196 BILLY BREEZE LEAVES US. 



wrecks for life, and a good many are killed or maimed by horses 

 falling on them. 



Having a good deal of time on our hands, we went about 

 among the Mexicans observing their way of living, and found 

 that, though opposed to the use of water for any purpose, they 

 were as polite as Spaniards, though it did not mean much more 

 than it does in Spain, most of them being ready to knife you 

 for a very small sum. 



Before leaving San Antonio we were very reluctantly 

 compelled to send Billy Breeze back to St. Joe. He found 

 that his wounds prevented his riding, and he could not possibly 

 do the seven hundred miles on foot. We were all of us very 

 sorry to see him go, as, when anywhere away from whiskey, a 

 better man we never had. He returned by stage to the 

 end of the railway at Richmond, and from there went back as 

 we had come. 



Having driven round and collected our numerous purchases, 

 we left San Antonio about the end of March; three days 

 taking us to Fredericksburg, a German settlement forty-five 

 miles further north. This we found to be like most of their 

 settlements very clean and well ordered. The houses were 

 large and comfortable and the land well cultivated and fenced. 

 The country we passed through was almost entirely covered 

 with low brush, in which were more quail than we had ever 

 seen before. We put them up continually on the sandy track 

 which did duty for a road, and if it had been the shooting 

 season we could have had splendid sport. The heat was 

 already so great that, combined with the dust, it was too much 

 for our dogs, who were utterly unable to travel, and we had 

 to give several of them away to save their lives. One of our grey- 



