DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 27 
by the bluff edge of the mesa, 700 feet in height, that divides it from the valley of Rio Puerco. 
The best point for ascending it is below Isleta. Between Albuquerque and Atrisco the river is 
wide, shallow, and usually fordable—measuring 650 yards in width, from bank to bank, and 
two to three feet in depth, in two channels which enclose a shifting sand-bar. The banks are 
flooded during freshets. The crossing at Isleta is much more favorable for the construction of 
a bridge. Spurs, from twenty to twenty-five feet in height, from each side come down to the 
water’s edge, and the width of the river between is about 800 feet. The bluff of the Puerco 
mesa here makes a salient point, but below forms a re-entering angle back of Las Lunas, where 
a wide and open ravine leads by a gentle ascent near to the top. The valley of Rio Grande, 
opposite the village, is wide, and upon both sides of the river are groves of timber. 
The ascent from Isleta commences at station 1, and follows the edge of the mesa slope. Con- 
siderable lava and volcanic cones were found in the vicinity of the trail. The soil of the lower 
portion of the hill is sandy. The upper stratum of the mesa is a rocky cliff, nearly unbroken 
upon our right until we reach the water-course at F. Station 4 is upon the top of the mesa. 
Thence for several miles the surface is nearly level, and beyond, we gradually descend by a 
wide ravine to the Puerco valley, near the mouth of Rio San José. 
From Isleta, with light cutting and filling across the gentle spurs, and by keeping higher 
upon the slope to the right of the trail, the maximum grade to station 3 would be 52.5 feet per 
mile. From station 3 to station 4, with a maximum filling of 30 feet, the grade is 76 feet. 
From 4 to 5, the location is on the top of the mesa nearly level. From station 5 to Camp 62, 
the grade is from 46 to 56 feet per mile. 
At Camp 62, the bed of Rio Puerco is 18 feet below the alluvial soil of the valley. It can be 
bridged with a span of 100 feet. The tongue of land included between Rio San José and the 
Puerco is formed by a ridge of hills, with flat tops, covered with cedar trees. The trail crossed 
this ridge a few miles north of the valley of San José. 
The ascent to the hills is quite steep. From station 1 to station A, the soil is composed of 
clay and sand. Twenty-five yards to the left of station A is a hill containing coal. Station 2 
is between two hills, 20 yards distant and 20 feet in height, composed of sandstone. At station 
3 commences an ascent of 200 feet in two-thirds of a mile, station 8 being upon the summit. 
Station 12 is in an arroyo 50 feet below the general surface. To the left of station 16, one mile 
from the trail, are hills covered with cedar trees. From station 15 to 16, the ground has a 
general slope towards the San José valley upon the left. To the right of the trail there is a 
range of hills with rocky sides. At station 16 they come within 20 yards of the trail, and are 
85 feet high ; somewhat further on, they are composed of red and white sandstone. The valley 
extends to the left about a mile, and is bounded by a mountainous range covered with cedar- 
trees. About station 17 the soil is sandy, with but little grass. One mile to the right of the 
trail, from station 17 to 19, there is a range of hills 120 feet high. The base is formed of a 
stratum of red sandstone. Thence we follow the wide valley of Rio San José, in which is the 
deserted valley of Rito, to Camp 63, where steep, rocky banks approach the river, forming a 
cañon. On the right, the red sandstone bluff is 300 feet high. The stream here, usually called 
Rio Rito, is a good-sized brook ; the water is slightly impregnated with salts. 
The route from Rio Puerco to Camp 63 should follow the valley of Rio San José, which 
affords a light grade, 17.5 feet per mile being the natural inclination of the stream. The trail is 
less favorable ; though in the vicinity of it, with considerable cutting and filling, a line may be 
traced whose maximum grade would be 70 feet per mile for a distance of two and a quarter miles. 
Between Camp 63 and the Pueblo of Laguna, the San José river is deflected towards the north 
by a spur of hills, at the point of which a narrow cañon is formed. The wagon trail is across 
the hills; though with some labor in rock cutting, the banks of the stream would doubtless 
afford a better location for a railroad. From Camp 63, the trail follows the edge of the stream 
to station 4, where it turns into a ravine upon the left, and ascends the high lands. From 
station 7 to 10, the rise is 79 feet in a third of a mile. Thence, passing the crest, the descent is 
