Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/617

Rh Ranchos and Haciendas. Eighteen leagues to the Eastward, again, is the town of Ōpŏsūră, situated upon the banks of a river of the same name, not laid down in any map, but which, after running over a great extent of country to the South-west, enters the river Yaqui a little above Onābăs, in latitude 28.

The vale of Ōpŏsūră is divided from that of Babiacora, or Sonora, by one of those parallel ridges which have been already described. It is about twenty-six leagues in length, and varies from one to four leagues in breadth. The population consists partly of whites, who have preserved the blood of their Biscayan ancestors in all its purity, and partly of Indians of the Opātă tribe, who, in Upper Sonora, compose nearly two-thirds of the inhabitants. They live in towns, and are completely civilized, being clothed after the manner of the whites, with whom they always unite against their barbarous countrymen, the Apăchĕs; and such is the confidence reposed in them, that they are provided with fire-arms by the Government, and formed into militia companies, under the command of their own chiefs. The smiths, carpenters, and other artisans of the State, as well as the working miners, are found amongst these Indians, who are thus most valuable members of the community. They likewise furnish the Haciendas with a hardy race of labourers, many thousands of whom are distributed over the valleys of Băbĭăcōră, Sŏnōră, and Ōpŏsūră, extending in a northerly direction towards Ărīzpĕ,