Camp and Travel in New Mexico [pp. 347-369]

Camp and Travel in New Mexico.
Maine, Lower Canada, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. In Sitka
the mean temperature of January is 30
deg., the same as in New York. The
July of Sitka has a mean of 55 deg.
which is chilly, but is preferable to the
numerous oppressively warm days that
accompany a mean of 75 deg. in Manhattan Island. In Vancouver Island and
on the shores of Puget Sound the temperature is similar to that of England,
about 40 deg. in January and 6o deg.
in July. The rainfall is very heavy near
the ocean, and decreases rapidly as we
go inland; and a similar decrease is
observed on the shores of Norway, and
portions of Great Britain. Sitka has
the. same amount of rain as Bergen, 85
inches; Olympia has 50; Victoria 25
inches. Sitka has 235 rainy days in the
year, and Olympia has I30.
The climate of Puget Sound would
not suit the horned toads of California,
but it is very similar to the one that
bred the Northmen who conquered a
large part of Europe. It is not unfavorable to the development of mental and
physical energy.
Let us now compare the habitable
area and population of the Great Archipelago with those of certain European
countries similar in their climate:
Countries. Habitable Population.
Latitude. Area,
Deg. Min. Deg. Sq. Miles.
Finland.....6......6 -63 50,000ooo 1,700,000
Norway........... 58 -64 8Soooo i,8oo,ooo
Denmark......54, 40 -58 14,500 2,000,000
Sweden...........53 -63 80,ooo 4,000,000
Scotland...........54, 40-59 30,000oo 3,400,o000
Great Archipelago..47 -59 50,000oo 250,000
The present rush of emigrants, the
construction of railways, the building
of cities, and the development of many
branches of industry in Western Washington, render it certain that the islands
and inlets to the northward will soon
rise to great prominence in the business
of our Coast. Within ten or twenty
years the Alaskan and Canadian dixvisions will each have as many inhabitants as there are now in the basin of
Puget Sound; the inlets from Olympia
to Sitka will be alive with steamers, and
their shores will abound with cities. He
who wishes to measure the destinies of
our Coast must not leave the Great
Archipelago out of his calculation.
John S. Hittell.
CAMP AND TRAVEL IN NEW MEXICO.
FROM Trinidad nearly to Dick Whooton's ranch, in the winter of I870, we,
Mrs. Baker, Ida, and I, with Buffer and
our two mule teams, had indeed hard
climbing up the steep sides of the Raton Mountains. As usual, we doubleteamed at the steepest points, and all
the way kept a constant lookout for suitable bowlders, -which had been handled by many teamsters before us, though
probably never by women, and for the
same purpose, -to place qutickly back
of the wheels when the animals needed
a minute's breathing spell, and relaxation of their over-strained muscles.
How willingly they labored on! Little
Jack and Johnny at such trying times
could verily outdo the giants, Belle and
Lady, in their earnestness, if not in proportionate strength, and my feeling of
regret for th.em was the one bitterness
mixed with the keen relish of the nomadic life we lived.
At last, and without accident, we
reached the summit of the Ratons; and
while the animals were having a ten-min
1890.]
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