding during the passage. In taking over the cavalry 
escort, the horses were led on the boat, heads alternating up and down stream, to 
equalize the load, which was limited to eight. A crossing with horses only was made 
in eight minutes, and four six-mule wagons, including the teams, were ferried over 
safely in one and a quarter hours. A small pier or planking of some kind was lack- 
ing, nothing of service in the nature of gangway being provided. The rates charged 
were, for single horsemen, 50 cents; light wagons, $1.25; two-horse wagons, $1.50; 
and four-horse wagons, $1.75. The ferriage was, however, reduced in consequence of 
the size of the party to 25 cents per animal, riding and team, with no charge for 
wagons. The more direct and better road, as before stated, is up the course of the 
Conejos River, above and skirting the edge of the plain, always high and dry; it is, 
however, nearly barren of grazing, in need of which the command took a left-hand 
road at a distance of about 12 miles from the ferry; this passes over what is known - 
as the Island, a long point of land included between the San Antonio and Conejos 
Rivers, across which, during high water, flows a net-work of small streams, render- 
ing it the best watered and most fertile land in this section; it is, without doubt, the 
garden-spot of the entire valleys of the two rivers, and would be literally ‘flowing 
with milk and honey,” were it in the hand of eastern farmers instead of those of Mexi 
can descent, whose ambition is generally satisfied with cigarettes and a ‘‘ baile.” 

The Conejos was crossed at the plaza of Los Cerritos, ‘‘ the Hills,” taking the name 
from some high hills that are grouped near by, whence the road soon passed into that 
from Chavez’s Ferry to Conejos. 

The passage of the Conejos was made without loss, though not without difficulty; 
the stream high and rapid, with about a six-mile current, was in the beds of the rivers, 
and one of the team-mules falling in the river and becoming entangled in the harness, 
was with difficulty saved from drowning. From the appearance of the banks at 1 
o’clock p. m., it was evident that the water had very lately fallen fully a foot. 

Valdez’ Ferry.—The ferry on the lower road differs in location, &c., materially from 
that above. It is in a direct line 18 miles south of it; by the windings of the river 
about twice as much; a trail leading down from the upper ferry, which is called by 
the Mexicans but 12 miles. This ferry, formerly known as Myer’s Ferry, and described 
in 1874 as a “ dilapidated affair,” was purchased from Mr. Myer in the spring of 1875, 


. 


1788 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


by Sefior Caledonia Valdez, the present owner, for $450. The boat sunk in the follow- 
ing fall, and last spring it was replaced by the present one, very serviceable and 
greatly superior to Stewart’s. It is about 45 feet long and 12 in width, and strongly 
constructed of stout timbers. A strong side-railing is provided, and a small row-boat 
is in tow, for a possible necessity, certainly a wise precaution; for the river in June 
was here 10 feet in depth and about 250 feet in width. The cable is firmly held upon 
strong piles about a foot in diameter, with heavy triangular braces, thence passing 
over a windlass to the rear. The crossing with aload was made in four minutes. The 
charges are about the same as at Stewart’s; its capacity greater. The owner reported 
that at a single crossing they had carried 400 sheep, the charge for the trip being $5. 
In its location this ferry has, furthermore, an advantage over its rival. The river is 
here about 25 feet below the general surface of the plain, and as the road descends 
gradually and easily, no possible miring of teams can occur. A short distance below 
this point the Rio Grande enters its long cafion, which increases in depth southward, 
the lava sides vertical or piled with sharp-edged rock, perfectly impassable, and a 
veritable scene of desolation in nature. 

To the San Antonio River, en route to Conejos from the ferry, the road is a magnifi- 
cent natural one, fine, hard, and level; on the way, upon either side, some two or three 
miles off, rise rounded hills with sandstone strata, on which lay the cold, voleanie 
rocks, blessed with but little timber, and that but a poor pifion, with an occasional 
cedar, the only kind that will befriend so dismal, inhospitable a surface. Lava rocks 
lie strewn along the bases of the hills and out over the plain everywhere, its hot and 
parched surface relieved only by an occasional breeze from the mountains to the west. 
Its vegetation is exceedingly sparse, almost nothing save sage-brush and a few cacti 
breaking the monotony. No grazing can be found at or near the ferry, nor on the 
lower road to any extent beyond the crossing of the Trinchera, until the San Antonio 
is reached. The latter was found very high and the ordinary ford impracticable, 
necessitating our crossing a mile lower down. 

Of the two routes from Garland to Conejos, the upper or Trinchera is preferable. 
Tis chief disadvantage is the inferior condition, in addition to low approaches of Stewart’s 
ferry as compared with that of Chavez, the latter as a crossing being greatly preferable. 
The upper route has, however, several advantages over the lower not to be lost sight 
of, which are mainly— 

Ist. It is considerably shorter. 

2d. Its hard surface or natural road, save a small sandy portion, less than half of 
that on the other. 

3d. Wood, water, and sufficient grazing for convenient camping places at no long 
interva'ls, the Conejos being timbered with cottonwood. 

Ath. Except the Rio Grande, bat a singie stream of any importance to be crossed, 
the Rio Conejos at the plaza of Conejos (or Guadalupe), while on the lower road are 
the Trinchera and Culebra east of the Rio Grande, and the San Antonio on the west. 
By one route a bridge is essential for the Conejos, by the other for the passage of the 
San Antonio. At the plaza of Conejos the river was formerly passed by a bridge which 
was, they there informed me, washed away in 1874. Afjernumerous resolutions to re- 
replace it, the citizens have let the matter drop, and teams now find their way overas 
best they may. At the town, fortunately, there is a spot where the river broadens to 
over three times its usual width, so that generally a passage may be found. The river 
here is about 200 yards and the approaches low, so that a slight rise in the water ma- 
terially increases the difficulties of passage. A superior location may be found not far 
distant and the river bridged at a cost not exceeding $1,300. 


CONEJOS TO PAGOSA. 


Communication between the above may be considered under the following heads: 

1st. Old line via Tierra Amarilla section. 

2d. New line via Tierra Amarilla section. 

3d. Proposed lines. 

Ist. The old lines.—Up to the present summer the only mode of access from the rail- 
road to the Lower San Juan was from Conejos southward to Ojo Caliente and north- 
west to Tierra Amarilla, a distance of 150 miles. A cut-off above Ojo Caliente via 
Cueva, shortening this distance to 120 miles, has diverted travel in its favor. It is in 
general a good and easy road, being largely over country with a hard and level surface, 
having been the scene of voleanic eruption; some mesas passed over present difficult 
points, the chief objections, however, being the absence of grazing and the long dis- 
tance between water making it an exceedingly hot summer route. 

Crossing the Chama at Los Ojos, where it was about 75 feet wide, 2} feet deep, the 
‘“upper” route is over a natural road, through low valleys or over gently undulating — 
hills, covered with fine grass wherever shepherds may not have tarried. The conti- 
tental divide is here a line of sharp mesas of the steepest kind, 400 to 600 feet in height, 
with sandstone outcroppings and sides timbered with scrubby pifion. The road winds so 


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APPENDIX SS. 1789 


gently through an easy pass between, that one can scarcely realize the passage from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific watershed. A dearth of water existed in July last between 
the Chama and Navajo, and for 33 miles no running water was found, although many 
dry beds of streams were met with, which heavy rain-storms of the previous day and night 
had failed to fill. The soil is to some extent alkaline, and upon pools of rain-water 
‘our camp depended. From the Navajo to Pagosa, 23 miles, water is abundant, the 
Blanco and tributaries being crossed en route. Pagosa being 56 miles from the Chama 
at Los Ojos, necessitated a journey of 206 miles to reach it from Conejos—reduced to 
but 176 via Cueva—a long and tedious trip. 

2d. New lines via the Tierra Amarilla section —From Conejos two roads are now con- 
structing, both following the general lines of survey examined by Lieutenant Ander- 
son, Sixth Cavalry, in 1874,.in obedience to instructions from the chief engineer of the 
department. 

_ The first, which may be known as the 


CHAMA ROUTE, 


ascends the Conejos for 11 miles in a fertile and cultivated valley over a natural road- 

bed. Its direction is a little south of west, and its grade during this distance only 
about 39 feet per mile, or less than 9 inches rise per 100 linear feet, practically a level. 
From this point it passes nearly westwardly for 20 miles, in which it reaches the Los 
Pinos Creek, above the deep and impassable cation of the central part of the stream, 
along which it follows for about 3 miles, thence ascending the low divide that sepa- 
rates the watershed of the Conejos and its tributaries from that of the Chama and 
its branches, it passes to the slopes of the latter streams, with its highest point not 
over 9,800 feet. In this section the average grade is about 75 feet per mile, or a rise 
of 14 feet in 100 linearly. 

As the summit of the divide is approached, a number of low hills of gentle slopes are 
passed, along whose sides easy grades, at no point exceeding a 3 to 4 foot rise per hun 
dred linearly, are readily obtainable, so that at no point is there anything so difficult 
to overcome as to need special mention. Leaving its westerly course, the road passes 
southwest for 13 miles, following first a tributary and then the Chama itself, and in 
a southerly direction by the banks of the river, some 164 mites, to Tierra Amarilla, as 
the main plaza, Las Nutritas (2 miles beyond Los Ojos), is generally called, a total 
length of 60.69 miles, as measured last July. The entire route is well supplied with 
grazing, timber, and water; springs and nutritious grasses being particularly abundant 
in the most elevated regions. Via this line, the distance of Pagosa from Conejos is 
reduced to 114.7 miles. 

In the spring of 1876, a settlement called Park View was located 2 miles above Los 

Ojos, in the valley of the Chama, by a Chicago and Santa Fé company. Circulars with 
information of an enticing character to promote immigration were circulated. The 
town was passed on the 9th of July last, in a lovely valley with about 8 acres, not 
exceeding 10 at most, under cultivation; eight cabins of the settlers being scattered 
about in the fine forest adjoming. The charter for the road from Conejos to Los Ojos 
was taken out with a view of making it a feeder to the colony, diverting trade of the 
vicinity from Las Nutritas, its present center. 
_ To have reduced so materially the long detour by Ojo Caliente or Cueva was a de- 
sideratum ; and to avoid this travel at once started over the Chama line by Park View, 
it being announced last spring by those in charge of its construction that it was pass- 
able. The apparent object was accomplished, that of getting teams over a part of the 
road which nature had prepared, when, part way in, rather than return, the freighters 
would work along to enable their teams to get through; for in no sense of the term 
was there a wagon-road in existence over most of the route. 

Having been personally and authoritatively assured in June that no difficulty what- 
ever wouid be experienced in getting through a wagon-train, as much machinery had 
already been transported over it, we started from Conejos July 4, reaching Tierra 
Amarilla on the afternoon of the 9th. Over the central part of the route, three entire 
days were taken up in going 194 miles. This distance was over side slopes, summits 
of hills, and some arroyos; the train being gotten over safely, however, by changing 
the front wheels of each wagon to the up-hill side, the rear ones being on the lower 
one, holding up the wagons with ropes, using large logs as pulleys with picket linesin 
ascending arroyos, and resorting to similar expedients. 

While the general route is one perfectly adapted to the end in view, the locations 
were found very faulty, the road passing over tops of little hills and abruptly down 
the ends, instead of seeking a uniform and easy grade along the sides. We have since 
been informed by the officers of the road company that it is now everywhére in com- 
plete order—new locations having been made in the faulty localities, to which, from 
their former incorrect statements, no credence can be attached. Lieutenant Gibbon 
traveled over this road in September, reaching Tierra Amarilla from Fort Garland in 
four days. His report contains no remarks on this part of the road, except that “12 
miles remained uncompleted.” 


1790 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


The second and rival route, which may be known as the 
SAN ANTONIO, 


in contradistinction to the former, approaches nearer a direct line. Ascending the 
valley of the Conejos, to include the plaza of San Raphael, it passes south across the 
plain to the plaza of San Antonio and contiguous towns in the fertile valley of that 
river, near which it is crossed. Thence it passes almost due south, near the right or 
east bank of the river, and between it and San Antonio Peak, following what was an 
old Indian trail southwest over the divide. Thus far the construction will be inex- 
pensive, as there is at present a hay-road used by the Mexican teams up to this point— 
the chief items of cost being slopes of volcanic mesas that are met with, and the bridge 
over the river. When once put in traveling order, this part will but rarely need 
repair. 

From the time of departure from the San Antonio west of the Peak, until the vol- 
canic field intervening to the mountains has been passed, occurs an interval, much 
less than a day’s drive, however, between water, after which it is found at short inter- 
vals. The route over the range is similar to that of the Chama line, over an easy pass 
and through low valleys or depressions between the elevated ridges. 

Several small streams, tributary to the Servilleta, a creek flowing southeast into the 
Rio Grande, are crossed near their heads, together with .one on the Chama or Brazos 
watershed. Thence it passes to Las Nutritas, not far from its head and some eight 
miles distant from the plaza of the same name (Tierra Amarilla), to which it proceeds 
along the bank of the stream in a westerly direction, the total length of the line from 
Conejos being 55 miles. Over this latter part is already a road used by hay-wagons, 
and along the trail followed in general by the route Mexican shepherds have for years 
driven to and fro their numerous flocks—a favorite range, on account of the fine graz- 
ing and water in the mountain parks and valleys. ; 

Timber being abundant in the elevated regions, there will be little expense, save 
where it may be needed for small bridges or corduroy. The route being much of the 
way parallel to the line of drainage, there will be obviated what are always two items 
of considerable expense in such localities—cutting on side slopes for embankment, and 
side ditching above the road for drainage. The melting of snows on the mountain 
slopes, and the thawing of frozen surfaces in the spring, keep such a surface con- 
stantly moist, and a road inclined to the flow of water boggy and miry to a great ex- 
tent, on being traveled. 

Save the short section of 8 miles from Nutritas Creek to the plaza of that name, the 
entire road will be a portion of the shortest line en route from the railroad to Fort 
Wingate and the Arizona posts. From the Nutritas, the latter passes southwest to 
the Rio Nutria and the Chama, reaching the latter at the mouth of the former, where 
it is intended to bridge the river. 

To consider briefly this in relation to the route to Fort Wingate, the distance, as 
surveyed by Lieutenant Anderson in 1874, is from the point of departure from the road 
to Tierra Amarilla (which place is 8 miles distant; Conejos being 47), down to the 
crossing of the Rio Chama, near the mouth of the Rio Nutria, 18.2 miles, making the 
Chama crossing distant from Conejos, by this, the San Antonio line, 65.2 miles. 

Via the Chama road, as above stated, the distance from Conejos to Tierra Amarilla 
is 60.7 miles. The crossing of the Chama River by the Wingate road, having been 
found to be 14.5 miles distant from Tierra Amarilla, in an examination made during 
September last, by Lieut. D. J. Gibbon, Ninth Cavalry, we have the following sum- 
mary to the Fort Wingate route: 


4 a z 
S o 3 
o ~ bl 
= Brg o > 
Wingate crossing of the Chama River— 3 oa = 
A 2 a g i) 
S) S) ° 
4 = taal 
Fy Fy Fy 
Miles. | Miles. | Miles. 
ViaiChama:route.and:Werra jAmpmillae ses eck. -. cee cee cee eee eee 75. 2). Vale ek. 7 
San Antonio’ Pottessec sisson ae antes ene ey ae eee ee G5nen| Lite 17. 7a 
Distance saved by San Antonio route..........------------c---0-0-e- 10 | 10 | 10 


A charter for the construction of the San Antonio road, under the name of the 
“Tierra Amarilla and Narrow Gauge Wagon Road,” was taken out March 5, 1877, and 
filed on the 29th of the same, the incorporators being five men of means, any one of 
them being alone able to construct the entire line. The capital stock is $15,000, over 


APPENDIX SS. Pro 


half of which, I have been informed, has been paid in to the treasurer. The necessary 
tools were purchased last summer, and it was intended to have the road completed 
and open this winter, but the small-pox epidemic, advancing up the Rio Grande, 
reached that section and proved a terrible scourge. Most of the able-bodied men of 
the country suffered from the disease, and at Tierra Amarilla, during the summer and 
fall, there were over 200 deaths. Ihave been informed by one of the officers of the 
-company that work thereon will be commenced at both ends of the line as early as 
practicable in the spring, opening it for summer travel. The directors being men of 
eapital and controlling all the trade and produce for miles about Tierra Amarilla, the 
statement may be relied on, inasmuch as its construction will be a good speculation, 
increase the business of the vicinity and probably not entail the expenditure of half, 
perhaps not over a third, of the capital in opening the road to passengers and freight. 

The advantages of the San Antonio over the Chama route are as follows: 

1st. To Tierra Amarilla from Conejos several miles shorter; to the Chama crossing, 
en route to Pagosa, about the same, nothing more, certainly, with equally fine advan- 
tages in the natural supplies of wood, water, and grass. 

2d. With no portion of the route in a region more elevated, it lies farther south, and 
the general lines of drainage being from the summit of the range to the east and west, 
it will be exposed to winds and storms from such directions only, and sheltered on 
the north, leaving travel less liable to interruption. 3 

3d. It is a portion of the shortest and most practicable line between the railroad 
and points in the southwest, as Fort Wingate and other Arizona posts, and should on 
that account have been built by the government. The amount of freight in the shape 
of Army and Indian supplies shipped to that point is very large. The charge of the 
toll-road company, judging from the usual prices on the mountain roads of Colorado 
and New Mexico, will be $2.50 per freight-team of six mules. 

No greater economic appropriation could have been made on the part of the govern- 
ment than the amount for the construction of this line asked for in 1876. 

Turning to the San Antonio line, it will be seen to be but a portion of a mountain 
route through and along western slopes of the ranges, which are all a continuation of 
the San Juan Mountains, and part and parcel of the Rocky Mountain system, and as a 
mountain line it is preferable to a highway on the plain, with its natural supplies of 
wood, water, and grass. 

At this point it seems just that the conclusions drawn and recommendations made 
in the prior report on lines of communication between Southern Colorado and Northern 
New Mexico be referred to again. In that report the predictions made concerning 
railroad extension and its probable influence on this subject were carefully stated, and 
those predictions have been literally fulfilled. In that report two lines were described 
as haying been surveyed for improved roads; over both of these lines charters for 
toll-roads have been obtained, and the road over one line isin use. The recommenda- 
tions made from this office, if followed out, would have resulted in economy to the 
government and the roads would have been better made and sooner than now reported. 

3. Proposed lines.—1st. By both the Chama and San Antonio routes, there is required 
a long and unnecessary detour to Pagosa. Add to this along march without water, 
or dependence upon capricious rain-storms, and pools muddied oftentimes by sheep- 
herds, between the Chama and the Navajo, and we find an imperative need of a shorter, 
more direct route, well supplied with water, wood, and grass. 

The location I found preferable for so desirable a line, a cut-off on the Chama, may 
from its situation, be known as the 


‘ 


CHAMA NAVAJO. 


The great continental backbone, hemming in upon the north and east the lower 
San Juan region, abruptly changes at about latitude 37°, the dividing line of Colorado 
and New Mexico, from a chain of lofty peaks with high connecting mountains to a 
series of lower ridges with high elevations detached and at greater intervals. Imme- 
diately to its south, and at the very base of the Chama Peak, whose elevation is 12,200 
feet, occurs an exceptionally fine pass, fully 3,500 feet below the head of a valley, 
watered by the West Fork of the Upper Chama, completely protected on the north and 
east by the mountains and outlying slopes, with the summit of the divide to the north- 
west. This mountain valley lies sheltered and warm, exposed chiefly to winds from 
the south only. Possessing the requisite elevation to impart to its grasses the peculiar 
flavor of a mountain growth, it is perfectly adapted to heavy traffic, for which subsist- 
ence for animals should be found in abundance, and is in every respect preferable to 
any already described as a short line to the west. 

Leaving the Chama route, on the upper part of that river, near the mouth of the 
main tributary that comes from the east, crossing the main stream and sweeping in a 
curve to the south and west to avoid high basaltic mesas and vertical walls of rock 
that shut out the river from passage and approach as securely in some places as a box 

-caiion, we reach the valley of the West Fork. On easy grades it can be ascended to 


1792 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


the divide, which is lower than the one on the Chama line; this passed, brings us to 


the Navajo, down which it follows for about 5 miles in a westerly direction. 

This section is an especially fine grazing region, and abundantly supplied with tim- 
ber. Herds of Mexican sheep are ‘driven into the valley of the West Fork, and the 
Ute Indians, for fully two months last summer, had established their camp upon the 
Navajo in this vicinity. This river is their preference of all the eastern streams in the 
lower country, and its valley will make an excellent farming or cattle region. Leay- 
ing the Navajo, at a few miles distance northwestwardly, tributaries of the river are 
crossed, whence, after the passage of the main divide between the water-sheds of that 
and the Blanco, we reach at a short distance the present ‘‘ upper road” to Pagosa. 

The distances on the Chama Nav ajo are as follows: 


Miles. 

From Conejos to point of departure from the Chama road .....-..----.-------. 33 
Thence to Rio Navajo, via the West Fork of the Chama and over peat 8,720 feet... 14.5 
Miong the- Rid Nav ajOie <ci5 scelse me I ta aca hte a Sie latte ies oo ars 5.5 
Thence to the present traveled a a RAAT ITE ES iebehastiote mate? 
Thence via the present traveled road, the upper one, to Pagosa vistiwne Races 14.5 
Lote Conejos tO WP aC OS ait 25S ice Sas Silene anand sash a Sobek wa ThA 
Distance via the Chama line to Pagosa: ceccndee cocmceswisecs cools wie eibeiahes afiome ~ 114.7 


Distance saved by the Chama-Navajo: 10ad . o06 0222 cece d ject see seme eneln | eee 


This would bring Pagosa to within 123.4 miles of Fort Garland, and 129.9 from the 
railroad. 

Estimate for the construction of that part of the line from the point of departure 
from the “Chama” until the ‘‘ Upper,” the present road in use, is reached, a distance, 
as will be seen above, of 29.9 miles, is as follows: 


Rovk-blosting, Wee 2s cee. sire. ci lk See ee ae io Sse eee -- $3,000 
Road embankment and doudindoticn: except the above ..u~:.25~s24a gee Se 
Bridge over the main Chama, including crib-work and approaches.........--- 725 
Bridge over the Navajo. .-2e ene cee cone poo eee eee cae e pene ee fe A75 
Smaller bridwesen rome ius seal. aoe ee ee ee vit oie, Sel eee 625 
Contingencies ... 2.022... Ri ete AN AN col ape heal es ae aie wad Si SSO 750 
Dobal Wc, no ee es ek oe Debeeiinl Atle at) ee 9,775 

If the Army ration can he sold at tose price to bores, deduct one- ind amined 3, 258 
6, 517 


Upon the accompanying map are indicated the routes of all existing and proposed 
roads from Conejos to Pagosa, except the lower portions of the Ojo Caliente and Cueva 
l.nes. 


THE ALAMOSA LINE, 


From the present railroad terminus the shortest most practicable route to Pagosa is 
in general direction due west, and mainly, of course, a water-line; for in all mount- 
ainous regions particularly, 2 highway, whether a rail or wagon road, must follow a 
line of drainage for the line of least resistance. Crossing the Rio Grande above the 
mouth of the Alamosa, continuing on to near the point “where it debouches from the 
mountains to the plain, it thence follows up the canon of the river. Near the head- 
waters of the South Fork of the river, whose source is to the southwest, this water-line 
is left and another followed, leading up a tributary to one of the most feasible spots 
for a pass, for some distance, a depression between two lofty peaks. The range is 
crossed below timber-line, from which can be followed a tributary flowing due west 
into the East Fork of the San J uan, and in the canon of that stream and the main river 
to Pagosa. 

This is as direct a route as can be at all economically obtained. Both the La Jara 
and the Conejos on the Atlantic slope of the San.Juan Mountains, each with a general 

eastern course, were carefully examined, as were also the Navajo and the Blanco, with 
south westerly ones on the Pacific side. In whatever way a line be run otherwise than 
as tla‘ described, there are difficulties to be overcome almost insuperable, save at 
great expenditure. So many streams, main rivers with their tributaries lying often- 
times in deep cafions, intervene on a direct line, that it could be constructed at great 
cost only, not at all warranted by the necessities of present or prospective commerce 
or avy very material saving in distance. 

T: king a bee-line from the railroad to the Rio Grande (where a wagon-road does not 


APPENDIX SS. 1793 


exist, but where the railroad line has been located with a view to its probable con- 
struction within a year at most), we have the following distances: 


Miles 

Garland City to a point at mouth of caiion of the Alamosa River. ...-..-.----- 52.7 
Up the cation to the mouth of the North Fork of the river...--.---.------.---- 26 
Thence up South Fork and tributary to top of range .....-..--+.---.-----+---- tt 
Down a tributary, the East Fork, and main San Juan River to Pagosa......--- 35 

Total railroad from Garland City to Pagosa....-.-- seees = scce coe wee eee 124.7 


A saving of about 5 miles in all, not sufficient to warrant the great excess of expend- 
iture when compared with the Chama-Navajo. 

Under the name of Conejos, Rio Grande and Pagosa Springs Toll-Road Company, 
four gentlemen, during the past summer, filed the necessary articles of association for 
the incorporation thereof in the recorder’s office at Del Norte, Colo. The papers define 
their object and designate the route to be ‘‘from some point on the Rio Grande up the 
Alamosa, with a branch to the summit, and up the stream, over the top of the range, 
and down one of the branches of the San Juan to or near Pagosa Springs”; capital 
stock fixed at $20,000. None of the incorporators are reported as men of means, or of 
sufficient enterprise to construct the line, and unless others should take it in hand, the 
road will not be made. It was doubtless recorded having in view the extension or 
the railroad west, in which event the toll-road would be a capital investment finan- 
cially, and their charter, as is often done, might be sold for, probably, a valuable sum 


THE SUMMIT LINE. 


From Garland, via Del Norte and the summit district, upon the north fork of the 
Rio Alamosa, near its headwaters, lying in the gulch of the stream and on the slopes 
of South Mountain and Mount Beileview, is the mining-district known as the ‘‘Sum- 
mit,” thus far exclusively gold, and the finest in the San Juan region. About four and 
a half miles due west is the summit of the main range, beyond which spring tribu- 
taries of the San Juan, their general course hence to Pagosa being southwest. Con- 
necting Del Norte with the summit is an old country road, with its route up San Fran- 
cisco Creek to its head, thence around and south of the mountain, at the head of the 
Piedra Pintada, which is designated upon the Hayden maps as Pintada Peak, upon 
Wheeler’s as Del Norte Peak, and is locally known as Old Baldy, thence winding 
along above timber-line until the north fork of the Alamosa and the summit is reached. 
Altogether a poor route and a wretched road at its best, it is now in disuse; another | 
and a fine road, upon which toll is taken, is now in operation, saving fully six miles 
or more in distance. The latter, owned by Mr. John H. Shaw, of Del Norte, follows 
up the Los Pinos Creek, a natural road for nearly twelve miles; thence up the mount- 
ain-slopes to the southwest, reaching the summit over a few miles of the old line. 
The toll-road is a very good one, though susceptible of much improvement in grade, 
location, &c., which would probably be made should there be sufficient increase in 
travel to warrant it. 

From Garland the road is over the San Luis Park or Valley, is generally hard and 
level, to Del Norte, the Rio Grande being crossed by a bridge seven miles below the 
town. Distance from the fort, 60 miles; from Garland City, 66.5; from Del Norte to 
the Summit, via the toll-road, it is 27.8 miles, and thence over a trail to Pagosa, about 
39 miles; making the springs about 67 miles distant, and the total distance from the 
Sy 133.3 miles, in excess of that by either the Alamosa or the Chama-Navajo 

nes. ; 


SUMMARY. 


This ineludes all of the short and practicable routes from the East across the range 
into the Lower San Juan. 

From Pagosa to Animas City, a new settlement at the lower end of Animas Park, 
the distance on the upper road is as follows: 


Miles. 

Pagosa Springs to Rio Nutria...-.. See oad ae bi SU es dw haa tae ee 13 
iaenee 10 mio Piedra ......0s-seidesneeee Re ap ow bcos sith moe peace teat 12.1 
Premera Ne 1OS Pifi0s. sake eee beiaa oes owes conn ence manda Seaeeembe a. .4o.9 
et eG ATLOTWI? . . . . 2 2 Ja UE ee c caw so oc ne taccusumecsauncnenwe: Lo. G 
Pane ramon City ..W. sp eam ie elon io vce oc anu mee os me cninw 2058 SS Aaa Me. 
ee se aces FO AAG CR pets a0, Sannin 2 ono 4 vo be aa amend cower en an am, G4, 4 


From Animas City up the valley, and over the new toll-road in the Grand Cafion of 
the river opened in the latter part of November, the distance to Silverton is 46.7 miles, 


Es. 


1794 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


making a total from Pagosa of 111.1 miles. With the present situation of the railroad 
terminus, we have, by the various mentioned lines, the following summary : 


Garland City— 


To Animas 
City. 
To Silverton 


Miles. | Miles. | Miles. 


Wia Ojo Caliente and: Tierra, Amariliats. h 2 ose dee Ae 258.5 | 322.9 369. 6 
Cuévaiand: Tierra Asmar Mae. ee a tes eet ey UL ak 8 iE a tee ie 228.5 | 292.9 339. 6 
(he San Amtoniontoutes sete ne eyioe Me es SCE 0 ode eee 165. 3 229.7 276. 4 
Hbhe Chamiarromteg.s oo cree is cere ara eniee A ee ere 167530) Beal. 7 278. 4 
‘ines HamnatNe Wan GONG. AP ae tee SAE 522 fi Las shila aie mci eelo  ee ea 129.9'| 194.3 241. 0 
The Alamosanroute. 2.40 See Wee ein eek SOL eh. eh Le 5S ae ag ) DRA 1895 235.8 
The Summit romte nia WelUNontes. sede oe < cos sek oe bok oe ee L33es 1h 244, 4 


EXTENSION OF THE DENVER AND RIO GRANDE RAILROAD. 


The opening of the new extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad will ma- 
terially change the aspect of affairs. Alamosa, the new terminal point, on the western 
side of the Rio Grande, near the mouth of the Rio Alamosa, whence its name is derived, 
is 253 miles beyond Fort Garland, 33 from Del Norte, and 28 from Conejos. This will 
bring the last-named place about 244 miles nearer the railroad than at present, and 
hence will lessen the distance to all points, including Pagosa, by the several routes 
passing through it to the same extent; it will diminish the Alamosa line to Pagosa 
still more, by 32 miles, and will shorten the Summit route to the same point by 33¢- 
miles, whence the foregoing table becomes as follows: 


From the new railroad terminus, or Alamosa— & 
— 


To Animas 
City. | 
To Silverton 


Miles. | Miles. | Wiles. 


‘Kia! Ojo, Caliente and. Perna Amarilla: 2. te Ree Le ES 234 298. 4 B45. il 
Cueva andi Tierra Amarilla ....-.-:222.4.22.-5 Ewes lap hae as AAR oe 2a a eel 204 268. 4 315.1 
"hen SameAThONkO: VOU LCs peeves ace es cg ee he Ao een eee 140 205. 2 251.9 
eC Warm aewOWMber eck ire etree oie yh ae Me CR ne ge ee ears hy pe ae eee Co 142.8 207.2 253.9 
‘The ChamasN avajo POUber s/o: v2 oe. SE Ee Soe ee eee ce ne 105.4 | 169.8 216. 5 
‘The ‘Alamosawoutet caeese he 2 ok ilol. ee eet ee Oe 92. 7 57 203. 8 


TheiSunmit rowte siacMel Norte vx.) 2. 1628. de Be eee ee 2 eee 99.8 | 164.2 210. 9 


The route to Fort Wingate having the choice of two of the above lines will have a 
corresponding decrease as follows: 


The Wingate crossing of the Chama— 


road or Ala- 


From Conejos. 
From the rail 
mosa. 


“Miles. | Miles. 
Via the Chama route and Mrerra Amraritla 0.222. esc ee ace eee 75.2 103. 2 
San ‘Avitonio-route::) fo eee er Peek US - Whi. Do SU Sh see 65. 2 93. 2 


The extension of the Denver and Rio Grande to the south from Alamosa upon the west. 
side of the Rio Grande, the grading and construction of which is reported as being 
undertaken, will shorten somewhat the routes passing westward through Conejos, the 
line, it is stated, passing about 4 miles east of the town. 

When in operation at that point the above distances on the shite fourth, and fifth 
routes will be diminished by 204 miles. 

When extended still farther to the south, from some station on that line, a wagon- 
road will probably be opened to Tierra Amarilla, resulting in.a corresponding decrease 
in the first three lines above given. 


APPENDIX SS. | 1795 


THE DEL NORTE AND ALAMOSA RAILROAD. 


Some of the citizens of Del Norte, chiefly men of property, conscious of the fact 
that their town has ceased to largely increase in prosperity, and that unless a new 
impetus be given to revive business it will soon be outstripped by its more youthful 
Tivals in the mining regions, have formed a company to build and operate a line of 
rail under the name of the Del Norte and Alamosa Railroad, to connect their town 
with the terminal point of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad at Alamosa. We 
were informed that it would be constructed simultaneously with the extension of the 
Denver and Rio Grande. The distance from Alamosa, the new terminus of the Denver 
and Rio Grande Railroad, is by these surveys of the line, 26 miles; by the present wagon- 
road, we are informed, about 33; the estimated cost of grading and ties is but $1,000 
per mile, and for rails but $2,000, a very light rail being used, the weight not exceeding 
24 pounds per yard. 

With the railroad at Del Norte, and the toll-road to the Summit in good order, the 
construction of a road thence over the range and down the San Juan to Pagosa would 
be most expedient. With a route judiciously selected, the distance might be short- 
ened fully 7 miles, bringing the Springs about 60 miles distant from the railroad. 

At the date of writing, however, nothing positive is known of the definite construc- 
tion of the track from Alamosa to Del Norte. 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 


With the present situation of the railroad, we would recommend the construction 
of the Chama-Navajo as of prime importance for the development of the Lower San 
Juan. Both in a civil and military point of view would it be a most profitable in- 
vestment. The entire route of travel would be settled upon at an early day, and 
thriving communities at various points arise, now remote from mails and other facili- 
ties. The roving and unsettled bands of Indians in the southwest corner of the State, 
and in adjoining territory of Utah and Arizona, committing frequent depredations on 
the whites, will necessitate better protection for the interests of civilization. The 
present post of Fort Garland, no longer a frontier station, should, in the event of its 
advancement west, be located somewhere in the Lower San Juan. Communication 
and lines of supply will necessitate the route via the Chama-Navajo. 

The line of the Alamosa road will shorten the distance to Pagosa over the former 
but about 5 miles, and its cost being more than twice as much, its construction should 
not be made from any economic consideration. Being, moreover, a line of deep canons 
and rocky defiles, no outlying country bordering thereon would be opened up or bene- 
fited, as in case of the Chama-Navajo, which is, especially beyond the Chama River, 
almost wholly a line of valleys. <A lofty route and passing over the range, at about 
3,000 feet greater altitude than the former, the Alamosa line would be blocked by 
snow and impassable for a portion of the year, unless constant traffic prevented. 
Upon the Chama-Navajo, with its lower situation.and protection by sheltering mount- 
ains on the north, a natural blockade would not so completely occur. 

In the event of the building of the railroad extension to Alamosa, the distance from 
its terminus to Pagosa by the Chama-Nayvajo would be 105 miles, and by the Alamosa 
about 13 miles less. This would be an important saving; but should the track be 
continued to that point, there is every probability of the construction of the Del 
Norte and Alamosa Railroad, making Del Norte a terminal point; in this event the 
Summit line to Pagosa assumes the most prominent position, the distance by that route 
being diminished, as already mentioned, to 70 miles. 

The construction of the unfinished link from the Summit to the Springs, nearly 49 
miles by the trail, would entail an expenditure of $18,000. The route will pass down 
the East Fork of the San Juan, where judicious locations will give easy grades, and 
shorten the line as compared with the present trail, and afterward along the main 
stream, the whole a caion region, presenting fewer difficulties of passage than that of 
the Alamosa. For several miles the main river above the mouth of the West Fork is 
inclosed in a box caiion, and here would be essential a considerable amount of blast- 
ing. Several ranchmen located last summer on the West Fork, in a fine open valley, 
above its mouth, and thence to Pagosa have made for their accémmodation a passable 
way for light wagons, distance about 11 miles. 


COMMUNICATIONS OF AMIMAS CITY AND PARK, 


The most thickly populated section of the lower country, the settlements in the 
Animas Park ending at Animas City on the west bank of the river, near the mouth of 
Junction Creek, have outer communication as follows: 

North.—By the toll-road through the Grand Cafion of the Animas with Silverton and 
points beyond. 


1796 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


East.—By two routes, known as the Upper and the Middle roads. 

On the upper, the line followed was mainly that of an old Indian trail and a natnral 
route to Tierra Amarilla via Pagosa Springs. This is a toll-road; work done, very 
slight beyond bridging of rivers en route. 

At Animas City, itshould be mentioned, a fine bridge exists, constructed by the town 
company; river here 170 feet wide, nearly 2 deep; very clear and beautiful, with a 
rapid current. Animas City to Pogosa, 644 miles; road in good order; wood, water, 
and grass abundant. The toll-gate of the road company is a few miles east of Ani- 
mas City; the bridge on the Florida, the first stream, was inexpensive, the stream 
being small with high banks. 

Over the Rio de los Pinos, 134 miles east of the Florida, is the most expensive bridge 
on the line; western bank being low, bridge proper with approach for high water, 245 
feet long, the river in August, 1877, being here but 90 feet wide. Its width was 18 
feet, and 8 feet above water; ordinary side rails, flooring of square hewn timber, being 
loose and without stringers; total cost, $550. : 

Over the Rio Piedra, 20 miles east by the road, was the next expensive bridge, owing 
to the banks being high, and resultant cost of rock-filling for cribs. Length 80 feet; 
about 20 wide, and some 15 above the water’s surface, resting on piers of the usual 
pine log cribbing. Flooring of usual square hewn beams, lacking stringers to keep 
them in place, a fault also existing at the Los Pinos. So inexpensive an item should 
never be neglected, as danger to passing teams results from the liability to get their 
feet entangled; cost of bridge was $400. 

The Rio Nutria, a puny sluggish stream, without high banks, offers no obstruction 
to easy passage. 

The Rio San Juan, 25 miles from the Piedra, 13 from the Nutria, was the last point 
bridged, being crossed nearly a mile below the main spring. The river here was 85 
feet wide, and about 2 deep, the bridge being 108 long, of substantial construction, 
costing $300. 

. From Pagosa to Tierra Amarilla, 58 miles, the Blanco, Navajo, and Chama are forded, 
no bridges existing. 

The middle road is a more direct route to the Animas from Tierra Amarilla. Its 
route is from the Chama, by the Laguna de los Caballos, the Piedras de Legurados, 
and the Cafion Curagoa to the San Juan, reaching it about 5 miles below the mouth 
of the Navajo; entering the Ute Reservation, passing westerly near the San Juan for 
some 9 miles to the Piedra, after its crossing it continues northwest to the Florida, 
near the reservation line. It follows up this stream by the ranches along the river, 
meeting the upper road at its crossing of the Florida, en route to Animas City. 
For about 35 miles, over a third of its entire length, this road is within the Indian re- 
serve. Re 

Its advantages as a route to Tierra Amarilla from the Animas and Florida settle- 
ments are its being more direct than the upper road, which makes a detour by Pa- 
gosa, and its more southern position, rendering it less exposed and a warmer and bet- 
ter winter. line. 

Its objections are the scarcity of wood, water, and grazing, compared with the 
northern line; particularly between the San Juan and the Chama, where the country 
partakes of an arid nature with alkaline character, a vegetation sparse and of sage- 
brush rather than the nutritious grasses above, while piton replaces the pines to the 
north. . 

West.—Communication with the settlements beyond and upon the lower river, from 
Animas City, is by the toll-road to the La Plata, a branch ascending to Parrott City, 
whence a county-road passes to the Mancos, another descending the stream to the 
lower La Plata, the San Juan, and the Animas. 

The road was inexpensive, the toll-gate being placed four miles beyond Animas 
City, a point common to upper and lower travel. 

A road can be constructed down the Animas River to the settlements below, along the 
line of the trail already existing; or less direct and not so expensive, from the road 
on the Florida, southwest to the Animas a few miles above the former’s mouth. 

From the lower San Juan, between the Animas and the Pinos, a route known as the 
lower road, passes southeast via Cation Largo to Abiquii and Santa Fé, affording a 
direct line to these regions which is open to travel at all seasons of the year. 


The upper country. 


The extension of the railroad over the Sangre de Cristo Range to Garland City has 
resulted in making Del Norte a passing-point for nearly all travel and traffic destined 
for the more settled and richer mining regions of the upper country. 

Saguache, on the upper and western rim of San Luis Valley, distant 33 miles, was its 
rival when Cafion City was the nearest railroad point to the San Juan. A wagon-road 
was constructed from this railroad terminus, 117 miles, to Saguache, passing up the 
Arkansas River for 55 miles, and crossing the range over the Puncho Pass. Thence, 


APPENDIX SS. | 1797 


from Saguache a toll-road, 95 miles in length, was built to Lake City, on the Lake 
Fork of the Gunnison River, via the Los Pinos Agency. At present, Lake City is over 
60 miles nearer the terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande, at Garland City, than that 
at Cafion City, and all its supplies are received by the former branch. From Del Norte 
a toll-road passes west, up the cation of the Rio Grande to Alden’s Junction, in Ante- 
lope Park, distant about 44 miles. 


ROAD TO SILVERTON, DIRECT. 


