6 
VALLEY OF THE EIO GRANDE.—MESILLA VALLEY. 
only embrace such subjects as have an immediate bearing upon the duties with which I have 
been charged. 
The valley of the Eio Grande, between the parallels of 37° and 32° north latitude, comprises 
more than nine-tenths of all the settlements of New Mexico, and contains a population of about 
50,000 persons. The only other settlements in the Territory, with the exception of three or 
four small villages west of the river, lie along and very near to the great road from Santa Fe 
to Independence, and in no case are found further from the valley of the Rio Grande than 
seventy miles. 
That portion of the country which properly comes within the scope of this expedition extends 
from the parallel of 32° 30' to the parallel of 31° 30', and embraces the extreme southern por¬ 
tion of New Mexico, including the Mesilla and Dona Ana valleys, with their villages, and a 
portion of the county of El Paso, in Texas, including the village of Franklin, opposite the 
Mexican town of El Paso, and the villages of Isletta and San Elizario, lower down on the 
river. 
The only arable land in this distance of eighty-five miles is that portion of the immediate 
valley of the Rio Grande which can be irrigated from the river; and, in consequence, the entire 
population, not probably exceeding eight thousand, is confined within these limits. Consider¬ 
able crops of grain, principally corn and wheat, are raised; but the wealth of the inhabitants 
is in their herds of cattle and mules, sheep and goats. The peculiarly favorable character for 
grazing of the table-lands east and West of the valley of the river, induces, or rather renders 
necessary, the herding of their stock many miles from the settlements; and to protect these 
people and their property thus exposed from the Indians who infest the country, the military 
posts in this section of country have been established. 
The Mesilla valley, so called, is about ten miles in length along the west bank of the river, 
and from two to three miles in breadth to the base of the elevated table-lands which enclose the 
valley of the Rio Grande. The two villages of Mesilla and San Tomas—the first with a popu¬ 
lation of about three thousand, the second of about three hundred—are the only villages of the 
valley. A few detached settlements occur, and would probably swell the entire population of 
the valley to three thousand five hundred persons. 
Dona Ana, opposite the northern extremity of the Mesilla, is the oldest town in this part of 
the country, having been first settled in 1842. Las Cruces, Las Tortugas, and the military 
post of Fort Fillmore, are the only settlements between Dona Ana and El Paso, and the popu¬ 
lation of the valley opposite the Mesilla does not exceed fifteen hundred. 
Molino, two miles above, and Franklin, opposite El Paso, are the first settlements which are 
found south of Fort Fillmore; the ranch of Frontera having been abandoned. With the town 
of Isletta, twelve miles, and the town of San Elizario, twenty-five miles below Molino, they 
number about three thousand souls. 
The valley of the Rio Grande above Dona Ana, although by far the richest and best timbered 
portion of New Mexico, has for many years remained uninhabited as far up as the little village 
of San Antonio—one hundred and fifteen miles—in consequence of its peculiar position, mid¬ 
way between powerful bands of Apache Indians, occupying the mountains east and west, and 
from obstacles of ground along the river, which have induced all the travel across the famous 
“Jornada del Muerto,” which occupies two-thirds of the entire distance. The great highway 
from New Mexico to Chihuahua leaves the river where the obstacles to travel along its banks 
begfn to present themselves; and, traversing a high, arid plain—without wood, with little 
water, and with very indifferent grass—again descends upon the valley, at a distance of about 
eighty miles; having only effected a gain in distance of about fifteen miles. The military 
commander of the department of New Mexico has constructed a good road along the banks of 
the river, and has established a military post (Fort Thorne) in the valley, and opposite the 
centre of the Jornada; and all government trains and movements of troops are now required 
to pursue this route. These wise measures will soon put an end to the dangers and privations 
