Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/270

242 The word "catorce” means fourteen. The town was named after a band of fourteen robbers, who were the terror of the neighborhood for many years.

On reaching Matehuala, the traveler enters a region abounding with bhie hmestone. The water is purgative, and should be drunk sparingly. The road continues over a level plain toward Cedral, about 13 miles farther. In places, the tourist may see solid stone fences, marking the boundaries of haciendas, or farms. These fences are often carried up to the summits of the adjacent ridges.

The soil is little cultivated between Charcas and Cedral. Irrigation is necessary, and there are no acequias or ditches. By taking advantage of the rainy season, however, more cereals could be grown. This portion of the great northern table-land, like the others, will always yield more in mineral than in agricultural products, unless water companies are organized, and tanks built in the ravines of the sierras for irrigation.

The second night is passed at Cedral, 78 miles from Charcas. The former town has about 4,000 inhabitants and two taverns. The Diligencias is the better. It has accommodation for eight passengers. There are several silver-reducing mills in Cedral. The ores come from Catorce, and contain sulphur. They are roasted, therefore, in a reverberatory furnace, before being crushed and amalgamated. The pyramidal mountain of El Fraile stands near the town. It may be ascended by a bridle-path to a point a short distance from the summit, and thence on foot.

Leaving Cedral, there is a good road to La Ventura, 81 miles distant, over a broad valley, bordered with sierras on either side. There is but little vegetation to be seen, other than the huisachi, mesquite, and shrub-palms. At El Salado, about 27 miles from Cedral, a stop is made for lunch. We are now on the eastern boundary of one of the largest estates in Mexico, the Hacienda del Salado. It lies