waters produced a striking effect, and the wind waving through the tree-tops, and the roaring of the crystal flood, made strange, weird music. Our nook was pent in on one side by the abrupt rising mountains and on the other glorified by the various foliage of many trees, and graced by the swaying thickets beyond which, in glimpses, shone the bright green of the growing corn or the yellow sheen of ripened wheat; and here we fished about an hour, returning with a fine mess of speckled trout, some among which measured as much as thirteen inches. I must here mention the frugal manner in which these people live. During long years, or, rather, paid next night by getting into a wheat-field, and I was compelled to pay fifty cents damages. In return for this ill behavior I lent him to our host to bring a load of fire-wood from the mountains. At this place we witnessed the dedication of a church-a ceremony not devoid of interest. The people, of their own accord, had built an uglylooking, irregular adobe building, very much like a big mud-box, and with no pretensions to orthodox church shape. A priest from the town of Pecos was to consecrate it, and to do this he ranged the people in procession in front and to the left of the church door. At the head he placed a man carrying a large tin cross; then the throughout their lives, shut out from civilization, they have, like the Indians, accustomed themselves to do with the barest necessities. A mattress to lie on, a blanket to cover them, a sheep-skin to sit upon, windows without glass, or, in some cases, glazed with bits of mica gotten from the mountains in which they live, bread, generally of corn and without leaven, and coffee sans sugar, with now and then a piece of goat's flesh, is their usual fare. They raise enough tobacco for their own consumption, but after a very primitive fashion, letting the plant grow about as it pleases, and plucking the leaves as they grow large enough for use. While we breakfasted, our donkey presented himself in the doorway and complacently waited for the bits of bread we gave him. I formed quite an attachment for the little fellow, which he re women were put two by two behind him and the men followed. Last of all came the priest, sprinkling water from a ewer in his hand and throwing it by means of a large brush of reeds. This necessary formula gone through with, the priest entered the building and mass was said. He got fifteen dollars for his morning's work. At night we attended a dance. In these entertainments, when not dancing, the men congregate in one end of the room and smoke, while the women sit on benches around the wall at the other end; no conversation is carried on between the sexes, and all love-making is done by a whispered word or squeeze of the hand. The people are very ignorant, very few being able to read or write. Next morning we started on our trip further up the valley to reach the cave of El Espiritu Santo, He was glad to see us, as visitors were a pleasure in this solitary place, after a week had passed without his seeing a single human creature. In the hill fronting his place was the entrance to the cave of El Espiritu. Very few white people know of its existence, and very few have entered its forbidding portals, for in order to enter one must crawl on all fours for some ten feet and is shrouded in obscurity darker than the shadows of sin. Taking candles and great pine torches, we explored this cavern, with its various halls and chambers, for some three hours. In places on its walls we noted Indian hieroglyphics, and in other places spots where the clay had been taken out possibly to make pottery. In one chamber, tradition says, the savages held their religious services, and Desmond, years before on a former visit, had found a tom-tom, or native drum. The stalactites were in no place very brilliant. were compelled to crawl in many places and marked our way carefully, as only one of the party had ever been in before, and he only once; so we did not feel particularly safe, and were glad to get back to sunlight once more. We From the cave we returned to Dolan's house, and, sharing provisions, made a very substantial meal; then taking our trout-lines we went over to the Espiritu Santo Creek, which here joins the Pecos River. Never before did I gaze upon such surpassing loveliness. Moss and ferns abounded and the wild violet bloomed beneath our feet. Lovely clematis trailed everywhere; wild hops, with their long light cones, were clinging to the dainty bushes; the wild cherry, with its deep-red clusters, relieved the eye, and the cedar gave forth a refreshing odor. The stately spruce, sturdy oaks, and swaying willows all came within the radius of our view, while the mountain stream was foaming over its rocky bed and dashing a fine spray which glistened in the sunlight. After a short stay in this lovely spot, during which we secured upon our hooks some finny supplying some fine trout-fishing, and the moun- with green, and otherwise decorated with flowers tains round about abound in game. and feathers, while at his feet two diminutive In this valley of Mora we had the fortune to wooden saints knelt in prayer. These were about the size of the angel bearing a cup, and were dressed in robes of brown and red trimmed with yellow; the whole arrangement measuring fully four feet in length. It was suspended