iJjiliilWJi 
 
 
 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00022228616 
 
 JOHN SKALLY TERRY 
 MEMORIAL COLLECTION 
 
 © 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY 
 
 THE FAMILY IN HONOR OF 
 
 JOHN S. TERRY 
 
 CLASS OF 1918 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY 
 
 L.1I 
 

 
 w 
 
 O^ .<?> ^ .-,<3 
 
 
 5> 
 
The Scalp Hunters 
 
 A THRILLING TALE OF 
 
 ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE 
 
 IN NORTHERN MEXICO 
 
 BY 
 
 CAPTAIN MAYNE REID 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THE RIFLE RANGERS " 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE F. M. LUPTON PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 1899 
 
Copyright 1899 
 By S. C. ANDREWS 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Wild West 5 
 
 II. The Prairie Merchants 12 
 
 III. "The Prairie Fever" 18 
 
 IV. A Ride upon a Buffalo Bull 23 
 
 V. In a Bad " Fix " 32 
 
 VI. Santa Fe 41 
 
 VII. The Fandango 49 
 
 VIII. Seguin the Scalp Hunter 61 
 
 IX. Left Behind 68 
 
 X. The Del Norte 75 
 
 XL The " Journey of Death," 81 
 
 XII. Zoe 91 
 
 XIII. Seguin 100 
 
 XIV. Love 105 
 
 XV. Light and Shade 112 
 
 XVI. An Autobiography 119 
 
 XVII Up the Del Norte 130 
 
 XVIII. Geography and Geology 138 
 
 XIX. The Scalp-Hunters 145 
 
 XX. Sharpshooting 1 56 
 
 XXI. A Feat a la Tell 167 
 
 XXII. A Feat a la Tail 174 
 
 XXIII. The Program 181 
 
 XXIV. El Sol and La Luna 188 
 
 XXV. The War-Trail 195 
 
 XXVI. Three Days in the Trap 207 
 
 XXVII. The Diggers 218 
 
 XXVIII. Dacoma 223 
 
 XXIX. A Dinner with Two Dishes 232 
 
 XXX. Blinding the Pursuer — A Trapper's Ruse 245 
 
 XXXI. A Buffalo " Surround " 255 
 
 XXXII. Another " Coup " 265 
 
 XXXIII. A Bitter Trap 272 
 
 iii 
 
 594598 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE 
 
 XXXIV. The Phantom City 281 
 
 XXXV. The Mountain of Gold 291 
 
 XXXVI. Navajoa 2 o6 
 
 XXXVII. The Night Ambuscade 301 
 
 XXXVIII. Adele 307 
 
 XXXIX. The White Scalp 3I7 
 
 XL. The Fight in the Pass 329 
 
 XLI. The Barranca 34! 
 
 XLII. The Foe. 
 
 349 
 
 XLIII. New Misery 354 
 
 XLIV. The Flag of Truce 361 
 
 XLV. A Vexed Treaty 368 
 
 XLVI. A Conflict with closed Doors 377 
 
 XLVII. A Queer Encounter in a Cave 384 
 
 XLVIII. Smoked out 392 
 
 XLIX. A Novel Mode of Equitation 397 
 
 L. A Fast Dye ; . . 401 
 
 LI. Astonishing the Natives 407 
 
 LII. Running Amuck 414 
 
 LII1. A Conflict upon a Cliff 422 
 
 LI V. An Unexpected Rencontre 432 
 
 LV. The Rescue 440 
 
 LVI. El Paso del Norte 446 
 
 LVII. Touching the Chords of Memory 452 
 
THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE WILD WEST. 
 
 wild west, 
 sun, away 
 
 ^flNROLL the world's map, 
 and look upon the great 
 northern continent of 
 America. Away to the 
 iway toward the setting 
 beyond many a far 
 
 meridian, let your eyes wander. 
 Rest them where golden rivers 
 rise among peaks that carry the 
 eternal snow. Rest them there. 
 
 You are looking upon a land 
 whose features are unfurrowed 
 by human hands, still bearing the 
 marks of the Almighty mold, as upon the morning of 
 creation ; a region whose every object wears the impress of 
 God's image. His ambient spirit lives in the silent grandeur 
 of its mountains and speaks in the roar of its mighty rivers ; 
 
6 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 a region redolent of romance, rich in the reality of ad- 
 venture. 
 
 Follow me, with the eye of your mind, through scenes of 
 wild beauty, of savage sublimity. 
 
 I stand in an open plain. I turn my face to the north, to 
 the south, to the east, and to the west ; and on all sides be- 
 hold the blue circle of the heavens girdling around me. 
 Nor rock, nor tree, breaks the ring of the horizon. What 
 covers the broad expanse between ? Wood ? water ? grass ? 
 No ; flowers. As far as my eye can range, it rests only on 
 flowers, on beautiful flowers ! 
 
 I am looking as on a tinted map, an enameled picture 
 brilliant with every hue of the prism. 
 
 Yonder is golden yellow, where the helianthus turns her 
 dial-like face to the sun. Yonder, scarlet, where the 
 malva erects its red banner. Here is a parterre of the 
 purple monarda, there the euphorbia sheds its silver leaf. 
 Yonder the orange predominates in the showy flowers of 
 the asclepia ; and beyond, the eye roams over the pink blos- 
 soms of the cleome. 
 
 The breeze stirs them. Millions of corollas are waving 
 their gaudy standards. The tall stalks of the helianthus 
 bend and rise in long undulations, like billows on a golden 
 sea. 
 
 They are at rest again. The air is filled with odors sweet 
 as the perfumes of Araby or Ind. Myriads of insects flap 
 their gay wings : flowers of themselves. The bee-birds skirr 
 around, glancing like stray sunbeams ; or, poised on whir- 
 ring wings, drink from the nectared cups ; and the wild bee, 
 with laden limbs, clings among the honeyed pistils, or leaves 
 for his far hive with a song of joy. 
 
 Who planted these flowers ? Who hath woven them into 
 these pictured parterres ? Nature. It is her richest mantle, 
 richer in its hues than the scarfs of Cashmere. 
 
THE WILD WEST. 7 
 
 This is the " weed prairie." It is misnamed. It is the 
 garden of God. 
 
 The scene is changed. I am in a plain as before, with 
 the unbroken horizon circling around me. What do I be- 
 hold ? Flowers ? No ; there is not a flower in sight, but 
 one vast expanse of living verdure. From north to south, 
 from east to west, stretches the prairie meadow, green as an 
 emerald, and smooth as the surface of a sleeping lake. 
 
 The wind is upon its bosom, sweeping the silken blades. 
 They are in motion ; and the verdure is dappled into lighter 
 and darker shades, as the shadows of summer clouds flitting 
 across the sun. 
 
 The eye wanders without resistance. Perchance it en- 
 counters the dark hirsute forms of the buffalo, or traces the 
 tiny outlines of the antelope. Perchance it follows, in 
 pleased wonder, the far-wild gallop of a snow-white steed. 
 
 This is the " grass prairie," the boundless pasture of the 
 bison. 
 
 The scene changes. The earth is no longer level, but 
 treeless and verdant as ever. Its surface exhibits a succes- 
 sion of parallel undulations, here and there swelling into 
 smooth round hills. It is covered with a soft turf of bril- 
 liant greenness. These undulations remind one of the ocean 
 after a mighty storm, when the crisped foam has died upon 
 the waves, and the big swell comes bowling in. They look 
 as though they had once been such waves, that by an omnip- 
 otent mandate, had been transformed to earth, and suddenly 
 stood still. 
 
 This is the " rolling prairie." 
 
 Again the scene changes. I am among greenswards and 
 bright flowers ; but the view is broken by groves and clumps 
 
8 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 of copse-wood. The frondage is varied, its tints are vivid, 
 its outlines soft and graceful. As I move forward, new 
 landscapes open up continuously : view spark-like and pic- 
 turesque. " Gangs " of buffalo, " herds " of antelope, and 
 " droves " of wild horses, mottle the far vistas. Turkeys 
 run into the coppice, and pheasants whirr up from the path. 
 
 Where are the owners of these lands, of these flocks and 
 fowls ? Where are the houses, the palaces, that should ap- 
 pertain to these lordly parks ? I look forward, expecting to 
 see the turrets of tall mansions spring up over the groves. 
 But no. For hundreds of miles around no chimney sends 
 forth its smoke. Although with a cultivated aspect, this 
 region is only trodden by the mocassined foot of the hunter, 
 and his enemy, the Red Indian. 
 
 These are the " mottes " — the " islands " of the prairie 
 sea. 
 
 I am in the deep forest. It is night, and the log fire 
 throws out its vermilion glare, painting the objects that sur- 
 round our bivouac. Huge trunks stand thickly around us ; 
 and massive limbs, gray and giant-like, stretch out and over. 
 I notice the bark. It is cracked, and clings in broad scales 
 
 sping outward. Long snake-like parasites creep from 
 tree to tree, coiling the trunks as though they were serpents, 
 and would crush them ! There are no leaves overhead. 
 They have ripened and fallen ; but the white Spanish moss, 
 festooned along the branches, hangs weeping down like the 
 drapery of a death-bed. 
 
 Prostrate trunks, yards in diameter and half-decayed, lie 
 along the ground. Their ends exhibit vast cavities, where 
 the porcupine and opossum have taken shelter from the cold. 
 
 My comrades, wrapped in their blankets, and stretched 
 upon the dead leaves, have gone to sleep. They lie with 
 their feet to the fire, and their heads resting in the hollow 
 
THE WILD WEST. 9 
 
 of their saddles. The horses, standing around a tree, and 
 tied to its lower branches, seem also to sleep. I am awake 
 and listening. The wind is high up, whistling among the 
 twigs, and causing the long white streamers to oscillate. It 
 utters a wild and melancholy music. There are few other 
 sounds, for it is winter, and the tree-frog and cicada are 
 silent. I hear the crackling knots in the fire, the rustling of 
 dry leaves " swilled " up by a stray gust, the " coo-whoo-a" 
 of the white owl, the bark of the racoon, and, at intervals, 
 the dismal howling of wolves. These are the nocturnal 
 voices of the winter forest. They are savage sounds ; yet 
 there is a chord in my bosom that vibrates under their in- 
 fluence, and my spirit is tinged with romance as I lie and 
 
 listen. 
 
 ******* 
 
 The forest in autumn ; still bearing its full frondage. The 
 leaves resemble flowers, so bright are their hues. They are 
 red and yellow, and golden and brown. The woods are 
 warm and glorious now, and the birds flutter among the 
 laden branches. The eye wanders delighted down long 
 vistas and over sunlit glades. It is caught by the flashing 
 of gaudy plumage, the golden green of the paroquet, the 
 blue of the jay, and the orange wing of the oriole. The red- 
 bird flutters lower down in the coppice of green pawpaws* 
 or amidst the amber leaflets of the beechen thicket. Hun- 
 dreds of tiny wings flit through the openings, twinkling in the 
 sun like the glancing of gems. 
 
 The air is filled with music : sweet sounds of love. The 
 bark of the squirrel, the cooing of mated doves, the " rat-ta- 
 ta " of the pecker, and the constant and measured chirrup 
 of the cicada, are all ringing together. High up, on a top- 
 most twig, the mocking-bird pours forth his mimic note, as 
 though he would shame all other songsters into silence. 
 ******* 
 
10 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I am in a country of brown barren earth and broken out- 
 lines. There are rocks and clefts and patches of sterile 
 soil. Strange vegetable forms grow in the clefts and hang 
 over the rocks. Others are spheroidal in shape, resting 
 upon the surface of the parched earth.. Others rise vertically 
 to a great height, like carved and fluted columns. Some 
 throw out branches, crooked, shaggy branches, with hirsute 
 oval leaves. Yet there is a homogeneousness about all these 
 vegetable forms, in their color, in their fruit and flowers, 
 that proclaims them of one family. They are cacti. It is a 
 forest of the Mexican nopal. Another singular plant is here. 
 It throws out long thorny leaves that curve downward. It 
 is the agave, the far-famed mezcal-plant of Mexico. Here 
 and there, mingling with the cacti, are trees of acacia and 
 mezquite, the denizens of the desert land. No bright 
 object relieves the eye ; no bird pours its melody into the 
 ear. The lonely owl flaps away into the impassable thicket, 
 the rattlesnake glides under its scanty shade, and the coyote 
 skulks through its silent glades. 
 
 I have climbed mountain after mountain, and still I be- 
 hold peaks soaring far above, crowned with the snow that 
 
 ever melts. I stand upon beetling cliffs, and look into 
 sms that yawn beneath, sleeping in the silence of desola- 
 
 on. Great fragments have fallen into them, and lie piled 
 one upon another. Others hang threatening over, as if 
 waiting for some concussion of the atmosphere to hurl them 
 from their balance. Dark precipices frown me into fear, 
 and my head reels with a dizzy faintness. I hold by the pine- 
 tree shaft, or the angle of the firmer rock. 
 
 Above, and below, and around me, are mountains piled 
 on mountains in chaotic confusion. Some are bald and 
 bleak ; others exhibit traces of vegetation in the dark needles 
 of the pine and cedar, whose stunted forms half-grown, half- 
 hang from the cliffs. Here, a cone-shaped peak soars up till 
 
 nev 
 
 r 
 
 tion 
 
THE WILD WEST. 
 
 II 
 
 it is lost in snow and clouds. There, a ridge elevates its 
 sharp outline against the sky ; while along its sides lie huge 
 boulders of granite, as though they had been hurled from 
 the hands of Titan giants ! 
 
 A fearful monster, the grizzly bear, drags his body along 
 the high ridges ; the carcajou squats upon the projecting 
 rock, waiting the elk that must pass to the water below ; and 
 the bighorn bounds from crag to crag in search of his shy 
 mate. Along the pine branch the bald buzzard whets his 
 filthy beak ; and the war-eagle, soaring over all, cuts sharply 
 against the blue field of the heavens. 
 
 These are the Rocky Mountains, the American Andes, the 
 colossal vertebras of the continent ! 
 
 Such are the aspects of the wild west ; such is the scenery 
 of our drama. 
 
 Let us raise the curtain, and bring on the characters. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE PRAIRIE MERCHANTS. 
 
 "New Orleans, April 3d, 18 — ■ 
 EAR ST. VRAIN, 
 
 " Our young friend, M. Henry 
 Haller, goes to St. Louis in ' search 
 of the picturesque.' See that he 
 be put through a ' regular course of sprouts.' 
 
 " Yours, 
 
 " Luis Walton. 
 
 " Charles St. Vrain, Esq., Planters' Hotel, St. Louis." 
 
 With this laconic epistle in my waistcoat pocket, I de- 
 barked at St. Louis on the 10th of April, and drove to the 
 " Planters'." 
 
 After getting my baggage stowed, and my horse (a favorite 
 I had brought with me) stabled, I put on a clean shirt, and, 
 descending to the office, inquired for M. St. Vrain. 
 
 He was not there. He had gone up the Missouri River 
 several days before. 
 
 This was a disappointment, as I had brought no other 
 introduction to St. Louis. But I endeavored to wait with 
 patience the return of M. St. Vrain. He was expected back 
 in less than a week. 
 
 m 12 
 
THE PRAIRIE MERCHANTS. 13 
 
 Day after day I mounted my horse. I rode up to the 
 " Mounds " and out upon the prairies. I lounged about the 
 hotel, and smoked my cigar in its fine piazza. I drank 
 " sherry cobblers " in the saloon, and read the journals in 
 the " reading-room." 
 
 With these and such like occupations I killed time for 
 three whole days. 
 
 There was a party of gentlemen stopping at the hotel, who 
 seemed to know each other well. I might call them a clique ; 
 but that is not a good word, and does not express what I 
 mean. They appeared rather a band of friendly, jovial 
 fellows. They strolled together through the streets, and sat 
 side by side at the table-d'hbte, where they usually remained 
 long after the regular diners had retired. I noticed that 
 they drank the most expensive wines, and smoked the finest 
 cigars the house afforded. 
 
 My attention was attracted to these men. I was struck 
 with their peculiar bearing ; their erect, Indian-like carriage 
 in the streets, combined with a boyish gaiety, so characteris- 
 tic of the western American. 
 
 They dressed nearly alike : in fine black cloth, white linen, 
 satin vests, and diamond pins. They wore the whisker full, 
 but smoothly trimmed ; and several of them sported mus- 
 taches. Their hair fell curling over their shoulders ; and 
 most of them wore their collars turned down, displaying 
 healthy-looking, sun-tanned throats. I was struck with a 
 resemblance in their physiognomy. Their faces did not 
 resemble each other ; but there was an unmistakable simi- 
 larity in the expression of the eye : no doubt, the mark that 
 had been made by like occupations and experience. 
 
 Were they sportsmen ? No : the sportsman's hands 
 are whiter ; there is more jewelry on his fingers ; his waist- 
 coat is of a gayer pattern, and altogether his dress will be 
 more gaudy and super-elegant. Moreover, the sportsman 
 
14 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 lacks that air of free-and-easy confidence. He dares not 
 assume it. He may live in the hotel, but he must be quiet 
 and unobtrusive. The sportsman is a bird of prey ; hence, 
 like all birds of prey, his habits are silent, and solitary. 
 They are not of his profession. 
 
 " Who are these gentlemen ? " I inquired from a person 
 who sat by me — indicating to him the men of whom I have 
 spoken. 
 
 " The prairie men." 
 
 " The prairie men ! " 
 
 " Yes : the Santa Fe traders." 
 
 " Traders ! " I echoed, in some surprise, not being able 
 to connect such tlegants with any ideas of trade or the prairies. 
 
 " Yes," continued my informant. " That large, fine-look- 
 ing man in the middle is Bent — Bill Bent, as he is called. 
 The gentleman on his right is young Sublette ; the other, 
 standing on his left, is one of the Choteaus ; and that is the 
 sober Jerry Folger." 
 
 " These, then, are the celebrated prairie merchants ? " 
 
 " Precisely so." 
 
 I sat eyeing them with increased curiosity. I observed 
 that they were looking at me, and that I was the subject of 
 their conversation. 
 
 Presently, one of them, a dashing-like young fellow, parted 
 from the group, and walked up to me. 
 
 " Were you inquiring for M. St. Vrain ? " he asked. 
 
 " I was." 
 
 " Charles ? " 
 
 " Yes, that is the name." 
 
 " I am " 
 
 I pulled out my note of introduction, and handed it to the 
 gentleman, who glanced over its contents. 
 
 "My dear friend," said he, grasping me cordially, "ex- 
 tremely sorry I have not been here. I came dowa the river 
 
THE PRAIRIE MERCHANTS. 15 
 
 this morning. How stupid of Walton not to superscribe to 
 Bill Bent ! How long have you been up ? " 
 
 " Three days. I arrived on the 10th." 
 
 " By Jove ! you are lost. Come, let me make you ac- 
 quainted. Here, Bent ! Bill ! Jerry ! " 
 
 And the next moment, I had shaken hands with one and 
 all of the traders, of which fraternity I found that my new 
 friend, St. Vrain, was a member. 
 
 " First gong that ? " asked one, as the loud scream of a 
 gong came through the gallery. 
 
 " Yes," replied Bent, consulting his watch. " Just time 
 to 'licker.' Come along I " 
 
 Bent moved towards the cafe, and we all followed, nemine 
 dissentiente. 
 
 The spring season was setting in, and the young mint had 
 sprouted : a botanical fact with which my new acquaintances 
 appeared to be familiar, as one and all of them ordered a 
 " mint julep." This beverage, in the mixing and drinking, 
 occupied our time until the second scream of the gong sum- 
 moned us to dinner. 
 
 " Sit with us, Mr. Haller," said Bent ; " I am sorry we 
 didn't know you sooner. You have been lonely." 
 
 And so saying, he led the way into the dining-room, fol- 
 lowed by his companions and myself. 
 
 I need not describe a dinner at the " Planters'," with its 
 venison steaks, its buffalo tongues, its " prairie chickens," 
 and its delicious frog " fixings " from the Illinois " bottom." 
 No ; I would not describe the dinner, and what followed I 
 am afraid I could not. 
 
 We sat until we had the table to ourselves. Then the 
 cloth was removed, and we commenced smoking regalias and 
 drinking madeira at twelve dollars a bottle ! This was or- 
 dered in by some one, not in single bottles, but by the half- 
 dozen. I remember thus far well enough : and that, when- 
 
l6 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 ever I took up a wine-card or a pencil, these articles were 
 snatched out of my fingers. 
 
 I remember listening to stories of wild adventures among 
 the Pawnees, and the Cumanches, and the Blackfeet, until I 
 was filled with interest, and became enthusiastic about 
 prairie-life. Then some one asked me, would I not like to 
 join them in " a trip ? " Upon this I made a speech, and 
 proposed to accompany my new acquaintances on their next 
 expedition ; and then St. Vrain said I was just the man for 
 their life ; and this pleased me highly. Then some one 
 sang a Spanish song, with a guitar, I think, and some one 
 else danced an Indian war-dance ; and then we all rose to 
 our feet, and chorused the " Star-spangled Banner ; " and I 
 remember nothing else after this, until next morning, when 
 I remember well that I awoke with a splitting headache. 
 
 I had hardly time to reflect on my previous night's folly 
 when the door opened, and St. Vrain, with half a dozen of 
 my table companions, rushed into the room. They were 
 followed by a waiter who carried several large glasses 
 topped with ice, and filled with a pale amber-colored liquid 
 
 " A sherry cobbler, Mr. Haller," cried one ; " best thing in 
 the world for you : drain it, my boy. It'll cool you in a 
 squirrel's jump." 
 
 I drank off the refreshing beverage as desired. 
 
 " Now, my dear friend," said St. Vrain, " you feel a hun- 
 dred per cent, better ! But, tell me, were you in earnest 
 when you spoke of going with us across the plains ? We 
 start in a week; I shall be sorry to part with you so soon." 
 
 " But I was in earnest. I am going with you, if you will 
 only show me how I am to set about it." 
 
 " Nothing easier : buy yourself a horse." 
 
 " I have got one." 
 
 " Then a few coarse articles of dress, a rifle, a pair of 
 pistols, a " 
 
THE PRAIRIE MERCHANTS. 17 
 
 " Stop, stop ! I have all these things. That is not what 
 I would be at, but this : — You, gentlemen, carry goods to 
 Santa Fe\ You double or treble your money on them. Now, 
 I have ten thousand dollars in a bank here. What should 
 hinder me to combine profit with pleasure, and invest it as 
 you do ? " 
 
 " Nothing ; nothing ! A good idea," answered several. 
 
 " Well, then, if any of you will have the goodness to go 
 with me, and show me what sort of merchandise I am to lay 
 in for the Santa Fe market, I will pay his wine bill at dinner, 
 and that's no small commission, I think." 
 
 The prairie men laughed loudly, declaring they would all 
 go a-shopping with me ; and, after breakfast, we started in a 
 body, arm-in-arm. 
 
 Before dinner, I had invested nearly all my disposable 
 funds in printed calicoes, long knives, and looking-glasses, 
 etc., leaving just money enough to purchase mule-wagons 
 and hire teamsters at Independence, our point of departure 
 for the " plains." 
 
 A few day after, with my new companions, I was steam- 
 ing it up the Missouri, on our way to the trackless prairies 
 of the " Far West." 
 
Vaqueros Lassoing Wild Horses. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " THE PRAIRIE FEVER. 
 
 FTER a week spent in 
 Independence buying 
 mules and wagons, 
 i we took the route over 
 the plains. There were a hun- 
 H dred wagons in the " caravan," 
 I and nearly twice that number 
 of teamsters and attendants. 
 |||! Two of the capacious vehicles 
 contained all my " plunder " ; 
 and, to manage them, I had hired 
 a couple of lathy, long-haired 
 engaged a Canadian voyageur 
 named Gode as a sort of attendant or compagnon. 
 
 Where are the glossy gentlemen of the Planters' Hotel ? 
 One would suppose they had been left behind, as here are 
 18 
 
 Missourians. I had also 
 
"the prairie fever. 19 
 
 none but men in hunting-shirts and slouch hats. Yes ; but 
 under these hats we recognize their faces, and in these rude 
 shirts we have the same jovial fellows as ever. The silky 
 black and the diamonds have disappeared, for now the 
 traders flourish under the prairie costume. I will endeavor 
 to give an idea of the appearance of my companions by de- 
 scribing my own ; for I am " tricked out " very much like 
 themselves. 
 
 I wear a hunting-shirt of dressed deerskin. It is a garment 
 more after the style of an ancient tunic than anything I can 
 think of. It is of a light yellow color, beautifully stitched 
 and embroidered ; and the cape, for it has a short cape, 
 is fringed by tags cut out of the leather itself. The skirt is 
 also bordered by a similar fringe, and hangs full and low. 
 A pair of " savers" of scarlet cloth cover my limbs to the 
 thigh ; and under these are strong jean pantaloons, heavy 
 boots, and big brass spurs. A colored cotton shirt, a blue 
 neck-tie, and a broad-brimmed Guayaquil hat, complete the 
 articles of my every-day dress. Behind me, on the cantle of 
 my saddle, may be observed a bright red object folded into a 
 cylindrical form. That is my " Mackinaw," a great favor- 
 ite, for it makes my bed by night and my great coat on 
 other occasions. There is a small slit in the middle of it, 
 through which I thrust my head in cold or rainy weather and 
 I am thus covered to the ankles. 
 
 As I have said, my compagnons de voyage are similarly 
 attired. There may be a difference of color in the blanket 
 or the leggings, or the shirt may be of other materials ; but 
 that I have described may be taken as a " character dress." 
 
 We are all somewhat similarly armed and equipped. For 
 my part, I may say that I am " armed to the teeth." In 
 my holsters I carry a pair of Colt's large-sized revolvers, six 
 shots each. In my belt is another pair of the small size, 
 with five shots each. In addition, I have a light rifle, mak- 
 
20 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 ing in all twenty-three shots which I have learnt to de- 
 liver in as many seconds of time. Failing with all these, 
 I carry in my belt a long shining blade known as a " bowie 
 knife." This last is my hunting knife, my dining knife, 
 and, in short, my knife of " all work." For accouterments 
 I have a pouch and a flask, both slung under the right 
 arm. I have also a large gourd canteen, and haversack 
 for my rations. So have all my companions. 
 
 But we are differently mounted. Some ride saddle mules, 
 other bestride mustangs, while a few have brought their 
 favorite American horses. I am of this number. I ride a 
 dark-brown stallion with black legs, and muzzle like the 
 withered fern. He is a half Arab, and of perfect proportions. 
 He is called " Moro," a Spanish name given him by the 
 Louisiana planter from whom I bought him, but why I do 
 not know. I have retained the name, and he answers to it 
 readily. He is strong, fleet, and beautiful. Many of my 
 friends fancy him on the route, and offer large prices for 
 him ; but these do not tempt me, for my Moro serves me 
 well. Every day I grow more and more attached to him. 
 My dog Alp, a St. Bernard that I bought from a Swiss emigre 
 in St. Louis, hardly comes in for a tithe of my affections. 
 
 I find on referring to my note-book, that for weeks we 
 traveled over the prairies without any incident of unusual in- 
 terest. To me the scenery was interest enough ; and I do 
 not remember a more striking picture than to see the long 
 caravan of wagons, the " prairie ships," deployed over the 
 plain, or crawling slowly up some gentle slope, their white 
 tilts contrasting beautifully with the deep green of the earth. 
 At night, too, the camp, with its corralled -wagons, and horses 
 picketed around, was equally a picture. The scenery was 
 altogether new to me, and imbued me with impressions of a 
 peculiar character. The streams were fringed with tall 
 groves of cottonwood trees, whose column-like stems sup- 
 
1 THE PRAIRIE FEVER. 21 
 
 ported a thick frondage of silvery leaves. These groves 
 meeting at different points, walled in the view, so dividing 
 the prairies from one another that we seemed to travel 
 through vast fields fenced by colossal hedges. 
 
 We crossed many rivers, fording some, and floating our 
 wagons over others that were deeper and wider. Occa- 
 sionally we saw deer and antelope, and our hunters shot a few 
 of these ; but we had not yet reached the range of the buffalo. 
 Once we stopped a day to recruit in a wooded " bottom," 
 where the grass was plenty and the water pure. Now and 
 then, too, we were halted to mend a broken tongue or an axle, 
 or help a " stalled " wagon from its miry bed. 
 
 I had very little trouble with my particular division of the 
 caravan. My Missourians turned out to be a pair of staunch 
 hands, who could assist one another without making a des- 
 perate affair of every slight accident. 
 
 The grass had sprung up, and our mules and oxen, instead 
 of thinning down, every day grew fatter upon it. Moro 
 therefore, came in for a better share of the maize that I had 
 brought in my wagons, and which kept my favorite in fine 
 traveling condition. 
 
 As we approached the Arkansas, we saw mounted Indians 
 disappearing over the swells. They were Pawnees ; and for 
 several days clouds of these dusky warriors hung upon the 
 skirts of the caravan. But they knew our strength, and kept 
 at a wary distance from our long rifles. 
 
 To me every day brought something new, either in 
 the incidents of the " voyage " or the features of the land- 
 scape. 
 
 Gode, who had been by turns a voyageur, a hunter, a trap- 
 per, and a coureur du bois, in our private dialogues had given 
 me an insight into many an item of prairie-craft, thus ena- 
 bling me to cut quite a respectable figure among my new com- 
 rades, St. Vrain, too, whose frank, generous manner had 
 
22 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 already won my confidence, spared no pains to make the trip 
 agreeable to me. What with gallops by day, and the wilder 
 tales by the night watch-fires, I became intoxicated with the 
 romance of my new life. I had caught the "prairie-fever J '" 
 
 So my companions told me, laughing. I did not under- 
 stand them then. I knew what they meant afterwards. The 
 prairie fever ! Yes. I was just then in process of being in- 
 oculated by that strange disease. It grew upon me apace. 
 The dreams of home began to die within me ; and with 
 these the illusory ideas of many a young and foolish ambition. 
 Died away, too, dead out of my heart, the allurements of the 
 great city, the memory of soft eyes and silken tresses, the 
 impress of amorous emotions, foes to human happiness ; all 
 died away, as if they had never been or I had never felt them! 
 
 My strength increased, both physically and intellectually. 
 I experienced a buoyancy of spirits and a vigor of body I 
 had never known before. I felt a pleasure in action. My 
 blood seemed to rush warmer and swifter through my veins, 
 and I fancied that my eyes reached to a more distant vision. 
 I could look boldly upon the sun without quivering in my 
 glance. 
 
 Had I imbibed a portion of the divine essence that lives, 
 and moves, and has its being in those vast solitudes ? 
 
 Who can answer this ? 
 
 The prairie fever ! I feel it now ! Whilst I am penning 
 these memories, my fingers twitch to grasp the reins, my 
 knees quiver to press the sides of my noble horse, and wildly 
 wander over the verdant billows of the prairie sea 1 
 
Indian Wampum Belt. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A RIDE UPON A BUFFALO BULL. 
 
 E had been out about two weeks when 
 we struck the Arkansas " bend," about 
 six miles below the " Plum Buttes." 
 Here our wagons corralled and 
 camped. 
 
 So far we had seen but little of the 
 buffalo ; only a stray bull, or, at most 
 two or three together, and these shy. 
 It was now the " running season," but 
 none of the great droves, love-maddened, had crossed us. 
 " Yonder ! " cried St. Vrain ; " fresh hump for supper ! " 
 We looked northwest, as indicated by our friend. Along 
 the escarpment of a low table, five dark objects broke the 
 line of the horizon. A glance was enough : they Were 
 buffaloes. 
 
 As St. Vrain spoke, we were about slipping off our saddles. 
 Back went the girth buckles with a " sneck," down came 
 the stirrups, up went we, and off in the " twinkling of a 
 goat's eye." 
 
 Half a score or so started ; some, like myself, for the 
 sport ; while others, old hunters, had the " meat " in their 
 eye. 
 
 We had made but a short day's march ; our horses were 
 still fresh, and in three times as many minutes, the three 
 miles that lay between us and the game were reduced to 
 
 23 
 
24 the scalp-hunters. 
 
 one. Here, however, we were " winded." Some of the 
 party, like myself, green upon the prairies, disregarding 
 advice, had ridden straight ahead ; and the bulls snuffed us 
 on the wind. When within a mile, one of them threw up 
 his shaggy front, snorted, struck the ground with his hoof, 
 rolled over, rose up again, and dashed off at full speed, 
 followed by his four companions. 
 
 It remained to us now either to abandon the chase or put 
 our horses to their mettle and " catch up." The latter 
 course was adopted, and we galloped forward. All at once 
 we found ourselves riding up to what appeared to be a clay 
 wall, six feet high. It was a stair between two tables, and 
 ran right and left as far as the eye could reach, without the 
 semblance of a gap. 
 
 This was an obstacle that caused us to rein up and 
 reflect. Some wheeled their horses, and commenced riding 
 back, while half a dozen of us, better mounted, among 
 whom were St. Vrain and my voyageur Gode, not wishing 
 to give up the chase so easily, put to the spur, and cleared 
 the scarp. 
 
 From this point it cost us a five miles' gallop, and our 
 horses a white sweat, to come up with the hindmost, a young 
 cow, which fell, bored by a bullet from every rifle in the party. 
 
 As the others had gained some distance ahead, and we 
 had meat enough for all, we reined up, and, dismounting, 
 set about " removing the hair." This operation was a short 
 one under the skilful knives of the hunters. We had now 
 leisure to look back, and calculate the distance we had 
 ridden from camp. 
 
 " Eight miles, every inch ! " cried one. 
 
 " We're close to the trail," said St. Vrain, pointing to 
 some old wagon tracks that marked the route of the Santa 
 F6 traders. 
 
 « Well ? " 
 
A RIDE UPON A BUFFALO BULL. 2$ 
 
 " If we ride into camp, we shall have to ride back in the 
 morning. It will be sixteen extra miles for our cattle." 
 
 " True." 
 
 " Let us stay here, then. Here's water and grass. There's 
 buffalo meat ; and yonder's a wagon load of ' chips.' We 
 have our blankets ; what more do we want ? " 
 
 " I say, camp where we are." 
 
 "And I." 
 
 "And I." 
 
 In a minute the girth buckles flew open, our saddles were 
 lifted off, and our panting horses were cropping the curly 
 bunches of the prairie grass, within the circles of their 
 cabriestos. 
 
 A crystal rivulet, the " arroyo " of the Spaniards, stole 
 away southward to the Arkansas. On the bank of this rivulet, 
 and under one of its bluffs, we chose a spot for our bivouac. 
 The bois de vache was collected, a fire was kindled, and 
 " hump steaks," spitted on sticks, were soon sputtering in 
 the blaze. Luckily, St. Vrain and I had our flasks along ; 
 and as each of them contained a pint of pure Cognac, we 
 managed to make a tolerable supper. The old hunters had 
 their pipes and tobacco, my friend and I our cigars, and we 
 sat round the ashes till a late hour, smoking and listening to 
 wild tales of mountain adventure. 
 
 At length the watch was told off, the lariats were shortened, 
 the picket-pins driven home, and my comrades, rolling them- 
 selves up in their blankets, rested their heads in the hollow 
 of their saddles, and went to sleep. 
 
 There was a man named Hibbets in our party, who, from 
 his habits of somnolency, had earned the soubriquet of 
 "Sleepy-head." For this reason, the first watch had been 
 assigned to him, being the least dangerous, as Indians seldom 
 made their attacks until the hour of soundest sleep : that be- 
 fore daybreak. 
 
26 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Hibbets had climbed to his post, the top of the bluff, 
 where he could command a view of the surrounding prairie. 
 
 Before night had set in, I had noticed a very beautiful 
 spot on the bank of the arroyo, about two hundred yards 
 from where my comrades lay. A sudden fancy came into 
 my head to sleep there ; and taking up my rifle, robe, and 
 blanket, at the same time calling to " Sleepy-head " to awake 
 me in case of alarm, I proceeded thither. 
 
 The ground, shelving gradually down to the arroyo, was 
 covered with soft buffalo grass, thick and dry ; as good a 
 bed as was ever pressed by sleepy mortal. On this I spread 
 my robe, and folding my blanket around me, lay down, cigar 
 in mouth, to smoke myself asleep. 
 
 It was a lovely moonlight, so clear that I could easily dis- 
 tinguish the colors of the prairie flowers — the silver euphor- 
 bias, the golden sunflowers, and the scarlet malvas, that 
 fringed the banks of the arroyo at my feet. There was an 
 enchanting stillness in the air, broken only by an occa- 
 sional whine from the prairie wolf, the distant snoring of my 
 companions, and the " crop, crop " of our horses shortening 
 the crisp grass. 
 
 I lay a good while awake, until my cigar burnt up to my 
 lips, we smoke them close on the prairies) ; then, spitting 
 out the stump, I turned over on my side, and was soon in 
 the land of dreams. 
 
 I could not have been asleep many minutes when I felt 
 sensible of a strange noise, like distant thunder, or the roar- 
 ing of a waterfall. The ground seemed to tremble beneath 
 me. 
 
 " We are going to have a dash of a thunder-shower," 
 thought I, still half dreaming, half sensible to impressions 
 from without ; and I drew the folds of my blanket closer 
 about me, and again slept. 
 
 I was awakened by a noise like thunder — indeed, like the 
 
A RIDE UPON A BUFFALO BULL. 27 
 
 trampling of a thousand hoofs, and the lowing of a thousand 
 oxen ! The earth echoed and trembled. I could hear the 
 shouts of my comrades : the voices of St. Vrain and Gode, 
 the latter calling out — 
 
 " Sacr-r-re ! monsieur ; prenez garde des buffles ! " 
 
 I saw that they had drawn the horses, and were hurrying 
 them under the bluff. 
 
 I sprang to my feet, flinging aside my blanket. A fearful 
 spectacle was before me. Away to the west, as far as the 
 eye could reach, the prairie seemed in motion. Black waves 
 rolled over its undulating outlines, as though some burning 
 mountain were pouring down its lava upon the plains. A 
 thousand bright spots flashed and flitted along the moving 
 surface like jets of fire. The ground shook, men shouted, 
 horses reared upon their ropes, neighing wildly. My dog 
 barked and howled, running around me ! 
 
 For a moment I thought I was dreaming ; but no, the 
 scene was too real to be mistaken for a vision. I saw the 
 border of the black wave within ten paces of me, and still 
 approaching 1 Then, and not till then, did I recognize the 
 shaggy crests and glaring eyeballs of the buffalo ! 
 
 " Oh, God ; I am in their track. I shall be trampled to 
 death ! " 
 
 It was too late to attempt an escape by running. I seized 
 my rifle and fired at the foremost of the band. The effect 
 of my shot was not perceptible. The water of the arroyo 
 was dashed in my face. A huge bull ahead of the rest, 
 furious and snorting, plunged through the stream and up the 
 slope. I was lifted and tossed high into the air. I was 
 thrown rearwards, and fell upon a moving mass. I did not 
 feel hurt or stunned. I felt myself carried onward upon the 
 backs of several animals that, in the dense drove, ran 
 close together. These, frightened at their strange burden, 
 bellowed loudly, and dashed on to the front. A sudden 
 
28 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 thought struck me, and, fixing on that which was most under 
 me, I dropped my legs astride of him, embracing his hump, 
 and clutching the long woolly hair that grew upon his neck. 
 The animal " routed " with extreme terror, and, plunging 
 forward, soon headed the band. 
 
 This was exactly what I wanted ; and on we went over the 
 prairie, the bull running at top speed, believing, no doubt, that 
 he had a panther or a catamount between his shoulders. 
 
 I had no desire to disabuse him of this belief, and, lest he 
 should deem me altogether harmless, and come to a halt, I 
 slipped out my bowie, which happened to be " handy," and 
 pricked him up whenever he showed symptoms of lagging. 
 At every fresh touch of the " spur " he roared out, and ran 
 forward at a redoubled pace. 
 
 My danger was still extreme. The drove was coming 
 on behind with the front of nearly a mile. I could not have 
 cleared it had the bull stopped and left me on the prairie. 
 
 Notwithstanding the peril I was in, I could not resist 
 laughing at my ludicrous situation. I felt as one does when 
 looking at a good comedy. 
 
 We struck through a village of " prairie dogs." Here I 
 fancied the animal was about to turn and run back, This 
 brought my mirth to a sudden pause ; but the buffalo usually 
 runs in a " bee-line," and fortunately mine made no exception 
 to the law. On he went, sinking to the knees, kicking the 
 dust from the conical hills, snorting and bellowing with rage 
 and terror. 
 
 The " Plum Buttes " were directly in the line of our course. 
 I had seen this from the start, and knew that if I could 
 reach them I would be safe. They were nearly three miles 
 from the bluff where we had bivouacked, but in my ride I 
 fancied them ten. 
 
 A small one rose over the prairie, several hundred yards 
 nearer than the main heights. Towards this I pricked the 
 
A RIDE UPON A BUFFALO BULL. 29 
 
 foaming bull in a last stretch, and he brought me cleverly 
 within a hundred yards of its base. 
 
 It was now time to take leave of my dusky companion. I 
 could have slaughtered him as I leaned over his back. My 
 knife rested upon the most vulnerable part of his huge body. 
 No ! I would not have slain that buffalo for the Koh-i-noor. 
 
 Untwisting my fingers from his thick fleece, I slipped down 
 over his tail, and without as much as saying li Good-night, " 
 ran with all my speed towards the knoll. I climbed up ; and 
 sitting down upon a loose boulder of rock, looked over the 
 prairie. 
 
 The moon was still shining brightly. My late companion 
 had halted not far from where I had left him, and stood 
 glaring back with an air of extreme bewilderment. There 
 was something so comical in the sight that I yelled with 
 laughter as I sat securely on my perch. 
 
 I looked to the southwest. As far as the eye could see, 
 the prairie was black, and moving. The living wave came 
 roiling onward and toward me ; but I could now observe it 
 in safety. The myriads of glancing eyes, sparkling like 
 phosphoric gleams, no longer flashed terror. 
 
 The drove was still half a mile distant. I thought I saw 
 quick gleams, and heard the report of fire-arms away over 
 its left border ; but I could not be certain. I had begun to 
 think of the fate of my comrades, and this gave me hopes 
 that they were safe. 
 
 The buffaloes approached the butte on which I was seated ; 
 and, perceiving the obstacle, suddenly forked into two great 
 belts, and swept right and left around it. What struck me 
 at this moment as curious was, that my bull, my particular 
 bull, instead of waiting till his comrades had come up, and 
 falling in among the foremost, suddenly tossed up his head, 
 and galloped off as if a pack of wolves had been after him. 
 He ran towards the outside of the band. When he had 
 
30 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 reached a point that placed him fairly beyond the flank, I 
 could see him closing in, and moving on with the rest. 
 
 This strange tactic of my late companion puzzled me at 
 the time, but I afterwards learned that it was sound strategy 
 on his part. Had he remained where I had parted with him, 
 the foremost bulls coming up would have mistaken him for 
 an individual of some other tribe, and would certainly have 
 gored him to death. 
 
 I sat upon the rock for nearly two hours, silently watching 
 the sable stream as it poured past. I was on an island in 
 the midst of a black and glittering sea. At one time I 
 fancied I was moving, that the butte was sailing onward, and 
 the buffaloes were standing still. My head swam with diz- 
 ziness, and I leaped to my feet to drive away the strange 
 illusion. 
 
 The torrent rolled onward, and at length the hindmost 
 went straggling past. I descended from the knoll, and com- 
 menced groping my way over the black, trodden earth. 
 What was lately a green sward now presented the aspect of 
 ground freshly ploughed, and trampled by droves of oxen. 
 
 A number of white animals, resembling a flock of sheep, 
 passed near me. They were wolves hanging upon the skirts 
 of the herd. 
 
 I pushed on, keeping to the southward. At length I heard 
 voices ; and, in the clear moonlight, could see several horse- 
 men galloping in circles over the plain. I shouted " Halloa ! " 
 A voice answered mine, and one of the horsemen came 
 galloping up ; it was St. Vrain. 
 
 " Why, Lord bless me, Haller ! " cried he, reining up, and 
 bending from his saddle to get a better view of me, " is it 
 you or your ghost ? As I sit here, it's the man himself, and 
 alive ! " 
 
 " Never in better condition," I replied. 
 
 " But where did you come from ? the clouds ? the sky ? 
 
A RIDE UPON A BUFFALO BULL. 3 1 
 
 where ? " And his questions were echoed by the others, 
 who at this moment were shaking me by the hand, as if they 
 had not seen me for a twelvemonth. 
 
 Gode seemed to be the most perplexed man of the party. 
 
 " Mon Dieu ! run over ; tramp by von million cussed 
 buffles, et ne pas mort ! 'Cr-r-re matin ! " 
 
 " We were hunting for your body, or rather, the fragments 
 of it," said St. Vrain. " We had searched every foot of the 
 prairie for a mile round, and had almost come to the con- 
 clusion that the fierce brutes had eaten you up." 
 
 " Eat monsieur up ! No ! tre million buffles no him eat. 
 Mon Dieu ! Ha, Sleephead, pe hanged ! " 
 
 This exclamation of the Canadian was addressed to Hib- 
 bets, who had failed to warm my comrades of where I lay, 
 and thus placed me in such a dangerous predicament. 
 
 " We saw you tossed in the air," continued St. Vrain, 
 " and fall right into the thick of them. Then, of course, we 
 gave you up. But how, in heaven's name, have you got 
 clear ? " 
 
 I related my adventure to my wondering comrades. 
 
 " Par Dieu /" cried Gode " un gar con tres-bizarre : une 
 aventure tres-merveilleuse ! " 
 
 From that hour I was looked upon as a " captain " on the 
 prairies. 
 
 My comrades had made good work of it, as a dozen dark 
 objects that lay upon the plain testified. They had found 
 my rifle and blankets, the latter trodden into the earth. 
 
 St. Vrain had still a few drops in his flask ; and after 
 swallowing these, and again placing the guard, we returned 
 to our prairie couches and slept out the night. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN A BAD " FIX." 
 
 FEW days afterwards, 
 another " adventure " 
 befel me ; and I began 
 ^ to think that I was 
 destined to become a hero among 
 the "mountain men.'' A small 
 party of traders, myself among 
 the number, had pushed forward 
 ahead of the caravan. Our ob- 
 ject was to arrive at Santa Fe a 
 day or two before the wagons, in 
 order to have everything arranged 
 with the governor for their entrance into that capital. We 
 took the route by the Cimmaron. 
 
 Our road, for a hundred miles or so, lay through a barren 
 desert, without game, and almost without water. The buffalo 
 had already disappeared, and deer were equally scarce. We 
 had to content ourselves with the dried meat which we had 
 brought from the settlements. We were in the deserts of 
 the artemisia. Now and then we could see a stray antelope 
 bounding away before us, but keeping far out of range. They, 
 too, seemed to be unusually shy. 
 
 On the third day after leaving the caravan, as we were 
 riding near the Cimmaron, I thought I observed a pronged 
 head disappearing behind a swell in the prairie. My com- 
 3 2 
 
IN A BAD FIX. 33 
 
 panions were skeptical, and none of them would go with me ; 
 so, wheeling out of the trail, I started alone. One of the 
 men, for Gode was behind, kept charge of my dog, as I did 
 not choose to take him with me, lest he might alarm the 
 antelopes. My horse was fresh and willing ; and whether 
 successful or not, I knew that I could easily overtake the 
 party by camping-time. 
 
 I struck directly towards the spot where I had seen the 
 object. It appeared to be only half a mile or so from the 
 trail. It proved more distant : a common illusion in the 
 crystal atmosphere of these upland regions. 
 
 A curiously formed ridge, a coutcau des prairies on a small 
 scale, traversed the plain from east to west. A thicket of 
 cactus covered part of its summit. Towards this thicket I 
 directed myself. 
 
 I dismounted at the bottom of the slope, and leading my 
 horse silently up among the cacti plants, tied him to one of 
 their branches. I then crept cautiously through the thorny 
 leaves towards the point where I fancied I had seen the 
 game. To my joy, not one antelope, but a brace of those 
 beautiful animals was quietly grazing beyond ; but, alas ! too 
 far off for the range of my rifle. They were fully three 
 hundred yards distant, upon a smooth, grassy slope. There 
 was not even a sage bush to cover me, should I attempt to 
 " approach " them. What was to be done ? 
 
 I lay for several minutes, thinking over the different tricks 
 known in hunter-craft for taking the antelope. Should I 
 imitate their call ? Should I hoist my handkerchief, and try 
 to lure them up ? I saw that they were too shy ; for, at short 
 intervals, they threw up their graceful heads and looked 
 inquiringly around them. I remembered the red blanket on 
 my saddle. I could display this upon the cactus bushes ; 
 perhaps it would attract them. 
 
 I had no alternative, and was turning to go back for the 
 3 
 
34 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 blanket, when, all at once, my eye rested upon a clay-colored 
 line running across the prairie beyond where the animals 
 were feeding. It was a break in the surface of the plain, 
 a buffalo road, or the channel of an arroyo ; in either case the 
 very cover I wanted, for, the animals were not a hundred 
 yards from it, and were getting still nearer to it as they fed. 
 
 Creeping back out of the thicket,I ran along the side of 
 the slope towards a point where I had noticed that the ridge 
 was depressed to the prairie level. Here, to my surprise, I 
 found myself on the banks of a broad arroyo, whose water, 
 clear and shallow, ran slowly over a bed of sand and gypsum. 
 
 The banks were low, not over three feet above the surface 
 of the water, except where the ridge impinged upon the stream. 
 Here there was a high bluff ; and, hurrying round its base, I 
 entered the channel, and commenced wading upward. 
 
 As I had anticipated, I soon came to a bend where the 
 stream, after running parallel to the ridge, swept round and 
 canoned through it. At this place I stopped, and looked 
 cautiously over the bank. The antelopes had approached 
 within less than rifle range of the arroyo ; but they were yet 
 far above my position. They were still quietly feeding and 
 unconscious of danger. I again bent down, and waded on. 
 
 It was a difficult task proceeding in this way. The bed 
 of the creek was soft and yielding, and I was compelled to 
 tread slowly and silently lest I should alarm the game ; but 
 I was cheered in my exertions by the prospect of fresh ven- 
 ison for my supper. 
 
 After a weary drag of several hundred yards, I came op- 
 posite to a small clump of wormwood bushes growing out of 
 the bank. " I may be high enough," thought I ; " these will 
 serve for cover." 
 
 I raised my body gradually until I could see through the 
 leaves. I was in the right spot. 
 
 I brought my rifle to a level, sighted for the heart of the 
 
IN A BAD " FIX." 35 
 
 buck, and fired. The animal leaped from the ground, and 
 fell back lifeless. 
 
 I was about to rush forward and secure my prize, when I 
 observed the doe, instead of running off as I had expected, 
 go up to her fallen partner and press her tapering nose to his 
 body. She was not more than twenty yards from me ; and 
 I could plainly see that her look was one of inquiry and be- 
 wilderment. All at once she seemed to comprehend the fatal 
 truth ; and throwing back her head, commenced uttering 
 the most piteous cries, at the same time running in circles 
 around the body. 
 
 I stood wavering between two minds. My first impulse 
 had been to reload and kill the doe ; but her plaintive voice 
 entered my heart, disarming me of all hostile intentions- 
 Had I dreamt of witnessing this painful spectacle, I should 
 not have left the trail. But the mischief was now done. " I 
 have worse than killed her,"' thought I ; "it will be better to 
 despatch her at once." 
 
 Actuated by these principles of a common, but to her fatal, 
 humanity, I rested the butt of my rifle and reloaded. With 
 a faltering hand I again leveled the piece and fired. 
 
 My nerves were steady enough to do the work. When the 
 smoke floated aside, I could see the little creature bleeding 
 upon the grass, her head resting against the body of her mur- 
 dered mate. 
 
 I shouldered my rifle, and was about to move forward, 
 when, to my astonishment, I found that I was caught by the 
 feet. I was held firmly, as if my legs had been screwed in 
 a vice ! 
 
 I made an effort to extricate myself ; another, more violent, 
 and equally unsuccessful ; and with a third, I lost my balance, 
 and fell back upon the water. 
 
 Half-suffocated, I regained my upright position, but only 
 to find that I was held as fast as ever. 
 
36 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Again I struggled to free my limbs. I could neither move 
 them backward nor forward, to the right nor to the left ; and 
 I became sensible that I was gradually going down. Then 
 the fearful truth flashed upon me : / was sinking in a quick- 
 sand. 
 
 A feeling of horror came over me. I renewed my efforts 
 
 Indian Chivalry in Mexico ; Her Lord and Master. 
 
 with the energy of desperation. I leant to one side then to 
 the other, almost wrenching my knees from their sockets. 
 My feet remained fast as ever. I could not move them an 
 inch. 
 
 The soft clinging sand already overtopped my horse- 
 skin boots, wedging them around my ankles, so that I was 
 unable to draw them off ; and I could feel that I was still 
 
f IN A BAD " FIX." 37" 
 
 sinking, slowly but surely, as though some subterranean mon- 
 ster were leisurely dragging me down ! This very thought 
 caused me a fresh thrill of horror, and I called aloud for help. 
 To whom ? There was no one within miles of me : no living 
 thing. Yes ! the neigh of my horse answered me from the 
 hills, mocking my despair. 
 
 I bent forward as well as my constrained position would 
 permit, and, with frenzied fingers, commenced tearing up the 
 sand. I could barely reach the surface ; and the little hol- 
 low I was able to make filled up almost as soon as it had 
 been formed. 
 
 A thought occurred to me. My rifle might support me 
 placed horizontally. I looked around for it. It was not to 
 be seen. It had sunk beneath the sand. 
 
 Could I throw my body flat, and prevent myself from sink- 
 ing deeper ? No. The water was two feet in depth. I 
 should drown at once. 
 
 This last hope left me as soon as formed. I could think 
 of no plan to save myself. I could make no further effort. 
 A strange stupor seized upon me. My very thoughts became 
 paralyzed. I knew that I was going mad. For a moment 
 J was mad ! 
 
 After an interval my senses returned. I made an effort 
 to rouse my mind from its paralysis, in order that I might meet 
 death, which I now believed to be certain, as a man should. 
 
 I stood erect. My eyes had sunk to the prairie level, and 
 rested upon the still bleeding victims of my cruelty. My 
 heart smote me at the sight. Was I suffering a retribution 
 of God ? 
 
 With humble and penitent thoughts I turned my face to 
 heaven, almost dreading that some sign of omnipotent anger 
 would scowl upon me from above. But no ! The sun was 
 shining as brightly as ever, and the blue canopy of the world 
 was without a cloud. 
 
38 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I gazed upward, and prayed with an earnestness known only 
 to the hearts of men in positions of peril like mine. 
 
 As I continued to look up, an object attracted my attention. 1 
 Against the sky I distinguished the outlines of a large bird. 
 I knew it to be the obscene bird of the plains the buzzard 
 vulture. Whence had it come ? Who knows ? Far beyond 
 the reach of human eye it had seen or scented the slaughtered 
 antelopes, and on broad silent wing was now descending to 
 the feast of death. 
 
 Presently another, and another, and many others, mottled 
 the blue field of the heavens, curving and wheeling silently 
 earthward. Then the foremost swooped down upon the 
 bank, and after gazing around for a moment, flapped off 
 towards its prey. 
 
 In a few seconds the prairie was black with filthy birds, 
 which clambered over the dead antelopes, and beat their 
 wings against each other, while they tore out the eyes of the 
 quarry with their fetid beaks. 
 
 And now came gaunt wolves, sneaking and hungry, steal- 
 ing out of the cactus thicket, and loping, coward-like, over 
 the green swells of the prairie. These, after a battle, drove 
 away the vultures, and tore up the prey, all the while growl- 
 ing and snapping vengefully at each other. 
 
 " Thank heaven I I shall at least be saved from this ! " 
 
 I was soon relieved from the sight. My eyes had sunk 
 below the level of the bank. I had looked my last on the 
 fair green earth. I could now see only the clayey walls that 
 contained the river, and the water that ran unheeding by me. 
 
 Once more I fixed my gaze upon the sky, and with prayer- 
 ful heart endeavored to resign myself to my fate. 
 
 In spite of my efforts to be calm, the memories of earthly 
 pleasures, and friends, and home, came over me, causing me, 
 at intervals, to break into wild paroxysms, and make fresh 
 though fruitless struggles. 
 
IN A BAD FIX. 39 
 
 Again I was attracted by the neighing of my horse. 
 
 A thought entered my mind, filling me with fresh hopes. 
 " Perhaps my horse " 
 
 I lost not a moment. I raised my voice to its highest pitch, 
 and called the animal by name. I knew that he would come 
 at my call. I had tied him but slightly. The cactus limb 
 would snap off. I called again, repeating words that were 
 well known to him. I listened with a bounding heart. For 
 a moment there was silence. Then I heard the quick sound 
 of his hoofs, as though the animal were rearing and strug- 
 gling to free himself. Then I could distinguish the stroke of 
 his heels in a measured and regular gallop. 
 
 Nearer came the sounds ; nearer and clearer, until the gal- 
 lant brute appeared upon the bank above me. There he 
 halted, and flinging back his tossed mane, uttered a shrill 
 neigh. He was bewildered, and looked to every side, snorting 
 loudly. 
 
 I knew that having once seen me he would not stop until 
 he had pressed his nose against my cheek, for this was his 
 usual custom. Holding out my hands, I again uttered the 
 magic words. 
 
 Now glancing downward he perceived me, and stretching 
 himself, sprang out into the channel. The next moment I 
 held him by the bridle. 
 
 There was no time to be lost. I was still going down ; 
 and my armpits were fast nearing the surface of the quick- 
 sand. 
 
 I caught the lariat, and passing it under the saddlegirths, 
 fastened it in a tight, firm knot. I then looped the trailing 
 end, making it secure around my body. I had left enough 
 of the rope, between the bit-ring and the girths, to enable me 
 to check and guide the animal, in case the drag upon my 
 body should be too painful. 
 
 All this while the dumb brute seemed to comprehend what 
 
40 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I was about. He knew, too, the nature of the ground on 
 which he stood, for during the operation he kept lifting his 
 feet alternately to prevent himself from sinking. 
 
 My arrangements were at length completed ; and with a 
 feeling of terrible anxiety, I gave my horse the signal to move 
 forward. Instead of going off with a start, the intelligent ani- 
 mal stepped away slowly, as though he understood my situa- 
 tion. The lariat tightened, I felt my body moving, and the 
 next moment experienced a wild delight, a feeling I cannot 
 describe, as I found myself dragged out of the sand ! 
 
 I sprang to my feet with a shout of joy. I rushed up to 
 my steed, and throwing my arms around his neck, kissed 
 him with as much delight as I would have kissed a beautiful 
 girl. He answered my embrace with a low whimper, that 
 told me I was understood. 
 
 I looked for my rifle. Fortunately it had not sunk deeply, 
 and I soon found it. My boots were behind me, but I stayed 
 not to look for them, being smitten with a wholesome dread 
 of the place where I had left them. 
 
 I was not long in retreating from the arroyo ; and mount- 
 ing, I galloped back to the trail. 
 
 It was sundown before I reached camp, where I was met 
 by the inquiries of my wondering companions. " Did 
 you come across the ' goats ' ? " " Where's your boots ? " 
 " Whether have you been hunting or fishing ? " 
 
 I answered all these questions by relating my adventures ; 
 and that night I was again the hero of the camp-fire. 
 
Taking Solid Comfort : Smoking out Mosquitoes. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SANTA Ft. 
 
 FTER a week's climb- 
 ing through the Rocky 
 Mountains, we descend- 
 - ed into the valley of the 
 
 Del Norte', and arrived at the 
 capital of New Mexico, the far- 
 famed Santa Fe. Next day the 
 caravan itself came in, for we had 
 lost time on the southern route ; and the wagons traveling 
 by the Raton Pass, had made a good journey of it. 
 
 We had no difficulty about their entrance into the country, 
 
 with the proviso that we paid five hundred dollars of Alcavala 
 
 tax upon each wagon. This was a greater extortion than 
 
 usual ; but the traders were compelled to accept the impost. 
 
 Santa Fe is the entrepot of the province, and the chief 
 
 4i 
 
42 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 seat of its trade. On reaching it we halted, "camping" 
 without the walls. 
 
 St. Vrain, several other proprietaires, and myself took 
 up our quarters at the Fonda, where we endeavored, by 
 means of the sparkling vintage of El Paso, to make ourselves 
 oblivous of the hardships we had endured in the passage of the 
 plains. 
 
 The night of our arrival was given to feasting and making 
 merry. 
 
 Next morning I was awakened by the voice of my man 
 Gode who appeared to be in high spirits, singing a snatch of 
 a Canadian boat-song. 
 
 " Ah, monsieur ! " cried he, seeing me awake, " to-night 
 — aujourd'hui — une grande fonction — one bal — vat le cussed 
 Mexicain he call fandango. Tres bien, monsieur. You vill 
 sure have grand plaisir to see un fandango Mexicain ? " 
 
 " Not I, Gode. My countrymen are not so fond of danc- 
 ing as yours." 
 
 " C'est vrai, monsieur ; but von fandango is tres curieux. 
 You sail see ver many sort of de pas. Bolero, et valse, wis 
 de Coona, and ver many more pas, all mix up in von puchero. 
 Allons ! monsieur, you vill see ver many pretty girl, avec les 
 yeux tres noir, and ver short — ah, pe Gar ! ver short — vat 
 you call em in Americaine ? " 
 
 " I do not know what you allude to." 
 
 " Celk 1 Zis, monsieur," holding out the skirt of his hunt- 
 ing-shirt ; " par Dieu 1 now I have him — petticoes : ver short 
 petticoes. Ah, pe Gar ! you sail see vat you sail see en 
 un fandango Mexicaine. 
 
 'Lasninas de Durango 
 Conmigo bailandas, 
 Al cielo saltandas, 
 En el fandango — en el fan-dang — o.' 
 
 " Ha 1 here comes Monsieur St. Vrain. Ecoutez 1 He 
 
SANTA FE. 43 
 
 never not go to fandango. Parbleu ! how monsieur dance 1 
 like un maitre de ballet. Mais he be de sangre — blood 
 Fran£ais. Ecoutez ! 
 
 ' Al cielo saltandas, 
 
 En el fandango — en el fan-dang ' " 
 
 "Ha! Gode!" 
 
 " Monsieur ? " 
 
 " Trot over to the cantina, and beg, borrow, buy, or steal 
 a bottle of the best Paso." 
 
 " Sail I try steal 'im, Monsieur St. Vrain ? " inquired 
 Gode, with a knowing grin. 
 
 " No, you old Canadian thief ! pay for it. There's the 
 money. Best Paso, do you hear ? — cool and sparkling. Now, 
 vaya ! Bon jour, my bold rider of buffalo bulls 1 Still abed, 
 I see." 
 
 " My head aches as if it would split." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! so does mine ; but Gode's gone for medi- 
 cine. Hair of the dog good for the bite. Come, jump 
 up!" 
 
 "Wait till I get a dose of your medicine." 
 
 '•True; you will feel better then. I say: city life don't 
 agree with us, eh ? " 
 
 " You call this a city, do you ? " 
 
 " Ay, so it is styled in these parts ; la ciudad de Santa Fe ; 
 the famous city of Santa Fe ; the capital of Nuevo Mexico ; 
 the metropolis of all prairiedom ; the paradise of traders, 
 trappers, and thieves ! " 
 
 " And this is the progress of three hundred years ! Why, 
 these people have hardly passed the first stages of civiliza- 
 tion." 
 
 " Rather say they are passing the last stages of it. Here, 
 on this fair oasis, you will find painting, poetry, dancing, 
 theaters, and music, fetes and fireworks, with all the little 
 
44 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 amorous arts that characterize a nation's decline. You will 
 meet with numerous Don Quixotes, soi-disa?it knights-errant, 
 Romeos without the heart, and ruffians, without the courage. 
 You will meet with many things before you encounter either 
 virtue or honesty, Hola ! muchacho ! " 
 
 " Que es, sehor ? " 
 
 " Hay cafe' ? " 
 
 " Si, senor." 
 
 " Bring us a couple of tazas, then — dos tazas, do you hear ? 
 and quick — aprisa ! aprisa /" 
 
 " Si, sehor." 
 
 " Ha ! here comes le voyageur Canadien. So, old Nor'- 
 west ! you've brought the wine ? " 
 
 " Vin delicieux, Monsieur St. Vrain ! equal to ze vintage 
 Francais." 
 
 " He is right, Haller ! Tsap— tsap ! — delicious you may 
 say, good Gode. Tsap — tsap 1 Come, drink ! it'll make 
 you feel as strong as a buffalo. See ! it seethes like a soda 
 spring ! like Fo?itaine-qui-bouiIle : eh, Gode ? " 
 
 " Oui, monsieur ; ver like Fontaine-qui-bouille. Pe Gar ! 
 oui." 
 
 " Drink, man, drink ! Don't fear it : it's the pure juice. 
 Smell the flavor ; taste the bouquet. Jerusalem ! what wine 
 the Yankees will one day squeeze out of these New Mexican 
 grapes ! " 
 
 " Why ? Do you think the Yankees have an eye to this 
 quarter ? " 
 
 " Think 1 I know it ; and why not ? What use are these 
 manikins in creation ? Only to cumber the earth. Well, 
 mozo, you have brought the coffee ? " 
 
 " Ya, esta, senor." 
 
 " Here 1 try some of this : it will help to set you on your 
 feet. They can make coffee, and no mistake. It takes a 
 Spaniard to do that." 
 
SANTA FE. 45 
 
 " What is this fandango Gode has been telling me 
 about ? " 
 
 " Ah ! true. We are to have a famous one to-night. 
 You'll go, of course ? " 
 
 " Out of curiosity." 
 
 " Very well ; you will have your curiosity gratified. The 
 blustering old grampus of a governor is to honor the ball 
 with his presence ; and, it is said, his pretty sehora ; that I 
 don't believe. 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " He's too much afraid lest one of these wild Americanos 
 might whip her off on the cantle of his saddle. Such things 
 have been done in this very valley. By the gods ! she is. 
 good-looking," continued St. Vrain, in a half soliloquy, " and 
 I knew a man the cursed old tyrant ! only think of it 1 " 
 
 " Of what ? " 
 
 " The way he has bled us. Five hundred dollars a wag- 
 on, and a hundred of them at that : in all fifty thousand 
 dollars ? " 
 
 " But will he pocket all this ? Will not the govern- 
 ment ? " 
 
 " Government ! no, every cent of it. He is the govern- 
 ment here ; and, with the help of this instalment, he will rule 
 these miserable wretches, with an iron rod. Poor devils ! " 
 
 " And yet they hate him, do they not ? " 
 
 " Him and his. God knows they have reason " 
 
 " It is strange they do not rebel." 
 
 " They have at times ; but what can the poor devils do ? 
 Like all true tyrants, he has divided them, and makes them 
 spend their hearts' hatred on one another." 
 
 " But he seems not to have a very large army ; no body- 
 guard " 
 
 " Body-guard ! " cried St. Vrain, interrupting me ; " look 
 out 1 there's his body-guard 1 " 
 
46 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Indios bravos ! les Navajoes I " exclaimed Godd, at the 
 same instant. 
 
 I looked forth into the street. Half a dozen tall savages, 
 wrapped in striped seraph, were passing. Their wild hun- 
 gry looks, and slow, proud walk at once distinguished them 
 from Indios manzos : the water-drawing, wood-hewing pueblos. 
 
 " Are they Navajoes ? " I asked. 
 
 " Oui, monsieur, oui ! " replied Gode', apparently with 
 some excitement. Mon Gracieuse ! Navajoes 1 tres cussed 
 Navajoes ! " 
 
 " There's no mistaking them," added St. Vrain. 
 
 " But the Navajoes are the notorious enemies of the New 
 Mexicans ! How come they to be here ? Prisoners ? " 
 
 " Do they look like prisoners ? " 
 
 They certainly showed no signs of captivity in either look 
 or gesture. They strode proudly up the street, occasionally 
 glancing at the passers with an air of savage and lordly con- 
 tempt. 
 
 " Why, then, are they here ? Their country lies far to the 
 west." 
 
 " That is one of the secrets of Nuevo Mexico, about 
 which I will enlighten you some other time. They are now 
 protected by a treaty of peace, which is only binding upon 
 them so long as it may suit their convenience to recognize it. 
 At present they are as free here as you or I ; indeed, more 
 so, when it comes to that. I wouldn't wonder if we were 
 to meet them at the fandango to-night." 
 
 " I have heard that the Navajoes are cannibals." 
 
 " It is true. Look at them this minute 1 See how they 
 gloat upon that chubby little fellow, who seems instinctively 
 to fear them. Lucky for the urchin it's broad daylight, 
 or he might get chucked under one of those striped 
 blankets." 
 
 " Are you in earnest, St. Vrain ? " 
 
SANTA FE. 47 
 
 " By my word, I am not jesting ! If I mistake not, 
 Gode's experience will confirm what I have, said. Eh, 
 voyageur ? " 
 
 " C'est vrai, monsieur. I vas prisonnier in le nation ; 
 not Navagh, but le cussed Apache — moch de same — pour 
 tree mons. I have less sauvages seen manger — eat — one — 
 deux — tree — tree enfants rotis, like hump rib of de buffles. 
 C'est vrai, messieurs, c'est vrai." 
 
 " It is quite true ; both Apaches and Navajoes carry off 
 children from the valley, here, in their grand forays ; and it 
 is said by those who should know, that most of them are used 
 in that way. Whether as a sacrifice to the fiery god Quetzal- 
 coatl, or whether from a fondness for human flesh, no one 
 has as yet been able to determine. In fact, with all their 
 propinquity to this place, there is little known about them. 
 Few who have visited their towns have had Gode's luck to 
 get away again. No man of these parts ever ventures across 
 the western Sierras." 
 
 "And how came you, Monsieur Gode, to save your 
 scalp ? " 
 
 " Pour quoi, monsieur, ja n'ai pas. I not haves scalp-lock ; 
 vat de trappare Yankee call ' har,' mon scalp lock, is fabrique 
 of von barbier de Saint Louis. Voila, monsieur ! " 
 
 So saying, the Canadian lifted his cap, and along with it 
 what I had, up to this time, looked upon as a beautiful curling 
 head of hair, but which now proved to be only a wig ! 
 
 " Now, messieurs ! " cried he, in good humor ; " how les 
 sauvages my scalp take ? Le cussed Indien no have cash 
 hold. Parbleu ! " 
 
 St. Vrain and I were unable to restrain our laughter at 
 the altered and comical appearance of the Canadian. 
 
 " Come, Gode ! the least you can do after that is to take a 
 drink. Here, help yourself ! " 
 
 " Tres-obligd, Monsieur St. Vrain. Je vous remercie." 
 
4 3 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 And the ever-thirsty voyageur quaffed off the nectar of El 
 Paso, like so much fresh milk. 
 
 " Come, Haller ! we must to the wagons. Business first, 
 then pleasure : such as we may find here among these brick 
 stacks. But we'll have some fun in Chihuahua." 
 
 " And you think we shall go there ? " 
 
 " Certainly. They do not want the fourth part of our stuff 
 here. We must carry it on to the head market. To the 
 camp ! Allons 1 " 
 

 
 Street Theatricals in Spanish America During the Carnival. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE FANDANGO. 
 
 N the evening I 
 sat in my room 
 waiting for St 
 V r a i n . His 
 
 voice reached me from 
 without — 
 
 ^s^&prf^ '" Las ninas cle Durango 
 ^^K? s, Conmigo bailandas, 
 
 $£ ;;<• Al cielo— Ha!" 
 
 — Are you ready, my bold 
 rider ? " 
 
 " Not quite. Sit down a minute and wait." 
 " Hurry then 1 the dancing's begun. I have just come 
 that way, What! that your ball-dress? Ha! ha I ha!" 
 4 4 9 
 
50 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 screamed St. Vrain, seeing me unpack a blue coat and a pair 
 of dark pantaloons, in a tolerable state of preservation. 
 
 " Why, yes," replied I, looking up ; " What fault do you 
 find ? But is that your ball-dress ? " 
 
 No change had taken place in the ordinary raiment of 
 my friend. The fringed hunting-shirt and leggins, the belt, 
 the bowie, and the pistols, were all before me. 
 
 " Yes, my dandy ; this is my ball-dress : it ain't anything 
 shorter ; and if you'll take my advice, you'll wear what you 
 have got on your back. How will your long-tailed blue look, 
 with a broad belt and bowie strapped round the skirts ? Ha ! 
 ha! ha!" 
 
 " But why take either belt or bowie ? You are surely not 
 going into a ball-room with your pistols in that fashion ? " 
 
 " And how else should I carry them ? In my hands ? " 
 
 " Leave them here." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! that would be a green trick. No, no. Once 
 bit, twice shy. You don't catch this 'coon going into any 
 fandango in Santa Fe without his six-shooters. Come, keep 
 on that shirt ; let your leggins sweat where they are, and buckle 
 this about you. That's the costume du bal in these parts." 
 
 " If you assure me that my dress will be comme il faut, 
 I'm agreed." 
 
 " It won't be with the long-tailed blue, I promise you." 
 
 The long-tailed blue was restored forthwith to its nook 
 in my portmanteau. 
 
 St. Vrain was right. On arriving at the room, a large sala 
 in the neighborhood of the Plaza, we found it filled with 
 hunters, trappers, traders, and teamsters, all swaggering 
 about in their usual mountain ' ' rig." Mixed among them were 
 some two or three score of the " natives," with an equal 
 number of sefioritas, all of whom, by their style of dress, I 
 recognize as " poblanas," or persons of the lower class : the 
 only class, in fact, to be met with in Santa Fe. 
 
THE FANDANGO. 51 
 
 As we entered, most of the men had thrown aside their 
 serapes for the dance, and appeared in all the finery of em- 
 broidered velvet, stamped leather, and shining " castletops." 
 The women looked not less picturesque in their bright 
 " naguas," snowy chemisettes, and small satin slippers. 
 Some of them flounced it in polka jackets ; for even to that 
 remote region the famous dance had found its way. " Have 
 you heard of the electric telegraph ? " " No, senor." " Can 
 you tell me what a railroad is ? " " Quien sabe ? " " La 
 polka ? " " Ah ! sehor, la polka, la polka ! cosa buenita, tan 
 graciosa 1 vaya ! " 
 
 The ball-room was a long oblong sa/a, with a " banquette" 
 running all round it. Upon this the dancers seated them- 
 selves, drew out their husk cigarettes, chatted, and smoked 
 during the intervals of the dance. In one corner, half a 
 dozen sons of Orpheus twanged away upon harp, guitar, and 
 bandolin ; occasionally helping out the music with a shrill 
 half-Indian chant. In another angle of the apartment, 
 fiuros, and " Taos" whisky, were dealt out to the thirsty 
 mountaineers, who made the sala ring with their wild ejac- 
 ulations. 
 
 There were scenes like the following : — 
 
 " Hyar, my little muchacha ! vamos, vamos, ter dance 1 
 Mucho bueno ! Mucho bueno ? Will ye ? " 
 
 This is from a great rough fellow of six feet and over, 
 addressed to a trim little poblana. 
 
 " Mucho bueno, Sehor Americano ! " replies the lady. 
 
 " Hooraw for you 1 Come along ! Let's licker fust ! 
 You're the gal for my beaver. What'll yer drink ? Agwar- 
 dent or vino ? " 
 
 " Copitita de vino, sehor. (A small glass of wine, sir.) 
 
 " Hyar, yer darned greaser ! Set out your vino in a squ'll's 
 jump ! Now, my little 'un, hyar's luck, and a good husband ! " 
 
 " Gracias, Senor Americano 1 " 
 
52 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " What ! you understand that ? You intende, do yer ? " 
 
 " Si, senor ! " 
 
 " Hooraw, then ! Look hyar, little 'un, kin yer go the 
 b'ar dance ? " 
 
 " No entiende." 
 
 " Yer don't understan' it ! Hyar it is ; this a-way ; " and 
 the clumsy hunter began to show off before his partner, in an 
 imitation of the grizzly bear. 
 
 "Hilloa, Bill 1 " cries a comrade, " yer'll be trapped if yer 
 don't look sharp. How's yer kidneys, hoss ? " 
 
 " I'm dog-gone, Jim, if I don't feel queery about hyar," 
 replies the hunter, spreading his great paw over the region 
 of the heart. 
 
 " Don't be skeert, man ; it's a nice gal, anyways." 
 
 " Nice ! Draw a bead on them eyes, if yer kin ; and jest 
 squint down at them ankles ! " 
 
 " Good sights ; a heap o' quarter ; clean shanks." 
 
 " I wonder what the old chap'll take for her. I'm 'most 
 froze for a squaw. Hain't had nery one since I tuk back 
 that Crow woman on the Yeller-stone." 
 
 " Wah, man ! yer ain't among Injuns. Get the gal's con- 
 sent, if yer kin, and she won't cost yer as much as a plug o' 
 'bacca." 
 
 " Hooray for old Missouri ! " shouts a teamster. 
 
 " Come, boys ! Let's show these yer greasers a Virginny 
 break-down. ' Cl'ar the kitchen, old folks, young folks." 
 
 " Go it hoe and oe ! ' Old Virginny nebir tire ! ' " 
 
 " Viva el gobernado ! Viva Armijo ! Viva ! viva ! " 
 
 An arrival at this moment caused a sensation in the room. 
 A stout, fat, priest-like man entered, accompanied by several 
 others. It was the governor and his suite, with a number 
 of well-dressed citizens, who were no doubt the elite of New 
 Mexican society. Some of the new-comer,s were militaires, 
 dressed in gaudy and foolish-looking uniforms, that were 
 
THE FANDANGO. 53 
 
 soon seen spinning round the room in the mazes of the 
 waltz. 
 
 " Where is the Senora Armijo ? " I whispered to St. Vrain. 
 
 I told you as much. She ! she won't be out. Stay here ; 
 I am going for a short while. Help yourself to a partner, 
 and see some fun. I will be back presently. Au revoir f " 
 
 Without any further explanation, St. Vrain squeezed him- 
 self through the crowd and disappeared. 
 
 I had been seated on the banquette since entering the sala, 
 St. Vrain beside me, in a retired corner of the room. A 
 man of peculiar appearance occupied the seat next to St. 
 Vrain, but farther into the shadow of a piece of furniture. 
 I had noticed this man as we entered, and noticed, too, that 
 St. Vrain spoke to him ; but I was not introduced, and the 
 interposition of my friend prevented me from making any 
 further observation of him until the latter had retired. We 
 were now side by side ; and I commenced a sort of angular 
 reconnaissance of a face and figure that had somewhat strangely 
 arrested my attention. He was not an American ; that was 
 evident from his dress ; and yet the face was not Mexican. 
 Its outlines were too bold for a Spanish face, though the 
 complexion, from tan and exposure, was brown and swarth. 
 His face was clean-shaven, except his chin, which carried a 
 pointed, darkish beard. The eye, if I saw it aright under 
 the shadow of a slouched brim, was blue and mild ; the hair 
 brown and wavy, with here and there a strand of silver. 
 These were not Spanish characteristics, much less Hispano- 
 American ; and I should have at once placed my neighbor 
 elsewhere but that his dress puzzled me. It was purely a 
 Mexican costume, and consisted of a purple manga, with 
 dark velvet embroidery around the vent and along the 
 borders. As this garment covered the greater part of his 
 person, I could only see that underneath was a pair of green 
 velveteen calzoneros, with yellow buttons, and snow-white 
 
54 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 calzoncillos puffing out along the seams. The bottoms of 
 the calzoneros were trimmed with stamped black leather ; 
 and under these were yellow boots, with a heavy steel spur 
 upon the heel of each. The broad peaked strap that confined 
 the spur, passing over the foot, gave to it that peculiar con- 
 tour that we observe in the picture of armed knights of the 
 olden time. He wore a black broad-brimmed sombrero, 
 girdled by a thick band of gold bullion. A pair of tags of 
 the same material stuck out from the sides : the fashion of 
 the country. 
 
 The man kept his sombrero slouched towards the light, as 
 I thought or suspected, for the concealment of his face. 
 And yet it was not an ill-favored one. On the contrary, 
 it was open and pleasing : no doubt had been handsome 
 before time, and whatever caused its melancholy expression, 
 had lined and clouded it. It was this expression that had 
 struck me on first seeing the man. 
 
 Whilst I was making these observations, eyeing him cross- 
 wise all the while, I discovered that he was eyeing me in a 
 similar manner, and with an interest apparently equal to my 
 own. This caused us to face round to each other, when 
 the stranger drew from under his manga a small beaded 
 cigarero, and, gracefully holding out it to me, said — 
 
 " Quiere a fumar, caballero ? " (Would you smoke, sir ?) 
 
 " Thank you, yes," I replied in Spanish, at the same time 
 taking a cigar from the case. 
 
 We had hardly lit our cigarettes when the man again 
 turned to me, with the unexpected question — 
 
 " Will you sell your horse ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Not for a good price ? " 
 
 " Not for any price." 
 
 " I would give five hundred dollars for him." 
 
 " I would not part with him for twice the amount." 
 
THE FANDANGO. 55 
 
 " I will give twice the amount." 
 
 " I have become attached to him : money is no object." 
 
 " I am sorry to hear it. I have traveled two hundred 
 miles to buy that horse." 
 
 I looked at my new acquaintance with astonishment, 
 involuntarily repeating his last words. 
 
 " You must have followed us from the Arkansas, then ? " 
 
 " No, I came from the Rio Abajo." 
 
 " The Rio Abajo ! You mean from down the Del Norte ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then, my dear sir, it is a mistake. You think you are 
 talking to somebody else, and bidding for some other horse." 
 
 " Oh, no ! He is yours. A black stallion with red nose 
 and long full tail : half-bred Arabian. There is a small 
 mark over the left eye." 
 
 This was certainly the description of Moro ; and I began 
 to feel a sort of superstitious awe in regard to my mysterious 
 neighbor. 
 
 " True," replied I : " that is all correct ; but I bought 
 that stallion many months ago from a Louisiana planter. 
 If you have just arrived from two hundred miles down the 
 Rio Grande, how, may I ask, could you have known anything 
 about me or my horse ? " 
 
 " Dispensadme, caballero ! I did not mean that. I came 
 from below to meet the caravan, for the purpose of buying 
 an American horse. Yours is the only one in the caballada 
 I would buy, and, it seems, the only one that is not for sale ! " 
 
 " I am sorry for that ; but I have tested the qualities of 
 this animal. We have become friends. No common motive 
 would induce me to part with him." 
 
 " Ah, sefior ? it is not a common motive that makes me so 
 
 eager to purchase him. If you knew that, perhaps " he 
 
 hesitated a moment ; " but no, no, no ! " and after muttering 
 some half-coherent words, among which I could recognize 
 
56 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 the " Buenos noches, caballero ! " the stranger rose up with 
 the same mysterious air that had all along characterized him, 
 and left me. I could hear the tinkling of the small bells 
 upon the rowels of his spurs, as he slowly warped himself 
 through the gay crowd, and disappeared into the night. 
 
 The vacated seat was soon occupied by a dusky " manola," 
 whose bright nagua, embroidered chemisette, brown ankles, 
 and small blue slippers, drew my attention. This was all I 
 could see of her, except the occasional flash of a very black 
 eye through the loophole of the " rebozo tapado." By de- 
 grees, the rebozo became more generous, the loophole ex- 
 panded, and the outlines of a very pretty and very malicious 
 little face were displayed before me. The end of the scarf 
 was adroitly removed from the left shoulder ; and a nude 
 plump arm, ending in a bunch of small jeweled fingers, 
 hung carelessly clown. 
 
 I am tolerably bashful ; but at the sight of this tempting 
 partner, I could " hold in " no longer, and bending towards 
 her, I said in my best Spanish, " Do me the favor, miss, to 
 waltz with me." 
 
 The wicked little manola first held down her head and 
 blushed ; then, raising the long fringes of her eyes, looked 
 up again, and with a voice as sweet as that of a canary-bird, 
 replied — 
 
 "Con gusto, senor." (With pleasure, sir.) 
 
 " Nos vamos ! " cried I, elated with my triumph ; and 
 pairing off with my brilliant partner, we were soon whirling 
 about in the " mazy." 
 
 We returned to our seats again, and after refreshing with 
 a glass of " Albuquerque," a sponge-cake, and a " husk " 
 cigarette, again " took the floor." This pleasurable prog- 
 ram we repeated some half-dozen times, only varying the 
 dance from waltz to polka, for my manola danced the polka 
 as if she had been a born Bohemian. 
 
THE FANDANGO. 57 
 
 On one of my fingers was a fifty-dollar diamond, which 
 my partner seemed to think was " muy buenito." As her 
 igneous eyes softened my heart, and the champagne was 
 producing a similar effect upon my head, I began to specu- 
 late on the propriety of transferring the diamond from the 
 smallest of my fingers to the largest of hers, which it would, 
 no doubt, have fitted exactly. All at once I became con- 
 scious of being under the surveillance of a large and very 
 fierce-looking lepero, a regular pelado, who followed us with 
 his eyes, and sometimes in persona, to every part of the room. 
 The expression of his swarth face was a mixture of jealousy 
 and vengeance, which my partner noticed, but, as I thought, 
 took no pains to soften down. 
 
 " Who is he ? " I whispered, as the man swung past us in 
 his chequered scrape'. 
 
 " Esta mi marido, sehor " (it is my husband, sir), was the 
 cool reply. 
 
 I pushed the ring close up to the root of my finger, shut- 
 ting my hand upon it tight as a vise. 
 
 " Vamos a tomar otra copita ! " (let us take another glass 
 of wine !) said I, resolving to bid my pretty " poblana," as 
 soon as possible, a good night. 
 
 The Taos whisky had by this time produced its effect upon 
 the dancers. The trappers and teamsters had become noisy 
 and riotous. The leperos, who now half filled the room, stim- 
 ulated by wine, jealousy, old hatreds, and the dance, began 
 to look more savage and sulky. The fringed hunting-shirts 
 and brown homespun frocks found favor with the dark-eyed 
 " majas " of Mexico, partly out of a respect for, and a fear 
 of, courage, which is often at the bottom of a love like 
 theirs. 
 
 Although the trading caravans supplied almost all the 
 commerce of Santa Fe and it was clearly the interest of its 
 inhabitants to be on good terms with the traders, the two 
 
58 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 races, Anglo-American and Hispano-Indian, hated each other 
 thoroughly ; and that hate was now displaying itself on one 
 side in bullying contempt, on the other in muttered " carajos " 
 and fierce looks of vengeance. 
 
 I was still chatting with my lively partner. We were 
 seated on the banquette where I had introduced myself. 
 On looking casually up, a bright object met my eyes. It 
 appeared to be a naked knife in the hands of " su marido," 
 who was just then lowering over us like the shadow of an 
 evil spirit. I was favored with only a slight glimpse of this 
 dangerous meteor, and had made up my mind to " 'ware 
 steel," when some one plucked me by the sleeve, and turning, 
 I beheld my quondam acquaintance of the purple manga. 
 
 " Dispensadme, senor " said he, nodding graciously : " I 
 have just learned that the caravan is going on to Chihuahua." 
 
 " True, there is no market here for our goods." 
 
 " You go on then, of course ? " 
 
 " Certainly, I must." 
 
 " Will you return this way, senor ? " 
 
 "It is very likely ; I have no other intention at present." 
 
 " Perhaps then you might be willing to part with your 
 horse ? You will find many as good in the great valley of 
 the Mississippi." 
 
 " Neither is likely." 
 
 " But, senor, should you be inclined to do so, will you 
 promise me the refusal of him ? " 
 
 " Oh ! that I will promise you, with all my heart." 
 
 Our conversation was here interrupted by a huge, gaunt, 
 half-drunken Missourian, who, trampling rudely upon the 
 stranger's toes, vociferated — 
 
 " Ye — up, old greaser ! gi' me a char." 
 
 " Y porque ? " (and why ? ) demanded the Mexican, 
 drawing in his feet, and looking up with astonished indigna- 
 tion. 
 
THE FANDANGO. 59 
 
 " Porky be durned ! I'm tired jumpin'. I want a seat, 
 that's it, old hoss." 
 
