SANTA MARGARITA ISLAND,

As mentioned before, is high, broken, and extremely barren. Vague reports have frequently been circulated about veins of coal, copper, and gold, hidden in its mountains. We have never known of any real discovery being made of the precious metals, or deposits of coal. Two ships' companies once carried on gold-mining (as they supposed) for a few weeks pretty extensively, and large quantities of the virgin metal were taken on board, but, much to the disgust of all concerned, it proved to be nothing but iron pyrites.

GENERAL REMARKS.

THE whole extent of the west coast is quite barren, and its approaches bold, except at such points as have been before spoken of in this report. San Bartolomé and Magdalena Bays are both excellent harbors, and their entrances free from all hidden dangers; the latter has an extent of navigable lagoons connected with it of over 100 miles. There are many places where anchorage may be found, and roadsteads where a ship may lie and find some shelter from the prevailing coast-winds; also, islets that have not been made mention of,-in fact, there is but little extent of coast where anchorage cannot be had in case of necessity. The climate is a pleasant one; the principal sources of wealth have been its whale and seal fisheries, guano, and salt; of the latter there is comparatively an unbounded supply. Of guano there are now no deposits known worthy of notice. The whale and seal fisheries have from the beginning been monopolized by American vessels; a few French, English, and other foreign flags might be seen along the coast, among the many ships that wore the stars and stripes. All combined have nearly exhausted this branch of commerce, so that where once the waters were alive with different varieties of marine animals that gave adventurous employment to the hardy mariner, and wealth to the merchant, now only are seen a few stragglers making their periodical migrations. The sea-beaches of island and coast, once the herding-places of these amphibious animals, whose peltries were highly prized among the enlightened classes of both Europe and America, are now deserted; except at the most inaccessible points, there are but few found, and their wild and watchful habits plainly tell that the species is nearly annihilated. Of the four sources of wealth before mentioned, salt seems to be the only one that has not been to a great extent exhausted.

The interior of the peninsula must be much more productive, to sustain the numerous herds of cattle, and varied animal life, that range through the hills and valleys, from Cape San Lucas to San Diego.

C. M. SCAMMON.

JOURNAL OF THE EXPEDITION OF MR. J. D. HAWKS AND PARTY, THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF THE PENINSULA OF LOWER CALIFORNIA, FROM SAN DOMINGO TO SAN DIEGO.

On the 21st day of April, 1849, the New Grenadian schooner San Juan, 23 tons, having 23 persons on board, sailed from the port of Panama, bound for San Francisco. In 49 days she made the harbor of Acapulco, and sailed from there on the 21st of June. On the 10th day of August she came to anchor at Point San Domingo, Lower California. At this place a spring of water was found near the shore, and the schooner was supplied with about 300 gallons, which was taken off in India-rubber bags through the surf. A party of six of the passengers was made up, consisting of the following persons: J. D. Hawks, Daniel T. Hulett, George H. Davis, John C. Gilsey, Henry M. Smith, and J. J. Ellis, to proceed by land to San Diego. Having purchased a horse of some Spaniards who were travelling south, we packed such articles as we could conveniently upon him, but each of the men was obliged to make a pack for himself to carry. Bidding our companions farewell, we started at about two o'clock P. M., on the 11th of August, taking the road which was made by the Jesuits some 200 years since. We travelled about nine miles, and encamped at dark near the foot of a mountain, very much fatigued. Throwing ourselves upon the ground, we were soon asleep. We had failed to provide ourselves with a sufficient quantity of water.

August 12th.-Started at four o'clock, by moonlight. The road was so blind that we were obliged till daylight to feel our way with our hands. We travelled about six miles, and were overjoyed at finding water. This was in one of the river-beds, and in the rainy season must be quite a considerable stream, but now it was nearly dried up, and the water was only found in pools, and very warm. We caught a few fish in one of the largest of the holes, and having cooked and eaten them, we started at 4 P. M. on our journey. We travelled about six miles, and encamped for the night on an extensive plain. The feet of some of the men are getting very sore. The earth is parched up; there are no signs of vegetation, except the cactus, a few shrubs, and sage. Every plant and shrub is guarded with thorns, and as we pass along they will penetrate our flesh, and we frequently pull them out, and find they have been imbedded for half an inch.

