82 SOUTHERN HACIENDAS. 
The valley of Encinillas is very extensive 
and fertile, and is the locale of one of those — 
princely estates which are so abundant fur- 
ther south, and known by the name of Ha- 
ciendas. It abounds in excellent pasturage, 
and in cattle of all descriptions. In former 
times, before the Apaches had so completely 
devastated the country, the herds which graz- 
ed in this beautiful valley presented much 
the appearance of the buffalo of the plains, 
being almost as wild and generally of dark 
color. Many of the proprietors of these 
princely haciendas pride themselves in main- 
taining a uniformity in the color of their cat- 
tle: thus some are found stocked with black, 
others red, others white—or whatsoever shade 
the owner may have taken a fancy to. 
As we drew near to Chihuahua, our party 
had more the appearance of a funeral pro- 
cession than of a band of adventurers about 
to enter into the full fruition of ‘dancing 
hopes,’ and the realization of ‘golden dreams.’ 
Every one was uneasy as to what might be 
the treatment of the revenue officers. For 
my own part, I had not quite forgotten sundry 
annoyances and trials of temper I had been 
made to experience in the season of 1837, on 
asimilar occasion. Much to our surprise, how- 
ever, as well as delight, we were handled with 
a degree of leniency by the custom-house 
deities, on our arrival, that was almost in- 
comprehensible. But the charm which ope- 
rated in our favor, when understood, was very 
simple. A caravan had left Chihuahua direct 
