TO PARRAS. 479 
cattle, which grazed on the plain; but no animals can 
now be kept there, on account of the Indians, who are 
complete masters of the country, notwithstanding the 
populous towns in every direction. We did not stop 
here, intending to reach El Pozo, three leagues further: 
but in passing the rocky defile, one of the wagons 
broke down, which made it impossible to proceed as 
it was. There was no alternative but to empty it of 
its contents, distribute them among the other wagons, 
and lock the disabled wheel. In this manner we reach- 
‘ed El Pozo late in the evening. As we approached, 
our horsemen in advance were hailed from the walls; 
and by the time they came up, twenty armed men 
were at the gate to receive them. 
We by this time found the nights very cold, which 
rendered it necessary to have fires to warm ourselves — 
when fuel could be obtained. This night in particular 
was exceedingly cold. 
El Pozo (The Deep Well) is a large hacienda in- 
closed with a wall full twenty feet high, resembling a 
castle or a prison; and is a noted resort for the Co- 
manches and the Lipans, in passing to and from the 
Bolson de Mapimi, where they dwell. They pass every 
few days, and we were told that a large band stopped 
here but two days before. On that day they attacked 
a train of pack-mules and donkeys, and completely cut 
it up. The men with it were missing, and it was not 
known whether they had been killed, or had made 
their escape to the mountains. It was at this well that 
aband of Indians received a chastisement from a 
detachment from Colonel Doniphan’s command, when 
