A 
sao — flowers 
63 £26] 
on the south, I lgokked for the last. time over the interesting city in which 
‘§. 
had seen within the last eight months a whole dra a performed, and 
~ had aie forced myself to act a rather passive part in it s could not help 
admiring once more its rontantic situation, and my first, “favorable itn pres- 
gion returned. But there was no time now for ced BY bidding farewell 
to the fair valley and to the distant Sacramento*mountain, that rose like 
a massive tombstone over the battle-field, I crossed the hills and was soon 
in another valley, through which the road runs in a southeastern direc- 
tion. This valley was ‘about 10 miles wide, with a mountain chain to- 
wards the east and»west, and but a few settlements on the right, (Mapula 
‘and Coursier’s hacienda.): The grass was /very dry, and the bed. of 
‘pivot abe which. I passed contained not one drop of «water, © About 20 
_ miles from Chihuahua the mountains, projecting from east to west, hem- 
med in the valley and changed it abru y into a narrow pass (cation) of 
five to six miles in length, and from ha mile to one mile in breadth. 
‘The pass is in some places so narrowed 6: ‘steep rocks on both sides; that 
with some fortifications it could be made impreguable; but Iam informed 
aetithe eafion would be evaded by taking a moun ntain road west of it that 
leads also to Chihuahua. Nearly. in the middle of the pass lies a rancho, 
with a spring, but too scanty water. ‘Lower down we passed a -- a 
-rancho destroyed by Indians. Several Mexicans, killed by them, w 
buried here so superficially, with rocks heaped upon them, that their limbs 
"were sticking out. At the other end of the cafton another much wider 
» walley. opened, throu h which: we have now to travel. Bachimba lies 
ts png restate er gates, in the phrase it isa pecan with about 
“night 
cee “Apri il a7. = Marched: @ oe 20 rails to. Sante Cruz, through the same 
wide valley, running from northwest to ‘southeast. ‘The mountains to the 
“tet of our road, towards the east, are about 25 ies distant; the Conchos 
»- iver runs along that chain. The mountains to the right, or the west, are 
- from five to 10 miles off. ~The whole wide plain is covered with mezquite 
and other shrubs, forming the so-called chaparrals. Walking and riding 
are both difficult through those thickets of thorny brush, and aman lost ina 
chaparral is by far worse off than one lost in the prairie. In the ot nad 
arate. ter rae of cabs @ — asmall odd tree, el a 
: lent ” 
a; - shrub already in vada det Dhipep, ee el Paso, but not in blossom. 
gpa d obnoxio us plants i in the continued 
 ehaparrils which will now Pe cand. us daily in pear march to Monterey, I 
- owill give a short description of it. It grows in long branchless stalks , but 
ae a dozen of them standing sometimes togethers covered all over with thorns, 
with few and ae small pom; and at the upper end of the stalk a cluster 
ee w generally from 10 to 20 feet high; sonte- 
[have seen them to. ie e heint of 30 t feet. t.. Their peculiar appearance, 
their their eet and ed flowers, make them woRF conspicuous objects in the 
aparrals. .. The ry ea them sometimes = eye : atta _ 
ae: rather sand eee fond poor, but the read. 
aro AD miles + fom 2 eh forks: oe to the 
