3J4 NOTES ON HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 



had wanted biin to join him. His friend had secured the desired 

 climatic relief and taken up his residence there. 



Tbe dryness of the air in the Lower Rio Grande and Mesilhi I have 

 no doubt is not exaggerated. During the past year I had occasion to 

 see the body of an individual who died on the southern plains (of starva- 

 tion, it is said) several (perhaps seven) years ago. The body was found 

 some time after death, and had been buried near Fort Craig. It was 

 disinterred for removal to the national cemetery here in 1875, and pre- 

 sented a remarkable preservation by desiccation. The process it had 

 undergone was what I would term mummification, and reminded me 

 of the accounts of what occurs to the bodies of the dead when aban- 

 doned in the deserts of Lybia or Arabia. 



The Mesilla Valley is said to produce a fine variety of grape, with 

 juices heavier than from the grapes of Madeira and Portugal, as the 

 grapes remain on the vine until they commence to dry before being- 

 pressed ; and the wort contains as much sugar as the sweetest of Mal- 

 aga, (Brevoort.) When dried, they make a good raisin. The almond- 

 tree, peach, apple, pear, quince, ai)ricot, are raised there, and all kinds 

 of garden-plants; and probably game is as abundant as elsewhere in 

 the country. 



Mesilla may, I think, be considered a very favorable locality for pul- 

 monary invalids. The trip across the plains and to New Mexico may 

 be contrasted and compared with interest to the invalid with that which 

 might be experienced in old Mexico. The journey from Vera Cruz to 

 Mexico is made by rail in fifteen hours. The ascent is 7,459 feet, (to 

 the highest point on the road 8,318 feet,) and is made in ten hours. 

 "Many travelers, though in health, (says L'rof. E. R. Peaslee,) experi- 

 ence a decided dyspnoea on reaching these altitudes, especially in mak- 

 ing any considerable exertion, on account of the rarefaction of the 

 atmosphere, though no amount of eflbrt produces much sensible per- 

 spiration. The consequences in cases of pulmonary emphysema or 

 asthma dependent upon cardiac affections are, as might be expected, 

 not favorable. Asthma depending on derangement of the stomach, 

 however, is sometimes cured. Chronic bronchitis also is not likely to 

 be relieved at this altitude, combined with the dampness I have men- 

 tioned.* 



But all these are alleviated by a residence at a lower altitude, the 

 point suitable for such cases being found at Vera Cruz or between that 

 city and the altitude of Cordova, or Orizaba, i. e. 2,700 to 4,000 feet. 

 (New York Medical Record, No. 286, April 29, 187G, p. 291.) 



The situation of the Mexican peninsula between the Atlantic and Pa- 

 cific Oceans, and the nearness of all its cities to one or other ocean, is 

 very different, however, from that of the inland nature of New Mexico ; 



* The present city of Mexico was built upon grounds formerly covered by Lake 

 Tezcuco, and into which it is drained. (See New York Medical Record, April 27, 187G 

 p. 290.) 



