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N.M. 6

our column of horsemen which could be seen in its winding way at many points among the mountains seemed passing through prismatic waves and shimmering ? of mixed light & color. Earth, air and sky conspired with the novelties? of light and life renewed at every step to make a few transient hours of existence notable + symbol. But an eloquent sermon in stems? and thrust upon the vanity of human life and effort, and changed happy exhilaration into profound? and wandering reflections several illegible inserts presently awaited us by? the afternoon of the same day when we descended into the valley of Pecos River and halted to look at the ruins of Pecos Church. Here before an elevated Mesa which commanded the valley were the ruins of a structure which was as old as the hills when the Spaniards came three centuries before. Here were broken and discarded fragments of adobe ruins mingled with huge stones which had formed parts of walls. The outlines of the estufa? or sacred chamber, a room forty feet across could be partly discerned. Here on the low alter the sacred fire had been watched and not allowed to languish since the world was young. The legend ran that the mighty Montezuma the brother of God had first brought the fire and decreed? that it should not go out until the white man came from the east and when at last he came the faithful vigil of the priests have broken it up and? the fire carried to another pueblo called Jimez? Such a day is unforgettable in our brief life.

Jim Pidgeon as he was called was a [[ stray or strong funny? Frenchman who kept a wayfarer's ranch twenty one miles from Santa Fe and near to it we pitched our camp in the deep ? on the night of November 16?. The next day with an assist? of a sergeant and twelve men and with an army The rest of the page is too damaged to make it out.