Chapter II (2)

[II'-2] Pike gives us nothing from Samalayuca to Carrizal, and we must fill the lacuna from other sources of information. The way grows gradually hillier and sandier, till it becomes all hills and sands. These are Los Medanos, dreaded for the difficulty of hauling loaded wagons through them, though not so bad on horseback or with pack-mules. Gregg describes the entourage, Comm. Pra., II. 1844, p. 79, as "a stupendous ledge of sand-hills, across which the road passes for about six miles. As teams are never able to haul the loaded wagons over this region of loose sand, we engaged an _atajo_ of mules at El Paso, upon which to convey our goods across. These Médanos consist of huge hillocks and ridges of pure sand, in many places without a vestige of vegetation. Through the lowest gaps between the hills the road winds its way." This description calls to mind the Medano or Sand Hill Pass: see note 39, p. 491. Wislizenus is even more vivid, Mem. p. 44: "Having arrived at the foot of the sand hills, we commenced travelling very slow. There was nothing around us but the deepest and purest sand, and the animals could only get along in the slowest walk, and by resting at short intervals. At last my animals were exhausted; they would move no more, and we had not yet reached half of our way. In this dilemma I put my own riding-horse to the wagon. Mr. Jacquez lent me some additional mules, and forward we moved again. In the meanwhile dark night had come on, illuminated only by lightning, that showed us for a while the most appalling night-scene--our wagons moving along as slow and solemn as a funeral procession; ghastly riders on horseback, wrapped in blankets or cloaks; some tired travellers stretched out on the sand, others walking ahead, and tracing the road with the fire of their cigarritos; and the deepest silence, interrupted only by the yelling exclamations of the drivers, and the rolling of distant thunder. The scene was impressive enough to be remembered by me: but I made a vow the same night, that whenever I should undertake this trip again, I would rather go three days around, than travel once more over the sand hills with a wagon. About midnight, at last we reached the southern end of the sand hills, and encamped without water."

This bad place was about 6 m. Beyond it, some 15 (?) m., is a fine spring of water a few yards to the left, called Ojo Lucero or Venus' spring. A place on the railroad in this vicinity is named Rancheria. Further on is seen, at some distance to the right of the road, a square mound 20 feet high, with a warm spring on its level top. Beyond this, on the left, is Laguna de Patos, or Duck l., a considerable body of water, which is the sink of the Rio Carmen. The other road from El Paso to Carrizal joins the main road in this vicinity. San José is a place on the railroad, opposite this lake. Off to the right, in the mountain chain above mentioned, rises a conspicuous picacho. Carrizal is a small town, like most places in Mexico (pop. 300 or 400 in 1839), but for some time supported a presidio or garrison as a protection from Indians, and was also walled in; but neither of these defenses seems to have troubled the Apaches much. Turning to Pike's map, we find he marks "Presidio de Carracal" on a branch of a large "Rio de Carracal," which he runs N. E. into the Rio Grande. But this is the Carmen r. just said, which runs into Duck l. not far from where Pike makes it head, and probably never reaches the Rio Grande. Yet it is liable to freshets and may greatly overflow its usual limits. Gregg struck one when he passed this way in 1839 and describes it, _l. c._: "Just as we passed Lake Patos, we were struck with astonishment at finding the road ahead of us literally overflowed by an immense body of water, with a brisk current, as if some great river had suddenly been conjured into existence by the aid of supernatural arts. A considerable time elapsed before we could unravel the mystery. At last we discovered that a freshet had lately occurred in the streams that fed Lake Patos and caused it to overflow its banks, which accounted for this unwelcome visitation. We had to flounder through the mud and water for several hours before we succeeded in getting across." The spring which Pike marks "Ojo de Lotario" (Lothario) is that above named as Lucifer or Venus; and the hill delineated close by it is probably intended for the mound above said. He marks the road which leads from Carrizal to Sonora "Camino a Senora."

[II'-3] Pike's "little fosse" is no doubt the acequia below Carrizal. Ojo Caliente is present name of a station on the railroad between Carmen station and Las Minas; and the warm springs where Pike camps are those at or near Alamo de Peña, 10-12 m. below Carrizal, a mile short of the crossing of Rio Carmen. Gregg and Wislizenus both describe the springs in similar terms, as forming a large basin of clear, pure, lukewarm water in porphyritic rocks, with a sandy bottom, fed from various sources, and overrunning in a rivulet into the Carmen. "It forms," says Gregg, Com. Pra., II. p. 80, "a basin some 30 feet long by about half that width, and just deep and warm enough for a most delightful bath at all seasons of the year. Were this spring ... anywhere within the United States it would doubtless soon be converted into a place of fashionable resort." Wislizenus determined a temperature of 82° F., the air being 84½° F. Hughes in Doniphan's Exp., p. 108, also describes the spring and states that it was formerly the seat of a princely hacienda, "belonging to Porus, a Spanish nabob," who at one time had on his estate 36,000 head of stock.

[II'-4] A long, hard march over a plain waterless except in rainy weather, and a dry camp; for though Pike is past the place he marks "Les Coquillas," he stops short of the Ojo de Callejon.

[II'-5] This spring is found on various maps by the names of "Gallejo," "Gallego," etc., also applied to a station on the railroad. Hughes gives the word as "Guyagas." I suppose the proper name to be Ojo de Callejon, which might be translated Pass spring--for the mountains on each side of the road here close in somewhat, leaving a pass or _puerta_ between them. Otherwise, the word is _callejo_ or _calleyo_, meaning pitfall. This spring is off to the left, and sometimes discharges water enough to make a rivulet, which crosses the road. One of the other two springs which Pike speaks of passing is no doubt that known as Callejito.

