Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-01-27
Vivid Description of Santa Fe
More Than Seventy
Years Ago
MANY POEMS WRITTEN HERE
Ex-Governor L. B. Prince Re-
views Valuable Early Volume
of Author.

According to promise | will extract
few items from his own written
works, relative to the travels and ex-
periences of Albert Pike in New Mex
leo, and especially at Santa Fe, which
are of local interest, and will supple,
ment to some extent, the excellent
sketch of his life given by Mr.. Cat
ron in his Centennial address.
Apart from the personality of Pike,
his descriptions of the country and
people are of much value, as they
cover period of which otherwise we
know very little. From the time of
the expedition of Lieutenant Pike in
1907, down to the years just before
the American occupation. there is
practically nothing that was written
OF New Mexico by travellers; in fact
there were no travellers in the coun-
try except the traders of the Santa
Fe trail. Albert Pike, filled with the
adventurous spirit of youth, came
across the plains when % years old,
in 1881, and remained during the
winter and through the most of 1882,
visiting all of the northern parts of
the Territory, and becoming acquaint-
ed with the people of the Spanish
towns as well as with the various
Indian tribes both east and west of
the settlements. He gives an accur-
ate description of Taos, both of the
Mexican town of Fernandez and the
indian pueblo, and the country TO the
north; writes an exciting love story
which is located at Embudo; de-
scribes the houses, furniture, orna-
ments, and customs of the people;
and in short paints a vivid picture of
all that was of interest.
Santa Fe.
OF Santa Fe he gives a description
which | extract almost in full, and
the part Of which regarding the lake
will be new to most of this genera.
tIon, and may interest the Water
Company. He says:
"On viewing the city, l found that
there was something more of splen-
dor here than in Taos. There is the
public square surrounded with blocks
OF mud buildings, with porticos in
'front.' roughly pillared and mud-coy-
cred. The windows have a wooden
Sratlng IN front. The panes in the
squtre are of glass; in the other
parts of the city, generally of the
mica of the mountains. In a corner
OF the square is the Jail and guard
room-for the soldiers here serve as
Jallers. Within forty yards of this
square there is another called the
muralla, surrounded, likewise, by
buildings, which on one side are fall
en- to ruin. 1t is used as a wheat
held, and belongs to the soldiers who
have their dwellings around it. Ex-
cept in these two squares, the houses
are placed anywhere in an admirable
disorder.
How Santa Fe Was Robbed of Water.
The little stream which runs
through the town waters their fields.
IL was once much larger than at
present; for when the Indians were
driven from the valley of the Santa
re, they retreated to the lake in which
THIS river and the Pecos both rise
as well as the little creek of Tesu-
que, and attempted to dam I'D the
river of Santa Fe and starve out the
inhabitants; and they nearly succeed.
eo. Ihls lake is on the summit of
one of the highest mounts:hs in the
vicinity of Santa Fe. 1t is about is
miles, perhaps more, from the city.
and never open until July. The peo.
pie OF Santa Fe, few years since.
employed an Englishman to omen #
agreeing to pay him $4,000 for SO do
ing, which money was to be raised
by subscription. When it was nearly
finished he demanded a part of the
money in order to pay his working
men. They refused to advance a dol
lar until it was finished; and he swore
that they might finish it for them
selves. Since then, the work has re-
mained as he left it. needing about
months labor to finish it: and nv
giving the city a greater supply of
water, to increase the extent of arabic
land, and of course, the size of the
city,"
Prominent Men of Santa Fe,
He mentions many of the prominent
men OF that day and is quite free in
his criticism of some of them. San
tlago Abreu was then governor of
the province; Juan Bautista Vigil
was postmaster; Francisco Rascon
an alcalde, and Miguel Sena, regidor.
Pixies Linguistic Knowledge.
All the biographies of Albert pike
speak of his extraordinary linguistic
knowledge, and it seems that he was
proficient in Spanish at this time. az
Continued on Page seven.)