FISHING AND HUNTING. 113 
I hewed out one,” was the reply ; and 
then he resigned his position. 
There is also th o. palo verde, named for 
its color, with its bright, vivid green leaf, 
twig, and bark, and its pretty yellow blos¬ 
soms, making a beautiful contrast with 
the more somber green of other trees. 
Occasionally great rows of cottonwoods 
(the alamo of the Mexicans) show the 
line of water courses, while a number of 
shrubs covered with blossoms are seen, 
apparently half tree, half cactus, so thick 
are their brambles and thorns. But as 
to cactus ! There are five hundred spe- 
.cies in America, of which Mexico has 
a large plurality, and the majority of 
these can be found along this end of the 
Sonora railway. There is the giant pita- 
haya, sometimes with a dozen arms, each 
as big as an ordinary tree, and from thirty 
