670 



TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Chaves, of Santa F6, Republican, was elected 

 delegate to Congress by a majority of 1,921, 

 in a total vote of 14,467. The Council con- 

 sisted of ten Republicans and three Democrats, 

 and the House of Representatives of twenty 

 Republicans and six Democrats. 



The surface of New Mexico, like that of 

 Arizona, consists of immense elevated plateaus, 

 from which rise occasional bluffs and rounded 

 mountain-summits, often giving evidence of 

 past volcanic action. Through these plateaus 

 the rivers and streams have, during long 

 periods of time, worn deep channels and fur- 

 rowed out valleys, often of picturesque beauty 

 and great fertility. The rivers of New Mexico 

 have not generally such deep and dark canons 

 as those of Arizona; the river valleys are 

 generally narrow, but very fertile. The prin- 

 cipal rivers of the Territory are the Rio Grande, 

 a river strongly resembling the Nile in many 

 particulars; the Pecos, the Canadian, an af- 

 fluent of the Arkansas, and the San Juan and 

 Gila, tributaries of the Colorado. The climate 

 is dry, rather warm, but exceedingly health- 

 ful, and admirably adapted for the growth of 

 the cereals, which, under the thorough irriga- 

 tion practised there, yield immense crops. It 

 is also an excellent country for stock-raising, 

 its grama-grass and mesquit-grass furnishing 

 nutritious food for cattle and sheep, and fatten- 

 ing them rapidly. The infrequency of rain and 

 the mildness of the temperature are great ad- 

 vantages, as it is not necessary to house the 

 stock at any season of the year. Experienced 

 viniculturists pronounce it the best region in 

 the world for the cultivation of the grape for 

 wine. The Apache and Camanche Indians, 

 by their constant depredations upon stock, 

 render the business of stock-raising more pre- 

 carious ; but it is to be hoped that this hin- 

 derance to the growth of the Territory will ere 

 long be obviated. The Pueblo or village In- 

 dians are a quiet, peaceful race, of considerable 

 civilization. The Navajos, though nomadic, 

 are not troublesome. The mineral wealth of 

 the Territory is as yet very imperfectly de- 

 veloped ; but there can be no doubt that it is 

 exceedingly rich in gold and silver ores, which 

 can be easily and cheaply reduced. There are 

 also copper, iron, coal, cinnabar, and zinc. 



Utah. Area, 84,476 square miles. Popula- 

 tion, in 1869, 120,000. Capital, Great Salt Lake 

 City. Governor, J. Wilson Shaffer. The Ter- 

 ritory is intersected by the Wasatch Mountains, 

 which divide it into two unequal parts, that 

 west of the range being the smaller, and in- 

 cluded within the "Great Basin," while the 

 eastern division forms part of the basin drained 

 by the Colorado of the West. The " Great 

 Basin" has no known outlet for the waters 

 which flow down the mountains, and its lakes, 

 which are numerous, are mostly either brackish 

 or salt. Lake Utah, having the river Jordan 

 for its outlet, is an exception, its waters being 

 pure, sweet, and abounding in fish. The gen- 

 eral elevation of the valleys and lakes is from 



4,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea. The moun- 

 tain-ranges traversing its surface rise from 2,000 

 to 7,000 feet above the valleys, the highest 

 peaks being perpetually snow-clad. The lands 

 of the "Great Basin" are generally sterile, for 

 want of moisture, though when irrigated they 

 yield very large crops. The region east of the 

 Wasatch Mountains is a better soil, furnishing 

 excellent grazing-lands, and where irrigated 

 yielding large crops of cereals. Fruits gen- 

 erally succeed remarkably well. There are 

 numerous mineral springs, of various kinds. 

 There are, probably, gold and silver in the foot- 

 hills of the Wasatch range, and lodes have 

 been discovered near Great Salt Lake City ; 

 but the policy of the Mormon leader has been 

 to discourage mining, and hence it has received 

 no development. During the past year a branch 

 of the Union Pacific Railway has been in prog- 

 ress from Ogden to Salt Lake City, and the 

 junction of the Union Pacific and Central 

 Pacific has been effected within the bounds of 

 Utah, at Ogden. The great influx of people 

 from all quarters into the Territory, consequent 

 upon the completion of the great railway, and 

 an uprising of a considerable body of malcon- 

 tents against Brigham Young, the head of the 

 Mormon Church, have created considerable ex- 

 citement among the people of Utah, and may 

 eventually lead to the breaking up of this ex- 

 traordinary community, or to the departure of 

 its leader to some other secluded and desert 

 region. 



Washington. Area, 69,994 square miles. 

 Population, in 1869, estimated 40,000. Capital, 

 Olympia. Governor, E. S. Salomon. At the 

 election for delegate to Congress in 1869, 

 Selucius Garfield, Republican, was chosen, re- 

 ceiving 148 majority in a total vote of 5,338. 

 The Legislature had 5 Republicans to 4 Demo- 

 crats in the Council, and 16 Republicans to 14 

 Democrats in the House. The Territory is 

 divided into two unequal parts by the Cascade 

 range of mountains, the eastern division, in- 

 cluding the great basin of the Columbia, em- 

 bracing an area of 40,000 square miles, and a 

 general altitude of from 1,000 to 2,000 feet 

 above the sea. It is drained by the Columbia 

 River and its tributaries, these tributaries often 

 flowing through canons with perpendicular 

 walls from 500 to 2,000 feet in height. The 

 western portion, extending from the summit of 

 the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean, is divided 

 into three basins, the Columbia, th.e Cheballis, 

 and Puget Sound, and embraces an aggregate 

 area of 28,000 square miles. The climate of 

 the eastern section is generally clear and cold 

 in winter, hot and dry in summer, resembling in 

 temperature that of Southern Ohio and Penn- 

 sylvania. It is chiefly a grazing region, the 

 bunch-grass affording excellent food for cattle. 

 Much of it is also well adapted to the growth 

 of cereals and root crops. The snow falls 

 early, and usually lies till spring. In the 

 western section there are two seasons the 

 wet and dry. The temperature is very mild 



