Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, one of the most interesting
towns in the southwest. The majority of its population are of
Spanish and Mexican origin and speak Spanish. It is the centre of
supplies for the surrounding country, and is often a scene of great
activity. It stands on a plateau, more than a mile above the sea
level, with another snow capped mountain rising a mile higher. The
climate is delightful and the supply of water from the springs and
mountains is of the finest quality.

Santa Fe, when first visited by the Spaniards in 1542, was a
populous Indian pueblo. It has been the capital of New Mexico for
nearly two hundred and fifty years. The houses of the ancient town
are made of adobe, one story high, and the streets are unpaved,
narrow, crooked and ill looking. The inhabitants are of a low order,
scarcely entitled to be ranked above the half civilized, though
of late years the infusion of western life and rugged civilization
has given an impetus and character to the place for which, through
three centuries, it waited in vain.

The company to which young Kit Carson attached himself, was strongly
armed and it made the perilous journey, across rivers, mountains and
prairies, through a country infested with fierce Indians, without
the loss of one of their number. This immunity was due to their
vigilance and knowledge of the ways of the hostiles who, it may
be said, were on all sides, from the beginning to the end of their
journey.

After reaching Santa Fe, Carson left the party and went to Taos,
a small station to the north of Santa Fe. There he stayed through
the winter of 1826-27, at the home of a veteran pioneer, from whom