﻿326 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  stroyed 
  them 
  utterly. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  objected 
  that 
  this 
  season 
  was 
  an 
  

   exceptional 
  one 
  ; 
  but 
  I 
  remember 
  seeing 
  different 
  persons 
  cutting 
  their 
  

   fine-looking 
  wheat 
  for 
  hay, 
  which 
  they 
  would 
  not 
  have 
  done 
  if 
  they 
  had 
  

   had 
  any 
  hopes 
  of 
  harvesting 
  the 
  grain. 
  Much 
  has 
  been 
  said 
  of 
  the 
  in- 
  

   dolence 
  of 
  the 
  Mexicans 
  and 
  the 
  rudeness 
  of 
  their 
  farming-implements, 
  

   but 
  I 
  doubt 
  very 
  much 
  whether 
  the 
  most 
  enterprising 
  white 
  farmers, 
  

   with 
  all 
  the 
  modern 
  appliances, 
  could 
  make 
  grain-raising 
  a 
  success 
  on 
  

   the 
  west 
  side 
  of 
  San 
  Luis 
  Valley. 
  

  

  Traveling 
  northward 
  along 
  the 
  main 
  road 
  to 
  Del 
  Forte, 
  we 
  reached 
  

   Conejos, 
  a 
  Mexican 
  village 
  on 
  a 
  stream 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  name. 
  Its 
  elevation 
  

   above 
  the 
  sea 
  is 
  7,880 
  feet. 
  Here 
  is 
  the 
  post-office 
  for 
  the 
  many 
  villages 
  

   in 
  the 
  vicinity. 
  The 
  stream 
  is 
  fringed 
  with 
  a 
  rich 
  growth 
  of 
  cottonwood 
  

   far 
  out 
  into 
  the 
  plain, 
  but, 
  os 
  with 
  the 
  San 
  Antonio, 
  the 
  Alamosa, 
  and 
  

   others, 
  the 
  timber 
  ceases 
  long 
  before 
  the 
  stream 
  reaches 
  the 
  Eio 
  Grande. 
  

   This 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  due 
  neither 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  heat 
  nor 
  to 
  the 
  want 
  of 
  water, 
  

   but 
  to 
  the 
  leanness 
  of 
  the 
  soil. 
  As 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  sediment 
  from 
  the 
  mount- 
  

   ains 
  extends, 
  just 
  so 
  far 
  the 
  timber 
  grows, 
  but 
  no 
  farther. 
  The 
  Conejos 
  

   runs 
  in 
  a 
  shallow 
  shifting 
  bed, 
  and 
  every 
  spring 
  the 
  water 
  overflows 
  its 
  

   banks. 
  Passing 
  this 
  point, 
  we 
  camped 
  a 
  few 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  north, 
  near 
  a 
  

   low 
  bluff', 
  where 
  a 
  ditch 
  supplied 
  us 
  with 
  water. 
  From 
  here 
  we 
  had 
  an 
  

   extensive 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  plain. 
  Standing 
  on 
  the 
  general 
  level, 
  and 
  looking 
  

   toward 
  the 
  northeast, 
  we 
  could 
  see 
  the 
  plain 
  50 
  miles 
  away, 
  and 
  nearly 
  

   the 
  whole 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  sand-hills 
  at 
  Mosca 
  Pass. 
  As 
  the 
  curvature 
  of 
  

   the 
  earth 
  for 
  the 
  given 
  distance 
  would 
  be 
  nearly 
  1,700 
  feet, 
  the 
  sand- 
  

   hills 
  would 
  be 
  entirely 
  invisible 
  if 
  the 
  valley 
  were 
  truly 
  level 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  

   slopes 
  from 
  the 
  ends 
  of 
  the 
  line 
  to 
  the 
  Eio 
  Grande 
  near 
  the 
  middle, 
  thus 
  

   nearly 
  neutralizing 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  curvature. 
  At 
  this 
  season 
  so 
  clear 
  was 
  

