F
9

M2.S

MCPARLIN

NOTES ON NEW
MEXICO

BANCROFT
LIBRARY

University of California Berkeley

NOTES

ON THE

HISTORY AND CLIMATE

NEW MEXICO

J5Y

Dr. THOS. A. McPARLIN,

SURGEON U. S. ARMY.

FROM THE SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1876

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1877.

NOTES

ON THE

HISTORY AND CLIMATE

NEW MEXICO.

Dr. THOS. A. McPARLlN,

SURGEON U. S. ARMY.

FROM THE SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1876.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1877.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

BY DR. THOS. A. McPARLix, Surgeon, United States Army.
(Communicated by General J. K. Barnes, Surgeon-General, United States Army.)

HISTORY OF NEW MEXICO.

What is DOW known as New Mexico has had a varied history. First,
the home of nomadic Indians, perhaps as peaceable, loving, and tracta-
ble as those first described by Columbus. Gold and silver and the quest
of precious jewels, like the Golden Fleece, brought over the Spaniards,
and with them Mother Church. In 1540 Francisco Vasquez Coron-
ado came to the country with an expedition. He found some of the
Indians nomadic, and others living in settlements, and among them he
describes Cicuye, extending along the river for six miles, and the soil
cultivated by the Indians, from the mountains as far west as the present
town of Agua Fria. This pueblo and cultivated valley correspond with
what was afterward named after the patron saint, San Francisco de
Asis de Santa Fe. As it is at least four hundred years old as a town,
(how much older it may be there are no means of determining,) it is
much older than San Augustine, Fla.. founded in 1565, or any other
town on this continent.

In 1546, during the empire of Charles Y, it was determined to encour-
age the settlement of the Indians in towns in order to protect the Pu-
eblo Indians. New Mexican Pueblo traditions accredit Montezuma with
having gone south from this Territory, and with his people the substan-
tial evidences of gold and precious minerals gave the Mexicans and
their conquerors, under Cortez, the information that their gold came
from the north, and with precious minerals existed here in great quan-
tities.

The Indians were compelled by the Spaniards of this country to dig
the mines in all parts of the Territory, to carry water, and pack ores and
fuel on their backs to the furnaces ; and in consequence, after the rebel-
lion in 1680, when they drove the Spaniards out, they filled up and care-
fully concealed all evidences and traces of the mines they had worked
so successfully. When in 1704 the Spaniards revisited New Mexico,
the Pueblos entered into a compromise " by which the Spaniards were
permitted to return, but with the positive and express condition that
they should not open the mines or prosecute mining as a pursuit."

Hence it is probable that the richest mines in this country are yet to
be discovered ; and it is certain that but for the scarcity of water very
many now known, but only imperfectly worked, would be very product-
ive. The records of the ancient mine near Abiquiu, derived from an

Z NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

old church Dear by, show that 10 per cent, in tithes collected from it
amounted to $10,000,000. Xo mining of any extent has been prosecuted
in this mine since 1680. Gold, silver, and coal and turquoise are found
near Santa Fe ; and from this country an unusually large and valuable
turquoise was sent to the Emperor.

Pedro de Eeralto was governor in 1600 ; in 1640 General Arguello
was governor and captain-general, resident at Santa Fe as the capital ;
General Concha, in 1650; Henrique de Abila y Pacheco, in 1656; Juan
Francisco Junio, in 1675; Antonio de Oterurin, in 1680-'83.

The Indians rebelled first in 1583 and again in 1680, and on the night
of the 20th August, 1680, Otermin evacuated the place and marched
to El Paso, arriving there October 1.

In 1681 the viceroy at Mexico dispatched General Otermin from El
Paso with an army to recapture the capital ; but after reaching La Ba-
jada, 21 miles from Santa Fe, he gave up the enterprise, finding the
Pueblos concentrated to resist him. In 1692 the viceroy commissioned
Diego de Vargas Zapata Lujau Ponce de Leon as governor and captain-
general of New Mexico, who fought and overcame the Pueblos Septem-
ber 13 of that year and entered into Santa Fe. After the re-establish-
ment of Spanish supremacy he returned to El Paso, reaching there De-
cember 20, 1692, and returned December 16, 1693, to Santa Fe, where his
occupation and re-entry was disputed, and a battle was fought on Christ-
mas-day. The next day he took formal possession of Santa Fe, in the
name of King Charles II.

After the reconquest by the Spaniards, the Pueblos (twelve towns
on the Eio Grande or in the vicinity) made their submission and were
subject until 1837, when they rebelled, on account of a tax on tobacco
and other articles laid by Governor albino Perez. After fighting a
battle with the Pueblos at Santa Cruz de la Canada, he was beaten,
returned to the suburbs of Santa Fe, where he was overtaken and as-
sassinated, August 9, 1837.

In 1838, Manuel Armijo was recognized as governor, and continued
so until the capital was taken possession of, in the name of the United
States, by General Stephen \V. J. Kearney, U. S. A., August 18, 1846.
General Kearney occupied the palace, a building now in existence, and
which was erected previous to the year 1581, being built then of mate-
rial of the old Indian town," (Cicuye.) Since his time it has been occu-
pied successively by Col. John M. Washington, Col. John Monroe and
Col. E. V. Sumner, as military governors, until March, 1851, when the ex-
isting territorial government was initiated.

The office of the Secretary of State contains several extended docu-
ments, in Spanish, upon the history of the conquest, occupation and
recouquest of the country. From these and the works written upon
New Mexico by Mr, Elias Brevoort, Gov. W. F. X. Amy, Mr. D. J.
Miller, and General Davis, the student may find ample material for
interesting inquiry.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 3
CLIMATOLOGY.

Formerly a journey across the plains, a distance of 700 miles from
the frontier of Missouri, requiring a life in the open air, traveling with
a wagon-train, amid hostile Indians, from May to July, was necessary
to reach Santa Fe. Many pulmonary invalids came out, living on game
and buffalo-meat, gradually ascending day by day to the level of 8,000 feet
in the Eocky Mountains. They were undoubtedly in the great majority
of cases benefited, while many recovered from threatened consumption.

Two railroads now have advanced to within 220 miles of Santa Fe, at
El Moro. near Trinidad, and it is expected that by May 1, 1877, the Den-
ver and Eio Grande Kailroad will be completed to Fort Garland, 156
miles from Santa Fe. The line of daily stages now runs from Santa Fe
to El Moro in 36 hours.

Now the traveler passes over the plains on the railroad, and at once
begins traversing the Eaton Mountain chain and then the spurs of the
Eocky Mountains. The old-fashioned trip across the plains is deprived
of many advantages to the invalid above mentioned ; although in some
cases it is (especially to the timid valetudinarian) compensated by an
earlier and more comfortable transit.