[II'-6] The text does not agree with the map, for on the latter a "Camino a Senora" (road to Sonora) is brought into an unnamed "Ojo" which Pike has already passed. There may have been more than one such road. In any event, the spring which Pike passes on the 31st is that marked on his map "Aqas nueva," _i. e._, Aguas Nuevas or Agua Nueva. A station on the railroad has the latter name.

[II'-7] The hiatus in the text is to be filled by El Peñol or Hacienda del Petrero; Pike marks "Delpetrero" on his map, the last place he notes before reaching Chihuahua. Neither of those names appears on the late maps before me, but both were formerly employed for the well-known locality. Wislizenus maps El Peñol, where he camped Aug. 22d, 1846, and speaks of the place as a large hacienda, 28 m. from his last camp (probably the same as Pike's of the 30th) and about 40 m. from Chihuahua. "The creek of the same name passing by the hacienda is the principal affluent of the lake of Encinillas; by the rains it was swelled to a torrent, and its roaring waves, rushing over all obstacles, sounded in the stillness of night like a cataract." Pike has not a word of this lake, though it is usually a conspicuous feature of the great plain he has just traversed, to the W. of the road. He maps it, quite small, by the name of "Lago de S^n. Martin." Laguna de las Encinillas, in English Lake of Live Oaks, is a body of water whose extent varies greatly according to season and the weather, being sometimes 15 or 20 m. long, though usually less than this; Wislizenus estimated its length when he saw it to be 15 m., with a width of 3 m. on an average. Gregg says, _tom. cit._, p. 81: "This lake is ten or twelve miles long by two or three in width, and seems to have no outlet during the greatest freshets, though fed by several small constant-flowing streams from the surrounding mountains. The water of this lake during the dry season is so strongly impregnated with nauseous and bitter salts as to render it wholly unpalatable to man and beast. The most predominant of these noxious substances is a species of alkali, known there by the title of _tequesquite_. It is often seen oozing out from the surface of marshy grounds, about the table plains of all Northern Mexico, forming a grayish crust, and is extensively used in the manufacture of soap, and sometimes by the bakers even for raising bread."

[II'-8] As Pike has not a word of the route from El Peñol to Chihuahua, we may supply the omission from other sources. The approach to the capital presented then, as it does now, a number of both artificial and natural features. There were several settlements, as, for instance, Encinillas at the S. end of the lake, and Sauz beyond this. Both of these are places to be found marked by the same names now; the railroad runs through them. Further on, the road crossed the Arroyo Seco, usually a dry gulch, as its name says, but sometimes a creek not easily crossed, owing to depth of water. It flows eastward to fall into the Sacramento a few miles below. About 3 m. beyond this arroyo is the valley of the Sacramento, memorable since the battle which was won by the Americans under Colonel Doniphan on Sunday the 28th of February, 1847. Says Wislizenus, Mem. p. 47: "The mountains above the Sacramento approach each other from the east and west, and narrow the intermediate plain to the width of about six miles; and on the Sacramento itself, where new spurs of mountains project, to about 3 miles. The road from the Arroyo Seco to the Sacramento leads at first over a high plain; but as soon as the Sacramento comes in sight, it descends abruptly to its valley and to the left bank of the creek. Near where the road begins to descend, a ravine, with an opposite long hill, runs to the left or east of it, and a level plain spreads out to the right or west of it. On the hill towards the east was a continuous line of batteries and intrenchments, and the principal force of the Mexican army was there collected. On the opposite plain from the west, the American troops, who had above the Arroyo Seco already turned to the right to gain a more favorable position, advanced in open field against their entrenched and far more numerous enemies. How the American artillery with the first opening of their fire struck terror into the Mexican ranks; how the brave Missourians then, on horseback and on foot, acted by one impulse, rushed through the ravine up to the cannon's mouth, and, overthrowing and killing everything before them, took one battery after the other, till the whole line of entrenchments was in their possession and the enemy put to complete flight; how they crossed from here to the Sacramento and stormed on its right bank the last fortified position, on a steep hill, till not a Mexican was left to oppose them, and all their cannon, ammunition, and trains were abandoned to the victors--these are facts well known in the history of that campaign, and will immortalize the brave volunteers of Missouri." A full account of the battle is given by the historian of Doniphan's Expedition, p. 110 _seq._, with a plan of the ground. The U. S. forces were 924 all told, with 6 pieces of artillery; their loss was 1 killed and 11 wounded, 3 mortally. The Americans had 140 additional men, teamsters and others, raising the total to 1,164. Of the 924, 117 were of the artillery, 93 were of an escort, and the remainder of the 1st Regt. Missouri mounted volunteers. The Mexicans had 4,224 men, and 16 pieces of artillery; their loss was 320 killed, 560 wounded, 72 prisoners. Hughes' article cited includes Colonel Doniphan's official report.

The Sacramento is the stream upon two small tributaries of which Chihuahua is situated, at their junction, about 20 m. from the scene described. The river is usually fordable. The road leads over a level plain, which widens somewhat southward, down the valley of the river, with steep, rough mountains on either hand. The capital first comes in sight about 10 m. off, in a sort of pocket where the mountains come together from each side, as if to close up the valley below; but there is an outlet to the E. through which the Sacramento r. runs to join the Rio Conchos.

