Part 1 (2/2)

There is another class of men who traverse the Great Desert For many years there has been a commerce carried on between the oasis of New Mexico and the United States This coreat nuoods transported in large wagons drawn by ons is called a ”caravan” Other caravans--Spanish ones--cross the western wing of the Desert, from Sonora to California, and thence to New Mexico Thus, you see, the American Desert has its caravans as well as the Saara of Africa

These caravans travel for hundreds of h countries in which there are no inhabitants, except the scattered and roving bands of Indians; and there are many parts on their routes so sterile, that not even Indians can exist there

The caravans, however, usually follow a track which is known, and where grass and water may be found at certain seasons of the year There are several of these tracks, or, as they are called, ”trails,” that cross from the frontier settlements of the United States to those of New Mexico Between one and another of these trails, however, stretch vast regions of desert country--entirely unexplored and unknown--and many fertile spots exist, that have never been trodden by the foot of h sketch of some of the more prominent features of the Great American Desert

Let me conduct you into it, and show you--fro aspects I shall not show you the wildest of theht terrify you Fear not--I shall not lead you into danger Follow me

CHAPTER TWO

THE WHITE PEAK

Soo, I was one of a party of ”prairie merchants,” who crossed with a caravan from Saint Louis on the Mississippi, to Santa Fe in New Mexico We followed the usual ”Santa Fe trail” Not disposing of all our goods in New Mexico, we kept on to the great town of Chihuahua, which lies farther to the south There we settled our business, and were about to return to the United States the e had co to encus of money), that we should explore a new ”trail” across the prairies We all wished to find a better route than the Santa Fe road; and we expected that such an one lay between the town of El Paso--on the Del Norte River--and so at El Paso, we sold our wagons, and purchased Mexican pack-, at the sae theht horses of New Mexico, which are excellent for journeying in the Desert We provided ourselves,and provisions as weready for the journey, we bade adieu to El Paso, and turned our faces eastward There were in all twelve of us--traders, and a nureed to accompany us across the plains

There was a ed to a copper mine near El Paso

There were also four Mexicans--the ”arrieros” who had charge of our little train of pack-mules Of coarse, ere all well armed, and mounted upon the best horses we could procure for money

We had first to cross over the Rocky Mountains, which run north and south through all the country That chain of theanos, or ”Organ mountains” They are so called from the fancied resemblance which is seen in one of their cliffs to the tubes of an organ These cliffs are of trap rock, which, as you are aware, often presents very fantastic and singular formations, by means of its peculiar stratification But there is a still an mountains On the top of one of them is a lake, which has its tides that ebb and flow like the tides of the ocean! No one has yet accounted for this reical inquirer This lake is a favourite resort for the wild anireat numbers around its shores They are not even molested by the Mexican hunters of these parts, who seean mountains, and rarely climb up their steep sides

Our party found an easy pass through the range, which brought us out into an open country on the other side After travelling several days through the eastern spurs of the Rocky Mountains, known as the Sierras Sacramento and Guadalupe, we struck upon a sth to a large river running north and south, which we knew to be the celebrated Pecos, or, as it is sometimes called, the Puerco These, you will perceive, are all Spanish nah uninhabited and almost unexplored by the Mexican Spaniards, was yet part of their territory; and such objects as were known to theuage

We crossed the Pecos, and travelled for so soht run into it from the east, which we could follow No such stream appeared; and ere forced at times to leave the Pecos itself, and take out into the open country for a distance of et back to its waters

This was on account of the deep channel which the river--working for long ages--had cut through hills that opposed its course, leaving on both sides vast precipices for its banks

Having got farther to the north than ished, our party at length detere of the arid plain which stretched away eastward as far as the eye could reach It was a perilous enterprise to leave the river, without soe that there ater ahead of us Travellers, under such circumstances, usually keep close to a streao; but we had grown i into the Pecos froiven our animals as much water as they could drink, we turned their heads towards the open plain

After riding for several hours, we found ourselves in the midst of a wide desert, with neither hill, mountain, nor any other landetation appeared around us Here and there were patches of stunted sage-bushes and cluladden the eyes of our animals Not a drop of water was met with, nor any indication that rain had ever fallen upon that parched plain The soil was as dry as powder, and the dust, kicked up by the hoofs of ouraround us in clouds as we marched In addition to this, the heat was excessive; and this, with the dust and fatigue of travel, brought on an unquenchable thirst, that soon caused us to drink up the contents of our water-gourds Long before night they were all e out from thirst Our animals suffered worse--for we, at least, had food, while they, poor brutes, ithout a bite to sustain theht we should surely coet back to the river we had left; and with this hope we struggled on Late in the afternoon, our eyes were greeted by a glad sight, that caused us to start up in our saddles with a feeling of joy You may think that it ater--but it was not It was a white object that appeared against the sky at a great distance It was of a triangular shape, and seee kite All of us knew at a glance what it was We knew that it was the white cap of a snowy iven us such feelings of pleasure, as, in your opinion, there is nothing very hospitable in the appearance of a snow-capped mountain That is because you do not understand the peculiarities of the Desert I will explain We knew, from the appearance of the mountain, that it was one of those where the snow lies for ever, and which throughout Mexico are termed ”Nevada,” or snowy We knew, moreover, that wherever these aredown their sides, almost at all seasons, but certainly in hot or su of the snow It was this knowledge, then, that cheered us; and although the reat distance, we pushed forith renewed energy and hope Our anihed and brayed loudly, and stepped out with a rew bigger as we advanced At sunset we could distinguish the brown sealancing upon the snowy crystals of the cone caused it to glitter like a coronet of gold The sight cheered us on

The sun set, and the ht we travelled on--the peak of thecoldly before us We travelled all night--and why not? There was nothing to halt for We could not have halted, except to die

TheWe could not have ridden less than an hundredthe Pecos river; and yet, to our disood distance before us As the day brightened, we could trace the configuration of its base; and we observed that upon its southern face a deep ravine indented the mountain nearly to its top On its western side--the one nearest us--there was no such feature; and we conjectured that the most likely place for water would be in the ravine on the south, where a streaation of the melted snows

We directed our course toward the point, where the ravine appeared to have its debouchehtly As we approached it, winding round the foot of theout into the brown desert It looked like a low hedge, with here and there tall trees growing up above the rest We knehat it was--a grove of ith trees of cotton-wood interspersed We knew thens of water, and we hailed their appearance with delight The hed--the mules hinnied--and, in a fewby a crystal strea waters

CHAPTER THREE

THE VALLEY OASIS

After so long and terrible a journey, of course, we all stood in need of rest and refreshht, and perhaps for a day or two The fringe of s extended on both sides of it for a distance of fifty yards into the plain; and arass--that species known in Mexico as the _grae; and horses and cattle--as well as the buffaloes and other wild aniave proof of this; for, as soon as they had satisfied themselves with the water, they attacked it with open ht We relieved the picketed them, left them to eat to their hearts' content