THE DESERT AND THE ROSE 119 



rock formations only belong arbitrarily, there is 

 a collection of caverns in or between which are 

 deep hollows rilled in the rainy season with water. 

 An ardent cactus collector was the first person to 

 tell me of the Tanks. She and her son had camped 

 there often, and she told me that grass and trees 

 grow around the edges of these pools, and that the 

 caves are in some instances labyrinthine and the 

 walls covered with Indian picture writing and in- 

 scriptions left by pioneers and soldiers of the past, 

 but that even at the date of her visits many years 

 ago city barbarians were already doing their best 

 to deface historic relics they are too ignorant to 

 value. The overland stages mentioned in an earlier 

 chapter crossed the Rio Grande some five miles 

 north of my ranch and went on to the Tanks to ob- 

 tain water and probably fresh horses, the grazing 

 being good there; and just because of the water and 

 the grazing many a struggle with Indians took place 

 at that point. It seems a pity that our country can- 

 not take care of its comparatively few historic 

 spots, and, yet worse, destroy for commercial rea- 

 sons interesting and picturesque corners of our 

 cities, which have for generations attracted trav- 

 elers. A short-sighted policy indeed, considering 

 how little of the historic and artistic our cities have 

 to bestow ! 



In view of the enormous size of New Mexico and 

 its as yet imperfectly settled condition, its criminal 

 record is not startling. 



"If there were more rain in this country there 