The altitude of Las Aniinas, (Fort Lyon,) 4,000 feet, and of Trinidad,
5,000 feet above the sea, has been quite beneficial to such as require a
gradual approach to a higher level.

They are accessible by railroad, and comfortable accommodations are
to be had at both places.

After reaching Fort Garland, nearly 8,000 feet above the sea, or
Santa Fe, 6,846 feet, any less degree of elevation can be obtained by
going southward down the valley of the Eio Grande toward El Paso,
3,600 feet of altitude; and at every step southward a milder summer
climate will be found.

A portion of New Mexico, the Mesilla Valley, acquired in 1848 under
the Gadsden treaty, has of late years developed features of unusual
interest on account of its mines, minerals, pasturage, fertility and
climate. It is between the thirty-third and thirty-first and a half par-
allels of latitude, is about 70 miles long, from 1 to 6 miles wide, and
contains about 280 square miles ; embracing the towns of Dona Ana,
(population 1,000,) Las Cruces, (2,000,) Mesilla, (2,000,) and others of less
size.

The air is mild, snow being very rarely seen, with a bright daily sun-
shine in about 360 days of the year. Vegetation dries rather than rots ;
meat is cured without salt in the open air; and it presents to the inva-
lid the advantages of a very moderate altitude, varying from about
4,000 feet near the Eio Grande to about 7,000 feet in the high cattle-ranges
of the Guadaloupe and other mountains. The valley is protected by
the mountains from the cold winds prevailing from the north.

I know of one asthmatic patient who abandoned the Pacific coast to
join a friend in Mesilla, who, similarly affected in every other locality,

4 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

had wanted him to join him. His friend had secured the desired
climatic relief aiid taken up his residence there.

The dryness of the air in the Lower Rio Grande and Mesiila I have
no doubt is not exaggerated. During the past year I had occasion to
see the body of an individual who died on the southern plains (of starva-
tion, it is said) several (perhaps seven) years ago. The body was found
some time after death, and had been buried near Fort Craig. It was
disinterred for removal to the national cemetery here in 1875, and pre-
sented a remarkable preservation by desiccation. The process it had
undergone was what I would term mummification, and reminded me
of the accounts of what occurs to the bodies of the dead when aban-
doned in the deserts of Lybia or Arabia.

The Mesiila Valley is said to produce a fine variety of grape, with
juices heavier than from the grapes of Madeira and Portugal, as the
grapes remain on the vine until they commence to dry before being
pressed ; and the wort contains as much sugar as the sweetest of Mal-
aga, (Brevoort.) When dried, they make a good raisin. The almond-
tree, peach, apple, pear, quince, apricot, are raised there, and all kinds
of garden-plants; and probably game is as abundant as elsewhere in
the country.

Mesiila may, I think, be considered a very favorable locality for pul-
monary invalids. The trip across the plains and to New Mexico may
be contrasted and compared with interest to the invalid with that which
might be experienced in old Mexico. The journey from Vera Cruz to
Mexico is made by rail in fifteen hours. The ascent is 7 7 459 feet, (to
the highest point on the road 8,318 feet,) and is made in ten hours.
'Many travelers, though in health, (says Prof. E. E. Peaslee,) experi-
ence a decided dyspnoea on reaching these altitudes, especially in mak-
ing any considerable exertion, on account of the rarefaction of the
atmosphere, though no amount of effort produces much sensible per-
spiration. The consequences in cases of pulmonary emphysema or
asthma dependent upon cardiac affections are, as might be expected,
not favorable. Asthma depending on derangement of the stomach,
however, is sometimes cured. Chronic bronchitis also is not likely to
be relieved at this altitude, combined with the dampness I have men-
tioned.*

But all these are alleviated by a residence at a lower altitude, the
point suitable for such cases being found at Vera Cruz or between that
city and the altitude of Cordova or Orizaba, i. e. 2.700 to 4,000 feet.
(New York Medical Record, No. 286, April 29, 1876, p. 291.)

The situation of the Mexican peninsula between the Atlantic and Pa-
cific Oceans, and the nearness of all its cities to one or other ocean, is
very different, however, from that of the inland nature of Xew Mexico ;

* The present city of Mexico was built upon grounds formerly covered by Lake
Tezcuco, and into which it is drained. (See New York Medical Kecord, April 27, l-7ii.
p. 290.)

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 5

arid especially in the dryness of the atmosphere of our continent is the
patient interested.

With all the dampness found at the city of Mexico, it is stated by Dr.
Peaslee that "Phthisis is not indigenous in that city, and it is not sel-
dom arrested in those who come here from the north. A member of the
Mexican Congress assured me that the natives do not die of phthisis,
and that the lives of phthisical patients from the north are usually much
prolonged by a permanent residence here." (Ibid., p. 291.) He thinks,
however, it presents no special advantage to phthisical or bronchitic
patients, and he cannot recommend it to such as a winter residence.

But there are other places of lower altitude in this country (Mexico)
which he believes to be fully equal, and in some respects even superior,
to any of the famous resorts abroad, mentioning " Cordova (altitude
2,715 feet) and Orizaba, (4,030 feet,) both presenting a tropical climate
and all its productions and the most grand and picturesque scenery.
Cordova has, moreover, sometimes been visited by yellow fever. Jalapa
also, now accessible by railroad, is doubtless equal to either of these
places as a sanitarium for this class of patients, and as a residence is one
of the most beautiful places on earth. Its great humidity may, however,
render it unsuitable to some cases, and the sudden chill of the northers
must also be guarded against in these places. But Cuernavaca, 60
miles south of Mexico and not accessible by railroad, has an altitude of
5,428 feet, and the same climate and productions as Orizaba, and is far
more desirable. In addition to these. Tetecala, not far from Cuerna-
vaca ; Atlixco, 23 miles from Puebla, and Monterey, are mentioned by
Dr. Peaslee, though the latter is only accessible by a tedious journey by
diligence."

It may be interesting to compare with the climate of Mexico that of
Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas. Whatever may be lost of the
tropical air and productions as we go northward from Mexico may be
more than made up by the dryness of the atmosphere, a short wet sea-
son, and diminished rain-fall.

In some localities dust-storms are sufficiently prevalent to be prejudi-
cial, on account of the irritation they occasion to the air-passages. In
Texastfte heat of summer is extreme, and the sudden vicissitudes of tem-
perature and moisture and extreme chill produced by northers are
worse, perhaps, than in Mexico. In Utah (see Eeport of Surgeon E. P.
Yollurn, Circular No. 8, Surgeon-General's Office, May 1, 1875, p. 343) the
humidity is marked in the spring mouths, arising from the winds passing
over Great Salt Lake from the northward, bringing the watery vapors
not only from that great body of water, but also from the regions beyond,
supplied by the southwesterly currents that are seen to pass over at a
great altitude most of the winter long. This statement is true as to
the climate of Camp Douglas, 2J miles east of Salt Lake City, and at an
altitude of 4,904 feet above the sea.

