Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 1.djvu/621

Rh there are twenty-three openings of different sizes; I penetrated about one hundred and eighty feet into one of them, but from the intricate windings and subdivisions inside, not having any light except a piece of pine wood, and not being able to persuade my servant to follow me, I was obliged to abandon the attempt to explore the most curious natural excavation that I had ever seen. From this place to Palomas, the distance is ten leagues, to Laguna Colorada seven leagues, and to Durango seventeen. The country is of the same description as that through which I had already passed, except that the population increases much as you approach Durango. On the 19th of July, I arrived there; and went to the house of the Canonigo Don Cayetano Salcedo, an old friend of mine, where I rested fourteen days.