[II'-9] B. Bucks Co., Pa., Jan. 24th, 1754, of Quaker parentage (his father was one of those who had land on the Patapsco, and founded Ellicott's Mills, now Ellicott City, near Baltimore, Md., 1774); became a distinguished astronomer, surveyor, and civil engineer, and died professor of mathematics at West Point, N. Y., Aug. 29th, 1820. He did an immense amount of surveying and boundary-running, mostly of important and official public character, in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and elsewhere; in 1790, was directed by Washington to lay out the city of that name; in 1792 became surveyor-general of the U. S.; and in 1796 was appointed by Washington U. S. Commissioner under the treaty of San Lorenzo el Real, to run the southern boundary between the U. S. and New Spain. This is the work to which Pike alludes, though he is a little out in his dates, as witness the following title: The Journal of Andrew Ellicott, late Commissioner on behalf of the United States during part of the year 1796, the years 1797, 1798, 1799, and part of the year 1800: for determining the boundary between the United States and the possessions of his Catholic Majesty in America, containing, ... etc., Philada., Budd and Bartram, 1803, 1 vol. 4to, pp. i-viii, 1-299, with 6 maps, and Appendix, pp. 1-151, 1 leaf errata, and 8 more maps. Ellicott wrote this book, excepting the Appendix, at Lancaster, Pa., June to Nov., 1802; and while he was there in 1803 he coached Captain Meriwether Lewis in the use of astronomical instruments: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. xxii and p. xxiv. Going down the Ohio to the scene of his official functions, Dec. 17th, 1796, Ellicott says, p. 21: "I passed the mouth of the Tennesee, and in two hours afterwards arrived at Fort Massac, and was politely received by the commandant Captain Pike," etc. This was Zebulon Pike, father of Zebulon M.: see the Memoir, _anteà_. The fort stood on the N. (right) bank, about lat. 37° 14´; early F. history obscure and not all of it authentic; site supposed to have been first occupied _ca._ 1711: see Beck's Gaz., 1823, p. 114, and John Reynolds' Own Times, 2d. ed. p. 16, with description of the place as it was in 1855. In descending the Ohio in 1758 the F. officer Aubry halted on the N. bank, at the old site, called 36 m. above the mouth of the river, to build a new post, which was garrisoned with 100 men and called Fort _Marsiac_ after the first commandant. Thus the name is not Massac, as usually said, and still less is it derived from the apocryphal _massacre_ which various historians have exploited. This fort was the last establishment of the F. on the Ohio, being kept up till they evacuated the country under the Treaty of Paris, 1763; it was a U. S. post till after the war of 1812-14, and during our occupancy became known as the old Cherokee fort. Pike alludes in the present work to a certain _Nolan_, who is easy to identify, but not to find out much about. Ellicott met him at the mouth of the Ohio, in Jan., 1797: "Mr. Philip Nolan, so well known for his athletic exertions, and dexterity in taking wild horses, stopped at our camp on his way from New Madrid to fort Massac," says this author, p. 29, with a footnote stating that Nolan "was killed by the Spaniards in the spring of 1801," after taking a very active part in various disturbances in that quarter. Ellicott passed down the Miss. r., past the Chickasaw bluffs (L. and C., ed. 1893, p. xl. and p. lii), and at Natchez encountered a bigger bluff in the shape of an individual who described himself in his pronunciamentos as his Excellency Francis Lewis Hector, Baron de Carondelet, Knight of the Order of Malta, Major General of his Armies, Commandant General of Louisiana and West Florida, Inspector of the Troops, Militia, etc., etc., etc. (though what his triplicate etceteras were is not given to ordinary mortals to know). This climacteric functionary was supported by a lesser luminary who filled the rôle of Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemas, Brigadier of the Royal Armies, Governor of Natchez and its dependencies, with three-ply etceteras as before (though he was dead before Aug., 1799). These two formidable obstructions to navigation, as an engineer might say, were not overcome by our surveyor-general for nearly a year, during which period they kept him busy with Spanish diplomacy. As I read the correspondence it seems to have largely consisted in saying they hoped God would bless and keep him forever, when they really hoped the devil would fly away with him before breakfast; and he had to silence both the caterwauling choristers before he could proceed with his scientific work. This he was free to do on the Spanish evacuation of the forts at Natchez and Nogales (Walnut Hills) in Jan., 1798.

[II'-10] This paper was given in full in the App. to Pt. 3, of which it originally formed Doc. No. 13, pp. 73-77, and will be found beyond.

[II'-11] David Fero, Jr., of New York, was an ensign of the 3d sub-Legion from May 12th, 1794, to Nov. 1st, 1796, when he was assigned to the 3d Infantry, in which he became a lieutenant Oct. 3d, 1798, and from which he resigned July 22d, 1799.

[II'-12] This appeal and remonstrance was given in the App. to Pt. 3, where it originally formed Doc. No. 14, pp. 78, 79, dated Apr. 14th; it will be found beyond.

[II'-13] These papers, originally forming Docs. Nos. 15 and 16, were given in the App. to Pt. 3, pp. 79-82, and will be found beyond.

[II'-14] This letter appeared in the App. to Part 3, where it originally formed Doc. No. 17, pp. 82, 83, dated Apr. 4th, and will be found beyond.

