254 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 12, 1911. 
oak, with here and there the delicate leafed mes- 
quite. About noon we forded a deep stream and 
rested and lunched on the opposite bank where 
we listened to the song of a beautiful redbird in 
the tree above us, and the cooing of the doves. 
After leaving the woods we came upon a hot 
dusty plain covered with cactus plants of many 
sizes, while the few trees were so entirely cov¬ 
ered with the wild grape vine as to completely 
hide their growth, each looking much l.ke a 
great green dome. 
Just before reaching Fredericksburg we came 
upon a littie graveyard, the tombs of which were 
very peculiar. They seemed to be large blocks of 
stone hollowed so as to admit the coffin, and 
then the top stone was fitted and sealed. These 
were in long rows and had a very strange ap¬ 
pearance as we viewed them from the road. 
Fredericksburg was a small German town filled 
with saloons and beer gardens, with more blue¬ 
eyed, round-faced frauleins about than anything 
else. 
At the only hotel we had a real German din¬ 
ner highly seasoned with herbs and onions, but 
our appetites were sharp enough to enjoy any¬ 
thing. Mine host was a jolly fat Dutchman, 
seemingly everywhere at once, with his darkly 
colored meerschaum constantly in his mouth. 
The dining room was evidently the concert and 
ball room of the town, a'so a skating rink in 
winter. It was about a hundred feet square 
with balconies gracefully festooned with ever¬ 
greens, while over the door in large green let¬ 
ters was the word “Willkommen” greeting every 
stranger. A fine piano stood in one corner and 
the musical taste of the family was evinced by 
the music lying about, Beethoven’s sonatas being 
the most conspicuous. 
All the way from Fredericksburg to our camp¬ 
ing ground the country was beautiful and the 
farming land had a New England aspect, thrifty 
and well cared for. We camped alongside of 
Captain Lee’s troop of Fourth Cavalry en route 
to Fort Concho to join General Mackenzie. At 
noon we lunched at Loyal Valley, having forded 
two deep streams. It was amusing to see how 
impatient the mules were for water. They will 
go without drinking much longer than horses, 
but as soon they came within sight of a 
river they were anxious to get in; the deeper 
it was the better they seemed to like it. 
We arrived at Fort Mason Aug. 16, having 
covered a distance of only ten miles; as it was 
Sunday and the Colonel thought it better to rest 
for the remainder of the day. This certainly 
was a charming site for a camp. The flat plain, 
dotted here and there with the mesquite, the 
river at our feet, and on the hill opposite were 
the remains of a fort long since deserted. A 
company of rangers were encamped at our left 
and a short distance from them a long wagon 
train was resting for the day. 
Breaking camp early Monday morning, for some 
miles we came through an oak grove, then out 
upon the open prairie, with here and there the 
ever present cactus and mesquite. Part of the 
road was red with iron ore. At Rock Springs 
Station an old man with his wife and one child 
lived all by themselves. Just before reaching 
this place we espied a body of horsemen de¬ 
scending the hill in front of us, and as much 
trouble from the Indians had been reported of 
late, we were alarmed, but it turned out to be 
a band of rangers under command of Major 
Jones with two Tonkawa Indians acting as 
guides. Failing to find an adequate supply of 
water at Rock Springs we camped at Peg Leg, 
fifteen miles further on. The prairie was literal.y 
covered with the holes of the prairie dog, and 
the little rat-like creatures would sit by their 
hiding places, piping as we drove by. Our camp 
was on the San Saba whose banks, covered with 
fallen trees and tangled undergrowth, made it 
appear as though man had never been here. We 
found beautiful pearl-lined shells. Wild flowers 
grew in profusion among the moss-covered rocks 
and the trees seemed alive with doves, but the 
picture which presented itself later in the day 
I never shall forget. The setting sun threw 
a glorious brightness up and down the river, 
the white-covered wagons with their six mules 
each were seen winding down the hill among the 
trees, while the foremost stood midway in the 
stream watering the thirsty animals. Above on 
the bank stood our escort waiting for a chance 
to cross, so fresh and free from fatigue that it 
was hard to believe they had come so many 
miles day after day. The secret in a march is, 
I believe, in not resting too long. 
Just as I waked the following morning I heard 
the call of the bugle, and pushing aside the flap 
of my tent I saw a large body of cavalry cross¬ 
ing the river on their way to Kickapoo. The 
officer in command proved to be a West Point 
friend of Lieutenant L., whom he had not met 
for many years, and it was very pleasant to hear 
the true ring of welcome in their voices as they 
greeted each other. Our march for the first few 
hours was through deep woods, then out on the 
prairie which was covered with prairie dogs. 