August 13th.-Started at four in the morning, and travelled about two miles, when we came to water, which was in a small valley. This water was only in small quantities, but we found some under the shade of a large rock, that was quite cool and refreshing. In this valley we found immense quantities of the cactus-some of the species known as Cèreus; being eighteen inches in diameter and from 20 to 30 feet in height. Here we met a Spaniard, who gave us some grapes and figs, which were very grateful. We filled our pouches and bottles with water, and again started for the rancho San José de Grace, which the Spaniard told us was three leagues distant. The sun was intensely hot, and in passing through some of the ravines among the mountains there was not a breath of air. In about eight miles' travel we came again to water, where we halted, washed, and were greatly refreshed. Started again, and were soon in sight of the rancho, which consists of some five or six houses. This valley is very small, and is entirely surrounded by high mountains. It cannot be more than two or two and a half miles across it in its greatest extent, and not more than a half or three-quarters of a mile wide. The soil is very fine, and we found all kinds of tropical fruits, such as figs, grapes, pomegranates, peaches, oranges, and lemons; likewise tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat, with melons, etc. There is a fine stream of water, that is used for irrigation. The people were at first quite suspicious of us, not knowing whether we were friends or enemies, as they had not heard of the cessation of hostilities and the treaty between Mexico and the United States. We soon gave them to understand that they need be under no apprehension in regard to us, and we had their confidence. We learn that Don José, the owner of the rancho, will be at home to-morrow; that he has several mules with him, and we shall wait, and engage him to take us for a short distance on our way. We spread our blankets in a small storehouse, and were soon asleep.

August 14th-While partaking of a dish of ortola, with some grapes, for our breakfast, we espied Don José coming down the mountain. As soon as he arrived we engaged him to take us to the ranch of Señor Ramon Argular, some nine leagues distant. At this place we learned that two Americans had but a few days before passed by, who had left a vessel by means of a raft which had gone to pieces in the surf, and they were unable to regain the

schooner. From the description given, we are under the impression that they are from the schooner José Cascaras, which was built by some Americans at the port of La Union. These men had been wrecked on the steamer Galveston, in the bay of Honduras, crossed the country, and at La Union had built this schooner of 13 tons, and put to sea in her.

August 15th.-At three o'clock in the morning we were ready for a start, and, having taken leave of our kind friends, with José for our guide, we commenced the ascent of the mountain. In about one hour we had reached the top. Here we came upon an extensive plain which we were to cross, and at eight o'clock we halted 15 miles on our way. We found water in a deep ravine, into which we descended by a very rocky and precipitous road; in some places it was so steep that it was fearful to ride over. This is one of the wildest places imaginable. On the opposite side of the ravine there is a perpendicular wall of rock from four to six hundred feet in height, and the whole place is covered with immense boulders of stone.

We remained in the ravine until one o'clock P. M., when we started, and, passing over a very dry and inhospitable country, we reached the rancho Patroeruna, where we found Señor Ramon Argular. An hour before reaching the ranch we were drenched to the skin by a heavy shower of rain.

At this place our horse which we purchased of the Spaniard before starting gave out, and we sold him to Señor Argular for $6. We expected to be able to obtain at this place a supply of horses and mules, but are disappointed, and we have made an arrangement with our faithful guide, Don José, to go on with us to the mission of San Ignacio, which is two days' travel from here. The loss of our horse reduced us now to the necessity of taking one of the mules for our baggage, and as the feet of two of the party are too sore to admit. of their walking, the balance of the party are obliged to perform nearly the whole of the distance on foot. After a supper of boiled beans, we were conducted to one of the out-houses, which we were to occupy for the night.

