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Show 135 partly from its own valley, becoming muddier the farther south wo follow it. The entire country from Laguna to the Rio Puerco, thence to the Jeincz, is of a poor character, consisting cither of sandstone mesas, with here and there gypsum- beds, or of sandy undulating prairies with a scanty growth of grass upou which herds of sheep feed. The monotony of the barren landscape is relieved here aud there by various llowers of beautiful colon- the so- called desert- plants, a collection of which - was examined by Dr. Rotbrock, who kindly furnishes the names of the species, which are as follows: Bigclotia douglasii, Helwmcris multiflora, Mulchcdium pulchellum, Melampodium cinaeum, Gilia longiflvra, Penathcra pinnatifida, Jbronia cycloptera, Townsendia strigosa, HtUotropium convolvulaceum. The Jemez Creek at Silla and Santa Ana does not carry a very large body of water iu summer. I found the stream, \ S the three or four branches of the same bed be taken together, about 16 feet wide and half a foot deep. The two Indian pueblos here raise some corn in the valley of the stream. The valley itself is not wide and is hemmed in, particularly on the eastern side, by high mesas. Farther up, nine miles above Silla, is another Indian pueblo, Jemez, where the stream is considerably larger. This town has large tracts under cultivation and excellent grapes, peaches, and corn are raised. Following the stream about six miles farther up, we reach the union of the two branches of the Jemez Creek, Guadalape and San Diego. Both ruu through great canons, but along them are narrow strips of good tillable land. Some Mexican settlements occur on both these streams. Taking an easterly course from Jemez and crossing a hilly country covered here and There with pifion and cedar, we reach the broad bottom of the Rio Grande near Pena Blanca and the Indian town Cochiti. Nothing remains to be said about the fertile Rio Grande Valley. This section was reported upon by the writer when with your expedition in 1873, and has also been made known by other visitors. It may be mentioned, however, that I visited, this season, a number of prosperous farms and was astonished at the luxuriant growth of the fruits. One of the finest vineyards near Bernalillo is in possession of Hon. S. B. Elkins, Delegate from New Mexico, to whose kindness I am indebted for a knowledge of many interesting facts relating to agriculture, mines, and ruins of New Mexico. The grapes of the Rio Grande Valley rival those of the world for richness of flavor and sugar. North of Pena Blanca the grapes are inferior, more acid, and of diminished flavor. From Cochiti up to San Ildefonso the river is shut up for a long distance in a canon and but little laud is available for cultivation, while from Ildefonso up to San Juan it is fringed with belts of good land witb numerous Mexican and Indian towns. The river there has quite a number of aiHaents from the Santa Fe* Mountains, while the valleys are tolerably well settled. It is a fact of no little interest that the Rio Grande, though slowly, is changing its bed wherever it runs through sandy soil. Houses have been deserted on account of danger from underwashing. Some of the inhabitants expressed fears even with regard to the future of Algodoues and Albuquerque. A good deal of laud on the east side of the river, several miles above Ildefonso, was quite recently washed away, while on the opposite margin, land was gained. From Cochiti to Zandia the Rio Grande receives three affluents from the east side- the Santa F6, Tuerto, and Galisteo Creeks. One writer, who evidently never saw these streams, says of them: " They afford strips of arable land varying in width from one to ten miles. But here also I think the amount might be increased by proper efforts and more extensive aoequias." It is about proper time to expose such gross exaggerations; otherwise, taking them as truth, enterprising farmers may be induced to leave their homeB for these regions. The truth is, these bottoms neve" r reach a width of ten miles, while the Btreams have barely water enough for a single acequia. With regard to the Santa Fe* Creek, with which I am familiar almost its eutire length, a peculiarity is, that about a half a mile below the city of Santa Fe* it sinks, ito bed becoming a dry sandy arroyo; but twelve miles farther down, in the vicinity of the basaltic mesa, which stretches at least forty square miles, it re- appears and again forms a stream of the same volume it had at Santa Fe\ Near the little Mexican settlement Cieneguilla it enters a basaltic canon 45 to GO feet in depth, emerging at La ttajada. About five miles below Santa Fe*, directly on the arroyo del Santa Fe* Creek, is the Mexican town Agua Fria, ( cold water,) rather a misnomer at present, since the water has to be brought in barrows a distauce of two miles, there being none in the vicinity of the settlement. On inquiry, I was informed that about one hundred and rifty years ago the Santa Fe* Creek was full of water, aud that its margins were friuged with willows and alamos, whose shade kept the water cool; but the water sank gradually into the sand and the trees disappeared. • Wherever in the bed of the arroyo a hole of from 8 to 10 feet is dug water is struck, but the soil is too sandy and the wells soon fall in, the Mexicans not taking pains to construct them in a substantial manner. The fields of Indian corn in the vicinity were in good condition, thriving without irrigation, which, however, is resorted to whenever the Santa Fe* Creek coutains an unusually large bulk of water, which then reaches the heads of the acequias before it sinks. Iu my own opinion the sinking of |