At a station called Lamy, there is a branch of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, leading north eighteen miles, to the ancient and interesting city of Santa Fe, celebrated in American history as being the second oldest town in the United States. The place contains much to entertain searchers after relics of the past, and here we find the links that bind the old Spanish invaders with the civilization of to-day. Settled by Catholics, it still retains the characteristics impressed upon it by the Franciscan fathers, and remains true to the faith in which it was first baptized. It is the seat of the archiepiscopal diocese, and the Cathedral of San Francisco is the largest church edifice in the territory, as well as the oldest, the original part, which still remains, having been built as early as 1622. Old as the town is, Santa Fe is the Phœnix that rose from one that was very much more ancient, for the site was, in the ages that are very remote, occupied by an Indian pueblo, the ruins of which are still to be seen in what is known as the “Old Home.” But the most curious and attractive object within the city is the Governor’s Palace, a long, low building erected in 1598, a summary history of which is thus presented by Governor Prince: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: LA VETA PASS, COL.—Over this famous pass the railroad makes its way into San Luis Valley, and we have here a combination of the wonders of engineering skill with a grandeur of view unequaled in any other part of the world. The maximum grade is 237 feet to the mile, and the altitude at the summit is 9393 feet. Two of the largest locomotives are required to draw an ordinary train over the steep grades, and even with these the ascent is labored and tedious. From the top of the pass a view is obtained of such surpassing grandeur that no language can picture it. ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: ABANDONED CAVE HABITATIONS OF THE CLIFF-DWELLERS, NEAR ESPANOLA.]