ARISPE. 
263 
set, when they came in sight of the town. On drawing 
near they observed the greatest commotion in the 
place ; people were crowding in front of the church, 
and upon the house tops, and the steep street which 
led to the plaza, was thronged with women and chil- 
dren. Their approach had been observed by the sen- 
tinel on guard. He, supposing them to be Apaches, 
gave the alarm ; and the consequence was, a general 
turn out to repel the supposed attack. When the 
mistake was corrected, their fear of the Apaches gave 
place to wonder at los Americanos^ these being the 
first specimens of the Yankee nation that many of the 
people had ever seen. 
We now hurried in the mules, and, rapidly com- 
pleting our preparation for the start, were off* by 10 
o’clock. Our course lay south towards the western 
point of a high mountain. Our guides led us along a 
valley through which ran the stream called Black 
Water Creek,— that is to say, when there was water 
enough in it to run. We found it here and there in 
pools. The country was flat, and covered with luxuriant 
grass, resembling a meadow. Our course was slow, 
being much impeded by deep gullies, some of which 
had to be cut down to let the wagons cross. In pass- 
ing one, where the bank was short and steep, th^e 
hounds of one of Colonel Craig’s wagons were broken 
off. It was feared that we should be obliged to aban- 
don the vehicle; but thanks to the ingenuity of my 
carriage driver, who spliced it with a crotched tree, we 
were able to proceed after a couple of hours’ delay. 
These short and sudden plunges are more dangerous 
than long or even steep hills, and require the utmost 
