all 
; a * oe ‘ei 
. ‘good ones, giving two yards of scarlet cloth in the bargain. By 
this time a large number of@Indians had collected about us, all dif- 
ferently dressed, and some in the most fantastical style. The 
Mexican dress and saddles predominated, showing where they had 
chiefly made up their wardrobe. One had a jacket made of a Henry 
Clay flag, which aroused unpleasant sensations, for the acquisition, , 
no doubt, cost one of our countrymen his life. Several wore beau- 
tiful helmets, decked with black feathers, which, with the short 
_ shirt, waist belt, bare legs and buskins gave them the look of pic- 
tures of antique Grecian warriors. Most were furnished with the ~ 
Mexican cartridge box, which consists of a strap round the waist, 
with cylinders inserted for the cartridges. 
These men have no fixed homes. Their houses are of twigs, © 
made easily, and deserted with indifference. They hover around * 
the beautiful hills that overhang the Del Norte between the dist 
and 32d parallels of latitude, and look down upon the States of — 
Chihuahua and Sonora; and woe to the luckless company that ven- 
tures out unguarded by a strong force. Their hills are covered 
with luxuriant grama, which enables them to keep their horses in ' 
fine order, so that they can always pursue with rapidity and retreat © — 
with safety. The light and graceful manner in which they mounted  * 
and dismounted, always upon the right side, was the admiration of 
all. The children are on horseback from infancy. There. was 
amongst them a ‘poor deformed woman, with legs and arms no 
“longer than an infant’s. I could not learn her history, but she had 
melancholy cast of countenance. She.was well mounted, and 
_ othe gallant manner in which some of the plumed Apaches waited — 
on her, for she was perfectly helpless when dismounted, made it 
hard for me to believe the tales of blood and wice told of these .. 
people. She asked for water, and one or two were at: her. side; ® 
one handed it to her in a tin wash basin, which, from its size, was. 
the favorite drinking cup. ’ 2 
e wended our way through the narrow valley of Night creek. 
On each side were huge stone buttes shooting up into the skies. ~_ 
At one place we were compelled to mount one of these spurs ” 
almost perpendicular. This gave us an opportunity of seeing what 
a mule could do. My conclusion was, from what I saw, that they 
could climb nearly as steep a wall asa cat. A pack slipped from Se 
a mule, and, though not shaped favorably for the purpose, rolled: — 
entirely to the base of the hill, over which the mules had'climbed. "— 
A good road was subse uently found turning the spur and fol- _ 
lowing the ne until it debouched into the Gila, which was only — 
4 
} 
a mile distant. ° es 
yards before reaching this river the roar of its — 
waters made us understand that we were to see something different : 
. from the Del Norte. Its section, where we struck it, (see she:m@eP>) < 
4,347 feet above the sea, was 00 feet wide and an average of two- 
feet deep. (Clear and swift, it came bouncing from the great moun- © 
tains which appeared to the north about 60 mules distant. sWe = 
crossed the river, its large round pebbles and swift current caus- — 
ing the mules to tread wearily. se 
