472 RIO FLORIDO 
seen sinee entering the country. For miles it was 
lined with villages and haciendas, while large cotton- 
wood trees, the usual accompaniments of water-courses, 
extended in a line as far as the eye could reach. Large 
fields of corn covered the bottom-lands, and every 
thing indicated a high state of cultivation. This was 
the Valley of the Rio Nasas, a beautiful stream about 
sixty yards in width that discharges itself into the 
Lake Cayman of the maps, but which is here known as 
the Laguna de Tlagualila, in the Bolson de Mapimi. 
Finding a rancho on its banks, where corn and a corral 
could be obtained, we encamped. Distance from Hl 
Gallo, twenty-five miles. 
The valley here is from a mile to a mile and a half 
in width, and has long been noted for the excellent 
quality of the cotton raised in it. The climate is said 
to be very mild, and admirably adapted for its cultiva- 
tion. 
In our journey to-day, I noticed for the first time 
several large fields of maize on the high grounds, with 
no water near. The soil is excellent on these plains; 
and by planting the seed just before the rainy season, 
it comes to maturity rapidly; although the yield is less 
than when irrigation is employed, and the grain is of 
an inferior quality. The mezquit trees in this valley” 
are larger than any seen on our route, being full 
twenty feet in height. 
November 19th. Following the bank of the Rio 
Nasas for five or six miles, we kept on through several 
small villages and cultivated grounds, then turned 
suddenly to the east, and passed between two high 
hills with flat tops. After continuing about three 
