THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 285 



temisia, and where it grows nothing else will flourish, not even grass, 

 to any extent ; and the a])pcarance of the country, covered with this 

 shrub, is one of exceeding desolation. 



■ The district possessed by these people has had for many years the 

 reputation of being the finest grazing country in the Territory of 

 New Mexico, and the fame thereof has reached the eastern portion of 

 the United States. The grass called in the country ''sheep gama" 

 is most abundant, and is found upon the sides of the mountains, upon 

 the mesas, and in the valleys, when not too moist. What is denom- 

 inated " horse gama" is a different species, and is not found except 

 in limited quantities ; almost none may, with propriety, be said to 

 grow in the Navajo country. This variety of gama is excellent for 

 grazing and for hay, being very nutritious and green in the win- 

 ter, when deprived of its cuticle. Horses are exceedingly fond of this 

 species, but of the "sheep gama" they are not. Taking the^ country 

 at largo, it will be found that, in regard to the abundance of natural 

 pasturage, it has been vastly overrated, and we have no hesitation in 

 saying that were the flocks and herds belonging to these Indians 

 doubled, the country could not sustain theni. There isrequired for 

 grazing and procuring hay for the consumption of the animals at Fort 

 Defiance, garrisoned by two companies, one partly mounted, fifty (50) 

 square miles, and this is barely, if at all, sufficient. The hay pro- 

 cured is a very inferior article, and such as could not be sold at a price 

 at all remunerative in the cultivated portions of the United States. 

 The great reputation which this portion of New Mexico has obtained 

 for grazing has, in part, no doubt, arisen from the fact of the country 

 having been but little frequented by the Mexicans, and, consequently, 

 but little known, and from the number of sheep driven from the set- 

 tlements on the Kio Grande by these people, although this, without 

 doubt, has been greatly exaggerated. It is far from uncommon that 

 a country which is little known, has attributed to it many qualities 

 which, on being more inquired into, have scarcely anything to rest 

 upon other than the fertile imaginations of those who have passed 

 through it, or live at some distance from it. The barrenness and des- 

 olation so inseparable from immense masses of rock, and hills and 

 valleys covered with artemisia, are here seen and felt in their widest 

 and fullest extent. 



Pine, scrub-cedar, scrub-oak, and the pinon, are the more common 

 trees. The mountains, except where composed of the bare rock, are 

 sparsely covered with scrub-cedar, pinon, and stunted pines. The 

 large pine, suitable for building purposes, is found in the recesses of 

 the mountains, but is not abundant. The scrub-oak is scarce, and is 

 suitable only as a last resort for economical purposes. _ A few small 

 cotton-v^ood trees are occasionally seen in the damp ravines. A spe- 

 cies of locust, bearing a very beautiful pink flower, has been found, 

 but the trees are small and scarce. The wild hop grows m many 

 places in great luxuriance, and is in every respect suitable for culi- 

 nary purposes. A species of wild currant and wild gooseberry, and 

 various kinds of willow, are met with. The variety of willow from 

 -which the "Northwestern Indians" procure the material so niuch 

 used for smoking, is indigenous, and the bark, when prepared, is 



