S44 
[April 30, 1898. 
row wound, and the other three, which were by this time 
mere skm and bones, were too weak to carry riders, and 
could get no pasture at all further on, so they were 
turned loose to find what green thing they could among 
the stones. The first two days' travel was toward the 
South Then the direction changed eastwardly, and on 
the afternoon of the third day's march a faint smell of 
smoke was noticed. The Indians, after indicating that 
water lay a short distance ahead, branched off in the 
direction from which the wind was blowing, and could 
soon be seen well up on a stony hill crawling with the 
utmost precaution either to surprise some enemy or to 
escape unseen if the other people were too strong. 
The Spaniards kept on down the ravine they were 
following, and came to a scanty pool in the bottom shortly 
before sunset. Some hours later the Indians joined theni, 
brmging in a prisoner bound with cord ingeniously made 
of mescal leaves, who proved to be the sole fruit of 
their recent raid. It seemed that a party of three men had 
made a fire to cook some mescals and that, while two 
of these had seen the Cocopahs and escaped unhurt, the 
third one, who lay asleep, had not been awakened by 
his companions and had fallen into his enemies' hands. 
He belonged to the tribe of the Quiliii, who were always 
at enmity with the Cocopahs, and he regarded his cap- 
tors with a sullen indifference as far from hope as from 
fear. This prisoner was driven along all the next day, 
no other incident occurring worth mention, except that 
Bejar again missed several shots at a deer, and about 
evening a spot was reached near the mouth of a dry 
valley that opened on the beach. Just beyond could be 
seen a small mesquite tree, the only green thing visible 
for miles. By scraping a hole in the sand at the bottom 
of the valley, water could be collected, slowly oozing 
from below. Hardship, however, seemed doubtless a 
slight thing to men excited by the hope of wealth and 
honors, and perhaps even after their long march the 
Spaniards did not sleep soundl}'^ that night. 
A consultation was held next day. Estrada, Bejar and 
Martinez desired to explore as much of the coast as 
possible, discover its resources in food and water and 
gather such pearls as they could during the scout. The 
Indians had now enough water for the present, and a 
supply of food lay near that would last for several days 
at least. They refused, therefore, to move, and Father 
Jayme, hoping to soften their hard natures, decided to 
stay with the natives until his companions returned, as 
the)^ would have to do in any case, if they did not find 
a practicable countrj' beyond. 
Estrada and his friends then set off southward along 
the shore, VeiT desolate mountains hemmed them in 
on the west, but they found mussel and oyster beds in 
great numbers, often reaching above low water mark. 
For scA'eral days the adventurers, who had to live on 
brackish water collected in holes in the sand, gathered 
masses of shell fish, spread them in the sun, and when 
the mollusks died and the jaws of the shells opened they 
searched for pearls, gathering indeed several htmdred 
small ones and a few of the size of a pea, which were 
afterward sent to Spain by the viceroy with his report 
of the expedition. Meanwhile a great event had occurred 
at the upper camp. The water at the spring in the canon 
, had failed entirely. The Indians had gradually scraped 
away the stones and sand until the bed rock lay bare, 
but though the rock itself was moist not a cupful of 
water could be collected. The Cocopahs thereupon 
finally decided to sacrifice the Qviiliu prisoner, and Juan 
told Father Jayme that the procedure would be to knock 
the Quiliu on the head Avith a stone club. The Cocopahs 
would then eat his heart and liver, so as to inherit his 
courage, while the rest of the body would be a sacrifice 
to the big fish spirit, who lived beneath the sea, and 
swallowed so much water as not to leave enough for the 
dry season. 
This logical intention was strengthened by a singular 
portent. Martinez relates that on the morning of the 
threatened sacrifice he and his companions saw a great 
serpent swimming northward in the gulf about 200 paces 
from the shore; that his head was of the bigness of a wine 
cask, with eyes near the size of a breast plate and long 
white teeth. The monster held his head a few feet above 
the surface, and clove the water fast, showing at different 
moments from six to nine great folds of his undulating 
body above the water and stretching along for a space 
of upward of thirty paces. 
It is doubtful of course in the view of the naturalist 
whether any such creature has existed in historic times, 
and there may, in this instance, have been some delusion 
on the part of the observers. 