[II'-15] Mapula or vicinity--perhaps on the spot noted in Wislizenus' itinerary of Doniphan's vanguard, Apr. 25th, 1847, Mem. p. 62: "They made on that day but 14 miles, and encamped at Coursier's hacienda, near Mapula. This place is to the right of the usual road, and about five miles out of the way, but has to be resorted to for want of water, if one does not intend to go in one trip as far as Bachimba, the nearest watering place on the road, and 32 miles from Chihuahua." Mapula is marked on modern maps as on the railroad, S. E. from Chihuahua, while a Fresno appears to the right, due S. from that city. Pike is to follow the present railroad for many miles, but more or less inexactly. His "small ridge of mountains" is passed about 4 m. S. of Chihuahua; this is a range of hills which encompass the city on that side, and command a fine view. On crossing them, the main road runs S. E. in a valley 10 m. wide, bounded E. and W. by mountain ridges, with Coursier's hacienda and Mapula off to the right. About 20 m. from Chihuahua these ridges hem the valley so closely as to form a cañon 5 or 6 m. long and 1 m. or less wide; Wislizenus notes a spring and ranche in this cañon; [qu.: now called Horcasitas?] Bachimba is in the plain, about 5 m. off the cañon, on a fine running stream; in 1847 it was a hacienda with a dozen houses.

[II'-16] Pike marks the fort "P[residio] de S^n. Paubla," and the river "Rio S^n Paubla," without prejudice to the gender of the holy person concerned. Modern Ortiz is about the site of the Presidio San Pablo, on the railroad, on the N. or left bank of the river; the latter is present Rio San Pedro, a large branch of the Conchos which falls in above Julimes. About 10 m. S. of Bachimba the road forked; the right-hand fork went S. S. E., to Santa Cruz de Rosales, which was said to contain 5,000 inhabitants in itself and vicinity in 1847; it is on the Rio San Pedro, 8 m. higher up than San Pablo, to which the left-hand road leads S. E. The latter is the one Pike took; it is shorter than the other; both come together before Saucillo is reached. In 1847 San Pablo was reported to be "a flourishing place, with about 4,000 inhabitants": Wislizenus, Mem. p. 63. Rio San Pedro is a fine stream, over 100 m. long, heading in the mountains on the W. The plain or valley which it traverses, and in which both the roads above mentioned lie, has a varying width of 25-35 m.

[II'-17] Pike struck Rio Conchos where the railroad does now--at Saucillo, or El Saucillo, a town on the left or W. bank of the river; the "24 miles" from San Pablo to this place is about right. This march was through the same valley as yesterday's, with a good but not such a level road, as the mountains approach each other near Saucillo, leaving S. of it a gap through which the road continues into the next valley. The night's small station is less easily identified, but was no doubt at Las Garzas or in that immediate vicinity, where the Conchos is crossed. A Mexican league is supposed to be 5,000 varas (of about 33 inches each = about 4,583 yards, or nearly 2⅔ m.), but in itineraries is usually found to be less than this. Las Garzas (Sp. _garzas_, "herons") is an obscure place not to be found on many modern maps; it is beyond Concho and La Cruz (both of which are points on the railroad). Wislizenus notes it on his journey, Mem. p. 64: "We passed through la Cruz, a small town, and further below [further S., but higher up Rio Conchos], through las Garzas, a smaller place yet, where we crossed the Conchos." It is the place marked "Pres[idio]" on Pike's map, which is probably in error in marking the trail as continuing up the left bank of the Conchos.

Rio Conchos is the principal river of Chihuahua, over 400 m. long, and with its many tributaries watering much of the State. The name is said to be derived from its shells (Sp. _conchas_), and I have seen Shell r. in print. It makes a long loop southward before turning N., and then runs about N. E. into the Rio Grande at Presidio del Norte--a place also called Presidio de las Juntas (lettered "Santas" on Pike's map) from the confluence of the two rivers. Rios Florido and San Pedro are its principal tributaries. Pike lays down the Conchos pretty well: notice particularly its northward course on the W. of the mountains, along what is called on his map "Puerta de la Virgin."

[II'-18] Pike's route of May 1st probably crossed the Conchos at or near Las Garzas, and continued approximately up the right or E. bank of that river to the confluence of Rio Florido, opp. Santa Rosalia, the "poor miserable village" of the text, which stood on a hill in the point between the two rivers; its present name is the same; the railroad passes it now. Writing of Apr. 30th, 1847, Wislizenus has, Mem. p. 65: "Santa Rosalia is a town of about 5,000 inhabitants; it lies on a hill about 100 feet higher than the river, and towards the S. spreading out on a small plateau. Here, on the southern end of the town, the Mexicans had erected a fort against General Wool, when his division was expected to march towards Chihuahua." The town is not marked on Pike's map, which, moreover, gives his trail as crossing the Conchos there and the Florido higher up, though the usual road comes up the right bank of the Conchos and crosses the Florido at or near the mouth of the latter, to continue E. S. E. up its left side. Rio Florido is the largest branch of the Conchos, having itself various tributaries, as R. de Barral, falling in near Bustamente, and R. Allende, with Jimenez near its mouth; the railroad crosses both of these at the places said. Neither of these streams appears on Pike's map. The place where he dined seems to be about that marked Santa Rita on his map. This I do not recognize; but it cannot have been far from Bustamente. The evident confusion of distances in the text makes it probably impossible to identify the "private house" at which he slept. La Ramada was a small place on the Rio Florido, about 24 m. from Santa Rosalia. He seems to have come beyond this point, perhaps to the vicinity of present Jimenez (on the railroad). His legend "Camion de Monaseo" presumably stands for Camino de Monasterio (Monastery road).