upon the wall and was greatly prized by its owner. While staying at this place we visited some promising mica mines. The country glistens everywhere with mica, and when developed will prove valuable. Gold, too, is found in small quantities. From Mora we proceeded to Las Vegas, the nearest station, having made a grand round; and again taking the train went to Santa Fé, which we reached near dark. The conductor on the train, much to our entertainment, told us of two incidents which occurred on his run as among his first experiences. They A MORA POLITICIAN. witness a scene which brought vividly to our mind the tales of old. At the conclusion of a political meeting one of the poets of the land, a blind old minstrel, bent with age and with only a fringe of white hair round his venerable head, touched some plaintive notes upon the guitar and burst into an impromptu song in praise of the señor present, repeating between each measure the air, which was very sweet. The scene had in it a touching spice of the antique days of knighterrantry. At the same house where this occurred I noticed an unusually large figure of what the Mexicans term santas, or saints, and with which every wellregulated Mexican household is supplied. This was a wooden figure of Christ, with a wig of horsehair, bearing on his head a green crown and nailed in the orthodox fashion to the cross, accompanied by the usual scroll and inscription over his head. To the left of him was a small angel with a cup in her hand shaped like an hour-glass and catching the blood as it flowed from his wounds. The angel was about as large as the first joint of the Christ's arm. The Saviour was dressed as a danseuse, in white tarletan trimmed are so characteristic of this wild country, and at the same time so humorous, I cannot resist the temptation of repeating them. benches ducked down quicker'n a diver. The old fellow never dreamt of drawing a pistol, but his habit of hitching at that strap served him in good stead." The many interests of this new land were curiously presented in the "bus" which bore us from the depot to the town of Santa Fé-about half a mile. A delegate to Congress was with us, and besides this great man there were two railroad magnates sitting opposite, a corpulent representative of that omnipresent class, a mercantile "drummer," some Jewish merchants returning from the "I had only made one run down here," he said, "when, passing one of the sidings, we took on a Simon-pure, double-fisted 'gray,' one of the pioneers; those fellows who had lived a life in advance of civilization, making the way easy for others, but always leaving in time to escape the press and improvements, the foundation for which he has so surely laid. Evidently he had never before seen the interior of a car, for it was some moments before he concluded to seat himself, which he did cautiously and with that quick, nervous, twinkle of the eye which men constantly on the alert for danger exhibit. Let me say here that in this country every man carries a pistol, and generally in his back-pocket. Well, as I had already seen the other passengers' tickets, I took my time about matters and slowly walked up to my man and put my hand, with the usual quick motion, behind me to get my punch; but before I could say Ticket, sir!' quicker than powder the muzzle of a six-shooter swelled under my eyes, and a hearty voice rang out: 'Put her back, stranger, I've got the drap on ye!' You may laugh, but I shook hands with him over a free ride, anyway. Another time I happened down the road when there was to be a service held in the new depot. Old Hays, a onelegged preacher, had permission to hold meeting there. Hays wore an old-fashioned wooden leg, strapped in place and held firm by a leather around the waist, and this being uncomfortable he was constantly tugging at it. Very few of the hands knew him, but they thought it a good chance to have some fun; and a very rough set they were that filed in that evening and filled the back seats. Of course, some few ladies and railroad officials were present. Planks raised on boxes and some few chairs served as seats, while the preacher stood behind an empty whisky barrel, on which were his lamp and books. From the singing of the first hymn to the close of service an ever-increasing buzz and noise disturbed worship; but old Hays in his quiet way went on oblivious of it all. The forms gone through with, he prepared to dismiss his congregation with the usual benediction. 'Let us pray,' he said, and slowly put his hand behind him under his coat tails. The sudden silence was wonderful, and as he got on his knees every mother's son on the back A NEW MEXICAN LAD. | East, a train news-agent, two men eagerly discussing some mining projects, and lastly a lady, tall and refined-looking, who said she was going to visit her brother, who was dying. We went to the principal hotel and found it a low one-story building, built after the Spanish fashion, with different courts enclosed; and although it was crowded, we succeeded in securing. a comfortable room. The town contains several ancient buildings, interesting principally on account of the frailty of the material used in their construction; yet their durability is wonderful, the most notable being that oft-described adobe church and the building adjoining it, both nearly three hundred years old. |