 There was something so bullying and brutal in the con- 
 duct of this man, that I felt called upon to interfere. 
 
 " Come 1 said I, addressing him, " you have no right to 
 deprive this gentleman of his seat, much less in such a 
 fashion." 
 
 " Eh, mister ? who the hades asked you to open yer head ? 
 Ye — up, I say ! " and at the word, he seized the Mexican 
 by the corner of his manga, as if to drag him from his seat. 
 
 Before I had time to reply to this rude speech and gesture, 
 the stranger leaped to his feet, and with a well-planted blow 
 felled the bully upon the floor. 
 
 This seemed to act as a signal for bringing several other 
 quarrels to a climax. There was a rush through all parts 
 of the sala, drunken shouts mingled with yells of vengeance, 
 knives glanced from their sheaths, women screamed, 
 pistols flashed and cracked, filling the rooms with smoke 
 and dust. The lights went out, fierce struggles could be 
 heard in the darkness, the fall of heavy bodies amidst groans 
 and curses, and for five minutes these were the only sounds. 
 
 Having no cause to be particularly angry with anybody, I 
 stood where I had risen, without using either knife or pistol, 
 my frightened " maju " all the while holding me by the hand. 
 A painful sensation near my left shoulder caused me sud- 
 denly to drop my partner ; and with that unaccountable 
 weakness consequent upon the reception of a wound, I felt 
 myself staggering toward the banquette. Here I dropped 
 into a sitting posture, and remained till the struggle was over, 
 conscious all the while that a stream of blood was oozing 
 down my back, and saturating my under garments. 
 
 I sat thus till the struggle had ended. A light was 
 brought, and I could distinguish a number of men in hunt- 
 ing-shirts moving to and fro with violent gesticulations. 
 
60 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Some of them were advocating the justice of the " spree," 
 as they termed it ; while others, the more respectable of the 
 traders, were denouncing it. The leperos with the women, 
 had all disappeared, and I could perceive that the " Ameri- 
 canos " had carried the day. Several dark objects lay along 
 the floor : they were bodies of men dead or dying ! One 
 was an American, the Missourian who had been the immedi- 
 ate cause of the fracas; the others were pelados. I could 
 see nothing of my late acquaintance. My fandanguera, too 
 — con su marido — had disappeared ; and on glancing at my 
 left hand, I came to the conclusion that so also had my 
 diamond ring ! 
 
 " St. Vrain ! St. Vrain ! " I called, seeing the figure of 
 my friend enter at the door. 
 
 " Where are you, H., old boy ? How is it with you ? all 
 right, eh ? " 
 
 " Not quite, I fear." 
 
 " Good heavens ! what's this ? why, you're stabbed in the 
 hump ribs ! Not bad, I hope. Off with your shirt and let's 
 see." 
 
 '• First let us to my room." 
 
 " Come then, my dear boy, lean on me — so, so 1 " 
 
 The fandango was over. 
 
Fruit Peddler, Water Carrier, and Market Women. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SECxUIN THE SCALP-HUNTER. 
 
 HAVE had the pleasure of being 
 wounded in the field of battle. I 
 say pleasure. Under certain circum- 
 stances, wounds are luxuries. You 
 have been carried on a " stretcher " to some secure spot. 
 An aid-de-camp drops from his sweating horse, and announces 
 that "the enemy is in full flight," thus relieving you from 
 the apprehension of being transfixed by some mustached 
 lancer ; a friendly surgeon bends over you, and after 
 groping awhile about your wound, tells you it is " only a 
 scratch," and that it will be well in a week or two; then 
 come visions of glory, the glory of the Gazette ; present 
 pains are forgotten in the contemplation of future triumphs ; 
 the congratulations of friends ; the smiles, perchance, of one 
 dearer than all. Consoled by such anticipations, you lie 
 back on your rude couch, smiling at a bullet-hole through 
 your thigh, or the slash of a saber across your arm. 
 
 I have had these emotions. How different were the 
 
 61 
 
62 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 feelings I experienced while smarting under wounds that 
 came by the steel of the assassin ! 
 
 My earliest anxiety was about the " depth " of my wound. 
 Was it mortal ? This is generally the first question a man 
 puts to himself, after discovering that he has been shot or 
 stabbed. A wounded man cannot always answer it either. 
 One's life-blood may be spurting from the artery at each 
 palpitation, while the actual pain felt is not worth the prick- 
 ing of a pin. 
 
 On reaching the Fonda, I sank exhausted on my bed. 
 St. Vrain split my hunting-shirt from cape to skirt, and com- 
 menced examining my wound. I could not see my friend's 
 face as he stood behind me, and I waited with impatience. 
 
 " Is it deep ? " I asked. 
 
 " Not deep as a draw-well, nor wide as a wagon-track," 
 was the reply. " You're quite safe, old fellow ; thank Prov- 
 idence, and not the man who handled that knife, for the 
 fellow plainly intended to do for you. It is the cut of a 
 Spanish knife, and a devilish gash it is. By Jove ! Haller, 
 it was a close shave. One inch more, and the spine, my boy ! 
 But you're safe, I say. Here, Gode ! that sponge ! " 
 
 " Parbleu ! " muttered Gode', with true Gallic aspirate, as 
 he handed the wet rag. 
 
 I felt the cold application. Then a bunch of soft raw 
 cotton, the best dressing it could have, was laid over the 
 wound, and fastened by strips. The most skilful surgeon 
 could have done no more. 
 
 " Close as a clamp," added St. Vrain, as he fastened the 
 last pin, and placed me in the easiest position. " But what 
 started the row ? and how came you to cut such a figure in 
 it ? I was out, thank God ! " 
 
 " Did you observe a strange-looking man " 
 
 " What 1 with the purple manga ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
SEGUIN THE SCALP-HUNTER. 63 
 
 " He sat beside us ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Ha ! No wonder you say a strange-looking man ; 
 stranger than he looks too. I saw him, I know him, and 
 perhaps not another in the room could say that. Ay, there 
 •was another," continued St. Vrain, with a peculiar smile ; 
 " but what could have brought him there is that which 
 puzzles me. Armijo could not have seen him : but go on." 
 
 I related to St. Vrain the whole of my conversation with 
 the stranger, and the incidents that led to the breaking up 
 of the fandango. 
 
 " It is odd — very odd ! What the deuce could he want 
 with your horse? Two hundred miles, and offers a thou- 
 sand dollars ! " 
 
 " Enfant de garce, capitaine ! " (Gode had called me 
 captain ever since the ride upon the buffalo) ; "if monsieur 
 come two hunred mile, and vill pay un mille thousan dollar, 
 pe Gar 1 he Moro like ver, ver moch. Un grand passion 
 pour le cheval. Pourquois : vy he no like him ver sheep ? 
 vy he no steal 'im ? " 
 
 I started at the suggestion, and looked toward St. Vrain. 
 
 " Vith permiss of le capitaine, I vill le chavel cache," con- 
 tinued the Canadian moving towards the door. 
 
 " You need not trouble yourself, old Nor'-west, as far as 
 that gentleman is concerned. He'll not steal your horse ; 
 though that's no reason why you should not fulfil your in- 
 tention, and cache the animal. There are thieves enough in 
 Santa Fe to steal the horses of a whole regiment. You had 
 better fasten him by the door here." 
 
 Gode after devoting Santa Fe and its inhabitants to a 
 much warmer climate than Canada, passed to the door, and 
 disappeared. 
 
 " Who is he ? " I asked, " this man, about whom there 
 seems to be so much that is mysterious ? " 
 
6 4 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Ah ! if you knew. I will tell you some queer passages 
 by and by, but not to-night. You have no need of excite- 
 ment. That is the famous Seguin — the Scalp-hunter." 
 
 " The Scalp-hunter ! " 
 
 " Ay ! you have heard of him, no doubt ; at least you 
 would, had you been much among the mountains." 
 
 Exterminating Supernumerary Dogs in Mexico. 
 
 " I have, 
 innocent — 
 
 The hellish ruffian 1 The wholesale butcher of 
 
 A dark waif danced against the wall : it was the shadow 
 of a man. I looked up. Seguin was before me 1 
 
 St. Vrain on seeing him enter had turned away and stood 
 looking out of the window. 
 
 I was on the point of changing my tirade into the apos- 
 trophic form, and at the same time ordering the man out of 
 my sight, when something in his look influenced me to re- 
 
SEGUIN THE SCALP-HUNTER. 65 
 
 main silent. I could not tell whether he had heard or under- 
 stood to whom my abusive epithets had been applied ; but 
 there was nothing in his manner that betrayed his having 
 done so. I observed only the same look that had at first 
 attracted me : the same expression of deep melancholy. 
 
 Could this man be the hardened and heartless villain I 
 had heard of, the author of so many atrocities ? 
 
 11 Sir," said he, seeing that I remained silent, " I deeply 
 regret what has happened to you. I was the involuntary 
 cause of your mishap. Is your wound a severe one ? " 
 
 " It is not," I replied, with a dryness of manner that 
 seemed somewhat to disconcert him. 
 
 " I am glad of that," he continued, after a pause. " I 
 came to thank you for your generous interference. I leave 
 Santa Fe in ten minutes. I must bid you farewell." 
 
 He held forth his hand. I muttered the word " farewell," 
 but without offering to exchange the salutation. The stories 
 of cruel atrocity connected with the name of this man came 
 into my mind at the moment, and I felt a loathing for him. 
 His arm remained in its outstretched position, while a 
 strange expression began to steal over his countenance, as 
 he saw that I hesitated. 
 
 " I cannot take your hand," I said at length. 
 
 " And why ? " he asked, in a mild tone. 
 
 " Why ? it is red, red ! Away, sir, away ! " 
 
 He fixed his eyes upon me with a sorrowful look. There 
 was not a spark of anger in them. He drew his hand within 
 the folds of his manga, and uttering a deep sigh, turned and 
 walked slowly out of the room. 
 
 St. Vrain, who had wheeled round at the close of this 
 scene, strode forward to the door, and stood looking after 
 him. I could see the Mexican, from where I lay, as he 
 crossed the quadrangular patio. He had shrugged himself 
 closely in his manga, and was moving off in an attitude that 
 5 
 
66 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 betokened the deepest dejection. In a moment he was out 
 of sight, having passed through the saguan, and into the 
 street. 
 
 " There is something truly mysterious about that man. 
 Tell me, St. Vrain " 
 
 " Hush-sh ! look yonder ! " interrupted my friend, pointing 
 through the open door. 
 
 I looked out into the moonlight. Three human forms 
 were moving along the wall, toward the entrance of the 
 patio. Their height, their peculiar attitudes, and the 
 stealthy silence of their steps, convinced me they were In- 
 dians. The next moment they were lost under the dark 
 shadows of the saguan. 
 
 " Who are they ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Worse enemies to poor Seguin than you would be, if 
 you knew him better. I pity him if these hungry hawks 
 overtake him in the dark. But no ; he's worth warning, 
 and a hand to help him, if need be. He shall have it. 
 Keep cool, Harry ! I will be back in a jiffy." 
 
 So saying, St. Vrain left me ; and the moment after I 
 could see his light form passing hastily out of the gate. 
 
 I lay reflecting on the strangeness of the incidents that 
 seemed to be occurring around me. I was not without 
 some painful reflections. I had wounded the feelings of one 
 who had not injured me, and for whom my friend evidently 
 entertained a high respect. A shod hoof sounded upon the 
 stones outside : it was Gode with my horse ; and the next 
 moment I heard him hammering the picket-pin into the 
 pavement. 
 
 Shortly after, St. Vrain himself returned. 
 
 " Well," I inquired, " what happened you ? " 
 
 " Nothing much. That's a weasel that never sleeps. He 
 had mounted his horse before they came up with him, and 
 was very soon out of their reach." 
 
SEGUIN THE SCALP-HUNTER. 
 
 67 
 
 " But may they not follow him on horseback ? " 
 
 " That is not likely. He has comrades not far from here, 
 I warrant you. Armijo — and it was he sent those villains 
 on his track — has no force that dare follow him when he 
 gets upon the wild hills. No fear for him once he has cleared 
 the houses." 
 
 " But, my dear St. Vrain, tell me what you know of this 
 singular man. I am wound up to a pitch of curiosity." 
 
 " Not to-night, Harry ; not to-night. I do not wish to 
 cause you further excitement ; besides, I have reason to 
 leave you now. To-morrow, then. Good night 1 good 
 night ! " 
 
 And so saying, my mercurial friend left me to Gode* and 
 a night of restlessness. 
 
Indian Pottery Decorator. Pottery Merchant. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LEFT BEHIND. 
 
 N the third day after the fandango, it 
 is announced that the caravan will 
 move onward to Chihuahua. 
 
 The day arrives, and I am unable 
 to travel with it. My surgeon, a 
 wretched leech of a Mexican, assures me that it will be 
 certain death to attempt the journey. For want of any op- 
 posing evidence, I am constrained to believe him. I have 
 no alternative but adopt the joyless resolve to remain in 
 Santa Fe until the return of the traders. 
 
 Chafing on a feverish bed, I take leave of my late com- 
 panions. We part with many regrets ; but above all, I am 
 pained at bidding adieu to St. Vrain, whose light-hearted 
 companionship has been my solace through three days of 
 suffering. He has proved my friend ; and has undertaken 
 to take charge of my wagons, and dispose of my goods in 
 the market oi Chihuahua. 
 68 
 
LEFT BEHIND. 69 
 
 " Do not fret, man," says he, taking leave. " Kill time 
 with the champagne of El Paso. We will be back in a 
 squirrel's jump ; and, trust me, I will bring you a mule-load 
 of Mexican shiners. God bless you ! Good-by ! " 
 
 I can sit up in my bed and, from the open window, see 
 the white tilts of the wagons, as the train rolls over a neigh- 
 boring hill. I hear the cracking whips and the deep-toned 
 " wo-ha " of the teamsters ; I see the traders mount and 
 gallop after ; and I turn upon my couch with a feeling of 
 loneliness and desertion. 
 
 For days I lie tossing and fretting, despite the consola- 
 tory influence of the champagne, and the rude but kindly 
 attentions of my voyageur valet. 
 
 I rise at length, dress myself, and sit in my " ventana." 
 I have a good view of the plaza and the adjacent streets, 
 with their rows of brown adobe houses, and dusty ways 
 between. 
 
 I gaze, hour after hour, on what is passing without. The 
 scene is not without novelty as well as variety. Swarthy, 
 ill-favored faces appear behind the folds of dingy rebozos. 
 Fierce glances lower under the slouch of broad sombreros. 
 Poblanas with short skirts and slippered feet pass my win- 
 dow ; and groups of " tame " Indians, pueblos, crowd in 
 from the neighboring rancherias, belaboring their donkeys 
 as they go. These bring baskets of fruit and vegetables. 
 They squat down upon the dusty plaza, behind piles of 
 prickly pears, or pyramids of tomatoes and chile. The 
 women, light-hearted hucksters, laugh and sing and chatter 
 continuously. The tortillera, kneeling by her metatk, bruises 
 the boiled maize, claps it .into thin flakes, flings it on the 
 heated stone, and then cries, " Tortillas / tortillas calieutes ! " 
 The cocinera stirs the peppery stew of chile Colorado, lifts 
 the red liquid in her wooden ladle, and invites her customers 
 by the expressions : " Chile bueno I excellente I " " Carbon 1 
 
70 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 carbon ! " cries the charcoal-burner. " Agua ! agua limpia /" 
 shouts the aguadore. " Pan fino, pan bianco /" screams the 
 baker ; and other cries from the venders of atole, htievos, 
 and leche, are uttered in shrill discordant voices. Such are 
 the voices of a Mexican " plaza." 
 
 They are at first interesting. They become monotonous, 
 then disagreeable ; until at length I am tortured, and listen 
 to them with a feverish excitement. 
 
 After a few days I am able to walk, and go out with my 
 faithful Gode. We stroll through the town. It reminds 
 me of an extensive brick-field before the kilns have been set 
 on fire. 
 
 We encounter the same brown adobes everywhere ; the 
 same villainous-looking leperos lounging at the corners ; the 
 same bare-legged slippered wenches ; the same strings of 
 belabored donkeys ; the same shrill and detestable cries. 
 
 We pass by a ruinous-looking house in a remote quarter. 
 Our ears are saluted by voices from within. We hear shouts 
 of " Mneran los Yankies ! Abajo los Americanos!" No 
 doubt the pelado, to whom I was indebted for my wound, is 
 among the ruffians who crowd into the windows ; but I 
 know the lawlessness of the place too well to apply for jus- 
 tice. 
 
 We hear the same shouts in another street ; again in the 
 plaza ; and Gode and I re-enter the Fonda with a conviction 
 that our appearance in public might be attended with danger. 
 We resolve, therefore, to keep within doors. 
 
 In all my life I never suffered ennui, as when cooped up 
 in this semi-barbarous town, and almost confined within the 
 walls of its filthy Fonda. I felt it the more that I had so 
 lately enjoyed the company of such free jovial spirits, and I 
 could fancy them in their bivouacs on the banks of the Del 
 Norte, carousing, laughing, or listening to some wild moun- 
 tain story. 
 
LEFT BEHIND. 
 
 71 
 
 God6 shared my feelings, and became as desponding as 
 myself. The light humor of the voyageur disappeared. 
 The song of the Canadian boatman was heard no longer ; 
 but, in its place, French and English oaths were sputtered 
 plentifully, and hurled at everything Mexican. I resolved at 
 length to put an end to our sufferings. 
 
 Indian Funeral Rites in Mexico. 
 
 " This life will never do, Gode," said I, addressing my 
 
 compagnon. 
 
 " Ah ! monsieur, nevare ! nevare it vill do. Ah ! ver doll. 
 
 It is like von assemblee of le Quaker." 
 
 "I am determined to endure it no longer." 
 
 " But what can monsieur do ? How, capitaine ? " 
 
 " By leaving this accursed place, and that to-morrow." 
 
 " But is monsieur fort ? strongs beaucoup ? strongs to 
 
 ride ? " 
 
 " I will risk it, Gode. If I break down, there are other 
 
72 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 towns on the river where we can halt. Anywhere better 
 than here." 
 
 " C'est vrai, capitaine. Beautiful village down the river. 
 Albuquerque ; Tome : ver many village. Mon Dieu ! all 
 better. Santa Fe is one camp of cussed tief. Ver good for 
 us go, monsieur ; ver good." 
 
 " Good or not, Gode, I am going. So make your prepa- 
 rations to-night, for I will leave in the morning before sun- 
 rise." 
 
 " Dieu merci ! It will be von grand plaisir to makes 
 ready." And the Canadian ran from the room, snapping 
 his fingers with delight. 
 
 I had made up my mind to leave Santa Fe at any rate. 
 Should my strength, yet but half restored, hold out, I would 
 follow, and if possible overtake the caravan. I knew it 
 could make but short journeys over the deep sand roads of 
 the Del Norte'. Should I not succeed in coming up with it, 
 I could halt in Albuquerque or El Paso, either of which 
 would offer me a residence at least as agreeable as the one 
 I was leaving. 
 
 My surgeon endeavored to dissuade me from setting out. 
 He represented that I was in a most critical condition ; my 
 wound far from being cicatrised. He set forth in most 
 eloquent terms the dangers of fever, of gangrene, of hemor- 
 rhage. He saw I was obstinate, and concluded his monitions 
 by presenting his bill. It amounted to the modest sum of 
 one hundred dollars ! It was an extortion. What could I do ? 
 I stormed and protested. The Mexican threatened me with 
 " governor's " justice. Gode swore in French, Spanish, Eng- 
 lish, and Indian. It was all to no purpose. I saw that the 
 bill would have to be paid, and I paid it, though with indif- 
 ferent grace. 
 
 The leech disappeared, and the landlord came next. He, 
 like the former, made earnest entreaty to prevent me from 
 
LEFT BEHIND. 73 
 
 setting forth. He offered a variety of reasons to de- 
 tain me. 
 
 " Do not go ; for your life, senor, do not ! " 
 
 " And why, good Jose' ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Oh, senor, los Indios bravos ! los Navajoes ! carrambo ! " 
 
 " But I am not going into the Indian country. I travel 
 down the river, through the towns of New Mexico." 
 
 " Ah ! senor ! the towns ! no hay seguridad. No, no ; 
 there is safety nowhere from the Navajo. Hay novedades ; 
 news this very day. Polvidera ; pobre Polvidera ! It was 
 attacked on Sunday last. On Sunday, senor, when they 
 were all en la misa. Pues, senor, the robbers surrounded 
 the church ; and oh, carrambo ! they dragged out the poor 
 people — men, women, and children ! Pues, senor ; they kill 
 the men ; and the women : Dios de mi alma ! " 
 
 " Well, and the women ? " 
 
 " Oh, senor ! they are all gone : they were carried to the 
 mountains by the savages. Pobres mugeres ! " 
 
 " It is a sad story, truly ; but the Indians, I understand, 
 only make these forays at long intervals. I am not likely to 
 meet with them now. At all events, Jose, I have made up 
 up my mind to run the risk." 
 
 " But, senor," continued Jose, lowering his voice to a 
 confidential tone, " there are other ladrones besides the 
 Indians : white ones, muchos, muchissimos ? Ay, indeed, 
 mi arao, white robbers ; blancos, blancos y mu y feos, 
 carrai ! " 
 
 And Jose closed his fingers as if clutching some imagi- 
 nary object. 
 
 This appeal to my fears was in vain. I answered it by 
 pointing to my revolvers and rifle, and to the well-filled belt 
 of my henchman Gode'. 
 
 When the Mexican Boniface saw that I was determined to 
 rob him of all the guests he had in his house, he retired sul- 
 
74 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 lenly, and shortly after returned with his bill. Like that of 
 the t: medico," it was out of all proportion ; but I could not 
 help myself, and paid it. 
 
 By gray dawn I was in my saddle ; and, followed by 
 Gode* and a couple of heavily packed mules, I rode out of 
 the ill-favored town, and took the road for the Rio Abajo. 
 
Mexican Crab and Land Shells. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE DEL NORTE. 
 
 OR days we journey 
 clown the Del Norte". 
 We pass through nu- 
 merous villages, many 
 of them types of Santa Fe'. We 
 cross the zequias and irrigating 
 canals, and pass along fields of 
 bright green maize plants. We 
 see vineyards and grand haciendas. These appear richer 
 and more prosperous as we approach the southern part of 
 the province, the Rio Abajo. 
 
 In the distance both east and west, we descry dark moun- 
 tains rolled up against the sky. These are the twin ranges 
 of the Rocky Mountains. Long spurs trend towards the 
 river, and in places appear to close up the valley. They 
 add to the expression of many a beautiful landscape that 
 opens before us as we move onward. 
 
 75 
 
76 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 We see picturesque costumes in the villages and along the 
 highways : men dressed in the chequered serapd or the 
 striped blankets of the Navajoes ; conical sombreros with 
 broad brims ; calzoneros of velveteen, with their rows of 
 shining castle-tops, and fastened at the waist by the jaunty 
 sash. We see mangas and tilmas, and men wearing the 
 sandal as in Eastern lands. On the women we observe the 
 graceful rebozo, the short nagua, and the embroidered 
 chemisette. 
 
 We see rude implements of husbandry : the creaking car- 
 reta, with its block wheels ; the primitive plow of the fork- 
 ing tree-branch, scarcely scoring the soil; the horn-yoked 
 oxen ; the goad ; the clumsy hoe in the hands of the peon 
 serf : these are all objects that are new and curious to our 
 eyes, and that indicate the lowest order of agricultural 
 knowledge. 
 
 Along the roads we meet numerous atajos, in charge of 
 their arrieros. We observe the mules, small, smooth, light- 
 limbed, and vicious. We glance at the heavy alparejas and 
 bright worsted apishamores. We notice the tight wiry mus- 
 tangs, ridden by the arrieros ; the high-peaked saddles and 
 hair bridles ; the swarth faces and pointed beards of the 
 riders : the huge spurs that tinkle at every step ; the excla- 
 mations, " Hola, mula ! malraya ! vaya ! " We notice all 
 these, and they tell us we are journeying in the land of the 
 Hispano-American. 
 
 Under other circumstances these objects would have inter- 
 ested me. At that time, they appeared to me like the pic- 
 tures of a panorama, or the changing scenes of a continuous 
 dream. As such have they left their impressions on my 
 memory. I was under the incipient delirium of fever. 
 
 It was as yet only incipient ; nevertheless, it distorted the 
 images around me, and rendered their impressions unnatural 
 and wearisome. My wound began to pain me afresh, and 
 
THE DEL NORTE. 
 
 77 
 
 the hot sun, and the dust, and the thirst, with the miserable 
 accommodations of New Mexican posadas, vexed me to an 
 excess of endurance. 
 
 On the fifth day after leaving Santa Fe, we entered the 
 wretched little " pueblo " of Parida. It was my intention to 
 have remained there all night, but it proved a ruffian sort of 
 
 Domestic Bliss among the Peons. 
 
 place, with meager chances of comfort, and I moved on to 
 Socorro. This is the last inhabited spot in New Mexico, as 
 you approach the terrible desert, the Jornada del Muerte. 
 
 Gode had never made the journey, and at Parida I had 
 obtained one thing that we stood in need of : a guide. He 
 had volunteered ; and as I learnt that it would be no easy 
 task to procure one at Socorro, I was fain to take him along. 
 
78 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 He was a coarse, shaggy looking customer, and I did not at all 
 like his appearance ; but I found, on reaching Socorro, that 
 what I had heard was correct. No guide could be hired on 
 any terms, so great was their dread of the Jornada and its 
 occasional denizens, the Apaches. 
 
 Socorro was alive with Indian rumors, novedades. The 
 Indians had fallen upon an atajo near the crossing of Fra 
 Cristobal, and murdered the arrieros to a man. The village 
 was full of consternation at the news. The people dreaded 
 an attack, and thought me mad when I made known my in- 
 tention of crossing the Jornada. 
 
 I began to fear they would frighten my guide from his 
 engagement, but the fellow stood out stanchly, still express- 
 ing his willingness to accompany us. 
 
 Without the prospect of meeting the Apache savages, I was 
 but ill prepared for the Jornada. The pain of my wound 
 had increased, and I was fatigued and burning with fever. 
 
 But the caravan had passed through Socorro only three 
 days before, and I was in hopes of overtaking my old com- 
 panions before they could leave El Paso. This determined 
 me to proceed in the morning, and I made arrangements for 
 an early start. 
 
 Gode and I were awake before dawn. My attention went 
 out to summon the guide and saddle our animals. I remained 
 in the house making preparations for a cup of coffee before 
 starting. I was assisted by the landlord of the posada, who 
 had risen, and was stalking about in his serape\ 
 
 While thus engaged I was startled by the voice of Gode 
 calling from without, " Mon maitre ! mon maitre ! the rascal 
 have him run vay 1 " 
 
 " What do you mean ? Who has run away ? " 
 
 " Oh, monsieur la Mexicaine, vith von mule, has robb, 
 and run vay. Allons, monsieur, allons ! " 
 
 I followed the Canadian to the stable with a feeling of 
 
THE DEL NORTE. 
 
 79 
 
 anxiety. My horse — but no — thank heaven, he was there 1 
 One of the muies, the macho, was gone. It was the one 
 which the guide had ridden from Parada. 
 
 " Perhaps he is not off yet," I suggested. " He may still 
 be in the town." 
 
 We sent and went in all directions to find him, but to no 
 purpose. We were relieved at length from all doubts by 
 the arrival of some early market men, who had met such a 
 
 Cock-fighting in Mexico : Often Ends in a Fist Fight. 
 
 man as our guide far up the river, and riding a mule at full 
 gallop. 
 
 What should we do ? Follow him to Parida ? No ; that 
 would be a journey for nothing. I knew that he would not 
 be fool enough to go that way. Even if he did, it would 
 have been a fool's errand to seek for justice there, so I deter- 
 mined on leaving it over until the return of the traders would 
 enable me to find the thief, and demand his punishment from 
 the authorities. 
 
80 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 My regrets at the loss of my macho were not unmixed with 
 a sort of gratitude to the fellow when I laid my hand upon 
 the nose of my whimpering charger. What hindered him 
 from taking the horse instead of the mule ? It is a question 
 I have never been able to answer to this day. I can only- 
 account for the fellow's preference for the mule on the score ot 
 downright honesty, or the most perverse stupidity. 
 
 I made overtures for another guide. I applied to the Bon- 
 iface of Socorro, but without success. He knew no " mozo" 
 who would undertake the journey. 
 
 " Los Apaches ! los Apaches ! " 
 
 I appealed to the peons and loiterers of the plaza. 
 
 " Los Apaches ! " 
 
 Wherever I went, I was answered with " Los Apaches," 
 and a shake of the forefinger in front of the nose ; a negative 
 sign over all Mexico. 
 
 " It is plain, Gode, we can get no guide. We must try 
 this Jornada without one. What say you, voyageur ? " 
 
 " I am agree, mon maitre ; allons ! " 
 
 And, followed by my faithful compagnon, with our remain- 
 ing pack-mule, I took the road that leads to the desert. 
 That night we slept among the ruins of Valverde ; and the 
 next morning, after an early start, embarked upon the "J our ~ 
 ney of Death." 
 
Domestic Life Among the Peons: Preparing a Meal. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE "JOURNEY OF DEATH." 
 
 §H| N two hours we reached the crossing 
 at Fra Cristobal. Here the road parts 
 from the river, and strikes into the 
 waterless desert. We plunge through 
 the shallow ford, coming out on the eastern bank. We fill our 
 " xuages" with care, and give our animals as much as they 
 will drink. After a short halt to refresh ourselves, we ride 
 onward. 
 
 We have not traveled far before we recognize the appro- 
 priate name of this terrible journey. Scattered along the 
 
82 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 path we see the bones of many animals. There are human 
 bones too I That white spheroidal mass, with its grinning 
 rows and serrated sutures, that is a human skull. It lies 
 beside the skeleton of a horse. Horse and rider have fallen 
 together. The wolves have stripped them at the same time- 
 They have dropped down on their thirsty track, and perished 
 in despair, although water, had they known it, was within 
 reach of another effort ! 
 
 We see the skeleton of a mule, with the alpereja still 
 buckled around it, and an old blanket flapped and tossed by 
 many a whistling wind. 
 
 Other objects, that have been brought there by human aid, 
 strike the eye as we proceed. A bruised canteen, the frag- 
 ments of a glass bottle, an old hat, a piece of saddle-cloth, a 
 stirrup red with rust, a broken strap, with many like symbols, 
 are strewn along our path, speaking a melancholy language. 
 
 We are still only on the border of the desert. We are 
 fresh. How when we have traveled over and neared the 
 opposite side ? Shall we leave such souvenirs ? 
 
 We are filled with painful forebodings, as we look across 
 the arid waste that stretches indefinitely before us. We do 
 not dread the Apache. Nature herself is the enemy we fear. 
 
 Taking the wagon tracks for our guide, we creep on. We 
 grow silent, as if we were dumb. The mountains of Cris- 
 tobal sink behind us, and we are almost " out of sight of 
 land." We can see the ridges of the Sierra Blanca away to 
 the eastward ; but before us, to the south, the eye encounters 
 no mark or limit. 
 
 The sun grows hotter and hotter. I knew this would be 
 the case when we started. It was one of those cool morn- 
 ings with fog on the river and in the air. In all my wander- 
 ings through many climes, I have observed such mornings to 
 be the harbingers of sultry hours at noon. 
 
 The sun is climbing upward, and every moment his rays be- 
 
THE JOURNEY OF DEATH. 
 
 83 
 
 come fiercer and more fervid. There is a strong wind blow- 
 ing, but it does not fan us into coolness. On the contrary, it 
 lifts the burning crystals, and spits them painfully in our faces. 
 The sun has climbed to the zenith. We toil on through 
 the yielding sand. For miles we see no traces of vegeta- 
 
 The Jornada, or Journey of Death : Northern Mexico. 
 
 tion. The wagon tracks guide us no longer. The drift has 
 obscured them. 
 
 We enter a plain covered with artemisia and clumps of the 
 hideous greasewood. 
 
 The warped and twisted branches impede our progress. 
 For hours we ride through thickets of the bitter sage, and at 
 length enter another region, sandy and rolling. Long arid 
 spurs shoot down from the mountains, and decline into 
 
84 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 ridges of dry shifting sand. Now not even the silvery leaf of 
 the artemisia cheers our path. Before us we see nothing 
 but barren waste, trackless and treeless. 
 
 A tropical sun glances up from the brilliant surface, and 
 we are almost blinded by the refracted rays. The wind 
 blows more lightly, and clouds of dust load the air, sweeping 
 slowly along. 
 
 We push forward without guide or any object to indicate 
 our course. We are soon in the midst of bewilderment. 
 A scene of seeming enchantment springs up around us. 
 Vast towers of sand, borne up by the whirlblast, rise verti- 
 cally to the sky. They move to and fro over the plain. 
 They are yellow and luminous. The sun glistens among 
 their floating crystals. They move slowly, but they are ap- 
 proaching us. 
 
 I behold them with feelings of awe. I have heard of trav- 
 elers lifted in their whirling vortex, and dashed back again 
 from fearful heights. 
 
 The pack-mule, frightened at the phenomenon, breaks the 
 lasso and scampers away among the ridge. Gode has gal- 
 lope'd in pursuit. I am alone. 
 
 Nine or ten gigantic columns now appear, stalking over 
 the plain and circling gradually around me. There is some- 
 thing unearthly in the sight. They resemble creatures of a 
 phantom world. They seem endowed with demon life. 
 
 Two of them approach each other. There is a short 
 ghastly struggle that ends in their mutual destruction. The 
 sand is precipitated to the earth, and the dust floats off in dun 
 shapeless masses. 
 
 Several have shut me within a space, and are slowly clos- 
 ing upon me. My dog howls and barks. The horse cowers 
 with affright, and shivers between my thighs, uttering ter- 
 rified expressions. 
 
 I am irresolute. I sit in my saddle waiting the result, with 
 
THE "JOURNEY OF DEATH." 85 
 
 an indescribable feeling. My ears are filled with a buzzing 
 sound, like the hum of machinery. My eyes distort the nat- 
 ural hues into a fiery brightness. My brain reels. Strange 
 objects appear. The fever is upon me ! 
 
 The laden currents clash in their wild torsion. I am 
 twisted around and torn from my saddle. My eyes, mouth, 
 and ears are filled with dust. Sand, stones, and branches 
 strike me spitefully in the face ; and I am flung with vio- 
 lence to the earth ! 
 
 I lay for a moment where I had fallen, half buried and 
 blind. I could perceive that thick clouds of dust were still 
 sweeping over me. 
 
 I was neither stunned nor hurt ; and I began to grope 
 around me, for as yet I could see nothing. My eyes were 
 full of sand, and pained me exceedingly. Throwing out 
 my arms, I felt for my horse ; I called him by name. A 
 low whimper answered me. I staggered towards the spot, 
 and laid my hands upon him ; he was down upon his flank. 
 I seized the bridle, and he sprang up ; but I could feel that 
 he was shivering like an aspen. 
 
 I stood by his head for nearly half an hour, rubbing the 
 dust from my eyes, and waiting until the simoom might settle 
 away. At length the atmosphere, grew clearer, and I could 
 see the sky ; but the sand still drifted along the ridges, and I 
 could not distinguish the surface of the plain. There were 
 no signs of Gode. He might be near me notwithstanding ; 
 and I shouted loudly, calling him by name. I listened, but 
 there was no answer. Again I raised my voice, and with a 
 like result. There was no sound but the singing of the wind. 
 
 I mounted and commenced riding over the plain in search 
 of my comrade. I had no idea of what direction he had taken. 
 
 I made a circuit of a mile or so, still calling his name 
 as I went, I received no reply, and could see no traces upon 
 
86 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 the ground. I rode for an hour, galloping from ridge to ridge 
 but still without meeting any signs of my comrade or the 
 mules. I pulled up in despair. I had shouted until I was 
 faint and hoarse. I could search no longer. 
 
 I was thirsty, and would drink. O God 1 my xuages are 
 broken ! The pack-mule has carried off the water-skin. 
 
 The crushed calabash still hung upon its thong ; but the 
 last drops it had contained were trickling down the flanks 
 of my horse. I knew that I might be fifty miles from 
 water ! 
 
 You cannot understand the fearfulness of this situation. 
 You live in a northern zone ; in a land of pools and streams 
 and limpid springs. You have never felt thirst. You know 
 not the want of water. It gushes from every hill-side, and 
 you have grown fastidious about its quality. You complain 
 of its hardness, its softness, or its want of crystal purity. 
 How unlike the denizen of the desert, the voyageur of the 
 prairie sea ! Water is his chief care, his ever-present solici- 
 tude ; water the divinity he worships. 
 
 Hunger he can stifle, so long as a patch of his leathern 
 garment hangs to him. Should game not appear, he can trap 
 the marmot, catch the lizard, and gather the prairie crickets. 
 He knows every root and seed that will sustain life. Give 
 him water, and he will live and struggle on. He will, in 
 time, crawl out of the desert. Without this, he may chew 
 the leaden bullet or the pebble of chalcedony. He may split 
 the spheroid cactus, and open the intestines of the butchered 
 buffalo, but in the end he must die. Without water, even in 
 the midst of plenty, plenty of food, he must die. Ha ! you 
 know not thirst. It is a fearful thing. In the wild western 
 desert it is the thirst that kills. 
 
 No wonder I was filled with despair. I believed myself 
 to be about the middle of the Jornada. I knew that I could 
 never reach the other side without water. The yearning had 
 
THE "JOURNEY OF DEATH." 87 
 
 already begun. My throat and tongue felt shriveled and 
 parched. Thirst and fever had done it. The desert dust, 
 too, had contributed its share. Fierce desires already 
 gnawed me with ceaseless tooth. 
 
 I had lost all knowledge of the course I should take. The 
 mountains, hitherto my guide, seemed to trend in every direc- 
 tion. Their numerous spurs puzzled me. 
 
 I remembered hearing of a spring, the Ojo del Muerto, 
 that was said to lie westward of the trail. Sometimes there 
 was water in the spring. On other occasions travelers had 
 reached it only to find the fountain dried up, and leave their 
 bones upon its banks. So ran the tales in Socorro. 
 
 For some minutes I vacillated ; and then, pulling the right 
 rein of my bridle almost involuntarily, I headed my horse 
 westward. I would seek the spring, and, should I fail to 
 find it, push on to the river. This was turning out of my 
 course ; but I must reach the water and save my life. 
 
 I sat in my saddle, faint and choking, leaving my animal 
 to go at will. I had lost the energy to guide him. 
 
 He went many miles westward, for the sun told me the 
 course. I was suddenly roused from my stupor. A glad 
 sight was before me. A lake ! — a lake shining like crystal. 
 Was I certain I saw it ? Could it be the mirage ? No. Its 
 outlines were too sharply defined. It had not that filmy 
 whitish appearance which distinguishes the latter phenome- 
 non. No. It was not the mirage. It was water ! 
 
 I involuntarily pressed the spur against the side of my 
 horse ; but he needed not that. He had already eyed the 
 water, and sprang forward inspirited with new energy. The 
 next moment he was in it up to his flanks. 
 
 I flung myself from the saddle with a plunge. I was 
 about to lift the water in my concave palms, when the actions 
 of my horse attracted me. Instead of drinking greedily, he 
 stood tossing his head with snorts of disappointment. My 
 
88 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 dog, too, refused to lap, and ran along the shore whining 
 and howling. 
 
 I knew what this meant ; but, with that common obstinacy 
 which refuses all testimony but the evidence of the senses, I 
 lifted some drops in my hand, and applied them to my lips. 
 They were briny and burning. I might have known this 
 before reaching the lake, for I had ridden through a salt 
 incrustation that surrounded it like a belt of snow. But my 
 brain was fevered ; my reason had left me. 
 
 It was of no use remaining where I was. I climbed back 
 into my saddle, and rode along the shore, over fields of 
 snow-white salt. Here and there my horse's hoof rang 
 against bleaching bones of animals, the remains of many a 
 victim. Well was this lake named the Laguna del Muerto : 
 the " Lake of Death ! " 
 
 Reaching its southern point, I again headed westward, in 
 hopes of striking the river. 
 
 From this time until a later period, when I found myself 
 in a far different scene, I have no distinct memories. In- 
 cidents I remember, unconnected with each other, but never- 
 theless real. These are linked in my memory with others 
 so wild and improbable that I can only consider the latter as 
 fancies of the madness that was then upon me. But some 
 were real. My reason must have returned at intervals, by 
 some strange oscillation of the brain. 
 
 I remember dismounting on a high bank. I must have 
 traveled unconsciously for hours before, for the sun was low 
 down on the horizon as I alighted. It was a very high bank 
 — a precipice — and below me I saw a beautiful river sweep- 
 ing onward through groves of emerald greenness. I thought 
 there were many birds fluttering in the groves, and their 
 voices rang in delicious melody. There was fragrance on 
 the air, and the scene below me seemed an Elysium. I 
 thought that around where I stood all was bleak, and barren, 
 
THE "JOURNEY OF DEATH." 89 
 
 and parched with intolerable heat. I was tortured with a 
 slakeless thirst that grew fiercer as I gazed on the flowing 
 water. These were real incidents. All this was true. 
 ****** 
 I must drink. I must to the river. It is cool sweet water. 
 Oh! I must drink. What! A horrid cliff! No; I will 
 not go down there. I can descend more easily here. Who 
 are these forms ? Who are you, sir ? Ah ! it is you, my 
 brave Moro ; and yo.u, Alp. Come ! come ! Follow me ! 
 Down ; down to the river ! Ah ! again that accursed cliff ! 
 Look at the beautiful water ! It smiles. It ripples on, on, 
 on ! Let us drink. No, not yet ; we cannot yet. We 
 must go farther. Ugh ! Such a height to leap from ! But 
 we must drink, one and all. Come, Gode' ! Come, Moro, 
 old friend ! Alp, come on ! We shall reach it ; we shall 
 drink. Who is Tantalus ? Ha ! ha ! Not I ; not I ! Stand 
 back, fiends ! Do not push me over ! Back ! Back, I say ! 
 
 Oh! 
 
 ****** 
 
 I thought that forms — many of them — forms strange and 
 fiend-like, clustered around me, and dragged me to the brink 
 of the cliff. I was launched out into the air. I felt myself 
 falling, falling, falling, and still came no nearer to the green 
 trees and the bright water, though I could see them shining 
 below me. 
 
 I am upon a rock, a mass of vast dimensions ; but it is 
 not at rest. It is swimming onward through empty space. 
 I cannot move myself. I lie helpless, stretched along its 
 surface, while it sweeps onward. It is an aerolite. It can 
 be nothing but that. O God ! there will be a terrible col- 
 lision when it strikes some planet world ! Horror ! horror ! 
 ****** 
 
 I am lying on the ground, the ground of the earth. It 
 
90 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 upheaves beneath me, and oscillates to and fro like the 
 undulations of an earthquake ! 
 
 # # # # * # 
 
 Part of all this was a reality ; part was a dream, a dream 
 that bore some resemblance to the horrors of a first intoxica- 
 tion. 
 
 INDIAN DuM^g 
 

 :iLlfc5g£^«a^a^sSg*»f^**a BbafcC <SSB 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ZOE. 
 
 LAY tracing the figures upon 
 the curtains. They were scenes 
 of the olden time : mailed 
 knights, helmed and mounted, 
 dashing at each other with couched 
 lances, or tumbling from their horses, 
 pierced by the spear. Other scenes 
 there were : noble dames, sitting on Flemish palfreys, 
 and watching the flight of the merlin hawk. There were 
 pages in waiting, and dogs of curious and extinct breeds 
 held in the leash. Perhaps these never existed except in 
 the dreams of some old-fashioned artist ; but my eye fol- 
 lowed their strange shape with a sort of half-idiotic wonder. 
 I was forcibly impressed with the noble features of the 
 dames. Was that, too, a fancy of the painter ? or were 
 those divine outlines of face and figure typical of the time ? 
 If so, no wonder that corslets were crushed and lances 
 shivered for their smiles. 
 
 Metallic rods upheld the curtains ; rods that shone brightly, 
 
 9 1 
 
92 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 and curved upwards, forming a canopy. My eyes ran along 
 these rods, scanning their configuration, and admiring, as a 
 child admires, the regularity of their curves. I was not in 
 my own land. These things were strange to me. " Yet," 
 thought I, " I have seen something like them before, but 
 where ? Oh ! this I know, with its broad stripes and silken 
 texture : it is a Navajo blanket ! Where was I last ? In 
 New Mexico ? Yes. Now I remember : the Jornada ! but 
 how came I ? 
 
 " Can I untwist this ? It is close woven ; it is wool, fine 
 wool. No, I cannot separate a thread from 
 
 " My fingers ! how white and thin they are ! and my nails, 
 blue, and long as the talons of a bird ! I have a beard 1 I 
 feel it on my chin. What gave me a beard ? I never wear 
 it ; I will shave it off — ha ! my mustache ! 
 
 " The knights, how they tilt at each other ! Bloody work ! 
 That bold fellow, the smaller too, will unhorse the other. I 
 can tell from the spring of his horse and the way he sits him. 
 Horse and rider are one now. The same mind unites them 
 by a mysterious link. The horse feels with his rider. They 
 cannot fail to conquer charging thus. 
 
 Those beautiful ladies ! She with the hawk perched on 
 her arm, how brilliant ! how bold, yet lovely ! " 
 
 I was wearied, and slept again. 
 
 * # * * # # 
 
 Once more my eyes were tracing the figures upon the 
 curtains : the knights and dames, the hounds, hawks, and 
 horses. But my brain had become clearer, and music was 
 flowing into it. I lay silent, and listened. 
 
 The voice was a female's. It was soft and finely mod- 
 ulated. Some one played upon a stringed instrument. I 
 recognized the tones of the Spanish harp, but the song was 
 French, a song of Normandy ; and the words were in the 
 language of that romantic land. I wondered at this, for my 
 
zoe. 93 
 
 consciousness of late events was returning ; and I knew that 
 I was far from France. 
 
 The light was streaming over my couch ; and turning my 
 face to the front, I saw that the curtains were drawn 
 aside. 
 
 I was in a large room, oddly but elegantly furnished. 
 Human figures were before me, seated and standing. Some 
 were reclining upon the floor ; others were seated on chairs 
 and ottomans ; and all appeared to be busy with some oc- 
 cupation. I thought there were many figures, six or eight 
 at the least. This proved to be an illusion. I found that the 
 objects before me made duplicate impressions upon my 
 diseased retina ; and everything appeared to exist in pairs, 
 the counterparts of each other. After looking steadily for a 
 while, my vision became more distinct and reliable ; and I 
 saw that there were but three persons in the room, a man and 
 two females. 
 
 I remained silent, not certain but that the scene before me 
 was only some new phase of my dream. My eyes wandered 
 from one of the living figures to another, without attracting 
 the attention of any of them. 
 
 They were all in different attitudes, and occupied dif- 
 ferently. 
 
 Nearest me was a woman of middle age, seated upon a low 
 ottoman. The harp I had heard was before her, and she 
 continued to play. She must have been, I thought, when 
 young, a woman of extreme beauty. She was still beautiful 
 in a certain sense. The noble features were there, though 
 I could perceive that they had been scathed by more than 
 ordinary suffering of the mind. The silken surface had 
 yielded to care as well as time. 
 
 She was a Frenchwoman : an ethnologist could have told 
 that at a glance. Those lines, the characteristics of her high- 
 ly gifted race, were easily traceable. I thought there was a 
 
94 T HE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 time when that face had witched many a heart with its smiles. 
 There were no smiles on it now, but a deep yet intellectual 
 expression of melancholy. This I perceived too in her voice, 
 in her song, in every note that vibrated from the strings of 
 the instrument. 
 
 My eye wandered farther. A man of more than middle 
 age stood by the table, near the center of the room. His 
 face was turned towards me, and its nationality was as easily 
 determined as that of the lady. The high florid cheeks, the 
 broad front, the prominent chin, the small green cap with its 
 long peak and conical crown, the blue spectacles, were all 
 characteristics. He was a German. It was a face not 
 intellectual in its expression ; yet have men with such a 
 physiognomy given proofs of intellectual research in every 
 department of science and art ; research deep and wonderful, 
 with ordinary talents and extraordinary labor ; labor Her- 
 culean that knows no wearying ; Pelion piled on Ossa. I 
 thought of this as I scanned the features of the man. 
 
 His occupation was also characteristic of his nationality. 
 Before him were strewed over the table, and upon the floor, 
 the objects of his study : plants and shrubs of various species. 
 He was busy with these, classifying and carefully laying them 
 out between the leaves of his portfolio. It was evident that 
 the old man was a botanist. 
 
 A glance to the right, and the naturalist and his labors 
 were no longer regarded. I was looking upon the loveliest 
 object that ever came before my eyes, and my heart bounded 
 within me, as I strained forward in the intensity of its ad- 
 miration. The iris on the summer shower, the rosy dawn, 
 the brilliant hues of the bird of Juno, are bright soft things. 
 Blend them, blend all the beauties of nature in one harmo- 
 nious whole, and there will still be wanting that mysterious 
 essence that enters the heart of the beholder while gazing 
 upon the loveliness of the female form. 
 
zoe. 95 
 
 Of all created things, there is none so fair, none so lovely 
 as a lovely woman ! 
 
 Yet it was not a woman that held my gaze captive, but 
 a child — a girl — a maid — standing upon the threshold of 
 womanhood, ready to cross it at the first summons of Love 1 
 
 Men call beauty an arbitrary thing, a fancy, a caprice, 
 a fashion, that to which we are used. How often do we hear 
 this hackneyed opinion, while he who utters it revels in the 
 conceit of his own wisdom 1 
 
 " Every eye forms its own beauty." A false and shallow 
 sophism. We might as well declare that every palate forms 
 its own taste. Is honey sweet ? Is wormwood bitter ? Yes ; 
 in both cases sweet and bitter to the child or the man, to 
 the savage or the civilized, to the ignorant and the educated. 
 This is true under all circumstances, unless, indeed, where 
 caprice, habit or fashion, forms the exception. Why then 
 deny to one sense what all the others so palpably possess ? 
 Has not the human eye, in its natural state, its likes and its 
 dislikes ? It has, and the laws that regulate them are as 
 fixed and unerring as the orbits of the stars. We do not 
 know these laws ; but that they exist we know, and can 
 prove it as clearly as Leverrier determined the existence 
 of Neptune : a world within reach of telescopic vision, yet 
 wheeling for millions of years undetected by the sleepless 
 sentinels of astronomy. 
 
 Why does the eye rove with delight around the outlines of 
 the circle ; along the curve of the ellipse ; of every section 
 of the cone ? Why does it roam transported along the line of 
 Hogarth ? Why does it grieve when this line is broken ? 
 Ah ! these are its likes and its dislikes, its sweets and its 
 bitters, its honey and its wormwood. 
 
 Beauty, then, is not an arbitrary thing. The fancy, the 
 conventionalism, is not in the object, but in the eye of 
 the gazer; the eye uneducated, vulgar, or perchance dis- 
 
96 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 torted by fashion. Forms and colors are beautiful, indepen- 
 dently of all opinions regarding them. 
 
 There is a still higher point which may be established in 
 connection with this theory : an intellectual cause can be as- 
 signed why an object is beautiful or otherwise. Intellect has 
 its forms and shapes in the physical world. It dwells in 
 beauty notwithstanding the many apparent contradictions. 
 Ugliness, hideous word ! must exert itself to obtain what 
 beauty commands without an effort. Hence you see dis- 
 tinction, the presumptive proof of intellectual greatness, so 
 often coupled with physical plainness. Hence the homely 
 histrionic artiste, hence the female bibliographer, hence the 
 " blue." On the other hand, Beauty sits enthroned like a 
 queen or a goddess. She makes no effort, because she feels 
 not the necessity. The world approaches at her slightest 
 summons, and spreads its offerings at her feet. 
 
 These thoughts did not all pass through my mind, though 
 some of them did, while my eyes, delighted, reveled along 
 the graceful curves that outlined the beautiful being before 
 me. I thought I had seen the face somewhere. I had, but 
 a moment before, while looking upon that of the elder lady. 
 They were the same face — using a figure of speech — the 
 type transmitted from mother to daughter; the same high 
 front and facial angle, the same outline of the nose, straight 
 as a ray of light, with the delicate spiral-like curve of the 
 nostrils, which meets you in the Greek medallion. Their 
 hair, too, was alike in color, golden ; though, in that of the 
 mother, the gold showed an enamel of silver. The tresses 
 of the girl were like sunbeams, straying over a neck and 
 shoulders that, for delicate whiteness, might have been chis- 
 eled from the stones of Carrara. 
 
 All this may seem high language : figurative, if you will. 
 I can neither write nor speak otherwise on this theme. I 
 will desist, and spare details, which to you may be of little 
 
zoe. 97 
 
 interest. In return, do me the favor to believe, that the 
 being who impressed me then and for ever was beautiful, was 
 lovely. 
 
 " Ah ! it wod be ver moch kindness if madame and 
 ma'm'selle wod play la Marseillaise, la grande Marseillaise. 
 What say mein liebe fraulein ! " 
 
 " Zoe, Zoe ! take thy bandolin. Yes, doctor, we will play 
 it for you with pleasure. You like the music. So do we. 
 Come, Zoe ! " 
 
 The young girl, who, up to this time, had been watching 
 intently the labors of the naturalist, glided to a remote corner 
 of the room, and taking up an instrument resembling the 
 guitar, returned and seated herself by her mother. The 
 bandolin was soon placed in concert with the harp, and the 
 strings of both vibrated to the thrilling notes of the " Mar- 
 seillaise." 
 
 There was something exceedingly graceful in the perform- 
 ance. The instrumentation, as I thought, was perfect ; and the 
 voices of the players accompanied it in a sweet and spirited 
 harmony. As I gazed upon the girl Zoe, her features an- 
 imated by the thrilling thoughts of the anthem, her whole coun- 
 tenance radiant with light, she seemed some immortal being ; 
 a young goddess of liberty calling her children " to arms ! " 
 
 The botanist had desisted from his labors, and stood listen- 
 ing with delighted attention. At each return of the thrilling 
 invocation " Aux arjjies, citoycns /" the old man snapped his 
 fingers, and beat the floor with his feet, marking the time of 
 the music. He was filled with the same spirit which at that 
 time, over all Europe, was gathering to its crisis. 
 
 " Where am I ? French faces, French music, French 
 voices, and the conversation in French ! " for the botanist 
 addressed the females in that language, though with a strong 
 Rhenish patois, that confirmed my first impression of his 
 nationality. " Where am I ? " 
 7 
 
98 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 My eye ran around the room in search of an answer. I 
 could recognize the furniture : the cross-legged Campeachy 
 chairs, a rebozo, the palm-leaf petatk. " Ha, Alp 1 " 
 
 The dog lay stretched along the mattress near my couch, 
 and sleeping. 
 
 "Alp! Alp!" 
 
 " Oh, mama ! mama ! dcoutez ! the stranger call." 
 
 The dog sprang to his feet, and throwing his forepaws 
 upon the bed, stretched his nose towards me with a joyous 
 whimpering. I reached out my hand, and patted him, at 
 the same time giving utterance to some expressions of en- 
 dearment. 
 
 " Oh, mama ! mama he knows him. Voila." 
 
 The lady rose hastily, and approached the bed. The 
 German seized me by the wrist, pushing back the St. Bernard, 
 which was bounding to spring upward. 
 
 " Mon Dieu ! he is well. His eyes, doctor. How 
 changed ! " 
 
 " Ya, ya ; moch better ; ver moch better. Hush ! away, 
 tog ! Keep away, mine goot tog ! " 
 
 " Who ? where ? Tell me, where am I ? Who are you ? " 
 
 " Do not fear ! We are friends : you have been ill ! " 
 
 " Yes, yes ! we are friends : you have been ill, sir. Do 
 not fear us ; we will watch you. This is the good doctor. 
 This is mama, and I am " 
 
 " An angel from heaven, beautiful Zoe 1 " 
 
 The child looked at me with an expression of wonder, and 
 blushed as she said — 
 
 " Hear, mama 1 He knows my name 1 " 
 
 It was the first compliment she had ever received from 
 the lips of love. 
 
 " It is goot, madame : he is ver moch relieft ; he ver soon 
 get over now. Keep away, mine goot Alp ! Your master 
 he get well : goot tog, down I " 
 
zoe. 99 
 
 • Perhaps, doctor, we should leave him. The noise " 
 
 " No, no ! if you please, stay with me. The music ; will 
 you play again ? " 
 
 " Yes, the music, is ver goot : ver goot for te pain." 
 
 " Oh, mama ! let us play, then." 
 
 Both mother and daughter took up their instruments, and 
 again commenced playing. 
 
 I listened to the sweet strains, watching the fair musicians 
 a long while. My eyes at length became heavy, and the 
 realities before me changed into the soft outlines of a 
 
 dream. 
 
 ****** 
 
 My dream was broken by the abrupt cessation of the music. 
 I thought I heard, through my sleep, the opening of a door. 
 When I looked to the spot lately occupied by the musicians, 
 I saw that they were gone. The bandolin had been thrown 
 down upon the ottoman, where it lay, but she was not there. 
 
 I could not, from my position, see the whole of the apart- 
 ment ; but I knew that some one had entered at the outer 
 door. I heard expressions of welcome and endearment, a 
 rustling of dresses, the words "Papa!" "My little Zoe;" 
 the latter uttered in the voice of a man. Then followed 
 some explanations in a lower tone, which I could not hear. 
 
 A few minutes elapsed, and I lay silent and listening. 
 Presently there were footsteps in the hall. A boot, with its 
 jingling rowels, struck upon the tiled floor. The footsteps 
 entered the room, and approached the bed. I started, as I 
 looked up. The Scalp-hunter was before me 1 
 
Mexican Women Kneading Tortillas, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SEGUIN. 
 
 OU are better ; you will soon be 
 well again. I am glad to see that 
 you recover." 
 
 He said this without offering 
 his hand. 
 
 " I am indebted to you for my 
 life. Is it not so ? " 
 
 It is strange that I felt con- 
 vinced of this the moment that 
 I set my eyes upon the man. I 
 think such an idea crossed my mind before, after awaking 
 from my long dream. Had I encountered him in my 
 struggles for water, or had I dreamed it ? 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " answered he, with a smile, " but you will re- 
 ioo 
 
 
SEGUIN. 101 
 
 member that I had something to do with your being exposed 
 to the risk of losing it." 
 
 " Will you take this hand ? Will you forgive me ? " 
 
 After all, there is something selfish even in gratitude. 
 How strangely had it changed my feelings towards this man ! 
 I was begging the hand which, but a few days before, in the 
 pride of my morality, I had spurned from me as a loathsome 
 thing. 
 
 But there were other thoughts that influenced me. The 
 man before me was the husband of the lady ; was the father 
 of Zoe. His character, his horrid calling, were forgotten ; 
 and the next moment our hands were joined in the embrace 
 of friendship. 
 
 " I have nothing to forgive. I honor the sentiment that 
 induced you to act as you did. This declaration may seem 
 strange to you. From what you knew of me, you acted 
 rightly ; but there may be a time, sir, when you will know 
 me better : when the deeds which you abhor may seem not 
 only pardonable, but justifiable. Enough of this at present. 
 The object of my being now at your bedside is to request 
 that what you do know of me be not uttered here." 
 
 His voice sank to a whisper as he said this, pointing at 
 the some time towards the door of the room. 
 
 " But how," I asked, wishing to draw his attention from 
 this unpleasant theme, " how came I into this house ? It is 
 yours, I perceive. How came I here ? Where did you find 
 me?" 
 
 " In no very safe position," answered he, with a smile. 
 " I can scarcely claim the merit of saving you. Your noble 
 horse you may thank for that." 
 
 " Ah, my horse ! my brave Moro ! I have lost him." 
 
 " Your horse is standing at the maize-trough, not ten 
 paces from where you lie. I think you will find him in 
 somewhat better condition than when you last saw him. 
 
102 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Your mules are without. Your packs are safe. You will 
 find them here," and he pointed to the foot of the bed. 
 « And " 
 
 " Gode you would ask for," said he, interrupting me. 
 " Do not be uneasy on his account. He, too, is in safety. 
 He is absent just now, but will soon return." 
 
 " How can I thank you ? This is good news indeed. My 
 brave Moro ! and Alp here ! But how ? you say my horse 
 saved me. He has done so before : how can this be ? " 
 
 " Simply thus : we found you many miles from this place, 
 on a cliff that overlooks the Del Norte. You were hang- 
 ing over on your lasso, that by a lucky accident had become 
 entangled around your body. One end of it was knotted to 
 the bit-ring, and the noble animal, thrown back upon his 
 haunches, sustained your weight upon his neck ! " 
 
 " Noble Moro ! what a terrible situation ! " 
 
 " Ay, you may say that 1 Had you fallen from it, you 
 would have passed through a thousand feet of air before 
 striking the rocks below. It was indeed a fearful situa- 
 tion." 
 
 " I must have staggered over in my search for water." 
 
 " In your delirium you walked over. You would have 
 done so a second time had we not prevented you. When 
 we drew you up on the cliff, you struggled hard to get back. 
 You saw the water below, but not the precipice. Thirst is 
 a terrible thing : an insanity of itself." 
 
 " I remember something of all this. I thought it had been 
 a dream." 
 
 " Do not trouble your brain with these things. The 
 doctor here admonishes me to leave you. I have an object, 
 as I have said " (here a sad expression passed over the 
 countenance of the speaker), " else I should not have paid 
 you this visit. I have not many moments to spare. To- 
 night I must be far hence. In a few days I shall return. 
 
SEGUIN. 
 
 103 
 
 Meanwhile, compose yourself, and get well. The doctor 
 here will see that you want for nothing. My wife and 
 daughter will nurse you." 
 
 " Thanks 1 thanks ! " 
 
 " You will do well to remain where you are until your 
 friends return from Chihuahua. They must pass not far 
 from this place, and I will warn you when they are near. 
 
 Heathenish Rites Among Mexican Indians. 
 
 You are a student. There are books here in different 
 languages. Amuse yourself. They will give you music. 
 Monsieur, adieu ! " 
 
 " Stay, sir, one moment ! You seem to have taken a 
 strange fancy to my horse ? " 
 
 " Ah ! monsieur, it was no fancy ; but I will explain that 
 at some other time. Perhaps the necessity no longer exists." 
 
 " Take him, if you will. Another will serve my purpose. 
 
104 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " No, monsieur. Do you think I could rob you of what 
 you esteem so highly, and with such just reason, too ? No, 
 no ! Keep the good Moro. I do not wonder at your at- 
 tachment to the noble brute." 
 
 " You say that you have a long journey to-night. Then 
 take him for the time." 
 
 " That offer I will freely accept, for indeed my own horse 
 is somewhat jaded. I have been two days in the saddle. 
 Well, adieu ! " 
 
 Seguin pressed my hand and walked away. I heard the 
 " chinck, chinck " of his spurs as he crossed the apartment, 
 and the next moment the door closed behind him. 
 
 I was alone, and lay listening to every sound that reached 
 me from without. In about half an hour after he had left 
 me I heard the hoof-strokes of a horse, and saw the shadow 
 of a horseman passing outside the window. He had de- 
 parted on his journey, doubtless on the performance of some 
 red duty connected with his fearful avocation ! 
 
 I lay for a while harassed in mind thinking of this strange 
 man. Then sweet voices interrupted my meditations; be- 
 fore me appeared lovely faces, and the Scalp-hunter was 
 forgotten. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 LOVE. 
 
 WOULD compress the history of the 
 
 ten days following into as many words. 
 
 I would not weary you with the details 
 
 of my love : a love that in the space 
 
 of a few hours became passion deep and ardent. 
 
 I was young at the time ; at just such an age as to be 
 impressed by the romantic incidents that surrounded me, 
 and had thrown this beautiful being in my way ; at that age 
 when the heart, unguarded by cold calculations of the future, 
 yields unresistingly to the electrical impressions of love. I 
 say electrical. I believe that at this age the sympathies that 
 spring up between heart and heart are purely of this nature. 
 At a later period of life that power is dissipated and di- 
 vided. Reason rules it. We become conscious of the capa- 
 bility of transferring our affections, for they have already 
 broken faith ; and we lose that sweet confidence that com- 
 forted the loves of our youth. We are either imperious or 
 jealous, as the advantages appear in our favor or against us. 
 A gross alloy enters into the love of our middle life, sadly 
 detracting from the divinity of its character. 
 
 105 
 
106 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I might call that which I then felt my first real passion. 
 I thought I had loved before, but no, it was only a dream ; 
 the dream of the village schoolboy, who saw heaven in the 
 bright eyes of his coy classmate ; or perhaps, at the family 
 picnic, in some romantic dell, had tasted the rosy cheek of 
 his pretty cousin. 
 
 I grew strong, and with a rapidity that surprised the skil- 
 ful man of herbs. Love fed and nourished the fire of life. 
 The will often effects the deed, and say as you may, volition 
 has its power upon the body. The wish to be well, to live, 
 an object to live for, are often the speediest restoratives. 
 They were mine. 
 
 I grew stronger, and rose from my couch. A glance at 
 the mirror told me that my color was returning. 
 
 Instinct teaches the bird while wooing his mate to plume 
 his pinions to their highest gloss ; and a similar feeling now 
 rendered me solicitous about my toilet. My portmanteau 
 was ransacked, my razors were drawn forth, the beard disap- 
 peared from my chin, and my mustache was trimmed to its 
 wonted dimensions. 
 
 I confess all this. The world had told me I was not ill- 
 looking, and I believed what it said. I am mortal in my 
 vanities. Are not you ? 
 
 With her, Zoe, child of nature in its most perfect inno- 
 cence, there were no such conceits. The trickery of the 
 toilet never entered into her thoughts. She knew not of the 
 graces which had been so lavishly bestowed upon her. No 
 one had ever told her of her beauty. I had learned the 
 strange fact, that, except her father, the old botanist, and 
 the pueblo peons, the servants of the house, I was the only 
 person of my sex she had ever seen since a very early 
 period of her life ! For years had she and her mother 
 lived in the seclusion of their own home : a seclusion as 
 complete as that of a convent. There was a mystery in 
 
LOVE. 107 
 
 all this, and it was only afterwards that it was revealed 
 to me. 
 
 Hers, then, was a virgin heart, pure and spotless ; a heart 
 into whose soft dreams the light of love had not yet flung 
 its ray ; against whose holy innocence love's god had not 
 yet winged a single arrow. 
 
 Are you of my sex ? Have you ever desired to become 
 the lord of a heart like this ? If you can answer these inter- 
 rogations in the affirmative, then do I tell you, what you 
 may well remember, that any exertions you made to attain 
 this end were idle. You were loved at once, or never ! 
 
 The virgin heart is not gained by the finesse of court- 
 ship. It has no half-way likings, that may yield to tender 
 assiduity on your part. An object either attracts or repels 
 it, and the impression is quick as the lightning's flash. It 
 is the throwing of a die : you have won or you have won not. 
 If the latter, you may as well desist. No effort can over- 
 come the obstacle, and produce the emotion of love. Friend- 
 ship you may gain : love never. No coquetry of yours can 
 make that heart jealous ; no favors you may bestow can 
 cause it to love you. You may conquer worlds, yet not con- 
 trol its secret and silent throbbings. You may be the hero 
 of a thousand tongues ; yet he whose image has been flung 
 into that little heart will be its hero, higher and nobler than 
 all others. That fair young creature, its owner, will be 
 wholly his, however humble, however worthless he may be. 
 With her there will be no reservation, no reasoning, no cau- 
 tion, no cunning. She will yield alone to the mystic prompt- 
 ings of nature. Under their influence she will bind her 
 whole heart to the altar, even when she knows that he will 
 make it a bleeding sacrifice ! 
 
 Is it thus with the heart more matured, oft assailed ? with 
 the belle — the coquette? No. Rejected here, you need 
 not despair. You may tiave qualities that will in time 
 
io8 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 change the frown to a smile. You may do great deeds. 
 You may achieve renown ; and the scorn that once repelled 
 you may become humility at your feet. Still this may be 
 love, and strong love too, founded upon the admiration of 
 some intellectual, or, perhaps, physical quality which you 
 have thus proved yonrself possessed of. It is a love guided 
 
 by reason, and not the mysterious instinct that rules the for- 
 mer. On which of these loves do men build the highest 
 triumph ? Of which are they most proud ? Of the latter ? 
 Alas ! no ; and let Him who made us answer why ; but 1 
 never saw the man who would not ^ther be beloved for the 
 beauties of his person than the exvllences of his mind. You may 
 
LOVE. 109 
 
 blame me for this declaration. You may deny it. It is 
 true. Oh ! there is no joy so sweet, no triumph so thrilling, 
 as when we have drawn to our bosom the quivering little 
 captive whose heart throbs with the pure pulsations of a 
 maiden love ! 
 
 These are after-thoughts. I was, at the time I am writing 
 about, too young to have reasoned thus ; too little skilled in 
 love's diplomacy ; and yet many a process of reasoning passed 
 through my mind, and many a scheme was devised, to en- 
 able me to discover whether I was then beloved. 
 
 There was a guitar in the house. I had learnt in my col- 
 lege days to touch the strings, and its music delighted both 
 Zoe and her mother. I sang to them the songs of my own 
 land — songs of love ; and with a throbbing heart watched 
 whether the burning words produced any impression upon 
 her. More than once I have laid aside the instrument with 
 feelings of disappointment. 
 
 From day to day, strange reflections passed through my 
 mind. Could it be that she was too young to understand 
 the import of the word love ? too young to be inspired with 
 a passion ? She was but twelve years of age, but then she 
 was the child of a sunny clime ; and I had often seen at that 
 age, under the warm sky of Mexico, the wedded bride, the 
 fond mother. 
 
 Day after day we were together alone. The botanist was 
 busy with his studies, and the silent mother occupied with 
 the duties of her household. 
 
 Love is not blind. It may be to all the world beside ; 
 but to its own object it is as watchful as Argus. 
 
 I was skilled in the use of the crayon, and I amused my 
 companion by sketches upon scraps of paper and the blank 
 leaves of her music. Many of these were the figures of 
 
110 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 females, in different attitudes and costumes. In one respect 
 they resembled each other : their faces were alike. 
 
 The child, without divining the cause, had noticed this 
 peculiarity in the drawings. 
 
 " Why is it ? " she asked one day, as we sat together. 
 " These ladies are all in different costumes, of different na- 
 tions ; are they not ? and yet there is a resemblance in their 
 faces ! They have all the same features ; indeed exactly the 
 same, I think." 
 
 " It is your face, Zoe ; I can sketch no other." 
 
 She raised her large eyes, and bent them upon me with 
 an expression of innocent wonder. Was she blushing ? 
 No! 
 
 " Is that like me ? " 
 
 " It is, as nearly as I can make it." 
 
 " And why do you not sketch other faces ? " 
 
 " Why ! because I Zoe, I fear you would not under- 
 stand me." 
 
 " Oh, Enrique ; do you think me so bad a scholar ? Do 
 I not understand all that you tell me of the far countries where 
 you have been ? Surely I may comprehend this as well." 
 
 "I will tell you, then, Zoe." 
 
 I bent forward, with a burning heart and trembling 
 voice. 
 
 " It is because your face is ever before me ; I can paint 
 no other. It is, that I love you, Zoe ! " 
 
 Oh ! is that the reason ? And when you love one, her 
 face is always before you, whether she herself be present or 
 no ? Is it not so ? " 
 
 " It is so," I replied, with a painful feeling of disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 " And is that love, Enrique ? " 
 
 " It is." 
 
 "Then must Hove you ; for, wherever I may be, I can 
 
LOVE. Ill 
 
 see your face : how plainly before me ! If I could use this 
 pencil as you do, I am sure I could paint it, though you 
 were not near me ! What then ? Do you think Hove you, 
 Enrique ? " 
 
 No pen could trace my feelings at that moment. We 
 were seated ; and the sheet on which were the sketches was 
 held jointly between us. My hand wandered over its sur- 
 face, until the unresisting fingers of my companion were 
 clasped in mine. A wilder emotion followed the electric 
 touch : the paper fell upon the floor ; and with a proud but 
 trembling heart I drew the yielding form to mine ! 
 
 There was no resistance. Our lips met in the first kiss : 
 a kiss of reciprocal love. I felt her heart throb and flutter 
 as she lay upon my breast. Oh, joy I joy 1 I was the lord of 
 that little heart / 
 
A Bridge in Spanish America. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE. 
 
 HE house we inhabited stood in a 
 quadrangular enclosure that sloped 
 down to the banks of the river, the Del 
 Norte'. This enclosure was a garden or 
 shrubbery, guarded on all sides by high 
 thick walls of adobe. Along the summit of these walls had 
 been planted rows of the cactus, that threw out huge thorny 
 limbs forming an impassable chevaux-de-frzse. There was 
 but one entrance to the house and garden, through a strong 
 wicket gate, which I had noticed was always shut and barred. 
 I had no desire to go abroad. The garden, a large one, 
 hitherto had formed the limit of my walk ; and through this 
 I often rambled with Zoe and her mother, but oftener with 
 Zoe alone. 
 
 There were many objects of interest about the place. It 
 was a ruin ; and the house itself bore evidence of better 
 times. It was a large building in the Moro-Spanish style, 
 with flat roof (azotea), and notched parapet running along 
 
 112 
 
.LIGHT AND SHADE. H3 
 
 the front. Here and there the little stone turrets of this 
 parapet had fallen off, exhibiting evidence of neglect and 
 decay. 
 
 The garden bore these symptoms throughout its whole ex- 
 tent ; at the same time, in its ruins you might read ample 
 testimony of the great care that had once been bestowed 
 upon it. Crumbling statues, dry fountains, ruined arbors, 
 weed-grown walks, attested its former grandeur, its present 
 neglect. There were many trees of singular and exotic 
 species, but there was a wildness in the appearance of their 
 fruit and foliage, and they had grown into thickets interlac- 
 ing each other. There was a free beauty, however, in this 
 very wildness that charmed one ; and the sense was further 
 delighted with the aroma of a thousand flowers, that contin- 
 ually floated upon the air. 
 
 The walls of the garden impinged upon the river, and 
 there ended ; for the bank was steep and vertical, and the 
 deep still water that ran under it formed a sufficient protec- 
 tion on that side. 
 
 A thick grove of cotton-woods fringed the bank of the 
 river, and under their shade had been erected a number of 
 seats of japanned mason-work, in a style peculiar to Spanish 
 countries. There were steps cut in the face of the bank, 
 overhung with drooping shrubs, and leading to the water's 
 edge. I had noticed a small skiff moored under the wil- 
 lows, where these steps went down to the water. 
 
 From this point only could you see beyond the limits of 
 the enclosure. The view was magnificent, and commanded 
 the windings of the Del Norte for a distance of miles. 
 
 The country outside seemed wild and uninhabited. Nearly 
 as far as the eye could range, the beautiful frondage of the 
 cotton-wood groves covered the landscape, and cast its soft 
 shadows on the river. Southward, away near the horizon's 
 edge, a single spire glanced over the tops of the trees. This 
 8 
 
114 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 was the church of El Paso del Norte, whose vine-clad hills 
 could be seen rising against the distant background of the 
 sky. Along the east towered the Rocky Mountains : the mys- 
 terious chain of the Organos, whose dark summit lake, with 
 its ebbing tides, inspires the lone hunter with a superstitious 
 terror. To the [west, low down and dimly seen, were the 
 twin ranges of the Mimbres : those mountains of gold, 
 whose desert passes rarely echo the tread of a human foot. 
 Even the reckless trapper turns aside when he approaches 
 that unknown land that stretches northward from the Gila : 
 the land of the Apache and the cannibal Navajo. 
 
 7T TT -Jf TV TV *m" 
 
 Evening after evening we sought the grove of cotton-woods, 
 and, seated upon one of the benches, together watched the 
 glowing sunset. At this time of the day we were ever alone, 
 I and my little companion. 
 
 I have called her my little companion, though I thought at 
 this time that she had suddenly grown to a larger stature, as- 
 suming the form and outlines of a woman ! In my eyes, she 
 was a child no longer. Her form had become more devel- 
 oped, her bosom rose higher in its gentle undulations, and 
 her movements appeared to me womanlike and command- 
 ing. Her color, too, seemed heightened, and a radiant bril- 
 liance sported over her features. The lovelight streaming 
 from her large brown eyes added to their liquid luster. There 
 was a change of mind and body. It was the mystic trans- 
 formation of love. She was under the influence of its god ! 
 
 *Jv v? tv TV TV TV 
 
 One evening, as usual, we sat under the solemn shadow 
 of the grove. We had brought with us the guitar and 
 bandolin ; but after a few notes had been struck, the music 
 was forgotten, and the instruments lay upon the grass at our 
 feet. We loved to listen to the music of our own voices. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE. 115 
 
 We preferred the utterance of our own thoughts to the 
 sentiments of any song, however sweet. There was music 
 enough around us : the hum of the wild bee as it bade fare- 
 well to the closing corolla ; the " whoop " of the gruya in 
 the distant sedge ; and the soft cooing of the doves as they 
 sat in pairs upon the adjacent branches, like us whispering 
 their mutual loves. 
 
 Autumn had now painted the woods, and the frondage was 
 of every hue. The shadows of the tall trees dappled the 
 surface of the water, as the stream rolled silently on. The 
 sun was far down, and the spire of El Paso gleamed like a 
 golden star under the parting kiss of his beams. Our eyes 
 wandered, and rested upon the glittering vane. 
 
 " The church 1 " half soliloquized my companion ; " I 
 hardly know what it is like, it is so long since I saw it." 
 
 " How long ? " 
 
 " Oh, many, many years : I was very young then." 
 
 " And you have not been beyond these walls since then ? " 
 
 " Oh yes ! Papa has taken us down the river in the boat, 
 mama and myself, often, but not lately." 
 
 " And have you no wish to go abroad through these gay 
 
 wooas 
 
 " I do not desire it ; I am contented here." 
 
 " But will you always be contented here ? " 
 
 " And why not, Enrique ? When you are near me, why 
 should I not be happy ? " 
 
 " But when " 
 
 A dark shadow seemed to cross her thoughts. Benighted 
 with love, she had never reflected upon the probability of my 
 leaving her, nor indeed had I. Her cheeks became suddenly 
 pale ; and I could see the agony gathering in her eyes, as she 
 fixed them upon me. But the words were out 
 
 " When I must leave you ? " 
 
 She threw herself on my breast, with a short, sharp scream, 
 
Il6 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 as though she had been stung to the heart, and in an impas- 
 sioned voice cried aloud — 
 
 " Oh ! my God, my God 1 leave me I leave me I Oh ! you 
 will not leave me ? You who have taught me to love / Oh 1 
 Enrique, why did you tell me that you loved me ? Why did 
 you teach me to love ? " 
 
 " Zoe I " 
 
 " Enrique, Enrique ! say you will not leave me ? " 
 
 " Never ! Zoe ! I swear it ! never, never ! " 
 
 I fancied at this moment I heard the stroke of an oar ; 
 but the wild tumult of my feelings, and the close embrace of 
 my betrothed, who in the transport of reaction had twined 
 her arms around me, prevented me from rising to look over 
 the bank. It was the plunge of the osprey, thought I ; and 
 dismissing the thought, I yielded myself to the long and 
 rapturous kiss. I was raising my head again, when an object, 
 appearing above the bank, caught my eye. It was a black 
 sombrero with its golden band. I knew the wearer at a 
 glance : Seguin ! 
 
 In a moment, he was beside us. 
 
 " Papa ! " exclaimed Zoe, rising up and reaching forward 
 to embrace him. 
 
 The father put her to one side, at the same time tightly 
 grasping her hand in his. For a moment he remained silent, 
 bending his eyes upon me with an expression I cannot depict. 
 There was in it a mixture of reproach, sorrow, and indigna- 
 tion. I had risen to confront him, but I quailed under that 
 singular glance, and stood abashed and silent. 
 
 " And this is the way you have thanked me for saving 
 your life,? A brave return, good sir ; what think you ? " 
 
 I made no reply. 
 
 " Sir ! " continued he, in a voice trembling with emotion, 
 " you have deeply wronged me." 
 
 " I know it not ; I have not wronged you." 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE. 117 
 
 " What call you this ? Trifling with my child ! " 
 
 " Trifling 1 " I exclaimed, roused to boldness by the accu- 
 sation. 
 
 " Ay, trifling ! Have you not won her affections ? " 
 
 " I won them fairly." 
 
 " Pshaw, sir ! This is a child, not a woman. Won them 
 fairly ! What can she know of love ? " 
 
 " Papa ! I do know love. I have felt it for many days. 
 Do not be angry with Enrique, for I love him ; oh, papa 1 in 
 my heart I love him ! " 
 
 He turned to her with a look of astonishment. 
 
 " Hear this ! " he exclaimed. " Oh, heavens ! my child, 
 my child ! " 
 
 His voice stung me, for it was full of sorrow. 
 
 " Listen, sir ! " I cried placing myself directly before him. 
 " I have won the affections of your daughter. I have given 
 mine in return. I am her equal in rank, as she is mine. 
 What crime, then, have I committed? Wherein have I 
 wronged you ? " 
 
 He looked at me for some moments without making any 
 reply. 
 
 " You would marry her, then ? " he said, at length, with 
 an evident change in his manner. 
 
 " Had I permitted our love thus far, without that intention, 
 I should have merited your reproaches. I should have been 
 ' trifling,' as you have said." 
 
 " Marry me ! " exclaimed Zoe, with a look of bewilderment. 
 
 " Listen ! Poor chile' 1 ? she knows not the meaning of the 
 word ! " 
 
 " Ay, lovely Zoe ! I will ; else my heart, like yours, shall 
 be wrecked forever ! Oh, sir ! " 
 
 " Come, sir, enough of this. You have won her from 
 herself ; you have yet to win her from me. I will sound the 
 depth of your affection. I will put you to the proof." 
 
u8 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Put me to any proof ! " 
 
 " We shall see ; come ! let us in. Here, Zoe ! " 
 
 And, taking her by the hand, he led her towards the 
 house. I followed close behind. 
 
 As we passed through a clump of wild orange trees, the 
 path narrowed ; and the father, letting go her hand, wal'ked 
 on ahead. Zoe was between us ; and as we reached the 
 middle of the grove, she turned suddenly, and laying her 
 hand upon mine, whispered in a trembling voice, " En- 
 rique tell me, what is ' to marry 1 ' " 
 
 " Dearest Zoe ! not now ; it is too difficult to explain ; 
 another time, I " 
 
 " Come, Zoe : your hand, child 1 " 
 
 " Papa, I am coming 1 " 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 WAS alone with my host in the apart- 
 ment I had hitherto occupied. The 
 females had retired to another part 
 of the house ; and I noticed that 
 Seguin, on entering, had looked to the door, turning the bolt. 
 
 What terrible proof was he going to exact of my faith, of 
 my love ? Was he about to take my life or bind me by some 
 fearful oath, this man of cruel deeds ? Dark suspicions shot 
 across my mind, and I sat silent, but not without emotions 
 of fear. 
 
 A bottle of wine was placed between us, and Seguin, 
 pouring out two glasses, asked me to drink. This courtesy 
 assured me. " But how if the wine be poi— ? " He swal- 
 lowed his own glass before the thought had fairly shaped itself. 
 
 " I am wronging him," thought I. " This man, with all, 
 is incapable of an act of treachery like that." 
 
 I drank up the wine. It made me feel more composed 
 and tranquil. 
 
 After a moment's silence he opened the conversation with 
 the abrupt interrogatory, " What do you know of me ? " 
 
 " Your name and calling : nothing more." 
 
120 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " More than is guessed at here ; " and he pointed signifi- 
 cantly to the door. " Who told you thus much of me ? " 
 
 " A friend, whom you saw at Santa Fe." 
 
 " Ah ! St. Vrain ; a brave, bold man. I met him once in 
 Chihuahua. Did he tell you no more of me than this ? " 
 
 " No. He promised to enter into particulars concerning 
 you, but the subject was forgotten, the caravan moved on, 
 and we were separated." 
 
 " You heard, then, that I was Seguin the Scalp-hunter ? 
 That I was employed by the citizens of El Paso to hunt the 
 Apache and Navajo, and that I was paid a stated sum for 
 every Indian scalp I could hang upon their gates ? You 
 heard all this ? " 
 
 « I did." 
 
 " It is true." 
 
 I remained silent. 
 
 "Now, sir," he continued, after a pause, "would you 
 marry my daughter, the child of a wholesale murderer ? " 
 
 " Your crimes are not hers. She is innocent even of the 
 knowledge of them, as you have said. You may be a 
 demon ; she is an angel." 
 
 There was a sad expression on his countenance as I said 
 this. 
 
 " Crimes ! demon 1 " he muttered half in soliloquy. " Ay, 
 you may well think this : so judges the world. You have 
 heard the stories of the mountain men in all their red exag- 
 geration. You have heard that, during a treaty, I invited a 
 village of the Apaches to a banquet, and poisoned the viands : 
 poisoned the guests, man, woman, and child, and then scalped 
 them ! You have heard that I induced to pull upon the 
 drag-rope of a cannon two hundred savages, who know not 
 its uses ; and then fired the piece, loaded with grape, mow- 
 ing down the row of unsuspecting wretches 1 These, and 
 other inhuman acts, you have no doubt heard of ? " 
 
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 121 
 
 " It is true. I have heard these stories among the moun- 
 tain hunters ; but I knew not whether to believe them." 
 
 " Monsieur, they are false ; all false and unfounded." 
 
 " I am glad to hear you say this. I could not now believe 
 you capable of such babarities." 
 
 " And yet, if they were true in all their horrid details, they 
 would fall far short of the cruelties that have been dealt out 
 by the savage foe to the inhabitants of this defenseless fron- 
 tier. If you knew the history of this land of the last ten 
 years ; its massacres and its murders ; its tears and its burn- 
 ings ; its rapes and spoliations ; whole provinces depop- 
 ulated ; villages given to the flames ; men butchered on 
 their own hearths ; women, beautiful women, carried into 
 captivity to satisfy the lust of the desert robber 1 Oh, God ! 
 and I too have shared wrongs that will acquit me in your 
 eyes, perhaps in the eyes of heaven 1 " 
 
 The speaker buried his face in his hands, and leant for- 
 ward upon the table. He was evidently suffering from 
 some painful recollection. After a moment he resumed : — 
 
 " I would have you listen to a short history of my life." 
 
 I signified my assent ; and after filling and drinking 
 another glass of wine, he proceeded. 
 
 " I am not a Frenchman, as men suppose. I am a 
 Creole, a native of New Orleans. My parents were refugees 
 from St. Domingo, where, after the black revolution, the bulk 
 of their fortune was confiscated by the bloody Christophe. 
 
 " I was educated for a civil engineer ; and, in this capacity, 
 I was brought out to the mines of Mexico, by the owner of 
 one of them, who knew my father. I was young at the time, 
 and I spent several years employed in the mines of Zacatecas 
 and San Luis Potosi. 
 
 " I had saved some money out of my pay, and I began to 
 think of opening upon my own account. 
 
 " Rumors had long been current that rich veins of gold 
 
122 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 existed upon the Gila and its tributaries. The washings had 
 been seen and gathered in these rivers ; and the mother of 
 gold, the milky quartz rock, cropped out everywhere in 
 the desert mountains of this wild region. 
 
 " I started for this country with a select party ; and, after 
 traversing it for weeks, in the Mimbres mountains, near the 
 head waters of the Gila, I found the precious ore in its bed. 
 I established a mine, and in five years was a rich man. 
 
 " I remembered the companion of my youth, the gentle, 
 the beautiful cousin who had shared my confidence, and in- 
 spired me with my first passion. With me it was first and 
 last ; it was not, as is often the case under similar circum- 
 stances, a transient thing. Through all my wanderings I 
 had remembered and loved her. Had she been as true to 
 me ? 
 
 " I determined to assure myself ; and leaving my affairs 
 in the hands of my mayoral, I set out for my native city. 
 
 " Adele had been true ; and I returned, bringing her with 
 me. 
 
 " I built a house in Valverde, the nearest inhabited dis- 
 trict to my mine. 
 
