diff options
56 files changed, 17 insertions, 9712 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..afa3e17 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51532 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51532) diff --git a/old/51532-8.txt b/old/51532-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 80979e5..0000000 --- a/old/51532-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4566 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers, by -Frederick Schwatka - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers - -Author: Frederick Schwatka - -Release Date: March 22, 2016 [EBook #51532] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE LAND OF CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Whitehead, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - IN THE LAND OF CAVE - AND CLIFF DWELLERS - - - BY - LIEUT. FREDERICK SCHWATKA - - AUTHOR OF "THE CHILDREN OF THE COLD," "NIMROD IN - THE NORTH; OR, HUNTING AND FISHING ADVENTURES - IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS," ETC. - - - NEW EDITION - - - EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY - BOSTON - NEW YORK CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY - THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO. - - COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY - THE EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. NORTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--PREPARING FOR - THE EXPEDITION--FROM DEMING, N. M., TO - CASAS GRANDES, CHIHUAHUA, 1 - - II. NORTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA (_Continued_)--MEXICAN - MORMON COLONIES--FROM LA ASCENCION - TO CORRALITOS--SOME RUINS ALONG THE - TAPASITA--A TOLTEC BABYLON, 34 - - III. SONORA--ALONG THE SONORA RAILWAY--HERMOSILLO--GUAYMAS, - AND ITS BEAUTIFUL HARBOR--FISHING AND HUNTING - ABOUT GUAYMAS, 80 - - IV. CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA--FROM THE CITY OF - CHIHUAHUA WESTWARD TO THE GREAT MEXICAN - MINING BELT, 131 - - V. CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA--IN THE LAND OF THE - LIVING CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS--THE - TARAHUMARI INDIANS, CIVILIZED AND SAVAGE, 172 - - VI. THROUGH THE SIERRA MADRES--ON MULE-BACK - WESTWARD FROM CARICHIC, 206 - - VII. SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--AMONG THE CAVE - AND CLIFF DWELLERS IN THE HEART OF THE - SIERRA MADRE RANGE, 227 - - VIII. IN SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--DOWN THE - URIQUE BARRANCA--FROM PINE TO PALM--URIQUE - AND ITS MINES, 265 - - IX. SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--DESCRIPTION OF - ONE OF THE RICHEST SILVER REGIONS OF THE - WORLD--MINERAL WEALTH OF THE SIERRA - MADRES--THE BATOPILAS DISTRICT, 311 - - X. SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--THE RETURN BY - ANOTHER TRAIL--THE CAŅON OF THE - CHURCHES--AMONG THE CLIFF DWELLERS, 345 - - - - -[Illustration: FALLS OF THE BECORACHIC, SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS, -1239 FEET HIGH] - - - - -IN THE LAND OF - -CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -NORTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--PREPARING FOR THE EXPEDITION--FROM DEMING, - N. M., TO CASAS GRANDES, CHIHUAHUA. - - -The first chapter describing an expedition is liable to be prosaic to -the point of dullness. It is full of promises that are expected to be -realized, while as yet nothing has been done. Not one-tenth of these -may formulate, and yet the expedition may be a success in unexpected -results; for in no undertaking is there so much uncertainty as in -travel through little known countries. Then, again, the writer is -likely to consider himself called upon to give a lengthy description of -the party in the preliminary letter, and, as I have often seen, even -descend to an enumeration of the qualities of the cook or the color of -the mules. The next night the cook may desert and the mules may run -away, so that others must be procured, and therefore they are of no -more interest to the reader than any other of the millions of cooks or -mules that would make any writer wealthy if he could find a publisher -who would print his description of them. I intend to break away from -that stereotyped formula in this first chapter and briefly state -that I was in the field of Northern Mexico, hoping to obtain new and -interesting matter beyond the everlasting descriptions that are now -pumped up for the public by versatile writers along the beaten lines -of tourist travel, as determined by the railroads, and, occasionally, -the diligence lines. I had a good outfit of wagons, horses, mules, and -last, but not least, men for that purpose. Each and every member of the -expedition will be heard from when anything has been done by them, and -not before. When the mule Dulce kicks a hectare of daylight through the -cook for spilling hot grease on his heels I will give a description -of Dulce and an obituary notice of the cook; but until then they will -remain out of the account. - -We crossed the boundary south of Deming early in March, 1889, and -entered Mexican territory, where our travels can be said to have begun. -If one will take the pains to look at a map of this portion of Mexico -he will see that it projects into the United States some distance -beyond the average northern boundary, the Rio Grande being to our east, -and an "offset," as we would say in surveying, being to our west, this -"offset" running north and south. This flat peninsula projecting into -our own country can be better understood by visiting it and comparing -it with the surrounding land of the United States, coupled with a -history of the country. Roughly speaking, the Mexican-United States -boundary, as settled by the Mexican War, followed the line of the -Southern Pacific Railway as now constructed, and the so-called Gadsden -purchase from Mexico of a few years later fixed the boundary as we now -see it, giving us a narrow, sabulous strip of Mexican territory, but a -definite boundary, easily established by surveys. - -[Illustration: OUTFITTING AT DEMING] - -The Mexicans were on the ground and knew just what they were doing -when they arranged for selling us this narrow strip; while, as usual, -we did everything from Washington, and knew just about as little -concerning it as we possibly could and be sure we were purchasing a -part of Mexico. The Mexicans ran this flat-topped peninsula far to the -north, inclosing lakes, rivers, and springs, and waters innumerable; -while, as a generous compensation, they