Here we saw Joseph Adams, of Baltimore, one of the two Americans who had passed the ranch of San José de Grace, and he gave us a history of their trials. From his account it appears that when the schooner José Cascaras was in about latitude 25° 30' north, they were on short allowance of water. Four of the passengers left the schooner in the only boat; they had to land through the surf, intending to proceed by land; they were taken off by the steward of the schooner, who was to have returned to the vessel with the boat. The schooner waited nearly a day for his return, but as he did not appear they supposed that he had gone on with the others, and left them without a boat. They then set sail and went above latitude 26, where they made a raft of some barrels, and Dr. Phillips, of Mississippi, and Joseph Adams, volunteered to land on it through the surf in search of water. The raft went to pieces in the breakers, and they were not able to regain the schooner, and were left on this desolate coast without food or clothing. They were supplied for two days by Captain Hamilton of the schooner with food, which was sent to them in a barrel, which was taken ashore by the tide and secured by them. At the end of this time the captain sent them a note stating that the water on the schooner was exhausted, and directing them to proceed to the bay of San Bartolomé, and that he would put in there for them. They wandered on to the northwest, and just at night struck the road, and in two days they arrived at San José de Grace. Dr. Phillips has gone on, and Mr. Adams intends to go from this to San Rosalie on the Gulf of California to try and get a passage to Mazatlan. Dr. Phillips was in the steamer Galveston when she was wrecked in the bay of Hondurus.

August 16th.-Started this morning at 5 o'clock, and went about five leagues, when we came to water, and remained until afternoon, as the heat is too oppressive to travel in the middle of the day. At 2 o'clock we started and passed over a very rough country. There is a succession of plains and steep mountains. The ground for the entire distance is covered with immense quantities of stones, as though they had been emptied from carts and spread around, we passed to-day large tracts that appeared to have been grouted with lime and sand, and the crevices of the rocks were filled as though done by masonry. Passing over one of the mountains, we came in sight of the Pacific Ocean. We suppose we are in latitude 27° 30.' We encamped at 5 o'clock on the banks of one of the dry rivers; there was but little water, and we found it only in holes. It was very good, however. We spread our blankets under a mesquit-tree for the night.

August 17th.-Started at 3.45 A. M. It was quite dark, and our road very blind; for an hour or more we were obliged to pick our way over immense stones, and through brush and cactus; this was the most fatiguing and worst place we have yet seen. The road in some places is well defined, and has been made by throwing the stones on each side, so that for miles they are piled up like winrows, and in other places the track is entirely obliterated, the road having been washed out. We saw to-day some cochineal or a bug similar to it. At 7 P. M. we arrived at the rancho of San Joachin, which is about five leagues from where we encamped last night. This is one of the old missions gone now entirely to ruin. It consists of two stone buildings, or rather parts of the walls. There is some fruit here, such as figs, grapes, pomegranates, etc. A little jerk-beef with some grapes was all we could get to eat. This place is occupied by an aged American, named Noah Hall, who has been in the country some thirty-five years. Mr. Hall landed at the bay of San Bartolomé or Furth Bay, from a whale-ship that put in there. We learned from Mr. Hall that some time since a Peruvian

brig was abandoned near this on the coast, and most of the passengers and crew are supposed to have perished; only two are known to have survived, and they were fifteen days without water. The mate, who was an American, with one of the crew, was saved, having been found by a party going from San Rosalie to some other ports on the gulf. They had been wandering for 62 days; the vessel was at anchor when abandoned, and is supposed to have gone to pieces. The body of the captain, with his papers, was found some time afterward.

We left San Joachin at 2.45 P. M., and proceeded over a very good road, some three leagues, to the mission of San Ignacio. Here we overtook four of the passengers from the San Juan, who had left two days before us. They had taken up their quarters in a large room attached to the church, and we joined them there.

etc.

