TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



735 



The following statement of the production of 

 the precious metals in Montana in 1873 is given 

 by the General Superintendent of Wells, Fargo 

 & Go's Express : Gold dust and bullion by ex- 

 press, $3,241,238 ; by other conveyances, $648,- 

 247 ; silver bullion by express, $3,325 ; total, 

 3,892,810. 



NEW MEXICO. The Legislature of New 

 Mexico, which holds biennial sessions limited 

 to forty days, assembled at Sante F6 on the 

 first Monday in December. It consists of 

 thirteen members in the Senate and twenty- 

 six in the House. Of these, thirty-six are Re- 

 publicans and three Democrats ; thirty-three 

 are Mexicans, and six Americans. About nine- 

 tenths of the voters of the Territory are natives. 

 Owing to the predominance of the Mexican ele- 

 ment, the debates and business of the Legisla- 

 ture are conducted in the Spanish language, 

 which is interpreted for the Americans. The 

 acts of the Assembly are published in both 

 languages. The Delegate to Congress is Stephen 

 B. Elkins, a Republican, elected by a majority 

 of 3,818. The Territorial officers are: Gov- 

 ernor, Marsh Giddings; Auditor, Trinidad 

 Alarid; Treasurer, Antonio Ortiz y Salazar; 

 Adjutant-General, T. S. Tucker ; Attorney- 

 General, S. F. Conway; Attorney, Second 

 District, Benjamin Stevens; Attorney, Third 

 District, J. D. Bail ; Librarian, James C. Mc- 

 Kcnzie. 



The present population of New Mexico is 

 estimated at from 110,000 to 120,000. Sante 

 F6, the capital, is the largest town, and has 

 aliout 6,000 inhabitants. The other chief points 

 are Albuquerque, population 1,500; Mora, 

 1,000; Ocate, 1,200; La Junta, 1,100; Los 

 Vegas, 2,800 ; Taos, 1,700. The Territory is 

 divided into thirteen counties. It is without 

 railroads, though several approach near it. The 

 Denver & Rio Grande (narrow-gauge) Rail- 

 way is in operation to Pueblo, within 120miles 

 of the New Mexican borders, and is graded 

 sixty miles farther in this direction. It will 

 probably be open to Trinidid, some thirty miles 

 from the territorial boundaries, by the summer 

 of 1874. The Atohison, Topeka & Santa F6 

 Railroad is completed to Granada, Colorado, 

 within one hundred and thirty-five miles, and 

 the Kansas Pacific (Kit Carson branch) to West 

 Las Aninw, within about the same distance 

 from the New Mexican boundaries. The lat- 

 ter road is aiming for the Cimmnron country ; 

 the Atchison. Topeka & Santa F6 for the cap- 

 ital of the Territory, and the Denver & Rio 

 (inindc tor Central New Mexico and the capi- 

 tal of Old Mexico. In anticipation of rail- 

 ways at an early day, the last Legislature 

 <1 a general railroad law, and a law ena- 

 bling counties to issue bonds in aid. of rail- 

 wars, as well as an act condemning lands for 

 right of way. Among the measures recom- 

 mended by Governor Giddings for the consid- 

 eration of the Legislature is another memorial 

 to Congress in relation to the old Spanish 

 grants, referring to which he says : " There are 



large tracts of lands covered by grants made 

 long ago, and if one attempts to settle on 

 some of the best lands he finds, perhaps, that 

 some man has one of these grants, the boun- 

 daries of which he cannot leurn, as the grant 

 has not been surveyed, marked, or bounded, 

 and it may, upon investigation, overlap the 

 very land which the immigrant of to-day 

 wishes to secure for a home. There is so much 

 uncertainty about it that a wise and prudent 

 man refuses to lay foundations on such pre- 

 carious tenure, and he who was ready but a 

 day since to invest his money and become a 

 permanent resident of New Mexico is to- day 

 driven away from the most delightful climate 

 to seek a residence in some other country." 



Two years ago the Legislature provided for 

 a system of common schools and for their sup- 

 port by taxation. During the past year free 

 schools have been maintained, and a lively in- 

 terest in the subject is manifested by the people. 



The bonded debt of the Territory amounts 

 to a little less than $60,000, which bears in- 

 terest at the rate of ten per cent, per annum. 

 In addition to which there are outstanding 

 warrants amounting to about $30,000 ; but- the 

 nncollected taxes due the Territory exceed this 

 amount. 



New Mexico has suffered greatly from In- 

 dian raids. There are in this Territory of the 

 different bands of Utes, Apaches and Nava- 

 jocs, according to the estimate of ex-Governor 

 Arny, now Indian agent, 4,278 warriors, 5,326 

 women and 4,745 children; total, 14.349. The 

 Pueblos, who hold large grants, principally 

 in the county of Santa Fe, occupy twenty vil- 

 lages, with an aggregate population of 7,683, 

 and own lands to the amount of 500,000 

 acres. Of the Pueblos, Governor Giddings 

 remarks : " They are quiet, docile, law-abid- 

 ing, self-supporting communities, and among 

 the best inhabitants of New Mexico, never 

 seeking aid from abroad, nor has the Govern- 

 ment ever bestowed a dollar upon them. They 

 are entitled to great credit for their good be- 

 havior always, and their constant loyalty to 

 the Government, and to the interests of the 

 whites have they constantly attached them- 

 selves in resisting the encroachments of the 

 wild, hostile Indians." 



While fully nine-tenths of the voters are na- 

 tives, three Americans have been elected to 

 Congress since 1851, and at every election 

 since that time Americans have been elected 

 to the Legislature. During the war the natives 

 were unanimously loyal to the Government. 

 They desire immigration, building of railroads, 

 increased educational advantages, and the in- 

 troduction of capital and labor. 



UTAH. On the 14th of February President 

 Grant laid before the Senate n message rec- 

 ommending special legislation for Utah, This 

 wa deemed necessary in consequence of the 

 judicial difficulties that had arisen in that 

 Territory. The United States Courts had been 

 greatly embarrassed by the action of the Terri- 



