Chapter 3

The Route to Mexico.--Via the Mammoth Cave.--Across the Rio Grande.--A Large River.--Piedras Negras.--Characteristic Scene. --A Barren Prairie Land.--Castaño, a Native Village.--Adobe Cabins.--Indian Irrigation.--Sparsely Populated Country.-- Interior Haciendas.--Immigration.--City of Saltillo.--Battle of Buena Vista.--City of Monterey.--The Cacti and Yucca-Palm. --Capture by General Taylor.--Mexican Central Railroad.-- Jack-Rabbits.--A Dreary Region.--The Mesquite Bushes.--Lonely Graves 43