FORT YUMA. 155 
for the night and then surprise them. When Indians 
find themselves pursued, they run for several days, and 
then scatter, so that it is impossible to catch them; 
-but if they suppose they are not followed, they stop 
at the end of one or two days. 
Lieutenant Whipple commenced crossing with his 
party this morning. It had been the practice to swim 
animals across the river; but it was now so swollen 
and rapid, as to preclude the possibility of so doing. 
They had therefore to be ferried over in the scow, a 
few at atime. The wagons were unloaded and taken 
over empty. Even with the aid of all our men, the 
progress in crossing was slow; and on: several occa-— 
‘sions the scow, failing to reach the landing place on 
the opposite bank, was swept away by the current 
‘between two and three miles down stream, before a 
landing could be effected. It had then to be towed 
up again with much labor, until it reached some nook 
or low spot in the bank where the animals could be 
landed. In this manner several hours were sometimes 
required for a single crossing. 