   the 
  atmosphere 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  morning 
  and 
  evening 
  we 
  could 
  see 
  distinctly 
  

   all 
  the 
  main 
  ridges 
  of 
  the 
  Sierra 
  Blanca 
  and 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  ravines, 
  

   although 
  they 
  were 
  40 
  miles 
  distant 
  in 
  a 
  straight 
  line. 
  We 
  made 
  sta- 
  

   tions 
  99 
  and 
  100 
  on 
  a 
  grassy 
  plateau 
  between 
  the 
  Conejos 
  and 
  the 
  Eio 
  

   de 
  la 
  Jara. 
  On 
  the 
  sides 
  facing 
  the 
  streams 
  are 
  bluffs 
  of 
  considerable 
  

   height, 
  but 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  the 
  plateau 
  is 
  raised 
  above 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  San 
  Luis 
  

   Valley 
  by 
  a 
  low 
  bluff 
  20 
  to 
  50 
  feet 
  in 
  height. 
  West 
  from 
  station 
  100 
  

   across 
  the 
  Jara 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  small 
  streams 
  came 
  down, 
  cutting 
  deep 
  

   gorges. 
  Between 
  them 
  appeared 
  narrow 
  plateau 
  peninsulas 
  surrounded 
  

   by 
  bluffs, 
  except 
  on 
  the 
  west, 
  where 
  a 
  narrow 
  isthmus 
  connected 
  them 
  

   with 
  the 
  main 
  plateau. 
  

  

  Crossing 
  the 
  Jara 
  and 
  the 
  Agaa 
  Caliente, 
  we 
  made 
  station 
  101 
  on 
  the 
  

   north 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Alamosa 
  where 
  that 
  stream 
  emerges 
  from 
  its 
  caiion 
  

   into 
  the 
  valley. 
  At 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  our 
  visit 
  the 
  grasshoppers 
  covered 
  the 
  

   ground 
  in 
  great 
  numbers, 
  and 
  consumed 
  all 
  the 
  grass 
  left 
  by 
  the 
  sheep. 
  

   These 
  pests, 
  continually 
  jumping 
  into 
  the 
  stream, 
  furnish 
  food 
  for 
  the 
  

   trout. 
  Harry 
  Yount, 
  our 
  packer, 
  succeeded 
  in 
  catching 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  these 
  

   fish, 
  and 
  found 
  them 
  gorged 
  with 
  the 
  insects. 
  Thirty-five 
  full-grown 
  

   grasshoppers 
  and 
  a 
  water-worm 
  were 
  taken 
  from 
  one 
  fish 
  of 
  about 
  a 
  pound 
  

   weight. 
  

  

  Having 
  finished 
  the 
  main 
  range, 
  we 
  took 
  our 
  course 
  eastward, 
  down 
  

   the 
  Alamosa, 
  then 
  across 
  the 
  intervening 
  plain 
  to 
  the 
  Conejos. 
  Here, 
  

   at 
  a 
  point 
  a 
  few 
  miles 
  above 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  stream, 
  we 
  found 
  some 
  

   white 
  settlers, 
  and 
  succeeded 
  in 
  getting 
  some 
  potatoes, 
  which 
  we 
  

   esteemed 
  a 
  rare 
  luxury 
  after 
  our 
  long 
  abstinence 
  from 
  vegetables. 
  The 
  

   valley 
  of 
  the 
  Conejos 
  in 
  this 
  region 
  is 
  very 
  narrow, 
  while 
  beyond 
  on 
  

   either 
  side 
  the 
  plain 
  extends 
  for 
  miles, 
  being 
  covered 
  with 
  sage-brush 
  

   and 
  cactus, 
  the 
  latter 
  quite 
  scarce, 
  however. 
  The 
  plain 
  is 
  not 
  composed 
  

   of 
  loose, 
  shifting 
  sand, 
  like 
  many 
  deserts 
  elsewhere, 
  but 
  the 
  sand 
  and 
  

  

  