CHAPTER IX. 
THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA. 
From Hermosillo to Guaymas.—The Harbour.--The Town.—Tradé.—Leave 
Sonora.—Carmen Island.—Salt Basin.—Oysters and our Oyster-man.— 
Pearls and a Pearl Merchant.—La Paz.—Mazatlan.—The Market.— 
Shopping in Mexico.—The Army.—The Harbour.—Lower California.— 
F Arrive at San Francisco. 
| Arrer remaining nearly a fortnight at Hermosillo, and 
making several excursions about the neighbourhood, I 
Started on Thursday, the 19th of December, in a coach 
drawn by six horses—four abreast and two leaders—for Guay- 
, Inas, eighty-four miles distant. 
We travelled due south over a plain between two moun- 
tain ranges, which is usually a parched and arid desert, but 
which looked anything but a desert after the recent rains. 
About eighteen miles from my destination, I heard the 
gun fire for the steamer’s departure, and had the pleasure of 
contemplating another month’s involuntary sojourn amongst 
the people of Sonora. But my usual good luck in this trip 
| stood to me to the last; for, to the surprise of all, the vessel 
| was still in the harbour when we arrived, and did not sail 
| until the next morning. 
| The true harbour of Guaymas covers an area of a little less 
| than four square miles, in which space three small islands, 
the rocky peaks of sub-marine hills, rise perpendicularly from 
a depth of from three to four fathoms, and form a little inner 
} harbour. From the bare volcanic mountains which enclose 
