Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/574

554 From thence to Chăchămōllĭ, where I arrived at half-past two, we found the same difficulty in advancing, on account of several ramifications of the great bank of lava. The Hacienda is situated near a river, the course of which, designated by a double line of Sabinos, we had traced for a long time winding along the foot of the hills which surround the valley. It is the same stream that traverses the plain of Durango, and runs from thence, by the Villa del Nombre de Dios, and the Mēzquītāl, towards the rivers of Jălīscŏ, with one of which it is supposed to incorporate itself, and to continue its course towards the Pacific.

In one hour after leaving Chăchămōllĭ I reached the Rancho del Ărēnāl, where my last relay of horses was stationed. From thence to Durango the road is excellent. It runs almost uninterruptedly across a level plain, which, if supplied with water, would be equal in fertility to the richest portions of the Mexican territory. The corn-lands, (fields, from their extent, I cannot call them,) of the Hacienda of Năbăcoyān, close to which you again cross the river on a bridge of stone with high narrow arches, are really beautiful; and, on the opposite side, the maize crops of Santa Ana, and other Haciendas, are equally luxuriant. Năbăcoyān is supplied with water from a "presa," or dam, constructed at a considerable distance up the river by the former proprietors of the Hacienda, from whence it is conducted