New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-03-17

lrS ~ laf ds l8MG HSViQ ana Sfs a08E
LoursvrLLs, March ls~-The Ohio fver Il lin
point is falling, vita sfeet inches 81 water e a.
canal, and s feet in the pass On fhe falls,
sew Me.iso and sa.s colorasses
The National Intelligcncer publishes ar cxffaets
Of lecture by DR.. y. 8. EewberTy, upon ssg s,slb
ject Of the physical features-sf New Mexico ffart
which we extract the foIlousHg
The expedition Of 1867 -'5s (which the leatnxer
accompanied was ordered ~ Congress fos fhe
the Colorado, more ready andseouvsniesis acesss
TO the Indian regiona Of Northwcstsrn New Meax.
leo, inhabited by the Nayajoes, and also fo the
southern parts Of the Territory Of Utah, the UneS
the Mormons and Navajoes. The CC1or4d0 ID ai,out
one Thousand miles long, and wass ascends8 by n
Lieut. Ives expedition n the uttIe steamer II
character Of the trip It was 70 undertake, for nse
distance Of hFe hundred miles In passing mn he
Colorado, the scenery and surroundings were
character Parts Of the distance fhror,wh Wffeh q
the Colorado flows appear like vast cSverfss ~
that a traveller on the tablc lands RAY see Wsxsr
for days together and YET perish Of thirst for suek
margin Of the rivers banks or rather such "a the
perpendicularity Of those banks that they cs5 fof
the most part, neither be ascended nsr descended
river deacends to the Gulf Of California are termed
cdRo1s, whilst the table lands are called U1es1s II
Spanish word, but now quite thoroughly natural
lied among the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants and traY-
elers in those western regions. % q
Prof. Newberry gave 9 pretty minute deserip
to ten Ct the voyage q te Explorer np the Cclorsds
In that mysterious stream, when her eprirse sss5s
machinery were displaced, and rendered useIesas
for the rest OF the voyage. Some Of the calfonu
through which the Colorado and its tributaries
pass, have banks with perpendicular walls fully
three thousand feet in hight but this IN the loer
part of its course further mp, AZ table land over
tops table land, these can0ns increase ID f7ve tos
and feet and OF one portion of tie river there q
chasm with perpendisular sides net less tlIan six
thousand feet high. '' ls'53g,
By means Of sectional maps, Prof. Newberrv ex-
hibited to the audience the general formation IL
the continent taking the parallel 81 tirtysfve as
greea for the line along which hia sectiOn pr0eees
The first mountain range east of Tho Pacifc cs,s
mencing vest and passing east, y the coast range
follows the great San Francisco Mountain, not
very long since actively volcanic; then table lands;
Mount Taylor, also once volcanic the Rocky
the Allegheny, the Blue Ridge, and lastly, the sea
coast, about Cape Hatteras. terminated the aec-
ton
and the caions through which the tributaries ef
the Colorado run, as the Grand and Green riseys.
Prof. Newberry had ayailed himself OF the ssaist-
ance Of Mr. Young, an artist, whose rspresenta-
tions Of the country, placed the wall cf the lee
ture room, were very distinct and satisfactory Tie
lofty banks of the rivers above mentioned are nor
phyry, of a red tinge, and except occasionally,
along the edges of the stream below, exhibit no
signs of animal existence or vegetable product.
Though in many respects sublime and grand be-
yond the power Of verbal description, there il d
devastation, desolati0n ia the landscape that b.
gets desire ever to visit these scenes again The
whole country looks il it belonged to some ether
planet than this. On ascending the Colorado, and
observing the mountain sides, all the ribs Of which
seen rising one above the other. First, and below
all, is the granite, then the palRozoic, Thu carbon
ferrous, the red sandstone, eretaceous and on
the table lands Or plains, the sedimentary On ap-
preaching the Rocky Mountains, these strata lose
their regular horizontal arrangement, and become
disposed vertically, plainly showing that the conn
try here had suffered some great convulsion. This
the lecturer deemed to be that of the elevation OF
the mountain chain from the general level 0f the
| rest Of the continent. He does not think these
| great chains were the result of erosion, which
might nevertheless have been the case with some
others, as the Cumberland mountains, for instance.
In his travels in New Mexico considerable areas
Of excellent soil were found along the banks of
the river San juan a tributary q the Colorado
Much of it is Of high fertility, sort OF neutral
ground for the Utahs and Navajoes, through
which passed a clear, beautiful stream, the San
Juan, abounding in trout. This is sonth Of the
junction Of the Grand and Green rivers, and the
fertile strip runs say at mile wide, for distance
of two hundred miles, and is susceptible Of cen
siderable population. At another place on this
river the party found plentiful evidences of former
populousness, where there is not now living SOUL
Ruins exist which indicate that popuiation Of at
least one hundred thousand, and probably tHo on
| three times that number, had lived ia peace and
plenty there, but from atmospheric changes and the
excessive drainage by means of those river drains
above spoken of. which run hundreds OF th0usan6a
of feet below the level Of the table lands the sur
face had become bereft Of supply of the fluid IN
of human dwellings, with walls built of square and
| even polished stones, and handsomely piastered
| and filed up within, may be met with, and broken
pottery in the greatest profusion. II has been
said that the depopulation OF these regions took
place when the people were called south to defend
the country against the threads of the Spaniards
at the time of the conquest of Mexico, fact
which is probably only in part true.
1t is reasonable to suppose that the Pueblo In
dlans of New Mexico are the descendants of these
ancient inhabitants, since there Il general SINH
ready referred to. But the Pnehl0s along the Rio
Grande and in Eastern New Mexico have, by In
terceurse with the Spaniaras. contracted many
habits and ideas, particularly Of religious char
acter-for they are ardent Catholics -from their
eOnquer0rs, and thus it is only among the remote
Moquis that we have an opportunity Of seeing the
true aborigines Of New Mexico in their native and
unsophsticated state. They live far west of the
Rio Grande, beyond the country of the Nsvaioes,
in dry region, placing their villages on the tops
of lofty, isolated strips OF table land like islands
in an ocean. For water they depend on reservoirs,
most carefully constructed and preserved. These
are in the creviees OF the mountains and are forra
ed by the drbhing Of the water from small lsprings
The Moquis are mild, Weilshehaved people, ex-
ceedingly Industrious, neat and moral, and their
exterior shows them to be quite disconnected in
race with the hawk billed Indians Of the more
eastern regions OF North America. Tbs Moqnia
raise corn and cotton sufficient Tor their uses, be-
sides vegetables and cattle. They worship the
sun and moon with great devotion, and have q
very high veneration tor water-which IS to them
SO valuable an artice-or rather for the good spi-
rits that preside ever water and springs. As may
be supposed their food is simple, their bread be-
ing mostly the tortilla, very thin cake rolled np
| and eaten with salt after being dipped IL watsr.
tnfxz