SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA. 347 
stantial log house, built and maintained 
by the Batopilas Company, and used 
by them as a shelter for members of 
their pack trains, instead of depend¬ 
ing on the sky for a covering. One 
end of the house was divided off, where 
grain was stored for all the animals. 
There was also a storeroom for provi¬ 
sions of various kinds, thus saving 
much packing over the rough mountain 
trail. 
These houses, I learned, had been 
built about every thirty-five miles along 
the trail, and at each a trusty Indian lived 
to care for them. They were a great 
comfort, and seemed even luxurious after 
a hard all-day ride on the rough trail. 
At each was a large corral or pen, into 
which the mules were turned for their 
feed, and this too was a saving of labor 
