Arizona miner., 1866-04-25
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St. Louis or Independence, or Memphis. Is equally plain, by two or three well known passes. in the Sanda mountains, which lie east of the Rio Grande
 Certain slight deviati0ns from the track which pursued would improve the route. For instance, 1t would be better to leave uy trail @ the north, at point say lsO miles east Of the Sierra Nevada, and interSect it again some i5 miles west of the Colorado On the cast side of the Colorado the road sh5;iid pursue directly eastern course for 7j miles and thence take an cast nf Snntheast course for nearly 3OO miles. at the foot and on the south side Of the mountains inIt,l,ite-i by the tarrOtero Indians. Thence northeast for D miles in a prairie between those noun taius and range of mountains which seem to extend 10 the Giia. From this point the road should Ftm easterlY t0 the Colorado Chi quito riyer, and thence northeast to Zuni The distance from the east end of the Carro- tero mountain to Zuni is DO miIes This route, as indicate it, will pass at all times m sight of my trail, and through as practica- Die country any railroad route of the same distance in the United States
 The proposed route by the Sangre de Cris- to, north of Taos, l take, if practicable at all. tO be very objectionable. on account of the vast elevations the road must ascend to- end the large quantities of snow which fall and remain there 50 long during the winter months This route has also the additional disadvantage of crossing two riyers, the Grand aud the Green, either of which would be as costly to bridge as the Colorado.
 route has been spoken of just north of the Giia, with the view of having a route wholly on American ground. That, | am satEned, Is altogether out of the question on account of mountains alone, if no other objection existed. The Gia route proper passing ln part through Sonora, is obiection- able on several accounts, besides its situation. Tn the first place there Is TO timber upon the plains, nor upon the volcanic mountains that lie along the way. considerable mart of the route too, lies over a country destitute 0i vegetation, which. when dry. is white powder, resembling flour, in which the feet of men and animals sink several inches This same clay, when wet, is the most treacher ous of quagnires. Some parts of the road are also very sandy. Don Ambrosio Arrniio who took sheep to California last year. lost as many as ] 100 among the sand hills west of the Colorado, by sinking in the sand. and oeing run over by those behind Another se- rious objection 70 the Gila route is the great desert which lies we.t cf tAe g,,,,s,f,,i,, ami has an extent of 100 miles without wood or water.
 nave TO interest in recommending one of these routes more than another. I took sheep and wagons to California last year by the Gila route; and am about to return to California that way again with sheep. Upon the route have just travelled encountered many hardships and dangers, and met with serious pecuniary loss; yet l say it is, the best for a railroad and would be excellent for ordinary travelling but for the Indians. A large portion of the trail over which passed-say some 250 miles west from the Rio Grande-is, for the most part, admirably adapted to farming and stock raising.