EL LLANO ESTACADO. Pe 
streams, the largest of which are generally 
bordered for several miles back by hilly up- 
lands, which are for the most part sandy, dry 
and barren. 
The most notable of the great plateaux of 
the Prairies is that known to Mexicans as £7 
Llano Estacado, which is bounded on the 
north by the Canadian river—extends east 
about to the United States boundary, includ- 
ing the heads of the False Washita and other 
branches of Red River—and spreads south- 
ward to the sources of Trinity, Brazos and 
Colorado rivers, and westward to Rio Pecos. 
It is quite an elevated and generally a level 
plain, without important hills or ee unless 
we distinguish as such the craggy breaks of 
the streams which border and pierce it. It 
embraces an area of about 30,000 square 
miles, most of which is without water during 
three-fourths of the year; while a large pro- 
portion of its few perennial streams are too 
brackish to drink of. 
I have been assured by Mexican hunters 
and Indians, that, from Santa Fé southeast- 
ward, there is but one route upon which this 
plain can be safely traversed during the dry 
season ; and even some of the watering- eitees 
on this are at intervals of fifty to eighty miles, 
and hard to find. Hence the Mexican traders 
and hunters, that they might not lose their 
way and perish from thirst, once staked out 
this route across the plain, it is said; whence 
it has received the name of El Llano Estaca- 
do, or the Staked — 
VOL. II. 
