TEANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 627 



5. The Spanish Tervitories of North America. By E. Von Hesse Waktegg. 



The completion of the new Southern Railroad line across the North American 

 continent to the Pacific coast, within the last two years, opened to geographical 

 explorers and travellers a new held of research and discovery, heretofore rarely 

 visited and very little known on account of the great dangers and hardships of the 

 long and tedious overland voyage thither. 



New Mexico and Arizona, centuries ago thicldy inhabited by the aboriginal 

 races — the Toltecs and the Aztecs — were afterwards made tributary to Spanish and 

 Mexican rule, until they came under the United States' Government in 18-40. Even 

 then these two south-western territories — comprising nearly 240,000 square miles — • 

 remained unexplored, some reconuaissauces of the United States' military officers ex- 

 cepted, among- which are those of Major Powell and Lieutenants Ives and Amory. 

 New Mexico and Arizona, the oldest territories of North America, may therefore be 

 called, with equal reason, the newest ; and as they will evidently soon come into pro- 

 minent notice, tlie author made them the object of a prolonged journey during the 

 first month of 1882. 



Although on the same latitude, and bordering upon each other, they are very 

 dissimilar in their general character, mostly on account of the Ilocky Mountain Range 

 and the distribution of the water-supph'. 



New Mexico is by far the more fertile and more interesting of the two ; especially 

 in the valley of the Rio Grande, the principal river of the territory, traversing it 

 from north to south. This valley, in its general character, its population, ancient ruins 

 and aboriginal habitations, its products and the maimer of agriculture, possesses a 

 certain similarity to Eirypt. 



The Pueblo "(Town) Indians, inhabiting this valley and the neighbouring high 

 ^lesas, are the object of the greatest curiosity to every scientific observer, for they are 

 undoubtedly lineal descendants of the great Aztec race, although some claim them to 

 be of Toltec origin. The author spent considerable time in their fortresses and 

 pueblos, and discovered many highly interesting details regarding their life, their 

 origin, and tlieir relationship to other races. The country around the Rio Grande 

 is full of ancient pueblo ruins, of cliff-dweller houses, burial caves, hieroglyphic in- 

 scriptions, and ancient stone implements. 



The highly fertile Rio Grande valley forms the nucleus of New Mexican wealth, 

 population, agriculture, and traffic. Tlie old Mexican and Indian inhabitants are 

 doomed, and will soon be driven away by the industrious Northerners. The largest 

 cities, including Santa Fo, the capital, Albuquerque and El I'aso, li" in or near this 

 valley. Most of the enormous mineral wealth of the territory is to be found in the 

 mountain ranges on both sides of the river. Towards the south the valley diminishes 

 in extent and fertility, and enters at last a great cactus desert, called the Tornada 

 del Muerto. 



The high plateau of the eastern half of the territory contains much arable and 

 pasture ground admirably adapted for sheep and cattle raising. The western half 

 of New Mexico in general character resembles Arizona, which is the most sterile of 

 any State or Territory of North America, with comparatively very little agriculture 

 in some of the valleys, and limited capacity for cattle-raising. The immense tract 

 of land lying between the Rio Colorado and the Rio Gila (these being the two great 

 rivers of Arizona) is nearly destitute of all water. The southern part of the terri- 

 tory is little more than a desert, with occasional fields of giant cactus ; the tempe- 

 rature is mild and agreeable in winter, but of excessive and luibearable heat in 

 summer. 



The great strength and the principal resources of Arizona are her enormous 

 mineral wealtli, including very rich deposits of gold and silver; also her scenery, 

 which, especially in the northern part and along the Colorado canons, is unequalled 

 in grandeur and weirdness. It will require more railways and settlers to develop 

 the resources of Arizona, and overpower the Navajoes and Apache Indians, whose 

 ravages are still occasionally severely felt by the settlers. 



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