Page 44 - Early Naturalists of the Black Range

Cooke may be describing the Gambel’s Quail, Callipepla gambelii. It is at the eastern edge of its range here and would have been “new”. It had only been scientifically described, by Gambel, three years before. When not huddled down their necks appear much longer.
to Los Angeles and San Diego in the 1830’s. For instance, David Jackson led a party through the area in 1832, heading for California from Santa Fe.
The pass Cooke is speaking of is probably the one just north of Cooke’s Peak. The approach to the ridge line, from the east, is shown here. Although shorter, it is doubtful that it would have been faster - certainly not easier.
Cooke does not mentioned the petroglyphs at Frying Pan Canyon, even though they were only yards away from camp. Many of his men did, however, with widely differing interpretations.
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