A splendid morning awoke us from our dreams and displayed to us the wild but beautiful scenery we had noticed on the previous evening. We had camped at the entrance of a plateau, bordered on the east by the cedar-clad hills sloping down to the Rio Grande, while on the west a chain of large mountains ran northward. The plateau was abundantly covered with grass, but its surface did not display the same monotony as those lying to the east of the Rio Grande; it was covered with patches of wood, and here and there huge masses of rock arose. We marched northward, and as the mountains to the west appeared to us too difficult, we soon crossed a splendid small stream where we watered our horses and filled our flasks. For three days we followed its course through this park; at times over fresh green prairies, at others through thick woods or _cañons_. We met a great many antelopes and deer, but only saw a few buffaloes at a great distance. Among others Tiger pointed out to me a buffalo on the western mountain side, and said it was lying on the ground. After repeated search I managed to discover a small black dot in the direction indicated, and when I called my glass to my help I really saw an old solitary buffalo lying there among the rocks, and was astonished at the extraordinary sight of my young Indian friend. [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER XV. THE WEICOS. On the third evening we approached the western mountain chain, which bordered the northern end of the plain we were crossing. Our road slowly rose, while we steered toward a gap in the mountains, where we hoped to find an available path. For an hour our path was steep and vegetation had nearly entirely disappeared, only a few reeds were visible in the crevices between the rocks. Deep yawning gorges and _cañons_ opened between the overhanging limestone strata, round which we had to make fatiguing circuits, while frequently we had hardly room to lead our horses along the precipices over deep abysses. The sun was setting, and the lofty mountain sides cast their broad shadows over the rocky depths. It soon became dark, but we pushed on, still hoping to find a suitable spot for camping. We had almost reached the highest point, when we saw gigantic red granite walls rising in front of us like a fortress. They hung a long way over us and the deep abyss, from which wildly scattered colossal blocks, illumined by the parting sunbeams, rose, while on the other side of the gorge the mountains were heaped up against the dark purple evening sky. Our path was very narrow and strewn with small pebbles, so that we were obliged to lead our horses with a short rein.