[II'-19] Or Guajuquilla: a well-known place on the right or S. bank of the river, marked on Pike's map as a presidio or fortified town. A citation from Wislizenus, Mem. p. 65, will throw some further light on the situation: "Made a strong march to-day [May 3d, 1847] of 33 miles [from La Ramada], to _Guajuquilla_. The road was constantly winding itself through endless chaparrál; the Rio Florido on the left, and mountains and hills east and west, in the distance, from 10 to 20 miles. About half way we passed a rancho with some water; farther on the road forks; the right hand road leads directly to the town; the other by a large hacienda [qu.: where Pike slept last night?]. Before Guajuquilla we crossed the Florido, and passing through town encamped south of it. Guajuquilla looks more like a town than any other place we have seen so far, on the road from Chihuahua; its population is from 6 to 7,000." Three miles S. of this town was the Hacienda de Dolores, "a large estate with well irrigated and cultivated fields"; a place on the railroad is now marked "Dolores." Thence the road continued for a jornada of about 50 m. without water. Pike will proceed upon this on the 6th, the party having been sent ahead on the 5th.

[II'-20] An unidentifiable place on the jornada, short of the first water from Guajuquilla.

[II'-21] Pike's map marks the first spring on the road as "Ojo S. Bernarde" and the next as "Ojo S Blas"--names which appear to be transposed from the order in which they come in other itineraries of this route. Thus Wislizenus, Mem. p. 66: "About eight miles from our to-night camp, we passed a spring, with a water-pool, in a ravine to the left of our road; but the water was so muddy and brackish, that the animals refused to drink, or rather to eat it. This spot is known as _San Antonio camp_. Three miles further, a few deserted houses, and a spring on the right hand of the road (_San Blas_), are found; but the water is equally bad, and of sulphureted taste. The first good water, and in sufficient quantity, is met about five miles beyond San Blas, in _San Bernardo_, a deserted rancho, with willows and cotton trees, built against a steep mountain wall, from whence a fine creek takes its origin. A small plain half a mile below the rancho contains also some springs and water-pools, and good grass. We pitched our camp in this plain. We have travelled to-day, according to my estimate, about 40 miles [_i. e._, from a dry camp about 20 m. from the Hacienda de Dolores, near Guajuquilla]." It is clear that Wislizenus is on Pike's trail, and that they have reached what is practically the same camp--near the San Bernardo spring of the former's narrative, or the San Blas spring of the latter's map; and that the spring which Pike speaks of as the "first water from Guaxequillo" and maps as San Bernarde spring, was either the San Antonio camp or the San Blas spring of Wislizenus. The situation is considerably off the present railroad, and the above names are not to be found on ordinary modern maps. But my identifications are confirmed by the fact that both travelers, on decamping next day, cross a mountain gap or pass and soon come upon a river: see next note.

[II'-22] The mountain Pike passes, and the river he crosses, are easily identified; the latter is the stream known as El Andabazo (or Cerro Gordo), with a town of the latter name higher up on it. This is the first of several streams we shall cross, running to the left as we go, and sinking in the Bolson de Mapimi--for they are all beyond the Conchos basin, the divide of which was passed in the course of the long dry jornada above noted. The lake that the Cerro Gordo cr. sinks in is sometimes called Laguna de Xacco: so Hughes, Don. Exp., 1847, p. 129. The trail Pike followed is thus described by Wislizenus, p. 66: "We started late, and made but 10 miles, to the _Cerro Gordo_, or _el Andabazo_ creek. Having crossed the mountain, at whose foot San Bernardo lies, we went for a mile through a cañon, with mountains of limestone on both sides, and from there into another valley, watered by the el Andabazo. This considerable creek seems to run from southwest to northeast." The obscure town of Cerro Gordo above named must not be confounded with the place in Vera Cruz which was the scene of the famous battle of Cerro Gordo.

Pike has now passed the present interstate boundary between Chihuahua and Durango. The line runs on a parallel of latitude from Lago de Tlahualila 60 Mex. leagues W. to a source of Rio del Fuerte near Huenote. Pike maps Lake Tlahualila conspicuously: see the large sheet of water laid down in the Bolson Mapimi across which is legended "Here the Indians sallied forth to attack New Biscay and Cohuahuila," and which has a large forked stream running into it from the S. The main fork of this is the present Rio de Nasas, which actually discharges into Laguna del Muerto; so Pike's body of water represents both Lake Tlahualila and the Lake of the Dead, as well as some smaller sheets, as Laguna del Cayman, etc., all lying in the same general depression. Pike mentions "Lac du Cayman" elsewhere and correctly says that Rio Nassas (which he also calls Brassos) falls into it. L. de Parras, however, he lays down separately, with its own river discharging into it. The boundaries of Chihuahua, Durango, and Coahuila all meet in Lake Tlahualila, whence that between Durango and Coahuila runs S. for a few miles and then S. E., while that between Chihuahua and Coahuila extends N. along the border of the Bolson to the Rio Grande.

[II'-23] Pelayo is the best-known place we have come to since leaving Guajuquilla, and easily found on modern maps by this name; it appears on Pike's map as "P[residio]. Pelia," and has been more fully called Hacienda de San José de Pelayo. The name is thus a personal one, though some have derived it from Sp. _pelar_, to boil, scald, with reference to the hot sulphur springs. (One Pelayo, Latinized Pelagius, founded the monarchy of Asturias in Spain early in the eighth century A. D. The form Palayo is also found.) The place is on the main road, about 25 m. from the crossing of Andabazo cr. "Pelayo," says Wislizenus, p. 67, "is a small village, or hacienda, with several good springs around it; some of common, others of higher temperature. The creek formed by them is, according to the Mexican statements, afterwards lost in the sand.... In Pelayo, a small but steep hill was fortified on the top, by walls of stone. This fortification was probably intended against General Wool's army. Two days before us [_i. e._, May 5th, 1847] Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell had arrived here with the vanguard [of Doniphan's troops], and seeing the inhabitants of the place organized as a military company, he made 30 of them prisoners, and took their arms from them; but upon their representation that they would by this act become a prey to the surrounding Indians, he restored them their arms, under the condition that they be used only for defence against Indians." That series of creeks flowing to the left, two of which have thus far been mentioned, are all crossed by the railroad, much E. of Pike's route; four places at or near which such crossings occur are named Escalon, Zavalza, Conejos, and Peronal--the two former in Chihuahua, the two latter in Durango, and the last of these being nearest the railroad crossing of the creek which flows through La Cadena, as about to be noted.

