Chap. XIII. MAGNIFICENT DESERT SCENERY. 405 
sewn into wet bullock-hides in parcels containing 3000 
pesos (dollars), and packed into two of the waggons ; the 
other five were loaded with maize for the mules, and pro- 
visions for ourselves, and on the evening of the 12th of 
May our caravan took the road to the Presidio del Norte, 
by the ascent of the Cerro Grande. We were accom- 
panied by friends from the town, till night compelled 
them to return, 
We reached the Presidio on the 20th. The road passed 
through a desert country on the grandest scale, affording 
the naturalist a field for the most interesting observations. 
The Canon del Ojito, a pass between the plain of Mapula 
and that of Bachimba, deserves the closest attention of the 
travelling geologist, as it seems to give the key to the 
formations of this region. Travelling quickly past, and 
limited to the road, I could only judge from a dis- 
tance. Near, there were only alluvial heaps, with dry 
crevices and ravines, on the precipitous sides of which a 
white and a red variety of the mimbre (chilopsis) stood in 
full blossom, and the yellow tufts of the acacia filled the 
air with its violet perfume. 
I have already related the outrages committed by the 
Apaches at the Hacienda de Bachimba but an hour before 
our arrival. Seeing the buildings at a distance, I had 
ridden on before our caravan. When I arrived, I saw the 
men and women collected on the flat roof of the principal 
building, apparently much disturbed, the men endeavouring 
to mount a gun of small calibre, and I immediately learned 
what had taken place. It was by the merest chance that 
I escaped the band. 
Between Bachimba and the warm baths of Julimas, we 
passed over a plain covered with yuccas in full bloom, the 
most enchanting sight which Mexican scenery can display ; 
