CHIHUAHUA WESTWARD. 141 
that one would think there was an exodus 
from a city soon to be put under siege. 
Almost anything that grows about the 
home of a Mexican of the lower order 
furnishes an excuse for him to take it 
into town with a hope of selling it. 
Until we were fairly out of the suburbs 
our party were the only occupants of the 
coach, but there we were joined by a 
Mexican gentleman, the son of a wealthy 
mine owner, who lived back in the 
mountains. He was on his way to 
his father’s mining district, and, as I 
had met him and talked with him 
before leaving, I had so timed my de¬ 
parture as to be with him for at least 
a part of the journey. The country 
directly back of Chihuahua reminded 
me greatly of our own plains by the 
imperceptible manner in which it rises 
