The "Monsieur de Croix" above named is Teodoro de Croix, b. at Lille, Flanders, about 1730, d. at Madrid, Spain, Apr. 8th, 1791; he was viceroy of Peru from Apr., 1784, to Mar., 1790; he had previously served as commandant of the interior provinces and of Sonora, under his elder brother, Carlos Francisco de Croix, Marques de Croix, and viceroy of New Spain, 1766-1771. See the legend of his route on Pike's map.
[II'-27] "Brasses" and "Brassos" are Pike's rendering of Brazos, name of a great river in Texas, but the stream here meant by "Brasses" is Rio Nasas (or Nazas), which flows into Laguna del Muerto, in Coahuila. This he elsewhere calls Nassas and Nassus; saying that it runs into Lake Cayman, and forms part of the boundary between Cogquilla (Coahuila) and New Biscay (his name for Chihuahua, though he means Durango). He also charts it conspicuously, but much out of drawing: see his map, first river E. of Mapimi, with "Rancho Sn Antonio" there lettered. Some of my maps, running back 40 years, apply the name Nazas to that other stream (Rio Guanabal) which sinks in Laguna de Parras, and which Pike also charts, greatly out of position; but he is correct in his identification of the Nasas. This is a notable stream in Durango and Coahuila, which has been called "the vein and center of the Bolson" by Wislizenus, who says further, p. 69: "San Sebastian is a hacienda on the left bank of the Nasas river, and about 35 miles from Mapimi. The Nasas is here quite a deep and respectable stream, while further down it becomes flat, and disappears sometimes entirely in the sand. It comes about 150 leagues from the western part of the State of Durango, from the so-called Sianori mountains.... The Nasas is the Nile of the Bolson de Mapimi; the wide and level country along the river is yearly inundated by its rising, and owes to that circumstance its great fertility."
On crossing Rio Nasas, or at a point on his road in that vicinity, Pike passes from the present State of Durango into that of Coahuila; but we have no mileage for the 13th. He never leaves Coahuila till he enters the Texas of his day, close to present San Antonio de Bexar, Tex. He never touches Nuevo Leon at any point.
[II'-28] El Rancho de San Antonio, already indicated as on the Rio Nasas, but exact location in question. I cannot find the name on any modern map. It does not seem to be the same place as the San Sebastian mentioned by Wislizenus. But the general locality is near the present interstate boundary of Coahuila and Durango, not far from the place where the two railroads cross each other, known as El Torreon (The Tower).
[II'-29] Santa Rosa, one of the principal Coahuilan towns, about half-way between Monclova and Presidio del Rio Grande, on waters of the Upper Rio Sabinas, and on the road which General Wool took during the invasion of Mexico.
[II'-30] See Pike's map, place legended "Well of Putrid Water."
[II'-31] The text is contradictory concerning mileage, and ambiguous in the matter of the road which came in. The place whence water was drawn is that legended "Well of Mineral Water" on Pike's map. I am not sure that this is El Pozo of various maps and itineraries before me, called "Pozzo" on the most modern ones; but am inclined to think it is. Pozo is a well-known place where the railroad now crosses a highway, and whence there is a regular road S. W. to Alamos de Parras, and another S. E. to Parras itself. Under date of May 13th, 1847, Wislizenus has, Mem. p. 71: "We travelled to-day 25 miles from San Juan to el Pozo. The road was more gravelly than sandy, at first quite level, afterwards slightly ascending. A few miles to our right a steep mountain chain was running parallel with our road; to the left rose more distant mountains.... About half way we passed by a deserted rancho, 'Refugio,' with a well. Near El Pozo the valley becomes narrower." Dr. W. describes a fight with Lipan Indians which had occurred at Pozo two days before, and continues, p. 72: "El Pozo (the well) is a hacienda, belonging to Don Manuel de Ibarra, and consists of but one large building, in which many families live. The place is distinguished for its ingenious water-works. It consists of a deep and very spacious well, from which the water is drawn by mule power in the following way: Over a large wheel in the upper part of the well a strong and broad band of leather is stretched, moving around with the wheel; to the band, in regular distances, many buckets of leather are attached, which, by the equal circular motion of the wheel and the band, are descending on one side of the well, and fill themselves with water, while they are drawn up on the other side, and, emptying their water into a basin, return again to the well. To receive the drawn water, two large basins of stone, about 40 feet wide and 100 feet long, have been made, and on the outside of the basins runs a long line of troughs, all of stone, for the watering of the animals.... The same Indians which our men fought here, the Lipans, used to frequent this well very freely, and carried their impudence even so far that they notified the Mexicans at what time they wanted to have the basins full, and the Mexicans did not dare to disobey. Although the idea of this water-wheel is by no means a new one, it is certainly very simply and well executed, and the more gratifying to the traveller, as this is the only watering place between San Juan and Parras, a distance of about 50 miles."