"Great Salt Lake, with a shore-line, exclusive of offsets, of 291 miles,
is vast enough to furnish a horizon in places like the ocean itself."

b NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

In Dr. Vollum's special report on the diseases of Utah, (ibid., pp. 341-
343,) he regards the altitude and climate of Utah on phthisis as favor-
able. * * " If a case conies here in the incipient stage, and is well
situated for comforts, that it will get well spontaneously from the bene-
ficial effects of this altitude and the inland dry character of the atmos-
phere. It is the boast of the people that this is not a consumptive coun-
try, which is my opinion decidedly. On the other hand, it is believed
that if a patient comes here in the later stages of the disease, that the
atmosphere is too rare to give the proper support, and that the case will
be hastened to a termination more speedily than on the sea-coast. * *
The beneficial influence of this climate on asthma is decided and deserves
a prominent mention. It is also the boast of the people, as well as the
physicians, that asthma cannot exist here, excepting under a relieved
and modified condition ; which I think is the case."

Very many invalids are attracted annually to the mineral-waters of
Manitou, Colorado, (6,370 feet above the sea-level, and 8,000 below the
summit of Pike's Peak,) where there are several springs containing car-
bonic acid and carbonate of soda, (as the Xavajoe, Manitou, and Ute
soda;) purging carbonated soda-waters, modified by the presence of sul-
phate of soda and potash, as the "Little Chief" and "Shoshone;" and fer-
ruginous carbonated soda-waters containing carbonate of iron, as in the
u Iron Ute" and the " Little Chief mineral springs.

In a memoir (Saint Louis, 1875) on the climate of this region, by S.
Edwin Solly, M. E. C. S., (late house surgeon to St. Thomas Hos-
pital, London,) reference is made to the decrease of pressure in a rarefied
atmosphere, causing a diminution of the gases of the blood and lymph,
and this probably checks the advance of phthisis, as unquestionably
beneficial in certain cases. In phthisis, where the weakness is not ex-
cessive but there is anaBmia and want of assimilation, a high elevation
with a moderate supply of stimulants and a course of cold douches is
generally beneficial. The greater dryness of mountain air acts bene-
ficially on phthisis, probably for the most part in the manner indicated
by Dr. Herman Weber : " We may here mention that although the loss
of moisture to the whole organism may not be greater in high than in
low elevations, yet the acknowledged greater loss through the lungs may
be accompanied by local effects in certain morbid conditions of the res-
piratory organs, as well as by producing a more active circulation in the
lungs in order to supply the required moisture, as also by favoring a
kind of drying up of surface, secreting a morbid amount of mucus and
pus, and also of moist exudations within the tissue. Possibly the im-
provement in many cases of chronic catarrhal pneumonia may be pro-
duced by this increased afflux of blood and increased loss of moisture."

"Very highly situated places are adapted for winter treatment (of
phthisis) on account of the greater number of clear days.'-' (Brauu.)
And for another reason they are specially desirable in the winter; be-
cause in high elevations there is less moisture during the winter than at

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 7

other season of the year, and therefore the air being dry, the greater
actual cold than in lower climates is felt less severely, and if the body
is warmly clad the lowness of the temperature exerts only its tonic influ-
ence. The air being rarefied, the sun has a much greater influence, be-
ing more constantly visible in mountainous districts, and enables the
enfeebled invalid to spend several hours almost daily in the sunshine
with very great advantage. (Page 32, u Manitou, Colorado, U. S. A.;
its mineral-waters and climate." Saint Louis, J. McKittrick & Co.,
1875.)

Dr. Solly refers to the fact that oxygen is essential to procure change
of substance, and as it diminishes in proportion to the elevation above
sea-level, it might be supposed that healthy change of substance would
be retarded in mountain air ; " but this," he adds, " is practically found
to be otherwise, and the reason doubtless is that, as only about 25 per
cent, of oxygen is on an average used in respiration, there is probably
more than sufficient oxygen at any height that has as yet been attained
by man."

The discussion as to the gases of the blood, their ratio to other con-
stituents, condition of the oxygen as free, mechanically dissolved there-
in, or chemically combined, or both, I have no disposition to continue ;
but in so far as atmospheric pressure may be considered an important
cause of variation, we have the statement of Lehman (Physiological
Chemistry, vol. 1, p. 572) that " Liebig is certainly in the right when
he advances the proposition that l a gas can only be considered as me-
chanically absorbed when its quantity increases and diminishes in pro-
portion to the external pressure. 7 " We think we are justified in conclud-
ing with Liebig that the quantity of oxygen which may be absorbed by
the blood is constant in amount, and, to a certain extent, independent
of external pressure an opinion which is based partly on the fact that
the respiratory process is carried on nearly the same, both at very great
heights and at the level of the sea ; and that no more oxygen is absorbed,
even in an air very rich in oxygen, than in the ordinary atmosphere." A
certain amount of mechanical difficulty, labored respiration, on ascend-
ing heights rapidly is generally experienced. At the same time, the
very great strain put upon the muscles of locomotion causes pain in the
limbs. We have no reason to expect the muscles of respiration to bear
undue exercise and strain without fatigue, and it very probably contrib-
utes largely to what is known as dyspnoea, which is experienced as
severely after rapid running any distance upon a plain. The question
might be asked to what extent a diminished atmospheric pressure might
facilitate the escape of carbonic acid from the lungs I May it not be far
more important to free the blood rapidly of its carbonic acid, which is
poisonous, than to inhale and accumulate oxygen in excess of the need
of the system and the chemical capacity of .the blood to utilize ?

The extent to which diminished pressure alone may affect respiration
can best be determined by the aeronaut, who reaches a height without

8 NOTES OX THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

physical fatigue. He does so, however, at a very rapid rate, and a
quickened respiration is the result. Dyspnoea (besom de respirer) results
from any change of accustomed relations between the lungs and the air
to be respired. It occurs in pregnancy; (in dropsical accumulations,
abdominal or thoracic, which obstruct the expansion of the chest and
lungs, and limit the free play of the muscles of respiration and fatigue
them.) Emotional disturbances, nervous perturbations, and mental anx-
iety cause it, as well as any undue physical labor or unwonted exertion.

