eautiful maroon; and there
were green, and brighter green, and others of a silvery, whitish hue.
All these colours were mingled together, and blended into each other,
like the flowers upon a rich carpet.

Near the centre of the valley was a large shining object, which we knew
to be water. It was evidently a lake of crystal purity, and smooth as a
mirror. The sun was now up to meridian height, and his yellow beams
falling upon its surface caused it to gleam like a sheet of gold. We
could not trace the outlines of the water--for the trees partially hid
it from our view--but we saw that the smoke that had at first attracted
us rose up somewhere from the western shore of the lake.

We returned to the camp, where we had left our companions. It was now
agreed that we should all ride down the side of the barranca together,
until we could find a place to descend into it. It was evident some
such place existed, else, how could they have got in who had kindled the
fire there?

We left the Mexicans in camp with our mules, and all the rest of us
having mounted our horses, rode off together. We went by the eastern
side, keeping well back upon the plain, so that we might not be seen
until we discovered what sort of people were in the valley. When we had
got opposite to where the smoke was still curling up, we stopped; and
two of us, dismounting, crawled forward to the very edge of the
precipice. We took care to keep some bushes, that grew along the brink,
between ourselves and the lake. At length we were able to get a good
view of everything below; and a very strange sight that was,--at least
it was very strange in such a place, where it was so little expected.
There was a large lake--as I have already stated--and on its opposite
side, not over a hundred yards from its shore, was a fine-looking
log-house, with other smaller ones standing in the rear. There were
rail-fences around them, and a cleared space divided into fields, some
of which appeared to be under cultivation, while others were green and
filled with flocks of animals. The whole picture was exactly like a
snug farm-house, with its stables and other outhouses, with its garden
and fields, and horses and cattle! The distance was too great for us to
distinguish what sort of cattle they were, but there appeared to be many
kinds, both red, and black, and speckled. We could see several figures
of men and boys--four of them in all--moving about the enclosures, and