After a succession of such difficulties, and still greater [Pg178] risks from the Indians that infested the route, I was of course delighted when I reached Chihuahua, on the 14th of May, in perfect safety.[122]
[114] The numerous little lakes throughout the interior of Mexico, without outlets yet into which rivers are continually flowing, present a phenomenon which seem, quite singular to the inhabitants of our humid climates. But the wastage in the sand, and still greater by evaporation in those elevated dry regions, is such that there are no important rises in the lakes except during unusual freshets.--GREGG.
[115] The road passed southeast through the state of Durango, where all these small stations may be found on any good map. According to Pike the owner of the vast estate near La Zarca was the Marquis de San Miguel.--ED.
[116] Also, from the _Pulque_ is distilled a spiritous liquor called _mezcal_. The _maguey_ (_Agave Americana_) is besides much used for hedging. It here performs the double purpose of a cheap and substantial fence, and of being equally valuable for _pulque_. When no longer serviceable in these capacities, the pulpy stalk is converted, by roasting, into a pleasant item of food, while the fibrous blades, being suitably dressed, are still more useful. They are manufactured into ropes, bags, etc., which resemble those made of the common sea-grass, though the fibres are finer. There is one species (which does not produce pulque, however), whose fibres, known in that country as _pita_, are nearly as fine as dressed hemp, and are generally used for sewing shoes, saddlery, and similar purposes.--GREGG.
[117] See Elliott Coues, _Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike_ (New York, 1895), ii, p. 763, note 34. That editor identifies the scorpion as _Androctomus biaculeatus_, and favorably comments on Gregg's sensible explanation of Pike's story.--ED.
[118] Travellers on these public highways not only go 'armed to the teeth,' but always carry their weapons exposed. Even my wagoners carried their guns and pistols swung upon the pommels of their saddles. At night, as we generally camped out, they were laid under our heads, or close by our sides.--GREGG.
[119] Aguascalientes is the capital of a small interior Mexican state of the same name, now on the line of the Mexican Central Railway. It was founded in 1575, and at the close of the eighteenth century was a place of considerable importance. During the negotiations for peace between the United States and Mexico (1848), a revolution broke out at this place, that was with difficulty subdued.--ED.