It should, however, be remarked that the most reli- 
able reports of the appearances of ' sea serpents have 
come from two places, one off the coast of Massachusetts 
and one in the Gulf of California, and that many cool 
and practiced observers have given an almost identical 
description of the creature seen. So that we can at least 
credit the honesty of the historian in this case, whether 
we think he saw some rare saurian (perhaps a survivor 
of a prehistoric species) or whether some commoner 
thing deceived him. 
This same serpent, we are told, passed in full view of 
the lone mesquite about two hours afterward, and ex- 
cited the Cocopahs greatly, confirming them in their 
plan of sacrifice to the now visible deity. In vain Father 
Jayme assured them that it was but a tool of the demon, 
and would fly from the cross. They understood his 
actions if not his words, but their minds were made up. 
The monster had no sooner vanished to the north- 
ward than the Quiliu was thrown down and dragged to 
the lone tree, where lay a broad, flat stone. The priest 
sprang forward among the savages, who were howling 
with excitement, and forbade the sacrilege, doubly abom- 
inable both as a murder and as a worship of the fiend. _ 
For a moment the Cocopahs fell back, but they again 
gathered and advanced with sullen determination, as 
Juan said, "to get water surest way." Now Father Jayme 
had been searching for springs with the others, and had 
of course looked closely around this lone mesquite stand- 
ing at the niouth of the valley without finding what he 
sought, but at this moment he seemed inspired by a 
higher knowledge. 
Perhaps the good man felt the broad stone on which 
he was standing yield and sway under his feet; perhaps 
he saw a little moisture around the edges or perhaps 
he simply took the last chance he had to turn the In- 
dians from an impious purpose. "The Lord will pro- 
vide," he shouted, still interposing between the execu- 
tioners and the victim, and summoning Juan to his side 
he rolled away the bound captive, and with the boy's 
help stood heaving at the broad stone to turn it over. 
While the Cocopahs gazed the stone was lifted a little 
and slipped back with a thud that forced out some damp 
sand at its side. Another strong effort by the two, and 
the rock rose, balanced on its lower rim and toppled over, 
while from the bottom of the hole, where it had lain, a lit- 
tle stream bubbled up, filled the basin, sAvelled over tlie 
brim and trickled down the beach. Father Jayme, mean- 
time panting with exertion and excitement, stayed on his 
knees, fervently repeating the Psalm "Te deum laudamus 
te dominum confitemur." And to-day still, on the beach 
at San Felipe stands a lone mesquite, probably the same 
tree that grew there more than three centuries ago, and 
in its shade still wells up a spring of sweet water that 
tumbles down the sandy slope to mingle with the briny 
surges of the gulf. 
This seeming miracle satisfied even the dull Cocopahs 
that the priest possessed mysterious powers. The Quiliu 
was negkcted, and Father Jayme straightway undid his 
bonds and set to work to prepare him by conversion for 
baptism. The stolid Indian accepted the advances of 
the missionary with the same stolid composure that he 
had faced imminent death. FLe watched the priest's 
gestures closely, and even kissed the wooden cross when 
it was offered to his lips, imitating in this the action of 
the father. This therefore seemed a propitious moment 
to complete his entrance to the church, and Father Jayme 
performed the rite of baptism with all the ceremony his 
scanty fittings would allow. He also tried to induce the 
Cocopahs to be baptized at this time, but the boy Juan 
was the only one of the tribe who consented, and the 
father might well have felt a temporary regret that the 
armed force at his disposal was too small to make the 
baptism compulsory. 
That night was a contented time. With enough to 
eat and a supply of fresh water the natives had lost much 
of their bad humor, and all slept well except perhaps the 
Quiliu, who, in spite of his recent admission to the 
church, took the first occasion to exercise his new found 
liberty, and was far away when morning broke. The 
priest grieved over this backslider, and the Indians 
seemed rather apprehensive lest the former prisoner 
should gather his tribesmen and attack the party with 
superior numbers. 
Anxieties, however, were soon pushed aside bi' the 
return of Estrada and his two companions with their 
little bags of pearls. Of course the explorers were great- 
ly elated by finding this earnest, as they thou.ght it, of a 
great treasure, yet the state of things was quite embar- 
rassing at the best. 
