36 



in Pecos County, and for nearly a week his horses had no food except 

 what they could get from the mesquite and other hushes along the way. 



After traveling some distance from the Pecos we were cheered by the 

 sight of a creek and spring j a short distance farther on we came to an- 

 other creek, and still farther on to the Escondido Creek and spring. I 

 saw on the borders of each luxuriant growths of Agrostis verticillata. 

 and less plentifully the Panicum obhisum. The clear water of these 

 creeks is salty alkaline, similar to that of Comanche Creek, flowljg by 

 Stockton. On the 7th of June we arrived at Stockton, having been a 

 little over a month in passing through these regions, in the most unin- 

 viting time of the year perhaps ; certainly as regards the presence of 

 grass. Doubtless in the autumn all these portions of country are 

 favored with the " yearly wave of rain-fall," aud generally furnish 

 through the fall and winter months a pretty fair pasturage j though 

 perhaps not as good as that of the mountain regions farther west, where 

 some of the grama grasses afford such excellent pasturage and hay 

 through the winter. It was a pleasant sight at Stockton — the large 

 plantations, where corn, oats, and vegetables produce good crops, the 

 result of the system of irrigation from the creek. By the irrigating- 

 ditches a rampant growth was noticeable in places, of Panicum obtusum. 

 On the borders of the creek I saw several plants of Agrostis verticillata 

 and Bisticlilis maritima. 



After spending a day in the neighborhood of Stockton we started for 

 Fort Davis, taking the old telegraph road. After traveling a few hours 

 we came to a swampy place, where I noticed a few patches of Hilaria 

 mutica. Proceeding some distance farther we crossed a creek, and a 

 few miles farther on camped at night by one of the tanks or water 

 holes that are seen occasionally in this region. The next day we crossed 

 a muddy stream, along whose banks the Sporobolus airoides was con- 

 spicuous. We rode over a long flat, covered by large tussocks of this 

 grass. Where we camped the next night, by the side of a clear creek, 

 I saw some luxuriant growths of Hilaria mutica and Triodia albescens. 

 Let it be remembered that I make note of the only grassy places I met 

 at this season. The next morning we started towards Saragossa. 

 From that place we rode along the side of Toyah Creek to Victoria. 

 Both of these are small settlements, with Mexican adobe houses. Along 

 the sides of the creek the Sj^orobolus airoides was prominent. In one 

 place near the creek I noticed Hilaria mutica and Panicum leueophauini 

 growing luxuriantly. Leaviug the low prairie region by Toyah Creek 

 we approached the picturesque Limpia Canon, through which flows the 

 clear water of Limpia Creek. In a few places on the edge of the creek 

 I saw a few specimens of Panicum colonum and Panicum crus galli, and 

 at two or three places on the rocky slopes, among the bowlders, a few 

 tufts of grass starting forth. We reached Fort Davis on the night of 

 June 11. 



The country around Fort Davis looked very barren in June ; the high 



