and the towns with artisans, many of whom are by no means unskilful in their respective trades.
To the South of Alamos, in the direction of El Fuerte, there is little or no population; but the country is level, and the road practicable for carriages: the distance is twenty-four leagues.
El Fuerte was originally a military station, established by the Spaniards in their progress towards the North. Since the union of Sonora with Cinaloa, it has been selected as the residence of the Governor of the State, the Congress, and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice; and it now contains four thousand inhabitants. The situation is not particularly favourable; as, notwithstanding the vicinity of the river, the country about the town is unproductive, and the heat in summer insupportable. The Tierra Caliente of Cinaloa extends from El Fuerte, or rather from Alamos, to the confines of Guadalajara; it is one vast sandy plain, destitute of vegetation, except in the rainy season, or in spots where the vicinity of the mountains, or the confluence of two large streams, ensure a constant supply of water. This is the case at Cūlĭăcān, the most ancient and populous town in Cinaloa, situated upon a river of the same name, eighty leagues South of El Fuerte. It contains eleven thousand inhabitants; and the country about it is well watered and highly productive.
Cŏsălā, thirty-five leagues South of Culiacan, is the next town of any note on the road towards Jă-
