On the 21st, after passing two pretty towns -- San Domingo and San Phelippe -- we halted on the Rio Grande at the poor village of Algodonez, situated on a plain extending some distance to the river. On the 21st we passed Zandia (water-melon), an Indian village. The Indians brought out a large number of melons and distributed them among the men. They were of short stature, as all the Indians we met with in Mexico were, and their dwellings were laid out irregularly, with the same neglect of comfort and cleanliness which is to be observed in the settlements of the red race among civilized nations. The Rio Grande, even at this distance N., is very broad, running over a bed of red sand, but very shallow. We stopped in the evening at a pretty village named Almeida.

During the 22nd we passed a succession of houses. The people here, as indeed at all the settlements on the Rio Grande, exhibited much good feeling, and brought out presents of corn, meat, tortillas, cakes, and eggs. Albuquerque, the largest and most populous place that we saw upon this river, contains a large farming establishment, the buildings of which were in good order. We merely passed through the town, and stopped at Los Placeres, a small village a few miles farther on. We were here told that over the mountains to our left were several villages on the Puerco, the largest called San Antonio.

On the 23rd we travelled over a well-wooded country, and passed many settlements, stopping at Valencia, in the neighbourhood of which is an extensive irrigated pasture. One of our men died the next morning from exhaustion and fatigue; and we had not proceeded far when some of the guard were sent to the rear and shot one of the men who was lame and could with difficulty walk. We had two of our own waggons with us, in one of which he might have been permitted to rest himself, and there was nothing to justify the act. The ears of these men were cut off to be kept by our captain, as evidence that the men had not escaped. On the road from Valencia is a very sandy district, some high mountains lying on the left. On the right bank of the river were two large Indian villages: a low range of mountains were to be seen on that side. The left bank of the river here became very elevated, and we stopped on the 24th upon a plain much above the level of the river at the Casa Colorada. This building was a collection of about twenty houses, connected with a large farming establishment. From hence to Joia is a very sandy district. On this part of the road we passed a long train of waggons drawn by mules belonging to a Mr. M'Guffin: they were on their way to Chihuahua, and had been brought from St. Louis on the Mississippi. Joia is one of the largest villages on the river, and the population is numerous.

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Adapted from Thomas Falconer
"Notes on a Journey through Texas and New Mexico, in the Years 1841 and 1842"