and then, turning south, receives its tributaries, the Tutuhuaca and the Mulatos, the latter just behind a pinnacle.  West of the Arros River stretches out the immense Mesa de los Apaches, once a stronghold of these marauders, reaching as far as the Rio Bonito.  The plateau is also called “The Devil’s Spine Mesa,” after a high and very narrow ridge, which rises conspicuously from the mesa’s western edge and runs in a northerly and southerly direction, like the edge of a gigantic saw.  To our amazement, the guide here indicated to us where the camino real from Nacori passes east over a gap in the “Devil’s Spine” ridge, and then over several sharp buttes that descend toward the mesa.  An odd-looking mesa lay between Rio Bonito and Rio Satachi.  Farthest to the west were the big hogbacks near Nacori, standing out ominously, like a perpetuated flash of lightning.  The sun was nearing the horizon; the air was translucent, and the entire panorama steeped in a dusky blue.

Immediately below us, to our left, lay Guaynopa.  The mountainside looked so steep that it seemed impossible for us to descend from where we were.  But we already heard the voices of our muleteers singing out to the animals 1,000 feet below, and that reminded us that we also had better reach camp before darkness should overtake us.  We descended 2,500 feet, and, leaving the pines behind, found ourselves in a warmer climate.  It never snows here, according to our guide.  That the precipitation took the shape of rain we learned when we were impeded by it for two days.

There were yet eighteen miles between us and the deserted mines of Guaynopa.  It was a laborious journey over the hills, mostly ascent.  Finally we came to a steep slope covered with oaks, along which there was a continuous descent toward Guaynopa.  While zigzagging our way down, we caught sight of a large cave with houses and some white cone-shaped structures staring at us across an arroyo midway up the opposite side, which was at least two thousand feet deep.  Through my field glasses I could make out very distinctly a group of houses of the usual pattern; and the large, white structures could without difficulty be recognised as granaries, similar to those observed in Cave Valley.  It was my intention to go back and examine this cave more closely, as soon as I had found a camping place; but circumstances interfered.  Several years later the cave was visited by Mr. G. P. Ramsey, to whom I owe the following brief description.

The cave is situated about twenty-five miles in a straight line south of the Mormon colony of Chuhuichupa.  There are indications of a spring in the cave, and there is another one in the arroyo itself.  The buildings are in a very bad condition, owing to the action of the elements and animals; but fifty-three rooms could be counted.  They were located on a rocky terrace extending from the extreme right to the rear centre of the cave.  This extreme right extended slightly beyond the overhanging cliff, and contained groups of two-storied houses.  In the central part of the cave were a number of small structures, built of the same material and in a similar manner as those I described as granaries in Cave Valley.  They were still in excellent condition, and, as will be seen at a glance, they are almost identical with the granaries used to the present day in some southern States of Mexico.