The Red Cloud chief., 1881-06-16

CHEF have been thinking. mor O,
less seriously. Of going 70 New Mexico
We publish the following written by
NJ. Gere Of the State Journal. upor
his return from an extended trir
through thss country. Mr.. Gere',
statements may b. relied upon as be.
ing correct, he says:
New NexiGP, so recently opened to
the commercial travelling world by III.
meeting OF the Atchison, Topeka 4
Santa Fe and southern Pacific rail.
roads, the n from the east and the
other from the west, and the extern.
sion OF the Denver & Rio Grande from,
Colorado 70 a point near her capitol
naturally attracts much attention. and
great deal Of curiosity exists as 70
the character Of her soil and climate,
her agricultural and mineral resources
and the status she is destined NJ no re.
mote day TO assume "A q member OF
the union. The population is some.
thing over . hundred thousand. OF
which At least nine-tenths are Mexi.
cans and Indians. They arc precise.
ly in the general condition the United
States government found them in
1876, when Gen. KEARNEY captured
Santa Fe and extended the jurisdic-
ton Of the stars and stripes over the
northern half Of the old Mexican re.
public with the exception that the sys-
tenn Of peonage, under which most Of
the Indians holding their distinct tive
nationality OF tribe were held BY the
Spanish prOprietors has been abol-
ished.
Little advance il yet apparent in the
matter of education, the language
everywhere spoken is a patois Of min
glcd Spanish and Indian, and the So
cial usagcs are nearly the same rs
those still extant In lower Mexico.
As to agriculture there is much
room for improvement and develope-
ment in the valleys. Many Of these,
including the larger portion of that of
the Rio Grande are broad and level,
sometimes to vast plateaus
VI various levels from the river bed to
the foothills, capable Of the highest
and most successful cultivation by ir-
rgation. In other portions there is
much level land that would he highly
productive if irrigation were possible,
but which cannot be supplied with the
necessary water except by artesian
wells, which will be uncertain and ex-
pensivc. Only a small part of the
land that can be irrigated BY the sur
face water of the country is at present
utilized, though there are everywhere
evidences that in ancient times il was
intersected by "secas" and bitches to a
very large extent, and supported a far
greater population than is found to-
day. Large crops of small grains,
beans, potatoes and other vegetables
are raised by irrigation, and very fair
corn is grown, Notwithstanding the
slortness Of the season in some Sec
tons, and with the necessary outlay
for %irrigating, the food products OF
New Mexico, would lie sufficient to
subsist a large population.
There is no doubt Of the mineral
wealth Of New Mexico. Her noun
tains have been but partially pospect-
cd. Up to a very late period it was
not safe for an individual miner or y
small squad of surveyors or prospec-
tors TO venture out of sight of the priu-
cipal towns, or n military post, on
account of the frequency of Indian
raids.
Some few mines have been opened
in the old Spanish tracks, and are pay
mig well, but as a general thing there
are five hundred prospect holes" to
one mine that has been developed.
But it has been sufficiently demon
strated that gold, silver, copper, lead,
mica and zinc abound in New Mexico,
and that she is destined TO take her
place beside Nevada, Colorado and
old Mexico as a mining country. Two
turquoise mines are opened some
twenty or twenty-five miles west of
Santa Fe, in the Cerilious range. the
only veins of this stone worked in the
world outside of Persia, and il is not
improbable that other discoveries
may lie made.
The climate is Of every variety,
from the snowy peaks Of the Rasons
to the torrid sands Of the lower Rio
Grande. The air is dry and pure. and
almost any invalid seekin 4 change
can find an elevation and a tempera-
ture suitable to his case unless he
wants the sea shore.
Upon the whole, New Mexico az
fords a new field for the traveller, the
health-seeker, the prospector, and the
tourist, that must keep
the railroads leading there full of bust
ness for years to come.
Her dra1D6acks are the old land
grants, VIA lot of bogus ones,
that unsettle titles, and the peculiar
character of the people now the prin-