35 
in abundance, but I saw none in bloom. I noticed here the Hilaria 
mutica at intervals among the meager growths of buffalo-grass. 
We turned off a short distance from our track and camped at night 
by a rocky ravine where were wells of good, clear water. At this place 
I found a number of interesting grasses ; some fine tussocks of Priochloa 
sericea, Panicum unisetum, Panicum reticulatum, and Panicum ciliatissi- 
mum. I noticed many cactus plants along our route, mostly of different 
species from those of the Opuntia. Itis between San Antonio and Devil’s 
River that the prickly pear in Texas seems to be most abundant; but 
the shrubby-like Opuntia arborescens is common towards the Pecos and 
farther west. Leaving the plateau, we descended a hill into Live Oak 
Creek Valley, where I noticed the Spanish bayonet (Yucca baccata) in 
abundance. Near the creek I saw a few clumps of Muhlenbergia Texana 
and Andropogan saccharoides. We passed a large goat ranch. I saw sev- 
eral of the goats feeding on the foliage and shoots of the bushes. 
I’rom Live Oak Creek, graced with its lordly oaks among the other 
timber, we rode on to the Pecos, and camped by its side near the mouth 
of Live Oak Creek. The alkaline, muddy water of the Pecos presented 
a strong contrast to the clear water of the creek. At the foot of the 
hill I found two or three blooms of Panicum leucopheum, and near the 
river Cenchrus tribuloides and Chloris cucullata. On the bank of the 
river I found a few stalks, just starting into bloom, of the common 
grass of the Pecos, Sporobolus airoides. This locality was favored in 
one place with a covering of the buffalo-grass, the best patch of it [had 
seen since leaving San Antonio. Crossing the river we rode for some 
distance on the other side, where I found a few small patches of buffalo- 
grass of very meager growth, till we arrived at Pontoon, a station of 
one building, with astore. From here we took a direct course to Stock- 
ton. A mile west from Pontoon I saw the last vestige of the buffalo- 
grass on the journey, and I noticed a few straggling plants of Pappopho- 
rum apertum. Theappearance of these and a few specimens on the divides 
in Val Verde County might lead one to infer that this species (2. aper- 
tum) is capable of resisting drought better than many other grasses. 
Our route in Pecos County was through as desolate a region as any 
we had yet traversed. The hills in view on either side of us looked 
more barren than those east of the Pecos River. Already on our ex- 
pedition we had taken precaution to obtain water in passing from one 
locality to another. In this part of the country we were obliged to be 
still more careful. The keg we had with us was an important requisite, 
but sometimes we rode long distances before finding water for the two 
mules that composed our team. We managed to keep a supply of corn 
or oats for the mules; at this season, of course, placing no reliance on 
grass at any point for even a “ pretty fair picking.” We overtook two 
emigrant teams en route for New Mexico, and the owner of one of them 
informed me that two years ago he had traveled over that same region 
