TICmiTY OF THE ARKANSAS. S21 



time or four miles, retaining for a considerable distance the distinguiahlng 

 traits before described. 



The vicinity affords an abundance of game, amongf which are deer, 

 sheep, bear, antelope, elk, and buffalo, together with turkeys, geese, ducks, 

 grouse, mountain-fowls, and rabbits- 

 Affording, as it does, such magnificent and delightful scenery; such 

 rich stores for the supply of human wants, both to please the taste and en 

 rapture the heart ; so heaven-like in its appearance and character, it is no 

 wonder tlie untaught savage reveres it as the place wherein the Good 

 Spirit delights to dwell, and hastens with his free-will offerings to the 

 Btrange fountain, in the full belief that its bubbling waters are the more 

 immediate impersonation of Him whom he adores. 



But, tliere are other scenes adjoining this, that demand a passing notice. 

 A few miles above Fontaine qui Bouit, and running parallel with the east- 

 ern base of the mountain range, several hundred yards removed from 

 it, a wall of coarse, i\3d granite (quite friable and constantly abrading) 

 towers to a varied height of from fifty to three hundred feet. 



This wall is formed of immense strata, planted vertically and not ex- 

 ceeding eight feet in thickness, with frequent openings — so arranged as to 

 describe a complete Une. 



The soil in which they appear is of a reddish loam, almost entirely des- 

 titute of other rock, even to their very base. 



This mural tier is isolated, and occupies its prairie site in silent majesty, 

 as if to guard the approaches to tlie stupendous monuments of nature's 

 handiwork that form the back-ground, disclosing itself to the beholder for 

 a distance of more than thirty miles. 



CHAPTER XXJ. 



Vicinity of the ArkanaM. — Settlement. — The Pueblo. — Rio San Carlos, its valleys 

 and scenery. — Shooting by moonlight. — Taos. — Review of the country travelled 

 over. — Taoa ; ita vicinity, scenery, and mines. — Ranchos and Rancheros. — Mexi- 

 can houses ; their domestic economy, and filth. — Abject poverty and deplorable 

 condition of the lower classes of Mexicans, with a general review of their char 

 acter, and some of the causes contributing to their present degradation.— The Pue 

 bio Indians and their strange notions. — Ancient temple. — Character of the Pueblos 

 -Journey to the Uintah nver, and observations by the way.— Taos Utahs, Pa- 

 atafas, Uintah and Lake Utahs.— The Diggers ; misery of their situation, strange 

 mode of living, with a sketch of their cliaracter.— Tlie Navijos; their civilization, 

 hostility to Spaniards, ludicrous barbarity, bravery, &c., with a sketch of their 

 country, and why they are less favorable to the whites than formerly. 



Thb Arkansas at this point is a clear and beautiful stream, about one 



bnndred and fifty yards Avide. It flows over a bed of rock and pebbles, 



with a rapid current, averaging two leet in depth. Its soutnem bank is 



cteep and inducts to a high sandy prairie, which present a wmewhat ftav- 



19 • 