August 18th.-The church buildings of San Ignacio are in a very good state of repair, and we find the padre who has charge of the mission a very excellent man. He has been constant in his attentions to us, and has assisted us materially in making our purchases of animals, etc. He invited us into his library, where we found a fine collection of books, maps, We found here a map of Mexico, including Lower California, from which we have made notes for our future guidance. The padre has kindly offered to send letters for us through Mexico, and I shall avail myself of his offer and write home. He has also given me a letter. to the padre of San Tomas, and I think this may be of service to us as we journey through the country.

Besides the church buildings, the town is composed of a few miserable huts. The whole country appears to be under the proprietorship of a portly old Castilian, named Don Buentura, or Buenaventura. He owns all the cattle and horses, and we are endeavoring to make some purchases from him. We were obliged to-day to bring him to terms. One of our party had a quantity of jewelry, consisting of rings, chains, etc., and as we were trading, a Spaniard very coolly put a ring on his finger, and went off with it against the remonstrances of the owner. He appealed to Buentura to have him stop the man, but he affected indifference, and allowed the fellow to mount a horse and ride off with it. We at once determined that it would not answer to allow the matter to rest in this manner, and the whole party of six, armed with a rifle and pistols, went immediately to the house of Buentura. As he saw this formidable army approaching, he surrendered, coming forward and asking the value of the ring. I answered $10, and he said that he would settle it, and we marched back to our quarters. In about half an hour he came in and handed us the amount, and we had very little trouble in trading with him after this. He sent out for some horses, and sold us some saddles, and assisted us in various ways.

Sunday, August 19th.-Not much attention is paid to Sunday here. The church was open for mass in the morning, with an afternoon service, with a sermon. We were invited by Don Luis Argular to visit his casa, which is about a mile from the church, and at the upper end of the valley. We found his house delightfully situated, surrounded by date and fig trees, with a fine vineyard and melon-patch. The grapes were the finest we have seen. After spending a couple of hours with Don Argular and his agreeable wife, we returned to our quarters.

Monday, August 20th.-The day has been spent in getting our animals for the journey before us. We have four horses and one mule. We find it difficult to obtain saddles, but we have secured two very good ones and one pack-saddle, and hope that we shall be ready to start to-morrow.

It rains every afternoon at this season, and the rain is accompanied by high winds and severe thunder and lightning. We fear that these storms may annoy us on our journey, as the streams rise so suddenly in the mountains that it will make the travelling dangerous. The padre invited us to dine at one of the houses, and sent his own plate for the table.

At a little distance in front of the church there is a large octagonal reservoir built of stone, with a stream of water running through it. The masonry is very good.

Tuesday, August 21st.-The entire day has been spent in completing our arrangements. The rain this afternoon was not as severe as yesterday.

Wednesday, August 22d.-We started this morning, after getting all the information we could in regard to the country through which we were to travel. The road for a short distance was very good, but we soon came to the mountains. The roads over these mountains defy any description. The defiles and passes in some places are perfectly awful; we were obliged to unpack our mule in several places, and carry the articles up for some distance, as it was impossible for him to get through with his pack on. We have had a hard day's work, and our animals have had nothing to eat, as we were told before starting that we should reach the rancho of San Martin after about seven leagues' travel. We fear we have missed our way; we have passed over the roughest road to-day that we have yet seen. The mountains are piled up on the top of each other. They are terrific. Selecting a place where we would be partially protected by an overhanging cliff, we unpacked our animals, and, making them fast, laid down for the night. It was dark before we were ready to spread our blankets.

Thursday, August 23d.-This morning we fed our horses for a short time on some mesquit, which we found growing here. One of the party went forward, and soon returned with

the intelligence, that the rancho of San Martin was about one mile farther on, and we at once started for it. This ranch consists of a miserable hut, made by driving some poles into the ground, and covering them with boughs. It is quite an extensive but unproductive valley, and all that could be obtained here was a little milk and cheese, and the fruit of the cactus. We endeavored to procure the services of one of the two men we found here as guide, but as he had no horse he would not go. We rested here a short time, and at 11 o'clock we started,

the old man at the ranch acting as guide out of the valley. We travelled for two hours and came to water, and very good feed for our horses. We let them eat for an hour, and then went on till five o'clock, where we encamped for the night; one of our horses has given out. Just before night we met a man and woman who represent the next water to be about 12 leagues ahead. They were very thirsty, having no water with them. Our encampment is on the Rosaletta; the mosquitoes and ants were very troublesome during the night. We have seen several hares and a few rattlesnakes to-day.

