326 EL PASO. Book II. 
bells, fair as the lily of the valley, though as large as a 
tulip ; when the shoots of the fouquiera are adorned with 
scarlet panicles, and on the ground the large fiery-red 
blossoms of the mammillaria dazzle the eye ; when a dark 
blue sky, brilliant and clear as no dweller in the north can 
possibly imagine, expands over the landscape, while the 
air fills the whole frame with the most exquisite sensations 
of health and strength, and power for exertion, — then 
must we render justice to the beauty of this remarkable 
country. 
Such are the general characteristics of the scenery 
through which my long journeys will take me ; and there- 
fore, to avoid repetition, I shall henceforth only refer to the 
more peculiar features of each district. The Mexicans give 
the name of " chaparral "to a kind of shrubbery growing 
freely throughout the greater part of northern Mexico. 
The word originally indicated a thicket of holm-oaks, from 
chaparra, a holm-oak. It has, however, received a more 
general meaning, though not to the extent in which it is 
used by the North Americans, who call every thicket of 
shrubs in Mexico, and in the former Mexican countries 
now belonging to the United States, " chaparral." That 
the word is corrupted in this process of adoption is a matter 
of course. 1 
We reached El Paso by noon. The town lies on the 
west bank of the river, which we forded on horseback. In 
the evening, however, we returned to the east side, where 
Franklin and — about two miles lower down the valley — 
Macgoffinville are situated, both belonging to Texas. These 
are rising towns, but as yet contain only a few houses. Near 
Franklin are the mud buildings of a former fort of the 
1 Even Mr. Bartlctt always spells it " cLapporal.' 
