Chap. VIII. AUGITIC LAVA. 311 
be very welcome to join our early breakfast. They re- 
luctantly yielded, but not without lively protestations ; and 
when some way off, one shouted to me, "Hark-ye, comrade ! 
the Apaches are good — the Apaches are your friends — but 
yonder dwell rogues !" meaning the people of the neighbour- 
ing village, the name of which,, La Joyita, signifies "the little 
jewel." The next morning we waited in vain for our guests 
at breakfast, and afterwards saw them riding with eight or 
ten others over a neighbouring hill. The object of their 
nocturnal visit had doubtless been to test our vigilance ; 
and as our complete guard was about half a mile off, with 
the drove of mules, disagreeable occurrences might have 
happened at the camp. 
Below La Joyita the valley narrows, and the river 
forces its way through a cleft intersecting an elevated plain 
which crosses the former. On its western side rise high 
and steep mountains, with columnar formations, probably 
consisting of masses, of porphyry. There is a hot spring 
somewhere among these mountains. The flat barrier 
which crosses the valley consists of an augitic lava, through 
which the Bio Grande has made its way ; the remaining 
portions are seen on either bank of the river. The road 
passes over these lava hills, on the east side of the valley, 
and is very heavy from the quicksands which here and 
there cover the rocks. Whilst the caravan was toiling 
along this road, I followed the cutting which the river 
had made, and climbed about the rocks on the hill-side. 
In one place, where the unfrequented footpath led from 
the valley to the hill-top, I observed blocks of stone with 
figures cut on them. In the course of my narrative I 
shall have to speak of many similar sculptures, and shall 
therefore reserve for the present some general remarks on 
this subject. 