From this point beyond, to the west, a county-road follows the general course of the 
Rio Grande in a direct line for Silverton, Howardsville, and the mining towns of the 
Upper Animas. Althongh it avoids, by detours, the steep cafion localities of the river, 
it is in a very bad condition save where the canon bottom is level and wide and a nat- 
ural road exists. With steep grades, numerous side slopes, and a lack of repair, added 
to the faulty original constraction, it has almost entirely fallen into desuetude, and is 
but little used for freight-carriage, save by pack-trains. Even they do not follow the 
road intact, and at many points numerous and deeply furrowed trails, ranning side by 
side, pass direct where possible, when the road makes a bend to the right or left. 

Beyond Carr’s Cabin, a point about 27 miles above Alden’s, the road has many steep 
gradients in its ascent to the sammit of the range, about 12 miles distant, the Great 
Continental Divide here sweeping around to the north and east in its separation of the 
Rio Grande from the waters of the Animas. Above Pole Creek, an elevation of nearly 
2,000 feet must be made in about 6 miles, to attain the summit, a pass above timber- 
line, exposed and objectionable. Owing to the many steep hills, frequent grades of 500 
feet to the mile, and excessively rough roads, large amounts of freight are brought to 
Carr’s and lower points by wagon transportation and sent over the range by pack- 
trains. 

From the summit down to Howaridsville the grate is as bad, or worse, nearly 3,000 
feet being descended in less than 5 miles, an average slope of 600 feet to the mile, or 
fall of over 11 vertically in each 100 linearly. Necessarily, then, none save the lightest 
kind of a wagon, and in a case of necessity only, dare attempt the pass. 

Between Howardsville and Silverton, less than 5 miles, the road is in Baker’s Park, 
and, of course, finds no natural obstacle to overcom>; it is, however, out of order at 
several points, where inexpensive repairs will make it a fine passage-way. 


LAKE CITY AND CONNECTING ROADS. 


From Alden’s or Antelope Park, a good toll-road passes north and northwest to Lake 
City, 334 miles. This thriving town is the seat of the greatest wealth and mining in- 
dustry in the San Juan, and to its numerous roads and communication with the outer 
world, much prosperity is due. 

The road from Antelope Park comes from the southeast. This is now under more 
able and wealthier management than last year, when, during the spring months, it was 
almost impassable. New and. shorter locations, better grades, and side drains made, 
or under construction, will render the road good and passable at all seasons. The 
road from Saguache comes from the north, ascending the Lake Fork. It is continued 
to the southwest to the town of Animas (altitude 11,550 feet), 29 miles distant, passing 
en route up the stream through the rich mining section known as Burrow’s Park (which 
includes Tellurium, &c.), the American Basin, and other camps, and crossing at an 
altitude of 12,650 feet one of the great mountain chains that here rise up with more 
numerous and lofty peaks than elsewhere are found upon the continent. From Ani- 
mas Forks this road continues 3 miles to Mineral City (altitude about 11,500 feet), a 
promising town located at timber-line, near the top of a mountain spur of the Uncom- 
pahgre Range. 

THE HENSEN CREEK ROUTE. 


Another toll-road has been lately built to the west, passing up Hensen Creek, open- 
ing up a rich mining region and serving as an opposition route to Animas Forks, to 
which point it is shorter by over 6 miles than the Burrows Park road. It was an ex- 
pensive line, owing to the large amount of rock-blasting necessary. 

At about 10 miles from Lake City, it passes the mining settlement of Capitol City 
(altitude about 9,500 feet), reaching Mineral City at a distance of about 20 miles. Ani- 
mas Forks, as might be inferred, is located upon the Upper Animas River, at the 
junction of two streams, by whose union it is formed. A toll-road is open, down the 
river, passing Eureka, at the mouth of Eureka Gulch, 4 miles to the south, and reach- 
ing Howardsville, at a distance of 8 miles. This route is the only one over which ma- 
chinery can be readily taken to Silverton and neighboring points. From Del Norte it 
is a long detour by way of lake, but the difficulties, insurmountable at present, of the 
route up the Rio Grande, render the former preferable. 

The Hensen Creek line is, from lake to Animas Forks, the most practicable one for 
heavy teams, for the Burrows Park route, in addition to being.6 to 8 miles longer, is, 
in the upper sections, in a wretched condition. 


1798 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


THE GUNNISON ROAD. 


Down the Gunnison “iver from its headwaters passes a wagon-road, a great high- 
way connecting on the north, east, and south with the South ‘Park region, * where are 
the mines of Mount Lincoln and other districts in the Park Range, branches leading 
to Cafion City and Saguache, the Los Pinos Agency, and Lake ‘City. Avoiding the 
terrible Grand Conon of the Gunnison, it crosses to the Uncompahgre, down which it 
follows almost to its mouth, where it passes, to the Gunnison, and follows down the 
latter river and along the Grand, as the Salt Lake wagon-road. This is the natural 
position of the extension of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad, whose gen- 
eral line is from east to west, and present terminus, Pueblo, the line thence to Cation 
City, being part of the narrow-gauge railroad, the Denver and Rio Grande. 


OURAY AND CONNECTING ROADS. 


On the upper part of the Uncompahgre, down the mountain range, forms Mineral 
City, but about 8 miles distant, and near the rich mineral deposits of Mount Sneffels, 
lies the village of Ouray, possessing the most flattering prospects for wealth, prosperity, 
and rapid increase in population of any incipient town in the San Juan. 

A road passes northwest down the Uncompahgre to connect with the Gunnison road, 
and north and northeast to reach the Saguache and Lake City line up the Lake Fork. 
Business facilities with Lake City are imperatively demanded, and a shorter route 
should be at once constructed. 

From Mineral City down the mountains to the rich agricultural valley at whose 
upper edge lies Ouray, is a mountain trail. The mountains here are terrible in the 
extreme, excessively steep, great masses of almost vertical wall, on which a footing 
is often a matter of conjecture, a mounted passage in the range of possibilities only. 
The trail is, to say the least, very dangerous. The average descent is over 600 feet to 
the mile, and none but a thoroughly daring mountaineer can ride over it. Trains of 
“Jacks” or burros transport over it but a small amount of freight, nearly always with 
the loss of one or more animals. Old ‘‘ Forty-niners” say that it has no equal in the 


mining country of Nevada and California. Just before Lake City was visited a man_ 


passing the trail on horseback had gone off with his animal and both been killed. 
The snow-capped mountains near whose summit les Mineral City, and the end of the 
toll-road, are in sight from Ouray but inaccessible, and instead of Lake being reached 
in a drive of 28 miles, a long detour of 100 must be taken. This being directly at vari- 
ance with rapid intercommunication which is demanded by the necessities of trade, a 
stock company has been formed for the construction of a toll-road direct from Ouray 
to Mineral City. After careful surveys and selection of the best grades by competent 
engineers, the road was commenced and is now stated to be building. 

The difficulties to be overcome may be best imagined by the fact that, while the 
distance is short, the cost is computed at not less than $60, 000, possibly reaching 
$70,000, of w hich’ amount $15,000 stock was subscribed by the citizens of the place. 


THE ANIMAS ROAD TO SILVERTON. 


Silverton and contiguous camps need a shorter outlet; direct communication at 
an early day is absolutely essential for prosperity. The w ealth of its surroundings is 
immense, its facilities are poor; it is shut out from the world, and is wholly subordi- 
nate to Lake City. 

Owing to the difficulty of getting ores to market much industry is idle. The reduc- 
tion works there buy nothing under 75-ounce ore, or rock yielding 75 ounces of silver 
per ton, equal to $90. All but high-grade mines ‘lie idle, while at Lake 40-ounce ore 
finds a realy market. 

To the south lies a rich agricultural region and coal in abundance, shut out by the 
Grand Canon of the Animas, where the river runs in a narrow gorge, inaccessible 
often, with mountain slopes of the steepest kind, frequently 45°, oftentimes nearly ver- 
tical, while the summits look down upon the bottom of the gorge, 4,000 to 5, 000 feet 
above it. To enable Silverton to obtain produce and coal, most ‘needed commodities, 
a toll-road through the canon was projected, a charter obtained by four persons, and 
its construction commenced in August, 1876, by Mr. James L. Wightman, a thoroughly 
practical man. The working parties were passed on the 29th of. September last, with 
about 4 miles of road to open, since which we have learned freight-teams are now 
passing up to Silverton over the entire road. 


WIGHTMAN’S ROAD IN THE GRAND CANON OF THE ANIMAS. 
This road, projected through one of the grandest and most inaccessible cations in 


the whole region, deserves more than a passing mention, being on a larger and more 
expensive scale than any other undertaking for the general welfare and improvement 


APPENDIX SS. 1'v3a9 


of the mining region, except the new road to connect Ouray with Mineral City, the 
terminus of the toll-road to Lake. 

The cation of the river well deserves the name of ‘‘Grand” bestowed upon it by 
geographers. For a long time, as a route of communication, it was deemed impracti- 
cable and was necessarily avoided. Leaving Silverton, below the crossing of Mineral 
Creek, the trail ascends the side of the mountain on the right of the cafion, and 
crossing the ridge of peaks cut through by the Animas at an altitude of 10,400 feet, 
takes a southwesterly direction. Another trail from Silverton ascends Mineral Creek 
and Bear Creek, one of its tributaries, to its head, crossing the same mountain range 
at 11,500 feet, and joining the former trail at Lime Creek. From this point the Sil- 
verton trail passes to the east of Engineer Mountain, 14 miles from its base, crossing 
Cascade Creek, and approaching to the south meets the new toll-road a short distance 
above the head of the Park. Previous to the building of the Wightman road Silver- 
ton had no communication with the south save by this trail. Much of the time 
(probably fully half) the highest portion of the route was passable only on snow- 
shoes, being even then a dangerous trip, some of the mail-carriers losing their lives 
in making the crossing. In early summer the melting snows made the way boggy and 
miry, and even in the fall, when at its best, the trail is in many places steep and 
dangerous and passable for light packs only. 

At the mouth of Mineral Creek, the lower point of Baker’s Park, the Animas enters 
its caflon, which rapidly narrows; here its elevation is about 9,300 feet, while at the 
upper part of the park, where it debouches from its cafion into the open valley, 6,800, 
a fall of 2,500 feet in about 26 miles. For this distance it is inaccessible, shut out by 
great rocky walls, mainly high peaks of quartzite, members of the Great Needles or 
seater crags which stretch across the Vallecito and the Florida to the Animas. 

he walls almost close at points, the river rushing through a space of 30 yards from 
wall to wall, the sides of which, almost as hard as steel, seem insuparable obstacles 
rising up, slightly rounded from a vertical to nearly a thousand feet, at which height 
a greater ouitward slope occurs. Occasionally there is found a bottom width of 250 
yards, where grazing is seen. These little parks are, however, but oases in the gen- 
eral rocky barrenness. The angle from the river up to the mountain summits that 
tower above from 3,000 to as high as 5,000 feet approaches 45°, and the widening out 
of the cafion makes its upper width from 2 to 3 miles. Here occasionally nature 
interposed great obstacles to a passage. In a narrow bed the river ran by with the 
velocity of a mountain stream, without foothold between it and the walls beside it, 
their inclination so near a vertical as to render the cost of blasting for a roadway a 
questionable expense. Numerous bridging was to be avoided on account of the situa- 
tion and the spring rise of the river. At such places the river was occupied for a 
passage-way, and these were by far the most expensive points. As the river descends 
there is found a greater width of room, a small ‘‘ bench” generally between the water 
and the mountain through which was easily effected a clearing giving a passage-way. 

At some points where existed no bench or place for a roadway by the river bank, the 
mountain and slope being of rock and very steep, a high sustaining wall was neces- 
sary, in some cases as great as 20 to 30 feet (Fig 1). At other points, the mountain 


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1800 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


slope being too nearly a vertical, and without any bank by the water, a passsage was 
constructed in a part of the river-bed for a distance as great as several hundred yards 
in the shape of a pier. These viaducts were of superior workmanship, the height varied 
from 8 to 10 feet, and with the side slope from the bottom commensurate with the 
strength and endurance required, the top surface was at the widest points at least 10 
feet across. (See Fig. II.) Mr. Wightman stated the cost of construction of the via- 
ducts of the average dimension, 10 feet at base, 8 feet on a vertical, and 8 feet wide at 
top, to be $1.50 per linear foot. At some points this was exceeded, the river with a 
rapid current and a depth of 6 feet, occupying the place where the road now passes. 
Here the blasting was also very expensive from the flint-like nature of the quartzite, 
the working being so difficult that 30 steel drills per foot were used. The most ex- 
pensive filling of this nature presented the following items of interest: 

Length of fill, 441 feet. 

Width at bottom, 14 to 16 feet. 

Width at top, 10 feet. 

Deepest water, 6 feet 2 inches. 

Greatest depth of fill, 11 feet 9 inches. 

Average depth of fill, 5 feet 10 inches. 

Cost per linear foot, $1.72. 

Cost of blasting in quartzite, open work, $7.92 per cubic yard. | 

The route of the road from Silverton is upon the right bank, crossing at the end of 
Baker’s Fork, below the mouth of Mineral Creek, 
to the east or left bank, by a plain but strongly 
built bridge (Fig. III) 200 feet long, 18 feet wide, 
and averaging about 14 feet above the water, pro- 
vided with side rails, the flooring of hewn timber, 
the upper surface squared and pinned by stringers. 
The eastern end is higher than the other, the road 
here being along solid rock. It continues down 
this bank about 43 miles, when it recrossd to the 
other, at which point in September last were found 
standing three piers of the old bridge, built the 
year before and washed away during the high 
water of the spring. Nearly all the timber was on 
hand for rebuilding it, which was to be done during 
October. The river here was 250 feet wide; and 

Bao Wile Wh ve upon the right bank the road continues through- 
out the entire cafion, and on to the park below. 

The mouth of Cascade Creek was a formidable obstacle. Inclosed near its mouth 
in vertical walls, increasing to nearly 200 feet, a passage there was impossible. At 
this point the nature of the cation of the Animas abruptly changes. From the end of 
Bakevr’s Park, for 17 miles without the windings of the river, it is encompassed by im- 
posing mountains of quartzite towering one upon another. Instead of hugging the 
trachytic formations, beginning at Sultan Mountain, and not far distant in its course, 
the river boldly entered upon the more difficult task of forcing a passage between 
these harder obstructions. 

From the upper brink of the grand cafion the river like a silver thread may at inter- 
vals be seen 4,000 to 5,000 feet below. The general course has thus far been south and 
southwest; with the accession of Cascade Creek, the departure from the great quartz- 
ite region, the cafion of the river changes to one more nearly straight, due south in 
direction, its walls vertical, in places almost 1,000 feet in depth, where the river is 
wholly inaccessible. This is situated in a valley of rolling hills, shut in on the east by 
a ridge gradually diminishing to the south, while a range of cliffs of sandstone, encom- 
passing the ‘Cliff Lakes” and continuing also to the south, from the western limit of 
this depression and the boundary on the west of the park itself. 

The general average of the river’s fall from Baker’s to Animas Park is about 100 
feet per mile. Near the beginning of the great ‘‘Box” Cafion of the river there is de- 
scent above the average, and falls and rapids of the river interpose too great for the 
agility of the trout. While this fish of a superior size and flavor may be taken in the 
Park below, none can be found in the Grand Cafion nor in Baker’s Park above. 

Leaning over the top of the bank at the edge of the cafion, with a firm hold on a 
rock or an overhanging tree and gazing down upon the water white with the foam of 
its dashing and surging under and against the great black rocks that obstruct and 
confine it, there is a feeling of awe that overcomes the beholder. 

When encamped near the Box Cafion of the Animas, some hours were occupied in 
attempts to reach the water’s edge at several points, which were unsuccessful, owing 
to the obstruction of vertical walls. In order to avoid these obstructions, the route of 
the road was changed from the bottom of the Grand Cafion, about 19 miles distant 
from Silverton. A high hill was ascended by three steep gradients in a zigzag, the 
mountain slope encircled, high retaining walls being essential, therefore, and Cascade 


APPENDIX SS. 1801 


Creek passed above its cafion by a fine high and well-built bridge, the stream here 
being some 20 feet wide, with an average depth of fully a foot and the velocity that 
might be expected from its name. 

Swinging to the west nearly 2 miles the Cliff Lakes are reached, around which, for 2 
miles along their eastern sides, the road passes. These are clear and lovely sheets of 
water, varying in width to 600 yards with an average of about 300, beyond whose 
western banks rise huge mountain slopes reflected below, the surfaces frequented by 
water-fowl, the road almost on a level along the shore, and shaded by lofty pine and 
aspen. Thence to the south by a succession of easy slopes, almost a natural route, be- 
tween rolling hills, the road passes to the park below. The road is well ditched, and, 
where needed, inclined drains of dry stone are provided. All the bridges are strong 
and well made, the upper surface of planking, the timbers in general square-hewn, oc- 
casionally also covered with dirt, and fastened by well-pinned stringers. Everything 
indicates permanence and durability. 

At several places there were intervals of ‘‘slide” rock 60 to 75 yards in length, 
where the road was not in traveling order, but this was to be covered and completed 
later. 

The charter of the road was taken out in 1876 and work begun September 1. Seven 
miles of the route, from Silverton to the south, was completed and opened during the 
fall at a cost of $3,270. In 1877 work was commenced early in April at the head of 
the Animas Valley, and continued witha daily average of 30 hands, the pay of those 
at ordinary labor being $1.50, and on rock blasting $3, including board. At the end 
of September last the cost had been $19,000. At that time about 4 miles remained un- 
opened, the cost of completing the same and putting the entire road in perfect condi- 
tion, including bridges, making an aggregate of $30,000. 

The completion and opening of this road must result in great advantages to the min- 
ing region. Llustrative of the great expense entailed by its secluded situation may 
be mentioned that of forage ; while in the valley of the Animas, as at Animas City, hay 
was plenty at $40 per ton and corn $2.25 per bushel, at Silverton double that amount 
wasasked. As the winter and spring approach and the passes become blocked with 
snow, these prices become greatly enhanced. 

It must, therefore, lower the high prices existing and give free access to large fields 
of coal, the supply of which now comes from a long distance. In turn it will be of 
great advantage to the lower section in the largely-increased market for its produce 
and the establishment of reduction-works near to or in the coal region, since the trans- 
portation necessary for the carriage of this fuel up the Animas will in time be utilized 
for return loads of ore from the mines. 


THE INNESS ROAD TO SILVERTON,. 


As already stated, the route to Silverton for heavy freight teams, previous to the 
opening of the Wightman road, was via the Burrows Park, or Hensen Creek line via 
Lake City, from the railroad, preferably the latter. In general, however, the Wight- 
man line, as a route for freight from the railroad, is too long, its distance from Gar- 
land City being 281 miles, and with the new terminus at Alamosa 256. Presuming 
pbac tne latter situation, we have Silverton’s distance by lines at present practicable 
as follows: 


Silverton, from the railroad at Alamosa, route via— Distance. 

Miles 
Conejos, Chama road, and Wightman’s road, Grand Cafion of the Animas...........--.--.--- 253. 9 
Rio Grande to Antelope Springs, Lake City, and Hemsen Creek...........-....--.-.-..------ 145. 7 
Old county road up the Rio Grande (impassable in part) .........-.......--.----------------- 124. 2 
Inness road up Rio Grande and Cunningham Gulch (proposed)..........-.---.-------+------- 128.7 


Of the above, the Hensen Creek, being the only one in fine condition and about 110 
miles the shorter, will, of course, be preferred. By the Conejos route the continental 
divide is passed at a low point; by the last two, a high mountain pass at the head of 
the Rio Grande must also be surmounted; while by the Lake City route, two high 
mountain ranges intervene, and must be crossed, before Silverton is reached. From 
the most casual glance at the table, it will be seen that the direct route up the Rio 
Grande is the desideratum, being the line of shortest communication. The route via 
Cunningham Gulch, though 44 miles longer than the old county road already referred 
to, crosses the range by a pass 500 feet lower, and is, therefore, preferred by all pack- 
trains, which were frequently to be seen, and whose trails, deeply furrowed and from 
6 to 10 in number, were observed on the east side of the range below the top of the 
gulch. In making the descent from the summit, there were passed close by about 


1802 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


100 jacks, or burros, and mules, heavily laden with freight, and drivers afoot; every- 
thing indicated that a good toll-road will be a paying investment. With this impres- 
sion, on the commencement of the Wightman road, Mr. Edward Inness, of New York 
City, obtained a charter for such a line from. Howardsville to Antelope Springs, by 
way of Cunningham Gulch. He chose this route, being largely interested in mining 
property near the head of the gulch, since he was compelled to construct a way to 
transport his ore to Howardsville, where he had erected reduction-works; he there- 
fore determined to continue the line beyond the range and down the Rio Grande to 
connect with the lower roads at their junction in Antelope Park. 

On the road down the gulch, 5 miles to Howardsville, $2,000 were expended; above 
his works, a mile toward the summit, was said to have cost $4,000. This was finished 
in the fall of 1877, at which time his works in the gulch were also constructed. 

From the levels furnished him, by Lieutenant Wheeler, Mr. Inness stated that the 
gradient on the old county road from the summit of the range above Howardsville to 
the point on the Rio Grande where Pole Creek enters was nearly 300 feet per mile, 
while upon the route he had selected it scarcely averaged beyond 200; the balance of 
the road, from Pole Creek to Antelope Springs, having a general descent of but 90 
feet, or 1.7 per hundred, linearly. During 1878, it was said the balance of the road 
to the summit and the whole of that beyond, to Antelope Springs, a distance of 40 
miles, was to be completed; the cost of finishing and perfecting the entire route aggre- 
gating $30,000. With communication direct via the Rio Grande and the route to the 
agricultural region to the south open, Silverton and vicinity will at once increase in 
prosperity, and, with a new impetus given to every interest in all the surrounding 
districts, she will become one of the largest places in the San Juan. 


SECTION III.—TRAILS. 


A trail is the route of nature and barbarism ; it has traversed the country and defined 
the lines of shortest communication before the white settler has entered the region, 
civilization following and replacing it with aroad. The instinct of animals leads them 
to form a trail in a new country, to use one existing in an old; thereafter it is used in 
succession by Indians and whites. 

Throughout the Rocky Mountains, a vast expanse, at points 200 miles in width, the 
most important sections are connected by old Indian trails, without which the forests 
and rocky defiles are wholly impassable. When it is known that with the absence of 
travel the rank summer vegetation of the mountains will in a single season cover and 
conceal them, while the stunted growth of limbs and broken bushes by which the 
Indian marks the way will become dim and almost imperceptible, it is not deemed 
inappropriate to add to the other lines of communication a list of trails deemed most 
important. They are considered of such value by the topographer, that no representa- 
tion of a mountainous region is considered perfect which, with other orographic pro- 
jections complete, lacks the trails by which alone can passage in general be made. 


THE RIO GRANDE SECTION. 


An important trail up the west side of San Luis Valley is along the Rio Alamosa, 
ascending its canon. A short trail passing up Gata Creek soon crosses to and is 
merged in the former, descending into the canon, here over 1,000 feet deep. The trail 
is mainly on the right bank of the Alamosa, well worn and easily found in general. 
From the upper part of the cation at a great rincon (a corner, so called by the Mexicans 
from the mountains squarely meeting there) upon the mountain to the right may be 
found a dim trail, ascending abruptly 2,000 feet and meeting at the base of the Pintada 
Peak (locally called ‘‘Old Baldy”) the old wagon-road from Del Norte to the Summit 
Mining District. The latter section may thus be directly reached from the plains to 
the east. ; 

The main trail continues up the Alamosa, its continuation having been found with 
some difficulty at the rincon. At the mouth of the North Fork, on which the summit 
lies, the mines may be reached by following a very rough but direct trail up that 
stream. Along the South Fork, which is the main stream, the main trail follows, the 
gold mines of the Decatur district being here situated. It passes over the range near 
the Summit Peak over 13,000 feet high, and via the East Fork of the San Juan to Pa- - 
gosa Springs. This trail is at points difficult, high, and circuitous, and not the prefer- 
able point for crossing the continental divide. 

At the mouth of the cation of the Rio La Jara where the settlements are thickest a 
well-trodden trail passes directly across the lava plain to Conejos, avoiding several 
miles of the detour by the wagon-road to the east and south. From the valley at this 
stream’s headwaters and the lake beyond on the same general depression a trail was 
cut from the left, descending in the usual zigzag course to the bottom of the canon of 
the Alamosa fully 1,200 feet below the edge of the La Jara Valley. From this point 
the Alamosa Cafion increases as itis ascended, being fully 2,500 feet deep at the rincon. 


APPENDIX SS. 1803 


THE TIERRA AMARILLA SECTION. 


From Conejos the route of the old Chama trail to Tierra Amarillo is occupied by 
the new wagon-road, which has been left unfinished for about 12 miles of the way ; 
distance about 60 miles. 

Another trail between the same points passes from Conejos up Los Pinos Creek for 
some distance, and along the great volcanic plateaus west of San Antonio Peak to the 
headwaters of the Rio Brazos, thence descending to the Mexican towns of the Tierra 
Amarilla. It is a shorter trail than the former; length about 52 miles. 

Still another but a longer line between the same points reaches Tierra Amarilla or 
its main plazas, Las Nutritas, by following down the creek of the same name, crossing 
the Servilleta and other creeks en route from San Antonio Peak. Trails from Tierra 
Amarilla also pass to the southeast toward Ojo Caliente, southwest down the Chama, 
and northwest to Pagosa via Calon Amargo. The latter distance by wagon-road 
is 58 miles; by the trail several miles shorter. Another trail up the West Fork of the 
Chama reaches Pagosa via the Hot Springs on the Rio Navajo, and after passing one 
of its tributaries and the Blanco watershed follows down a pretty valley and is merged 
into the county road. Trails from Tierra Amarilla also pass direct to the Rio Piedra 
and other points west, leaving Pagosa to the east. 


THE NAVAJO AND THE BLANCO. 


Up the Navajo itself a good Indian trail part way exists; hence to the Blanco a dim 
and very old trail is found, being followed with great difficulty, east and several miles 
distant from the county road. 

Along the Blanco a deer-trail was followed for a few miles in the cafion, the trail in 
general, however, having to be cut. No evidences of any Indian camps were found in 
the large valley of the Blanco above the bend. From the Blanco to the San Juan 
below Pagosa Springs, a trail to the left, lying on the south of the county road the lat- 
ter part of the way, made the route a direct line, and resulted in a-saving of about 
two miles. : 

THE SAN JUAN AND PAGOSA SPRINGS. 


From Pagosa Springs, always a popular resort for Indian tribes, a trail passes up 
_the San Juan, over the range, and down the South Fork of the Rio Grande to its mouth, 
distance about 50 miles. On the northern side of the main divide a branch passes to 
the summit, about 39 miles from Pagosa. This is an old Indian trail which has been 
blazed by whites. 
The principal trail to the Summit mining district from the springs is mainly upon 
the right bank and throngh the caiion of the river until the upper valley is attained, 
_where the trail from some new ranches on the West Fork covers over the separating 
divide. The trail rapidly ascends the mountains of the upper cation of the San Juan, 
and at its highest portions is very good. It passes over slopes so nearly precipitous 
that two hours’ work were necessary within 50 yards at one place to ‘build it out” 
for the passage of pack animals, after heavy rains that had preceded us. The cross- 
ing of the continental divide is below timber-line, and this part of the way to the 
summit, some four miles, was excessively bogey in August from melting snow-banks. 

Above Pagosa, a new trail ascending the West Fork and crossing the divide to the 
main river avoids the cafion locality near its mouth; it was cut by au American, and 
is very steep. 

From Pagosa a trail passes northwest to the Piedra, about 25 miles, crossing a stream 
of the Nutria watershed en route thence 23 miles to the summit of the Weeminuche 
Pass, whose altitude is 10,600 feet, one of the finest passes on the great divide in the 
Colorado section of the Rocky Mountains. Upon the Rio Grande side, which river the 
pass overlooks, the slope is abrupt, the trail descending 1,300 feet to the river in the 
distance of about 4 miles. This trail, from the Rio Piedra, is along Weeminuche 
Creek, possessing one of the loveliest mountain valleys in the entire San Juan, with 
magnificent grazing and abundant game; it was largely frequented by the Capote 
Utes in August. 

Beyond that it descends abruptly into the upper cafion of the Los Pinos and along 
that water to the pass referred to. 

A branch of the main trail continues up the Middle Fork of the Piedra, and, crossing 
the continental divide at a good pass some 40 miles from Pagosa, reaches the Rio 
Grande about 12 miles distant, descending the valley of the West Fork thereof. This 
is in Antelope Park, here of wide extent, Alden’s Junction, or Antelope Springs, a stage 
station on the Lake City and Del Norte road, being about 1} miles north of the river. 


" : THE RIO NUTRIA. 


From this stream, at the mouth of the spring near which is the ranch of Colonel 
Pfeiffer, a trail passes from the county road to the north, reaching the Piedra at the 


1804 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


head of its deep cafion. The valley isin places much trampled by cattle, rendering 
the trail at a few points difficult to follow. It traverses a dry but magnificent grazing 
section, and, with the Piedra trail, is the short route from the Nutria to the Rio Grande, 
via Weeminuche Pass. Cattle, we are informed, have been driven by this trail to the 
valley of the Rio Grande. 

THE RIO PIEDRA. 


The trails in the upper part of this river have already been mentioned. Inits lower 
part, from a short distance below the junction of its various forks, it is impassable on 
account of the terrible cafion walls that confine it upon both sides. 

Upon its western side a sort of trail passes to its upper waters. It is more properly 
a series of climbs from rock to rock of the sandstone mesas at the risk of life and 
limb, it being impossible to ride an animal over any portion of it long enough to de- 
serve mention. The nature of the region may be judged of when it is stated that the 
time occupied in passing from the road to the open valleys and plateaus above, a dis- 
tance of 20 miles, was six days. From near the Piedra a shorter route exists to Tierra 
Amarilla than the wagon-road via Pagosa. From the Rio Nutria east of the Piedra 
Parada, or Standing Stone, a remarkable chimney-like mass of rock rising upright 
from its base, there passes a trail to the southeast, crossing the San Juan below the 
mouth of the Blanco and continuing on to the Navajo, crossing the country road en route. 
Thonce it is over part of a trail already described. Like a number of other trails 
designated this is not upon the map, and avoiding Pagosa entirely is valuable solely 
as a cut-off to the Tierra Amarilla or Chama section from the Rio Nutria, the Piedra, 
and beyond. 

THE RIO LOS PINOS AND THE VALLECITO. 


The lower parts of these rivers are easily traversed, but the regions of the heads thereof 
are to be avoided, unless the occurrence of dangerous accidents be of trifling import. 

Up the main stream a trail passes all the way, mainly on the left bank, to the 
Weeminuche Pass; this is, without exaggeration, a horrible trail; necessarily so, in a 
horrible region. Some parties of prospectors essaying to reach the ‘ Needles” at its 
head went along a short distance, but abandoned the attempt. We pushed ahead, and 
got through with one of the party hors du combat, a mule and his rider narrowly escap- 
ing death by falling from the slippery rock over which passed the trail. 

No description can convey any idea of the ruggedness of the great crags of these 
mountains. Let us presume we are looking upon Manhattan Island as it appears from the 
Jersey side. Instead of a single Trinity spire, multiply them till a hundred or more 


rise up before us everywhere. Increase their size, raising up gigantic masses between, ’ 


sharp and craggy, like the edge of a huge, uneven saw, until the highest tops are a 
mile above the bay. Imagine among them sharpened peaks, great precipices, vertical 
cliffs, deep cations before you and behind you everywhere, all of slippery rock, with 
treacherous footholds. In a faint degree such may be likened to the Quartzite Group, 
more aptly known as the Needle Mountains. With a feeling akin to dread their pas- 


sage may be attempted. To avoid the cafion of the Los Pinos a trail just below its: 


southern end, in a magnificent wide valley, passes to the right and beyond the mount- 
ains to the watershed of the Piedra, along which it continues for about 20 miles, 
returning to the river about 3 miles below the incoming trail from the Weeminuche, 
thus avoiding the region of greatest difficulty in the direct ascent of the river. 

The distance from the mouth of the Vallecito to the Weeminuche Pass is, by the 
direct trail in the cafion, about 30 miles—long and difficult ones; by the detour to the 
right 5 miles farther. 


On the Vallecito, or the West Fork of the Los Pinos, an old trail passes up the right - 


bank some six miles, and there is lost in the deep bog on the left bank. Upon the 
left side a trail continues through the entire cation of the river, mainly upon that 
bank. 

At the distance of about 16 miles from the mouth of the Vallecito a mineral spring be- 
side the trail attracts the passer-by. This is better known as the ‘‘ Sheep-lick,” numbers 
of mountain-sheep being attracted thither by the iron constituents of the water. About 
7 miles beyond is a low, flat area called ‘‘Deadwood,” where the east and west forks of 
the stream unite, the latter from the northwest, the former almost in the same line from 
the southeast. The name is derived from the burned, charred pine-trees standing 
thickly throughout the entire area, almost thrown in shadow by the huge crags tower- 
ing fully 2,000 feet above. The trail follows the West Fork to its head in Lake Colum- 
bine, a crystal-green sheet of water 900 feet long by 300 wide, beautifully located in a 
crateriform space amid surrounding precipitous crags. The West Fork, from its mouth 
to its origin in the lake, is about 8 miles in length, with a very rapid fall. Outline 
sketches to the north and east show the horrible nature of the mountain-summits In 
this region, and the difficulties besetting one in making an ascent, which is at most 
points an impossibility. 

In company with a few prospectors, this trail was opened early in September last, 
the ‘‘Needles” being up to that time inaccessible ; since then, we are informed, hun- 


APPENDIX SS. 1805 


dreds of prospectors have passed over it, and it is one of the most important routes in 
the entire region. About 6 miles below the mouth of the Vallecito a trail from the 
Florida, 4 miles in length, reaches the Los Pinos. 


THE FLORIDA. 


As already mentioned, the valleys of the Upper Florida are readily reached by trail, 
but its headwaters are inaccessible to man or beast, and save at but few points can the 
quartzite crags that guard them be climbed over and descended by any human being. 

From Animas City a short route to the Rio Grande is via the road to the Florida, by 
trail up that river, across to the Los Pinos, up the cafion of the latter and via Weemi- 
nuche Pass to the river below, in all some 60 miles, 5 miles being added if the trail to 
the right of the Los Pinos Cafion be taken. From the river opposite Weeminuche 
Pass to Alden’s Junction, in Antelope Park, the distance is 19 miles. 

On the Lower Florida a trail passes to the Las Animas, connecting with the trail for 
the San Juan. 

THE RIO DE LAS ANIMAS. 


From Animas City to the mouth of the river a good trail exists to the San Juan. 
The trip can be made in the lower part on the trail following along in the river-bot- 
tom; but in high stages of the water, the trail on the high mesa crowning the right 
bank should be followed. A trail from the Florida reaches the Animas about 4 miles 
above its mouth, below which, at about the same distance to the south, is the line of 
the Indian reserve. Within this cafion region, in its course to the south, the trail 
crosses and recrosses the river five times within a short distance, after which it con- 
tinues on the left bank. 

The distance from Animas City to the San Juan is about 60 miles. Below Animas 
City a few miles a short trail passes to the La Plata. Farther down, about 5 miles 
above the large ruins upon the west bank of the river, a trail enters the Cafion Arido 
and reaches the San Juan at the mouth of the Cafion del Gobernador on the river 
above the great Cation Largo. 


THE RIO LA PLATA. 


’ From the Rio de las Animas, part way ascending Junction Creek, a trail connects 
Parrott with Animas City. A “short cut,” as we were informed, and but 12 miles in 
length, proved to be about 50 per cent. more, and but little less than the toll-road. A 
trail up the river from Parrott City to its head crosses the range, and continues to the 
East Fork of the Dolores. This has been traversed, but is not attempted by prospect- 
ors. In preference, they make a long detour to and beyond the Mancos. 


THE RIO MANCOS. 


To the north from the union of the forks of the river a trail passes up the West Fork 
of the stream, towards the upper partiof the Lost Canon and the region of the East 
Fork of the Dolores. To the south along the settlements is a wagon-road, and beyond 
that a trail continues the entire length of the river to its mouth, connecting with the 
great trail along the San Juan. . From a point on the west bank of the river about 6 
miles below the road a trail passes to the west above the line of mesas and to the 
north of Ute Mountain into Arizona, reaching the San Juan some distance beyond the 
border. 

THE RIO DOLORES AND BEYOND. 


The shortest trail to the Dolores from the Mancos is from the union of its forks 18} 
miles north of west. En route a trail crosses the Lost Canon and passes north to the 
junction of the East and West Forks of the Dolores (sometimes known also as the 

North and South). 

<A trail follows up the East Fork, branching near its head. One part ascends the 
stream and, crossing at its head to Cascade Creek, follows down to connect with the 
Animas trail to Silverton; the other goes northeast to San Miguel or Front Lake. 
About 5 miles from the lake, southeast of Mount Wilson (Hayden) or Glacier Peak 
(Wheeler), some 14,300 feet in height, lies the mining-camp upon the Dolores, a section 
of whose mineral wealth many reports were heard. From its common use by those 
Indians, and its leading to their reserve, this is generally called the ‘“‘Ute” trail, and 
branches at the lake ; one part passes up the Lake Fork of the San Miguel 11 miles to 
that river and continues on via Uncompahgre Park to the Indian agency and Ouray, 
the latter distance about 20 miles, while the other reaches Silverton via Mineral Creek, 
about 19 miles. At the big bend of the Dolores many trails congregate, its location 
and water supply making it a desirable point. The connections are to all points, are 
important, and may be described in the following manner: 

The Uncompahgre trail.—From the Big Bend the trail passes northeast about 10 miles 
to Plateau Creek, locally known as ‘‘ Beaver Creek,” 16 miles up which is reached a 


1806 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


great depression nearly 15 miles in diameter, called the ‘‘Amphitheater.” Thence one 
branch passes down Disappointment Creek, so called from the waters sinking in the 
earth, a distance of about 28 miles to the Dolores, and thence on the east side of the 
river about 50 miles to the Grand River, meeting the Salt Lake wagon-road running 
down from the Gunnison. The main trail at the Amphitheater continues on some 
40 miles, meeting a trail along which to the right at the distance of 30 miles Ouray is 
reached, and the Uncompahgre Agency at the distance of 22 miles, being situated 
farther down the Uncompahgre River than Ouray. 

The Ute trail.—This passes from the Big Bend to the ‘‘ Pioneer Mining District,” on 
the Dolores, to San Mignel Lake and beyond, and with its connections has been already 
mentioned. Both this and the Uncompahgre trail reach the Big Bend from the right. 

The Navajo trail.—This is one of those arriving on the left bank of the river, coming 
in from the south, leading from Ute Mountain, 15 miles distant, and is so called be- 
cause it is the line of travel to the country of the Navajo Indians. At the point of 
Ute Peak it crosses the California trail, passes to the left or east of the mountain, to 
the San Juan River, about 30 miles, where it forms a junction with the Santa F6 trail, 
via Parrott City, to Fort Defiance. 

From the Big Bend a trail parallel to the former passes along for 5 miles, and, 
branching to the right, crosses the head of McElmo Creek, on the right-hand side 
(north) of Ute Peak, and is merged into the great California trail. 

A trail near the Ute Mountain branches from the Navajo, passing to the left. Skirt- 
ing under the foot of one of the huge mesa walls, it passes into the cafion of the Man- 
cos, continuing on past the Cliff Houses, 11 miles within the cation, turning up an 
arroyo, or more properly a side canon on the left, reaching with some difficulty, the 
top of the mesa. Thence it passes to the La Plata, reaching the river below the mouth 
of Cherry Creek, distant about 15 miles from the top of the mesa of the Mancos Canon. 
Passing down the La Plata some 12 miles, the Indian villages of the Weeminuche Utes 
are reached, and continuing on after crossing the stream 3 times, at a distance of 
about 10 miles from the vilages, the trail leaves the river turning, southeast, and reach- 
ing the mouth of the Animas, about 3 miles beyond. The Animas is crossed, and soon 
afier the San Juan itself is forded, and upon the south bank of the latter the trail 
continues to Cafon Largo, 23 miles from the month of the Animas. The trail then 
passes via this well known cafion to Abiquin, about 120 miles en route to Santa Fé. 

The Santa Fé and Salt Lake trail.—This is a very important trail leading to the north- 
west, over a portion of which we have come from the Mancos. From its having been 
traveled by Captain (now Colonel) Macomb, of the United States Eugineers, in his 
celebrated expedition of 1859, it is in some portions known as ‘‘Macomb’s trail.” 
It passes out from the Big Bend about 5 miles to the west, and thence to the northwest, 
reaching, 8 miles distant, the Ojo Vallecito, signifying the ‘‘Spring in the little val- 
ley.” At perhaps 9 miles to the northwest another spring is found, where the trail 
forks. The branch going to the left, to the west, reaches the southern point of the 
mountains called generally the Blue, though to the Indians as the Elk Mountains. 
Around the Blue Mountains this trail continues to the Colorado River. 

The main trail passes to the north, water being fortunately found at not very dis- 
tant intervals, in the shape of springs, and continues to the Sierra La Sal. At their 
southern slope it changes its direction to the northeast to the Rio La Sal, which rises 
in the mountains from which it derives its name. \ This stream waters a beautiful 
valley, so attractive and lovely that it bears the name of the Valley of Sinbad, lying 
on the slope of the high mountains which trend down toward the Dolores on the east. 
The trail following down to the river continues down the Dolores about 20 miles to 
the Grand. Fording the latter it reaches, nearly 5 miles distant, the Salt Lake wagon- 
road coming from Ouray, the Uncompahgre Agency and the valley of the Gunnison to 
the east. Passing the road the trail continues on to Gunnison’s Crossing of the Green 
River, a fine and easy passage in a region where the river is within a difficult cation, 
above and below this point, so named from i‘s use by that officer in his explorations 
in 1853. 

