LOWER RIO HRAVn. 



57 



the camp of the trarollor at full sp<^' '1, an-l when there chanm^ to ho a ]or)>c nmTnal, he he ever 

 80 poor anf^ j'^^^cd, he is sure to run off with the crowd and dii^appear entirely. 3Jan y a lucklcsi 

 horseman passing through this country lias hecn left on foot hy the *'stampM''»'' rnu^f^l by the 

 visits of these wild animals. 



Passing through that regivui in 1852, after a long journoy of severrxl ihon«ninl milM, my 

 animals 80 jaded and worn do\m tliat I considcie<l nothing could Ktimulafe fh* m to a gallop, 

 my line Avas charged hy one hundred and fifty of these animals, and six mulc5; with a heavy 

 Tragon, containing all the astronomical and other instruments of the huuuJary commission, 

 followed them acrOs*> the prairie at full spetd for nt arly two mili^*^. The c*^'dncM of the driver, 

 and the boldness of the wagon-mn??terj who tlvrew hitiiself in front of the had-mnlM^ sti>p2^ed 

 their further progress. 



The section of country, particularly that part under consideration, In traversed hy deep 

 gullies called arroyos, sometimnn difficult to pass in wagons. The sketch here presented 

 shows one of these arroyos cro.--- d liy tlic r< .*<! leading to Loredo. 



jit 



Arroyo Secai£, two mil^« t w LorrNJo. 



These arroyos are natural consequences of the unequal manner in which the rain falls 

 throughout the year. Sometimes not a drop falls for several months; again, it pours ^'own 

 in a perfect deluge, washing deep heds in the unresisting soil, leaving behind the appearance 

 of the deserted bed of a great river. 



The streams which are found in this country have their rise in limestone regions, and the 



water is very unwholesome even when the stream is flowing, but usually the beds of the streams 

 are partly dry, and the water is found standing in holes. Superadded to its noxious mineral 



o 



etable matter, and is dissustins to d 



Vol. I 



8 



