pointing at it, with strings running to the shrubbery near by, so as
to cause it to explode and kill the searchers should the bushes about
be disturbed. One old smuggler once fixed things in this manner, but
performed his task too well; for, on going to remove his property, he
came very near blowing himself up, as the mine was sprung and he was
thrown in the air, but miraculously escaped. Many of the adventures
of these men would be interesting; but they are too voluminous to be
embodied in our work. The valley of Taos is well watered by mountain
streams which flow into the Rio Grande. On one of these creeks and
near the mountains, to the east of Fernandez de Taos, is located an
Indian Pueblo which is very interesting to the traveler. Its houses
are built one on top of another until a sort of pyramid is formed. The
people enter their respective domicils through the roofs, which form
a kind of steps. At the foot of this queer building there is a church;
and around, the scenery is very picturesque, as the whole is bounded
on one side by a gap in the mountains, while on the other is the open
valley. This band of Indians at first offered great resistance and
fought with much bravery against the United States; but now they
are counted among its most faithful allies, and are great in their
admiration of Kit Carson. The farming utensils of the New Mexicans
are rude in the extreme; but the agricultural implements of the
Anglo-Saxon are slowly replacing these articles. The old plough, as
frequently used at the present time by the New Mexicans, is indeed
a curiosity, as it probably was invented in the earliest times. It
consists of one piece of timber which is crooked the proper shape by
nature; the end of this is sharpened, and on it is fastened a single
piece of iron which has an attempt at a sharp point. The force to
propel this farming implement is attached in the usual way, with but
few modifications. Oxen are always employed in this labor, and their
yoke is fastened after the Egyptian fashion, to their horns instead of