At Sierra La Sal is a cut-off on the former trail. It is the main trail in reality, and 
is universally used in the fall and winter, but from the high stages of water in the 
Grand is not available during the spring and part of the summer. At the southwest 
edge of the Sierra La Sal it turns to the left, and crossing the Grand River passes 
direct to the Salt Lake wagon-road above. : 

The California trail.—This line, already referred to, may be mentioned more in detail, 
although the connecting link which we traversed is but a small part of the entire 
route. It passes from a point on the Mancos, about 20 miles from Parrott City, to the 
west some 15 miles to the Navajo trail; along this nearly 8 miles; thence 5 miles to the 
southwestern part of the Ute Mountain. From this point it passes to the west, about 
50 miles, to Epsom Creek, a northern tributary of the San Juan, in Utah, whose 
mouth is opposite that of the Rio de Chelle on the south. Descending the creek to 
the San Juan, and ascending the Rio de Chelle in Arizona, it passes to the southwest. 
At San Francisco Mountan a branch goes to the south to Prescott, the main trail con- 
tinuing on to beyond Fort Mojave, on the Colorado River, via Hualpai Springs. 


APPENDIX SS. . 1807 


Silverton trails.—By far the most important trail in the lower country has been for 
some time the trail connecting it with the mining country, known as the Animas 
trail to Silverton. It passes up from the Park over the cliffs and mountain-slopes and 
to the east of Engineer Peak, making Animas City about 48 miles from Silverton. 
Upon Lime Creek this trail divides, both branches reaching Silverton, the one to the 
east descending along the cafion sides of the river, that to the west following down 
Bear and Mineral Creeks to the town. This will undoubtedly fall into disuse on 
account of the opening of the Wightman toll-road in the canon of the river below, 
which is not only a fine route but lacks also any of the excessively steep and long 
grades encountered on the trail. 

From Silverton, trails lead into allthe contiguous gulches and surrounding mining- 
camps of which it is the center, and are therefore, in general, but local in their value. 
Several, however, extend beyond the immediate vicinity, and are important in their 
connections. 

From the west down the South Fork of the Mineral Creek comes the trail from the 
Zan Miguel country, prospectively a very valuable region; one up the other fork of 
the same creek leads to the north, connecting with mining-camps on the Upper Un- 
compahere waiters. 

Ascending Cement Creek, a trail passes to the north and beyond to Hurricane Peak, 
prospectively a valuable camp; around and beyond which mountain, via the Uncom- 
pahgre River, Ouray may be reached, about 24 miles from Silverton. 

Leaving the wagon-road in Cunningham Gulch, 2 miles from Howardsville, the Rio 
Grande trail ascends the gulch, crossing the Continental Divide on an easy rolling 
pass, about 500 feet lower than the wagon-road, again joining it on the Rio Grande 
watershed. Although a few miles longer detour to the point of meeting, the Cunning- 
ham Gulch trail is preferred by pack-trains on account of its easier gradients; that of 
the road, for nearly three miles to the pass, in which it ascends the mountain-side, 
averaging 880 feet per mile. From this an idea of the situation of Silverton may be 
gathered—a green patch of land closely shut in and isolated by huge encircling 
mountains. 

The Ouray trail.—As previously mentioned under the heading of road communica- 
tions down and up the Animas, wagon-roads are now in operation. From the farthest 
point north on the latter, Mineral City, lying at the edge of timber-line and about 
11,500 feet, a trail passes down Poughkeepsie Gulch and the Uncompahgre to Ouray. 
This is about 74 miles long, and is said to be the most horrible and fearful trail in the 
country. Old prospectors, ‘‘forty-niners,” in the San Juan, have stated that it has 
no rival in California or Nevada. A wagon-road projected over this route is estimated 
to cost over $60,000, on account of the immense quantity of blasting necessitated. 

From a point of the Hensen Creek toll-road on the divide east of Mineral City a 
trail passes down over the mountains east of Ouray to the Uncompahgne Park and 
the agency down the river; distance not known. 

Lake City trails.—Fortunately for Lake City her trails are a thing of the past, and 
are replaced by roads which in general follow the routes of the old-established trails. 

The building of toll-roads here is moreover indicative of permanent prosperity, and 
furnishes indubitable proof of mineral wealth of her surroundings; without such 
foundation they would not exist. 

From Lake San Cristobal (the lake of Saint Christopher) a trail passes due southeast 
across the Continental Divide, meeting the toll-road on Clear Creek, continuing on also | 
down the same stream to Galloway’s and other settlements in Upper Antelope Park. 

The same toll-road, west of the divide, touches Cebolla Creek, the same signifying 
an onion. The same stream has been mapped as “‘ White Earth Creek,” but improperly, 
being otherwise locally known. From this point a trail passes down Cebolla Creek 
about 5 miles long and 14 in width, a fine grazing section, lying one-third in the In- 
dian reserve, and continues northeast to the Los Pinos Agency. 

The Rio Grande.—Descending the river, the principal trail worthy of note and not 
already mentioned is that in the deep canon of the Rio Grande, from the foot of the 
Weeminuche Pass to the head of Antelope Park. It is a cut-off on the circuitous route 
of the road, which, opposite the pass, ascends a hill fully a thousand feet high. The 
trail passes largely over slopes and small benches above the river, whose edges are ver- 
tical cliffs several hundred feet in height, and in part over masses of slide rock. The 
dis‘ance referred to by wagon-route is about 12 miles, that by the trail is fully 2 miles 
less. Ascending the Hot Springs Creek, at Wagon Wheel Gap a trail, we were informed, 
exists. Whether or not it crosses the divide and descends to Pagosa, via the West Fork 
of the San Juan, the two streams heading not far distant, we are not aware. Limited 
time and heavy snows, with more important lines to be examined, prevented a recon- 
naissance of this portion of the divide. 

The trails and connections of the West and the South Forks of the Rio Grande have 
been previously mentioned. 

On Embargo Creek, the largest tributary on the north side, below Wagon Wheel Gap, 


a local trail ascending the stream is at present replaced by a wagon-road, and ranches 
yime the way. 


1808 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


CHAPTER IV.—POPULATION. 


The wave of emigration setting in towards the valley of the San Juan nearly iv 
decades ago, only to encounter impassable barriers in an unknown country, a wilder- 
ness impenetrable, and hostile savages, and be rolled back at every point, has again 
returned, From every direction settlers have come in immense numbers, more are still 
on the way, and in every section of the San Juan a population is arising possessing 
every indication of permanency. 

To personally examine the various parts of the country and to report specifically 
upon the numbers and occupations of the dwellers therein, by whom had been made 
numerous requests for military protection, was one of the objects of the reconnaissance. — 

A brief summary or census of the principal points of settlement is therefore fur-— 
nished, accompanied by a map showing the area of the country covered while in the 
field, the lines of communication with ‘the roads in tr aveling order, and those portions 
of the country which have been occupied by settlers for farming, ‘either ranching or 
grazing, and by prospectors for mining purposes, in which the sections that are thickly 
populated are so indicated. 

As may be already inferred, the ends which settlers have in view are of two varied 
and distinct natures, agricultural and pastoral pursuits and mining, the latter attract- 
ing by far the larger majority. 

The far ming and grazing population establish themselves on the lower parts of rivers 
and streams, and are permanently thereon; the mining-camps, wholly or almost en- — 
tirely, are located at the headwaters of streams or upon mountain pe aks near by.’ Ow- 
ing to the short working-season and the intense severity of the winter at that elevation, 
the mining-population is of a semi-permanent nature, leaving about the latter part of 
October, and returning in May or June, from the towns or the lower regions, where they 
congregate for the winter. 

As an illustration of the brevity of the working-season may be mentioned the visits 
to the Summit, a gold-mining district southwest of Del Norte. They were three in 
number, and from different directions, during the reconnaissance: in June, from the 
Lower Alamosa; in August, from Pagosa, via the San Juan; and in October, from Del 
Norte. In August only was the way not impeded by snow, the total precipitation 
there for the year ending November 1 being 24 feet. The population, which in June 
was 125, had decreased in 1 October to 23, while scarcely a dozen were to remain through 
the winter. 

In preparing the printed table of densest popul ated districts attached to the map, 
the population belonging to various mining-camps has been so accredited, since it 
there properly belongs, and with other of a floating nature fully aggregates the num- 
bers given. While there may be a percentage of error in the designated numbers in a 
few instances, it is, on the whole, believed to be less than the total of all the region 
visited from the existence of obstacles to an exact and actual count, 

The difficulties of arriving at a thorough and perfect census in such localities may 
well be imagined, for while a town is drained of its winter population for the mining 
regions, prospectors distribute themselves through localities almost uninhabited, or 
waver from one section to another as its prospects change. There were, for instance, 
from three to four hundred more persons in Lake City last spring than are SO credited, 
owing to their temporary stay ; immigration was very great to this locality, but, disap- 
pointed i in endeavors to find employment, they either returned or spread out into new 
districts. 

THE CONEJOS SECTION 


lies in Conejos County, Colorado, upon the Conejos and San Antonio Rivers, is the seat 
of the largest Mexican population west of the Rio Grande, and one of the most thickly 
settled localities of that nationality in the State. It comprises a number of plazas, 
or towns, and settlements, known collectively as Conejos, which have not as yet been 
correctly and fully indicated upon any map. Individually they are located and a 
tinguished as follows: 

Guadalupe (Guadaloupe), situated entirely on the south bank of the Rio Conejos, as 
indicated upon the map, being about 14 miles from La Jara, its altitude being 7,860 
feet; population, about 450; contains three good stores, one American and two Mexi- 
can, a large church, residences of the priests, “with fine gardens attached; all the build- 
ings of the place being of adobe, a native brick of extensive use. This contains the 
post-office of the entire section, mails being tri-weekly from Del Norte. Major Head, 
lieutenant-governor of Colorado, resides here. A grand council between Ouray, claim 
ing supremacy over all the Utes, and Ignacio, war-chief of the three southern and 
disaffected tribes, accompanied by their several chiefs, was held at his residence in 
July last, as being on neutral territory, and because he is greatly respected by all the 
tribes of Colorado Utes. 

A small plaza on the opposite bank from Guadalupe is known as Conejos. It con- 
tains a good store and a small population. 


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MAIN POPULATED DISTRICTS 1877, feputation. 
Gengos and retakboning places Mavican)........ 2390 
‘ \ Tierice Arvecn illetjplaxas/Amer SOME G00 / 
ssi z: Y\ Selllere on Rin de tos 
2S ase Animes Oty and vicinity .. 
: Parrott (ly [Hegiiter-ed voters 61) 


Hermosa. 5 
Silverton (Registered voters £50) 
idjowureg mung carps (Registered vulens LD) 
Tithe City (Hegistered yoless 800) 
Adjoining naning camps and. towns 
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Det Norke (Regitteredbvoters 500) 
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Corrections to Area covered during San Juan Reconnoissance 1877 SSS CAH. Mt Cauley : Kngraved in the Office of the Chief of Engineers. 
November, 1877. untry settled upon’ or occupted, for Muning PUPPOSes — 22 Zient.3t# Arti 
4 Towns and thickly populated mining camps — —~—— ~— es 28 Dreut. 30? Arty. 
Tolland County Roads urtraveling cond ition — _- = in Charge. 
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oi: AREA TG a> yt enaed 
Leb gE Srieg- Spt Ree 


wie Rts Fe wie 
ive, Skis tay 


“es Side k SEM Ee dere, Spe 


eT 


> a ihe 


APPENDIX SS. 1809 


_ San Rafael or San Rafael en el Catton, as it is called by the Mexicans (Saint Raphael 

in the Cafion), is 3} miles west of Guadalupe, on the south bank of the Rio Conejos 

| and along a small cafion ; population, about 300. 

San Antonio (Saint Anthony) is about 3 miles south of Guadalupe, on the Rio San 
Antonio; population, about 50. 

_ Los Pinos (The Pines), from its situation on Los Pinos Creek, about 7 miles south of 

Guadalupe; population, nearly 450. 

'. Cordon (The Line of Stones, from basaltic rocks near by), about 2 miles south of 

Guadalupe; population small. - 

Cenizaros (from Ceniza, ashes), about 5 miles southeast of Guadalupe; population, 

0 


La Servilleta (The Napkin), about 2 miles east of Guadalupe, on the north side of the 
Rio Conejos; population, 150. : 
_ £l Brazo (The Arm), on the north side of same stream, 4 miles east of Guadalupe; 
_ population, 125. 
Fuertecitos (from Fuerte, the provincialism for a log cabin), 7 miles east of Guadalupe, 
- opposite the establishment of Sefior Valdez; population, 125. 
_ San José (Saint Joseph), 7 miles east of Guadalupe, near Conejos and San Antonio 
- Rivers, and on main road to Valdez Ferry from Guadalupe ; population, about 70. 
Los Cerritos (The Hills, situated near by), about 10 miles east of Guadalupe, on north 
_ bank of the Conejos; population, about 70. 
Los Sauces (The Willows), 22 miles east of Guadalupe, at the mouth of the Rio Cone- 
_ jos; population, 200. 
The entire population of this section is 2,390 souls. 


THE TIERRA AMARILLA 


_is the center of the Mexican population of Northwestern New Mexico, the industry 
_ of the inhabitants being limited to agriculture and pastoral pursuits. In this section 
are included five Mexican plazas, clustered together along the Rio Chama and its. 
tributaries. 

Las Nutritas is the largest of the group, to which sometimes the name of the section 
itself is applied. It derives its name from the creek upon whose bank it lies, a tribu- 
tary of the Chama. The name La Nutrita, a diminutive, signifies ‘‘the little otter.” 
By aprovincialism, however, they employ nutria as a beaver, using to designate an otter’ 
the expression perro del agua, or water-dog. The town is equidistant from Los Ojos 
. and Encinada, 2 miles from each. It contains three stores—that of Burns, an Ameri- 

can, annual sales of $20,000; Johnson & Co., $8,000 to $10,000; and Th. Eseabal, $5,000— 

a shoe-shop, and blacksmith building. The post-office of the section was located here, 
aoa being weekly only and from no direction save from Santa Fé to the south; popu-- 
- lation, 250. 
_ Los Ojos (The Springs) is on the Rio Chama, due west from Las Nutritas 2 miles. It 
contains 4 stores, one a branch of Burns’ at Nutritas, annual sales given as $10,000, and 
three Mexican, small affairs, sales aggregating perhaps $8,000. It is 14 miles below 
Los Brazos, and its population is 180. The Chama River is forded at this point for all 
directions west, its altitude being 7,300 feet, while that of Las Nutritas is 7,480. 

La Puente (The Bridge), on the Chama, 2 miles from Las Nutritas and same distance: 
southeast from Los Ojos; no stores; a small plaza; population, 100. 

Encinada (The Oak) is 2 miles above Las Nutritas, on the East Fork of the Chama,. 
sometimes called Rio Brazos, and same distance east of Los Ojos. There are no stores. 
here; it is a second-rate plaza of 100. 

Los Brazos (The Arms), from its location at the junction of the two main forks of the 
Tiver, at an altitude of 7,350 feet. It is 14 miles north of Los Ojos, and, like it, is on 
the river-bank. There are no stores here, and in population it numbers 170. 

The entire population of the Tierra Amarilla section is 800. 

Above Los Brazos half a mile was the embryo town of Park View, all Americans.. 
They claimed 75 persons in all, being in fact eight cabins, and aggregating, donbtless, 
from very reliable information, from 30 to 40 persons. Town-lots and a city-hall loca-. 
tion were staked out, but nothing substantial was seen. This was a Chicago colony, 
with aspects much beclouded, being under the same management as the new ‘‘ road” 
from Conejos. Since leaving the section we have been informed that the road is still 
unfinished, and that most of the colonists have gone to the Animas region. 

Passing to the west via Pagosa, 1224 miles from Las Nutritas, we reach the largest 
place in the Lower San Juan, known as Animas City, lying at the southern end of the: 
Animas Park. 


ANIMAS CITY AND PARK. 


Of all the country adapted to agriculture, that drained by the Animas is receiving 
the largest amount of emigration, the portion known as the Animas Park extending’ 


1145 


1810 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


from the mouth of Junction Creek, about 13 miles to the north, an especially beautiful 
and fertile valley, with an elevation from 6,500 to 6,800 feet, having already been 
almost wholly oceupied. 

Animas City referred to is a new and growing town on the right bank of the Animas, 
just above the mouth of Junction Creek, at an_altitude of 6,450 feet. Itis not laid 
down on any Hayden or Wheeler map, and must not be confounded with the ‘Animas 
City” of Wheeler, which is an old, deserted place, about 12 miles above, and on the 
other bank of the river. The opening of the Jicarilla Apache reservation to settlement : 
has during the past year drawn a considerable number of emigrants to the San Juan, 
the Lower Animas, and the La Plata. 

The most thickly settled locality is in the vicinity of the town, where were counted 
38 cabins, houses, and various buildings, not including afew corrals. The population 
was given at 250 (September), the winter force dwindling down, it was said, to 15 or 
20 families. There were four stores, hardware and general merchandise, and every- 
thing had a brisk look in the way of business; containing, also, a post-office, cigar 
store, barber-shop, &c. Three quarter-sections were occupied as the town site, which 
was handsomely located at the lower end of the park, upon the right or west bank of » 
the river, some six or eight cabins only being on the other. The town and vicinity is 
accredited with a population of 450. 

At Hermosa, near the mouth of Hermosa Creek, some 84 miles above Animas City, 
in the Park, a dozen scattered dwellings were observed. From the best information 
that could be gathered, the total population may be placed at 60. 

In this La Plata country there were stated to be 11,000 sheep and 5,000 head of 
stock, mainly in the Animas Park. 

The only other town in the Lower San Juan is 


PARROTT CITY, 


to the west upon the La Plata, at an altitude of 8,650 feet 18 miles by a trail, scarcely 
two more by the toll-road, elsewhere described. It contains some 40 houses, possess- 
ing in general a handsome appearance for the size of the place, and is the county seat 
of La Plata County, for which honor Animas City now contends. The number of reg- . 
istered voters in Parrott, an election being held within a month thereafter, was 61; 
the population of a permanent nature was stated to be 100, and its summer population 
was given as 400 to 500. While this was undoubtedly possessed in earlier mining days, 
no such population existed at the time of the visit. Its class of buildings are superior 
to those of Animas City and included the offices of the county officials, post-office, a 
store, blacksmith-shop, &c. The accredited population of the place is 125. Both 
here and at Animas City a weekly mail is received via Silverton all the year round. 
Entering the mining regions, the first place worthy of note isthe promising town of 


SILVERTON, 


a 


situated in Baker’s Park, of which the town site occupies 360 acres, its altitude being 
9,300 feet. It is situated upon a fine level above the river, is well laid out, and is sup- 
plied with irrigating ditches and shade-trees. 

It contained about 175 buildings of all sorts and descriptions, of brick, frame, and 
log construction, including eight supply-stores for general merchandise, "drug-stores, 
blacksmith- -shops, saw-mill, bakery, and butcher-shops, barber-shops, a number of 
saloons, and a post-office, and possessed in addition an enterprising weekly newspaper, 
the La Plata Miner. 

Greene’s Reduction Works are in the immediate town, and those of Melville & 
Summerfield a short distance below. It is the county- -seat of San Juan County, the 
offices of which are of course located here. Notwithstanding its lack of roads, every- 
thing indicated present and future prosperity. The great mass of incoming supplies 
and outgoing shipments of bullion are by pack-trains over the range via Cunningham 
Gulch. 

All of its rapid outer-communication is via Lake City, there being a biweekly coach, 
a private enterprise to that town. To and from Lake City, 4 mails per week, we were 
informed, were each way exchanged, and during the same time there were 3 ‘from Del 
Norte. 

The county officials were again here consulted, and there were found registered for 
the approaching election in the entire precinct 400 voters, of whom it was estimated 
that 250 belonged to the town and the balance to the immediate vicinity. The basis 
of a rude census or an estimate of the population which obtains in the cities and towns 
of the East is wholly inapplicable in the mining districts. Presuming upon the ma- 
jority of voters being family men and increasing the number from five to seven times, 
will there often give an approximate if not an almost accurate result. Here it would 
be wholly erroneous and great inaccuracy would result. With but few exceptions pro-— 


APPENDIX SS. 1811 


spectors and miners in general in a new country, if married men, leave their wives and 
families behind them and “bach it,” to use the provincialism. In short, the newer 
the country and the more inaccessible, the closer do the yoters and the men alone rep- 
resent the total population. The permanent inhabitants of the town were estimated 
to be 300, while in summer there were from 300 to 400 floating. 

The population to Silverton accredited is, therefore, 700, while that of adjoining 
mining-camps is placed at 400. 

" 


<a, 


— 


HOWARDSVILLE, 

upon the Animas, about five miles above Silverton, is at the mouth of Cunningham 
Gulch; its altitude being 9,675 feet. It contained 60 houses, cabins, &c., including 
‘four stores, a butcher-shop, a brewery, and three saloons. Reduction works of small 
capacity, belonging to Mr. Edward Inness, are also located here. In the precinct 
‘there were registered 100 voters; the permanent population being given as 50, which, 
with the incoming float of the summer, is increased to 200. 


i: 


_ Ascending the river we come upon 


EUREKA, 


a lively camp on the Animas at the mouth of Eureka Gulch, at the northern end of 
the depression called Baker’s Park, with an altitude of 10,500 feet, containing post- 
office and stores, and four miles up from Howardsville. Beyond that, at the head of 
the gulch of the Animas, is 


3 ANIMAS FORKS, 


blessed with a post-office and two roads to Lake; its altitude being about 11,300 feet. 
The first, ascending Cinnamon Gulch, descends into the mining region of Burrows’ Park, 
-and follows down the Lake Fork of the Gunnison. The other, a shorter and better 
route, goes via Mineral City to the Hensen Creek route. The distance by the latter 
is scarcely over 23 miles, while by the former it exceeds 28 miles. By the latter road, 
three miles over the range and at the edge of timber line, as it is also situated, lies 


MINERAL CITY, 


which promises to be the liveliest camp of the three, from the heavy amount of capi- 
tal that was entering late in the season, and promised an increase for 1878. Like the 
others, it possesses a post-office, all mails being received from Lake. Its altitude is 
11,500 feet. 

The summer population of the three places may be said to have been 500 in all. 

In the immediate mining district of 


BURROWS’ PARK 


here were said to be 200 persons in all, the chief centers being Tellurium, Sherman, 
and Argentum, the first named being the oldest and principal place, with a post-office 
and stores on a larger scale than the others and some 30 or 40 inhabitants. 

Down the trail from Mineral City, about eight miles distant, lies 


OURAY, 


in a magnificent mining country of which it is destined to be the center. The townis 
beautifully situated in a small basin at the head‘of the Uncompahgre Park at an alti- 
‘tude of about 8,000 feet, the great valley of the river lying beyond to the north. 
Here are combined, to a degree nowhere else existing, great deposits of precious 
metal in the mountains with agricultural wealth below. In the spring it had a popu- 
lation of about 350, a set of smelting works, a sampling establishment, two saw- 
mills, &c. In the fall the population had doubled, and promises to rapidly increase. 
Like Silverton, it is badly in need of roads. By the only one it possesses the distance 
to Lake being called 100 miles, while it is but 28 miles by trail and road from Mineral 
City. The population accredited to this point and adjoining mining-camps in Pough- 
_keepsie, Bear, Red, and Cafion Gulches was 1,000. 
_ Descending Hensen Creek, en route to Lake, is passed 


CAPITAL CITY, ; 


at an altitude of 9,500 feet, and as yet but a youthful metropolis. During the season 
the population increased to 150. Fine mines surround it, and a smelter was erected 
but not in operation. 


1812 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


LAKE CITY, 


at present the metropolis of the San Juan and the leading town of the southwest, is finely 
situated upon the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, at the mouth of Hensen Creek, with an alti- 
titude of 8,625feet. In March, 1876, there was a population of 300 and about 50 buildings 
in the town; in March, 1877, it had increased to 1,500 and about 350 buildings, its popula- 
tion at the time of our visit being from 1,800 to2,000. During the spring there were 300 or 
400 idle men in the town in search of work, but being unsuccessful they did not remain. 
It contained 3 banks, 1 national and 2 private; a number of dry-goods houses, of which 
10 were large firms, with an average stock of $15,000 to $25,000; some 10 assayers, 9 
surveyors, and the usual proportion of lawyers.and doctors; 3 bakeries, 3 barber- 
shops, brick-yards, corrals, and feed-stables; a furniture-house, a planing and a saw- 
mill, 2 drug-stores, 4 hardware-stores, 2 jewelry establishments, 4 meat-markets, about 
20 saloons, and 4 laundries operated by immigrants from the Celestial Empire; 2 
churches, 1 Episcopal, the other Presbyterian, indicate its permanent population ; 
there being also two other church organizations with edifices—1 Catholic, the other 
Methodist. Its great industries are its 3 large reduction works, to be hereafter de- 
scribed, while 4 hotels, 6 restaurants (2 of them rivals and very fine establishments), 
and 3 breweries doa thriving business. The San Juan being one of the United States 
land districts, the office is situated here. A hook and ladder company, with Babcock 
extinguishers, exists, and also a public library and reading-room ; while last, but not 
least, there are 2 bright and spicy weekly newspapers, the Silver World and the San 
Juan Crescent, with job-printing offices attachcd. At the post-office there was 
observed an extensive news-stand with all the popular dailies of New York City and 
papers of the Pacific coast, with the weeklies and monthly magazines. 

To Garland and the railroad there are daily mails and a coach each way, of Barlow 


& Sanderson’s line, the most extensive in the United States it is said. To Silverton ~ 


the mails were tri-weekly, carried upon horseback, and to the north, down the Lake 
Fork, the service was also tri-weekly by a buck-board, the medium of fast communi- 
cation in the mountainous region of the West. 

The town line is in the center of the creek, the Lake Fork, and upon the opposite 
or eastern bank the buildings constitute Wade’s Addition. This, with Crookeville to 


the south and above the town, about the concentration works, will aggregate fully - 


the number given, if not slightly exceed it. 

Of all the places mentioned as within the great mineral region, none may be con- 
sidered as advanced beyond the stage or condition of mining-camps save Lake City, 
Silverton, and Ouray. 

To the southeast, where the Rio Grande emerges from its cation region, to the great 
plain of San Luis Valley, les 


DEL NORTE, 


on the south bank of the Rio Grande, at an altitude of 7,750 feet. 

West Del Norte, where settlements first arose, lost its former business by the erection 
of a fine business block lower down in the town, near which all the stores and houses 
gathered; many buildings, therefore, are found deserted or unoccupied in entering 
the place from the west. There were between 300 and 400 voters registered at the 
election which had then just been held, the population of the place being 1,500. There 
are five large wholesale houses—two of dry goods, with a stock of $80,000 and $50,000 ; 
a large hardware establishment, stock $40,000 to $50,000, having a branch store at Lake, 
and two others carrying amounts of $25,000 each. In addition thereto are some 30 
stores of dry goods, groceries, and of a general nature, doing a small business; 4 meat- 
markets, 2 drug-stores, 4 large livery establishments, 6 shoe-stores, 2 harness-shops, 2 
jewelry establishments, 3 wagon-shops, and 2 tailoring stores were observed. There 
were 3 hotels, one being a fine brick structure, while 4 restaurants, 10 saloons, 2 
billiard-rooms, 2 breweries, a photograph gallery, and 4 blacksmith-shops also 
exist. The Bank of San Juan, a private and very fine institution, furnishes ample 
exchange; fire protection existing in a hook and ladder company, with Babcock extin- 
guishers; a fine library and reading-room was found, while the professional men were 
an assayer, a civil engineer, and the quota of lawyers and doctors. It possesses a very 
handsome school-house, erected at a cost of $10,000; a fine church edifice, of stone, 60 


by 45 feet, denomination Methodist; an Episcopal one, of frame, 30 by 22 feet; and 


three other church organizations—Catholic, Presbyterian, and Baptist—neither of 
which possesses a building; a court-house and jail, 50 by 25 feet, very strong and 
secure, on which account prisoners are there confined from Lake, Saguache, &c.; brick- 
yards, with machinery in use, and four sawmills within 20 miles, finding a market 
here; offices of the United States Land Department and Internal Revenue, and also of 
the United States timber agent, are at this point. It has a fine weekly newspaper, of 
extensive circulation, and the oldest in the San Juan, called the San Juan Prospector. 

The town-site is very fine and the place well arranged, the streets being wide and 


——— 


APPENDIX SS. 1813 


bordered with shade-trees, for which is utilized an irrigating ditch of 14 miles in 
length, furnishing the water-supply of the town. 

At the time of our visit a telegraph-line from Garland was being erected, and was 
in operation in December; it was being constructed for a very low figure, the poles 
being furnished and delivered along the line for seventy cents each. 

An organization known as the Del Norte and Alamosa Railroad Company was 
already formed for the building and operation of a line from Alamosa, the new ter- 
minus of the railroad to the town; the length of track being 26 miles. Of its con- 
struction being entered upon nothing has been learned at the time of writing; its 
building, however, will revive the business connections and interests of the place and 
greatly add to its permanent prosperity. 

The following table gives the distances between some of the most interesting and 
important points visited during the reconnaissance ; on account of its relating directly 
to the centers of population it is here inserted, instead of being included in the treat- 
ment of ‘‘ Lines of communication,” to which it properly refers: 


Between what points. Miles. Remarks. 
Garland City to. Fort Garland -2..... ...-...--+--+-------- 6.5 | Railroad terminus at Garland City. 
Hort Garland to Stewart's Perry-..-...-------------.----- 19.5 ; Stewart's, or upper ferry, on the Rio 
Peers a orty 1) CONCIOS -..-/> ~~. 7.2: -2--------- 2-2-5 - 26. 5 Grande. 
Piehiaatian ww Chevez Perry .--..-.-2.2252 222225. 22225. 31.5 ; Valdez, or lower ferry, formerly 
Maken ency TO COUGIOS 22622... 2-0 =... 0012-2 oe. ace 5 18 Myers’s. 
Conejos to Tierra Amarilla (Las Nutritas) via Ojo Caliente} 150 
Conejos to Tierra Amarilla (Las Nutritas) via Cueva ....| 120 
Conejos to Tierra Amarilla (Las Nutritas) via the Chama 60. 7 
route. 
See rice to Los'Qjos / 22 2.022 2-0 s0 2 2 eet eee see 2 Chama River forded at Los Ojos. 
es L108 to rio) Navajo <<. 22s <= <2 2 sie os 2 oe nese -2 = - eo 33. 2 
Peet ne fi PAIRCO. 8 oo on we wn 12.3 | > Upper road to Pagosa. 
THe, blanco to Pagosa Springs. ......--.-----./s2--56---6- 10.6 
Conejos to Pagosa via Ojo Caliente -........------...-.-- 208 County-road; lower route. 
Conejos to Pacosa via Cueva ....-.--..-..-2..---+-+----- 178 County-road ; cut-off. 
Conejos to Pagosa via the Chama route. --..-...--..----- 114.8 | New toll-road; 12 miles incomplete. 
Conejos to Pagosa via San Antonio route --.--.----..---- 112.8 | Newtoll-road; constructing. 
Conejos to Pagosa via Chama-Navajo route ..-...--.----- 77.4 | Proposed United States road; the 
shortest route West. 
Pagosa Springs to the Summit District ..-........-.------ 49 Trail up Rio San Juan. 
Pagosa to Rio Nutria (spring near ranch of Colonel 13 
Te ee Bn! 
BPN eta tO 1OORA fe owoue ese. 6 J258a 2: kek ak TEU d 
Rio Piedra to Rio de los Pinos .........-...----.----.-- ioe (ee 
mode tos Pinos to Rio Florida -.......-/....-<------2-.- 13. 6 
Rio Florida to Rio de los Animas ...........-...---.----- 5.8 4 
. : 13 19.5 | Via toll-road. 
| ilaiialaaea se as auagonanena {| 18a | Via trail 
arrott City to East Fork Rio Mancos......-.........--- 11..9 ’ 
East Fork - West Fork Rio Mancos 5222822 2.tce-2652.5 ay } County-road. 
Thence to Big Bend Rio Dolores (Camp 64, September 23); 18.7 | Trail. 
Parrott City to mouth Rio la Plata .......-..-...---.----- 54 Toll-road. 
Animas City to mouth Rio de las Animas...---.--....--- 58.5 | Trial. 
pees sity. to Hermosa... 22 2.22252 29/2 ee eee. 8.6 | County-road. 
Hermosa, via Grand Cation of the Animas, to Silverton..| 38.1 | Wightman’s new toll-road. 
paverton bo Howardsville,....-..- 2. - --2222.2--42.----5-~ 4.7 | County-road. 
Howardsville to Lake City, via Animas Forks and Bur- 36. 6 
row’s Park. Toll-roads. 
Howardsville to Lake City, via Mineral City and Hen- 31 
sen Creek. 


16.3 | Summit of pass, 12,400 feet. 


Howardsville, via old wagon-road, to Carr’s.......--...-. 
22.7 | Pass, 11,900 feet. 


Howardsville, via Cunningham Gulch and trail over 
Summit, to Carr’s. 


Carr’s to Alden’s Junction or Antelope Springs...-....-- | 27 

Pom aime ake Oily... 222 eee anid eee (OE RAE eae 33.5 | Toll-road; pass, 11,100 feet. 
Alden’s or Antelope Springs to Wagon-Wheel Gap...... 16 
~Wagon-Wheel Gap to mouth South Fork Rio Grande..-.| 11.6 t port road down Rio Grande. 
Pee eee NOTbe -..-. 0500 -b be ee eee ee oe Ee elo 

Men Wares ithe Summit _...28.1 lieve. css cae ae 27.8 | Toll-road. 

met wernt Fort Garland -...-2.9 2002-6. deals nese os 60 County-road. 

Welevorieteiedra Pintada.... 22.64 -sesee. nse os a 15.9 | 

Thence to La Jara post-oftice on Rio de la Jara.......... 18. 6 | tn San Luis Valley; county-road. 
Thence to Conejos... -. Re ren ee ah SU es 13.5 


1814 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


CHAPTER V.—MINES AND MINERAL WEALTH. 


Bui little can be told of the difficulties under which a wild and isolated country 
labors, of the hardships endured by her pioneers and settlers during the transition 
from a wilderness to that of an established mining region. The trials and sufferings 
of early explorers in the Rocky Mountains, when bodies of troops, overcome by the 
severe storms of the winter in pathless forests, narrowly escaped starvation, are already 
recorded and read like works of fiction. Who shall describe the wonderful adventures 
and excessive hardships, less worthy of mention but more severe, endured by her early 
pioneers? Less worthy of portrayal perhaps, in that those who suffered were but on 
wealth and fortune bent, only selfishly inclined; more severe undoubtedly, since with 
resources and supples much less and numbers smaller their path was beset with say- 
ages on whose land they were encroaching, and their march became a conflict, a flight _ 
from death, and few or none escaped. 

Careful investigation has failed to establish who were the actual discoverers in each 
mining district. Of aspirants thereto there often is no end, and information gleaned 
is often so beclouded as to be useless. 

In the great Pike’s Peak excitement, which less than two decades ago started west 
the tidal wave of emigration so rapidly, one was included to whom is accorded the 
honor of being the most daring pioneer of the San Juan. To the dauntless persever- 
ance of Baker, more than any other man, the San Juan was indebted for much of the 
notoriety that gained her immigration and settlement. 

Eighteen years ago, at the head of a number, like himself, firm believers in the exist- 
ence of as fine placers in the San Juan as had been found in olden days in California, 
he started for this region. Six months later, in the winter of 1850~61, another and a 
larger party left Denver in search of the former, of whom no news had ever been 
heard. The difficulties of travel may be imagined from the statement that fourteen 
days were required to cross the mountains at the Sangre de Cristo Pass. Deep snows 
had to be dug away to secure the grazing for the stock, and when that was impossible, 
trees were cut to obtain browsing to keep them alive. Fort Garland, at its foot, was 
passed, and through San Luis Valley the party pushed on, after four months of travel 
finding Baker and his men in the park now bearing his name. 

Placer mining alone was then the industry of the country, and prospecting along the 
river, here and in the Animas Park below, they industriously continued without suc- 
cess. 

General disappointment started them back inJuly. At Garland the outbreak of the 
civil war was learned, the party separated, and Baker, going to Virginia, entered the ° 
service of his State; returning to Colorado seven years later at the head of another 
party, he again entered the trackless region. 

The Gunnison, the Animas, and the La Plata were reached and left behind. Sue- 
cess was lacking, hardships and Indian attacks were frequent, and his party had dwin- 
dled to three in all, when Baker himself was shot, it is said, at the mouth of the Colo- 
rado Chiquito, another was drowned, and the third barely escaped with his life to 
tell the story of their sufferings. 

Survivors of the original expedition of 1861 reorganized another party, and in 1869 
it started from Prescott, Ariz., for the far-distant region. Continued attacks every- 
where of treacherous Apaches, and dissatisfaction also, reduced their number from 
fifty to eight, who finally reached the San Juan and proceeded for the winter to Santa 
Fé. Leaving there in the following spring this party, increased to twelve, reached 
Baker’s Park in safety, and the Little Giant Mine was soon after discovered. 

Again wintering in Santa Fé, the spring of 1871 saw them permanent settlers at Sil- 
verton, many others following attracted with the hope of similar luck. The reports 
of the wealth of the new El Dorado gained credence slowly. So many schemes of a 
‘“‘ vild-cat” nature are afloat in a new mining country, so many frauds are perpetrated 
on the unsuspecting, that capitalis wary. It was so with the San Juan. 

Without trails to pack out the ore when obtained the mine is useless. With trails 
complete and the dist ince great the cost of transportation swallows the profits. It is 
roads that are essential, always roads; roads for machinery for reducing the ore, roads 
for freights to cheapen supplies. They are the first thing a new country needs, espe- 
cially, it should be added, a mineral region, and as a rule the last thing it obtains. A 
toll-road is a good and permanent investment, and if there exists any absolute neces- — 
sity therefor it will repay the principal with high interest. 

Unfortunately, men do not always pursue their proper vocations, and a road-builder 
entering a rich mining country, instead of constructing a road, for which he 1s pecu- 
liarly fitted, generally dabbles in mines like the rest of mankind around him, to which, 
however, like many of them are, he is altogether unsuited. 

Mining being a branch of industry, like any manufacturing or commercial business, 
upon reliable data alone should any dependence be placed. The following table of 
statistics is therefore furnished, showing the amount of precious metal produced in 


APPENDIX SS. 1815 


the States and Territories west of the Missouri River, including British Columbia, 
and receipts in San Francisco from the west coast of Mexico, during the year 1877: 


RRR ie rte ot Ae eg aS re er een ee Ren ate aeelou orale $18, 174, 716 
RMR Se Et, re Per, Meare ohetoca aw dos ofa 3/s Seeker ee ee Lue ate in 51, 580, 290 
CE en 28 a that. ae icieie, a as Sw ath SAR aie emih eevee ete ilimiao Teas kciniere 8, 113, 755 
ETE on So eee = os Salsa pes nvenes n ae ansie ieee globe Bibbs fia ovabkeeics 7, 913, 549 
MINE 5, Surah. a pau wi es es Sees ia eure oe eile able ARB Mal ee Boon 2, 644,912 
es 1 Ree as CSF a COs Ds OPP Se Ae cates Pegg a ren Pr gear cist) FOR a ee 2, 388, 622 
I Ste Sn) ne a rer he as are fe Sete tk ee ae Pee ee, dy Boe; 400 
IE eer erie cee ee en ce ee CU ee me a ee ean 1, 432,992 
em ft 8) ens Er ee a es a a (an tne Beg Sata'e sal waiciois 1, 500, 000 
eye eee ete ei ee te Sd ale in wis ala ta.s 2 sioroe pam ates 1, 191, 997 
UM TO PAS TN U IAL eri ds ee ee eel oe eka sion ee ttas cel othe Lelie 190 
er ee eee ee oe et aes sue Bump ee Suse 2 379, 010 
UIE INE 8 to eae eS Phase Sonn sin cine ches das meow eee 92, 226 
ee Te pee eee om ea cep hic one small bam aakbot ones 98, 421, 754 


From the above table it will be seen that Colorado occupies the fourth place in the 
list of precious-metal regions of the Union, Nevada, California, and Utah only preced- 
ing her. 

Under the same tremendous impulses of capital, it may be presumed that the time 
would not be far distant when she would occupy the first or second position. The 
shrewd, far-seeing operators of the Pacific coast are already unloading, it is said, 
large quantities of bonanza stock and seeking investments in Colorado. 

The table given being based upon known shipments, may be considered as proxi- 
mate only. It will be safe to place the aggregate production for 1877 at one hundred 
millions, and that for the present year at one hundred and twenty millions, of which 
amount Colorado may be placed at ten millions. 

In the San Juan itself it was impossible to obtain accurately her production. The 
country as a whole, in the light of a mining region, is scarcely advanced beyond the 
state of prospecting. 

Mills are wanted everywhere, and thousands of dollars are upon dump-piles for want 
of amarket. The cost of transportation being excessive, only selected ore is taken 
for shipment to distant points. Moreover, the machinery having been brought in at 
enormous cost, a high price for ore treatment must be paid. There is therefore but an 
exceedingly limited market for low grades, such as would yield a high margin over 
mining in the old districts of Nevada and California. 

The value of ore treated by such smelting-works as exist would not, therefore, be an 
absolute index to the prospective amount of this year’s production. 

There are numerous points where smelting-works would be fine investments, and if 
carefully and honestly managed would realize a large amount, if not a moderate for- 
tune, every year for five or ten years to come. 

