TUEKEY MOUNTAII^. 



121 



l)c raised in lands which are watered only by the rain-falL 

 n the most populous country in the world (China) nearly all 

 igriculture is carried on hy means of irrigation. 



Fort Union is distant from MaxwelPs by the road fifty-two 



liles ; from the point where our line of survey crossed Ked 



liver, fifty-six miles. The country is for the most part a vast 



W-ass-covered plain, drained by the Eed Eiver. We are never, 



owever, out of sight of mountains, some of which are isolated, 



nd rise out of the plain with grotesque outlines, such, as 



/Yagon Mountain, shaped exactly like a huge wagon drawn 



y a pair of horses. Most of them partake of the mesa 



[jrmation, as Mesa Apache ; while others form ranges jutting 



'mt from the Eocky Mountains, as the Cimarron range, 



pehind which are raised in stately grandeur tbe snow-capped 



summits of the main cliain. The most beautiful, bowever, is 



urkey Mountain, which sends up its three lofty and graceful 



^ocaks exactly in a direct line to Fort Union from the north-east. 



Eeing on horseback, I took the mountain road to the fort 



In the 21st of August, and had one of the most romantic rides 



I can remember in all my wanderings. The 

 partly volcanic nature of the rocks, together 

 vith the abundance of water, gave a fertility and freshness to 

 he whole landscape, which contrasted most delightfully with 

 .he monotonous plains. Eich grassy parks, studded with noble 

 Tees, and watered by an abundance of rivulets, were hemmed 

 n by glorious turrets of rock, and overshadowed by the 

 ine-clad summits of the peaks, which, with the art of 

 ature, broke the oppressive regularity of the sky-line. 

 For twenty miles I woimd my way through this beautiful 

 country, yet all seemed given over entirely to natm^e, and 

 there was not the trace of a human being except the patb 

 upon which I rode. ISTo flocks or herds cropped the tender 



August 21. 