That the respiration of an atmosphere of 8,000 feet above sea-level
need not necessarily involve dyspnoea in an individual, I know from per-
sonal experience. I visited this country, ascending 8,000 feet, in 1849,
and lived at an elevation of between 6,700 and 7,000 feet for three years.
Again, in the past year (1875) I revisited Xew Mexico, and I have never
detected in myself any disturbance of respiration as the effect of this
altitude not even a quickened respiration. I am not unmindful of the
fact, however, that another person may have a different experience, but
it may, perhaps, be attributable to other causes than altitude, or as com-
bined with it.

The amount of oxygen present available for respiration may be in some
degree dependent upon the stagnation or relative movement of the air.
A moveless atmosphere becomes very oppressive, and perhaps is most
prevalent in low countries. The movement of the air is, as a rule,
greater in the mountains and high altitudes generally. 1 invite atten-
tion in this connection to the Chief Signal-Officer's remarks for October,
1874, (page 285, report for 1875 :) u The extreme maximum movements
of the wind have been, at Breckeuridge, 7,650 miles; at Cape Henry,
9,147; Cape May, 6,907; Cleveland, 7.281; Escauaba, Mich., 7,217;
Long Branch, 9,242; Pike's Peak, 14,734; Sandy Hook, 10,917. The
extreme minimum movements have been, at Memphis, 1,700, and at
Shreveport, 1,886. The calm area is therefore coterminous with that of
high pressure."

That high temperature produces oppression in breathing is evidenced
in the East Indies both in the periods of calm and during the pre valence ot
the hot winds, especially when, as happens in midsummer, the thermome-
ter reads higher at night than in the day-time. At Nowshera, in 1867, the
condition of the troops is described as " gasping for breath. There was
a peculiar feeling of weight on the chest, even in the apparently healthy ;
and after every 20 inspirations, or thereabout, a strong and convulsive
effort was necessary to inflate the lungs. * * * When the cause,
viz., prolonged high temperature, was removed, an almost instantaneous
return to health (in cases of insolation) was the result." (British Army
Med. Dept. Report for 1868, Appendix No. X, pp. 296, 297, by Asst.
Surg. Staples, 19th Regt.)

" In the same way that we cannot endure either constant dryness or
dampness, so we cannot endure a very constant state of the barometer
without suffering in our breathing or nerves. In fact, there is little

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 9

doubt that rapid changes of the barometer are more favorable for the
more important functions of life than its relative stability ; and this
probably explains in a measure the value of both mountain and sea air."
It also explains the benefit experienced frequently by confirmed invalids
in a change from inland to sea- shore, or from mountain to sea-level, or
vice cersa.

Dr. Holland, in his " Medical Notes and Reflections," expresses the
opinion " that the action of different degrees of atmospheric pressure in
disturbing the bodily functions and general health is rather derived from
the frequency of fluctuation than from any state long continued either
above or below the average standard ; that of the two conditions, sud-
denly incurred, the human frame isbetter capable of withstanding a rarefied
than a condensed atmosphere; and that, in either case, the previous
health and proneness to disorder in particular organs are greatly con-
cerned in determining the results on the body."

He supports some of these views from the fact that " there are in-
habited places in America, such as the town of Potosi, at an elevation
of more than 13,000 feet, the inhabitants of which seem to have tolerable
health." (Medical Times and Gazette, London, September 9, 1876, p.
299.)

At all elevated places the diurnal variations, barometric and ther-
mouietric, are sufficiently great to meet the demands of the economy for
change, and these are augmented agreeably, and changed again, with
the months and seasons as they come. At the same time the extremes
of temperature are not experienced in high as in low altitudes ; cer-
tainly the mountains are devoid of the in tense heat of other more northern
but lower localities.

The annual range of the thermometer at some places otherwise
favorable becomes too excessive to be compatible with health in weak
constitutions. At some low places the long continuance of summer-
heat debilitates so greatly that months pass before normal vigor is
regained. Extreme heat of long continuance involves even fatal pros-
tration in a very few hours when the action of the skin is suspended,
(insolation ;) and this may occur in localities where, in a few months,
an almost Arctic rigor is experienced. We fail to find in the mountains
such experiences or such results ; on the contrary, the air is invigorat-
ing and bracing at all seasons under conditions that prevail elsewhere,
and not involving extreme exposure.

The contrast is particularly noticeable in India between the low plains
and the hill stations.

We find the Savoyard, the Swiss, and the residents of mountains
generally, of our time, as hardy as the mountaineers of history. They
do not degenerate at home, nor until they migrate to the lowlands.
The inhabitants of Georgia, Circassia, and Cashmere, and the hill tribes
of India are a superior race. The Arabs and Abyssiuians on the elevated
lands of the desert and on the sides of the mountains from which the

10 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

Nile descends present a striking superiority over the people of lower
Egypt. Their fiery life, love of liberty, and warlike genius place them
immeasurably above the " Fellahs." The recent war against the Abys-
siniaus has demonstrated anew the vigor and valor of their race.

The human race has not only degenerated by dwelling in low, un-
healthy places, but it is again and again decimated by the pestilences
generated in them. In the language of Dr. Farr, " it is destroyed now
periodically by five pestilences cholera, remittent fever, yellow fever,
glandular plague, and influenza. The origin or chief seat of the first is
the. Delta of the Ganges. Of the second, the African and other tropical
coasts. Of the third, the low west coast around the Gulf of Mexico, or
the Delta of the Mississippi, and the West India Islands. Of the fourth,
the Delta of the Nile and the low sea-side of cities of the Mediterranean.
Of the generating field of influenza nothing certain is known ; but
* * * the four great pestilential diseases cholera, yellow fever, re-
mittent fever, and plague have this property in common : that they
begin and are most fatal in low grounds ; that their fatality diminishes
in ascending the rivers and is inconsiderable around the river sources,
except under such peculiar circumstances as are met with at Erzeroum,
where the features of a marshy sea-side city are seen at the foot of

the mountain chain of Ararat. Safety is found in flight to the hills."

* * * * # # *

In treating upon the u salubrity of high places," he refers to the influ-
ence of locality on race, of the sanitary instinct, the effect of the high
land, and the sight of the hills on the energies of the sick, the longevity
of the inhabitants of various places, the effect of healthy places on the
breed of animals, the degeneration of race in unhealthy places, the time
required to produce degeneration and degradation of race.

It is, perhaps, well for us, as individuals, to revert to such historic
facts as he presents in terms of classic elegance, and it is, I trust, cog-
nate to the subject we have in hand. " As the power of the Egyptians
descended from the Thebaid to Memphis, from Memphis to Sais, they
gradually degenerated, notwithstanding the elevation of their towns
above the high waters of the Nile, their hygienic laws and the hydro,
graphical and other sanitary arrangements which made the country
renowned, justly or unjustly, for its salubrity in the days of Heroditus,
the poison of the Delta in every time of weakness and successful inva-
sion gradually gained the ascendancy, and as the cities declined the
canals and the embalmments of the dead were neglected, the plague
gained ground. The people, subjugated by Persians, Greeks, Romans,
Turks, Mamelukes, became what they have been for centuries, and what
they are in the present day. Every race that settled in the Delta de-
generated and was only sustained by immigration. So, likewise, the
populations on the sites of all the city-states of antiquity, on the coast
of Syria, Asia Minor, Africa, Italy, seated like the people of Home on
low ground under the ruin-clad hills of their ancestors, within reach of

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 11

fever and plague, are enervated and debased apparently beyond redemp-
tion.

