The Spanish dragoon and Indian had returned to Santa Fe; and the report which they made of the appearance of the strangers, induced the governor to send out fifty dragoons, and fifty mounted militia, for the purpose of ascertaining their state and numbers. In an interview which took place with the commanders of these troops, Mr. Pike learnt that the river, on the bank of which he had encamped, was the Rio del Norte, and not the Red river, as he had imagined. The officers stated to him that a hundred mules and horses had been sent to convey him, his men, and baggage, to Santa Fe; and that the governor was anxious to see them in that town, to receive an explanation respecting their business on his frontiers. Mr. Pike and some of his men accompanied the officers to Santa Fe, while others were left behind, to wait the arrival of those who had not yet come up. In their progress, they were treated, in all the villages, with the utmost hospitality. On their march, they were frequently stopped by women, who invited them into their houses to eat; and, in every place where they halted, there was a contest who should be their hosts. Those that had suffered by having their limbs frozen, were conducted home by old men, who caused their daughters to dress the sores, and to provide for them victuals and drink; and, at night, they gave them the best bed in the house. In the evening of the 3d of March, Mr. Pike reached _Santa Fe_. This city, the capital of New Mexico, is situated along the banks of a small creek, which issues from the mountains, and runs westward to the Rio del Norte. It is about a mile in length, and not more than three streets in width. The houses are, generally, only one story high, and have flat roofs. There are, in Santa Fe, two churches, the magnificence of whose steeples forms an extraordinary contrast to the miserable appearance of the other buildings. On the north side of the town is a square, constructed for soldiers' houses, each flank of which contains from a hundred and twenty to a hundred and forty. The public square is in the centre of the town. On one side of it is the palace or government-house, with the quarters for the guards; and the other sides are occupied by the houses of the clergy, and public officers. Most of the houses have sheds before them, which occasion the streets to be very narrow. The number of inhabitants in Santa Fe, is supposed to be about four thousand five hundred.