[II'-24] La Cadena is present name of a place on or near the fourth one of the small streams above noted, considerably off (?) the modern main road--say 20 m. S. W. of Peronal, and 25 m. due W. of Mapimi. It is reached by a rough mountain road 18 m. from Pelayo, past the copper mine of Oruilla; the hacienda there, of which Pike speaks as being so rich in stock, had been deserted when Wislizenus passed in 1847. The creek comes from the Sierra de las Mimbres, on the W. Another steep range rises about 3 m. E. of La Cadena; the gap between the two is the Pass of Cadena, Puerta de Cadena, or "Door of the Prison," through which Pike goes to-day due E. in the direction of Mapimi.

[II'-25] Lettered "Maupeme" on the map, and so rendered in the text beyond; same word as that in Pike's legend "Bolson de Mapini"; now usually spelled Mapimi. Hughes writes Malpimi. The meaning of the word is unknown, as it probably would not be were it of Spanish derivation; its most frequent use is in the phrase Bolson de Mapimi, applied to very extensive tracts of low-lying ground encompassed with mountains, chiefly in the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila, but also overreaching into Durango. _Bolson_ is a Spanish word which means various things, among them "purse," "pouch," or "pocket," and seems to be applied here in the same way that we use the word "hole" for several different valleys in our Rocky mts. Mapimi, as the designation of a particular place, is still the name of the town Pike comes to, now on the railroad, about 15 m. by rail from Peronal, and about 20 m. by the road he came from La Cadena Pass. It is thus the place where the highway and the railroad come together. The situation is the eastern part of an extensive valley some 20 m. wide and 35 m. long from N. to S., surrounded on all sides by mountains yielding silver mines. "Two springs, called Espiritu Santo and Agua de Leon, form here [at Mapimi] a creek, which runs through the town in an eastern direction," Wislizenus, _l. c._ This seems to be the stream that "formed a terrestrial paradise" for Pike--as well it might, with the Holy Ghost re-enforcing Ponce de Leon. Wislizenus found Mapimi "rather deserted," May 9th, 1847; but the artillery "fired a salute, in honor of the anniversary of the battle of Palo Alto" (fought May 8th, 1846). Pike's camp of the 11th of May, 3 m. E. of Mapimi, was snug under the eastern mountain chain, whence it was about 2 m. through a cañon into another valley forming a part of the series of the Bolson de Mapimi.

[II'-26] "The little village" is not named. Pike's map makes the triple forking of the road he is about to mention in the immediate vicinity of Mapimi; but this appears to be an error, as he was already 3 m. beyond that town when he started on the 12th. His map is otherwise so far out of drawing that it does help us much more than the slender thread of text to discover exactly what way Captain Barelo took him around the Bolson to Parras. The precise stages of the journey to Parras would probably be recoverable by one thoroughly familiar with the ground; but it is impossible for me to trace the route upon any map I have been able to find. The only road laid down on the best map before me runs down the Rio Nasas past San Lorenzo to Mayron, at the Laguna del Muerto, into which that river sinks, and thence to Pozo (Pozzo) and Parras. From the railroad junction at Torreon the track runs at a distance from, but approximately parallel with, the river and the road just indicated, through places marked Matamoras, Colonia, and Hornos, to Mayron and thence to Pozo. Wislizenus speaks of a place apparently about where Pike comes to on the 12th, where the road forks, and describes a "northern" and a "southern" route. The northern one, he says, leads by Alamito, San Lorenzo, and San Juan (all on the Rio Nasas) to El Pozo; it is thus identical with or very nearly the same as the one just said to descend the Rio Nasas. The southern one, he says, would have taken him by San Sebastian, on the Nasas, to Gatuño, Matamoras (or la Bega de Maraujo), Santa Mayara, by the Laguna de Parras to Alamo de Parras, St. Domingo, and Peña, to El Pozo, and thence to Parras. I think that Pike's route coincides most closely with this one; it is for the most part S. of the railroad, passing close to the Laguna de Parras (the sink of the Rio Guanabel); and when we find him at Parras, on the 17th, he is almost due E. of the place where he crossed the Rio Nasas, at an air-line distance therefrom of nearly or about 40 Mexican leagues--say 100 m.

The "Monsieur de Croix" above named is Teodoro de Croix, b. at Lille, Flanders, about 1730, d. at Madrid, Spain, Apr. 8th, 1791; he was viceroy of Peru from Apr., 1784, to Mar., 1790; he had previously served as commandant of the interior provinces and of Sonora, under his elder brother, Carlos Francisco de Croix, Marques de Croix, and viceroy of New Spain, 1766-1771. See the legend of his route on Pike's map.

