180 NEW TRACKS IN NORTH AMERICA. 
half an hour. It was just light enough when we reached the 
bed of the main cafion to discover that our party had not 
passed down it, and although fearful lest the Apaches should 
notice our descent and again pepper us in the narrow ravine, 
we turned up it to meet them. 
That night’s march up the cafion, over the broken rocks 
and through the tangled thickets, was worse, if anything, | 
than the attack. Every pebble in the darkness was magnified 
to a boulder, and every boulder seemed as large as a house ; | 
fording the rapid stream twenty times, we shivered with cold 
and wet when we halted for a brief rest; expecting every 
moment to meet our party encamped, we yet wondered how 
they would dare to stop in such a place. Finally, near mid- 
night, we halted under some sheltering rocks, and concluded to 
take some sleep; but the guides protested against having a fire, 
saying the Indians would detect and shoot into it. To sleep 
without one, however, was impossible. At last I concluded — 
that it was better to die from an Indian arrow than to freeze to | 
death in the darkness, and ordered a small one to be lighted, — 
beside which we sat and slept and shivéred until a little © 
before day-light, when we took another smoke for breakfast 
and pushed out into the darkness to continue our march up 
the stream. 
During the night a great rock had either become dislodged — 
or had been rolled down by Indians, but it fell into the 
cafion with a report like thunder. I started up and found I _ 
had not dreamt it. I would give something to have a 
faithful picture of that little party, with the expression of 1 
each as they stood or leaned, staring out into the pitch-dark : 
cafion and wondering what would come next. 
By day-break we had got well on our way; when we © 
_ heard shots in the rear, which we presumed to be Indians 
. 
