102 NEW TRACKS IN NORTH AMERICA. 



some very rougli "broken country, witli "bluffs and caiions on 

 all sides. Witli difficulty we descended into a wide rayine or 

 yallcy, running nearly east and west^ where we saw some 



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cattle grazing ; and tlien, continuing our eastern course along 

 it, we came upon some ranelies owned "by two Americans, 

 Emery and Murpliy by name. As it was nearly six o'clock 

 we determined to stop here for the night, and while feasting 

 upon some excellent black-tailed deer, lu-orided by our hos- 

 pitable hosts, we had a pleasant chat about their fine domain. 



This is one of the chief head yallcys of the Cimarron, 

 and is well watered by a perennial stream. Through it 

 runs a trail which, though a yery good one, is used only 

 occasionally by wagons passing between Fort Union and the 

 Arkansas. 



Murphy had two hundred acres of land under cultiyation, 

 which he irrigated or not, according to circumstances. 

 Although he did not consider iiiigation necessary, he found 

 that it paid well to cmiAoj it, as it prcyented the risk 

 failure and mcreased the productiveness of the crop. Emei 

 had turned his attention to stock raising, and spoke most 

 highly of the whole district. His cattle were in fine con- j 

 dition, and they could not haye been otherwise with an 

 unlimited supply of such rich pasture to feed upon. It is 

 unnecessary to house either sheep, oxen, or horses during the 

 winter, for neither frost nor snow are eyer seyere in any of 

 the yallcys on the southem slope of the mountains, and but 

 seldom affect the pastures in any of them. 

 • Next day we . completed the ciiTle by retm-ning on the 

 other or southern side of the range, and recrossing it through 

 the Trinchera Pass to camp. 



On some of the heads of the Cimarron Eiyer, which Tre 

 passed en route^ there were two or thi'ee ranches owned by 



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