[II'-27] "Brasses" and "Brassos" are Pike's rendering of Brazos, name of a great river in Texas, but the stream here meant by "Brasses" is Rio Nasas (or Nazas), which flows into Laguna del Muerto, in Coahuila. This he elsewhere calls Nassas and Nassus; saying that it runs into Lake Cayman, and forms part of the boundary between Cogquilla (Coahuila) and New Biscay (his name for Chihuahua, though he means Durango). He also charts it conspicuously, but much out of drawing: see his map, first river E. of Mapimi, with "Rancho S^n Antonio" there lettered. Some of my maps, running back 40 years, apply the name Nazas to that other stream (Rio Guanabal) which sinks in Laguna de Parras, and which Pike also charts, greatly out of position; but he is correct in his identification of the Nasas. This is a notable stream in Durango and Coahuila, which has been called "the vein and center of the Bolson" by Wislizenus, who says further, p. 69: "San Sebastian is a hacienda on the left bank of the Nasas river, and about 35 miles from Mapimi. The Nasas is here quite a deep and respectable stream, while further down it becomes flat, and disappears sometimes entirely in the sand. It comes about 150 leagues from the western part of the State of Durango, from the so-called Sianori mountains.... The Nasas is the Nile of the Bolson de Mapimi; the wide and level country along the river is yearly inundated by its rising, and owes to that circumstance its great fertility."

On crossing Rio Nasas, or at a point on his road in that vicinity, Pike passes from the present State of Durango into that of Coahuila; but we have no mileage for the 13th. He never leaves Coahuila till he enters the Texas of his day, close to present San Antonio de Bexar, Tex. He never touches Nuevo Leon at any point.

[II'-28] El Rancho de San Antonio, already indicated as on the Rio Nasas, but exact location in question. I cannot find the name on any modern map. It does not seem to be the same place as the San Sebastian mentioned by Wislizenus. But the general locality is near the present interstate boundary of Coahuila and Durango, not far from the place where the two railroads cross each other, known as El Torreon (The Tower).

[II'-29] Santa Rosa, one of the principal Coahuilan towns, about half-way between Monclova and Presidio del Rio Grande, on waters of the Upper Rio Sabinas, and on the road which General Wool took during the invasion of Mexico.

[II'-30] See Pike's map, place legended "Well of Putrid Water."

[II'-31] The text is contradictory concerning mileage, and ambiguous in the matter of the road which came in. The place whence water was drawn is that legended "Well of Mineral Water" on Pike's map. I am not sure that this is El Pozo of various maps and itineraries before me, called "Pozzo" on the most modern ones; but am inclined to think it is. Pozo is a well-known place where the railroad now crosses a highway, and whence there is a regular road S. W. to Alamos de Parras, and another S. E. to Parras itself. Under date of May 13th, 1847, Wislizenus has, Mem. p. 71: "We travelled to-day 25 miles from San Juan to _el Pozo_. The road was more gravelly than sandy, at first quite level, afterwards slightly ascending. A few miles to our right a steep mountain chain was running parallel with our road; to the left rose more distant mountains.... About half way we passed by a deserted rancho, 'Refugio,' with a well. Near El Pozo the valley becomes narrower." Dr. W. describes a fight with Lipan Indians which had occurred at Pozo two days before, and continues, p. 72: "_El Pozo_ (the well) is a hacienda, belonging to Don Manuel de Ibarra, and consists of but one large building, in which many families live. The place is distinguished for its ingenious water-works. It consists of a deep and very spacious well, from which the water is drawn by mule power in the following way: Over a large wheel in the upper part of the well a strong and broad band of leather is stretched, moving around with the wheel; to the band, in regular distances, many buckets of leather are attached, which, by the equal circular motion of the wheel and the band, are descending on one side of the well, and fill themselves with water, while they are drawn up on the other side, and, emptying their water into a basin, return again to the well. To receive the drawn water, two large basins of stone, about 40 feet wide and 100 feet long, have been made, and on the outside of the basins runs a long line of troughs, all of stone, for the watering of the animals.... The same Indians which our men fought here, the Lipans, used to frequent this well very freely, and carried their impudence even so far that they notified the Mexicans at what time they wanted to have the basins full, and the Mexicans did not dare to disobey. Although the idea of this water-wheel is by no means a new one, it is certainly very simply and well executed, and the more gratifying to the traveller, as this is the only watering place between San Juan and Parras, a distance of about 50 miles."

[II'-32] No mileage for the 17th; but Paras is a notable place, easily discovered on ordinary maps. Sp. _parras_ means grapevines, especially such as are trained on a trellis, and various vineyards have given geographical names in Mexico, as Laguna de Parras, Alamo de Parras, etc. The latter is a phrase coming near what is meant by our traditional "vine and fig-tree"; it now designates a place further W., not to be mistaken for Parras itself. "Paras" and the San Lorenzo hacienda above said are both marked on Pike's map; the latter must not be confused with present town of San Lorenzo on Rio Nasas, much further W. The map is entirely out of drawing in these parts, but not irrecognizably, and we can make the requisite adjustments. In particular, Laguna de Parras is put down over 100 m. from its true position, and the course of its feeder (Rio Guanabal) is still further out of the way. His route passed near this laguna, between it and Laguna del Muerto. We must not forget that he was traveling under compulsion, propulsion, and perpetual irritation--circumstances unfavorable to the accuracy of such notes as he could take by stealth and afterward supplement from memory, and under which he could not be expected to improve Humboldt's map!

