pervert this power, setting bad examples in their mode of life, and
offering wicked counsel. However, under the management of the present
bishop, who is a very exemplary man, these things are being changed.
The old Priests of New Mexico were formerly educated in Old Mexico.
Their information was very imperfect, and their minds were contracted
down to extreme narrowness, from want of observation; hence, they were
the means of retarding the natural progress of the people. It cannot
be denied but that the Catholic religion has been the pioneer system
in the far West, and that, in the hands of good and pure men, it has
done much praiseworthy work, and has set an example which other creeds
might and ought to follow. The valley of Taos is bounded on all sides
by lofty mountains, which are but continuations of the Rocky chain.
The boundaries of this valley are very irregular, both in the course
they take and in their altitudes. The valley is about thirty miles
wide and some fifteen miles long. The ground has the appearance, at
first sight, of being a plain; but, on closer observation, it is
found to contain many ravines, and to bear the appearance of being
undulating. To the west side of it, rolls the Rio Grande, which
cuts, for most of the way, through a deep and impassable (for fording
purposes) channel. In the valley, there are but few, if any, trees,
which fact gives the villages a barren look. The mountains about are
covered with timber, which is not generally of the first quality for
building purposes. The number of people included within the limits
of this valley, it is difficult to estimate; but, about ten thousand
would include every living soul. The occupation of the people is
farming. Raising horses, cattle and sheep is carried on to a certain
extent; but most of the large herds of these animals owned in this
town are kept at ranches situated at more distant points, where grass
is to be had in abundance, and those retained about the villages are
only kept for immediate use. The reason for this is found in the fact