Note II'-39 — Chapter II · ITINERARY, CONTINUED: THROUGH OLD MEXICO, IN CHIHUAHUA, DURANGO, AND COAHUILA, TO THE PRESIDIO GRANDE, MARCH 22D-MAY 31ST, 1807.
Reading edition
On making Three Rivers Pass in the morning, Pike goes over the "cross mountain" which forms the divide between the waters of the San Juan and Salinas basin, and comes upon the water-shed of Rio Sabinas (which river he will cross to reach the Rio Grande). The main road which he strikes at the 13th mile is also the railroad line, and he strikes them both at or near Bajan, 5 m. above Joya, where the main road now comes in from points eastward. We have no mileage for the 24th, but it was a good day's journey to get only 9 m. short of Montelovez (Monclova).
As several of Pike's daily mileages are missing, we cannot say exactly how many miles he made it out to be from the Mapimi locality to Montelovez. If we average up the missing ones with the rest of the 14 days, it makes 15 m. a day, or a total of 210 m. Those who are better informed than myself concerning the kind of country passed over can judge how near right these figures may be. It seems to me rather scant measure for the most direct route by which the Bolson could have been flanked by anything like the curve the railroad now takes. Pike certainly never made such a fishhook-shaped trail as that delineated on his map, if he only went 210 m.