566 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



station on the wagon road and is 17 

 miles away, though seeming but three or 

 four. 



Far to the northeast the plain reaches 

 level to the horizon. Where the ranges 

 converge in the distance the shifting 

 mirage raises phantom hills which change 

 in the glimmering heat, and remolinos — 

 tall, slender columns of dust-laden whirl- 

 winds — glide across the landscape and 

 dissolve from view. 



A SMALL CITY 



Many small assemblages of huts or 

 houses are scattered over the place and 

 are the homes of small ranchers or 

 herdsmen. In all, about 2,000 people live 

 upon the Hacienda de Cedros. These 

 are distributed about in small groups 

 here and there, where springs may be 

 found or wells dug, or where the con- 

 figuration of the land makes possible the 

 gathering of the rainfall into reservoirs. 



Water is precious, and its relative 

 abundance determines the size of the vil- 

 lage and often the nature of its opera- 

 tions. Issuing from the limestone at the 

 western end of the Potreros are a num- 

 ber of fine springs, some warm and 

 others cold, providing for irrigation of 

 the gardens, for the baths, and for 

 household uses. Some supply the long, 

 stone troughs where the herds come to 

 drink. About these springs has grown 

 up the little town of Cedros, and the 

 cottonwoods have grown with it, until 

 across the country their spreading tops 

 are visible afar and almost obscure the 

 white walls of the buildings they over- 

 shadow. It is a rare oasis in a wide des- 

 ert, and grateful shade here beckons the 

 traveler to its restful shelter. 



Here all roads lead to Cedros. Tenu- 

 ous threads of white, cutting the dull 

 green of the distant plain, can be seen 

 converging to this point like the spokes 

 of a wheel. The site, well chosen for 

 strategic reasons, commands its ap- 

 proaches on three sides, while the rough 

 slopes of the mountain lie to the rear. 

 Precautions against Indians and others 

 were necessary in the early days, and* 

 parapet and loophole are still visible in 

 the construction of the larger buildings. 

 Though such occasions are less to be ex- 



pected now, the place is still well adapted 

 to withstand a siege of small arms. The 

 defenses here have somewhat fallen to 

 decay; but at outlying stations some are 

 yet well preserved, as where Canada 

 Blanca, with wall and battlement, fur- 

 nishes a place of refuge in the grazing 

 country two days' journey to the west. 



The village of Cedros consists of the 

 casa grande, or manor house, with its as- 

 sociated structures, and the church, the 

 dwellings of the peons, a rope-walk (see 

 pages 574 and 575), an old smelter (see 

 P a g e 565) and ore mills, and corrals. 

 Aside from the casa grande and its 

 grounds, the village does not cover more 

 than the space of three or four city 

 blocks. 



homes of the; peons 



The homes of peons are either huddled 

 in groups or scattered about the out- 

 skirts, and, though mostly permanent 

 structures built of adobe, they are ar- 

 ranged in no definite order, but are set 

 up wherever chance or the convenience 

 of the builder dictated. Many of the 

 dwellings have small adjoining inclos- 

 ures formed by a paling constructed of 

 the wand-like branches of the candle- 

 wood, serving for garden lots or corrals. 



Cheer and comfort are scarcely known 

 to the peons' habitations. They are 

 usually without the luxury of windows, 

 the door serving to admit all the light 

 that enters. The poorer huts have merely 

 a hole in the wall as a means of entrance 

 and exit; sometimes a room adjoining 

 has no exterior opening, but is reached 

 by a hole in the partition. 



In these hovels some live, begrimed and 

 hungry, in hopeless poverty. Others of 

 the dwellings are much better. Such 

 may boast some coarse matting and rude 

 home-made furniture and decorations of 

 colored picture-cards and tinsel. In these 

 the dwellers have some regard for clean- 

 liness and a measure of self-respect. 



The old church near the center of the 

 village rises prominently above the sur- 

 rounding structures. Standing upon an 

 eminence, it gives prospect of the country 

 far and near, and is itself first beheld by 

 the approaching traveler. Its portal, 

 shaded by graceful pepper trees, looks 