Mining investments in general may be likened to a lottery; the large and handsome 
prizes are few and far between. But with reduction works it is otherwise. The ore 
is a staple commodity. Presented to the mill, the smelter carefully samples and ascer- 
tains with mathematical accuracy and unfailing regularity its average value. He 
pays an amount far below its market price, in order to realize the heavy margins for 
which he has invested his capital. He can therefore suffer no loss, save from the total 
exhaustion of the ore supply of the surrounding country, which is unlikely to occur. | 
He will therefore enjoy a monopoly for some time to come; and even when competition 
arrives the output of ore will increase from the discovery of new lodes, so that his 
investment will still be one of the first class. But, like the building of toll-roads, the 
sure, safe, and legitimate enterprise is thrown overboard for speculation. That the 
mill-man will not dabble in one or more mines about him was found, without any 
exception remembered, the rule. 

The San Juan is locally subdivided into mining districts. In speaking, therefore, of 
mineral wealth as it appeared to an ordinary observer, it will be best to consider each 
district visited in its practical development. 

The precious metal is mined in the form of both silver and gold, the former pre- 
dominating. Of the latter the value of the placers is inconsiderable, and upon lodes 
alone should any dependence be placed. 

In arriving at the value of a mineral depesit, from a casual examination of speci- 
mens of its ore, the most learned geologist, the most experienced assayer, may be at 
fault. Nothing short of a complete assay will give its definite and precise value and 
worth. 

The extension of this rule is equally true. The value of a mine can never be wholly 
determined by any specimen. The market price of the ore in general must alone be 
taken. In brief, the ‘‘mill-runs,” or prices paid at the smelting-mill or other reduc- 
tion-works, is the sole standard upon which dependence is to be placed. 


1816 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


In giving the ton-value of the ore it is frequently placed in ounces. This is, cor- — 
rectly speaking, the proper mode, though not always the popular one. At the time of 
the examination of the mines the value of the standard silver ounce was $1.20. An — 
increment of one-fifth to the ounce per ton will therefore represent the money value 
when otherwise denominated. 


THE SUMMIT DISTRICT 


is some 27 miles southwest of Del Norte, reached from the latter point by a fine toll- 
road, and lies mainly upon the slopes of South Mountain, a divide between the water 
of the North and South Forks of the Alamosa. 

This is a most remarkable gold district. It may be said to consist chiefly of a single 
mine; for, while the mountain is covered with stakes, there being in all 2,300 locations 
upon it, one of them is of immense value, some half a dozen are worth having, and 
the whole of the rest are not worth $5 at present. 

No well-defined veins or lodes have as yet been found, as, in true fissure formation, 
the mineral-bearing rock, consisting of ‘‘rotten” or decomposed quartz, carrying free 
gold, the metal being free from impurities and more easily milled than any other gold 
ore in Colorado. 

The principal mine of the district is the Little Annie, other prominent lodes being 
the Golden Queen, Major, Yellow Jacket, Ida, Golden Star, Summit, and Odin. 

The Little Annie having proven very valuable, it was surrounded upon every side 
with locations, but up to the present time none of these have given positive indica- 
tions of deposits of the same character and value. 

Assays of Little Annie ore have varied from a small amount to many thousands of 
dollars. The average mill-runs have been $102 per ton, the best ore being $150, tail- 
ings $48, the cost of mining and milling being $12, leaving a large profit to the stock- 
holders or footholders of the mine. The lode was 85 feet below the surface, the pay- 
streak, so called, being from 20 to 25 feet wide. This is remarkable as being the 
highest mine in the world, lying at the edge of timber-line and not far below 12,000 
feet, the reduction-works in the gulch at the base of the hill being about 11,200 feet 
above the sea. This was one of the best paying and most economically managed 
properties found in the San Juan, and can searcely be surpassed in the whole of Col- 
orado. At the time of the first visit (June 30, 1877) there had been taken to date from 
the opening of the mill, as we were informed by Mr. C. E. Robbins, the treasurer and 
chemist of the company, $105,000, of which $47,000 had been paid out in dividends, 
the balance being expended in the plant, including a 10-stamp mill, and items of cur- 
rent expenses. A tramway of over 2,000 feet in length conveys the ore from the dump- 
pile at the mine to the works below. 

In June the following stamp-mills were in operation at the Summit, reducing ore of 
the Little Annie: 


Number of Daily ca- 


Name of mill. stamps. | pacity. 
Tons. 
CEAGE VO cA Pe ee ee ea ee ok ee RS Se ial Une eal eee ad Me ec ee Sa 10 8 
Golden Oneeme's. Se ae wee eng n epee e ye LN a vane ge une ee eins tee meme a 10 8 
Golden: Stam fo F221 2h eae te eee eee 0 Pad 24 sae a ies Wine ee al ee ae 10 12 
"Pine sArd aise Me es ee ae re oes een 82 1S NY te JS ale oy he 5 4 
Sam JW an 1s Sasa oa eae ee te. ella as Bee ga ice ee a ei, oe eae 80 22 


The latter was temporarily suspended, undergoing repairs. In addition thereto was 
the Bowen Mill, of 24 stamps, idle. 


PLACERS. 


Presuming, from the existence of the valuable auriferous deposits upon the slopes of 
South Mountain trending to the north, that valuable bars would be found in the 
gulch below, the owners of the Little Annie made extensive preparations for placer 
mining therein. Their anticipations have been more than realized. ‘ 

A magnificent nugget was shown us, obtained in a ‘cleaning up” early in August, 
the rock and mineral weighing 54+ pounds. The weight of the gold was estimated at 
20 ounces; the value of the gold ounce with premium then existing being $20.67, there 
would result a ‘‘ find” of over $400. 

Numerous and varied have been the theories as to the geological character of the 
deposits upon the mountain, but that it partakes of a pocket or limited nature is ap- 

‘parently demonstrated in its surface existence, at least by the results of the bars be- 
low. In the various cleanings during the placer operations, nothing was realized, 
from any part of the stream, except from the portion immediately below the mine. 


APPENDIX SS. | 1817 


Wages in June for ordinary hands, $2.50 per day, and board, 35 men being then at 
work at the Little Annie property. 

This district was also passed in August and revisited in October. In the three and 
a half months, June to October 12, 3,200 tons had been treated, the total production 
ageregating $140,000. ‘Fhe mill of the company, of 10 stamps, being unable to treat 
all the ore mined, its reduction was let by contracts varying from $8 to $10; loss to 
company thereby during the season estimated at $20,000. 

In the examinations of this mine there was noticeable, in an unusual degree, a per- 
’ fect system of economy in all the details of the business. The tramway referred to, on 
which the car at each trip transported to the works below a load of 24 tons of ore, was 
built in ‘heavy snows and storms, at a cost of but $1.50 per foot. Later during the 
summer the wages of the hands, which had been $2 in June, were reduced to $1.50, 
and a tunnel of 100 feet in length, running into the southern face of the mine, was 
contracted for at $7.50 per linear foot. Tunnel construction elsewhere in the San Juan 
varied from $15 to $30, according to locality. _ 

The Ida Mine had several hundred tons upon the dump; assays rich, up to $5,000, 
but reduction process unsuccessful, the gold escaping the quicksilver and the amalgam 
yielding only iron. The San Juan, consolidated, has failed entirely, and the panning- 
mill had been dismantled and the machinery removed in October. 

No mills were in operation at this latter date, save the Little Annie and Queen, 
working in all 23 men on ore of the Little Annie. 

The Odin tunnel was at this time personally examined, there being over 3 feet of 
snow on the ground. Extent, 48 feet; no results whatever beyond the usual porphyry. 


THE DECATUR DISTRICT 


lies upon the South Fork of the Alamosa, directly below and to the south of the Sum- 
mit, and is also gold. When it was personally visited in October, most of the mines, 
very few in number, were deserted. Several men, however, were present, working 
their lodes, the gangue carrying iron pyrites. 

An arrastra was observed near a collection of abandoned cabins, beside which was 
an unnecessary large tunnel, being 15 feet by 10 in the clear, of a length of 150 feet, a 
large dump-pile and a lot of selected ore lying near by. The principal ledes of the 
district, with their values, as we were informed by miners thereon, are as follows: Star 
of the West, assaying $85; Carrie, assaying $60; 1776 lode, assaying $50. 

The water of several streams flowing into the South Fork hereabout was excessively 
bitter and disagreeable from the alum tastes imparted by the decomposing pyrites 
throughout their drainage area. Some ore of the Golden Star lode at Sperry’s Mill at 
the Summit gave a mill-run of $10 per ton. 

In their bearing on the mineral wealth of the San Juan, the mines of this section, 
as far as observation extended, may be wholly discarded. Nothing thereof indicat- 
ing their present or prospective value was anywhere learned. 


THE ALAMOSA DISTRICT, 


also a gold region, what there is of it, lies farther below the Decatur, and along the 
same river. 

The lodes, when examined in October last, were everywhere abandoned. As a gen- 
eral factor in the mining interests of the San Juan, this district may be wholly ig- 
nored. 

Both the Decatur and Alamosa lie in Conejos County. 

The region at the head of the Continental Divide, upon the Summit watershed of the 
Rio San Juan, has been prospected slightly only, and thus far with but little success. 

In August we were shown a specimen of argentiferous galena from a lode discov- 
ered, it was said, upon the Upper Navajo. 

The regions thus far mentioned are outlying and to the east of the great seat of min- 
eral wealth of the San Juan. To pass directly to outlying points to the west, we reach 


THE LA PLATA DISTRICT, 


in La Plata County, upon the river of the same name, about and above Parrott City, 
and the most southerly mining section of the country. Operations in this district date 
back several years, when a wonderful activity for a while existed. The capitalists 
investing here, for whom the town was named, were Messrs. Parrott & Co., of San 
Francisco. Parties in their interest, and to whom they liberally supplied the required 
capital, reached this locality from the Pacific coast and began prospecting. Finding 
from a season’s operations in sluice-mining that a valuable bar existed along the river, 
preparations fora thorough hydraulic system were entered upon. Through misman- 
agement or other causes dissatisfaction ensued, and the supplies of capital ceasing all 
operations were suspended and the camp was, when visited, thoroughly dead. 


1818 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Prospecting for the gold-bearing quartz in the mountains above, whence the placers 
derived their value, was not neglected; the result was the discovery of the expected 
veins, and in addition thereto valuable lodes of silver. From the specimens there- 
from valuable assays in Silverton and Denver, it was said, resulted. They are, how- 
ever, of a refractory nature, resemble, in certain respects, some ores of the Uncom- 
pahgre district, and do not yield to the simplest forms of silver reduction. There ex- 
ists, moreover, it was said, a suspicion of deposits containing tellurium traces, the 
North Star lode possessing, as we were informed, such constituents. The telluride 
ores, as is well known, are all of remarkable richness. 

Such are the prospects; the reality, the present, unless changed since last Septem- 
ber, is heavily obscured. Prospectors are something like sheep—they are very gre- 
garious. All that were seen or were met were leaving the section, and spoke despond- 
ingly of its prospects. The buildings of the town, it may be remarked, are of an 
unusually fine character for a small mining camp, and it is said to have possessed at 
one time a summer population of 400 to 500; in September last business, however, was 
dead and was departing to its younger and more prosperous rival, Animas City. No 
reduction-works or stamp-mills of any kind were found at the town. This is to be 
regretted, and is but an illustration of the fact that mismanagement or other causes 
bhlghting the prospects of a promising camp will deter capital thereafter for entering 
for a short time, at least, if not for a long period. . 

Abundantly and not far distant are found the necessary formations for fluxing, 
while valuable deposits of coal exist upon the La Plata, as they do in sections to its 
east. 


THE DOLORES DISTRICT. 


Prospectors from Parrott City and other points have turned their attention to the 
slopes at the headwaters of the forks of this river, and a number of lodes have been 
located, resulting in the organization of subdistricts or small camps lying in La Plata 
County and in Ouray. The ores are chiefly the carbonates, the mineral being chiefly 
low grade. Specimens from the district, brought away as part of our general collec- 
tion, include carbonates containing from 63 to 70 per cent. of lead, and from 136 to 
216 ounces of silver, zinc blende and galena, argentiferous galenas of a very low grade, 
and one with gray copper traces. The district has not advanced beyond the early pri- 
mary or simple prospecting state, and no excitement was apparent in regard to the 
prospective fortunes to be realized. 


THE SIERRA LA SAL. 


This mountain group, as is well known, owes its name to the large saline deposits 
there existing. Prospecting for the precious metal has been prosecuted there at inter- 
vals, and it is reported not without success. Whatever indications have been ob- 
served, however, have been at the risk of death from the hostile savages who roam to 
and fro through this region. 

While upon the Rio Mancos, we were presented with specimens of sandstone silver 
by Mr. John Grigor, who discovered and located a deposit thereof in the Merit district 
of the Sierra La Salin Utah. The phenomenal occurrence of the deposition of argen- 
tiferous mineral in sedimentary matter is not a novelty to geologists, and to its forma- 
tion allusion were unnecessary. It is of such interest, however, in a mineralogical 
aspect, that the section although not visited is deemed worthy of note. It need 
scarcely be repeated that the sedimentary formations outstretching from the bases of 
the Sierra La Sal are of Cretaceous age. The specimens are very handsome, from the 
colors of the chlorides, the blue predominating over the green throughout the strati- 
fication of all the specimens obtained; they are both high and low grade, the latter 
giving a mill run of $6 to $8, and the assay of the former equaling $166. 

The inexpensive character of mining operations in such a formation is obvious. An 
extensive deposit of this nature is reported to have some years since been found in 
Upper Utah. 


THE ANIMAS DISTRICT 


is situated in the San Juan County and along the river whose name it bears. Half a 
mile above the mouth of Cunningham Gulch, opening into the Animas River, is the 
dividing line, we were informed, between this and Eureka District, which lies to its 
north. It includes mainly, therefore, the mines in the gulches and creeks, reaching 
the Animas and Baker’s Park and those upon the overlooking mountains, chiefly along 
Cement and Mineral Creeks, Arastra, Boulder, and Cunningham Gulches, and upon 
Sultan, Anvil, Green, Hazleton, Galena, and King Solomon Mountains. It is the old- 
est mining district of the San Juan, containing the Little Giant, whose early discovery 
resulted in the great emigration to the country. It includes some of the most valu- 
able mines in the valley of the river and within its limits a larger number of lodes 


APPENDIX SS. 1819 


_of a high quality of ore have been located, and in part are being worked, than in any 
- other district of the San Juan. 

The ores of this section are argentiferous, with the exception of those of the Little 
Giant and a few other exceptional ones which have been found to contain gold; in 
general, therefore, they may be said to be of argentiferous galena, with and without 
gray copper, occasionally chloride of silver, and in several mines the black‘sulphurets 
being found. 

The number of lodes that contain first-class ore is very large, and as there are over 
2,000 lodes registered in the county offices at Silverton, and the prospects of all are, 
in general, very good, the work involved in an examination of this district may be 
imagined, the mountains being everywhere covered with apparently an inexhaustible 
quantity of lodes. 

The most prominent mines are the Little Giant (gold), (now called the Golden Giant) ; 
Highland Mary, Pride of the West, Philadelphia, Susquehanna, Pelican, Aspen, Green 
Mountain, Legal Tender, Victor, Little Fanny, North Star, Letter G, Mollie Darling, 
Pelican, Bull of the Woods, Comstock, Silver Cord, and King Hiram Abiff (gold). 

Viewed financially, this section labors under more difficulties than any other of the 
San Juan. With large bodies of valuable mineral within it, the lack of capital and 
reduction-works keeps them undeveloped. At no place is there so fine an opening for 
a banking firm. There exists none in the town, and with the activity of trade the 
scarcity of currency is severely felt; local checks of various kinds, the shinplasters of 
war times, and drafts on distant banks being had recourse to. . 

A general résumé, embracing the subdistricts of this section, with their localities, 
the most advanced mines at the time of visit (last part of September, 1877), and the 

number of men employed therein steadily during the season, is as follows: 

Mineral Creek.—Principal lodes, Tornado and Extension; 8 men upon the former, 3 
on the latter. 

Sultan Mountain.—Along its base flows Mineral Creek, emptying into the Animas; 
over twenty lodes, chiefly low grades, with increased smelting facilities, will pay well; 
at present nothing less than 100-ounce ores are taken to the mill; during 1877 fully 50 
men were constantly at work. The Ajax isthe nearest to town; the Montezuma Tun- 
nel was in 160 feet, bound for the Ajax ore; various other tunnels prosecuted to con- 
SE ae depth, the greatest being that of Greene & Co., of a prospecting nature, and 
in 500 feet. 

Anvil Mountain, near Silverton. Several lodes, on which assessments alone have thus 
far been made, are to be worked during the winter. 

Cement Creek.—This creek has a southerly course to Silverton, the stream forking 
about 64 miles from town. Up the North Fork, about 23 miles distant, at the mount- 
ain summits, are the Saxon, Alaska, very rich lodes; Adelphi and Acapulco, over 
200 ounces, and many others of less value. The other fork leads to the Animas water- 
shed, and is opposite Eureka Gulch. Down both forks are trails to the reduction- 
works at their junction, and along the north fork the trail over to the Uncompahgre 
passes. At its head and above the forks, over 20 lodes are being developed, in various 
stages, from simple assessments to 50-foot drifts on the vein; from each, between one 
and four tons were being shipped. During the season over 50 men were employed. 

Boulder Gulch, distant from Silverton 24 miles, possesses from 15 to 20 lodes of rich 
lode ores, from 75 to 100 ounceseach. During the season some 25 men were regularly 
therein. 

Hazleton Mountain, distant from Silverton 3 miles, and opposite Boulder Gulch. Most 
valuable mines are here situated, fully 150 men being at all times there employed, the 
forces at times being increased to the extent of nearly 400 upon the whole mountain... 
Its richest mines are the Victor, 10 men; Susquehanna, in 100 feet, 15 men; Aspen, a 
magnificent one, discovered in 1871, producing nearly 4 tons daily, at a profit of nearly 
$2,000 per month, and employing 30 men; and the Mammoth, 4 men. The Victoris a 
very rich deposit, the pay-streak of the lode being of 4 inches of 1,000 ounces, while 
the inclosing vein in which it is situated is from 5 to 8 feet wide, averaging 65 ounces. 
A specimen of the collection belonging to the pay-streak of this mine gave an assay 
of 1,500 ounces. Next in importance come the Legal Tender, tunnel under way 400 
feet, 10 men, and the I X L Tunnel, 300 feet; the Prospector, McGregor, Pelican, Tom 
Paine, Silver Star, Union, and Gray Eagle Lodes, the latter 6 men. The two most im- 
portant tunnels of the mountain are the Briggs prospecting, 4 men, and the Ingersoll. 
The latter has already cut the veins of the Victor and the Susquehanna, and is not 
far from the Aspen. At 500 feet from the surface this tunnel struck an imperfect vein, 
or ‘‘ blind lode,” which contained nearly two feet of valuable galena, with gray cop- 
per and sulphurets, and at 700 feet the Susquehanna; its total length was over 800 
feet, and its out-put averaged fully two tons daily of rich ore, with a possibility of 
greatly-increased production, if desired. This was, at the time of our visit, the largest 
tunnel in the entire San Juan. On this and Sultan Mountain, the mines are in general 
farther advanced than those of the other subdistricts. 

Arastra Gulch (also spelled ‘‘Atrastro” upon location certificates of several mines) 


1820 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


lies between Hazleton Mountain and King Solomon Mountain and leads into Baker’s 
Park from the south. King Solomon Mountain having been designated in a map 
recently issued by the topographer of a government surveying party as the high peak 
to the north of Howardsville, various parties at Silverton and Howardsville were inter- 
rogated as to its positive location, all of whom stated that the high peak to the south 
of Howardsville is locally so known; with relation to gulch boundaries, Arastra Gulch 
lies upon its western sides, Cunningham upon its eastern. The most prominent mine 
in Arastra Gulch is the Golden Giant, the Little Giant of old, notorious from early dis- 
covery and years of litigation, upon which, however, some 10 men have been working 
during the season. This remarkable mine is worthy of casual mention on account of 
the phenomenal deposit of its ore. In general, the ores of one district differ radically 
from those of another, and so also do mines almost contiguous; the smelter of experi- 
ence can readily designate from external appearances the mines from whence his ship- 
ments come without reference to the invoices. 

The main pay-streak of the Golden Giant is very narrow, often but 3 inches in thick- 
ness, but well defined, within which run two parallel seams of the chloritic ore known 
as ripidolite, the dark olive-green masses from .2 to .5 inch in thickness containing 
free gold and finely granular argentiferous galena, which, like the ripidolite, permeates 
also the intervening quartz. The assay of a specimen of the collection from this mine 
exceeds $5,000; far greater ones, however, have been frequently made at Silverton, sev- 
eral running as high as $27,000. The first machinery brought into the San Juan was 
for this mine in 1872; it was at immense expense, the trip from Del Norte, about 90 
miles, occupying 58 days! Arastra Basin, where numbers of very promising lodes are 
situated, gave permanent employment to over 20 men. 

Cunningham Gulch is as a whole the farthest developed in the district, within its 
limits being employed from 100 to 150 men. 

Galena Mountain, at whose base flows the Animas, towers abové Howardsville, on the 
east of the gulch. Over twenty lodes were worked there during the season, chiefly 
low grade, 50 ounces being the average. 

Green Mountain is on the east side of the gulch, and south of Galena Mountain, 
being nearer the Continental Divide, where over 35 men have been continually em- 
ployed. The principal mines are the Little Fanny, Osceola, R. Blum, and Flat Broke, 
all owned by a company in which the Neigold Bros. and Rodell are largely interested ; 
the magnificent Pride of the West, and the Philadelphia, 1,000 feet higher and 1,500 
feet therefrom, touching its southeast limit, the latter bemg the chief reliance of Nei- 
gold Bros. Above the Philadelphia to the north and near the summit of the mountain is" 
the Royal Bengal Tiger, and 5 other lodes, where gold-bearing quartz was discovered. 
Farther up the gulch are the Green Mountain and several other promising mines. At 
the upper end of the gulch are the handsome buildings belonging to the mining prop- 
erty of Mr. Edward Inness of New York City, which will be noticed hereafter. 

King Solomon Mountain, on the opposite side of the gulch, possesses a large number 
of lodes, the most valuable being the Highland Mary, employing in its entire establish- 
ment over 50 men, and the North Star, where some 25 were continually at work. 

From a point near the Highland Mary Works may be had one of the finest views in 
the San Juan of the immense extent and well-defined character of its mineral veins. 
From the side of Green Mountain the various lodes may be seen exposed upon the sur- 
face from the bottom of the gulch up, and entirely over the face and summit of King 
Solomon Mountain opposite, which is over 2,000 feet above the gulch at this point. The 
whole face of the mountain, it has been found, is covered with a multitude of lodes, 
forming almost a net-work upon its surface. The general direction, however, of the 
great mineral belt is to the northwest and southeast. 

The subdistricts may be concluded with Kendall Mountain, upon which are situated 
a large number of locations, possessing 20 that were being developed, though scarcely 
at the time (September 30) beyond the stage of assessment work. . While they may de- 
velop richer deposits on deeper mining, they could at the time scarcely be considered 
as averaging over low-grade ores, most of them not making mill runs of over 80 ounces. 
The mining wages in general paid to workmen about Silverton were found to be $3 per 
day and board, or $3.50 to $4 on their ‘‘finding” themselves. 

* In order to give a clearer idea of the work and capital involved in the development 
of a mining district like the Animas or any of its subdistricts, it may not be amiss to 
mention the preliminary steps that are essential. 

In the entire San Juan the discoverer of a vein or lode is allowed a surface area of 1,500 
feet along the vein, or 150 wpon each side of the vein and perpendicular thereto. The 
planting of a stake containing the location notice and the designation of its boundaries 
holds the ‘‘mine” for the period of sixty days, by the end of which time a 10-foot shaft 
must be sunk or a vertical exposure of 10 feet of the vein be made, to prevent its being 
“jumped,” or taken by the first comer. With a month or ninety days from the date 
ot the discovery stake, the location certificate must be filed in the office of the county 
recorder. The amount of work necessary upon a lode to file this certificate is generally 
known as the first assessment, a certain amount in accordance with the requirements 


APPENDIX SS. 1821 


of national statutes being annually required to prevent forfeiture. It therefore follows 
that while a large number of locations may be indicative of promising mineral deposits, 
that fact alone does not decide the wealth of the district. Without thorough develop- 
ment the richest vein is as valueless as the most worthless prospect hole. 

The facilities for reducing the immense quantity of ore mined in the Animas district 
were found to be as follows: 

The smelting-works of George Greene & Co., located at Silverton, have been highly 
successful, owing to the efficient business management of the proprietors. Their works 
have, without doubt, greatly aided in the development of the district, and have an 
assessed value of $25,000, their probable worth being $75,000; the original cost, it 
was stated, having been $60,000, owing to the great expense of transporting machinery 
over the range at the time of their erection. They were employing in all 35 men, 
working night and day shifts, with a daily reduction of 10 tons of ore, which is less 
than the full capacity of the works, producing therefrom 4 tons of bullion. The bull- 
ion, as is generally done, is run into bars of an individual pattern, those of the Greene 
stamp varying in weight from 70 to 85 pounds each. The bars are then placed upon 
mules or burros (jackasses), and packed over the range, via Cunningham Gulch, to a 
point on the Rio Grande road, whence they are conveyed by wagon transportation to 
the railroad at Garland City. Shipment, therefore, is by freight, to refining-works at 
Saint Louis or some point in the East. The bullion is silver and lead, the latter pay- 
ing for the transportation of the precious metal. 

The iron and limestone, essential for the flux in the usual roasting process followed, 
are found near by. No coal being convenient, charcoal is solely used. With the 
opening of the Wightman road through the Grand Cafion of the Animas, Mr. Greene 
stated that he could draw his supplies of fuel from the coal-banks of the Florida or the 
Animas. The working season is seven months in length, during which the expenses 
attendant upon smelting, wages, and ore supplies involved an outlay averaging 
$1,200 daily. 

On account of the absence of a good road down the Rio Grande and the expense 
attendant upon packing, no ore was being purchased at the Greene works which was of 
a lower grade than 75 ounces. For some time these smelting-works have been in pos- 
session of a comparative monopoly of the business. The proprietors were Boston 
capitalists and own a number of valuable mines in the district. 

Melville and Summerville’s Reduction Works were noticed upon Mineral Creek, 
below Silverton. The main building was a fine four-story brick, about 100 feet by 
75, with extensive sluicing. The building was idle and not subject to examination. 

The building was generally known in Silverton as the ‘‘ Lightning Amalgamation 
Works,” and on account of their being unsuccessful were apparently public laughing- 
stock. The estimated cost was given at $25,000, and, in all probability, considerably 
_ exceeded that figure. The intended capacity was 20 tons daily, the ore to be largely 

or entirely drawn from mines owned by the company upon Sultan Mountain. The pro- 
cess was by desulphurization without fluxing. In the trials made with the sulphurets 
- it was said that while the excessive heat drove off much of the baser constituents, the 
separation of the sulphur was not wholly complete. In Philadelphia, we were also 
informed, the same company had in successful operation works of similar nature, and 
to.the great altitude was attributed in part the resulting failure. 

Subsequent to our visit, we were informed the works were to be remodeled and putin 
working order for the season of 1878. 

Dow & Waters Reduction Works, located on Cement Creek, at the junction of its 
forks. These works were being finished and were not yet in operation. Their esti- 
mated value completed was $30,000. The mode of reduction was to be by lixiviation 
or chlorination, commonly called the “leaching” process, with a reported capacity of 
20 tons per day. 

The above includes all the various enterprises for operating upon ores below How- 
ardsville. This town, upon the Animas at the mouth of Cunningham Gulch, possesses 
a small crusher and reverberatory furnace, belonging to Mr. Innes, the proprietor of the 
Highland Mary. 

The Neigold Concentration Works, locally so called, are situated in Cunningham 
Gulch; not far distant from Howardsyille. This property consists of five frame build- 
ings with extensive flumes and connecting sluicing; the structure containing a small 
crusher and a five-stamp battery for the concentration of ores. These works are the 
property of the Las Animas Mining and Reduction Company, a stock company about 
one-half of which is owned by the Messrs. Neigold & Roedell, and the balance by 
Philadelphia capitalists. In their construction $22,000 was expended, which would 
be deemed extravagant were it not for the excessive price of labor and material and 
the exorbitant cost of machinery, which had to be brought over the range by pack- 
trains. 

The Messrs. Neigold & Roedell possess in addition to the above works large in- 
terests in several mineral deposits in the vicinity, of which the most important is the 
Philadelphia lode. Their property is as a whole valuable, and large profits would 
be realized to the stockholders if a more energetic management were pursued. 


- 


1822 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


The concentration of ores until great reduction facilities abound must continue to be 
a very lucrative business in the vicinity of Silverton, with its lack of transportation 
facilities. If the Messrs. Neigold were to increase the capacity of the works from 5 
stamps to 20 or 25 drills they could obtain plenty of custom work, and the ratio of 
expense would be much ‘than at present. 

The Philadelphia is undoubtedly a most promising mine, the ore being mainly 
argentiferous galena, with large quantities of tetrahedrite or gray copper, and indi- 
cations of chlorides of large value. 

In the specimens of this mine, belonging to the general collection made, all these 
constituents could be clearly seen; assays made at Silverton of ore of the chloride 
nature gave very large values, up to $10,000. The pay-streak is narrow, being from 
6 toy10 inches, while the general mill-runs have been well paying in all eases. Its 
situation is in itself presumptive evidence thereof, being 1,000 to 1,500 feet above and 
in the nature of a spur of the Pride of the West. This is further attested by the pur- 
chase of the ore at Greene’s works, placing it at once in the category of high grades. 
Instead of being worked by its owners, it was during 1876 leased to four miners, who 
cleared individually therefrom $700 by the end of the season, or $2,800 in all. 

The Pride of the West lode, on Green Mountain, on the east side of Cunningham 
Gulch and some 1,500 feet above the bottom, is one of the richest mines in the district. 

It was discovered in 1874, and owned by five men, has been constantly, but slowly, 
worked, and in its steady development demonstrated what can be done by persever- 
ance and muscle without capital. 

The gangue of the lode is gneiss, and the absolute width of the vein, strongly and 
clearly defined, within and throughout which paying mineral is found is 35 feet. 
It contains a pay-streak which averages five feet of solid argentiferous galena, with 
tetrahedrite or gray copper in quantity sufficient to give the ore a high-grade 
standard. 

Large amounts of this ore, giving a mill-run of 250 ounces, have been sold at 
Greene’s works. A picked specimen belonging to the collection gave an assay of 
$8,000. The adit dimensions were at the most narrow point 6 feet high by 44 wide; the 
length of tunnel and drifts was 100 feet, constructed at a cost of $15 per foot, with 
mining wages $3 per day and board, the ore being gotten on the dump for $5 per ton. 
Since its discovery in 1874, 200 tons have been removed; 10 tons daily are easily taken 
out, with a facility for 50 tons were there increased facilities for reduction at Silver- 
ton, Greene’s works being at all times overcrowded. For ore of 60 ounces at the lat- 
ter place $10 was received, and higher prices at schedule rates for that of a greater 
value. For 60-ounce ore a ready market exists at Lake City, from $40 to $50 being 
obtained. In consequence thereof a considerable quantity of ore of the Aspen and 
other mines finds its way to the latter point, notwithstanding the great cost of trans- 
portation, which varies from $35 to $40, or about $1 per ton permile. For a quantity 
of the Pride of the West, shipped to Crooke’s works at Lake, $65 per ton more, it was 
said, was received than was paid at the Silverton mill. Some 500 pounds of picked 
ore of this mine gave a mill-run at Crooke’s of 910 ounces. Of the great value of the 
mineral wealth of the Pride of the West some estimate may therefore be formed. The 
es had. been offered $100,000 for their mine, but had refused it, their price being 

150,000. 

Illustrative of the mining operations here, which may be taken as a sample of a 
partially developed lode of the San Juan, are three drawings (Figs. 1, 2, and 3, Plate 
6), in plan and section, showing relative locations of adit and original point of dis- 
covery, of the tunnel, the drifts, vein, and richest pay-streak. 

The Highland Mary, lying in the upper part of Cunningham Gulch, is a magnificent 
property, a group of works below, and handsome buildings, romantically situated far- 
ther up upon the mountain-side, the whole the prettiest and most expensive estate 
belonging to any individual in the entire San Juan. They are part of an extensive 
property embracing the Highland Mary and other mines, are owned by Mr. Edward 
Inness, of New York City, and deserve more than passing mention. His investments 
and capital in works and buildings of various kinds, mining property, roads, &c., 
mainly lying in the gulch and on King Solomon Mountain, aggregate $175,000. The 
only outlay in excess of this anywhere observed in the San Juan was that of a firm 
in and about Lake City, amounting to $250,000; it was, however, not an individual 
enterprise, so that to Mr. Inness must be ascribed the distinction of being the most 
enterprising and extensive operator in the San Juan. The superintendent of his works, 
a practical engineer and metallurgist, was Maj. H. D. Whittemore, previous to the 
civil war in the regular Navy, and subsequently with the Army in the volunteers, but 
of late years with the Ingersoll Drill Company. The mining property of Mr. Inness, 
in detail, consists of eighteen locations; there being 400 feet on the Highland Mary proper, 
1,509 feet on the Robert Bruce, the western extension of the Highland Mary, the W. 
H. Nichols being the eastern; 1,500 feet on the Long Tom, 2,000 feet on the Royal 
Tiger, 1,500 feet on the Mountain Boy, 1,500 feet each on extension No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, 
No. 4, and No. 5, all located in Cunningham Gulch and on King Solomon Mountain. 


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APPENDIX SS. 1823 


There was being opened an adit entrance 18 feet by 15, from which a tunnel 10 feet 
by 10 will be run for 100 feet, giving room for a double T-rail track with switches, 6 
cars being in use for removing the débris. The work was being advanced by means of 
six 3-inch Ingersoll drills, the number to be doubled in 1878. The tunnel, which was 
s'arted from the bottom of the gulch on the Mountain Boy, will cut at 80 feet the 
Highland Mary and W. H. Nichols, at right angles, when drifts, 8 feet by 8, for a sin- 
gle track, will be run each way to the east and west on both lodes, the main tunnel 
going south upon the vein of the Mountain Boy. At 500 feet from the adit entrance 
the tunnel will be 2,000 feet beneath the surface of the mountain above. Attached to 
the mines were found a total of 14 buildings, as follows: 

Engine and compressor building, of stone, 46 feet by 32, walls 2 feet in thickness. 
_ When the gulch was entered during the spring (1877) to commence building operations, 
22 feet of snow had to be passed over on snow-shoes; where the buildings are located, 
some distance up from the bottom, it was7 feet in depth. This had to be dug out and 
the blasting of 6 feet of rock beneath for firm foundations accomplished. The engine 
building contains in the main part a 75 horse-power Root sectional boiler and a 60- 
horse-power Clayton air-compressor, the balance blacksmith-shops. The machinery 
had been lately put in, and presented as handsome and fine an appearance as could be 
desired by any engineer. The Clayton duplex compressor was driven by a No. 3 
Blake pump, and operated the Ingersoll drills referred to, through pipe and hose, care- 
fully wound with manila rope. This was the only point where an Ingersoll was drill- 
ing in the San Juan at that time; working at all anglesin quartz and syenitic granite, 
each drill, managed by two men, bored a 23-inch hole to the depth of 6 to 8 feet, rating 
14 inches per minute, aggregating 75 feet of linear holes in ten hours, equivalent to 
the hand-labor of 30men. All blasts being discharged by the aid of an electro-galvanic 
battery, the danger from premature explosion was prevented. 

The other buildings consisted of the owner’s residence, a Swiss chalet, two stories, 
surrounded by latticed verandas, on a commanding eminence, overlooking the works 
and the entire gulch; office and superintendent’s quarters, refractory, dormitory, 
dining and cook houses, &c., with stables for the stock, of which there were 12 mules, 
8 horses, and a number of burros or jackasses. The number of men employed was 57, 
said to be their winter force, and in the spring (1878) to be increased to 150 men, on 
the erection of reduction works for reducing their own ore alone; these, we were in- 
formed, would consist of 12 furnaces, with total capacity of 120 tons daily. The price 
paid by Mr. Inness for the Highland Mary was $45,000. The ore is an argentiferous 
galena of high grade, with gray copper, milling up to $500, some selected ore running 
to $5,000 per ton. The vein is 15 feet between gangue walls, and contains a rich pay- 
streak of 15 to 22 inches. 

From the gulch near by this remarkable vein can be easily traced with naked eye 
up and over the mountain-side. It was stated that a careful test was made of 4 tons 
of this ore at Greene’s works, the pile being crushed, subdivided, and alternate quar- 
ters taken and subdivision continued in like manner until the amount had decreased 
to 2 pounds, which gave a mill-run of $700 per ton. 

Mr. Inness also possesses the Hoffman lode, a location of the past summer (1877), 
situated 14 miles south of the Highland Mary; an argentiferous galena of 5 feet with 
the pay-streak, containing gray copper and some sulphurets of quinches, the general 
galena ore averaging 100 ounces, the pay-steak running as high as 700 ounces. 

The Golden Giant, already mentioned and previously known as the Little Giant, 
being in the Arastra Gulch, for years in litigation, has been purchased by Mr. Inness 
entire. From this lode 430 sacks of ore were taken out during the season, averaging 
60 pounds per sack, or 25,890 pounds total, which milled nearly $4,200 per ton. The 
charter for the Howardsville and Antelope Park toll-road, extending from Howards- 
ville up Cunningham Gulch, over the range and down the Rio Grande to Antelope 
Springs, was taken out by Mr. Inness in the fall of 1876, and about $2,000 expended on 
5 miles of the road down the gulch from the site of his works; above this a mile cost 
$4,000. The intention was to complete the entire road during 1878, the distance from 
the summit of the range down to the springs being about 40 miles; total cost of finish- 
ing and perfecting the entire road estimated at $30,000. At the time of the visit 
ers OO 1, 1877) the expenditures of Mr. Inness aggregated, as already stated, 

75,000. 

From an outline sketch, herewith accompanying (Fig. 4 of Cunningham Gulch, 
Plate 6),-an idea may be formed of the deeply eroded character of Cunningham Gulch, 
and the locations of the mining properties at its upper end. 

Within the Animas section, as may be inferred, are situated a larger number of first- 
class and high-grade silver-mines than are found in any other district of the San Juan. 
The lack of reduction facilities and good roads has been its drawback. 

The supplies of material reaching Silverton are mainly brought by trains of burros, 
which are valued here at $25 to $30 each. Freight by burro-trains from Silverton to 
Antelope Springs is 2 cents per pound; for return freight 3 cents is charged. These 
trains are in charge of a driver, receiving-from $60 to $75 per month; the pack trans- 
portation being 150 pounds for a burro, and from 200 to 250 for a mule. 


1824 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


THE NEEDLE DISTRICT 


lies within the Needle Mountains, at the headwaters of the Florida, and the Vallecito, 
or West Fork of the Rio Los Pinos, their western slopes being drained by waters of the 
Animas. This section had been entirely unexplored by prospectors up to within the 
last season, not from any lack of desire to enter it, but from the impossibility of ac- 
complishing it, the mountains being wholly inaccessible. 

The only trail in the entire region, leading up the Vallecito, was cut early in Sep- 
tember by our party in company with a number of prospectors and mining men. In 
meandering the headwaters of this stream there were everywhere indications of valu- 
able metalliferous deposits. Rich float was observed along the beds of the water- 
courses, and wide veins of mineral deposits could be distinctly traced and followed 
with the naked eye upon the mountain-sides. The similarity to Cunningham Guleh 
was very striking; the veins in their general course lying northwest and southeast, in 
the same direction as that of the great mineral belt in the vicinity of Silverton. 

The prospectors reported an abundance of rich lodes, mainly of silver, with indica- 
tions of gold. The surface-outcropping, or ‘‘ blossom rock,” made the search for lodes 
not only an easy task, but also very successful. 

The most promising lodes earliest discovered were the Dolly Varden, Clipper, Engineer, 
Germania, Iron Rod, and Columbia, none of them being developed more than the 10- 
foot assessment required. The specimens seen, giving fine assays, were of argentifer- 
ous galena, chiefly of high grade, with gray copper and sulphurets. The richest lode 
of the district, as we afterwards learned, was one which assayed several thousand dol- 
lars, and was discovered in October by one of the early prospectors, known throughout 
the camp as “ Dirty Jim.” 

While at the head of one of the streams, float of decomposed quartz was observed sim- 
ilar to the rock of the Little Annie at the Summit. Being followed up and its origin 
found, although it was left unstaked, the temptation to locate was almost irresistible. 
We learned later, that after our departure and the existence of a trail was known, a 
stream of prospectors poured up the Vallecito during the two months intervening till 
the close of season, and that numbers of rich ‘‘ strikes” had been made. This will un- 
d.ubtedly become, when properly developed, a most valuable district; coal dcposits 
abound on the Florida, close to the Los Pinos, and an agricultural section is not tar — 
distant. 


THE EUREKA DISTRICT, 


adjoining the Animas upon the north, is small in extent, but rich in lodes, and lies 
along the Animas River, from the dividing line near Howardsville to the divide be- 
tween the Animas and Uncompahgre Rivers. The most valuable mining properties are 
found in Eureka, Maggie, and Minnie Gulches. 

The towns of the district are Eureka, at the mouth of that gulch and about 9 miles 

from Silverton, and Animas Forks, located at the junction of the two upper branches 
of the river, 4 miles farther up; both of these, however, should be properly known as 
mining camps. 
_ The principal lodes are the Tidal Wave, McKinnie, Crispin, Sunnyside, Yellow Jacket, 
Golden Fleece, Venus, Emma Dean, American, North Pole, Jackson, Grand Central, 
Big Giant, Little Abbie, Belcher, Chieftain, Boomerang, Silver Wing, Lily, Golden 
Eagle, and Great Eastern. 

