114 LLANO ESTACADO. 



than that east of the Brazos ; but no mountains are met with, or ele- 

 vated hills, which cannot be avoided by short detours. 



Here and there prairies present themselves, but this section is for the 

 most part covered with a growth of trees called mezquite, which stand 

 at such intervals that they present much the appearance of an immense 

 peach orchard. They are from five to ten inches in diameter, their stocks 

 about ten feet in length, and for their durable properties are admirably 

 adapted for railway ties, and would furnish an inexhaustible amount of 

 the very best fuel. The soil upon this section is principally a red argil- 

 laceous loam, similar in appearance to that in the Red river bottoms, 

 which is so highly productive, and extends to near the 102d degree of 

 longitude, or about three degrees further west than the arable soil upon 

 some of the more northerly routes. 



As this route is included within the 32d and 34th parallels of lati- 

 tude, it would never be obstructed by snow, as it seldom falls more 

 than two or three inches in depth, and only remains upon the ground a 

 few hours at a time. 



The whole surface of the country, from Red river to the Rio Grande, 

 is covered with a dense coating of the most nutritious grass, which 

 remains green for nine months in the year, and enables cattle to subsist 

 the entire winter without any other forage. 



It will be observed that the route here spoken of skirts the head- 

 waters of the rivers flowing towards the Gulf of Mexico, for several 

 hundred miles after leaving Red river, and that a road cannot be made 

 much further to the north without impinging upon the "Llano estacado." 

 From what I have seen of the country south of this, I have no doubt 

 but that a road could be made in almost any direction, but would be 

 attended with much greater cost than upon the one I have attempted 

 to describe, for the reason that the surface of the country along this 

 route is much more level. 



After passing the Brazos river, the road, as I have before observed, 

 runs near the sources of the streams, where the valleys are broad and 

 but little depressed below the general surface ; whereas I have remarked 

 that in descending some of these streams, the longitudinal and lateral 

 valleys become deep and abrupt, and where (as would be the case with 

 a Pacific railway) it became necessary to cross these undulations trans- 

 versely, a greater expenditure of labor would be involved in grading 

 than upon the other route. There would also be many more large 

 streams to bridge ; indeed, upon the route I have recommended, there 

 are but two streams (the Brazos and Pecos) of greater width than forty 

 feet, over the entire distance of eight hundred and fifty miles, between 

 Red river and the Rio Grande. 



