about noon
When the black tufts were well-nigh hidden from view , a similar pair -- the materials for which had been brought along -- were erected ; and these insured our direction for another stretch of a mile ; then fresh saplings were planted ; and so on , till we had passed over six miles of the plain . We now came in sight of timber right ahead of us , and apparently about five miles distant . Towards this we directed our course . We reached the timber about noon , and found it to consist of black-jack and post-oak groves , with mezquite and wild china-trees interspersed , and here and there some taller trees of the honey-locust -LRB- _ Gleditschia triacanthos _ -RRB- . It was not a close forest , but a succession of groves , with openings between -- avenues and grassy glades . There were many pleasant spots , and , faint with the ride , I would fain have chosen one of them for a resting-place ; but there was no water , and without water we could not halt . A short distance farther , and we should reach a stream -- a small _ arroyo _ , an affluent of the Rio Grande .