Arizona silver belt., 1891-07-18
.usrsH, or THE s,xra FE TRAIL,

klrkery huDert Mchmgnt, Henry Cor lew and Esteven Cushie, who. in 1880,
 ''mede the Santa Fe trail and marked the route followed by thousands in after years That they marked the, route is contradicted by Gregg's Commerce of the Plains, as also by Niles Register
 Fifteen thousand dollars worth of mcr- chandise from St. Louis Missouri, was
 delivered in Santa Fe in 1922, and the traffic had increased to $l20, 900 in
 1880, the year in which the Las Cruces
 Republican claims Hugh Stephenson and others made the trail
 Freight was carried by pack animals until 1924, when wagons were intro duced as an experiment, and making the trip without difficulty were used exclusively after 1895 Ih January of that year, through the influence of Col. Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri, bill was passed by Congress authorizing the marking out of road, Thirty thous- and dollars was appropriated for this purpose and that of obtaining the h. dians' consent to the road and its un- molested use. The |. $. commission CTS appointed to conduct the survey were Benjamin Reeves, George c, Sib- ley and Thomas Mather; and Joseph c. Brown AS surveyor.
 In 1925 party left Santa Fe in June and arrived in Franklin, Missouri, in August, with 800 mules and horses, and "the Santa Fe trade" continued to grow without intermission until the present time. But not without inter ruption from the Indians, which caused the committee on military affairs to re- port to Congress, in 1928, in favor of Q movable escort rather than fixed garrison. The recommendation was given effect in 1929, and Major Riley, with four companies of the 9th Infan- try, from Fort Lsavenworth, were do- tailed as the escort Protection was not continued the following year; nev- ertheless, there was an increase in traf- fic of just 100 per cent ovsf the pre- ceding year.
 Ip is21 the Santa Fe trade may be said to have become business propo- sition. Captain Glenn, MT. Bicknel and Stephen Cooper were the pioneers of that commercial enterprise, although 6nall parties of trappers and traders had previously visited Santa Fe. In 1915 Auguste P, Choteau and Julius de Nun formed partnership and went with large party to the Upper Arkan- sas to hunt, trap and trade with the Indians The following year they wis tied Taos and Santa Fe, and were well received by Governor Mainez But there was change of policy, the fol. lowing year, OF the part of the Mexi- can government, perhaps for the reason that the ''gringos" were becoming too numerous, were monopolizing the fur trade, killing the buffaloes for their skins, and making merchandise of buf- !alo tongues, a luxury in the States, and even then in the frontier village of St, Louis they commanded dollar each
 Who is i! that has neither seen or read of Pikes Peak? If he has not, he has neither travelled nor read the newspapers, and is therefore ignorant of the fact that that prominent bump Q4,l47 feot high) upon the earth's sur face derived its name from that Of Major Zebulon M, Pike, an explorer, by authority of the United States. He was in Santa Fe in 1907 His condi- tion cn the route, via the Conejos, across 70 the Channa, and down that stream past Ojo Caliente and San Juan to Santa Fe, may be inferred from in. quiries concerning him and hls party; whether those men in ragged apparel | consisting of oyeralls, brooch cloths, leather coats, and without covering for the tead, were tribe living in houses. Pike va. promoted to Brigadier- Gen ersl and lost his life in 1913, at the !. taking of Toronto
 If WAS misncmer to call the Santa Fe road trail. On either side, for miles and miles, vas. expanse of level greensward relieved the solitude that surrounded you-unless, indeed, there was visible band of Indians, herd of buffaloes, prairie dog village, bunch of antelope, gray wolf, badger, or long-faced coyotes, with furtiye glance, on swinging trct, putting deal of real estate between them and supposed danger. A trip over the plains abound cd in interest The rarity ef the at- mosphere lent enchantment to the scene, the mirage so frequently seen was not the least interesting sight. For hundreds of miles nature de.ied the wayfarer fuel, but the buffalo, in the pientitude of its nature, supplied the omission, and no one for the want of fuel was compelled to go supperless to 1 bed.
 Thirty-three years ago the incidents