The ores are in general argentiferous galena of high grade, gray, copper accompany- 
ing; in Burns’ Gulch specimens of the Lily and Golden Eagle lodes contained brittle 
silver in considerable quantities, while in Eureka arsenical ores are found. On Jones’ 
Mountain, not far from this gulch, the Silver Wing, one of the finest mines of the dis- 
trict, contains seven lodes so situated that they will be readily worked by a single tun- 
nel. The owners propose erecting here, during the season of 1878, smelting-works for 
their own ore. 

Selected ore of the Boomerang gave occasional mill runs of $475. 

The Eureka is the most promising gulch in the district, where more work has been 
done than in any other, although its mines are in all stages of development. The 
Tegner, with an 80-foot tunnel, a vein of about 10 feet, with a pay streak of nearly 3, 
gave mill runs of 125 ounces of silver; the Emma Dean, with a 50-foot tunnel, a crevice 
of 20 feet, and a pay streak of 3, returned a mill run of 168 ounces; and the Crispin, 
also in Eureka Gulch, with a vein of 9 feet, and a pay streak of about 3, gave a value 
of 160 ounces. 

The facilities for reducing ore have not been equal to the supply, and are mainly at 
Animas Forks. Here are located the smelters of the Dakota and San Juan Mining 
Company and the San Juan Smelting Company. The former possesses the usual 
magnificent water-power, of which an idea may here be formed from the fact that the 
town lies at the edge of timber line and on the mountain slope, down which the fall 
of water is the greatest; beyond and down the gulch to the south the descent is 
much less, although the average to Howardsville, 8 miles distant, is over 200 feet 


APPENDIX SS. 1825 


per mile. This portion of the Animas is very confined, narrowing to the north; the 
mountains are steep and precipitous, particularly on the east, opposite Eureka, and 
about the immense trough of the river are numerous evidences of glacial erosion. 

At Eureka the outlook for the future was more encouraging. For the reduction of 
the ores of the gulch, large works, being erected by an Eastern company, were all under 
way, and expected to be open for business by the beginning of the season of 1878, the 
process being lixiviature. 

In Burns’ Gulch, where large quantities of ore were on the various dumps, a concen- 
tration mill of about 8 tons capacity was being operated. The proprietors were Messrs. 
Smyth & Peterson, graduates of the Freyburg mining schools; the concentrated ores 
were shipped to Saint Louis refining-works, the magnificent motive-power of the 
water being utilized for their mill. 


THE PARK DISTRICT, 


so named from its containing Burrows Park, a mountain valley between 10,000 and 
11,000 feet in height, adjoins the Eureka on the east. Through this district a road 
from Animas Forks, via Cinnamon Gulch, passes down the Lake Fork of the Gunnison 
to Lake City, about 29 miles distant. This road, however, is in such a wretched order 
that all teams for Lake go from Animas Forks, via the Hensen Creek toll-road, which 
is in fine order, besides being 6 miles shorter. 

The Park District lies mainly in Hillsdale County, and within it are situated some 
fine properties which are being rapidly developed. 

The principal mining points are Sherman, on the Lake Fork, at the mouth of Cotton- 
wood Creek; Argentine, about 6 miles farther up the stream; Tellurium, at the head 
of Burrows Park, and the American Basin, a huge depression, about 24 miles long and 
1 wide, immediately to the west of Handie’s Peak. Several gulches entering the park, 
also contain some valuable lodes, the most important of which is the Cleveland, com- 
ing from the northwest nearly, and below Tellurium. 

Among the most promising and best developed lodes are the Hidden Treasure, Ma- 
jor, Vulcan, Mountain Curve, Garden City, Cuba, Little Edith, Lilly, Inez, Cashier, 
Silver Queen and Del Norte. 

The nature of the ores are wholly silver, no gold having as yet been found; they are 
generally a fine grade galena, with and without gray copper; a few of them carry dio- 
erasite or antimonial silver, and one or two, indications of pyragyrite or ruby silver. 

Their value is that of first-class ore in general, some few running to quite a low grade,. 
but in large quantities. The Hidden Treasure, of the American Basin, gave an assay 
while we were at Lake of 3,287 ounces; some ore of the Major has sold for a dollar a 

ound. 
. Specimen No. 719, of the collection, from the American Basin, gave an assay of 
1,000 ounces. The vein is 8 feet between wall rock of the fissure, and contains several 
pay streaks, of which the finest quality is 8 inches. 

Specimen No. 726 was from a lot of the Inez ore, an American Basin mine, which 
gave a mill run at Lake City of 810 ounces; it contains both native and brittle silver 
in small quantities. We were present at Van Gieson’s Works at Lake City when a 
sack of 58 pounds of the Vulcan (picked ore, of course) was paid for at the rate of 
1,964 ounces per ton. The rest of the lodes mentioned, except the Del Norte, are of 
fine grade, yielding from 60 and 75 ounces to 150 to 250 ounces, the Cuba, a ruby silver 
pay streak, having mill runs from 100 to 300 ounces. Upon the Del Norte, about half 
a mile below Tellurium, $7,000 has been expended in development; tunnel in over 100 . 
feet; about 1,000 tons already out, all of low grade, perhaps 46 ounces per ton. 

In the shape of milling facilities, two works for the concentration of ores were to be 
erected and opened for the season of 1878. At Argentine, one of a daily capacity of 
10 tons was to be built by Messrs. Welsh & Son; at Tellurium, the other, with facili- 
ties 50 per cent. greater, or 15 tons per day. The latter was to be done by an Illinois 
Company, known as the Gunnison Silver Mining Company. It possesses a large capital 
and has under way the most extensive operations in the district. The mill is located 
on a gentle slope of the mountain, north of the river, and its heavy water-power is 
derived from a 1,200-foot race bringing the water from the stream. 


THE UNCOMPAHGRE DISTRICT 


lies on the north of the Animas District, Cement Creek being to the southeast, and the 
north fork of Mineral Creek to the southwest of Read Peak or Mountain, while Red 
Creek of the Uncompahgre runs down its northern slopes; it lies also porthwest of 
Eureka District Mineral City and Poughkeepsie Gulch being in that dfrection from 
Animas Forks. 

It lies, moreover, upon the Pacific slopes of the mountains, its mines being in the 
eat of Poughkeepsie, Red, Bear, and Cation Creeks, which dash down in most 

orrible and frightful cafions, eroded from the massive mountains circling their heads, 


115 5 


1826 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


their bottoms choked with débris, and very often inaccessible. Words are inadequate — 
to describe the appearance of these cafions from above. Each looks like a perfect — 
wreck of matter, or an exploded world piled below in strange confusion ; the fiercely 
red peaks about lending a brilliant contrast to the long stretches of timber and the 
valley far below and beyond. The wealth of mineral deposited here by nature was ap- 
parently proportioned to its inaccessibility. Mines are most numerous in the Animas; 
capital has aided them at Lake most largely, but in the Uncompahgre Mountains 
nature made them richest. 

Mineral City is its town, nearest Eureka District, being on a fine toll-road, 3 miles 
over the range from Eureka, and about 20 miles from Lake City, by the Hensen Creek 
road. It is an important mining camp, is at the edge of timber line some 11,500 feet 
above the sea, and is claimed to be higher up in the heavens than any other town in 
the United States, if not the loftiest mining camp of any size in the world. 

Way down the gulch, on the Uncompahgre River, less than 6 miles by air-line, 
only 73 or 8 by trail, but 120 by the wagon-road via Lake City, lies Ouray, the largest 
town of the district, and rival, perhaps, of Lake City and.Silverton in the distant 
future. 

A mineral belt apparently runs to the southwest from about Ouray, including the 
gulches to the south, and continuing on to Red Mountain, at the head of Cement Creek 
and the north fork of Mineral Creek. Mines that lie within its course partake, more or 
less, of its peculiar characteristics, which differ from the Animas and other ores in 
possessing less galena and more of the sulphurets than other sections. Being of a high 
grade and easily treated, they are great favorites at works for the general reduction of 
ore. 

In the northern part of the district, close to Ouray, on the west edge of town, and 
at the mouth of Cafion Creek, is the Fisherman lode, wonderfully rich, containing 
native and brittle silver, assays being as high as $30,000. The Trout is an extension 
thereof, containing gray copper, while the Johnny Bull, close by; carries the same ore 
as the Fisherman, and is presumed to be one of its spurs. The Ophir, Watson, Three 
Brothers, Cedar, and Clipper, are also near by; the Sivyer and Union, on Bear Creek, 
and many others, including the Mother Cline, Alaska, Saxon, Tyrol, Poughkeepsie, 
Silver Coin, Gipsy Queen, Little Minnie, Out Pat, and Lincoln Boy. 

Including in this connection the 


MOUNT SNEFFLES DISTRICT, 


‘since lying about and upon the peak from which it takes its name, whence Canon 
Creek runs down to the town, at the farthest but 9 miles away, all its interests are 
inseparably connected with Ouray, and we have in the Uncompahgre Mountain belt 
the richest deposit of mineral, not only in the San Juan, but in the whole of Colorado. 
The lodes upon the mountain are as large in number as the wealth they indicate ex- 
ceeds the general average. The names of fifty could be stated that give promise 
of immense returns on capital carefully placed. They were in all stages of develop- 
ment in the shape of open cuts, large adits, shafts of 20 and 40 feet, and tunnels up to 
and over 100 feet. 

The mines of the Uncompahgre are very young, so to speak, but they will be devel- 
oped with great rapidity. Of all, none possessed more local renown than the Wheel 
of Fortune property, which was certainly a lucky turn for the finders. It was of a 
very rich grade with ruby silver and indications of gold. While in Lake City, a sale 
of this property to eastern parties was being negotiated, which was afterwards closed, 
the price being $160,000. The Wheel of Fortune had been developed sufficiently to 
show its immense wealth, there being three levels of 160, 80, and 30 feet, and about 60 
feet of shafting, the expense per linear foot running from $18 to $25; its vein has a 
tissure of 4 feet width, with a varying pay streak from 10 to 20 inches. Its blossom or 
surface rock assayed 1,200 ounces, and selected specimens 26,200 ounces; mill-runs 
varied from 200 to 700 ounces; 70 tons purchased at Van Gieson’s, at Lake City, avera- 
ging 275 ounces. The Monetizer and Mark Twain extensions of the Wheel of Fortune, 
and the Grand Trunk and Silver Queen lodes, crossing at right angles, were included in 
the sale of the mine. A batch of 9 lodes on Mount Sneffles for which the patent had 
not yet been received, were also sold at that time to capitalists of Georgetown, Colo., 
for $50,000. . 

One of the most remakable mineral deposits, not only in the district, but in the entire 
San Juan, is that known as the Mineral Farm; it belongs to Mr. A. W. Begale, and is 
especially worthy of mention. It is reached by the trail from Mineral City down to 
Ouray, being above and about 14 miles north of the latter. The ‘‘farm” consists of 5 
large parallel locations, heavy fissure veins, almost a solid mass some 8 feet below the 
surface, several hundred feet wide and 1,500 long, with a thickness not known, the 
owner’s estimate, which is of course valueless, being 1,000 feet. To the uneducated 
eye, it looks as if some great leak had occurred when Nature was injecting the molten 
metal from below through the many crevices and fissures prepared for its reception, 


APPENDIX SS. 1827 


and a great mass had escaped before discovery was made. Whatever its geological 
formation, the owner has secured it by patent and takes most profitable exercise in 
occasionally getting it out and hauling it to the mill, the ore being a high-grade galena 
with sulphurets, and assaying fron $200 to $900. 

The facilities for reducing ore throughout the district are totally inadequate and 
much of the ore is packed to Lake City; the only reduction works about Ouray being 
a smelter of a capacity of 10 tons a day, a sampling mill also existing. Chlorination 
works will undoubtedly be soon erected here, but there will always exist plenty of 
custom for amalgamation works since the ores of brittle silver which frequently occur 
are not reducible by the process of lixiviation. 

This point is pre-eminently the one for the location of works for the reduction of ore. 
It is in every direction down hill from the mines; water-power is fine, timber is abun- 
dant, spar and iron ore for fluxing abound in the mountains within a few miles above 
town, and a vein of coal, reported as 5 feet thick, lies scarcely over 6 miles distant, 
whereas coal used at Lake City has to be hauled over 75 miles. 

Wholly unlike the situation of the other mining districts considered, agriculture is 
possible and very closely approaches the town. Less than 3 miles below, the river 
enters upon the beautiful and extensive valley of the Uncompahgre, and within less 
than 6, the cultivation of cereals may be pursued with fine success. Withits immensely 
high and rugged mountains, and so abrupt a descent into a low and gentle valley, there 
exists unusual diversity of landscape scenery, with mineral and agricultural wealth 
almost meeting in an extraordinarymanner. Ouray and the districts of which it is the 
center, possess more flattering prospects for the future than elsewhere were observed. 
The region to the north is the land of the Ute, but must in the near future be in part 
wrested from him, as was the San Juan proper but a few years ago. Our treaty stipu- 
lations, rarely kept inviolate, will not avail. The land is too valuable to remain 
unsettled. 


THE GALENA DISTRICT 


lies to the east of the last treated, touching it in the southeastern part of the Uncom- 
pahere, and is but a part of the Lake Fork and the Uncompahgre Mountains, being in 
part the mineral belt drained by Hensen Creek. Its eastern line is the western boundary 
of the Lake District. 

Of the most valuable lodes of this section, the nature of whose ore will be at once 
known from the name of the district itself, the Dolly Varden, Silver Chord, Ocean 
Wave, and Boston, are some of those farthest advanced. At timber line, beyond the 
source of Hensen Creek, is Mineral City, also called Mineral Point, already mentioned, 
between 20 and 21 miles from Lake City, while a little less than half way lies Capitol 
City, a promising mining camp. 

Beyond the Ute and Ule the mines of the Crooke’s, and 2 miles down from Capitol 
is the Ocean Wave, largely owned in Kansas City, a very valuable lode and finely de- 
veloped, there being over 600 feet of tunneling, shafting, and connecting winzes. The 
value of this mine may be estimated from the fact that they sold 32 tons of ore, first- 
class or selected rock, to the Messrs. Crooke for reduction at the rate of 218 ounces. 

Near Capitol City numbers of rich strikes had been made, and there existed a lively 
eamp of fully 150. The lode attracting most attention was the Silver Chord, about a 
mile from town. Ina vein of 4 feet there is a magnificent pay streak of 16 inches of 
mineral interspersed with native silver; ore running nearly 600 ounces silver was met 
in large bodies; some of the specimens taken out were magnificent. They were flecked 
throughout the narrow seam or streak with native silver, while the rest of the vein held 
high-grade galena, with gray copper and brittle silver. The owners asserted that they 
were not picked, which was not at all credible; but be that as it may, they were the 
handsomest specimens of silver-bearing rock we have ever seen anywhere. 

Mineral City, aptly named in part, a metropolis as yet in embryo, of some 250 per- 
sons, was found the center of rich mines and valuable interests, some very heavy com- 
panies operating here. At Lake City tunneling contracts can be easily gotten at $15 
per foot, while at this point they entail an expense of $20 to $25. A Milwaukee com- 
pany owns 22 mines near by, every one patented. Capt. E. W. Burrows, after whom 
the park of that name was called, possessing numbers of mines there, has very large 
interests near Mineral, 20 mines in all, from simple locations to the most advanced con- 
dition, which was a 95-foot tunnel on the Boston. The fissures are well defined, as 
far as developed, and show the average high-grade ores of the section. 

A New York company, F. J. Pratt, superintendent, was the most extensive in its 
operations. Upon the Boston, near by, $10,000 had been expended in development, and 
they were beginning upon a tunnel site to penetrate Mineral Point Mountain, for the 
intersection of 27 fine lodes. The contract for 1,000 feet of the tunnel was closed at 
the time of our visit for $21 per foot, a remarkably low figure for the length. 

On Copper Mountain, near the head of Hensen Creek, is the Dolly Varden, belong- 
ing to Mr. Van Geison, of Del Norte and Lake City. As people do in a mining country 
when they want their mine developed, are uncertain about its value, and don’t like the 


1828 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


risk, he leased it to a miner to work it, pay all expenses, and receive four-fifths of — 


the ore. The miner got out a little over 11 tons of ore, and taking it to the proprie- 
tor’s mill at Lake City, received an amount which defrayed all his expenses and left 
him $4,000 ahead. It has produced the highest average of any mine in the district, 
mill-runs varying, as we were informed at the works, from 365 to 810 ounces; the total 
average of the eleven tons was 440 ounces, the last run being of old ore from the dump, 
which lowered the previous average of 600 ounces. For 500 feet opened, the lode has 
shown the same pay streak of 10 to 15 inches. It is, therefore, a most valuable prop- 
erty. 

Most of the ore of this district is taken to Lake for reduction. Smelting works with 
a capacity of 10 tons daily were erected at Capitol City, but were not found in opera- 
tion. The proprietor had too many creditors, we were informed. 

From the Galena one naturally gravitates down Hensen Creek to the 


LAKE DISTRICT, 


which possesses the metropolis of the southwest, and being the most accessible on ac- 
count of its good roads, is very naturally the seat of larger capital than any other dis- 
trict of the San Juan. It borders on Galena upon the west, the Park District on the 
southwest, and lies wholly in Hinsdale County. Its richest and most prominent lodes 
are Hotchkiss, Ute, Ule, Belle of the West, Belle of the East, Silver Coin, J. J. Crooke, 
Plutarch, Pride of America, Red Rover, Cora, Pacific, Big Casino, Mayflower, East 
Boston, Little Chief, Mountain Lion, Atlantic, Plantation, and California. 

By the register of the United States land-office at Lake City we were informed 
that there were recorded in this district 5,000 mining locations. Comparatively few, 
however, of this immense number are in an advanced condition, most of them resting 
on assessments. 

The mines in general are of argentiferous galena, with gray copper; to a less extent 
the black sulphurets are seen, while in a single case both silver and gold oceur. This 
remarkable exception to the usual mines of Lake is the Hotchkiss lode, in which valu- 
able traces of sylvanite, with other telluride ores, occur the assays being extraordi- 


narily high, running to $40,000. Itis one of the best developed mines in the district, - 


belonging to the Crookes. It may, however, be considered as pockety in its nature, 
the rich deposits not being continuous, nor lying in a positive and well defined fissure- 
vein. 

The Belle of the West, but 24 miles from Lake, is a fine characteristic lode, dis- 
covered in1875, The vein, a true fissure, varying from 3 to 5 feet, possesses a pay streak 
of 9 to 18 inches width, the @onstituents of the ore being argentiferous galena, with 
eray copper, black sulphurets also occurring. Hundreds of tons have been taken from 
the mine, its production being over 50 per month; its assays have been as high as 
$1,200 while the mill runs, the real test of enduring worth, were from $6,250, the lowest, 
to $390. Over and above expenses, it was stated to have made a return to the owners 
on their investment, of 25 to 66 per cent per annum. 

Upon Hensen Creek are the Ute and Ule, belonging to the Crookes, of which the for- 
mer is the most valuable, and, as might be expected from their immense capital, in an 
advanced state of development, being, in this respect, at the time, the leading mine 
of the San Juan. They lie upon a slope of one of the Uncompahgre Mountains, on 
Hensen Creek, about 4 miles from town, and were purchased by the Crookes in August, 
1876, for $120,000. They began development with the Ute. This lode properly should 
be Ouray, as it was named by the original locator, after the renowned chieftain of the 
Indian tribes not far distant, the orthography of whose name he could not correctly 
manage. 

‘he Ule has a tunnel of 200 feet, with drifts at its end in either direction upon the 
vein. Finding that its ore, the pay streak of which was 18 inches, did not develop as 
expected, being rather mediocre compared with the Ute, work was abandoned and 
attention turned to the latter which possesses a pay streak of fully 3 feet, with high- 
grade ore containing gray copper. 

In the visit tothe Ute, there were noted 7 tunnels and 3 large shafts, with levels and 
connecting winzes. At the close of the previous season (1876), shafts 2 and 3 showed 
4 feet of solid mineral; in some places the vein was ‘‘pinched” or more narrow, but 
this average was still about the same, with an increased depth. The ore of shaft No. 


1 was first class, milling 80 to 400 ounces. Mr. Simons, the efficient superintendent, — 


with eleven years’ experience in the mines of Central City, stated that during his man- 
agement, ten months previous to October, 1877, there had been taken from the lode 
1,600 tons of ore, and that the whole body removed from the mine aggregated ‘400 
fathoms,” that term being applicable to the vein area. The resulting amount would 
be 14,400 square feet of the vein’s thickness, equal to 2,000 tons of ore, from their own 
weight averages, for while the pound weight of afoot cube of quartz is 168, tetrahedrite 
or gray copper 300, and galena 468 pounds, the mineral is of unequal distribution. In 
passing through the entire mine, not without some difficulty, by the way, a hole in one 


| 


APPENDIX SS. 1829 


of the winzes being too small for the ‘“‘fat man” of our party, there were, moreover, 
seen about 1,000 tons more, broken and awaiting facilities for removal and hoisting. 
The deepest shaft was 125 feet, and throughout there were about 500 feet of level 
traversed. Outside near the various adits were 20 miners’ cabins and stables for stock ; 
40 men were employed, wages being as usual $3 per day and board; cost of tunneling 
from $20 to $25 per foot. These are Lake’s representative and handsomest lodes; but 
mines are not her stronghold; in reduction facilities she stands pre-eminent, and of all, 
the Crookes’ establishment is the chief. In fact the Crookes have made Lake City 
what she is, the undoubted metropolis of the San Juan and the center of her trade, 
their total investment being given on the best authority as over $250,000. 

The reduction works of the district, all located in Lake City, are three in number, 
and in the order of their capacity are Crookes’, the Ocean Wave, and Van Gieson’s. 
There is also a separate and small establishment, not far from Van Gieson’s for the 
sampling of ore. 

Crookes’ Concentration Works, as they are generally called, are located on the Lake 
Fork of the Gunnison at Crookeville, about a mile from Lake City proper, on the road 
from the southeast, and commanding a view of the town. There are four in the firm, 
father and sons, eastern men, and proprietors of the large smelting and refining works 
in New York City. Being all thoroughly practical men, they have been eminently 
successful. They located their establishment here as the most accessible point within 
the mining region; theirs was the first to come, others followed them, capital gath- 
ered to the same point, and Lake City, destined to remain the leading place of South- 
west Colorado, is the result. To their works there is in general no admittance; with 
the enforced exclusion of the general public, and newspaper men in particular, rumors 
are afloat of mysterious processes in metallurgy that are kept from curious eyes, like 
the Swansea over the sea. Notso. The Crookes are thoroughly business men, and 
came to attend toit. With their magnificent machinery and its great success, their 
business became so great that intruders were in the way, and so they are excluded. 
Moreover there were from 300 to 400 idle men in town in the spring (1877), allallured by 
statements far and wide as to the silver mines found everywhere. They.all went to 
Crooke, sr., for work and told the same story in general... A newspaper man he there- 
fore abhors, as they informed me, from the ‘‘false statements about the paradise of 
San Juan,” and the prospectus of one of the western railroads has as strong an effect 
upon him as a red rag to a mad bull. Their water power is one of the falls of 33 feet 
in the stream. It is utilized with a 26-inch Leffel turbine wheel and is equivalent to 
75-horse power. Their concentration works, the general name of their establishment, 
consist of concentration works proper, smelting works, chlorination works, and a 
stamp-mill. 

In 1876, they began building, and at the end of that season had expended $50,000. 
The main building, erected for concentration, was 96 by 32 feet and 65 feet high. There 
were six floors, and all of them filled with machinery from top to bottom. Blake crush- 
ers, Krom concentrators, and numerous screens, hoppers, and dryers used in concentra- 
tion were everywhere, in seemingly endless confusion, dazing the beholder. Itseemed 
like another Machinery Hall on a small seale; to essay an accurate description of their 
works without being an expert metallurgist or a mechanical engineer would be as futile 
as to attempt to portray the terrible nature of the cations of the Uncompahgre or the 
ruggedness of the summits of the Needle Mountains. 

The coarse ore is received above, on the sixth floor, as it comes from the mines; it 
comes out below, an absolutely impalpable powder, perfectly free from dust or rock, 
fine mineral alone. In the shape of bullion, it is shipped to their refineries in New — 
York. The concentration department was enlarged 50 by 40 feet, during the season of 
1877, with similar machinery, in the shape of Blake crushers, Krom: concentrators, &c., 
until its capacity has reached 75 tons daily. 

The smelting-works contain four reverberatory furnaces, two sweaters, and two 
roasters, with another furnace building. The whole is a large building in four com- 
partments, or perhaps, more properly, four buildings combined, 96 by 75 feet. These 
four furnaces, and the one erecting, havea capacity of 6to8tonsdaily. They, however, 
never charge over a ton, and ordinarily but 1,800 pounds each. Huge piles of hogs- 
heads of tin scraps and turnings used in fluxing were in the yards, and droppings were 
noticed for miles along the road over which they had come. The chlorination works 
are of the usual order, 75 by 50 feet; the chlorides are shipped to New York City for 
refinement. The stamp mill was 75 by 50 feet, and contained 15 stamps. 

The blast furnace, a Fraser & Chalmer, was erected during the season of 1877; ca- 
pacity, 25 tons daily. In the yards were noticed large stacks of ore in desulphurization 
beds. It is possible that an approximate idea of the enormous quantity of machinery 
in the shape of Blake crushers, Cornish rolls, Frue vanners, Krom concentrators, &c., 
may be gathered from the fact that from the railroad they transported 30 tons, which 
cost them by slow freight 44 cents per pound. Additions being made were still incom- 
plete, and when finished, the several classes of works under their management will 
form the largest and most complete establishment in the State, and will be the only 


1830 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


one in Colorado where all the various processes for the treatment of ores are used. An 
idea of the capital necessary for so extensive operations may be formed from the fact 
that the single item of labor alone was $1,000 per day; some 400 tons of base bullion 
were shipped to the East, it was said, during the season of 1877. This establishment 
was, when seen, excelled by but one in Colorado, the Boston and Colorado, better 
known, probably, as Hill’s Works, at Black Hawk, where were handled during 1876, 
$2,225,000, the estimate for the season of 1877 being $225,000 more. 

The Ocean Wave Smelting Works are located at the lower or northern end of town, 
Mr. Bernard being the superintendent, with Professor West, formerly of Hill’s Works, 
a practical metallurgist, in charge of the machinery. The works are of the ordinary 
roasting and smelting nature, with Blake crushers, Cornish rolls, &c. Water-power is 
obtained from the river; iron ore and calespar, for fluxing, come respectively from 
deposits along Hensen Creek and the Gunnison. They give employment in all to 40 
men and have a capacity of 20 tons daily. This building had just been completed. At 
the time of our visit the company had on hand some 450 tons of ore, and were receiy- 
ing plenty of custom work. The works are first-class in every respect and buy and 
treat ores of 20 ounces and upward. 

Van Gieson’s Lixiviation Works, where ores are treated by the chlorination or leach- 
ing process, are situated on Hensen Creek, which passes through the town on its way 
to the Gunnison. 

A brief allusion to the interior of this establishment and its treatment of ores may 
not be wholly devoid of interest, inasmuch as it was highly spoken of and may be re- 
garded as a type of this class of reduction works, which are rapidly increasing in 
favor. It is the most economical of all modes, securing 95 per cent of the precious 
metal, or 15 per cent more than is generally obtained by amalgamation, all kinds of 
ore being subject to its treatment, save those of heavy galena or in excess of 20 per 
cent. 

In its operation water-power from Hensen Creek is utilized, the engine being a 45- 
horse power, Langford & Co., Black Hawk. Foundations, solid masonry; stack 60 
feet high; size of main building 110 by 40 feet containing as subdivisions: 

1. Ore receiving room, 40 by 20 feet. Ore purchased is piled in labeled lots; price 
for ore from the same mine of course varies. 

2. Crushing room, 40 by 40 feet; contains Hendrie’s ball pulverizers, Dodge crushers, 
elevator with endless chain and. cups. This is also utilized as a drying room; the 
floor, being of iron, upon which the ore is spread, is heated by furnaces below. 

3. Sampling room, contains a Barclay sampler similar to those at Hill’s works at 
Black Hawk, at Georgetown, and elsewhere seen; ground ore of various values is 
thoroughly incorporated and sample produced of general character and value. From 
this resultant assays are made, furnished to the seller and prices paid accordingly. 

4, Engine room, 40 by 24 feet, is adjoining on same floor, one of Langford & Co.’s, 
cost $5,200. Force pump also here, for fire protection, throwing a stream through a 
3-inch hose. 

5. Cooling room, 40 by 18 feet and 14 feet below the above level, where the roasted 
ores are cooled; a force pump, Knowles’ patent, used therefor. 

6. Furnace room, 40 by 20 feet, contains 4 reverberatory furnaces; ores crushed above 
conveyed in pipes, are submitted to the usual roasting process. 

7. Leaching room, situated below the above, contaming four circular vats, diameter 
9 feet, depth 5, in which the roasted ore crushed and solutions are mixed; hence 
sluiceways carry tailings to the Gunnison. 

8. Chemical rooms, in the same general division but at a lower level; they are two 
~in number and 40 feet by 12 by 14. The first contams two precipitating vats, where 
mixture is precipitated and clear solution is removed by a force pump to be utilized 
again; the second contains four tanks for base metals, as copper, iron, lead, &c., of 
which the copper only is saved. In the first room stirrers, similar. to a steamer’s 
serew, revolve horizontally, producing the sulphide of silver, which conveyed to an 
adjoining room, is desulphurized in a powerful furnace. It is then taken to an adjoin- 
ing building containing the assay department, and also crucibles, melting furnaces 

&c., where it is molded into bricks, in which shape it is shipped to refining works in 
New York City. 

Original cost of work, in 1876, $45,000; in addition thereto $15,000 to $20,000 expended 

-during season of 1877, in enlargement &c., capacity having been nearly doubled on the 
first run being successful; at present reducing 7 to 8 tons daily, and weekly amounts 
paid out ageregating $4,000 to $5,000. 

Mr. Houghton, the superintendent, has a reputation for fine management, the first 
two months showing a product of $33,000; two weeks’ work yielded 7 bricks, which, 925 
fine, were worth $11,000, and the entire first lot of 200 tons reduced in five weeks re- 
turned 16 bricks with a weight of 21,431 ounces whose fineness and value, at the pro- 
portionate rate of the standard silver ounce, was $1.07 or about $22,800 in all. 

Ores holding 40 ounces and upward were purchased for cash, and the average value, 
we were informed, of all ores milled at the works was a little over 130 ounces. Jt was 
their intention to increase their works during 1878, to double the present capacity. 


——— SS 


APPENDIX SS. 1831 


This was the last of the mining districts of the San Juan personally visited. Of the 
indications and the prospects of the two others, nothing can be said save of a hearsay 
nature; both, however, properly belong to the mineral territory of the San Juan. 
Nearest and most notorious is 


THE SAN MIGUEL DISTRICT, 


lying west of the Animas and Uncompahgre where they meet on Mineral Creek, and 
including the San Miguel and its forks, and the mountains at their headwaters. It 
indicates both silver and gold, the placers being reported as very valuable. 

At Silverton and other points specimens were seen, which were reported to be from 
mines on the Howard’s Fork of the San Miguel; they were of argentiferous galena and 
also sulphurets, values given of 30 to 150 ounces of latter, and averages of 120 and 130 
ounces for the former. Machinery has gone in, mining camps are said to be springing 
up, and sales of promising placers have been announced. As to the value of the latter 
there may well be some doubt; although they were, by some, highly spoken of, by 
others they were not. At the First National Bank at Lake City, we were shown by 
the president a vial of dust, some 20 ounces in all; larger quantities and nuggets the 
size of a pea were exhibited by returning prospectors; Silverton had no bank of any 
kind, Lake City had three, one national and one private, and would therefore receive 
the gold dust of the San Miguel. The fact, therefore, that such incomings are but at 
irregular times and not the inpouring of a steady stream, when many men had gone in 
to work the placers, might serve to demonstrate the non-reliability of the stream-beds 
for large amounts of the precious mineral. 


THE ELK MOUNTAIN DISTRICT 


comprises the range of that name, in the northeastern part of Gunnison county, west 
of the continental divide, completely encircled by waters of the Gunnison and tribu- 
taries of the Grand. 

Wagon-roads exist, to the east to South Park, perhaps 70 miles, to reduction works, 
a branch of Hill’s at Black Hawk, two divides, one the Continental, intervening. 
Southwest to Lake City, the distance is about 10 miles farther, with easier grades, 
down the Gunnison and up the Lake Fork. In a government report these mountains 
are called a “‘ geological wonder.” They are of great height, and are said, moreover, 
to be a ‘‘treasure house of mineral wealth.” Specimens of the ore were seen at Lake 
City and Del Norte, and were of fine appearance. The veins were said to be, in gen- 
eral, very wide and true fissures. Several hundred lodes had been located and partly 
worked during the season gone by, one of which, called the ‘‘ Whopper,” with a pay 
streak said to be fully 6 feet, had gotten a mill-run at Lake of 200 ounces. From the 
lofty lay of the valleys, they are, moreover, claimed to be readily accessible, and coal 
in abundance, of fine coking properties, is said to be in proximity. 


GENERAL SUMMARY. 


A commonplace description of all the districts of the San Juan has been attempted, 
in accordance with that part of the instructions for the field which called for an 
account of ‘‘the prospects of the mines on the Las Animas, and the number of men at» 
work, the mills at work, number and condition, and if there seems to be much to indi- ~ 
cate a permanent and active business. All of these will be of value, in addition to a 
careful estimate and actual count of the men in the district”; furthermore, to carry 
the reconnaissance to the ‘‘heads of the Animas and across the divide to the so-called 
‘Uncompahgre’ district, if there be time, and it is reported there are many men in 
that vicinity”; and, touching the region known as the ‘‘Lake District,” to devote 
some time to the statistical examination thereof. 

Examinations in detail of portions of the Lower San Juan, and instructions consid- 
ered more pressing and urgent, so limited the time that but a passing and most hasty 
visit could be made to the districts mentioned, the entire day being occupied in march- 
ing or visits to divers points, leaving notes to be recorded at night. Statistical infor- 
mation touching the mining camps and towns of the entire region is included in the 
chapter relating to population. For valuable aid and information furnished, we desire 
to tender our thanks to Messrs. Robbins of the Summit, Hefferman of Parrott City, 
Greene, Whittemore and Hudson of Silverton, and Doughty, Olney, Woods, and Hough- 
ton of Lake. Men who will endure an interview deserve to be publicly thanked 
therefor. 7 

It was intended to have prepared a map of the various mining sections, defining 
their situation and indicating the nature of the mineral deposit. It being found, how- 
ever, impossible to wholly obtain the exact boundary-line of all the districts from some 
of the county officials and the surveyor-general of the State, the project was abandoned. 


1832 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


. Of the localities passed through, Silverton and Lake are the best developed and un- 
doubtedly the richest mineral-bearing regions, including in the latter the Uncom- 
pahgre. The mountains about Silverton, Cunningham Gulch, &c., are more massive 
than at Lake; tremendous, precipitous crags, which from appearance would yield 
more than Lake under the same impulse of capital. 

In the country as a whole there are no placers; placers are but will-o’-the-wisps, 
and upon the deep-seated lodes alone must reliance be placed. 

Silver is the standard product of the mines, and is found in general in fissure veins 
well defined with surface outcroppings, commonly called the ‘‘blossom rock,” which 
was noted as frequently of chlorine and carboniferous formation. They can be often- 
times traced with the naked eye, readily with a glass, over the mountain-side for 
miles. The geological structures are in primary and secondary states; the precious 
metal is sometimes found native, as in the rich specimens of the Galma district, but 
ordinarily as ore, in various states and mineralogical conditions, being combined with 
pyrites of copper, noticeably about the Dolores, pyrites of iron, galena, chlorine, anti- 
monial lead and zinc blende or its sulphuret; rich, free ores occur, azurite or blue car- 
bonate of copper, tetrahedrite or gray copper, sulphurets or silver glance, including 
both sternbergite of iron and stromeyerite, of copper constituency, discrasite or anti- 
monial silver and stephanite or brittle sulphuret of silver. 

The quartz and gangue are sometimes rich in mineral (commonly known as the 
‘‘vein” by prospectors and others), while the true veins or streaks (ordinarily spoken 
of as ‘‘ pay-streaks”) often, and in general do, carry more; occasionally native, spec- 
ular or dross silver, being dentiform, capillary, and disseminated, but seldom massive, 
the Inster being glimmering, fracture hackey and fine; with galena the diminution of 
cleavage-planes and the approach to lustrous, sparkling particles is hailed with de- 
light by prospectors as indicating a higher proportion of argentiferous mineral. The 
narrow rich veins, or pay-streaks, to adhere to the popular usage of the word, yield so 
small a quantity that for a highly profitable mine dependence must often be, and in 
general is, placed upon large amounts of well paying gangue. The oldest and richest 
mines of the country, as in Nevada, &c., are low grade but in immense quantities. 

Although the fissures of the Uncompahgre, &c., have been pronounced to be of but 
comparatively shallow depth by a distinguished mining geologist, not extending 
below the great bands of breccia that may be often at a distance seen encircling a 
mountain, increased depth has, in all cases, been well repaid. As yet, however, deep 
mining is almost a novelty in Colorado, and in the San Juan development has not 
advanced beyond the primary stage; the only deep and largely developed lodes are at 
Georgetown (silver) and Central City (gold), in both localities expenditure therefor 
being well rewarded. 


CHAPTER VI.—BOTANY. 
Prefatory. 


A botanical collection, as well as all work relating to natural history, being wholly 
subordinate to the main objects of the reconnaissance, could necessarily be little more 
than of a meager character. 

Even if a collector should possess the requisite knowledge of this extensive branch 
of natural science, the study of a:lifetime, and the thorough proficiency in collecting 
which is only acquired through long and arduous devotion to the theory and practice 
combined, ample time must be at his disposal to enable him to prosecute his labors in 
the field with but a single end in view. 

The absence of all*these essential conditions will therefore be remembered in the 
examination of the results attained, and that the time given thereto was that usually 
devoted by others to rest and recreation after the day’s march, and in general near or 
after dark, the specimens being ordinarily gathered on the way. 

Not with the expectation of finding any new forms, but simply to aid botanical in- 
vestigators in defining range-limits of certain flora, was the collection made. 

For its classification, gratis, we desire to express our sincere gratitude to Professor 
Gray, the distinguished botanist. 

Aware of the heavy demands upon his time in many ways, the vast amount of gen- 
eral botanical research upon which he is engaged, and which no other American can 
accomplish, and particularly on account of the knowledge of his having in charge, in 
conjunction with his eminent English co-laborer, Sir Joseph Hooker, extensive explora- 
tions and reports upon the Rocky Mountain flora for one of the surveys of the national 
government, the request for such labor was not made without misgiving. 

For his promptness and kindness, and the devotion of time and unrewarded atten- 
tion to the collection, we desire to express our grateful thanks. The classification will 
be found hereafter as Section I. 

Mr. T. S. Brandegee, civil engineer, of Cafion City, Colo., a well-known investigator, 
and the only botanist, as we were informed by Professor Gray, who is practically 


APPENDIX SS. 1833 


familar with the flora of Colorado west of the Rocky Mountains, and particularly of 
the San Juan region, has kindly furnished, at our request, some botanical notes of 
great value, which follow the classification of Professor Gray. Not being personally 
a man of means, and all the work of the reconnaissance having to be done without any 
appropriation, his contribution was made as a personal favor, and we therefore desire 
to tender him our sincere thanks. 


SECTION I.—CLASSIFICATION OF PROFESSOR GRAY. 
Letter of transmittal, 


HERBARIUM OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 
BOTANIC GARDEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASs., 
June 23, 1878. 


LIEUTENANT: I inclose you herewith a list of the plants sent me in April last, col- 
lected by you in your reconnaissance of the San Juan region of Colorado, &c., in 1877, 
and classified at your request. 

Sincerely yours, 
Asa GRAY. 
Lieutenant McCauLey, U.S. A.. 
Fort Leavenworth, Kans. 


CLASSIFICATION OF THE BOTANICAL COLLECTION MADE DURING THE 
SAN JUAN RECONNAISSANCE OF 1877, IN COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO. 


By Pror. Asa GRAY. 


[Species which are not in Porter’s and Coulter’s Synopsis of the Flora of Colorado are in italics. For 
convenience of reference the species are enumerated in the order of that work. ] 


RANUNCULACE. 
Clematis ligusticifolia, Nutt. 
Thalictrum Fendlen, Engelm. (156). 
Upper Chama, &c. 
Ranunculus nivalis, L. (29, 33). 
Ranunculus affinis, R. Br. 
Ranunculus cymbalaria, Pursh. 
Caltha leptosepala, DC. (25, 89, 88, 109, 515, 500, 365, 367). 
Trollius laxus, Salisb. (36, 28, 62, 116, 117, 112). 
Aguilegia cerulea, Torr. * (154, 155, 194, 196, 154, 311, 272-278, 287, 292, 197, 205, 206, 207, 
209, 211). 
_Delphinium scopulorum, Gray (124, 140, 193, 238, 389). 
Aconitum nasutum, Fisch. (498). 


BERBERIDACE. 


Berberis Aquifolium, repens, Lindl. (1282), leaves. 
Observed abundantly on the upper regions of nearly all rivers meandered, August 
and September. : 
FUMARIACE. 


Corydalis Caseana, Grayt (1116 and 1132 of the collection). 
Also observed, August, 1877, when encamped near Bonn’s Cabin, in a small park at 
the head of the upper cafion of the Rio San Juan, the altitude of the camp being 
9,860 feet. 


* A very abundant and beautiful flower, commonly known as the “ Mountain Colum- 
bine,” habitat all regions from 7,000 to 12,300 feet, June to September, preferring rocky 
localities. Remarkably handsome specimens were observed in the Needle Mountains 
or Quartzite Crags, and gathered at an altitude, above timber-line, at some 12,300 feet. 
It ranges higher in the Lower San Juan than on Gray’s Peak, where it was gathered in 
August, 1876. 

