418 SANTA CRUZ 
us that so abundant were they in this valley and the ad- 
jacent plains, that he had not yet begun to collect them, 
although all were to be delivered on the 10th of October. 
His mode of catching them was that before alluded to, 
viz., to lasso them by the head or horns, then fasten 
them to the heads of domesticated cattle, and drive them 
to a corral or pen. During the night, we heard the 
bellowing of the wild bulls quite near us, and felt some 
apprehension that they might make a charge upon us, 
and stampede our mules, if they did no other mischief. 
October 1st. A south-easterly course of three miles 
brought us to Jmuriz, a miserable looking village. 
There was an improvement which I noticed in the 
adobe houses here; they were all capped with brick 
or tiles, which gave them an air of finish and durability 
above those that are simply capped with mud. Here 
we rounded a mountain, and then followed a valley in 
the same direction. Every thing now around us indi- 
cated an approach to a civilized, or rather, I should 
say, a settled country. Ranchos with cultivated 
grounds, fields of wheat and corn, orchards teeming 
with peaches and pomegranates, met us with every 
expansion of the valley. The contracted foot-path, or 
mule trail, however, still showed that we had not yet 
reached the country of wheeled vehicles, all the trans- 
portation being carried on by means of pack-mules. 
We met many people to-day passing from one village 
or rancho to another; and not a little curiosity was 
manifested at seeing wach a group of white faces with 
long beards wending our way among them. 
Riding up to the church, which i ea as 
mew, we dismounted and hitched our anima 
