[ 26] 42 
mines, I understand, have formerly ae wo! “ye here in the mountains; 
several copper and: silver one were shown me as being found there yet, 
but none are worked at present. ‘To examine the geological character of | 
the surrounding country, I Me one day, an excursion to the mountains, 
southwest of the town. I was astonished to find them to consist almost en- 
tirely of limestone, the first 2 saw in the valley of the Rio del Norte. Below 
the pike = the foot of the mountains were horizontal layers of com- 
pact qua sandstone, such as I had seen for several hundred miles in 
the seo timate Santa Fe, underlying the basaltic and granitic rocks. The | 
limestone rose upon it to the height of the mountain chain, but on its sides 
to find near the top of the aces some fossils in oo lca belong: 
ing to the Silurian system.- Where the limestone and the igneous rocks 
meet, a few o!d abandoned mines pao With the aid of my lazo, which 
J had fixed outside to a rock, 1 descended into one of the pits about 30 feet 
deep, and found a large vein of aga and some pieces resembling gold 
ore, but no further trace of it in the depth. 
Of the many plants growing on the mountains near Paso, I will mention 
but two as the most common and useful. The one is the so-called lechu- 
illa, a species of agave, whose long, stiff, indented leaves, somewhat sim- 
_ ilar to those of the common agave, a re used for making of their fibres a very 
| quality of ropes; the other, a ste of dasylirion, is the bushy so-called 
sotol, whose pulpy roots are roasted and eaten, and from which also an | 
alcoholic liquor is prepared. 
ie my stay in el Paso, General Ugarte marched through it with 400 
‘some cannon, to eppose the Americans if they should invade 
New M xico. This was the only hostile demonstration I saw or heard of. 
No further news had arrived from the ear Phe ople of Paso seemed 
very indifferent as to who should be the conqueror. The authorities of 
the place had neither asked my passport nor inspected the contents of my 
- wagon; and all foreigners then in Paso were treated in the most civil way. 
Under such ee I did not hesitate to continue journey to 
Chihuahua, as had been at first my intention. Mr. Speyer’s caravan had 
in the meanwhile oon through el Paso; but knowing that, o: account of 
ie large number of wagons, their progress w as very slow, Mr. Wiek and’ 
myself resolved to join from here to aera a smaller but faster t travel- 
ling a. mt that left el Paso a few days afterwards. It consisted of about 
and five foreigners. Most of the Mexicans were engaged by 
Mr. Jacques, a gentleman of Chihuahua, who travelled with his family. 
On August 15, we left Paso and the Rio del Norte at the same time. I 
had no idea then ‘of the molestation that awaited me, and that in the course 
of next year, instead of travelling along the Paces I should see the same 
a again on its mouth into the | gulf. 
rom el Paso there are two roads lead ding to Gaivizel, an intermediate © | 
see ig ahah and Chihuahua. ‘The one follows the river yet for about 
40 iene unites with the other road near lake Patos; the second leaves _ 
the Fiver af ae leads over the so- striata at bills, to Carrizal. The 
ne : them water i Setikiedaios, a distance of 60 miles, 