F Par Am. Acad. x, 69. This striking species was described from specimens col- 
lected in the Sierra Nevada, California, and it has recently been found by Mr. Cusick 
as far north as Union County, Oregon. I myself collected 1t in the Wahsatch Mount- 
ains, Utah, at the head of the American Fork Cafion, in August, 1877. Mr. Brandegee 
collected it in 1875 in the San Juan region, between Rio Piedra and Los Pinos, at the 
elevation of 10,000 feet, and it is now found in the mountains about the Rio Blanco, 
at nearly the same elevation. 


1834 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


CRUCIFERZ. 

Aralis Drummondii, Gray. 
Cardanime cordifolia, ae (1213, 151). 

Rio Chama, altitude 8,500 feet. 
Draba alpina, L. 
Draba streptocarpa, Gray (7, 27). 

Observed very abundantly, 7,000 to 12,000 feet, Summit District, &c. 
Sisymbrium canescens, Nutt., var. 
Erysimum asperum, DC. (208, 191), and var. pumilum (250). 

Weeminuche Pass, 10,500 feet, and other points near headwaters of Los Pinos and 

Piedra. 

Lepidium intermedium, Gray. | 
Lepidium alyssoides, Gray (1234, 1235). 

Abundantly observed on upper Rio Blanco, 8,000 feet, in August. 


Lepidium montanum, Nutt. 
CAPPARIDACEZ. 


Cleome integrifolia, Torr. & Gray. 


. . CARYOPHYLLACE. 
Silene acaulis, L. 
Stellaria longipes, Goldie. 
Stellaria borealis, Bigel. 
Arenaria Fendleri, Gray. 
Arenaria biflora, Wahl. 
Arenaria lateriflora, L. 
Arenaria saxosa, Gray (135, 136, 137, 138). 

Observed abundant along Upper Rio Los Pinos, 10,000 to 10,600 feet, in J uly. 


PORTULACACEZ. 


Claytonia arctica, var. megarhiza, Gray (305). 
Needle Mountains, 11,500 to 12,800 feet. 
Claytonia Chamissonis, Esch. 


HYPERICACEA. 


Hypericum Scouleri, Hook. (362, 499). 
Observed along Rio Piedra and tributaries, 8,000 to 9,000 feet, July and August. 


MALVACEZ. 


Sidalcea malveflora, Gray (1221, 266, 267). 

Observed along Rio Conejos, Navajo, &c., July and August, 7,800 to 9,000 feet. 
Sidaleea candida, Gray (186, 184). 

Headwaters Los Pinos Creek and Chama waters, in July, altitude 8,500 to 9,500 feet. 
Malvastrum coccineum, Gray (75). 


LINACEZ. 


Linum perenne, L., var. (L. Lewisii, Pursh) (1, 263, 290, 480). 
Large areas covered with this plant observed along Rio Conejos, Upper Los Pinos 
Creek, Rio Blanco, &c., July, 7,000 to 9,000 feet. 


GERANIACEA. 


Geranium Richardsonii, Fisch. & Meyer (43, 126, 127, 237). 

Observed abundant along Rio Piedra and tributaries, July, about 800 feet. 
Geranium Fremontii, Torr. (1246). 

Unpet Rio Blanco, &c., 8,000 to 9,000 feet. 


SAPINDACEA. 
Acer glabrum, Torr. 
Nigundo aceroides, Mcench. 


ANACARDIACEA. 
Rhus glabra, L. 
Rhus aromatica, var. trilobata, Gray (1283). 


APPENDIX SS. 1835 


LEGUMINOSZ. 


Thermopsis montana, Nutt. (150, 148). 
Along Rio Conejos, &c., July, 8,000 feet. 
Lupinus argenteus, var. decumbens, Watson (132). 
Very numerous in same locality. 
Lupinus pusillus, Pursh. 
Trifolium dasyphyllum, Torr. & Gray. 
Trifolium Parryi, Gray (192). 
Upper Rio Los Pinos, &c., 10,000 to 11,000 feet, July and August. 
Trifolium Kingti, Watson (65, 66, 114). 
Observed along Upper La Jara, Alamosa, &c., June and July, 9,000 to 10,000 feet. 
Astragalus Mortoni, Nutt. 
Astragalus adsurgens, Pall. 
Astragalus alpinus, L. (11). 
‘ Oxytropis Lamberti, Pursh (86, 87?, 118-121). 
Numerous along the Trinchera, &e., June, 7,200 feet. 
Oxytropis splendens, Dougl. (85). 
Vicia Americana, Muhl. (199, 203, 214, 218, 219). 
Frequent along Las Nutritas and other creeks, also along dry stream beds, July, 
7,000 to 7, 500 feet. 
Lathyrus ornatus, Nutt. 
Lathyrus linearis, Nutt. 
Lathyrus polymorphus, Nutt. 
Lathyrus palustris, L. 


ROSACEZ. 


~~ 


Rubus Nutkanas, Mocino (1244, 433). 


Reported ‘‘rarely,” Parry;* observed along Weeminuche Creek, July, 8,000 to 9,000, 
and Upper Rio Navajo, in August, at 9, 000 feet; both occasions noted as very 
abundant on the mountain slopes near by. 

Geum macrophyllum, Willd. 
Geum triflorum, Pursh (195,198, 212). 
Along Weeminuche Pass and “other points on Upper Rio Los Pinos, &c., 10,000 feet. 
Geum Rossii, Seringe (310). 
Taken in its lofty habitat, September, in Needle Mountains, 11,000 to 12,800 feet. 
Fallugia paradoxa, Torr. 
Sibbaldia procumbens, L. 
Potentilla Pennsylvanica, L., var. 
Potentilla Hippiana, Lehm. 
Potentilla effusa, Dougl. (1227). 
Upper Rio Navajo, August, 7,500 feet. 
Potentilla gracilis, Doug. (128, 261). 
nee July and August, similar altitudes, Upper Chama and Weeminuche Creek, 
500 feet. 
Potentilla nivea, L. (23, 26, 32). 
Potentilla fruticosa, (269, 464). 
can Conejos, J uly, 7,900 feet, and Rio Los Pinos and Rio Piedra, &c., to 10,500 feet, 
ugust. 
Potantilla Anserina, L. (69). 
Rosa blanda, Ait. (40, 52, 236, 231). 
Fragaria vesea, L. 


SAXIFRAGACEA. 


Saxifraga cernua, L. - 
Saxifraga bronchialis, L. 
Saxifraga punctata, L. 
Saxifraga nivalis, L. 
Parnassia parviflora, DC. 
Ribes cereum, Dougl. 
Ribes aaueum, Pursh. 


CRASSULACEA. 


Sedum Rhodiola, L. (248, 358, 402). 
*Synop. Flora Colorado, Porter & Coulter, p. 34. 


1836 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


ONAGRACEA. 
Epilobium tetragonum, L. 
Epilobium angustifolium, L. (148). 
Frequently observed, particularly in valley of Weeminuche Creek, = 8,000 to 
9,000 feet. 
CEnothera biennis, L. 
(Enothera coronopifolia, Torr. & Gray. 
(nothera albicaulis, Nutt. 
Gaura coccinea, Nutt. 
LOASACES. | 
Mentzelia multiflora, Nutt. 
Mentzelia aurea, Nutt. 
CACTACEA. 


Cereus gonacanthus, Engelm., &c. 
Opuntia Missouriensis, DC. 
Abundant in many forms, particularly along Lower Rio Los Pinos, &c. 


CORNACEA. 
UMBELLIFERZ. 


Cornus pubescens, Nutt. 


Cicuta maculata, L. (182). 
Cymopterus alpinus, Gray. 
Ligusticum scopularum, Gray (242). 
Along the Chama, July, 8,000 feet, and elsewhere, similar altitude. 
Heracleum lanatum, Michx. 


CAPRIFOLIACEZ. 


Lonicera involucrata, Banks (503, 528). 
Abundant along upper road to Pagosa, near Rio Navajo, Blanco, &c., 7,500 feet. 
Symphoricarpus occidentalis, R. Br. 


RUBIACEZ. 


Galium boreale, L. (1217, 1220, 550, 201, 232, 233, 483, 529, 281, 288, 418, 417, 439, 413, 426). 
Very common ; noted everywhere, Rio Navajo, Blanco, Los Pinos, &e. , July and 
August, 7, 000 to 10,600 feet: 


Galium pens Michx. 
VALERIANACE. 


Valeriana sylvatica, Richards (93, 98). 
Valeriana edulis, Nutt. (224). 
Upper Rio Los Pinos, Weeminuche Pass, &c., July and August, 7, 000 to 10,000 feet. 


COMPOSIT2. 
Liatris scariosa, Willd. (1222). 
Very numerous along Rio Navajo, &c.,. August, 8,800 feet. 
Brickellia grandiflora, Nutt. 
Aster adscendens, Lindl. 
Aster levis, L. 
Aster faleatus, L. 
Aster glaucus, Torr. & Gray. 
Aster Coloradensis, Gray (228, 229, 231). 
Along Rio Piedra and tributaries, Rio Los Pinos, &c., July, 8,000 to 10,000 feet. 
Aster (Macher anthera) canescens, .Pursh (1249, 1219). 
Rarely observed; none gathered save along Rio Navajo, August, 7,400 to 8,900 feet. 
Erigeron compositum, Pursh. 
Erigeron grandiflorum, Hook., var. elatius, Gray. 
Erigeron uniflorum, L. (226). 
Rio Los Pinos, J uly, 10,100 feet. 
Erigeron macranthum, Nutt. (361). 
Rio Piedra, &c., J uly, 8,000 feet. 
Erigeron divergens, Torr. & Gray. 
Solidago Virga-aurea, L., var. 
Solidago Missouriensis, Nutt. 
Solidago Canadensis, L. (1245). 
Frequently observed along Upper Navajo, August, 7,000 to 8,000 feet. 
Bigelovia graveolens, Gray. 
Bigelovia Douglasii, Gray. 


APPENDIX SS. 1837 


Aplopappus Parryi, Gray. 
Chrysopsis villosa, Nutt. 
Lepachys columnaris, Torr. & Gray (1271). 
Observed along Upper Navajo in August, and elsewhere abundant. 
Helianthus petiolaris, Nutt. 
Gymnolomia multifiora, Gray. 
Villanova chrysanthemoides, Gray. 
Chenactis Douglasii, Hook. & Arn. 
Actinella grandiflora, Gray. 
Actinella leptoclada, Gray. 
Helenium Hoopesii, Gray (359, 364). 
Rio Piedra, Weeminuche, &c., August, 8,000 to 9,000 feet. 
Achillea millefolium, L. (239, 265, 390). 
Along the Conejos, Chama, and dry streams, July, 7,300 to 8,000 feet. 
Artemisia dracunculoides, Pursh (1250, 284). 
Along Rio Chama, Navajo, &c., August, 7,400 to 9,000 feet, and elsewhere. 
Artemisia tridentata, Pursh. 
Very abundant. 
Artemisia Ludoviciana, Nutt. (256, 279, 281, 427). 
Along Rio Chama, July, 8,500 to 9,000; Rio Blanco, 9,000, &c. 
Artemisia scopulorum, Gray (382, 395). 
Weeminuche Pass, Rio Los Pinos, &c., July, 10,000 to 11,000 feet. 
Artemisia frigida, Willd. 
Anaphalis margaritacea (1247). 
Upper Rio Navajo, 8,000 to 8,500 feet, August; not elsewhere observed. 
Antennaria alpina, Gaertn. (556). 
Upper Piedra and Los Pinos, July, 9,000 to 10,500 ftet. 
Antennaria dioica, Gaertn. (1253). 
Upper Rio Navajo, August, 8,000 to 9,000 feet; frequently observed. 
Senecio lugens, Richards. 
Senecio aureus, L., and (264) var. borealis, Gray (82, 84, 90). 
Along Rio Conejos, July, 7,900 feet. 
Senecio eremophilus, Richards. 
Tetradymia canescens, DC. 
Cnicus undulatus, Nutt. 
Crepis runcinata, Torr. & Gray. 
Troximon elancum, Nutt. (255, 356 ?). 
Along the Upper Rio Los Pinos,’ July, 10,000 feet. 
Troximon aurantiacum, Hook. (338, 396, 392, 391). : 
Observed along Upper Piedra, July; gathered on Upper Vallecito, in Needle Mount- 
ains, September, 11,000 to 11,500 feet. 


CAMPANULACE. 


Campanula rotundifolia, L. (131, 125). 
Observed along the Weeminuche; elsewhere gathered, July, 7,500 to 8,000 feet. 
Campanula Scheuchzeri, Vill. 


ERICACEA. 
Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi, Spreng. 
PRIMULACEZ. 


Primula Parryi, Gray (68, 67, 64, 145). 

Along Rio Conejos, &c., J une, 8,000 feet ; common. 
Androsace septentrionalis, ive (134). 

Upper Rio Los Pinos, July, 9,000 to 10,000 feet. 
Dodecatheon Meadia, i (115, 158, 157). 

Very common along Chama waters, July, 8,000 to 9,000 feet. 


SCROPHULARIACE, 


Pentstemon barbatus, Nutt., var. Torreyi, Gray. 
Pentstemon glaber, Pursh. 

Pentstemon ceruleus, Nutt. 

Pentstemon acuminatus, Dougl. 

Pentstemon secundiflorus, Benth. 

Pentstemon ambiguus, Torr, 

Pentstemon humilis, Nutt. 


1838 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Pentstemon glaucus, Graham, var. stenosepalus, Gray (346), &c. 
Frequently observed on Vallecito, &c., streams, Needle Mountains, September, 10,000 
to 12,000 feet. 


Pentstemon Hallii, Gray, (223, 231 bis, 384, 406, 401, 403). 
Common on Upper Rio Los Pinos, July, 9,000 to 10,500 feet. 
Pentstemon confertus, Dougl. 
Chionophila Jamesii, Benth. . 
Mimulus luteus, L. (268). 
Along Rio Conejos, July, 7,900 feet, &c. 
Synthyris alpina, Gray (15, 17). g 
Veronica alpina, L. (329). ; 
Near headwaters Rio Los Pinos and Vallecito, Needle Mountains, September, 10,000 
to 12,000 feet. 
Veronica serpyllifolia, L. (230, 507, 508, 512-514, 534-536). 
Weeminuche Pass and Upper Rio Los Pinos, July, 9,000 to 10,500 feet. 
Castilleia linarizfolia, Benth. 
Castilleia parviflora, Brug. 
Castilleia integra, Gray. 
Castilleia pallida, var. septentrionalis, Gray (180, 183, 304, 225, 220, 283, 285, &c.). 
Abundant; along Upper Chama, July, 8,500 feet; upper waters of Los Pinos, Val- 
lecito, and throughout Needle Mountains, July, August, and September, 9,000 to 
12,000 feet. . 


Castilleia miniata, Doug}. 
Orthocarpus luteus, Nutt. 
Pedicularis groenlandica, Retz. (385). 

Upper Rio Los Pinos, 10,000 feet, and elsewhere. 
Pedicularis racemosa, Dougl. 
Pedicularis crenulata, Benth. 
Pedicularis scopulorum, Gray. 
Pedicularis Parryi, Gray. 

LABIAT A. 


Monarda fistulosa, L. (1228, 501). 
Along Rio Navajo, on wagon-road and upper waters, 7,000 to 9,000 feet, 
Monarda aristata, Nutt. 
Lophanthus urticefolius, Benth. 
Brunella vulgaris, L. 
Stachys palustris, L., var. (240). 
Observed along Rio Chama, July, 7,900 feet; and elsewhere. 


BORRAGINACE. 


Lithospermium multifiorum, Torr. (369). 
Watershed of Rio Piedra, &c., July, 7,400 feet. 
Mertensia Sibirica, Don. (762, 80?, 153). 
Frequently observed; from Rio Chama, &c., July, 9,000 feet, (168). 
Mertensia oblongifolia, Don. ? 
Mertensia lanceolata, DC. 
Eritrichium nanum, var. aretioides, Herder. (17, 20, 24). 
Eritrichium glomeratum, DC. 
Echinospermum Redowskii, Lehm. 


HYDROPHYLLACEZ. 
Phacelia circinata, Jac 


q. 
Phacelia sericea, Gray, (247, 249, 253, 254). 
Upper Rio Los Pinos streams, July, 9,000 to 11,000 feet. 


POLEMONIACEZ. 


Phlox cespitosa, Nutt. (21, 60). 
Collomia longiflora, Gray. 
Collomia aggregata, Porter, (2, 3, 61, 129, 438, 185, 187, 243, 280, 376, 493). 
Specimens taken in July: Upper Los Pinos Creek, 8,500 feet; Rio Chama, 8,000; Rio 
Piedra and tributaries, 7,000 to 8,500 feet. 
Gilia pinnatifida, Nutt. 
Polemonium confertum, and var. mellitum, Gray. (30, 31, 46, 54, 56, 71, 77). 
Polemonium humile, Willd. (38, 45, 60). 
Needle Mountains and elsewhere, August and September, 10,000 to 12,000 feet. 
Polemonium foliosissimum, Gray. 


APPENDIX SS. 1839 


GENTIANACEA. 
Gentiana Parryi, Engelm. 
Frasera speciosa, Doug]. (152). 
Along Upper Rio Chama, &c., July, 9,000 feet. 


APOCYNACE. 


Apocynum androsemifolium, L. 
Apocynum cannabinum, L. 


NYCTAGINACEZ. 


Oxybaphus angustifolius, Sweet. 


POLYGONACEZ. 

Eriogonum alatum, Torr. 
Eriogonum Jamesii, Benth. 
Eriogonum flavum, Nutt. 
Eriogonum umbellatum, Torr. 
EHriogonum racemosum, Nutt. (12, 15, 440, 447). 

Rio Blanco and Rio Navajo, July and August, 8,000 to 9,500 feet. 
Polygonum viviparum, L. (336). 

From Upper Vallecito, Needle Mountains, September, 11,500 feet. 
Polygonum Bistorta, L. (130, 210, 213, 227, 330, 436). 

Frequently observed ; many specimens taken on upper waters of Rio Piedra, Rio 

Los Pinos, and the Vallecito, July to September, 8,000 to 12,000 feet. 


CHENOPODIACE. 
Blitum virgatum, L. (1286). 
ELEAGNACEZ. 
Shepherdia argentea, Nutt. 
SANTALACEZ. 


Comandra pallida, no flowers (258, 291). 
Specimens from Upper Los Pinos Creek and South Fork Rio Chama, July, 8,000 to 
8,500 feet. 


URTICACEX. 
Humulus Lupulus, L. 

BETULACE. 
Betula occidentalis, Hook. 

SALICACEZ. 


Salix depressa, L., var. rostrata, Anders. 
TYPHACEA. 
Typha latifolia, L. 
ORCHIDACEZ, 
Spiranthes Romanzoffiana, Cham. (1270). 
MELANTHACEZ. 


Vexatrum Californicum, Durand (557), 
Gathered on Upper Weeminuche Creek, July, 8,200 feet, 


LILIACEZ. 
Zygadenus glaucus, Nutt. 
Streptopus amplexifolius, DC. 
Smilacina racemosa, Dest. (178, 177). 
Upper waters Rio Chama, July, 9,000 feet, &c. 


1840 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Smilacina stellata, Dest. (18, 79, 81). 
Allium reticulatum, Fraser (202, &c.). 
Along Lower Rio Chama, New Mexico, July, 7,000 feet. 
Calochortus Gunnisoni, Watson (504 or 509). 
Along Upper Piedra and Los Pinos waters, July, 9,000 to 10,500 feet. 
Yucca angustifolia, Pursh. 
Very common at suitable elevations and on all lower streams. 


JUNCACEA. 
Juncus Mertensianus, Burg. 
Luzula spadicea var. parviflora, Ledebour (319 or 320). 
Upper Vallecito streams, Needle Mountains, September, 11,000 to 12,500 feet. 


CYPERACE. 
Carex Jamesii, Torr. 
Carex atrata, L. 
Carex lanuginosa, Michx. 
Carex utriculata, Bortt. 
Carex viridula, Michx. om 
GRAMINEA. 


Phleum alpinum, L. 
Vilfa airoides, Trin. 
Calamagrostis Canadensis, Beauv. 
Eriocoma cuspidata, Nutt. 
Stipa viridula, Trin. 
Aristida purpurea, Nutt. 
Spartina gracilis, Trin. 
Bouteloua oligostachya, Torr. (1265). 
Specimens from Upper Navajo, August, 8,000 to 9,000 feet. 
Bouteloua hirsuta, Lag. 
Buchloe dactyloides, Engelm. 
Munroa squarrosa, Torr. 
Keeleria cristata, Pers. 
rizopyrum spicatum, Hook 
Poa alpina, L. 
Upper Blanco, Piedra, Los Pinos, &c., July and August, 10,000 to 11,000 feet. 
Poa Andina, Nutt. 
Festuca ovina, L., var. 
Bromus Kalmii, Gray. 
Bromus ciliatus, L. 
Triticum canicum, L. 
Triticum repens, L. (1262). 
Specimens from Rio Navajo, August, altitude 7,400 feet. 
Triticum strigosun, Steud. 
Hordeum jubatum, L. 
Elymus Canadensis, L. 
Elymus Sitanion, Schult. 
Trisetum subspicatum, Beauv. 
Aira cespitosa, L. 
Setaria Italica, Kunth. 
Andropogon scoparius, Michx. 


EQUISETACE. 
Equisetum arvense, L. 


Frequent; specimens from Rio Chama, July, 8,500 feet, &c. 


; ie FILICES. 
Pteris aquilina, L. 


Cystopteris fragilis, Bernh. ; 
Abundant along Rio Piedra and tributaries, Rio los Pinos and Vallecito, July, 
August, and September; 8,200 to 12,100 feet, 
Woodsia Oregona, Eaton ? 


APPENDIX SS. 1841 


SECTION II.—NOTES OF MR.. BRANDEGEE. 
Letter of transmittal. 


ENGINEER Corps, ATCHISON, TOPEKA AND SANTA FE RaILroap, 
Pleasant Valley, Grand Canon Arkansas River, Colorado, July 1, 1878. 


Deak Sir: I send you inclosed a few notes from personal observations on the botany 
of the portion of Colorado commonly known as the San Juan region. 
Being at present in the field, where I have been for some time, they represent only 
what my memory can recall; they are, therefore, somewhat meager, and due allowances 
. should in consequence be made. 
I am, yours, very truly, 
T. S. BRANDEGEE. 
Lieutenant McCauLey, Third Artillery, 
In charge San Juan Reconnaissance, Fort Leavenworth, Kans. 


NOTES UPON THE BOTANY OF THE SAN JUAN REGION OF COLORADO. 
Br TS. BRANDEGEE, Civil Engineer, of Cafion City, Colorado. 


The alpine flora, or the flora above timber-line, is nearly the same as that of the alpine 
ranges and peaks of Northern Colorado. None of the predominating Colorado alpine 
flowers are missing, and the few which have been found only among the San Juan 
peaks are not abundant enough to change its general appearance. Silene acaulis, L., 
Arenaria artica, Stev., and Phlox cespitosa, Nutt., so well known in the Northern Colo- 
rado Mountains as ‘‘flowering moss,” grow in large clumps, and their abundant, pretty 
flowers assist in transforming the snow-clad summits of winter into the flower-gardens 
of July. The little brooks, the sources of the San Juan and Rio Grande Rivers, are 
almost hidden by Mertensias and Senecios, while Castilleia, Pedicularis, Trollius, Acti- 
nella, Erigeron, Caltha, &c., are as showy and common as in the better known regions 
of Northern and Central Colorado. 

Altitudes between 12,000 and 8,000 feet are the habitats of most of the species of 
Conifere which cover the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. This regionin the San Juan 
country is generally covered by large forests of the diffefent species of spruce and 
pine, often intermingled with large aspens. 

Especially upon the western slope grow magnificent forests of grand trees, mainly 
Abies Engelmanni, with some very large representatives of A. subalpina, Eng. Pinus 
ponderosa, Doug., the pine which furnishes most of Colorado lumber, is abundant, and 
upon the western slopes forms large forests of fine trees. Abies concolor is not abun- 
dant, as in the Sierra Sangre de Cristo and southward. 

Throughout this timber belt, upon the eastern slope, Aquilegia Canadensis, L., seems 
to almost entirely take the place of A. cwrulea, Torr., and Calypso borealis, Salisb., 
with Lrythronium grandifiorum, Pursh, are strikingly abundant. Arenaria saxosa, Gray, 
which, however, comes over into the Arkansas Valley, and Berberis Fendleri, Gray, are 
the only plants common and showy enough to remind one of the southern latitude. 
Upon the western slope, Corydalis Caseana, Gray, growing among the forests of Abies 
Engelmanni, is the first plant of a more western flora that strikes the attention. Gilia 
aggregata, Spreng., and Pentstemon glaber, Pursh, grow upon the parks with Lupinus 
argenteus, Pursh, and Actinella Richardsonii, Nutt.; Calochortus Gunnisoni, Watson, 
Rudbeckia laciniata, L., Helenium Hoopesii, Gray, Veratrum album, L., and other showy 
plants of Colorado, are common. Upon the western slope, Pyrus sambucifolia, Cham. 
& Schlecht., Prosartes trachycarpa, Watson, and Rubus Nutkanus, Mog., grow in great 
profusion. 

Below 8,000 feet altitude, especially upon the sandstone formations, there is a great 
difference between the floras of the eastern and western slopes. That of the eastern 
differs little from the flora of the Arkansas Valley. A few plants from the south come 
up to the Rio Grande Valley, but the main flora is the same, and quite different from 
that of the Platte Valley and Northern Colorado. 

The stream-banks of the eastern slope of the San Juan region are bordered with 
groves of cottonwood, thickets of Salix longifolia, Muhl., var., Rosa blanda, Ait., Clematis 
ligusticifolia, Nutt., Bigelovia, and at lower altitudes with quantities of Baccharis salicina, 


Upon the western, with these are Rhamnus Californicus, Esch., an abundancé of 
Crategus coccinea, L., Shepherdia argentea, Nutt., and at lower altitudes Forestiera Neo- 
Mexicana, Gray, makes its appearance. The “plum patches” of Prunus Chicasa, Mx. ?, 
so common in the Arkansas Valley, are not found in the western San Juan region. 
The alkaline flats and low parks of both slopes produce Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Torr., 


116 E 


1842 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


with several species of Atriplex, but upon the western slope Artemisia tridentata, Pursh, 
often accompanies them, forming almost impenetrable thickets. 

A prominent feature of the western slope is the great extent of country covered by 
the ‘‘sage-bush,” A. tridentata, and nearly impassable, excepting by the trails which 
run through it. These ‘‘sage-bush” plains are not found upon the eastern slope, the 
so-called ‘“sage-bush” plains being parks with Sarcobatus, Atriplex, and Bigelovia, and 
other smaller shrubby plants, growing upon them. 

The mesa slopes of the west are more thickly covered with shrubs. than upon the 
eastern Rocky Mountain slope. The southern species and those from the. Interior 
Basin are so common, that they form the most striking part of the vegetation. Cerco- 
carpus parvifolius, Nutt., and Amelanchier alnifolia, T. & G., are found upon both the east- 
ern and western slopes, but upon the western Amelanchier is much more abundant. 
The very common bushes of the western San Juan region are Purshia tridentata DC., 
Cowania Mexicana, Don., Peraphyllum ramosissimum, Nutt., Hendlera rupicola, Eng. & 
Gray, and Hphedra trifurca, Torr. 

The Mesa Verde, a large mesa of the western slope, is covered with Juniperus occi- 
dentalis, Hook., intermingled with some Pinus edulis, Eng., and Juniperus Virginiana, L.; 
and upon its western edge Fraxinus anomala, Torr., Glossopetalon spinescens, Gray, and 
Coleogyne ramosissima, Nutt., are often found. ; 

Yucca angustifolia, Pursh, grows upon both the Atlantic and Pacifie slopes, but Y. 
baccata, Torr., is plenty only upon the western slope. The genera Astragalus and Eri- 
ogonum are represented mainly by different species on the two sides of the mountains. 
A, lonchocarpus, T. & G., EH. microthecum, Nutt., EL. Jamesii, Benth., Z. umbellatum, Torr., 
E. cernuum, Nutt., are common upon both slopes. 

The conspicuous smaller plants of the western mesas, in place of the common Pent- 
stemons, Aplopappi, Bigelovias, Townsendias of the eastern slope, are Pentstemon linari- 
oides, Gray, Aplopappus Nuttallii, T. & G., A. armerioides, Nutt., Solidago pumila, Bigelovia 
Wrightti, Gray, B. depressa, Gray, Hosackia Wrightii, Gray, Actinella Torreyana, Gray, &c. 
The species of Loasacez, Solanacexze, and Nyctaginaceex, well represented in the Rio 
Grande Valley, are equally so in the San Juan Valley. 

Until both eastern and western slopes are thoroughly explored, it is only negative 
evidence that a plant has not been found upon either slope, but what is known makes it 
certain that there is a decided change from the flora of the eastern slope on the Los 
Pinos, Animas, La Plata, Mancos, and Dolores Rivers. 


CHAPTER VII.—ENTOMOLOGY-: 


PREFATORY. 


Touching the botanical collection mentioned in the previous chapter, the precursory 
remarks there made are also applicable here. 

While the time essential for any comparatively full representation of the insect- 
fauna was not available, an attempt was made to obtain as large a number as possible 
of the Articulata to aid investigators in defining the range-limits of their specialties ; 
particular attention being paid to the Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, and the Acri- 
dide of the Orthoptera. 

Traveling mainly with pack-train, some of the collections were unfortunately lost 
through accidents in the field and in transit, including a valuable collection of Neurop- 
tera, which Dr. H. Hagen, the eminent naturalist in charge of the Museum of Com- 
parative Zoology of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., had promised to classify 
and report upon. 

The collection of Orthoptera was expressed to Prof. Cyrus Thomas, of the United 
States Entomological Commission, whose classification and report, as Section I, will be 
found hereafter... For his kindness and the unrewarded time and labor devoted thereto 
we desire to express our sincere thanks. 

The largest and most difficult collection of any specialty, several hundred Lepidoptera, 
comprising both Rhopalocera and Heterocera, were sent for classification and report to 
Prof. Herman Strecker, of Reading, Pa., whose private collection, numbering over 
60,000, is the largest in the world. In addition thereto over 600 specimens of a general 
collection of Articulata were expressed to Mr. Strecker for the same purposes. Both 
classification and report, involving an immense amount of time and labor, have been 
promised gratis, and we desire to tender him our thanks therefor. At the time of leay- 
ing the office to take the field, it had not yet been received, but its completion is prom- 
ised at an early day, and in time for publication. 


APPENDIX SS. 1843 


SECTION 1, 
ORTHOPTERA., 
By Pror. Cyrus THOMAS. 


Letter of transmittal. 


WASHINGTON, July 8, 1878. 


. DEAR Sir: The collection of Orthoptera which you have submitted to me for exam- 
ination and determination, although small, is quite interesting and valuable, and will 
aid the United States Entomological Commission in fixing the southern limit of the 
range of Caloptenus spretus. 

Although containing nothing positively new to science, it is of great importance in 
determining the range of species, color, &c.; its chief value consisting in showing the 
characteristics of the orthopteral fauna of the region in which the collection was 
made, Northern and Northwestern New Mexico and: Southern Colorado. I think I 
could locate the collection from the specimens alone. 

From its examination one fact appears to be brought out, viz, that as we move 
south along the Rocky Mountain range, especially after | passing ‘south and beyond South 
Park, in Colorado, the effect of the altitude on the specimens becomes less marked. 

From the list of : species given in the annexed report, it will be seen that no specimens 
of Caloptenus spretus were captured, from which I infer that the section visited was 
entirely free from this pest. As the species was abundant from British America to 
Texas during the season the collection was made, we may reasonably conclude—what 
I have long suspected to be the case—that its southern limit along the east flank 
of the mountain is about the southern line of Colorado. 

I am a little surprised at finding no specimens of Tropidolophus formosus in the col- 
lection. I am inclined now to believe this species has a very limited range. 

Want of time has prevented me from studying the collection with the care I would 
like to. The following report is herewith forwarded to you for such use as you may 
desire to make of it. 

- Yours, very respectfully, 
Cyrus THOMAS. 


Lieut. C. A. H. McCautey, U. S. A., 
Fort Leavenworth, Kans. 


REPORT. 


ACRIDID.. 


TRUXALINI. 


1. OXYCORYPHUS OCCIPITALIS, Thos. 
Syn.—Stenobothrus occipitalis, Thos., Syn. Acrid. N. Am. 81. 


One female in color, hind femora wanting. From this specimen I am able to add 
the following to the original description: Head, antenne, and lower margin of the 
pronotum dull ashy -purple color; a green stripe on each side, starting at the eye, ex- 
tends backward along the upper part of the side of the pronotum and the lower margin 
of the elytron to about the middle of the latter. In this specimen the discal dots are 
fused into a median dark stripe. The disk of the pronotum rusty-yellow. (No. 86.)* 


2. STENOBOTHRUS COLORADUS, Thos. 


This species is so well marked that it is easy to distinguish it even in the pupa state. 
The dark lateral lines are, in this pupa, shining black, and can be traced upon the 
disk of the reversed wing-pads; there is a dark line margined each side by yellow, 
running from the lower end of the eye along the lower margin of the pronotum; the 
rest of the head and pronotum dull yellow. “(No. 1.) One pupa, dry. (No. 6.) 


*Novre.—The appended statement by Lieutenant McCauley will explain these figures. 


1844 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


3. STENOBOTHRUS CURTIPENNIS, Harr. 
Syn.—Locusta curtipennis, Harr., Cat. Ins. Mass. 56. 
Chloealtis curtipennis, Harr., Rep. 3d ed. 184. 
Stenobothrus longipennis, Scudd., Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. 1862, vol. vii, 457. 


. 


At various points. 


4. STENOBOTHRUS MACULIPENNIS, (No. 86.) 
CEDIPODINI. 


5. TRAGOCEPHALA VIRIDIFASCIATA, Harr. 
In the Rio Conejos Valley numbers were observed. 


6. TRAGOCEPHALA PACIFICA?, Thos. 
Tragocephala pacifica, Thos., Syn. Acrid. N. Am. 161. 


From camps along the Rio Conejos and Rio Chama, July, 1877. Elevations 7,000’ to 
9,000 feet; abundant. Q probably viridifasciata, but possibly pacifica, as the disk of 
the pronotum is distinctly granulated; the median carina in the foveola of the vertex 
is distinct, extending into the sulcus of the frontal costa. No. 10, 98-109 inclusive. - 


‘7. TOMONOTUS SULPHUREUS, ¢. 


Colors very strong (the dark portion of the wings apparently larger in proportion 
‘to the yellow than usual?). 63-65; 64 9. 


.8, TOMONOTUS TENEBROSUS, Scudd., ¢. 


Syn.—C@dipoda tenebrosa, Scudd., Hayden's Geol. Surv. Neb. 251 
Tomonotus pseudo-neietanus, Thos., Proc. Acad Nat. Sci. Phila. 1870, 80. 
Tomonotus tenebrosus, Thos., Syn. Acrid. N. Am. 107. 
Arphia sanguinaria?, Stal, Recen. Orth. 119. 
Arphia tenebrosa, Scudd., Bul. U. 8S. Geol. Surv. 1876. 
Arphia simplex ?, Scudd., Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat Hist. xvii, 1874, 5. 
Arphia conspersa?, Scudd., Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. xvii, 1874, 5. 
Arphia luteola?, Scudd., Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. xvii, 1874, 5. 


There is really put little difference between this species and 7. sulphwrea except the 
color of the wings, and 7. carinata of Scudder appears to form a connecting link. 66. 
(95-60 & 77-579.) (81 g.) 


9, ARPHIA NEGLECTA. 


Syn.—Cdipoda neglecta, Thos., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1870, 276. 
Arphia neglecta, Scudd., Bul. U. S. Geol. Surv. 1871, 46. (No. 12.) 


10. CIRCOTETTIX UNDULATA. 

Syn.—Cdipoda undulata, Thos., Geol. Surv. Terr. 1871, 46. (Nos. 62 &73.) 
11. MESTOBREGMA PLATTEI, 2. 

Syn.—Cdipoda plattei, Thos., Syn. Acrid. 123 


The specimens being in color show the wings to be a bright yellow at the base; the 
dash-band is very distinct black, and occupying about } of the length of the wings. 


12. MESTOBREGMA KIOWA, Thos., ¢. 


Syn.—Cidipoda Kiowa, Thos., Geol. Surv. Terr. 1871, 461. 
Psinidia Kiowa, Thos., U. 8. Geog. Surv. West 100th Merid. vol. iv, 885. 


Two or three specimens. These specimens enable me to make the following addition 
to the description as given in my ‘‘Synopsis of North American Acridide.” The median 
carina of the pronotum may properly be described as somewhat prominent, the wings . 
pale lemon-yellow at the immediate base, the remaining portion of the wings being 
transparent with dark nerves and nervules. It would probably have been better to 
have made the specific name platteana. (No. 72.) Do. 9.—Usually a broad flesh-colored — 
band extends obliquely across the face from the middle of the clypeus upward and 
backward across the cheek toward the occiput. A black stripe runs obliquely down- 
ward and forward from the lower and hinder margin of each eye to the middle of the 
lower part of the face, where those from the opposite sides meet. The vertex above this 
is a dull flesh-color. 88-58. Do. 9, (84-57), (93-59). 


13. SPHARANGEMON COLLARE, Scudd. 


Syn.—Cidipoda collaris, Scudd. Hayden’s Geol. Surv. Neb. 250. 
Spharangemon collare, Scudd., Proc. Bost. Nat. Hist. xvii, 1874, 5. 


' APPENDIX SS. 1845 
14, CQADIPODA CAROLINA, (7), (96-60), (96-74). 


15. HIPPISCUS CORALLIPES, Hald., ¢. 
Syn.— @dipoda corallipes, Thos., Syn. Acrid. 
Rather small specimens. One specimen that approaches somewhat near to @. mon- 
tana. (12.) Do.? 2.—Badly damaged (16, 47). 


ACRIDINI. 


16. PEZOTETTIxX DODGEI, Thos. 
Syn.—Caloptenus Dodgei, Thos., Can. Ent. 1871, 168. 
Several specimens, males and females, some of which approach so near to my Pez. 
unicolor that it is impossible to distinguish the two. (Nos. 20, 46, 48, 35, 24, &c.) 
17, PEZOTETTIX ALBA, Dodge. 


The only specimen in the collection is without antenne or posterior legs, and varies 
somewhat from Mr. Dodge’s description, yet I am satisfied belongs to that species. It 
is of an ashy-green color, and the stripe on the side of the pronotum is black. (79.) 


18. HESPEROTETTIX VIRIDIS, Thos. © 


Syn.—Caloptenus viridis, Thos., Geol. Surv. Terr. 1871, 450. 
Ommatolampis viridis, Thos., Synop. 156. 


This varies from the original description in being very short-winged, the elytra not 
more than one-third the abdomen. 
19, CALOPTENUS FEMUR-RUBRUM, De Geer. 

Specimens vary somewhat from the type in the marking of the elytra, and the slight 
variation of the cerci of the male. (No. 92.) 
20. CALOPTENUS ATLANIS, Riley. (69.) 
21. CALOPTENUS OCCIDENTALIS, Thos. (90.) 


22% CALOPTENUS BIVITTATUS, Say.” 


A number of specimens from different sections, some of more than ordinary size and 
others are unusually small. 


LOCUSTID 4. 


23. SCUDDERIA CURVICAUDA, De Geer. 
One specimen from Camp 55, female. (No. 75.) 


24, ANABRUS PURPURASCENS, Uhler.. 


A number of specimens, mostly females, from various sections; some of these so 
closely resemble A. simplex that were it not for the locality I should place them in that 
species. (Nos. 110-108 and 120-122.) 


25. ANABRUS COLORADUS, Thos. 
A very distinctly marked specimen. (From Lot 11.) No. 119. 


1846 


Made during the San Juan reconnaissance in Southwestern Colorado 


ry 


REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


MEMORANDA. 


ENTOMOLOGY, 
Special collection. 
ORTHOPTERA. 


(Dry and in alcohol,) 


New Mexico. 


1877. 


and Northern 


: 
s 


Lieut. C, A. H. McCautzy, Third Artillery, in charge. 