" The history of the nations on the Mediterranean, on the plains of the
Euphrates and the Tigris, the deltas of the Indus and Ganges, and the
rivers of China, exhibit this great fact : The gradual descent of races
from the highlands, their establishment on the coasts in cities sustained
and refreshed fora season by immigration from the interior, their degra-
dation in successive generations under the influence of the unhealthy
earth, and their final ruin, eflacement, or subjugation by new races of
conquerors. The causes that destroy individual men lay cities waste,
which, in their nature, are immortal, and silently undermine eternal
empires.

"On the highlands men feel the loftiest emotions. Every tradition
places their origin there. The first nations worshipped there. High on
the Indian Caucasus, on Olympus, and on other lofty mountains the
Indians and the Greeks imagined the abodes of their highest gods, while
they peopled the low underground regions, the grave-land of mortality,
with infernal deities. Their myths have a deep signification. Man feels
his immortality in the hills." (Page xciv, Report of William Farr,
esq., to the Registrar-General of England. London, 1852.

The climate of Kansas, so far as my experience of it may warrant an
opinion and I have served there in 1849, 1857, 1858, 1873, 1874, 1875
is not favorable to pulmonary invalids. They should go out on the plains
and gradually work their way to the mountains. Neither can I recommend
Texas, unless it may be the region near San Antonio, which is said to be-
favorable. San Antonio is, however, liable to choleraic visitations, and,
being a limestone region, the fatality is extreme. I have seen pulmonary
invalids visit New Orleans and very rapidly decline, I suppose on account
of the excessive humidity.

Of Colorado I have no experience. It resembles the climate of New
Mexico, but is to the north of it, and may be inclement.

Of New Mexico there are certain features worthy of consideration by
invalids and their advisers.

I. The dryness of the atmosphere associated with elevation above sea-
level to be found at any elevation desired, in localities ranging from
3,600 to 8,000 feet.

The dryness of all mountain regions is acknowledged. The range
of mountains in Colorado has this excellence in common with those of
New Mexico.

By reference to the report of the Chief Signal-Officer of the Army for
January, 1875, it will be perceived that the percentages of relative hu-
midity for the different districts average as follows : New England, 73
per cent. ; Middle Atlantic States, 74 ; South Atlantic States, 79 ; Gulf
States, 82; Lower Lake region, 79; Upper Lake region, 70; Ohio Val-
ley, Tennessee, and the Northwest, 73. As usual, the mean relative
humidity has been lowest at the Rocky Mountain stations, amounting

12 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

to .56 at Denver and .51 at Santa Fe. In the report for July, 1874, p. 271,
he remarks : " The relative humidity has averaged on the Gulf and
South and East Atlantic States 75 ; New Jersey coast, 85 ; in the Lake
region, 68 ; Lower Mississippi Valley, 70 ; in the Tennessee and the Ohio
and Upper Mississippi Valleys, 62 ; in the Lower Missouri Valley, 58 ; at
the Rocky Mountain stations, 41." I extract from his report as of
interest the following data :

SANTA FE\ X. MEX.
Maximum August 2, 1874, 89 F. ; minimum, February 24, 1875. 2 F.

1674.

1675.

July. Aug. Sept. Oct.

Xov

Dec. Jau.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr. May.

June.

Range

o o o 1 o
36 40 i 45 52

o
42

o
55 45

o
54

65 A M

Monthly means

71. 1 69. 9 i 60.6 5-2. 3

38.7

29. 2 28. 1

31. 4

34 4

47 4 59 2

67 9

Rain-fall in inches

3. 92 1. 731 1. 42J 2. 47

0. 5>

2. 26 0. 6;

0.72

1.37

0. 3 J **

0.33

Rain-fall, annual amount, 16.68 inches.

DENVER, COLO.
Maximum, July 4, 1874, 102= F. ; minimum. January 9, 1875, 29 F.

1875.

July.

Aug.

Sept. Oct. Xov.

Dec. Jan. Feb.

Mar.

Apr. May.

June.

Range

45.3

o ! o
57. 4 70 64

c -
76 84 67

o
72

o
69 52

Monthly means

76 1

59 52 9 42 2

29 7 16 8 32 3

33 4

44 5 60 2

70 4

Rain-fall in inches

3.3;

0.6-

1. 34 0. 64 0. OS

U. 17 3. 38 0. 6(

0.39

2. 24 1. 94

0.43

Rain-fall, annual, amount, 15.24 inches.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.

Maximum, July 11, 1874, 98 F. ; minimum. January 13. 1875. 25= F.
Maximum thermometer broken ; rain-fall, annual amount 15.24 inches.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.
Maximum, July 1,2, and 3, 1874, 98 F. ; minimum, January 16, 1875, 5- F.

1871

July-

Autf. Sept.

Oct.

Xov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar. Apr.

May. June.

Range 42

o
38 49

o
51

o
34

o
43

o
46

o
39

o
51 60

o o
56 56

Monthly means 782

74 7 62 6

43 4

2Q 4

33 7

35 2 50 3

60 1 69 1

Rain-fall in inches 2. 42

1. 03 0. 20

2. If

0.73

3.05

0.79

2. 81 1. 50

2. 91 0. 90

1675.

Rain-fall, annual amount. 20.24 inches.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 13

SAX FRANCISCO, CAL.
Maximum, September 14, 1874, 89 F. Minimum, December 26, 1875, 4(P F.

18'

-4.

?5.

July.

Aug. Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May.

June.

Rain -fall in inches

0.00

0. 00 0. 02

2.69

7. 53

0.33

8.01

0.32

1.3C

0. 1(

0.22

1.02

Rain-fall, annual amount, 21.54 inches.

GALVESTOX, TEX.

74.

75.

Jiy.

Aug.

Sept.

I
Oct. Xov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May.

June.

Rain-fall in inches

9.31

7.19

6.84

0. 1-2 1. 58

6.92

4.31

2.94

3.51

2.55

1.50

0.89

Rain-fall, annual amount, 46.66 inches.

XEW ORLEAXS, LA.

74.

18'

r5.

July.

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Xov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May.

June.

Rain-fall in inches

12.93

4.82

4.21

1.12

3.27

8.44

13.85

10.84

8.05

2.51

4.92

Rain-fall, annual amount, 74.98 inches.

