the river of thirty miles, but by air-line of only twenty miles, is almost one continuous settlement of Mexicans and Pueblo Indians, with here and there an American farmer or trader. I estimate the whole population of the valley as follows:

El Paso...

Franklin......

Socorro.....

San Elceario.....

Guadalupe.

San Ignacio..

Total....

4,000

200

300

1,200

800

500

7,000

I have included under the head of El Paso the Indian town of Sinecu, which is in the eastern part of the settlement, and is stated to have been built by the aborigines, before the occupation of the country by the Spaniards.

There are some families of pure Spanish descent in this valley, but the population is generally of a mixed character—a cross of the Indian and Spaniard. They are mostly engaged in agriculture and commerce. Before the ports on the lower Rio Bravo were opened, there was sometimes as much as two million dollars' worth of goods passed into the northern States of Mexico by the way of El Paso; at present, I suppose there is not more than $500,000 or $1,000,000, and of import about $70,000. The grapes, peaches, figs, melons, and the fruits generally of this valley, are of very superior quality. There are two descriptions of grapes-one white, the other large and blue; both are very luscious, having no trace of the musky taste of American grapes, and in skilful hands make delicious wine and good brandy. When I first visited New Mexico, in 1846, that whole country was supplied with wine and brandy from El Paso. It is now mostly consumed in the country, or sent to Chihuahua. The wine as at present made will not bear transportation, and as a general rule is but an imperfect test of what the grape can produce. The town of El Paso is itself but one extended vineyard in the hands of many proprietors. The culture of the grape, and its product of wine, would be much increased but for the difficulty of procuring vessels in which to place it for transportation. There is no wood in that whole region from which casks can be manufactured, and there is not yet sufficient demand to authorize the erection of founderies for making glass bottles.

The meteorological table which I have given in the general sketch is not a fair exhibit of the hygrometric character of this region; that record was kept in the last year of the great drought, which extended through 1849-'50-'51. In the succeeding years much more rain fell, but I had no party stationary at any one point, and therefore the record of 1851 was given as that which extended over the greatest space.

In the summer of 1852 the rains were frequent and copious. While occupied at the cañon, in the astronomical determination of that station, a deluge occurred which will long be remembered by those present.

In the middle of the night of June 25, the sky was overcast and our labors at the observatory obstructed. We had all retired to bed, when I was awakened by a roaring noise, which I supposed to be wind. I called to Mr. Burns, who was in charge of my zenith telescope, to take the usual precautions against high wind. He answered that it was not wind, but water; adding, if we did not leave camp pretty soon we should all be drowned. I had made the selection of my camp on a spot which I supposed secure from any possible inundation, but on

stepping out of my blankets, found myself knee-deep in water, which was rapidly rising. My first impulse was to seize the chronometer and note-books of the survey, and make for the small eminence upon which the observatory was placed. Only two persons were near enough to assist me, Mr. Gardner and my cook, and neither of them could swim. As we advanced, the water came up to the chin, and the soft ground under foot gave way. It was with the greatest difficulty we reached the hill with our precious load. The night was inky dark, but I caused fires to be built, when all hands immediately went to work, and by the time day broke we had secured nearly everything of value. The only public property lost was some belonging to the escort, composed of raw recruits, many of whom could not speak a word of English, and who, in the absence of their commanding officer, took to the hills, and could not be brought down till day-light. A tremendous rain on the adjacent mountain had fallen during the early part of the night, and the accumulated waters finding insufficient drainage, made for themselves a new channel, which unfortunately passed through our camp.

Throughout that whole region traces of the same kind of deluges can be found, where for months and years not a particle of running water is ever seen. These traces receive the name of arroyos, and I think may be taken generally as evidences of a country subject to long droughts, only interrupted at long intervals by heavy falls of rain.

On a more recent visit to El Paso, in the summer of 1855, the rains were very frequent and heavy. On one occasion several adobe houses were washed down, and, with few exceptions, every house in the place was damaged and rendered leaky. This town, although built in the sixteenth century, and possessing a very considerable trade, does not contain a single stone, brick, or wooden building. The houses, of one story, are built of adobe, (mud and straw,) and the tops covered with tile, grass, or mud, supported by undressed cottonwood logs. They resemble very much the ruins of the houses described in the oases of Syria, and particularly in the dimensions of the rooms, which are accommodated to the rude carpentry of semi-civilized nations. However long a room may be, it is never more than twenty or thirty feet wide, the span of a stick of timber, without the aid of king-posts.

:

CHAPTER VI.

SKETCH OF TERRITORY ACQUIRED BY TREATY OF DECEMBER 30, 1853.

AREA.--HOW WATERED.-FACE OF THE COUNTRY.-PLAYAS.-VALLEYS AND THEIR CAPACITY FOR AGRICULTURE.-ABANDONED SETTLEMENTS. MINERAL WEALTH.-PIMOS INDIANS.DESCRIPTION OF SKETCHES.-VIEWS.

The territory acquired under the treaty of December 30, 1853, lies between the parallels of 31° 20′ and 33° 30′, and between the meridians of 106° 30' and 104° of longitude measured from Greenwich, and contains 26,185 square miles.

Its eastern part is bounded by the Rio Bravo; its northern by the Rio Gila. The interior of the area is traversed by two rivers, which run northwest and empty into the Gila. These are the San Pedro and the Santa Cruz.

A smaller rivulet, lying to the east of both of these, called the San Domingo, takes its rise near the middle of the territory and runs in a northwest direction, emptying into the Gila. This last named river, like the Santa Cruz, is of uncertain flow, and in dry seasons only stands in pools, or is found running under ground, making it necessary for the traveller or grazier to dig for water. There are numerous springs scattered about in the mountains which dot this area, but as they do not usually occur in the levels or mesas, it is somewhat difficult to reach them.

The mountains which traverse this territory run mostly in the same general direction as the river-that is so say, northwest and southeast. The most remarkable feature in the mountain system of this region, is that the elevations are mostly isolated, and have received the local designation of "Lone Mountains," so that a traveller passing from the Rio Bravo to the Pimo villages may, by deflecting slightly from a straight line, pass most of the way over a mesa, the different planes of which vary but slightly in elevation, and are usually from 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the sea.

It is that peculiarity which gives this territory a leading interest as affording a practicable passage for a national railway to the Pacific, and the facility of making a military road over easy gradients to unite the posts in the valley of the Rio Bravo with those on the Gila and in California.

These levels, although usually covered with a luxuriant growth of nutritious grasses, are mostly destitute of water; hence, the traveller is now obliged to seek his road over a more rugged surface in the mountains, where water is to be found. These levels, however, are the recipients of the drainage of the surrounding mountains, and water can be had by sinking wells at no great depth below the surface.

South of the Picacho de los Mimbres the Rio Mimbres, which is a large lively stream in the mountains, disappears entirely in its course to the south, in a large open plain, which presents: to the eye of the distant observer the appearance of a meadow.

West as far as 112° meridian of longitude, the soil of the levels and hills is everywhere good, and, except in the playas, covered with a luxuriant growth of nutritious grass, mostly the grama.