Nos. | Collector. | Date. Locality. Elevation. Remarks. ~ 
1-12 | McCauley.| July 22 | Pagosa Hot Springs, San Juan | 7,084 feet.......... 
River, Colorado. 
2 en fo ese July 27 | Weeminuche Creek, tributary |-..-...............- 
to Rio Piedra, Colorado. 
A ie 7 3O ah Aug. 7 | Lower Rio Blanco, Colorado, |--:....-...-.......-. 
near wagon-road. 
TS Ses0 Resse Aug. 14 EEE part Rio Bianco, Colo: |7-. [2 c2.4.6s5-.een 
rado. 
16 |e ed Oreos Aug. 29 | Upper part of Rio de los Pinos, |...............-22-2 
Colorado. 
AV—22 25-200)... Aug. 31 | Valley Vallecito Creek, above |.-......--...-------- 
its mouth. 
23-48 |....do ...-- Sept. 1-3 | Upper part of Vallecito Creek, |...........:-..-..-- ) 
Colorado, between camps 51 ; 
and 52. Needle or Quartz- 
49-61 |....do..... Sept. 4 | Near Lake Columbine, above | Above 12,000 feet.. ite Mountains, 
or near headwaters of West ; Colorado, upper 
Fork of Vallecito Cr’k, in the regions. 
Needle of Quartzite Moun- ri)” 
tains, Colorado. 
62-64 |....do .-... Sept. 12 | Rio Florida, Colorado, cross-|..-.-..-.---....-.-.-- 
ing of upper wagon-road. 
Gael €O 2... Sept. 3 | West Fork of Vallecito Creek, |.........--...-..--- 
Colorado, upper part. " 
oa a: Cs Aug. 20 | Pagosa Springs, Colorado. ....|......---...-------- 
67-69 |....do ...-. Aug. 23 | Rio Piedra, Colorado, at bridge |.......--....-.--.-- 
; on upper road. 
(0=72) 2.5200 = =. Aug. 25 | Rio de los Pinos, Colorado, |....-.--.-...--..-.-- 
camp at bridge on upper road. 
73-74 |....do..... Aug. 27 | Park on Rio de los Pinos, Col- |....--......-------- 
orado, at mouth of Vallecito. 
((op eee | Cs ae Sept. 11 | Rio Florida, Colorada, camp 55, |.......--..----..--- 
at upper-road crossing. 
16 4\.< ees eee Sept. 14 | Caiion, upper waters Rio Blan- |........--..----.--- 
co, Colorado. 
11=80|222-00 226 oe Sept. 15 | Camp 57, onthe Lower Florida, |.............-.....- 
Colorado. 
87-92 |....do ..... Sept. 16 | Camp 58, on Rio de las Animas, |.............-.-.--- 
Colorado, near mouth of the | 
Florida. 
93-94 |....do..... Sept. 17 | Lowey Rio de las Animas, New |.-...-.----.-.------- 
Mexico, near mouth. 
95=97-|02- dO sence Sept. 18 | Camp 60, Rio de las Animas, |...........-..--.... 
Colorado, near camp 58. 
Note.—The above specimens are all dry. 
SPECIMENS IN ALCOHOL. 
98-109 | McCauley.| July.-.:.| Camps along the Rio Conejos | 7,000 to 9,000 feet... 
oe Rio Chama, all in Colo- 
rado. 
110-119 slo 2.35 July and| Pagosa Springs, Colorado .-.... 7,084 feet...: -- eee Numbersalsoin the 
August. ; valleys of the San 
Juan and Navajo, 
7,000 to 10,000 ft. 
120-122 |....do..... Aug. 25 | Along Rio de los Pinos and | 7,000 to 9,000 feet... 
to Vallecito, Colorado. 


APPENDIX SS. 1847 


NOTES ON THE ORTHOPTERA. 


No. 1. Numerous at and about Pagosa Springs. 

Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5,and 6. Same. 

No. 7. This species of the Acrydii was abundant on some of the grassy bottom-lands along the rivers 
in parts of July and August, and was particularly useful in supplying the morning table, being highly 
prized by the large-sized speckled trout (S. fontinalis) of therivers. It is peculiarly aggravating to a 
lover of sport to find that his fine Scotch or English flies are, for a few weeks of the season at least, but 
of little value, and that the ordinary ‘‘cattle boy” can have almost as good “luck” with sometimes a 
manufactured hook and home-made appliances, capturing his bait near the river-bank, as he with his 
imported and costly rods and fishing-tackle. With the passage of the hottest summer days, the trout 
a aoe therefor, and artificial flies, as a novelty, can be strongly brought into play with general 
good results. P 

Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Same note as to No. 1. 

No. 15. Numerous in the valley of this and the Navajo, and also on Weeminuche Creek, a large trib- 
utary of the Piedra. They were more frequently observed in the early morning than at any other time. 
As we rode along the trail, through the high-grassed valley, with the morning sun scarcely over the 
mountain tops, they could be seen upon every side, dropping on the approach of the train from their 
look-out stations upon a blade of grass. 

No. 16. Numbers observed. Altitude, 9,000 feet. All the large trout (S. fontinalis) were at this time 
in this altitude or vicinity, being taken plentifully every evening, and all of good size, with this and 
other large orthoptera as a bait. 1,200 feet down, near Camp 45, all trout were small. 

Nos. 17 and 18. Plentiful. 

No. 19. Species similar to No. 16. Lost in transit. 

No. 20. Very numerous in this valley. 

No. 21. Specimen similar to No. 20. Lost in transit. 

No. 23. Same as No. 20. 

No. 24. Same as No. 20. 

Nos. 23-48. Were taken along a stream tributary to the Vallecito, at an altitude of 10,000 feet. The 
region was a mass of quartzite rocks, strewn everywhere along the track of the water, ap which we had 
to hug our way to find a foothold, cutting the trail as we went. Coming upon a small patch of high 
grass on a ‘‘bench”’ by the river, an isolated spot amid rocks and fallen timber, the place was so covered 
with almost a cloud of orthoptera that it was a subject of remark by every one. 

Nos. 49-61. These specimens were taken on top slopes and grassy places of the crags above Camp 52, 
the highest camping place but one occupied during the entire trip. They are interesting from the fact 
of their occupying an altitude of over 12,000 feet, and some nearly or quite 13,000 feet. This was a con- 
siderable height above timber-line and in the region of the strictly Alpine flora. 

No. 64. None of these were taken in the lofty elevations where were those numbered 49-61. 

No. 67. Frequently seen in this vicinity. 

Ne. 74. Seen often during marches along the Rio de los Pinos and Rio Florida. 

No. 75. Observed also along the San Juan and Los Pinos Rivers. 

No. 76. This specimen was similar to No.74. Lost in transit. 

No. 77. Plentiful in bottom-land near the River Rio Grande. 

No. 79. Numerous on plain or mesa bench above the River Florida, in the immediate vicinity of the water. 

Nos. 80, 81, 82, and 83. Same remarks as above. 

No. 86. More observed here than at any other point along the river. 

No. 87. Abundant in the most fertile localities along this river and others traversed during the last 
month, as the Rio Piedra, De los Pinos, &c. The peculiar color of the wings of this species of the Acry- 
dii makes it easily distinguishable and perhaps more readily observed on the march than any other. 

No. 97. Very numerous in the bottom-lands along this part of the river valley. 


SECTION II. 
LEPIDOPTERA. 
By Pror. HERMAN STRECKER. 


Letter of transmittal. 
READING, Pa., August 9, 1878. 


Sir: I transmit herewith a classified list of the Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleop- 
tera collected by you in Southwestern Colorado and the adjoining border of New 
Mexico during the San Juan reconnaissance made under your charge in 1877. With 
a few exceptions, which I have designated, the examples are all from: Colorado. 

A few reptiles were sent to me along with the collection of insects, these I have 
identified and classified at the end of this paper. 

The collection of Lepidoptera is very rich, including a number of rare and new species; 
prominent among the former are the aberrant 9 examples of Argynnis Nokomis, the 
beautiful Melitwa Alma, the second known example, and Hemileuwca Juno, the only exam- 
ples of which previously known were taken by Dr. Palmer on the borders of Arizona, 
and are now in the museum of the Department of Agriculture. 

The Heteroceres were rich in new species, there being no less than eleven, most 
of them being more or less conspicuous for beauty, these I have figured on the accom- 
panying plates; prominent among them is the superb Ctenucha Sanguinaria, the most 
splendid of its genus yet found in North America. 

Among the Coleoptera are some rare species, but none new. 

In the Hymenoptera are several rare and one new species, the latter a Smicra, which I 
have herein described. 

For aid in determining the Hymenoptera I give thanks to Mr. Chas. A. Blake and E. 
T. Cresson, for the Coleoptera to Mr. A. S. Fuller, and for the Reptilia to Mr. John Ryder. 

Very respectfully, yours, truly, 


Lieut. CHas. A. H. McCautry, U. S&S. A., 
In charge of the San Juan Reconnaissance, Fort Leavenworth, Kans. 


HERMAN STRECKER. 


1848 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


REPORT. 


HYMENOPTERA. | 


TENTHREDINID 2. 
UROCERUS. 


Urocerus Flavicornis, Fab. 9. 
(Sirex Bizonatus Steph.) 


APIDA. 
APATHUS. 
Apathus Elatus Fab. 3. 
BOMBUS. 
Bombus Fervidus Fab. % 3 var. 
Bombus Ternarius Say. 
MEGACHILE. 
Megachile Bucephala Smith. 
MELISSODES. 
Melissodes Trifasciata Cress. 
; ANTHIDIUM. 
Anthidiwm Formosum Cress. 
VESPID. 
VESPA. 
Vespa Occidentalis Cress. 
POLISTES. 
Polistes Sulphurea Sauss. 
POMPILID 2. 
POMPILUS. 
Pompilus Athiops Cress. 
ICHNEUMONID &.. 
ICHNEUMON, 
Ichneumon Longulus Cress., 3. ; 
OPHION. 
Ophion Purgatus Say. 
Ophion Bilineatus Say. 
THYREOPUS. 
Thyreopus Vicinus Smith, 3. 
CHALCIDID 2. 
p SMICRA. 


Smicra Bimaculata, n. sp. 


Black; face prolonged beneath eyes, closely punctured, on each side at base of an- 
tenne a subtriangular, lemon-yellow spot; mandibles castaneous at tips; scape of 


APPENDIX SS. 1849 


antenne black, finely punctured (flagellum broken off). Prothorax with a minute 
dorsal carina, on each side of which is a yellowish-brown spot; meso- and meta- 
thorax coarsely punctured, sparsely clothed with whitish pubescence; tegule dark 
honey-yellow. Wings yellowish hyaline, sub-iridescent. Four anterior legs blackish 
externally, honey-yellow deepening to castaneous within; tarsi yellowish-brown. 
Posterior coxe black; femora lemon-yellow, with an ovate castaneous stain at mid- 
dle; femoral teeth nine in number, tipped with black; tibize blackish, with a yellow 
spot on each side near base; tarsi pale brown. Abdomen sub-globose, shining, cas- 
taneous, paler above on first segment; petiole long, lemon-yellow, with a lateral 
castaneous streak extending to middle. Length 64mm. Hab. Colorado. 


FORMICID A. 
FORMICA. 


Formica Pennsylvanica De Geer, ¢ 8. 


RHOPALOCERA. 


Family PAPILIONID 2%. 


Genus PAPILIO Linn. 
Papilio Daunus. 
Papilio Daunus, BOISDUVAL, Spécies Gén. des Lépidopteéres, i, p. 342 (1836).—-Ripincs, Proc. 


nt. Soc. Phila. i, p. 278, fig. 2 (1862).—STRECKER, Lep. Rhop.-Het. i, p. 45, t. vi, 1873.—Ep- 
WARDs (W. H.), Butt. N. Am. ii, t. 2, Papilio (1874). 


Three males taken August 17 near the Rio de los Pinos present no difference from 
those found in other parts of Colorado and New Mexico, which are smaller than those 
from Mexico and Central America. 

It is easily distinguished from its near allies Rutulus, Turnus, and Eurymedon by the 
narrowness of the black bands of wings and*by the three tails to pekmeres: Se cyiclanis 


Papilio Rutulus. 


Papilio Rutulus, BoispuvAL, Annales de la Société Entomologique deFrance, x, 2e série, p. 
279 (1852).— Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 3 (1862).—EpDWAaAkDs (Hy.), Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. 
Sci. v, p. 161 (1873). 


One male, much worn, taken July 27 at Weeminuche Creek, head of Tule Valley. 

This is the common representative of P. Turnus on. the Rocky Mountains and Pacific 
slope, from which it differs in the greater elongation of the wings, in the submarginal 
row of yellow spots being confluent, and in the absence of the dimorphic black female.. 


Papilio Zolicaon. 


Papilio Rutulus, BoispuvaAL, Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, x, 2e série, p. 
281 (1852).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am., p. 4 (1862).—STRECKER, Lep. Rhop.-Het. i, p. 46, t. 
6 (1873).—Epwarps (Hy.), Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. Se. v, p. 163 (1873).—Ebwarps (W. H.) 
Butt. ii, t. vi, Pap.. (1875). 

Papilio Zelicaon, Lucas, Rev. Zool. p. 136 (1852). ; . 

Papilio Machaon var. Californica, MENETRIES, Cat. Mus. Petro. Lep. i, p. 69 (1855). 


At Pagosa Springs, July 21, two males. . 

This is closely allied to P. Machaon, one ofthe most obvious points of difference 
being in the black pupil of the anal ocellus, which is absent in the latter. : 

It feeds, in the larval state, on the umbellifere, as do also its allies Machaon and 
Asterius. 


Papilio Asterius. 


Papilio Asterius, CRAMER, Papillons Exotiques des Trois Parties du Monde, etc., iv, t. 385 
(1782). a 
Papilio Asterias, Fasrictus, Mant. Ins. ii, p. 1787; Ent. Syst. iii, p. 6 (1793). 
Papilio Ajax, CLERCK, Icones, t. 33 (1764). 
Papilio Troilus, Drury, Dl. Ex. Ent. i, t. 11, f. 2, 3, 5 (1773). 
Papilio, Polyxenes, Fasr., Syst. Ent. p. 444 (1775). 
Near the crossing of upper road at the Rio Blanco, July 7, one female. 
This example is very large, and bears no traces whatever of the mesial band of yel- 
low spots on either wing. . 
The species was frequently seen, though this was the only one captured. 
It has a wide range, occurring from Newfoundland south to Central America, and 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and is subject to great and remarkable variations. 


1850 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Genus PARNASSIUS Latr. 


' 


Parnassius Delius var. Smintheus. 


Parnassius Delius var. Smintheus, DOUBLEDAY & HEwItson, Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera, 
t. 4 (1847).—Epwarps (W. H.), Butt. N. Am. i, t. 2-4, Parnassius (1872). 
Parnassius Sayti, EDWARDS (W. H.), Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil. ii, p. 78 (1863). 


Three, two males and one female, on July 4, at the waterfall on San Juan River, not 
far below Camp 32. ‘Two of these were of the ordinary form, but one male was remark- 
ably aberrant in that the secondaries were entirely destitute of the usual red spots on 
both surfaces. This remarkable example I have figured on one of the plates which ac- 
companies this report. 

This species is found along the Rocky Mountains of North America generally, and in 
the Old World in the Swiss Alps and Ural and Altai regions. The American lepi- 
dopterists have made the most strenuous efforts to prove this a distinct species from the 
European forms, but the futility of such efforts are palpably shown by comparing the 
Altai from Intermedius Men. with our Colorado examples, so close are the two that 
no examination, however critical, can discover any difference that would allow specific 
separation. 


Family PIERID 2. 


Genus NEOPHASIA Behr. 
Neophasia Menapia. 


Neophasia menapia, FELDER, (Pieris M.), Wiener Entomologische Monatschrift, iii, p. 271 
1859) ; Reise Nov., Lep. ii, p. 181, t. 25 (1865).—EpWarps (W. H.), Butt. N. Am. i, t.1, Pieris ¢ 
(1871).—STRECKER, Lepidoptera Rhop. Het. i, p. 14, t. 2, f. 49 (1878). 

Pieris Tau, SCUDDER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. viii, p. 183 (1861).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. 
p. 322 (1862). ’ 

Preris Ninonia, Bvu., Lep. Cal. in Ann. Soc. Ent. Belgique, xii, p. 38 (1869). 


Several of both sexes taken August 11, at the Rio Florida Colorado. 

\ This species was only seen in the southwestern corner of Colorado, toward New Mex- 
ico and Arizona; itis the most beautiful and delicate looking of all our Pieride, and — 
in ornamentation approximates to some Malayan groups. It is found in Utah, Ari- 
zona, California, Oregon, and Vancouver’s Island. 

Mr. Henry Edwards discovered the Chrysalis attached to the trunks of pine-trees in 
Vancouver's Island; the larva is as yet unknown, butit doubtless, as Mr. Edwards sug- 
gests, feeds on some species of pines. 

The male was first figured in Dr. Felder’s great work, the Lepidoptera of the Reise 
- der Novara; subsequently three figures, all males, though curiously given as male and 
female, were represented in Mr. W. H. Edwards’s Butt. of N. Am. ; the only figures of 
the female are those by myself in the Lepidoptera Rhop.—Het. (1873). 


Genus PIERIS Schrk. 
Pieris Napi. 

Pieris Napi, LINN. (Papilio N.), Systema Nature, ed. x, 1, p. 468, ‘n. 60 (1758); ed. xii, 1, 2, p. 
760, n. 77 (1767); Faun. Suee. p. 271 (1761).—STRECKER, Lepidoptera Rhop.-Het. 1, t. 8, p. 61 
(1873). 

Pieris Venosa, SCUDDER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. viii, p. 182 (1861).—Morris, Syn. p. 320 
(1862). 

Pieris Nasturtii, BDu., Lep. Cal. in Ann. Soc. Ent. Belgique, p. 38 (1869). 

Common along Weeminuche Creek to Rio Piedro, on San Juan River to Pagosa 
Springs, in the Rio Navajo Valley, at upper part of the river, at Park, in the cation of 
the Upper Rio de los Pinos, and at other points along the route, from July 18 to Au- 
gust 28. ; a 

This is a species having an immense range, being found in Labrador, British Co- 
lumbia, Colorado, Utah, &c., California, Oregon, Alaska, Japan, Siberia, and all over 
Europe (? ex Reg. Pol.). It is subject to many variations, among which are Oleracea 
Harris, Frigida Scudder, Hulda W. H. Edwards, and Pallida Scudder. Owing to the 
little attention paid by American entomologists to the fauna of other countries, this 

‘insect was supposed to be distinct from the European species until I established their 
identity in 1873.* 


Pieris Napi var. Pallida. 


Pieris Napi var. Pallida, ScupbDER, Proceedings Boston Soc. Nat. History, viii, p. 183 (1861).— 
Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 321 (1862).—SrrREcKER, Lepidoptera Rhop.-Het. p. 62, t. 8 
(1873). . 

Pieris Iberidis, Bpu., Lep. Cal. in Ann. Soc. Ent. Belgique, xii, p. 39 (1869). 

Pieris Castoria, REAKIRT, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. p. 238 (1866). 

Pieris Resede, Bpu., Lep. Cal. in Ann. Soc. Ent. Belgique, xii, p. 39 (1869). 


~ * Lepidoptera Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres, I, p. 61-63, 1873. 


APPENDIX SS. 1851 


This is a variety of the preceding, in which the dark scales which accompany the 
venations of the under surface are wanting, and generally destitute of the dark marks of 
the other form; the male has sometimes a distinct black spot in the middle of the 
upper surface of primaries, but is frequently without it. It was observed and taken 
in considerable numbers in most places along the route. 


Pieris Protodice. 
Pieris Protodice, BotspuvAL & LECONTE, Histoire Générale et Iconographie des Lépidop 


téres et des Chénilles de ! Amérique Septentrionale, p. 45, t. 17 (1833); Species Générai, i. p 
543 (1836).— Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 17 (1862). 


Thisis another species of wide distribution, occurring in the Canadas and in all parts 
of the United States and Territories from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

The survey captured many examples at Pagosa Springs, along the Rio Piedro, and 
at other points where it was in abundance, from middle of July to end of August. 


Pieris Occidentalis. 
Pieris Occidentalis, REAKIRY, Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, vi, p 
133 (1866). 
Pieris Calyce W. H. Evpwarps, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. iii, p. 189 (1870). 


A ‘single male was taken July 21 at Pagosa Springs, Colo. Though not as common 
as Protodice, to which it is nearly allied, it is by no means a rare species in Colorado, 
California, and Oregon; its position is between the preceding and the European Alpine, 
Callidice Esper. 


Genus NATHALIS Bal. 
Nathalis Tole. . 
Nathalis Iole, BOISDUVAL, Species Général des Lépidoptéres, i, p. 589 (1836). 
Nathalis Felicia, PoEY, Mem. Cuba, i, p. 443, t. 18 (1851). 
Nathalis Irene, Frrcu, 3d Report N. York State Agr. Soc., suppl. p. 485 (1856). 
Vathalis Luteolus, REAKIRT, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila. ii, p. 350 (1863). 


One female, August 8, in Rio Navajo Valley, at upper part of the river. 

This pretty little insect is found in Texas, Louisiana, Antilles, Colorado, California, 
Mexico, and Central America. 

Nathalis is closely related to the exotic genera Idmais Bdl. and Teracolus Swains. 


Genus COLIAS Fabr. 
Colias Philodice. 


Colias Philodice, GODART, Encyclopédie Méthodique, ix, p. 100 (1819).—SwaInson (Eurymus 
P.), Zool. Ill. ii, 2d ser. t. 60 (1831).—BoIspUVAL & LECONTE, Lep. Am. Sept. p. 64, t. 21 
(1833). 

Papilio Paleno, CRAM., Pap. Exot. i, t. 14 (1875). 

Zerene Anthyale, Hus., Zutr. Ex. Schmett. f. 307, 308 (1823). 

Colias Europome, STEPH., Ill. Brit. Ent. Haust. i, p. 10, t. 1 (1828). a ‘ 

Colias Chrysotheme, Nastes et Santes, Fircu, Rep. N. York State Agr. Soc. viii, p. 378 (1854). 

Colias Eriphyle, W. H. EDWARDs, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. v, p. 202 (1876). 


A number of examples of both sexes, July 21 to September 15, at Pagosa Springs ; 
along Weeminuche Creek to Rio Piedro and at Rio de los Pinos near crossing of the 
upper road. se 

The Colorado examples in some instances are exactly like those found east, while 
others present some differences, being of a more delicate shade of yellow and having 
the disk of under side of primaries suffused with pale orange. Some are of a more 
greenish tint on under surface of secondaries. Examples agreeing with these latter 
occur in British Columbia, and were described by W. H. Edwards as a distinct species 
under the name Lriphyle. One of the reasons he gives for their distinctness was that 
they invariably have the orange spot of upper surface of secondaries present ; two 
males of the present suite show no trace whatever of these orange spots. 

He further says in allusion to Colorado examples: ‘Mr. Mead brought from Colo- 
rado in 1871 a Colias very close to this (Zriphyle) from Lake Labache, and which in 
Reakirt’s paper on the Butterflies of Colorado (Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil. 1867, p. 14*) is 
doubtless the one called Philodice. The same form was brought from Montana by Dr. 
E. Coues, when engaged in the boundary-line commission. For the present I shall 
give no opinion as to these, but they seem to me nearer to Hriphyle than to Philodice. 

The examples of Reakirt’s above alluded to passed into my keeping; they are in no 
wise different from those found in Pennsylvania, &c.; systematists have created by 
far too many species of our Coliades, making of every local variety a different species. 


* Should be p.135, not 14, as Edwards erroneously cited. 


1852 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Colias var. Eurytheme. 
Colias var. Eurytheme, BoIispUvAL, Annales Société Entomologique de France, 2e série, x, p. 
et Biche Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 29 (1862).—Epwarpbs (W. H.), Butt. N. Am. i, t. 3 
(1869). 
Colias Chrysotheme var., BOISDUVAL, Sp. Gen. i, p. 644 (1836). 
Colias Amphidusa, BDu., Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 2e sér. x, p. 286 (1852). 
Colias Edusa var. Californiana, MEN., Cat. Mus. Petr. Lep. i, p. 80 (1855). 


This common form, the summer brood of C. Chrysotheme, was found in numbers almost 
everywhere on the route. The larva feeds on buffalo-grass and other species of clover. 
It not only occurs in Colorado, but all over the Southern and Western States from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, and is occasional in Pennsylvania, and even in New York and 


the Canadas. 
Family LYCA NID. 


Genus THECLA Fabr. 
Thecla Crysalus. . 


Thecla Crysalus, Evwarvs (W. H.), Transactions American Entomological Society, iv, p. 344 
(1873). 


One male example of this beautiful insect was taken on the Rio Florida. It is found 
also in Utah and Arizona and probably in New Mexico. It belongs to or near the same 
group as T. Quercus L., to which species it bears some resemblance. 


Thecla Melinus. 


Thecla Melinus, HUBNER (Strymon M.), Zutraige zur Sammlung Exotischer Schmetterlinge, 
fig. 121, 122° (1818). : 

Thecla Hyperici, BOISDUVAL & LECONTE, Lep. Am. Sept. p. 90, t. 28 (1833).—Morris, Syn. Lep. 
N. Am., p. 94 (1862). : 

Thecla Favonius, Bpu. & LkEc., Lep. Am. Sept. p. 95, t. 30 (1833). Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. 
p. 95 (1862). 

Thecla al Harris, Ins. Inj. Veg. 1st ed. ‘p. 215 (1841); 2d ed. p. 235 (1852); 3d ed. p. 
276, t. 4 (1862). 

Thecla Pan, Harris, Hitch. Report Geol. Min. etc. Mass. p. 590 (1833). 

Thecla Silenus, DOUBLEDAY, List British Museum, ii, p. 31 (1847). 

Thecla Melinus var. Pudica, Hy. EDwarps, Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. Sci. vii, p. 172 (1826). 


One example, a male, July 28, near the Rio Piedro. Found in all parts of the United 
States and Territories, from Maine to Florida, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 


Thecla Titus. 


Thecla Titus, FABRICIUS (Hesperia T.), Entomologia Systematica, iii, 1, p. 297 (1793). 

Strymon Mopsus, HiUBNER, Verz. Bek. Schmett. p. 74 (1816); Chrysophanus M., Zutr. Ex 
Schmett. fig. 135, 136 (1818). 

Thecla Mopsus, BoIsDUVAL & LECONTE, Lep. Am. Sep. p. 109, t. 34 (1833).—Morris, Syn. Lep. 
N. Am. p. 102 (1862).—Harris, Ins. Inj. Veg. 3d ed. p. 278 (1862). 


Three, August 25, Rio de los Pinos, near crossing of upper road. Likewise a species 
of wide range; the larva feeds on various species of Quercus. ; 


Genus LYCZAINA Fabr. 


Lyeena Acmon. 
Lycena Acmon, DOUBLEDAY & HEwITsoNn, Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera, ii, p. 294, t. 76 
(1852).—STRECKER, Lept. Rhop.-Het. p. 88 (1874). 
Lycena Antegon, Bpu., Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 2e sér. x,p. 295 (1852).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am, 
p. 87 (1862). 

Taken September 15, inthe Lower Florida Valley, above the Indian reservation. This 
is one of the commonest of the Western species; abounding in Colorado, Utah, Cali- 
fornia, Oregon, and adjacent Territories, and is found in all parts from May to end of 
September. 


Lycena Melissa. 
Lycena Melissa, Epwarps, (W. H.) Transactions American Entomological Society, iv, p. 346 
(1873).—STRECKER, Lepidoptera Rhop.-Het. p. 88, t. 10 (1874); Catalogue, p. 93 (1878).— 
MEAD, Wheeler’s Report, v, p. 783, t. 36 (1875). 
One male taken; anumber seen in July at Pagosa Springs. It resembles very much 
the preceding, but is larger, and not of as common occurrence. 


Lycena Battoides. 


Lycena Battoides, BEHR., Proceedings California Academy of Natural Sciences, iii, p. 282 
(1867).—STRECKER, Lep. Rhop.-Het. p. 87 (1874); Catalogue, p. 94 (1878). 
Lycena Glaucon, Epwarps, (W. H.), Trans. Am, Ent. Soc. iii, p. 210 (1871). 


At Rio Navajo Valley, at upper part of river, August 8, and at Rio de 
los Pinos, at the park, at mouth of the Vallecito, August 27, several ex- 
amples, all males, were taken. 


APPENDIX SS. 1853 


This is a rarer species than either of the preceding; it is also found in 
Nevada and California. | 


Lycena Oro. 
Lycena Oro, SCUDDER (Nomiades O.), Canadian Entomologist, viii, p. 23 (1876); Buffalo Bul- 
Tetin, iii, p. 117 (1876).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 96 (1878). 
Lycena Lygdamus, MEAD (nec. Dbldy.), Wheeler's Rept. v, p. 784 (1875). 


Two males at Pagosa Springs. This species is closely allied to Lygdamus Dbldy., 
from which, however, it differs in many points, which, when taken collectively, enti- 
tles it to specific distinction. It is one of the early species, and the two above were 
much worn, and were the only ones noticed. é 


Family DANAID#. 


Genus DANAIS Latr. 
Danais Plexippus. 

Danais Plexippus, LINNE (Pap. P.), Systema Nature, ed. x, p. 471 (1758); ed. xii, 1, 2, p. 767 
(1767) ; Mus. Lud. Ulv. p. 262 (1764).—CRAMER, Papillons Exotiques iii, t. 206, E, F. (1782).— 
Herbst. Nat. Schmett. vii, p. 19, t. 46, f. 1, 2 (1794).—DEBEavuvols, Ins. Afr. et Am. p. 172, 
t. 4, f. 1, a, 1 b (1805).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 105 (1878). 

Danaus Plexippus, SAY, Am. Ent. iii, t. 54 (1828).—PEALE, Lep. Am. i, t. 7 (1833). 

Papilio Erippus, CRAMER, Pap. Ex.i, t. 3, A, B (1779). 

Papilio Archippus, FasR., Ent. Syst. iii, 1, p. 49 (1793).—AsBoT & Smiru, Ins. Ga. i, t. 6 
(1797).—SHAW & NODDER, Nat. Miss. xxiii, t. 1006 (1790-1813). 

Danais = ain Bpu.-L&c., Lep. Am. Sept. p. 137, t. 40 (1833).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. 
p- 38 (1862). 

Danais Archippe, GODART, Enc. Méth. ix, p. 184 (1819). 

Anosia Megalippe, HUBNER, Sam. Ex. Schmett. ii (1806-1824). 

Anosia Menippe, HUBNER, Verz. Bek. Schmett. p. 16 (1816). 

——CATESBY, Nat. Hist. Car. ii, p. 88. 


One female, July 8, at Rio Navajo Valley, on upper part of river. One male, July 21, 
at Pagosa Springs. Many more were seen at various parts of the route. 

‘This insect is not only found in all parts of the United States and Territories and 
Canada, but also in Mexico, Central and South America, and in Australia and other 
islands of the Pacific. Its larva, as is well known, feeds on Asclepias. 


Family NYMPHALID 4. 


Genus EUPTOIETA Dbldy. 
Euptoieta Claudia. 
Euptoieta Claudia, CRAMER (Papilio C.), Papillons Exotiques, i, t. 69, f. E, F (1779).—STRECKER, 
Syn. Catalogue, p. 109 (1878). 
Papilio Daunius, Hersst, Natursyst. Schmett. ix, p. 184, t. 256, f. 1, 2 (1798). 
Papilio Clausius, HERBsT, Nat. Schmett. ix, p. 189, t. 257 (1798). 
Papilio Nigrosignatus, GOEZE, Ent. Beyt. iii, 1, p. 183, n. 87.(1779). 
Argynnis Columbina, GODART, Enc. Méth. ix, p. 260 (1819).—BoIspUVAL & LECoNTE, Lep. 
Am. Sept. p. 153, t. 44 (1833).— Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 44 (1862).—GLOVER, Agr. Rept. 
p- 61 (1854); p. 66, 105, t. ix (1855). 
Males and females at Pagosa Springs July 21; somewhat smaller than those from 
Georgia, Florida, &c.; otherwise not differing materially. 
Larva feeds on violets, sedum, passion-flower, and May-apple (Podophyllum). It is 
found throughout the Southern and Western States, in Central America, Chili, Buenos | 


Ayres, and Patagonia. 
: Genus ARGYNNIS Fabr. 
Argynnis Edwardsii var. Meadii. 
Argynnis Meadii, Epwarps (W. H.), Transactions American Entomological Society, iv, p. 
67 (1872); Butt. N. Am. ii, t. 2, Arg. (1875). 
Argynnis Edwardsii var. Meadii, STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 110 (1878). 

Examples were taken and seen in some abundance, July 28 to September 1, along Wee- 
minuche Creek to Rio Piedra, and between the Upper Rio Piedra and the Rio Nutrias, 
and at the upper part of Vallecito Creek at Needle Mountains. 

This is a small variation of Edwardsii Reak, confined probably to Montana and some 
parts of Colorado. Independent of the small size, the only difference of any note is 
the somewhat brighter green of under surface of secondaries. 


Argynnis Nokomis. 
Argynnis Nokomis, Epwarps (W. H.), Proc. Academy Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, p. 
221 (1862); Butt. N. America, i, t. 4, Arg. (1868).—Mzabp, Wheeler’s Report, v, p. 751, t. 35 
(1875). —STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 110 (1878). 
Two examples, both females, taken September 15, at the Lower Florida River, inthe 
valley above the Indian reservation. 


1854 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


I was greatly surprised to find this splendid insect in the present collection, it hay- 
ing never before been received from Colorado; the single original (male) type was 
said to have been captured in the Bitter Root Mountains, which divide Montana and 
Idaho; subsequently the expedition in 1871, under Lieutenant Wheeler, brought in 
five males and two females from Arizona, and in 1877 Mr. Neumoegen, of New York, 
received a number of both sexes from a correspondent in inner Arizona. ir 

The present two examples from Colorado differ notably from all those from Arizona 
in the following particulars: On under surface, the red color of primaries is darker, and 
covers evenly the whole wing except toward and at the apex ; on the secondaries, the 
whole space interior to the second of the two outer rows of silver spots, which in the 
Arizona examples is powdered with grayish-green, is deep reddish-brown, nearly of the 
same color as in the female of Aphrodite or the male of Leto; they are larger than most 
of those I have seen from Arizona. On the upper side it presents no differences. I 
have always contended that Nokomis was a pale, abnormal form of Cybele, of which 
we have so many other like instances in other species from the dry salt regions of Utah 
and Arizona, and those intermediate examples from Colorado, with their dark reddish 
undersides, seem to strengthen my opinion. I can but regret that no males were cap- 
tured (unless the following be really its male), as I consider this by far the most inter- 
esting insect in the whole collection, . 


Argynnis Cybele. 


Argynnis Cybele, FABRICINS (Pap. C.), Systema Entomologica, p. 516 (1775); Ent. Syst. iii, p. 
145 (1793).—HEkbst, Natursyst. Schmett. ix, p. 178, t. 255 (1798). ; 

Argynnis Cybele, Bpt., Lec. Lep. Am. Sept. p. 151, t. 45 (1833).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. 
p. 42 (1862).—EpWaAkps (W. H.), Butt. N. Am. i, t. 2, Arg. (1868).—STRECKER, Syn. Cata- 
logue, p. 111 (1878). 

Papilio Daphnis, CRAMER, Pap. Ex. i, t. 57 (1779). 


One male at the Rio Blanco, near its headwaters.. This expands 23 inches; the pri- 
maries are more elongate and pointed apically than in the Eastern examples, and the 
two black lines that form the border or upper surface of wings are diffuse, nearly filling 
the space between them with blackish; the other of the black markings are all nar- 
rower; the ground-color above and the under surface generally are precisely as in 
Eastern examples. 

I must confess to considerable astonishment at receiving this insect. from Colorado, 
it being the first example known to have been taken so far west, and I am strongly 
inclined to the belief that it is the male of the above-described form of Nokomis. 


Argynnis Atlantis. - 
Argynnis Atlantis, Ep>warps (W. H.), Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 


Philadelphia, p. 54 (1862); Butt. N. Am. i, t. 5, Arg. (1869).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 
112 (1878). é 


A number of examples, male and female, taken July 25, at Weeminuche Pass, head 
of Rio de los Pinos, and one male, August 1, in the valley of Upper San Juan River. 
These are all somewhat paler beneath than the more Northern and Eastern examples. 


Argynnis Myrina. 
Argynnis Myrina, CRAMER (Pap. M.), Papillons Exotiques, ii, t. 189 (1779).—GopDART, Ene. 
Méth. p. 268, 806, ix (1819).—Say, American Entomology, iii, t. 46 (1828).—BoIspuUVAL & 
LECoNTE, Lep. Am. Sept. p. 155, t. 45 (1833).—Kirny, Fauna Americana-Boreali, iv, p. 290 
(1837). Harris, Insects Inj. Veg. 3d ed. p. 286, f. 112 (1862).—MorrIs, Syn. Lep. N. Am. 
p. 43 (1862).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 115 (1878). 
Papilio Myrinus, HERBST, Natursyst. Schmett. ix, p. 178, t. 255 (1798). 


One male taken July 26, at Upper Weeminuche Creek (a tributary of the Rio Piedra) 
does not differ from those from other parts of the United States and British Columbia. 


Argynnis Kriemhild, nov. sp. 


Female, size and shape of 4. Epithore Boisd. On upper surface not quite as dark 
as in that species, the black markings not as heavy, and there is no dark sutfusion at 
the basal parts; the under surface much paler than in Bellona, Epithore, or any of the 
allied species, though of the same style of ornamentation; the broad irregular mesial 
band and basal spots of secondaries are of a uniform clear, rather pale yellow, and all! 
save the basal spot at costa are edged with a sharp dark brown line; this is the species. 
which I have cited in my catalogue on p. 117 as Bellona var., there deseribed from a. 
single example received from Utah. The reception of other examples since from Ari- 
zona as wellas the present ones from the Rio Florida Colorado, all of which examples 
are remarkably constant, has led me to the conclusion that this is a form entitled to 
specific distinction. 


APPENDIX S8. 1855 


Genus MELITZA Fabr. 


Melitewa Pratensis var. Pallida. 
Melitea Pallida, Epwarvs (W. H.), Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadel- 
phia, ii, p. 505 (1864).—MrapD, Wheeler’s Report, v, p. 763 (1875). 
Melitea Pratensis var. Pallida, STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 121 (1878). 
Phyciodes Camillus, Eowarps (W.H.), Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. iii, p. 268 (1871).— MEAD, Wheel- 
er’s Rept. p.-764 (1875). 
Phyciodes Emissa, Epwarvs (W. H.), Trans. Am. Ent. Soe. iii, p. 269 (1871). 
Taken latter part of July and beginning of August at Weeminuche Creek and other 
localities along the route; it is the Colorado form of the Californian Pratensis Behr., 
and is also found in Utah, Kansas, and Texas. 


Melitea Nycteis. 
Melitea Nycteis, DOUBLEDAY & HEWITSON, Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera, p. 181, t. 23, f. 2 
oe aa oe Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 325 (1862).—STrRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 122 
(1878). 
Melitea Oenone, SCUDDER, Proc. Essex Inst. iii, p. 166 (1862). 
Melitea Nyctis, BoispuvaL, Lep. Cat. Ann. Soc. Ent. Belgique, p. 53 (1869). 
Melitea Harrisii, Enwarvs (W. H.), Canadian Entomologist, ii, p. 163 (1870). 


Two examples, male and female, taken near the headwaters of the San Juan River, 
August 2; these, as are all the Colorado examples I have yet seen, are much darker 
than those from more eastern localities. It is a species found from Canada to Virginia 
and from the Atlantic westward to the Rocky Mountains, : 


Melitea Minuta. 


Melitea Minuta, Evwarps (W. H.), Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phi- 
ladelphia, p. 161 (1861).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 325 (1862).—MEAD, Wheeler’s Rept. 
v, p. 761, t. 36 (1875).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 123 (1878). , 

Melitea Arachne, EDwarpDs )W. H.), Trans. Am. Ent. Soe. ii, p. 372 (1869).— MEAD, Wheeler’s 
Rept. v, p. 760 (1875). 

One male, September 15, in the Lower Florida Valley; above the Indian reservation ; 
this beautiful and somewhat rare species belongs to the same group as the European 
Cinxia L. and Phebe Knoch, which latter it much resembles on both surfaces in color 
and ornamentation. 


Melitea Anicia var. Nubigena. 


Melitea Nubigena, Beur., Proceedings of the California Academy ot Natural Sciences, iii, 
p. 91 (1863). 
Melitea Anicia var. Nubigena, STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 124 (1878). 


Several males and females taken July 21 at Pagosa Springs, and observed previously 
at other places. 


"Melitea Alma. 
Melitea Alma. STRECKER, Lepidoptera Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres, i, p. 135, t. 15, f. 1 (1877); 


Synonymical Catalogue p. 189 (1878). 


One male of this beautiful and rare insect was taken at the Rio Florida above the 
Indian Reservation. It is nearly allied to Leanira Bdl., but differs from that species 
remarkably on the upper surface, in which the black ground-color is replaced by bright 
fulvous. The type was received from Arizona; it was also a male. 


Genus VANESSA Fabr. 
Vanessa Antiopa. 

Vanessa Antiopa, LINNE (Papilio A.), Systema Nature, ed. x, p. 476 (1758); ed. xii, i, 2, p. 
776 (1767).—HUBNER, Europdische Schmetterlinge, i, f. 79, 80 (1805).—HEkBs?T, Natursyst. 
Schmetterlinge, vii, p. 96, t. 166 (1794).—GopakT (Vanessa A.), Enc. Méth. ix, p, 308 (1819).— 
Boisp. & Lec., Lep. Am. Sept. p. 173 (1833).—HaArriIs, Ins. Inj. Veg. 3d ed. p. 296, f. 121, 122 
(1862).—Mornis, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 57 (1862).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 133 (1878). 

Papilio Morio, LINNk, Fauna Suecica, ed. i, p. 232 (1746). 

Papilio Pompadour, PoLticn, Bemerk. Churpf. Oek. Ges. (1779). 


Of this cosmopolitan species one female was captured, September 15, at the Lower 
Rio Florida. There was no note of any more having been noticed by the expedition, 


Genus PYRAMEIS Hiib. 

Pyrameis Atalanta. 

; Pyrameis Atalanta, LINNé (Papilio A.), Systema Nature, ed. x, p. 478 (1758); ed. xii, 1, 2, p. 

779 (1767) ; Faun. Suec. p. 279 (1761).—HERBsT, Natursyst. Schmett. vii, p. 171, t. 180 (1794).— 
Boisp. & Lec. (Vanessa A.), Lep. Am. Sept. p. 175 (1833).—Harnris (Cynthia A.), Ins. Inj. 
Veg. 3d ed. p. 294, f. 120 (1862).—Morris (Pyrameis A.), Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 58 (1862).— 
STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 135 (1878). 

Papilio Amiralis, Rerzius, Gen. et Sp. Ins. 31 (1783). 


One male, July 21, at Pagosa Springs. Others were seen here and there on the route. 


1856 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Pyrameis Huntera. 


