the mesa hills which bound it there is grama. In heave rains, the canon creek which courses down the eastern side shows signs of a large volume of water and makes more than one channel. This locality is just opposite the Mount Graham Pass, the road through which from the south and west would pass a little to the east of, or directly into, this valley, by a little labor in crossing the low mesa ridges and flats.

This position commands the trails through these passes, along and across the Gila, and is central to strike east, north, west, or south; is nearly on the prolongation of trails, and passes through Rattlesnake Range into the Bonita Valley, and thence into that of the Negrita, Prieto, or the Sierra Blanca district, or westerly to the San Carlos Valley and up north into the Pinaleno country, along the Salinas, &c., farther north. The mouth of this valley is some 30 miles northwesterly from La Cienega Grande. Although there is not as much good grass here as I wish, yet what there is near, with the other advantages it possesses, makes it to my mind the best location for Fort Goodwin. There are four passes crossed by Indian trails between the Tulerosa Pass and the Gila River, in the Chiricahua Range, three of which are east of the one Captain Anderson took, the best one being the one most northerly and nearest to the Gila River, as reported to me by me Indian guides.

The valley of the San Carlos is very rich; there is a fine location for a military post at its lower extremity, on the west side of the river, which is a fine stream of water for 15 miles up it, as far as I examined. It is also a good point from which to operate against the Indians going up this valley, on to the Salinas, next into the Mescal and Pinaleno Mountains, as well as into the Sierra Blanca country, where it is generally believed the Indians have a considerable quantity of stock and many fields of grain, &c. But it is not accessible for wagons except from the east through the Gila Valley, above spoken of, and for this reason I would put the post as stated and strike into the country from it. An expedition from this valley, making a circuit in a curved line to the north from the vicinity of the San Francisco River (some 30 miles west of Fort West); on the east, through the Sierra Blanca country, headwaters of the San Carlos, along the Salinas to its junction with the Rio Verde on the west, and thence easterly, back to the same valley, would be an interesting tour, would strike a vital blow at the Apache Nation, and pass through, no doubt, rich mineral and some fine agricultural and pastoral country.

Hostility exists to some extent at present between the Coyotero and the Sierra Blanca Apaches, several of the former having been killed by the latter. A fair specimen of salt was found in the rancherias on the San Carlos, and two squaw loads thrown away by squaws coming in after the attack, who escaped, were taken, which they had brought from two white salt hills, as is supposed, seen east of this valley some 6 or 8 miles and north of the Gila. From the prisoners taken at the San Carlos we learned that a party of 45 bucks had been absent some sixty days on a raid in Sonora, who were daily expected back. The Gila has two fine detached bottoms, with some grass, on its north side, one east, the other west, of the San Carlos Valley, which latter is flanked by rolling and mesa hills. Some 3 miles above the San Carlos, in the low, rolling hills, south side the Gila, where I encamped, there is excellent grama grass.