erce winds that blow along its summit), and from which the Sierra de
Sandia for the last time appears, we plunge into a deep valley, emptying
into the Canoncito, and thence follow the railroad track again through a
deep gorge and pleasant bottom, overgrown with pines and cedars, past
Glorieta to Baughl's.[92] It required all the skill and firmness of my
friend and companion, Mr. J. D. C. Thurston, of the Indian Bureau at
Santa Fe, to pilot our vehicle over the steep and rocky ledges. From
Baughl's, where I took quarters at the temporary boarding-house of Mrs.
Root (to whose kindness and motherly solicitude I owe a tribute of
sincere gratitude), a good road leads to the east and south-east along
the Arroyo de Pecos. In a direct line the distance to the ruins is
but a mile and a half; but after nearing the banks of the stream (which
there are grassy levels), one is kept at a distance from it by deep
parallel gulches. So we have to follow the _arroyo_ downwards, keeping
about a quarter of a mile to the west of it, till, south of the old
church itself, the road at last crosses the wide and gravelly bed, in
which a fillet of clear water is running. Then we ascend a gradual slope
of sandy and micaceous soil, thinly covered by tufts of _grama_; a wide,
circular depression strikes our eye; beyond it flat mounds of scarcely
0.50 m.--20 in.--elevation are covered extensively with scattered and
broken stones. Further on distinct foundations appear, rectangles
enclosed by, or founded originally upon, thick walls of stone, sunk into
the ground and much worn,--sometimes divided into small compartments,
again forming large enclosures. To the south a conspicuous, though
small, mound is visible. Immediately before us, due north, are distinct
though broken walls of stones; and above them, on a broad terrace of red
earth, completely shutting off the _mesilla_ or tabulated cliff, on
which the Indian houses stand, there arises the massive former Catholic
temple of Pecos.

[Illustration: PLATE VI
VIEW OF CHURCH, FROM THE SOUTH.]

The building forms a rectangle, about 46 m.--150 ft.--long, from east to
west, and 18 m.--60 ft.--from north to south. The entrance was to the
west, the eastern wall being still solid and standing. Plate I., Fig. 2,
gives an idea of its form: _a_ _a_ are gateways, each capped by a heavy
lintel of hewn cedar; _b_, carved beam of wood across.

The roof of the building is gone, and on the south side a part of the
wa