Pyrameis Huntera, Fasricitus (Papilio H.), Systema Entomologie, p. 499 (1775); Sp. Ins. ii, 

“p 83 (1781); Mant. Ins. ii, p. 45 (1787); Ent. Syst. iii, 1, p. 104 (1793).—HERpsz, Naturg st. 
chmett. vii, p._165, t. 178 (1794).—AxBBot & SmirTH, Ins. Ga. i, t. 9 (1797).—Gopart (Va- 

nessa H.), Enc. Méth, ix, p. 324 (1819).—Boisp. & Lxc., Lep. Am. Sept. p. 180, t. 48 (1833).— 
Harris (Cynthia H.), Ins. Inj. Veg. 3d ed. p. 292, f. 119 (1862).—Morris (Pyrameis H.), 
Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 60 (1862).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 138 (1878). 

Papilio Belladonna Virginiana, PETIVER, Gazoph. iv, t. 33, f. 5 (1711). 

Papilio Cardui Virginiensis, DRURY, Ill. Ex. Ent. i, t. 5 (1770). 

Papilio Iole, CRAMER, Pap. Exot. i, t. 12 (1779). 


Two examples taken in September at the Rio de las Animas, near mouth of the Rio 
oe both small, and differing in nothing from those from other parts of North 
merica. ; o> 


Genus LIMENITIS Fabr. 
LTimenitis Ephestion. 


Limenitis Ephestion, Stu. (Papilio E.), Supplement to Cramer’s Papillons Exotiques, p. 121, 
t. 25, f. 1, la (1790).—Gopart, Enc. Méth. ix, p. 42 (1819).— Harris (Nymphalis E.), Ins. Inj. 
Veg. 3d ed. p. 283 (1862).—STRECKER (Limenitis H.), Syn. Catalogue, p. 143 (1878). 

eae een Fasricius, Syst. Ent. p. 447 (1775) ; Sp. Ins. ii, p. 7 (1781) ; Mant. Ins. ii, p. 

Papilio Ursula, Fasricius, Ent. Syst. iii, 1, p. 82 (1793).—ABBoT & SMITH, Ins. Ga. i, t. 10 
(1797).—GoDart (Nymphalis U.), Enc. Méth. ix, p. 380 (1819).—Botsp. & Lxc., Lep. Am. 
Sept. p. 199, t. 53 (1833).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 64 (1862). 

Calanira Ephestiaena, HUBNER, Verz. Bek. Schmett. p. 38 (1816). 


One female, September 14, on the Rio Florida. This example was not large, and the 
under surface, especially of secondaries, was suffused with reddish-yellow to an ab- 
normal extent; but I have seen an example from Guanaxuato, Mexico, partaking of 
this same peculiarity. ¢ 


Limenitis Weidemeyerii. 

Limenitis Weidemeyerit, EDWARDS (W. H.), Proceedings Academy of Natural Sciences of 
Philadelphia, p. 162 (1861); Butt. N. Am. i, t. 2, Lim. (1869).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 
aay aoe Wheeler’s Rept. v, p. 770, t. 38 (1875).—STRECKER, Syn. Catatoeuae Pp. 

45 (1878). 


On August 8 three examples were taken. in the Rio Navajo Valley, near the upper 
part of the river, and a number observed during that day’s march. These are larger 
than any I had previously seen from Colorado, in this assimilating to those found in 


Arizona. 
Family SATYRIDZ. 


Genus EREBIA Dalm. 
Erebia Tyndarus. 


Erebia Tyndarus Espr. (Papilio T.), Schmetterlinge, i, 2, p. 97 (1781).—OCHSENHEIMER, Schmett. 
Eur. i, 1, p. 299 (1807) ; Hrebia T., Staudinger’s Catalogue Eur. p. 25, 1871.—STRECKER, Syn. 
Catalogue, p. 151 (1878). : ' 

Papilio Herse, BORKHAUSEN, Nat. Schmett. i, p. 94 (1788). 

Papilio Cassioides, ESPR., Schmett. Eur. i, 2, t. 103, f. 2, 3 (1790). 

Papilio Dromus, FABRICIUS, Ent. Syst. iii, 1, p. 224 (1793).—Gopart (Satyrus D.), Enc. Méth. 
ix, p. 528 (1819).—Lucas, Pap. Eur. p. 85, t. 39 (1834).—HERRICH-SCHAFFER (Hrebia D.), 
Schmett. Eur. i, p. 59, t. 37, f. 169, 170 (1843). 

Papilio Tyndarellus, HERBST, Natursyst Schmett. viii, p. 135, t. 202 (1796). 

Papilio Cleo, HUBNER, Eur. Schmett. i, f. 209-212 (?1796).—GopartT, Hist. Nat. Lep. Fr. ii, 
17, 5, 6 (1822). 

Hipparchia Neleus, FREYER, Neu. Beyt. i, t. 80, f. 3, 4 (1833). 

Erebia Callias, Epwarvs (W. H.), Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. iii, p: 274 (1871).—MEAD, Wheeler’s 
Rept. v, p. 775 (1875). 


Examples taken July 27 at head of the Tule Valley, and on 31, Pagosa Springs and 
other points not directly stated. . 

This species is also found in the Old World in Switzerland, and thé mountainous parts 
of Hungary, Italy, and France ; it presents but little variation regardless of locality. 


Erebia Epipsodea. 


Erebia Epipsodea, BUTLER, Catalogue Satyride in the British Museum, p. 80, t. 2, f. 9 (1868).— ~ 
STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 151 (1878). 
Erebia Rhodia, Epwarvs (W. H.), Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. ili, p. 273 (1871). 


July 15, taken at head of South Fork of Rio Chama; July 27, head of Tule Valley ; 
August 1, waterfall on San Juan River; August 23, Rio Piedro, near the bridge on 


upper road. 
There is no doubt but that thisis a form,of #. Medusa Fab., in which view I am sus- 


tained by Dr. Staudinger. 


APPENDIX SS. 1857 


: Genus CHIONOBAS Bal. 
Chionobas Uhleri. 
Chionobas Uhleri, REAKIRT, Proceedings Entomological Society of Philadelphia, vi, p. 143 

Go Lepidoptera Rhop.-Het. p. 28, t. 4, f. 5 (1873); Syn. Catalogue, p. 154 

Several taken July 13 at the Rio Navajo. This is avery variable species, as are many 
of the Chionobas, in the number of ocelli. Of Reakirt’s original types now in my posses- 
sion, one has three on the primaries and four on the secondaries; the other has four 
on the primaries and five on the secondaries, one of which is quite small, and was 
overlooked in the original description; I have also other examples with only one spot 
on primaries and two or three on secondaries. This species is closely allied to Sculda Evy. 


Genus SATYRUS Latr. 
Satyrus Charon. 
’ Satyrus Charon, EDwarps (W. H.), Transactions of the American Entomological Society, iv, 
p. 69 (1872).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 156 (1878). 
Cercyonis Oetus, SCUDDER (nec BOISDUVAL?), Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sci- 
ences, ii, p. 242 (1875). 

July 15, at Deer Creek, a branch of the Upper Rio Blanco; July 21, Pagosa Springs; 
July 28, Weeminuche Creek to the Rio Piedro; August 28, park in cafion of the Upper 
Rio de los Pinos. A large number of this species were taken at the above localities, 
and were the only Satyrus noted by the expedition. 


Genus COENONYMPHA Hiib. 


Coenonympha Tiphon var. Ochracea. 


Coenonympha Ochracea, Epwarps (W. H.), Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sci- 
ences of Philadelphia, p. 163 (1861).—Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 328 (1862). 
Coen. Tiphon var. Ochracea, STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 160 (1878). 


Several taken at Pagosa Springs July 21, and others were seen at different places; 
I have also received it from Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, &e. 

There can be no doubt but that this is a variation of Tiphon Rott., a species ranging 
all over Europe and Northern Asia, and of which Davus Fabr. is a synonym. 


Family HESPERIDZ. 


Genus PAMPHILA. 
Pamphila Snowi. 
Pamphila Snowi, Epwarps (W. H.), Canadian Entomologist, ix, p. 29 (1877).—STRECKER, Syn. 
Catalogue, p. 169 (1878). 
Two examples at Pagosa Springs July 21. 
A species somewhat allied to the Eastern Leonardus Har., but not as large, or as dis- 
tinctly marked beneath. 


Pamphila Napa. 
ke Napa, EDWARDs (W. H.), Proc. Entomological Society of Philadelphia, iv, p. 202, 
t. 1 (1865). 
Hesperia Dacotah, EDwarps (W. H.), Trans. Ani. Ent. Soe. iii, p. 277 (1871). 


Several males and one female at Pagosa Springs. 


Genus ANCYLOXYPHA Feld. 


Ancyloxypha Garita var. Hylax. 


Thymeticus Hylax, Epwarvs (W. H.), Trans. Am. Ent. Society, iii, p. 274 (1871). 
‘ Ancyloxypha Garita var. Hylax, STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 175 (1878). 


A number taken, July 28, along Weeminuche Creek to the Rio Piedro, also between 
the Upper Rio Piedro and the Rio Nutrias; it was quite common flying around among 
the grass in numbers. 


Genus PYRGUS. 
Pyrgus Syrichtus. 
Pyrgus Syrichtus, Fawrictus (Papilio), Systema Entomologie, p. 534 (1775); Sp. Ins. ii, p. 
137 (1781); Mant. Ins. ii, p. 90 (1787); Ent. Syst. iii, 1, p. 349 (1793).—DouBLEDAY & HeEwit- 
SON (Pyrgus S.), Gen. Diur. Lep. ii, p. 518 (1850-1852).—STRECKER, Syn. Catalogue, p. 176 
(1878). 
Papilio Orcus, CRAMER, Pap. Ex. iv, t. 334, I. K. L. (1782). , 
Pyrgus Oileus, WEStWooD & HUMPHREYS (nec LINNE), Brit. Butt. t. 38, f. 14, 15 (1841). 
) Syrichtus Oilus, Morris, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 121 (1862). 
Papilio Tartarus, HUBNEk, Eur. Schmett. f. 716, 717 (1803-1818). 
Hesperia Tessellata SCUDDER, Syst. Rev. Am. Butt. p. 73 (1872). 
metus Communis, GROTE, Canadian Entomologist, iv, p. 69 (1872); (Hesperia C.), l, ¢. p. 
0 (1872). 


117 E 


1858 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


This widespread and common species was observed on the route generally. Besides 
being found in all parts of the United States and Territories; it is common in Mexico, 
Central America, and most parts of South America, down to Patagonia inclusive. 


Genus NISONIADES Hiib. 
Nisoniades Persius. ; 


Nisoniades Persius, SCUDDER, Proceedings Essex Institute, iii, p. 170 (1862). 


One male at Rio Chama July 7. This is another of those species having a range 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 


HETEROCERA. - 


Family SPHINGID A. 


Genus MACROGLOSSA 0. 
Macroglossa Senta, n. sp. 


Male expands 1} inches; above, the head, thorax, and first two and part of third seg- 
ment of abdomen heavy ily clothed with olivaceons hair; beneath the first three seg- 
ments of abdomen are black; the remaining ones pale sulphur- yellow with black in 
the middle; anal tuft black ; "antenme black. 

Beneath, head and body are yellowish-white; legs clothed with yellowish-white hair. 

Upper surface, wings hyaline, with the veins dark brown. Primaries, costa blackish ; 
exterior margin of moderate width, widest at apex, scalloped on its inner edge, but not 
deeply, Indian-red in color, brighter at apex and between the last two cells at and near 
the inner angle; in the middle this border is sprinkled or suffused with brownish ; 
fringe dark brown; inner margin Indian-red, narrow at and near the inner angle, 
becoming very bro ad from middle of inner mar gin to base. 

Secondaries have anarrow exterior mar ginot dark brow n, Slightly scalloped inwardly, 
and showing traces of red toward inner “half; : abdominal mnmargin broad and reddish, 
brightest at anal angle. 

Under surface, wings: Primaries, costa pale yellowish from base to over or about 
half its length; terminal. half sprinkled heavily with dark brown; exterior margin 
with the red not as dark as above, but brighter; inner margin also not as dark at its 
outer half, and pale yellow toward and at base. 

Secondaries with basal part, costa, and inner margin pale yellow; exterior margin 
red; fringes of all wings brown. 

One male ; Fierra Amarilla, New Mexico, July 10. 

This beautiful little species is far more slender and delicate than Di finis or allies, and 
its position would be between the group of which Difinis B. is typical and the other 
composed of such species as Thysbe F. Gracilis Grote, &c. It can be distinguished at a 
glance from any other known Ainevican speci:s. 


Family ZYGAANID A. 


Genus CTENUCHA Kirby. 
Ctenucha Matthew. 
Scepsis Matthewii, Evwarvs (Hyx.), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, v, 184. 
(1878). 

August 13, several near the headwaters of the Rio Blanco. 

This is closely allied to Cienucha Fulvicollis Hiib., but is of larger size and paler color 
throughout. It is a species having considerable range, the type from which Mr. Hy. 
Edwards described it having been taken in Vancouver's Island. 


Ctenucha Cressonana. 


Ctenucha Oressonana, Grote, Proceedings Entomological Society of Philadelphia, ii, p. 64, t. 
8, f. ee .—STRETCH, Illustrations of Zygenide and Bombycide of N. America, Lp: 28, 
t. 1, f. 14 (1872). 


Several examples taken along Weeminuche Creek to the Rio Piedro and between 
Upper Rio Piedro and Rio Nutrias July 28. 

This species is rare in collections. It is nearly the size and color of the Eastern C. 
Virginica Charp., but has the pale yellow marks or lines on tegule and primaries like 
C. Venosa W1ik., excepting o that the latter species has one more pale line on primaries 
toward the apex. 


Ctenucha Sanguinaria, n. sp. 


Female expands not quite two inches; head bright blood-red or scarlet, shining 
blue between the eyes; prothorax above same lustrous blue, beneath and at sides 


7” 


APPENDIX SS. 1859 


scarlet; thorax also blue, the same color as in C. Virginica Charp.; patagize edged 
with scarlet on inner margin; abdomen same blue as thorax; legs blue. Antenne 
wanting. 

Upper surface, wings: Primaries black, with blue reflections, most noticeable at 
basal part, which equals in luster the body ; secondaries shining blue. 

Primaries have the costa the greater part of its length from the base outward edged 
with scarlet; the submediannervule, the median nervure with its two middle branches, 
and the subcostal inferior nervule are also of the same fine scarlet or blood color; fringe 
white. 

Secondaries with white fringe, and without marks, as in other species. 

Under surface, color as above, but devoid of all the scarlet lines except that which 
edges the costa. 

Perhaps a better idea of the ornamentation of the primaries of this species can be 
conveyed to those familiar with the North American fauna were I to state that the 
arrangement of the scarlet lines is precisely the same as is that of the whitish-yellow 
ones in Venosa. Of this, the most superb of all our species, one example, a female, was 
taken July 16 at Rio Blanco. The antenne, as above stated, were wanting, and the 
secondaries were much torn and broken at the outer half, but the example had been 
fresh when caught and was not at allrubbed; hence the description and accompany- 
ing figure were accomplished without difticulty. 


Family BOMBYCID. 


Genus CROCOTA Hitib. 


Crocota Fragilis, n. sp. 

Expands 14 inches; head and body ocher color above, inclining to flesh-color below ; 
wings above ocher, a little inclining to pinkish near and at abdominal margin of sec- 
ondaries; beneath, uniform flesh-color or pinkish. 

One example taken July 21 at Pagosa Springs. 

This species has the wings narrower and longer in proportion than any other I know 
of, and throughout it is less robust in appearance. 


Genus NEMEOPHILA Stph. 
Nemeophila Plantaginis. 


Nemeophila Plantaginis, LINNE (Phalena P.), Systema Nature, ed. x, p. 501 (1758); ed. xii 
p- 820 (1767); Fauna suecica, 301 (1761).—DuNcAN, Naturalists’ Library, Ent. iv, p. 216, t. 
21, f. 1 (1836).—STAUDINGER, Catalogue, p. 56 (1871).—STRECKER, Lepidoptera Rhop.-Het. 
i, p. 79 (1874). 

Nenvophila Cosepitis, GROTE & Rosinson. Trans. American Entomological Society, i, p. 337, 
t. 6, f. 43 (1868) ; iv, p. 428 (1873). 

Nemeophila Cichorii GRoTE & ROBINSON, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. i, p. 338, t. 6, f. 44 (1868); iv, 
p. 428.(1873). 

Two males near headwaters of San Juan River August 2. One of these is like the 
common European form; the other assimilates to var. Matronalis Fr. in the inner part 
of secondaries being black. This is an exceedingly variable species. Some examples 
(var. Hospita Sch.), found in Colorado and Europe, have the ground-color of wings 
white; others, the form common to Europe and Colorado, have the ground-color yellow; 
another form, so far known only from Europe, have the secondaries scarlet; yet 
others in which the ground-color is black; this latter form is the following-cited 
Eupsychoma Geometrica Grote. 

In the Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. iv, Grote and Robinson redescribed Plantaginis as new 
under the name of Cespitis and Cichorii, adding that Cichorii would be readily distin- 
guished by the black fringe and clear yellow bands of the upper surface of primaries. 
The larvee of these two species are stated to be quite distinct, and to be found on differ- 
ent food-plants. These authors evidently had little if any acquaintance with either 
the European forms of this species, or with the habits of the larve of the Arctians, as 
the fringes in different European varieties of Plantaginis are either yellow, black, or 
both, and the larvie of the Arctians, as any tyro knows, will feed on almost any green 
thing, and in default of vegetable food will even sometimes devour each other. 


Nemeophila Plantaginis var. Geometrica. 


Eupsychoma Geometrica, GROTE, Proceedings Entomological Soc. Philadelphia, iv, p. 318, t. 2, 

f. 1 (1865). ‘ / 
Eupsychoma Geometroides, GROTE & Ropinson, List Zyg. and Bombyc. N. Am. p. 7 (1865). 
-Nemeophila Plantaginis var., STRECKER, Lepidoptera Rhop.-Het. p..79 (1874). 


August 2, one example taken near headwaters of the San Juan River, agrees exactly 
with the figure in Proc. Ent. Soc., with the exception of having one more small white 
mark near apex in primaries. 

This variety of Plantaginis was first placed by Grote in a new genus, Eupsychoma, 
which he made for its reception. This genus he placed in the Zygenide. To quote 


1860 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


his own words, ‘‘a Zygenid genus allied to Ctenucha and presenting some analogies in 
the neuration to Eudryas.” 

Another closely allied variety was described by Walker in Cat. Het. B. M. iii, p.- 
626, under the name of Nemeophila Petrosa, he not having made the mistake, however, 
of placing it in a new genus. 


Genus ARCTIA Schr. 
Arctia Cervinoides. 
Arctia Cervinoides SYRECKER, Proceedings Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. p. 
151 (1876). / 
One example, July 15, Upper Rio Blanco, differs from the type in having the second- 
aries more blackish, and in the white lines of primaries being narrower in part. 
. This was described from a unique example received from Colorado in 1875. It is 
nearer to Quenselti Payk. and Cervini Fall. than to any other known species. I know 
of no other examples in collections besides the type and the one above alluded to. 


Arctia F-pallida, 1. sp. 


Male expands 1 inch. Head above pinkish, beneath black; thorax above pinkish, 
with three black stripes, beneath black; abdomen crimson above, with a black dorsal 
stripe; below black; antenne black. 

Wings, upper surface primaries black, with a large pale flesh-colored mark resem- 
bling the letter F; this is formed by a mark extending from base of wing,some dis- 
tance from and parallel with the inner margin, to nearly two-thirds the length of 
the wing; from its outer extremity to the costa extends a somewhat bent line of 
same color and width. Another such line also extends from the first mentioned to 
costa, about midway between the last-mentioned line and base of wing, these three 
lines thus forming a very conspicuous and distinct letter F. Secondaries scarlet, with 
broad blackish margin; a not very conspicuous dark mark extends from base to outer 
margin about one-third in from abdominal margin; a blackish spot connects with the 
dark border of costa about one-third the distance from the apex; fringe of abdominal 
margin scarlet; all other fringe of all wings dark grayish. 

One example of this handsome little species captured at the Rio Navajo July 13; it 
belongs in same group with Nais Dru., &e. 5 


Genus SPILOSOMA Stph. 
Spilosoma Antigone, n. sp. . 


Female expands 1{ inches. Head and body entirely pure shining white; antennz 
white above, black beneath; legs white, except the coxz and femora of anterior pair, 
which are yellow. 

All wings same pure shining white as the body; primaries above, with an irregular 
submarginal row of faint brownish dots; the three or four toward the apex are ones 
that are noticeable without close inspection; another brown point at the intersection 
of the median nervule with its two middle branches, this spot or dot is also very 
faintly visible on the other surface, as is also a discal point on under surface of sec- 
ondaries. 

One female, July 16, main Rio Blanco; one female previously from Georgia. 

There are, besides this, four described species of Spilosoma, in North America, 
viz, Virginica Fab., Congrua Wlk., Vestalis Pack., and Latipennis, Stretch. From the 
first of these the present species differs in its immaculate abdomen; from the second, 
in the absence of black bands on the tarsi and of the ‘‘four oblique, very imperfect, 
and irregular bands composed of pale brown dots”; and from the third and fourth in 
the anterior cox and femora being yellow instead of rose-colored or pink. I thought 
at first it might be Walker’s Congrua, as the number of pale dots on primaries is not 
necessarily specific in this and allied genera (as can be seen by the endless varieties 
of Hyphantria Cunea Dru.), but the absence of black bands on the tarsi and other points 
stated by Walker have satisfied me of its distinctness. 


Genus HEMILEUCA WIE. 
Hemileuca Juno. 


Jak er coy Juno, PACKARD, Annual Report of the Peabody Academy of Science for 1871, p. 
(1872). 5 


Three male examples, at Rio Florida, much worn. Packard says in his description 
of this species that.it is ‘‘ similar in its form to H. maia.” The present examples do not 
agree with his description in this respect, as the wings are narrower than mdia, are more 
prolonged apically, are less rounded on exterior margins, and the primaries are much 
hollowed in on costa. Packard says, ‘‘ wings uniformly dark-brown.” This conveys 
an erroneous impression of the color, which is the same, only more dense and opaque, 
as in the darker examples of maia, a sort of crape-like or semi-diaphanous black. He 


APPENDIX SS. 1861 


also speaks of ‘‘a few white scales beyond the discal spot” on upper surface, and ‘‘on 
hind wings there is a round white patch beyond the discal dot, and another between 
it and the costa.” In the present examples are no traces of anything like these, the 
secondaries being destitute of all marks and entirely black on both surfaces; but 
these points are not all specific, as I have examples of maia in which the pale band 
varies from the normal form, and others where it is entirely wanting on the primaries. 
In some this band covers the greater part of the wing; in others it is reduced to a mere 
line, or else wanting entirely. But the shape and the color will easily separate Juno 
from maia. InJuno the color is dense, heavy, and opaque; in maia it is filmy, crape- 


‘like, semi-transparent, and maia is a much heavier built insect. Throughout, Juno is 


closely allied to Hemileuca Grotei (Grote & Robinson, in vol. ii, Trans. Am. Ent. Soe. 
p. 192, t. 2, f. 60, 1868), and if I may judge by the figure, which is apparently a fair 


one, I would believe that Juno and Grotei are varieties of one species, the main differ- 


ences being that the primaries are less elongated in Grotei, but this might be sexual, 
as the figure is of a female, and I have only males of Juno for comparison, and in the 
presence of a narrow white band on secondaries; traces of this latter are, however, 
visible, as I have mentioned in Packard’s types, and its size or even presence is not 
essentially specific. The pale cross-bands on the abdomen ot Grote’s figure, I presume, 
are only the hyaline space formed by the stretching of the sutures between the’ seg- 
ments, as the abdomen is enormously elongated. 


Genus PSEUDOHAZIS Gr.-Rob. 
Pseudohazis Hera. 
Pseudohazis Hera, Harris (Saturnia H.). Rep. Insects of Massachusetts, p. 286 (1841).—Mor- 
RIs, Syn. Lep. N. Am. p. 221 (1862).—(Pseudohazis H.), STRECKER, Lepidoptera Rhop.-Het. 
Pi pst. blo, t. L012 (1877). 
Hemileuca Pica, WiK., Cat. Het. B. M. vi, p. 1318 (1855).—Morris (Saturnia, P.), Syn. Lep. 
N. Am. p. 222 (1862). 

One male, July 14, at Rio Blanco, near its headwaters; one male, July 28, at Wee- 
minuche Creek, near Rio Piedro; August 1, one male and one female, in valley of 
Upper San Juan River. These are all of the Colorado form, figured in my work on 
Lepidoptera, t. 15, f. 11, with pale, creamy-tinted upper wings and rich yellow hind 
wings. These differ from the Utah form, which has the ground:color of all wings 
white, and,from the Arizona form P. Nuttalli, in which the black bands of wings are 
much less diffuse, and in which the black bands of abdomen are either partly or wholly 
obsolete. Wherever this species or its varieties occur it is found in great abundance, 
flying by daylight. The California form P. Eglanterina feeds in the larval state on 


wild rose or brier. 4 
Family NOCTU 4. 


' Genus AGROTIS O. 
Agrotis Redimacula. : 
Agrotis Redimacula, Morrison, Proceedings Acad. Nat. Sciences of Phila. p. 165 (1874). 


September 11, several examples at the Rio Florida near upper road. This is a wide- 
spread species, near Tessellata Harr. ; it is found from Maine to Colorado. 


> Genus HADENA Tr. 
Hadena Lignicolora. ; 


Hadena Lignicolova, GUENEE Noctuelites, i, p. 140 (1852). 


> 


Several of this common and widespread species were taken at Weeminuche Creek 
near to Rio Piedro, also at Pagosa Springs and elsewhere; they are in no wise difter- 
ent from those found elsewhere in the United States. 


Hadena Morna, n. sp. 


Male expands 12 inches. Head and thorax cinnamon-colored; abdomen of same 
color, but paler. 

Upper surface primaries same color as head and thorax, darkest from discal spot 
inward; markings all more or less indistinct; transverse anterior line deeper reddish 
and double; transverse posterior line apparently single, reniform, indistinct, its lower 
part on the median nervule filled with a gray or lead-colored spot, which is the only 
mark of any prominence; exterior margin of wing bordered with a dark shade; 
fringe same color as the last; secondaries reddish white with broad smoky border ex- 
teriorly ; fringe pale. j ; 

Under surface primaries shining cinnamon-color, paler than above; secondaries 
same color as above, but devoid of dark border. 

One male at Rio Blanco near its headwaters. 


1862 — REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


Genus LEUCANIA O. 
Leucania Ligata. . 


Heliophila Ligata, GROTE, List Noctuide, p. 12 (1875). 


A number observed and several taken at Pagosa Springs July 31; they are a little 
larger than the examples from Texas. 


Genus HELIOTHIS Tr. 
Heliothis Meadi. 


Tamila Meadi, GROTE, Bulletin Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, i, p. 121, t. 3, f. 5 (1874). 
One example of this lovely insect taken at Pagosa Springs July 31. 


Heliothis Sulmala, nu. sp. 


Male expands 14 inches. Head and body silvery milk-white; wings same white as 
body; primaries with a sub-basal band strongly bent outward at its middle, a broad 
marginal band at exterior margin being widest at inner half toward interior margin, 
this marginal band is divided through its middle from costa to inner margin by a 
white line; a large kidney-shaped discal spot; this spot as well as all the bands are 
of an olivaceous or yellowish brown, not very dark and semi-metallic, much the tint of 
the geometrid Gorytodes Trilinearia; the whole arrangement of the bands is much as. 
in Heliothis Rivulosa Guen. and H. Regia Streck., excepting that the portion of the 
wing interior to the sub-basal band has the white ground of rest of wing; fringes 
pure white; secondaries same white as primaries, with a narrow border to exterior 
margin and a large Innate discal spot of same color as bands and spot of primaries; 
fringe pure white. Under surface same white as above; primaries with marginal 
band much as above, excepting that it becomes obsolete toward the inner angle; a 
broad band extends from base along costa to the exterior margin; this band in a 
measure absorbs the discal spot; secondaries immaculate, except the large discal. 
spot; all fringes white. 

One male of this elegant insect taken Juiy 31 at Pagosa Springs; a few more ob-- 
served but not eaptured. 


Family PHALASNID 4. 


Genus APLODES Guen. 
Aplodes Undinaria, 0. sp. 


Expands 18 inches. Head white above, brown between the eyes; palpi white; 
antenne white; thorax bright green; tibiz and tarsi white; femora bright green; 
abdomen white above and at sides, with a pale green dorsal shade, beneath green. 

Wings, upper surface primaries uniform green, like thorax, minutely reticulated 
. with white, the latter only plainly discernible under a lens; two distinet white lines, 
the first and narrowest extending from interior margin, not very far from the base, 
across the wing to middle of costa, this line is a little curved or rounded outwardly ;. 
the second line is wider and extends from interior margin at two-thirds its distance 
from base, to the costa some little distance from apex; costa very narrowly edged with 
white; fringe green, edged outwardly with white. 

Secondaries broadly green at inner half of exterior margin, from whence they be- 
come paler, and white toward apex, costa, and base; a white line, a continuation of 
the outer one of primaries, crosses the wing from abdominal margin to costa near or 
at apex, where it becomes lost; fringes green, edged with white outwardly, as on pri- 
maries. & 

Under surface all wings pale green, merging into white toward inner half; lines of 
upper side not so conspicuous. 

One example, July 13, at the Rio Navajo. 


Genus ACIDALIA Tr. 
Acidalia Peralbata. 
Acidalia Peralbata, PACKARD, Fifth Report Peabody Academy of Sciences, p. 70 (1873); U.. 
S. Geo. Survey of Territories, Hayden, x, p. 382, t. 10, f. 48 (1876). 


A number of examples taken at West Fork of San Juan River. 


Genus FIDONIA Tr. 
Fidonia Acidaliata. J 


Fidonia Acidaliata, PACKARD, Sixth Report Peabody Acad. of Sciences, p. 48 (1874). 
Loxojfidonia Acidaliata, U. 8. Geological Survey of the Territories, Hayden, x, p. 224, t. 9, f 
44 (1876). : 
Two examples, Pagosa Springs. This species bears a strong resemblance to Zono- 
soma Tritinecvia Bkh,, a Exropean species. 


APPENDIX SS. 1863 


Fidonia Stalachtaria, n. sp. 


Expands ¢inch. Shape of F. Fimetaria G.-R., to which it is closely allied. Head 
and body powdered with whitish and black scales. 

Upper surface wings rich orange color; primaries whitish gray along the inner half 
of costa. A short dark-brown band extends from middle of costa to the median 
nervure, where it is narrower than at the costa; half-way between this and exterior 
margin is another band, which extends from costa, where it is broadest,to inner margin. 
This last band is in part almost confluent with a broad brown border of exterior 
margin; between the latter and this band, at and near the costa, is a pale yellowish- 
white mark narrower than in Fimetaria; median nervure brown. Secondaries with a 
broad brown border to exterior margin; this border incloses a row of almost confluent 
orange spots, which commences at the anal angle and extends two-thirds in toward 
the apex; interior to the marginal border, and parallel with it, is a brown mesial line; 
all fringes pale yellow, alternated with brown terminations of veins. 

Under surface, primaries bright orange, except at costa and apex, where the color 
is pale yellow, the dark lines same asabove but paler, and the outer one does not reach 
to the exterior margin, there being a narrow pale space between. Secondaries pale- 
brownish with three irregular bands composed of more or less closely connected pale-yel- 
low irregularly shaped spots; also between the innermost of these bands and the base 
are several more irregular pale yellow marks; there are traces of silver in the spots of 
under side of secondaries, as in Fimetaria, though there is considerable resemblance in 
the arrangement of all the markings. 

Two examples, August 10, at Rio Navajo, near mouth of cafion of its headwaters. 

. Genus METROCAMPA Latr. 
Metrocampa Perlata. 
Metrocampa Perlata, GUENEE, Uranides et Phalénites, i, p. 128 (1857).—W ALKER, List. Lep. B. 
M. Het. xx. p. 157 (1860). 
Metrocampa Virida-perlata, PACKARD, Proc: Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. xvi, p. 38 (1874). 


Three examples, July 27, head of Tule Valley, at Weeminuche Creek. August 11, 
Rio Navajo, atits headwaters and at.other points. These are in no way different from 
Eastern examples; it isfound in British Columbia and in all parts of the United States 
and Territories except in the far South. 

Some years since I obtained a large number from S. Labrador; these were all of small 
size. The largest Lever saw were from California and Pennsylvania; when fresh caught 
and unsullied this is a most lovely thing to behold, but in a very short time the beau- 
tiful pale sea-green shade disappears. 


Genus EUGONIA Hiib. 
Eugonia Coloradaria. 
Eunomos Coloradaria, GROTE, Annals Lyceum of Natural History of New York, viii, t. 16, f. 
11 (1867). 
Tetracis Coloradaria, PACKARD, U.S. Geo. Sur. Terr. Hayden, x, p. 550, t. 12, f. 47 (1876). 
One of this fine species, July 21, at Pagosa Springs. It is easily distinguished from all 
others of its genus by the two heavy black bands (rather than lines) of primaries. 


Genus EUASPILATES Pack. 
Euaspilates Spinataria. ; 
Euaspilates Spinataria, PACKARD, Sixth Report Peabody Acad. Sci. p. 45 (1874); U. S. Geo. 


- Sur. Terr. Hayden, x, p. 204, figure (1876). : 


Two examples were taken; both have the dark lines of primaries much heavier than 
represented in Packard’s figure. 


é 
Genus HETEROLOCHA Led. 
Heterolocha Edwardsata, 
Heterolocha Edwardsata, PACKARD, Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 
xiii, p. 383 (1871); U. S. Geo. Sur. Terr. Hayden, x, p. 478, t. 11. f. 48 (1876). 
This species was quite abundant; it was taken at the West Fork of the Rio Navajo, 
near its headwaters; at the Rio Blanco, and at the Rio de los Pinos near the crossing 
of the upper road; it was in no particular different from California examples. 


Genus EURYMENE Dup. 
Eurymene Excelsa,u. sp. 
Expands 1} inches. Head and thorax bright orange ocher; abdomen yellowish- 


white. 
Upper surface wings: primaries same color as thorax, and crossed from interior 
margin to costa by two distinet brownish-gray lines; the first or sub-basal is edged 


1864 | REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


inwardly, and the second outwardly, with white; the sub-basal is almost straight, 
the other curves inward a little near the costa; a minute brown discal point or dot; 
exterior margin edged narrowly or witha mere line, rather, of brown; fringe whitish. 
Secondaries whitish with faint ochraceous tinge; a minute discal point and a small 
black mark on abdominal margin one-third in from the anal angle. 

Under surface whitish with an ochraceous tinge, the latter most perceptible at costa 
and exterior margin of primaries; dark lines and discal spots of upper surface repeated, 
but fainter. ay 

One example of this handsome insect was taken July 14 at Pagosa Springs.. 


Genus CIDARIA Tr. 
Cidaria Truncata. : 
Geometra Truncata, HUFNAGEL, Tabellen Berliner Magazin, iv, 602, 625 (1769). 
Geometra Russata, WIEN. Verz. 113 (1776). 
Polyphasia Centumnotata, STEPHENS, Illustrations Brit. Ent. iii, 230 (1829). 
Petrophora Truncata, PackaRrD, U. 8. Geo. Sur. Terr. Hayden, x (1876). 
Taken at various points along the route during the month of August. It is found 
in British Columbia, in all parts of the United States, except the Southern States, as 
well as in Europe and Siberia. 


Cidaria Hastata. 
Phalena Hastata, LINNE, Systema Nature, ed. x, p. 527 (1758); ed. xii, p. 870 (1767) ; Fauna 
Suecica, p. 335 (1761). i 
Melanippe Gothicata, GUENEE, Uranides et Phalénites, 11, p. 388 (1857). 

One medium-sized example of this exceedingly variable species was taken; it, has 
less black on it than any example I have yet seen, either American or European. It is 
likewise a species of large range; being found in Labrador and United States, Europe, 
Siberia, and Alaska. 

Genus MARMOPTERYX Pack. 
; : 


Marmopteryx Formosata, n. sp. 


Female expands 1d inches; head whitish gray, brown between the eyes; thorax and 
abdomen whitish gray; wings shaped much‘as in NV. Marmorata Pack., to which it is 
allied. Upper surface pure satin white; primaries with an exterior border of pale 
grayish or fawn, very broad at costa and narrowing gradually to the inner angle; 
within this border, near apex; is a white mark; interior to the border, extending from 
the costa to the median nervure, is a narrow shade of the same color as the border. 
Secondaries immaculate, but the markings of under side faintly appear through them ; 
all fringes pure white, alternated at veins with pale fawn. 

Under surface primaries pure silky white, yellow along costa and at apical parts ; 
this yellow striated loosely on costa and densely at apex with scarlet; within the 
apical patch is a white mark corresponding to that within the fawn-colored exterior 
margin of upper surface. Secondaries yellow, striated densely with scarlet; a broad 
pure white mesial band bent at nearly a right angle in the middle, in the space ex- 
terior to this band directly opposite the angle formed by the bend in same is a yellow 
and white space caused by the non-segregation of the strie; in the middle, about, of 
the space between the base of wing and the mesial band is a large white spot; the 
striation from this spot to the abdominal margin and extending to the inner edge of 
mesial band is blackish purple; the costa near base has a conspicuous white mark ; 
all fringes as on upper surface. : 

The wings, especially the secondaries, are not near as much prolonged, especially as 
in Marmorata Pack. The ornamentation is in the same style somewhat as in that spe- 
cies, but the coloration, particularly on under side, is far more beautiful; this is 
certainly the handsomest and most notable of the four species now known. 

Two examples were taken at the Rio Florida. . 


COLEOPTERA. 
CARABID. 


Genus CYMINDIS. 
Cymindis Brevipennis Zim. 
PTEROSTICHUS. 


Plerostichus Protractus Lec. 
Plerostichus Luczotii Drs. 


APPENDIX SS. 1865 


SILPHID ZA. 
PELTIS. 
Peltis Lapponica Hb. 
 DERMESTID 2. 
DERMESTES. 
Dermestes Mgrmoratus Say. 
TROGOSITID 4. 
TENEBRIOIDES. 
Tenebrioides Costicalis Mels. 
COCCINELLID 2. 
HIPPODAMIA. 
Hippodamia 5-signata Khby. 
: COCCINELLA. 
Coccinella 9-notata Hb. 
° SCARABAID A. 
APHONUS. 
‘Aphonus Pyriformis Lec. 
MACRONOXIA. 
Macronoxia Decemlineata Say. 
DIPLOTAXIS. 
Diplotaxis Haydenii Lec. 
BUPRESTID 2. 
: CHALCOPHORA. P 
Chalcophora Angulicollis Lec. 
BUPRESTIS. 
Buprestis Rusticorum Kby. 
) MELANOPHILA. 
Melanophila Drummond Kby. : 
ELATERID 45. 
nee ANELASTES.’ 
Anelastes Druryii Kby. 
CORYMBITES. 
Corymbites Hicroglyphicus Say. 
TELEPHORID 4A. 
CHAULIOGNATHUS. 
Chauliognathus Basalis Lee. 
CERAMBYCID. 
HOMACTHESIS. 
Homacthesis Emarginatus Say. 
LEPTURA. 


Leptura Cribripennis Lec. 


1866 REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS. 


PACHYTA. 
Pachyta Liturata Kby. 
MONOHAMMUS. 
Monohammus Oregonensis Lee. 
CHRYSOMELIDA. 
CHRYSOMELA. 
Chrysomela Multipunctata Say. 
DISONYCHA. 
Disonycha Alternata Ilig. 
TENEBRIONIDZE. 
ASIDA. 
Asida Sordida Lec. — 
Asida Actuosa Lec. 
Asida Elata Lee. 
ELEODES. 
Eleodes Extricata Say. a e 
Eleodes Longicollis Lee. 
Eleodes Sulcipennis Mann. 
MELOID. 
EPICAUTA. 
Epicauta Maura Lee. 
CANTHARIS. 
Cantharis Cyanipennis Say. 
‘ | * CURCULIONIDA. 
PISSODES. 
Pissodes Cortatus Mann. 
SCOLYTIDA. 
DENDROCTONUS. 
Dendroctonus Terebrans Lec. 
With the collection also were sent to me the following reptiles: , 


Class BATRACHIA. 


Order URODELA. = 
Suborder CADUCIBRANCHIATA Latr. 


Family AMBLYSTOMIDZ Cope. 
Amblystoma Mavortium Bd. 


Four larval examples are no doubt of the above species. They (the larva) were 
formerly regarded as a distinct genus under the name of Siredon. 


APPENDIX SS. 1867 
Order OPHIDIA. 
Suborder ASINEA Miill. 


Family COLUBRID Cope. 


Cyclophis Vernalis B. & G. (Green Snake.) 
Fiutaenia Vagrans B.& G. (Garter Snake.) 


Order LACERTILIA Owen. 
Suborder PLEURODONDTA Cope. 


Family IGUANIDZ Cope. 


Phrynosoma Douglassii Bell. (Horned Toad.) 
Sceloporus —— ? ; 


This example was too much discolored atid too immature to decide with certainty 
as to the species. 


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Pigee I. 


Herman Strecker 


oD 


1) 


“re 
4 . 
4 q 


EEG. 'L.: 
TG. 2. 


te. en Arctia F-pallida Strecker. 
Fig. 4. 


‘Fie. 5. 
Fic. 6. 
FG. 7. 
Fic. 8. 


Fig. 9. 


ie 


‘PLATE IL. 


Relenowieas Senta Strecker. 
Ctenucha Sanguinaria Strecker. 


Arctia Cervinoides Strecker. 
Heliothis Sulmala Strecker. 
Fidonia Stalachtaria Strecker. 
Cidaria Hastata Linné, ab. 

Aplodes Undinaria Strecker. 
Eurymene Excelsa Strecker. 


Plate If . 


Herman Strecker 


A 


3_ 9088