We now steered due north and came into the valley of the Rio Grande del Norte. We found great herds of cattle here, feeding over this pretty, rich range; and there were many little ranches upon the banks of the river. We then struck _north-east_, passing by the Fishery Peak and going up the Purgatory River to the Arkansas. We felt as though we were at _home_ when we stood upon the green bank of this river; and the settlers--especially the girls--with whom we had become acquainted prior to our going south, were apparently glad to see us back, and welcomed us to their little _adobe_ homes and rustic hospitalities. It was now late in the month of September, and we concluded to go into some kind of business and stay in the valley that winter. We had now gone over a great territory of prairie; and the brief history of our travels has perhaps given the reader a faint idea of the nature of the country and the occupations of the people. But the _whole country_,--the climate, the inhabitants, and their occupations,--is so different from the states--as called by western men--that it is difficult, even with the most _minute description_, to conceive of the great country of the plains as it really _is_ without _visiting_ this curious land. We have stated that we left the agricultural land in east Nebraska and Kansas, and that then before us stretched the historical plains--the fountain of mysteries and the land of secrets. Imagine a great country, consisting of many states and territories, and containing millions of acres, with not even the smallest tree or bush, but covered with _buffalo-grass_, which grows about six inches high and then curls up, forming a mattress about three inches thick. Through this mighty dry domain course the rivers as marked upon the map. The banks are _usually_--though not _always_--skirted with a light growth of cotton-wood trees; and the valleys are narrow, and fringed upon either side by great bluffs whose foot-hills usually roll some distance into the plain. Now, between these rivers there is very often a stretch of several hundred miles, and sometimes not a drop of water; but usually there is water to be found in drives of fifty and one hundred miles--sometimes closer and sometimes much farther. These little waters are very seldom _running streams_, but are small pools standing in deep gulches, and sometimes a little lake resting in a small bowl at the foot of a bluff. The country is always _rough_ where there is _water_; and old plainers can always tell when they are near it. The gulches that have water standing in them, like the rivers, usually have small _trees_ also. Now, between these waters the plain is generally almost as level as a floor; and standing there, the horizon looks perfectly round. Along the _waters_ the grass is thick and luxuriant, but gradually grows shorter as you leave; and the long, dry stretches are often very lightly covered. As you travel along over the level plains it appears as though