88 



FROM MOUTH OF DEVIL S RIVER TO EL PASO DEL NORTE. 



robbed 



! cliurch of it. His features sbowed the profile of the Mexican Indian pei 

 commanded had the bold aquiline profile of the Kioways and Comanch 



I pre- 



Me 



affiliatio 

 "Mexico. 



We heard of many 



ratedj but I shall not trouble the reader with any reference to these rascals^ or our adventures 

 with them^ except to say that I never trusted them ; and during the last year of my experience 

 with them I gave orders to permit none to come into any camp under my orders, and to kill 

 them at sight. By taking this harsh but necessary step, I was the only person passing through 

 this country who did not incur difficulty and loss. The Mexican commission was robbed 

 repeatedly, and on more than one occasion was, in consequence, obliged to suspend its operations. 

 The Eio Bravo, accommodating itself to the geological formation of the country, makes, 

 between the 100th and the 104th meridian of longitude, two great bends nearly symmetrical, 

 one to the south and the other to the north. The area included in the southern bend is one 

 vast cretaceous bed, upheaved by igneous protrusions, sometimes forming ranges of mountains, 

 as the Limpia range, and at others isolated peaks, like Gomez Peak and San Jacinto. To the 

 east and north of the Leon springs the limestone beds are in repose, and do not appear dis- 

 turbed until we get to Las Moras. 



It is, generally speaking, very destitute of water, and the excess of lime in long continued 

 droughts often destroys vegetation. There are, however, oases of surpassing beauty, such as 

 that described in Lieutenant Michler's journal. There is another on the road which I opened 





fc~ite of Fort Davis— Limpia Mountains. 



from tlie Presidio del IN'orte to tlie Leon springs, called tlie Puerto del Paisano. This is a valley 

 on the northern slope of the principal range of the Limpia mountains, watered hy a limpid 

 stream from crystalline rocks, clothed with luxuriant grass, sufficient to graze a million of 



