also  by 
Niles  Register.  Fifteen  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  merchandise  from  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  was 
delivered  in  Santa  Fe  in  1822,  and  the  traffic 
had  increased  to  $120,000  in  1830,  the  year 
in  which  the  Las  Cruces  Republican  claims 
Hugh  Stephenson  and  others  made  the  trail.

Freight  was  carried  by  pack  animals  until 
1824,  when  wagons  were  introduced  as  an  ex- 
periment, and  making  the  trip  without  diffi- 
culty, were  used  exclusively  after  1825.  In 
January  of  that  year,  through  the  influence  of 
Col.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  of  Missouri,  a bill  was 
passed  by  congress  authorizing  the  marking 
out  a road.  Thirty  thousand  dollars  was  appro- 
priated for  that  purpose  and  that  of  obtaining 
the  Indians’  consent  to  the  road  and  its  unmo- 
lested use.  The  U.  S.  Commissioners  appointed 
to  conduct  the  survey  were  Benjamin  Reeves, 
George  C.  Sibley  and  Thomas  Maher;  and  Jo- 
seph C.  Brown  as  surveyor.