To the Gulf of Cortez 



many ducks, but the latter were visitors only. 

 Deer were very scarce, and there were but a 

 few half-wild cattle visible. 



As for human beings, there was not an in- 

 habited house on our road from Alvarez Place, 

 in the Trinidad Valley, to El Rayo, a distance 

 of fifty-five miles; nor from El Rayo to Juarez, 

 twenty-five miles more. Indeed, except for the 

 few hovels at Tecate, the houses for the rest 

 of the way were hardly more numerous. And 

 yet we had a strong impression that the coun- 

 try had nearly all the population it could sup- 

 port. Given a moderately dry year, and the 

 part of Lower California which we visited can 

 be thought fit only for bogus land companies 

 and goose-egg mines ; or, yes, it might be an 

 ideal spot for a health resort or a penal 

 colony. 



George H. Gould. 



83 



