402 
RIO SAN PEDRO 
for five days, endeavoring to find a passage through. 
At the further end of the valley into which we were 
descending, lay Santa Cruz. I now saw that if I had 
continued my course due south, as I first intended on 
leaving the San Pedro camp, I should have struck this 
valley the second day ; but by following the trail of 
the Mexican Commission, I was led about eight miles 
too far west. This brought us on the opposite side of 
the Sierra, and led us into the gorge from which there 
was no egress. In passing down the valley, we met 
Mr. Salazar and Mr. Henry C. Force, with a small 
party from Santa Cruz bound for the camp on the San 
Pedro, and the Gila. They informed us of the safe 
.arrival at Santa Cruz of the Mexican Commission, Dr. 
Webb and Mr. Gray. 
Before setting out this morning, two men started 
in advance to advise the mother of Inez of our ap- 
proach, and when within two miles of the town, we 
saw a small party approaching, partly on mules and 
partly on foot, among whom were the fair captive’s 
mother, brothers, and uncle. As we drew nearer, Mr. 
Cremony helped Inez from the saddle, when in perfect 
ecstacy she rushed to her mother’s arms. Words can- 
not express the joy manifested on this happy occasion. 
Their screams were painful to hear. The mother 
could scarcely believe what she saw ; and after every 
embrace and gush of tears, she withdrew her arms to 
gaze on the face of her child. I have witnessed many 
scenes on the stage, of the meeting of friends after a 
long separation, and have read highly-wrought narra- 
tives of similar interviews, but none of them approached 
