416 EL PASO 
The grassy plain continued without bushes; so that 
we were obliged to gather up dried dung for fuel. 
October 19th. Before daylight the camp was called, 
and every man was perambulating the corral and the 
vicinity with his arms in hand; for it 1s well known 
that these savages generally take the dawn of day to 
surprise unconscious travellers. Sentinels were sent 
out to reconnoitre, and eight men to guard the mules 
while grazing. 
At six o'clock, we moved again over an excellent 
road as before, the grass luxuriant as far as the eye 
could reach. Antelopes and deer were seen in herds 
bounding over the plain, sometimes coming within 
gun-shot of us. A few shots were fired without suc- 
cess, the open plain preventing our hunters from get- 
ting as near as they wished. Fifteen miles brought 
us to the Laguna de Encinillas (Lake of Evergreen 
Oaks), which lay on our right, stretching far off into 
the plain in a southerly direction. It is said to be 
about fifteen miles long and three wide, varying ac- 
cording to the season and the rains. This lake, like 
all others on the high table, while it receives much 
water, has no outlet. Forming the basin of a vast 
plain, its waters rise with the rains, and in the dry 
season are much lessened, and sometimes nearly dry. 
It is only remarkable, considering the porosity of the 
soil, and the rapid evaporation from the dryness of the 
atmosphere, that the whole does not disappear before 
the return of the periodical rains. As the water was 
said by our Mexicans to be brackish, we supplied our- 
selves from a spring about a hundred yards from its 
shore. After the camp was arranged, I took my gun 
