odd, and laid it by, and digg'd a hole
in the Earth where we put our Goods, and cover'd them with
pieces of Timber and Earth, and then put in again the green
Turf; so that 'twas impossible to suspect that any Hole had
been digg'd under it, for we flung the Earth into the River.

After caching their goods, Beard and the party went on to Taos, where
they bought mules, and returning to their caches transported their
contents to their market.

The word "cache" still lingers among the "old-timers" of the mountains
and plains, and has become a provincialism with their descendants; one
of these will tell you that he cached his vegetables in the side of
the hill; or if he is out hunting and desires to secrete himself from
approaching game, he will say, "I am going to cache behind that rock,"
etc.

The place where Beard's little expedition wintered was called "The
Caches" for years, and the name has only fallen into disuse within the
last two decades. I remember the great holes in the ground when I first
crossed the plains, a third of a century ago.

The immense profit upon merchandise transported across the dangerous
Trail of the mid-continent to the capital of New Mexico soon excited
the cupidity of other merchants east of the Missouri. When the commonest
domestic cloth, manufactured wholly from cotton, brought from two to
three dollars a yard at Santa Fe, and other articles at the same ratio
to cost, no wonder the commerce with the far-off market appeared to
those who desired to send goods there a veritable Golconda.

The importance of internal trade with New Mexico, and the possibilities
of its growth, were first recognized by the United States in 1824, the
originator of the movement being Mr. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri,
who frequently, from his place in the Senate, prophesied the coming
greatness of the West. He introduced a bill which authorized the
President to appoint a commission to survey a road from the Missouri
River to the boundary line of New Mexico, and from thence on Mexican
territory with the consent of the Mexican government. The signing of
this bill was one of the last acts of Mr. Monroe's official life, and
it was carried into effect by his successor, Mr. John Quincy Adams, but
unfortunately a mistake was made in supposing that the Osage Indians
alone controlled the course of the proposed route. It was partially
marked out as far as the Arkansas, by raised moun