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usual growth’is the height of a man on horseback, and is the only 
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and a little stunted acacia. The iodeodonda is a new plant, very 
offensive to the smell, ind, when crushed, resembling kreosote. Its 
bush which mules will not eat when excessively hungry; besides 
_ this were varieties of ephedra, erytherca, helianthus petiolaris, and 
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two well known and widely diffused grasses, the reed grass, anda , 
‘short salty grass, uniola distichophylla. ' ; 
October 6.—It was determined to follow the river still farther 
down before turning west. Great difficulty was experienced in 
getting teams to assist us. The Mexicans we had engaged, asif by 
universal agreement, refused to go farther, alleging fear of the ~ 
Apaches; but the truth was they expected to extort money. In_ 
Armijo’s day, when a thing was wanted for government, it was taken. 
Our treatment turned their heads, and, like Jiberated slaves, there 
was no limit to their expectations and exactions. We used every 
eans to bring these people to reason, but finding them intractable, 
and that the progress of the army was arrested, the quartermaster, 
Major Swords, seized what wagons and animals were needed, and 
- paid a liberal price for them. ‘To our surprise they were perfectly 
enchanted at the whole business; first at being paid at all, but prin- . 
cipally at being relieved from the responsibility of deciding for 
themselves what they would take for the chattels. A likely boy 
who had been engaged to go to California as arriero, was to-day 
claimed by his creditor or master. He owed the man sixty dollars, 
and was by the law of the country paying this debt by serving at 
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two dollars per month; out of this he was to feed and clothe him- 
self, his master being sutler. It was plain he could not pay*his 
debt in his lifetime. When such debtors get old and unfit for labor, 
it is the custom to manumit them with great pomp and ceremony. 
This makes the beggars of the country. The poor debtors thus 
enthralled for life for a debt of sixty dollars are called peons, and 
constitute, as a class, the cheapest laborersin the world. The price 
of the labor for life of a man was,in the case we have stated, sixty 
dollars, without any expense of rearing and maintenance in infancy 
or old age, the wages covering only a sum -barely sufficient | 
most scanty supply of food and clothing. 4 
I saw some objects perched on the hills to the wes! 
for the 
which were — 
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at first mistaken for large cedars, but dwindled by distance to 2 _ 
eye detected human figures 
Shel shrubbery. They came inand held a council, ignite eternal 
endship, as usual, no doubt with the mental reservation to rob 
the first American or Mexican they should meet unprotected. 
The women of this tribe rode ala Duchesse de Berri, and one 
of them had an infant, about two months old, swung in a wicker 
basket at her back. Their features were flat, and much more negro- 
: like than those of our fromtier Indians: a few Delawares in camp 
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__ presented a strong contrast, in personal appearance and intelligence, 
with the smirking, deceitful looking Apache. Some of them had 
fire arms, but the greater part were armed with lance and bow. 
They were generally small legged, big bellied, and broad should-— 
, shrub. Chaboneau (one of our guides) exclaimed “Indians! There — 
are the Apaches.” His more practised eye 
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