 " Valverde was then a thriving place ; it is now a ruin, 
 which you may have seen in your journey down. 
 
 " In this place we lived for years, in the enjoyment of 
 wealth and happiness. I look back upon those days as so 
 many ages of bliss. Our love was mutual and ardent ; and 
 we were blessed with two children, both girls. The youngest 
 resembled her mother ; the other, I have been told, was 
 more like myself. We doted, I fear too much, on these 
 pledges. We were too happy in their possession. 
 
 " At this time a new governor was sent to Santa Fe ; a 
 man who, by his wantonness and tyranny, has since then 
 ruined the province. There has been no act too vile, no 
 crime too dark, for this human monster. 
 
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 123 
 
 " He offered fair enough at first, and was feasted in the 
 houses of the ricos through the valley. As I was classed 
 
 A Typical Scene in Spanish America. A Mexican Ranche. 
 
 among these, I was honored with his visits, and frequently. 
 He resided principally at Albuquerque ; and grand fetes were 
 given at his palace, to which my wife and I were invited as 
 
124 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 special guests. He in return often came to our house in 
 Valverde, under pretense of visiting the different parts of 
 the province. 
 
 " I discovered, at length, that his visits were solely in- 
 tended for my wife, to whom he had paid some nattering 
 attentions. 
 
 " I will not dwell on the beauty of Adele, at this time. 
 You may imagine that for yourself ; and, monsieur, you may 
 assist your imagination by allowing it to dwell on those 
 graces you appear to have discovered in her daughter, for 
 the little Zoe is a type of what her mother was. 
 
 " At the time I speak of she was still in the bloom of her 
 beauty. The fame of that beauty was on every tongue, 
 and had piqued the vanity of the wanton tyrant. For this 
 reason I became the object of his friendly assiduities. 
 
 " I had divined this , but confiding in the virtue of my 
 wife, I took no notice of his conduct. No overt act of insult 
 as yet claimed my attention. 
 
 " Returning on one occasion from a long absence at the 
 mines, Adele informed me what, through delicacy, she had 
 hitherto concealed, of insults received from his excellency 
 at various times, but particularly in a visit he had paid her 
 during my absence. 
 
 " This was enough for Creole blood. I repaired to Albu- 
 querque ; and on the public plaza, in presence of the multi- 
 tude, I chastised the insulter. 
 
 " I was seized and thrown into a prison, where I lay for 
 several weeks. When I was freed, and sought my home 
 again, it was plundered and desolate. The wild Navajo had 
 been there : my household gods were scattered and broken ; 
 and my child, oh, God ! my little Adele, was carried captive 
 to the mountains 1 " 
 
 " And your wife ? your other child ? " I inquired, eager to 
 know the rest. 
 
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 125 
 
 " They had escaped. In the terrible conflict — for my 
 poor peons battled bravely — my wife, with Zoe in her arms, 
 had rushed out and hidden in a cave that was in the garden. 
 I found them in the ranche of a vaquero in the woods, 
 whither they had wandered." 
 
 " And your daughter Adele — have you heard aught of her 
 
 since 
 
 " Yes, yes ; I will come to that in a moment. 
 
 " My mine, at the same time, was plundered and de- 
 stroyed ; many of the workmen were slaughtered before they 
 could escape ; and the work itself, with my fortune, became 
 a ruin. 
 
 " With some of the miners, who had fled, and others of 
 Valverde, who, like me, had suffered, I organized a band, 
 and followed the savage foe ; but our pursuit was vain, 
 and we turned back, many of us broken in health and 
 heart. 
 
 " Oh, monsieur, you cannot know what it is to have thus 
 lost a favorite child ! you cannot understand the agony of 
 the bereaved father ! " 
 
 The speaker pressed his head between his hands, and 
 remained for a moment silent. His countenance bore the 
 indications of heartrending sorrow. 
 
 " My story will soon be told, up to the present time. Who 
 knows the end ? 
 
 " For years I hung upon the frontiers of the Indian coun- 
 try, hunting for my child. I was aided by a small band, 
 most of them unfortunates like myself, who had lost wife or 
 daughter in a similar manner. But our means became ex- 
 hausted, and despair wore us out. The sympathies of my 
 companions grew old and cold. One after another gave up. 
 The governor of New Mexico offered us no aid. On the 
 contrary, it was suspected then — it is now known — that the 
 governor himself was in secret league with the Navajo chiefs. 
 
126 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 He had engaged to leave them unmolested ; while they, on 
 their side, promised to plunder only his enemies ! 
 
 " On learning this terrible secret, I saw the hand that had 
 dealt me the blow. Stung by the disgrace I had put upon 
 him, as well as by my wife's scorn, the villain was not slow 
 to avenge himself. 
 
 " Since then his life has been twice in my power, but the 
 taking of it would, most probably, have forfeited my own 
 and I had objects for which to live. I may yet find a reck- 
 oning day for him. 
 
 " I have said that my band melted away. Sick at heart, 
 and conscious of danger in New Mexico, I left the province, 
 and crossed the Jornado to El Paso. Here for a while I 
 lived, grieving for my lost child. 
 
 " I was not long inactive. The frequent forays made by 
 the Apaches into Sonora and Chihuahua had rendered the 
 government more energetic in the defense of the frontier. 
 The Presidios were repaired and garrisoned with more 
 efficient troops, and a band of rangers organized, whose pay 
 was proportioned to the number of scalps they might send 
 back to the settlements. 
 
 " I was offered the command of this strange guerilla ; and 
 in the hope that I might yet recover my child, I accepted 
 it : I became a scalp-hunter. 
 
 " It was a terrible commission ; and had revenge alone 
 been my object, it would long since have been gratified. 
 Many a deed of blood have we enacted ; Many a scene of 
 retaliatory vengeance have we passed through. 
 
 " I knew that my captive daughter was in the hands of 
 the Navajoes. I had heard so at various times from prisoners 
 whom I had taken ; but I was always crippled for want of 
 strength in men and means. Revolution after revolution 
 kept the States in poverty and civil warfare, and our interests 
 were neglected or forgotten. With all my exertions, I could 
 
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 127 
 
 never raise a force sufficient to penetrate that desert country 
 north of the Gila, in which lie the towns of the savage 
 Navajoes." 
 
 " And you think " 
 
 " Patience ! I shall soon finish. My band is now stronger 
 than ever. I have received certain information, by one just 
 escaped from a captivity among the Navajoes, that the war- 
 riors of both tribes are about to proceed southward. They 
 are mustering all their strength, with the intention of mak- 
 ing a grand foray; even, as we have heard, to the gates of 
 Durango. It is my design, then, to enter their country while 
 they are absent, and search for my daughter." 
 
 " And you think she still lives ? " 
 
 " I know it. The same who brought me this news, and 
 who, poor fellow, has left his scalp and ears behind him, 
 saw her often. She is grown up, and is, he says, a sort of 
 queen among them, possessed of strange powers and priv- 
 ileges. Yes, she still lives ; and if it be my fortune to re- 
 cover her, then will this tragic scene be at an end. I will 
 go far hence." 
 
 I had listened with deep attention to the strange recital. 
 All the disgust with which my previous knowledge of this 
 man's character had inspired me vanished from my mind, 
 and I felt for him compassion ; ay, admiration. He had 
 suffered much. Suffering atones for crime, and in my sight 
 he was justified. Perhaps I was too lenient in my judg- 
 ment. It was natural I should be so. 
 
 When the revelation was ended, I was filled with emotions 
 of pleasure. I felt a vivid joy to know that she was not the 
 offspring of the demon I had deemed him. 
 
 He seemed to divine my thoughts ; for there was a smile 
 of satisfaction, I might say triumph, on his countenance, as 
 he leaned across the table to refill the wine. 
 
 " Monsieur, my story must have wearied you. Drink 1" 
 
128 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 There was a moment's silence as we emptied the glasses. 
 
 " And now, sir, you know the father of your betrothed, at 
 least somewhat better than before. Are you still in mind to 
 marry her ? " 
 
 " Oh, sir ! she is now, more than ever, to me a sacred 
 object." 
 
 " But you must win her, as I have said, from me." 
 
 " Then, sir, tell me how. I am ready for any sacrifice 
 that may be within my power to make." 
 
 " You must help me to recover her sister." 
 
 " Willingly." 
 
 " You must go with me to the desert." 
 
 " I will." 
 
 "Enough. We start to-morrow." And he rose, and be- 
 gan to pace the room. 
 
 " At an early hour ? " I inquired, half fearing that I was 
 about to be denied an interview with her whom I now more 
 than ever longed to embrace. 
 
 " By daybreak," he replied, not seeming to heed my anx- 
 ious manner. 
 
 " I must look to my horse and arms," said I, rising and 
 going towards the door, in hopes of meeting her without. 
 
 " They have been attended to : Godd is there. Come, 
 boy ! She is not in the hall. Stay where you are. I will 
 get the arms you want. Adele ! Zoe 1 Oh, doctor ! you 
 are returned with your weeds ! It is well. We journey to- 
 morrow. Adele, some coffee, love ! and then let us have 
 some music. Your guest leaves you to-morrow." 
 
 Trie bright form rushed between us with a scream. 
 
 " No, no, no, no ! " she exclaimed, turning from one to the 
 other, with the wild appeal of a passionate heart. 
 
 " Come, little dove ! " said the father, taking her by the 
 hands : " do not be so easily fluttered. It is but for a short 
 time. He will return again." 
 
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 129 
 
 " How long, papa ? How long, Enrique ? " 
 
 " But a very short while. It will be longer to me than to 
 you, Zoe." 
 
 " Oh ! no, no ; an hour will be a long time. How many 
 hours do you think, Enrique ? " 
 
 " Oh ! we shall be gone days, I fear." 
 
 " Days ! Oh, papa ! Oh, Enrique ! Days ! " 
 
 " Come, little chit ; they will soon pass. Go ! Help your . 
 mama to make the coffee." 
 
 " Oh, papa ! Days ; long days. They will not soon pass 
 when I am alone." 
 
 " But you will not be alone. Your mama will be with 
 you." 
 
 " Ah 1 " 
 
 And with a sigh, and an air of abstraction, she departed 
 to obey the command of her father. As she passed out at 
 the door, she again sighed audibly. 
 
 The doctor was a silent and wondering spectator of this 
 last scene ; and as her figure vanished into the hall, I could 
 hear him muttering to himself — - 
 
 " Oh, ja ! Poor leetle fraulein ! I thought as mosh." 
 
Indian Baskets, Decorated with Feathers and Quills. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 UP THE DEL NORT£. 
 
 WILL not distress you 
 with a parting scene. We 
 were in our saddles be- 
 fore the stars had died 
 out and riding along the sandy- 
 road. 
 
 At a short distance from the 
 house the path angled, striking 
 into thick, heavy timber. Here I 
 checked my horse, allowing my 
 companions to pass, and standing 
 in the stirrup looked back. My 
 eye wandered along the old gray 
 walls, and sought the azote'a. Upon the very edge of the 
 parapet, outlined against the pale light of the aurora, was the 
 object I looked for. I could not distinguish the features, but 
 I easily recognized the oval curvings of the figure, cut like 
 a dark medallion against the sky. 
 
 She was standing near one of the yuca palm trees that 
 grew up from the azote'a. Her hand rested upon its trunk, 
 and she bent forward, straining her gaze into the darkness 
 below. Perhaps she saw the waving of a kerchief ; perhaps 
 she heard her name, and echoed the parting prayer that was 
 
 130 
 
UP THE DEL NORTE. 131 
 
 sent back to her on the still breath of the morning. If so, 
 her voice was drowned by the tread of my chafing horse, 
 that, wheeling suddenly, bore me off into the somber shad- 
 ows of the forest. 
 
 I rode forward, turning at intervals to catch a glimpse of 
 those lovely outlines, but from no other point was the house 
 visible. It lay buried in the dark majestic woods. I could 
 only see the long bayonets of the picturesque palmills ; and 
 our road now descending among hills, these too were soon 
 hidden from my view. 
 
 Dropping the bridle, and leaving my horse to go at 
 will, I fell into a train of thoughts at once pleasant and 
 painful. 
 
 I knew that I had imbibed the love of my life ; that hence- 
 forward in it all my hopes would center, and from it would 
 spring my highest motives. I had just reached manhood, 
 and I was not ignorant of the truth, that pure love like this 
 is the best guide to our too erring natures ; the best rein 
 to curb their wild wanderings. I was indebted for this 
 knowledge to him who had taught me my earliest lessons ; 
 and as his experience had already more than once stood me 
 in stead, I believed him in this. I have since proved the 
 teaching true. 
 
 I knew that I had inspired this young creature with a 
 passion deep and ardent as my own, perhaps more vital ; 
 for my heart had passed through other affections, while hers 
 had never throbbed with any save the subdued solicitudes 
 of a graceful childhood. She had never known emotion. 
 Love was her first strong feeling, her first passion. Would 
 it not, thus enthroned, reign over all other thoughts in her 
 heart's kingdom ? She, too, so formed for love ; so like its 
 mythic goddess ! 
 
 These reflections were pleasant. But the picture darkened 
 as I turned from looking back for the last time, and some- 
 
132 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 thing whispered me, some demon it was, " You may never 
 see her more I " 
 
 The suggestion, even in this hypothetical form, was enough 
 to fill my mind with dark forebodings, and I began to cast 
 my thoughts upon the future. I was going upon no party 
 of pleasure, from which I might return at a fixed hour. 
 Dangers were before me, the dangers of the desert ; and I 
 knew that these were of no ordinary character. In our plans 
 of the previous night, Seguin had not concealed the perils 
 of our expedition. These he had detailed before exacting 
 my final promise to accompany him. Weeks before, I would 
 not have regarded them ; they would only have lured me on 
 to meet them ; now my feelings were different, for I believed 
 that in my life there was another's. What, then, if the de- 
 mon had whispered truly ? I might never see her more ! 
 It was a painful thought ; and I rode on, bent in the saddle, 
 under the influence of its bitterness. 
 
 But I was once more upon the back of my favorite Moro, 
 who seemed to " know his rider ; " and as his elastic body 
 heaved beneath me, my spirit answered his, and began to re- 
 sume its wonted buoyancy. 
 
 After a while I took up the reins, and shortening them in 
 my hands, spurred on after my companions. 
 
 Our road lay up the river, crossing the shallow ford at 
 intervals, and winding through the bottom-lands, that were 
 heavily timbered. The path was difficult on account of the 
 thick underwood ; and although the trees had once been 
 " blazed " for a road, there were no signs of late travel upon 
 it, with the exception of a few solitary horse-tracks. The 
 country appeared wild and uninhabited. This was evident 
 from the frequency with which deer and antelope swept 
 across our path, or sprang out of the underwood close to our 
 horses' heads. Here and there our path trended away from 
 the river, crossing its numerous " loops." Several times we 
 
UP THE DEL NORTE. 
 
 133 
 
 passed large tracts where the heavy timber had been felled, 
 and " clearings " had existed. But this must have been long 
 ago ; for the land that had been furrowed by the plow 
 was now covered with tangled and almost impenetrable 
 thickets. A few broken and decaying logs, or crumbling 
 
 Mexican Rancheros. 
 
 walls of the adobe', were all that remained to attest where 
 the settlers' " rancho " had stood. 
 
 We passed a ruined church, with its old turrets dropping 
 by piecemeal. Piles of adobe' lay around, covering the 
 ground for acres. A thriving village had stood there. 
 Where was it now ? Where were the busy gossips ? A wild- 
 
134 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 cat sprang over the brier-laced walls, and made off into the 
 forest. An owl flew sluggishly up from the crumbling cupola, 
 and hovered around our heads, uttering its doleful " woo- 
 hoo-a," that rendered the desolation of the scene more im- 
 pressive. As we rode through the ruin a dead stillness sur- 
 rounded us, broken only by the hooting of the night-bird, 
 and the " cranch-cranch " of our horses' feet upon the frag- 
 ments of pottery that covered the deserted streets. 
 
 But where were they who had once made these walls echo 
 with their voices ? Who had knelt under the sacred shadow 
 of that once hallowed pile ? They were gone ; but where ? 
 and when ? and why ? 
 
 I put these questions to Seguin, and was answered thus 
 briefly — 
 
 " The Indians." 
 
 The savage it was, with his red spear and scalping-knife, 
 his bow and his battle-ax, his brand and his poisoned 
 arrows. 
 
 " The Navajoes ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Navajo and Apache." 
 
 " But do they come no more to this place ? " 
 
 A feeling of anxiety had suddenly entered my mind. I 
 thought of our proximity to the mansion we had left. I 
 thought of its unguarded walls. I waited with some impa- 
 tience for an answer. 
 
 " No more," was the brief reply. 
 
 " And why ? " I inquired. 
 
 " This is our territory," he answered, significantly. " You 
 are now, monsieur, in a country where live strange fellows ; 
 you shall see. Woe to the Apache or Navajo who may 
 stray into these woods ! " 
 
 As we rode forward the country became more open, and 
 we caught a glimpse of high bluffs trending north and south 
 on both sides of the river. These bluffs converged till the 
 
UP THE DEL NORTE. 135 
 
 river channel appeared to be completely barred up by a 
 mountain. This was only an appearance. On riding 
 farther, we found ourselves entering one of those fearful 
 gaps, " canons " as they are called, so often met with in the 
 table-lands of tropical America. 
 
 Through this the river foamed between two vast cliffs a 
 thousand feet in height, whose profiles, as you approached 
 them, suggested the idea of angry giants, separated by some 
 almighty hand, and thus left frowning at each other. It was 
 with a feeling of awe that one looked up the face of these 
 stupendous cliffs, and I felt a shuddering sensation as I 
 neared the mighty gate between them. 
 
 " Do you see that point ? " asked Seguin, indicating a rock 
 that jutted out from the highest ledge of the chasm. I sig- 
 nified in the affirmative, for the question was addressed to 
 myself. 
 
 " That is the leap you were so desirous of taking. We 
 found you dangling against yonder rock." 
 
 " Good Heavens ! " I ejaculated, as my eyes rested upon 
 the dizzy eminence. My brain grew giddy as I sat in my 
 saddle gazing upward, and I was fain to ride onward. 
 
 " But for your noble horse," continued my companion, 
 " the doctor here would have been stopping about this time 
 to hypothecate upon your bones. Ho, Moro ! beautiful 
 Moro 1 " 
 
 " Oh, mein Gott 1 Ya, ya ! " assented the botanist, look- 
 ing up against the precipice apparently with a feeling of 
 awe, such as I felt myself. 
 
 Seguin had ridden alongside me, and was patting my 
 horse on the neck with expressions of admiration. 
 
 " But why ? " I asked, the remembrance of our first inter- 
 view now occurring to me, " why where you so eager to 
 possess him ? " 
 
 " A fancy." 
 
136 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Can I not understand it ? I think you said then that I 
 could not ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! quite easily, monsieur. I intended to steal 
 my own daughter, and I wanted, for that purpose, to have 
 the aid of your horse." 
 
 " But how ? " 
 
 " It was before I had heard the news of this intended expe- 
 dition of our enemy. As I had no hopes of obtaining her 
 otherwise, it was my design to have entered their country 
 alone, or with a tried comrade, and by stratagem to have 
 carried her off. Their horses are swift, yet far inferior to 
 the Arab, as you may have an opportunity of seeing. With 
 such an animal as that, I would have been comparatively 
 safe, unless hemmed in or surrounded, and even then I 
 might have got off with a few scratches. I intended to have 
 disguised myself, and entered the town as one of their own 
 warriors. I have long been master of their language." 
 
 " It would have been a perilous enterprise." 
 
 " True ! It was a dernier ressort, and only adopted because 
 all other efforts had failed ; after years of yearning, deep- 
 craving of the heart. I might have perished. It was a rash 
 thought, but I, at that time, entertained it fully." 
 
 " I hope we shall succeed now." 
 
 " I have high hopes. It seems as if some overruling 
 providence were now acting in my favor. This absence of her 
 captors : and besides, my band has been most opportunely 
 strengthened by the arrival of a number of trappers from 
 the eastern plains. The beaver skins have fallen, according 
 to their phraseology, to a ' plew a plug,' and they find 
 ' redskin ' pays better. Ah ! I hope this will soon be 
 over." 
 
 And he sighed deeply as he uttered the last words. 
 
 We were now at the entrance of the gorge, and a shady 
 clump of cotton-woods invited us to rest. 
 
UP THE DEL NORTE. 
 
 137 
 
 " Let us noon here," said Seguin. 
 
 We dismounted, and ran our animals out on their trail- 
 ropes to feed. Then seating ourselves on the soft grass, 
 we drew forth the viands that had been prepared for our 
 journey. 
 
Shells from the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 
 
 E rested above an hour in the cool 
 shade, while our horses refreshed them- 
 selves on the " grama " that grew 
 luxuriantly around. We conversed 
 about the singular region in which we 
 were traveling : singular in its geogra- 
 phy, its geology, its botany, and its his- 
 tory : singular in all respects. 
 
 I am a traveler, as I might say, by 
 profession. I felt an interest in learning something of the 
 wild countries that stretched for hundreds of miles around 
 us ; and I knew there was no man living so capable of being 
 my informant as he with whom I then conversed. 
 
 My journey down the river had made me but little ac- 
 quainted with its features. At that time, as I have already 
 related, there was fever upon me ; and my memory of objects 
 was as though I had encountered them in some distorted 
 dream. 
 
 My brain was now clear ; and the scenes through which 
 
 138 
 
GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. I 39 
 
 we were passing, here soft and southlike, there wild, barren, 
 and picturesque, forcibly impressed my imagination. 
 
 The knowledge, too, that parts of this region had once 
 been inhabited by the followers of Cortez, as many a ruin 
 testified ; that it had been surrendered back to its ancient 
 and savage lords, and the inference that this surrender had 
 been brought about by the enactment of many a tragic scene, 
 induced a train of romantic thought, which yearned for grati- 
 fication in an acquaintance with the realities that gave rise to it. 
 
 Seguin was communicative. His spirits were high. His 
 hopes were buoyant. The prospect of again embracing his 
 long-lost child imbued him, as it were, with new life. He 
 had not, he said, felt so happy for many years. 
 
 " It is true," said he, in answer to a question I had put, 
 " there is little known of this whole region, beyond the boun- 
 daries of the Mexican settlements. They who once had the 
 opportunity of recording its geographical features have left 
 the task undone. They were too busy in the search for gold ; 
 and their weak descendants, as you see, are too busy in rob- 
 bing one another to care for aught else. They know nothing 
 of the country beyond their own borders ; and these are every 
 day contracting upon them. All they know of it is the fact 
 that thence come their enemies, whom they dread, as children 
 do ghosts or wolves." 
 
 " We are now," continued Seguin, " near the center of the 
 continent, in the very heart of the American Sahara." 
 
 " But," said I, interrupting him, " we cannot be more than 
 a day's ride south of New Mexico. That is not a desert : it 
 is a cultivated country." 
 
 " New Mexico is an oasis, nothing more. The desert is 
 around it for hundreds of miles ; nay, in some directions 
 you may travel a thousand miles from the Del Norte with- 
 out seeing one fertile spot. New Mexico is an oasis, which 
 Owes its existence to the irrigating waters of the Del Norte. 
 
14-0 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 It is the only settlement of white men from the frontiers of 
 the Mississippi to the shores of the Pacific in California. 
 You approached it by a desert, did you not ? " 
 
 " Yes. As we ascended from the Mississippi towards the 
 Rocky Mountains, the country became gradually more sterile. 
 For the last three hundred miles or so, we could scarcely 
 find grass or water for the sustenance of our animals. But 
 is it thus north and south of the route we traveled ? " 
 
 " North and south for more than a thousand miles, from 
 the plains of Texas to the lakes of Canada, along the whole 
 base of the Rocky Mountains, and half-way to the settlements 
 on the Mississippi, it is a treeless, herbless land." 
 
 " To the west of the mountains ? " 
 
 " Eifteen hundred miles of desert : that is its length, by 
 at least half as many miles of breadth. The country to the 
 west is of a different character. It is more broken in its 
 outlines, more mountainous, and if possible more sterile in 
 its aspect. The volcanic fires have been more active there ; 
 and though that may have been thousands of years ago, the 
 igneous rocks in many places look as if freshly upheaved. 
 No vegetation, no climatic action has sensibly changed the 
 hues of the lava and scoriae that in some places cover the 
 plains for miles. I say no climatic action, for there is but 
 little of that in this central region." 
 
 " I do not understand you." 
 
 " What I mean is, that there is but little atmospheric 
 change. It is but one uniform drought ; it is seldom tem- 
 pestuous or rainy. I know some districts where a drop of 
 rain has not fallen for years." 
 
 " And can you account for that phenomenon ? " 
 
 " I have my theory. It may not satisfy the learned me- 
 teorologist, but I will offer it to you." 
 
 I listened with attention, for I knew that my companion was 
 a man of science, as of experience and observation, and sub- 
 
GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 141 
 
 jects of the character of those about which we conversed had 
 always possessed great interest for me. He continued — 
 
 " There can be no rain without vapor in the air. There 
 can be no vapor in the air without water on the earth below 
 to produce it. Here there is no great body of water. 
 
 " Nor can there be. The whole region of the desert is 
 upheaved : an elevated table-land. We are now nearly six 
 thousand feet above sea level. Hence its springs are few ; 
 and by hydraulic law must be fed by its own waters, or those 
 of some region still more elevated, which does not exist on 
 the continent. 
 
 " Could I create vast seas in this region, walled in by the 
 lofty mountains that traverse it, and such seas existed coeval 
 with its formation ; could I create those seas without giving 
 them an outlet, not even allowing the smallest rill to drain 
 them, in process of time they would empty themselves into 
 the ocean, and leave everything as it now is, a desert." 
 
 " But how ? by evaporation ? " 
 
 " On the contrary, the absence of evaporation would be 
 the cause of their drainage. I believe it has been so already." 
 
 " I cannot understand that." 
 
 " It is simply thus : this region possesses, as we have said, 
 great elevation ; consequently a cool atmosphere, and a much 
 less evaporating power than that which draws up the water 
 of the ocean. Now, there would be an interchange of vapor 
 between the ocean and these elevated seas, by means of 
 winds and currents ; for it is only by that means that any 
 water can reach this interior plateau. That interchange 
 would result in favor of the inland seas, by reason of their 
 less evaporation, as well as from other causes. We have 
 not time, or I could demonstrate such a result. I beg you 
 will admit it, then, and reason it out at your leisure." 
 
 " I perceive the truth ; I perceive it at once." 
 
 " What follows, then ? These seas would gradually fill 
 
142 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 up to overflowing. The first little rivulet that trickled forth 
 from their lipping fulness would be the signal of their de- 
 struction. It would cut its channel over the ridge of the lofty- 
 mountain, tiny at first, but deepening and widening with each 
 successive shower, until, after many years — ages, centuries, 
 cycles perhaps — a great gap such as this " (here Seguin 
 pointed to the canon,) " and the dry plain behind it, would 
 alone exist to puzzle the geologist." 
 
 " And you think that the plains lying among the Andes 
 and the Rocky Mountains are the dry beds of seas ? " 
 
 " I doubt it not : seas formed after the unheaval of the 
 ridges that barred them in, formed by rains from the ocean ; 
 at first shallow, then deepening, until they had risen to the 
 level of their mountain barriers ; and, as I have described, 
 cut their way back again to the ocean." 
 
 " But does not one of these seas still exist ? " 
 
 " The Great Salt Lake ? It does. It lies northwest of 
 us. Not only one, but a system of lakes, springs, and rivers, 
 both salt and fresh ; and these have no outlet to the ocean. 
 They are barred in by highlands and mountains, of them- 
 selves forming a complete geographical system." 
 
 " Does not that destroy your theory ? " 
 
 " No. The basin in which this phenomenon exists is on 
 a lower level than most of the desert plateaux. Its evaporat- 
 ing power is equal to the influx of its own rivers, and con- 
 sequently neutralizes their effect : that is to say, in its ex- 
 change of vapor with the ocean, it gives as much as it re- 
 ceives. This arises, not so much from its low elevation as 
 from the peculiar dip of the mountains that guide the waters 
 into its bosom. Place it in a colder position, cceter is paribus, 
 and in time it would cut the canal for its own drainage. So 
 with the Caspian Sea, the Aral, and the Dead Sea. No, my 
 friend, the existence of the Salt Lake supports my theory. 
 Around its shores lies a fertile country ; fertile from the quick 
 
GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 143 
 
 returns of its own waters moistening it with rain. It exists 
 only to a limited extent, and cannot influence the whole 
 region of the desert, which lies parched and sterile, on ac- 
 count of its great distance from the ocean." 
 
 " But does not the vapor rising from the ocean float over 
 the desert ? " 
 
 " It does., as I have said, to some extent, else there would 
 be no rain here. Sometimes by extraordinary causes, such 
 as high winds, it is carried into the heart of the continent in 
 large masses. Then we have storms, and fearful ones too. 
 But, generally, it is only the skirt of a cloud, so to speak, 
 that reaches thus far ; and that, combined with the proper 
 evaporation of the region itself, that is, from its own springs 
 and rivers, yields all the rain that falls upon it. Great bodies 
 of vapor, rising from the Pacific and drifting eastward, first 
 impinge upon the coast range, and there deposit their 
 waters ; or perhaps they are more highly heated, and soaring 
 above the tops of these mountains, travel farther. They will 
 be intercepted a hundred miles farther on by the loftier 
 ridges of the Sierra Nevada, and carried back, as it were, cap- 
 tive, to the ocean by the streams of the Sacramento and San 
 Joaquim. It is only the skirt of these clouds, as I have 
 termed it, that, soaring still higher, and escaping the attrac- 
 tive influence of the Nevada, floats on, and falls into the 
 desert region. What then ? No sooner has it fallen than 
 it hurries back to the sea by the Gila and Colorado, to rise 
 again and fertilize the slopes of the Nevada ; while the frag- 
 ment of some other cloud drifts its scanty supply over the 
 arid uplands of the interior, to be spent in rain or snow upon 
 the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Hence the source of the 
 rivers running east and west, and hence the oases, such as 
 the ' parks ' that lie among these mountains. Hence the 
 fertile valleys upon the Del Norte', and other streams that 
 thinly meander through this central land. 
 
144 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Vapor-clouds from the Atlantic undergo a similar deten- 
 tion in crossing the Alleghany range ; or, cooling, after Wav- 
 ing circled a great distance round the globe, descend intc the 
 valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi. From all sides of this 
 great continent, as you approach its center, fertility declines, 
 and only from the want of water. The soil in many places, 
 where there is scarcely a blade of grass to be seen, possesses 
 all the elements of vegetation. So the doctor will tell you , 
 he has analyzed it." 
 
 " Ya, ya ! dat ish true," quietly affirmed the doctor. 
 
 " There are many oases," continued Seguin ; " and 
 where water can be used to irrigate the soil, luxuriant vege- 
 tation is the consequence. You have observed this, no doubt, 
 in traveling down the river ; and such was the case in the 
 old Spanish settlements on the Gila." 
 
 " But why were these abandoned ? " I inquired, never 
 having heard any reason assigned for the desertion of these 
 once flourishing colonies. 
 
 " Why ! " echoed Seguin, with a peculiar energy ; " why ! 
 Unless some other race than the Iberian take possession of 
 these lands, the Apache, the Navajo, and the Cumanche, 
 the conquered of Cortez and his conquerors, will yet drive 
 the descendants of those very conquerors from the soil of 
 Mexico. Look at Sonora and Chihuahua, half depopulated ! 
 Look at New Mexico ; its citizens living by sufferance ; liv- 
 ing, as it were, to till the land and feed the flocks for the sup- 
 port of their own enemies, who levy their blackmail by the 
 year ! But, come ; the sun tells us we must on. Come ! 
 
 " Mount ! we can go through," continued he. " There 
 has been no rain lately, and the water is low, otherwise we 
 should have fifteen miles of a ride over the mountain yonder. 
 Keep close to the rocks ! Follow me ! " 
 
 And with this admonition he entered the canon, followed 
 by myself, Gode", and the doctor. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 
 T was still early in the 
 evening when we 
 reached the camp — 
 the camp of the scalp- 
 hunters. Our arrival was scarcely 
 noticed. A single glance at us, 
 as we rode in amongst the men, 
 was all the recognition we re- 
 ceived. No one rose from his 
 seat or ceased his occupation. 
 We were left to unsaddle our 
 
 horses and dispose of them as best we might. 
 
 I was wearied with the ride, having been so long unused 
 to the saddle. I threw my blanket on the ground, and sat 
 down, resting my back against the stump of a tree. I could 
 have slept, but the strangeness of everything around me ex- 
 cited my imagination, and, with feelings of curiosity, I looked 
 and listened. 
 
 I should call the pencil to my aid to give you an idea of 
 
 the scene, and that would but faintly illustrate it. A wilder 
 
 and more picturesque coup-d'oeil never impressed human 
 
 vision. It reminded me of pictures I had seen representing 
 
 10 145 
 
I46 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 the bivouacs of brigands, under the dark pines of the 
 Abruzzi. 
 
 I paint from a recollection that looks back over many 
 years of adventurous life. I can give only the more salient 
 points of the picture. The petite detail is forgotten, although 
 at that time the minutest objects were things new and strange 
 to my eye, and each of them for a while fixed my attention. 
 I afterwards grew familiar with them ; and hence they are 
 now in my memory, as a multitude of other things, indistinct 
 from their very distinctness. 
 
 The camp was in a bend of the Del Norte, in a glade sur- 
 rounded by tall cotton-woods, whose smooth trunks rose ver- 
 tically out of a thick underwood of palmettoes and Spanish 
 bayonet. A few tattered tents stood in the open ground ; 
 and there were skin lodges after the Indian fashion. But 
 most of the hunters had made their shelter with a buffalo-robe 
 stretched upon four upright poles. There were " lairs " 
 among the underwood, constructed of branches, and thatched 
 with the palmated leaves of the yuca, or with reeds brought 
 from the adjacent river. 
 
 There were paths leading out in different directions, marked 
 by openings in the foliage. Through one of these a green 
 meadow was visible. Mules and mustangs, picketed on long 
 trail-ropes, were clustered over it. 
 
 Through the camp were seen the saddles, bridles, and 
 packs, resting upon stumps or hanging from the branches. 
 Guns leaned against the trees, and rusted sabers hung sus- 
 pended over the tents and lodges. Articles of camp furni- 
 ture, such as pans, kettles, and axes, littered the ground in 
 every direction. 
 
 Log fires were burning. Around them sat clusters of men. 
 They were not seeking warmth, for it was not cold. They 
 were roasting ribs of venison, or smoking odd-fashioned pipes. 
 Some were scouring their arms and accouterments. 
 
THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 147 
 
 The accents of many languages fell upon my ear. I heard 
 snatches of French, Spanish, English, and Indian. The ex- 
 clamations were in character with the appearance of those 
 who uttered them. " Hilloa, Dick ! hang it, old hoss, what 
 are ye 'bout ? " " Parbleu ! enfant de garce ! " " Car- 
 rambo I " " Pardieu, monsieur ! " " By the 'tarnal airth- 
 quake ! " " Vaya ! hombre, vaya 1 " " Carajo ! " " By 
 Gosh ! " " Santissima Maria 1 " " Pe gar 1 " 
 
 It seemed as if the different nations had sent represent- 
 atives to contest the supremacy of their shibboleths. 
 
 I was struck with three groups. A particular language 
 prevailed in each ; and there was a homogeneousness about 
 the costumes of the men composing each. That nearest me 
 conversed in the Spanish language. They were Mexicans. 
 I will describe the dress of one, as I remember it. 
 
 Cahoneros of green velvet. These are cut after the fashion 
 of sailor-trousers, short waist, tight round the hips, and wide 
 at the bottoms, where they are strengthened by black leather 
 stamped and stitched ornamentally. The outer seams are 
 split from hip to thigh, slashed with braid, and set with rows 
 of silver castle-tops. These seams are open, for the evening 
 is warm, and underneath appear the cahoncillos of white 
 muslin, hanging in white folds around the ankles. The boot 
 is of calf-skin, tanned, but not blackened. It is reddish, 
 rounded at the toe, and carries a spur at least a pound in 
 weight, with a rowel three inches in diameter ! The spur is 
 curiously fashioned, and fastened to the boot by straps of 
 stamped leather. Little bells, campanulas, hang from the 
 teeth of the rowels, and tinkle at the slightest motion of the 
 foot ! Look upward. The calzoneros are not braced, but 
 fastened at the waist by a silken sash or scarf. It is scarlet. 
 It is passed several times round the body, and made fast 
 behind, where the fringed ends hang gracefully over the left 
 hip. There is no vest. A jacket of dark cloth embroidered 
 
I48 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 and tightly fitting, short behind, a la Grecqne, leaving the shirt 
 to puff out over the scarf. The shirt itself, with its broad 
 collar and flowered front, exhibits the triumphant skill of some 
 dark-eyed poblana. Overall this is the broad-brimmed shad- 
 owy sombrero ; a heavy hat of black glaze, with its thick 
 band of silver bullion. There are tags of the same metal 
 stuck in the sides, giving it an appearance altogether unique. 
 Over one shoulder is hanging, half-folded, the picturesque 
 serape. A belt and pouch, an escopette upon which the hand 
 is resting, a waist-belt with a pair of small pistols stuck 
 under it, a long Spanish knife suspended obliquely across 
 the left hip, complete the tout ensemble of him whom I have 
 chosen to describe. 
 
 It may answer as a characteristic of the dress of many 
 of his companions, those of the group that was nearest me. 
 There was variety in their habiliments, yet the national cos- 
 tume of Mexico was traceable in all. Some wore leathern 
 calzoneros, with a spencer or jerkin of the same material, 
 close both in front and behind. Some carried, instead of the 
 pictured serape, the blanket of the Navajoes, with its broad 
 black stripes. Suspended from the shoulders of others hung 
 the beautiful and graceful manga. Some were mocassined ; 
 while a few of the inferior men wore the simple guarche, the 
 sandal of the Aztecs. 
 
 The countenances of these men were swarth and savage 
 looking, their hair long, straight, and black as the wing of a 
 crow ; while both beard and mustache grew wildly over their 
 faces. Fierce dark eyes gleamed under the broad brims of 
 their hats. Few of them were men of high stature ; yet there 
 was a litheness in their bodies that showed them to be 
 capable of great activity. Their frames were well knit, and 
 inured to fatigues and hardships. They were all, or nearly 
 all, natives of the Mexican border, frontier-men, who had 
 often closed in deadly fight with the Indian foe. They were 
 
THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 149 
 
 ciboleros, vaqueros, rancheros, monteros ; men who in their fre- 
 quent association with the mountain men, the Gallic and 
 Saxon hunters from the eastern plains, had acquired a degree 
 of daring which by no means belongs to their own race. 
 They were the chivalry of the Mexican frontier. 
 
 They smoked cigaritas, rolling them between their fingers 
 in husks of maize. They played monte' on their spread blank- 
 ets, staking their tobacco. They cursed, and cried " Carajo ! " 
 when they lost, and thanks to the " Santissima Virgin" when 
 the cards were pulled out in their favor ! 
 
 Their language was a Spanish patois ; their voices were 
 sharp and disagreeable. 
 
 At a short distance from these was the second group that 
 attracted my attention. The individuals composing this were 
 altogether different from the former. They were different 
 in every essential point : in voice, dress, language, and 
 physiognomy. Theirs was the Anglo-American face, at a 
 glance. These were the trappers, the prairie hunters, the 
 mountain men. 
 
 Let us again choose a type that may answer for a descrip- 
 tion of all. 
 
 He stands leaning on his long straight rifle, looking into 
 the fire. He is six feet in his mocassins, and of a build that 
 suggests the idea of strength and Saxon ancestry. His arms 
 are like young oaks, and his hand, grasping the muzzle of 
 his gun, is large, fleshless, and muscular. His cheek is 
 broad and firm. It is partially covered by a bushy whisker 
 that meets over the chin and fringes all around the lips. It 
 is neither fair nor dark, but of a dull-brown color, lighter 
 around the mouth, where it has been bleached by the sun, 
 " ambeer," and water. The eye is gray, or bluish gray, small, 
 and slightly crowed at the corner. It is well set, and rarely 
 wanders. It seems to look into you, rather than at you. 
 The hair is brown, and of a medium length (cut, no doubt, 
 
1 50 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 on his last visit to the trading post, or the settlements) ; and 
 the complexion, although dark as that of a mulatto, is only 
 so from tan. It was once fair : a blonde. The countenance 
 is not unprepossessing. It might be styled handsome. Its 
 whole expression is bold, but good-humored and generous. 
 
 The dress of the individual described is of home manu- 
 facture ; that is, of his home, the prairie and the wild moun- 
 tain park, where the material has been bought by a bullet 
 from his rifle. It is the work of his own hands, unless in- 
 deed he may be one who, in his moments of lassitude, has 
 shared his cabin with some Indian damsel, Sioux, Crow, or 
 Cheyenne. 
 
 It consists of a hunting-shirt of dressed deerskin, smoked 
 to the softness of a glove ; leggings, reaching to the waist, 
 and mocassins of the same material ; the latter soled with the 
 parfleche of the buffalo. The shirt is belted at the waist, but 
 open at the breast and throat, where it falls back into a 
 graceful cape just covering the shoulders. Underneath is 
 seen the under-shirt, of finer material, the dressed skin of the 
 antelope, or the fawn of the fallow-deer. On his head is a 
 racoon cap, with the face of the animal looking to the front, 
 while the barred tail hangs like a plume drooping down to 
 his left shoulder. 
 
 His accouterments are, a bullet-pouch made from the un- 
 dressed skin of the mountain cat, and a huge crescent-shaped 
 horn, upon which he has carved many a strange souvenir. 
 His arms consist of a long knife, a bowie, and a heavy 
 pistol, carefully secured by a holster to the leathern belt 
 around his waist. Add to this a rifle nearly five feet long, 
 taking ninety to the pound, and so straight that the line of 
 the barrel scarcely deflects from that of the butt. 
 
 But little attention has been paid to ornament in either his 
 dress, arms, or equipments ; and yet there is a gracefulness 
 in the hang of his tunic-like shirt ; a stylishness about the 
 
THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 151 
 
 fringing of the cape and leggings ; and a jauntiness in the set 
 of that coon-skin cap that shows the wearer to be not alto- 
 gether unmindful of his personal appearance. A small pouch 
 or case, neatly embroidered with stained porcupine quills, 
 hangs upon his breast. 
 
 At intervals he contemplates this with a pleased and com- 
 placent look. It is his pipe-holder : a love-token from some 
 
 Young Grizzly Bears at Play. 
 
 dark-eyed, dark-haired damsel, no doubt, like himself a 
 denizen of the wild wilderness. Such is the tout ensemble of 
 a mountain trapper. 
 
 There were many around him whom I have described 
 almost similarly attired and equipped. Some wore slouch 
 hats of grayish felt, and some catskin caps. Some had 
 hunting-shirts bleached to a brighter hue, and broidered with 
 gayer colors. Others looked more tattered and patched, and 
 smoky ; yet in the costume of all there was enough of charac- 
 
1 52 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 ter to enable you to class them. There was no possibility of 
 mistaking the regular " mountain man.' 1 '' 
 
 The third group that attracted my attention was at a 
 greater distance from the spot I occupied. I was filled with 
 curiosity, not to say astonishment, on perceiving that they 
 were Indians. 
 
 " Can they be prisoners ? " thought I. " No ; they are 
 not bound. There are no signs of captivity either in their 
 looks or gestures, and yet they are Indians. Can they be- 
 long to the band, fighting against ? " 
 
 As I sat conjecturing, a hunter passed near me. 
 
 " Who are these Indians ? " I asked, indicating the group. 
 
 " Delawares ; some Shawnees." 
 
 These then, were the celebrated Delawares : descendants 
 of that great tribe who, on the Atlantic shores, first gave 
 battle to the pale-faced invader. Theirs has been a wonder- 
 ful history. War their school, war their worship, war their 
 pastime, war their profession. They are now but a remnant. 
 Their story will soon be ended. 
 
 I rose up, and approached them with a feeling of interest. 
 Some of them were sitting around the fire, smoking out of 
 curiously-carved pipes of the red claystone. Others strode 
 back and forth with that majestic gait for which the " forest " 
 Indian has been so much celebrated. There was a silence 
 among them that contrasted strangely with the jabbering 
 kept up by their Mexican allies. An occasional question 
 put in a deep-toned sonorous voice, a short but emphatic 
 reply, a guttural grunt, a dignified nod, a gesture with the 
 hand ; and thus they conversed, as they filled their pipe- 
 bowls with the ki?ii-kin-ik, and passed the valued instruments 
 from one to another. 
 
 I stood gazing upon these stoical sons of the forest with 
 emotions stronger than curiosity ; as one contemplates for 
 the first time an object of which he has heard and read 
 
THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 153 
 
 strange accounts. The history of their wars and their wan- 
 derings were fresh in my memory. Before me were the 
 actors themselves, or types of them, in all their truthful real- 
 ity, and all their wild picturesqueness. These were the men 
 who, driven from their homes by the Atlantic border, yielded 
 only to fate : to the destiny of their race. Crossing the 
 Appalachian range, they had fought their way from home to 
 home, down the steep sides of the Alleghany, along the 
 wooded banks of the Ohio, into the heart of the " Bloody 
 Ground." Still the pale-faced followed on their track, and 
 drove them onward, onvvard towards the setting sun. Red 
 wars, Punic faith, broken treaties, year after year thinned 
 their ranks. Still disdaining to live near their white con- 
 querors, they pushed on, fighting their way through tribes of 
 their own race and color thrice their numbers ! The forks 
 of the Osage became their latest resting-place. Here the 
 usurper promised to guarantee them a home, to be theirs to 
 all time. The concession came too late. War and wander- 
 ing had grown to be part of their natures ; and with a 
 scornful pride they disdained the peaceful tillage of the soil. 
 The renmant of their tribe was collected on the Osage, but in 
 one season it had disappeared. The braves and young men 
 wandered away, leaving only the old, the women, and the 
 worthless, in their allotted home. Where have they gone ? 
 Where are they now ? He who would find the Delawares 
 must seek them on the broad prairies, in the mountain 
 parks, in the haunts of the bear and the beaver, the bighorn 
 and the buffalo. There he may find them, in scattered bands 
 leagued with their ancient enemies the whites, or alone ; 
 trapping, hunting, fighting the Yuta or Rapaho, the Crow or 
 Cheyenne, the Navajo and the Apache. 
 
 I stood gazing upon the group with feelings of profound 
 interest : upon their features and their picturesque habili- 
 ments. Though no two of them were dressed exactly alike, 
 
154 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 there was a similarity about the dress of all. Most of them 
 wore hunting-shirts, not made of deerskin, like those of the 
 whites, but of calico, printed in bright patterns. This dress, 
 handsomely fashioned and fringed, under the accouterments 
 of the Indian warrior, presented a striking appearance. But 
 that which chiefly distinguished the costumes of both the 
 Delaware and Shawano from that of their white allies was 
 the head-dress. This was, in fact, a turban, formed by bind- 
 ing the head with a scarf or kerchief of a brilliant color : such 
 as may be seen on the dark Creoles of Hayti. In the group 
 before me no two of these turbans were alike, yet they were 
 all of a similar character. The finest were those made by the 
 chequered kerchiefs of Madras. Plumes surmounted them 
 of colored feathers from the wing of the war eagle, or the 
 blue plumage of the gruya. 
 
 For the rest of their costume they wore deerskin leggings 
 and mocassins, nearly similar to those of the trappers. The 
 leggings of some were ornamented by scalp locks along the 
 outer seam, exhibiting a dark history of the wearer's prowess. 
 I noticed that their mocassins were peculiar, differing alto- 
 gether from those worn by the Indians of the prairies. They 
 were seamed up the fronts, without braiding or ornament, 
 and gathered into a double row of plaits. 
 
 The arms and equipments of these warrior men were like 
 those of the white hunters. They have long since discarded 
 the bow ; and in the management of the rifle most of them 
 can " draw a bead " and hit " plumb-center " with any at 
 their mountain associates. In addition to the firelock and 
 knife, I noticed that they still carried the ancient weapon of 
 their race, the fearful tomahawk. 
 
 I have described three characteristic groups that struck 
 me on glancing over the camp ground. There were individ- 
 uals belonging to neither, and others partaking of the charac- 
 ter of one or all. There were Frenchmen, Canadian voya- 
 
THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 155 
 
 geurs, strays of the Northwest Company,wearing white capotes 
 and chattering, dancing, and singing their boat songs with 
 all the esprit of their race. There were pueblos, Indios 
 manzos, clad in their ungraceful tilmas, and rather serving 
 than associating with those around them. There were 
 mulattoes, too ; and negroes of a jetty blackness from the 
 plantations of Louisiana, who had exchanged for this free 
 roving life the twisted " cow-skin " of the overseer. There 
 were tattered uniforms showing the deserters who had wan- 
 dered from some frontier post into this remote region. There 
 were Kanakas from the Sandwich Isles, who had crossed the 
 deserts from California. There were men apparently of 
 every hue and clime and tongue here assembled, drawn to- 
 gether by the accidents of life, by the instinct of adventure ; 
 all more or less strange individuals of the strangest band it 
 has ever been my lot to witness : the ba?id of the Scalp- 
 Hunters 1 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SHARP-SHOOTING. 
 
 HAD returned to my blanket, and was 
 about to stretch myself upon it, when 
 the whoop of a " gruya " drew my at- 
 tention. Looking up, I saw one of 
 these birds flying towards the camp. It was coming through 
 a break in the trees that opened from the river. It flew 
 low, and tempted a shot with its broad wings and slow lazy 
 flight. 
 
 A report rang upon the air. One of the Mexicans had 
 fired his escopette ; but the bird flew on, plying its wings 
 with more energy, as if to bear itself out of reach. 
 
 There was a laugh from the trappers, and a voice cried 
 out — 
 
 " Yur cussed fool ! D' yur think 'ee kud hit a spread 
 blanket wi' that beetle-shaped blunderbox ? Pish ! " 
 
 I turned to see who had delivered this odd speech. Two 
 men were poising their rifles, bringing them to bear upon 
 the bird. One was the young hunter whom I have described. 
 The other was an Indian whom I had not seen before. 
 
 The cracks were simultaneous ; and the crane, dropping 
 
SHARP-SHOOTING. 157 
 
 its long neck, came whirling down among the trees, where 
 it caught upon a high branch, and remained. 
 
 From their position, neither party knew that the other 
 had fired. A tent was between them, and the two reports 
 had seemed as one. A trapper cried out — 
 
 " Well done, Garey ! Kind Providence help the thing 
 that's afore old Killbar's muzzle when you squints through 
 her hind-sights." 
 
 The Indian just then stepped round the tent. Hearing 
 this side speech, and perceiving the smoke still oozing from 
 the muzzle of the young hunter's gun, he turned to the latter 
 with the interrogation — 
 
 " Did you fire, sir ? " 
 
 This was said in well-accentuated and most un-Indian-like 
 English,which would have drawn my attention to the man had 
 not his singularly-imposing appearance riveted me already. 
 
 " Who is he ? " I inquired from one near me. 
 
 " Don't know ; fresh arriv'," was the short answer. 
 
 " Do you mean that he is a stranger here ? " 
 
 " Just so. He kumb in thar a while agone. Don't 
 b'lieve anybody knows him. I guess the captain does ; I 
 seed them shake hands." 
 
 I looked at the Indian with increasing interest. He 
 seemed a man of about thirty years of age, and not much 
 under seven feet in height. He was proportioned like an 
 Apollo, and, on this account, appeared smaller than he ac- 
 tually was. His features were of the Roman type ; and 
 his fine forehead, his aquiline nose and broad jawbone, 
 gave him the appearance of talent as well as firmness and 
 energy. He was dressed in a hunting-shirt, leggings and 
 mocassins ; but all these differed from anything worn either 
 by the hunters or their Indian allies. The shirt itself was 
 made out of the dressed hide of the red deer, but differently 
 prepared from that used by the trappers. It was bleached 
 
158 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 almost to the whiteness of a kid glove. The breast, unlike 
 theirs, was close, and beautifully embroidered with stained 
 porcupine quills. The sleeves were similarly ornamented ; 
 and the cape and skirts were trimmed with the soft, snow- 
 white fur of the ermine. A row of entire skins of that animal 
 hung from the skirt border, forming a fringe both graceful 
 and costly. But the most singular feature about this man was 
 his hair. It fell loosely over his shoulders, and swept the 
 ground as he walked ! It could not have been less than 
 seven feet in length. It was black glossy, and luxuriant, 
 and reminded me of the tails of those great Flemish horses 
 I had seen in the funeral carriages of London. 
 
 He wore upon his head the war-eagle bonnet, with its full 
 circle of plumes : the finest triumph of savage taste. This 
 magnificent head-dress added to the majesty of his appear- 
 ance. 
 
 A white buffalo robe hung from his shoulders, with all the 
 graceful draping of a toga. Its silky fur corresponded to 
 the color of his dress, and contrasted strikingly with his own 
 dark tresses. 
 
 There were other ornaments about his person. His arms 
 and accouterments were shining with metallic brightness, and 
 the stock and butt of his rifle were richly inlaid with silver. 
 
 I have been thus minute in my description, as the first 
 appearance of this man impressed me with a picture that can 
 never be effaced from my memory. He was the beau ideal 
 of a picturesque and romantic savage ; and yet there was 
 nothing savage either in his speech or bearing. On the 
 contrary, the interrogation which he had just addressed to 
 the trapper was put in the politest manner. The reply was 
 not so courteous. 
 
 " Did I fire ? Didn't ye hear a crack ? Didn't ye see the 
 thing fall ? Look yonder 1 " 
 
 Garey, as he spoke, pointed up to the bird. 
 
SHARP-SHOOTING. ? 159 
 
 " We must have fired simultaneously." 
 
 As the Indian said this, he appealed to his gun, which was 
 still smoking at the muzzle. 
 
 " Look hyar, Injun ! whether we fired symultainyously, 
 or extraneously, or cattawampously, ain't the flappin' o' a 
 beaver's tail to me ; but I tuk sight on that bird ; I hut that 
 bird; and 'twar my bullet brought the thing down." 
 
 " I think I must have hit it too," replied the Indian, mod- 
 estly. 
 
 " That's like, with that ar' spangled grimcrack ! " said 
 Garey, looking disdainfully at the other's gun, and then 
 proudly at his own brown weather-beaten piece, which he 
 had just wiped, and was about to reload. 
 
 " Gimcrack or no," answered the Indian, " she sends a 
 bullet straighter and farther than any piece I have hitherto 
 met with. I'll warrant she has sent hers through the body 
 of the crane." 
 
 " Look hyar, mister ; for I s'pose we must call a gentle- 
 man ' mister ' who speaks so fine an' looks so fine, tho' he 
 be's an Injun ; it's mighty easy to settle who hut the bird. 
 That thing's a fifty, or tharabouts ; Killbar's a ninety. 
 'Taint hard to tell which has plugged the varmint. We'll 
 soon see ; " and so saying, the hunter stepped off towards 
 the tree on which hung the gruya, high up. 
 
 " How are you to get it down ? " cried one of the men, 
 who had stepped forward to witness the settlement of this 
 curious dispute. 
 
 There was no reply, for every one saw that Garey was 
 poising his rifle for a shot. The crack followed ; and the 
 branch, shivered by his bullet, bent downward under the 
 weight of the gruya. But the bird, caught in a double fork, 
 still stuck fast on the broken limb. 
 
 A murmur of approbation followed the shot. These were 
 men not accustomed to hurrah loudly at a trivial incident. 
 
:6oT 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The Indian now approached, having reloaded his piece. 
 Taking aim, he struck the branch at the shattered point, 
 cutting it clean from the tree 1 The bird fell to the ground, 
 
 
 
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 0? 
 
 ... 
 
 
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 111 im 
 
 mm 
 
 ■BRESg 
 
 Bear Hunting in New Mexico : The Smoke-out. 
 
 amidst expressions of applause from the spectators, but 
 chiefly from the Mexican and Indian hunters. It was at 
 once picked up and examined. Two bullets had passed 
 through its body. Either would have killed it. 
 
 A shadow of unpleasant feeling was visible on the face of 
 
SHARP-SHOOTING. l6l 
 
 the young trapper. In the presence of so many hunters of 
 every nation, to be thus equalled, beaten in the use of his 
 favorite weapon, and by an " Injun " ; still worse, by one of 
 " them 'ar gingerbread guns ! " The mountain men have no 
 faith in an ornamented stock or a big bore. Spangled rifles, 
 they say, are like spangled razors, made for selling to 
 "greenhorns." It was evident, however, that the strange 
 Indian's rifle had been made to shoot as well. 
 
 It required all the strength of nerve which the trapper 
 possessed to conceal his chagrin. Without saying a word, 
 he commenced wiping out his gun, with that stoical calmness 
 peculiar to men of his calling. I observed that he proceed- 
 ed to load with more than usual care. It was evident that 
 he would not rest satisfied with the trial already made, but 
 would either beat the " Injun " or be himself " whipped into 
 shucks." So he declared, in a muttered speech to his com- 
 rades. 
 
 His piece was soon loaded ; and, swinging her to the 
 hunter's carry, he turned to the crowd, now collected from 
 all parts of the camp. 
 
 " Thar's one kind o' shootin','' said he, " that's jest as 
 easy as fall in' off a log. Any man kin do it as kin look 
 straight through hind-sights. But then thar's another kind 
 that ain't so easy; it needs narve." 
 
 Here the trapper paused, and looked towards the Indian, 
 who was also reloading. 
 
 " Look hyar, stranger ! " continued he, addressing the 
 latter. " Have ye got a cummarade on the ground as knows 
 yer shooting ? " 
 
 The Indian, after a moment's hesitation, answered 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Kin your cummarade depend on yer shot ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I think so. Why do you wish to know that ? " 
 
 " Why, I'm a-going to show ye a shot we sometimes prac- 
 II 
 
l62 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 tise at Bent's Fort, jest to tickle the greenhorns. 'Tain't 
 much o' a shot, nayther ; but it tries the narves a little, I 
 reckon. Hoy ! Rube I " 
 
 " Darn yur ! what doo 'ee want ? " 
 
 This was spoken in an energetic and angry-like voice, that 
 turned all eyes to the quarter whence it proceeded. At the 
 first glance, there seemed to be no one in that direction. In 
 looking more carefully among the logs and stumps, an in- 
 dividual was discovered seated by one of the fires. It would 
 have been difficult to tell that it was a human body, had not 
 the arms at the moment been in motion. The back was 
 turned toward the crowd, and the head had disappeared, 
 sunk forward over the fire. The object, from where we were 
 standing, looked more like the stump of a cotton-wood, 
 dressed in dirt-colored buckskin, than the body of a human 
 being. On getting nearer, and round to the front of it, it 
 was seen to be a man, though a very curious one, holding a 
 long rib of deer-meat in both hands, which he was polishing 
 with a very poor set of teeth. 
 
 The whole appearance of this individual was odd and 
 striking. His dress, if dress it could be called, was simple 
 as it was savage. It consisted of what might have once 
 been a hunting-shirt, but which now looked more like a 
 leathern bag with the bottom ripped open, and sleeves sewed 
 into the sides. It was of a dirty-brown color, wrinkled at the 
 hollow of the arms, patched round the armpits, and greasy 
 all over ; it was fairly " caked " with dirt ! There was no 
 attempt at either ornament or fringe. There had been a 
 cape, but this had evidently been drawn upon from time to 
 time, for patches and other uses, until scarcely a vestige of 
 it remained. The leggings and mocassins were on a par 
 with the shirt, and seemed to have been manufactured out 
 of the same hide. They, too, were dirt-brown, patched, 
 wrinkled, and greasy. They did not meet each other, but 
 
SHARP-SHOOTING. 163 
 
 left a piece of the ankle bare, and that also was dirt-brown, 
 like the buckskin. There was no under-shirt, vest, or other 
 garment to be seen, with the exception of a close-fitting cap, 
 which had once been catskin, but the hair was all worn off 
 it, leaving a greasy, leathery-looking surface that corre- 
 sponded well with the other parts of the dress. Cap, shirt, 
 leggings, and mocassins, looked as if they had never been 
 stripped off since the day they were first tried on, and that 
 might have been many a year ago. The shirt was open, 
 displaying the naked breast and throat, and these, as well as 
 the face, hands, and ankles, had been tanned by the sun, 
 and smoked by the fire, to the hue of rusty copper. The 
 whole man, clothes and all, looked as if he had been smoked 
 on purpose ! 
 
 His face bespoke a man of sixty. The features were 
 sharp and somewhat aquiline ; and the small eye was dark, 
 quick, and piercing. His hair was black and cut short. 
 His complexion had been naturally brunette, though there 
 was nothing of the Frenchman or Spaniard in his physi- 
 ognomy. He was more likely of the black Saxon breed. 
 
 As I looked at this man (for I had walked towards him, 
 prompted by some instinct of curiosity), I began to fancy 
 that there was a strangeness about him, independent of the 
 oddness of his attire. There seemed to be something- 
 peculiar about his head, something wanting. What was it ? 
 I was not long in conjecture. When fairly in front of him, 
 I saw what was wanting. It was his ears ! 
 
 This discovery impressed me with a feeling akin to awe. 
 There is something awful in a man without his ears. It 
 suggests some horrid drama, some terrible scene of cruel 
 vengeance. It suggests the idea of crime committed and 
 punishment inflicted. 
 
 These thoughts were wandering through my mind, when 
 all at once I remembered a remark which Seguin had made 
 
164 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 on the previous night. This, then, thought I, is the person 
 of whom he spoke. My mind was satisfied. 
 
 After making answer as above, the old fellow sat for some 
 time with his head between his knees ; chewing, mumbling, 
 and growling, like a lean old wolf, angry at being disturbed 
 in his meal. 
 
 " Come hyar, Rube ! I want ye a bit," continued Garey, 
 in a tone of half entreaty. 
 
 " And so 'ee will want me a bit ; this child don't move a 
 peg till he has cleaned this hyur rib ; he don't, now 1 " 
 
 " Dog-gone it, man ! make haste then ! " and the impa- 
 tient trapper dropped the butt of his rifle to the ground, and 
 stood waiting in sullen silence. 
 
 After chewing, and mumbling, and growling a few minutes 
 longer, old Rube, for that was the name by which the leathery 
 sinner was known, slowly erected his lean carcase, and came 
 walking up to the crowd. 
 
 " What do 'ee want, Billee ? " he inquired, going up to the 
 trapper. 
 
 " I want ye' to hold this," answered Garey, offering him a 
 round white shell, about the size of a watch ; a species of 
 which there were many strewed over the ground. 
 
 " Is't a bet, boyee ? " 
 
 " No, it is not." 
 
 " Ain't wastin' yur powder, ar yur ? " 
 
 " I've been beat shootin'," replied the trapper, in an 
 undertone, "by that 'ar Injun." 
 
 The old man looked over to where the strange Indian was 
 standing erect and majestic, in all the pride of his plumage. 
 There was no appearance of triumph or swagger about him, 
 as he stood leaning on his rifle, in an attitude at once calm 
 and dignified. 
 
 It was plain from the way old Rube surveyed him, that 
 he had seen him before, though not in that camp. After 
 
SHARP-SHOOTING. 165 
 
 passing his eyes over him from head to foot ; and there 
 resting them a moment, a low murmur escaped his lips, 
 which ended abruptly in the word " Coco." 
 
 " A Coco do ye think ? " inquired the other with an ap- 
 parent interest. 
 
 " Are 'ee blind, Billee ? Don't 'ee see his mocassin ? " 
 
 " Yes, you're right, but I was in thar nation two years 
 ago. I seed no such man as that." 
 
 " He w'an't there." 
 
 " Whar then ? " 
 
 " Whur thur's no great show o' redskins. He may shoot 
 well; he did oncest on a time: plumb center." 
 
 " You knew him, did ye ? " 
 
 " O-ee-es. Oncest. Putty squaw : hansum gal. Whur 
 do 'ee want me to go ? " 
 
 I thought that Garey seemed inclined to carry the con- 
 versation farther. There was an evident interest in his 
 manner when the other mentioned the " squaw." Perhaps 
 he had some tender recollection ; but seeing the other pre- 
 paring to start off, he pointed to an open glade that stretched 
 eastward, and simply answered, "Sixty." 
 
 " Take care o' my claws, d' yur hear 1 Them Injuns has 
 made 'em scarce : this child can't spare another." 
 
 The old trapper said this with a flourish of his right hand. 
 I noticed that the little finger had been chopped off I 
 
 " Never fear, old hoss ! " was the reply ; and at this, the 
 smoky carcase moved away with a slow and regular pace, 
 that showed he was measuring the yards. 
 
 When he had stepped the sixtieth yard, he faced about, 
 and stood erect, placing his heels together. He then ex- 
 tended his right arm, raising it until his hand was on a level 
 with his shoulder, and holding the shell in his fingers, flat 
 side to the front, shouted back — 
 
 " Now, Billee, shoot, and be hanged to yur I " 
 
l66 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The shell was slightly concave, the concavity turned to 
 the front. The thumb and finger reached half round the 
 circumference, so that a part of the edge was hidden ; and 
 the surface turned towards the marksman was not larger 
 than the dial of a common watch. 
 
 This was a fearful sight. It is one not so common among 
 the mountain men as travelers would have you believe. The 
 feat proves the marksman's skill ; first, if successful, by 
 showing the strength and steadiness of his nerves ; secondly, 
 by the confidence which the other reposes in it, thus de- 
 clared by stronger testimony than any oath. In any case, 
 the feat of holding the mark is at least equal to that of hit- 
 ting it. There are many hunters willing to risk taking the 
 shot, but few who care to hold the shell. 
 
 It was a fearful sight, and my nerves tingled as I looked on. 
 Many others felt as I. No one interfered. There were few 
 present who would have dared, even had these two men been 
 making preparation to fire at each other. Both were " men 
 of mark " among their comrades : trappers of the first class. 
 
 Garey, drawing a long breath, planted himself firmly, the 
 heel of his left foot opposite to, and some inches in advance 
 of, the hollow of his right. Then, jerking up his gun, and 
 throwing the barrel across his left palm, he cried out to his 
 comrade — 
 
 " Steady, ole bone an' sinyer ! hyar's at ye ! " 
 
 The words were scarcely out when the gun was leveled. 
 There was a moment's death-like silence, all eyes looking 
 to the mark. Then came the crack, and the shell was seen 
 to fly, shivered into fifty fragments ! There was a cheer from 
 the crowd. Old Rube stopped to pick up one of the pieces, 
 and after examining it for a moment, shouted in a loud voice — 
 
 " Plumb center, by ! " 
 
 The young trapper had, in effect, hit the mark in the very 
 center, as the blue stain of the bullet testified. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A FEAT A LA TELL. 
 
 LL eyes were turned upon the strange 
 Indian. During the scene described, 
 he has stood silent, and calmly look- 
 ing on. His eye now wanders over 
 the ground, apparently in search of 
 an object. 
 
 A small convolvulus, known as the " prairie gourd," is 
 lying at his feet. It is globe-shaped, about the size of an 
 orange, and not unlike one in color. He stoops and takes 
 it up. He seems to examine it with great care, balancing it 
 upon his hand, as though he was calculating its weight. 
 
 What does he intend to do with this ? Will he fling it up, 
 and send his bullet through it in the air ? What else ? 
 
 His motions are watched in silence. Nearly all the scalp- 
 hunters, sixty or seventy, are on the ground. Seguin only, 
 with the doctor and a few men, is engaged some distance off 
 pitching a tent. Garey stands upon one side, slightly elated 
 with his triumph, but not without feelings of apprehension 
 that he may yet be beaten. Old Rube has gone back to the 
 fire, and is roasting another rib. 
 
 167 
 
l63 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The gourd seems to satisfy the Indian, for whatever pur- 
 pose he intends it. A long piece of bone, the thigh joint 
 of the war-eagle, hangs suspended over his breast. It is 
 curiously carved, and pierced with holes like a musical 
 instrument. It is one. 
 
 He places this to his lips, covering the holes with his 
 fingers. He sounds three notes, oddly inflected, but loud 
 and sharp. He drops the instrument again, and stands 
 looking eastward into the woods. The eyes of all present 
 are bent in the same direction. The hunters, influenced by 
 a mysterious curiosity, remain silent, or speak only in low 
 mutterings. 
 
 Like an echo, the three notes are answered by a similar 
 signal 1 It is evident that the Indian has a comrade in the 
 woods, yet not one of the band seems to know aught of him 
 or his comrade. Yes, one does. It is Rube. 
 
 " Look'ee hyur, boyees ! " cries he, squinting over his 
 shoulders ; " I'll stake this rib against a griskin o' poor bull, 
 that 'ee'll see the puttiest gal as 'ee ever set yur eyes on." 
 
 There is no reply : we are gazing too intently for the 
 expected arrival. 
 
 A rustling is heard, as of some one parting the bushes, 
 the thread of a light foot, the snapping of twigs. A bright 
 object appears among the leaves. Some one is coming 
 through the underwood. It is a woman. 
 
 It is an Indian girl attired in a singular and picturesque 
 costume. 
 
 She steps out of the bushes, and comes boldly towards the 
 crowd. All eyes are turned upon her with looks of wonder 
 and admiration. We scan her face and figure, and her 
 striking attire. 
 
 She is dressed not unlike the Indian himself, and there is 
 resemblance in other respects. The tunic worn by the girl 
 is of finer materials: of fawn-skin. It is richly trimmed, 
 
A FEAT A LA TELL. I 69 
 
 and worked with split quills, stained to a variety of bright 
 colors. It hangs to the middle of the thighs, ending in a 
 fringe-work of shells, that tinkle as she moves. 
 
 Her limbs are wrapped in leggings of scarlet cloth, fringed 
 like the tunic, and reaching to the ankles, where they meet 
 the flaps of her mocassins. These last are white, embroid- 
 ered with stained quills, and fitting closely to her small feet. 
 
 A belt of wampun closes the tunic on her waist, exhibit- 
 ing the globular developments of a full-grown bosom, and 
 the undulating outlines of a womanly person. Her head- 
 dress is similar to that worn by her companion, but smaller 
 and lighter ; and her hair, like his, hangs loosely down, 
 reaching almost to the ground ! Her neck, throat, and 
 part of her bosom are nude, and clustered over with bead- 
 strings of various colors. 
 
 The expression of her countenance is high and noble. 
 Her eye is oblique. The lips are meet with a double curve, 
 and the throat is full and rounded. Her complexion is 
 Indian ; but a crimson hue, struggling through the brown 
 upon her cheek, gives that pictured expression to her coun- 
 tenance which may be observed in the quadroon of the West 
 Indies. 
 
 She is a girl, though full-grown and boldly developed : a 
 type of health and savage beauty. 
 
 As she approaches, the men murmur their admiration. 
 There are hearts beating under hunting-shirts that rarely 
 deign to dream of the charms of woman. 
 
 I am struck at this moment with the appearance of the 
 young trapper, Garey. His face has fallen, the blood has 
 forsaken his cheeks, his lips are white and compressed, and 
 1 lark rings have formed around his eyes. They express 
 anger, but there is still another meaning in them. 
 
 Is it jealousy ? Yes 1 
 
 He has stepped behind one of his comrades, as if he did 
 
1 7o 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 not wish to be seen. One hand is playing involuntarily 
 with the handle of his knife. The other grasps the barrel 
 of his gun, as though he would crush it between his fingers ! 
 The girl comes up. The Indian hands her the gourd, 
 muttering some words in an unknown tongue, unknown at 
 least to me. She takes it without making any reply, and 
 walks off towards the spot where Rube had stood, which has 
 been pointed out to her by her companion. 
 
 Grizzly Carrying off a Colt. 
 
 She reaches the tree, and halts in front of it, facing round 
 as the trapper had done. 
 
 There was something so dramatic, so theatrical, in the 
 whole proceeding, that up to the present time we had all 
 stood waiting for the denouement in silence. Now we knew 
 what it was to be, and the men began to talk. 
 
 " He v s a-goin' to shoot the gourd from the hand of the 
 gal," suggested a hunter. 
 
A FEAT A LA TELL. l7l 
 
 " No great shot after all," added another ; and indeed 
 this was the silent opinion of most on the ground. 
 
 " Wagh ! it don't beat Garey if he diz hit it," exclaimed 
 a third. 
 
 What was our amazement at seeing the girl fling off her 
 plumed bonnet, place the gourd upon her head, fold her 
 arms over her bosom, and standing fronting us as calm and 
 immobile as if she had been carved upon the tree ! 
 
 There was a murmur in the crowd. The Indian was rais- 
 ing his rifle to take aim, when a man rushed forward to pre- 
 vent him. It was Garey ! 
 
 " No, yer don't ! No ! " cried he, clutching the leveled 
 rifle ; " she's deceived me, that's plain, but I won't see the 
 gal that once loved me, or said she did, in the trap that 
 a-way. No ! Bill Garey ain't a-goin' to standby and see it." 
 
 " What is this ? " shouted the Indian in a voice of thunder 
 " Who dares to interrupt me ? " 
 
 " I dares," replied Garey. " She's yourn now, I suppose. 
 You may take her whar ye like ; and take this too," con- 
 tinued he, tearing off the embroidered pipe-case, and fling- 
 ing it at the Indian's feet ; " but ye're not a-goin' to shoot 
 her down whiles I stand by." 
 
 " By what right do you interrupt me ? My sister is not 
 afraid, and " 
 
 "Your sister /" 
 
 " Yes, my sister." 
 
 "And is yon gal your sister?" eagerly inquired Garey, 
 his manner and the expression of his countenance all at 
 once changing. 
 
 ¥ She is. I have said she is." 
 
 " And are you El Sol ? " 
 
 " I am." 
 
 " I ask your pardon ; but " 
 
 " I pardon you. Let me proceed ! " 
 
172 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Oh, sir, do not. No ! no 1 She is your sister, and I 
 know you have the right, but thar's no needcessity. I have 
 heerd of your shootin'. I give in, you kin beat me. For 
 Heaven's sake, do not risk it ; as you care for her, 
 do not ! " 
 
 " There is no risk. I will show you." 
 
 " No, no ! If you must, then, let me 1 I will hold it. 
 Oh, let me ! " stammered the hunter in tones of entreaty. 
 
 " Hilloo Billee ! What's the dratted rumpus ? cried Rube, 
 coming up. " Hang it, man ! let's see the shot. I've heern 
 o' it afore. Don't be skeert, ye fool ! he'll do it like a breeze ; 
 he will ! " 
 
 And as the old trapper said this, he caught his comrade 
 by the arm, and swung him round out of the Indian's way. 
 
 The girl, during all this, had stood still, seemingly not 
 knowing the cause of the interruption. Garey's back was 
 turned to her, and the distance, with two years of separation, 
 doubtless prevented her from recognizing him. 
 
 Before Garey could turn to interpose himself, the rifle was 
 at the Indian's shoulder and leveled. His finger was on 
 the trigger, and his eye glanced through the sights. It 
 was too late to interfere. Any attempt at that might bring 
 about the dreaded result. The hunter, as he turned, saw 
 this, and halting in his tracks, stood straining and silent. 
 
 It was a moment of terrible suspense to all of us ; a 
 moment of intense emotion. The silence was profound. 
 Every breath seemed suspended ; every eye was fixed on the 
 yellow object, not larger, I have said, than an orange. Oh, 
 God 1 will the shot never come ? 
 
 It came. The flash, the crack, the stream of fire, the 
 wild hurrah, the forward rush, were all simultaneous things. 
 We saw the shivered globe fly off. The girl was still upon 
 her feet ; she was safe ! 
 
 I ran with the rest. The smoke for a moment blinded 
 
A FEAT A LA TELL. 
 
 173 
 
 me. I heard the shrill notes of the Indian whistle. I 
 looked before me. The girl had disappeared. 
 
 We ran to the spot where she had stood. We heard a 
 rustling in the underwood, a departing footstep. We knew 
 it was she ; but guided by an instinct of delicacy, and a 
 knowledge that it wo'uld be contrary to the wish of her brother, 
 no one followed her. 
 
 We found the fragments of the calabash strewed over the 
 ground. We found the leaden mark upon them. The 
 bullet itself was buried in the bark of the tree, and one of 
 the hunters commenced digging it out with the point of his 
 bowie. 
 
 When we turned to go back, we saw that the Indian had 
 walked away, and now stood chatting easily and familiarly 
 with Seguin. 
 
 As we re-entered the camp-ground, I observed Garey stoop 
 and pick up a shining object. It was the gage d" 1 amour, 
 which he carefully readjusted around his neck, in its wonted 
 position. 
 
 From his look, and the manner in which he handled it, 
 it was plain that he now regarded that souvenir with more 
 reverence than ever. 
 
Mexican Peccary : the Terror of Hunters. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A FEAT A LA TAIL. 
 
 HAD fallen into a sort 
 
 of reverie. My mind 
 
 was occupied with the 
 
 incidents I had just 
 
 witnessed, when a voice which I 
 
 recognized as that of old Rube, 
 
 roused me from my abstraction. 
 
 " Look'ee hyur, boyees ! 'Tain't's 
 of 'n as ole Rube wastes lead, but 
 I'll beat that Injun's shot, or 'ee 
 may cut my ears off." 
 A loud laugh hailed this allusion 
 of the trapper to his ears, which, as we have observed, were 
 already gone ; and so closely had they been trimmed that 
 nothing remained for either knife or shears to accomplish. 
 
 " How will you do it, Rube ? " cried one of the hunters ; 
 " shoot the mark off a yer own head ? " 
 
 "I'll let 'ee see if 'ee wait," replied Rube, stalking up to 
 a tree, and taking from its rest a long heavy rifle, which he 
 proceeded to wipe out with care. 
 174 
 
A FEAT A LA TAIL. 1 75 
 
 The attention of all was now turned to the maneuvers of 
 the old trapper. Conjecture was busy as to his designs. 
 What feat could he perform that would eclipse the one just 
 witnessed ? No one could guess. 
 
 " I'll beat it," continued he, muttering as he loaded his 
 piece, " or 'ee may chop the little finger off ole Rube's right 
 paw." 
 
 Another peal of laughter followed, as all perceived that 
 this was the finger that was wanting. 
 
 " 'Ee — es," continued he, looking at the faces that were 
 around him, " 'ee may scalp me if I don't." 
 
 This last remark elicited fresh roars of laughter; for 
 although the catskin was closely drawn upon his head, all 
 present knew that old Rube was minus his scalp. 
 
 " But how are ye goin' to do it ? Tell us that, old hoss ! " 
 
 " 'Ee see this, do 'ee ? " asked the trapper, holding out a 
 small fruit of the cactus pitahaya, which he had just plucked 
 and cleaned of its spikelets, 
 
 " Ay, ay," cried several voices, in reply. 
 
 " 'Ee do, do 'ee ? Wal ; 'ee see 'tain't half as big as the 
 Injun's squash. 'Ee see that, do 'ee ? " 
 
 " Oh, sartinly ! Any fool can see that." 
 
 " Wal ; s'pose I plug it at sixty, plumb center ? " 
 
 " Wagh ! " cried several, with shrugs of disappointment. 
 
 " Stick it on a pole, and any o' us can do that," said the 
 principal speaker. " Here's Barney could knock it off wid 
 his owld musket. Couldn't you, Barney ? " 
 
 " In troth, an' I could thry," answered a very small man, 
 leaning upon a musket, and who was dressed in a tattered 
 uniform that had once been sky-blue. I had already noticed 
 this individual with some curiosity, partly struck with his 
 peculiar costume, but more particularly on account of the 
 redness of his hair, which was the reddest I had ever seen. 
 It bore the marks of a severe barrack discipline : that is, it 
 
176 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 had been shaved, and was now growing out of his little round 
 head short and thick, and coarse in the grain, and of the 
 color of a scraped carrot. There was no possibility of 
 mistaking Barney's nationality. In trapper phrase, any fool 
 could have told that. 
 
 What had brought such an individual to such a place ? I 
 asked this question, and was soon enlightened. He had 
 been a soldier in a frontier post : one of uncle Sam's " sky- 
 blues." He had got tired of pork and pipe-clay, accompanied 
 with a too liberal allowance of the " hide." In a word, 
 Barney was a deserter. What his name was I know not, but 
 he went under the appellation of O'Cork : Barney O'Cork. 
 
 A laugh greeted this answer to the hunter's question. 
 
 " Any o' us," continued the speaker, " could plug the per- 
 simmon that a way. But thar's a mighty heap o' diff'rence 
 when you squints thro' hind-sights at a gal like yon." 
 
 " Ye're right, Dick," said another hunter ; " it makes a 
 feller feel queery about the jeints." 
 
 " Holy vistment ! An' wasn't she a raal beauty ? " ex- 
 claimed the little Irishman, with an earnestness in his manner 
 that set the trappers roaring again. 
 
 " Pish ! " cried Rube, who had now finished loading, " yur 
 a set o' channering fools ; that's what 'ee ur. Who palavered 
 about a post ? I've got an ole squaw as well's the Injun. 
 She'll hold the thing for this child— she. will." 
 
 " Squaw ! You a squaw ? " 
 
 " Yes, hoss ; I has a squaw I wudn't swop for two o' 
 his'n. I'll make tracks, an' fetch the old 'oman. Shet up 
 yur heads, an' wait, will ye ? " 
 
 So saying, the smoky old sinner shouldered his rifle, and 
 walked off into the woods. 
 
 I, in common with others, late comers, who were strangers 
 to Rube, began to think that he had an " old 'oman." 
 There were no females to be seen about the encampment, 
 
 * 
 
A FEAT A LA TAIL. 
 
 177 
 
 bit perhaps she was hid away in the woods. The trappers, 
 hovever, who knew him, seemed to understand that the old 
 fellow had some trick in his brain ; and that, it appeared, 
 was 10 new thing for him. 
 
 We were not kept long in suspense. In a few minutes 
 Rube -vas seen returning, and by his side the " old 'oman," 
 in the shape of a long, lank, bare-ribbed, high-boned mustang, 
 that turned out on close inspection to be a mare ! This, 
 then, was Rube's squaw, and she was not at all unlike him, 
 
 MM^. ^ { •d*r 
 
 Puma, or American Lion of Mexico 
 
 excepting the ears. She was long-eared, in common with all 
 her race : the same as that upon which Quixote charged the 
 windmill. The long ears caused her to look mulish, but it 
 was only in appearance ; she was a pure mustang when you 
 examined her attentively. She seemed to have been at an 
 earlier period of that dun-yellowish color known as " clay- 
 bank : " a common color among Mexican horses ; but time 
 and scars had somewhat metamorphosed her, and gray hairs 
 predominated all over, particularly about the head and neck. 
 These parts were covered with a dirty grizzle of mixed hues. 
 She was badly wind-broken ; and at stated intervals, of 
 
178 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 several minutes each, her back, from the spasmodic action 
 of the lungs, heaved up with a jerk, as though she was try- 
 ing to kick with her hind legs, and couldn't. She was as 
 thin as a rail, and carried her head below the level of her 
 shoulders ; but there was something in the twinkle of her 
 solitary eye (for she had but one), that told you she had no 
 intention of giving up for a long time to come. She was 
 evidently " game to the backbone." 
 
 Such was the " old 'oman " Rube had promised to 
 fetch ; and she was greeted by a loud laugh as he led 
 her up. 
 
 " Now, look'ee hyur, boyees," said he, halting in front of 
 the crowd. " 'Ee may larf, an' gabble, an' grin till yur sick 
 in the guts — yur may ! but this child's a-gwine to take the 
 shine out o' that Injun's shot — he is, or bust a-tryin'." 
 
 Several of the bystanders remarked that that was likely 
 enough, and that they only waited to see in what manner it 
 was to be done. No one who knew him doubted old Rube 
 to be, as in fact he was, one of the very best marksmen in 
 the mountains : fully equal perhaps to the Indian ; but it 
 was the style and circumstances which had given such kdat 
 to the shot of the latter. It was not every day that a beautiful 
 girl could be found to stand fire as the squaw had done ; 
 and it was not every hunter who would have ventured to fire 
 at a mark so placed. The strength of the feat lay in its 
 newness, and peculiarity. The hunters had often fired at the 
 mark held in one another's hands. There were few who 
 would like to carry it on their head. How then was Rube 
 to " take the shine out o' that Injun's shot? " This was the 
 question that each was asking the other, and which was at 
 length put directly to Rube himself. 
 
 u Shet up your meat-traps," answered he, " an' I'll show 'ee. 
 In the fust place, then, 'ee all see that this hyur prickly ain't 
 moro'n hef size 0' the squash ? " 
 
A FEAT A LA TAIL. 1 79 
 
 "Yes, sartinly," answered several voices. " That wur 
 one sukumstance in his favor. Wa'nt it ? " 
 
 " It wur ! it wur ! " 
 
 " Wat, hyur's another. The Injun, 'ee see, shot his mark 
 off o' the head. Now, this child's a-gwine to knock his'n 
 off o' the tail. Kud yur Injun do that ? Eh, boyees ? " 
 
 "No, no! " 
 
 " Do that beat him, or do it not, then ? " 
 
 " It beats him ! " " It does ! " " Far better ! " " Hooray I " 
 vociferated several voices, amidst yells of laughter. No one 
 dissented, as the hunters, pleased with the joke, were anxious 
 to see it carried through. 
 
 Rube did not detain them long. Leaving his rifle in the 
 hands of his friend Garey, he led the old mare up towards 
 the spot that had been occupied by the Indian girl. Reach- 
 ing this, he halted. 
 
 We all expected to see him turn the animal with her side 
 towards us, thus leaving her body out of range. It soon be- 
 came evident that this was not the old fellow's intention. 
 It would have spoiled the look of the thing, had he done so ; 
 and that idea was no doubt running in his mind. 
 
 Choosing a place where the ground chanced to be slightly 
 hollowed out, he led the mustang forward, until her fore feet 
 rested in the hollow. The tail was thus thrown above the 
 body. 
 
 Having squared her hips to the camp, he whispered some- 
 thing at her head ; and going round to the hind quarters, 
 adjusted the pear upon the highest curve of the stump. He 
 then came walking back. 
 
 Would the mare stand ? No fear of that. She had been 
 trained to stand in one place for a longer period than was 
 now required of her. 
 
 The appearance which the old mare exhibited, nothing 
 visible but her hind legs and buttocks, for the mules had 
 
l8o THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 stripped her tail of the hair, had by this time wound the 
 spectators up to the risible point, and most of them were 
 yelling. 
 
 " Stop yur giggle-goggle, will yur ! " said Rube, clutching 
 his rifle, and taking his stand. The laughter was held in, 
 no one wishing to disturb the shot. 
 
 " Now, old Tar-guts, don't waste your fodder ! "■ muttered 
 the trapper, addressing his gun, which the next moment was 
 raised and leveled. 
 
 No one doubted but that Rube would hit the object at 
 which he was aiming. It was a shot frequently made by 
 western riflemen : that is, a mark of the same size, at sixty 
 yards. And, no doubt, Rube would have done it ; but, just 
 at the moment of his pulling trigger, the mare's back heaved 
 up in one of its periodic jerks, and the pitahaya fell to the 
 ground. 
 
 But the ball had sped ; and, grazing the animal's shoulder, 
 passed through one of her ears ! 
 
 The direction of the bullet was not known until afterwards, 
 but its effect was visible at once ; for the mare, stung in her 
 tenderest part, uttered a sort of human-like scream ; and 
 wheeling about, came leaping into camp, kicking over every- 
 thing that happened to lie in her way. 
 
 The yells and loud laughing of the trappers, the odd 
 ejaculations of the Indians, the " vayas " and " vivas " of 
 the Mexicans, the wild oaths of old Rube himself, all formed 
 a medley of sounds that fell strangely upon the ear, and to 
 give an idea of which is beyond the art of my pen. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE PROGRAM. 
 
 SHORTLY after, I was wandering out to 
 the caballada to look after my horse, when 
 the sound of a bugle fell upon my ear. It 
 was the signal for the men to assemble, 
 and I turned back towards the camp. 
 
 As I re-entered it, Seguin was standing 
 near his tent, with the bugle still in his 
 hand. The hunters were gathering around 
 him. 
 
