356 SANTA EULALIA Book II. 
Malpais. 1 As I am now speaking of the superiority of 
Mexican horses, I will just mention that Don Guillermo 
once rode 90 leguas, or 270 English miles, in two days on 
one horse. 
The hunting parties which met almost every Sunday on 
the plain of Tavalope added much enjoyment to the many 
pleasant hours I spent in Chihuahua. We generally drove 
out six or eight miles, and then, leaving carriages and 
horses under the care of servants, we followed our game, 
and met again in the evening, each one bringing what he 
had shot. The river, the irrigation canals, and numerous 
ponds hidden among the long grass and trees and bushes, 
harbour innumerable ducks of many kinds. Geese are 
also found, and hares are abundant among the chaparral. 
We had all double-barrelled guns, and, for our own defence 
in case of need, a pair of revolvers; no opportunity, how- 
ever, occurred for using them. We generally brought 
home sufficient game to serve two households for a whole 
week. 
Accompanied by a naturalized Frenchman, who is much 
interested in the mines of the State, 1 visited Santa Eulalia, 
a small mountain town, of the celebrated mines near which 
I have already spoken. From the east side of the Cerro 
Grande, crossing a plain about ten miles in breadth, you 
arrive at a steep mountain-chain, in a narrow valley of 
which lies Santa Eulalia. Its aspect is very remarkable. 
The lofty mountains are covered with grass, yuccas, cacti, 
and in places with a thick coating of agaves like magnified 
turf. The buildings, one-storied mud huts with flat roofs, 
are going to ruin ; but a large portion of the population, 
amounting to 1500, lives in rocky caves, the entrances to 
1 Malpais (or bad ground), a place I lava or basalt ; in short, an old lava- 
covered with blocks and fragments of j bed. 
