TO EL PASO. 
119 
had in vain tried to pick up wood enough to make a 
fire ; but none could be found, not even roots or brush- 
wood. Still the good fortune which had attended us 
in our journey did not desert us here. A disabled 
wagon, with its large box, lay near the springs. This 
not only furnished us with fuel for a fire, but the box, 
which was whole, served as a sleeping-place for four 
of the party. This was placed on one side of the fire, 
and the carriage drawn up on the other. As we were 
near one of the notorious lurking-places of the Apa- 
ches, a strict guard was kept up, and relieved every 
hour during the night. 
November l^th. Two hours before day my car- 
riage driver was out with the mules to give them an 
early feed, while we managed to make a pot of tea 
from a canister, which I always carried with me for 
such occasions. This, with cold pork and hard bread, 
made our breakfast ; but meagre as it was, it was 
taken with a relish. We then filled our leather water 
tank, and were on our journey before the sun peeped 
over the adjacent hills to our left. No sunrise at sea 
or from the mountain’s summit could equal in gran- 
deur that which we now beheld, when the first rays 
struck the snow-clad mountain, which reared its lofty 
head before us. The projecting cliffs of white and 
orange stood out in bold relief against the azure sky, 
while the crevices and gorges, filled with snow, 
showed their inequalities with a wonderful distinctness. 
At the same time the beams of the sun playing on the 
snow produced the most brilliant and ever-changing 
iris hues. No painter’s art could reproduce, or colors 
imitate, these gorgeous prismatic tints. 