 They were soon all assembled, and stood 
 
 in groups, waiting for the chief to speak. 
 
 " Comrades ! " said Seguin, " to-morrow we break up this 
 
 camp for an expedition against the enemy. I have brought 
 
 you together that you may know my plans and lend me your 
 
 advice." 
 
 A murmur of applause followed this announcement. The 
 breaking up of a camp is always joyous news to men whose 
 trade is war. It seemed to have a like effect upon this mot- 
 ley group of guerilleros. 
 The chief continued — 
 
 181 
 
1 82 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " It is not likely that you will have much fighting. Our 
 dangers will be those of the desert ; but we will endeavor to 
 provide against them in the best manner possible. 
 
 " I have learned, from a reliable source, that our enemies 
 are, at this very time, about starting upon a grand expedition 
 to plunder the towns of Sonora and Chihuahua. 
 
 " It is their intention, if not met by the government troops, 
 to extend their foray to Durango itself. Both tribes have 
 combined in this movement ; and it is believed that all the 
 warriors will proceed southward, leaving their country un- 
 protected behind them. 
 
 " It is my intention then, as soon as I can ascertain that 
 they have gone out, to enter their territory, and pierce to the 
 main town of the Navajoes." 
 
 " Bravo ! " " Hooray ! " " Bueno ! " " Tres bien 1 " 
 " Good as wheat 1 " and numerous other exclamations, hailed 
 this declaration. 
 
 " Some of you know my object in making this expedition. 
 Others do not. I will declare it to you all. It is, then, 
 to " 
 
 " Git a grist of scalps ; what else ? " cried a rough, brutal- 
 looking fellow, interrupting the chief. 
 
 " No, Kirker ! " replied Seguin, bending his eye upon the 
 man, with an expression of anger. " It is not that. We 
 expect to meet only women. On his peril let no man touch 
 a hair upon the head of an Indian woman. I shall pay for 
 no scalps of women or children." 
 
 " Where then will be your profits ? We cannot bring them 
 prisoners ? We'll have enough to do to get back ourselves? 
 I reckon, across them deserts." 
 
 These questions seemed to express the feelings of others 
 of the band, who muttered their assent. 
 
 " You shall lose nothing. Whatever prisoners you take 
 shall be counted on the ground, and every man shall be paid 
 
THE PROGRAM. 183 
 
 according to his number. When we return I will make that 
 good." 
 
 " Oh ! that's fair enough, captain," cried several voices. 
 
 " Let it be understood then, no women nor children. The 
 plunder you shall have, it is yours by our laws, but no blood 
 that can be spared. There is enough on our hands already. 
 Do you all bind yourselves to this ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes ! " " Si ! " " Oui, oui ! " " Ya, ya 1 " " All ! " 
 " Todos, todos ! " cried a multitude of voices, each man 
 answering in his own language. 
 
 " Let those who do not agree to it speak." 
 
 A profound silence followed this proposal. All had bound 
 themselves to the wishes of their leader. 
 
 " I am glad that you are unanimous. I will now state my 
 purpose fully. It is but just you should know it." 
 
 " Ay, let us know that," muttered Kirker, " if 'tain't to 
 raise har we're goin'." 
 
 " We go then to seek for our friends and relatives, who 
 for years have been captives to our savage enemy. There 
 are many among us who have lost kindred, wives, sisters, 
 and daughters." 
 
 A murmur of assent, uttered chiefly by men in Mexican 
 costume, testified to the truth of this statement. 
 
 " I myself," continued Seguin, and his voice slightly 
 trembled as he spoke, " am among that number. Years, 
 long years ago, I was robbed of my child by the Navajoes. 
 I have lately learned that she is still alive, and at their head 
 town, with many other white captives. We go, then, to re- 
 lease and restore them to their friends and homes." 
 
 A shout of approbation broke from the crowd, mingled 
 with exclamations of " Bravo ! " " We'll fetch them back 1 " 
 "Vive le capitaine ! " " Viva el gefe ! " 
 
 When silence was restored, Seguin continued — 
 
 "You know our purpose. You have approved it. /will 
 
184 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 now make known to you the plan I had designed for accom- 
 plishing it, and listen to your advice." 
 
 H 
 
 sie^ 
 
 ^H 
 
 ■■■■.■■■■ 
 B'l J'--;,;' 
 
 life 
 
 
 Mm*. 
 
 iMS 
 
 »I 
 
 HPi 
 
 
 
 
 s^sfrX&i 
 
 The Scalp- Hunters at Supper. 
 
 Here the chief paused a moment, while the men remained 
 silent and waiting. 
 
 " There are three passes," continued he at length, " by 
 which we might enter the Indian country from this side. 
 
THE PROGRAM. I 85 
 
 There is, first, the route of the Western Puerco. That 
 would lead us direct to the Navajo towns." 
 
 " And why not take that way ? " asked one of the hunters, 
 a Mexican. " I know the route well, as far as the Pecos 
 towns." 
 
 " Because we could not pass the Pecos towns without be- 
 ing seen by Navajo spies. There are always some of them 
 there. Nay, more," continued Seguin, with a look that ex- 
 pressed a hidden meaning, " we would not get far up the 
 Del Norte itself before the Navajoes would be warned of our 
 approach. We have enemies nearer home." 
 
 " Carrai ! that is true," said a hunter, speaking in Spanish. 
 
 " Should they get word of our coming, even though the 
 warriors had gone southward, you can see that we would 
 have a journey for nothing." 
 
 " True, true !" shouted several voices. 
 
 " For the same reason, we cannot take the pass of Pol- 
 videra. Besides, at this season, there is but little prospect 
 of game on either of these routes. We are not prepared for 
 an expedition with our present supply. We must pass 
 through a game country before we can enter on the desert." 
 
 " That is true, captain ; but there is as little game to be 
 met if we go by the old mine. What other road, then, can 
 we take ? " 
 
 " There is still another route better than all, I think. We 
 will strike southward, and then west across the Llanos to the 
 old mission. From thence we can go north into the Apache* 
 country." 
 
 "Yes, yes ; that is the best way, captain." 
 
 " We Avill have a longer journey, but with advantages. 
 We will find the wild cattle or the buffaloes upon the Llanos. 
 Moreover, we will make sure of our time, as we can cache in 
 the Pinon Hills that overlook the Apache war-trail, and see 
 our enemies pass out. When they have gone south, we can 
 
l86 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 cross the Gila, and keep up the Azul or Prieto. Having 
 accomplished the object of our expedition, we may then 
 return homeward by the nearest route." 
 
 " Bravo ! " " Viva ! " « That's jest right, captain I " 
 " That's clarly our best plan 1 " were a few among the many 
 forms by which the hunters testified their approval of the 
 program. There was no dissenting voice. The word 
 " Prieto," struck like music upon their ears. That was a 
 magic word : the name of the far-famed river on whose waters 
 the trapper legends had long placed the El Dorado, " the 
 mountain of gold." Many a story of this celebrated region 
 had been told at the hunters' camp-fire, all agreeing in one 
 point : that there the gold lay in " lumps " upon the surface 
 of the ground, and filled the rivers with its shining grains. 
 Often had the trappers talked of an expedition to this un- 
 known land ; and small parties were said to have actually 
 entered it, but none of these adventurers had ever been 
 known to return. 
 
 The hunters saw now, for the first time, the prospect of 
 penetrating this region with safety, and their minds were 
 filled with fancies wild and romantic. Not a few of them 
 had joined Seguin's band in hopes that some day this very 
 expedition might be undertaken, and the " gold mountain " 
 reached. What, then, were their feelings, when Seguin de- 
 clared his purpose of traveling by the Prieto ! At the men- 
 tion of it a buzz of peculiar meaning ran through the crowd, 
 and the men turned to each other with looks of satisfaction. 
 
 " To-morrow, then, we shall march," added the chief. 
 " Go now and make your preparations ; we start by day- 
 break." 
 
 As Seguin ceased speaking, the hunters departed, each to 
 look after his " traps and possibles " ; a duty soon performed, 
 as these rude rangers were but little encumbered with camp 
 equipage. 
 
THE PROGRAM. 187 
 
 I sat down upon a log, watching for some time the move- 
 ments of my wild companions, and listening to their rude 
 and Babel-like converse. 
 
 At length arrived sunset, or night, for they are almost 
 synonymous in these latitudes. Fresh logs were flung upon 
 the fires, till they blazed up. The men sat around them, 
 cooking, eating, smoking, talking loudly, and laughing at 
 stories that illustrated their own wild habits. The red light 
 fell upon fierce dark faces, now fiercer and more swarthy 
 under the glare of the burning Cottonwood. 
 
 By its light the savage expression was strengthened on 
 every countenance. Beards looked darker, and teeth gleamed 
 whiter through them. Eyes appeared more sunken, and their 
 glances more brilliant and fiend-like. Picturesque costumes 
 met the eye : turbans, Spanish hats, plumes, and mottled 
 garments ; escopettes and rifles leaning against the trees ; 
 saddles, high-peaked, resting upon logs and stumps ; bridles 
 hanging from the branches overhead ; strings of jerked meat 
 drooping in festoons in front of the tents, and haunches of 
 venison still smoking and dripping their half -coagulated drops ! 
 
 The vermilion smeared on the foreheads of the Indian 
 warriors gleamed in the night light as though it were blood. 
 It was a picture at once savage and warlike : warlike, but 
 with an aspect of ferocity at which the sensitive heart drew 
 back. It was a picture such as may be seen only in a 
 bivouac of guerilleros, of brigands, of man-hunters. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 EL SOL AND LA LUNA. 
 
 OME," said Seguin, 
 touching me on the 
 arm " our supper is 
 ready ; I see the doc- 
 tor beckoning us." 
 
 I was not slow to answer 
 the call, for the cool air 
 of the evening had sharp- 
 ened my appetite. 
 
 We approached the tent, in 
 front of which was a fire. 
 Over this, the doctor, assisted by Gode* and a pueblo peon, 
 was just giving the finishing touch to a savory supper. 
 Part of it had already been carried inside the tent. We 
 followed it, and took our seats upon saddles, blankets and 
 packs. 
 
 "Why, doctor," said Seguin, "you have proved yourself 
 a perfect maitre de cuisine to-night. This is a supper for a 
 Lucullus." 
 
 " Achl mein captain, ich havegoet help ; mein herr Gode 
 assist me most wonderful." 
 188 
 
EL SOL AND LA LUNA. 1 89 
 
 " Well, Mr. Haller and I will do full justice to your dishes. 
 Let us to them at once ! " 
 
 " Oui, oui I bien Monsieur Capitaine," said Gode, hurry- 
 ing in with a multitude of viands. The Canadien was al- 
 ways in his element when there was plenty to cook and eat. 
 
 We were soon engaged on fresh steaks (of wild cows) , 
 roasted ribs of venison, dried buffalo tongues, tortillas, and 
 coffee. The coffee and tortillas were the labors of the 
 pueblo, in the preparation of which viands he was Godd's 
 master. 
 
 But Gode had a choice dish, un petit morcean, in reserve, 
 which he brought forth with a triumphant nourish. 
 
 "Void, messieurs? " cried he, setting it before us. 
 
 « What is it, Gode ? " 
 
 " Une fricasse'e, monsieur." 
 
 " Of what?" 
 
 " Les frog ; what de Yankee call boo-frog 1 " 
 
 " A fricassee of bull-frogs 1 " 
 
 " Oui, oui, mon maitre. Voulez-vous ? " 
 
 " No, thank you ! " 
 
 " I will trouble you, Monsieur Gode," said Seguin. 
 
 " Ich, ich, mein Gode ; frocks ver goot ; " and the doctor 
 held out his platter to be helped. 
 
 " Gode - , in wandering by the river, had encountered a pond 
 of giant frogs, and the fricassee was the result. I had not 
 then overcome my national antipathy to the victims of St. 
 Patrick's curse ; and, to the voyageiu^s astonishment, I re- 
 fused to share the dainty. 
 
 During our supper conversation I gathered some facts of 
 the doctor's history, which, with what I had already learned, 
 rendered the old man an object of extreme interest to me. 
 
 Up to this time, I had wondered what such a character 
 could be doing in such company as that of the Scalp-hunters. 
 I now learnt a few details that explained all. 
 
190 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 His name was Reichter ; Friedrich Reichter. He was 
 a Strasburgher, and in the city of bells had been a medical 
 practitioner of some repute. The love of science, but par- 
 ticularly of his favorite branch, botany, had lured him away 
 from his Rhenish home. He had wandered to the United 
 States, then to the Far West, to classify the flora of that re- 
 mote region. He had spent several years in the great valley 
 of the Mississippi ; and, falling in with one of the St. Louis 
 caravans, had crossed the prairies to the oasis of New Mexico. 
 In his scientific wanderings along the Del Norte, he had met 
 with the Scalp-hunters, and attracted by the opportunity thus 
 afforded him of penetrating into regions hitherto unexplored 
 by the devotees of science, he had offered to accompany the 
 band. This offer was gladly accepted, on account of his serv- 
 ices as their medico ; and for two years he had been with 
 them, sharing their hardships and dangers. 
 
 Many a scene of perils had he passed through, many a 
 privation had he undergone, prompted by a love of his 
 favorite study, and perhaps, too, by the dreams of future 
 triumph, when he would one day spread his strange flora be- 
 fore the savants of Europe. Poor Reichter ! Poor Friedrich 
 Reichter ! yours was the dream of a dream : it never became 
 a reality 1 
 
 Our supper was at length finished, and washed down with 
 a bottle of Paso wine. There was plenty of this, as well as 
 Taos whisky, in the encampment ; and the roars of laughter 
 that reached us from without proved that the hunters were 
 imbibing freely of the latter. 
 
 The doctor drew out his great meerschaum, Gode filled 3 
 red claystone, while Seguin and I lit our husk cigarettes. 
 
 " But tell me," said I, addressing Seguin, " who is the 
 Indian ? — he who performed the wild feat of shooting 
 the " 
 
 " Ah ! El Sol ; he is a Coco." 
 
EL SOL AND LA LUNA. igi 
 
 " A Coco ? " 
 
 " Yes ; of the Maricopa tribe." 
 
 " But that makes me no wiser than before. I knew that 
 much already." 
 
 " You knew it ? Who told you ? " 
 
 Brought to Bay. 
 
 " I heard old Rube mention the fact to his comrade 
 Garey." 
 
 " Ay, true ; he should know him." Seguin remained silent. 
 
 " Well ? " continued I, wishing to learn more. " Who are 
 the Maricopas ? I have never heard of them." 
 
 " It is a tribe but little known ; a nation of singular men. 
 They are foes of the Apache and Navajo ; their country lies 
 
192 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 down the Gila. They came originally from the Pacific ; from 
 the shores of the Calif ornian sea." 
 
 " But this man is educated, or seems so. He speaks Eng- 
 lish and French as well as you or I. He appears to be tal- 
 ented, intelligent, polite ; in short, a gentleman." 
 
 " He is all you have said." 
 
 " I cannot understand this." 
 
 " I will explain to you, my friend. That man was educated 
 at one of the most celebrated unversities in Europe. He has 
 traveled farther, and through more countries, perhaps than 
 either of us." 
 
 " But how did he accomplish all this ? An Indian ! " 
 By the aid of that which has often enabled very little 
 men (though El Sol is not one of those), to achieve very 
 great deeds, or at least to get the credit of having done so. 
 By gold." 
 
 " Gold 1 and where got he the gold ? I have been told 
 that there is very little of it in the hands of Indians. The 
 white men have robbed them of all they once had." 
 
 " That is in general a truth ; and true of the Maricopas. 
 There was a time when they possessed gold in large quan- 
 tities, and pearls too, gathered from the depths of the Ver- 
 milion Sea. It is gone. The Jesuit padres could tell 
 whither." 
 
 " But this man ? El Sol ? " 
 
 " He is a chief. He has not lost all his gold. He still 
 holds enough to serve him, and it is not likely that the padres 
 will coax it from him for either beads or vermilion. No ; 
 he has seen the world, and has learnt the all pervading value 
 of that shining metal." 
 
 " But his sister ? — is she, too, educated ? " 
 
 " No. Poor Luna is still a savage ; but he instructs her 
 in many things. He has been absent for several years. 
 He has returned but lately to his tribe," 
 
EL SOL AND LA LUNA. 193 
 
 " Their names are strange : ' The Sun,' ' The Moon ! ' " 
 
 " They were given by the Spaniards of Sonora ; but they 
 are only translations or synonyms of their Indian appella- 
 tions. That is common upon the frontier." 
 
 " Why are they here ? " 
 
 I put this question with hesitation, as I knew there might 
 be some peculiar history connected with the answer. 
 
 "Partly," replied Seguin, " from gratitude I believe to my- 
 self. I rescued El Sol, when a boy, out of the hands of 
 the Navajoes. Perhaps there is still another reason. But 
 come ! " continued he, apparently wishing to give a turn to 
 the conversation ; " you shall know our Indian friends. You 
 are to be companions for a time. He is a scholar, and will 
 interest you. Take care of your heart with the gentle Luna. 
 Vincente ! Go to the tent of the Coco chief. Ask him to 
 come and drink a cup of Paso wine. Tell him to bring his 
 sister with him." 
 
 The servant hurried away through the camp. While he 
 was gone we conversed about the feat which the Coco had 
 performed with his rifle. 
 
 " I never knew him to fire," remarked Seguin, " without 
 hitting his mark. There is something mysterious about that. 
 His aim is unerring ; and it seems to be, on his part, an act 
 of pure volition. There may be some guiding principle in the 
 mind, independent of either strength of nerve or sharpness 
 of sight. He and another are the only persons I ever knew 
 to possess this singular power." 
 
 The last part of this speech was uttered in a half soliloquy ; 
 and Seguin, after delivering it, remained for some moments 
 silent and abstracted. 
 
 Before the conversation was resumed, El Sol and his sis- 
 ter entered the tent, and Seguin introduced us to each other. 
 In a few moments we were engaged, El Sol, the doctor, 
 Seguin, and myself, in an animated conversation. The sub- 
 13 
 
194 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 ject was not horses, nor guns, nor scalps, nor war, nor blood, 
 nor aught connected with the horrid calling of that camp. 
 We were discussing a point in the pacific science of botany ; 
 the relationship of the different forms of the cactus family. 
 
 I had studied the science, and I felt that my knowledge of 
 it was inferior to that of any of my three companions. I was 
 struck with it then, and more when I reflected on it after- 
 wards ; the fact of such a conversation, the time, the place, 
 and the men who carried it on. 
 
 For nearly two hours we sat smoking and talking on like 
 subjects. 
 
 While we were thus engaged, I observed upon the canvas 
 the shadow of a man. Looking forth, as my position enabled 
 me without rising, I recognized in the light that streamed 
 out of the tent, a hunting-shirt with a worked pipe-holder 
 hanging over the breast. 
 
 La Luna sat near her brother, sewing parfleche soles upon 
 a pair of mocassins. I noticed that she had an abstracted air, 
 and at short intervals glanced out from the opening of the tent. 
 While we were engrossed with our discussion she rose silently, 
 though not with any appearance of stealth, and went out. 
 
 After a while she returned. I could read the love-light in 
 her eye as she resumed her occupation. 
 
 El Sol and his sister at length left us ; and shortly after, 
 Seguin, the doctor, and I, rolled ourselves in our serapes, 
 and lay down to sleep. 
 
pr — =- 
 
 ~~1 
 
 z^rr, 
 
 Sioux Indians, in Wolf-Skins Hunting Buffalo. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE WAR-TRAIL. 
 
 HE band was mounted by earliest dawn ; 
 and as the notes of the bugle died 
 away, our horses plashed through the 
 river, crossing to the other side. We 
 soon debouched from the timbered 
 bottom, coming out upon sandy plains that stretched 
 westward to the Mimbres mountains. We rode over these 
 plains in a southerly direction, climbing long ridges of sand 
 that traversed them from east to west. The drift lay in deep 
 furrows and our horses sank above the fetlocks as we jour- 
 neyed. We were crossing the western section of the " Jor- 
 nada." 
 
 We traveled in Indian file. Habit has formed this dis- 
 position among Indians and hunters on the march. The 
 tangled paths of the forest, and the narrow defiles of the 
 mountains, admit of no other. Even when passing a plain, 
 our cavalcade was strung out for a quarter of a mile. The 
 atajo followed in charge of the " arrieros." 
 
 For the first day of our march we kept on without " noon- 
 ing." There was was neither grass nor water on the route : 
 and a halt under the hot sun would not have refreshed us. 
 
 195 
 
196 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Early in the afternoon a dark line became visible, stretch- 
 ing across the plain. As we drew nearer, a green wall rose 
 before us, and we distinguished the groves of cottonwood. 
 The hunters knew it to be the timber on the Paloma. We 
 were soon passing under the shade of its quivering canopy, 
 and reaching the banks of a clear stream, we halted for the 
 night. 
 
 Our camp was formed without either tents or lodges. 
 Those used on the Del Norte' had been left behind in cache. 
 An expedition like ours could not be cumbered with camp 
 baggage. Each man's blanket was his house, his bed, and 
 his cloak. 
 
 Fires were kindled, and ribs roasted ; and fatigued with 
 our journey (the first day's ride has always this effect), we 
 were soon wrapped in our blankets, and sleeping soundly. 
 
 We were summoned next morning by the call of the bugle 
 sounding " reveille'." The band partook somewhat of a mil- 
 itary organization, and every one understood the signals of 
 light cavalry. 
 
 Our breakfast was soon cooked and eaten ; our horses 
 were drawn from their pickets, saddled, and mounted ; and 
 at another signal we moved forward on the route. 
 
 The incidents of our first journey were repeated, with but 
 little variety, for several days in succession. We traveled 
 through a desert country, here and there covered with wild 
 sage and mezquite. 
 
 We passed on our route clumps of cacti, and thickets of 
 creosote bushes, that emitted their foul odors as we crushed 
 through them. On the fourth evening we camped at a spring, 
 the " Ojo de Vaca," lying on the eastern borders of the Llanos. 
 
 Over the western section of this great prairie passes the 
 Apache' war-trail, running southward into Sonora. Near the 
 trail, and overlooking it, a high mountain rises out of the 
 plain. It is the Pifion. 
 
THE WAR-TRAIL. 197 
 
 It was our design to reach this mountain, and cacher 
 among the rocks, near a well-known spring, until our enemies 
 should pass ; but to effect this we would have to cross the 
 war-trail, and our own tracks would betray us. Here was a 
 difficulty which had not occurred to Seguin. There was no 
 other point except the Pihon from which we could certainly 
 see the enemy on their route, and be ourselves hidden. This 
 mountain, then, must be reached ; and how were we to effect 
 it without crossing the trail ? 
 
 After our arrival at Ojo de Vaca, Seguin drew the men 
 together to deliberate on this matter. 
 
 " Let us spread," said a hunter, " and keep wide over the 
 paraira, till we've got clar past the Apash trail. They won't 
 notice a single track hyar and thar, I reckin." 
 
 " Ay, but they will though," rejoined another. " Do ye 
 think an Injun's a-goin' to pass a shod horse-track 'ithout 
 follerin' it up ? No, siree ! " 
 
 " We kin muffle the hoofs, as far as that goes," suggested 
 the first speaker. 
 
 " Wagh 1 That ud only make it worse. I tried that dodge 
 once afore, an' nearly lost my har for it. He's a blind Injun 
 kin be fooled that a-way. 'Twon't do no how." 
 
 " They're not goin' to be so partickler when they're on 
 the war-trail, I warrant ye. I don't see why it shouldn't do 
 well enough." 
 
 Most of the hunters agreed with the former speaker. 
 The Indians would not fail to notice so many muffled tracks, 
 and suspect there was " something in the wind." The idea 
 of " muffling " was therefore abandoned. What next ? 
 
 The trapper Rube, who, up to this time, had said nothing 
 now drew the attention of all by abruptly exclaiming " Pish ! " 
 
 " Well ! what have you to say, old hoss ? " inquired one of 
 the hunters. 
 
 " Thet yur a set o' cussed fools, one and all o' 'ee. I kud 
 
I98 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 take the fall 0' that paraira o' hosses acrosst the Pash trail, 
 'ithout making a sign that any Injun's a-gwine to follow par- 
 ticularly an Injun on the war-beat as them is now." 
 
 " How ? " asked Seguin. 
 
 "I'll tell yur how, cap, ev yur'll tell me what 'ee wants to 
 cross the trail for." 
 
 " Why, to conceal ourselves in the Pinon range : what else ? " 
 
 " An' how are 'ee gwine to cacher in the Peenyun 'ithout 
 water ? " 
 
 " There is a spring on the side of it, at the foot of the 
 mountain." 
 
 " That's true as Scripter. I knows that ; but at that very 
 spring the Injuns '11 cool their lappers as they go down south- 
 'ard. How are 'ee gwine to get at it with this cavayard 
 'ithout makin' sign ? This child don't see that very clur." 
 
 " You are right, Rube. We cannot touch the Pinon spring 
 without leaving our marks too plainly ; and it is the very 
 place where the war-party may make a halt." 
 
 " I sees no confoundered use in the hul on us crossin' the 
 paraira now. We kan't hunt buffler till they've passed, any- 
 ways. So it's this child's idee that a dozen o' us '11 be 
 enough to cacher in the Peenyun, and watch for the niggurs 
 a-goin' south. A dozen mout do it safe enough, but not the 
 hul cavayard." 
 
 " And would you have the rest to remain here ? " 
 
 " Not hyur. Let 'em go north' ard from hyur, and then 
 strike west through the Musquite hills. Thur's a crick runs 
 thur, about twenty mile or so this side the trail. They kin 
 git water and grass, and cacher thus till we sends for 'em." 
 
 " But why not remain by this spring, where we have both 
 in plenty ? " 
 
 " Cap'n, jest because some o' the Injun patry may take a 
 notion in thur heads to kum this way themselves. I reckin 
 we had better make blind tracks before leavin' hyur," 
 
THE WAR-TRAIL. 199 
 
 The force of Rube's reasoning was apparent to all, and to 
 none more than Seguin himself. It was resolved to follow 
 his advice at once. The vidette party was told off ; and the 
 rest of the band, with the atajo, after blinding the tracks 
 around the spring, struck off in a northwesterly direction. 
 
 They were to travel on to the Mezquite hills, that lay some 
 ten or twelve miles to the northwest of the spring. There 
 they were to cacher by a stream well known to several of 
 them, and wait until warned to join us. 
 
 The vidette party, of whom I was one, moved westward 
 across the prairie. 
 
 Rube, Garey, El Sol, and his sister, with Sanchez, a ci-de- 
 vant bull-fighter, and half a dozen others, composed the party. 
 Seguin himself was our head and guide. 
 
 Before leaving the Ojo de Vaca, we had stripped the shoes 
 off the horses, filling the nail-holes with clay, so that their 
 tracks would be taken for those of wild mustangs. Such 
 were the precautions of men who knew that their lives might 
 be the forfeit of a single footprint. 
 
 As we approached the point where the war-tail intersected 
 the prairie, we separated and deployed in distances of half a 
 mile each. In this manner we rode forward to the Pihon 
 mountain, where we came together again, and turned north- 
 ward along the foot of the range. 
 
 It was sundown when we reached the spring, having ridden 
 all day across the plain. We descried it, as we approached, 
 close in to the mountain-foot, and marked by a grove of 
 cotton-woods and willows. We did not take our horses near 
 the water ; but, having reached a defile in the mountain, we 
 rode into it, and cached them in a thicket of nut-pine. In 
 this thicket we spent the night. 
 
 With the first light of morning we made a reconnaissance 
 of our cache. 
 
 In front of us was a low ridge covered with loose rocks 
 
200 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 and straggling trees of the nut-pine. This ridge separated 
 the defile from the plain ; and from its top, screened by a 
 thicket of the pines, we commanded a view of the water as 
 well as the trail, and the Llanos stretching away to the north, 
 south, and east. It was just the sort of hiding-place we re- 
 quired for our object. 
 
 A Cactus Desert of Northern Mexico. 
 
 In the morning it became necessary to descend for water. 
 For this purpose we had provided ourselves with a mule- 
 bucket, and extra xuages. We visited the spring, and filled 
 our vessels, taking care to leave no traces of our footsteps 
 in the mud. 
 
 We kept constant watch during the first day, but no Indians 
 appeared. Deer and antelopes, with a small gang of buffa- 
 
THE WAR-TRAIL. 201 
 
 loes, came to the spring-branch to drink, and then roamed 
 off again over the green meadows. It was a tempting sight, 
 for we could easily have crept within shot, but we dared not 
 touch them. We knew that the Indian dogs would scent 
 their slaughter. 
 
 In the evening we went again for water, making the jour- 
 ney twice, as our animals began to suffer from thirst. We 
 adopted the same precautions as before. 
 
 Next day we again watched the horizon to the north with 
 eager eyes. Seguin had a small pocket glass, and we could 
 see the prairie with it for a distance of nearly thirty miles ; 
 but as yet no enemy could be descried. 
 
 The third day passed with a like result ; and we began to 
 fear that the warriors had taken some other trail. 
 
 Another circumstance rendered us uneasy. We had eaten 
 nearly the whole of our provisions, and were now chewing 
 the raw nuts of the Pinon. We dared not kindle a fire to 
 roast them. Indians can " read " the smoke at a great 
 distance. 
 
 The fourth day arrived and still no " sign " on the horizon 
 to the north. Our tasajo was all eaten, and we began to 
 hunger. The nuts did not satisfy us. The game was in 
 plenty at the spring, and mottling the grassy plain. One 
 proposed to lie among the willows, and shoot an antelope or 
 a black-tailed deer, of which there were troops in the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 " We dare not," said Seguin ; " their dogs would find the 
 blood. It might betray us." 
 
 " I can procure one without letting a drop," rejoined a 
 Mexican hunter. 
 
 " How ? " inquired several in a breath. 
 
 The man pointed to his lasso. 
 
 " But your tracks ; you would make deep footmarks in the 
 struggle ? v 
 
202 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " We can blind them, captain," rejoined the man. 
 
 " You may try, then," assented the chief. 
 
 The Mexican unfastened the lasso from his saddle, and, 
 taking a companion, proceeded to the spring. They crept 
 in among the willows, and lay in wait. We watched them 
 from the ridge. 
 
 They had not remained more than a quarter of an hour 
 when a herd of antelopes was seen approaching from the 
 plain. These walked directly for the spring, one following 
 the other in Indian file. They were soon close in to the 
 willows where the hunters had concealed themselves. Here 
 they suddenly halted, throwing up their heads and snuffing 
 the air. They had scented danger, but it was too late for 
 the foremost to turn and lope off. 
 
 " Yonder goes the lasso ! " cried one. 
 
 We saw the noose flying in the air and settling over his 
 head. The herd suddenly wheeled, but the loop was around 
 the neck of their leader ; and after three or four skips, he 
 sprang up and, falling upon his back, lay motionless. 
 
 The hunter came out from the willows, and taking up the 
 animal, now choked dead, carried him towards the entrance 
 of the defile. His companion followed, blinding the tracks 
 of both. In a few minutes they had reached us. The ante- 
 lope was skinned, and eaten raw, in the blood 1 
 
 Our horses grow thin with hunger and thirst. We fear to 
 go too often to the water, though we become less cautious as 
 the hours pass. Two more antelopes are lassoed by the ex- 
 pert hunter. 
 
 The night of the fourth day is clear moonlight. The 
 Indians often march by moonlight, particularly when on the 
 war-trail. We keep our vidette stationed during the night 
 as in the day. On this night we look out with more hopes 
 
THE WAR-TRAIL. 203 
 
 than usual. It is such a lovely night ! a full moon clear and 
 calm. 
 
 We are not disappointed. Near midnight the vidette 
 awakes us. There are dark forms on the sky away to the 
 north. It may be buffaloes, but we see that they are ap- 
 proaching. 
 
 We stand, one and all, straining our eyes through the 
 white air, and away over the silvery sward. There are 
 glancing objects : arms it must be. " Horses ! horsemen ! 
 They are Indians ! " 
 
 " Oh, heavens ! comrades ; we are mad ! Our horses : 
 they may neigh ! " 
 
 We bound after our leader down the hill, over the rocks, and 
 through the trees. We run for the thicket where our animals 
 are tied. We may be too late, for horses can hear each other 
 miles off ; and the slightest concussion vibrates afar through 
 the elastic atmosphere of these high plateaux. We reach the 
 caballada. What is Seguin doing ? He has torn the blanket 
 from under his saddle, and is muffling the head of his horse I 
 
 We follow his example, without exchanging a word, for we 
 know this is the only plan to pursue. 
 
 In a few minutes we feel secure again, and return, to our 
 watch-station on the height. 
 
 ****** 
 
 We had shaved our time closely ; for, on reaching the hill- 
 top, we could hear the exclamations of Indians, the " thump, 
 thump " of hoofs on the hard plain, and an occasional neigh, 
 as their horses scented the water. The foremost were ad- 
 vancing to the spring ; and we could see the long line of 
 mounted men stretching in their deploying to the far horizon. 
 
 Closer they came, and we could distinguish the pennons 
 and glittering points of their spears. We could see their 
 half -naked bodies gleaming in the clear moonlight. 
 
 In a short time the foremost of them had ridden up to the 
 
204 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 bushes, halting as they came, and giving their animals to 
 drink. Then one by one they wheeled out of the water, and 
 trotting a short distance over the prairie, flung themselves to 
 the ground, and commenced unharnessing their horses. 
 
 It was evidently their intention to camp for the night. 
 
 For nearly an hour they came filing forward, until two thou- 
 sand warriors, with their horses, dotted the plain below us. 
 
 We stood observing their movements. We had no fear of 
 being seen ourselves. We were lying with our bodies behind 
 the rocks, and our faces partially screened by the foliage of 
 the pihon trees. We could see and hear with distinctness all 
 that was passing, for the savages were not over three hun- 
 dred yards from our position. 
 
 They proceed to picket their horses in a wide circle, far 
 out on the plain. There the grama grass is longer and more 
 luxuriant than in the immediate neighborhood of the spring. 
 They strip the animals, and bring away their horse-furniture 
 consisting of hair bridles, buffalo robes, and skins of the 
 grizzly bear. Few have saddles. Indians do not generally 
 use them on a war expedition. 
 
 Each man strikes his spear into the ground, and rests 
 against it his shield, bow and quiver. He places his robe or 
 skin beside it. That is his tent and bed. 
 
 The spears are soon aligned upon the prairie, forming a 
 front of several hundred yards ; and thus they have pitched 
 their camp with a quickness and regularity far outstripping 
 the Chasseurs of Vincennes. 
 
 They are encamped in two parties. There are two bands, 
 the Apache and Navajo. The latter is much the smaller, and 
 rests farther off from our position. 
 
 We hear them cutting and chopping with their tomahawks 
 among the thickets at the foot of the mountain. We can see 
 them carrying fagots out upon the plain, piling them together, 
 and setting them on fire. 
 
THE WAR-TRAIL. 205 
 
 Many fires are soon blazing brightly. The savages squat 
 around them, cooking their suppers. We can see the paint 
 glittering on their faces and naked breasts. They are of 
 many hues. Some are red, as though they were smeared 
 with blood. Some appear of a jetty blackness. Some black 
 on one side of the face, and red or white on the other. Some 
 are mottled like hounds, and some striped and chequered. 
 Their cheeks and breasts are tattooed with the forms of ani- 
 mals : wolves, panthers, bears, buffaloes, and other hideous 
 devices, plainly discernible under the blaze of the pine-wood 
 fires. Some have a red hand painted on their bosoms, and 
 not a few exhibit as their device the death's head and cross- 
 bones ! 
 
 All these are their " coats " of arms, symbolical of the 
 " medicine" of the wearer ; adopted, no doubt, from like silly 
 fancies to those which put the crest upon the carriage, on 
 the lacquey's button, or the brass seal-stamp of the merchant's 
 clerk. 
 
 There is vanity in the wilderness. In savage as in civi- 
 lized life there is a " snobdom." 
 
 What do we see ? Bright helmets, brazen and steel, with 
 nodding plumes of the ostrich ! These upon savages ! 
 Whence came these ? 
 
 From the cuirassiers of Chihuahua. Poor devils 1 They 
 were roughly handled upon one occasion by these savage 
 lancers. 
 
 We see the red meat sputtering over the fires upon spits 
 of willow rods. We see the Indians fling the pinon nuts into 
 the cinders, and then draw them forth again, parched and 
 smoking. We see them light their claystone pipes, and send 
 forth clouds of blue vapor. We see them gesticulate as 
 they relate their red adventures to one another. We hear 
 them shout, and chatter, and laugh like mountebanks. How 
 unlike the forest Indian 1 
 
206 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 For two hours we watch their movements, and listen to 
 their voices. Then the horseguard is detailed, and marches 
 off to the caballada ; and the Indians, one after another, 
 spread their skins, roll themselves in their blankets, and sleep. 
 
 The fires cease to blaze ; but by the moonlight we can 
 distinguish the prostrate bodies of the savages. White ob- 
 jects are moving among them. They are dogs prowling 
 after the dibris of their supper. These run from point to 
 point, snarling at one another, and barking at the coyotes 
 that sneak around the skirts of the camp. 
 
 Out upon the prairie the horses are still awake and busy. 
 We can hear them stamping their hoofs and cropping the 
 rich pasture. Erect forms are seen standing at intervals 
 along the line. These are the guards of the caballada. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THREE DAYS IN THE TRAP. 
 
 UR attention was now turned 
 to our own situation. Dangers 
 and difficulties suddenly pre- 
 sented themselves to our minds. 
 " What if they should stay here to 
 hunt ! " 
 
 The thought seemed, to occur to all 
 of us at the same instant, and we faced each other with 
 looks of apprehension and dismay. 
 
 " It is not improbable," said Seguin, in a low and emphatic 
 voice. " It is plain they have no supply of meat, and how 
 are they to pass to the south without it ? They must hunt 
 here or elsewhere. Why not here ? " 
 
 " If so, we're in a nice trap ! " interrupted a hunter, point- 
 ing first to the embouchure of the defile and then to the 
 mountain. " How are we to get out ? I'd like to know 
 that." 
 
 Our eyes followed the direction indicated by the speaker. 
 In front of the ravine in which we were extended the line 
 
 207 
 
208 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 of the Indian camp, not a hundred yards distant from the 
 rocks that lay around its entrance. There was an Indian 
 sentinel still nearer : but it would be impossible to pass out, 
 even were he asleep, without encountering the dogs that 
 prowled in numbers around the camp. 
 
 Behind us, the mountain rose vertically like a wall. It 
 was plainly impassable. We were fairly " in the trap." 
 
 " Carrai ! " exclaimed one of the men, " we will die of 
 hunger and thirst if they stay to hunt ! " 
 
 " We may die sooner," rejoined another, " if they take a 
 notion in their heads to wander up the gully." 
 
 This was not improbable, though it was but little likely. 
 The ravine was a sort of ad de sac, that entered the moun- 
 tain in a slanting direction, and ended at the bottom of the 
 cliff. There was no object to attract our enemies into it, 
 unless indeed they might come up in search of pinon nuts. 
 Some of their dogs, too, might wander up, hunting for food, 
 or attracted by the scent of our horses. These were prob- 
 abilities, and we trembled as each of them was suggested. 
 
 " If they do not find us," said Seguin, encouragingly, " we 
 may live for a day or two on the pinons. When these fail 
 us, one of our horses must be killed. How much water 
 have we ? " 
 
 " Thank our luck, captain, the gourds are nearly full." 
 
 " But our poor animals must suffer." 
 
 " There is no danger of thirst," said El Sol, looking down- 
 ward, " while these last ; " and he struck with his foot a 
 large round mass that grew among the rocks. It was the 
 spheroidal cactus. " See ! " continued he, " there are 
 hundreds of them ! " 
 
 All present knew the meaning of this, and regarded the 
 cacti with a murmur of satisfaction. 
 
 Comrades ! " said Seguin, " it is of no use to weary our- 
 selves. Let those sleep who can. One can keep watch 
 
THREE DAYS IN THE TRAP. 209 
 
 jonder while another stays up here. Go, Sanchez ! " and 
 Ue chief pointed down the ravine to a spot that commanded 
 a new of its mouth. 
 
 The sentinel walked off, and took his stand in silence. 
 The rest of us descended, and after looking to the muffling 
 of oar horses, returned to the station of the vidette upon 
 the rill. Here we rolled ourselves in our blankets, and lying 
 down among the rocks, slept out the night. 
 
 We were awake before dawn, and peering through the 
 leaves with feelings of keen solicitude. 
 
 There is no movement in the Indian camp. It is a bad 
 indication. Had they intended to travel on they would have 
 been stirring before this. They are always on the route 
 before daybreak. These " signs " strengthen our feelings of 
 apprehension. 
 
 The gray light begins to spread over the prairie. There 
 is a white band along the eastern sky. There are noises in 
 the camp. There are voices. Dark forms move about 
 among the upright spears. Tall savages stride over the 
 plain. Their robes of skins are wrapped around their shoul- 
 ders to protect them from the raw air of the morning. They 
 carry fagots. They are rekindling the fires ! 
 
 Our men talk in whispers, as we lie straining our eyes to 
 catch every movement. 
 
 " It's plain they intend to make a stay of it." 
 " Ay ! we're in for it, that's sartin ! Wagh ! I wonder 
 how long thar a-goin' to squat hyar, anyhow." 
 " Three days at the least : may be four or five." 
 " Great gollies ! we'll be froze in half the time." 
 " What would they be doin' here so long ? I warrant ye 
 they'll clar out as soon as they can." 
 
 " So they will ; but how can they in less time ? " 
 " They can get all the meat they want in a day. See I 
 14 
 
210 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 yonder's buffalo a plenty : look ! away yonder I " and the 
 speaker points to several black objects outlined against the 
 brightening sky. It is a herd of buffaloes. 
 
 " That's true enough. In half a day I warrant they Hn 
 get all the meat they want ; but how are they a-goin to jirk it 
 in less than three? That's what I want to know." 
 
 " £s verdad!" says one of the Mexicans, a cibo'ero ; 
 " tres dias al menos ! " (it is true — three days, at the least !) 
 
 " Ay, hombre ! an' with a smart chance o' sunshine at 
 that, I guess." 
 
 This conversation is carried on by two or three of the 
 men in a low tone, but loud enough for the rest of us to 
 overhear it. 
 
 It reveals a new phase of our dilemma on which we have 
 not before reflected. Should the Indians stay to " jerk " their 
 meat, we will be in extreme danger from thirst, as well as 
 of being discovered in our cache. 
 
 We know that the process of jerking buffalo beef takes 
 three days, and that with a hot sun, as the hunter has inti- 
 mated. This, with the first day required for hunting, will 
 keep us four days in the ravine ! 
 
 The prospect is appalling. We feel that death or the 
 extreme torture of thirst is before us. We have no fear of 
 hunger. Our horses are in the grove, and our knives in 
 our belts. We can live for weeks upon them ; but will the 
 cacti assuage the thirst of men and horses for a period 
 of three or four days ? This is a question no one can 
 answer. It has often relieved the hunter for a short period, 
 enabling him to crawl on to the water ; but for days ! 
 
 The trial will soon commence. The day has fairly broken. 
 The Indians spring to their feet. About one-half of them 
 draw the pickets of their horses, and lead them to the water. 
 They adjust their bridles, pluck up their spears, snatch their 
 bows, shoulder their quivers and leap on horseback. 
 
THREE DAYS IN THE TRAP. 211 
 
 After a short consultation they gallop off to the east- 
 ward. In half an hour's time, we can see them " run- 
 ning " the buffalo far out upon the prairie : piercing them 
 with their arrows, and impaling them on their long 
 lances. 
 
 Those who have remained behind lead their horses down 
 to the spring-branch, and back again to the grass. Now 
 they chop down young trees, and carry fagots to the fires. 
 See ; they are driving long stakes into the ground, and 
 stretching ropes from one to the other. For what purpose ? 
 We know too well. 
 
 " Ha ! look yonder ! " mutters one of the hunters, as this 
 is first noticed ; " yonder goes the jerking-line ! Now we're 
 caged in airnest, I reckin." 
 
 " Por todos santos es verdad /" 
 
 " Carrambo ! carajo ! chingaro ! " growls the cibolero, 
 who well knows the meaning of those stakes and lines. 
 
 We watch with a fearful interest the movements of the 
 savages. 
 
 We have now no longer any doubt of their intention to 
 remain for several days. 
 
 The stakes are soon erected, running for a hundred yards 
 or more along the front of the encampment. The savages 
 await the return of their hunters. Some mount and scour 
 off toward the scene of the buffalo battue, still going on, far 
 out upon the plain. 
 
 We peer through the leaves with great caution, for the 
 day is bright, and the eyes of our enemies are quick, and 
 scan every object. We speak only in whispers, though our 
 voices could not be heard if we conversed a little louder, but 
 fear makes us fancy that they might. We are all concealed 
 except our eyes. These glance through small loopholes in 
 the foliage. 
 
 Hie Indian hunters have been gone about two hours. 
 
212 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 We now see them returning over the prairie in straggling 
 parties. 
 
 They ride slowly back. Each brings his load before him 
 on the withers of his horse. They have large masses of red 
 flesh, freshly skinned and smoking. Some carry the sides 
 and quarters ; others the hump-ribs, the tongue, the heart, 
 and liver — thtpetits morceaux — wrapped up in the skins of 
 the slaughtered animals. 
 
 They arrive in camp, and fling their loads to the ground. 
 
 Now begins a scene of noise and confusion. The savages 
 run to and fro, whooping, chattering, laughing, and dancing. 
 They draw their long scalping-knives, and hew off broad 
 steaks. They spit them over the blazing fires. They cut 
 out the hump-ribs. They tear off the white fat, and stuff 
 the boudins. They split the brown liver, eating it raw 1 
 They break the shanks with their tomahawks, and delve out 
 the savory marrow ; and, through all these operations, they 
 whoop, and chatter, and laugh, and dance over the ground 
 like so many madmen. 
 
 This scene lasts for more than an hour. 
 
 Fresh parties of hunters mount and ride off. Those who 
 remain cut the meat into long thin strips, and hang it over 
 the lines already prepared for this purpose. It is thus left 
 to be baked by the sun into " tasajo." 
 
 We know part of what is before us. It is a fearful 
 prospect ; but men like those who compose the band 
 of Seguin do not despond while the shadow of a hope re- 
 mains. It is a barren spot indeed, where they cannot find 
 resources. 
 
 " We needn't holler till we're hurt," says one of the 
 hunters. 
 
 " If yer call an empty belly a hurt," rejoins another, " I've 
 got it already. I kud jest eat a raw jackass 'ithout skinnin' 
 him." 
 
THREE DAYS IN THE TRAP. 213 
 
 " Come, fellers ! " cries a third, " let's gramble for a meal 
 o' these peenyuns." 
 
 Following this suggestion, we commence searching for the 
 nuts of the pine. We find to our dismay that there is but a 
 limited supply of this precious fruit : not enough either on 
 the trees or the ground to sustain us for two days. 
 
 " By gosh ! " exclaims one, " we'll have to draw for our 
 critters." 
 
 " Well, and if we have to — time enough yet a bit, I guess. 
 We'll bite our claws a while first." 
 
 The water is distributed in a small cup. There is still a 
 little left in the xuages ; but our poor horses suffer. 
 
 " Let us look to them," says Seguin : and, drawing his 
 knife, he commences skinning one of the cacti. We follow 
 his example. 
 
 We carefully pare off the volutes and spikelets. A cool 
 gummy liquid exudes from the opened vessels. We break 
 the short stems, and lifting the green, globe-like masses, 
 carry them to the thicket, and place them before our animals. 
 These seize the succulent plants greedily, crunch them be- 
 tween their teeth, and swallow both sap and fibers. It is 
 food and drink to them. Thank heaven ! we may yet save 
 them ! 
 
 This act is repeated several times, until they have had 
 enough. 
 
 We keep two videttes constantly on the look-out : one 
 upon the hill, the other commanding the mouth of the defile. 
 The rest of us go through the ravine, along the sides of the 
 ridge, in search of the cones of the pihon. 
 
 Thus our first day is spent. 
 
 The Indian hunters keep coming into their camp until a 
 late hour, bringing with them their burdens of buffalo flesh. 
 Fires blaze over the ground, and the savages sit around 
 them, cooking and eating, nearly all the night. 
 
214 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 On the following day they do not rouse themselves until 
 a late hour. It is a day of lassitude and idleness ; for the 
 meat is hanging over the strings, and they can only wait 
 upon it. They lounge around the camp, mending their 
 bridles and lassos, or looking to their weapons ; they lead 
 their horses to the water, and then picket them on fresh 
 ground ; they cut large pieces of meat, and broil them over 
 the fires. Hundreds of them are at all times engaged in this 
 last occupation. They seem to eat continually. 
 
 Their dogs are busy, too, growling over the knife-stripped 
 bones. They are not likely to leave their feast ; they will 
 not stray up the ravine while it lasts. In this thought we 
 find consolation. 
 
 The sun is hot all the second day, and scorches us in the 
 dry defile. It adds to our thirst ; but we do not regret this 
 so much, knowing it will hasten the departure of the savages. 
 Towards evening, the tasajo begins to look brown and 
 shriveled. Another such day and it will be ready for packing. 
 
 Our water is out, and we chew the succulent slices of the 
 cactus. These relieve our thirst without quenching it. 
 
 Our appetite of hunger is growing stronger. We have 
 eaten all the pinons, and nothmg remains but to slaughter 
 one of our horses. 
 
 " Let us hold out till to-morrow," suggests one. "Give 
 the poor brutes a chance. Who knows but what they may 
 flit in the morning ? " 
 
 This proposition in voted in the affirmative. No hunter 
 cares to risk losing his horse, especially when out upon the 
 prairies. 
 
 Gnawed by hunger, we lie waiting for the third day. 
 
 The morning breaks at last, and we crawl forward as 
 usual, to watch the movements of the camp. The savages 
 sleep late, as on yesterday ; but they arouse themselves at 
 length, and after watering their animals, commence cooking. 
 
THREE DAYS IN THE TRAP. 215 
 
 We see the crimson steaks and the juicy ribs smoking over 
 the fires, and the savory odors are wafted to us on the 
 breeze. Our appetites are whetted to a painful keenness. 
 We can endure no longer. A horse must die I 
 
 Whose ? Mountain law will soon decide. 
 
 Eleven white pebbles and a black one are thrown into the 
 water-bucket, and one by one we are blinded and led forward. 
 
 I tremble as I place my hand in the vessel. It is like 
 throwing the die for my own life. 
 
 " Thank heaven ! my Moro is safe ! " 
 
 One of the Mexicans has drawn the black. 
 
 " Thar's luck in that ! " exclaims a hunter. " Good fat 
 mustang better than poor bull any day ! " 
 
 The devoted horse is in fact a well-conditioned animal ; 
 and placing our videttes again, we proceed to the thicket to 
 slaughter him. 
 
 We set about it with great caution. We tie him to a tree, 
 and hopple his fore and hind feet, lest he may struggle. 
 We purpose bleeding him to death. 
 
 The cibolero has unsheathed his long knife while a man 
 stands by, holding the bucket to catch the precious fluid : 
 the blood. Some have cups in their hands, ready to drink 
 it as it flows I 
 
 We are startled by an unusual sound. We look through 
 the leaves. A large gray animal is standing by the edge of 
 the thicket, gazing in at us. It is wolfish-looking. Is it a 
 wolf ? No. It is an Indian dog I 
 
 The knife is stayed ; each man draws his own. We ap- 
 proach the animal, and endeavor to coax it nearer. But no ; 
 it suspects our intentions, utters a low growl, and runs away 
 down the defile. 
 
 We follow it with our eyes. The owner of the doomed 
 horse is the vidette. The dog must pass him to get out, 
 and he stands with his long lance ready to receive it. 
 
2l6 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The animal sees himself intercepted, turns and runs back, 
 and again turning, makes a desperate rush to pass the 
 vidette. As he nears the latter, he utters a loud howl. The 
 next moment he is impaled upon the lance ! 
 
 Several of us rush up the hill to ascertain if the howling 
 has attracted the attention of the savages. There is no un- 
 usual movement among them ; they have not heard it. 
 
 The dog is divided and devoured before his quivering flesh 
 has time to grow cold ! The horse is reprieved. 
 
 Again we feed our animals on the cooling cactus. This 
 occupies us for some time. When we return to the hill a glad 
 sight is before us. We see the warriors seated around their 
 fires, renewing the paint upon their bodies. We know the 
 meaning of this. 
 
 The tasajo is nearly black. Thanks to the hot sun, it 
 will soon be ready for packing 1 
 
 Some of the Indians are engaged in poisoning the points 
 of their arrows. All these " signs " inspire us with fresh 
 courage. They will soon march ; if not no-night, by day- 
 break on the morrow. 
 
 We lie congratulating ourselves, and watching every move- 
 ment of their camp. Our hopes continue rising as the day 
 falls 
 
 Ha i there is an unusual stir. Some order has been 
 issued. " Foi/d/" " Mira ! mira/" "See!" "Look, 
 look ! " are the half-whispered ejaculations that break from 
 the hunters as this is observed. 
 
 " By the livin' catamount, thar a-goin' to mizzle I " 
 
 We see the savages pull down the tasajo and tie it in 
 bunches. Then every man runs out for his horse ; the 
 pickets are drawn ; the animals are led in and watered ; they 
 are bridled ; the robes are thrown over them and girthed. 
 The warriors pluck up their lances, sling their quivers, seize 
 their shields and bows, and leap lightly upon horseback. 
 
THREE DAYS IN THE TRAP." 217 
 
 The next moment they form with the rapidity of thought, 
 and wheeling in their tracks, ride off in single file, heading 
 to the southward. 
 
 The larger band has passed. The smaller, the Navajoes, 
 follow in the same trail. No ! The latter has suddenly 
 filed to the left, and is crossing the prairie towards the east ; 
 towards the spring of the Ojo de Vaca. 
 
Navahoe Saddle-Girth, Woven with Various Colors of Horse Hair. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE DIGGERS. 
 
 UR first impulse was to rush down 
 the ravine, satisfy our thirst at 
 the spring, and our hunger on 
 the half-polished bones that were 
 strewed over the prairie. Pru- 
 dence, however, restrained us. 
 
 " Wait till they're clar gone," said Garey. " They'll be 
 out o' sight in three skips o' a goat." 
 
 " Yes ! stay where we are a bit," added another ; " some 
 of them may ride back ; something may be forgotten." 
 
 This was not improbable ; and in spite of the promptings 
 of our appetites, we resolved to remain a while longer in the 
 defile. 
 
 We descended straightway into the thicket to make prep- 
 arations for moving ; to saddle our horses and take off 
 their mufflings, which by this time had nearly blinded them. 
 Poor brutes 1 they seemed to know that relief was at hand. 
 
 While we were engaged in these operations, our vidette 
 was kept at the top of the hill to watch both bands, 
 
 318 
 
THE DIGGERS. 219 
 
 and warn us when their heads should sink to the prairie 
 level. 
 
 " I wonder why the Navajoes have gone by the Ojo de 
 Vaca," remarked our chief, with an apparent anxiety in his 
 manner. " It is well our comrades did not remain there." 
 
 " They'll be tired o' waitin' on us, whar they are," rejoined 
 Garey, "unless black-tails is plentier among them Musquites 
 than I think for." 
 
 " Vaya/" exclaimed Sanchez; "they may thank the 
 Santissima they were not in our company ! I'm spent to a 
 skeleton. Mira I carrai 1 '" 
 
 Our horses were at length bridled and saddled, and our 
 lassoes coiled up. Still the vidette had not warned us. We 
 grew every moment more impatient. 
 
 " Come ! " cried one ; " hang it ! they're far enough now. 
 They're not a-goin' to be gapin' back all the way. They're 
 looking ahead, I'm bound. Golly ! thar's fine shines afore 
 them." 
 
 We could resist no longer. We called out to the vidette. 
 He could just see the heads of the hindmost. 
 
 " That will do," cried Seguin ; " come, take your horses 1 " 
 
 The men obeyed with alacrity, and we all moved down the 
 ravine, leading our animals. 
 
 We pressed forward to the opening. A young man, the 
 pueblo servant of Seguin, was ahead of the rest. He was 
 impatient to reach the water. He had gained the mouth of 
 the defile, when we saw him fall back with frightened looks, 
 dragging at his horse, and exclaiming — 
 
 " Mi amo ! mi amo ! to davia son I 
 (Master, master ! they are here yet !) 
 
 " Who ? " inquired Seguin, running forward in haste. 
 
 " The Indians, master ; the Indians ! " 
 
 " You are mad ! Where did you see them ? " 
 
 " In the camp, master. Look yonder ! " 
 
220 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I pressed forward with Seguin to the rocks that lay along 
 the entrance of the defile. We looked cautiously over. A 
 singular sight met our eyes. 
 
 The camp-ground was lying as the Indians had left it. 
 The stakes were still standing ; the shaggy hides of the 
 buffaloes, and piles of their bones, were strewn upon the 
 plain ; hundreds of coyotes were loping back and forward, 
 snarling at one another, or pursuing one of their number 
 which had picked up a nicer morsel than his companions. 
 The fires were still smoldering, and the wolves galloped 
 through the ashes, raising them in yellow clouds. 
 
 But there was a sight stranger than all this ; a startling 
 sight to me. Five or six forms ; almost human, were moving 
 about among the fires, collecting the debris of skins and 
 bones, and quarreling with the wolves that barked round 
 them in troops. Five or six others, similar forms, were 
 seated around a pile of burning wood, silently gnawing at 
 
 half-roasted ribs. Can they be yes, they are human 
 
 beings ! 
 
 I was for a moment awestruck as I gazed at the shriveled 
 and dwarfish bodies, the long ape-like arms, and huge dis- 
 proportioned heads, from which fell their hair in snaky 
 tangles, black and matted. 
 
 But one or two appeared to have any article of dress, and 
 that was a ragged breech-clout. The others were naked as 
 the wild beasts around them : naked from head to foot ! 
 
 It was a horrid sight to look upon these fiend- like dwarfs 
 squatted around the fires, holding up half-naked bones in 
 their long wrinkled arms, and tearing off the flesh with their 
 glistening teeth. It was a horrid sight, indeed ; and it was 
 some moments before I could recover sufficiently from my 
 amazement to inquire who or what they were. I did so at 
 length. 
 
 " Los Yamparicos," answered the cibolero. 
 
THE DIGGERS. 221 
 
 " Who ? " I asked again. 
 
 "Los Indios Yamparicos, sefior." 
 
 " The Diggers, the Diggers," said a hunter, thinking that 
 would better explain the strange apparitions. 
 
 " Yes, they are Digger Indians," added Seguin. " Come 
 on ; we have nothing to fear from them." 
 
 " But we have somethin' to git from them," rejoined one 
 of the hunters, with a significant look. " Digger plew good 
 as any other ; worth jest as much as ' Pash chief.' " 
 
 " No one must fire," said Seguin, in a firm tone. " It is 
 too soon yet ; look yonder 1 " and he pointed over the plain, 
 where two or three glancing objects, the helmets of the re- 
 treating warriors, could still be seen above the grass. 
 
 " How are wegoin' to get them, then, captain ? " inquired 
 the hunter. " They'll beat us to the rocks ; they kin run 
 like scared dogs." 
 
 " Better let them go, poor devils ! " said Seguin, seem- 
 ingly unwilling that blood should be spilled so wantonly. 
 
 " No, captain," rejoined the same speaker ; " we won't 
 fire but we'll git them, if we kin, 'ithout it. Boys, follow me 
 down this way. 
 
 And the man was about guiding his horse in among the 
 loose rocks, so as to pass unperceived between the dwarfs 
 and the mountain. 
 
 But the brutal fellow was frustrated in his design ; for at 
 that moment El Sol and his sister appeared in the opening, 
 and their brilliant habiliments caught the eyes of the Diggers. 
 Like startled deer they sprang to their feet, and ran, or 
 rather flew, toward the foot of the mountain. The hunters 
 galloped to intercept them, but they were too late. Before 
 they could come up, the Diggers had dived into the crevices 
 of the rocks or were seen climbing like chamois along the 
 cliffs, far out of reach. 
 
 One of the hunters only — Sanchez — succeeded in making 
 
222 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 a capture. His victim had reached a high ledge, and was 
 scrambling along it, when the lasso of the bull-fighter settled 
 round his neck. The next moment he was plucked out into 
 the air, and fell with a " cranch " upon the rocks ! 
 
 I rode forward to look at him. He was dead. He had 
 been crushed by the fall ; in fact, mangled to a shapeless 
 mass, and exhibited a most loathsome and hideous sight. 
 
 The unfeeling hunter recked not of this. With a coarse 
 jest he stooped over the body ; and severing the scalp, stuck 
 it, reeking and bloody, behind the waist of his calzoneros 1 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 DACOMA. 
 
 E all now 
 hurried for- 
 ward to the 
 spring, and, 
 dismounting, turned 
 our horses' heads to 
 the water, leaving 
 them to drink at will. 
 We had no fear of 
 their running away. 
 
 Our own thirst re- 
 quired slaking as much 
 as theirs ; and, crowd- 
 ing into the branch, 
 we poured the cold water down our throats in cupf uls. We 
 felt as though we should never be surfeited ; but another 
 appetite, equally strong, lured us away from the spring ; and 
 we ran over the camp-ground in search of the means to gratify 
 it. We scattered the coyotes and white wolves with our 
 shouts, and drove them with missiles from the ground. 
 
 We were about stooping to pick up the dust-covered mor- 
 sels, when a strange exclamation from one of the hunters 
 caused us to look hastily round. 
 
 " Malaray, camarados ; mira el arco I 
 223 
 
 111 /!)'-- i fI!!i 
 
224 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The Mexican who uttered these words stood pointing to 
 an object that lay upon the ground at his feet. We ran up 
 to ascertain what it was. 
 
 "Caspita!" again ejaculated the man. "It is a white 
 bow ! " 
 
 " A white bow, by gosh ! " echoed Garey. 
 
 " A white bow ! " shouted several others, eyeing the object 
 with looks of astonishment and alarm. 
 
 " That belonged to a big warrior, I'll sartify," said Garey. 
 
 " Ay," added another, " an' one that'll ride back for it, as 
 soon as Holies ! look yonder ! he's coming, by ! " 
 
 Our eyes rolled over the prairie together, eastward as the 
 speaker pointed. An object was just visible low down on 
 the horizon, like a moving blazing star. It was not that. 
 At a glance we all knew what it was. It was a helmet, flash- 
 ing under the sunbeam, as it rose and fell to the measured 
 gallop of a horse. 
 
 " To the willows, men ! to the willows ! " shouted Seguin. 
 " Drop the bow 1 Leave it where it was. To your horses ! 
 Lead them I Crouch ! crouch ! " 
 
 We all ran to our horses, and, seizing the bridles, half- 
 led, half-dragged them within the willow thicket. We leaped 
 into our saddles, so as to be ready for any emergency, and 
 sat peering through the leaves that screened us. 
 
 " Shall we fire as he comes up, captain ? " asked one of 
 the men. 
 
 " No." 
 
 " We kin take him nicely, just as he stoops for the bow." 
 
 " No ; not for your lives I " 
 
 " What then, captain ? " 
 
 " Let him take it and go," was Seguin 's reply. 
 
 " Why, captain ? what's that for ? " 
 
 " Fools ! do you not see that the whole tribe would be 
 back upon our trail before midnight ? Are you mad ? Let 
 
DACOMA. 225 
 
 him go. He may not notice our tracks, as our horses are 
 not shod. If so, let him go as he came, I tell you." 
 
 " But how, captain, if he squints yonderway. 
 
 Garey, as he said this, pointed to the rocks at the foot of 
 the mountain. 
 
 " Sac-r-r-re Dieu ! the digger ! " exclaimed Seguin, his 
 countenance changing expression. 
 
 The body lay on a conspicuous point, on its face, the 
 crimson skull turned upward and outward, so that it could 
 hardly fail to attract the eye of any one coming in from the 
 plain. Several coyotes had already climbed up on the slab 
 where it lay, and were smelling around it, seemingly not 
 caring to touch the hideous morsel. 
 
 " He's bound to see it, captain," added the hunter. 
 
 " If so, we must take him with the lance, the lasso, or alive. 
 No gun must be fired. They might still hear it, and would 
 be on us before we could get round the mountain. No ! 
 sling your guns ! Let those who have lances and bssoes get 
 them in readiness." 
 
 " When would you have us make the dash, captain ? " 
 
 " Leave that to me. Perhaps he may dismount for the 
 bow ; or, if not, he may ride into the spring to water his 
 horse, then Ave can surround him. If he see the Digger's 
 body, he may pass up to examine it more closely. In that 
 case we can intercept him without difficulty. Be patient ! 
 I shall give you the signal." 
 
 During all this time, the Navajo was coming up at a 
 regular gallop. As the dialogue ended, he had got within 
 about three hundred yards of the spring, and still pressed 
 forward without slacking his pace. We kept our gaze fixed 
 upon him in breathless silence, eyeing both man and horse. 
 
 It was a splendid sight. The horse was a large coal-black 
 mustang, with fiery eyes and red open nostrils. He was 
 foaming at the mouth, and the white flakes had clouted his 
 
226 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 throat, counter, and shoulders. He was wet all over, and 
 glittered as he moved with the play of his proud flanks. 
 The rider was naked from the waist up, excepting his hel- 
 met and plumes, and some ornaments that glistened on his 
 neck, bosom, and wrists. A tunic-like skirt, bright and 
 embroidered, covered his hips and thighs. Below the knee 
 
 A Mexican Lasso, Braided with Strands of Rawhide. 
 
 his legs were naked, ending in a buskined mocassin, that 
 fitted tightly round the ankle. Unlike the Apache's, there 
 was no paint upon his body, and his bronze complexion 
 shone with the hue of health. His features were noble and 
 warlike, his eye bold and piercing, and his long black hair 
 swept away behind him, mingling with the tail of his horse. 
 He rode upon a Spanish saddle with his lance poised on the 
 stirrup, and resting lightly against his right arm. His left 
 
DACOMA. 227 
 
 was thrust through the strap of a white shield, and a quiver 
 with its feathered shafts peeped over his shoulder. 
 
 His bow was before him. 
 
 It was a splendid sight, both horse and rider, as they rose 
 together over the green swells of the prairie ; a picture more 
 like that of some Homeric hero than a savage of the " wild 
 west." 
 
 " Wagh ! " exclaimed one of the hunters in an undertone ; 
 " how they glitter ! Look at that 'ar headpiece ! It's fairly 
 a-blazin' ! " 
 
 " Ay," rejoined Garey, " we may thank the piece o' brass. 
 We'd have been in as ugly a fix as he's in now if we hadn't 
 sighted it in time. What ! " continued the trapper, his voice 
 rising into earnestness ; " Dacoma, by the Etarnal ! The 
 second chief of the Navajoes ! " 
 
 I turned toward Seguin to witness the effect of this 
 announcement. The Maricopa was leaning over to him, 
 muttering some words in an unknown tongue, and gesticu- 
 lating with energy. I recognized the name " Dacoma," and 
 there was an expression of fierce hatred in the chief's coun- 
 tenance as he pointed to the advancing horseman. 
 
 " Well, then," answered Seguin, apparently assenting to 
 the wishes of the other, " he shall not escape, whether he 
 sees it or no. But do not use your gun : they are not ten 
 miles off : yonder behind the swell. We can easily surround 
 him. If not, /can overtake him on this horse, and here's 
 another. 
 
 As Seguin uttered the last speech he pointed to Moro. 
 " Silence 1 " he continued, lowering his voice. " Hish-sh ! " 
 
 The silence became death-like. Each man sat pressing 
 his horse with his knees, as if thus to hold him at rest. 
 1 The Navajo had now reached the border of the deserted 
 camp ; and inclining to the left, he galloped down the line, 
 scattering the wolves as he went. He sat leaning to one 
 
228 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 side, his gaze searching the ground. When nearly opposite 
 to 'our ambush, he descried the object of his search, and 
 sliding his feet out of the stirrup, guided his horse so as to 
 shave closely past it. Then, without reining in, or even 
 slacking his pace, he bent over until his plume swept the 
 earth, and picking up the bow, swung himself back into the 
 saddle. 
 
 " Beautiful ! " exclaimed the bull-fighter. 
 
 " By gosh ! it's a pity to kill him," muttered a hunter ; 
 and a low murmur of admiration was heard among the men. 
 
 After a few more springs, the Indian suddenly wheeled, 
 and was about to gallop back, when his eye was caught by 
 the ensanguined object upon the rock. He reined in with a 
 jerk, until the hips of his horse almost rested upon the 
 prairie, and sat gazing upon the body with a look of surprise. 
 
 " Beautiful 1 " again exclaimed Sanchez ; " carrambo, 
 beautiful ! " 
 
 It was, in effect, as fine a picture as ever the eye looked 
 upon. The horse with his tail scattered upon the ground, 
 with crest erect and breathing nostril, quivering under the 
 impulse of his masterly rider ; the rider himself, with his 
 glancing helmet and waving plumes, his bronze complexion, 
 his firm and graceful seat, and his eye fixed in the gaze of 
 wonder. 
 
 It was, as Sanchez had said, a beautiful picture — a living 
 statue ; and all of us were filled with admiration as we looked 
 upon it. Not one of the party with perhaps an exception, 
 should have liked to fire the shot that would have tumbled 
 it from its pedestal. 
 
 Horse and man remained in this attitude for some mo- 
 ments. Then the expression of the rider's countenance 
 suddenly changed. His eye wandered with an inquiring 
 and somewhat terrified look. It rested upon the water, still 
 muddy with the trampling of our horses. 
 
DACOMA. 229 
 
 One glance was sufficient ; and, with a quick, strong jerk 
 upon the bridle, the savage horseman wheeled, and struck 
 out for the prairie. 
 
 Our charging signal had been given at the same instant ; and 
 springing forward, we shot out of the copse-wood in a body. 
 
 We had to cross the rivulet. Seguin was some paces in 
 advance as we rode forward to it. I saw his horse suddenly 
 balk, stumble over the bank, and roll headlong into the water 1 
 
 The rest of us went splashing through. I did not stop 
 to look back. I knew that now the taking of the Indian 
 was life or death to all of us ; and I struck my spur deeply, 
 and strained forward in the pursuit. 
 
 For some time we all rode together in a dense " clump." 
 When fairly out on the plain, we saw the Indian ahead of 
 us about a dozen lengths of his horse, and one and all felt 
 with dismay that he was keeping his distance, if not actually 
 increasing it. 
 
 We had forgotten the condition of our animals. They 
 were faint with hunger, and stiff from standing so long in 
 the ravine. Moreover, they had just drunk to a surfeit. 
 
 I soon found that I was forging ahead of my companions. 
 The superior swiftness of Moro gave me the advantage. 
 El Sol was still before me. I saw him circling his lasso ; 
 I saw him launch it, and suddenly jerk up ; I saw the loop 
 sliding over the hips of the flying mustang. He had missed 
 his aim. 
 
 He was recoiling the rope as I shot past him, and I 
 noticed his look of chagrin and disappointment. 
 
 My Arab had now warmed to the chase, and I was soon 
 far ahead of my comrades. I perceived, too, that I was 
 closing upon the Navajo. Every spring brought me nearer, 
 until there were not a dozen lengths between us. 
 
 I knew not how to act. I held my rifle in my hands, and 
 could have shot the Indian in the back ; but I remembered 
 
230 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 the injunction of Seguin, and we were now closer to the enemy 
 than ever. I did not know but that we might be in sight of 
 them. I dared not fire. 
 
 I was still undecided whether to use my knife or endeavor 
 to unhorse the Indian with my clubbed rifle, when he glanced 
 over his shoulder and saw that I was alone. 
 
 Suddenly he wheeled, and, throwing his lance to a charge, 
 came galloping back. His horse seemed to work without 
 the rein, obedient to his voice and the touch of his knees. 
 
 I had just time to throw up my rifle and parry the charge, 
 which was a right point. I did not parry it successfully. 
 The blade grazed my arm, tearing my flesh. The barrel of 
 my rifle caught in the sling of the lance, and the piece was 
 whipped out of my hands. 
 
 The wound, the shock, and the loss of my weapon, had 
 discomposed me in the manege of my horse, and it was some 
 time before I could gain the bridle to turn him. My antag- 
 onist had wheeled sooner, as I knew by the " hist " of an 
 arrow that scattered the curls over my right ear. As I faced 
 him again another was on the string, and the next moment 
 it was sticking through my left arm. 
 
 I was now angry ; and, drawing a pistol from the holster, 
 I cocked it, and galloped forward. I knew it was the only 
 chance for my life. 
 
 The Indian, at the same time, dropped his bow. and, 
 bringing his lance to the charge, spurred on to meet me. I 
 was determined not to fire until near and sure of hitting. 
 
 We closed at full gallop. Our horses almost touched. I 
 leveled, and pulled trigger. The cap snapped upon my 
 pistol 1 
 
 The lance blade glittered in my eyes ; its point was at my 
 breast. Something struck me sharply in the face. It was 
 the ring-loop of a lasso. I saw it settle over the shoulders 
 of the Indian, falling to his elbows. It tightened as it fell. 
 
DACOMA. 231 
 
 There was a wild yell, a quick jerk of my antagonist's body, 
 the lance flew from his hands, and the next moment he was 
 plucked out of his saddle, and lying helpless upon the 
 prairie. 
 
 His horse met mine with a concussion that sent both of 
 them to the earth. We rolled and scrambled about, and 
 rose again. 
 
 When I came to my feet El Sol was standing over the 
 Navajo, with his knife drawn, and his lasso looped around 
 the arms of his captive. 
 
 " The horse ! the horse ! secure the horse ! " shouted Seguin, 
 as he galloped up ; and the crowd dashed past me in pursuit 
 of the mustang, which, with trailing bridle, was scouring over 
 the prairie. 
 
 In a few minutes the animal was lassoed, and led back to 
 the spot so near being made sacred with my grave. 
 
Indian Utensils, Ornaments, etc. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 A DINNER WITH TWO DISHES. 
 
 L SOL, I have said was 
 standing over the pros- 
 trate Indian. His coun- 
 tenance indicated the 
 blending of two emotions, hate 
 and triumph. 
 
 His sister at this moment gal- 
 loped up, and, leaping from her 
 ' J k horse, advanced rapidly forward. 
 
 " Behold ! " said he, pointing to the Navajo chief : 
 " behold the murderer of our mother ! " 
 
 The girl uttered a short, sharp exclamation ; and, draw- 
 ing a knife, rushed upon the captive. 
 
 " No, Luna 1 " cried El Sol, putting her aside ; " no ; we 
 are not assassins. That is not revenge. He shall not yet 
 die. We will show him alive to the squaws of the Maricopa. 
 They shall dance the mamanchic over this great chief — this 
 warrior captured without a wound I " 
 2 3 3 
 
A DINNER WITH TWO DISHES. 233 
 
 El Sol uttered these words in a contemptuous tone. The 
 effect was visible on the Navajo. 
 
 " Dog of a Coco ! " cried he, making an involuntary strug- 
 gle to free himself ; " dog of a Coco ! leagued with the pale 
 robbers. Dog ! " 
 
 " Ha ! you remember me, Dacoma ? It is well " 
 
 " Dog ! " again ejaculated the Navajo, interrupting him ; 
 and the words hissed through his teeth, while his eye glared 
 with an expression of the fiercest malignity. 
 
 " He ! he ! " cried Rube, at this moment galloping up ; 
 " he ! he ! that Injun's as savagerous as a meat-ax. Lamm 
 
 him ! d n him ! Warm his collops wi' the bull rope : 
 
 he's warmed my old mar. Nick syrup him ! " 
 
 " Let us look to your wound, M. Haller," said Seguin, 
 alighting from his horse, and approaching me, as I thought, 
 with an uneasiness of manner. " How is it ? through the 
 flesh ? You are safe enough ; if, indeed, the arrow has not 
 been poisoned. I fear : El Sol ! here ! quick, my friend ! 
 tell me if this point has been dipped." 
 
 " Let us first take it out," replied the Maricopa, coming 
 up ; " we shall lose no time by that." 
 
 The arrow was sticking through my forearm. The barb 
 had pierced through the flesh, until about half of the shaft 
 appeared on the opposite side. 
 
 El Sol caught the feather end in both his hands, and 
 snapped it at the lapping. He then took hold of the barb 
 and drew it gently out of the wound. 
 
 " Let it bleed," said he, " till I have examined the point. 
 It does not look like a war-shaft ; but the Navajoes use 
 a very subtle poison. Fortunately I possess the means of 
 detecting it, as well as its antidote." 
 
 As he said this, he took from his pouch a tuft of raw 
 cotton. With this he rubbed the blood lightly from the 
 blade. He then drew forth a small stone phial, and, 
 
234 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 pouring a few drops of liquid upon the metal, watched the 
 result. 
 
 I waited with no slight feeling of uneasiness. Seguin 
 too, appeared anxious ; and as I knew that he must have 
 oftentimes witnessed the effect of a poisoned arrow, I did not 
 feel very comfortable, seeing him watch the assaying process 
 with so much apparent anxiety. I knew there was danger 
 where he dreaded it. 
 
 " M. Haller, said El Sol, at length, " you are in luck this 
 time. I think I may call it luck, for your antagonist has 
 surely some in his quiver not quite so harmless as this one. " 
 
 " Let me see," he added ; and, stepping up to the Navajo, 
 he drew another arrow from the quiver that still remained 
 slung upon the Indian's back. After subjecting the blade 
 to a similar test, he exclaimed — 
 
 " I told you so. Look at this, green as a plantain ! He 
 fired two ; where is the other ? Comrades, help me to find 
 it. Such a tell-tale as that must not be left behind us." 
 
 Several of the men leaped from their horses, and searched 
 for the shaft that had been shot first. I pointed out the 
 direction and probable distance as near as I could, and in a 
 few moments it was picked up. 
 
 El Sol took it, and poured a few drops of his liquid on 
 the blade. It turned green like the other. 
 
 " You may thank your saints, M. Haller," said the Coco, 
 " it was not this one made that hole in your arm, else it 
 would have taken all the skill of Doctor Reichter and myself 
 to have saved you. But what's this ? Another wound ! 
 Ha I He touched you as he made his right point. Let me 
 look at it." 
 
 " I think it is only a scratch." 
 
 " This is a strange climate, M. Haller. I have seen such 
 scratches become mortal wounds when not sufficiently val- 
 ued. Luna ! Some cotton, sis ! I shall endeavor to dress 
 
A DINNER WITH TWO DISHES. 235 
 
 yours so that you need not fear that result. You deserve 
 that much at my hands. But for you, sir, he would have 
 escaped me." 
 
 " But for you, sir, he would have killed me." 
 
 " Well," replied the Coco, with a smile, " it is possible you 
 would not have come off so well. Your weapon played you 
 false. It is hardly just to expect a man to parry a lance- 
 point with a clubbed rifle, though it was beautifully done. 
 I do not wonder that you pulled trigger in the second joust. 
 I intended doing so myself, had the lasso failed me again. 
 But we are in luck both ways. You must sling this arm for 
 a day or two. Luna ! that scarf of yours." 
 
 " No ! " said I, as the girl proceeded to unfasten a beautiful 
 scarf which she wore around her waist ; " you shall not : I 
 will find something else." 
 
 " Here, mister ; if this will do," interposed the young trap- 
 per Garey, " you are heartily welcome to it. 
 
 As Garey said this, he pulled a colored handkerchief out * 
 of the breast of his hunting-shirt, and held it forth. 
 
 " You are very kind ; thank you ! " I replied, although I 
 knew on whose account the kerchief was given ; " you will 
 be pleased to accept this in return." And I offered him one 
 of my small revolvers : a weapon that, at that time and in 
 that place, was worth its weight in pearls. 
 
 The mountain man knew this, and very gracefully accepted 
 the proffered gift ; but much as he might have prized it, I 
 saw that he was still more gratified with a simple smile that 
 he received from another quarter, and I felt certain that the 
 scarf would soon change owners, at any rate. 
 
 I watched the countenance of El Sol to see if he had no- 
 ticed or approved of this little by-play. I could perceive no 
 unusual emotion upon it. He was busy with my wounds, 
 which he dressed in a manner that would have done credit 
 to a member of the R. C. S. 
 
236 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 "Now," said he, when he had finished, " you will be ready 
 for as much more fighting in a couple of days at the farthest. 
 You have a bad bridle-arm, M. Haller, but the best horse I 
 ever saw. I do not wonder at your refusing to sell him. 
 
 Most of the conversation had been carried on in English ; 
 and it was spoken by the Coco chief with an accent and em- 
 phasis, to my ear, as good as I had ever heard. He spoke 
 French, too, like a Parisian ; and it was in this language that 
 he usually conversed with Seguin. I wondered at all this. 
 
 The men had remounted with the intention of returning 
 to the camp. Extreme hunger was now prompting us : and 
 we commenced riding back to partake of the repast so un- 
 ceremoniously interrupted. 
 
 At a short distance from the camp we dismounted, and, 
 picketing our horses upon the grass, walked forward to search 
 for the stray steaks and ribs we had lately seen in plenty. 
 A new chagrin awaited us ; not a morsel of flesh remained ! 
 The cayotes had taken advantage of our absence, and we 
 could see nothing around us but naked bones. The thighs 
 and ribs of the buffaloes had been polished as if scraped 
 with a knife. Even the hideous carcass of the Digger had 
 become a shining skeleton ! 
 
 " Wagh ! " exclaimed one of the hunters ; " wolf now or 
 nothing ; hyar goes ! " and the man leveled his rifle. 
 
 " Hold ! " exclaimed Seguin, seeing the act. " Are you 
 mad, sir ? " 
 
 " I reckon not, capt'n," replied the hunter, doggedly bring- 
 ing down his piece. " We must eat, I s'pose. I see nothin' 
 but them about ; an' how are we goin' to get them 'ithout 
 shootin' ? " 
 
 Seguin made no reply, except by pointing to the bow which 
 El Sol was making ready. 
 
 " Eh-ho ! " added the hunter ; " yer right, capt'n. I asks 
 pardon. I had forgot that piece o' bone." 
 
A DINNER WITH TWO DISHES. 237 
 
 The Coco took an arrow from the quiver, and tried the 
 head with the assaying liquid. It proved to be a hunting 
 shaft ; and, adjusting it to the string, he sent it through the 
 body of a white wolf, killing it instantly. He took up the 
 shaft again, and wiping the feather, shot another, and another, 
 until the bodies of five or six of these animals lay stretched 
 upon the ground. 
 
 " Kill a coyote when ye're about it," shouted one of the 
 hunters ; " gentlemen like we oughter have leastwise two 
 courses to our dinner." 
 
 The men laughed at this rough sally ; and El Sol, smiling, 
 again picked up the arrow, and sent it whizzing through the 
 body of one of the coyotes. 
 
 " I think that will be enough for one meal, at all events," 
 said El Sol, recovering the arrow, and putting it back into 
 the quiver. 
 
 " Ay ! " replied the wit ; " if we wants more we kin go 
 back to the larder agin. It's a kind o' meat that eats better 
 fresh, anyhow." 
 
 " Well, it diz, hoss. Wagh 1 I'm in for a griskin o' the 
 white. Hyar goes ! " 
 
 The hunters, laughing, at the humor of their comrades, 
 drew their shining knives, and set about skinning the wolves. 
 The adroitness with which this operation was performed 
 showed that it was by no means new to them. 
 
 In a short time the animals were stripped of their hides 
 and quarters ; and each man, taking his quarter, commenced 
 roasting it over the fire. 
 
 " Fellers ! what d'ye call this anyhow ? Beef or mutton ? " 
 asked one, as they began to eat. 
 
 " Wolf-mutton, I reckin," was the reply. 
 
 " It's dog-gone good eatin', I say ; peels off as tender as 
 squ'll." 
 
 " It's some'ut like goat, ain't it ? " 
 
238 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. v 
 
 " Mine tastes more like dog to me." 
 
 " It ain't bad at all ; better than poor bull any day." 
 
 " I'd like it a heap better if I war sure the thing hadn't 
 been up to yon varmint on the rocks." And the man who 
 said this pointed to the skeleton of the Digger. 
 
 The idea was horrible, and under other circumstances 
 would have acted as a sufficient emetic. 
 
 " Wagh 1 " exclaimed a hunter ; " )^e've 'most taken away 
 my stammuck. I was a-goin' to try the coyoat afore ye 
 spoke. I won't now, for I seed them smellin' about him afore 
 we rid off." 
 
 " I say, old case, you don't mind it, do ye ? " 
 
 This was addressed to Rube, who was busy on his rib, 
 and made no reply. 
 
 " He ? not he," said another, answering for him. " Rube's 
 ate a heap o' queery tit-bits in his time. Hain't ye, Rube ? " 
 
 " Ay, an' afore yur be as long in the mountains as this 
 child, 'ee'll be glad to get yur teeth over wuss chawin's than 
 wolfmeat : see if 'ee don't, young fellur." 
 
 " Man-meat, I reckin ? " 
 
 " Ay, that's what Rube means." 
 
 " Boyees ! " said Rube, not heeding the remark, and ap- 
 parently in good humor, now that he was satisfying his 
 appetite ; " what's the nassiest thing, leavin' out man-meat, 
 any o' 'ees iver chawed ? " 
 
 " Woman-meat, I reckin." 
 
 " 'Ee chuckle-headed fool ! yur needn't be so peert now, 
 showin' yur smartness when 'tain't called for nohow." 
 
 "Wal, leavin' out man-meat, as you say," remarked one of 
 the hunters in answer to Rube's question, " a muss-rat's the 
 meanest thing I ever set teeth on." 
 
 " I've chawed sage hare — raw at that," said a second, 
 " an' I don't want to eat anything that's bitterer." 
 
 " Owl's no great eatin'," added a third. 
 
A DINNER WITH TWO DISHES. 239 
 
 " I've ate skunk," continued a fourth ; " an' I've ate 
 sweeter meat in my time." 
 
 " Carajo I " exclaimed a Mexican, " what do you think of 
 monkey ? I have dined upon that down south many's the 
 time." 
 
 " Wal, I guess monkey's but tough chawin's ; but I've 
 sharped my teeth on dry burner hide, and it wa'n't as tender 
 as it mout' a been." 
 
 " This child," said Rube, after the rest had given in their 
 experience, " leavin' monkey to the beside, have ate all them 
 critturs as has been named yet. Monkey he hain't, bein' as 
 thur's none o' 'em in these parts. It may be tough, or it 
 mayn't ; it may be bitter, an' it mayn't, for what I knows 
 to the contrairywise ; but, oncest on a time, this niggur 
 chawed a varmint that wa'n't much sweeter, if it wur as 
 sweet." 
 
 "What was it, Rube ? " " What was it ? " asked several 
 in a breath, curious to know what the old trapper could have 
 eaten more unpalatable than the viands already named." 
 
 " 'Twur turkey-buzzart then ; that's what it wur." 
 
 " Turkey-buzzard ! " echoed every one. 
 
 " 'Twa'n't anythin' else." 
 
 " Wagh ! that was a stinkin' pill, an' no mistake." 
 
 " That beats me all hollow." 
 
 " And when did ye eat the buzzard, old boy ? " asked one, 
 suspecting that there might be a " story " connected with 
 this feat of the earless trapper. 
 
 " Ay ! tell us that, Rube ; tell us ! " cried several. 
 
 " Wal," commenced Rube, after a moment's silence, 
 'twur about six yeern ago, I wur set afoot on the Arkansaw, 
 by the Rapahoes, leastwise two hunder mile below the big 
 Timmer. The cussed skunks tuk hoss, beaver, an' all. He ! 
 he I " continued the speaker with a chuckle ; " he 1 he ! they 
 mout 'a did as well an' let ole Rube alone." 
 
240 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " I reckon that, too," remarked a hunter. " 'Tain't like 
 they made much out o' that speckelashun. Well — about the 
 buzzard ? " 
 
 " 'Ee see, I wur cleaned out, an' left with jest a pair o' 
 leggins, better than two hunder miles from anywhur. Bent's 
 wur the nearest ; an' I tuk up the river in that direkshun. 
 
