230 SPORT IN NOItTH AMEFvICA. 



What could men do in inactivity who had become 

 accustomed to a life of fighting almost daily ? They 

 were vexed with everybody, and not only accused 

 the Indians and Mexicans of being in conspirac}^ 

 against them, but they even reviled the sun, moon, 

 and stars, which they said were condemning them to 

 a life of e7inui and inaction. By way of some dis- 

 traction, they proposed a little expedition to the 

 other side of Eio Grande, to sack some Mexican 

 villages there, or a tour in the mountains for the 

 purpose of setting fire to some haciendas, merely by 

 way of giving them an opportunity of getting out 

 of their hive and keeping their rifles in practice. 

 After a long deliberation on this important subject, 

 a brave captain, named Sharpe, decided that some 

 of them would go into the mountains on an expedi- 

 tion after Red Skins. 



We were all delighted with the prospect of the 

 excursion, and certainly it was a kind of pleasure 

 which is not readily within the reach of every one ; 

 for it was necessary to cross an uncultivated desert, 

 to pass through the Indian and Mexican population, 

 to expose ourselves to the greatest danger, even of 

 death itself, and all for the satisfaction (as we said) 

 of keeping our hands in and giving our legs a 

 stretch. 



One of the motives which induced Sharj^e to 

 select the route towards the San Saba Mountains 

 w^as because he was both a sportsman and an 



