After reaching Arizona, the road passes through a corner of the Perco and Zuni reservations, and follows the old trail leading to Prescott. Immediately south of Flagstaff, and in sight of that place, are more ruins of cliff dwellings, built in the banks of Walnut Creek, but so faded as to be scarcely distinguishable now. We are now in the Cactus plain, where immense stalks of that curious vegetable growth rise to the dignity of branchless trees, prickly and often grotesque.
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THE NEEDLES ALONG THE RIO GRANDE.—The Needles are a part of the Rocky Mountain chain, and they derive the name from their sharp-pointed and splintered pinnacles, in which respect they differ from all other mountains in America. Their peaks tower into the regions of perpetual snow, which cools and tempers what would otherwise be an almost intolerable climate. The Needles first come into view after emerging from the western extremity of Animas Cañon, and their white turrets are then visible for many leagues as the train glides along parallel with them. ]
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[Illustration: THE OLD SPANISH PALACE, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.]
[Illustration: OLD CHURCH OF SAN MIGUEL, SANTA FE, N. M., BUILT OF ADOBE IN 1550.]
These are two interesting buildings photographed on this page. The Palace, so called, has no very palatial appearance, but it has a record as a government building which many a palace might well be proud of. It has domiciled a long line of governors, both under Spanish and American rule, and is still occupied for this purpose. It fronts the plaza or public park, a portion of which is shown in the picture, and a brilliant scene is witnessed here on a summer’s afternoon when the officers of the garrison stationed here, with their families and visiting friends, gather under the shade of the trees to listen to the excellent music of the military band. The old adobe church is probably older by at least two centuries than any other church house in America, and a few years ago, when the writer was there, it was still used for religious purposes.
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