 " I never seed varmint o' all kinds as shy. They wudn't 
 
 'a been, d n 'em ! if I'd 'a had my traps ; but there wa'n't 
 
 a critter, from the minners in the water to the bufflers on 
 the paraira, that didn't look like they knowed how this niggur 
 were fixed. I kud git nuthin' for two days but lizard, an' 
 scarce at that." 
 
 " Lizard's but poor eatin'," remarked one. 
 
 " 'Ee may say that. This hyur thigh jeint's fat cow to it 
 — it are." 
 
 And Rube, as he said this, made a fresh attack upon the 
 " wolf-mutton." 
 
 " I chawed up the ole leggins, till I wur as naked as Gfoim- 
 ley Rock." 
 
 " Gollies ! was it winter ? " 
 
 " No. 'Twur calf-time, an' warm enuf for that matter.. I 
 didn't mind the want o' the buckskin that away, but I kud 
 'a eat more o' it. 
 
 " The third day I struck a town o' sand-rats. This nig- 
 gur's har wur longer then than it ar now. I made snares 
 o' it, an' trapped a lot o' the rats ; but they grew shy too, 
 cuss 'em ! an' I had to quit that speck'lashun. This wur 
 the third day from the time I'd been set down, an' I wur 
 getting nasty weak on it. I 'gin to think that the time wur 
 come for this child to go under. 
 
 " 'Twur a leetle arter sun-up, an' I wur sittin' on the bank, 
 when I seed somethin' queery floatin' a-down the river. 
 When I kim closer, I seed it wur the karkidge o' a buffler — 
 calf at that — an' a couple o' buzzarts floppin' about on the 
 
A DINNER WITH TWO DISHES. 24I 
 
 thing, pickin' its peepers out. 'Twur far out, an' the water 
 deep ; but I'd made up my mind to fetch it ashore. I wan't 
 long in stripping I reckin." 
 
 Here the hunters interrupted Rube's story witl a laugh. 
 
 " I tuk the water, an' swam out. I kud smell the thing 
 afore I wur half way, an' when I got near it, the birds miz- 
 zled. I wur soon clost up, an' seed at a glimp that the calf 
 wur as rotten as punk." 
 
 " What a pity 1 " exclaimed one of the hunters. 
 
 " I wa'nt a-gwine to have my swim for nuthin' ; so I tuk 
 the tail in my teeth, an' swam back for the shore. I hadn't 
 made three strokes till the tail pulled out ! 
 
 " I then swum round ahint the karkidge, an' pushed it 
 afore me till I got it landed high an' dry upon a sandbar. 
 'Twur like to fall to pieces, when I pulled it out o' the water. 
 Two! n't eatable nohow ! " 
 
 Here Rube took a fresh mouthful of the wolf-mutton, and 
 remained silent until he had masticated it. The men had 
 become interested in the story, and waited with impatience. 
 At length he proceeded — 
 
 " I seed the buzzarts still flyin' about, an' fresh ones a- 
 comin'. I tuk a idee that I mout git my claws upon some 
 o' 'em. So I lay down clost up agin the calf, an' played 
 'possum. 
 
 " I wa'n't long that a-way when the birds begun to light 
 on the sandbar, an' a big cock kim floppin' up to the kar- 
 kidge. Afore he kud flop off agin, I grupped him by the 
 legs." 
 
 " Hooraw I well done, by gollies ! " 
 
 " The cussed thing wur nearly as stinkin' as t'other, but 
 it wur die dog — buzzart or calf — so I skinned the buzzart." 
 
 " And ate it ? " inquired an impatient listener. 
 
 " No-o," slowly drawled Rube, apparently " miffed " at 
 being thus interrupted. " It ate me." 
 16 
 
242 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The laugh that followed this retort restored the old trapper 
 to good humor again. 
 
 " Did you go it raw, Rube ? " asked one of the hunters. 
 
 " How could he do otherwise ? He hadn't a spark o' fire, 
 an' nothing to make one out of." 
 
 " Yur netarnal fool 1 " exclaimed Rube, turning savagely 
 on the last speaker. " I kud make a fire if thur wa'n't a 
 spark nearer than h — 1 ! " 
 
 A wild yell of laughter followed this dreadful speech, and 
 it was some minutes before the trapper recovered his temper 
 sufficiently to resume his narration. 
 
 " The rest o' the birds," continued he at length, " seein' 
 the ole cock rubbed out, grew shy, and kep away on t'other 
 side o' the river. 'Twa'n't no use tryin' that dodge over 
 agin. Jest then I spied a coyoat comin' lopin' down the 
 bank, an' another follerin' upon his heels, an two or three 
 more on the same trail. I know 'd it wud be no joke grup- 
 pin' one o' them by the leg, but I made up my mind to try 
 it ; an' I lay down jest as afore, clost up to the calf. 'Twur 
 no go. The cunnin' things see'd the float-stick, an' kep clur 
 o' the karkidge. I wur a-gwine to cacher under some bush 
 that wur by, an' I begun to carry it up, when all of a suddint 
 I tuk a fresh idee in my head. I seed thur wur drift-wood 
 a plenty on the bank, so I fotched it up, an' built a pen-trap 
 roun' about the calf. In the twinklin' o' a goat's eye I had 
 six varmints in the trap." 
 
 " Hooraw ! Ye war safe then, old hoss." 
 
 " I tuk a lot o' stones an' then clomb up on the pen, an' 
 killed the hul kit on 'em. Lord, boyees ! 'ee never seed 
 sich a snappin', an' snarlin', and jumpin', an' yowltin', as 
 when I peppered them donicks down on 'em. He 1 he I he 1 
 Hoi ho! hoo!" 
 
 And the smoky old sinner chuckled with delight at the 
 remembrance of his adventure. 
 
A DINNER WITH TWO DISHES. 243 
 
 " You reached Bent's then safe enough, I reckin ? " 
 'Ee — es. I skinned the critters wi' a sharp stone, an' 
 made me a sort o' shirt an' leggins. This niggur had no 
 mind, comin' in naked, to gi' them thur joke at the Fort. I 
 packed enough of the wolf-meat to last me up, an' I got thur 
 in less'n a week. Bill wur thur himself, an' 'ee all know Bill 
 Bent. He know'd me. I wa'n't in the Fort a half an hour 
 till I wur spick span in new buckskins, wi' a new rifle ; an' 
 that rifle wur Tar-guts, now afore ye." 
 
 " Ha ! you got Tear-guts thar then ? " 
 
 " I got Tar-guts thar then, an' a gun she ur. He ! he ! 
 he ! 'Twa'n't long arter I got her till I tried her. He ! he 1 
 he ! Ho ! ho 1 hoo ! " 
 
 And the old trapper went off into another fit of chuck- 
 ling. 
 
 " What are ye laughin' at now, Rube ? " asked one of his 
 comrades. 
 
 " He ! he ! he ! What am I larfin' at ! He ! he ! he ! 
 Ho ! ho! That ur the crisp o' the joke. He ! he ! he 1 
 What am I larfin' at ? " 
 
 " Yes ; tell us, man ! " 
 
 " It are this then I'm a-larfin' at," replied Rube, sobering 
 down a little, " I wa'n't at Bent's three days when who do 
 'ee think shed kum to the Fort ? " 
 
 " Who ? Maybe the Rapahoes ? " 
 
 " Them same Injuns ; an' the very niggurs as set me 
 afoot. They kum to the Fort to trade wi' Bill, an' thur I 
 sees both my old mar an' rifle ! " 
 
 " You got them back then ? " 
 
 " That wur likely. Thur wur a sight o' mountainy men 
 thur, at the time, that wa'n't the fellurs to see this child put 
 down on the parairar for nuthin'. Yander's the critter ! " 
 and Rube pointed to the old mare. " The rifle I gin to 
 Bill, an' kep Tar-guts instead, seein' she wur a better gun." 
 
244 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " So you got square with the Rapahoes ? " 
 
 " That, young fellur, just rests on what 'ee 'ud call squar. 
 Do 'ee see these hyur nicks : them standin' sep'rate ? " 
 
 And the trapper pointed to a row of small notches cut in 
 the stock of his rifle. 
 
 " Ay, ay ! " cried several men in reply. 
 
 " Thur's five o' 'em, ain't thur ? " 
 
 " One, two, three ; yes, five." 
 
 " Them's Rapahoes!" 
 
 Rube's story was ended. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 BLINDING THE PURSUER A TRAPPER'S RUSE. 
 
 Y this time the men 
 had finished eating, 
 and now began to 
 gather around Seguin, 
 for the purpose of deliberating 
 on what course we should pur- 
 sue. One had already been 
 sent up to the rocks to act as a 
 vidette, and warn us in case any 
 of the Indians should be de- 
 scried upon the prairie. 
 
 We all felt that we were still 
 in a dilemma. The Navajo was our captive, and his men, 
 would come to seek for him. He was too important a 
 personage (second chief of the nation) to be abandoned 
 without a search, and his own followers, nearly half of the 
 tribe, would certainly be back to the spring. Not finding 
 him there, should they not discover our tracks, they would 
 return upon the war-trail to their country. 
 
 This, we all saw, would render our expedition impractica- 
 ble, as Dacoma's band alone outnumbered us ; and should 
 we meet them in their mountain fastnesses, we should have 
 no chance of escape. 
 
 245 
 
246 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 For some time Seguin remained silent, with his eyes fixed 
 on the ground. He was evidently tracing out in his mind 
 some plan of action. None of the hunters chose to inter- 
 rupt him. 
 
 " Comrades ! " said he at length, " this is an unfortunate 
 coup, but it could not be avoided. It is well it is no worse. 
 As it is, we must alter our plans. They will be sure to re- 
 turn on his track, and follow their own trail back to the 
 Navajo towns. What then ? Our band cannot either come 
 on to the Pinon or cross the war-trail at any point. They 
 would discover our tracks to a certainty." 
 
 " Why, can't we go straight up to whar the rest's cached, 
 and then take round by the old mine ? That won't interfere 
 with the war-trail nohow." 
 
 This was proposed by one of the hunters. 
 
 " Vaya 1 " rejoined a Mexican ; " we should meet the 
 Navajoes just when we had got to their town ! Carrai ! that 
 would never do, amigo. There wouldn't many of us get 
 back again. Santissima ! No." 
 
 " We ain't obleeged to meet them," argued the first speaker. 
 " They're not a-goin' to stop at thur town when they find the 
 nigger hain't been back." 
 
 " It is true," said Seguin, " they will not remain there. 
 They will doubtless return on the war-trail again ; but I 
 know the country by the mine." 
 
 " So do I ! So do I ! " cried several voices. 
 
 " There is no game," continued Seguin. " We have no 
 provisions ; it is therefore impossible for us to go that way." 
 
 " We couldn't go it, no how." 
 
 " We should starve before we had got through the Mim- 
 bres." 
 
 " Thar's no water that way." 
 
 " No, by gosh 1 not enough to make a drink for a sand- 
 rat." 
 
BLINDING THE PURSUER. 247 
 
 " We must take our chances, then," said Seguin. 
 
 Here he paused thoughtfully, and with a gloomy expres- 
 sion of countenance. 
 
 " We must cross the trail," he continued, " and go by the 
 Prieto, or abandon the expedition." 
 
 The word " Prieto," in opposition to the phrase " abandon 
 the expedition," put the hunters to their wits' end for inven- 
 tion, and plan after plan was proposed ; all, however, end- 
 ing in the probability, in fact certainty, that if adopted, our 
 trail would be discovered by the enemy, and followed up 
 before we could escape back to the Del Norte. They were, 
 therefore, one after another rejected. 
 
 During all this discussion, old Rube had not said a word. 
 The earless trapper was sitting upon the prairie, squat on 
 his hams, tracing out some lines with his bow, and appar- 
 ently laying out the plan of a fortification 1 
 
 " What are ye doin', old hoss ? " inquired one of his com- 
 rades. 
 
 " My hearin' ain't as good as 'twur afore I kim into this 
 cussed country ; but I thought I heerd some o' 'ees say, jest 
 now, we cudn't cross the Pash trail 'ithout bein' followed in 
 two days. That's a dod-rotted lie I It are." 
 
 " How are ye goin' to prove it, hoss ? " 
 
 " Chut, man ! yur tongue wags like a beaver's tail in flood- 
 time." 
 
 " Can you suggest any way in which it can be done, 
 Rube ? I confess I see none." 
 
 As Seguin made this appeal, all eyes were turned upon 
 the trapper. 
 
 " Why, cap, I kin surgest my own notion o' the thing. It 
 may be right, an' it mayn't be right ; but if it wur follered 
 out, thur'll be neither Pash nor Navagh that'll smell where 
 we go for a week. If they diz, 'ee may cut my ears off." 
 
 This was a favorite joke with Rube, and the hunters only 
 
248 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 laughed. Seguin himself could not restrain a smile, as he 
 requested the speaker to proceed. 
 
 " Fust an' fo'most, then," said Rube, " thur not a gwine 
 to come arter that nigger in less than two days." 
 
 " How can you tell that ! " 
 
 " This way : — 'Ee see he's only second chief, an' they kin 
 go on well enough 'ithout him. But that ain't it. The Injun 
 forgot his bow : white at that. Now 'ee all knows as well 
 as this child, that that's a big disgrace in the eyes o' Injuns." 
 
 " You're right about that, hoss, remarked one. 
 
 " Wall, so the ole 'coon thinks. Now, 'ee see, it's as plain 
 as Pike's Peak that he kim away back 'ithout tellin' any o' 
 the rest a syllabub about it. He'd not let 'em know if he kud 
 help it." 
 
 " That is not improbable," said Seguin. " Proceed, Rube ! " 
 
 " More 'n that," continued the trapper, " I'll stake high 
 thet he ordered them not to foller him, afeerd thet some on 
 'em mout see what he kim for. If he'd 'a thought they knew 
 or suspected, he'd 'a sent some other, an' not kum himself ; 
 that's what he'd 'a done." 
 
 This was all probable enough ; and with the knowledge 
 which the scalp-hunters possessed of the Navajo character, 
 they one and all believed it to be so. 
 
 " I'm sartint they'll kum back," continued Rube ; " that 
 ur his half o' the tribe, anyways ; but it'll be three days 
 clur, an' well up till another, afore they drinks Peenyun water." 
 
 " But they would strike our trail the day after." 
 
 " If we wur green fools enough to let 'em, they wud." 
 
 " How can we prevent that ? " asked Seguin. 
 
 " Easy as fallin' off a log." 
 
 " How ? how ? " inquired several at once. 
 
 " By puttin' them on another scent, do 'ee see ? ' 
 
 " Yes 1 but in what way can we effect that ? " inquired 
 Seguin. 
 
BLINDING THE PURSUER. 249 
 
 " Why, cap, yur tumble has surely dumfoundered ye. I 
 wud think less o' these other dummies not seein' at a glimp 
 how we kin do it." 
 
 " I confess, Rube," replied Seguin with a smile, " I do not 
 perceive how we can mislead them." 
 
 " Wal, then," continued the trapper, with a chuckle of 
 satisfaction at his own superior prairie-craft, " this child's a- 
 gwyne to tell 'ee how 'ee kin put them on a track that'll jest 
 cany them hellwards." 
 
 " Horraw for you, old hoss ! " 
 
 " 'Ee see a quiver on that Injun's back " ? 
 
 " Ay, ay ! " cried several voices. 
 
 " It's full o' arrows or pretty near it, I reckin." 
 
 " It is. Well ? " 
 
 " Wal, then, let some o' us ride the Injun's mustang : any 
 other critter thet's got the same track '11 do ; away down 
 the Pash trail, an' stick them things pointin' south'art : an' 
 if the Navagh don't travel that a-way till they comes up with 
 the Pashes, 'ee may have this child's har for a plug o' the 
 wust Kaintucky terbaccer. 
 
 "Viva/" " He's right, he's right 1 " " Hooraw for old 
 Rube ! " and various exclamations, were uttered by the 
 hunters. 
 
 " 'Tain't needcessary for them to know why he shud 'a 
 tuk that track. They'll know his arrows ; that's enuf. By 
 the time they gits back, with their fingers in thur meat-traps, 
 we'll hev start enough to carry us from h — to Hackensack." 
 
 " Ay, that we will, by gollies ! " 
 
 "The band," continued Rube, "needn't come to the 
 Peenyun spring no howsomever. They kin cross the war- 
 trail higher up to to'rst the Heeley, an' meet us on t'other 
 side o' the mountain, whur thur's a grist o' game, both cattle 
 an' buffler. A plenty o' both on the ole mission lands, I'll 
 be boun\ We'd hev to go thur anyways. Thur's no hopes 
 
250 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 o' meetin' the buffler this side, arter the splurry them Injuns 
 has gin them." 
 
 " That is true enough," said Seguin. " We must go 
 round the mountain before we can expect to fall in with the 
 buffalo. The Indian hunt has chased them clean off from 
 the Llanos. Come, then ! Let us set about our work at 
 once. We have yet two hours before sunset. What would 
 you do first, Rube ? You have given the plan : I will trust 
 to you for the details." 
 
 " Why, in my opeenyun, cap, the fust thing to be did are 
 to send a man as straight as he can gallip to whur the 
 band's cached. Let him fotch them acrost the trail. 
 
 " Where should they cross, do you think ? " 
 
 " About twenty mile north o' hyur thur's a dry ridge, an' 
 a good grist o' loose donicks. If they cross as they oughter, 
 they needn't make much sign. I kud take a train o' Bent's 
 wagons over, that 'ud puzzle deaf Smith to f oiler 'em. /kud. 
 
 " I will send a man off instantly. Here, Sanchez ! you 
 have a good horse, and know the ground. It is not over 
 twenty miles to where they are cached. Bring them along 
 the ridge, and with caution, as you have heard. You will 
 find us around the north point of the mountain. You can 
 travel all night, and be up with us early in the morning. 
 Away ! " 
 
 The torero, without making any answer, drew his horse 
 from the picket, leaped into the saddle, and rode off at a 
 gallop towards the northwest. 
 
 " It is fortunate," said Seguin, looking after him for some 
 moments, " that they have trampled the ground about here, 
 else the tracks made in our late encounter would certainly 
 have told tales upon us." 
 
 " Thur's no danger about that," rejoined Rube ; " but 
 when we rides from hyur, cap'n we mustn't foller their trail. 
 They'd soon sight our back tracks. We had best keep up 
 
BLINDING THE PURSUER. 25 1 
 
 yander among the loose donicks." Rube pointed to the 
 shingle that stretched north and south along the foot of the 
 mountain. 
 
 " Yes, that shall be our course. We can leave this with- 
 out leaving any tracks. What next ? " 
 
 " The next idee are, to get rid o' yon piece o' machin'ry," 
 and the trapper, as he spoke, nodded in the direction of 
 the skeleton. 
 
 " True ! I had forgotten it. What shall we do with it I " 
 
 " Bury it," advised one. 
 
 " Wagh ! no. Burn it 1 " cried another. 
 
 " Ay, that's best," said a third. 
 
 The last suggestion was adopted. 
 
 The skeleton was brought down ; the stains of the blood 
 were carefully rubbed from the rocks ; the skull was shivered 
 with a tomahawk, and the joints were broken in pieces. 
 The whole mass was then flung upon the fire, and pounded 
 down among numerous bones of the buffalo, already simmer- 
 ing in the cinders. An anatomist only could have detected 
 the presence of a human skeleton. 
 
 " Now, Rube ; the arrows ? " 
 
 " If 'ee'll leave that to me an' Bill Garey, I think them two 
 niggurs kin fix 'em so as to bamfoozle any Injuns thur is in 
 these parts. We'll hev to go three mile or tharabout ; but 
 we'll git back by the time 'ee hev filled yur gourds, an' got 
 yur traps ready for skeetin'." 
 
 " Very well ! take the arrows." 
 
 " Four's gobs for us," sard Rube, taking that number 
 from the quiver. " Keep the rest. 'Ee'll want more wolf- 
 meat afore we start. Thur's not a tail o' anythin' else till 
 we git clur roun' the mountain yander. Billee 1 throw 
 your ugly props over that Navagh mustang. Putty hoss too ; 
 but I wudn't giv my old mar far a hul cavayard o' him. 
 Gi's a sprig o' the black feather." 
 
252 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 Here the old trapper drew one of the ostrich feathers out 
 of the helmet of the Navajo chief, and continued : — 
 
 " Boyees ! take care o' the ole mar till I kum back, an' 
 don't let her stampede, do 'ee hear. I wants a blanket. 
 Don't all speak at oncest ! ' 
 
 " Here, Rube, here ! " cried several, holding out their 
 blankets. 
 
 " E'er a one '11 do. We needs three : Bill's an' mine an' 
 another'n. Hyur, Billee I take these afore ye. Now ride 
 down the Pash trail three hunred yards, or tharabout, an' 
 then pull up. Don't take the beaten pad, but keep along- 
 side, an' make big tracks. Gallop, durn ye ! " 
 
 The young hunter laid his quirt to the flanks of the 
 mustang, and started at full gallop along the Apache' 
 trail. 
 
 When he had ridden a distance of three hundred yards or 
 so, he halted to wait for further directions from his comrade. 
 
 Old Rube, at the same time, took an arrow ; and, fasten- 
 ing a piece of ostrich feather to the barb, adjusted it on 
 one of the upright poles which the Indians had left stand- 
 ing on the camp-ground. It was placed in such a manner 
 that the head pointed southward in the direction of the 
 Apache' trial, and was so conspicuous with the black feather 
 that no one coming in from the Llanos could fail to see it. 
 
 This done he followed his companion on foot, keeping 
 wide out from the trail, and making his tracks with great 
 caution. On coming up with Garey, he stuck a second ar- 
 row in the ground : its point also inclined to the south, and 
 so that it could be seen from the former one. 
 
 Garey then galloped forward, keeping on the trail, while 
 Rube struck out again to the open prairie, and advanced in 
 a line parallel to it. 
 
 Having ridden a distance of two or three miles, Garey 
 slackened his pace, and put the mustang to a slow walk. A 
 
BLINDING THE PURSUER. 253 
 
 little further on he again halted, and held his horse at rest, 
 in the beaten path. 
 
 Rube now came up, and spread the three blankets length- 
 wise along the ground, and leading westward from the trail. 
 Garey dismounted, and led the animal gently on the blankets. 
 
 As its feet rested on two at a time, each, as it became the 
 rearmost, was taken up, and spread again in front ; and this 
 was repeated until they had got the mustang some fifty 
 lengths of himself out into the prairie. The movement was 
 executed with an adroitness equal to that which characterized 
 the feat of Sir Walter Raleigh. 
 
 Garey now took up the blankets, and, remounting, com- 
 menced riding slowly back by the foot of the mountain ; 
 while Rube returned to the trail, and placed a third arrow 
 at the point where the mustang had parted from it. He 
 then proceeded south as before. One more was yet needed 
 to make doubly sure. 
 
 When he had gone about a half-a-mile, we saw him stoop 
 over the trail, rise up again, cross toward the mountain foot, 
 and follow the path taken by his companion. The work was 
 done ; the finger-posts were set ; the ruse was complete ! 
 
 El Sol, meanwhile, had been busy. Several wolves were 
 killed and skinned, and the meat was packed in their skins. 
 The gourds were filled, our captive was tied on a mule, and 
 we stood waiting the return of the trappers. 
 
 Seguin had resolved to leave two men at the spring as 
 videttes. They were to keep their horses by the rocks, and 
 supply them with the mule-bucket, so as to make no fresh 
 tracks at the water. One was to remain constantly on an 
 eminence, and watch the prairie with the glass. They could 
 thus descry the returning Navajoes in time to escape unob- 
 served themselves along the foot of the mountain. They 
 were then to halt at a place ten miles to the north, where 
 they could still have a view of the plain. There they were to 
 
254 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 remam until they had ascertained what direction the Indians 
 should take after leaving the spring, when they were to hurry 
 forward and join the band with their tidings. 
 
 All these arrangements having been completed as Rube 
 and Garey came up, we mounted our horses and rode by a 
 circuitous route for the mountain foot. When close in we 
 found the path strewed with loose cut-rock, upon which the 
 hoofs of our animals left no track. Over this we rode for- 
 ward, heading to the north, and keeping in a line nearly par- 
 allel to the " war-trail." 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 A BUFFALO " SURROUND." 
 
 MARCH of twenty miles brought us 
 to the place where we expected to 
 be joined by the band. We found a 
 small stream heading in the Pinon 
 range, and running westward to the 
 San Pedro. It was fringed with cot- 
 ton-trees and willows, .and with grass in abundance for our 
 horses. Here we encamped, kindled a fire in the thicket, 
 cooked our wolf-mutton, ate it, and went to sleep. 
 
 The band came up in the morning, having traveled all 
 night. Their provisions were spent as well as ours ; and 
 instead of resting our wearied animals, we pushed on through 
 a pass in the sierra in hopes of finding game on the other 
 side. 
 
 About noon we debouched through the mountain pass 
 into a country of " openings " : small prairies, bounded by 
 jungly forests, and interspersed with timber " islands." These 
 prairies were covered with tall grass, and buffalo " signs w 
 
 255 
 
256 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 appeared as we rode into them. We saw their " roads," 
 "chips," and "wallows." 
 
 We saw, moreover, the " bois dt vacht " of the wild cattle. 
 We would soon meet with one or the other. 
 
 We were still on the stream by which we had camped the 
 night before, and we made a " noon halt " to refresh our 
 animals. 
 
 The full-grown forms of the cacti were around us, bearing 
 red and yellow fruit in abundance. We plucked the pears 
 of the pitahaya, and ate them greedily; we found service- 
 berries, yainpa, and roots of the pomme blanche. We dined 
 on fruits and vegetables of various sorts, indigenous only to 
 this wild region. 
 
 But the stomachs of the hunters longed for their favorite 
 food, the " hump ribs " and " boudins " of the buffalo ; and 
 after a halt of two hours, we moved forward through the 
 openings. 
 
 We had ridden about an hour among chapparal, when 
 Rube, who was some paces in advance, acting as guide, 
 turned in his saddle, and pointed downward. 
 
 " What's there, Rube ? " asked Seguin, in a low voice. 
 
 " Fresh track, cap'n : buffler 1 " 
 
 " What number ; can you guess ? " 
 
 " A gang o' fifty or tharabout. They've tuk through the 
 thicket yander-away. I kin sight the sky. Thur's clur 
 ground not fur from us ; and I'd stake a plew thur in it. I 
 think it's a small paraira, cap." 
 
 " Halt here, men 1 " said Seguin ; " halt and keep silent. 
 Ride forward, Rube. Come, M. Haller, you're fond of 
 hunting ; come along with us I " 
 
 I followed the guide and Seguin through the bushes ; like 
 them, riding slowly and silently. 
 
 In a few minutes we reached the edge of a prairie covered 
 with long grass. Peering cautiously through the leaves of 
 
A BUFFALO " SURROUND." 257 
 
 the prosopis, we had a full view of the open ground. The 
 buffaloes were on the plain ! 
 
 It was, as Rube had rightly conjectured, a small prairie, 
 about a mile and a half in width, closed in on all sides by a 
 thick chapparal. Near the center was a motte of heavy 
 timber, growing up from a leafy underwood. A spur of 
 willows running out from the timber indicated the presence 
 of water. 
 
 " Thur's a spring yander," muttered Rube. " They've 
 jest been a-coolin' thur noses at it." 
 
 This was evident enough, for some of the animals were at 
 the moment walking out of the willows ; and we could see 
 the wet clay glistening upon their flanks, and the saliva 
 glancing down from their jaws. 
 
 " How will we get at them, Rube ? " asked Seguin ; " can 
 we approach them, do you think ? " 
 
 " I doubt not, cap. The grass 'ud hardly kiver us ; an' 
 thur a-gwine out o' range o' the bushes." 
 
 " How then ? We cannot run them ; there's not room. 
 They would be into the thicket at the first dash. We would 
 lose every hoof of them." 
 
 " Sartin as Scripter." 
 
 " What is to be done ? " 
 
 " This niggur sees but one other plan as kin be used jest 
 at this time." 
 
 " What is it ? " 
 
 " Surround." 
 
 " Right ; if we can do that. How is the wind ? " 
 
 " Dead as an Injun wi' his head cut off," replied the 
 trapper, taking a small feather out of his cap and tossing it 
 in the air. " See, cap, it falls plump ! " 
 
 " It does, truly." 
 
 " We kin easily git roun' them bufflers afore they wind us ; 
 an' we hev men enough to make a picket fence about them. 
 17 
 
258 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 We can hardly set about it too soon, cap. Thur a movin' 
 torst the edge yander." 
 
 " Let us divide the men, then," said Seguin, turning his 
 horse ; " you can guide one-half of them to their stands. I 
 will go with the other. M. Haller, you had better remain 
 where you are. It is as good a stand as you can get. Have 
 patience. It may be an hour before all are placed. When 
 you hear the bugle, you may gallop forward and do your 
 best. If we succeed, you shall have sport and a good supper ; 
 which, I suppose, you feel the need of by this time." 
 
 So saying, Seguin left me, and rode back to the men, 
 followed by old Rube. 
 
 It was their purpose to separate the band into two parties, 
 each taking an opposite direction ; and to drop men here 
 and there at regular intervals, around the prairie. They 
 would keep in the thicket while on the march, and only dis- 
 cover themselves at a given signal. In this way, should the 
 buffaloes allow time for the execution of the movement, we 
 should be almost certain of securing the whole gang. 
 
 As soon as Seguin had left me, I looked to my rifle and 
 pistols, putting on a fresh set of caps. After that, having 
 nothing else to occupy me, I remained seated in my saddle, 
 eyeing the animals as they fed unconscious of danger. I 
 was full of anxiety lest some clumsy fellow might discover 
 himself too soon, and thus spoil our anticipated sport. 
 
 After a while I could see the birds flying up from the 
 thicket ; and the screaming of the blue jay indicated to me 
 the progress of the " surround." 
 
 Now and then, an old bull, on the skirts of the herd, 
 would toss up his shaggy mane, snuff the wind, and strike 
 the ground fiercely with his hoof ; evidently laboring under 
 a suspicion that all was not right. 
 
 The others did not seem to heed these demonstrations, 
 but kept on quietly cropping the luxuriant grama. 
 
A BUFFALO " SURROUND." 259 
 
 I was thinking how nicely we were going to have them in 
 the trap, when an object caught my eye, just emerging from 
 the motte. It was a buffalo calf, and I saw that it was pro- 
 ceeding to join the gang. I thought it somewhat strange 
 that it should be separated from the rest, for the calves, 
 trained by their mothers to know the wolf, usually keep up 
 with the herd. 
 
 " It has stayed behind at the spring," thought I. " Per- 
 haps the others pushed it from the water, and it could not 
 drink until they were gone." 
 
 I fancied that it moved clumsily, as if wounded ; but it 
 was passing through the long grass, and I could not get a 
 good view of it. 
 
 There was a pack of coyotes (there always is) sneaking 
 after the herd. These, perceiving the calf as it came out of 
 the timber, made an instant and simultaneous attack upon 
 it. I could see them skipping around it, and fancied I could 
 hear their fierce snarling ; but the calf appeared to fight its 
 way through the thick of them ; and after a short while, I 
 saw it close in to its companions, where I lost sight of it 
 among the others. 
 
 " A game young bull," soliloquized I, and again I ran my 
 eye around the skirting of the chapparal to watch how the 
 hunters were getting forward with the " surround," I could 
 perceive the flashing of brilliant wings over the bramble, and 
 hear the shrill voices of the jay-birds. Judging by these, I 
 concluded that the men were moving slowly enough. It was 
 half an hour since Seguin had left me, and I could perceive 
 that they were not half-way round as yet. 
 
 I began to make calculations as to how long I would have 
 to wait, soliloquizing as follows : — 
 
 " Diameter of the prairie, a mile and a half. It is a circle 
 three times that : four miles and a half. Phew \ I shall 
 not hear the signal in much less than an hour. I must be 
 
260 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 patient then, and what ! The brutes are lying down ! 
 
 Good ! There is no danger now of their making off. We 
 shall have rare sport ! One, two, three, six of them down ! 
 It must be the heat and the water. They have drunk two 
 much. There goes another. Lucky devils ! They have 
 
 nothing else to do but eat and sleep, while I No. Eight 
 
 down ! Well ! I hope soon to eat, too. What an odd way 
 they have of coming to the ground ! How different from 
 anything of the bovine tribe I have yet observed ! I have 
 never seen buffaloes " quieting " down before. One would 
 think that they were falling as if shot ! Two more alongside 
 the rest ! They will soon be all upon the turf. So much 
 the better. We can gallop up before they get to their feet 
 again. Oh, that I could hear that horn ! " 
 
 And thus I went on rambling from thought to thought, 
 and listening for the signal, although I knew that it could 
 not be given for some time yet. 
 
 The buffaloes kept moving slowly onward, browsing as 
 they went, and continuing to lie down one after another. I 
 thought it strange, their stretching themselves thus succes- 
 sively ; but I had observed farm cattle do the same, and I 
 was at that time but little acquainted with the habits of the 
 buffalo. Some of them appeared to toss about on the ground 
 and kick violently. I had heard of a peculiarity of these 
 animals, termed " wallowing." " They are at it," thought I. 
 I wished much to have a clearer view of this curious exercise, 
 but the high grass prevented me. I could only see their 
 shaggy shoulders, and occasionally their hoofs kicking up 
 over the sward. 
 
 I watched their movements with great interest, now feeling 
 secure that the " surround " would be complete before they 
 would think of rising. 
 
 At length the last one of the gang followed the example 
 of his companions, and dropped over. 
 
A BUFFALO " SURROUND." 261 
 
 They were now all upon their sides, half buried in the 
 bunch-grass. I thought I noticed the calf still upon its feet ; 
 but at that moment the bugle sounded, and a simultaneous 
 cheer broke from all sides of the prairie. 
 
 I pressed the spur to my horse's flank, and dashed out 
 into the open plain. Fifty others had done the same, yelling 
 as they shot out of the thicket. 
 
 With my reins resting on my left fingers, and my rifle 
 thrown crosswise, I galloped forward, filled with the wild ex- 
 citement that such an adventure imparts. I was cocked and 
 ready, resolved upon having the first shot. 
 
 It was but a short distance from where I had started to the 
 nearest buffalo. I was soon within range, my horse flying 
 like an arrow. 
 
 " Is the animal asleep ? I am within ten paces of him, 
 and still he stirs not ! I will fire at him as he lies." 
 
 I raised my rifle, leveled it, and was about to pull trigger, 
 when something red gleamed before my eyes. It was 
 blood ! 
 
 I lowered the piece with a feeling of terror, and com- 
 menced dragging upon the rein ; but, before I could pull up, 
 I was carried into the the midst of the prostrate herd. Here 
 my horse suddenly stopped, and I sat in my saddle as if spell- 
 bound. I was under the influence of a superstitious awe. 
 Blood was before me and around me. Turn which way I 
 would, my eye rested upon blood ! 
 
 My comrades closed in, yelling as they came ; but their 
 yelling suddenly ceased, and one by one reined up, as I had 
 done, with looks of consternation and wonder. 
 
 It was not strange, at such a sight. Before us lay the 
 bodies of the buffaloes. They were all dead, or quivering 
 in the last throes. Each had a wound above the brisket, and 
 from this the red stream gurgled out, and trickled down their 
 still panting sides. Blood welled from their mouths and out 
 
262 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 of their nostrils. Pools of it were filtering through the 
 prairie turf ; and clotted gouts, flung out by the struggling 
 hoof, sprinkled the grass around them ! 
 
 " Oh heavens ! what could it mean ? " 
 
 " Wagh ! " " Satitissima /" " Sacr'e Dieu /" were the 
 exclamations of the hunters. 
 
 " Surely no mortal hand has done this ? " 
 
 " It w'an't nuthin' else," cried a well-known voice, " ef yur 
 call an Injun a mortal. 'Twur a red-skin, and this child — 
 Look 'ee-e ! " 
 
 I heard the click of a rifle along with this abrupt excla- 
 mation. I turned suddenly. Rube was in the act of leveling 
 his piece. My eye involuntarily followed the direction 
 of the barrel. There was an object moving in the long 
 grass. 
 
 " A buffalo that still kicks," thought I, as I saw the mass 
 of dark-brown hair ; " he is going to finish him ; it is the 
 calf ! " 
 
 I had scarcely reared made the observation when the ani- 
 mal reared up on its hind legs, uttering a wild human scream ; 
 the shaggy hide was flung off ; and a naked savage appeared, 
 holding out his arms in an attitude of supplication. 
 
 I could not have saved him. The rifle had cracked, the 
 ball had sped. I saw it piercing his brown breast, as a drop 
 of sleet strikes upon the pane of glass ; the red spout gushed 
 forth, and the victim fell forward upon the body of one of the 
 animals ! 
 
 " Wagh ! Rube ! " exclaimed one of the men ; " why 
 didn't ye give him time to skin the meat ! He mout as well 
 'a done that when he wur about it ; " and the man laughed at 
 his savage jest. 
 
 " Look 'ee hyur, boyees ! " said Rube, pointing to the motte ; 
 " if 'ee look sharp, yur mout scare up another calf yander- 
 away ! I'm a-gwine to see arter this Injun's har ; /"am." 
 
A BUFFALO " SURROUND." 263 
 
 The hunters at the suggestion galloped off to surround the 
 motte. 
 
 I felt a degree of irresolution and disgust at this cool shed- 
 ding of blood. I drew my rein almost involuntarily, and 
 moved forward to the spot where the savage had fallen. He 
 lay back uppermost. He was naked to the breech-clout. 
 There was the debouchure of a bullet below the left shoulder, 
 and the black-red stream was trickling down his ribs. The 
 limbs still quivered, but it was in the last spasms of parting life. 
 
 The hide in which he had disguised himself lay piled up 
 where it had been flung. Beside it were a bow and several 
 arrows. The latter were crimsoned to the notch, the feathers 
 steeped in blood and and clinging to the shafts. They had 
 pierced the huge bodies of the animals, passing through, 
 and through. Each arrow had taken many lives ! 
 
 The old trapper rode up to the corpse, and leisurely dis- 
 mounted from his mare. 
 
 " Fifty dollar a plew! " he muttered, unsheathing his knife 
 and stooping over the body. " It's more'n I got for my own. 
 It beats beaver all hollow. Cuss beaver, say this child. 
 Plew a plug — ain't worth trappin' if the varmint wur as thick 
 as grass-jumpers in calf-time. Ee-up, niggur," he continued, 
 grasping the long hair of the savage, and holding the face 
 upward : " let's get a squint at yur phisog. Hooraw I 
 Coyote Pash ! Hooraw ! " 
 
 And a gleam of triumph lit up the countenance of the old 
 man as he uttered these wild exclamations. 
 
 "Apash, is he?" asked one of the hunters, who had 
 remained near the spot. 
 
 " That he are, Coyote Pash. The very niggurs that bob- 
 tailed this child's ears, d n 'em ! I kin swar to thur ugly 
 
 picters anywhur I get my peepers upon 'em. Wouwough — 
 ole wolfy ! got 'ee at last, has he ? Yur a beauty, an' no 
 mistake." 
 
264 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 So saying, he gathered the long crownlocks in his left hand ; 
 and with two slashes of his knife, held quarte and tierce, he 
 cut a circle around the top of the head, as perfect as if it had 
 been traced by compasses. He then took a turn of the hair 
 over his wrist, giving it a quick jerk outward. At the same 
 instant, the keen blade passed under the skin, and the scalp 
 was taken ! 
 
 " Counts six," he continued, muttering to himself while 
 placing the scalp in his belt ; "six at fifty — three hunder 
 shiners for Pash har : cuss beaver trappin' ! says I." 
 
 Having secured the bleeding trophy, he wiped his knife 
 upon the hair of one of the buffaloes, and proceeded to cut a 
 small notch in the woodwork of his gun, alongside five others 
 that had been carved there already. These six notches stood 
 for Apaches only ; for as my eye wandered along the outlines 
 of the piece, I saw that there were many other columns in 
 that terrible register I 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 ANOTHER " COUP." 
 
 SHOT ringing in my 
 ears caused me to with- 
 draw my attention from 
 the proceedings of the 
 earless trapper. As I turned I 
 saw a blue cloud floating away 
 over the prairie, but I could not 
 tell at what the shot had been fired. 
 Thirty or forty of the hunters, had 
 surrounded the motte, and, halted, 
 were sitting in their saddles in a 
 kind of irregular circle. They 
 were still at some distance from 
 the timber, as if keeping out of arrow-range. They held 
 their guns crosswise, and were shouting to one another. 
 
 It was improbable that the savage was alone ; doubtless 
 there were some of his companions in the thicket. There 
 
 265 
 
266 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 could not be many, however, for the underwood was not 
 large enough to conceal more than a dozen bodies, and the 
 keen eyes of the hunters were piercing it in every direction. 
 
 They reminded me of so many huntsmen in a gorse wait- 
 ing the game to be sprung ; but here, Oh God ! the game 
 was human. 
 
 It was a terrible spectacle. I looked towards Seguin, 
 thinking that he might interfere to prevent the barbarous 
 battue. He noticed my inquiring glance, and turned his face 
 from me. I fancied that he felt ashamed of the work in 
 which his followers were engaged ; but the killing, or capture, 
 of whatever Indians might be in the motte had now become 
 a necessary measure, and I knew that any remonstrance of 
 mine would be disregarded. As for the men themselves, 
 they would have laughed at it. This was their pastime, their 
 profession ; and I am certain that, at that moment, their feel- 
 ings were not very different from those which would have 
 actuated them had they been driving a bear from his den. 
 They were, perhaps, a trifle more intense ; certainly not 
 more inclined towards mercy. 
 
 I reined up my horse, and awaited with painful emotions 
 the denouement of this savage drama. 
 
 " Vaya, Irlandes ! What did you see ? " inquired one of 
 the Mexicans, appealing to Barney. I saw by this that it 
 was the Irishman who had fired the shot. 
 
 " A rid-skin, by japers ! " replied the latter. 
 
 " Warn't it yer own shadder ye sighted in the water ? " 
 cried a hunter, jeeringly. 
 
 " Maybe it was the divil, Barney ? " 
 
 " In trath, frinds, I saw a somethin' that looked mighty 
 like him, and I kilt it too." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! Barney has killed the devil. Ha ! ha ! " 
 
 " Wagh ! " exclaimed a trapper, spurring his horse toward 
 the thicket ; " the fool saw nothin'. I'll chance it, anyhow." 
 
ANOTHER " COUP." 267 
 
 " Stop, comrade ! " cried the hunter Garey ; " let's take 
 a safer plan. Redhead's right. Thar's Injuns in them 
 bushes, whether he seen it or not ; that skunk warn't by him- 
 self, I reckin ; try this-a-way ! " 
 
 The young trapper dismounted, and turned his horse broad- 
 side to the bushes. Keeping on the outside, he commenced 
 walking the animal in a spiral ring that gradually closed in 
 upon the clump. In this way his body was screened ; and his 
 head only could be seen above the pommel of his saddle, 
 over which he rested his rifle, cocked and ready. 
 
 Several others, observing this movement on the part of 
 Garey, dismounted, and followed his example. 
 
 A deep silence prevailed as they narrowed the diameters 
 of their circling courses. 
 
 In a short time they were close in to the motte, yet still no 
 arrow whizzed out. Was there no one there ? So it seemed ; 
 and the men pushed fearlessly into the thicket. 
 
 I watched all this with excited feelings. I began to hope 
 there was no one in the bushes. I listened to every sound ; 
 I heard the snapping of the twigs and the muttering of the 
 men. There was a moment's silence as they pushed eagerly 
 forward. 
 
 Then I heard a sudden exclamation, and a voice calling 
 out — 
 
 " Dead red-skin ! Hurrah for Barney ! " 
 
 " Barney's bullet through him, by the holies ! " cried an- 
 other. " Hilloa, old sky-blue ! Come hyar and see what 
 ye've done ! " 
 
 The rest of the hunters, along with the ci-devant soldier, 
 now rode forward to the copse. I moved slowly after. On 
 coming up, I saw them dragging the body of an Indian into 
 the open ground : a naked savage, like the other. He was 
 dead, and they were preparing to scalp him. 
 
 " Come now, Barney ! " cried one of the men in a joking 
 
268 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 manner, "the har's your'n. Why don't ye off wid it, 
 man ?" 
 
 "It's moine, dev yez say? " asked Barney, appealing to 
 the speaker. 
 
 " Sartinly ; you killed him. It's your'n by right." 
 
 " An' is it raaly worth fifty dollars ? " 
 
 " Good as wheat for that." 
 
 " Would yez be so frindly, thin, as to cut it aff for me ? " 
 
 " Oh I sartinly, with all the plizyer of life," replied the 
 hunter, imitating Barney's accent, at the same time severing 
 the scalp, and handing it to him. 
 
 Barney took the hideous trophy, and I fancy that he did 
 not feel very proud of it. Poor Celt ! he may have been 
 guilty of many a breach in the laws of garrison discipline, 
 but it was evident that this was his first lesson in the letting 
 of human blood. 
 
 The hunters now dismounted, and commenced trampling 
 the thicket through and through. The search was most 
 minute, for there was still a mystery. An extra bow — that 
 is to say, a third — had been found, with its quiver of arrows. 
 Where was the owner ? Could he have escaped from the 
 thicket while the men were engaged around the fallen buffa- 
 loes ? He might, though it was barely probable : but the 
 hunters knew that these savages run more like wild animals, 
 like hares, than human beings, and he might have escaped 
 to the chapparal. 
 
 " If that Injun has got clar," said Garey, " we've no time 
 to lose in skinnin' them bufflers. Thar's plenty o' his tribe 
 not twenty miles from hyar, I calc'late." 
 
 " Look down among the willows there ! " cried the voice 
 of the chief ; " close down to the water." 
 
 There was a pool. It was turbid and trampled around the 
 edges with buffalo tracks. On one side it was deep. Here 
 willows dropped over and hung into the water. Several men 
 
ANOTHER " COUP." 269 
 
 pressed into this side, and commenced sounding the bottom 
 with their lances and the butts of their rifles. 
 
 Old Rube had come up among the rest, and was drawing 
 the stopper of his powder-horn with his teeth, apparently 
 with the intention of reloading. His small dark eyes were 
 scintillating every way at once : above, around him, and into 
 the water. 
 
 A sudden thought seemed to enter his head. I saw him 
 push back the plug, grasp the Irishman, who was nearest 
 him, by the arm, and mutter, in a low and hurried voice, 
 " Paddy ! Barney ! gi' us yur gun : quick, man, quick 1 " 
 
 Barney, at this earnest solicitation, immediately surren- 
 dered his piece, taking the empty rifle that was thrust into his 
 hand by the trapper. 
 
 Rube eagerly grasped the musket, and stood for a moment 
 as if he was about to fire at some object in the pond. Sud- 
 denly he jerked his body round, and, poising the gun up- 
 ward, fired into the thick foliage. 
 
 A shrill scream followed ; a heavy body came crashing 
 through the branches, and struck the ground at my feet. 
 Warm drops sparkled into my eyes, causing me to wince. 
 It was blood ! I was blinded with it ; I rubbed my eyes to 
 clear them. I heard men rushing from all parts of the thicket. 
 When I could see again, a naked savage was just disappear- 
 ing through the leaves. 
 
 " Missed him, by gosh ! " cried the trapper. " To the 
 devil wi' yur sodger gun ! " he added, flinging down the 
 musket, and rushing after with his drawn knife. 
 
 I followed among the rest. I heard several shots as we 
 scrambled through the brushwood. 
 
 When I had got to the outer edge I could see the Indian 
 still on his feet, and running with the speed of an antelope. 
 He did not keep in a direct line, but zigzag, leaping from 
 side to side, in order to baffle the aim of his pursuers, whose 
 
270 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 rifles were all the time ringing behind him. As yet none of 
 their bullets had taken effect, at least so as to cripple him. 
 There was a streak of blood visible on his brown body, but 
 the wound, wherever it was, did not seem to hinder him in 
 his flight. 
 
 I thought there could be no chance of his escape, and I 
 had no intention of emptying my gun at such a mark. I re- 
 mained, therefore, among the bushes, screening myself be- 
 hind the leaves and watching the chase. 
 
 Some of the hunters continued to follow him on foot, while 
 the more cunning ones rushed back for their horses. These 
 happened to be all on the opposite side of the thicket with 
 one exception, and that was the mare of the trapper Rube. 
 She was browsing where Rube had dismounted, out among 
 the slaughtered buffaloes, and directly in the line of the 
 chase. 
 
 As the savage approached her, a sudden thought seemed 
 to strike him, and, diverging slightly from his course, he 
 plucked up the picket-pin, coiled the lasso with the dexterity 
 of a gaucho, and sprang upon the animal's back. 
 
 It was a well-conceived idea, but unfortunate for the 
 Indian. He had scarcely touched the saddle when a pecul- 
 iar shout was heard above all other sounds. It was a call 
 uttered in the voice of the earless trapper. The mustang 
 recognized it ; and, instead of running forward obedient to 
 the guidance of her rider, she wheeled suddenly and came 
 galloping back. At this moment a shot fired at the savage 
 scorched her hip, and, setting back her ears, she commenced 
 squealing and kicking so violently that all her feet seemed 
 to be in the air at the same time. 
 
 The Indian now endeavored to fling himself from the 
 saddle ; but the alternate plunging of the fore and hind 
 quarters kept him for some moments tossing in a sort of 
 balance, He was at length pitched outward, and fell to the 
 
ANOTHER " COUP." 2^1 
 
 ground upon his back. Before he could recover himself a 
 Mexican had ridden up, and with his long lance pinned him 
 to the earth. 
 
 A scene of swearing followed, in which Rube played the 
 principal character ; in fact, had " the stage to himself." 
 " Sodger guns " were sent to perdition ; and as the old trapper 
 was angry about the wound which his mare had received, 
 " crook-eyed greenhorns " came in for a share of his anathe- 
 mas. The mustang, however, had sustained, no serious dam- 
 age ; and after this was ascertained the emphatic ebullitions 
 of her master's anger subsided into a low growling, and then 
 ceased altogether. 
 
 As there appeared no " sign " that there were other savages 
 in the neighborhood, the next concern of the hunters was to 
 satisfy their hunger. Fires were soon kindled, and a plen- 
 teous repast of buffalo meat produced the desired effect. 
 
 After the meal was ended a consultation was held. It was 
 agreed that we should move forward to the old mission, 
 which was known to be not over ten miles distant. We could 
 there defend ourselves in case of an attack from the tribe of 
 Coyoteros, to which the three savages belonged. It was 
 feared by all that these might strike our trail, and come up 
 with us before we could take our departure from the ruin. 
 
 The buffaloes were speedily skinned and packed, and tak- 
 ing a westerly course, we journeyed on to the mission. 
 
^ 
 
 Mexican Tortoise and Rattlesnake 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 A BITTER TRAP. 
 
 E reached the ruin a little after sunset. 
 We frightened the owl and the wolf, 
 and made our bivouac among the 
 crumbling walls. Our horses were 
 picketed upon the deserted lawns, and 
 in the long neglected orchards, where 
 the ripe fruit was raining down its 
 ungathered showers. Fires were kin- 
 dled, lighting the gray pile with their 
 cheerful blazing ; and joints of meats were taken out of 
 the hide packs and roasted for supper. 
 
 There was water in abundance. A branch of the San 
 Pedro swept past the walls of the mission. There were yams 
 in the spoliated gardens ; there were grapes, and pomegra- 
 nates, and quinces, and melons, and pears, and peaches, and 
 apples ; and with all these was our repast garnished. 
 
 It was soon over, and videttes were thrown out on the 
 tracks that led to the ruin. The men were weak and weary 
 272 
 
A BITTER TRAP. 273 
 
 with their late fasting, and in a short while stretched them- 
 selves by their saddles and slept. 
 
 So much for our first night at the mission of San Pedro. 
 
 We were to remain for three days, or until the buffalo meat 
 should be dried for packing. 
 
 ****** 
 
 They were irksome days to me. Idleness displayed the 
 bad qualities of my half-savage associates. The ribald jest 
 and fearful oath rang continually in my ears, until I was 
 fain to wander off to the woods with the old botanist, who, 
 during these three days, reveled in the happy excitement of 
 discovery. 
 
 I found companionship also in the Maricopa. This strange 
 man had studied science deeply, and was conversant with 
 almost every noted author. He was reserved only when I 
 wished him to talk of himself. 
 
 Seguin during these days was taciturn and lonely. He 
 took but little heed of what was going on around him. He 
 seemed to be suffering from impatience, as every now and 
 then he paid a visit to the tasajo. He passed many hours 
 upon the adjacent heights, looking anxiously towards the 
 east : that point whence our spies would come in from the 
 Pinon. 
 
 There was an azotea on the ruin. I was in the habit of 
 seeking this place at evening after the sun had grown less 
 fervid. It afforded a fine prospect of the valley ; but its chief 
 attraction to me lay in the retirement I could there obtain. 
 The hunters rarely climbed up to it, and their wild and 
 licensed converse was unheard for the time. I used to spread 
 my blanket among the crumbling parapets, and stretched up- 
 on it, deliver myself up to the sweet retrospect, or to still 
 sweeter dreams that my fancy outlined upon the future. 
 There was one object on my memory : upon that object only 
 did my hopes dwell. 
 18 
 
274 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I need not make this declaration ; at least to those who 
 have truly loved. 
 
 # # =* # # * 
 
 I am in my favorite place, on the azotea. It is night, yet 
 scarcely seems so. The moon, full-orbed, autumnal, is sweep- 
 ing up towards the zenith, outlined against a heaven of cloud- 
 less blue. In mine own far land she will be the harvest moon. 
 Here she shines not on the harvest, nor lights the reaper 
 home ; but the season, fair in all climes, is not less lovely in 
 this romantic wilderness. I am on a table of the northern 
 Andes and many thousand feet above the ocean level. The 
 air is thin and dry. I can perceive its extreme tenuity by 
 the greater distinctness of objects, the apparent propinquity 
 of mountains that I know to be distant, and the sharp 
 ness of their outlines against the sky. I can perceive it in 
 the absence of extreme heat, in the buoyancy of my blood 
 and the lighter play of my lungs. Ah ! this is the home for 
 the hectic cheek and the hollow eye. Would that nations 
 would know this ! 
 
 The air is vaporless and filled with the milky moonlight. 
 My eye rests upon curious objects : upon forms of vegeta- 
 tion peculiar to the soil. They interest me with their new- 
 ness. Under the white light, I see the lanceolate leaves of 
 the yucca, the tall columns of the pitahaya, and the jaggy 
 frondage of the cochineal cactus. 
 
 There are sounds upon the air, the noises of the camp, of 
 men and animals ; but, thank heaven ! I can only hear their 
 distant hum. There is another voice more pleasing to my 
 ear. It is the song of the mocking-bird ; the nightingale of 
 the western world. He pours his mimic notes from the top of 
 an adjacent tree : he is filling the air with his dulcet melody. 
 
 The moon is over all,and I watch her in her upward course. 
 There is a thought within me which she seems to rule : love ! 
 How often have poets sung of her power over the gentle 
 
A BITTER TRAP. 275 
 
 passion ! With them it was only a fancy, a graceful expres- 
 sion ; but in all times, and in all climes, it has been a belief. 
 Whence comes this belief ? Has it not been communicated 
 in the whisperings of a God ; the same whisperings that tell 
 us of His own existence ? May not it be a truth ? May not 
 mind in the end prove to be the matter, electric fluid ? If 
 so, why not influenced by the silent moon ? Why not have 
 its tides, as well as the air and the ocean ? 
 
 It is hard to yield up our college metaphysics ; to behold 
 the worshiped men of our wrangling days, Stewart, Brown, 
 Locke, Mill, and him of my own name, become degraded un- 
 der modern light ; to see their elaborate structure, like an in- 
 verted pyramid, about to tumble down, because the apex on 
 which it so long balanced itself turns out to be a false foun- 
 dation. It is sad to look upon shelves filled with ponderous 
 tomes, the very existence of which only proves that our fathers 
 were our children, as we in our time must become the chil- 
 dren of our descendants. It is sad to think that so many 
 profound philosophers shall one day receive credit only for 
 their hair-splitting ingenuity. So shall it be. 
 
 I followed this train of thought as I lay drinking in the 
 milky essence of the moon. I dwelt on the scenes suggested 
 by the ruins around me : the deeds and the misdeeds of 
 cowled padres and their sandaled serfs. Thoughts of these 
 were in my mind, tinging my spirit with the romance of the 
 antique, but they did not long remain objects of reflection. 
 I wandered over them and returned again to think of that 
 fair being so lately loved and left : Zoe, beautiful Zoe ! 
 
 Of her I had many thoughts. Was she thinking of me at 
 the moment ? Was she pained by my absence ? Did she 
 watch for my return ? Were her eyes bedewed as she looked 
 from the lonely terrace ? 
 
 My heart answered " Yes." with proud and happy pulsa- 
 tions. 
 
276 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The horrid scenes I was now enduring for her sake, how 
 long until they would be over ? Days, many days, I feared. 
 I love adventure : my life has been its sport ; but such as 
 
 this was ! I had not yet committed crime, though I had 
 
 countenanced its committal by the necessity under which I 
 had placed myself. How long before this necessity might 
 force me into the enacting of deeds dark as those of the men 
 who surrounded me ? 
 
 In the program placed before me by Seguin, I had not 
 bargained for such wanton cruelties as I was now compelled 
 to witness. It was not the time to look back, but forward, 
 and perhaps over other scenes of blood and brutality, to 
 that happier hour, when I should have redeemed my promise 
 and won the prize, beautiful Z6e. 
 
 My reverie was interrupted. I heard voices and footsteps : 
 they were approaching the spot where I lay. I could see 
 that there were two men engaged in an earnest conversation. 
 They did not notice me, as I was behind some fragments of 
 the broken parapet, and in the shadow. As they drew nearer 
 I recognized the patois of my Canadian follower, and that of 
 his companion was not to be mistaken. The brogue was 
 Barney's, beyond a doubt. 
 
 These worthies, I had lately noticed, had become "as 
 thick as two thieves," and were much in each other's com- 
 pany. Some act of kindness had endeared the " infantry " to 
 his more astute and experienced associate, who had taken 
 him under " his patronage and protection." 
 
 I was vexed at the intrusion ; but prompted by some im- 
 pulse of curiosity, I lay still and listened. 
 
 Barney was speaking as they approached. 
 
 " In trath, Misther Gowdey, an' its meself 'ud go far this 
 blissed night for a dhrap o' the crayter. I noticed the little 
 kig afore j but divil resave me av I thought it was anythin' 
 
A BITTER TRAP. 
 
 277 
 
 barrin' cowld water. Vistment ! only think o' the owld 
 Dutch sinner bringin' a whole kig wid 'im, an' keepin' it all 
 to himself. Yez are sure now it's the stuff ? " 
 
 " Oui ! oui ! C'est liqueur ! aguardiente.'''' 
 
 " Agwardenty ye say, div ye ? " 
 
 " Oui ! c'est vrai, Monsieur Barney. I have him smell, ver 
 many time. It is of stink tres fort : cussed strong ! tres good 1 " 
 
 Molding Sun-dried Brick for Adobe House. 
 
 " But why cudn't ye stale it yerself ? Yez know exactly 
 where the doctor keeps it, an' ye might get at it a hape 
 handier than I can." 
 
 " Pourquois, Barney ? pecause, mon ami, I help pack les 
 possibles of Monsieur le Docteur. Pardieu ! he would me 
 suspect." 
 
 " I don't see the raizon clear. He may suspect ye at all 
 evints. How thin ? " 
 
278 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Ah ! then, n'importe. I sail make von grand swear, 
 No! I sail have ver clear conscience then." 
 
 " Be the powers ! we must get the licker anyhow ; av you 
 won't, Misther Gowdey, /will ; that's said, isn't it? " 
 
 " Oui 1 Tres bien ! " 
 
 " Well, thin, now or niver's the time. The ould fellow's 
 just walked out, for I saw him meself. This is a nate place 
 to drink it in. Come an' show me where he keeps it ; and,, 
 by St. Patrick 1 I'm yer man to hook it." 
 
 " Tres bien ! allons 1 Monsieur Barney, allons I " 
 
 Unintelligible as this conversation may appear, I under- 
 stood every word of it. The naturalist had brought among 
 his packs a small keg of aguardiente, mezcal spirits, for the 
 purpose of preserving any new species of the lizard or snake 
 tribe he should chance to fall in with. What I heard then 
 was neither more or less than a plot to steal the keg and its 
 contents ! 
 
 My first impulse was to leap up and stop them in their de- 
 sign, as well as administer a salutary rebuke to my voyageur 
 and his red-haired companion : but a moment's reflection 
 convinced me that they could be better punished in another 
 way. I would leave them to punish themselves. 
 
 I remembered that some days previous to our reaching the 
 Ojo de Vaca, the doctor had captured a snake of the adder 
 kind, two or three species of lizards, and a hideous-looking 
 animal called, in hunter phraseology, the horned frog : the 
 agama cornuta of Texas and Mexico. These he had im- 
 mersed in the spirit for preservation. I had observed him 
 do so, and it was evident that neither my Frenchman nor the 
 Irishman had any idea of this. I adopted the resolution, 
 therefore, to let them drink a full bumper of the " pickle" be- 
 fore I should interfere. 
 
 Knowing that they would soon return, I remained where 
 I was. 
 
A BITTER TRAP. 279 
 
 I had not long to wait upon them. In a few minutes they 
 came up, Barney carrying what I knew to be the devoted 
 keg. 
 
 They sat down close to where I lay, and prizing out the 
 bung, filled the liquor into their tin cups, and commenced 
 imbibing. 
 
 A drouthier pair of mortals could not have been found 
 anywhere ; and at the first draught, each emptied his cup to 
 the bottom ! 
 
 " It has a quare taste, hasn't it ? " said Barney, after he 
 had taken the vessel from his lips. 
 
 " Oui ! e'est vrai, monsieur ! 
 
 " What dev ye think it is ? " 
 
 " Je ne sais quoi. It smells like one cussed one 
 
 infernal " 
 
 " Is it fish ye mane ? " 
 
 " Oui ! like one dam feesh : un bouquet tries bizarre 
 Fichtre ! " 
 
 " I suppose it's something that the Mexicans had drapped 
 in to give the agwardenty a flayver. It's mighty strong any- 
 how. It's nothing the worse av that ; but it 'ud be sorry 
 drinkin' alongside a nate dimmyjan of Irish patyeen. Och ! 
 mother av Moses ! but that's the raal bayvaridge ! " 
 
 Here the Irishman shook his head to express with more 
 emphasis his admiration of the " native " whisky. 
 
 " Well, Misther Gowdey," continued he, " whisky's whisky 
 at any rate ; and if we can't get the butther, it's no raison we 
 should refuse the brid ; so I'll thank ye for another small 
 thrifle out of the kig," and the speaker held out his tin ves- 
 sel to be replenished. 
 
 Gode lifted the keg, and emptied more of its contents into 
 their cups. 
 
 " Mon Dieu ! what is dis in my cops ? " exclaimed he, 
 after a draught. 
 
280 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Fwhat is it ? Let me see. That ! Be my sowl 1 that's 
 a quare-looking crayter anyhow." 
 
 " Parbleu 1 it is von dam Texan, von fr-r-og ! Dat is de 
 durn feesh we smell stink. Owah — ah — ah ! " 
 
 " Oh ! holy mother ! if here isn't another in moine ! By 
 japers ! it's a scurpion lizard ! Hoach — wach — wach ! " 
 
 "Ow- 
 
 -ah- 
 
 -ah— 
 
 -ack— 
 
 -ack ! 
 
 Mon Dieu 
 
 l! 
 
 Oach- 
 
 — ach — ! 
 
 Diable ! 
 
 0- 
 
 -ach- 
 
 — ach- 
 
 — o — oa — a- 
 
 — ach ! 
 
 j? 
 
 
 
 " Tare 
 
 -an-a 
 
 ges! 
 
 Ho- 
 
 — ach ! 
 
 the 
 
 owld 
 
 do 
 
 :tor h 
 
 as — oach 
 
 — ack — ack ! — Blessed Vargin ! Ha — ho — hoh — ack ! Poi- 
 son ! poison ! " 
 
 And the brace of revelers went staggering over the azotea, 
 delivering their stomachs, and ejaculating in extreme terror, 
 as the thought struck them that there might be poison in the 
 pickle ! 
 
 I had risen to my feet, and was enjoying the joke in loud 
 laughter. This and the exclamations of the men brought 
 a crowd of hunters up to the roof, who, as soon as they per- 
 ceived what had happened, joined in, and made the ruin 
 ring with their wild peals. 
 
 The doctor, who had come up among the rest, was not so 
 well satisfied with the occurrence. After a short search, 
 however, the lizards were found and returned to the keg, 
 which still contained enough of the spirit for his purposes. 
 It was not likely to be disturbed again, even by the thirstiest 
 hunter in the band. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE PHANTOM CITY. 
 
 N the morning of the fourth day our 
 spies came in, and reported that the 
 Navajoes had taken the southern trail. 
 They had returned to the spring 
 on the second day after our leaving 
 it, and thence had followed the guiding of the arrows. It 
 was Dacoma's band ; in all about three hundred warriors. 
 
 Nothing remained for us now but to pack up as quickly 
 as possible, and pursue our march to the north. 
 
 In an hour we were in our saddles, and following the rocky 
 banks of the San Pedro. 
 
 A long day's journey brought us to the desolate valley of 
 the Gila, upon whose waters we encamped for the night. 
 We slept near the celebrated ruins, the second resting-place 
 of the migrating Aztecs. 
 
 With the exception of the botanist, the Coco chief, myself, 
 and perhaps Seguin, no one in the band seemed to trouble 
 himself about these interesting antiquities. The " sign " of 
 grizzly bears, that was discovered upon the mud bottom, 
 gave the hunters far more concern than the broken pottery 
 and its painted hieroglyphics. Two of these animals were 
 discovered near the camp, and a fierce battle ensued, in 
 which one of the Mexicans nearly lost his life, escaping only 
 
 281 
 
282 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. • 
 
 after most of the skin had been clawed from his head and 
 neck. The bears themselves were killed, and made part of 
 our suppers. 
 
 Our next day's march lay up the Gila, to the mouth of the 
 San Carlos river, where we again halted for the night. The 
 San Carlos runs in from the north ; and Seguin had resolved 
 to travel up this stream for a hundred miles or so, and after- 
 wards strike eastward to the country of the Navajoes. 
 
 When this determination was made known, a spirit of dis- 
 content showed itself among the men, and mutinous whis- 
 perings were heard on all sides. 
 
 Shortly after we halted, however, several of them strayed 
 up the banks of the stream, and gathered some grains of 
 gold out of its bed. Indications of the precious metal, the 
 quixa, known among the Mexicans as the "gold mother," 
 were also found among the rocks. There were miners in 
 the band, who knew it well, and this served to satisfy them. 
 There was no more talk of keeping on to the Prieto. Per- 
 haps the San Carlos might prove equally rich. Rumor had 
 also given it the title of a " golden river " ; at all events, the 
 expedition must cross the head waters of the Prieto in its 
 journey eastward ; and this prospect had the effect of quiet- 
 ing the mutineers, at least for the time. 
 
 There was another influence ; the character of Seguin. 
 There was no single individual in the band who cared to 
 cross him on slight grounds. They knew him too well for 
 that ; and though few of these men set high value on their 
 lives, when they believe themselves, according to " mountain 
 law," in the right, yet they knew that to delay the expedition 
 for the purpose of gathering gold was neither according to 
 their compact with him nor agreeable to his wishes. Not a 
 few of the band, moreover, were actuated by motives similar 
 to those felt by Seguin himself, and these were equally desirous 
 of pushing on to the Navajo towns. 
 
THE PHANTOM CITY. 283 
 
 Still another consideration had its influence upon the ma- 
 jority. The party of Dacoma would be on our track as soon 
 as they had returned from the Apache trail. We had, there- 
 fore, no time to waste in gold-hunting, and the simplest of 
 the scalp-hunters knew this. 
 
 By daybreak we were again on the march, and riding up 
 the banks of the San Carlos. 
 
 We had now entered the great desert which stretches north- 
 ward from the Gila away to the head waters of the Colorado. 
 We entered it without a guide, for not one of the band had 
 ever traversed these unknown regions. Even Rube knew 
 nothing about this part of the country. We were without 
 compass too, but this we heeded not. There were few in 
 the band who could not point to the north or the south within 
 the variation of a degree : few of them but could, night or 
 day, tell by the heavens within ten minutes of the true time. 
 Give them but a clear sky, with the " signs " of the trees 
 and rocks, and they needed neither compass nor chronom- 
 eter. A life spent beneath the blue heaven of the prairie- 
 uplands and the mountain " parks," where a roof rarely ob- 
 structed their view of the azure vaults, had made astrono- 
 mers of these reckless rovers. 
 
 Of such accomplishments was their education, drawn from 
 many a perilous experience. To me their knowledge of 
 such things seemed " instinct." 
 
 But we had a guide as to our direction, unerring as the 
 magnetic needle : we were traversing the region of the " polar 
 plant," the planes of whose leaves, at almost every step, 
 pointed out our meridian. It grew upon our track, and was 
 crushed under the hoofs of our horses as we rode onward. 
 
 For several days we traveled northward through a coun- 
 try of strange-looking mountains, whose tops shot heaven- 
 ward in fantastic forms and groupings. At one time we saw 
 semi-globular shapes like the domes of churches ; at another, 
 
284 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Gothic turrets rose before us ; and the next opening brought 
 in view sharp needle-pointed peaks, shooting upward into 
 the blue sky. We saw columnar forms supporting others 
 that lay horizontally ; vast boulders of trap-rock, suggesting 
 the idea of some antediluvian ruin, some temple of gigantic 
 Druids ! 
 
 Along with singularity of formation was the most brilliant 
 coloring. There were stratified rocks, red, white, green, and 
 yellow, as vivid in their hues as if freshly touched from the 
 palette of the painter. 
 
 No smoke had tarnished them since they had been flung 
 up from their subterranean beds. No cloud draped their 
 naked outlines. It was not a land of clouds, for as we 
 journeyed amongst them we saw not a speck in the heavens ; 
 nothing above us but the blue and limitless ether. 
 
 I remembered the remarks of Seguin. 
 
 There was something inspiriting in the sight of these 
 bright mountains ; something life-like, that prevented us 
 from feeling the extreme and real desolation by which we 
 were surrounded. At times we could not help fancying that 
 we were in a thickly populated country ; a country of vast 
 wealth and civilization, as appeared from its architectural 
 grandeur. Yet in reality we were journeying through the 
 wildest of earth's dominions, where no human foot ever trod 
 excepting such as wear the moccasin ; the region of the 
 " wolf " Apache and the wretched Yamparico. 
 
 We traveled up the banks of the river, and here and there, 
 at our halting-places, searching for the shining metal. It 
 could be found only in small quantities, and the hunters be- 
 gan to talk loudly of the Prieto. There, according to them, 
 the yellow gold lay in " lumps." 
 
 On the fourth day after leaving the Gila, we came to a 
 place where the San Carlos canoned through a high sierra. 
 Here we halted for the night. When morning came, we 
 
THE PHANTOM CITY. 285 
 
 found we could follow the river no farther without climbing 
 over the mountain ; and Seguin announced his intention of 
 leaving it and striking eastward. The hunters responded 
 te this declaration with a joyous hurrah. The golden vision 
 was again before them. 
 
 We remained at the San Carlos until after the noon heat, 
 recruiting our horses by the stream ; then mounting, we rode 
 forward into the plain. It was our intention to travel all 
 night, or until we reached water, as we knew that without 
 this, halting would be useless. 
 
 We had not ridden far until we saw that a fearful 
 " Jornada " was before us ; one of those dreaded " stretches " 
 without grass, wood, or water. Ahead of us we could see a 
 low range of mountains trending from north to south, and 
 beyond these, another range still higher than the first. On 
 the farther range there were snowy summits. We saw that 
 they were distinct chains, and that the more distant was of 
 great elevation. This we knew from the appearance upon 
 its peaks of the " eternal snow." 
 
 We knew, moreover, that at the foot of the snowy range 
 we should find water, perhaps the river we were in search 
 of ; but the distance was immense. If we did not find it 
 at the nearer sierra, we should have an adventure : the 
 danger of perishing from thirst. Such was the prospect. 
 
 We rode on over the arid soil ; over plains of lava and 
 cut-rock that wounded the hoofs of our horses, laming many. 
 There was no vegetation around us except the sickly green 
 of the artemisia, or the fetid foliage of the creosote plant. 
 There was no living thing to be seen save the brown and 
 hideous lizard, the rattlesnake, and the desert crickets that 
 crawled in myriads along the parched ground, and were 
 crunched under the hoofs of our animals. " Water ! " was 
 the word that began to be uttered in several languages. 
 
 " Water 1 " cried the choking trapper. 
 
286 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " L'eau ! " ejaculated the Canadian. 
 
 " Agua ! agua ! " shouted the Mexican. 
 
 We were not twenty miles from the San Carlos before our 
 gourd canteens were as dry as a shingle. The dust of the 
 plains and the hot atmosphere had created unusual thirst, 
 and we had soon emptied them. 
 
 We had started late in the afternoon. At sundown the 
 mountains ahead of us did not seem a single mile nearer. 
 We traveled all night, and when the sun rose again we were 
 still* a good distance from them. Such is the illusory char- 
 acter of this elevated and crystal atmosphere. 
 
 The men mumbled as they talked. They held in their 
 mouths leaden bullets and pebbles of obsidian, which they 
 chewed with a desperate fierceness. 
 
 It was some time after sunrise when we arrived at the 
 mountain foot. To our consternation, no water could be 
 found ! 
 
 The mountains were a range of dry rocks, so parched-like 
 and barren that even the creosote bush could not find nour- 
 ishment along their sides. They were as naked of vegeta- 
 tion as when the volcanic fires first heaved them into the 
 light. 
 
 Parties scattered in all directions, and went up the ravines ; 
 but after a long while spent in fruitless wandering, we 
 abandoned the search in despair. 
 
 There was a pass that appeared to lead through the range ; 
 and entering this, we rode forward in silence and with gloomy 
 thoughts. 
 
 We soon debouched on the other side, when a scene of 
 singular character burst upon our view. 
 
 A plain lay before us, hemmed in on all sides by high 
 mountains. On its farther edge was the snowy ridge, with 
 stupendous cliffs rising vertically from the plain, towering 
 thousands of feet in height. Dark rocks seemed piled upon 
 
THE PHANTOM CITY. 287 
 
 each other, higher and higher, until they became buried 
 under robes of the spotless snow. 
 
 But that which appeared most singular was the surface of 
 the plain. It was covered with a mantle of virgin whiteness, 
 apparently of snow ; and yet the more elevated spot from 
 which we viewed it was naked, with a hot sun shining upon 
 it. What we saw in the valley, then, could not be snow. 
 
 As I gazed over the monotonous surface of this plain, and 
 then looked upon the chaotic mountains that walled it in, 
 my mind became impressed with ideas of coldness and des- 
 olation. It seemed as if everything was dead around us, 
 and Nature was laid out in her winding-sheet. I saw that 
 my companions experienced similar feelings, but no one 
 spoke ; and we commenced riding down the pass that led 
 into this singular valley. 
 
 As far as we could see there was no prospect of water on 
 the plain ; but what else could we do than cross it ? On its 
 most distant border, along the base of the snowy mountains, 
 we thought we could distinguish a black line, like that of 
 timber, and for this point we directed our march. 
 
 On reaching the plain, what had appeared like snow proved 
 to be soda. A deep incrustation of this lay upon the ground, 
 enough to satisfy the wants of the whole human race ; yet 
 there it lay, and no hand had ever stooped to gather it. 
 
 Three or four rocky buttes were in our way, near the de- 
 bouchure of the pass. As we rounded them, getting farther 
 out into the plain, a wide gap began to unfold itself, opening 
 through the mountains beyond. Through this gap the sun's 
 rays were streaming ii\, throwing a band of yellow light 
 across one end of the valley. In this the crystals of 
 the soda, stirred up by the breeze, appeared floating in 
 myriads. 
 
 As we descended, I observed that objects began to as- 
 sume a very different aspect from what they had exhibited 
 
288 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 from above. As if by enchantment, the cold snowy surface 
 all at once disappeared. Green fields lay before us, and 
 tall trees sprang up, covered with a thick and verdant fron- 
 dage ! 
 
 " Cotton-woods ! " cried a hunter, as his eye rested on 
 these still distant groves. 
 
 " Tall saplins at that — wagh 1 " ejaculated another. 
 
 " Water thar, fellers, I reckin ! " remarked a third. 
 
 " Yes, siree 1 Yer don't see such sprouts as them growin' 
 out o' a dry paraira. Look 1 hilloa I " 
 
 " By gollies, yonder's a house 1 " 
 
 " A house ? One, two, three 1 A house ? Thar's a whole 
 town, if thar's a single shanty. Gee 1 Jim, look yonder I 
 Wagh ! " 
 
 I was riding in front with Seguin, the rest of the band 
 strung out behind us. I had been for some time gazing 
 upon the ground, in a sort of abstraction, looking at the 
 snow-white efflorescence, and listening to the crunching of 
 my horse's hoofs through its icy incrustation. These ex- 
 clamatory phrases caused me to raise my eyes. The sight 
 that met them was one that made me rein up with a sudden 
 jerk. Seguin had done the same, and I saw that the whole 
 band had halted with a similar impulse. 
 
 We had just cleared one of the buttes that had hitherto 
 obstructed our view of the great gap. This was now directly 
 in front of us ; and along its base, on the southern side, rose 
 the walls and battlements of a city ; a vast city, judging 
 from its distance and the colossal appearance of its architec- 
 ture. We could trace the columns of temples, and doors, 
 and gates, and windows, and balconies, and parapets and 
 spires. There were many towers rising high over the roofs, 
 and in the middle was a temple-like structure, with its mas- 
 sive dome towering far above all the others. 
 
 I looked upon this sudden apparition with a feeling of in- 
 
THE PHANTOM CITY. 289 
 
 credulity. It was a dream, an imagination, a mirage. Ha I 
 it was the mirage ! 
 
 No ! The mirage could not effect such a complete pic- 
 ture. There were the roofs, and chimneys, and walls, and 
 windows. There were the parapets of fortified houses, with 
 their regular notches and embrasures. It was a reality. It 
 ■was a city ! 
 
 Was it the Cibolo of the Spanish padrd ? Was it that 
 city of golden gates and burnished towers ? After all, was 
 the story of the wandering priest true ? Who had proved it 
 a fable ? Who had ever penetrated this region, the very 
 country in which the ecclesiastic represented the golden city 
 of Cibolo to exist ? 
 
 I saw that Seguin was puzzled, dismayed, as well as my- 
 self. He knew nothing of this land. He had never wit- 
 nessed a mirage like that. 
 
 For some time we sat in our saddles, influenced by strange 
 emotions. Shall we go forward ? Yes ! We must reach 
 water. We are dying of thirst ; and, impelled by this, we 
 spur onward. 
 
 We had ridden only a few paces farther when the hunters 
 uttered a sudden and simultaneous cry. A new object — an 
 object of terror — was before us. Along the mountain foot 
 appeared a string of dark forms. They were mounted men ! 
 
 We dragged our horses to their haunches, our whole line 
 halting as one man. 
 
 " Injuns ! " was the exclamation of several. 
 
 " Indians they must be," muttered Seguin. " There are 
 no others here. Indians ! No ! There never were such 
 as them. See ! they are not men ! Look ! their huge 
 horses, their long guns: they are giants ! By Heaven!" 
 continued he, after a moment's pause, " they are bodiless ! 
 They are phantoms ! " 
 
 There were exclamations of terror from the hunters behind. 
 
290 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Were these the inhabitants of the city ? There was a 
 striking proportion in the colossal size of the horses and the 
 horsemen. 
 
 For a moment I was awe-struck like the rest. Only a 
 moment. A sudden memory flashed upon me. I thought 
 of the Hartz Mountains and their demons. I knew that the 
 phenomenon before vis could be no other ; an optical delu- 
 sion ; a creation of the mirage. 
 
 I raised my hand above my head. The foremost of the 
 giants imitated the motion. 
 
 I put spurs to my horse and galloped forward. So did he, 
 as if to meet me. After a few springs I had passed the re- 
 fracting angle, and, like a thought, the shadowy giants van- 
 ished into air. 
 
 The men had ridden forward after me, and having also 
 passed the angle of refraction, saw no more of the phantom 
 hosts. 
 
 The city, too, had disappeared ; but we could trace the 
 outlines of many a singular formation in the trap-rock strata 
 that traversed the edge of the valley. 
 
 The tall groves were no longer to be seen ; but a low belt 
 of green willows, real willows, could be distinguished along 
 the foot of the mountain within the gap. Under their foliage 
 there was something that sparkled in the sun like sheets of 
 silver. It was water ! " It was a branch of the Prieto. 
 
 Our horses neighed at the sight ; and, shortly after, we 
 had alighted upon its banks, and were kneeling before the 
 sweet spirit of the stream. 
 
Apaches Lassoing Wild Horses. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD. 
 
 FTER so fatigu- 
 ing a march, it 
 was necessary 
 - to make a long- 
 er halt than usual. We 
 stayed by the arroyo all 
 that day and the following 
 night. But the hunters 
 longed to drink from the 
 Prieto itself ; and the next 
 morning we drew our pick- 
 ets, and rode in the direction of that river. By noon we 
 were upon its banks. 
 
 A singular river it was, running through a region of bleak, 
 barren, and desolate mountains. Through these the stream 
 had forged its way by numerous canons, and rushed along a 
 channel at most places inaccessible. It was a black and 
 gloomy river. Where were its sands of gold ? 
 
 After riding for some distance along its banks, we halted 
 at a point where its bed could be reached. The hunters, 
 disregarding all else, clambered eagerly over the steep bluffs, 
 
 291 
 
292 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 and descended to the water. They hardly stayed to drink. 
 They crawled through narrow interstices, between detached 
 masses of rock that had fallen from above. They lifted the 
 mud in their hands, and washed it in their cups ; they ham- 
 mered the quartz rock with their tomahawks, and pounded 
 it between great stones. Not a particle of the precious metal 
 could be found. They must either have struck the river too 
 high up, or else the El Dorado lay still farther to the north. 
 
 Wet, weary, angry, muttering oaths and expressions of 
 disappointment, they obeyed the signal to " march forward." 
 
 We rode up the stream, halting for the night at another 
 place where the water was accessible to our animals. 
 
 Here the hunters again searched for gold, and again found 
 it not. Mutinous murmurs were now spoken aloud. The 
 gold country lay below them ; they had no doubt of it. The 
 chief took them by the San Carlos on purpose to disappoint 
 them. He knew this would prevent delay. " He cared not 
 for them. His own ends were all he wanted to accomplish. 
 They might go back as poor as they had come, for aught he 
 cared. They would never have so good a chance again." 
 
 Such were their mutterings, embellished with many an 
 oath. 
 
 Seguin either heard not or did not heed them. He was 
 one of those characters who can patiently bear until a proper 
 cue for action may offer itself. He was fiery by nature, like 
 all Creoles ; but time and trials had tempered him to that 
 calmness and coolness that befitted the leader of such a 
 band. When roused to action, he became what is styled in 
 western phraseology a " Dangerous man ; " and the scalp- 
 hunters knew it. He heeded not their murmurings. 
 
 Long before daybreak, we were once more in our saddles, 
 and moving onward, still up the Prieto. We had observed 
 fires at a distance during the night, and we knew that they 
 were at the villages of the " Club " Apache'. We wished to 
 
THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD. 293 
 
 pass their country without being seen ; and it was our in- 
 tention, when daylight appeared, to cacher among the rocks 
 until the following night. 
 
 As dawn advanced, we halted in a concealed ravine, whilst 
 several of us climbed the hill to reconnoiter. We could see 
 the smoke rising over the distant villages ; but we had passed 
 them in the darkness, and, instead of remaining in cachk, we 
 continued on through a wide plain covered with savage and 
 cactus plants. Mountains towered up on every side of us as 
 we advanced. They rose directly from the plains, exhibit- 
 ing the fantastic shapes which characterize them in those 
 regions. Their stupendous precipices overlooked the bleak, 
 barren tables frowning upon them in sublime silence. The 
 plains themselves ran into the very bases of these cliffs. 
 Water had surely washed them. These plateaux had once 
 been the bed of an ancient ocean. I remembered Seguin's 
 theory of the inland seas. 
 
 Shortly after sunrise, the trail we were following led us to 
 an Indian crossing. Here we forded the stream with the 
 intention of leaving it and heading eastward. 
 
 We halted our horses in the water, permitting them to 
 drink freely. Some of the hunters, moving ahead of the rest, 
 had climbed the high banks. We were attracted by their 
 unusual exclamations. On looking upward, we perceived 
 several of them standing on the top of a hill, and pointing 
 to the north in an earnest and excited manner. Could it be 
 Indians ? 
 
 " What is it ? " shouted Seguin, as we pushed forward. 
 
 " A gold mountain ! a gold mountain ! " was the reply. 
 
 We spurred our horses hurriedly up the hill. On reaching 
 its top, a strange sight met our gaze. Away to the north, 
 and as far as the eye could see, an object glistened in the 
 sun. It was a mountain, and along its sides, from base to 
 summit, the rocks glittered with the bright semblance of 
 
294 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 gold ! A thousand jets danced in the sunbeams, dazzling 
 the eye as it looked upon them. Was it a mountain of gold ? 
 
 The men were in a frenzy of delight. This was the moun- 
 tain so often discussed over the bivouac fires. Who of them 
 had not heard of it, whether credulous or not ? It was no 
 fable, then. There it was before them, in all its burning 
 splendor. 
 
 I turned to look at Seguin. His brow was bent. There 
 was the expression of anxiety on his countenance. He 
 understood the illusion ; so did the Maricopa ; so did Reich- 
 ter. I knew it too. At a glance I had recognized the spark- 
 ling scales of the selenite. 
 
 Seguin saw that there was a difficulty before us. This 
 dazzling hallucination lay far out of our course ; but it was 
 evident that neither commands nor persuasion would be 
 heeded now. The men were resolved upon reaching it. 
 Some of them had already turned their horses' heads and were 
 moving in that direction. 
 
 Seguin ordered them back. A stormy altercation ensued : 
 in short, a mutiny. 
 
 In vain Seguin urged the necessity of our hastening for- 
 ward to the town. In vain he represented the danger we 
 were in of being overtaken by Dacoma's party, who by this 
 time were upon our trail. In vain the Coco chief, the doc- 
 tor, and myself, assured our uneducated companions that 
 what they saw was but the glancing surface of a worthless 
 rock. The men were obstinate. The sight, operating upon 
 long cherished hopes, had intoxicated them. They had lost 
 all reason. They were mad. 
 
 " On then 1 " cried Seguin, making a desperate effort to 
 restrain his passion. " On, madmen, and satisfy yourselves 
 — our lives may answer for your folly ! " and, so saying, he 
 turned his horse and headed him for the shining beacon. 
 
 The men rode after, uttering loud and joyful acclamations. 
 
THE MOUNTAIN OF GOLD. 295 
 
 At the end of a long day's ride we reached the base of 
 the mountain. The hunters leaped from their horses, and 
 clambered up to the glittering rocks. They reached them. 
 They broke them with their tomahawks and pistol-butts, 
 and cleft them with their knives. They tore off the plates 
 of mica and glassy selenite. They flung them at their feet 
 abashed and mortified ; and, one after another, came back 
 to the plain with looks of disappointment and chagrin. Not 
 one of them said a word, as they climbed into their saddles, 
 and rode sullenly after the chief. 
 
 We had lost a day by this bootless journey ; but our con- 
 solation lay in the belief, that our Indian pursuers following 
 upon our trail would make the same detour. 
 
 Our course now lay to the southwest ; but finding a spring 
 not far from the foot of the mountain, we remained by it for 
 the night. 
 
 After another day's march in a southeasterly course, Rube 
 recognized the profiles of the mountains. We were nearing 
 the great town of the Navajoes. 
 