Friday, August 24th.-Arose at half-past three and went back one and half miles to water our animals and let them feed. We also washed our clothing and made ready for the day; drove very hard. The day was sultry, and we suffered much for want of water, having but little with us, and with the prospect of passing the night without any. At about 10 o'clock one horse gave out again, and we were obliged to abandon him. Smith went forward with the mule, and found water at about two o'clock in some holes; he halted until the rest of the party came up, and we concluded to encamp for the night. The road to-day has been over plains and along the beds of the dry rivers; we found the water as we were just entering the mountain-passes. We met three men and two boys; they are one month from San Diego. We suppose that we have travelled about six leagues to-day. The country presents the same barren, unfruitful, and forbidding appearance, as that we have passed through. The cactus and a few thorny shrubs, except on the margin of the dry river, where the mesquits and a species of willow are sometimes found, are all that is to be seen.

Saturday, August 25th.-Started at about five o'clock, as soon as we could see the road; it ran along for some distance, following the bed of one of the dry rivers, when we again struck the mountains, and have crossed some very high points. We passed to-day large beds of copper-ore in the form of an epidote; the sides of the mountains are covered with it, it also shows defined veins. It can never be of any avail, as it is among almost impassable mountains, with no fuel or water near. At nine o'clock we halted at the San Juan, which is merely an indentation, without much grass or water. We met this morning three men and two women going south, 35 days from San Diego; from them we learn that it is about six or eight leagues to Santa Gertrudes.

After leaving the San Juan we were in great doubt as to our course, but after making a careful examination of the track we decided which path to take. The road here passes over the steepest and highest mountain that we have yet crossed. Some of the way up it was almost perpendicular, and we were obliged to crawl on our hands and feet. It was a very great task to get our animals over, and could only do it by taking one at a time, one to lead and another to drive them. We were fully two hours in getting to the top. From this mountain the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean were distinctly visible, and seemed to be at our very feet, and we could see all the islands and indentations along the coasts. As it was nearly dark when we reached the summit, and we were obliged to pass the night there, we suffered very much from cold during the night. In looking about we found a little water in some holes in the rocks, and but for this fortunate circumstance we should have been obliged to go all night without water. There is no grass for our animals, and they begin to show signs of giving out. We found a few prickly pears.

Sunday, August 26th.-Left our encampment in the mountains, down through ravines following the water-courses, which are now dry, crossing over some very high places; at times the road was almost obliterated, and it was with great difficulty that we could make it out. We are fearful that we may not be on the right road, as it makes too much to the west to suit us, but we have learned that, in a country like this, which for the whole length of the peninsula is little better than a barren desert, we cannot depend upon the compass, but that the road has been made as passes could be found through the mountains, and also to connect, as much as it is possible to do so, the few and small valleys that are found. There is no doubt but the traveller through this country by the road we have taken passes the best portion of it; and if we have seen the best, what can the balance be? At 10 o'clock we reached the mission of Santa Gertrudes, the whole party, both man and beast, in almost a famished condition, as we had been without food for nearly two days. The people at one of the houses had just made an "ortola," a kind of pudding, for themselves, but seeing our condition they brought it to us, and I believe there was but one opinion in the party in regard to the quality of the dish.

There is an old church building in which two or three families appear to live. A cross is erected in the centre of the plaza; on one side is a wall or piece of crude masonry, in which are hung three bells. The church and two of the houses are built of adobe. The name of our host is José Maria. In answer to our inquiries as to whether we could procure any thing to take along on our journey, they replied that they were very poor, and could not make us any tortillas. We asked for meat, but they had none. During the day, having occasion to make