NEW MEXICO.

NEW MEXICO is a portion of the territory acquired from Mexico by the treaties of 1848 and 1853, and extends from 31° 20' to 37° of north latitude, and from 26° to 32° of longitude west from Washing. ton, including an area of about 100,000 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Colorado, on the east by the Indian Territory and Texas, on the south by Texas and Old Mexico, and on the west by Arizona.

FACE OF THE COUNTRY, ETC.-This Territory is, for the most part, a high table-land, crossed by several ranges of mountains. The valleys of the Rio Grande and its tributaries occupy the middle part of New Mexico, and lie between and among different ranges of the Rocky Mountain chain, which crosses the Territory from north to south. The western limit of the Rio Grande Valley is the Sierra Madre Mountains, and the eastern, the Jumanes, the Del Cabello, and other ranges of the Rocky Mountains. Much of the Territory lies west of the Sierra Madre Mountains, and partakes of the general character of the Fremont Basin. (See Utah.) The mountain ranges in the east are the Guadalupe, Sacramento, Organ, (Sierra de los Organos,) Sierra Blanca, Hueca, and other divisions which diverge from the main chain of the Rocky Mount ains, and pass off into Texas, forming the western boundary of the val ley of the Pecos. Mount Taylor, in a south-west direction from Santa Fe, among the Sierra Madre Mountains, has been computed at 10,000 feet elevation above the valley of the Rio Grande, itself a high table. land of 6,000 feet in the north part, 4,800 feet at Albuquerque, and

3,000 feet at El Paso.

MINERALS. It is highly probable that New Mexico abounds in the precious metals, but owing to the jealousy of the aborigines, and the unskillfulness with which, even when worked at all, they have been managed, they have not, so far as we are informed, hitherto produced abundantly; yet gold and silver are known to exist, and mines of both metals have been worked. Mines of gold have been worked in a district along the Placer Mountains, 30 miles south-west of Santa Fe. They are known as the Ortiz, Bigg, and Davenport mines. From 1832 to 1835, when mining operations were most flourishing, from $60,000 to $80,000 per annum was taken from them, and from their discovery to 1844, they yielded about $300,000. The ore exists in quartz, which is easily crushed. At placers in the vicinity, gold is obtained by washing. Near the Placer Mountains, the whole soil seems to be impregnated with the precious metal. It is believed by those who have explored it, that this district would be one of the richest gold-bearing coun tries in the

mines, 80 miles north-east of El Paso, and near Dona Ana, are reputed

to be the richest in New Mexico. Iron occurs in abundance,

and gyp

sum in large quantities has been found near Algadones; copper is plentiful, and mines of that metal were extensively worked in the vicinity of what is now Fort Webster previous to 1838, when the forays of the Indians caused their abandonment. Gold is found in the same vicinity. Some coal is found, and salt lakes, about 100 miles south-south-east of Santa Fe, have been resorted to for that necessary culinary article. Silver mines have been discovered about 18 miles east of Fort Fillmore. Lead and zinc ore are also found. Salt lakes, or salinas are numerous in the country, and are chiefly found between the Rio Grande and the Pecos. From these all the salt used in New Mexico is procured. Chihuahua also receives its chief supply from the same source. A train of 10 or 15 wagons, each capable of carrying 5,000 pounds of salt, goes once a year from El Paso to a salt lake district east of the Organ Mountains, for the annual supply. Mineral and warm springs, some of which possess rare medicinal virtues, are found in different parts. RIVERS. The Rio Grande, or River Bravo del Norte, as it was formerly called, which crosses the entire territory from north to south is the largest river of New Mexico, and drains the great valley which lies between the Sierra Madre Mountains on the west, and the Jumanes, and the Sierra Hueca or Waco Mountains on the east. The Pecos River drains the eastern slope of the same mountains, and passes off into Texas. The Puerco, a river of 200 miles in length, is the principal tributary of the Rio Grande from the west; but in the hot season it is often completely evaporated in the lower part of its course, rendering no tribute whatever to the parent stream. The Canadian River has its sources in the north-east of New Mexico, from which it runs in a south-east direction, to join the Arkansas. The Gila, which rises on the western slope of the Sierra Madre, runs almost directly west to its mouth in the Colorado. The Rio Grande has in the Territory a direct course of 500 miles, and, including windings, a course of 1,200 miles. It varies in width from 150 to 600 feet, and in dry seasons is nearly all absorbed for purposes of irrigation. The broadest arable valleys lie along this river. The Mesilla Valley lies on its west bank, beginning about ten miles north of El Paso, and it is about thirty miles in length, and from half a mile to two miles in width.

