PART I OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE 



THE good ship Creole^ sailing from New York, 

 November 12, bound for New Orleans, found me 

 on my way to the Sierra Madre Mountains, in 

 North Mexico, for big game. It is a five days' 

 sail, and we had smooth and delightful weather 

 all the way; moonlit nights, with a total eclipse 

 of the moon occurring the third night out. It 

 made the ocean take on a most interesting and 

 weird aspect. It became quite dark with a rather 

 purple effect, while the phosphorus from the roll- 

 ing wave-tops shone like blue lights. In the Gulf 

 of Mexico we noted the presence of various fish 

 and birds that had been absent during the rest 

 of the trip. Numerous sharks swam along in 

 plain view, and we passed many schools of flying 

 fish, while schools of porpoises put in their ap- 

 pearance quite regularly. 



Arriving at New Orleans on the morning of 

 143 



