CHAPTER IV. 
A sig ep for : Start to Chihuahua—Ineptness of Married 
See r the rine a Fé Trade—The Chihuahua Trade—An- 
“Ans “Cus Sekedoe Regulations—Mails in New Mexico— 
Insecurity of Co orr reek sete PR —Outfit and Departure— Derecho 
Consumo—R 
ia Jornada del “Mue o—Laguna a jo del Muerto—A 
Tradition of = area Laborious Ferrying and Quag- 
mires Arsval ef Paso del Norte—Amenity of the Valley— 
rs lanca and Los Organos—Face of the Country—Sea- 
abe accidental River—Laguna de Encinillas—South- 
oe : tea endas—Arr ival—Character of the Route and Soil. 
ArTeR passing the custom-house ordeal, 
and exchanging some of our merchandise for 
‘Eagle Dollars’—an operation which occupied 
us several weeks, I prepared to set out for 
the Chihuahua market, whither a portion of 
our stock had been designed. Upon this ex- 
pedition I was obliged to depart without my 
brother, who was laboring under the ‘home 
fever,’ and anxious to return to his family. 
“ He that hath wife and children,” says Lord 
Bacon, “hath given hostages to fortune; for 
they are impediments to great enterprises, 
either of virtue or mischief.” Men under such 
bonds are peculiarly unfitted for the chequered 
life ofa Santa Fé trader. Thedomestic hearth, 