OBJECTS OF INTEREST TO TOURISTS.-Crossed as New Mexico is by lofty chains of mountains, it can not fail to possess many objects of striking interest in its scenery; but they have been hitherto imperfectly explored west of the Rio Grande. Among and beyond the Sierra Madre Mountains are vast canons, (kan-yuns', i. e. deep channels in the earth,) mostly forming the beds of streams, often two or three hundred feet in depth, and almost shut out from the light of day. In the same region are found steep bluffs of red and white sandstone rock, worn by the action of the elements into very striking resemblances of fortresses, castles, etc. Lieutenant Simpson has given some sketches of the most remarkable, in his recent work on New Mexico. One curiosity of the country is the deserted pueblos, or Indian villages, which give evidence of having been the abode of a much more dense population than subsists there at present.

The pueblo of Taos, in New Mexico, is one of the most remarkable now existing. It consists of an edifice about 400 feet long by 59 wide, and is divided into long ranges of apartments, one above the other, forming a pyramidal pile of 50 or 60 feet, and five or six stories in height. This great building, it is said, affords habitations for five or six hundred people.

The second class, where the tribe or community live in a village, consist of buildings generally of one story, but sometimes of two. When of the latter, the entrance is by ladders from the outside, as before mentioned. The object of this is to render them perfectly isolated, and to afford them protection from an enemy. To render these dwellings more secure, villages and large edifices are usually built upon the summit of a rock, or hill, and when this is not convenient, on the open plateau, where there is neither tree, bush, nor rock to conceal an enemy. These people often choose a spot near some eminence which may command a view of the adjacent country, where they may establish a look-out, and place a sentinel to give warning, if an enemy should approach.

"Cascade Grotto," says Lieutenant Whipple, "is too wildly beautiful to pass unnoticed. A series of cascades, formed by a mineral spring, which gushes from the mountain, leap from cliff to cliff, until they join the Gila, 1,000 feet below. Beneath the first water-fall is a charming cave, filled with petrifactions. Among the Organ Mountains, (themselves an object of great interest, rising as they do 3,000 feet above the river,) a little stream whose source is far within a defile, tumbles over the rocks in a single fall of 50 feet."

CLIMATE. The habitable part of the valley of the Rio Grande lies in the latitude of the northern and central portions of the southern States; but its climate is very much modified by its great elevation, giving it a temperate but constant climate. The mercury sometimes rises to 100°, but the evenings are always cool. Some of the higher peaks of the mountains are covered with perpetual snow. Considerable rain falls between July and October, but New Mexico has essentially a dry atmosphere, being most of the year parched where there is no irrigation.

SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.-Many parts of the valley of the Rio Grande and of other streams, are highly productive, and yield fine crops of Indian corn, wheat, and other grains, besides apples, peaches, melons, apricots, and grapes. Among the valleys of the Sierra Blanca, in the north-east of New Mexico, the pasturage is excellent; and the large valley of San Luis, in the same region, is one of the most fertile in the Territory. But in most places irrigation is necessary to successful agricultural operations. During the dry season, however, in some districts, even this resource fails, from the total evaporation of the streams. On the table-lands there grows a peculiar grass, which in the dry season cures and preserves its nutritious qualities. On this cattle, sheep, horses and mules feed all the winter, and preserve themselves in good condition. The mutton of New Mexico is excellent.

The principal agricultural district of New Mexico is the valley of

the Rio Grande. This river is the main artery of the Territory, rising near its northern boundary, and flowing through its entire length. This valley is from one to four miles in width, but sometimes expands to ten or fifteen miles. It has a light soil, and, by means of artificial irrigation, it is rendered very productive. It is not unusual for the same land to yield two crops a year. As there is but little rain, artificial irrigation is necessary. This is accomplished by damming up the streams and leading the water by canals and ditches, called acequias, over the valleys. Near El Paso there is an acequia 20 miles in length.

Stock-raising is the most profitable source of income in New Mexico, the country being better adapted to this pursuit than to that of the cultivation of the soil. Immense flocks of sheep are raised, and mules in large numbers. In many parts the high plains and valleys and the smaller hills are covered with grass sufficient for the pasturage of millions of animals, and it is not necessary to shelter or feed them in winter. New Mexico supplies mules to the overland emigrants to California. It had in 1865 several hundred thousand milch cows, and 12,500,000 sheep.

