364 
NOVEDADES. 
Book II. 
Kancho del Fresno. 1 A bright fire was soon burning, 
at which Jesus Dominguez prepared our supper, and round 
which other travellers soon assembled. The evening 
passed in cheerful conversation, the principal subject of 
which was the danger of the road. A man from Rio 
Conchos, who was driving a small herd of cattle to the 
town, brought " Novedades " 2 from the south of the State. 
A number of men from Chihuahua, who were on the road to 
Durango, had been attacked by a band of Comanches, and 
several lives had been lost and 3000 dollars in specie. An 
old man from the Villa de la Concepcion, where we were 
going, told of much mischief perpetrated by the Apaches 
quite lately in that locality, and showed the scars of gunshot 
and arrow wounds which he had received in encounters 
with the savages. Indeed, I was the only one who had 
not suffered either directly or indirectly by them. 
The next morning we had to pass the Canada del 
Fresno, one of the most notoriously dangerous places 
in the State of Chihuahua. This is a valley of about four 
miles in length, between hills covered with dwarf oaks, 
ascending gradually to the higher table-land. In this pass 
the Apaches have so constantly availed themselves of the 
advantages of the ground that, without exaggeration, no 
hundred steps of the whole four miles can be trod, upon 
which the blood of some unfortunate traveller has not been 
shed. A governor of Chihuahua, once travelling through 
1 A " Rancho," in this neighbourhood, 
is the name of an estate, or of the build- 
ings on one, especially devoted to 
cattle-breeding ; while an agricultural 
estate is called a " Labor." These are 
smaller estates, though generally ex- 
tending over several square miles. 
Large estates are called "Haciendas." 
Several ranchos and labores may belong 
to one hacienda. 
2 "Novedades," "news," means gene- 
rally in this country misfortunes, espe- 
cially such as are caused by the Indians. 
" No tiene u. novedades ?" " Have you 
any news ? " is the same as " Have you 
had any ill luck ?" or "Are you well ? " 
and is the usual greeting of travellers 
on the road. " No hay novedades," 
" There is no news," really means that 
"the road is safe. We have seen no 
Indians." 