Some extracts from Dr. Wislizenus, Mem. pp. 72, 73, will give a better idea of Parras than Pike's glimpse affords: "_May 14_ [1847]. We left [Pozo] this morning for _Parras_, in the State of Coahuila.... Our road ran parallel with a near mountain chain on the right, and was mostly ascending. In the latter part of our march we saw from a hill Parras, at the foot of the same chain, which here makes a bend towards southeast. The first sight of the town reminded me of el Paso, on account of the great many gardens and vineyards that surround it. Entering the town, I was struck with the luxuriant growth of pomegranates, figs, and fruits of all sorts, and with the enormous height and circumference of the common opuntias and agaves, which I had already seen in the State of Chihuahua, but much smaller. The opuntias had trunks of one foot in diameter, and the agave americana grew to the height of from 10 to 15 feet, making excellent hedges. The town itself was much handsomer than I had expected. It has some fine streets, with old substantial buildings, a large 'plaza,' and a general appearance of wealth and comfort. We encamped in the Alameda, a beautiful public walk, shaded with cotton trees and provided with seats of repose. Early in the morning a concert of thousands of birds, many mockingbirds among them, that live here quite undisturbed, awoke us from our slumber. These Alamedas, fashionable in all the Mexican cities, do honor to the general taste of the Mexicans for flowers, gardens, and natural embellishments. To prevent any injury to the trees our horses were kept outside the Alameda. Parras was probably built towards the end of the seventeenth century, and received its name from its vine, parra meaning vine-branch. The cultivation of the vine is at present a principal object of industry in Parras. The vineyards are mostly on the hilly slopes of the limestone mountains west of town. They produce a white and a red wine, both of very pleasant taste, resembling somewhat the wine of el Paso, but more heating and stronger.... We rested in Parras two days, and left it on the morning of _May 17_, on our road to Saltillo. From Parras we marched about five miles in an eastern direction, through a a plain, to _San Lorenzo_, or, as it is commonly called, _Hacienda de Abajo_, a large, splendid hacienda, belonging to the above mentioned Don Manuel de Ibarra. The road from el Pozo leads directly to this place; by going to Parras, several leagues are lost." This "lower hacienda" is the one which Pike names above, and where he camps to-night.

[II'-33] No distance or direction given, and no place named--but we can discover Pike by extraneous means. Dr. Wislizenus says, p. 73: "From here [San Lorenzo] the road was winding over a hilly and rocky country, till we arrived in _Cienega Grande_, a hacienda of Don Rey de Guerrero, (25 miles from Parras.)" This is no doubt the place Pike reaches, on his way to Patos. The unnamed hacienda of the text is so marked on his map, on the above "fine stream." This creek requires attention. Pike lays it down as one of the headwaters of Rio Tigre, also called Rio San Francisco del Tigre, which he mistakes it to be, and so runs it off into the Gulf of Mexico, about where Tiger r. does in fact empty. But Pike was never on any tributary of Tiger r.--never in that watershed at all--never in Nuevo Leon. His "fine stream" is a headwater of that river which falls into the Rio Grande by Ringgold Barracks, and whose two main forks are known as Rio San Juan and Rio Salinas. Saltillo, once known as Leona Victoria, and present capital of Coahuila, is on a branch of the Salinas (Rio Meteros); and Monterey, present capital of Nuevo Leon, is on a branch of the San Juan.

[II'-34] Before coming to Patos and Florida, we will see what Wislizenus says, Mem. p. 73: "_May 18._ Through a wide valley, with mountains to the north and south, we went to-day (18 miles) to _Rancho Nuevo_, and encamped about one mile southeast of it, in a valley.... Some miles from our camp, in a corner, amidst mountains, lies _Castañuela_, an old but small town, from which a shorter but very rough road leads over the mountains to Parras. A fine creek runs by it, descending from the southwest mountains and turning towards the northeast." This seems to be about the place to which Pike was brought on the 19th.

[II'-35] "Pattos" is marked "Hacienda Poloss" on Pike's map, where it is set down about a day's journey due W. of "Saltello"; "Florida" is also marked, nearly as far off to the N. E. But these are mere crudities of engraving; any good modern map will show Patos, about 35 m. W. by S. from Saltillo, and about 16 m. S. by W. from San Antonio de Jaral; which latter is 12 m. S. E. of a place on the railroad now called Pastora. As to Patos and its vicinity we will hear from Dr. Wislizenus, Mem. p. 74: "_May 19._ Marched 25 miles [from Rancho Nuevo] to _Vequeria_, a small place on a creek of the same name. The very tortuous road led over a hilly and broken country. From one of the hills we perceived, towards the E. N. E., the distant mountains of Saltillo. About five miles from Vequeria we passed a creek with very clear water, the San Antonio, which unites below, near _Patos_, with the Vequeria creek.... Northeast from Vequeria is an opening in the surrounding mountains, through which the mountain chain of Saltillo appears again. The route through this pass is the shortest and most direct from Saltillo, but with wagons one has to take a southeastern course to avoid the mountains. About one mile from Vequeria, in the pass leading to Saltillo, lies _Patos_, a small town." The name of the place Dr. W. calls "Vequeria" is preferably spelled Vaqueria; the word means simply stock-farm or cattle-ranch; vaqueros are the cowboys of such places, whom I used to hear called "buckeros" when I was in New Mexico, perhaps by unconscious confusing of "vaqueros" with the bucking bronchos they rode.

Here we regret to take leave of our accomplished fellow-traveler, who has set up finger-posts on Pike's route all the way from El Paso to Patos. Dr. Wislizenus keeps on eastward to meet General Wool's forces at Buena Vista and Saltillo. Pike has turned northward, down the San Antonio cr., and camps at Florida, less than 3 m. N. of Patos, in the direction of San Antonio de Jaral.

[II'-36] Route of the 21st northward, past if not through San Antonio de Jaral, down the right side of San Antonio cr., and across this from E. to W.; thence continuing northward to some point probably on the present railroad and in the vicinity of the station now known as Sauceda (Willows). Pike's map shows the crossing, at a point below certain forks he delineates, probably not far from half-way between Sauceda and Pastora.