THE AUSTIN PAPERS, 641 you to direct all letters here after except the answer to this from :Monterey, which if it startes soon may .arive before I set out, and if not I shall spend 3 weeks in the Hacienda de los Hornos with the best family in too Govt. during which time I can send for it- I am yet poor but owe nothing and shall perhaps be al::tle to arive at Durango with 25 or 30 dollars, where I have hope of doing better. -According to your request I am bound to say something of the country over which I have passed, in this place it can be but short, but when a .work which I now have on hand comes to light a true picture of many curious things persons and circumstances, accompa- nied by several drawings will be seen-The country from Saltillo to this place has a nigh resemblance to that between Monterrey and L:;i. Punta, there are 4 or 5 farms on the way, but one of which is of any consideration this place is situated in rather a handsome and very fertile valley about 3 or 4 miles wide, and about 6 miles south and near 100 west of Saltillo, and contains upwards of 15,000 souls the Town is closely joined to the rnountnin on the south side of the vally, from which gush a vast number of springs one of which is so large that it moves a very clumsy grist mill, the whole extent of country over which this water extends is one continued vinyard with the exception of a few fields of small grain and corn all of which is in a fine state of cultivation, it also produces many other exquisit fruits exclusive of the grape, but as to any spontaneous growth of timber it is here like all other parts of the country that I have seen, quite out of scrape-God d-n the luck! excuse me, my dear sir, for breaking off so abruptly from my soft rural strane, I have just recd a note informing me of more of my D-d bad fortunes which would hunt me up in order to make things a little worse, if I were in Pluto's regions, enjoying all the comforts of 11 ell a friend writes me that a few days after I left the Hornos for this place a message arived for me to visit a rich patient in another village, which would have been a greasor of 200 dollars, says my friend "he may send for you yet "-God grant! if I thought it would do any good I would send for the curate and have a mass sn.id this moment notwithstand- ing it is near 3 oclock in the evening-The description of the coun- try on to the Hornos, which is the furtherest I have been into the country and which is about 50 miles west of this is near the same as before-you told me nothing of our country man Fields for whom I feel interested-Don .Ignacio:Peres and Mosieur Pier of Bexar are neu1: this place on their way home and will fall in with you ut .Mon- terrey if they do not go by·Monclova. • .. If' my health,· which now· hangs on a more tender thread than before should not be very good in the fall, the above mentioned plan may be changed for a tour on sea, this will depend on circmnstances
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