He remarks for June, 1875, as to relative humidity : " This element
averages SO percent, for the immediate coast of New Jersey and New
England, and 75 per cent, on the South Atlantic coast. Elsewhere, over
nearly the entire country east of the western plains, the average is from
65 to 70 per cent. It is, as usual, very low at the Eocky Mountain
stations, being 33 per cent, at Cheyenne, 29 at Salt Lake City, and 28
at Denver."

The rain-fall in inches for June, 1875, was, for Santa Fe, 0.33 ; for Den-
ver, 0.43 ; Salt Lake City, 0.90 ; and the annual amount of rain-fall for
the same places is reported at 16.68, 15.24, and 20.24, respectively. For
San Francisco, Cal., it was 21.54; for Gal veston, Tex., 46.66 ; and for
New Orleans, 74.98 inches.

NEW MEXICO.

The dryuess of this atmosphere is proverbial. The lauds are culti-
vated entirely by irrigation, and have been so for centuries. The tra-
dition among the Pueblo Indians, as given by Hosti, is that, the rain
falling less and less, the people emigrated to the southward long before
the Spaniards arrived in the country, (the visit of Coronado was made
about 1542,) being led by Montezuma, a powerful man, who was born in

14 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

Pecos and had settled with the Pueblos on the Rio San Juan. Montezuina
was to return and lead the rest of the Pueblos also to the south, but he
failed to come back. * * This whole tradition accords well with an-
other held by the Aztecs, in old Mexico, when Cortez entered the country
of Anahuac, namely, that their forefathers came (most probably at the
end of the twelfth century) from the north. (Dr. Oscar Loew's report
on " Euins in New Mexico.") It is probable that the climate has be-
come progressively more dry as time has elapsed, from evidences of
former cultivation which would be now impossible. At Quivira, Dr.
Loew says, " when Corouado visited this province it was, as he de-
scribed it, very fertile; at present it resembles a desert."

At similar elevations in other countries the snow would accumulate
and form glaciers upon the mountains, whence an ample river-supply
of water would continue all the summer. Nothing like this occurs here,
and the extremely rapid evaporation in this dry air may help to account
for the difference.

II. Yery soon after my arrival in Xew Mexico, in October, 1875, 1 be-
came aware of unusual electrical disturbances around me. Severe shocks
were experienced on touching garments of wool or cotton that had just
been taken off, and if at night, vivid sparks of electricity and a trail-
ing line of light would follow the fingers when passed over them. The
shaking of clothing, to free it from dust, or friction with the fingers
over a sheet, would have the same effect. Upon inquiry I found others
also sensible of a highly electrical condition here. The telegraph was
disturbed in its operations by excess of atmospheric electricity, and on
inquiry of Mr. Gough, the agent of the Western Union Telegraph Line,
he was happily able to confirm my impressions from a very extended
experience. The subject became one of almost daily inquiry between
us since July 18, 1876 ; and at my request he has furnished me a writ-
ten statement, to which I invite special attention.

" OFFICE OF WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY,

" HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF ]S~E\v MEXICO,

" Santa Fe, N. Mex., December 12, 1876.
" To General T. A. McPARLiN,

" Surgeon, U. 8. A. :

44 DEAR SIR : In reply to your question as to whether I have noticed
any unusual electrical disturbances on the telegraph-lines in this region,
I would respectfully state that I have noticed such disturbances, and
that in character and frequency they are very remarkable, and really
astonishing, and such as in a seventeen years 1 experience I have noticed
on no other lines.

u From about the middle of April until about the middle of October,
between the hours of 10 a. in. and o p. in., these disturbances are most
frequent, and render the working of the line almost impossible.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 15

" On my operating-table I have a galvanometer. The regular battery
or artificial current on the wire deflects the needle from the north to east
60 to 65 a steady, uniform deflection. During these electrical pheno-
mena the needle commences to become unsteady, pointing 10, 30, 50, 70, and
90 degrees east. The flow will increase to such tremendous quantity that
I have frequently opened my key an eighth of an inch, (which is equiva-
lent to breaking the wire and separating the two ends by that distance,)
when the flow of electricity would pass from point to point with a buzzing
sound and an intensely brilliant flame, sometimes of a blue, sometimes of
a purplish color, and as large nearly as a candle-flame. At such times I
have placed tissue-paper between the points, when it would instantly
commence to blaze. Thick, heavy writing-paper would be burned com-
pletely through, but would not blaze. These heavy flows will sometimes
continue for hours with but little variation, at others in one instant the
flow ceases entirely ; the needle of the galvanometer drops down to zero;
remaining so for an instant, it will fly back to 80 or 90, drop down to 10,
20, 50 ; the next instant the whole artificial or battery current is neutral-
ized (so to speak) by a tremendous flow of an apparently different polar-
ization, as the needle before deflected to the east now flows round to 70,
80, or 90 degrees to the west ; the next 90 to the east, again at zero,
and thus never steady for more than a few seconds at any point. I
have frequently taken off all the artificial batteries entirely, and no per-
ceptible difference could be noticed ; at one moment there would be so
much electricity that in trying to work the line it would fuse the platina
points of the key, and in the next instant not a particle ; and at no
time, either with or without the artificial batteries, would the current
be steady long enough to obtain intelligible signals over the wire.
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOSEPH M. GO UGH,
" Manager Western Union Telegraph Company."

Eeferring to the Signal Service Eeports last published, I found in the
Monthly Eeports of Weather for July, 1874, and August, 1874, electri-
cal phenomena of special interest as connected with the summit of Pike's*
Peak, and for January, 1875, atmospheric electricity generally com-
mented upon ; and a special extract referring to an extraordinary elec-
trical storm observed at Santa Fe, which I have extracted as of special
interest in connection with the subject of electrical disturbances and dis-
tribution in this and other mountain regions. Facts like these should
be collated and fully considered if it be determined by experience that
atmospheric electricity exerts an iDfluence upon development of health
or disease.

Extracts from Report of Chief Signal- Officer for 1875.

ELECTRICAL PHENOMENA.

u The local storms previously referred to were in many instances ac-
coir.panipd by vivid displays of lightning. The most remarkable series

16 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

of thunder-storms occurred at the summit of Pike's Peak from the 14th
to the 25th, during which the electrical effect was so intense as to inter-
rupt telegraphic communication with that station. The observer reports
that sharp peculiar sounds were emitted from all pointed objects, and
that painful sensations were experienced in the hands and face.

" A brilliant display of ball-lightning was observed at Denver .July
21, the ball exploding in full view and the fragments re-exploding as they
reached the earth. This phenomenon was also observed at Keokuk,
Iowa, on the 16th.

