Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/575

Rh by canals to every part of the estate. The whole establishment for irrigation is said to have cost 100,000 dollars.

The central parts of the valley, (La Vega,) to which water cannot be conveyed, are abandoned to the Meezquite, which extends almost to the gates of the town, in the immediate vicinity of which there is a little cultivation. Durango, or, as it has been more recently entitled, in honour of the President, "La Ciudad de Victoria," (the city of Victoria,) is seen to great advantage from the road. It is situated nearer to the Northern than the Southern extremity of the valley, with a little line of hills in the background, and the famous Iron Mountain, called El Cerro del Mĕrcādŏ, at a little distance from the gates. I arrived in sight of the town at half-past four o'clock, and should have reached it at five, by continuing at the same pace; but I was met two leagues from the gates by the Governor of the State, Don Santiago Văcă y Ŏrtīz, and the military commandant, Don Joaquin Ayestaran, to both of whom I had been furnished with letters of introduction by General Victoria, and in their coach we proceeded slowly, and did not reach the Governor's house till dusk.

Of the hospitality and kindness of this gentleman, whose guest I became for two days, I cannot easily say enough. Gratified by my curiosity respecting the North, of which he is a native, he gave me every