| OCR Text |
Show JOUHNAL OF A VOYA(~L Iltb lvfdy, Afonday.-Marched and arrived at Maupcmie at eight o'clocl , a village situated at th~ foot of mountains of minerals, where they worked eight or nine mmes. The mass of the people were nalred and starved wretches. Th proprietor of the mines gave u,' an elegant repast. I Icre the order' of Salcedo were explained to , me by the captain. I n~pliL'd, that they excited my laughter, as there were disa1r 'cted persons sufl1cient to !>Cr\'e as guides shoulJ an army ever come into the country. Came on three miles further, where were fig-trees and a fruit callcc.l by the French La Grain, situateu on a little stream which iloweJ through the gardens, and. form, cd. a terrestrial parcH.lisc. I Ierc we remained all Jay sleeping in the shade of the fig-trees, and at night continued our residence in the garden. We obliged the inhabitants with a ball, who expressed great anxiety f()r a relief from their present Jistressed state and a change of government. 12tb May, Tucsday.-Wa<;; awoke in the morni11g by the singing of the bird' and the perfumes of the trees around. I attempted to send two of my soldiers to town, vhen they were ov'·rtaken by a dragoon and ordered backthey returned, when l again ordered them to go, and if a soldier attemped to stop them to take him ofF his horse and flog him. This I did, as I conceived it was the duty of the captain to explain his orders r lativc to me, which he had not done, and J conceived that this would bring on an explanation. They were pursued by a dragoon through the town, who rode after then1 n1aking usc of ill language. They attempted to catch him but could not. & 1 had n1cntioned my intentions of sending my men to town after some stores to captain Barelo, and he had not 1nade any objections, [ conceived it was acting with du· plicity to send men to watch the movements of my messen · TIIH.OUGll TilE INTERIOR l'ROVINCES, &c 25..1 gers ; 1 thcr fore detern1ined they should punish the dragoons unless their raptJin had candor suflJ.cient to explain the reasons for his 11ot wishing the n1en to go to the town, in which wish I should undoubtedly h~we acqui~ esccd; but as he never mentioned the circnrnstance, l was guardedly silent, and the afl~tir never intrrrupted our harmony. We marched at five o' dock and came on J.r; miles. and encamped without water. One mile on this side of the little villag ' the road branches out into thr e, the right hand one by Pattos, Paras, Saltclo, &c. being the main road to Mexico and St. Antonio. The road which we took, leaves all the villages a little to the right, passing only some plantations ; the left hand one go ·s immedi; ltcly through the Inountains to Montclovez, but is danger~ ous for small parties on account of the savages. This road i·' called the route by the Bolson of Maupeme, and was first travelled by Monsieur l)c Croix, (afterwards viceroy of Peru.) In passing frmn Chihuahua to Texas, by this route, you n1ake in seven days what it takes you 15 or 20 by the ordinary one, but it is very scarce of wa~ ter, and your guards must either be so strong as to defy the Appaches, or calculate to escape the1n by swi£tness, for they fill those 1not.mtains, whence they continually carry on a predatory war against the Spanish settlement$ and caravans. \Ve this day pa sed on to the territories of the marquis De San Miquel, who owns from the mountains ot the Rio del Norte to some distance into the l ingdom nf Old Mexico. 1 Stb May, rrrcrlncsday.-Came on to the river Brasses Rancl1c de St. Antonio, part of the marquis' c.tatl!. My boy and self halted at the river Brasses to watc; r our horse~, L.n,ing rode on ahead, and took the bridles |