" Ground-currents interfered with the working of the telegraph-line
at Sandy Hook on the 4th, llth, and 16th." (Page 272, Monthly Weather
Review, report for July, 1874.)

" In addition to thunder-storms spoken of under previous headings,
there were strong ground-currents on the telegraph-line connecting Col-
orado Springs with the summit of Pike's Peak, Colo., on the evening
of the 1st. Frequent lightning was observed on the same line during
the month. On the 3d heavy snow accompanied a heavy thunder-storm
on Pike's Peak, from which station thunder-storms are reported as hav-
ing occurred almost daily. Thunder or lightning, or both, were more
frequent in the Southern and Western States, especially the latter, than
in other stations." (Page 276, Monthly Weather Review, report for
August, 1874.)

ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY.

" Thunder-storms are reported as having occurred mostly in the South-
ern States and during the passage of general storms, viz :

" On the 7th in Georgia and Florida ; on the 21st in Georgia, North
Carolina, Tennessee, -Mississippi, and Texas; on the 22d in Georgia,
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas ; on the 24th in Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, and North Carolina; on the 27th in Louisiana,
Indian Territory, and Texas ; on the 29th in Georgia and Alabama."

The following extract is made from the observer's report at Santa F6,
New Mexico :

"January 15, extraordinary electrical storm on (telegraph) line ;
noticed first at 12 m., and lasted until 3 p. m. The current was so strong
the line could not be worked. The key was left open, and most of the
line was surrounded by a ring of fire. It was during the passage of low
barometer that this happened." (Page 301, Monthly Weather Review
for January, 1875.) *

* By an examination of the appended papers it will be noticed that the military tele-
graph-line extending from Denver to Santa F6 and thence southward to Silver City
was disturbed by atmospheric electricity from July 18 to December 31, 1876 deducting
Sundays, when no continuous observations were made 10 times on the northern line,
14 on the southern line, and 22 on both lines out of Santa F6 ; 46 days of disturbance
out of 147 days' observations. No record was made of disturbances anterior to July
18, 1876.

In the year the wind traveled at a rate amounting to 67,996 miles, being southwest
over one-half the time and northeast or north about one-fourth the time. One hundred

NOTES ON THE HI3TORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 17

The earth is a good conductor, and the "common reservoir" of electricity
dry air is a good insulator ; but when the air contains moisture it con-
ducts electricity, and this, says Ganot, (page 610, Elementary Treatise
on Physics, New York, 1869,) is the principal source of the loss of elec-
tricity. In the same way that metals do not become electrified by fric-
tion on account of their great conductivity, animals do not exhibit this
property in a marked degree until comparatively insulated by a dry at-
mosphere. Animal bodies daily retaining, for any prolonged period, a
greater store of electricity, or using up this electricity as a force, may
be materially different from what they would be in a humid environment.

The electric tension and density of a metallic sphere is found to be
uniform over its surface. On an elongated ellipsoid it accumulates
at the most acute points, and the upheared masses of mountains would
appear to us favorable points for a special distribution of electric force.

It is much to be desired that observations as to the amount of ozone,
of humidity, and atmospheric electricity be more generally made in the
interest of those seeking for climatic relief and to furnish data for our
guidance.

I have the impression that a moderate altitude should first be sought,
and, as convalescence and vigor are assured, a higher and more bracing
air could be borne with benefit.

In this country the statistician is at a disadvantage ; there are no
boards of health, no registration of diseases.

The rector of the cathedral has been kind enough to give me the sta.
tistics of deaths among the Catholic population of the parish of Santa
Fe" from 1869 to December 14, 1876, amounting to 1,005 deaths in eight
years in a parish estimated between 7,000 and 8,000. From this I esti-
mate the average yearly death-rate, 125, being about one death to 60
Catholic population, a mortality of 16 per 1,000 in the parish.

Of the death-rate in the Territory I have no information. Dr. Lewis
Kennon, (of Fort Selden,) as quoted by Mr. Brevoort, says: "The lowest
death-rate from tubercular diseases is in New Mexico."

"The censuses of 1860 and 1870 give 25 per cent, in New England, 14
in Minnesota, from 5 to 6 in different Southern States, and 3 per cent, in
New Mexico." (New Mexico, by Elias Brevoort, 1874, p. 27.)

Dr. Symington informs me that, in a residence of eight years in this
Territory, he has seen but two cases of phthisis among natives, and
they were young persons.

In Switzerland (according to Dr. Lombard, of Geneva, Gazette des
Hospitaux, of October 26, 1876 ; London Medical Times and Gazette,

and iiiiie days were moist for a while from rain or snow. It is proper, however, to remark
that in the rainy or wet season of the year sunshine and clear skies are noticed every
day, the rain coming in showers. The whole amount of humidity was only 15.06 inches
for the year ; maximum velocity of wind, 38 miles per hour.

I take pleasure in acknowledging the prompt facilities extended to me by the United
States signal and military telegraph services in furnishing information and data as to
observations made by them.

18 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

November 11, 1876, p. 552) the mean mortality resulting from phthisis
pulmonalis is 77 per 1,000 deaths, being a much lower proportion than
most of the countries of Europe. Thus in Belgium this varies from 168 to
198, and in England is 124. * * * Two influences are brought into
view by Dr. Lombard's investigations, viz: The deleterious effects of in-
dustrial occupations as compared to agricultural, and the benefit of high
altitudes, cases of phthisis being less frequent in proportion to the height
attained, so that it entirely disappears in high valleys.

The Medical Statistics United States Army Abstract of Principal
Diseases show a total of 8 cases (3 deaths) in an average mean strength
of 5,873 troops, from phthisis pulmonalis, in the six years from 1849 to
1854. For the same period, in diseases of the respiratory system, "New
York, New England, and the region about the great lakes exhibit the
largest ratios 5 arid Florida, Texas, and New Mexico the smallest, being,
in the ratio of cases per 1,000 of mean strength, New England, 4.8;
New York harbor, 5.9; great lakes, 4.5; Atlantic coast of Florida, 2.3 ;
Gulf coast of Florida, 6.9 ; Texas southern frontier, 4.00 ; western
frontier of Texas, 3.9; New Mexico, 1.3." The conclusions of Dr. E. H.
Coolidge, U. S. A., the compiler, (Medical Statistics United States
Army,) are, I believe, accepted to-day: " 1st. That temperature, consid-
ered by itself, does not exert that marked controlling influence upon
the development or progress of phthisis which has been attributed to
it. * * 2d. That the most important atmospherical condition for
a consumptive is dryness. * * 3d. That next to dry ness in im-
portance is an agreeable temperature a temperature uniform for long
periods, and not disturbed by sudden or frequent changes. * * A
uniformly low temperature is much to be preferred to a uniformly high
temperature. The former exerts a tonic and stimulating effect upon
the general system, while the latter produces general debility and nerv-
ous exhaustion. The worst possible climate for a consumptive is one
with a long-continued high temperature and a high dew-point."

