es, have set examples
which the most debased Mexican would hesitate to follow.

The appearance of Santa Fe, from an outside view, is anything but
striking. Its houses, like most Mexican buildings, are seldom higher
than one story, and, with few exceptions, they are entirely wanting
in beauty. They are built after what may be styled a Mexican mode of
architecture, and consist of a series of rooms which encircle an open
square or court, the access to which is through a large portal. These
buildings are usually huddled together towards the centre or plaza,
while, in the outskirts of the town, they are greatly scattered. The
arrangement of the streets appears as if they were mere matters of
accident rather than matters of system or intention. The town is
ornamented by few, if any, trees, while the general appearance of the
adjacent country, as has been seen, is barren. The markets of the town
are but sparingly supplied with a variety, and those articles which
are the most common, bring, comparatively speaking, good prices. Not
many miles from Santa Fe there are famous silver mines, which for
many years were worked almost entirely by hand. Within a recent date
machinery has been introduced by some enterprising Americans, and the
precious silver ore is being brought to light in large quantities.
In point of amusement the people still cling to the pleasures of the
fandango; and, as this town is much in advance of any other in the
Territory, the Santa Fe balls are carried on, sometimes, on quite a
grand scale. The majority of them are the places of resort for the
free classes of society. The more respectable people seldom attend
them, and then only when they are certain that they will find the
ceremonies conducted in the spirit which administers really to
pleasure and not to excess. The distance from Santa Fe to the Missouri
River is in the neighborhood of nine hundred miles. The road, for the
first one hundred miles towards the Santa Fe terminus, is rough and
hilly; but, after that, it strikes out on the open plains, and is as
level as can possibly be for such an immense distance. It is over this
beautiful road that we have several times described Kit Carson as he
traveled to and from the United States, though, more frequently, as
has been seen, he preferred routes of his own selection, which enabled
him, with his small escorts, to elude the vigilant watch of hostile
Indians. The rich merchandise which finds its market in New