eepness of the banks
everywhere else.

The gallant Roberts, on arriving at the ford, planted a battery there,
and at once opened fire. This was the battle of Valverde, the details
of which, however, do not belong to this book, having been only
incidentally referred to in order to lead the reader intelligently up
to that of La Glorieta, Apache Canyon, or Pigeon's Ranch, as it is
indifferently called.

Valverde was lost to the Union troops, but never did men fight more
valiantly, with the exception of a few who did not act the part of the
true soldier. The brave M'Rae mounted one of the guns of his battery,
choosing to die rather than surrender.

General Sibley, after his doubtful victory at Valverde, continued on
to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The old city offered no resistance to his
occupation; in fact, some of the most influential Mexicans were pleased,
their leaning being strongly toward the Southern Confederacy; but the
common people were as loyal to the Union as those of any of the Northern
States, a feeling intensified by their hatred for the Texans on account
of the expedition of conquest in 1841, twenty-one years before. They
contributed of their means to aid the United States troops, but have
never received proper credit for their action in those days of trouble
in the neglected Territory.

The Confederate general was disappointed at the way in which affairs
were going, for he had based great hopes upon the defection of the
native residents; but he determined to march forward to Fort Union,
where his friend Floyd had placed such stores as were likely to be
needed in the campaign which he had designed.

From Santa Fe to Fort Union, where the arsenal was located, the road
runs through the deep, rocky gorge known as Apache Canyon. It is one of
the wildest spots in the mountains, the walls on each side rising from
one to two thousand feet above the Trail, which is within the range
of ordinary cannon from every point, and in many places of point-blank
rifle-shot. Granite rocks and sands abound, and the hills are covered
with long-leafed pine. It is a gateway which, in the hands of a
skilful engineer and one hundred resolute men, can be made perfectly
impregnable.

The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway passes directly through this
picturesque chasm, every foot of which is classic ground, and in the
season of the mountain freshets constant care is needed to keep its
bridges in place.

At its eastern entra