AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY. yer 
the facilities for crossing are not as great as they might 
be, they are perhaps as great as the expenses of carry- 
ing it on will warrant. I paid one dollar for each man, 
two dollars for each mule and ox, ten dollars for each 
wagon, ten dollars for each wagon load, one dollar 
for each mule load, &c. The total expense for cross- 
ing the Commission and the escort, amounting to five 
hundred and four dollars.* 
Of the Indians who occupy the country near Bort 
Yuma, the largest and most important tribe are the 
Yumas. These people occupy both sides of the Colo- 
rado both above and below the junction with the Gila. 
But how far they extend to the north is not known; 
probably not less than a hundred miles. Of the tribes 
to the north of them, very little is known. There has 
* Tn consequence of the great demand in California for sheep, large 
numbers have been driven thither from New Mexico, as well as from Chi- 
huahua and Sonora, all of which cross the Colorado near Fort Yuma. 
I spoke of the heaps of dried carcasses and skeletons which we saw at 
Carrizo Creek; but it seems that the desert is not the only difficulty 
which the owners have to contend with. During the previous winter, 
the Yumas took advantage of the temporary abandonment of the Fort 
by the troops, to molest the parties of passing emigrants, particularly 
when they could rob them of their mules, cattle, and sheep. The most 
flagrant case, was the loss of 4,217 sheep, belonging to Mr. Joseph 
White. He had succeeded in getting them over the Colorado in safety, 
and was preparing to cross the desert. But at this time the Indians 
began to press them hard, killing and stealing the sheep. To add to the 
misfortunes of the drovers, their water gave out, and the sheep could not be 
forced to travel during the day in consequence of the intense heat. The 
men, to save their lives, hastened on to the water, leaving the sheep until 
they could return. The Indians, who followed them close, took advan- 
tage of their piitiation, and drove them off; and thus the whole flock 
was lost. 
VOL. 11.—12 