Confirmatory of all this, and the fact that "New Mexico is by far the
most favorable residence in the United States for those predisposed to
or affected with phthisis," may be consulted the testimony and experi-
ence of several medical officers of the United States Army. (Quoted
in Hammond's Hygiene, p. 280.)

An examination of the sickness and mortality tables of the troops
serving in New Mexico from 1861 to 1865, published in the Medical and
Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, Part I, Washington,
1870, pp. 138, 280, 436, and 588, Order Y, Diseases of the Respiratory
Organs, shows the following cases :

NOTES ON THE HI8TORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 19

Diseases.

1861-'62.

1862-'63.

1863-'64.

1864-'65.

Total
cases.

Deaths.

Asthma

156

139

158

477

Catarrh

353

106

Inflammation of the pleura -..

' 28

150

106

286

Other diseases of respiratory organs

109

103

260

Total of respiratory orgaus

461

398

437

443

1,739

6 956

9 144

8 066

7 245

31 411

Total deaths all kinds

288

3 460

3 762

4 224

3 866

Aggregate 15, 312

CLASS II. ORDEB II.

Tubercular diseases.

List of cases of consumption and of diseases of the respiratory organs treated during the ten
years from January 1, 1867, to December 31, 1876, at Santa Fe, N. Hex.

Diseases.

1867.

1868.

1869.

1870.

1871.

1872.

1873.

1874.

1875.

1876.

Total
cases.

Deaths.

Catarrh

102

Total respiratory
organs

126

Aggregate .

821

Many persons do well at home in summer who need in winter a milder
climate.

Europeans are wont to seek Naples, Malaga, Egypt, Algiers, Koine,
Florence, Mentone, or the West Indies. Eecently the west coast of Ire-
laud, made warm by the influence of the Gulf Stream, has been recom-
mended. For patients threatened with phthisis, Mentone, Malaga, and
Algiers are preferable. If they go to Jamaica, they should arrive in
December and go up at onee to the hills. Such as are affected with
irritable bronchitis, asthma, and pleuritic tendencies, are recommended
to Madeira, aud in the spring to Pau. (London Med. Times and Ga-
zette, November 4, 1876, p. 519.)

When the railroad shall have made this region (of New Mexico) of
easy access, the invalid may find a genial aud proper climate. For
the weakest invalids the Mesilhi Valley should be first resorted to, and

20 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

thence the transit can be made to a northern and more invigorating air.
The summer in Mesilla is said to be quite hot.

Proceeding from Santa F, between Taos and Fort Garland, the mili-
tary wagon-road conducted by Lieutenant Ruffner winds in the canon
of the Rio Grande and near its margin for miles. The river is narrow
and rapid, hemmed in by peaks and precipices, and rushes a foaming
fldod over rocks and bowlders.

The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, which will be extended to
Garland by May 1, 1877, will probably come down this canon and open
out some magnificent scenery to the tourist. Arriving at Fort Garland,
situated in the San Luis Park, (8,000 feet above sea-level,) wehave a near
view of the Sierra Blanca, one of the highest of the Rocky Mountains
14,404 feet easier of ascent than Mont Blanc, (15,784 feet,) the Jung
Frau, (13,671 feet,) or the Matterhorn, (14,370 feet.) A daily line of
stages passes Garland toward the San Juan mines, reaching the Rio
Grande River in 26 miles, in 60 miles La Loma and Del Norte, and in
about 100 miles the summit of the main divide, " among a mass of
snow-peaks, in groups connected by crests more or less high, from
which the waters flow radially, and is probably the highest portion of
the Rocky Mountains. This region, like that of the Yellowstone Lake,
seems to be one of the domes of the continent, as is shown by the fact
that the same rivers which eventually flow west flow at first east and
south, like Grand River and Lake Fork." (Reconnaissance in the Ute
country by First Lieut. E. H. Ruffner, United States Engineers, Wash-
ington, 1874, p. 31.) Among those mountains whose heights have been
determined, we have Summit, 13,356 feet ; Bristol Head, 11 ,814 feet;
King Solomon, 13,073 feet ; Engineer Mountain, 13,270 feet. The high-
est of all is Mount Chauvenet, altitude unknown to me. King Solomon,
in the Sierra La Plata, and Mount Galena (12,978 feet) are in the rich
silver and gold mining region, now rapidly filling up by immigration.

From Engineer Mountain " masses of snow-peaks rising a thousand
and two thousand feet above timber are seen, with sky-lines inarvel-
ously bold and wild. The peaks (says Maj. H. G. Prout) are seen at
distances of 10 to 30 miles around. I doubt if any other mountain re-
gion in the world displays so extensive a mass of increasing variety of
form so wholly grand." (Page 24, ibid.)

The great overland California Railway passes over no country equal
to this, as it purposely and economically was located at a lower level.
Here, about latitude 37 45' and longitude 107 28', the Great Sierra
-Madre rises to its greatest height, and thence flow the fountains of the
Rio Grande del Norte.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO. 21

APPENDIX No. 1.

SANTA FE, December 14, 1876.
Dr. McPARLiN :

DEAR SIB : According to your request, I have the honor to send the
statistics of deaths occurred among the Catholic population of the par
ish of Santa Fe since I have been the rector of the said parish.

The parish of Santa Fe, as it is now established, comprises, besides
the city, the towns of Agua Fria, Cienega, Tesuque, and Rio Tesuque ;
it is to say, a population of seven or eight thousand inhabitants.

Here are now the statistics of deaths :

Years . Deaths.

1869 ... :.104

1870 94

1871 145

1872 . ..183

Years. Deaths.

1873 120

1874 146

1875 102

1876, up to this date 131

As to the principal causes of these deaths I ought to confess my ig-
norance in the matter. I am not a physician.

Influenza and whooping-cough are sometimes fatal and very mortif-
erous, especially among children. In last January and February, as
you must be aware, we had many fatal cases of pleurisy. I buried 32
corpses, almost all of grown persons.

It would be an error to believe tbat there is no case of consumption
among the natives of this country. On the contrary, asthma, heart and
lung diseases are very common among them. I have actually some pa-
tients who suffer of such affections.

I think the principal cause must be attributed to the sharpness of the
air and scarcity of good clothes.

I am, very respectfully, my dear doctor, your most obedient servant,

J. A. BEUCHARD,
Parish Priest of the Cathedral.

A true copy :

T. A. McPARLiN, M. D.

22 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO

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28 NOTES ON THE HISTORY AND CLIMATE OF NEW MEXICO.

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