Page 18 - Wood Plenty, Grass Good, Water None

"Thisrivulet,whichIhavecalledtheYampai, has its sources in three small springs; it is repeatedly lost in the ground within a distance o f h a l f a m i l e ; a f t e r w h i c h it d i s a p p e a r s e n t i r e l y . A f e w w i l l o w a n d c o t t o n - w o o d trees g r o w u p o n its banks, and green grass was seen here for the first time since leaving the San Francisco Mountains."
WoodhousewroteatCampnumber28 [November 1]:
"...at Yampai Creek, water and grass abun dant. ..the banks of the stream are covered by a smallscruboak,(Q.emoryi)severalspeciesof willow(Salixspp.)overwhichinmanyplaces are creeping grape vines ,(Vitus) forming dense thickets; also a few cottonwood trees, several species of currants (Ribes), artemesia, Obione canescens, ephedra, and several varieties of cactus."
isjusteastofthepresenttownofTruxton.Therepeat of this picture (fig. 7), taken August 23, 1995, shows minimal change in the structure of the grassland. The second O'Sullivan picture was taken northwest of Truxton inthefoothillsoftheMusic Mountains (fig.8). The repeatofthispicture(fig.9),takenAugust 24, 1995 , shows considerable increase in tree density, especially pinon,whichwasnotapparentatthesitein1871.Also noteworthy are three shrub oaks in the foreground that maybethesameindividualplantsthatwerepresentin
1871. The 1871 picture shows an even-aged stand of juniper, apparently becoming established on a previously open landscape.
Withoutridingthroughthiscountryunderthesame conditions experienced by Sitgreaves and Woodhouse, itisnowhardtoenvisionitasbeingasharshasthey described it. The grass, even if dry, was nutritious. Water was their main problem, and they had to hurry betweensprings.Thismadeitdifficulttorestanimals
OnNovember2,probablyinthevicinityofthepres andgivethemtimetograze.Theirfailuretomention ent Kingman, Sitgreaves finally adds some descriptive pronghorns or prairie dogs is interesting, because both notes: speciesarenowpresentalongtheroute.BothWhipple,
Inearly1854,sometwoyearsandthreemonthsafter Sitgreaves, Whipple's party crossed the upper Verde watershed in a more leisurely manner (Whipple 1856), exploring a different route (fig. 2), and from heights, viewedmuchofthecountrythatSitgreaveshadexplored. A horse and mule detail led by Whipple ranged ahead ofthewagons,exploringwidelyandplottingthewagon route. The wagons, led by Lieutenant Ives, waited at water holes until word came from Whipple to move foreword. The wagon train functioned as support for the exploration party, carrying supplies and technical personnel.ItgaveWhipplethefreedomtoexploremore widely,knowingthathehadawell-suppliedbasecoming upbehind.Theindependentmovementsofthewagons and the reconnaissance parties created confusion, at times, in interpreting the journals. The wagons and pack train did not necessarily follow the same routes evenonthedaysthattheymovedintandemandended atacommoncamp.
The New Years reconnaissance—Whipple's first reconnaissance into the Verde watershed began on December 30, 1853, when he led a small party away from the wagons and rode westward from Leroux Spring at the base of the San Francisco Peaks. This groupincludedWhipple,Bigelow,A.H.Campbell,
"WekeptdownthevalleyoftheYampaisome
twelve miles, when, finding that itscourse was
outofourmostdirectroute,we divergedfrom itacrossawidebarrenplain,andencamped Whipple'sExpedition without water, grass, or wood, the only fuel
being the withered cacti with which the plain abounded."
Figure 4 was taken by Alexander Gardner 16 years after Sitgreaves passed this vicinity (fall, 1867). The photo point is north of the route Sitgreaves followed on October 25 and 26, 1851 ,and the view is southerly across the route. Sitgreave's description at C a m p 23 represents the country west of the site in this photograph . Whipplelaterpassedthroughthissameareaafewmiles further to the south, as he traveled between Partridge CreekandPicachoButte.Thephotographwillagainbe discussed in conjunction with his journals.
Figure5showsthesameviewonAugust2,1995— 128 years after Gardner's photograph was taken and 144 y e a r s a f t e r S i t g r e a v e s p a s s e d . It s h o w s m i n i m a l c h a n g e . Some of the taller grass stems are missing, and juni perisslightlymoreabundant.Alowshrub,probably winterfat,islessabundant.TherailroadthatGardner's party surveyed has been built and subsequently aban doned.
Timothy O'Sullivan, traveling with the Wheeler expedition in 187 1,took two pictures in the uplands near Sitgreaves' Yampai Creek (Truxton Wash). The first,showingagrasslandandflat-toppedmesa(fig.6)
in 1854 and Mearns, in 1884, noted pronghorns being abundant. Mearns also observed prairie dogs.
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USDAForestServiceRMRS-GTR-177. 2006.