Fe. It is called Rio Arriba. In
this village, the traveler can obtain many comforts which are denied
him even in the larger towns. At the present time it is a very
difficult matter for loaded caravans to pass direct from Santa Fe to
Taos; but the United States government has taken the matter in hand
and has appropriated large sums of money for making a good road
between the two places; therefore, it will not be a long time before
the transit will be accomplished with ease and safety. Scattered over
the country adjacent to this trail now under consideration, there are
many hamlets and villages which are being greatly augmented by new
settlers yearly. Many of these have been seldom, if ever, visited by
white men, and the minute geography of this tract of country is still
in the embryo. Perhaps a new El Dorado is there in store for mankind,
and that some day its resources will receive an impetus and be
developed by the sudden discovery of valuable mines therein. This is
no chimerical illusion; it scarcely rests upon an uncertainty; for,
the mineral wealth of New Mexico, we are firmly persuaded, is still in
its infancy. To use trapper language, judging from "signs" which exist
there in abundance, we shall not be surprised to hear, in time, that
this territory has turned out to be a second California. Rumors of
gold, and even specimens of the article itself, are frequent in many
parts of the country; but the poverty of the inhabitants keeps them
from searching as they ought in order to make the discovery. The
Americans find a more profitable business in commerce and trade,
therefore they but seldom indulge in speculations designed to develop
the mineral wealth of the country; but nevertheless, they have faith
that gold, in immense quantities, exists there, and believe that, in
time, scientific men will disclose the fact and position. We have seen
_quills_ full of gold dust which has been collected there, and we are
well acquainted with men who have washed out from several streams
in the northern part of the Territory, the value of two and a half
dollars per diem; but, with the high prices of living, this rate of
produce cannot be made to pay unless the work shall be carried on by
the assistance of capital.

On this trail to Santa Fe, there are several small Pueblos which are
inhabited by the descendants of the ancient Aztecs. These settlements,
generally, are quite thrifty, and exhibit many external appearances
of comfort.