and halted; the road very tolerable. We started early the next morning, and had gone about a league, when, on descending a steep hill, the bullocks ran away with one of the carriages, and broke one of the large wheels—the nave gave way, which was generally the case. There is no timber sufficiently durable to withstand the dry hot air of the Tierra Caliente;—English timber, particularly, begins to crack and fly to pieces immediately. In any future expedition of this kind, I should recommend cast-iron naves for the wheels. We were detained four days making a new wheel, during which time the people were employed in repairing a bad piece of road. On the 26th we began to move on again, and the following day arrived at Sierra Santiago, eight leagues from Hoyos. This place, containing about two thousand inhabitants, is more elevated, and enjoys a more wholesome climate, than any other that we had passed through since leaving Altamira. The woods in its neighbourhood contain a great number of wild bullocks. There are also wild horses, but not so numerous. The next afternoon we drove out of the town, crossed a small river, and halted on the other side. Starting early on the morning of the 29th, we had got on about four leagues over a good road, when the obstinacy of the drivers caused them to turn off into the wood; in consequence of which we broke two wheels, and were again detained four days. We set off again on the 2d of September, and drove three leagues. We were here, from want of pasture, obliged to feed the bullocks on "nopal," which, being extremely juicy, in places where there was no water, served both for meat and drink. The next day we had driven about two leagues, when the cattle, from want of provender and water, the heat also being excessive, were quite knocked up, and prevented us from proceeding any farther. A cart not arriving, which we had dispatched two days before for water and provisions, subjected us to great inconvenience; we fed the cattle again on nopal. The next morning we yoked our oxen very early, and drove three leagues. Finding no pasture for the bullocks, we continued to feed them on the prickly pear plant, which, if it had borne fruit at the time, might have been the means of appeasing our own hunger and thirst, which now became excessive. We resolved to set off very early the next
