104 SAFE AT CHIHUAHUA AGAIN. 
cause they imagined we were carrying off 
the parque (ammunition) of the government, 
which was deposited in the building we had 
just left. 
We were soon under way, and very little 
regret did I feel when I fairly lost sight of the 
city of scorpions. But Lwasnot yet wholly 
beyond the pale of difficulties. Owing to the 
fame of the Indian hostilities in the North, it 
was almost impossible to procure the services 
of Mexican muleteers for the expedition. One 
I engaged, took the first convenient opportu- 
nity to escape at night, carrying away a gun 
with which I had armed him; yet I felt grate- 
ful that he did not also take a mule, as he had 
the whole caballada under his exclusive charge: 
_ and soon after, a Mexican wagoner was fright- 
ened back by the reports of savages. 
After a succession of such difficulties, and 
still greater risks from the Indians that infested 
the route, I was of course delighted when I 
reached Chihuahua, on the 14th of May, in 
perfect safety.* 
* The distance from Chihuahua to Durango is about five hun- 
dred miles, and from thence to Aguascalientes it is nearly three 
hundred—upon the route we travelled, which was very circuitous. 
All the intermediate ca resembles, in its physical features, 
t lying immediately north of Chihuahua, which has already 
heen described. 
