132 CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS. 
given for this advice. The Yaqui Indians 
were said to be very restless at that time ; 
the season of the year was unfavorable, 
because all large rivers, like the Yaqui, 
Fuerte, and Mayo, were at their height; 
again, there were no good points near the 
mountains for outfitting such as the city 
of Chihuahua 'afforded. All these rea¬ 
sons, together with the advance of ex¬ 
ceedingly warm weather, made me con¬ 
clude to retrace my steps to the eastern side 
of the Sierra Madre range. So we again 
passed over the Sonora railway, and en¬ 
joyed those charming contrasts of the sea 
of flower-covered plains and mountains 
during the two days’ ride that took us to 
Benson. Thence we returned to Deming, 
and from that point to El Paso, whence 
the Mexican Central Railway takes one 
in a night’s ride about two hundred and 
