DEMING TO CASAS GRANDES. 15 
south, and parallel with the crest of the 
Sierra Madres. Between the lakes and 
the crest is a beautiful country, capable of 
sustaining a dense population ; while out¬ 
side of it, to the eastward, so much cannot 
be said in its favor, although probably the 
latter is a good grazing district. Now 
the railway runs outside or eastward of 
the line of the “sinks,” where the country 
is flat and the engineering difficulties are 
at a minimum; and as nearly all the 
descriptions we have of Mexico are based 
upon observations made from car windows, 
it is easy to see how erroneous an opinion 
can be formed of this northern portion of 
Mexico, which is so constantly, though 
conscientiously, misrepresented by scores 
of writers. 
The first lake we came to in Mexico 
was Laguna Las Palomas (the Doves), 
