THE SANTA FE ROUTE. 63 
lava lies on the soft Pierre shale, and at some places its margin 
presents a cliff showing more or less columnar structure. This cliff 
exists because in most places the original thin margin of the lava flow 
has been removed by erosion and the thick mass of lava, with its 
characteristic columnar structure is exposed. 
In the region extending from Raton Mesa to these volcanic peaks 
there has been prolonged volcanic activity in several separate epochs. 
The caps on the high mesas are remnants of the earliest flows, poured 
out before the surrounding lowlands had been excavated. After 
these outflows ceased erosion progressed, developing valleys and cut- 
ting away a portion of the earlier lava sheets. Then followed erup- 
_ tions of lava, mostly from new vents, which spread out over the lower 
lands. This was repeated at least three times, and between succes- 
sive outflows the valleys were considerably deepened. The last erup- 
tions were very recent, for they closed with the building of cinder 
cones that are still steep-sided and have central craters apparently as 
fresh as if they had just cooled off. Eagletail and other smaller cones 
are visible from the railway; others can not be seen, but the largest, 
Mount Capulin, is only 20 miles east of Hebron. 
From Hebron to and beyond Dorsey the line of cliffs to the west 
continues to be a conspicuous feature. As explained 
above, these cliffs mark the outcrop of the Trinidad 
sandstone at the base of the coal-bearing rocks. The 
gradually trend away toward the southwest, how- 
ever, and near Maxwell are 15 miles from the Santa Fe line. 
Several railways that lead to the coal fields beyond the cliffs on the 
west cross the Santa Fe line south of Raton. One from Dillon to 
Blossburg and another south of Otero have been men- 
Maxwell. tioned; a third goes from Hebron to Van Houten, and 
Elevation 6,068 feet. the fourth is a branch of the El Paso & Southwestern 
Keine Oy mi miles, System, which crosses at French, affording an outlet 
from the extensive mines and coke ovens at Dawson. 
In the Stag Canyon mine at Dawson, on October 22, 1913, occurred 
one of the most disastrous coal-mine explosions ever known in the 
West, causing the death of 263 men. This happened in a completely 
equipped mine, in which all precautions had been taken by the man- 
agement, but disregard of regulations by the miners caused coal dust 
to become ignited, and an extensive explosion followed. 
a valley followed by the railway from Dillon to French is that 
adian River, which rises in the hills west of Raton and flows into 
: Red River in southern Oklahoma. This stream was 
French. originally called Red River, on the supposition that 
Elevation 5,784 feet. it was the head of the Red River of Louisiana and 
Kansas City 706 miles. Avkansas, a mistake finally rectified through explora- 
tions by Capt. Marcy, who discovered that the headwaters a the 
Dorsey. 
Elevation 5,885 feet. 
Kansas City 691 miles. 
