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Show 143 the fruitB were everywhere to be found. The grapes of Bernalillo were very fine. Here the valley is lined with vineyards. In this latter place, one stock- owner alone has some 200,000 sheep. Algodones, Corrales, Sandia, are all well- to- do towns on the river; and Santo Domingo, the Indian pueblo, is the picture of peaceful content. The Pueblos were thrashing their grain by driving goats and horses round in a circular inclo-sure. These Indians who have, ever since known, lived in towns, cultivating the soil and raising small herds, are to be wondered at for having retained their manners and customs so distinct from those of the Mexicans. Contented with little, they certainly have not much. From the valley of the Rio Grande we went up the Galisteo Creek to the town of Galisteo, covering the country known as the Cerillos, and also the plateau running out to the north of the Sandia Mountains and east to the Placers. In this section are to * be found large anthracite- coal beds, which will with the age of railroads become valuable. In the Cerillos are silver and galena deposits aud an old mine of turquoise. Several of these mines, known to have been worked by Indian labor by the old Spaniards, are found through the country. In some cases the shafts are filled with brush; others are illy concealed with earth. Just west of the Cerillos is La Bajada Mesa, a volcanic plateau, through which the Santa ¥ 6 Creek has cut a narrow cafion. The principal point on the mesa is'the Tetilla, a sharp cone, which many centuries in the past has overflowed the surrounding country with the molten rock, now covered with turf from the easily- decomposing feldspathic lava. There are two main routes from Santa Fe* to the lower country in the vicinity of Bernalillo, Algodones, and Albuquerque. The one now little used, but formerly the stage- route, follows the general direction of the Sauta Fe" Creek, south of west to the edge of La Bajada Mesa; thence rising the mesa, it crosses it by a good road and descends by what is known as the La Bajada Hill, a steep, dangerous descent, particularly in its present condition. It comes to the river at Santo Domingo. The other route, known as the Pinos Ranch road, runs' to the east of the Santa Fe* Creek, strikes over on to the GaliBteo Creek drainage, crosses the Galisteo Creek beyond Pinos Ranch several miles, and comes to the river in the vicinity of San Felipe. There are also two main rontes to Fort Win gate and Northern Arizona from Santa ¥ 6. Following the La Bnjada Hill route to the foot of the hill, the right fork of the road leads to Pefia Blauca, situated on the Rio Grande just south of the month of Santa ¥ 6 Creek; crossing the river here by a good ford, it runs through the foot- bills of ? he Valles Mouutains to San Ysidro; thence, over a rolling country, crossing the Puerco Creek of the East near Cerro Cabezon, going north of Mount Taylor, passing Cross Spring, Willow Spring, and the Mexican town of San Mateo, it comes into Bine Water Ranch; from there to Bacon Spring and Fort Wingate; thence westward down the cafion of the Puerco of the West to the Little Colorado into Northern Arizona. This is one route to Prescott. From Wingate there is a second road running south over the Zuni Mountains to the Puebla of Zuni, dowu the creek of the same name; thence, crossing over to the White Mountains at Summit Spring, the road runs to Camp Apache. The second route to Wingate follows either route from Santa ¥ 6 to Albuquerque, crossing the Rio Grande there, the Puerco of the Bast at the bridge 6 miles above Qnelites, running by Sheep Spring, El Rito, Lagnna, Cubero, and McCarty's ranch, south of Mount Taylor, it joins at Agua Azul with the first- mentioned road. From just beyond McCarty's ranch a fork of the road leads off to old Fort Wingate, thence to Agua Fria, Ojo Pescado, and Zuni, thence to Camp Apache, or, branching at Deer Spring, to Prescott. Santa ¥ 6 has been so often described that it is useless to refer to it further. While there a new triangulation- station, well weighted, was built on the hill near the meridian- mark and the points re- occupied for the development of the triangulation to the south and east. The country assigned to the party to be surveyed after leaving Santa ¥ 6 lies south of the main stage- road as far as Vegas, thence north to latitude 35° 40;, thence east to longitude 104° 07' 30", thence south to latitude 34° 50', thence west to the Rio Grande, an area containing approximately 6,600 square miles. This work was accomplished before our return, but, of necessity, with a delay of nine days in arriving ac Las Animas. The main rocky range, which breaks up just northwest of Mora into two ranges, the Santa Fe* range and the Las Vegas rauge, with the Pecos Valley between them, loses its ridge- like characteristic at the break through which runs the present stage- road, built by Colonel Macomb, United States Engineers, in 1859. South of the road and east of the main Galisteo branch is a high plateau, more or less cut up by cafions extending to Cafion Blanco on the south and to the Pecos River Cafion on the east. The grazing on it is very fine. Just east of the Pecos rises another table- land, much broken up, extending between that stream and the Tegalote. From beyond this stream rises the Mesa Chnpaines, through which the Gallinas cuts a deep cafion. Beyond the Gal-linas it is a grand level plateau, extending to Ute Creek, cut through by the Canadian River and its tributary Mora Creek. Evidences of volcanic or eruptive action are found on nearly all of it. |