upper part of the region alluded to, and which is watered by the
Rio Verde and Salinas. He fully sustains me in my remarks on
those rich valleys.

"We are in the pleasantest region we have seen since leaving the
Choctaw country. Here are clear rivulets, with fertile valleys
and forest trees. The wide belt of country that borders the Black
Forest, and probably extends along the Rio Verde to the Salinas
and Gila, bears every indication of being able to support a large
agricultural and pastoral population. The valley of the Rio Verde
is magnificently wooded with furs and oaks, affording excellent
timber. Ancient ruins are said by trappers to be scattered over
its whole length to the confluence with the Salinas. We,
therefore, seem to have skirted the boundary of a country oncepopulous, and worthy of becoming so again. Besides the advantages
already enumerated, the mountains in this vicinity bear
indications of mineral wealth. Vol. 3, p. 93."

The notes before referred to, in the possession of the writer,
speak of great farming and grazing establishments scattered over
the whole face of the Territory, between 1610 and 1800, which
produced abundant crops of cereals, fruits, and grapes. These
statements are confirmed by the testimony of Major Emory and his
report, where he enumerates several of the most extensive--by
Gray, Bartlett, Parke, and Col. Bonneville. Many of the Ranches,
deserted by the Mexicans on account of the Apache Indians, have
upon them large, well-built adobe houses which must have cost the
builders thousands of dollars. Many of these have been occupied
under squatter titles by emigrants within the last few years. Of
others, only the ruins remain, having been destroyed by the
depredations of the Indians, or by the heavy rains of the