Rabbits, turkeys, antelope, doves, hawks and 
ravens all were in evidence on the prairie, and 
for miles the ground was covered with' the wild 
verbena plant with only a few in bloom. I could 
not help wishing it was earlier that I might see 
this natural carpet of many colors. We rested 
some time under a grove of pecan trees later 
on and the branches were so thick that not a 
ray of sunlight could enter. That afternoon we 
passed through Manardville and at Coglin’s 
ranch again heard stories of the Indians. One 
man told us there was a large body sixty miles 
below, and another that they were only four 
miles awaj'. We came to the conclusion that 
they were false reports, nevertheless- we marched 
with greater caution. 
Our camp was pitched that night on a hill¬ 
side, while the cavalry that had passed us that 
morning were in camp just below us. The hori¬ 
zon was aglow with prairie fires, the flames of 
which could be easily seen. 
Finding that the cavalry were going our way, 
we let our escort fall behind with the wagons 
and went on in state with the former. In this 
way we made much better time. We passed so 
near the prairie fires as to feel the heat. For 
miles the country was burned to a crisp, look¬ 
ing very desolate and forlorn. 
At our next camping ground we found a large 
body of troops, both infantry and cavalry, on 
their way to join General Mackenzie. There 
were eight companies of the Fourth Cavalry and 
three of the Tenth Infantry under the command 
of Colonel Anderson. They had fifty-eight 
wagons, three ambulances, 360 mules and 500 
or 600 horses, so you can well imagine every 
good camping ground on the best side of the 
river was occupied when we arrived. Learn¬ 
ing that the troops were to move the next morn¬ 
ing we decided to make an early start to avoid 
the dust. The night before the Indians had 
made a raid on a train encamped here and had 
captured seventeen mules. As soon as the troops 
arrived, a company was detailed to recapture 
them, but as the Indians had twelve hours’ start, 
there was small hope of success. Sentinels were 
placed at all exposed points, especially where 
the mules were grazing, as these were what the 
Indians were after. 
Just as we were starting the next morning 
Colonel Anderson sent word that he feard the 
Indians were nearer than he had supposed, as 
one of his men had been pursued the previous 
night, so we used extra precautions, Lieutenant 
L. taking the lead with the escort, while the 
ambulance was just in front of the rear wagon 
again, the cavalry so close that we could easily 
have called them with the report of a gun ; there 
was small danger of an attack. About seven 
miles from Concho we came in sight of Twin 
Mountains, perfectly conical hills, so exactly 
alike that it is hard to tell one from the other. 
The Concho River we forded and arrived at the 
post at half-past two. Concho was an eight 
company post, very pleasantly situated above the 
river, which is one of the most treacherous 
streams in the country. It has been known to 
rise sixty feet in an hour. This is due in a 
great measure to the severe rain storms, which 
come so seldom at certain seasons of the year 
that the soil hardens and does not absorb the 
moisture, consequently it flows off until it finds 
an outlet in one of the few rivers of this sec¬ 
tion, thus pouring in as it does from all over 
the plains, it comes down with a great roaring 
noise, a perfect wall of water. An inch and a 
half of water often falls in' these storms in two 
hours' time. The colonel found orders waiting 
for him here detailing himself and Lieutenant L. 
on court martial duty at Stockton. 
We met an immense Mexican train on leav¬ 
ing Concho. There were fifteen teams each 
drawn by a yoke of eight or ten oxen. These 
cart's were similar to our tip carts, only much 
heavier, carrying 3,500 pounds each. We heard 
from these men that a Mexican had just been 
killed by the Indians the night before. It 
seemed strange that in this beautiful country, 
where everything was apparently so peacefu 1 , 
one had to have his carbine loaded and ready 
at hand. 
Next day we passed the newly made grave of 
the Mexican, simply covered with a few rough 
stones with a stick to mark the head. Every 
Mexican who passes the grave will add a stone 
to the pile in order to keep the body well cov¬ 
ered and away from the coyotes. About noon 
we reached Camp Charlotte, one of the first 
military posts of this country, long since de¬ 
serted. Some parts of this country were cov¬ 
ered with immense herds of buffalo. 
As our next march lay through a country 
where water was very scarce, we were obliged 
to make a night drive. All the anima’s were 
taken to the stream and allowed to drink all 
the water they would before starting, the kegs 
holding ninety gallons and also the canteens were 
filled before s’arting on our longest march of 
sixty-five mi’es. We entered at once the dense 
chaparral and later struck out on the famous 
Staked Plains. At daylight the scene again 
changed. Cacti of many kinds were growing 
