152 NEW TEACKS IN NOETH AMEEICA. 



again. Poor Judge Slough, tlie cHcf justice of the territory 

 wlio was amouf^st the kindest of our hosts, was shot in i 



duel at the foiida before we had reached San Francisco. 

 The quarrel originated out of some political dispute at the 

 election of delegate. Not long since, an indefatigable 

 traveller came back from his explorations about the 35th 

 parallel; he also stopped at the fonda, and while collect- 

 ing additional information* at Santa Fe, was stabbed in the 

 gambling room of the hotel, and all his papers perished with 

 him. 



General Palmer held quite a leyee here. His rooms were 

 always crowded with men either interested in the railway or 

 well acquainted with some portion of the country to the 

 westward. Here all possible . information was obtained 

 both about the 32nd and 35th parallel routes, and the 

 relative advantages seemed from the reports to be so evenly 

 balanced, that the General decided finally that both routes 

 must be separately examined, and that some of the sm'vcyors 

 must retrace their steps from Fort Craig, while others were 

 immediately sent for from the States. 



When tired of work, Palmer, Colton, and myself would 

 saddle oiu' horses and ride up the mountains, amongst the 



and pine forests, and enjoy 



the 



enchanting climate. Santa Fe stands at an elevation of about 

 7,000 feet above the sea, and the great eastern main chain of 

 the Kocky Mountains ends in some fine bold spurs a little to 

 the north of the town. Every day was cool, calm, and 

 cloudless, the atmosphere was so clear and sparkling that it 

 was a perfect luxury to allow the eye to wander far away 

 over the vast tracts of country which lay at our feet as we 

 climbed up the mountains ; and to contrast the undulatuig 

 plain on one side, the broken rugged country on the other, 



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