WINE IN NEW MEXICO.-The following communication from Dr. Henry Hilger, United States Assessor at Los Lunas, New Mexico, was published in the Monthly Report of the United States Agricultural Department for November and December, 1866:

"I beg to direct your attention to the excellent soil and climate of this country for grape culture; any capital brought here and invested in the product of wine is sure to pay high interest. The manufacture of wine from the grape is mainly the same as described in the highly creditable report of Major W. H. Emory on the Mexican boundary, vol. 1, page 49, with the exception that several years since, a few Americans, Germans, and Frenchmen commenced making excellent wines of grapes which they annually buy from Mexican vineyard owners or from the Indians of the pueblo of Isletta.

"The wines manufactured by these persons compete with the best products of European wine-makers. The greatest difficulty encountered in the sale of wines is the scarcity of means of sending to market; but as soon as the Pacific Railroad is completed as far as New Mexico, there can be no doubt that New Mexican wines will bring the highest prices in the United States markets."

In the public document above referred to, Major Emory alludes to El Paso (latitude 30° 44', longitude 106° 29') as one of the gardenspots of the interior of the continent. The following statements are extracted from his report:

"Whatever population may now, or hereafter, occupy the mountain system, and the plains to the east, must be dependent on mining or grazing, or the cultivation of the grape. The country must be settled by a mining and pastoral or wine-making population; and the whole legislation of Congress, directed heretofore so successfully toward the settlement of lands east of the 100th meridian of longitude, must be remodeled and re-organized to suit the new phase which life must

assume under conditions so different from those to which we are accustomed.

"Southern California, the whole of the upper valley of the Gila, and the upper valley of the del Norte as far down as the Presidio del Norte, are eminently adapted to the cultivation of the grape. In no part of the world does this luscious fruit flourish with greater luxuriance than in these regions, when properly cultivated. Those versed in the culti vation of the vine represent that all the conditions of soil, humidity, and temperature are united in these regions to produce the grape in the greatest perfection. The soil, composed of the disintegrated matter of the older rocks and volcanic ashes, is light, porous, and rich. The frosts in winter are just sufficiently severe to destroy the insects with out injuring the plant, and the rain seldom falls in the season when the plant is flowering, or when the fruit is coming to maturity and liable to rot from exposure to humidity. As a consequence of this condition of things, the fruit, when ripe, has a thin skin, scarcely any pulp, and is devoid of the musky taste usual with American

grapes.

"The manufacture of wine from this grape is still in a crude state. Although wine has been made for upwards of a century in El Paso, and is a very considerable article of commerce, no one of sufficient intelligence and capital to do justice to the magnificent fruit of the country has yet undertaken its manufacture. As at present made, there is no system followed, no ingenuity in mechanical contrivance prac ticed, and none of those facilities exist which are usual and necessary in the manufacture of wine on a large scale; indeed, there seems to be no great desire beyond that of producing as much alcoholic matter possible. The demand for strong alcoholic drinks has much increased with the advent of the Americans; and in proportion as this demand has increased, the wine has decreased in quality. On one occasion, I drank wine in El Paso which compared favorably with the richest Bur gundy. The production of this wine must have been purely accidental, for other wine, made of the same grape, and grown in the same year, was scarcely fit to drink. Cotton and corn grow with luxuriance, where water can be brought to irrigate the soil, throughout the valleys of the Gila and Rio Bravo, and upon the lower Rio Bravo; and upon the Rio Colorado, below its junction with the Gila, sugar-cane flourishes." FOREST TREES.-Only a small portion of the surface is covered with forests, and the country is almost entirely destitute of the hard woods. Some of the streams are fringed with cotton-wood, and pine of an inferior quality occurs on the mountains. Sycamore, ash, cedar, walnut, evergreen, oak, and willow, are found in small quantities.

CITIES AND TOWNS.- Santa Fe, the capital and largest town of New

Mexico, is situated on the Rio Chicito, or Santa Fe River,

an affluent

of the Rio Grande, from which it is distant about twenty miles in a direct line. Latitude, 35° 41′ north; longitude about 106° 10' west. It is the great emporium of the overland trade which, since 1822, has been carried on with the State of Missouri. Each of the houses, which are principally built of dark-colored adobes, or unburnt brick, usually