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Show 458 Ex. Doc. No. 41. though brnns, ,~nmp.kins, melons, an<l.recl prpper, arc raise cl to . om~ <•xrc•nl. . 1 he lulls are CO\ ~r<·d wtth very good grass, whidt f u r n 1 ~ h t • s s u b s 1 s t c n c c to h c r d s o t c a t t I e an d h o r t· s , a s w t' II a 8 t 0 fine fl~>~·k .., o.f siH•t·p and goats. In them lie the principal wealth of t IH• 1 n h a b 1 t an t s. T;~o s i-.;, b) nature almost isolated from the remainder of N<'\ M.exJC·o .. On t.lle cast ri~e the high peaks of the main Rotky moun~ t a 1.n l' h a 1 n , w l11l ~ t a ~ pur o ('. t h c sa 111 e r a n g e puts 0 u t 0 n t h <' • 0 u 1 h qu1tc to th.t· han ks .of th.c R10 <IL•l Norte. On the north and W~'st ~rc . th<· ,!11g.h .blufis wluch mark the beginning of the ext<•nsivc llrnws, 01 t.1blc lands. A wagon road of some diffit'ulty ha bet>n OJH'lll'd thror.lgll.tbc.southcrn spur, whi ch lead::; to Santa I;'(·, tlwu rh the c 0 Ill !Ill~ !Il l' cl t I 0 ll .) s II~ .u a II y kt· p t tl p by the s h 0 r t e r m u I c I 0 (~ over the 111ght'~t prnnt of the spur. ' S e I t i ~' g' o t~ t f1 o 1 n San 1•' ern and c> z at 1 0 o' do(' k, w c 1 r a v c lJ c· d G f _ h •en ru!lt"i Ill a .southwesterly direction, nearly parallel with th <.'ourse of "Fl lt10 I 'l' " 1 0... • • ~ • 1 ~· a o ~ , a ru o v t' r a n u n d u I a t i n g c o u n t r y 1 t h e n 1 .aV( lly rolls of wlt1ch were cverywher<' vari<•<ratcd with ·I n o 1 c c 1 h r 'll 1 t t · · ~ I) n c u 1 p ~ I '. • 11 St'cl «'llll g p111nn~. JUt, from this J>Oint to ~hlltl (1'(• t1erc ts no gr· (' · J "'' ' ' . · .. tss .. • I'O ' slllg a sma l strram of clear water that ~}o~~ ·f·r~Jm a fuJc spnng,~\'C entered a narrow clt'filc and eotnmt>nce<l IC ciS((Il~ oftll(• lrlOttlltaln. For 2~ milts the bri II·-. tl ·, . t rem(' I y t t I 2 { ( p cl. 1 1 s c X. fn .1 • 0 1 .uous ant ,rugg<·cl, and H.' ndcrcd dilTit:ult by num<>rou{" t} ' g ~< nts 0 ~ rod· 1 he mountain rises 2,000 or 2 500 feet abov~ b lC. rlt'rcrl at Its. bas<', and is composed of a hard Ja\y rock which rea{s 'own Into angular f ., n t . l , Tht• dip of the sht f . . rctg.t (ll s, Wit\ sharp ·utting edg<.~ ~ tiral WI . tl. '~.Y k<>ltn<lttons lS to the southwest, and nearly vn·· · 1 ~ n 1e u r o !' u f rag m <' n t s a r , . 1 t numrrous a 1 . · . ' ' e rcmo\ PI, l11e rock pn•s(•nL· . ngu .I t points wlllthst·lnd o t l'k 'l ravelliug Y<'l} diiTi l'ult ('~~· anii . l ,' r 1~ I. l' Rpl {CS, :1ud make the m1t fo1 om1• di,t ·uH·, a 1 f 0 ( 1 : · The ro.ul leads along the sum~ of the· 1 1 1 N ' .c, 'n< rom tt we had a fine view of the c·tflon it pa ~~ ) ~.,,:· ~r 'losrttl(', and tile l:,xtcnsive tabl e land through w<hich • · •· tc eye cou u r • ·l tl 1. land s ' !"•'h t·d uorth~· 1 . 1 UlC 1' le urown and burnt table u.1t ><'p c!ntJIIlPls worn by .ttrl( , an< .w estw'l' l'cl ' unb ro k en :;;ave l> y tl1l f~ T . te runntng waters urnJng southw,trd the bridJ•. th . ·. thr 'c milt·s le 1 lir1g t'~ h <. pa . aga1n descends for two ot• . 1 c ili'OU!r a ~li('('CSSI f . . ~t Ctn<·rg<·s into tt1c beautit' 1 . ·11 f 0 1:1 11 0 . mounta1n glu1s, until 1 s a s t r(• a Ill 0 f J> u I' c w : t c . tul vt clfl e y 0 ~ l R I 0 d e san L u i s i 0 T h is watt.• r t? •I rri gate a ft!w• fi1e ldlsa. ows from tl1 e mountat· ns, a ffo n1 .to g . I n o t I <' t d a f<' w h o u e s i n t h e " . 1 I vtllagt• of Embr~do is about , . 1 a bey 1 abovr the crossing, hut the. 300 or 1 Ot) of. the me·trl<. .' t l' .t m t c c ow 1' l ' ' f I b · • .... <Inc 1 o {' nnch. · 1h1 crc we oun1 .s ome. su ' lstcn<·<· from the narrow field , • I < ros/ w o S<'<'m to den ve n. she<•p. Tht>rt• bt·ing but I' ttl, sa~< some .cw flocks of goats anti. tnany hornl·d cattle or bor 1 ~hpastura!{~, they arc unable to rai se to pit'k a ~u b!';isttnce from ses, ough tht:tr goats manag.., very well . l t amongst the rocks W l n1g 1t at tne lHlll'C of Stl1ora Val;le~ · e.