 That night we encamped on a running water, a branch of 
 the Prieto that headed to the eastward. A vast chasm be- 
 tween two cliffs marked the course of the stream above us. 
 The guide pointed into the gap, as we rode forward to our 
 halting-place. 
 
 " What is it, Rube ? " inquired Seguin. 
 
 " 'Ee see that gully ahead o' us? " 
 
 " Yes ; what of it ? " 
 
 " The town's thur." 
 
Indian Pearl and Shell Beads. 
 
 path by the channel. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 NAVAJOA. 
 
 T was near evening of the next day 
 when we arrived at the foot of the 
 sierra, at the debouchure of the 
 canon. We could not follow the 
 stream any farther, as there was no 
 It would be necessary to pass over 
 the ridge that formed the southern jaw of the chasm. 
 There was a plain trail among scrubby pines ; and, fol* 
 lowing our guide, we commenced riding up the mountain. 
 
 After ascending for an hour or so, by a fearful road along 
 the very brink of the precipice, we climbed the crest of the 
 ridge, and looked eastward. We had reached the goal of 
 our journey. The town of the Navajoes was before us ! 
 
 " Voila /" " Mira el pueblo!" " Thar's the town ! " 
 " Hurrah ! " were the exclamations that broke from the 
 hunters. 
 
 " Oh God I at last it is ! ' muttered Seguin, with a sin- 
 296 
 
iSTAVAJOA. 297 
 
 gular expression of countenance. " Oh, God be praised I 
 Halt, comrades ! halt ! " 
 
 Our reins were tightened, and we sat on our weary horses 
 looking over the plain. A magnificent panorama, magnificent 
 under any circumstances, lay before us ; but its interest was 
 heightened by the peculiar circumstances under which we 
 viewed it. 
 
 We are at the western extremity of an oblong valley, look- 
 ing up it lengthwise. It is not a valley, though so called in the 
 language of Spanish America, but a plain walled in on all 
 sides by mountains. It is elliptical in form, the diameter of 
 its foci being ten or twelve miles in length. Its shortest 
 diameter is five or six. It has the surface of a green 
 meadow, and its perfect level is unbroken by brake, bush, or 
 hillock. It looks like some quiet lake transformed into an 
 emerald. 
 
 It is bisected by a line of silvery brightness that curves 
 gracefully through its whole extent, marking the windings of 
 a crystal stream. 
 
 But the mountains 1 What wild-looking mountains, partic- 
 ularly those on the north side of the valley ! They are 
 granite upheaved. Nature must have warred at the birth of 
 these : the very sight of them suggests the throes of a troubled 
 planet. Huge rocks hang over, only half resting upon fearful 
 precipices ; vast boulders that seem as though the touch of a 
 feather would cause them to topple down. Grim chasms 
 open into deep, dark defiles, that lie silent, and solemn, and 
 frowning. Here and there, stunted trees, the cedar and 
 pinon, hang horizontally out, clinging along the cliffs. The 
 unsightly limbs of the cactus, and the gloomy foliage of the 
 creosote bush, grow together in seams of the rocks, heighten" 
 ing their character of ruggedness and gloom. Such is the 
 southern barrier of the valley. 
 
 Look upon the northern sierra I Here is a contrast, a 
 
298 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 new geology. Not a rock of granite meets the eye ; but 
 there are others piled as high, and glistening with the white- 
 ness of snow. These are mountains of the milky quartz. 
 They exhibit a variety of peaks naked and shining ; crags 
 that hang over deep treeless ravines, and needle-shaped 
 summits aspiring to the sky. They too have their vegeta- 
 tion : a vegetation that suggests ideas of the desert and 
 desolation. 
 
 The two sierras appear to converge at the eastern end of the 
 valley. We are upon a transverse ridge that shuts it in 
 upon the west, and from this point we view the picture. 
 
 Where the valley ends eastwardly, we perceive a dark 
 background lying up against the mountains. We know it is 
 a pine-forest, but we are at too great a distance to distinguish 
 the trees. Out of this forest the stream appears to issue ; 
 and upon its banks, near the border of the woods, we per- 
 ceive a collection of strange pyramidal structures. They are 
 houses. It is the town of Navajoa ! 
 
 Our eyes were directed upon it with eager gaze. We 
 could trace the outlines of the houses, though they stood 
 nearly ten miles distant. They suggested images of a strange 
 architecture. There were some standing apart from the rest, 
 with terraced roofs, and we could see there were banners 
 waving over them. One, larger than the rest, presented the 
 appearance of a temple. It was out on the open plain, and 
 by the glass we could detect numerous forms clustered upon 
 its top — the forms of human beings. There were others 
 upon the roofs and parapets of the smaller houses ; and many 
 more moving upon the plain nearer us, driving before them 
 flocks of animals, mules and mustangs. Some were down 
 upon the banks of the river, and others we could see plung- 
 ing about in the water. 
 
 Several droves of horses, whose mottled flanks showed 
 their breed, were quietly browsing on the open prairie. 
 
NAVAJOA. 299 
 
 Flocks of wild swans, geese, and gruys winged their way up 
 and down the meandering current of the stream. 
 
 The sun was setting. The mountains were tinged with 
 an amber-colored light ; and the quartzose crystals sparkled 
 ©n the peaks of the southern sierra. 
 
 It was a scene of silent beauty. How long, thought I, 
 ere its silence would be broken by the sounds of ravage and 
 ruin ! 
 
 We remained for some time gazing up the valley, without 
 any one uttering his thoughts. It was the silence that pre- 
 cedes resolve. In the minds of my companions there were 
 varied emotions at play ; varied in kind as they differed in 
 intensity : differing as widely as heaven from hell. 
 
 Some were holy. Men sat straining their eyes over the 
 long reach of meadow thinking, or fancying, that in the dis- 
 tance they might distinguish a loved object : a wife, a sister, 
 a daughter, or perhaps the object of a still dearer and deeper 
 affection. No ; the last could not be. None could have been 
 more deeply affected than he who was seeking for his child. 
 A father's love was the strongest passion there. 
 
 Alas ! there were other emotions in the bosoms of those 
 around me : passions dark and sinful. Fierce looks were 
 bent upon the town. Some of these betokened fierce feel- 
 ings of revenge ; others indicated the desire of plunder ; and 
 others still spoke, fiendlike, of murder / There had been 
 mutterings of this from day to day as we journeyed. Men 
 disappointed in their golden dreams had been heard to talk 
 about the price of scalps 1 
 
 By a command from Seguin the hunters drew back among 
 the trees, and entered into a hurried council. How was the 
 town to be taken ? We could not approach it in the open 
 light. The inhabitants would see us before we could ride 
 up, and make their escape to the forest beyond. This would 
 defeat the whole purpose of our expedition. 
 
3oo 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Could not a party get round to the eastern end of the 
 valley and prevent this ? Not through the plain itself, for the 
 mountains rested upon its surface, without either ioot-hills 
 or paths along their sides. In some places vast cliffs rose 
 to the height of a thousand feet, stepping directly upon the 
 level plain. This idea was given up. 
 
 Could we not turn the southern sierra, and come in through 
 the forest itself ? This would bring us close to the houses 
 under cover. The guide was questioned, and answered in 
 the affirmative. But that could only be accomplished by 
 making a detour of nearly fifty miles. We had no time for 
 such a journey, and the thought was abandoned. 
 
 The town, then, must be approached in the night This 
 was the only plan practicable ; at least, the most likely to 
 to succeed. It was adopted. 
 
 It was not Seguin's intention to make a night attack, but 
 only to surround the buildings, keeping at some distance out, 
 and remain in ambush till the morning. All retreat would 
 thus be cut off, and we should make sure of taking our 
 captives under the light of day. 
 
 The men threw themselves to the ground, and, holding 
 their bridles, waited the going down of the sun. 
 
Indian Weapons and Ornaments. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE NIGHT AMBUSCADE. 
 
 SHORT hour passes. 
 The bright orb sinks be- 
 hind us, and the quartz 
 rock saddens into a 
 somber hue, The straggling rays 
 of twilight hover but a moment 
 over the chalky cliffs, and then 
 vanish away. It is night. 
 Descending the hills in a long string, we arrive upon the 
 plain. We turn to the left, and keep round the mountain 
 foot. The rocks guide us. 
 
 We proceed with caution, and exchange our words only in 
 whispers. We crawl around and among loose boulders 
 that have fallen from above. We turn many spurs that 
 shoot out into the plain. Occasionally we halt and hold 
 council. 
 
 After a journey of ten or twelve miles, we find ourselves 
 opposite the Indian town. We are not over a mile from it. 
 
 301 
 
302 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 We can see the fires burning on the plain, and hear the 
 voices of those who move around them. 
 
 At this point the band is divided. A small party remains, 
 making its cache in a defile among the rocks. These guard 
 the captive chief and the antajo of mules. The rest move 
 forward, guided by Rube, who carries them round the edge 
 of the forest, here and there dropping a picket of several 
 men as he proceeds. 
 
 These parties conceal themselves at their respective sta- 
 tions, remain silent, and wait for the signal from the bugle, 
 which is to be given at the hour of daybreak. 
 
 The night passes slowly and silently. The fires one by 
 one go out, until the plain is wrapped in the gloom of a 
 moonless midnight. Dark clouds travel over the sky, por- 
 tending rain : a rare phenomenon in these regions. The 
 swan utters its wild note, the gruya whoops over the stream, 
 and the wolf howls upon the skirts of the sleeping village. 
 The voice of the bull-bat wails through the air. You hear the 
 " flap, flap " of his long wings as he dashes down among the 
 cocuyos. You hear the hoof-stroke on the hard plain, the 
 " crop " of the browsing steed, and the tinkling of the bit- 
 ring ; for the horses eat bridled. At intervals, a drowsy 
 hunter mutters through his sleep, battling in dreams with 
 some terrible foe. Thus goes the night. These are its 
 voices. 
 
 They cease as daybreak approaches. The wolf howls no 
 longer ; the swan and the blue crane are silent ; the night- 
 hawk has filled his ravenous maw, and perches on the 
 mountain pine ; the fire-flies disappear, chased by the colder 
 hours ; and the horses, having eaten what grew within their 
 reach, stand in lounging attitudes, asleep. 
 
 A gray light begins to steal into the valley. It flickers 
 
THE NIGHT AMBUSCADE. 
 
 303 
 
 along the white cliffs of the quartz mountain. It brings 
 with it a raw cold air, that awakens the hunters. 
 
 One by one they arouse themselves. They shiver as 
 they stand up, and carry their blankets wrapped about their 
 shoulders. They feel weary, and look pale and haggard. 
 The gray dawn lends a ghastly hue to their dusty beards 
 and unwashed faces. 
 
 After a short while they coil up their trail-ropes and fasten 
 
 Among the Aztecs. A Temple of the Sun. 
 
 them to the rings. They look to their flints and priming, 
 and tighten the buckles of their belts. They draw forth 
 from their haversacks pieces of dry tasajo, eating it raw. 
 They stand by their horses, ready to mount. It is not yet 
 time. 
 
 The light is gathering into the valley. The blue mist that 
 hung over the river during the night is rising upward. We 
 can see the town. We can trace the odd outlines of the 
 houses. What strange structures they are ! 
 
 Some of them are higher than others : one, two, four 
 
304 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 stories in height. They are each in form like a pyramid 
 without its apex. Each upper story is smaller than that be- 
 low it, the roofs of the lower ones serving as terraces for 
 those above. They are of a whitish yellow, the color of the 
 clay out of which they are built. They are without windows, 
 but doors lead into each story from the outside ; and ladders 
 stretch from terrace to terrace, leaning against the walls. 
 On the tops of some there are poles carrying bannerets. 
 These are the residences of the principal war-chiefs and great 
 warriors of the nation. 
 
 We can see the temple distinctly. It is like the houses 
 in shape, but higher and of larger dimensions. There is a 
 tall shaft rising out of its roof, and a banner with a strange 
 device floating at its peak. 
 
 Near the houses we see corrals filled with mules and mus- 
 tangs, the live-stock of the village. 
 
 The light grows stronger. Forms appear upon the roofs 
 and move along the terraces. They are human forms envel- 
 oped in hanging garments, robe-like and striped. We rec- 
 ognize the Navajo blanket, with its alternate bands of black 
 and white. 
 
 With the glass we can see these forms more distinctly ; 
 we can tell their sex. 
 
 Their hair hangs loosely upon their shoulders, and far 
 down their backs. Most of them are females, girls and 
 women. There are many children, too. There are men 
 white-haired and old. A few other men appear, but they 
 are not warriors. The warriors are absent. 
 
 They come down the ladders, descending from terrace to 
 terrace. They go out upon the plain, and rekindle the fires. 
 Some carry earthen vessels, ollas, upon their heads, and pass 
 down to the river. They go in for water. These are nearly 
 naked. We can see their brown bodies and uncovered 
 breasts. They are slaves. 
 
THE NIGHT AMBUSCADE. 30$ 
 
 See ! the old men are climbing to the top of the temple. 
 They are followed by women and children, some in white, 
 others in bright-colored costumes. These are girls and 
 young lads, the children of the chiefs. 
 
 Over a hundred have climbed up. They have reached 
 the highest roof. There is an altar near the staff. A smoke 
 rolls up — a blaze : they have kindled a fire upon the altar. 
 
 Listen ! the chant of voices, and the beat of an Indian 
 drum ! 
 
 The sounds cease, and they all stand motionless and ap- 
 parently silent, facing to the east. 
 
 " What does it mean ? " 
 
 " They are waiting for the sun to appear. These people 
 worship him." 
 
 The hunters, interested and curious, strain their eyes, 
 watching the ceremony. 
 
 The topmost pinnacle of the quartz mountain is on fire. 
 It is the first flash of the sun ! 
 
 The peak is yellowing downward. Other points catch the 
 brilliant beams. They have struck the faces of the dev- 
 otees. See ! there are white faces 1 One — two — many 
 white faces, both of women and girls. 
 
 "Oh, God ! grant that it may be ! " cries Seguin, hurriedly 
 putting up the glass, and raising the bugle to his lips. 
 
 A few wild notes peal over the valley. The horsemen 
 hear the signal. They debouch from the woods and the 
 defiles of the mountains. They gallop over the plain, de- 
 ploying as they go. 
 
 In a few minutes we have formed the arc of a circle, con 
 cave to the town. Our horses' heads are turned inwards, 
 and we ride forward, closing upon the walls. 
 
 We have left the atajo in the defile ; the captive chief, 
 too, guarded by a few of the men. 
 
 The notes of the bugle have summoned the attention of 
 20 
 
306 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 the inhabitants. They stand for a while in amazement, and 
 without motion. They behold the deploying of the line. 
 They see the horsemen ride inward. 
 
 Could it be a mock surprise of some friendly tribe ? No. 
 That strange voice, the bugle, is new to Indian ears ; yet 
 some of them have heard it before. They know it to be the 
 war-trumpet of the pale faces ! 
 
 For a while their consternation hinders them from action. 
 They stand looking on until we are near. Then they be- 
 hold pale faces, strange armor, and horses singularly capari- 
 soned. It is the white enemy ! 
 
 They run from point to point, from street to street. Those 
 who carry water dash down their ollas, and rush screaming 
 to the houses. They climb to the roofs, drawing the ladders 
 after them. Shouts are exchanged, and exclamations uttered 
 in the voices of men, women, and children. Terror is on 
 every face ; terror displays itself in every movement. 
 
 Meanwhile our line has approached, until we are within 
 two hundred yards of the walls. We halt for a moment. 
 Twenty men are left as an outer guard. The rest of us, 
 thrown into a body, ride forward, following our leader. 
 
Indian Baskets Decorated. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 ADELE. 
 
 E direct ourselves to the 
 great building, and, sur- 
 rounding it, again halt. 
 The old men are still 
 upon the roof, standing along the 
 parapet. They are frightened, 
 and tremble like children. 
 "Do not fear; we are friends ! " cries Seguin, speaking 
 in a strange language, and making signs to them. 
 
 His voice is not heard amidst the shrieks and shouting 
 that still continue. 
 
 The words are repeated, and the sign given in a more 
 emphatic manner. 
 
 The old men crowd along the edge of the parapet. There 
 is one among them who differs from the rest. His snow- 
 white hair reaches below his waist. There are bright orna- 
 ments hanging from his ears and over his breast. He is 
 attired in white robes. He appears to be a chief, for the 
 rest obey him. He makes a signal with his hands, and the 
 screaming subsides. He stand forward on the parapet, as 
 if to speak to us. 
 
 307 
 
308 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Amigos, amigos ! " (friends !) cries he speaking in 
 Spanish. 
 
 " Yes, yes ; we are friends," replies Seguin, in the same 
 language. " Do not fear us ! We come not to harm you." 
 
 " Why harm us ? We are at peace with the white pueblos 
 to the east. We are the children of Montezuma ; we are 
 Navajoes. What want you with us ? " 
 
 " We come for our relatives, your white captives. They 
 are our wives and daughters." 
 
 " White captives ! You mistake us. We have no cap- 
 tives. Those you seek are among the nations of the Apache', 
 away far to the south." 
 
 " No ; they are with you," replies Seguin. " I have cer- 
 tain information that they are here. Delay us not, then I 
 We have come a far journey for them, and will not go with- 
 out them." 
 
 The old man turns to his companions. They converse in 
 a low voice, and exchange signs. Again he faces round to 
 Seguin. 
 
 " Believe me, sefior chief," says he, speaking with em- 
 phasis, "you have been wrongly informed. We have no 
 white captives." 
 
 " Pish ! 'Ee dod-rotted ole liar ! " cries Rube, pushing out 
 of the crowd, and raising his catskin cap as he speaks. 
 " 'Ee know this child, do 'ee ? " 
 
 The skinless head is discovered to the gaze of the In- 
 dians. A murmur, indicative of alarm, is heard among 
 them. The white-haired chief seems disconcerted. He 
 knows the history of that scalp ! 
 
 A murmur, too, runs through the ranks of the hunters. 
 They had seen white faces as they rode up. The lie ex- 
 asperates them, and the ominous click of rifles being cocked 
 is heard on all sides. 
 
 " You have spoken falsely, old man," cries Seguin. " We 
 
ADELE. 309 
 
 know you have white captives. Bring them forth, then, if 
 you would save your own lives ! " 
 
 " Quick ! " shouts Garey, raising his rifle in a threatening 
 manner; " quick ! or I'll dye the flax on yer old skull." 
 
 " Patience, amigo ! you shall see our white people ; but 
 they are not captives. They are our daughters, the children 
 of Montezuma." 
 
 The Indian descends to the third story of the temple. 
 He enters a door, and presently returns, bringing with him 
 five females dressed in the Navajo costume. They are 
 women and girls, and, as any one could tell at a glance, of 
 the Hispano-Mexican race. 
 
 But there are those present who know them still better. 
 Three of them are recognized by as many hunters, and rec- 
 ognize them in turn. The girls rush out to the parapet, 
 stretch forth their arms, and utter exclamations of joy. The 
 hunters call to them : 
 
 " Pepe ! " " Rafaela ! " " Jesusita 1 " coupling their names 
 with expressions of endearment. They shout to them to 
 come down, pointing to the ladders. 
 
 " Bajan, minas, bajan ! aprisa, aprisa /" (come down, dear 
 girls ! quickly, quickly !) 
 
 The ladders rest upon the upper terraces. The girls 
 cannot move them. Their late masters stand beside them, 
 frowning and silent. 
 
 " Lay holt thar ! " cries Garey, again threatening with his 
 piece ; "lay holt, and help the gals down, or I'll fetch some 
 o' yerselves a-tumblin' over ! " 
 
 " Lay holt ! lay holt ! shout several others in a breath. 
 
 The Indians place the ladders. The girls descend, and 
 the next moment leap into the arms of their friends. 
 
 Two of them remain above : only three have come down. 
 Seguin has dismounted, and passes these three with a glance. 
 None of them is the object of his solicitude 1 
 
3IO THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 He rushes up the ladder, followed by several of the men. 
 He springs from terrace to terrace, up to the third. He 
 presses forward to the post where stand the two captive girls. 
 His looks are wild, and his manner that of one frantic. They 
 shrink back at his approach mistaking his intentions. They 
 scream with terror ! 
 
 He pierces them with his look. The instincts of the 
 father are busy : they are baffled. One of the females is 
 old, too old ; the other is slave-like and coarse. 
 
 " Mon Dieu / it cannot be ! " he exclaims with a sigh. 
 " There was a mark ; but no, no, no ! it cannot be ! " 
 
 He leans forward, seizing the girl, though not ungently, 
 by the wrist. Her sleeve is torn open, and the arm laid 
 bare to the shoulder. 
 
 " No, no ! " he again exclaims ; " it is not there. It is 
 not she." 
 
 He turns from them. He rushes forward to the old 
 Indian, who falls back frightened at the glare of his fiery 
 eye. 
 
 " These are not all ! " cries he, in a voice of thunder ; 
 " There are others. Bring them forth, old man, or I will 
 hurl you to the earth ! " 
 
 " There are no other white squaws," replies the Indian, 
 with a sullen and determined air. 
 
 " A lie ! a lie ! your life shall answer. Here ! confront 
 him, Rube ! " 
 
 " 'Ee dratted old skunk ! That white har o' yourn ain't 
 a-gwine to stay thur much longer ev you don't bring her 
 out. Whur is she ? the young queen ? " 
 
 " Al sur" and the Indian points to the south. 
 
 " Oh ! mon Dieu ! mon Dieu I " cries Seguin, in his native 
 tongue, and with an accentuation that expresses his complete 
 wretchedness. 
 
 " Don't believe him, cap I I've seed a heap o' Injun in 
 
ADELE. 311 
 
 my time ; an' a lyiner old varmint than this'n I never seed 
 yet. Ye heerd him jest now 'bout the other gals ? " 
 
 " Yes, true ; he lied directly ; but she — she might have 
 gone " 
 
 "Not a bit o' it. Lyin's his trade. He's thur great 
 medicine, an' humbugs the hul kit o' them. The gal is what 
 they call Mystery Queen. She knows a heap, an' helps ole 
 whitey hyur in his tricks an' sacrifiches. He don't want to 
 lose her. She's hyur somewhur, I'll be boun' ; but she ur 
 cached : that's sartin." 
 
 " Men ! " cries Seguin, rushing forward to the parapet, 
 " take ladders ! Search every house ! Bring all forth, old 
 and young. Bring them to the open plain. Leave not a 
 corner unsearched. Bring me my child ! " 
 
 The hunters rush for the ladders. They seize those of 
 the great building, and soon possess themselves of others. 
 They run from house to house, and drag out the screaming 
 inmates. 
 
 There are Indian men in some of the houses — lagging 
 braves, boys, and "dandies." Some of these resist. They 
 are slaughtered, scalped, and flung over the parapets. 
 
 Crowds arrive, guarded, in front of the temple ; girls and 
 women of all ages. 
 
 Seguin's eye is busy ; his heart is yearning. At the 
 arrival of each new group, he scans their faces. In vain ! 
 Many of them are young and pretty, but brown as the fallen 
 leaf. She is not yet brought up. 
 
 I see the three captive Mexicans standing with their friends. 
 They should know where she may be found. 
 
 " Question them," I whisper to the chief. 
 
 " Ha ! you are right. I did not think of that. Come, come ! " 
 
 We run together down the ladders, and approach the 
 delivered captives. Seguin hurriedly describes the object 
 of his search. 
 
3 12 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " It must be the Mystery Queen," says one. 
 
 " Yes, yes 1 " cries Seguin, in trembling anxiety ; " it is ; 
 she is the Mystery Queen." 
 
 " She is in the town, then," adds another. 
 
 " Where ? where ? " ejaculates the half-frantic father. 
 
 " Where ? where ? " echo the girls questioning one another. 
 
 " I saw her this morning, a short time ago ; just before 
 you came up." 
 
 " I saw him hurry her off," adds a second, pointing up- 
 ward to the old Indian. " He has hidden her." 
 
 " Caval '■/" cries another, " perhaps in the estufa /" 
 
 " The estufa ! what is it ? " 
 
 " Where the sacred fire burns ; where he makes his 
 medicine." 
 
 " Where is it ? lead me to it ! " 
 
 " Ay de mi ! we know not the way Tt is a secret place 
 where they burn people ! Ay de mi /" 
 
 " But, sehor, it is in this temple ; somewhere under the 
 ground. He knows. None but he is permitted to enter it. 
 Carrai ! The estufa is a fearful place. So say the people." 
 
 An indefinite idea that his daughter may be in danger 
 crosses the mind of Seguin. Perhaps she is dead already, 
 or dying by some horrid means. He is struck, so are we, 
 with the expression of sullen malice that displays itself upon 
 the countenance of the medicine chief. It is altogether an 
 Indian expression : that of dogged determination to die 
 rather than yield what he has made up his mind to keep. 
 It is a look of demoniac cunning, characteristic of men of 
 his peculiar calling among the tribes. 
 
 Haunted by this thought, Seguin runs to the ladder, and 
 again springs upward to the roof, followed by several of the 
 band. He rushes upon the lying priest, clutching him by 
 the long hair. 
 
 " Lead me to her ! " he cries, in a voice of thunder ; 
 
ADELE. 313 
 
 " lead me to this queen : this Mystery Queen 1 She is my 
 daughter." 
 
 " Your daughter ! the Mystery Queen 1 " replies the 
 Indian, trembling with fear for his life, yet still resisting the 
 appeal. " No, white man; she is not. The queen is ours. 
 She is the daughter of the Sun. She is the child of a Navajo 
 chief." 
 
 " Tempt me no longer, old man ! No longer, I say. 
 Look forth ! If a hair of her head has been harmed, all 
 these shall suffer. I will not leave a living thing in your 
 town. Lead on ! Bring me to the estufa I " 
 
 " To the estufa! to the estufa /" shout several voices. 
 
 Strong hands grasp the garments of the Indian, and are 
 twined into his loose hair. Knives, already red and reeking, 
 are brandished before his eyes. He is forced from the 
 roof, and hurried down the ladders. 
 
 He ceases to resist, for he sees that resistance is death ; 
 and half dragged, half leading, he conducts them to the 
 ground-floor of the building. 
 
 He enters by a passage covered with the shaggy hides of 
 the buffalo. Seguin follows, keeping his eye and hand upon 
 him. We crowd after, close upon the heels of both. 
 
 We pass through dark ways, descending as we go, through 
 an intricate labyrinth. We arrive in a large room dimly 
 lighted. Ghastly images are before us and around us, the 
 mystic symbols of a horrid religion ! The walls are hung 
 with hideous shapes and skins of wild beasts. We can see 
 the fierce visages of the grizzly bear, of the white buffalo, 
 of the carcajou, of the panther, and the ravenous wolf. We 
 can recognize the horns and frontlets of the elk, the cimmaron, 
 and the grim bison. Here and there are idol figures, of 
 grotesque and monster forms, carved from wood and the 
 red claystone of the desert. 
 
 A lamp is flickering with a feeble glare ; and on a brazero, 
 
314 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 near the center of the room, burns a small bluish flame. It 
 is the sacred fire ; the fire that for centuries has blazed to 
 the god Quetzalcoatl ! 
 
 We do not stay to examine these objects. The fumes of 
 the charcoal almost suffocate us. We run in every direction, 
 overturning the idols and dragging down the sacred skins. 
 
 There are huge serpents gliding over the floor, and hiss- 
 ing around our feet. They have been disturbed and 
 frightened by the unwonted intrusion. We, too, are 
 frightened, for we hear the dreaded rattle of the crotalus ! 
 
 The men leap from the ground, and strike at them with 
 the butts of their rifles. They crush many of them on the 
 stone pavement. 
 
 There are shouts and confusion. We suffer from the 
 exhalations of the charcoal. We shall be stifled. Where is 
 Seguin ? Where has he gone ? 
 
 Hark ! There are screams ! It is a female voice 1 There 
 are voices of men too ! 
 
 We rush towards the spot where they are heard. We 
 dash aside the walls of pendant skins. We see the chief. 
 He has a female in his arms : a girl, a beautiful girl, robed 
 in gold and bright plumes. 
 
 She is screaming as we enter, and struggling to escape 
 him. He holds her firmly, and has torn open the fawn- 
 skin sleeve of her tunic. He is gazing on her left arm, 
 which is bared to the bosom ! 
 
 "It is she ! it is she I " he cries in a voice trembling with 
 emotion. " Oh God ! it is she ! Adele ! Adele ! do you 
 not know me ? Me — your father ? " 
 
 Her screams continue. She pushes him off, stretching out 
 her arms to the Indian, and calling upon him to protect her ! 
 
 The father entreats her in wild and pathetic words. She 
 heeds him not. She turns her face from him, and crouches 
 down, hugging the knees of the priest 1 
 
ADELE. 315 
 
 " She knows me not ! Oh God ! my child ! my child ! " 
 
 Again Seguin speaks in the Indian tongue, and with im- 
 ploring accents — 
 
 " Adele ! Adele ! / am your father ! " 
 
 " You ! Who are you ? The white men ; our foes I 
 Touch me not ! Away, white men ! away ! " 
 
 " Dear, dearest Adele ! do not repel me : me, your father ! 
 You remember " 
 
 " My father ! My father was a great chief. He is dead. 
 This is my father now. The Sun is my father. I am a 
 daughter of Montezuma ! I am a queen of the Navajoes 1 " 
 
 As she utters these words, a change seems to come over 
 her spirit. She crouches no longer. She rises to her feet. 
 Her screaming has ended, and she stands in an attitude of 
 pride and indignation. 
 
 " Oh, Adele ! " continues Seguin, more earnest than ever, 
 " look at me ! look ! Do you not remember ? Look in my 
 face ! Oh heaven ! Here, see ! Here is your mother, 
 Adele ! See ! this is her picture ; your angel mother. Look 
 at it ! Look, oh, Adele ! " 
 
 Seguin, while he is speaking, draws a miniature from his 
 bosom, and holds it before the eyes of the girl. It arrests 
 her attention. She looks upon it, but without any signs of 
 recognition. It is to her only a curious object. 
 
 She seems struck with his manner, frantic but entreating. 
 She seems to regard him with wonder. Still she repels him. 
 It is evident she knows him not. She has lost every recol- 
 lection of him and his. She has forgotten the language of 
 her childhood ; she has forgotten her father, her mother : she 
 has forgotten all 1 
 
 I could not restrain my tears as I looked upon the face of 
 my friend, for I had grown to consider him such. Like one 
 who has received a mortal wound, yet still lives, he stood in 
 
3i6 
 
 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 the center of the group, silent and crushed. His head had 
 fallen upon his breast, his cheek was blanched and bloodless ; 
 and his eye wandered with an expression of imbecility pain- 
 ful to behold. I could imagine the terrible conflict that was 
 raging within. 
 
 He made no further efforts to entreat the girl. He no 
 longer offered to approach her ; but stood for some moments 
 in the same attitude without speaking a word. 
 
 "Bring her away!" he muttered, at length, in a voice 
 husky and broken ; " bring her away 1 Perhaps, i?i God's 
 mercy, she may yet remember. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE WHITE SCALP. 
 
 E repassed the hor- 
 rid chamber, and 
 emerged upon the 
 j lowermost terrace of 
 the temple. 
 
 As I walked forward to the 
 parapet, there was a scene be- 
 low that filled me with appre- 
 hension. A cloud seemed to 
 fall over my heart. 
 The impression was sudden, and, at the moment, indefi- 
 nite as to its cause. Was it the sight (for I saw it) of blood ? 
 No. It could not be that. Blood had been before my eyes 
 too often of late, and I had become accustomed to its wanton 
 shedding. It may have been partially the cause ; but there 
 were other sights and sounds, hardly affecting the eye and 
 ear, yet sufficiently definite to impress my mind with fear 
 and foreboding. There was a bad electricity in the air — not the 
 natural, but the moral atmosphere — that reached me through 
 those mysterious channels not yet traced by philosophy. 
 Look back upon your experience. Have you not often felt 
 
 317 
 
3l8 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 sensible that wrath or other bad passions existed in the 
 minds of men before you could perceive it by any definite 
 look, word, or action ? 
 
 As the wild animal foretells the hurricane when the atmos- 
 phere is tranquil, I instinctively felt that a dark scene was 
 approaching. 
 
 Perhaps I drew my omens from the very tranquillity that 
 reigned around. In the moral as in the physical world there 
 is a stillness that precedes the storm. 
 
 In front of the temple were the women of the village ; girls, 
 women, and children ; in all about two hundred. They were 
 variously attired : some were wrapped in their striped blank- 
 ets ; some wore tilmas, and tunics of embroidered fawnskin, 
 plumed and painted with dyes of vivid color ; some were 
 dressed in the garb of civilized life : in rich satins, that had 
 been worn by the dames of the Del Norte ; in flounces that 
 had fluttered in the dance around the ankles of some gay 
 maja f 
 
 Not a few in the crowd were entirely nude, without even 
 the shielding of the fig-leaf. 
 
 They were all Indians, but of lighter and darker shades ; 
 differing in color as in expression of face. Some were old, 
 wrinkled, and coarse ; but there were many of them young, 
 noble-like, and altogether beautiful. 
 
 They were grouped together in various attitudes. They 
 had ceased their screaming, but murmured among them- 
 selves in low and plaintive exclamations. 
 
 As I looked, I saw blood running from their ears ! It had 
 dappled their throats and spurted over their garments. 
 
 A glance satisfied me as to the cause of this. They had 
 been rudely robbed of their golden hangings. 
 
 Near and around them stood the scalp-hunters, in groups 
 and afoot. They were talking in whispers and low mutter- 
 ings. There were objects about their persons that attracted 
 
THE WHITE SCALP. 319 
 
 my eye. Curious articles of ornament or use peeped out 
 from their pouches and haversacks ; bead-strings and pieces 
 of shining metal — gold it was — hung around their necks and 
 over their breasts. These were the plundered bijouterie of 
 the savage maidens. 
 
 There were other objects upon which my eye rested with 
 feelings of deeper pain. Stuck behind the belts of many 
 were scalps, fresh and reeking. Their knife-hilts and fingers 
 were red ; there was blood upon their hands : there was 
 gloom in their glances. 
 
 The picture was appalling ; and, adding to its awful im- 
 pression, black clouds were at the moment rolling over the 
 valley, and swathing the mountains in their opaque masses. 
 The lightning jetted from peak to peak, followed by short 
 claps of close and deafening thunder. 
 
 " Bring up the atajo ! " shouted Seguin, as he descended 
 the ladder with his daughter. 
 
 A signal was given ; and shortly after the mules, in charge 
 of the arrieros, came stringing across the plain. 
 
 " Collect all the dry meat that can be found. Let it be 
 packed as speedily as possible," 
 
 In front of most of the houses there were strings of tasajo 
 hanging against the walls. There were also dried fruits and 
 vegetables, chili, roots of the kamas, and skin-bags filled with 
 pinons and choke-berries. 
 
 The meat was soon brought together, and several of the 
 men assisted the arrieros in packing it. 
 
 " There will be barely enough," said Seguin. Here, Rube," 
 continued he, calling to the old trapper ; " pick out your pris- 
 oners. Twenty will be as many as we can take. You 
 know them : choose those most likely to tempt an exchange." 
 
 So saying, the chief turned off towards the atajo, leading 
 his daughter with the intention of mounting her on one of the 
 mules. 
 
320 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Rube proceeded to obey the orders given him. In a short 
 time he had collected a number of unresisting captives, and 
 had put them aside from the rest. They were principally 
 girls and young lads, whose dress and features bespoke them 
 of the noblesse of the nation, the children of chiefs and 
 warriors. 
 
 This movement was not regarded in silence. The men 
 had drawn together, and commenced talking in loud and 
 mutinous language. 
 
 " Wagh ! " exclaimed Kirker, a fellow of brutal aspect ; 
 " thar are wives a-piece, boys : why not every man help him- 
 self? Why not?" 
 
 " Kirker's right," rejoined another ; " and I've made up 
 my mind to have one, or bust." 
 
 " But how are ye goin' to feed 'em on the road ? We 
 ha'n't meat if we take one a-piece." 
 
 " Meat be hanged 1 " ejaculated the second speaker ; " we 
 kin reach the Del Nort in four days or less. What do we 
 want with so much meat ? " 
 
 " There's meat a plenty," rejoined Kirker. " That's all 
 the captain's palaver. If it runs out we kin drop the weemen, 
 and take what o' them's handiest to carry." 
 
 This was said with a significant gesture, and a ferocity of 
 expression revolting to behold. 
 
 " Now, boys ! what say ye ? " 
 
 " I freeze to Kirker." 
 
 " And I." 
 
 " And I." 
 
 " I'm not goin' to advise anybody," added the brute 
 " Ye may all do as ye please about it ; but this niggur's not 
 a goin' to starve in the midst o' plenty." 
 
 " Right, comrade ! right, I say." 
 
 " Wal. First spoke first pick, I reckin. That's moun- 
 tain law ; so, old gal, I cottons to you. Come along, will yer ? " 
 
THE WHITE SCALP. 
 
 321 
 
 Saying this, he seized one of the Indians, a large, fine- 
 looking woman, roughly by the wrist, and commenced drag- 
 ging her towards the atajo. 
 
 The woman screamed and resisted, frightened, not at what 
 had been said, for she did not understand it, but terrified by 
 
 Indian Mummies a Thousand Years Old. 
 
 the ruffian expression that was plainly legible in the counte- 
 nance of the man. 
 
 " Shut up yer meat-trap, will ye ? " cried he, still pulling 
 her towards the mules : " I'm not goin' to eat ye. Wagh ! 
 Don't be so skeert. Come ! mount hyar. Gee yup I " 
 
 And with this exclamation he lifted the woman upon one 
 of the mules. 
 
322 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " If ye don't sit still, I'll tie ye ; mind that ! " and he held 
 up the lasso, making signs of his determination. 
 
 A horrid scene now ensued. . 
 
 A number of the scalp-hunters followed the example of 
 their ruffian comrade. Each one chose the girl or woman he 
 had fancied, and commenced hurrying her off to the atajo. 
 The women shrieked. The men shouted and swore. Sev- 
 eral scrambled for the same prize : a girl more beautiful than 
 her companions. A quarrel was the consequence. Oaths 
 and ejaculations rang out ; knives were drawn and pistols 
 cocked. 
 
 " Toss up for her 1 " cried one. 
 
 " Ay, that's fair : toss up 1 toss up I " shouted several. 
 
 The hint was adopted ; the lots were cast ; and the savage 
 belle became the property of the winner. 
 
 In the space of a few minutes nearly every mule in the 
 atajo carried an Indian damsel. 
 
 Some of the hunters had taken no part in this Sabine pro- 
 ceeding. Some disapproved of it (for all were not bad) from 
 motives of humanity. Others did not care for being " ham- 
 pered with a squaw," but stood apart, savagely laughing at 
 the scene. 
 
 During all this time Seguin was on the other side of the 
 building with his daughter. He had mounted her upon one 
 of the mules, and covered her shoulders with his serape\ He 
 was making such preparations for her journey as the tender 
 solicitudes of the father suggested. 
 
 The noise at length attracted him ; and, leaving her 
 in charge of his servants, he hurried round to the 
 front. 
 
 " Comrades ! " cried he, glancing at the mounted captives, 
 and comprehending all that had occurred, " there are too 
 many here. Are these whom you have chosen ? This ques- 
 tion was directed to the trapper Rube. 
 
THE WHITE SCALP. 32$ 
 
 " No," replied the latter, "them's 'em," and he pointed to 
 the party he had picked out. 
 
 " Dismount these, then, and place those you have selected 
 upon the mules. We have a desert to cross, and it will be 
 as much as we can do to pass it with that number." 
 
 And without appearing to notice the scowling looks of his 
 followers, he proceeded, in company with Rube and several 
 others, to execute the command he had given. 
 
 The indignation of the hunters now showed itself in open 
 mutiny. Fierce looks were exchanged, and threats uttered 
 aloud. 
 
 " By heaven 1 " cried one, " I'll have my gal along, or her 
 scalp." 
 
 " Vaya /" exclaimed another in Spanish : " why take any 
 of them ? They're not worth the trouble, after all. There's 
 not one of them worth the price of her own hair." 
 
 " Take the har then, and leave the niggurs ! " suggested a 
 third. 
 
 " I say so too." 
 
 " And I." 
 
 " I vote with you, hoss." 
 
 " Comrades ! " said Seguin, turning to the mutineers, and 
 speaking in a tone of extreme mildness, " remember your 
 promise. Count the prisoners, as we agreed. I will answer 
 for the payment of all. 
 
 " Can ye pay for them now ? " asked a voice. 
 
 " You know that that would be impossible." 
 
 " Pay for them now ! Pay for them now 1 " shouted 
 several. 
 
 " Cash or scalps, say I." 
 
 " Carajo ! where is the captain to get the money when we 
 reach El Paso more than here ? He's neither a Jew nor a 
 banker ; and it's news to me if he's grown so rich. Where, 
 then, is all this money to come from ? " 
 
324 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Not from the CabiZdo, unless the scalps are forthcoming ; 
 I'll warrant that." 
 
 " True, Jose ! They'll give no money to him, more than 
 to us ; and we can get it ourselves if we show the skins for 
 it. That we can." 
 
 " Wagh I what cares he for us now that he has got what 
 he wanted ? " 
 
 " Not a niggur's cuss. He wouldn't let us go by the Prieto, 
 when we kud 'a gathered the shining stuff in chunks." 
 
 " Now he wants us to throw away this chance too. We'd 
 be green fools to do it, I say." 
 
 It struck me at this moment that I might interfere with 
 success. Money seemed to be what the mutineers wanted ; 
 at least it was their alleged grievance ; and rather than wit- 
 ness the fearful drama which appeared to be on the eve of 
 enactment, I would have sacrificed my fortune. 
 
 " Men ! " cried I, speaking so that I could be heard above 
 the din, " if you deem my word worth listening to, it is this : 
 I have sent a cargo to Chihuahua with the last caravan. By 
 the time we can get back to El Paso the traders will have 
 returned, and I shall be placed in possession of funds double 
 what you demand. If you will accept my promise I shall 
 see that you be paid. " 
 
 " Wagh 1 that talk's all very well, but what do we know 
 of you or yer cargo ? " 
 
 " Vaya ! A bird in the hand's worth two in the bush." 
 
 " He's a trader. Who's goin' to take his word ? " 
 
 " Rot his cargo ! Scalps or cash, cash or scalps ! that's 
 this niggur's advice ; an' if ye don't take it, boys, ye may 
 leave it ; but it's all the pay ye'll ever crook yer claws on." 
 
 The men had tasted blood, and like the tiger, they thirsted 
 for more. There were glaring eyes on all sides, and the 
 countenances of some exhibited an animal ferociousness hid- 
 eous to look upon. The half-robber discipline that hitherto 
 
THE WHITE SCALP. 325 
 
 ruled in the band seemed to have completely departed, and 
 the authority of the chief to be set at defiance. 
 
 On the other side stood the females, clinging and huddling 
 together. They could not understand the mutinous language, 
 but they saw threatening attitudes and angry faces. They 
 saw knives drawn, and heard the cocking of guns and pistols. 
 They knew there was danger, and they crouched together 
 whimpering with fear. 
 
 Up to this moment, Seguin had stood giving directions for 
 the mounting of captives. His manner was strangely 
 abstracted, as it had been ever since the scene of meeting 
 with his daughter. That greater care, gnawing at his heart, 
 seemed to render him insensible to what was passing. He 
 was not so. 
 
 As Kirker ended (for he was the last speaker) a change 
 came over Seguin's manner, quick as a flash of lightning. 
 Suddenly rousing himself from his attitude of indifference, 
 he stepped forward in front of the mutineers. 
 
 " Dare ! " shouted he, in a voice of thunder — " dare to dis- 
 honor your oaths 1 By heavens ! the first man who raises 
 knife or rifle shall die on the instant ! " 
 
 There was a pause, and a moment of deep silence. 
 
 " I had made a vow," continued he, " that should it please 
 God to restore me my child, this hand should be stained with 
 no more blood. Let any man force me to break that vow, 
 and by heaven his blood shall be the first to stain it ! " 
 
 A vengeful murmur ran through the crowd, but no one 
 replied. 
 
 " You are but a cowardly brute, with all your bluster," he 
 continued, turning round to Kirker, and looking him in the 
 eye. " Up with that knife ! quick 1 or by the God of heaven 
 I will send this bullet through your ruffian heart ! " 
 
 Seguin had drawn his pistol, and stood in an attitude that 
 told he would execute the threat. His form seemed to have 
 
326 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 grown larger ; his eye dilated, flashing as it rolled, and the 
 man shrank before its glance. He saw death in it if he dis- 
 obeyed, and with a surly murmur he fumbled mechanically 
 at his belt, and thrust the blade back into its sheath. 
 
 But the mutiny was not yet quelled. These were men not 
 so easily conquered. Fierce exclamations still continued, 
 and the mutineers again began to encourage one another 
 with shouts. 
 
 I had thrown myself alongside the chief, with my revolvers 
 cocked and ready, resolved to stand by him to the death. 
 Several others had done the same ; among whom were Rube, 
 Garey, Sanchez the bull-fighter, and the Maricopa. 
 
 The opposing parties were nearly equal, and a fearful con- 
 flict would have followed had we fought ; but at this moment 
 an object appeared that stifled the resentment of all. It was 
 the common enemy ! 
 
 Away on the western border of the valley we could see 
 dark objects, hundreds of them, coming over the plain. They 
 were still at a great distance, but the practised eyes of the 
 hunters knew them at a glance. They were horsemen ; they 
 were Indians ; they were our pursuers ; the Navajoes 1 
 
 They were riding at full gallop, and strung over the prairie 
 like hounds upon a run. In a twinkling they would be on us. 
 
 " Yonder ! " cried Seguin, " yonder are scalps enough to 
 satisfy you ; but let us see to our own. Come ! to your 
 horses ! On with the atajo ! I will keep my word with you 
 at the pass. Mount ! my brave fellows, mount 1 " 
 
 The last speech was uttered in a tone of reconciliation ; 
 but it needed not that to quicken the movements of the 
 hunters. They knew too well their own danger. They 
 could have sustained the attack among the houses, but it 
 would only have been until the return of the main tribe, when 
 they knew that every life would be taken. To make a stand 
 at the town would be madness, and was not thought of. In 
 
THE WHITE SCALP. 327 
 
 a moment we were in our saddles ; and the atajo, strung out 
 with the captives and provisions, was hurrying off toward the 
 woods. We purposed passing the defile that opened eastward, 
 as our retreat by the other route was now cut off by the ad- 
 vancing horsemen. 
 
 Seguin had thrown himself at the head, leading the mule 
 upon which his daughter was mounted. The rest followed, 
 straggling over the plain without rank or order. 
 
 I was among the last to leave the town. I had lingered 
 behind purposely, fearing some outrage, and determined, if 
 possible, to prevent it. 
 
 " At length," thought I, " they have all gone ; " and, putting 
 spurs to my horse, I galloped after. 
 
 When I had ridden about a hundred yards from the walls, 
 a loud yell rang behind me ; and reining in my horse, I turned 
 in the saddle and looked back. Another yell, wild and sav- 
 age, directed me to the point whence the former had come. 
 
 On the highest roof of the temple two men were struggling. 
 I knew them at a glance ; and I knew, too, it was a death- 
 struggle. One was the medicine chief, as I could tell by the 
 flowing white hair. The scanty skirt and leggings, the naked 
 ankles, the close-fitting skull-cap, enabled me easily to dis- 
 tinguish his antagonist. It was the earless trapper ! 
 
 The conflict was a short one. I had not seen the begin- 
 ning of it, but I soon witnessed the denouement. As I turned, 
 the trapper had forced his adversary against the parapet, and 
 with his long muscular arm was bending him over its edge. 
 In the other hand, uplifted, he brandished his knife ! 
 
 I saw a quick flash as the blade was plunged ; a red gush 
 spurted over the garments of the Indian ; his arms dropped, 
 his body doubled over the wall, balanced a moment, and then 
 fell with a dull sodden sound upon the terrace below ! 
 
 The same wild whoop again rang in my ears, and the hun- 
 ter disappeared from the roof. 
 
328 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I turned to ride on. I knew it was the settling of some 
 old account : the winding up of some terrible revenge. 
 
 The clattering of hoofs sounded behind me, and a horse- 
 man rode up alongside. I knew, without turning my head 
 that it was the trapper. 
 
 " Fair swop, they say, ain't no stearin'. Putty har, too, it 
 ur. Wagh ! It won't neyther match nor patch mine ; but 
 it makes one's feelin's easier." 
 
 Puzzled at this speech, I turned to ascertain its meaning. 
 I was answered by the sight that met my eye. An object 
 was hanging from the old man's belt, like a streak of snow- 
 white flax. But it was not that. It was hair. It was a 
 scalp ! 
 
 There were drops of blood struggling down the silvery 
 strands as they shook, and across them, near the middle, was 
 a broad red band. It was the track of the trapper's knife 
 where he had wiped it I 
 
Beads of Wampum Shells and Turquoise. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE FIGHT IN THE PASS. 
 
 E entered the woods, and fol- 
 lowed the Indian trail up stream. 
 We hurried forward as fast as 
 ^ the atajo could be driven. A 
 scramble of five miles brought us to the 
 eastern end of the valley. Here the 
 sierras impinged upon the river, form- 
 ing a canon. It was a grim gap, similar to that we had passed 
 on entering from the west, but still more fearful in its features. 
 Unlike the former, there was no road over the mountains on 
 either side. The valley was headed in by precipitous cliffs, 
 and the trail lay through the canon, up the bed of the stream. 
 The latter was shallow. During freshets it became a tor- 
 rent ; and then the valley was inaccessible from the east, but 
 that was a rare occurrence in these rainless regions. 
 
 We entered the canon without halting, and galloped over 
 the detritus, and round huge boulders that lay in its bed. 
 Far above us rose the frowning cliffs, thousands of feet over- 
 head. Great rocks scarped out, abutting over the stream ; 
 shaggy pines hung top downward, clinging in their seams j 
 
 329 
 
330 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 shapeless bunches of cacti and mezcals crawled along the 
 cliffs : their picturesque but gloomy foliage adding to the 
 wildness of the scene. 
 
 It was dark within the pass, from the shadow of the jut- 
 ting masses : but now darker than usual, for black storm- 
 clouds were swathing the cliffs overhead. Through these, 
 at short intervals, the lightning forked and flashed, glancing 
 in the water at our feet. The thunder, in quick, sharp per- 
 cussions, broke over the ravine ; but as yet it rained not. 
 
 We plunged hurriedly through the shallow stream, follow- 
 ing the guide. There were places not without danger, where 
 the water swept around angles of the cliff, with an impetu- 
 osity that almost lifted our horses from their feet ; but we 
 had no choice, and we scrambled on, urging our animals with 
 voice and spur. 
 
 After riding for a distance of several hundred yards, we 
 reached the head of the canon and climbed out on the 
 bank. 
 
 " Now, cap'n," cried the guide, reining up, and pointing 
 to the entrance, " hyur's yur place to make stand. We kin 
 keep them back till thur sick i' the guts ; that's what we kin 
 do." 
 
 " You are sure there is no pass that leads out but this 
 one ? " 
 
 " Ne'er a crack that a cat kud get out at ; that ur, 'ceptin' 
 they go back by the other eend ; an' that'll take them a 
 round-about o' two days, I reckin." 
 
 " We will defend this, then. Dismount, men 1 Throw 
 yourselves behind the rocks ! " 
 
 " If 'ee take my advice, cap, I'd let the mules and weemen 
 keep for'ard, with a lot o' the men to look arter 'em ; them 
 that's ridin' the meanest critters. It'll be nose an' tail when 
 we do go ; and if they starts now, yur see we kin easy catch 
 up with 'em t'other side o' the parairar." 
 
THE FIGHT IN THE PASS. 33 1 
 
 " You are right, Rube ! We cannot stay long here. Our 
 provisions will give out. They must move ahead. Is that 
 mountain near the line of our course, think you ? " 
 
 As Seguin spoke, he pointed to a snow-crowned peak that 
 towered over the plain, far off to the eastward. 
 
 " The trail we oughter take for the ole mine passes clost 
 by it, cap'n. To the south'art o' yon snowy, thur's a pass ; 
 it's the way I got clur myself." 
 
 " Very well ; the party can take the mountain for their 
 guide. I will despatch them at once." 
 
 About twenty men, who rode the poorest horses, were 
 selected from the band. These, guarding the atajo and cap- 
 tives, immediately set out and rode off in the direction of 
 the snowy mountain. El Sol went with this party, in charge 
 of Dacoma and the daughter of our chief. The rest of us 
 prepared to defend the pass. 
 
 Our horses were tied in a defile ; and we took our stands 
 where we could command the embouchure of the canon with 
 our rifles. 
 
 We waited in silence for the approaching foe. As yet no 
 war-whoop had reached us ; but we knew that our pursuers 
 could not be far off ; and we knelt behind the rocks, strain- 
 ing our eyes down the dark ravine. 
 
 It is difficult to give an idea of our position by the pen. The 
 ground we had selected as the point of defense was unique 
 in its formation, and not easily described ; yet it is necessary 
 you should know something of its peculiar character in order 
 to comprehend what followed. 
 
 The stream, after meandering over a shallow, shingly chan- 
 nel, entered the canon through a vast gate-like gap, between 
 two giant portals. One of these was the abrupt ending of 
 the granite ridge, the other a detached mass of stratified 
 rock. Below this gate the channel widened for a hundred 
 yards or so, where its bed was covered with loose boul- 
 
332 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 ders and logs of drift timber. Still farther down the cliffs 
 approached each other, so near that only two horsemen could 
 ride between them abreast ; and beyond this the chan- 
 nel again widened, and the bed of the stream was filled with 
 rocks : huge fragments that had fallen from the mountain. 
 
 The place we occupied was among the rocks and drift, 
 within the canon, and below the great gap which formed its 
 mouth. We had chosen the position from necessity, as at 
 this point the bank shelved out and offered a way to the 
 open country, by which our pursuers could outflank us, should 
 we allow them to get so far up. It was necessary, therefore, 
 to prevent this ; and we placed ourselves to defend the lower 
 or second narrowing of the channel. We knew that below that 
 point beetling cliffs walled in the stream on both sides, so that 
 it would be impossible for them to ascend out of its bed. If 
 we could restrain them from making a rush at the shelving 
 bank, we would have them penned up from any farther ad- 
 vance. They could only flank our position by returning to 
 the valley, and going about by the western end, a distance 
 of fifty miles at the least. At all events, we should hold 
 them in check until the atajo had got a long start ; and then^ 
 trusting to our horses, we intended to follow it in the night. 
 We knew that in the end we should have to abandon the 
 defense, as the want of provisions would not allow us to hold 
 out for any length of time. 
 
 At the command of our leader we had thrown ourselves 
 among the rocks. The thunder was now pealing over our 
 heads, and reverberating through the canon. Black clouds 
 rolled along the cliffs, split and torn by brilliant jets. Big 
 drops, still falling thinly, slapped down upon the stones. 
 
 As Seguin had told me, rain, thunder, and lightning are 
 rare phenomena in these regions ; but when they do occur, 
 it is with that violence which characterizes the storms of the 
 tropics. The elements, escaping from their wonted conti- 
 
THE FIGHT IN THE PASS. 333 
 
 nence, rage in fiercer war. The long-gathering electricity, 
 suddenly displaced from its equilibrium, seems to revel in 
 havoc, rending asunder the harmonies of nature. 
 
 The eye of the geognosist, in scanning the features of this 
 plateau land, could not be mistaken in the character of its 
 atmosphere. The dread canons, the deep barrancas, the 
 broken banks of streams, and the clay-cut channels of 
 the arroyos, all testified that we were in a land of sudden 
 floods. 
 
 Away to the east, towards the head waters of the river, 
 we could see that the storm was raging in its full fury. The 
 mountains in that direction were no longer visible. Thick 
 rain-clouds were descending upon them, and we could hear 
 the " sough " of the falling water. We knew that it would 
 soon be upon us. 
 
 "What's keepin' them anyhow? " inquired a voice. 
 
 Our pursuers had time to have been up. The delay was 
 unexpected. 
 
 " The Lord only knows ! " answered another. " I s'pose 
 thar puttin' on a fresh coat o' paint at the town." 
 
 " They'll get their paint washed off, I reckin. Look to 
 yer primin', hosses! that's my advice." 
 
 " By gosh ! its a-goin to come down in spouts." 
 
 " That's the game, boyees ! hooray for that ! " cried old 
 Rube. 
 
 " Why ? Do you want to git soaked, old case ? " 
 
 " That's adzactly what this child wants." 
 
 " Well, it's more 'n I do. I'd like to know what ye want 
 to get wet for. Do ye wish to put your old carcass into an 
 agey ? " 
 
 " If it rains two hours, do 'ee see," continued Rube, with- 
 out paying attention to the last interrogatory, " we needn't 
 stay hyur, do 'ee see ? " 
 
 " Why not, Rube ? " inquired Seguin, with interest. 
 
334 TH E SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Why, cap," replied the guide, " I've seed a skift o' a 
 shower make this hyur crik that 'ee wudn't care to wade it. 
 Hooray ! it ur a-comin', sure enuf ! Hooray ! " 
 
 As the trapper uttered these exclamations, a vast black 
 cloud came rolling down from the east, until its giant wings 
 canopied the defile. It was filled with rumbling thunder, 
 breaking at intervals into louder percussions, as the red bolts 
 passed hissing through it. From this cloud the rain fell, 
 not in drops, but, as the hunter had predicted, in " spouts." 
 
 The men, hastily throwing the skirts of their hunting-shirts 
 over their gun-locks, remained silent under the pelting of the 
 storm. 
 
 Another sound, heard between the peals, now called our 
 attention. It resembled the continuous noise of a train of 
 wagons passing along a gravelly road. It was the sound of 
 hoof-strokes on the shingly bed of the canon. It was the 
 horse-tread of the approaching Navajoes ! 
 
 Suddenly it ceased. They had halted. For what pur- 
 pose ? Perhaps to reconnoiter. 
 
 This conjecture proved to be correct ; for in a few mo- 
 ments a small red object appeared over a distant rock. It 
 was the forehead of an Indian, with its vermilion paint. It 
 was too distant for the range of a rifle, and the hunters 
 watched it without moving. 
 
 Soon another appeared, and another, and then a number 
 of dark forms were seen lurking from rock to rock, as they 
 advanced up the canon. Our pursuers had dismounted, and 
 were approaching us on foot. 
 
 Our faces were concealed by the " wrack " that covered 
 the stones ; and the Indians had not yet discovered us. 
 They were evidently in doubt as to whether we had gone on, 
 and this was their vanguard making the necessary reconnais- 
 sance. 
 
 In a short time the foremost, by starts and runs, had got 
 
THE FIGHT IN THE PASS. 335 
 
 clcse up to the narrow part of the canon. There was a 
 boulder below this point, and the upper part of the Indian's 
 head showed itself for an instant over the rock. At the 
 same instant half a dozen rifles cracked ; the head disap- 
 pearec ; and, the moment after, an object was seen down 
 upon the pebbles, at the base of the boulder. It was the 
 brown arm of the savage, lying palm upward. We knew 
 that the leaden messengers had done their work. 
 
 The pursuers, though at the expense of one of their num- 
 ber, had now ascertained the fact of our presence, as well as 
 our position ; and the advance party were seen retreating as 
 they had approached. 
 
 The men who had fired reloaded their pieces, and, kneel- 
 ing down as before, watched with sharp eyes and cocked 
 rifles. 
 
 It was a long time before we heard anything more of the 
 enemy ; but we knew that they were deliberating on some 
 plan of attack. 
 
 There was but one way by which they could defeat us : by 
 charging up the canon, and fighting us hand-to-hand. By an 
 attack of this kind their main loss would be in the first volley. 
 They might ride upon us before we could reload ; and, far 
 outnumbering us, would soon decide the day with their long 
 lances. We knew all this ; but we knew, too, that a first 
 volley, when well delivered, invariably staggers an Indian 
 charge, and we relied on such a hope for our safety. 
 
 We had arranged to fire by platoons, and thus have the 
 advantage of a second discharge, should the Indians not re- 
 treat at the first. 
 
 For nearly an hour the hunters crouched under the drench- 
 ing rain, looking only to keep dry the locks of their pieces. 
 The water, in muddy rivulets, began to trickle through the 
 shingle, and, eddying around the rocks, covered the wide 
 channel in which we now stood, ankle-deep. Both above 
 
336 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 and below us, the stream, gathered up by the narrowing of 
 the channel, was running with considerable velocity. 
 
 The sun had set, at least it seemed so, in the dismal ranne 
 where we were. We were growing impatient for thi ap- 
 pearance of our enemy. 
 
 " Perhaps they have gone round," suggested one. 
 
 " No ; thar a-waitin' till night. They'll try it then.'' 
 
 " Let 'em wait, then," muttered Rube, " ef thur green enuf. 
 A half an hour more '11 do ; or this child don't understan' 
 weather signs." 
 
 " Hist ! hist ! " cried several voices together. " See ; they 
 are coming ! " 
 
 All eyes were bent down the pass. A crowd of dark ob- 
 jects appeared in the distance, filling up the bed of the 
 stream. They were the Indians, and on horseback. We 
 knew from this that they were about to make a dash. Their 
 movements too confirmed it. They had formed two-deep, 
 and held their bows ready to deliver a flight of arrows as 
 they galloped up. 
 
 " Look out, boyees ! " cried Rube ; " thur a-comin' now 
 in airnest. Look to yur sights, and give 'em gos ; do 'ee 
 hear ? " 
 
 As the trapper spoke, two hundred voices broke into a 
 simultaneous yell. It was the war-cry of the Navajoes ! 
 
 As its vengeful notes rang upon the canon, they were an- 
 swered by loud cheers from the hunters, mingled with the 
 wild whoops of their Delaware and Shawano allies. 
 
 The Indians halted for a moment beyond the narrowing 
 of the canon, until those who were rearmost should close up. 
 Then, uttering another cry, they dashed forward into the gap. 
 
 So sudden was their charge that several of them had got 
 fairly through before a shot was fired. Then came the re- 
 ports of the guns ; the " crack — crack — crack " of rifles ; the 
 louder detonations of the Spanish pieces, mingled with the 
 
THE FIGHT IN THE PASS. 337 
 
 whizzing sound of Indian arrows. Shouts of encourage- 
 ment and defiance were given on both sides ; and groans 
 were heard, as the grooved bullet or the poisoned barb tore 
 up the yielding flesh. 
 
 Several of the Indians had fallen at the first volley. A 
 number had ridden forward to the spot of our ambush, and 
 fired their arrows in our faces. But our rifles had not all 
 been emptied ; and these daring savages were seen to drop 
 from their saddles at the straggling and successive reports. 
 
 The main body wheeled behind the rocks, and were now 
 forming for a second charge. This was the moment of 
 danger. Our guns were idle, and we could not prevent them 
 from passing the gap, and getting through to the open coun- 
 try. 
 
 I saw Seguin draw his pistol, and rush forward, calling 
 upon those who were similarly armed to follow his example. 
 We ran after our leader down to the very jaws of the canon, 
 and stood waiting the charge. 
 
 It was soon to come ; for the enemy, exasperated by 
 many circumstances, were determined on our destruction, 
 cost what it might. Again we heard their fierce war-cry, 
 and amidst its wild echoes the savages came galloping into 
 the gap. 
 
 " Now's yur time," cried a voice ; " fire ! Hooray ! " 
 
 The cracks of fifty pistols were almost simultaneous. The 
 foremost horses reared up and fell back, kicking and sprawl- 
 ing in the gap. They fell, as it were, in a body, completely 
 choking up the channel. Those who came on behind urged 
 their animals forward. Some stumbled on the heap of fallen 
 bodies. Their horses rose and fell again, trampling both 
 dead and living among their feet. Some struggled over 
 and fought us with their lances. We struck back with our 
 clubbed guns, and closed upon them with our knives and 
 tomahawks. 
 
33S The scalp-hunters. 
 
 The stream rose and foamed against the rocks, pent back 
 by the prostrate animals. We fought thigh-deep in the 
 gathering flood. The thunder roared overhead, and the 
 lightning flashed in our faces, as though the elements took 
 part in the conflict ! 
 
 The yelling continued wild and vengeful as ever. The 
 hunters answered it with fierce shouts. Oaths flew from 
 foaming lips, and men grappled in the embrace that ended 
 only in death 1 
 
 And now the water, gathered into a deep dam, lifted the 
 bodies of the animals that had hitherto obstructed it, and 
 swept them out of the gap. The whole force of the enemy 
 would be upon us. Good heavens ! they are crowding up, 
 and our guns are empty ! 
 
 At this moment a new sound echoed in our ears. It was 
 not the shouts of men, nor the detonation of guns, nor the 
 pealing of the thunder. It was the hoarse roaring of the 
 torrent ! 
 
 A warning cry was heard behind us. A voice called out, 
 " Run for your lives 1 To the bank ! to the bank ! " 
 
 I turned, and beheld my companions rushing for the slope, 
 uttering words of terror and caution. At the same instant my 
 eye became fixed upon an approaching object. Not twenty 
 yards above where I stood, and just entering the canon, 
 came a brown and foaming mass. It was water, bearing on 
 its crested front huge logs of drift and the torn branches of 
 trees. It seemed as though the sluice of some great dam 
 had been suddenly carried away, and this was the first gush 
 of the escaping flood ! 
 
 As I looked it struck the portals of the canon with a con- 
 cussion like thunder ; and then, rearing back, piled up to a 
 height of twenty feet. The next moment it came surging 
 through the gap. 
 
 I heard their terrified cry as the Indians wheeled their 
 
THE FIGHT IN THE PASS. 339 
 
 horses and fled. I ran for the bank, following my com- 
 panions. I was impeded by the water, which already 
 reached to my thighs; but with desperate energy I plunged 
 and weltered through it, till I had gained a point of safety. 
 
 I had hardly climbed out when the torrent rolled past 
 with a hissing, seething sound. I stood to observe it. From 
 where I was I could see down the ravine for a long reach. 
 The Indians were already in full gallop, and I saw the tails 
 of their hindmost horses just disappearing round the rocks. 
 
 The bodies of the dead and wounded were still lying in 
 the channel. There were hunters as well as Indians. The 
 wounded screamed as they saw the coming flood. Those 
 who had been our comrades called to us for help ; we could 
 do nothing to save them. Their cries had hardly reached 
 us when they were lifted upon the crest of the whirling cur- 
 rent, like so many feathers, and carried off with the velocity 
 of projectiles ! 
 
 " Thar's three good fellows gone under ! Wagh ! " 
 
 " Who are they ? " asked Seguin, and the men turned 
 round with inquiring looks. 
 
 " Thar's one Delaware, and big Jim Harris, and " 
 
 " Who is the third man that's missing ? Can any one 
 tell ? " 
 
 " I think, captain, it's Kirker." 
 
 " It is Kirker, by the 'tarnal ! I seed him down. Wagh ! 
 They'll lift his har to a sartinty." 
 
 " Ay, they'll fish him out below. That's a sure case." 
 
 " They'll fish out a good haul o' thur own, I reckin. It'll 
 be a tight race, anyhow. I've heern o' a horse runnin' agin 
 a thunder shower ; but them niggurs '11 make good time, if 
 thur tails ain't wet afore they git t'other eend — they will." 
 
 As the trapper spoke, the floating and still struggling 
 bodies of his comrades were carried to a bend in the canon, 
 and whirled out of sight. The channel was now filled with 
 
340 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 the foaming yellow flood that frothed against the rocks as it 
 forged onward. 
 
 Our danger was over for the time. The canon had be- 
 come impassable ; and, after gazing for a while upon the 
 torrent, most of us with feelings of awe, we turned away, 
 and walked toward the spot where we had left our horses. 
 
 is 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 THE BARRANCA. 
 
 E staked our horses upon the open 
 plain, and, returning to the thicket, 
 cut down wood and kindled fires. 
 We felt secure. Our pursuers, even 
 had they escaped back to the valley, 
 could not now reach us, except by 
 turning the mountains or waiting for 
 the falling of the flood 
 
 We knew that that would be as 
 sudden as its rise, should the rain cease ; but the storm still 
 raged with unabated fury. 
 
 We could soon overtake the atajo ; but we determined to 
 remain for some time at the canon, until men and horses 
 had refreshed themselves by eating. -Both were in need of 
 food, as the hurried events of the preceding days had given 
 no opportunity for a regular bivouac. 
 
 The fires were soon blazing under shelter of the over- 
 hanging rocks ; and the dried meat was broiled for our 
 suppers, and eaten with sufficient relish. Supper ended, we 
 sat, with smoking garments, around the red embers. Several 
 of the men had received wounds. These were rudely dressed 
 by their comrades, the doctor having gone forward with 
 the atajo. 
 
 341 
 
342 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 We remained for several hours by the canon. The tem- 
 pest still played around us, and the water rose higher and 
 higher. This was exactly what we wished for ; and we had 
 the satisfaction of seeing the flood increase to such a height 
 that, as Rube assured us, it could not subside for hours. It 
 was then resolved that we should continue our journey. 
 
 It was near midnight when we drew our pickets and rode 
 off. The rain had partially blinded the trail made by El Sol 
 and his party, but the men who now followed it were not 
 much used to guide-posts, and Rube, acting as leader, lifted 
 it at a trot. At intervals the flashes of lightning showed the 
 mule tracks in the mud, and the white peak that beckoned 
 us in the distance. 
 
 We traveled all night. An hour after sunrise we over- 
 took the atajo, near the base of the snow mountain^ We 
 halted in the mountain pass ; and after a short while spent 
 in cooking and eating breakfast, continued our journey 
 across the sierra. The road led through a dry ravine, into 
 an open plain that stretched east and south beyond the reach 
 of our vision. It was a desert. 
 
 I will not detail the events that occurred to us in the pas- 
 sage of that terrible Jornada. They were similar to those we 
 experienced in the deserts to the west. We suffered from 
 thirst, making one stretch of sixty miles without water. We 
 passed over sage-covered plains, without a living object to 
 break the death-like monotony that extended around us. We 
 cooked our meals over the blaze of the artemisia. But our 
 provisions gave out ; and the pack-mules, one by one, fell 
 under the knives of the hungry hunters. By night we camped 
 without fires : we dared not kindle them ; for though, as yet, 
 no pursuers had appeared, we knew they must be on our 
 trail. We had traveled with such speed that they had not 
 been able to come up with us. 
 
THE BARRANCA. 343 
 
 For three days we headed towards the southeast. On the 
 evening of the third we descried the Mimbres mountains 
 towering up on the eastern border of the desert. The peaks 
 of these were well known to the hunters, and became our 
 guides as we journeyed on. 
 
 We approached the Mimbres in a diagonal direction, as 
 it was our purpose to pass through the sierra by the route 
 of the old mine, once the prosperous property of our chief. 
 To him every feature of the landscape was a familiar object. 
 I observed that his spirits rose as we proceeded onward. 
 
 At sundown we reached the head of the Barranca del Oro ; 
 a vast cleft that traversed the plain leading down to the de- 
 serted mine. This chasm, like a fissure caused by some 
 terrible earthquake, extended for a distance of twenty miles. 
 On either side was a trail ; for on both the table-plain ran in 
 horizontally to the very lips of the abyss. About midway to 
 the mine, on the left brow, the guide knew of a spring, and 
 we proceeded toward this with the intention of camping by 
 the water. 
 
 We dragged wearily along. It was near midnight when 
 we arrived at the spring. Our horses were unsaddled and 
 staked on the open plain. 
 
 Here Seguin had resolved that we should rest longer than 
 usual. A feeling of security had come over him as he ap- 
 proached these well-remembered scenes. 
 
 There was a thicket of young cotton trees and willows 
 fringing the spring, and in the heart of this a fire was kin- 
 dled. Another mule was sacrificed to the manes of hunger ; 
 and the hunters, after devouring the tough steaks, flung 
 themselves upon the ground and slept. The horse-guard 
 only, out by the caballada, stood leaning upon his rifle silent 
 and watchful. 
 
 Resting my head in the hollow of my saddle, I lay down 
 by the fire. Seguin was near me with his daughter. The 
 
344 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Mexican girls and the Indian captives lay clustered over the 
 ground, wrapped in their tilmas and striped blankets. They 
 were all asleep, or seemed so. 
 
 I was as wearied as the rest, but my thoughts kept me 
 awake. My mind was busy with the bright future. " Soon," 
 thought I, " shall I escape from these horrid scenes ; soon 
 shall I breathe a purer atmosphere in the sweet companion- 
 ship of my beloved Zoe. Beautiful Zoe ! before two days 
 have passed I shall again be with you, hold you to my bosom, 
 press your impassioned lips, call you my loved : my own 1 
 Again shall we wander through the silent garden by the 
 the river groves ; again shall we sit upon the moss-grown 
 seats in the still evening hours ; again shall we utter .hose 
 wild words that caused our hearts to vibrate with mutual 
 happiness ! Zoe, pure and innocent as the angels." The 
 child-like simplicity of that question — " Enrique, what is to 
 marry ? " Ah ! sweet Zoe ! you shall soon learn. Ere long 
 I shall teach you. Ere long wilt thou be mine ; forever 
 mine! 
 
 " Zoe ? Zoe ! are you awake ? Do you lie sleepless on your 
 soft couch ? or am I present in your dreams ? Do you long 
 for my return, as I to hasten it ? Oh that the night were 
 past ! I cannot wait for rest. I could ride on sleepless — 
 tireless — on- — on ! " 
 
 My eye rested upon the features of Adele, upturned and 
 shining in the blaze of the fire. I traced the outlines of her 
 sister's face : the high, noble front, the arched eyebrow, and 
 the curving nostril. But the brightness of complexion was 
 not there ; the smile of angelic innocence was not there. 
 The hair was dark, the skin browned ; and there was a wild- 
 ness in the expression of the eye stamped, no doubt, by the 
 experience of many a savage scene. Still was she beautiful, 
 but it was beauty of a far less spiritual order than that of 
 my betrothed. 
 
THE BARRANCA. 345 
 
 Her bosom rose and fell in short, irregular pulsations. 
 Once or twice, while I was gazing, she half awoke, and 
 muttered some words in the Indian tongue. Her sleep was 
 troubled and broken. 
 
 During the journey, Seguin had waited upon her with all 
 the tender solicitude of a father ; but she had received his 
 attentions with indifference, or at most regarded them with a 
 cold thankfulness. It was difficult to analyze the feelings 
 that actuated her. Most of the time she remained silent and 
 sullen. 
 
 The father endeavored, once or twice, to resuscitate the 
 memories of her childhood, but without success; and with 
 sorrow at his heart he had each time relinquished the attempt. 
 
 I thought he was asleep. I was mistaken. On looking 
 more attentively in his face, I saw that he was regarding her 
 with deep interest, and listening to the broken phrases that 
 fell from her lips. There was a picture of sorrow and 
 anxiety in his look that touched me to the heart. 
 
 As I watched him, the girl murmured some words, to me 
 unintelligible, but among them I recognized the name 
 " Dacoma." 
 
 I saw that Seguin started as he heard it. 
 
 " Poor child ! " said he, seeing that I was awake ; " she 
 is dreaming, and a troubled dream it is. I have half a mind 
 to wake her out of it." 
 
 " She needs rest," I replied. 
 
 " Ay, if that be rest. Listen ! again ' Dacoma.' " 
 
 " It is the name of the captive chief." 
 
 " Ay ; they were to have been married, according to their 
 laws." 
 
 " But how did you learn this ? " 
 
 " From Rube : he heard it while he was a prisoner at the 
 town." 
 
 " And did she love him, do you think ? " 
 
346 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " No. It appears not. She had been adopted as the 
 daughter of the medicine chief, and Dacoma claimed her for 
 a wife. On certain conditions she was to have been given 
 to him ; but she feared, not loved him, as her words now 
 testify. Poor child ! a wayward fate has been hers." 
 
 " In two journeys more her sufferings will be over. She 
 will be restored to her home, to her mother." 
 
 " Ah ! if she should remain thus it will break the heart of. 
 my poor Adele." 
 
 " Fear not, my friend. Time will restore her memory. I 
 think I have heard of a parallel circumstance among the 
 frontier settlements of the Mississippi." 
 
 " Oh ! true ; there have been many. We will hope for 
 the best." 
 
 " Once in her home the objects that surrounded her in 
 her younger days may strike a chord in her recollection. 
 She may yet remember all. May she not ? " 
 
 " Hope 1 hope ! " 
 
 "At all events, the companionship of her mother and 
 sister will soon win her from the thoughts of savage life. 
 Fear not ! She will be your daughter again." 
 
 I urged these ideas for the purpose of giving consolation. 
 Seguin made no reply ; but I saw that the painful and 
 anxious expression still remained clouding his features. 
 
 My own heart was not without its heaviness. A dark 
 foreboding began to creep into it from some undefined cause. 
 Were his thoughts in communion with mine ? 
 
 " How long," I asked, " before we can reach your house 
 on the Del Norte' ? " 
 
 I scarce knew why I was prompted to put this question. 
 Some fear that we were still in peril from the pursuing foe ? 
 
 " The day after to-morrow," he replied, " by the evening. 
 Heaven grant we may find them safe ! " 
 
 I started as the words issued from his lips. They had 
 
THE BARRANCA. 347 
 
 brought pain in an instant. This was the true cause of my 
 undefined forebodings. 
 
 " You have fears ? " I inquired hastily. 
 
 " I have." 
 
 " Of what ? of whom ? " 
 
 " The Navajoes." 
 
 " The Navajoes ! " 
 
 " Yes. My mind has not been easy since I saw them go 
 eastward from the Pifion. I cannot understand why they 
 did so, unless they meditated an attack on some settlements 
 that lie on the old Llanos' trail. If not that, my fears are 
 that they have made a descent on the valley of El Paso, 
 perhaps on the town itself. One thing may have prevented 
 them from attacking the town : the separation of Dacoma's 
 party, which would leave them too weak for that ; but still 
 the more danger to the small settlements both north and 
 south of it." 
 
 The uneasiness I had hitherto felt arose from an expres- 
 sion which Seguin had dropped at the Pifion spring. My 
 mind had dwelt upon it, from time to time, during our desert 
 journeyings ; but as he did not speak of it afterwards, I 
 thought that he had not attached so much importance to it. 
 I had reasoned wrongly. 
 
 " It is just probable," continued the chief, " that the Pase- 
 hos may defend themselves. They have done so heretofore, 
 with more spirit than any of the other settlements, and hence 
 their long exemption from being plundered. Partly that, 
 and partly because our band has protected their neighbor- 
 hood for a length of time, which the savages well know. It 
 it to be hoped that the fear of meeting with us will prevent 
 them from coming into the Jornada, north of the town. If 
 so, ours have escaped." 
 
 " God grant," I faltered, " that it may be thus ! " 
 
 " Let us sleep," added Seguin. " Perhaps our apprehen- 
 
348 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 sions are idle, and they can benefit nothing. To-morrow 
 we shall march forward without halt, if our animals can bear 
 it. Go to rest, my friend ; you have not much time." 
 
 So saying, he laid his head in his saddle, and composed 
 himself to sleep. In a short while, as if by an act of volition, 
 he appeared to be in a profound slumber. 
 
 With me it was different. Sleep was banished from my 
 eyes, and I tossed about with a throbbing pulse and a brain 
 filled with fearful fancies. The very reaction from the 
 bright dreams in which I had just been indulging rendered 
 my apprehensions painfully active. I began to imagine 
 scenes that might be enacting at that very moment : my 
 betrothed struggling in the arms of some licentious savage ; 
 for these southern Indians, I knew, possessed none of that 
 cold continence and chivalrous delicacy that characterize 
 the red men of the " forest." 
 
 I fancied her carried into a rude captivity ; becoming the 
 " squaw " of some brutal brave ; and with the agony of the 
 thought I rose to my feet and rushed out upon the prairie. 
 
 Half frantic, I wandered, not heeding whither I went. I 
 must have walked for hours, but I took no note of the time. 
 
 I strayed back upon the edge of the barranca. The moon 
 was shining brightly, but the grim chasm, yawning away into 
 the earth at my feet, lay buried in silence and darkness. 
 My eye could not pierce its fathomless gloom. 
 
 I saw the camp and the caballada far above me on the 
 bank : but my strength was exhausted, and, giving way to 
 my weariness, I sank down upon the very brink of the abyss. 
 The keen torture that had hitherto sustained me was followed 
 by a feeling of utter lassitude. Sleep conquered agony, and 
 I slept. 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 THE FOE. 
 
 MUST have slept an hour or more. 
 Had my dreams been realities they 
 would have filled the measure of an 
 age. At length the raw air of the 
 morning chilled and awoke me. The 
 moon had gone down, for I remembered that she was 
 close to the horizon when I last saw her. Still it was 
 far from being dark, for I could see to a considerable dis- 
 tance through the fog. 
 
 " Perhaps the day is breaking," thought I, and I turned 
 my face to the east. It was as I had guessed : the eastern 
 sky was streaked with light ; it was morning. 
 
 I knew it was the intention of Seguin to start early, and I 
 was about summoning resolution to raise myself when voices 
 broke on my ear. There were short exclamatory phrases 
 and hoof-strokes upon the prairie turf. 
 
 " They are up, and preparing to start." With this 
 thought, I leaped to my feet, and commenced hurrying to- 
 wards the camp. 
 
 I had not walked ten paces when I became conscious that 
 the voices were behind me / 
 
 349 
 
350 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 - 
 
 I stopped and listened. Yes ; beyond a doubt I was 
 going from them. 
 
 " I have mistaken the way to the camp 1 " and I stepped 
 forward to the edge of the barranca for the purpose of assur- 
 ing myself. What was my astonishment to find that I had 
 been going in the right direction, and that the sounds were 
 coming from the opposite quarter. 
 
 My first thought was that the band had passed me and 
 were moving on the route. 
 
 " But no ; Seguin would not. Oh ! he has sent out a 
 party to search for me : it is they." 
 
 I called out " Hilloa 1 " to let them know where I was. 
 There was no answer ; and I shouted again, louder than 
 before. All at once the sounds ceased. I knew the horse- 
 men were listening, and I called once more at the top of my 
 voice. There was a moment's silence ; then I could hear a 
 muttering of many voices and the trampling of horses as they 
 galloped towards me. 
 
 I wondered that none of them had yet answered my 
 signal : but my wonder was changed into consternation when 
 I perceived that the approaching party were on the other side 
 of the barranca I 
 
 Before I could recover from my surprise, they were 
 opposite me and reining up on the bank of the chasm. 
 They were still three hundred yards distant ; the width of 
 the gulf ; but I could see them plainly through the thin and 
 filmy fog. There appeared in all about a hundred horse- 
 men ; and their long spears, their plumed heads, and half- 
 naked bodies, told me at a glance they were India?is f 
 
 I stayed to inquire no further, but ran with all my speed 
 for the camp. I could see the horsemen on the opposite 
 cliff keeping pace with me at a slow gallop. 
 
 On reaching the spring I found the hunters in surprise, 
 and vaulting into their saddles. Seguin and a few others 
 
THE FOE. 35l 
 
 had gone out on the extreme edge, and were looking over. 
 They had not thought of an immediate retreat, as the enemy, 
 having the advantage of the light, had already discovered 
 the strength of our party. 
 
 Though only a distance of three hundred yards separated 
 the hostile bands, twenty miles would have to be passed 
 before they could meet in battle. On this account Seguin 
 and the hunters felt secure for the time ; and it was hastily 
 resolved to remain where we were, until we had examined 
 who and what were our opponents. 
 
 They had halted on the opposite bank, and sat in their 
 saddles gazing across. They seemed puzzled at our appear- 
 ance. It was still too dark for them to distinguish our com- 
 plexions. Soon, however, it grew clearer ; our peculiar dress 
 and equipments were recognized ; and a wild yell, the Nav- 
 ajo war-cry, came pealing over the abyss I 
 
 " It's Dacoma's party ! " cried a voice, " they have taken 
 the wrong side o' the gully." 
 
 " No," exclaimed another, " thar's too few o' them for 
 Dacoma's men. Thar ain't over a hundred." 
 
 " Maybe the flood tuk the rest," suggested the first 
 speaker. 
 
 " Wagh ! how could they 'a missed our trail, that's as plain 
 as a wagon-track ? 'Tain't them nohow." 
 
 " Who then ? It's Navagh. I kud tell thar yelp if I wur 
 sleepin'." 
 
 " Them's head-chief's niggurs," said Rube, at this moment 
 riding forward " Look 'ee ! yonder 's the ole skunk hisself, 
 on the spotted hoss ! " 
 
 " You think it is they, Rube ? " inquired Seguin. 
 
 " Sure as shootin', cap." 
 
 " But where are the rest of his band ? These are not all." 
 
 " They ain't far off, I'll be boun'." Hish-sh 1 I hear them 
 a-comin'." 
 
352 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Yonder's a crowd ! Look, boys, look I " 
 
 Through the fog, now floating away, a dark body of 
 mounted men were seen coming up the opposite side. They 
 advanced with shouts and ejaculations, as though they were 
 driving cattle. It was so. As the fog rose up, we could see 
 a drove of horses, horned cattle, and sheep, covering the 
 plain to a great distance. Behind these rode mounted 
 Indians, who galloped to and fro, goading the animals with 
 their spears, and pushing them forward. 
 
 " Lord, what a plunder ! " exclaimed one of the hunters. 
 
 " Ay, them's the fellows have made something by thar expe- 
 dition. We are comin' back empty as we went. Wagh ! " 
 
 I 'had been engaged in saddling my horse, and at this 
 moment came forward. It was not upon the Indians that my 
 eye rested, nor upon the plundered cattle. Another object 
 attracted my gaze, and sent the blood curdling to my heart. 
 
 Away in the rear of the advancing drove I saw a small 
 party, distinct from the rest. Their light dresses fluttering 
 in the wind told me that they were not Indians. They were 
 women ; they were captives ! 
 
 There appeared to be about twenty in all : but my feelings 
 were such that I took little heed of their number. I saw 
 that they were mounted, and that each was guarded by an 
 Indian, who rode by her side. 
 
 With a palpitating heart I passed my eye over the group 
 from one to the other ; but the distance was too great to dis- 
 tinguish the features of any of them. 
 
 I turned towards the chief. He was standing with the 
 glass to his eye. I saw him start ; his cheek suddenly 
 blanched ; his lips quivered convulsively, and the instrument 
 fell from his fingers to the ground ! With a wild look he 
 staggered back, crying out — 
 
 " Mon Dieu / Mon Dieu / O God ! thou hast stricken me 
 now ! " 
 
THE FOE. 353 
 
 I snatched up the telescope to assure myself. But it 
 needed not that. As I was raising it an object running 
 along the opposite side caught my eye. It was the dog 
 Alp ! I leveled the glass, and the next moment was gaz- 
 ing through it on the face of my betrothed ! 
 
 So close did she seem that I could hardly restrain myself 
 from calling to her. I could distinguish her pale, beauti- 
 ful features. Her cheek was wan with weeping, and her rich 
 golden hair hung disheveled from her shoulders, reaching to 
 the withers of her horse. She was covered with a sempe, 
 and a young Indian rode beside her, mounted upon a showy 
 horse and dressed in the habiliments of a Mexican hussar ! 
 
 I looked at none of the others, though a glance showed me 
 her mother in the string of captives that came after. 
 
 The drove of horses and cattle soon passed up, and the 
 females with their guards arrived opposite us. The captives 
 were left back on the prairie, while the warriors rode forward 
 to where their comrades had halted by the brow of the bar- 
 ranca. 
 
 It was now bright day ; the fog had cleared away, and 
 across the impassable gulf the hostile bands stood gazing at 
 each other 1 
 
 23 
 
CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 NEW MISERY. 
 
 T was a most singular rencontre. Here 
 were two parties of men, heart-foes to 
 one another, each returning from the 
 country of the other, loaded with 
 plunder and carrying a train of cap- 
 tives ! They had met midway, and stood within musket 
 range, gazing at each other with feelings of the most bitter 
 hostility, and yet a conflict was as impossible as though 
 twenty miles of the earth's surface lay between them. 
 
 On one side were the Navajoes, with consternation in their 
 looks, for the warriors had recognized their children. On 
 the other stood the scalp-hunters, not a few of whom, in the 
 captive train of their enemies, could distinguish the features 
 of a wife, a sister, or a daughter. 
 
