140 Audubon's Western Journal 



here, as we could never live to reach our destina- 

 tion, there are so many difficulties ; one great one 

 is always with us, that is our poor mules, which 

 fail daily. 



August 28th. Some gentlemen today presented 

 me with a large glass jar of peaches, beautifully 

 preserved; there must have been at least a gallon, 

 and we were so very grateful, for we become very 

 weary of our monotonous fare of coarse bread 

 made from unbolted flour, beef or game, half 

 cooked often, and eaten from tin plates or the 

 frying pan, and tin cups for coffee, if we have it. 



We heard here one piano, but the same peculiar 

 nasal twang pervades the singing of the whole of 

 Northern Mexico. 



On the journey here we lost eight mules and 

 horses, and but for Clement I should have been 

 hard pressed for the latter for Barratt. Clement 

 exchanged his horse for two Mexican ones, which 

 he procured from Mr. Gabilondo. The very next 

 day I heard Clement's horse was dead, so I went 

 at once to see Mr. Gabilondo. He said he had 

 sold the horse and a bargain was a bargain, and 

 that probably the animal had eaten something 

 poisonous; however, revenge was talked of by all 

 the men, and I found a fine looking mule in our 

 train very mysteriously. To my question as to 

 where the mule came from, I was told he had been 

 "traded for;" I told the man who was riding him 