[II'-32] No mileage for the 17th; but Paras is a notable place, easily discovered on ordinary maps. Sp. parras means grapevines, especially such as are trained on a trellis, and various vineyards have given geographical names in Mexico, as Laguna de Parras, Alamo de Parras, etc. The latter is a phrase coming near what is meant by our traditional "vine and fig-tree"; it now designates a place further W., not to be mistaken for Parras itself. "Paras" and the San Lorenzo hacienda above said are both marked on Pike's map; the latter must not be confused with present town of San Lorenzo on Rio Nasas, much further W. The map is entirely out of drawing in these parts, but not irrecognizably, and we can make the requisite adjustments. In particular, Laguna de Parras is put down over 100 m. from its true position, and the course of its feeder (Rio Guanabal) is still further out of the way. His route passed near this laguna, between it and Laguna del Muerto. We must not forget that he was traveling under compulsion, propulsion, and perpetual irritation—circumstances unfavorable to the accuracy of such notes as he could take by stealth and afterward supplement from memory, and under which he could not be expected to improve Humboldt's map!
Some extracts from Dr. Wislizenus, Mem. pp. 72, 73, will give a better idea of Parras than Pike's glimpse affords: "May 14 [1847]. We left [Pozo] this morning for Parras, in the State of Coahuila.... Our road ran parallel with a near mountain chain on the right, and was mostly ascending. In the latter part of our march we saw from a hill Parras, at the foot of the same chain, which here makes a bend towards southeast. The first sight of the town reminded me of el Paso, on account of the great many gardens and vineyards that surround it. Entering the town, I was struck with the luxuriant growth of pomegranates, figs, and fruits of all sorts, and with the enormous height and circumference of the common opuntias and agaves, which I had already seen in the State of Chihuahua, but much smaller. The opuntias had trunks of one foot in diameter, and the agave americana grew to the height of from 10 to 15 feet, making excellent hedges. The town itself was much handsomer than I had expected. It has some fine streets, with old substantial buildings, a large 'plaza,' and a general appearance of wealth and comfort. We encamped in the Alameda, a beautiful public walk, shaded with cotton trees and provided with seats of repose. Early in the morning a concert of thousands of birds, many mockingbirds among them, that live here quite undisturbed, awoke us from our slumber. These Alamedas, fashionable in all the Mexican cities, do honor to the general taste of the Mexicans for flowers, gardens, and natural embellishments. To prevent any injury to the trees our horses were kept outside the Alameda. Parras was probably built towards the end of the seventeenth century, and received its name from its vine, parra meaning vine-branch. The cultivation of the vine is at present a principal object of industry in Parras. The vineyards are mostly on the hilly slopes of the limestone mountains west of town. They produce a white and a red wine, both of very pleasant taste, resembling somewhat the wine of el Paso, but more heating and stronger.... We rested in Parras two days, and left it on the morning of May 17, on our road to Saltillo. From Parras we marched about five miles in an eastern direction, through a a plain, to San Lorenzo, or, as it is commonly called, Hacienda de Abajo, a large, splendid hacienda, belonging to the above mentioned Don Manuel de Ibarra. The road from el Pozo leads directly to this place; by going to Parras, several leagues are lost." This "lower hacienda" is the one which Pike names above, and where he camps to-night.
[II'-33] No distance or direction given, and no place named—but we can discover Pike by extraneous means. Dr. Wislizenus says, p. 73: "From here [San Lorenzo] the road was winding over a hilly and rocky country, till we arrived in Cienega Grande, a hacienda of Don Rey de Guerrero, (25 miles from Parras.)" This is no doubt the place Pike reaches, on his way to Patos. The unnamed hacienda of the text is so marked on his map, on the above "fine stream." This creek requires attention. Pike lays it down as one of the headwaters of Rio Tigre, also called Rio San Francisco del Tigre, which he mistakes it to be, and so runs it off into the Gulf of Mexico, about where Tiger r. does in fact empty. But Pike was never on any tributary of Tiger r.—never in that watershed at all—never in Nuevo Leon. His "fine stream" is a headwater of that river which falls into the Rio Grande by Ringgold Barracks, and whose two main forks are known as Rio San Juan and Rio Salinas. Saltillo, once known as Leona Victoria, and present capital of Coahuila, is on a branch of the Salinas (Rio Meteros); and Monterey, present capital of Nuevo Leon, is on a branch of the San Juan.