 Each gazed upon the other with hostile hearts and glances 
 of revenge. Had they met thus on the open prairie, they 
 would have fought to the death. It seemed as though the 
 hand of God had interposed to prevent the ruthless shedding 
 of blood, which, but for the gulf that lay between these foe- 
 men, would certainly have ensued. 
 
 354 
 
NEW MISERY. 355 
 
 I cannot describe how I felt at the moment. I remember 
 that, all at once, I was inspired with new vigor both of mind 
 and body. Hitherto I had been little more than a passive 
 spectator of the events of our expedition. I had been act- 
 ing without any stimulating heart-motive ; now I had one 
 that roused me to desperate energy. 
 
 A thought occurred to me, and I ran up to communicate it. 
 Seguin was beginning to recover from the terrible blow. The 
 men had learnt the cause of his strange behavior, and stood 
 around him, some of them endeavoring to console him. Few 
 of them knew aught of the family affairs of their chief, but 
 they had heard of his earlier misfortunes ; the loss of his 
 mine, the ruin of his property, the captivity of his child. Now, 
 when it became known that among the prisoners of the enemy 
 were his wife and daughter, even the rude hearts of the 
 hunters were touched with pity at his more than common 
 sufferings. Compassionate exclamations were heard from 
 them, mingled with expressions of their determination to re- 
 store the captives or die in the attempt. 
 
 It was with the intention of exciting such a feeling that I 
 had come forward. It was my design, out of my small stock 
 of world's wealth, to set a premium on devotedness and valor, 
 but I saw that nobler motives had anticipated me, and I re- 
 mained silent. 
 
 Seguin seemed pleased at the loyalty of his comrades, and 
 began to exhibit his wonted energy, Hope again had pos- 
 session of him. The men clustered round him to offer their 
 advice and listen to his directions. 
 
 " We can fight them, capt'n, even-handed," said the trap- 
 per Garey. " Thar ain't over two hundred." 
 
 " Jest a hundred and ninety-six," interposed a hunter, 
 " without the weemen. I've counted them ; that's thar 
 number." 
 
 " Wal," continued Garey, " thar's some difference atween 
 
356 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 us in point o' pluck, I reckin ; and what's wantin' in number 
 we'll make up wi' our rifles. I never valleys two to one wi' 
 Injuns, an' a trifle throw'd in, if ye like." 
 
 " Look at the ground, Bill ! It's all plain. Whar would 
 we be after a volley ? They'd have the advantage wi' their 
 bows and lances. Wagh ! they could spear us to pieces 
 thar ! " 
 
 " I didn't say we would take them on the paraira. We kin 
 foller them till they're in the mountains, an' git them among 
 the rocks. That's what I advise." 
 
 " Ay. They can't run away from us with that drove. 
 That's sartin." 
 
 " They have no notion of running away. They will most 
 likely attack us" 
 
 " That's jest what we want," said Garey. " We kin go 
 yonder, and fight them till they've had a bellyful." 
 
 The trapper, as he spoke, pointed to the foot of the Mim- 
 bres, that lay about ten miles off to the eastward. 
 
 " Maybe they'll wait till more comes up. There's more of 
 head-chief's party than these ; there were nearly four hundred 
 when they passed the Pihon." 
 
 " Rube, where can the rest of them be ? " demanded Seguin, 
 " I can see down to the mine, and they are not upon the plain." 
 
 " Ain't a-gwine to be, cap. Some luck in that, I reckin. 
 The ole fool has sent a party by t'other trail. On the wrong 
 scent — them is." 
 
 " Why do you think they have gone by the other trail ? " 
 
 " Why, cap, it stans for raizon. If they wur a-comin' ahint, 
 some o' them niggurs on t'other side wud 'a gone back afore 
 this to hurry 'em up, do 'ee see ? Thur hain't gone ne'er a 
 one, as I seed." 
 
 " You are right, Rube," replied Seguin, encouraged by the 
 probability of what the other had asserted. " What do you 
 advise us ? " continued he, appealing to the old trapper, whose 
 
NEW MISERY. 357 
 
 counsel he was in the habit of seeking in all cases of similar 
 difficulty. 
 
 " Wal, cap, it's a twistified piece o' business as it stans ; 
 an' I hain't figured it out to my satersfaction jest yet. If 
 'ee'll gi me a kupple o' minutes, I'll answer ye to the best o' 
 my possibilities." 
 
 " Very well ; we will wait for you. Men ! look to your 
 arms, and see that they are all in readiness." 
 
 During this consultation, which had occupied but a few 
 seconds of time, we could see that the enemy was similarly 
 employed on the other side. They had drawn around their 
 chief, and from their gesticulations it was plain they were 
 deliberating how they should act. 
 
 Our appearance, with the children of their principal men 
 as captives, had filled them with consternation at what they 
 saw, and apprehensions of a fearful kind for what they saw 
 not. Returning from a successful foray, laden with spoil, 
 and big with the prospect of feasting and triumph, they sud- 
 denly preceived themselves out-generaled at their own game. 
 They knew we had been to their town. They conjectured 
 that we had plundered and burnt their houses, and massacred 
 their women and children. They fancied no less ; for this 
 was the very work in which they had themselves been en- 
 gaged, and their judgment was drawn from their own conduct. 
 
 They saw moreover that we were a large party, able to 
 defend what we had taken, at least against them ; for they 
 knew well that with their fire-arms the scalp-hunters were an 
 overmatch for them, when there was anything like an equality 
 of numbers. 
 
 With these ideas, then, it required deliberation on their 
 part, as well as with us ; and we knew that it would be some 
 time before they would act. They, too, were in a dilemma. 
 
 The hunters obeyed the injunctions of Seguin, and re- 
 mained silent, waiting upon Rube to deliver his advice. 
 
358 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The old trapper stood apart, half resting upon his rifle, 
 which he clutched with both hands near the muzzle. He 
 had taken out the " stopper," and was looking into the barrel, 
 as if he were consulting some oracular spirit that he kept 
 bottled up within it. It was one of Rube's peculiar " ways," 
 and those who knew this were seen to smile as they watched 
 him. 
 
 After a few minutes spent in this silent entreaty, the oracle 
 seemed to have sent forth its response ; and Rube, returning 
 the stopper to its place, came walking forward to the chief. 
 
 " Billee's right, cap. If them Injuns must be fit, it's got 
 to be did whur thur's rocks or timmer. They'd whip us to 
 shucks on the paraira. That's settled. Wal, thur's two 
 things ; they'll eyther come at us ; if so be, yander's our 
 ground " (here the speaker pointed to a spur of the Mimbres ; 
 " or we'll be obleeged to foller them. If so be. we can do it 
 as easy as fallin' off a log. They ain't over leg-free." 
 
 " But how should we do for provisions, in that case ? We 
 could never cross the desert without them." 
 
 " Why, cap, thur's no difeeculty 'bout that. Wi' the pa- 
 rairas as dry as they are, I kud stampede that hul cavayard 
 as easy as a gang o' bufflers ; and we'd come in for a share 
 o' them, I reckin. Thur's a wus thing than that, this child 
 smells." 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 " I'm afeerd we mout fall in wi' Dacoma's niggurs on the 
 back track; that's what I'm afeerd on." 
 
 " True; it is most probable." 
 
 " It ur, unless they got overtuk in the kenyon ; an' I don't 
 think it. They understan' that crik too well." 
 
 The probability of Dacoma's band soon joining those of 
 the head chief was apparent to all, and cast a shadow of 
 despondency over every face. They were, no doubt, still in 
 pursuit of us, and would soon arrive on the ground. 
 
NEW MISERY. 359 
 
 " Now, cap," continued the trapper, " I've gi'n ye my 
 notion o' things, if so be we're boun' to fight ; but I have 
 my behopes we kin get back the weemen 'ithout wastin' our 
 gun-fodder." 
 
 " How ? how ? " eagerly inquired the chief and others. 
 
 " Why, jest this a-way," replied the trapper, almost irritat- 
 ing me with the prolixity of his style. " 'Ee see them Injuns 
 on t'other side o' the gulley ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes," hastily replied Seguin. 
 
 " Wal ; 'ee see these hyur ? " and the speaker pointed to 
 our captives. 
 
 "Yes, yesl" 
 
 " Wal ; 'ee see them over yander, though thur hides be a 
 coppery color, has feelins for thur childer like white Chris- 
 tyuns. They eat em by times, that's true ; but thur's a re- 
 leegius raizon for that, not many hyur understands, I reckin." 
 
 " And what would you have us do ? " 
 
 " Why, jest heist a bit o' a white rag an' offer to swop 
 pris'ners. They'll understan' it, and come to tarms, I'll be 
 boun'. That putty leetle gal with the long har's head chief's 
 darter, an' the rest belongs to main men o' the tribe : I 
 picked 'em for that. Besides, thur's Dacoma an' the young 
 queen. They'll bite thur nails off about them. 'Ee kin give 
 up the chief, and trade them out o' the queen best way ye kin." 
 
 " I will follow your advice," cried Seguin, his eye bright- 
 ening with the anticipation of a happy result. 
 
 " Thur's no time to be wasted, then, cnp ; if Dacoma's 
 men makes thur appearance, all I've been a-sayin' won't be 
 worth the skin o' a sand-rat." 
 
 " Not a moment shall be lost ; " and Seguin gave orders 
 to make ready the flag of peace. 
 
 " It 'ud be better, cap, fust to gi' them a good sight o' 
 what we've got. They hain't seed Dacoma yet, nor the 
 queen. Thur in the bushes." 
 
360 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Right ! " answered Seguin. " Comrades ! bring forward 
 the captives to the edge of the barranca. Bring the Navajo 
 chief. Bring the my daughter ! " 
 
 The men hurried to obey the command ; and in a few 
 minutes the captive children, with Dacoma and the mystery 
 queen, were led forward to the very brink of the chasm. 
 The serapes that had shrouded them were removed, and they 
 stood exposed in their usual costumes before the eyes of the 
 Indians. Dacoma still wore his helmet, and the queen was 
 conspicuous in the rich plume-embroidered tunic. They 
 were at once recognized 1 
 
 A cry of singular import burst from the Navajoes as they 
 beheld these new proofs of their discomfiture. The warriors 
 unslung their lances, and thrust them into the earth with im- 
 potent indignation. Some of them drew scalps from their 
 belts, struck them on the points of their spears, and shook 
 them at us over the brow of the abyss. They believed 
 that Dacoma's band had been destroyed, as well as their 
 women and children ; and they threatened us with shouts and 
 gestures. 
 
 In the midst of all this, we noticed a movement among 
 the more staid warriors. A consultation was going on. 
 
 It ended. A party were seen to gallop toward the cap- 
 tive women, who had been left far back upon the plain. 
 
 " Great heavens ! " cried I, struck with a horrid idea, 
 " they are going to butcher them ! Quick with the flag 1 " 
 
 But before the banner could be attached to its staff, the 
 Mexican women were dismounted, their rebozos pulled off, 
 and they were led forward to the precipice. 
 
 It was only meant for a counter-vaunt, the retaliation of a 
 pang ; for it was evident the savages knew that among their 
 captives were the wife and daughter of our chief. These 
 were placed conspicuously in front, upon the very brow of 
 the barranca. 
 
CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 THE FLAG OF TRUCE. 
 
 [HEY might have spared themselves 
 the pains. That agony was already 
 felt ; but, indeed, a scene followed that 
 caused us to suffer afresh. 
 Up to this moment we had not been 
 recognized by those near and dear to us. The distance had 
 been too great for the naked eye, and our browned faces 
 and travel-stained habiliments were of themselves a dis- 
 guise. 
 
 But the instincts of love are quick and keen, and the eyes 
 of my betrothed were upon me. I saw her start forward ; I 
 heard the agonized scream ; a pair of snow-white arms were 
 extended, and she sank, fainting, upon the cliff. 
 
 At the same instant Madame Seguin had recognized the 
 chief, and had called to him by name. Seguin shouted to 
 her in reply, and cautioned her in tones of entreaty to remain 
 patient and silent. 
 
 Several of the other females, all young and handsome, 
 had recognized their lovers and brothers, and a scene fol- 
 lowed that was painful to witness. 
 
 But my eyes were fixed upon her. I saw that she re- 
 covered from her swoon. I saw the savage in hussar trap- 
 
 361 
 
362 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 pings dismount, and, lifting her in his arms, carry her back 
 upon the prairie. 
 
 I followed them with impotent gaze. I saw that he was 
 paying her kind attentions ; and I almost thanked him, 
 though I knew it was but the selfish gallantry of the 
 lover. 
 
 In a short while she rose to her feet again, and rushed 
 back toward the barranca. I heard my name uttered across 
 the ravine. Hers was echoed back ; but at the moment 
 both mother and daughter were surrounded by their guards 
 and carried back. 
 
 Meanwhile, the white flag had been got ready, and Seguin, 
 holding it aloft, stood out in front. We remained silent, 
 watching with eager glances for the answer. 
 
 There was a movement among the clustered Indians. 
 We heard their voices in earnest talk, and saw that some- 
 thing was going on in their midst. 
 
 Presently, a tall, fine-looking man came out from the 
 crowd, holding an object in his left hand of a white color. 
 It was a bleached fawn-skin. In his right hand he carried 
 a lance. 
 
 We saw him place the fawn-skin on the blade of the lance, 
 and stand forward holding it aloft. Our signal of peace was 
 answered. 
 
 " Silence, men 1 " cried Seguin, speaking to the hunters ; 
 and then, raising his voice, he called aloud in the Indian 
 language — 
 
 " Navajoes ! you know whom we are. We have passed 
 through your country, and visited your head town. Our 
 object was to search for our dear relatives, who we knew 
 were captives in your land. Some we have recovered, but 
 there are many others we could not find. That these might 
 be restored to us in time, we have taken hostages, as you 
 see. We might have brought away many more, but these 
 
THE FLAG OF TRUCE. 363 
 
 we considered enough. We have not burned your town ; 
 we have not harmed your wives, your daughters, nor your 
 children. With the exception of these, our prisoners, you 
 will find all as you left them." 
 
 A murmur ran through the ranks of the Indians. It was 
 a murmur of satisfaction. They had been under the full be- 
 lief that their town was destroyed and their women massa- 
 cred ; and the words of Seguin, therefore, produced a singular 
 effect. We could hear joyful exclamations and phrases in- 
 terchanged among the warriors. Silence was again restored, 
 and Seguin continued — 
 
 " We see that you have been in our country. You have 
 made captives as well as we. You are red men. Red men 
 can feel for their kindred as well as white men. We know 
 this ; and for that reason have I raised the banner of peace, 
 that each may restore to the other his own. It will please 
 the Great Spirit, and will give satisfaction to both of us ; for 
 that which you hold is of most value to us, and that which 
 we have is dear only to you. Navajoes ! I have spoken. 
 I await your answer." 
 
 When Seguin had ended, the warriors gathered around 
 the head chief, and we could see that an earnest debate 
 was going on amongst them. It was plain there were dis- 
 senting voices ; but the debate was soon over, and the head 
 chief, stepping forward, gave some instructions to the man 
 who held the flag. The latter in a loud voice replied to 
 Seguin's speech as follows : — 
 
 " White chief ! you have spoken well, and your words have 
 been weighed by our warriors. You ask nothing more than 
 what is just and fair. It would please the Great Spirit and 
 satisfy us to exchange our captives ; but how can we tell that 
 your words are true ? You say that you have not burned 
 our town nor harmed our women and children. How can 
 we know that this is true ? Our town is far off ; so are our 
 
364 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 women, if they be still alive. We cannot ask them. We 
 have only your word. It is not enough." 
 
 Seguin had already anticipated this difficulty, and had or- 
 dered one of our captives, an intelligent lad, to be brought 
 forward. 
 
 The boy at this moment appeared by his side. 
 
 " Question him ! " shouted he, pointing to the captive 
 lad. 
 
 " And why may we not question our brother, the chief 
 Dacoma ? The lad is young. He may not understand us. 
 The chief could assure us better." 
 
 " Dacoma was not with us at the town. He knows not 
 what was done there." 
 
 " Let Dacoma answer that." 
 
 " Brother ! " replied Seguin, " you are wrongly supicious, 
 but you shall have his answer," and he addressed some words 
 to the Navajo chief, who sat near him upon the ground. 
 
 The question was then put directly to Dacoma by the 
 speaker on the other side. The proud Indian, who seemed 
 exasperated with the humiliating situation in which he was 
 placed, with an angry wave of his hand and a short ejacula- 
 tion answered in the negative. 
 
 " Now, brother," proceeded Seguin, " you see I have spo- 
 ken truly. Ask the lad what you first proposed." 
 
 The boy was then interrogated as to whether we had burnt 
 the town or harmed the women and children. To these two 
 questions he also returned a negative answer. 
 
 " Well, brother," said Seguin, " are you satisfied ? " 
 
 For a long time there was no reply. The warriors were 
 again gathered in council, and gesticulating with earnestness 
 and energy. We could see that there was a party opposed 
 to pacific measures, who were evidently counseling the others 
 to try the fortune of a battle. These were the younger 
 braves ; and I observed that he in the hussar costume, who, 
 
THE FLAG OF TRUCE. 365 
 
 as Rube informed us, was the son of the head chief, appeared 
 to be the leader of this party. 
 
 Had not the head chief been so deeply interested in the 
 result, the counsels of these might have carried ; for the war- 
 riors well knew the scorn that would await them among 
 neighboring tribes should they return without captives. Be- 
 sides, there were numbers who felt another sort of interest in 
 detaining them. They had looked upon the daughters of the 
 Del Norte, and " saw that they were fair." 
 
 But the counsels of the older men at length prevailed, and 
 the spokesman replied : — 
 
 " The Navajo warriors have considered what they have 
 heard. They believe that the white chief has spoken the 
 truth, and they agree to exchange their prisoners. That this 
 may be done in a proper and becoming manner, they propose 
 that twenty warriors be chosen on each side ; that these war- 
 riors shall lay down their arms on the prairie in presence of 
 all ; that they shall then conduct their captives to the crossing 
 of the barranca by the mine, and there settle the terms of 
 their exchange ; that all the others on both sides shall remain 
 where they now are until the unarmed warriors have got back 
 with the exchanged prisoners ; that the white banners shall 
 then be struck, and both sides be freed from the treaty. 
 These are the words of the Navajo warriors. 
 
 It was some time before Seguin could reply to this propo- 
 sal. It seemed fair enough ; but yet there was a maimer 
 about it that led us to suspect some design, and we paused 
 a moment to consider it. The concluding terms intimated 
 an intention on the part of the enemy of making an attempt 
 to retake their captives ; but we cared little for this, provided 
 we could once get them on our side of the barranca. 
 
 It was very proper that the prisoners should be conducted 
 to the place of exchange by unarmed men, and twenty was 
 a proper number ; but Seguin well knew how the Navajoes 
 
366 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 would interpret the word " unarmed ; " and several of the 
 hunters were cautioned in an undertone to " stray " into the 
 bushes, and conceal their knives and pistols under the flaps 
 of their hunting shirts. We thought that we observed a 
 similar maneuver going on upon the opposite bank with the 
 tomahawks of our adversaries. 
 
 We could make but little objection to the terms proposed ; 
 and as Seguin knew that time saved was an important object, 
 he hastened to accept them. 
 
 As soon as this was announced to the Navajoes, twenty- 
 men — already chosen, no doubt — stepped out into the open 
 prairie, and striking their lances into the ground, rested 
 against them their bows, quivers, and shields. We saw no 
 tomahawks, and we knew that every Navajo carries this wea- 
 pon. They all had the means of concealing them about 
 their persons ; for most of them were dressed in the garb of 
 civilized life ; in the plundered habiliments of the rancho and 
 the hacienda. We cared little, as we, too, were sufficiently 
 armed. We saw that the party selected were men of power- 
 ful strength. In fact, they were the picked warriors of the 
 tribe. 
 
 Ours were similarly chosen. Among them were El Sol 
 and Garey, Rube, and the bull-fighter Sanchez. Seguin and 
 I were of the number. Most of the trappers, with a few 
 Delaware Indians, completed the complement. 
 
 The twenty were soon selected ; and, stepping out on the 
 open ground, as the Navajoes had done, we piled our rifles 
 in the presence of the enemy. 
 
 Our captives were then mounted and made ready for start- 
 ing. The queen and the Mexican girls were brought for- 
 ward among the rest. 
 
 This last was a piece of strategy on the part of Seguin. 
 He knew that we had captives enough to exchange one for 
 one, without these ; but he saw, as we all did, that to leave 
 
THE FLAG OF TRUCE. 
 
 367 
 
 the queen behind would interrupt the negotiation, and per- 
 haps put an end to it altogether. He had resolved, therefore, 
 on taking her along, trusting that he could better negotiate 
 for her on the ground. Failing this, there would be but 
 one appeal — to arms : and he knew that our party was well 
 prepared for that alternative. 
 
 Both sides were at length ready, and, at a signal, com- 
 menced riding down the barranca, in the direction of the 
 mine. The rest of two bands remained eyeing each other 
 across the gulf, with glances of mistrust and hatred. Nei- 
 ther party could move without the other seeing it ; for the 
 plains in which they were, though on opposite sides of the 
 barranca, were but segments of the same horizontal plateau. 
 A horseman proceeding from either party could have been 
 seen by the others to a distance of many miles. 
 
 The flags of truce were still waving, their spears stuck into 
 the ground : but each of the hostile bands held their horses 
 saddled and bridled, ready to mount at the first movement 
 of the other. 
 
CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 A VEXED TREATY. 
 
 I THIN the barranca was 
 
 the mine. The shafts, 
 
 rude diggings, pierced 
 
 the cliffs on both sides, 
 
 like so many caves. The bottom 
 
 between the cliffs was bisected by 
 
 a rivulet that murmured among 
 
 loose rocks. 
 
 On the banks of this rivulet 
 stood the old smelting-houses and 
 ruined ranches of the miners. 
 Most of them were roofless and 
 crumbling to decay. The ground 
 about them was shaggy and choked up. There were briers, 
 mezcal plants, and cacti ; all luxuriant, hirsute, and thorny. 
 Approaching this point, the road on each side of the bar- 
 ranca suddenly dips, the trails converging downward, and 
 meeting among the ruins. 
 
 When in view of these, both parties halted, and signaled 
 each other across the ravine. After a short parley, it was 
 proposed by the Navajoes that the captives and horses should 
 remain on the top of the hill, each train to be guarded by 
 two men. The rest, eighteen on each side, should descend 
 to the bottom of the barranca, meet among the houses, and, 
 368 
 
A VEXED TREATY. 
 
 369 
 
 having smoked the calumet, arrange the terms of the ex- 
 change. 
 
 Neither Seguin nor I liked this proposal. We saw that, 
 in the event of a rupture in the negotiation (a thing we more 
 than half anticipated), even should our party overpower the 
 other, we could gain nothing. Before we could reach the 
 Navajo captives, up the steep hill, the two guards would 
 hurry them off ; or (we dreaded to think of it) butcher them 
 
 Indian Peace Pipes. 
 
 on the ground ! It was a fearful thought, but there was 
 nothing improbable in it. 
 
 We knew, moreover, that smoking the peace-pipe would 
 be another waste of time ; and we were on thorns about the 
 approach of Dacoma's party. 
 
 But the proposal had come from the enemy, and they were 
 obstinate. We could urge no objections to it without be- 
 traying our designs ; and we were compelled, though loth, to 
 accept it. 
 24 
 
37° THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 We dismounted, leaving our horses in charge of the guard, 
 and descending into the ravine, stood face to face with the 
 warriors of Navajo. 
 
 They were eighteen picked men ; tall, broad-shouldered, 
 and muscular. The expression of their faces was savage, 
 subtle, and grim. There was not a smile to be seen, and 
 the lip that at that moment had betrayed one would have 
 lied. There was hate in their hearts and vengeance in their 
 looks. 
 
 For a moment both parties stood scanning each other in 
 silence. These were no common foes ; it was no common 
 hostility that for years had nerved them against each other ; 
 and it was no common cause that had now, for the first time, 
 brought them face to face without arms in their hands. A 
 mutual want had forced them to their present attitude of 
 peace, though it was more like a truce between the lion and 
 tiger which have met in an avenue of the jungly forest, and 
 stand eyeing one another. 
 
 Though by agreement without arms, both were sufficiently 
 armed, and they knew that of each other. 
 
 The handles of tomahawks, the hafts of knives, and the 
 shining butts of pistols, peeped carelessly out from the 
 dresses both of hunters and Indians. There was little effort 
 made to conceal these dangerous toys, and they were on 
 all sides visible. 
 
 At length our mutual reconnaissance came to a period, and 
 we proceeded to business. 
 
 There happened to be no breadth of ground clear of weeds 
 and thorny rubbish, where we could seat ourselves for the 
 " smoke." Seguin pointed to one of the houses, an adobe 
 structure in a tolerable state of preservation, and several 
 entered to examine it. The building had been used as a 
 smelting-house, and broken trucks and other implements 
 were lying over the floor. There was but one apartment, 
 
A VEXED TREATY. 37l 
 
 not a large one either, and near its center stood a brazero 
 covered with cold slag and ashes. 
 
 Two men were appointed to kindle a fire upon the 
 brazero ; and the rest, entering, took their seats upon the 
 trucks and masses of quartz rock ore that lay around the 
 room. 
 
 As I was about seating myself, an object leaped against 
 me from behind, uttering a low whine that ended in a bark. 
 I turned, and beheld the dog Alp. The animal, frenzied 
 with delight, rushed upon me repeatedly ; and it was some 
 time before I could quiet him and take my place. 
 
 At length we all were seated upon opposite sides of the 
 fire, each party forming the arc of a circle, concave to the 
 other. 
 
 There was a heavy door still hanging upon its hinge ; 
 and as there were no windows in the house, this was suffered 
 to remain open. It opened to the inside. 
 
 The fire was soon kindled, and the clay-stone calumet 
 filled with " kini-kinik." It was then lighted, and passed 
 from mouth to mouth in profound silence. 
 
 We noticed that each of the Indians, contrary to their 
 usual custom of taking a whiff or two, smoked long and 
 slowly. We knew it was a ruse to protract the ceremony and 
 gain time ; while we — I answer for Seguin and myself — were 
 chafing at the delay. 
 
 When the pipe came round to the hunters, it passed in 
 quicker time. 
 
 " The unsocial smoke was at length ended, and the nego- 
 tiation began. 
 
 At the very commencement of the " talk." I saw that we 
 were going to have a difficulty. The Navajoes, particularly 
 the younger warriors, assumed a bullying and exacting atti- 
 tude that the hunters were not likely to brook ; nor would 
 they have submitted to it for a moment but for the peculiar 
 
372 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 position in which their chief was placed. For his sake they 
 held in as well as they could ; but the tinder was apparent, 
 and would not bear many sparks before it blazed up. 
 
 The first question was in relation to the number of the 
 prisoners. The enemy had nineteen, while we, without in- 
 cluding the queen or the Mexican girls, numbered twenty- 
 one. This was in our favor ; but, to our surprise, the In- 
 dians insisted that their captives were grown women, that 
 most of ours were children, and that two of the latter should 
 be exchanged for one of the former ! 
 
 To this absurdity Seguin replied that we could not agree ; 
 but, as he did not wish to keep any of their prisoners, he 
 would exchange the twenty-one for the nineteen. 
 
 " Twenty-one ! " exclaimed a brave ; " why, you have 
 twenty-seven. We counted them on the bank." 
 
 " Six of those you counted are our own people. They are 
 whites and Mexicans." 
 
 " Six whites ! " retorted the savage ; " there are but five. 
 Who is the sixth ? " 
 
 " Perhaps it is our queen ; she is light in color. Perhaps 
 the pale chief has mistaken her for a white ! " 
 
 " Ha 1 ha 1 ha 1 " roared the savages in a taunting laugh. 
 " Our queen a white ! Ha I ha ! ha ! " 
 
 "Your queen," said Seguin, in a solemn voice; "your 
 queen, as you call her, is my daughter." 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha ! " again howled they, in scornful chorus ; 
 " your daughter ! Ha ! ha ! ha I " and the room rang with 
 their demoniac laughter. 
 
 " Yes ! " repeated he, in a loud but faltering voice, for he 
 now saw the turn that things were taking. " Yes, she is my 
 daughter." 
 
 " How can that be ? " demanded one of the braves, an 
 orator of the tribe. " You have a daughter among our cap- 
 tives ; we know that. She is white as the snow upon the 
 
.-.;+ A VEXED TREATY. 373 
 
 mountain top. Her hair is yellow as the gold upon these 
 armlets. The queen is dark in complexion ; among our 
 tribes there are many as light as she, and her hair is like 
 the wing of the black vulture. How is that ? Our chil- 
 dren are like one another. Are not yours the same ? If 
 the queen be your daughter, then the golden-haired maiden is 
 not. You cannot be the father of both. But no 1 " contin- 
 ued the subtle savage, elevating his voice, " the queen is not 
 your daugher. She is of our race — a child of Montezuma — 
 a queen of the Navajoes ! " 
 
 " The queen must be returned to us ! " exclaimed several 
 *braves ; " she is ours ; we must have her ! " 
 
 In vain Seguin reiterated his paternal claim. In vain he 
 detailed the time and circumstances of her capture by the 
 Navajoes themselves. The braves again cried out — 
 
 " She is our queen ; we must have her ! " 
 
 Seguin, in an eloquent speech, appealed to the feelings of 
 the old chief, whose daughter was in similar circumstances ; 
 but it was evident that the latter lacked the power, if he had 
 the will, to stay the storm that was rising. The younger 
 warriors answered with shouts of derision, one of them cry- 
 ing out that " the white chief was raving." 
 
 They continued for some time to gesticulate, at intervals 
 declaring loudly that on no terms would they agree to an 
 exchange unless the queen were given up. It was evident 
 that some mysterious tie bound them to such extreme loyalty. 
 Even the exchange of Dacoma was less desired by them. 
 
 Their demands were urged in so insulting a manner, that 
 we felt satisfied it was their intention, in the end, to bring 
 us to a fight. The rifles, so much dreaded by them, were 
 absent ; and they felt certain of obtaining a victory over us. 
 
 The hunters were equally willing to be at it, and equally 
 sure of a conquest. 
 
 They only waited the signal from their leader. 
 
374 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 A signal was given ; but, to their surprise and chagrin, it 
 was one of peace ! 
 
 Seguin, turning to them and looking down — for he was 
 upon his feet — cautioned them in a low voice to be patient 
 and silent. Then covering his eyes with his hand, he stood 
 for some moments in an attitude of meditation. 
 
 The hunters had full confidence in the talents as well as 
 bravery of their chief. They knew that he was devising 
 some plan of action, and they patiently awaited the result. 
 
 On the other side, the Indians showed no signs of impa- 
 tience. They cared not how much time was consumed, for 
 they hoped that by this time Dacoma's party would be on 
 their trail. They sat still, exchanging their thoughts in 
 grunts and short phrases, while many of them filled up the in- 
 tervals with laughter. They felt quite easy, and seemed not 
 in the least to dread the alternative of a fight with us. Indeed, 
 to look at both parties, one should have said that, man to man, 
 we would have been no match for them. They were all, with 
 one or two exceptions, men of six feet — most of them over it — 
 in height ; while many of the hunters were small-bodied men. 
 But among these there was not one " white feather." 
 
 The Navajoes knew that they themselves were well armed 
 for close conflict. They knew, too, that we were armed. 
 Ha ! they little dreamt how we were armed. They saw that 
 the hunters carried knives and pistols ; but they thought 
 that, after the first volley, uncertain and ill-directed, the 
 knives would be no match for their terrible tomahawks. They 
 knew not that from the belts of several of us — El Sol, Se- 
 guin, Garey, and myself — hung a fearful weapon, the most 
 fearful of all others in close combat : the Colt revolver. It 
 was then but a new patent, and no Navajo had ever heard 
 its continuous and death-dealing detonations. 
 
 " Brothers ! " said Seguin, again placing himself in an 
 attitude to speak, you deny that I am the father of the girl. 
 
A VEXED TREATY. 375 
 
 Two of your captives, whom you know to be my wife and 
 daughter, are her mother and sister. This you deny. If 
 you be sincere, then, you cannot object to the proposal I am 
 about to make. Let them be brought before us ; let her be 
 brought. If she fail to recognize and acknowledge her 
 kindred, then shall I yield my claim, and the maiden be free 
 to return with the warriors of Navajo." 
 
 The hunters heard this proposition with surprise. They 
 knew that Seguin's efforts to awaken any recollection of 
 himself in the mind of the girl had been unsuccessful. 
 What likelihood was there that she would remember her 
 mother? But Seguin himself had little hope of this, and a 
 moment's reflection convinced us that his proposal was based 
 upon some hidden idea. 
 
 He saw that the exchange of the queen was a sine qua 
 non with the Indians ; and without this being granted, the 
 negotiations would terminate abruptly, leaving his wife and 
 younger daughter still in the hands of our enemies. He 
 reflected on the harsh lot which would await them in their 
 captivity, while she returned but to receive homage and kind- 
 ness. They must be saved at every sacrifice ; she must be 
 yielded up to redeem them. 
 
 But Seguin had still another design. It was a strategic 
 maneuver, a desperate and dernier ressort on his part. It 
 was this : — He saw that, if we could once get the captives, 
 his wife and daughter, doAvn among the houses, there would 
 be a possibility, in the event of a fight, of carrying them off. 
 The queen too might thus be rescued as well. It was the 
 alternative suggested by despair. 
 
 In a hurried whisper he communicated this to those of his 
 comrades nearest him, in order to insure their prudence and 
 patience. 
 
 As soon as the proposal was made, the Navajoes rose 
 from their seats, and clustered together in a corner of the 
 
37^ THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 room to deliberate. They spoke in low tones. We could 
 not, of course, understand what was said ; but from the ex- 
 pression of their faces, and their gesticulations, we could tell 
 that they seemed disposed to accept it. They knew that 
 the queen had not recognized Seguin as her father. They 
 had watched her closely as she rode down the opposite side 
 of the barranca ; in fact, conversed by signals with her, be- 
 fore we could interfere to prevent it. No doubt she had 
 informed them of what happened at the canon with Dacoma's 
 warriors, and the probability of their approach. They had 
 little fear, then, that she would remember her mother. Her 
 long absence, her age when made captive, her after-life, and 
 the more than kind treatment she had received at their 
 hands, had long since blotted out every recollection of her 
 childhood and its associations. The subtle savages well 
 knew this ; and at length, after a discussion which lasted 
 for nearly an hour, they resumed their seats, and signified 
 their assent to the proposal. 
 
 Two men, one from each party, were now sent for the 
 three captives, and we sat waiting their arrival. 
 
 In a short time they were led in. 
 
 I find a difficulty in describing the scene that followed. 
 The meeting of Seguin with his wife and daughter ; my own 
 short embrace and hurried kiss ; the sobs and swooning of 
 my betrothed ; the mother's recognition of her long-lost 
 child ; the anguish that ensued as her yearning heart made 
 its appeals in vain; the half-indignant, half-pitying looks of 
 the hunters ; the triumphant gestures and ejaculations of the 
 Indians : all formed points in a picture that lives with pain- 
 ful vividness in my memory, though I am not sufficiently 
 master of the author's art to paint it. 
 
 In a few minutes the captives were led out of the house, 
 guarded by two men, while the rest of us remained to com- 
 plete the negotiation. 
 
CHATER XLVI. 
 
 A CONFLICT WITH CLOSED DOORS. 
 
 HE occurrence did not 
 improve the temper of 
 i; either party, particularly 
 * that of the hunters. The 
 Indians were triumphant, but not 
 a whit the less inclined to obsti- 
 nacy and exaction. They now re- 
 turned to their former offer. For 
 those of our captives that were woman-grown they would 
 exchange one for one, and for their chief Dacoma they 
 offered to give two ; for the rest they insisted on receiving 
 two for one. 
 
 By this arrangement, we could ransom only about twelve 
 
 of the Mexican women ; but finding them determined, Seguin 
 
 at length assented to these terms, provided they would allow 
 
 us the privilege of choosing the twelve to be exchanged. 
 
 To our surprise and indignation this was refused ! 
 
 We no longer doubted what was to be the winding up of the 
 
 negotiation. The air was filled with the electricity of anger. 
 
 Hate kindled hate, and vengeance was burning in every eye. 
 
 The Indians scowled on us, glancing malignantly out of 
 
 377 
 
378 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 their oblique eyes. There was triumph too in their looks, 
 for they believed themselves far stronger than we. 
 
 On the other side sat the hunters quivering under a double 
 indignation. I say double. I can hardly explain what I 
 mean. They had never before been so braved by Indians. 
 They had, all their lives, been accustomed, partly out of 
 bravado and partly from actual experience, to consider the 
 red men their inferiors in subtilty and courage ; and to be 
 thus bearded by them filled the hunters, as I have said, with 
 a double indignation. It was like the bitter anger which 
 the superior feels towards his resisting inferior, the lord to 
 his rebellious serf, the master to his lashed slave who has 
 turned and struck him. It was thus the hunters felt. 
 
 I glanced along their line. I never saw faces with such 
 expressions as I saw there and then. Their lips were white, 
 and drawn tightly over their teeth ; their cheeks were set 
 and colorless; and their eyes, protruding forward, seemed 
 glued in their sockets. There was no motion to be detected 
 in the features of any, save the twitching of angry muscles. 
 Their right hands were buried in the bosoms of their half- 
 open shirts, each, I knew, grasping a weapon ; and they 
 appeared not to sit, but to crouch forward, like panthers 
 quivering upon the spring. 
 
 There was a long interval of silence on both sides. 
 
 It was broken by a cry from without : the scream of the 
 war-eagle 1 
 
 We should not have noticed this, knowing that these birds 
 were common in the Mimbres, and one might have flown 
 over the ravine ; but we thought, or fancied, that it had 
 made an impression upon our adversaries. They were men 
 not apt to show any sudden emotion ; but it appeared to us 
 that, all at once, their glances grew bolder, and more 
 triumphant. Could it have been a signal ? 
 
 We listened for a minute. The scream was repeated; 
 
A CONFLICT WITH CLOSED DOORS. 370 
 
 and, although it was exactly after the manner of a bird well- 
 known to us — the white-headed eagle, we sat with unsatis- 
 fied and fearful apprehensions. 
 
 The young chief, he in the hussar dress, was upon his 
 feet. He had been the most turbulent and exacting of our 
 opponents. He was a man of most villainous and licentious 
 character, so Rube had told us, but nevertheless holding 
 great power among the braves. It was he who had spoken 
 in refusal of Seguin's offer, and he was now about to assign 
 his reasons. We knew them without that. 
 
 " Why," said he, looking at Seguin as he spoke, " why is 
 it that the white chief is so desirous of choosing among our 
 captives ? Is it that he wishes to get back the yellow-haired 
 maiden ? " 
 
 He paused a moment, as if for a reply ; but Seguin made 
 none. 
 
 " If the white chief believes our queen to be his daughter, 
 would not he wish that her sister should be her companion, 
 and return with her to our land ? " 
 
 Again he paused ; but, as before, Seguin remained silent. 
 " The speaker proceeded. 
 
 " Why not let the yellow-haired maiden return with 'tis, 
 and become my wife ? Who am I that ask this ? A chief 
 of the Navajoes, the descendants of the great Montezuma ; 
 the son' of their kingl " 
 
 The savage looked around him with a vaunting air as he 
 uttered these words. 
 
 " Who is she," he continued, " that I am thus begging for 
 a bride ? The daughter of one who is not even respected 
 among his own people : the daughter of a culatta /" 
 
 I looked at Seguin. I saw his form dilating. I saw the 
 big veins swelling along his throat. I saw gathering in his 
 eyes that wild expression I had once before noticed. I 
 knew that the crisis was near. 
 
380 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Again the eagle screamed ! 
 
 " But ! " proceeded the savage, seeming to draw new bold- 
 ness from the signal, " I shall beg no more. I love the 
 white maiden. She must be mine ; and this very night shall 
 she sleep " 
 
 He never finished the sentence. Seguin's bullet had 
 sped, piercing the center of his forehead. I caught a 
 glimpse of the red round hole, with its circle of blue powder, 
 as the victim fell forward on his face ! 
 
 Altogether we sprang to our feet. As one man rose 
 hunters and Indians. As if from one throat pealed the 
 double shout of defiance ; and, as if by one hand, knives, 
 pistols, and tomahawks were drawn together. The next 
 moment we closed and battled 1 
 
 Oh! it was a fearful strife, as the pistols cracked, the 
 long knives glittered, and the tomahawks swept the air ; a 
 fearful, fearful strife ! 
 
 You would suppose that the first shock would have pros- 
 trated both ranks. It was not so. The early blows of a 
 struggle like this are wild, and well parried, and human life 
 is hard to take. What were the lives of men like these ? 
 
 A few fell. Some recoiled from the collision, wounded 
 and bleeding, but still to battle again. Some fought hand 
 to hand ; while several pairs had clutched, and were striving 
 to fling each other in the desperate wrestle of death ! 
 
 Some rushed for the door, intending to fight outside. A 
 few got out; but the crowd pressed against it, the door 
 closed, dead bodies fell behind it ; we fought in darkness. 
 
 We had light enough for our purpose. The pistols 
 flashed at quick intervals, displaying the horrid picture. 
 The light gleamed upon fiend-like faces, upon red and wav- 
 ing weapons, upon prostrate forms of men, upon others 
 struggling in every attitude of deadly conflict ! 
 
 The yells of the Indians, and the not less savage shouts 
 
A CONFLICT WITH CLOSED DOORS. 381 
 
 of their white foemen, had continued from the first ; but the 
 voices grew hoarser, and the shouts were changed to groans, 
 and oaths, and short, earnest exclamations. At intervals 
 were heard the quick percussions of blows, and the dull, 
 sodden sound of falling bodies. 
 
 The room became filled with smoke, and dust, and chok- 
 ing sulphur ; and the combatants were half stifled as they 
 fought. 
 
 At the first break of the battle I had drawn my revolver, 
 and fired it in the faces of the closing foemen. I had fired 
 shot after shot, some at random, others directed upon a vic- 
 tim. I had not counted the reports, until the cock " check- 
 ing " on the steel nipple told me I had gone the round of 
 the six chambers. 
 
 This had occupied but as many seconds of time. Me- 
 chanically I stuck the empty weapon behind my belt, and, 
 guided by an impulse, made for the door. Before I could 
 reach it, it was closed, and I saw that to get out was impos- 
 sible. 
 
 I turned to search for an antagonist ; I was not long in 
 finding one. By the flash of a pistol I saw one of the In- 
 dians rushing upon me with upraised hatchet. Up to this 
 time something had hindered me from drawing my knife. I 
 was now too late ; and, holding out my arms to catch the 
 blow, I ducked my head towards the savage. 
 
 I felt the keen blade cutting the flesh as it glanced along 
 my shoulder. I was but slightly wounded. He had missed 
 his aim from my stooping so suddenly ; but the impetus 
 brought our bodies together, and the next moment we grap- 
 pled. 
 
 We stumbled over a heap of rock, and for some moments 
 struggled together upon the ground, neither able to use his 
 weapon. Again we rose, still locked in the angry embrace ; 
 again we were falling with terrible force. Something caught 
 
382 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 us in our descent. It shook ; it gave way with a crashing 
 sound, and we fell headlong into the broad and brilliant 
 light ! 
 
 I was dazzled and blinded. I heard behind me a strange 
 rumbling like the noise made by falling timbers ; but I 
 heeded not that : I was too busy to speculate upon causes. 
 
 The sudden shock had separated us, and both rose at the 
 same instant, again to grapple, and again to come together 
 to the earth. We twisted and wriggled over the ground, 
 among weeds and thorny cacti. I was every moment grow- 
 ing weaker, while the sinewy savage, used to such combats, 
 seemed to be gaining fresh nerve and breath. Thrice he 
 had thrown me under ; but each time I had clutched his 
 right arm, and prevented the descending blow. I had suc- 
 ceeded in drawing my knife as we fell through the wall ; but 
 my arm was also held fast, and I was unable to use it. 
 
 As we came to the ground for the fourth time, my an- 
 tagonist fell under me. A cry of agony passed from his 
 lips ; his head " coggled " over among the weeds ; and he 
 lay in my arms without struggling ! 
 
 I felt his grasp gradually relaxing. I looked in his face. 
 His eyes were glassy and upturned. Blood was gurgling 
 through his teeth. I saw that he was dead. 
 
 To my astonishment I saw this, for I knew I had not 
 struck him as yet. I was drawing my arm from under him 
 to do so, when I noticed that he ceased to resist. But the 
 knife now caught my eye. It was red, blade and haft, and 
 so was the hand that clasped it. 
 
 As we fell, I had accidentally held it point upward. My 
 antagonist had fallen upon the blade ! 
 
 I now thought of my betrothed, and, untwining myself 
 from the lithe and nerveless limbs of the savage, I rose to 
 my feet. The ranche was in flames ! 
 
 The roof had fallen in upon the brazero, and the dry 
 
A CONFLICT WITH CLOSED DOORS. 383 
 
 shingles had caught the blaze. Men were crawling out from 
 the burning ruin, but not to run away. No ! Under its 
 lurking flames, amidst the hot smoke, they still battled : 
 fierce, and foaming, and frenzied ! 
 
 I did not stay to recognize whom they were, these tireless 
 combatants. I ran forward, looking on all sides for the ob- 
 jects of my solicitude. The wave of female dresses caught 
 my eye, far up the cliff, on the road leading to the Navajo 
 captives. It was they ! The three were climbing the steep 
 path, each urged onward by a savage. 
 
 My first impulse was to rush after ; but at that moment 
 fifty horsemen made their appearance upon the hill, and came 
 galloping downward. 
 
 I saw the madness of attempting to follow them, and 
 turned to retreat towards the other side, where we had left 
 our captives and horses. As I ran across the bottom, shots 
 rang in my ear, proceeding from our side of the barranca. 
 Looking up, I descried the mounted hunters coming down 
 at a gallop, pursued by a cloud of savage horsemen. It was 
 the band of Dacoma ! 
 
 Uncertain what to do, I stood for a moment where I was, 
 and watched the pursuit. 
 
 The hunters, on reaching the ranches, did not halt, but gal- 
 loped on down the valley, firing as they went. A body of 
 Indians swept on after them, while another body pulled up, 
 clustered around the blazing ruin, and commenced search- 
 ing among the walls. 
 
 I was yet screened in the thicket of cacti ; but I saw that 
 my hiding-place would soon be pierced by the eyes of the 
 subtle savages ; and dropping upon my hands and knees, I 
 crept into the cliff. On reaching it, I found myself close to 
 the mouth of a cave, a small shaft of the mine, and into this 
 I at once betook myself. 
 
CHAPTER XL VII. 
 
 A QUEER ENCOUNTER IN A CAVE. 
 
 | HE place into which I had 
 crawled was of irregular out- 
 lines. Rocks jutted along the 
 sides, and between these, small 
 lateral shafts had been dug, where the 
 miners had followed the ramifications of 
 the " quixa." The cave was not a deep' 
 one; the vein had not proved profitable, and had been 
 abandoned for some other. 
 
 I kept up it till I was fairly " in the dark " ; and then 
 groping against one side, I found a recess, in which I en- 
 sconced myself. By peeping round the rock, I could see 
 out of the cave, and some distance over the bottom of the 
 barranca, where the bushes grew thin and straggling. 
 
 I had hardly seated myself when my attention was called to 
 a scene that was passing outside. Two men on their hands 
 3 8 4 
 
A QUEER ENCOUNTER IN A CAVE. 385 
 
 and knees were crawling through the cactus plants in front of 
 the cave. Beyond them half a dozen savages on horseback 
 were beating the thicket, but had not yet seen the men. These 
 I recognized easily. They were Gode and the doctor. The 
 latter was nearer me ; and as he scrambled on over the shin- 
 gle, something started out of the rocks within reach of his 
 hand. I noticed that it was a small animal of the armadillo 
 kind. I saw him stretch forward, clutch it, and with a 
 pleased look deposit it in a bag that was by his side. All 
 this time the Indians were whooping and yelling behind him, 
 and not fifty yards distant. 
 
 Doubtless the animal was of some new species, but the 
 zealous naturalist never gave it to the world. He had 
 scarcely drawn forth his hand again when a cry from the 
 savages announced that he and Gode were discovered ; and 
 the next moment both lay upon the ground pierced with 
 lances and to all appearance dead ! 
 
 Their pursuers now dismounted with the intention of 
 scalping them. Poor Reicher ! his cap was pulled off ; the 
 bleeding trophy followed, and he lay with the red skull to- 
 wards the cave — a hideous spectacle ! 
 
 Another Indian had alighted, and stood over the Canadian 
 with his long knife in his hand. Although pitying my poor 
 follower, and altogether in no humor for mirth, knowing 
 what I did, I could not help watching the proceedings with 
 some curiosity. 
 
 The savage stood for a moment, admiring the beautiful 
 curls that embellished the head of his victim. He was no 
 doubt thinking what handsome fringes they would make for 
 his leggings. He appeared to be in ecstasies of delight ; and 
 from the flourishes which he made with his knife, I could see 
 that it was his intention to ski?i the whole head ! 
 
 After cutting several capers around it, he stooped and 
 grasped a fistful of curls ; but before he had touched ftie 
 2 5 
 
386 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 scalp with his blade, the hair lifted off, displaying the white 
 and marble-like skull ! 
 
 With a cry of terror, the savage dropped the wig, and, 
 running backward, fell over the body of the doctor. The 
 cry attracted his comrades ; and several of them, dismount- 
 ing, approached the strange object with looks of astonish- 
 ment. One, more courageous than the rest, picked up the 
 wig, which they all proceeded to examine with curious 
 minuteness. 
 
 Then one after another went up to the shining skull, and 
 passed his fingers over its smooth surface, all the while 
 uttering exclamations of surprise. They tried on the wig, 
 took it off, and put it on again, turning it in various ways. 
 At length, he who claimed it as his property pulled off his 
 plumed head-dress, and, adjusting the wig upon his own 
 head, front backward, stalked proudly around, with the long 
 curls dangling over his face ! 
 
 It was altogether a curious scene, and, under other cir- 
 cumstances, might have amused me. There was something ir- 
 resistibly comic in the puzzled looks of the actors ; but I had 
 been too deeply affected by the tragedy to laugh at the farce. 
 There was too much of horror around me. Seguin perhaps 
 dead ; she gone forever, the slave of the brutal savage. 
 My own peril, too, at the moment ; for I knew not how soon 
 I might be discovered and dragged forth. This affected me 
 least of all. My life was now of little value to me, and so I 
 regarded it. 
 
 But there is an instinct, so called, of self-preservation, even 
 when the will ceases to act. Hopes soon began to shape 
 themselves in my mind, and along with these the wish to 
 live. Thoughts came. I might organize a powerful band ; 
 I might yet rescue her. Yes ! even though years might 
 intervene, I would accomplish this. She would still be true 1 
 She would never forget / 
 
A QUEER ENCOUNTER IN A CAVE. 387 
 
 Poor Seguin ! what a life of hope withered in an hour ! 
 he himself sealing the sacrifice with his blood ! 
 
 But I would not despair, even with his fate for a warning. 
 I would take up the drama where he had ended. The curtain 
 should rise upon new scenes, and I would not abandon the 
 stage until I had accomplished a more joyous finale ; or, 
 failing this, had reached the denouement of death or venge- 
 ance. 
 
 Poor Seguin ! No wonder he had been a scalp-hunter. 
 I could now understand how holy was his hate for the ruth- 
 less red man. I, too, had imbibed the passion. 
 
 With such reflections passing hastily — for the scene I have 
 described, and the sequent thoughts, did not occupy much 
 time — I turned my eyes inwards to examine whether I was 
 sufficiently concealed in my niche. They might take it into 
 their heads to search the shaft. 
 
 As I endeavored to penetrate the gloom that extended in- 
 wards, my gaze became riveted on an object that caused me 
 to shrink back with a cold shudder. Notwithstanding the 
 scenes I had just passed through, this was the cause of still 
 another agony. 
 
 In the thick of the darkness I could distinguish two small 
 spots, round and shining. They did not scintillate, but 
 rather glistened with a steady greenish luster. I knew that 
 they were eyes ! 
 
 I was in the cave with a panther, or with a still more 
 terrible companion, the grizzly bear 1 
 
 My first impulse was to press back into the recess where 
 I had hidden myself. This I did, until my back leaned 
 against the rocks. I had no thoughts of attempting to escape 
 out. That would have been from the frying-pan into the fire, 
 for the Indians were still in front of the cave. Moreover, 
 any attempt to retreat would only draw on the animal, per- 
 haps at that moment straining to spring. 
 
388 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I cowered closely, groping along my belt for the handle of 
 my knife. I clasped this at length, and drawing it forth, 
 waited in a crouching attitude. 
 
 During all this time my eyes had remained fixed on the 
 lustrous orbs before me. 
 
 I saw that they were fixed upon mine, and watched me 
 without as much as winking. 
 
 Mine seemed to be possessed of abstract volition. I could 
 not take them off. They were held by some terrible fascina- 
 tion ; and I felt, or fancied, that the moment this should be 
 broken, the animal would spring upon me. 
 
 I had heard of fierce brutes being conquered by the glance 
 of the human eye, and I endeavored to look back my vis-it 
 vis with interest. 
 
 We sat for some time, neither of us moving an inch. I 
 could see nothing of the animal's body ; nothing but the 
 green gleaming circles that seemed set in a ground of 
 ebony. 
 
 As they had remained motionless so long, I conjectured 
 that the owner of them was still lying in his lair, and would 
 not make his attack until something disturbed him ; perhaps 
 until the Indians had gone away. 
 
 The thought now occurred to me that I might better arm 
 myself. I knew that a knife would be of little avail against 
 a grizzly bear. My pistol was still in my belt, but it was 
 empty. Would the animal permit me to load it ? I resolved 
 to make the attempt. 
 
 Still leaving my eyes to fulfil their office, I felt for my 
 flask and pistol, and finding both ready, I commenced load- 
 ing. I proceeded with silence and caution, for I knew that 
 these animals could see in the dark, and that in this respect 
 my vis-a-vis had the advantage of me. I felt the powder in 
 with my finger, and pushing the ball on top of it, rolled the 
 cylinder to the right notch, and cocked. 
 
A QUEER ENCOUNTER IN A CAVE. 389 
 
 As the spring " clicked," I saw the eyes start. " It will 
 be on me now ! " 
 
 Quick as the thought, I placed my finger to the trigger ; 
 but before I could level, a voice, with a well-known accent, 
 restrained me. 
 
 " Hold on thur, d — n yur ! " cried the voice. " Why the 
 d — t — n didn't 'ee say yur hide wur white ? I thought 'twur 
 some sneaking Injun. Who the h — 1 are 'ee, anyhow ? 
 'Tain't Bill Garey ? No, Billee, 'tain't you, ole fellur." 
 
 " No," said I, recovering from my surprise ; " it's not 
 Bill." 
 
 " I mout 'a guessed that. Bill wud a know'd me sooner. 
 He wud a know'd the glint o' this niggur's eyes as I wud 
 his'n. Ah ! poor Billee ! I's afeerd that trapper's rubbed 
 out ; an' thur ain't many more o' his sort in the mountains. 
 No, that thur ain't. 
 
 " Rot it ! " continued the voice, with a fierce emphasis ; 
 " this comes o' layin' one's rifle ahint them. Ef I'd 'a had 
 Targuts wi' me, I wudn't a been hidin' hyur like a scared 
 'possum. But she are gone ; that leetle gun are gone ; an' 
 the mar too ; an' hyur I am 'ithout eyther beast or weepun ; 
 cuss the luck ! " 
 
 And the last words were uttered with an angry hiss, that 
 echoed through every part of the cave. 
 
 " Yur the young fellow ; the capt'n's friend, ain't 'ee ? " 
 inquired the speaker, with a sudden change of tone. 
 
 " Yes," I replied. 
 
 " I didn't see yur a-comin' in, or I mout 'a spoke sooner. 
 I've got a smart lick across the arm, an' I wur just a-tyin' it 
 up as ye tumbled in thur. Who did 'ee think this child 
 wur ? " 
 
 " I did not think you were any one. I took you for a 
 grizzly bear." 
 
 " Ha ! ha 1 ha 1 He 1 he 1 he 1 I thort so, when I heard 
 
390 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 the click o' your pistol. He ! he ! he ! If ever I sets my 
 peepers on Bill Garey agin, I'll make that niggur larf till his 
 
 guts ache. Ole Rube tuk for a grizzly ! If that ain't 
 
 Ha! ha! ha! He! he! he! Ho! ho! hoo ! " 
 
 And the old trapper chuckled at the conceit, as if he had 
 just been witnessing some scene of amusement, and there 
 was not an enemy within a hundred miles of him. 
 
 " Did you see anything of Seguin ? " I asked, wishing to 
 learn whether there was any probability that my friend still 
 lived. 
 
 " Did I ? I did ; an' a sight that wur. Did 'ee iver see 
 a catamount riz ? " 
 
 " I believe I have," said I. 
 
 " Wal, that wur him. He wur in the shanty when it felled. 
 So wur I m'self ; but I wa'n't there long arter. I creeped 
 out some'rs about the door ; an' jest then I seed the cap, 
 hand to hand wi' an Injun in a stan'-up tussle : but it didn't 
 last long. The cap gi'n him a sockdolloger some'rs about 
 the ribs, an' the nigger went under ; he did." 
 
 " But what of Seguin ? Did you see him afterwards ? " 
 
 "Did I see him arterwards ? No; I didn't." 
 
 "I fear he is killed." 
 
 " That ain't likely, young fellur. He knows these diggins 
 better'n any o' us ; an' he oughter know whur to cacher, I 
 reckin. He's did that, I'll be boun'." 
 
 " Ay, if he would," said I, thinking that Seguin might 
 have followed the captives, and thrown away his life reck- 
 lessly. 
 
 " Don't be skeert about him, young fellur. The cap ain't 
 a-gwine to put his fingers into a bee's nest whur thur's no 
 honey ; he ain't." 
 
 " But where could he have gone, when you did not see 
 him afterwards ? " 
 
 " Whur could he 'a gone ? Fifty ways he kud 'a gone 
 
A QUEER ENCOUNTER IN A CAVE. 391 
 
 through the brush. I didn't think o' looking arter him. 
 He left the Injun whur he had throw'd him, 'ithout raisin' 
 the har ; so I stooped down to git it ; an' when I riz agin, 
 he wa'n't thur no how. But that Injun wur. Lor' ! that 
 Injun are some punkins ; he are." 
 
 " What Indian do you mean ? " 
 
 " Him as jined us on the Del Nort ; the Coco." 
 
 " El Sol I what of him ? is he killed ? " 
 
 " Wal, he ain't, I reckin ; nor can't a be : that's this child's 
 opeenyun o' it. He kim from under the ranche, arter it 
 tumbled ; an' his fine dress looked as spick as ef it had been 
 jest tuk out o' a bandy-box. Thur wur two at him, an', Lor I 
 how he fit them 1 I tackled on to one o' them ahint, an' 
 gin him a settler in the hump ribs ; but the way he finished 
 the other wur a caution to Crockett. 'Twur the puttiest lick 
 I ever seed in these hyur mountains, an' I've seed a good 
 few, I reckin." 
 
 " How was it ? " 
 
 " 'Ee know, the Injun — that are, the Coco — fit wi' a 
 hatchet ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Wal, then ; that ur's a desprit weepun, for them as knows 
 how to use it ; an' he diz ; that Injun diz. T'other had a 
 hatchet, too, but he didn't keep it long. 'Twur clinked out 
 o' his hands in a minnit, an' then the Coco got a down blow 
 at him. Wagh ! it wur a down blow, an' it wa'n't nuthin' 
 else. It split the niggur's head clur down to the thrapple. 
 'Twus sep'rated into two halves as ef 't had been clove wi' a 
 broad-ax ! Ef 'ee had 'a seed the varmint when he kim to 
 the ground, 'ee'd 'a thort he wur double-headed. Jest then 
 I spied the Injuns a-comin' down both sides o' the bluff ; 
 an' havin' neyther beast nor weepun, exceptin' a knife, this 
 child tuk a notion 'twa'n't safe to be thur any longer, an' 
 cachid; he did." 
 

 Apaches Lassoing Wild Horses. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIIL 
 
 SMOKED OUT. 
 
 UR conversation 
 
 had been carried 
 
 on in a low tone, 
 
 for the Indians 
 
 (Still remained in front of 
 
 the cave. Many others 
 
 had arrived, and were 
 
 examining the skull of 
 
 the Canadian with the 
 
 same looks of curiosity 
 
 and wonderment that had 
 
 been exhibited by their 
 
 comrades. 
 
 Rube and I sat for some time in silence, watching them. 
 The trapper had flitted near me, so that he could see out 
 and talk in whispers. 
 
 I was still apprehensive that the savages might search the 
 cave. 
 
 " 'Tain't likely," said my companion. " They mout ef 
 thur hadn't a been so many o' these diggins, do 'ee see ? 
 Thur's a grist o' em — more'n a hundred — on t'other side ; 
 392 
 
SMOKED OUT. 393 
 
 an' most o' the men who got clur tuk furrer down. It's my 
 notion the Injuns seed that, an' won't disturb — Gee — wiliker / 
 ef thur ain't that cussed dog ! " 
 
 I well understood the meaning of the fearful emphasis 
 with which these last words were repeated. My eyes, sim- 
 ultaneously with those of the speaker, had fallen upon the 
 dog Alp. He was running about in front of the cave. I 
 saw at a glance he was searching for me. 
 
 The next moment he had struck the trail where I had 
 crawled through the cacti, and came running down in the 
 direction of the cave. 
 
 On reaching the body of the Canadian, which lay directly 
 in his track, he stopped for a moment and appeared to ex- 
 amine it. Then, uttering a short yelp, he passed on to that 
 of the doctor, where he made a similar demonstration. He 
 ran several times from one to the other, but at length left 
 them : and, with his nose once more to the ground, disap- 
 peared out of our view. 
 
 His strange actions had attracted the attention of the sav- 
 ages, who, one and all, stood watching him. 
 
 My companion and I were beginning to hope that he had 
 lost me, when, to our dismay, he appeared a second time, 
 coming down the trail as before. This time he leaped over the 
 bodies, and the next moment sprang into the mouth of the 
 cave. 
 
 A yell from without told us that we were lost. 
 
 We endeavored to drive the dog out again, and succeeded, 
 Rube having wounded him with his knife ; but the wound 
 itself, and the behavior of the animal outside, convinced our 
 enemies that some one was within the shaft. 
 
 In a few seconds the entrance was darkened by a crowd 
 of savages, shouting and yelling. 
 
 " Now show yur shootin', young fellur ! " said my com- 
 panion. " It's the new kind o' pistol 'ee hev got. Load 
 every ber'l o' it" 
 
394 ?rHE scalP-hUnters. 
 
 " Shall I have time to load them ? " 
 
 " Plenty o' time. They ain't a-gwine to come in 'ithout 
 a light. Thur gone for a torch to the shanty. Quick \vi' 
 yur ! Slap in the fodder ! " 
 
 Without waiting to reply, I caught hold of my flask, and 
 loaded the remaining five chambers of the revolver. I had 
 scarcely finished when one of the Indians appeared in front 
 with a flaming brand, and was about stooping into the 
 mouth of the cavern. 
 
 " Now's yur time," cried Rube. " Fetch the durned nig- 
 gur out o' his boots ! Fetch him ! " 
 
 I fired, and the savage, dropping the torch, fell dead upon 
 the top of it ! 
 
 An angry yell from without followed the report, and the 
 Indians disappeared from the front. Shortly after, an arm 
 was seen reaching in, and the dead body was drawn back 
 out of the entrance. 
 
 " What will they do next, think you ? " I inquired of my 
 companion. 
 
 " I can't tell adzactly yit ; but thur sick o' that game, I 
 reckin. Load that ber'l agin. I guess we'll git a lot o' 'm 
 afore we gins in. Cuss the luck 1 that gun, Targuts 1 Ef I 
 only had that leetle piece hyur ! 'Ee've got six shots, have 
 'ee ? Good I 'Ee mout chock up the cave wi' their kar- 
 kidges afore they kin reach us. It ur a great weepun, an' 
 no, mistakes. I seed the cap use it. Lor'! how he made 
 it tell on them niggurs i' the shanty 1 Thur ain't many o' 
 the?n about, I reckin. Load 'sure, young fellur 1 Thur's 
 plenty o' time. They knows what you've got thur." 
 
 During all this dialogue none of the Indians made their 
 appearance, but we could hear them on both sides of the 
 shaft, without. We knew they were deliberating on what 
 plan they would take to get at us. 
 
 As Rube suggested, they seemed to be aware that the shot 
 had come from a revolver. Doubtless some of the survivors 
 
SMOKED OUT. 395 
 
 of the late fight had informed them of the fearful havoc that 
 had been made among them with our pistols, and they 
 dreaded to face them. What other plan would they adopt ? 
 Starve us out ? 
 
 " They mout," said Rube, in answer to my question, " an' 
 kin if they try. Thur ain't a big show o' vittlin' hyur,' 
 'ceptin' we chaw donnicks. But thur's another way, ef they 
 only hev the gumshin to go about it, that'll git us sooner than 
 starvin'. Ha ! " ejaculated the speaker, with emphasis. "I 
 thort so. Thur a-gwine to smoke us. Look 'ee yandee ! " 
 
 I looked forth. At a distance I saw several Indians 
 coming in the direction of the cave, carrying large bundles 
 of brushwood. Their intention was evident. 
 
 " But can they do this ? " I inquired, doubting the pos- 
 sibility of our enemies being able to effect their purpose in 
 that way ; " can we not bear the smoke ? " 
 
 " Bar it ! Yur green, young fellur. Do 'ee know what 
 sort o' brush thur a-toatin' yander ? " 
 
 " No," said I ; " what is it ? " 
 
 " It ur the stink-plant, then ; an' the stinkinest plant 'ee 
 ever smelt, I reckin. The smoke o' it ud choke a skunk out 
 o' a persimmon log. I tell 'ee young 'un, we'll eyther be 
 smoked out or smothered whur we are ; an' this child hain't 
 fit Injun for thirty yeern or better, to go under that a-way. 
 When it gets to its wurst Fm a-gwine to make a rush. That's 
 what I'm a-gwine ter do, young fellur." 
 
 "But how?" I asked hurriedly; "how shall we act 
 then ? " 
 
 " How ? Yur game to the toes, ain't 'ee ? " 
 
 " I am willing to fight to the last." 
 
 " Wal, then, hyur's how, an' the only how : — When they've 
 raised the smoke so that they can't see us a-comin', we'll 
 streak it out among 'em. You hev the pistol, an' kin go 
 fo'most. Shoot every cussed niggur that clutches at ye, 
 
396 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 an' run like blazes ! I'll foller clost on yur heels. If we 
 kin oncest git through the thick o' 'em, we mout make the 
 brush, an' creep under it to the big caves on t'other side. 
 Them caves jines one another, an' we mout dodge them 
 thur. I seed the time this 'coon kud 'a run a bit, but these 
 hyur jeints ain't as soople as they wur oncest. We kin try 
 neverthemless ; an' mind, young fellur, it's our only chance : 
 do 'ee hear ? " 
 
 I promised to follow the directions that my never-despair- 
 ing companion had given me. 
 
 " They won't get ole Rube's scalp yit, they won't. He ! 
 he ! he ! " 
 
 I turned towards him. The man was actually laughing 
 at this wild and strangely timed jest. It was awful to hear 
 him. 
 
 Several armfuls of brush were now thrown into the mouth 
 of the cave. I saw that it was the creosote plant : the ideo- 
 dondo. 
 
 It was thrown upon the still blazing torch, and soon 
 caught, sending up a thick black smoke. More was piled 
 on ; and the fetid vapor, impelled by some influence from 
 without, began to reach our nostrils and lungs, causing an 
 almost instantaneous feeling of sickness and suffocation. I 
 could not have borne it long. I did not stay to try how long, 
 for at that moment I heard Rube crying out — 
 
 " Now's your time, young fellur ! Out, and gi' them 
 hades ! " 
 
 With a feeling of desperate resolve, I clutched my pistol 
 and dashed through the smoking brushwood. I heard a 
 wild and deafening shout. I saw a crowd of men — of fiends. 
 I saw spears, and tomahawks, and red knives raised, and 
 
Types of Indian Maidens. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 A NOVEL MODE OF EQUITATION. 
 
 HEN consciousness returned, I found 
 that I was lying on the ground, and 
 my dog, the innocent cause of my 
 captivity, was licking my face. I 
 could not have been long senseless, 
 for the savages were still gesticulating 
 violently around me. One was wav- 
 ing them back. I recognized him. It 
 was Dacoma ! 
 
 The chief uttered a short harangue that seemed to quiet 
 the warriors. I could not tell what he said, but I heard him 
 use frequently the word Quetzalcoatl. I knew that this was 
 the name of their god, but I did not understand, at the time, 
 what the saving of my life could have to do with him. 
 
 I thought that Dacoma was protecting me from some feel- 
 ing of pity or gratitude, and I endeavored to recollect whether 
 I had shown him any special act of kindness during his cap- 
 tivity. I had sadly mistaken the motives of that splendid 
 savage. 
 
 My head felt sore. Had they scalped me ? With the 
 
 397 
 
39§ THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 thought I raised my hand, passing it over my crown. No. 
 My favorite brown curls were still there ; but there was a 
 deep cut along the back of my head — the dent of a toma- 
 hawk. I had been struck from behind as I came out, and 
 before I could fire a single bullet. 
 
 Where was Rube ? I raised myself a little and looked 
 around. He was not to be seen anywhere. 
 
 Had he escaped, as he intended ? No ; it would have 
 been impossible for any man, with only a knife, to have 
 fought his way through so many. Moreover, I did not ob- 
 serve any commotion among the savages, as if an enemy 
 had escaped them. None seemed to have gone off from the 
 
 spot. What then had ? Ha ! I now understood, in 
 
 its proper sense, Rube's jest about his scalp. It was not a 
 double entendre, but a mot of triple ambiguity. 
 
 The trapper, instead of following me, had remained 
 quietly in his den, where, no doubt, he was at that moment 
 watching me, his scape-goat, and chuckling at his own 
 escape. 
 
 The Indians, never dreaming that there were two of us in 
 the cave, and satisfied that it was now empty, made no 
 farther attempts to " smoke " it. 
 
 I was not likely to undeceive them. I knew that Rube's 
 death or capture could not have benefited me ; but I could 
 not help reflecting on the strange stratagem by which the old 
 fox had saved himself. 
 
 I was not allowed much time for reflection. Two of the 
 savages, seizing me by the arms, dragged me up to the still 
 blazing ruin. Oh, heavens ! was it for this Dacoma had 
 saved me from their tomahawks ? for this, the most cruel of 
 deaths ! 
 
 They proceeded to tie me hand and foot. Several others 
 were around, submitting to the same treatment. I recog- 
 nized Sanchez the bull-fighter and the red-haired Irishman. 
 
A NOVEL MODE OF EQUITATION. 39<) 
 
 There were three others of the band, whose names I had 
 never learnt. 
 
 We were in an open space in front of the burning ranche. 
 We could see all that was going on. 
 
 The Indians were clearing it of the fallen and charred 
 timbers, to get at the bodies of their friends. I watched 
 their proceedings with less interest, as I now knew that 
 Seguin was not there. 
 
 It was a horrid spectacle when the rubbish was cleared 
 away, laying bare the floor of the ruin. More than a dozen 
 bodies lay upon it, half baked, half roasted 1 Their dresses 
 were burned off ; but by the parts that remained still intact 
 from the fire, we could easily recognize to what party each 
 had belonged. The greater number of them were Navajoes. 
 There were also the bodies of hunters smoking inside their 
 cindery shirts. I thought of Garey ; but, as far as I could 
 judge, he was not among them. 
 
 There were no scalps for the Indians to take. The fire 
 had been before them, and had not left a hair upon the heads 
 of their dead foemen. 
 
 Seemingly mortified at this, they lifted the bodies of the 
 hunters, and tossed them once more into the flames that 
 were still blazing up from the piled rafters. They gathered 
 the knives, pistols, and tomahawks that lay among the ashes ; 
 and carrying what remained of their own people out of the 
 ruin, placed them in front. They then stood around them 
 in a circle, and with loud voices chanted a chorus of venge- 
 ance. 
 
 During all this proceeding we lay where we had been thrown, 
 guarded by a dozen savages. We were filled with fearful 
 apprehensions. We saw the fire still blazing, and we saw 
 that the half-burnt bodies of our late comrades had been 
 thrown upon it. We dreaded a similar fate for our own. 
 
 But we soon found that we were reserved for some other 
 
400 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 purpose. Six mules were brought up, and upon these we 
 were mounted in a novel fashion. We were first set astride 
 on the bare backs, with our faces turned tailwards. Our 
 feet were then drawn under the necks of the animals, where 
 our ankles were closely corded together. We were next 
 compelled to bend down our bodies until we lay along the 
 backs of the mules, our chins resting on their rumps. In 
 this position our arms were drawn down until our hands met 
 underneath, where they were tied tightly by the wrists. 
 
 The attitude was painful ; and to add to this, our mules, 
 not used to be thus " packed," kicked and plunged over the 
 ground, to the great mirth of our captors. 
 
 This cruel sport was kept up even after the mules them- 
 selves had got tired of it, by the savages pricking the animals 
 with their spears, and placing branches of the cactus under 
 their tails. We were fainting when it ended. 
 
 Our captors now divided themselves into two parties, and 
 started up the barranca, taking opposite sides. One went 
 with the Mexican captives and the girls and children of the 
 tribe. The larger party, under Dacoma — now head chief, 
 for the other had been killed in the conflict — guarded us. 
 
 We were carried up that side on which was the spring, 
 and, arriving at the water, were halted for the night. We 
 were taken off the mules and securely tied to one another, 
 our guard watching us without intermission till morning. 
 We were then " packed " as before, and carried westward 
 across the desert. 
 
Artistic and Unique Pottery of the Aztecs. 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 A FAST DYE. 
 
 FTER a four days' journey, painful 
 even to be remembered, we re-entered 
 the valley of Navajo. The other 
 captives, along with the great ca- 
 ballada, had arrived before us ; and 
 we saw the plundered cattle scat- 
 tered over the plain. 
 As we approached the town, we were met by crowds of 
 women and children, far more than we had seen on our 
 former visit. These were guests, who had come in from 
 other villages of the Navajoes that lay farther to the north. 
 They were there to witness the triumphant return of the 
 warriors, and partake of the great feast that always follows 
 a successful foray. 
 
 I noticed many white faces among them, with features of 
 the Iberian race. They had been captives ; they were now 
 the wives of warriors. They were dressed like the others, 
 26 401 
 
402 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 and seemed to participate in the general joy. They, like 
 Seguin's daughter, had been Indianized. 
 
 There were many Mestizoes, half-bloods, the descendants 
 of Indians and their Mexican captives, the offspring of many 
 a Sabine wedding. 
 
 We were carried through the streets, and out to the western 
 side of the village. The crowd followed us with mingled ex- 
 clamations of triumph, hatred, and curiosity. At the distance 
 of a hundred yards or so from the houses, and close to the 
 river bank, our guards drew up. 
 
 I had turned my eyes on all sides as we passed through, 
 as well as my awkward position would permit. I could see 
 nothing of her, or any of the female captives. Where could 
 they be ? Perhaps in the temple. 
 
 This building stood on the opposite side of the town, and 
 the houses prevented me from seeing it. Its top only was 
 visible from the spot where we had been halted. 
 
 We were untied and taken down. We were happy at 
 being relieved from the painful attitude in which we had 
 ridden all the way. We congratulated ourselves that we 
 should now be allowed to sit upright. Our self-congratula- 
 tion was brief. We soon found that the change was " from 
 the frying-pan into the fire." We were only to be " turned." 
 We had hitherto lain upon our bellies ; we were now to be 
 laid upon our backs. 
 
 In a few moments the change was accomplished, our 
 captors handling us as unceremoniously as though we had 
 been inanimate things. Indeed we were nearly so. 
 
 We were spread upon the green turf on our backs. 
 Around each man four long pins were driven into the 
 ground, in the form of a parallelogram. Our arms and 
 legs were stretched out to their widest, and raw hide-thongs 
 were looped about our wrists and ankles. These were passed 
 over the pins and drawn so tightly that our joints cracked 
 
! T A FAST DYE. 403 
 
 with the cruel tension. Thus we lay, faces upturned, like so 
 many hides spread out to be sun-dried. 
 
 We were placed in two ranks, " endways," in such a 
 manner that the heads of the front-rank men rested between 
 the feet of their respective " rears." As there were .six of 
 us in all, we formed three files, with short intervals between. 
 
 Our attitudes and fastenings left us without the power of 
 moving a limb. The only member over which we had any 
 control was the head ; and this, thanks to the flexibility of 
 our necks, we could turn about, so as to see what was going 
 on in front or on either side of us. 
 
 As soon as we were fairly staked down, I had the curiosity 
 to raise my head and look around me. I found that I was 
 " rear rank, right file," and that my file leader was the ci- 
 devant soldier O'Cork. 
 
 The Indian guards, after having stripped us of most of 
 our clothing, left us ; and the girls and squaws now began 
 to crowd around. I noticed that they were gathering in front 
 of my position, and forming a dense circle around the Irish- 
 man. I was struck with their ludicrous gestures, their 
 strange exclamations, and the puzzled expression of their 
 countenances. 
 
 " Ta — yah ! Ta — yah ! " cried they 5 and the whole crowd 
 burst into shrill screams of laughter. 
 
 What could it mean ? Barney was evidently the subject 
 of their mirth ; but what was there about him to cause it, 
 more than about any of the rest of us ? 
 
 I raised my head to ascertain ; the riddle was solved at 
 once. One of the Indians, in going off, had taken the Irish- 
 man's cap with him, and the little round red head was ex- 
 posed to view. It lay midway between my feet, like a 
 luminous ball, and I saw that it was the object of diversion. 
 
 By degrees, the squaws drew nearer, until they were hud- 
 dled up in a thick crowd around the body of our comrade. 
 
404 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 At length one of them stooped and touched the head, draw- 
 ing back her fingers with a start and a gesture, as though 
 she had burned them. 
 
 This elicited fresh peals of laughter, and very soon all the 
 women of the village were around the Irishman, " scroodg- 
 ing " one another to get a closer view. None of the rest of 
 us were heeded, except to be liberally trampled upon ; and 
 half a dozen big heavy squaws were standing upon my limbs, 
 the better to see over one another's shoulders. 
 
 As there was no great stock of petticoats to curtain the 
 view, I could see the Irishman's head gleaming like a meteor 
 through the forest of ankles. 
 
 After a while the squaws grew less delicate in their touch ; 
 and catching hold of the short stiff bristles, endjeavored to 
 pluck them out, all the while screaming with laughter. 
 
 I was neither in the state of mind nor the attitude to enjoy 
 a joke ; but there was a language in the back of Barney's 
 head, an expression of patient endurance, that would have 
 drawn smiles from a gravedigger ; and Sanchez and the 
 others were laughing aloud. 
 
 For a long time our comrade endured the infliction, and 
 remained silent ; but at length it became too painful for his 
 patience, and he began to speak out. 
 
 " Arrah, now, girls," said he, in a tone of good-humored 
 entreaty, " will yez be aizy ? Did yez niver see rid hair afore ? " 
 
 The squaws, on hearing the appeal, which of course they 
 understood not, only showed their white teeth in loud 
 laughter. 
 
 " In trath, an' iv I had yez on the sod, at the owld Cove 
 o' Cark beyant, I cud show yez as much av it as 'ud contint 
 ye for yer lives. Arrah, now, keep aff me ! Be the powers, 
 ye're trampin' the toes aff me feet ! Ach ! don't rug me ! 
 Holy Mother 1 will yez let me alone ? Divil resave ye for 
 a set of " 
 
A FAST DYE. 405 
 
 The tone in which the last words were uttered showed that 
 O'Cork had at length lost his temper ; but this only increased 
 the assiduity of his tormentors, whose mirth now broke be- 
 yond bounds. They " plucked " him harder than ever, yell- 
 ing all the while ; so that, although he continued to scold, I 
 could only hear him at intervals ejaculating — " Mother av 
 Moses! " " Tare-an-ages ! " "Holy vistment!" and a 
 variety of similar exclamations. 
 
 This scene continued for several minutes ; and then, all at 
 once, there was a lull, and a consultation among the women, 
 that told us they were devising some scheme. 
 
 Several girls were sent off to the houses. These presently 
 returned, bringing a large olla, and another vessel of smaller 
 dimensions. What did they intend to do with these ? We 
 soon learned. 
 
 The olla was filled with water from the adjacent stream, 
 and carried up, and the smaller vessel was set down beside 
 Barney's head. We saw that it contained the yucca soap of 
 the Northern Mexicans. They were going to wash out the 
 red I 
 
 The Irishman's hand-stays were now loosened, so that he 
 could sit upright ; and a copious coat of the " soft soap " was 
 laid on his head, completely covering the hair. A couple of 
 sinewy squaws then took hold of him by the shoulders, and 
 with bunches of bark fibers applied the water, and scrubbed 
 it in lustily. 
 
 The applications seemed to be anything but pleasant to 
 Barney, who roared out, ducking his head on all sides to 
 avoid it. But this did not serve him. One of the squaws 
 seized the head between her hands, and held it steady, while 
 the other set to it afresh and rubbed harder than ever. 
 
 The Indians yelled and danced around : but in the midst 
 of all I could hear Barney sneezing, and shouting in a 
 smothered voice — 
 
406 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Holy Mother I — htch-tch I Yez may rub — tch-itch I — 
 till yez fetch-tch the skin aff — atch-ich-ich ! an' it won't — 
 tscztsh 1 — come out. I tell yez — itch-ch 1 it's in the grain — 
 itch-itch ! It won't come out — itch-itch ! — be me sowl it 
 won't — atch-itch-hitch ! " 
 
 But the poor fellow's expostulations were in vain. The 
 scrubbing continued, with fresh applications of the yucca, for 
 ten minutes or more ; and then the great olla was lifted, and 
 its contents dashed upon his head and shoulders. 
 
 What was the astonishment of the women to find that in- 
 stead of modifying the red color, it only showed forth if pos- 
 sible, more vivid than ever ! 
 
 Another olla of water was lifted, and soused about the 
 Irishman's ears, but with no better effect. 
 
 Barney had not had such a washing for many a day ; at 
 least, not since he had been under the hands of the regimental 
 barber. 
 
 When the squaws saw that, in spite of all their efforts, the 
 dye still stuck fast, they desisted, and our comrade was again 
 staked down. His bed was not so dry as before ; neither 
 was mine, for the water had saturated the ground about us 
 and we lay in mud. But this was a small vexation, compared 
 with many others we were forced to put up with. 
 
 For a long time the Indian women and children clustered 
 around us, each in turn minutely examining the head of our 
 comrade. We, too, came in for a share of their curiosity ; 
 but O'Cork was " the elephant." 
 
 They had seen hair like ours oftentimes upon their Mexi- 
 can captives ; but, beyond a doubt, Barney's was the first red 
 poll that had ever been scratched in the valley of Navajoa. 
 
 Darkness came on at length, and the squaws returned to 
 the village, leaving us in charge oi. the guards, who all the 
 night sat watchfully beside. 
 
Graceful Dances Performed by Indian Maidens. 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 ASTONISHING THE NATIVES. 
 
 P to this time we had no knowledge of the 
 fate that was designed for us ; but, from all 
 that we had ever heard of these savages, 
 as well as from our own experience of 
 them, we anticipated that it would be a cruel one. 
 Sanchez, however, who knew something of 
 their language, left us no room to doubt such a 
 result. He had gathered from the conversation 
 of the women what was before us. After these had gone 
 away, he unfolded the program as he had heard it. 
 
 " To-morrow," said he, " they will dance the mamanchic — 
 the great dance of Montezuma. That is a fete among the 
 girls and women. Next day will be a grand tournament, in 
 
 407 
 
408 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 which the warriors will exhibit their skill in shooting with the 
 bow, in wrestling, and feats of horsemanship. If they would 
 let me join them, I could show them how." 
 
 Sanchez, besides being an accomplished torero, had spent 
 his earlier years in the circus, and was, as we all knew, a 
 most splendid horseman. 
 
 " On the third day," continued he, " we are to ' run amuck,' 
 if you know what that is." 
 
 We had all heard of it. 
 
 " And on the fourth " 
 
 " Well ? upon the fourth ? " 
 
 " They will roast us /" 
 
 We might have been more startled at this abrupt declara- 
 tion had the idea been new to us, but it was not. The prob- 
 ability of such an end had been in our thoughts ever since 
 our capture. We knew that they did not save us at the mine 
 for the purpose of giving us an easier death ; and we knew, 
 too, that these savages never made me7i prisoners to keep 
 them alive. Rube was an exception ; but his story was a 
 peculiar one, and he escaped only by his extreme cunning. 
 " Their god," continued Sanchez, " is the same as that of the 
 Mexican Aztecs ; for these people are of that race, it is be- 
 lieved. I don't know much about that, though I've heard 
 men talk of it. He is called by a devil of a hard name. 
 Carrai! I don't remember it." 
 
 " Quetzalcoatl ? " 
 
 " Cava/ 7 that's the word. Pues senores : he is a fire-god 
 and fond of human flesh ; prefers it roasted, so they say. 
 That's the use we'll be put to. They'll roast us to please 
 him, and at the same time to satisfy themselves. Dos 
 pajaros al un golpe!" (two birds with one stone.) 
 
 That this was to be our fate was no longer probable but 
 certain ; and we slept upon the knowledge of it the best way 
 we could. 
 
ASTONISHING THE NATIVES. 409 
 
 In the morning we observed dressing and painting among 
 the Indians. After that began dancing, the dance of the 
 mamanchic. 
 
 This ceremony took place upon the prairie, at some dis- 
 tance out in front of the temple. 
 
 As it was about commencing, we were taken from our 
 spread positions and dragged up near it, in order that we 
 might witness the " glory of the nation." 
 
 We were still tied, however, but allowed to sit upright. 
 This was some relief, and we enjoyed the change of posture 
 much more than the spectacle. 
 
 I could not describe the dance even if I had watched it, 
 which I did not. As Sanchez had said, it was carried on only 
 by the women of the tribe. Processions of young girls, 
 gaily and fantastically attired, and carrying garlands of flowers, 
 circled and leaped through a variety of figures. There was 
 a raised platform, upon which a warrior and maiden repre- 
 sented Montezuma and his queen, and around these the girls 
 danced and chanted. The ceremony ended by the dancers 
 kneeling in front, in a grand semicircle. I saw that the 
 occupants of the throne were Dacoma and Adele. I fancied 
 that the girl looked sad. 
 
 " Poor Seguin ! " thought I ; " there is none to protect her 
 now. Even the false father, the medicine chief, might have 
 been her friend. He too is out of the way, and " 
 
 But I did not occupy much time with thoughts of her : there 
 was a far more painful apprehension than that. My mind, 
 as well as my eyes, had dwelt upon the temple during the 
 ceremony. We could see it from the spot where we had 
 been thrown down ; but it was too distant for me to dis- 
 tinguish the faces of the white females that were clustered 
 along its terraces. She no doubt was among them, but I was 
 unable to make her out. Perhaps it was better I was 
 not near enough. I thought so at the time. 
 
410 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I saw Indian men among the captives ; and I had observed 
 Dacoma, previous to the commencement of the dance, 
 proudly standing before them in all the paraphernalia of his 
 regal robes. 
 
 Rube had given me the character of this chief : brave, 
 but brutal and licentious. My heart was oppressed with a 
 painful heaviness as we were hurried back to our former 
 places. 
 
 Most of the next night was spent by the Indians in feast- 
 ing. Not so with us. We were rarely and scantily fed ; 
 and we suffered, too, from thirst, our savage guards scarcely 
 deigning to supply us with water ; though a river was Tun- 
 ing at our feet. 
 
