68 



LOWER RIO BRAYO. 







4 



, useful in building. The public "buildings at Fort 

 Otlier strata also alternate with the main stratum of 

 • mnrp or Ipss hard, and marls of various colors, and 



oyster breccia of solid consistence. In the neighborhood of the arroyo Sombreretillo, ten or 

 fifteen miles above Loredo, three miles below Eagle Pass, and also at Eagle Pass, strata of 

 lignite coal occur three or four feet thick. This coal is of great prospective value, considering 

 th^e scarcity of wood in this country, and the probable demand for fuel when the rich silver 

 mines of the mountains to the south are in full operation. 



■ Between Loredo and Eagle Pass, or Fort Duncan, a distance of 120 miles, measured by the 



s and adjacent country, retain very much the same 



banl 



charact 



more 



cipitous. At one place, called the falls of Rio Grande, or the Islitas, the rapids are im- 



summer 



tropical rains which fall on the mountains to the south and west. These falls, 



more 



mil 



Mexican trail crosses by 

 which the army under General Woll invaded Texas in the war of Independence, and is the 



U 



a junction with General Taylor, in the war of 1846. 



miles from the Gulf, measur 



is only 208 miles measured in a direct line. It is* the westernmost of the military posts 

 placed at intervals along the lower Eio Bravo. The town of Eagle Pass adjoins the fort, 



trade having a few large warehouses, built of the bluestone obtained 



some 



in the neighborhood. Opposite is the military colony of the Mexicans, called Piedras 



Negras (black 



military 



colony here presented is not strictly true. The artist has taken the liberty of placing on the 

 houses roofs of carpentry work. The houses are, in truth, only jacals ; that is to say, poles 

 placed vertically, with the interstices stopped with mud, and the tops covered in by thatched 

 roofs. The garrison on the Mexican side, below this place, is composed of regular troops. 

 This military colony is an establishment peculiar to Mexico, and similar establishments are to 

 be found at several points higher up the river, the idea attempted to be carried out is to 

 combine colonization and military defence. Each soldier is allowed a certain quantity of land, 

 and is permitted to live with his wife and children, and not required to live in barracks. A 

 certain quantity of land is cultivated for the benefit of the whole colony ; beyond tlie labor 



military 



much 



Under the Spanish rule, prior to 1825, this system was combined with the missionary po^ 

 the Catholic Church : and all those Indians now running wild from the Gulf of Mexico 



Califor 



semi-civilization which may 



Under 



;a 



called the golden age of this, now, vast deserted country, 

 cordon of military and ecclesiastical stations extended from sea to sea, over a distance oi niieeu 

 hundred miles. Military patrols passed regularly from station to station, and at each station 

 great structures were erected for the accommodation of troops, for religious worship, and for 

 th.e storing of provisions, the remains of which 



most 



them 

 American continent are still to be seen. The 



•r-..*vrtfifnvai!fsuw 