The country to the south had proved to be as desolate 
and waterless as any they had yet passed through, ex- 
cept the region of the ink pot. Shell fish could be found 
along the beach, but no ether food could be got. It was 
tempting Providence to try to scale the dry and barren 
mountains without a guide, and Estrada reluctantly de- 
cided to go back by the tedious and toilsome path that 
he had come. A few days' rest would first be had, and 
then they would shape their course for the Tizon (Col- 
orado) River and leave further discoveries and conquests 
for a later time. This was the plan; but it was destined 
to meet a speedy check. On the morning of the third 
day after the arrival of the pearl hunters, the whole 
party was preparing to move westward, when the boy 
Juan, who had started early, came running back. 
He had seen Indians lurking among the rocks of the 
ravine, which was the only pass for a retreat inland from 
this point. "Quiliu," said Juan, and he held up both 
hands, opening and shutting his fingers five times,^ to 
indicate that his estimate of the enemy's force was fifty 
men. Estrada thought that, counting the Cocopahs, who 
were eight in number, and the four Spaniards, they 
might fight through even so. but the Cocopahs, who 
seemed to possess a singular mixture of ferociti' and cow- 
ardice, were not in fighting mood. They crouched be- 
hind rocks and made themselves as small as possible, 
even while no enemy was in sight. Father Jayme, great- 
ly shocked by the local influence of the demon who had 
so depraved the mind of his late convert, advised that 
the party wait until night. 
The Cocopahs would then hardly dare to be left alone, 
and the missiles of the Quiliu would fly harmless in the 
darkness. This course was full of danger, but it gave 
them a chance to get a good start, as they had never yet 
found any Indian keeping night watch, and besides the 
enemy might have to withdraw, either wholly or a part 
at a time, to get water, so this plan was adopted. But 
the Quiliu, on their side, had no idea of waiting until 
night. Several sneaking skirmishers were soon seen 
dodging from rock to rock, and it was not long before 
an arrow was fired from the mountain, which fell short 
of the Spaniards, but scared the Cocapahs so that they 
all, except Juan, who had good reason to distrust his 
kinsmen, dodged off up the coast as fast and as secretly 
as they were able. And now the prospects of the Spaniards 
seemed very unfavorable. More skirmishers crept up 
over the shoulder of the ravine. More arrows were dis- 
charged, some falling quite close. Martinez and Bejar 
fired a few shots with their match-locks, but they wished 
to save their ammunition for close and sure work. 
Bejar's bad marksmanship had probably been reported 
by the recreant Quiliu to his tribesmen, and they did not 
show so much fear of the firearms as Estrada had hoped. 
Still the Quiliu advanced, skipping actively from shel- 
ter to shelter, when Father Jayme spied his late convert 
among the assailants. 
Filled with holy indignation, the priest shouted warn- 
ings to the prisoner he had befriended. "Nec velocium 
est cursus nec fortium bellum." The race is not to the 
swift nor the battle to the strongrhe cried. "Beware of 
just retribution." Saying this he pointed out the wretch 
to Martinez and Bejar, who alone had guns, and they 
took careful aim at the exposed part of the Indian's 
body and fired almost together. Whether the shots took 
effect or not they could not see at once, and almost im- 
mediately their attention was called away by a heavy 
jar, which seemed like thunder, though the sparkling 
sky had not a cloud stain on it. Father Jayme hailed this 
"fulmen e sereno," as he called it, this bolt from the 
blue, as a good omen. But Estrada, with a soldier's 
eye, caught sight of a dim smoke rising over the rocky 
back of the cape close to them on the south, and knew 
the sound for the cannon of their deliverers. In a mo- 
ment more the blunt prow and bellying sails of a caravel 
appeared around the headland, and hardly ten minutes 
had passed before the ship luffed, the sails slackened and 
spilled the wind, the boats dropped from the davits, and 
while the broad standard of Spain floated from the ban- 
ner staff on the vessel's stern, the oarsmen of Alarcon 
pulled fast to the rescue. 
It is not necessary to tell how this gallant seaman had 
set out to find the little band of Diaz, whose long absence 
had aroused anxiety, nor how he was on his way to the 
great river when he heard the shots and fired his signal. 
We will leave the happy explorers and their boy Juan. 
We will leave the joj^ous and grateful priest on the beach 
proclaiming with uplifted arms, "Non nobis sed nomini 
tuo sit gloria," Not unto us, oh. Lord! but unto thy name 
be the praise, while the bright muskets and the glitter- 
ing breast-plates of the deliverers draw near. But we 
will call attention to the fact that the first white dis- 
coverers who set foot in California lost not a man save 
their beloved captain, and slew not an Indian save in 
self-defense. H. G. Dulog. 
