expanse of water. The trade of the Gulf, with its pearl fisheries
and other resources, would be speedily developed.

* * * * * * * *

"The advantages of such a thoroughfare are obvious. Five years
would hardly elapse before inestimable benefits would be
realized; and, should war threaten our Pacific possessions, a few
days would suffice to send from the Mississippi valley an army
that would defy any force that the most formidable power could
array against us. The fine cotton region of the Gila, the rich
copper, silver, and gold mines of New Mexico and Sonora would be
at once developed, bringing a vast district of country into
cultivation which now presents a fruitless waste, owing to Indian
depredations and the absence of means of communication and
protection. Mexico has tried for a century past to insure safety
to her inhabitants in this region, but notwithstanding the
expense she has incurred in keeping up her garrisons, she has
failed to afford them protection.

"The deserted appearance of the country from El Paso to the
Colorado is no criterion by which to judge of its value. The
beautiful valley of San Xavier, or Santa Cruz, some two years ago
when I passed through it, was entirely deserted. The once
thriving towns of Tumacacori and Tubac had not the sign of a
living soul about them except the recent moccasin track of the
Apaches. The orchards and vineyards of the once highly cultivated
fields and gardens bore the marks of gradual decay and
destruction. The ranchos of Calabazas, of San Bernardino, and
numerous other places on this frontier, presented the same