AGUA PRIETA. 
251 
the grass was short, and the soil hard and gravelly. 
Here the soil was a rich black loam, as it appeared 
where the little creatures had thrown it up, and the 
grass was nibbled down to its roots. 
After passing a small stream (where we caught 
some curious water insects), our course lay direct for 
the mountains, which gradually closed in upon us, until 
we arrived by an easy ascent at the summit. Here we 
struck the old road, leading in a southeasterly course 
to Janos ; and here our real difficulties seemed to 
begin. We had reached what appeared from the plain 
below to be the apex of the ridge ; but we found our- 
selves all at once surrounded by steep hills, steeper 
and higher mountains, ravines, gullies, and friglitful 
canons. A wide and discouraging prospect was open 
before us. First came an ocean of mountain peaks, if 
I may so term them ; for, from the eminence on which 
we stood, we overtopped the whole, looking down 
upon them as in a birds-eye view. Beyond these,, 
looking to the west, arose other mountains, which gra- 
dually receded from the view, until in the dim dis- 
tance the horizon was bounded by a faint blue outline 
of some range a hundred miles distant. Colonel 
Cooke deserves great credit for this bold and successful 
undertaking, which has not been sufficiently appreci- 
ated by his countrymen. Here his whole command 
was employed in opening this trail, and making it 
passable. But, with all his labor, it is still a most diffi- 
cult pass, and dangerous for loaded wagons. Although 
ours were light, it required great caution to get 
through. The first descent is down a long hill, where 
the wheels have to be locked. Next the road passes 
