308 INCIDENTS AT THE 
purchased and taken'to the north by a party of New 
Mexicans who made the Indians a visit last winter. No 
improper freedom was taken with her person; but she 
was robbed of her clothing, save a skirt and under 
linen, and was made to work very hard. She spent 
the whole period of her captivity at two of the regular 
rallying spots or planting grounds of the Pinols. 
This tribe is also known as the Pifal, or Pinalefios. 
embraces about five hundred souls, and ranges over 
an extensive circuit between the Sierra Pifial and 
the Sierra Blanca, both of which mountains are near the 
Upper San Francisco River, about five days’ journey 
north of the Gila.* Within this space the young girl 
knew of at least.twelve female captives, besides nume- 
rous males. Generally, the Indians are very willing 
to sell, that being their object in making the captures. 
The men spend their time in hunting and depredating ; 
and the women are required to do all the work in their 
wigwams and generally in the field. All females in 
this respect being treated alike, their own faring 10 
_ better than captives. Their food consists almost exclu- 
sively of the root of the maguay, baked as I have 
before described. 
I never saw any of the Pifal Indians, though 
band was met by one of the surveying parties on the 
Gila. They were described to me as a fine looking 
people. At first they were shy; but when they disco- 
vered that our party were Americans, and were well 
* There are two streams by this name on Emory’s map, which 
empty into the Gila; I refer to the eastern one. The western one is 
known on the Spanish maps as the Rio Verde, or Ascencion. 
