THE PIMO INDIANS. 237 
very few mules. I found it impossible to procure a 
single mule from them during my stay. They breed 
none, and what they obtain are such as have been lost 
or abandoned by passing emigrants. They plough but 
little, finding their hoes quite sufficient for turning up 
the light soil. When ploughing is resorted to, oxen 
alone are used. They possess a few carts and wagons, 
obtained from emigrants, which they use with oxen 
for agricultural purposes. We saw all kinds of sad- 
dles among them, from the best dragoon and Mexican 
saddles to the simple tree or frame. They find them 
on the road, where they have been thrown away by 
parties who have lost their animals. Those who ride 
bareback use a broad girth, which is passed quite 
loosely around the body of the horse. Into this one 
foot is inserted. There seemed to be numbers of 
horses among them, which with the cattle are left to 
graze near the villages during the day, and at night 
are brought into the corrals, or yards, for safety. 
The only weapon used by these tribes is the bow 
and arrow. The short club of the Yumas and the 
long lance of the Apaches I never saw ainong them. 
The constant use of this weapon has rendered them 
excellent marksmen. Even the boys are very eX- 
pert in the use of it. I have seen boys of ten or 
twelve years of age, strike a cent three times out of 
five at a distance of fifteen yards. It is quite common 
for them to shoot doves with their arrows, and to bring 
in half a dozen of these birds after a ramble among the 
cotton-woods. It is a favorite amusement with both 
men and boys to try their skill at hitting the petahaya, 
which oes a fine object on the plain. Numbers 
