128 HORSE, FOOT, AND DRAGOONS. 



with something akin to philosophical indifference. Few of the 

 men are about ; those not on duty of some sort are mostly in 

 their tents, a few are fishing for trout, and the horses and 

 mules are grazing quietly on the hill -sides, on whose tops we 

 can see the mounted figures of the guards outlined against the 

 sky, and the little valley, only an hour or two ago a solitary 

 oasis in the wilderness, already takes on the appearance of 

 havins: been inhabited for weeks. 



Days pass in this way. We cross the great plains, almost 

 imperceptibly reaching a higher altitude day by day ; we march 

 over the divides and move up through the foot-hills, higher 

 and higher into the mountains. Once, under the shadow of a 

 huge mountain peak, we camp near a small military post, the 

 officers of which bring their families to visit us, and it is a 

 novel sight to our eyes to see delicate and refined ladies and 

 pretty little children seated around our camp-fire, and listen- 

 ing to the lively music of a really excellent string-band, made 

 up from among the enlisted men. Sometimes the line of our 

 march takes us through great caiions, by the sides of and 

 through roaring streams, over steep and dangerous mountain 

 trails, where the wagons often experience delay and difficulty 

 in passing. 



A train on the march under these circumstances makes a 

 picture not soon to be forgotten. Over the level prairie the 

 wagons rumble along quietly and smoothly enough. At the 

 occasional coulees perhaps there has been some hard pulling, 

 but the patient, strong, willing army mules^ — most unjustly de- 

 rided of four-footed beasts — have dragged the heavy wagons 

 through one after another, and the long line stretches its 

 slowly moving length out over the prairie again, at the head 

 the quartermaster, sometimes some crony, the doctor perhaps, 

 riding with him to keep him company. By the sides march 



I 



