Chap. IX. OJO CALIENTE. 339 
conclusion is irresistible, that of all destructive animals 
man is the worst. 
The place indeed is full of ruins, and lies on a raised 
platform consisting of hard red clay, with pebbles and 
fragments of sandstone, evidently changed by the influence 
of heat, red porphyry, black scoriaceous lava, yellow and 
green scoriae, much resembling pumice, and numerous 
pebbles of chalcedony. The country is bare of trees, with 
the exception of the poplars along the irrigating canals ; 
so that these are literally the only trees visible throughout 
the whole journey from the Rio Grande to Chihuahua. 
Our lady traveller, having met with a serious accident, 
was compelled to trust herself to the medical care of 
some of the women of the place. They prepared a de- 
coction from the branches of a shrub, in which at the same 
time they boiled the gold ring which their patient usually 
wore. This circumstance caused the caravan to rest here 
a day. We encamped close to the houses, but our sleep 
was disturbed by the howling of a pack of wolves, which, 
during the whole night, fought with the dogs of the village 
over the carcase of a mule which had died that evening. 
We started again on the afternoon of the 19th, and 
reached towards evening a warm spring of rather high 
temperature, named Ojo Caliente, which rises at the base 
of a group of phonolitic hills. The water, which is clear, 
and pure in taste, forms a considerable stream ; but I am 
not sure whether it reaches the Laguna de los Patos, or is 
retained in the plain for purposes of irrigation. I could 
not ascertain the exact degree of the temperature, from 
want of the necessary instruments ; but the numerous fish 
which sported in its waters seemed to find it very enjoy- 
able. We remained here a portion of the night. 
The next was one of the very few rainy days of our 
z 2 
