94 SADDLE AND CAMP 



orings of the far North, but milder purples at 

 the horizon, quickly giving way to amber, 

 which shades off softly into a paler transpar- 

 ent yellow, finally to blend and fade into the 

 blue above. As darkness settles and the stars 

 appear with the wonderful sparkle of high al- 

 titude, definite forms melt into indefinite, buttes 

 stand out in somber outline, eroded rocks 

 are transformed into spectral, fantastic beings, 

 and one feels the witchery and the mystery of 

 the desert as one can never feel it under the 

 glare of open day. 



Early in the morning we passed Leupp, 

 where the government maintains an Indian 

 school, and in mid-afternoon reached the In- 

 dian mission of Tolchaco. It had been our in- 

 tention to continue on the west bank of the Lit- 

 tle Colorado to the old emigrant ford known 

 as Wolf Crossing and there pass to the east- 

 ward, but the missionary at Tolchaco told us 

 that the old ford was quite impassable and ad- 

 vised us to take an Indian crossing opposite the 

 mission. 



The Little Colorado is an exceedingly 

 treacherous stream. To-day it is down, to- 

 morrow a surging torrent, depending upon the 

 rains hundreds of miles above, at its source, 

 and its bed is largely quicksand. At this time 