 Another morning, and the feasting recommenced. More 
 sheep and cattle were slaughtered, and the fires steamed 
 anew with the red joints that were suspended over them. 
 
 At an early hour the warriors arrayed themselves, though 
 not in war attire, and the tournament commenced. 
 
 We were again dragged forward to witness their savage 
 sports, but placed still farther out on the prairie. 
 
 I could distinguish, upon the terrace of the temple, the 
 whitish dresses of the captives. The temple was their place 
 of abode. 
 
 Sanchez had told me this. He had heard it from the Indians 
 as they conversed one with another. The girls were to re- 
 main there until the fifth day, that after our sacrifice. Then 
 the chief would choose one of the number for his own house- 
 hold, and the warriors would " gamble " for the rest 1 Oh, 
 these were fearful hours ! 
 
 Sometimes I wished that I could see her again once be- 
 fore I died. And then reflection whispered me, it was better 
 not. The knowledge of my fate would only add fresh bit- 
 terness to hers. Oh, these were fearful hours 1 
 
 I looked at the savage tournament. There were feats of 
 
ASTONISHING THE NATIVES. 411 
 
 arms, and feats of equitation. Men rode at a gallop, with 
 one foot only to be seen over the horse, and in this attitude 
 threw the javelin or shot the unerring shaft. Others vaulted 
 from horse to horse, as they swept over the prairie at rac- 
 ing speed. Some leaped to their saddles while their horses 
 were running at a gallop, and some exhibited feats with the 
 lasso. Then there was a mock encounter, in which the war- 
 riors unhorsed each other, as knights of the olden times. 
 
 It was, in fact, a magnificent spectacle : a grand hippo- 
 drome of the desert ; but I had no eyes for it. 
 
 It had more attraction for Sanchez. I saw that he was 
 observing every new feat with interested attention. All at 
 once he became restless. There was a strange expression 
 on his face : some thought, some sudden resolve, had taken 
 possession of him. 
 
 " Say to your braves," said he, speaking to one of our 
 guards in the Navago tongue ; " say that I can beat the 
 best of them at that. I could teach them to ride a 
 horse." 
 
 The savage reported what his prisoner had said, and 
 shortly after several mounted warriors rode up, and replied 
 to the taunt. 
 
 " You 1 a poor white slave, ride with the warriors of Nav- 
 ajo 1 Ha 1 ha 1 ha 1 
 
 " Can you ride upon your head ? " inquired the torero. 
 
 " On our heads ? How ? " 
 
 " Standing upon your head while your horse is in a 
 gallop. 
 
 " No ; nor you, nor any one. We are the best riders on 
 the plains ; we cannot do that." 
 
 " I can," affirmed the bull-fighter with emphasis. 
 
 "He is boasting ! he is a fool," shouted several. 
 
 " Let us see ! " cried one. " Give him a horse ; there is 
 no danger." 
 
412 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 " Give me my own horse, and I will show you." 
 
 " Which is your horse ? " 
 
 " None of them now, I suppose ; but bring me that spot- 
 ted mustang, and clear me a hundred lengths of him on the 
 prairie, and I shall teach you a trick." 
 
 As I looked to ascertain what horse Sanchez meant, I saw 
 the mustang which he had ridden from the Del Norte*. I 
 noticed my own favorite, too, browsing with the rest. 
 
 After a short consultation among themselves, the torero's 
 request was acceded to. The horse he had pointed out was 
 lassoed out of the caballada and brought up, and our com- 
 rade's thongs were taken off. The Indians had no fear of 
 his escaping. They knew that they could soon overtake 
 such a steed as the spotted mustang ; moreover, there was 
 a picket constantly kept at each entrance of the valley. Even 
 could he beat them across the plains, it would be impossible 
 for him to get out to the open country. The valley itself 
 was a prison. 
 
 Sanchez was not long in making his preparations. He 
 strapped a buffalo-skin tightly on the back of his horse, and 
 then led him round for some time in a circle, keeping him in 
 the same track. 
 
 After practising thus for a while, he dropped the bridle 
 and uttered a peculiar cry, on hearing which the animal fell 
 into a slow gallop around the circle. When the horse had 
 accomplished two or three rounds, the torero leaped upon 
 his back, and performed the well-known feat of riding on his 
 head. 
 
 Although a common one among professional equestrians, 
 it was new to the Navajoes, who looked on with shouts of 
 wonder and admiration. They caused the torero, to re- 
 peat it again and again, until the spotted mustang had be- 
 come all of one color. 
 
 Sanchez, however, did not leave off until he had given 
 
ASTONISHING THE NATIVES. 
 
 413 
 
 his spectators the full program of the " ring," and had 
 fairly " astonished the natives." 
 
 When the tournament was ended, and we were " hauled " 
 back to the river side, the torero was not with us. Fortu- 
 nate Sanchez ! He had won his life ! Henceforth he was 
 to be riding-master to the Navajo nation 1 
 
CHAPTER LII. 
 
 RUNNING AMUCK. 
 
 NOTHER day 
 
 came : our day 
 for action. We 
 saw our ene- 
 mies making their prep- 
 arations ; we saw them 
 go off to the woods, and 
 return bringing clubs 
 freshly cut from the trees ; 
 we saw them dress as for 
 ball-play or running. 
 At an early hour we were taken forward to the front of 
 the temple. On arriving there, I cast my eyes upward to 
 the terrace. My betrothed was above me ; I was recog- 
 nized. 
 
 There was mud upon my scanty garments, and spots of 
 blood ; there was dust on my hair ; there were scars upon 
 my arms ; my face and throat were stained with powder, 
 blotches of black burnt powder ; in spite of all, I was rec- 
 ognized. The eyes of love saw through all 1 
 414 
 
RUNNING AMUCK. 415 
 
 I find no scene in all my experience so difficult to de- 
 scribe as this. Why ? There was none so terrible ; none in 
 which so many wild emotions were crowded into a move- 
 ment. A love like ours, tantalized by proximity, almost 
 within reach of each other's embrace, yet separated by re- 
 lentless fate, and that forever ; the knowledge of each 
 other's situation ; the certainty of my death and her dis- 
 honor : these and a hundred kindred thoughts rushed into 
 our hearts together. They could not be detailed ; they can- 
 not be described ; words will not express them. You may 
 summon fancy to your aid. 
 
 I heard her screams, her wild words and wilder weeping. 
 I saw her snowy cheek and streaming hair, as, frantic, she 
 rushed forward on the parapet as if to spring out. I wit- 
 nessed her struggles as she was drawn back by her fellow- 
 captives ; and then, all at once, she was quiet in their arms. 
 She had fainted, and was borne out of my sight. 
 
 I was tied by the wrists and ankles. During the scene I 
 had twice risen to my feet, forced up by my emotions, but 
 only to fall down again. 
 
 I made no further effort, but lay upon the ground in the 
 agony of impotence. 
 
 It was but a short moment ; but, oh ! the feelings that 
 passed over my soul in that moment 1 It was the com- 
 pressed misery of a lifetime. 
 
 For a period of perhaps half an hour I regarded not what 
 was going on around me. My mind was not abstracted, but 
 paralyzed : absolutely dead. I had no thoughts about 
 anything. 
 
 I awoke at length from this stupor. I saw that the sav- 
 ages had completed their preparations for the cruel sport. 
 
 Two rows of men extended across the plain to a distance 
 
416 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 of several hundred yards. They were armed with clubs, 
 and stood facing each other with an interval of three or 
 four paces between their ranks. Down the interval we were 
 to run, receiving blows from every one who could give them 
 as we passed. Should any of us succeed in running through 
 the whole line, and reach the mountain foot before we could 
 be overtaken, the promise was that our lives should be spared ! 
 
 " Is this true, Sanchez ? " I whispered to the torero who 
 was standing near me. 
 
 " No," was the reply, given also in a whisper. " It is only 
 a trick to make you run the better and show them the more 
 sport. You are to die all the same. I heard them say so." 
 
 Indeed, it would have been slight grace had they given 
 us our lives on such conditions ; for it would have been im- 
 possible for the strongest and swiftest man to have passed 
 through between their lines. 
 
 " Sanchez ! " I said again, addressing the torero, " Se- 
 guin was your friend. You will do all you can for her ? " 
 
 Sanchez well knew whom I meant. 
 
 " I will ! I will ! " he replied, seeming deeply affected. 
 
 " Brave Sanchez ! tell her how I felt for her. No, no, 
 you need not tell her that." 
 
 I scarce knew what I was saying. 
 
 " Sanchez ! " I again whispered — thought that had 
 been in my mind now returning — " could you not — a knife, 
 a weapon — anything — could you not drop one when I am 
 set loose ? " 
 
 " It would be of no use. You could not escape if you had 
 fifty." 
 
 " It may be that I could not. I would try. At the worst, 
 I can but die ; and better die with a weapon in my hands ! ". 
 
 " It would be better," muttered the torero in reply. " I 
 
 will try to help you to a weapon, but my life may be " 
 
 he paused. " If you look behind you," he continued in a 
 
RUNNING AMUCK. 
 
 417 
 
 significant manner, while he appeared to examine the tops 
 of the distant mountains, " you may see a tomahawk. I 
 think it is held carelessly. It might be snatched/' 
 
 I understood his meaning, and stole a glance around. 
 Dacoma was at a few paces' distance, superintending the 
 
 Gambling Among the Indians. Game of Bowl and Counters. 
 
 start. I saw the weapon in his belt. It was loosely stuck. 
 It might be snatched ! 
 
 I possess extreme tenacity of life, with energy to preserve 
 
 it. I have not illustrated this energy in the adventures 
 
 through which we have passed ; for, up to a late period, I 
 
 was merely a passive spectator of the scenes enacted, and 
 
 27 
 
418 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 in general disgusted with their enactment. But at other 
 times I have proved the existence of those traits in my 
 character. In the field of battle, to my knowledge, I have 
 saved my life three times by the quick perception of danger 
 and the promptness to ward it off. Either less or more 
 brave, I should have lost it. This may seem an enigma ; it 
 appears a puzzle : it is an experience. 
 
 In my earlier life I was addicted to what are termed 
 " manly sports." In running and leaping I never met my 
 superior ; and my feats in such exercises are still recorded 
 in the memories of my college companions. 
 
 Do not wrong me, and think that I am boasting of these 
 peculiarities. The first is but an accident in my mental 
 character ; and others are only rude accomplishments, which 
 now, in my more matured life, I see but little reason to be 
 proud of. I mention them only to illustrate what follows. 
 
 Ever since the hour of my capture I had busied my mind 
 with plans of escape. Not the slightest opportunity had as 
 yet offered. All along the journey we had been guarded with 
 the most zealous vigilance. 
 
 During this last night a new plan had occupied me. It 
 had been suggested by seeing Sanchez upon his horse. 
 
 I had matured it all except getting possession of a weapon ; 
 and I had hopes of escape, although I had neither time nor 
 opportunity to detail them to the torero. It would have 
 served no purpose to have told him them. 
 
 I knew that I might escape, even without the weapon ; but 
 I needed it, in case there might be in the tribe a faster runner 
 than myself. I might be killed in the attempt ; that was 
 likely enough ; but I knew that death could not come in a 
 worse shape than that in which I was to meet it on the 
 morrow. Weapon or no weapon, I was resolved to escape, 
 or die in attempting it. 
 
 I saw them untying O'Cork. He was to run first 
 
RUNNING AMUCK. 419 
 
 There was a circle of savages around the starting point ; 
 old men and idlers of the village, who stood there only to 
 witness the sport. 
 
 There was no apprehension of our escaping : that was 
 never thought of ; an enclosed valley, with guards at each 
 entrance ; plenty of horses standing close by, that could be 
 mounted in a few minutes. It would be impossible for any 
 of us to get away from the ground. At least, so thought 
 they. 
 
 O'Cork started. 
 
 Poor Barney ! His race was not a long one. He had 
 not run ten paces down the living avenue when he was 
 knocked over, and carried back, bleeding and senseless 
 amidst the yells of the delighted crowd. 
 
 Another of the men shared a similar fate, and another ; 
 and then they unbound me. 
 
 I rose to my feet, and, during the short interval allowed 
 me, stretched my limbs, imbuing my soul and body with all 
 the energy that my desperate circumstances enabled me to 
 concentrate within them. 
 
 The signal was again given for the Indians to be ready, 
 and they were soon in their places, brandishing their long 
 clubs, and impatiently waiting for me to make the 
 start. 
 
 Dacoma was behind me. With a side glance I had marked 
 well where he stood ; and backing towards him, under pre- 
 tence of getting a fairer " break," I came close up to the 
 savage. Then suddenly wheeling, with the spring of a cat 
 and the dexterity of a thief, I caught the tomahawk and 
 jerked it from his belt. 
 
 I aimed a blow, but in my hurry missed him. I had no 
 time for another. I turned and ran. He was so taken by 
 surprise that I was out of his reach before he could make a 
 motion to follow me. 
 
420 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I ran, not for the open avenue, but to one side of the 
 circle of spectators, where were the old men and idlers. 
 
 These had drawn their hand weapons, and were closing to- 
 wards me in a thick rank. Instead of endeavoring to break 
 through them, which I doubted my ability to accomplish, I 
 threw all my energy into the spring, and leaped clear over 
 their shoulders. Two or three stragglers struck at me as I 
 passed them, but missed their aim ; and the next moment I 
 was out upon the open plain, with the whole village yelling 
 at my heels. 
 
 I well knew for what I was running. Had it not been for 
 that, I should never have made the start. I was running for 
 the caballada. 
 
 I was running, too, for my life, and I required no encour- 
 agement to induce me to make the best of it. 
 
 I soon distanced those who had been nearest me at start- 
 ing ; but the swiftest of the Indians were the young men 
 who had formed the lines, and I saw that these were now 
 forging ahead of the others. 
 
 Still they were not gaining upon me. My school training 
 stood me in service now. 
 
 After a mile's chase, I saw that I was within less than 
 half that distance of the caballada, and at least three 
 hundred yards ahead of my pursuers ; but to my horror 
 as I glanced back, I saw mounted men ! They were still far 
 behind, but I knew they would soon come up. Was it pos- 
 sible he could hear me ? 
 
 I knew that in these elevated regions sounds are heard 
 twice the ordinary distance ; and I shouted, at the top of 
 my voice, " Moro ! Moro ! " 
 
 I did not halt, but ran on, calling as I went. 
 
 I saw a sudden commotion among the horses. Their 
 heads were tossed up, and then one dashed out from the 
 drove and came galloping towards me. I knew the broad 
 
RUNNING AMUCK. 
 
 421 
 
 Tt 
 
 black chest and red muzzle. I knew them at a glance 
 was my brave steed : my Moro ! 
 
 The rest followed, trooping after ; but before they were 
 up to trample me, I had met my horse, and flung myself, 
 panting, upon his back ! 
 
 I had no rein ; but my favorite was used to the guidance 
 of my voice, hands and knees ; and directing him through 
 the herd, I headed for the western end of the valley. I 
 heard the yells of the mounted savages as I cleared the 
 caballada ; and looking back, I saw a string of twenty or 
 more coming after me as fast as their horses could gallop. 
 
 But I had no fear of them now. I knew my Moro too 
 well ; and after I had cleared the ten miles of valley, and 
 was springing up the steep front of the sierra, I saw my 
 pursuers still back upon the plain, at a distance of several 
 miles. 
 
Y horse, idle for days, 
 had recovered his full 
 action, and bore me 
 up the rocky path with 
 proud springy step. My nerves 
 drew vigor from his, and the 
 ~/jMJ ': strength of my body was fast re- 
 turning. It was well. I would 
 soon be called upon to use it. T7ie picket was still to be passed. 
 While escaping from the town, in the excitement of the 
 more proximate peril I had not thought of this ulterior one. 
 I now remembered it. It flashed upon me of a sudden, and I 
 commenced gathering my resolution to meet it. 
 
 I knew there was a picket upon the mountain ! Sanchez 
 had said so ; he had heard them say so. What number of 
 men composed it ; Sanchez had said two, but he was not 
 certain of this. Two would be enough, more than enough 
 for me, still weak, and armed as I was with a weapon in the 
 use of which I had little skill. 
 
 How would they be armed ? Doubtless with bows, lances, 
 tomahawks, and knives. The odds were all against me. 
 At what point should I find them ? They were videttes. 
 422 
 
A CONFLICT UPON A CLIFF. 423 
 
 Their chief duty was to watch the plains without. They would 
 be at some station, then, commanding a view of these. 
 
 I remembered the road well ; the same by which we had 
 first entered the valley. There was a platform near the 
 western brow of the sierra. I recollected it, for we had 
 halted upon it while our guide went forward to reconnoiter. 
 A cliff overhung this platform. I remembered that too ; for 
 during the absence of the guide, Seguin and I had dis- 
 mounted and climbed it. It commanded a view of the whole 
 outside country to the south and west. No doubt, then, on 
 that very cliff would the videttes be stationed. 
 
 Would they be on its top ? If so, it might be best to 
 make a dash, and pass them before they could descend to 
 the road, running the risk of their missiles, their arrows and 
 lances. Make a dash ! No ; that would be impossible. I 
 remembered that the path at both ends of the platform 
 narrowed to a width of only a few feet, with the cliff rising 
 above it and the canon yawning below. It was, in fact, only 
 a ledge of the precipice, along which it was dangerous to 
 pass even at a walk. Moreover, I had re-shod my horse at 
 the mission. The iron was worn smooth ; and I knew that 
 the rock was as slippery as glass. 
 
 All these thoughts passed through my mind as I neared 
 the summit of the sierra. The prospect was appalling. The 
 peril before me was extreme, and under other circumstances 
 I would have hesitated to encounter it. But I knew that 
 that which threatened from behind was not less desperate. 
 There was no alternative ; and with only half-formed re- 
 solutions as to how I should act, I pushed forward. 
 
 I rode with caution, directing my horse as well as I could 
 upon the softer parts of the trail, so that his hoof-strokes 
 might not be heard. At every turn I halted, and scanned 
 the profile of each new prospect ; but I did not halt longer 
 than I could help. I knew that I had no time to waste. 
 
424 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 The road ascended through a thin wood of cedars and 
 dwarf pinons. It would zigzag up the face of the mountain. 
 Near the crest of the sierra it turned sharply to the right, 
 and trended in to the brow of the canon. There the ledge 
 already mentioned became the path, and the road followed 
 its narrow terrace along the very face of the precipice. 
 
 On reaching this point I caught view of the cliff where I 
 expected to see the vidette. I had guessed correctly: he 
 was there, and, to my agreeable surprise, there was only 
 one : a single savage. 
 
 He was seated upon the very topmost rock of the sierra, 
 and his large brown body was distinctly visible, outlined 
 against the pale blue sky. He was not more than three 
 hundred yards from me, and about a third of that distance 
 above the level of the ledge along which I had to pass. 
 
 I halted the moment I caught sight of him, and sat making 
 a hurried teco?inaissance. As yet he had neither seen nor 
 heard me. His back was to me, and he appeared to be 
 gazing intently towards the west. Beside the rock on which 
 he was, his spear was sticking in the ground, and his shield, 
 bow, and quiver were leaning against it. I could see upon 
 his person the sparkle of a knife and tomahawk. 
 
 I have said my recotmaissance was a hurried one. I was 
 conscious of the value of every moment, and almost at a 
 glance I formed my resolution. That was, to " run the 
 gauntlet," and attempt passing before the Indian could de- 
 scend to intercept me. Obedient to this impulse, I gave my 
 animal the signal to move forward. 
 
 I rode slowly and cautiously, for two reasons : because 
 my horse dared not go otherwise ; and I thought that, by 
 riding quietly, I might get beyond the vidette without at- 
 tracting his notice. The torrent was hissing below. Its 
 roar ascended to the cliff : it might drown the sound of the 
 hoof-strokes. 
 
A CONFLICT UPON A CLIFF. 42$ 
 
 With this hope I stole onward. My eye passed rapidly 
 from one to the other ; from the savage on the cliff to the 
 perilous path along which my horse crawled, shivering with 
 affright. 
 
 When I had advanced about six lengths upon the ledge, 
 the platform came in view, and with it a group of objects 
 that caused me to reach suddenly forward and grasp the 
 forelock of my Moro ; a sign by which, in the absence of a 
 bit, I could always halt him. He came at once to a stand, 
 and I surveyed the objects before me with a feeling of 
 despair. 
 
 They were two horses, mustangs ; and a man, an Indian. 
 The mustangs, bridled and saddled, were standing quietly 
 out upon the platform ; and a lasso, tied to the bit-ring of 
 one of them, was coiled around the wrist of the Indian. The 
 latter was sitting upon his hams, close up to the cliff, so that 
 his back touched the rock. His arms lay horizontally across 
 his knees, and upon these his head rested. I saw that he 
 was asleep. Beside him were his bow and quiver, his lance 
 and shield ; all leaning against the cliff. 
 
 My situation was a terrible one. I knew that I could 
 not pass him without being heard, and I knew that pass him 
 I must. In fact, I could not have gone back had I wished 
 it ; for I had already entered upon the ledge, and was riding 
 along a narrow shelf where my horse could not possibly have 
 turned himself. 
 
 All at once, the idea entered my mind that I might slip 
 to the ground, steal forward, and with my tomahawk 
 
 It was a cruel thought, but it was the impulse of instinct ; 
 the instinct of self-preservation. 
 
 It was not decreed that I should adopt so fearful an alter- 
 native. Moro, impatient at being delayed in the perilous pos- 
 ition snorted and struck the rock with his hoof. The clink of 
 the iron was enough for the sharp ears of the Spanish horses. 
 
426 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 They neighed on the instant. The savages sprang to their 
 feet, and their simultaneous yell told me that both had dis- 
 covered me. 
 
 I saw the vidette upon the cliff pluck up his spear, and 
 commence hurrying downward ; but my attention was soon 
 exclusively occupied with his comrade. 
 
 The latter, on seeing me, had leaped to his feet, seized 
 his bow, and vaulted, as if mechanically, upon the back of 
 his mustang. Then, uttering a wild shout, he trotted over 
 the platform, and advanced along the ledge to meet me. 
 
 An arrow whizzed past my head as he came up ; but in 
 his hurry he had aimed badly. 
 
 Our horses' heads met. They stood muzzle to muzzle 
 with eyes dilated, their red nostrils steaming into each other. 
 Both snorted fiercely, as if each was imbued with the wrath 
 of his rider. They seemed to know that a death-strife was 
 between us. 
 
 They seemed conscious, too, of their own danger. They 
 had met at the very narrowest part of the ledge. Neither 
 could have turned or backed off again. One or other must 
 go over the cliff ; must fall through a depth of a thousand 
 feet into the stony channel of the torrent ! 
 
 I sat with a feeling of utter helplessness. I had no 
 weapon with which I could reach my antagonist ; no missile. 
 He had his bow, and I saw him adjusting a second arrow to 
 the string. 
 
 At this crisis three thoughts passed through my mind ; 
 not as I detail them here, but following each other like quick 
 flashes of lightning. My first impulse was to urge my horse 
 forward, trusting to his superior weight to precipitate the 
 lighter animal from the ledge. Had I been worth a bridle 
 and spurs, I should have adopted this plan ; but I had 
 neither, and the chances were too desperate without them. 
 I abandoned it for another. I would hurl my tomahawk at 
 
A CONFLICT UPON A CLIFF. 
 
 427 
 
 the head of my antagonist. No ! The third thought ! I 
 will dismount, and use my weapon upon the mustang. 
 
 Apache Woman Weaving a Belt. 
 
 This last was clearly the best ; and, obedient to its im- 
 pulse, I slipped down between Moro and the cliff. As I did 
 
428 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 so, I heard the " hist " of another arrow passing my cheek. 
 It had missed me from the suddenness of my movements. 
 
 In an instant I squeezed past the flanks of my horse, and 
 glided forward upon the ledge, directly in front of my ad- 
 versary. 
 
 The animal seeming to guess my intentions, snorted with 
 affright and reared up, but was compelled to drop again 
 into the same tracks. 
 
 The Indian was fixing another shaft. Its notch never 
 reached the string. As the hoofs of the mustang came 
 down upon the rock, I aimed my blow. I struck the animal 
 over the eye. I felt the skull yielding before my hatchet, 
 and the next moment horse and rider, the latter screaming 
 and struggling to clear himself of the saddle, disappeared 
 over the cliff. 
 
 There was a moment's silence ; a long moment, in which 
 I knew they were falling — falling — down that fearful depth. 
 Then came a loud splash, the concussion of their united 
 bodies on the water below ! 
 
 I had no curiosity to look over, and as little time. When 
 I regained my upright attitude (for I had come to my knees 
 in giving the blow), I saw the vidette just leaping upon the 
 platform. He did not halt a moment, but advanced at a 
 run, holding his spear at the charge. 
 
 I saw that I should be impaled unless I could parry the 
 thrust. I struck wildly, but with success. The lance-blade 
 glinted from the head of my weapon. Its shaft passed me ; 
 and our bodies met with a shock that caused us both to reel 
 upon the very edge of the cliff. 
 
 As soon as I had recovered my balance, I followed up my 
 blows, keeping close to my antagonist, so that he could not 
 again use his lance. Seeing this, he dropped the weapon 
 and drew his tomahawk. We now fought hand to hand, 
 hatchet to hatchet 
 
A CONFLICT UPON A CLIFF. 429 
 
 Backward and forward along the ledge we drove each 
 other as the advantage of the blows told in favor of either 
 or against him. 
 
 Several times we grappled, and would have pushed each 
 other over ; but the fear that each felt of being dragged 
 after mutually restrained us, and we let go, and trusted 
 again to our tomahawks. 
 
 Not a word passed between us. We had nothing to say, 
 even could we have understood each other. But we had no 
 boast to make, no taunt to urge, nothing before our minds 
 but the fixed dark purpose of murdering one another 1 
 
 After the first onset the Indian had ceased yelling, and 
 we both fought in the intense earnestness of silence. 
 
 There were sounds, though : an occasional sharp excla- 
 mation, our quick high breathing, the clinking of our toma- 
 hawks, the neighing of our horses, and the continuous roar 
 of the torrent. These were the symphonies of our con- 
 flict. 
 
 For some minutes we battled upon the ledge. We were 
 both cut and bruised in several places, but neither of us had 
 as yet received or inflicted a mortal wound. 
 
 At length, after a continuous shower of blows, I succeeded 
 in beating my adversary back, until we found ourselves out 
 upon the platform. There we had ample room to wind our 
 weapons, and we struck with more energy than ever. After 
 a few strokes, our tomahawks met, with a violent concussion, 
 that sent them flying from our hands. 
 
 Neither dared stoop to regain his weapon ; and we rushed 
 upon each other with naked arms, clutched, wrestled a mo- 
 ment, and then fell together to the earth. I thought my 
 antagonist had a knife. I must have been mistaken, other- 
 wise he would have used it ; but without it, I soon found 
 that in this species of encounter he was my master. His 
 muscular arms encircled me until my ribs cracked under the 
 
430 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 embrace. We rolled along the ground, over and over each 
 other. Oh God 1 we were nearing the edge of the preci- 
 pice! 
 
 I could not free myself from his grasp. His sinewy fingers 
 were across my throat. They clasped me tightly around 
 the trachea, stopping my breath. He was strangling me. 
 
 I grew weak and nerveless. I could resist no longer. I 
 felt my hold relax. I grew weaker and weaker. — I was dy- 
 ing. I was — I — oh heaven ! pard — on. Oh — ! 
 
 I could not have been long insensible ; for when conscious- 
 ness returned I was still warm, sweating from the effects of 
 the struggle, and my wounds were bleeding freshly and free- 
 ly. I felt that I yet lived. I saw that I was still upon the 
 platform ; but where was my antagonist ? Why had not he 
 finished me ? Why had not he flung me over the cliff ? 
 
 I rose upon my elbow and looked around. I could see no 
 living things but my own horse, and that of the Indian gallop- 
 ing over the platform, kicking and plunging at each other. 
 
 But I heard sounds, sounds of fearful import, like the 
 hoarse, angry, worrying of dogs, mingling with the cries of 
 a human voice ; a voice uttered in agony ! 
 
 What could it mean ? I saw that there was a break in the 
 platform, a deep cut in the rock ; and out of this the sounds 
 appeared to issue. 
 
 I rose to my feet, and, tottering towards the spot, looked 
 in. It was an awful sight to look upon. The gully was some 
 ten feet in depth ; and at its bottom, among the weeds and 
 cacti, a huge dog was engaged in tearing something that 
 screamed and struggled. It was a man, an Indian. All was 
 explained at a glance. The dog was Alp ; the man was my 
 late antagonist ! 
 
 As I came upon the edge, the dog was on the top of his 
 adversary, and kept himself uppermost by desperate bounds 
 
A CONFLICT UPON A CLIFF. 43 1 
 
 from side to side, still dashing the other back as he attempted 
 to rise to his feet. The savage was crying in despair. I 
 thought I saw the teeth of the animal fast in his throat, but 
 I watched the struggle no longer. Voices from behind 
 caused me to turn round. My pursuers had reached the 
 canon, and were urging their animals along the ledge. 
 
 I staggered to my horse, and springing upon his back once 
 more directed him to the terrace ; that part which led out- 
 ward. In a few minutes I had cleared the cliff and was 
 hurrying down the mountain. As I approached its foot I 
 heard a rustling in the bushes that on both sides lined the 
 path. Then an object sprang out a short distance behind 
 me. It was the St. Bernard. 
 
 As he came alongside he uttered a low whimper and once 
 or twice wagged his tail. I knew not how he could have 
 escaped, for he must have waited until the Indians reached 
 the platform ; but the fresh blood that stained his jaws, and 
 clotted the shaggy hair upon his breast, showed that he had 
 left one with but little power to detain him. 
 
 On reaching the plain I looked back. I saAv my pursuers 
 coming down the face of the sierra ; but I had still nearly 
 half a mile of start, and, taking the snowy mountain for my 
 guide, I struck out into the open prairie. 
 
CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED RENCONTRE. 
 
 S I rode off from the mountain foot, 
 the white peak glistened at a dis- 
 tance of thirty miles. There was not 
 a hillock between ; not a brake or 
 bush excepting the low shrubs of the 
 artemisia. 
 
 It was not yet noon. Could I reach the snowy mountain 
 before sunset ? If so, I trusted in being able to follow our 
 old trail to the mine. Thence I might keep on to the Del 
 Norte', by striking a branch of the Paloma or some other 
 lateral stream. Such were my plans, undefined as I rode 
 forth. 
 
 I knew that I should be pursued almost to the gates of 
 El Paso ; and, when I had ridden forward about a mile, a 
 glance to the rear showed me that the Indians had just 
 reached the plain, and were striking out after me. 
 
 It was no longer a question of speed. I knew that I had 
 the heels of their whole cavalcade. Did my horse possess 
 the " bottom " ? 
 
 I knew the tireless, wiry nature of the Spanish mustang ; 
 and their animals were of that race. I knew they could gal- 
 lop for a long day without breaking down, and this led me to 
 fear for the result. 
 *3 2 
 
AN UNEXPECTED RENCONTRE. 433 
 
 Speed was nothing now, and I made no attempt to keep it 
 up. I was determined to economize the strength of my steed. 
 I could not be overtaken so long as he lasted ; and I galloped 
 slowly forward, watching the movements of my pursuers and 
 keeping a regular distance ahead of them. 
 
 At times I dismounted to relieve my horse, and ran along- 
 side of him. My dog followed, occasionally looking up in 
 my face, and seemingly conscious why I was making such a 
 hurried journey. 
 
 During all the day I was never out of sight of the Indians-" 
 in fact, I could have distinguished their arms and counted 
 their numbers at any time. There were in all about a score 
 of horsemen. The stragglers had gone back, and only the 
 well-mounted men now continued the pursuit. 
 
 As I neared the foot of the snowy peak, I remembered 
 there was water at our old camping-ground in the pass ; and 
 I pushed my horse faster, in order to gain time to refresh 
 both him and myself. I intended to make a short halt, and 
 allow the noble brute to breathe himself and snatch a bite of 
 the bunch-grass that grew around the spring. There was 
 nothing to fear so long as his strength held out, and I knew 
 that this was the plan to sustain it. 
 
 It was near sundown as I entered the defile. Before rid- 
 ing in among the rocks I looked back. During the last hour 
 I had gained upon my pursuers. They were still at least 
 three miles out upon the plain, and I saw that they were toil- 
 ing on wearily. 
 
 I fell into a train of reflection as I rode down the ravine. 
 I was now upon a known trail. My spirits rose ; my hopes, 
 so long clouded over, began to assume a brightness and 
 buoyancy, greater from the very influence of reaction. I 
 should still be able to rescue my betrothed. My whole ener- 
 gies, my fortune, my life, would be devoted to this one object. 
 I would raise a band stronger than ever Seguin had com- 
 38 
 
434 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 manded. I should get followers among the returning em- 
 ployes of the caravan ; teamsters whose term of service had 
 expired. I would search the posts and mountain rendezvous 
 for trappers and hunters. I would apply to the Mexican 
 government for aid, in money — in troops. I would appeal 
 to the citizens of El Paso, of Chihuahua, of Durango. 
 
 " Gee-hosaphat ! Hyur's a fellur ridin' ithout eyther sad- 
 dle or bridle ! " 
 
 Five or six men with rifles sprang out from the rocks, sur- 
 rounding me. 
 
 " May an Injun eat me ef 'tain't the young fellur as tuk me 
 for a grizzly ! Billie ! look hyur ! hyur he is ! the very fellur 1 
 He! he! he! Ho ! ho! ho ! " 
 
 " Rube ! Garey ! " 
 
 " What ! By Jove, it's my friend Haller ! Hurrah ! Old 
 fellow, don't you know me ? " 
 
 " St. Vrain ! " 
 
 " That it is. Don't I look like him ? It would have been 
 a harder task to identify you but for what the old trapper has. 
 been telling us about you. But come ! how have you got 
 out of the hands of the Philistines ? " 
 
 " First tell me who you all are. What are you doing 
 here ? " 
 
 " Oh, we're a picket? The army is below." 
 
 " The army ? " 
 
 " Why, we call it so. There's six hundred of us ; and that's 
 about as big an army as usually travels in these parts." 
 
 " But who ? What are they ? " 
 
 " They are of all sorts and colors. There's the Chihua- 
 huenos and Passenos, and niggurs, and hunters, and trappers, 
 and teamsters. Your humble servant commands these last- 
 named gentry. And then there's the band of your friend 
 Seguin " 
 
 "Seguin! Is he ?" 
 
AN UNEXPECTED RENCONTRE. 
 
 435 
 
 " What ? He's at the head of all. But come ! they're 
 camped down by the spring. Let us go down. You don't 
 look overfed ; and, old fellow, there's a drop of the best Paso 
 in my saddle-bags. Come ! " 
 
 " Stop a moment ! I am pursued." 
 
 A War Dance Among the Apache Indians. 
 
 " Pursued ! " echoed the hunters, simultaneously raising 
 rifles, and looking up the ravine. 
 " How many ? " 
 " About twenty." 
 "Are they close upon you ? " 
 " No." 
 " How long before we may expect them ? " 
 
43 6 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 " They are three miles back, with tired horses as you may 
 suppose." 
 
 " Three-quarters ; half an hour at any rate. Come ! we'lL 
 have time to go down and make arrangements for their recep- 
 tion. Rube I you with the rest can remain here. We shall 
 join you before they get forward. Come, Haller ! — come ! " 
 
 Following my faithful and warm-hearted friend, I rode on 
 to the spring. Around it I found " the army " ; and it had 
 somewhat of that appearance, for two or three hundred of 
 the men were in uniform. These were the volunteer guards 
 of Chihuahua and El Paso. 
 
 The late " raid" of the Indians had exasperated the in- 
 habitants, and this unusually strong muster was the conse- 
 quence. Seguin, with the remnant of his band, had met them 
 at El Paso, and hurried them forward on the Navajo trail. 
 It was from him St. Vrain had heard of my capture ; and in 
 hopes of rescuing me had joined the expedition with about 
 forty or fifty employes of the caravan. 
 
 Most of Seguin's band had escaped after the fight in the 
 barranca, and among the rest, I was rejoiced to hear, El Sol 
 and La Luna. They were now on their return with Seguin, 
 and I found them at his tent. 
 
 Seguin welcomed me as the bearer of joyful news. They 
 were still safe. That was all I could tell him, and all he 
 asked for, during our hurried congratulation. 
 
 We had no time for idle talk. A hundred men immediately 
 mounted and rode up the ravine. On reaching the ground 
 occupied by the picket, they led their horses behind the rocks, 
 and formed an ambuscade. The order was, that all the 
 Indians must be killed or taken. 
 
 The plan hastily agreed upon was, to let them pass the 
 ambushed men, and ride on until they had got in sight of 
 the main body ; then both divisions were to close upon them. 
 
 It was a dry ravine above the spring, and the horses had 
 
AN UNEXPECTED RENCONTRE. 437 
 
 made no tracks upon its rocky bed. Moreover, the Indians, 
 ardent in their pursuit of me, would not be on the look-out 
 for any " sign " before reaching the water. Should they 
 pass the ambuscade, then not a man of them would escape, 
 as the defile on both sides was walled in by a precipice. 
 
 After the others had gone, about a hundred men at the 
 spring leaped into their saddles, and sat with their eyes bent 
 up the pass. 
 
 They were not long kept waiting. A few minutes after 
 the ambuscade had been placed, an Indian showed himself 
 round an angle of the rock, about two hundred yards above 
 the spring. He was the foremost of the warriors, and must 
 have passed the ambushed horsemen ; but as yet the latter 
 lay still. Seeing a body of men, the savage halted with a 
 quick jerk ; and then, uttering a cry, wheeled and rode back 
 upon his comrades. These, imitating his example, wheeled 
 also ; but before they had fairly turned themselves in the 
 ravine, the cached horsemen sprang out in a body from the 
 rocks and came galloping down. 
 
 The Indians, now, seeing that they were competely in the 
 trap, with overpowering numbers on both sides of them, 
 threw down their spears and begged for mercy. 
 
 In a few minutes they were all captured. The whole 
 affair did not occupy half an hour ; and, with our prisoners 
 securely tied, we returned to the spring. 
 
 The leading men now gathered around Seguin to settle 
 on some plan for attacking the town. Should we move on 
 to it that night ? 
 
 I was asked for my advice, and of course answered " Yes; 
 the sooner the better, for the safety of the captives." 
 
 My feelings, as well as those of Seguin, could not brook 
 delay. Besides, several of our late comrades were to die on 
 the morrow. We might still be in time to save them. 
 
 How were we to approach the valley ? 
 
438 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 This was the next point to be discussed. 
 
 The enemy would now be certain to have their videttes at 
 both ends, and it promised to be clear moonlight until morn- 
 ing. They could easily see such a large body approaching 
 from the open plain. Here then was a difficulty. 
 
 " Let us divide," said one of Seguin's old band ; " let a 
 party go in at each end. That'll git 'em in the trap." 
 
 " Wagh ! " replied another, " that would never do. Thar's 
 ten miles o' rough wood thar. If we raised the niggurs by 
 such a show as this, they'd take to them, gals and all, an' 
 that's the last we'd see o' them." 
 
 This speaker was clearly in the right. It would never do 
 to make our attack openly. Stratagem must again be used. 
 
 A head was now called into the council that soon mastered 
 the difficulty, as it had many another. That was the skin- 
 less, earless head of the trapper Rube. 
 
 " Cap," said he, after a short delay, " 'ee needn't show 
 yur crowd till we've first took the luk-outs by the eend o' 
 the kenyun." 
 
 " How can we take them ? " inquired Seguin. 
 
 " Strip them twenty niggurs," replied Rube, pointing to 
 our captives, " an' let twenty o' us put on their duds. Then 
 we kin take the young fellur — him hyur as tuk me for the 
 grizzly ! He ! he ! he ! Ole Rube tuk for a grizzly ! We 
 kin take him back a pris'ner. Now, cap, do 'ee see how ? " 
 
 " You would have these twenty to keep far in the advance 
 then, capture the videttes, and wait till the main body comes 
 up?" 
 
 " Sartinly ; thet's my idee adzactly." 
 
 " It is the best, the only one. We shall follow it." And 
 Seguin immediately ordered the Indians to be stripped of 
 their dresses. These consisted mostly of garments that had 
 been plundered from the people of the Mexican towns, and 
 were of all cuts and colors. 
 
AN UNEXPECTED RENCONTRE. 439 
 
 " I'd recommend 'ee, cap," suggested Rube, seeing that 
 Seguin was looking out to choose the men for this advance 
 party; " I'd recommend 'ee to take a smart sprinklin' o' the 
 Delawars. Them Navaghs is mighty 'cute, and not easily 
 bamfoozled. They mout sight white skin by moonlight. 
 Them o' us that must go along '11 have to paint Injun, or 
 we'll be fooled arter all ; we will." 
 
 Seguin, taking this hint, selected for the advance most of 
 the Delaware and Shawano Indians ; and these were now 
 dressed in the clothes of the Navajoes. He himself, with 
 Rube, Garey, and a few other whites, made up the required 
 number. I, of course, was to go along and play the role of 
 a prisoner. 
 
 The whites of the party soon accomplished their change 
 of dress, and " painted Injun " : a trick of the prairie toilet 
 well known to all of them. 
 
 Rube had but little change to make. His hue was already 
 of sufficient deepness for the disguise, and he was not going 
 to trouble himself by throwing off the old shirt or leggings. 
 That could hardly have been done without cutting both open, 
 and Rube was not likely to make such a sacrifice of his 
 favorite buckskins. He proceeded to draw the other gar- 
 ments over them, and in a short time was habited in a pair 
 of slashing calzoneros, with bright buttons from the hip to 
 the ankle. These, with a smart, tight-fitting jacket that had 
 fallen to his share, and a jaunty sombrero cocked upon his 
 head, gave him the air of a most comical dandy. The men 
 fairly yelled at seeing him thus metamorphosed, and old 
 Rube himself grinned heartily at the odd feelings which the 
 dress occasioned him. 
 
 Before the sun had set, everything was in readiness, and 
 the advance started off. The main body, under St. Vrain, 
 was to follow an hour after. A few men, Mexicans, re- 
 mained by the spring, in charge of the Navajo prisoners. 
 
CHAPTER LV, 
 
 THE RESCUE. 
 
 E struck directly across the plain for the 
 eastern entrance of the valley. We 
 reached the canon about two hours 
 before day. Everything turned out as 
 we had anticipated. There was an 
 outpost of five Indians at the end of 
 the pass, but we had stolen upon them 
 unawares, and they were captured 
 without the necessity of our firing a shot. 
 The main body came up soon after, and, preceded by our 
 party as before, passed through the canon. Arriving at the 
 border of the woods nearest the town, we halted, and con- 
 cealed ourselves among the trees. 
 
 The town was glistening in the clear moonlight, and deep 
 silence was over the valley. There were none stirring at so 
 early an hour, but we could descry two or three dark objects 
 down by the river. We knew them to be the sentinels that 
 stood over our captive comrades. The sight was gratifying, 
 for it told us they still lived. They little dreamed, poor 
 fellows ! how near was the hour of their deliverance. For 
 the same reasons that had influenced us on a former occasion, 
 the attack was not to be made until daybreak ; and we waited 
 440 
 
THE RESCUE. 441 
 
 as before, but with a very different prospect. There were now 
 six hundred warriors in the town — about our own number ; 
 and we knew that a desperate engagement was before us. 
 We had no fear as to the result ; but we feared that the 
 vengeful savages might take it into their heads to despatch 
 their captives while we fought. They knew that to recover 
 these was our main object, and, if themselves defeated, that 
 would give them the satisfaction of a terrible vengeance. 
 
 All this we knew was far from improbable ; but to guard 
 against the possibility of such an event, every precaution was 
 to be taken. 
 
 We were satisfied that the captive women were still in the 
 temple. Rube assured us that it was their universal custom 
 to keep new prisoners there for several days after their ar- 
 rival, until they were finally distributed among the warriors. 
 The queen, too, dwelt in this building. 
 
 It was resolved, then, that the disguised party should ride 
 forward, conducting me, as their prisoner, by the first light ; 
 and that they should surround the temple, and by a clever 
 coup secure the white captives. A signal then given on the 
 bugle, or the first shot fired, was to bring the main body 
 forward at a gallop. 
 
 This was plainly the best plan, and having fully arranged 
 its details, we waited the approach of the dawn. 
 
 It was not long in coming. The moonlight became mixed 
 with the faint rays of the aurora, and objects were seen 
 more distinctly. As the milky quartz caught the hues of 
 morning, we rode out of our cover, and forward over the 
 plain. I was apparently tied upon my horse, and guarded 
 between two of the Delawares. 
 
 On approaching the town we saw several men upon the 
 roofs. They ran to and fro, summoning others out, and 
 targe groups began to appear along the terraces. As we 
 came nearer we were greeted with shouts of congratulation, 
 
442 THE SCALP- HUNTERS. 
 
 Avoiding the streets, we pushed directly for the temple, at 
 a brisk trot. On arriving at its base we suddenly halted, 
 flung ourselves from our horses, and climbed the ladders. 
 There were many women upon the parapets of the building. 
 Among these Seguin recognized his daughter, the queen. 
 She was at once secured and forced into the inside. The 
 next moment I held my betrothed in my arms, while her 
 mother was by our side. The other captives were there ; 
 and, without waiting to offer any explanation, we hurried 
 them all within the rooms, and guarded the doors with our 
 pistols. 
 
 The whole maneuver had not occupied two minutes ; but 
 before its completion a wild cry announced that the ruse 
 was detected. Vengeful yells rang over the town ; and the 
 warriors, leaping down from their houses, ran towards the 
 temple. 
 
 Arrows began to hurtle around us ; but above all other 
 sounds pealed the notes of the bugle, summoning our com- 
 rades to the attack. 
 
 Quick upon the signal they were seen debouching from 
 the woods and coming down at a gallop. 
 
 When within two hundred yards of the houses, the charg- 
 ing horsemen divided into two columns, and wheeled round 
 the town, with the intention of attacking it on both sides. 
 
 The Indians hastened to defend the skirts of the village ; 
 but in spite of their arrow-flights, which dismounted several, 
 the horsemen closed in, and, flinging themselves from their 
 horses, fought hand to hand among the walls. The shouts 
 of defiance, the sharp ringing of rifles, and the louder re- 
 ports of the escopettes, soon announced that the battle had 
 fairly begun. 
 
 A large party, headed by El Sol and St. Vrain, had ridden 
 up to the temple. Seeing that we had secured the captives, 
 these too dismounted, and commenced an attack upon that 
 
THE RESCUE. 443 
 
 part of the town ; clambering up to the houses, and driving 
 out the braves who defended them. 
 
 The fight now became general. Shouts and sounds of 
 shots rent the air. Men were seen upon high roofs, face to 
 face in deadly and desperate conflict. Crowds of women, 
 screaming and terrified, rushed along the terraces, or ran out 
 upon the plain, making for the woods. Frightened horses, 
 snorting and neighing, galloped through the streets, and off 
 over the open prairie, with trailing bridles ; while others, 
 enclosed in corrals, plunged and broke over the walls. It 
 was a wild scene — a terrific picture ! 
 
 Through all, I was only a spectator. I was guarding a 
 door of the temple in which were our own friends. My 
 elevated position gave me a view of the whole village, and I 
 could trace the progress of the battle from house to house. 
 I saw that many were falling on both sides, for the savages 
 fought with the courage of despair. I had no fears for the 
 result. The whites, too, had wrongs to redress, and by the 
 remembrance of these were equally nerved for the struggle. 
 In this kind of encounter they had the advantage in arms. 
 It was only on the plains that their savage foes were feared, 
 when charging with their long and death-dealing lances. 
 
 As I continued to gaze over the azoteas a terrific scene 
 riveted my attention, and I forgot all others. Upon a high 
 roof two men were engaged in combat fierce and deadly. 
 Their brilliant dresses had attracted me, and I soon rec- 
 ognized the combatants. They were Dacoma and the 
 Maricopa ! 
 
 The Navajo fought with a spear, and I saw that the other 
 held his rifle clubbed and empty. 
 
 When my eye first rested upon them, the latter had just 
 parried a thrust, and was aiming a blow at his antagonist. 
 It fell without effect ; and Dacoma, turning quickly, brought 
 his lance again to the charge. Before El Sol could ward it 
 
444 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 off, the thrust was given, and the weapon appeared to pass 
 through his body 1 
 
 I involuntarily uttered a cry, as I expected to see the 
 noble Indian fall. What was my astonishment at seeing 
 him brandish his tomahawk over his head, charge with the 
 spear, and with a crashing blow stretch the Navajo at his 
 feet! 
 
 Drawn down by the impaling shaft, he fell over the body, 
 but in a moment struggled up again, drew the long lance 
 from his flesh, and, tottering forward to the parapet, shouted 
 out — 
 
 " Here, Luna ! Our mother is avenged !" 
 
 I saw the girl spring upon the roof, followed by Garey ; 
 and the next moment the wounded man sank fainting in the 
 arms of the trapper. 
 
 Rube, St. Vrain, and several others now climbed to the 
 roof, and commenced examining the wound. I watched 
 them with feelings of painful suspense, for the character of 
 this most singular man had inspired me with friendship. 
 Presently St. Vrain joined me, and I was assured that the 
 wound was not mortal. The Maricopa would live. 
 
 The battle was now ended. The warriors who survived 
 had fled to the forest. Shots were heard only at intervals ; 
 an occasional shout, the shriek of some savage discovered 
 lurking among the walls. 
 
 Many white captives had been found in the town, and 
 were brought in front of the temple, guarded by the Mexi- 
 cans. The Indian women had escaped to the woods during 
 the engagement. It was well ; for the hunters and volunteer 
 soldiery, exasperated by wounds and heated by the conflict, 
 now raged around like furies. Smoke ascended from many 
 of the houses ; flames followed ; and the greater part of the 
 town was soon reduced to a smoldering ruin. 
 
 We stayed all that day by the Navajo village, to recruit 
 
THE RESCUE. 445 
 
 our animals and prepare for our homeward journey across 
 the desert. The plundered cattle were collected. Some 
 were slaughtered for immediate use, and the rest placed in 
 charge of vaqueros, to be driven on the hoof. Most of the 
 Indian horses were lassoed and brought in, some to be 
 ridden by the rescued captives, others as the booty of the 
 conquerors. But it was not safe to remain long in the valley. 
 There were other tribes of the Navajoes to the north, who 
 would soon be down upon us. There were their allies : the 
 great nations of the Apache to the south, and the Nijoras to 
 the west ; and we knew that all these would unite and follow 
 on our trail. The object of the expedition was attained, at 
 least as far as its leader had designed it. A great number 
 of captives were recovered, whose friends had long since 
 mourned them as lost forever. It would be some time be- 
 fore they would renew those savage forays in which they had 
 annually desolated the pueblos of the frontier. 
 
 By sunrise of the next day we had repassed the canon, 
 and were riding towards the snowy mountain. 
 
CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 EL PASO DEL NORTE. 
 
 WILL not describe the 
 recrossing of the desert 
 plains, nor will I detail 
 the incidents of our 
 homeward journey. 
 
 With all its hardships and 
 weariness, to me it was a pleas- 
 ant one. It is a pleasure to 
 attend upon her we love, and that along the route was my 
 chief duty. The smiles I received far more than repaid me 
 for the labor I underwent in its discharge. But it was not 
 labor. It was no labor to fill her xuages with fresh water 
 at every spring or runlet, to spread the blanket softly over 
 her saddle, to weave her a " quitasol " out of the broad 
 leaves of the palmilla, to assist her in mounting and dis- 
 mounting. No ; that was not labor to me. 
 
 We were happy as we journeyed. I was happy, for I 
 knew that I had fulfilled my contract and won my bride ; and 
 the very remembrance of the perils through which we had 
 so lately passed heightened the happiness of both. But one 
 thing cast an occasional gloom over our thoughts : the queen 
 — Adele. 
 
 She was returning to the home of her childhood; not 
 446 
 
EL PASO DEL NORTE. 447 
 
 voluntarily, but as a captive ; captive to her own kindred, 
 her father and mother ! 
 
 Throughout the journey, both these waited upon her with 
 tender assiduity, almost constantly gazing at her with sad 
 and silent looks. There was woe in their hearts. 
 
 We were not pursued ; or, if so, our pursuers never came 
 up. Perhaps we were not followed at all. The foe had 
 been crippled and cowed by the terrible chastisement, and 
 we knew it would be some time before they could muster 
 force enough to take our trail. Still we lost not a moment, 
 but traveled as fast as the ganados could be pushed for- 
 ward. 
 
 In five days Ave reached the Barranca del Oro, and 
 passed the old mine, the scene of our bloody conflict. Dur- 
 ing our halt among the ruined ranches, I strayed away from the 
 rest, impelled by a painful curiosity to see if aught remained 
 of my late follower or his fellow-victim. I went to the spot 
 where I had last seen their bodies. Yes : two skeletons lay 
 in front of the shaft, as cleanly picked by the wolves as if 
 they had been dressed for the studio of an anatomist. It 
 was all that remained of the unfortunate men. 
 
 After leaving the Barranca del Oro, we struck the head 
 waters of the Rio Mimbres ; and, keeping on the banks of 
 that stream, followed it down to the Del Norte'. Next day 
 we entered the pueblo of El Paso. 
 
 A scene of singular interest greeted us on our arrival. As 
 we neared the town, the whole population flocked out to 
 meet us. Some had come forth from curiosity, some to 
 welcome us and take part in the ceremony that hailed our 
 triumphant return, but not a few impelled by far different 
 motives. We had brought with us a large number of rescued 
 captives — nearly fifty in all — and these were soon surrounded 
 by a crowd of citizens. In that crowd were yearning mothers 
 and fond sisters, lovers newly awakened from despair, and 
 
448 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 husbands who had not yet ceased to mourn. There were 
 hurried inquiries, and quick glances, that betokened keen 
 anxiety. There were " scenes " and shouts of joy, as each 
 one recognized some long-lost object of a dear affection. 
 But there were other scenes of a diverse character : scenes 
 of woe and wailing ; for of many of those who had gone 
 
 A Serenade at El Paso. 
 
 forth, but a few days before, in the pride of health and the 
 panoply of war, many came not back. 
 
 I was particularly struck with one episode — a painful one 
 to witness. Two women of the poblana class had laid hold 
 upon one of the captives : a girl of, I should think, about 
 ten years of age. Each claimed the girl for her daughter, 
 and each of them held one of her arms, not rudely, but t<? 
 
EL PASO DEL NORTE. 449 
 
 hinder the other from carrying her off. A crowd had en- 
 circled them, and both the women were urging their claims 
 in loud and plaintive voice. 
 
 One stated the age of the girl, hastily narrated the history 
 of her capture by the savages, and pointed to certain marks 
 upon her person, to which she declared she was ready at 
 any moment to made " juramento." The other appealed to 
 the spectators to look at the color of the child's hair and 
 eyes, which slightly differed from that of the other claimant, 
 and called upon them to note the resemblance she bore to 
 another, who stood by, and who, she alleged, was the child's 
 eldest sister. Both talked at the same time, and kissed the 
 girl repeatedly as they talked. 
 
 The little wild captive stood between the two, receiving 
 their alternate embraces with a wondering and puzzled ex- 
 pression. She was, in truth, a most interesting child, habit- 
 ed in the Indian costume, and browned by the sun of the 
 desert. Whichever might have been the mother, it was 
 evident, she had no remembrance of either of them ; for 
 here there was no mother / In her infancy she had been car- 
 ried off to the desert, and, like the daughter of Seguin, had 
 forgotten the scenes of her childhood. She had forgotten 
 father — mother — all 1 
 
 It was, as I have said, a scene painful to witness : the 
 women's looks of anguish, their passionate appeals, their 
 wild but affectionate embraces lavished upon the girl, their 
 plaintive cries mingled with sobs and weeping. It was in- 
 deed a painful scene. 
 
 It was soon brought to a close, at least as far as I wit- 
 nessed it. The alcalde came upon the ground ; and the 
 girl was given in charge to the " policia," until the true 
 mother should bring forward more definite proofs of mater- 
 nity. I never heard the finale of this little romance. 
 
 The return of the expedition to El Paso was celebrated 
 29 
 
45o 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 by a triumphant ovation. Cannon boomed, bells rang, fire- 
 works hissed and sputtered, masses were sung, and music 
 filled the streets. Feasting and merriment followed, and the 
 night was turned into a blazing illumination of wax candles, 
 " un gran funcion de balk " — ^fandango. 
 
 Next morning, Seguin, with his wife and daughters, made 
 
 A Dinner Party in Mexico. 
 
 preparations to journey on to the old hacienda on the Del 
 Norte. The house was still standing ; so we had heard. 
 It had not been plundered. The savages, on taking pos- 
 session of it, had been closely pressed by a body of Pasenos, 
 and had hurried off with their captives, leaving everything 
 else as they had found it. 
 
 St. Vrain and I were to accompany the party to their 
 home. 
 
 The chief had plans for the future, in which both I and 
 
EL PASO DEL NORTE. 
 
 451 
 
 my friend were interested. There we were to mature 
 them. 
 
 I found the returns of my trading speculation even greater 
 than St. Vrain had promised. My ten thousand dollars had 
 been trebled. St. Vrain, too, was master of a large 
 amount ; and we were enabled to bestow our bounty on 
 those of our late comrades who had proved themselves 
 worthy. 
 
 But most of them had received " bounty " from another 
 source. As we rode out from El Paso, I chancad to look 
 back. There was a long string of dark objects waving over 
 the gates. There was no mistaking what they were, for 
 they were unlike anything else. They were scalps J 
 
Brain Corals of the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 CHAPTER LVIL 
 
 TOUCHING THE CHORDS OF MEMORY. 
 
 T is the second evening after our ar- 
 rival at the old house on the Del Norte. 
 We have gone up to the azotda — 
 Seguin, St. Vrain, and myself : I know 
 not why, but guided thither by our host. Perhaps he wishes 
 to look once more over that wild land, the theater of so 
 many scenes in his eventful life : once more, for upon the 
 morrow he leaves it forever. Our plans have been formed ; 
 we journey upon the morrow ; we are going over the 
 broad plains to the waters of the Mississippi. They go 
 with us. 
 
 It is a lovely evening, and warm. The atmosphere is 
 
 elastic : such an atmosphere as you can find only on the 
 
 high tables of the western world. It seems to act upon all 
 
 animated nature, judging from its voices. There is joy in 
 
 452 
 
TOUCHING THE CHORDS OF MEMORY. 453 
 
 the songs of the birds, in the humming of the homeward 
 bees. There is a softness, too, in those sounds that reach 
 us from the farther forest : those sounds usually harsh ; the 
 voices of the wilder and fiercer creatures of the wilderness. 
 All seem attuned to peace and love. 
 
 The song of the arriero is joyous ; for many of these are 
 below, packing for our departure. 
 
 I too am joyous. I have been so for days ; but the light 
 atmosphere around, and the bright prospect before me, have 
 heightened the pulsations of my happiness. 
 
 Not so my companions on the azotea. Both seem sad. 
 
 Seguin is silent. I thought he had climbed up here to 
 take a last look of the fair valley. Not so. He paces 
 backward and forward with folded arms, his eyes fixed upon 
 the cemented roof. They see no farther ; they see not at 
 all. The eye of his mind only is active, and that is look- 
 ing inward. His air is abstracted ; his brow is clouded ; 
 his thoughts are gloomy and painful. I know the cause of 
 all this. She is still a stranger ! 
 
 But St. Vrain — the witty, the buoyant, the sparkling St. 
 Vrain — what misfortune has befallen him ? What cloud is 
 crossing the rose-colored field of his horoscope ? what rep- 
 tile is gnawing at his heart, that not even the sparkling 
 wine of El Paso can drown ? St. Vrain is speechless ; St. 
 Vrain is sighing ; St. Vrain is sad 1 I half divine the cause. 
 St. Vrain is 
 
 The tread of light feet upon the stone stairway — the 
 rustling of female dresses ! 
 
 They are ascending. They are Madame Seguin, Adele, 
 Zoe. 
 
 I look at the mother — at her features. They, too, are 
 shaded by a melancholy expression. Why is not she happy ? 
 Why not joyous, having recovered a long-lost, much-loved 
 child ? Ah 1 she has not yet recovered her I 
 
454 ■ THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 I turn my eyes on the daughter — the elder one — the 
 queen. That is the strangest expression of all. 
 
 Have you seen the captive ocelot ? Have you seen the 
 wild bird that refuses to be tamed, but against the bars of 
 its cage prison still beats its bleeding wings ? If so, it may 
 help you to fancy that expression. I cannot depict it. 
 
 She is no longer in the Indian costume. That has been 
 put aside. She wears the dress of civilized life, but she 
 wears it reluctantly. She has shown this, for the skirt is 
 torn in several places, and the bodice, plucked open, dis- 
 plays her bosom, half nude, heaving under the wild thoughts 
 which agitate it. 
 
 She accompanies them, but not as a companion. She has 
 the air of a prisoner, the air of the eagle whose wings have 
 been clipped. She regards neither mother nor sister. Their 
 constant kindness has failed to impress her. 
 
 The mother has led her to the azotea, and let go her 
 hand. She walks no longer with them, but crouching, and 
 in starts, from place to place, obedient to the impulse of 
 strong emotions. 
 
 She has reached the western wing of the azotda, and 
 stands close up against the parapet, gazing over — gazing 
 upon the Mimbres. She knows them well, those peaks of 
 sparkling selenite, those watch-towers of the desert land : 
 she knows them well. Her heart is with her eyes. 
 
 We stand watching her, all of us. She is the object of 
 common solicitude. She it is who keeps between all hearts 
 and the light. The father looks sadly on ; the mother 
 looks sadly on ; Zoe looks sadly on ; St. Vrain too. No 1 
 that is a different expression. His gaze is the gaze of 
 
 She has turned suddenly. She perceives that we are all 
 regarding her with attention. Her eyes wander from one to 
 the other. They are fixed upon the glance of St. Vrain ! 
 
 A change comes over her countenance — a sudden change, 
 
TOUCHING THE CHORDS OF MEMORY. 455 
 
 from dark to bright, like the cloud passing from the sun. 
 Her eye is fired by a new expression. I know it well. I 
 have seen it before ; not in her eyes but in those that re- 
 semble them : the eyes of her sister. I know it well. It is 
 the light of love I 
 
 St. Vrain ! His too are lit by a similar emotion ! Happy 
 St. Vrain ! Happy that it is mutual. As yet he knows not 
 that, but I do. I could bless him with a single word. 
 
 Moments pass. Their eyes mingle in fiery communion. 
 They gaze into each other. Neither can avert their glance. 
 A god rules them : the god of love ! 
 
 The proud and energetic attitude of the girl gradually for- 
 sakes her ; her features relax ; her eye swims with a softer 
 expression ; and her whole bearing seems to have under- 
 gone a change. 
 
 She sinks down upon a bench. She leans against the 
 parapet. She no longer turns to the west. She no longer 
 gazes upon the Mimbres. Her heart is no longer in the 
 desert land 7 
 
 No ; it is with her eyes, and these rest almost contin- 
 uously on St. Vrain. They wander at intervals over the 
 stones of the azotea ; then her thoughts do not go with them ; 
 but they ever return to the same object, to gaze upon it 
 tenderly, more tenderly at each new glance. 
 
 The anguish of captivity is over. She no longer desires 
 to escape. There is no prison where he dwells. It is now 
 a paradise. Henceforth the doors may be thrown freely 
 open. That little bird will make no further effort to fly 
 from its cage. It is tamed. 
 
 What memory, friendship, entreaties, had failed to effect, 
 love had accomplished in a single instant. Love, mysterious 
 power, in one pulsation had transformed that wild heart ; 
 had drawn it from the desert. 
 
 I fancied that Seguin had noticed all this, for he was 
 
456 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 observing her movements with attention. I fancied that 
 such thoughts were passing in his mind, and that they were 
 not unpleasing to him, for he looked less affected than be- 
 fore. But I did not continue to watch the scene. A deeper 
 interest summoned me aside ; and, obedient to the sweet 
 impulse, I strayed towards the southern angle of the 
 azotea. 
 
 I was not alone. My betrothed was by my side ; and our 
 hands, like our hearts, were locked in each other. 
 
 There was no secrecy about our love : with Zoe there 
 never had been. 
 
 Nature had prompted the passion. She knew not the 
 conventionalities of the world, of society, of circles refined, 
 soi-disant. She knew not that love was a passion for one to 
 be ashamed of. 
 
 Hitherto no presence had restained her in its expression : 
 not even that, to lovers of less pure design, awe-inspiring 
 above all others — the presence of the parents. Alone or in 
 their company, there was no difference in her conduct. She 
 knew not the hypocrisies of artificial natures ; the restraints, 
 the intrigues, the agonies of atoms that act. She knew not 
 the terror of guilty minds. She obeyed only the impulse her 
 Creator had kindled within her. 
 
 With me it was otherwise. I had shouldered society ; 
 though not much then, enough to make me less proud of 
 love's purity : enough to render me slightly skeptical of its 
 sincerity. But through her I had now escaped from that 
 skepticism. I had become a faithful believer in the nobility 
 of the passion. 
 
 Our love was sanctioned by those who alone possessed 
 the right to sanction it. It was sanctified by its own purity- 
 
 We are gazing upon a fair scene ; fairer now, at the sun- 
 set hour. The sun is no longer upon the stream, but his 
 rays slant through the foliage of the cottonwood trees that 
 
TOUCHING THE CHORDS OF MEMORY. 457 
 
 fringe it, and here and there a yellow beam is flung trans- 
 versely on the water. The forest is dappled by the high 
 tints of autumn. There are green leaves and red ones ; 
 some of a golden color, and others of dark maroon. Under 
 this bright mosaic the river winds away like a giant serpent, 
 hiding its head in the darker woods around El Paso. 
 
 We command a view of all this, for we are above the 
 landscape. We see the brown houses of the village, with 
 the shining vane of its church. Our eyes have often rested 
 upon that vane in happy hours, but none happier than now, 
 for our hearts are full of happiness. 
 
 We talk of the past as well as the present ; for Zoe has 
 now seen something of life : its darker pictures, it is true ; 
 but these are often the most pleasant to be remembered ; 
 and her desert experience has furnished her with many a 
 new thought — the cue to many an inquiry. 
 
 The future becomes the subject of our converse. // is all 
 bright, though a long and even perilous journey is before us. 
 We think not of that. We look beyond it to that promised 
 hour when /am to teach, and she to learn, '■'•what is to 
 marry." 
 
 Some one is touching the strings of a bandolin. We look 
 around. Madame Seguin is seated upon a bench, holding 
 the instrument in her hands. She is tuning it. As yet she 
 has not played. There has been no music since our return. 
 
 It is by Seguin's request that the instrument has been 
 brought up, with the music, to chase away heavy memories ; 
 or, perhaps, from a hope that it may soothe those savage 
 ones still dwelling in the bosom of his child. 
 
 Madame Seguin is about to play, and my companion and 
 I go nearer to listen. 
 
 Seguin and St. Vrain are conversing apart. Adele is still 
 seated where we left her, silent and abstracted. 
 
 The music commences. It is a merry air — a fandango : 
 
458 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 one of those to which the Andalusian foot delights to keep 
 time. 
 
 Seguin and St. Vrain have turned. We all stand look- 
 ing in the face of Adele. We endeavor to read its ex- 
 pression. 
 
 The first notes have startled her from her attitude of ab- 
 straction. Her eyes wander from one to the other ; from 
 the instrument to the player, with looks of wonder — of 
 inquiry. 
 
 The music continues. The girl has risen, and, as if 
 mechanically, approaches the bench where her mother is 
 seated. She crouches down by the feet of the latter, places 
 her ear close up to the instrument, and listens attentively. 
 There is a singular expression upon her face. 
 
 I look at Seguin. That upon his is not less singular. 
 His eyes is fixed upon the girl's, gazing with intensity. His 
 lips are apart, yet he seems not to breathe. His arms hang 
 neglected, and he is leaning forward as if to read the thoughts 
 that are passing within her. 
 
 He starts erect again, as though under the impulse of some 
 sudden resolution. 
 
 " Oh, Adele ! Adele ! " he cries, hurriedly addressing his 
 wife ; " oh, sing that song ; that sweet hymn, you remember ; 
 you used to sing it to her — often, often. You remember it, 
 Adele ! Look at her. Quick ! quick ! Oh Heavens ! Per- 
 haps she may " 
 
 He is interrupted by the music. The mother has caught 
 his meaning, and with the adroitness of a practised player, 
 suddenly changes the tune to one of a far different character. 
 I recognize the beautiful Spanish hymn, " La madre a sic 
 hija" (The mother to her child). She sings it, accompany- 
 ing her voice with the bandolin. She throws all her energy 
 into the song, until the strain seems inspired. She gives the 
 words with full and passionate effect : — 
 
TOUCHING THE CHORDS OF MEMORY. 459 
 
 "Tu duermes, cara nina ! 
 Tu duermes en la paz. 
 
 Los angeles del cielo — 
 
 Los angeles guardan, guardan, 
 Nina mia ! — Ca — ra mi " 
 
 The song was interrupted by a cry — a cry of singular 
 import — uttered by the girl. The first words of the hymn 
 had caused her to start, and then to listen, if possible, more 
 attentively than ever. As the song proceeded, the singular 
 expression we had noted seemed to become every moment 
 more marked and intense. When the voice had reached the 
 burden of the melody, a strange exclamation escaped her 
 lips ; and, springing to her feet, she stood gazing wildly in the 
 face of the singer. Only for a moment. The next moment, 
 she cried in loud passionate accents, " Mama ! mama ! " 
 and fell forward upon the bosom of her mother ! 
 
 Seguin spoke truly when he said, " Perhaps in God's mercy 
 she may yet remember.' n She had remembered — not only her 
 mother, but in a short time she remembered him. The 
 chords of memory had been touched, its gates thrown open. 
 She remembered the history of her childhood. She remem- 
 bered all I 
 
 I will not essay to describe the scene that followed. I 
 will not attempt to picture the expression of the actors ; to 
 speak of their joyous exclamation, mingled with sobs and 
 tears ; but they were tears of joy. 
 
 All of us were happy — happy to exultation : but for 
 Seguin himself, I knew it was the hour of his life. 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTES. 
 
 " Corralled wagons." — Page 20.] It is usual for emigrants, or traders, 
 who cross the plains, when halting for the night, to place their wagons 
 so as to form with them a hollow square. This makes a ready fortifi- 
 cation against Indian attacks ; and also serves as an enclosure for such 
 of their animals as are likely to stray. The word " corral " is used in 
 such cases. It is the Spanish for enclosure; and it maybe here ob- 
 served, that as the Spaniards were the first Europeans who penetrated 
 into these regions, much of the nomenclature of the prairies — particu- 
 larly the southern prairies — is taken from their language. 
 
 " The Prairie-fever." — Page 22.] A phrase used to distinguish that 
 longing to return to the prairie wilds, experienced by those who have 
 once lived upon them. It is not unlike the feeling which, at times, is 
 said to come over the " salt ashore." 
 
 " Plum Buttes." — Page 28.] Butte — A name given to small isolated 
 mountains that rise knoll-like from the plain. The " Plum Buttes," 
 near the " Bend " of the river Arkansas are celebrated landmarks. 
 
 " Mountain men?"* — Page 32.] All who hunt, trap, or trade among 
 the Rocky Mountains and their " parks " are known as " mountain 
 men." 
 
 " Canotted." — Page 34.] A Spanish phrase adopted into western par- 
 lance ; a deep cleft, seemingly cut through a mountain ridge, with a 
 stream running in its bottom, is a canon — pronounced kenyon. Canoned 
 is the verb, and in use generally. The canon is a formation met with 
 over all the surface of Spanish America. There is nothing exactly 
 similar in the old United States' territory. It is a feature of the table- 
 lands. 
 
 " Lariat." — Page 39.] A " lariat " is a long rope of, most generally, 
 twisted raw hide, used for " picketing " a horse, and other purposes. 
 The lariat or laryette is nothing more than a " lazo," or " lasso," in the 
 
 461 
 
462 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 use of which the prairie Indians and all Spanish Americans are so skilled. 
 But it has been so often described, it would be superfluous to give any 
 account of it here. The " trail-rope " and " cabriesto " are similar 
 things. 
 
 " Goats." — Page 40.] A very unpoetical name for antelopes, but that 
 by which the trappers choose to distinguish them. 
 
 " Fontaine qui Bouille." — Page 44.] The name of a celebrated boil- 
 ing spring near the head waters of the Arkansas. The nomenclature 
 of prairie-land is nearly one-half French. This is accounted for by the 
 proximity of the French settlements at St. Louis and New Orleans, as 
 well as the fact that many of the earliest prairie wanderers were of that 
 nation. Canadian Frenchmen are to be found all over the western 
 countries, and their traces may be detected in the progeny of almost 
 every Indian tribe. 
 
 " Poblanas." — Page 50.] The "poblana" is the Mexican "maja," or 
 fashionable belle of the lower class. Her dress is exceedingly pictur- 
 esque, and not over long in the skirt. 
 
 " Sala."— Page 51.] The " sala " of a Mexican house is what we 
 would term the drawing-room. It is that in which visitors are generally 
 received, and not the apartment kept for great occasions ; any large 
 room, such as a ball-room, is termed a " sala." 
 
 " Bandolin." — Page 51.] The "bandolin" is a stringed instrument 
 very much like a guitar. It is found in almost every Mexican house, 
 and there are few who cannot play a little upon it. It might be called 
 a " cross " between the guitar and banjo, as it partakes of the character 
 of both these instruments. 
 
 11 Pur os." — Page 51.] " Puros " are simply cigars manufactured in 
 Mexico. The name serves to distinguish them from the " Cigarros de 
 papel," or small paper Cigarettos. The latter, however, are in much 
 more general use among all classes of Mexicans, high or low, male or 
 female. Havana cigars are also smoked, but to no great extent. 
 The little cartridge of paper is the favorite. There is also another kind 
 in limited use, the " Campeacheanos," or husk cigarettes — that is, those 
 rolled in the husk of the maize plant. The " Mexican puros," are 
 smoked extensively in London, under the name of " Pickwicks." 
 
 " Taos whisky." — Page 51.] Taos — San Fernando de Taos — is a 
 Pueblo settlement in New Mexico, far north, near the head waters of 
 the Del Norte. There are several " stills " at work here, chiefly man- 
 aged by retired trappers. 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTES. 463 
 
 " Aqwardent, or Vino." — Page 51.] Aguardiente, or wine. Aguar- 
 dienteis the Mexican name for strong drinks. Aguardiente — burning 
 water. It is generally limited, however, to the whisky distilled from 
 the maize and mezcal plants — the latter peculiar to Mexico. 
 
 " Pelad-)." — Page 57.] " Pelado " and "lepero" are names given in 
 contempt to the lower and more ragged classes of a Mexican town. 
 " Pelado " means a very naked fellow. A " lepero " is not a leper in 
 the scriptural sense of the word, though " lepero " is the Spanish for 
 that idea. But in common parlance among Spaniards and Spanish 
 Americans, " leperos " are what among us are known as the " rabble," 
 or rather the " tag-rag and bob-tail." 
 
 " Hated each other." — Page 58.] This national hatred is not peculiar 
 to the Saxon and Spanish races of America. It is found, I believe, 
 along the boundary frontier of every country. It needs no explanation. 
 
 " Cache." — Page 63.] The term in use upon the prairies, signifying 
 to hide anything. Where anything has been concealed from the In- 
 dians or others, by being buried in the ground or hidden in the trees, 
 the place is called a " cache." There is both the verb and noun. It is 
 French pluaseology, though used by all " mountain men " of whatever 
 nation. 
 
 " Saguan." — Page 66.] The passage or hall of the great doorway, 
 leading into the patio of a Mexican house, is called the " saguan." The 
 " portero " usually has his lodge on one side cf the saguan, or, if not, 
 there is a stone banquette on which he seats himself. The patio itself 
 is the enclosed space in the center — around which are the rooms of the 
 house, with galleries running along in front of them. There is usually 
 a fountain and three or four ornamental trees — limes or oranges — 
 around it. The azotia is the roof — flat and cemented, so as to cast 
 water and form an agreeable promenade or smoking place, when the 
 sun is not too hot. The ventana is the window, glazed only in cities, or 
 in fine country houses ; but, glazed or no, always defended with heavy 
 iron bars. These last form the reja. 
 
 " Zequias." — Page 75.] "Acequias," or " Zequias," are the artificial 
 viaducts and canals used in different parts of Mexico for irrigation. 
 Through these, the waters of the Del Norte are diverted out of their 
 channel, and spread over the fields. To the " irrigation system " New 
 Mexico owes much of its fertility. 
 
 " Striped blanket." — Page 75.] This is similar to the " serape," ex, 
 
464 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 cept in its coloring, which is sufficient to characterize it. It is simply 
 broad bands of black and white alternating with each other. The se/ape 
 is a mixture of the gayest colors, speckled and oddly arranged, but never 
 in flowers. Out of a thousand patterns, I do not think I have seen a 
 flowered serape. 
 
 '■'■Posada." — Page 77.] The " posada " answers nearly to our " coun- 
 try inn." The " fonda " is an establishment of higher pretensions, and 
 in Mexican towns supplies — but very badly indeed — the place of a hotel. 
 
 " Pueblo." — Page 77.] A " pueblo " is a town. A " pueblite " is a 
 still smaller town or village, though " aldea " is also a village. 
 
 " Apachis." — Page 78.] Pronounce " Apashees." 
 
 " Mozo." — Page 80.] A Mexican boy or waiter. " Peons " — laboring 
 Indians — are so called. 
 
 " Xuages" — Page 81.] Gourds used for carrying water on a journey. 
 They are in use all over Mexico. They keep the water sweeter and 
 more cool than a tin canteen. A " double-headed " gourd is the best, 
 as it can be strapped around the " waist," or small part, and thus hung 
 over the shoulders of the traveler. 
 
 " The Spanish harp." — Page 92.] This instrument is very common 
 in Mexican houses of the better class. It is a smaller kind than that 
 known as the Irish harp ; but in other respects, as far as I could see, 
 precisely similar. 
 
 Page 98.] The " Campeachy chair " is a peculiarity. The extension 
 of the back, which curves slightly, forms the front legs of the chair, 
 crossing the others after the manner of a camp-stool. I cannot describe 
 it intelligibly. It resembles a species of rocking-chair, used in America 
 — not the large rocking-chair, but a smaller and cheaper kind. The 
 " Campeachy," however, is not a rocker. 
 
 " The PetatL" — Page 98.] The mat plaited of palm leaves — some 
 times tide (bulrush). It is as thin as a piece of carpet; but over ali 
 Mexico a "petate " spread on the floor forms the sole bed of the hum* 
 bier classes. 
 
 " Tiled floor" — Page 99.] There are few Mexican houses with wooden 
 floors. These are generally of bricks or tiles — not carpeted, but often 
 painted in gay patterns, as though they were. These floors, in a warm 
 climate, are much preferable to wooden or carpeted ones. 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTES. 465 
 
 u Cotton-woods." — Page 113.] The great cotton-wood tree, the char- 
 acteristic timber of much of the prairie-land. On many of the river 
 " bottoms " no others are found. The cotton-woods are so called from 
 a downy substance which they shed resembling cotton, or the floss of 
 
 the thistle. 
 
 "Gila." — Page 114.] Pronounce "Heela." This river rises in the 
 Mimbres Mountains, near the 33d parallel of north latitude, and runs 
 a westward course, through a rocky, desert region. It unites with the 
 Colorado, about fifty miles from the embouchure of the latter in the 
 Vermilion Sea. 
 
 Page 120.] The horrid details given in this page are true — are facts 
 — but Seguin was not the author of these atrocities, as he declares. 
 They were perpetrated by other men — fiends rather — belonging to a 
 race and country that boasts of its higher humanity. But the crimes 
 of such men as Johnston and Kirker — men who figured in these brutal- 
 ities — cannot be chargeable to their country. Such men are exceptions 
 —the monstrosities of their kind. 
 
 " Vaquero." — Page 125.] A " vaquero " is a ranchero or countryman, 
 who looks after cattle. As Mexico is chiefly a grazing country it will 
 be seen that there are many of its inhabitants employed in this pursuit. 
 The vaquero is always mounted, and generally well dressed. He car- 
 ries the lazo constantly ; and he is the man, above all others, who can 
 use it with dexterity. He can fling it over a bull's horns twenty yards 
 off, or loop it round the foot of the animal when going at a full gallop ! 
 This feat I have witnessed a hundred times. Your vaquero is also ex- 
 pert in the game of " Colea de toros," or " bull-tailing " — that is, he 
 can, on horseback, catch the tail of a running bull — whip it under the 
 hind leg — and fling the animal on its back I This feat also have I wit- 
 nessed over and over again. The vaquero takes his name from 
 " vacas," signifying cows or cattle. 
 
 "Presidios" — Page 126.] Garrisons kept along the Indian frontier, 
 to protect the mines and missions. Of late years — or ever since the 
 downfall of the Spanish power — they have been ill kept ; and, in fact, 
 served but little purpose — as, upon any hostile demonstration of the 
 Indians, the presidio soldiers were sure to shut themselves up in their 
 strongholds, and leave the settlers to take care of themselves. The 
 country around the presidios is now completely depopulated from the 
 dread of the Apache and Comanche. 
 
 "North of tht Gila." — Page 127.] The triangle lying between the 
 
466 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 Gila, Colorado, and Del Norte" — a fearful desert — is less known than 
 any part of the North American continent. The United States' gov- 
 ernment is about exploring it at the present time. 
 
 " Gates of Durango." — Page 127.] The Comanches did " harry," to 
 the very gates of Durango in 1846. They fought one " pitched battle " 
 with the Mexican soldiers, and completely routed the latter. In the 
 battle, the Indians followed a system of manoeuvres and actually charged 
 several times in cavalry line I 
 
 " Yucapalm." — Page 130.] The yuca, or palmilla, is a very pictur- 
 esque object in the vegetation of the table-lands. From its roots the 
 New Mexicans manufacture a kind of soap. 
 
 "Blazed." — Page 132.] Trees are "blazed" to mark a part or 
 boundary, by a piece of the bark being chopped out with an axe. 
 
 "Fragments of pottery." — Page 134.] These are found in all ruins of 
 Mexican towns or settlements — pottery being a common and plenteous 
 article in use for kitchen utensils. The art of making it, and straining 
 it with a fast dye, was known to the Aztecs ; and among the Aztec 
 ruins on the Gila, much of this is found still retaining its original tints. 
 
 " Ciboleros" — Page 149.] The " Ciboleros " of Northern Mexico are 
 men who employ their lives in hunting the buffalo for his flesh. They 
 also trade for it with Indians, and then carry it to the settlements for 
 sale. The " Ranchero " is a Mexican countryman, above the order of 
 the serf or peon. He is the vaquero at times, or the arriero, or he may 
 be possessed of a small holding, and farm it for himself. He is a great 
 horseman, and always mounted, galloping after cattle, or amusing him- 
 self in some other way. The vaquero is also a ranchero ; so, too, is the 
 " Montero," who is so called from living in a mountainous district. 
 
 " Parfliche" — Page 1 50.] The thick sole leather made from the hide 
 of the buffalo is so termed in prairie-land. 
 
 " Bloody Ground." — Page 1 53.] Part of the valley of the Ohio has 
 been so called, in times past, from the terrible battles fought there be- 
 tween the early colonists and Indians. 
 
 " There were men of every hue" — Page 155.] I* is a strange fact that 
 to this region — most remote from any country — men of almost every 
 country have wandered, and become part of its nomade population. 
 
 u Gruya" — Page 156.] A species of small bluish crane, found all 
 over the tablelands of Mexico. 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTES. 467 
 
 " Tilmas." — Page 157.] The " tilma " is a sort of blanket-shirt, with- 
 out any " cut " about it. It looks like a short bag, with the bottom 
 taken out, and holes made in the sides for the arms to pass through. 
 It is altogether a garment of the very humblest class — the Indi a n peons. 
 
 " Killbar* 's muzzle." — Page 157.] "Kill-bear," the name of his gun. 
 It is common among the mountain men to name their rifles after such 
 a fashion. 
 
 u Ermine skins." — Page 157.] The white ermine is found over all 
 prairie-land. Its skins are used by the Indians to trim their shirts, and 
 form pendant fringes. Frequently an Indian will have more than a 
 hundred of these valuable skins stitched over his dress. 
 
 "A white buffalo robe" — Page 158.] The white buffalo is an Albino 
 of the bison tribe. His color is not exactly white, but " whitish in- 
 clined." However, it distinguishes him sufficiently from the rest of the 
 bison tribe to entitle him to the name. They are very rare, and their 
 skins or robes are valued in proportion. It is no easy thing to come 
 across the skin of a white buffalo. 
 
 " Killbar's a ninety." — Page 1 59.] The rifles in use among hunters 
 are usually of very small bore, the bullet sometimes not larger than a 
 drop of buck or swan shot. There is a reason for this, and a good one 
 too. Such a shot, properly directed, will do the business for either man 
 or beast. But it offers this advantage over the larger bore : A trapper 
 may be necessitated to live in the wilderness for a year or two at a 
 time, with no post or settlement within hundreds of miles of him. How, 
 then, could he carry a sufficient supply of lead, unless by using a very 
 small bore rifle ? This, I take it, is the solution of the matter, though I 
 never heard the thing spoken of among the trappers themselves. The 
 small bore seems to have come to them by instinct. 
 
 "Benfs Fort." — Page 162.] A celebrated trading depot on the 
 Upper Arkansas. It was owned by the brothers Bent. One of the* is 
 spoken of in our pages. His brother, after New Mexico fell into the 
 hands of the United States, was made governor of that country. He 
 lived but a short time to enjoy his honors. He was killed in a revolu- 
 tion of the New Mexicans and Pueblos, which occurred while the Amer- 
 ican troops were engaged in making a conquest of El Paso and Chi- 
 huahua. The revolution was crushed soon after, and his death was 
 avenged in a terrible manner. 
 
 ■ Poor hdi:'—P*gfi 168 J " Poor bull "—that is, buffalo bull-is the 
 
468 
 
 THE SCALP-HUNTERS. 
 
 phrase used by the trappers to denote very poor living indeed. " Fat 
 cow " is the antithetical idea. 
 
 " Azul or Prieto." — Page 186.] Tributaries to the Gila — running in 
 from the north. 
 
 " Escopettes." — Page 187.] The escopette is a short piece — used gen- 
 erally as a horseman's gun. They have strap and swivels, and many of 
 them are merely razeed muskets. They were much used in the late 
 Mexican war ; as I have some reason to remember. 
 
 " Cavayara" — Page 198.] The trappers' idiom for Caballada, which 
 means, a drove of horses, or horses and mules. A drove of mules alone 
 is called mulada ; and a number of mares together is sometimes termed 
 a manada. 
 
 " Musauiie." — Page 198.] " Mezquite " Rube means — a species of 
 acacia, found through all parts of the arid table-lands of Mexico. It is 
 a thorny bush, as almost every bush of the desert is. There are many 
 other varieties of the acacia tree found in the Mexican territory. 
 
 " The nut-pine."" — Page 199.] The pinon, or nut-pine, is a variety of 
 pine whose cones are edible, and when roasted and pounded, make 
 excellent bread. It is found growing all over the western mountains 
 of America, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. It grows 
 in abundance in many parts of California. The Indian tribes, who 
 dwell where it grows, gather the cones, and lay up a stock of them for 
 winter subsistence. The tree differs considerably in appearance from 
 other varieties of the pine. Pinon is pronounced " peenyon." 
 
 " Tasajo." — Page 212.] Jerked meat. The process of jerking meat 
 is as follows : — The meat is cut in long strips, and hung over a line in 
 the sun. It thus becomes dried before decomposition can take place ; 
 though " tasajo " usually gives one ideas that this has partially done so 
 — if we are to judge by the smell. Tasajo is found in most countries 
 where there is a scarcity of salt, as there is in most parts of Mexico ; 
 while in other parts, again, it may be gathered in wagon-loads. But the 
 want of roads and communication between the cities and salt districtSi 
 render it cheaper to import the article from abroad.