Across the Mexican Mountains 109 



every evening since we entered the mountains. 

 Fortunately, before it began Maybury and the men 

 left to care for him reached camp. 



June joth. A fine morning. As we had no 

 fresh meat we took a little bacon, our never failing 

 standby, and going on came to Huajatita, and 

 camped two miles beyond. Here we bought a six- 

 months-old calf for five dollars, and abundance of 

 corn for two dollars and fifty cents per cargo (six 

 bushels) . I am so enchanted with the wild beauty 

 all about us, that I could almost stay months to 

 enjoy it. It is all new to me; the hills and moun- 

 tains are different in shape from any I have seen; 

 the plants, trees, rock, all strange, and as we take 

 our horses to the beautiful creek to drink, curious 

 fish come to look at their noses. 



July 1st. Again our road was up hill, and most 

 dangerous, so most of us walked, but with all our 

 care nearly lost two mules, by mis-steps. The 

 narrow passes are so worn by the trains of pack 

 mules, that, to insure safe footing, each mule puts 

 his foot in the same worn hole that other mules 

 have trod, for, perhaps, fifty years previously. Tw^o 

 of our train failing to do this rolled over four or 

 five times, and how they ever recovered their 

 footing is a mystery; a horse under similar condi- 

 tions would have gone to the bottom. 



To us, so long suffering from drought and bad 

 water, the showers that come daily in the afternoon 



