itself.  It is true that, not many years back, Santa Fe was filled with gamblers and desperadoes of all grades; but, at the present time, law and order is beginning to predominate, and it is to be hoped that the next generation will see a better state of affairs.  The vices which have characterized the inhabitants have not been confined, by any means, to the Mexicans; but rather they have been exemplified in those Americans with bad characters, who have, from time to time, crept in among the people.  These men, in several instances, 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 Mexico passes over this road; and, during the summer months, the heavily-laden caravans are continually traversing it.