The great "backbone" of the American Continent is the Rocky Mountains,
and the summits of its main range make the parting of the waters, the
"Continental Divide." Its name of the Rockies is appropriate, for on
these mountains and their intervening plateaus, naked rocks are
developed to an extent rarely equalled elsewhere in the world. The
leading causes of this are the great elevation and extreme aridity,
the scanty moisture preventing growth of vegetation, and the high
altitudes promoting denudation of the rock-material disintegrated at
the surface. Enormous crags and bold peaks of bare rocks, mostly
compose the mountains, while the streams flow at the bases of towering
precipices in deep chasms and canyons filled with broken rocks. Being
unprotected by vegetation, the winds sweep the hills clean of soil and
sand, the steep slopes of the valleys are strewn with fragments of the
enclosing cliffs, and the rivers are usually without flood-plains or
intervales, where soils may gather. In the extensive and
highly-elevated plateaus, the streams usually run in the bottoms of
deep canyons, their channels choked with _débris_. Added to this the
whole Rocky Mountain region has in the past been a scene of great
volcanic activity, many extinct volcanoes appear, broad plains are
covered with lava, and scoria and ashes are liberally deposited all
about. The aridity is not a feature of the Pacific coast ranges,
however, for the moisture from that ocean abundantly supplies water;
there are good soils, and in the northern parts usually dense forests.
The Rocky Mountain system extends from Mexico up to Alaska and the
Arctic Ocean, its greatest development being between 38° and 42° north
latitude, where the various ranges cover a breadth of a thousand
miles. The highest peak of the Rockies is Mount Logan, in British
America, on the edge of Alaska, rising nineteen thousand five hundred
and thirty-nine feet. In the United States these mountains rise from a
general plateau extending across the country, and reaching its maximum
elevation of about ten thousand feet in Colorado, whilst towards the
north the surface descends, entering Canada at an elevation of four
thousand feet. The plateau descends westward into the basin of the
Colorado River, then the surface rises in Nevada to six thousand feet,
and thence farther westward it gradually descends to the base of the
Sierra Nevada in California. To the eastward the plateau throughout
steadily descends in the long, undulating and generally treeless slope
of the Great Plains to the Mississippi, the many tributaries of the
Father of Waters carving their valleys down through its surface. There
are numerous mountain ranges, plateaus and parks, under different
names in this extensive mountain region, and the higher peaks in the
United States generally rise to thirteen to fifteen thousand feet
elevation. These mountains and the plains to the eastward compose the
vast arid region constituting fully two-fifths of the United States,
where irrigation is necessary to agriculture, and, in consequence,
less than ten per cent. of this large surface bears forests of any
value. We are told that so scant is the moisture, if the whole current
of every water-course in this district were utilized for irrigation it
would not be possible to redeem four per cent. of the land. Some of
this surface, however, bears grasses and plants that, to an extent,
make pasturage. The precious metals and other useful minerals are
found in abundance, and various parts of the region have been
developed by the many valuable mines, making their owners enormous
fortunes.
Through this vast mountain district, over deserts and along devious
defiles, a half-dozen great railways lead from the Mississippi Valley
to the Pacific slope. The Southern Pacific Railway we have already
followed from New Orleans across to Southern California. Northward
from its route at El Paso a railway leads through New Mexico to the
next great transcontinental line, the Atchison system, coming from
Chicago by way of Kansas City and Santa Fé southwestward The main line
traverses Kansas, and branches go south into the Indian Territory and
Oklahoma. In the former are the reservations of the civilized tribes
of Indians originally removed from east of the Mississippi--the
Choctaws, Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws and Seminoles, with some
others--who number nearly two hundred thousand souls, most of them
engaged in agriculture. To the westward, south of Kansas and Colorado,
is the "Boomers' Paradise" of Oklahoma, or the "Beautiful Land," a
fertile and well-watered region, originally part of the Indian
reserved lands, but bought from them by the Government. People from
Kansas long had a desire to occupy this prolific land, and only with
great difficulty were they kept out. The portion first got ready was
opened to settlement by proclamation at noon on April 22, 1889, a
large force of troops being in attendance to preserve order. Over
fifty thousand people crossed the boundaries and entered the Territory
the first day, taking up farms and starting towns. The "Cherokee
Strip" along the northern line was subsequently obtained and opened to
settlement in September, 1893, when ninety thousand people rushed in.
These great invasions of the "Oklahoma boomers" became historic,
cities of tents springing up in a night; but while there then was much
suffering and privation from want of food and shelter, yet the new
Territory has since become a most successful agricultural community.
The Atchison route, after crossing Kansas, enters Colorado, passing La
Junta and Trinidad, and then turning southward rises to the highest
point on the line, crossing the summit of the Raton Pass, at an
elevation of seventy-six hundred and twenty feet, by going through a
tunnel, and emerging on the southern side of the mountain in New
Mexico. The railway is then laid along the slope of the Santa Fé
Mountains, and on their side are Las Vegas Hot Springs, about forty of
them being in the group, their waters used both for bathing and
drinking, and having various curative properties. The Glorieta Pass is
subsequently crossed at seventy-five hundred feet elevation, and
beyond is Santa Fé, the capital of New Mexico. This is a curious and
antique town, the oldest in the United States next to St. Augustine in
Florida. It was an Indian pueblo or town in the very early times, and
in 1605 the Spaniards came along, captured it, reduced the Indians to
slavery, and worked the valuable gold and silver mines. In 1680 the
Indians revolted, expelled the Spaniards and destroyed their churches
and buildings, but they recovered control a few years later. There are
now about seven thousand people of all races, having a good trade, and
being chiefly employed in mining. It is a quaint old place, with
crooked and narrow streets and adobé houses surrounding the central
Plaza, on one side of which is the ancient Governor's Palace, a long,
low adobé structure of one story, wherein the Governors of Spanish,
Mexican and American rule have lived for nearly three centuries. It
contains various historical paintings and relics, and here General Lew
Wallace wrote _Ben Hur_ while Governor of New Mexico in 1880.
Beyond Santa Fé is the Rio Grande River, which the railway follows
down through a grazing country past Albuquerque, its mart for wool and
hides. Turning westward an arid region is traversed, with an
occasional pueblo, and near Laguna is the famous Mesa Encantada, or
the "Enchanted Table Land." This eminence rises precipitously four
hundred and thirty feet above the surface, and is only accessible by
ladders and ropes. The summit gives evidence of former aboriginal
occupancy, and the tradition of the neighboring Acomas Indians is that
their ancestors lived upon it, but were forced to abandon the village
when a storm had destroyed the only trail and caused those remaining
on the summit to perish. To the westward the "Continental Divide" is
crossed at seventy-three hundred feet elevation, but with nothing
indicating the change, as it is on a plateau. The Navajo Indian
Reservation is crossed, Arizona entered and traversed, and at the
Flagstaff Station is the Lowell Observatory, and here the nearest
route is taken to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. There rises to the
northward the huge San Francisco Mountain, a fine extinct volcano,
while off to the southwest are the great United Verde Copper Mines,
among the largest in the world, and the town of Prescott, in a rich
mineral region. The Colorado River is crossed into California, and
then the railway traverses the wide Mojave Desert towards the Pacific
coast.