a 
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MINERAL WEALTH. 151 
' grazing-lands, covered as far as the eye could reach with 
OOO, CO ee 
thick, short, delicate grasses, so sweet and nutritious, and 
never to see even the hoof-print of any kind of stock. The 
whole of northern Sonora may truly be said at the present 
time to be completely swept of cattle. What the Apaches ~ 
left were taken to supply the contending armies. With the 
cattle went the people, driven by fear into the towns and 
larger villages; so that now the ranches are deserted, the 
orange-groves grow wild, and the few stray cattle which now 
and then flee at the approach of the traveller have long lost 
their masters. So depopulated are these vast grazing regions 
that even the Apaches have ceased to visit them, for there 
is no plunder to take, no animals to drive away. 
Under the protection of a strong government what a para- 
dise this country would be to the stock-farmer ! Not obliged to 
roam about in search of fresh grass and water, he can choose 
a suitable place for his stock-ranche, and dig his tank in a 
hollow to which drainage sufficient could be directed to fill it ; 
no covering being necessary for the stock, he can confidently 
rely upon the variety of pasturage, and the succession of 
natural crops to keep his cattle always well supplied with 
food. 
Tue Mrnerat Resources oF SONORA. 
Almost the whole of this State is remarkable for the wide- 
spread distribution of its mineral wealth. There is scarcely 
a hill that does not show signs of gold, silver, or copper ores 
—scarcely a brook that will not yield to the miner the colour 
of gold. But how large an extent of country, or how many 
localities are likely to prove sufficiently rich in minerals to 
pay, is a question impossible at present satisfactorily to 
answer. 