~ topp ed for. t 1e follnd goat. mtlk and" tort' I] " .1, and, after a rtdc of 29 mtlcs, lt bt•ino· the SC 'l"'On f I aks. pa atablc. ] . . n • ' " or m a 1n g 1· . aymg In a winter':> supply. mo asses, they were all busy ir .• \ Ex. Doc. No. 41. 459 They cut the stalks of the mai~e, or Indian corn, ancl, after ~trip~ ]i: i ng it of the lr ~vcs, pound it with ht•avy wooden mallt•ls until it rcduecd to a pulp; after ~teaming it sufli<~iently, tht·y <'Xptt>SH th e juiee by means of a rude. press, and .then ,<'V<lJHH a~t· it to lltt· r~ropcr con, ist('ll('t! in <'arth<·n .J~Hs. L<'il\ 111g l•~mb uda 111 th<· tnorn1ng, a }JUlf }Jour's rid e brought us to llte fit·ld on whi ch tlH: galla111 r:aptain ]3urgwin U.S. <lragoons, so sil,!nally d<.•fpated the uui1f•d Mt·,iran and lndi:tn forces, in January, 1817. The road l1Pr<' is so narrow, that two horses cannot walk abrutst, and it i !; flan ked 0n c·aeh ,·ide 1y high precipic<'~· . . Thl' ro t ks ris<' 1n ab rupt massr1; on <' rth er std<·; on the west tcrminatiug in a l<·vcl tabl<·, capp<'d with a slH'<·t of lava. Atnidst tht•se confused mas.es of bn,kl'n sandstone and lava, rt lllllerous cedars and "pifwns" havr caught Joo t ; and. he r~ it .w.ts that .the c 0 m b i n t' d f () r c e s l (1 y j n a rn b ll s h t 0 s u r r l'l s (' () <1 p t a I rt B \1 r g w ltl ' s little dctacbmt•nt. A ftcr pa:-sing the battlt• fit'ld, the road <~o ~tinut ·s tn follow up thl' d ry bt•d of a mountain stn·am, until 1t readiC'S the summit, 3 milt•s from l•~mbudo, \Vhcre ;t :1gain dt·st·t·ruls t h r o u g h a ~ i rn i I a r r a v i n <' , t o t b <' to w ~ o f " L a .J o y a . " 'J' h 1 s i s t h c most uorth<•rn scttlt>m<•nt 011 tlw lt1o del Norte:. Just hf'rc the stream hn·aks from the rocl{y caflon, <HH1 tl1t' }Jith<·rto pt·nt up chann ·l ~preads out into a vallt·y urar half a mil<• i.n wiclJ h. This madcs the b(•ginniug of thl' riv r r S<'tll('llH' nls, wl11ch may be regarded CIS coutinuous for ~ 50m~l<'s . On the pla~n \\ (' 1-aw corn .anti w h <·at and for t h c first t 1 m e, J o un cl orchards o ! p c• a t' h a '' d a p 1 1 rot trees.' M~lons too \\-<'1' <' abundant, but of inf•rior quality, whilst h au g i n g i n f e s t' o o 11 s: t h c b r i g h t co I o r <' d JH' p fH r , or " C l! i li co l o - rado," adorrlt·d eve ry house. Our road now lay along- th' t•ast bnnk of the ltio del Nort(•; so ~ctimts pas:-.ing thr ou~b til<' bottom iUH:lf, and so tnd iiliCS :r.('(ndwg tht· gravellv blu{l'. Ou our left hand .t he <·.ountry r oll s away to the base of the Ro eky mountain s, prt·st>nllng ltttlc <.• lsE· thnu a sttc<·<· ssion of grav •lly hills, who~-;<• sul!'S were con·n'cl wJ tb dwarf.<· (· ~lars. On the ri~ht hnnd, or w(·~l bank of the river, ll:e h~gh blufl ?f tl.lc table land rcat'hc•s quite to the water'~ edg-e, s<>OH' .3 or 400 le<'t tn height. The broken section 1->ilows a format1 on of hortzo ntal sandston(.', cappt·cl with the dark colort•d V<·sindar lava. This lava sheet appears to han· (•xlt•ndcd ovt'!' a .... a.st <'xpan~e of country. It forms thr ('<!pping or t-lpper format 1on of all the table lands in Uppn New M, xico, oa both sid<.·s of th<> mountains; and its broken fragmt•nts arc evny where strewed along the beds of the strt'illns, giving an air of lon e line~s and dc··olat1on to the scen~ry. The next ~dtlcuu·nt, or village, is "Lol:i Luu'ros," a town of l1ttl<· importan ce . , J.'ifte<'n wilt•s U(•low "La Joya," is a town, or JHIPlllo, n :nn rd San Juan. The hou~cs berc are built of mud and palisad<'s. Thl'Y app car to h a v c a d r y t r en(' h, in which a row _of p a '· i ~ad ~· s, {rom 6 to 8 In ches in thi('kness, is phmt<.·d; the intersti C('S of wht<'h nre daubed with the cl<~yey earth from which they make the "adobes" that are us (l d i n b u i I d In g t h <' i r w a II s . They enter into their houses through the top, by means of move .. |