American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-07-22
81 For the American Telegraph.
NOTES ON NEW MEXICO-No. Is.

1EI aAd3. ----- -. LII .~---- #l a 8
9b. q ts For the American Telegraph. ta
NOTES ON NEW MEXICO--No. Is.
! By HENRY HARDY. a
| Before disnissing Santa Fe ought to notice
| its surroundings. Among the most prominent
| of these is Fort Marcy, built under ordcrsgof
General Kearney, at his occupation of the
country in 1916. 1t occupies commanding
position on q rise of ground about half mile
northeast of the town, but is at present un-
tenanted. The only thing about it now used
is the battle-ground, which is said to contain
| the remains of more than thousand Ameri-
cans, military and civilian, who have closed
| their mortal careers in Santa Fe. The soil and
climate are SO dry that the bodies are said to
be kept in their graves for years with scarcely
| any change Southwest Of Fort Marcy, and
due north of the town, are the barracks, the
same as used by the Mexicans prior to the Con-
quest The parade ground is large and level,
| tlanked to the north and east by low adobe huts
constituting the mems quarters. Between the
parade ground and the town are large corrals
surrounded by pine palisades, used for keeping
| the horses and mules Of the quartermaster's
| department. ".a@ IS 'i
| Going round towards the west on the out
skirts, you meet with the military hospital,
right comfortably arranged, and kept under the
supervision of my able friend DR.. Chas McDou-
gall, the chief /" medicine man. Of New Mexico.
Yet further round, you arrive at the ordnance
depot, with the necessary workshops and the
residence of its superintendent. At third Of
a miles distance, across a bald, barren plain,
stands solitary the church of San Juan, of
which have before spoken. From this plain
| one has a good view of the Jemez mountains,
west of the Rio Grande, and about fifty or sixty
| miles off. Continuing the circuit you pass some
small rancherias with their outlying fields of q
| few acres, with here and there an establishment
of the hacienda order, until you get to the new
Guadalupe church, from which pursuing the
boundaries you cross merely cornfeds and ace
quias, meeting with nothing of public mark till
you come upon q line running about east from
the centre of the town, and passing through the
parroquia, or principal church of the place.
The only edifce in Santa Fe having a roof
with double slope, is frame building erected
on the east face of the grand plaza by COM
pany of Americans, and entitled "The Ex-
change" As | was one morning going out OF
the door of this building encountered a couple
4 Of Pueblo. Indians, very Indian indeed, and |
suppose from distant part Of the territory,
| for they had never before seen "The Exchange"
| One of them, most powerfully built man, with
| a chest nearly yard over, addressed himself to
me, and looking up at the building, so new in
style to him, with strong marks of gratifed
curiosity, warmly shook my hand, exclaiming,
All que bonita casa! que bonita casa !"
What pretty house! what a pretty house ~
By way Of keeping up this pleasurable excite
ment in the minds of the honest Indians, / re-
| turned with them to the inside, pointing out the
!" lions" to their great delight. The glitter of
the bottles and decanters of the bar, with the
jaunty and saloon-like air of the apartment, no
doubt gave them very favorable idea of the
taste of clos Americanos," and their great
| superiority over their erstwhile neighbors the
Grisos. The Exchange is used as an eating and
drinking house, and has an apartment specially
| sacred to the genius of gambling In this room
every evening, Sundays included, are assembled
groups Of men around the several monte tables,
one of which is conducted by Sonora or Madame
| Tule, either in person or by deputy. This lady
| is fast verging on the "sere and yellow leaf"
| but nevertheless keeps up character for both
business and gallantry. 1 have heard her de-
scribed as very rich, but take the liberty to
doubt the statement Madame Tule has long
been a sort of Goness in Santa Fe. She ranks
with the ton and lives in the best style.
The greater part of the time | spent in Santa
| Fe was passed in my sick-room. The change
from the vigorous exercise, free fresh air, hard
living and sleeping, and stirring excitement of
the plains, to the loungings, wine and toddy
| sippings, soft beds and stimulating food of the
town, soon produced its effect upon my system
with its sanguineo-bilious temperament, and
brought me under the influence of those insidi-
Gus snow-bearing currents of mountain air that
| in the late fall or early winter, when the days
are hot and the nights pinching, are so well
calculated TO induce deep-rooted and dangerous
/ fevers.
My sickness--whicb, by vigorous depletion
or decided cdthdrsts Mt first arriving, | after
wards felt | might have avoided-soon deve-
oped itself into the form Of cgndnche tonsilldris
| or, more briefly, tonsilais, and gave me a sick
spell, )" much the severest that / ever encoun-
tered. For the first time in my life had to be
| bled, and freely too, and to submit daily or
oftener to the unpleasurable but efficacious eau
| terization of the tonsils of the throat. My
excellent physician, DR.. McDougall, was so
kind and unremitting in his attention, that the
agreeable prospect Of getting well again, about
| the time of my convalescence, was not unmin-
ged with q consciousness of q necessary loss
Of the pleasure | was experiencing in tho half
hours he would spend with me, during which
though from the condition of my throat but
poorly sustained on my part-most interesting
and instructive conversations we're kept up.
Happily for my safety, he was able to prevent
my malady from falling into erysipelas-a form
Of disease Justly dreaded in New Mexico, as
being frequently fatal, and, even under the most
favorable circumstances, very slow of cure.
One particular discomfort is matter Of just
and general complaint with the ailing in Santa
Fe this is painful papitation, or beating ot
the heart, owing to the diminished atmospheric
pressure arising from the aerial elevation of the
place. When the nervous energy of the system
is impaired, the heart seems to have lifting
motion, and TO strike the bosom higher up thar
its apparent place, producing a sharp and
piercing sensation, that, until explained, wears
features decidedly alarming. Some persons