The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-08-06
The Oldest Towa in the United States.

Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico,
is said to be the Oldest town within the
limits of the United States, having been
built under the auspices of the Jesuits more
than three hundred years ago. It is the
largest town in the Territory, containing,
perhaps, exclusive of the military, about
twenty five hundred Inhabitants, of whom
more than three fourths are Mexicans.
Several wealthy Jewish firms are engaged
in trade here, and do large and profita-
BILE business, not the smallest item of
which Is in army contracts. The native
Americans outside of the army, who are
not Federal Office holders or professional
men, generally devote their energies to
selling whisky and gambling. The pub
lie and private buildings at Santa Fe,
with the exception of some wooden houses
belonging to the military department,
and the new penitentiary, which is of
stone, are constructed of adobes, or sun
dried bricks; yet some of them, being
we'll finished without and within, present
q neat though far from imposing appear
ance. The majority of the houses are,
however, mere mud novels, with dirt
roofs, ragged walls and earthen floors
uninvlting without and squalid within.
Even the cathedral and the dozen or more
churches in which the spiritual needs of
the natives are ministe-ed to, though ex-
hibiting some attempts at elaborate archi-
lecture, are unsiRhtly objects, looking as if
they might at any time tumble down and
walls. A view of Santa Ee from neigh
boring eminence is not calculated to i'm
press the beholder with an idea of the COM
mercial and political importance of the
town.
Most of the inhabitants of New Mexico
reside in towns or villages, Of the architec-
ture of which that of Santa Fe is fsvora-
BILE specimen. Timber suitable for boards
is very scarce. Lumber enough for doors
and castings, shelving, and the flooring of
the more pretentious edifices, is obtained
with much cost and difficulty, and is found
in but few favored localities in qusnti-
ties sufficient for the building Of frame
houses. Kiln-burnt bricks are very rare,
the ordinary building material being
adobes. These are made of mud in which
straw or hay has been mixed, nodded to
the Dimensions of 4xSx16 inches and dried
in the sun. In building, the adobes are
laid together with mud. When the walls
have been carried to the proper hight,
they are spanned with cigas-beams of
cottonwood or pine, as may be the most
conveniently obtained; upon these are
closely laid sajuarras-the strong wooden
ribs of the giant cactus, or straight willow
poles, or, more frequently, bushes and
branches of any kind; upon thesei is placed
layer of straw, hay or rushes, and lastly
three or four inches OF earth The roof thus
formed, having very slight slope. sheds
most of the rain that falls upon it, but il
rarely altogether water-tight, and re
quires frequent repairs. The house is
finished by putting in the doors and
windows, and by applying to the walls a
smooth coating of mud, inside and out
the latter operation being performed by
women. An aristocratic mansion usually
receives a coating of whitewash upon the
walls, and of dark -colored paint upon the
doors, windows and castings, by which its
appearance is much improved. But the
majority of the buildings are not aristo
cratic, and the monotonOus brown OF theil
mud walls and woodwork is relieved by
either paint or whitewash. A building
upon which the mud plastering is renew
ed as frequently as it is rendered neces
sary by washing from rain. will last fol
many years but if the walls and roof art
neglected, it will soon fall to decay.
Few of the houses, except in the Puebl,
Indian towns, have more than one story
Many have but one room, although
others possess half dozen or more room
arranged in square, which also in
cludes the stable and corral; the spac
between the buildings being occu
pied by high adobe walls. Th
larger towns have regular streets and pub
lie squares-the plaza of Santa Fe being
quite pretty, though small but the smalle
towns and villages have only labyrinthin'
alleys, through which q stranger woult
find some difficulty in making his way
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