About our Bluebirds* 
Ornithologists state that the bluebird is an insectiv- 
orous bird, which signifies thai this species of birds sub- 
sists chiefly on insects. The peculiar form of the bill of- 
a bluebird indicates that its principal food consists ol 
insects in the larval or worm state. Ornithologists tell 
us also that the bill of a sparrow indicates, by a different - 
form from the bluebird's bill, that the irrepressible spar- 
row is not an insectivorous bird. 
The male bluebird is a sweet and charming singer of a 
little song which a person of lively imagination can read- 
ily interpret into: "Be no more winter." Bluebirds al- 
ways appear in pairs — male and female, husband and 
wife. In the latitude of New Jersey and New York blue- 
birds have always been accustomed to appear in the 
former part of vernal seedtime. An ornithologist who 
was a resident of Newark, N. J., stated more than tvventy 
years ago that bluebirds always appeared in the latitude 
of New York city on Feb. 22 of every year. In autumn 
they all go to some southern clime, to escape the cold of 
our northern winters. We can only conjecture where they 
go. No ornithologist has ever been able to follow them 
to their congenial region,: far away from the piercing 
cold and snow. But they always return to their former 
homes, and repair their old nests, lay their eggs, hatch 
and rear their young ones, unless some reckless shooter 
thoughtlessly and cruelly pops over the charming song- 
ster. Bluebirds build their nests in holes and hollow 
places that have been pecked in the bodies of trees, like 
the holes where woodpeckers build their nests. Or they 
will build a nest in a small box provided with an auger- 
hole of sufficient size to allow them to enter and make 
a nest. 
Many years ago, when I resided in central New York, 
the home of my early life, a pair of bluebirds built a nest 
in the open top of the peustock of our punip, in the 
barnyard, where we watered our domestic animals. It 
was a cozy and secure place for them. No cat nor other 
nocturnal' marauder could disturb or harm the eggs 
or birds. Every spring, some time in March, that 
cheerful and happy pair of songsters would return and 
repair their old nest, and lay four or five beautiful little 
eggs, and hatch and rear their young birds. We knew 
that they were the saine birds every spring, as they 
looked and acted precisely as the pair did that had been 
accustomed for several years to occupy that place. They 
were so gentle that the mother bird w^ould not fly off the 
nest when we came to the pump to draw water. We 
could look right down in the top end of the penstock 
about a foot, and there see the little nest and the cunning . 
little eggs, when the mamma bird was not on. When she 
was on the nest she would look up to us with an inquir- 
ing and impressive gaze, silently appealing to us not 
to molest nor hurt her or her little family. Many times 
every day, like a true and faithful consort, the male bird ■ 
would come to their secure retreat and bring in his bill 
a fat worm, which he would deliver to her. Then all 
day long he Would keep a watchful eye on the movements 
of crows or hawks or other robbers of birds' nests; and 
when he saw any animal which he thought was an ene- 
my he would utter such an alarming outcry that some 
one would hear him and go immediately to see what 
hostile foe was about to molest the happy family. Crows, 
hawks, cats and rats all like to feast on young birds of 
any kind. But bluebirds are endowed with so much of 
the instinct of caution and self-preservation that they 
build their nests in such secure places that vei-y few of 
their enemies can devour their eggs or reach the young 
birds. 
After the little, tender things have burst the shells the 
careful mother takes every fragment of a shell in her 
bill and carries it many yards away from the nest, in- 
stead of allowing the shells to remain in the nest, or 
instead of heaving them out on the ground directly be- 
low the nest. All birds possess this instinct of cleanH- 
ness and caution. Crows and hawks, instead of simply 
throwing the broken shells of their eggs, after hatching 
to the ground, carry them, often, hundreds of yards from 
the nest. Instinct teaches them that if they heave the 
shell out of the nest and allow the fragments to fall to 
the ground directly below the nest some enemy would 
see the shells and find the nest, and then destroy the 
eggs or the little birds. 
It is really wonderful and amazing to consider the 
intelligence, the carefulness and parental caution exer- 
cised by bluebirds in feeding the little, tender fledgelings 
before their tiny eyes are open, and before the helpless 
bundles of life have enough strength to keep their bodies 
right side up in the nest We look down into the little 
nest and see the careful mother bird bite off a very 
small piece of a fat and tender worm, and hold it in her 
bill, and then touch the bill of one little baby bird, when, 
