Page:Memoir of a tour to northern Mexico.djvu/73

Rh 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, beautiful public walk, shaded with cotton trees and provided with seats of repose. Early in the morning a concert of thousands of birds, many mocking birds 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. Paras 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 vine of el Paso, but more heating and stronger, though I doubt very much if the wine would stand a long transport by land. I tried, at least, with a friend of mine, to take a sample of it to the States, but from some cause it had nearly all evaporated when we reached Saltillo. The population of Parras is estimated at from 8 to 10,000, and with the surrounding settlements at nearly double that number.

When General Wool arrived here last year, the citizens of Parras were very well treated, and formed a very favorable opinion of the Americans; but those friendly relations came near being interrupted at present by a fatal accident. One of our wagon drivers, a very quiet man, had been assaulted by a Mexican loafer, and received several wounds, from the effect of which he afterwards died. As the prefect of Parras was not able to find out the guilty person, the friends of the wounded man took revenge on some Mexicans, and more disturbance would have grown out of it it we had stayed longer. 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 plain, to San Lorenzo, or, as it is commonly called, Haciendo 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. The hacienda has all the appearance of a large and rich village, and Don Manuel, who resides here, lives, no doubt, quite comfortable. From here the road was winding over a hilly and rocky country, till we arrived in Cienrga Grande, a hacienda of Don Rey de Guerrero, (25 miles from Parras.) The mountains consisted yet of the same compact limestone; but sometimes, on the road, pieces of fresh-water limestone are seen, and roots and other objects in the creek were incrustated by lime.

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. On our road we saw a great deal of lechuguilla, and very large palmettos, a species of yucca with branches in the crown. 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.