aravan of fifty men, and about two
hundred horses, laden with traffic, for New Mexico. On the 21st of March
they arrived at the _Passo del Norte_: the road now led them through a
rough and mountainous country; and passing through _Carracal_, and some
other villages, they reached _Chihuahua_ on the 2d of April.

They were conducted into the presence of the commanding-officer of the
place, before whom Mr. Pike underwent an examination, as he had
previously done at Santa Fe. He was treated with great apparent respect,
and was offered both assistance and money. He afterwards visited in the
houses of some of the principal inhabitants. At the house of the
governor, when wine was put on the table, after dinner, the company was
entertained with songs in the French, Italian, Spanish, and English
languages.

There are, at Chihuahua, and in its vicinity, fifteen mines; thirteen of
silver, one of gold, and one of copper; the furnaces for all of which
are in the suburbs of the town, and present, except on Sundays, volumes
of smoke, rising in every direction. Chihuahua is surrounded by piles of
cinders, from ten to fifteen feet in height. In the public square, stand
the church, the royal treasury, the town-house, and the richest shops;
and, at the western extremity of the town, are two other churches, an
hospital, and the military academy. About a mile south of the town, is a
large aqueduct. The principal church of Chihuahua is a most superb
edifice: its whole front is covered with statues of saints; figures of
different saints are set in niches of the wall; and the windows, doors,
&c. are ornamented with sculpture. The decorations in the interior are
said to be immensely rich. On the south of the town is a public walk,
formed by three rows of trees, the branches of which nearly form a
junction over the heads of the passengers below. At different distances,
there are seats for persons to repose themselves upon; and at each end
of the walks, are circular seats, on, which, in the evenings, the
inhabitants amuse themselves in singing to the music of guitars. This
city contains about eleven thousand inhabitants.

After a residence, in Chihuahua, of somewhat more than three weeks, Mr.
Pike received an intimation that he and his men would be escorted out of
the country. Accordingly, on the 28th of April, he was accompanied,
towards the frontier, by a Spanish officer. Near Chihuahua they passed a
small ridge of mountains, and then encampe