far as San Sebastian, where we encamped. The nearer we approached San Sebastian and the river, the richer became the soil, though scarcely anything was to be seen but weeds and mezquite. The latter had changed here from shrubs into trees, reaching to the height of from 50 to 60 feet, and with trunks of a man's size. 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 even entirely in the sand. It comes about 150 leagues from the western part of the State of Durango, from the so-called Sianori mountains, and runs in a northwestern and northern direction in the Bolson de Mapimi; ending as a lake. The Nasas is the Nile of the Bolson de Mapimi; the wide and level country along the river is yearly inundated by its risings, and owes to that circumstance its great fertility. Besides wheat and corn, they raise a good deal of cotton in the valley of the river, and wine has been tried, too, with success. The climate, I understood, is so mild, that the root of the cotton shrub is seldom destroyed in the winter, and continues to thrive for many years. In San Sebastian we were informed that, for the want of water, it would be impracticable to continue the southern route, which would have passed from here to el Gatuño, Matamoras (la Bega de Maraujo,) Santa Mayara, Alamo de Parras, St. Domingo, and Peña, to el Pozo. The Laguna de Parras, which we would have also passed on that route, is formed by the Guanabal river, but was then entirely dry. It was therefore resolved to turn back into the northern route, by going from here, along the Nasas, to San Lorenzo. We shall lose in this way about 12 miles.
The inhabitants of San Sebastian had been hostile towards Mr. Collins's party, when they passed it on their express trip; they were punished for it, by our taking a lot of maize for our animals without pay.
May 11.–We crossed the Nasas below San Sebastian, on a good ford, and marched on its right bank, though generally a great distance from the river, 24 miles, to San Lorenzo. Our road went mostly through fine mezquite timber. Several settlements are along the river, as Rancho del Muerto, Hacienda de Concepcion, and Alamito. The latter lies about half way between San Sebastian and San Lorenzo, on the river, and six miles north of our road; it is the point where we ought to have camped last night, on the northern route. The proprietor of Alamito is an intelligent Spaniard, (Gapuchin,) Señor de Gaba, who rode along with us for some distance and gave me a good deal of information in relation to the country.
On the right hand, or south of us, a chain of limestone mountains was running parallel with the road. At the foot of a hill belonging to that chain, Señor de Gaba pointed out a place to me where some years ago a remarkable discovery had been made. In the year 1838, a Mexican, Don Juan Flores, perceived there the hidden entrance to a cave. He entered; but seeing inside a council of Indian warriors sitting together in the deepest silence, he retreated and told it to his companions, who, well prepared, entered the cave together, and discovered about 1,000 (?) well preserved Indian corpses, squatted together on the ground, with their hands folded below the knees. They were dressed in fine blankets, made of the fibres of lechuguilla, with sandals, made of a species of liana, on their feet, and ornamented with colored scarfs, with beads of seeds of fruits, polished bones, &c., This is the very insufficient account of the mysterious burying-place. The Mexicans suppose that it belonged to the Lipans, an old Indian tribe,
