Santa Fe weekly gazette. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 185?-1859, 1857-03-07

longs. Inc enllTc uDScncc VI iVSshsi hu q,
"bundant in the crctaceous usroeks, and ofgreen
"sands and chalk, and the existence in il OF
enormous masses Of amorphous and cristalli.
"zed gypsum extending over hun reds Of MI
"Ies OF country IN every direction would seem
ITO point to some other group, while the same
''want Of fossils, the soitness Of the rock, and
"the total absence Of the magnetism limestone
would seem to be nearly conclusive against
"the "Trias" It's certain however, that
thin scale Of cretaceous limestone is found
Covering its upper surface in many places.
ITO whatever period this formation may be
referred there can be no question but that
"the alternative of strata pervious and imper'
"vious to water, md cropping at high altitn.
"des eminently adapts 1t to receive and re.
"tain abundant underground reservoirs, and
''the experiments made by the party under my
charge concmsively exhibit the existence OF
abundant successive seams Of water from
'three hundred down to eight hundred and
sixty feet below The surface, the deepest
point to which borings have been carried,
"Ths mizcallcd desert iSeyery where (except
"in limited strips) covered with luxurant
growth Of grama grass nutritious during
"the whole year, and as an about to ex.
"plain contains fuel Of the best quality in
more than abundance for all purposes what
lever. The mesquite root so called is hard
"and compact, and varies in size from three
ITO six inches in diameter In its rnmiiica-
"tions it extends at least forty feet below the
"surface and the same area will furnish as
"much, as easily accessible, and better fuel
"than any elual extent of timbered lands i'll
'the United States. This will doubtes ap'
pear strange, but it is nevertheless true, and
within circuit Of one and half miles ro'
"und my camp, on the "Llano" five hundred
wagon loads Of this fuel have been hauled
"and used during the past summer, without
"perceptbly affecting the supply. have
drought in for the examination Of the depart
"ment specimens Of this fuel and ( the char
"coal made from it upon the surface Of tue
} ground without pits, pronounced by the me.
"charics better by far than any which can 10
, obtained from the best prepared pits in this
Country Other species Of wood much re-
"scmbling mahogany in grain and color, and
: more hard and heavy, than the "ignum Vi
: "tae0 also found npon this plain are and spe-
: "clmens Of them will be furnished to the de.
+ 'partment. The soil which from description
+ would seem in itself to be sterile, ] believe
!, furnishes on inexhaustable supply Of fertiliz.
, ling calcareouS marls, and ] am only waiting
: "the analysis Of o chemist, to confirm this o
+ "pnion. For depth OF 800 feet every par.
"tlcfe Of sandstone, mar or clay brought up
"by the boring exhibited o lively eaeryesence
I when treated with an acid, an evidence Of
1 "thc existence throughout Of finely pulverzed
"me, and cannot but believe that this
: whole formation from the case with which It
E 'can be procured will one day play an impor-
4 "tant part i'll manuring the lands both to the
5 'east and the west"
: upon the surface Of this entire area Of
= 'plan and mountain the water and hard tim
: "bcr are uuequally and badly distributed.
''The Sacramento mountains, and the plains
: "between that range and the Guadalupe con.
: "tains great abundance Of hard wood, and arc
: "well watered by numerous streams between
"the parallels Of 32 80 aud 349 but within
: 'these limits no line from east to west pructl.
"cable for rail road is believed to exist. A.
"bundant forests Of magnificent pines are 70
! "und everywhere along these ranges OF moun'
: "tains between the Rio Grande and the Pecos
! ''and can be easily transported TO any
'pont on the 80 parallel to the south.
"trust that the above brief description will
, furnish sufficient information concerning the
; general characteristic features Of this region
: ITO enable the department, to appreciate OF
! ''their full value the suggestions ! am about
: 9 ito offer and the reasons upon which they ars
y based"
= "Of the 100000 square miles Of land H.
!. ',cuded in the region Of country in question
: "but little except the limited strip along the
Immediate valley Of the Rio Grande bas been
occupied, and nearly the whole Of this inl-
J ''mense region seems doomed by the peculla
u "rity Of its geological structure to solitude
/ "and unproductiyeness, independent Of the
i absolute loss Of so large quantity Of land
'f othis solitary and now inhabited region IN
L "terposes a serious and nearly impracticablc
Q "barrier to lines Of communication with our
! possessions in New Mexico and on the Pa
: "ciGc. 1t seems indeed deplorable that SC
great an extent Of territory every where co
= "vered with grass, nutritious during thu whole
+ "ycor, emminently adapted from its climate
= for the raising at no expense Of enormous
Quantities Of stock, possessing q fertile sol
: ''and prolific in precious metals, should from
: "thc mere absence Of one element, be abando
Z med to this solitary and worse than useless
! Condition, and il would appear that the Go
Y "vernment would gladly adopt any reasonable
= 'means to deycopc and make ssc Of supplies
n f,,h;ok oat,,rn hoo en- nhnnflnntlv nrt1tldcl