gave us more land to the west, -but a land where a coyote carries three days' rations of jerked jack -rabbit whenever he makes up his mind to cross it. There is no more -comparison between the offset of Mexico that projects here into the -United States, and the offset from the United States that projects -into Mexico west of here, than there is in comparing the fertile plains -of Iowa or Illinois with Greenland or the Great Sahara Desert. - -Everyone familiar with the exceedingly rich lands of the Southwest, -when so much of it is worthless for want of water, knows how valuable -that liquid is in this region, especially if it occurs in quantities -sufficiently large for the purposes of irrigation. I have stood on -land that I could purchase for five cents an acre or less, and that -stretched out behind me for limitless leagues, and could jump on other -land whose owner had refused a number of hundreds of dollars an acre, -although, as far as the eye could see, there was no more difference -between them than between any two adjoining acres on an Illinois farm. -The real difference was one to be determined by the surveyor's level, -which showed that water could be put on the valuable tract and not on -the other. This also is the difference between the Mexican "offset" in -the North, lying between the Rio Grande and the meridianal boundary -to the west, and the American tract that juts into Mexico just west -of this again. They both share the same soil as you gaze at them from -the deck of your "burro," and you can even see no difference in them -on closer inspection, after your mule has assisted you to alight; but -there is a real and tangible value difference of from one hundred to -two hundred dollars a year per acre between the grapes and other fruits -and vegetables you can raise on one, with water trickling round their -roots, and the sagebrush and grease wood of the other, not rating at -ten cents a township. - -The diplomats of our country at Washington may be all Talleyrands in -astuteness, but in the Gadsden purchase they got left so far behind -that they have never yet been able to see how badly they were handled -in the bargain. - -As our people travel along the line of the Southern Pacific Railway, -through its arid wastes of sand and sunshine, they can little realize -the beautiful country of Northern Chihuahua and Sonora that lies so -close to them to the southward. And yet some of this seemingly arid -land in Southern New Mexico and Arizona is destined to become of far -more value than its present appearance would indicate. Anglo-Saxon -energy is converting little patches here and there into fertile spots, -and these are constantly increasing. A great portion of the land -is fine for cattle grazing, and these little oases make centers of -crystallizing civilization, which render the country for miles around -valuable for this important industry. - -The persons who believe that New Mexico will not eventually become one -of the finest States in our Union belong to the class of those who put -Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas in the great American desert a decade or -two ago. - -There is still another physical feature of at least Northern Mexico -that I have never seen dwelt upon, even in the numerous physical -geographies that are now extant, and it is well worth explaining. -Books innumerable have spoken of the _tierra caliente_, or low, hot -lands near the coast, the _tierra templada_, or temperate lands of -the interior plateaus, and the _tierra fria_, or cold lands of the -mountains and higher plateaus; and these subdivisions are really good -as explaining Mexican climate, but they give us but little idea of -the country's surface itself beyond that of altitude, and even less -regarding its resources and adaptability to the wants of man. The -_tierra caliente_, or hot lands of the coast, are out of the question -as habitations for white men; but the _tierra templada_ and _tierra -fria_, as everyone familiar with climatology knows, gives us the finest -climate in the world, as do all elevated plateaus in sub-tropical -countries. But these elevated plateaus, or different portions of them, -are not alike in resources, and their variations are simply due to the -variations in the water supply. - -The backbone ridge of mountains in Mexico is the Sierra Madre, or -Mother Mountains, for from them all other ridges and spurs seem to -emanate. From their crests, as with all other mountains in the world, -spring innumerable rivulets and creeks, which, uniting, form rivers. -But nearly everywhere else these streams increase in size by the -addition of the waters of other tributaries until they reach the sea. - -Not so with the Mexican rivers of this locality. Shortly after leaving -the mountains and reaching the foothills, they receive no additions -from other sources, and after flowing from fifty to one hundred miles -they sink into the ground. These "sinks" are usually large lakes, -and a map of the country would make one believe that the rivers were -emptying into them, but in reality they only disappear as just stated, -to reappear in the hot lands as the heads of rivers. Now all the -country between the Sierra Madre and the "sinks," or at least all the -valley country, can be readily irrigated by this perennial flow of -water. The rivers are fringed with trees, and the grass is in excellent -condition, while beyond, the plains are treeless, the soil arid, and -the prospect cheerless in comparison. To particularize: if the reader -looks at the map of Chihuahua he will see a series of lakes (they are -the "sinks" to which I refer): Laguna de Guzman, Laguna (the Spanish -for lake) de Santa Maria, Laguna de Patos, etc., extending nearly north -and south, and parallel with the crest of the Sierra Madres. Between -the lakes and the crest is a beautiful country, capable of sustaining a -dense population; while outside of it, to the eastward, so much cannot -be said in its favor, although probably the latter is a good grazing -district. Now the railway runs outside or eastward of the line of the -"sinks," where the country is flat and the engineering difficulties are -at a minimum; and as nearly all the descriptions we have of Mexico are -based upon observations made from car windows, it is easy to see how -erroneous an opinion can be formed of this northern portion of Mexico, -which is so constantly, though conscientiously, misrepresented by -scores of writers. - -The first lake we came to in Mexico was Laguna Las Palomas (the -Doves), only a few miles beyond the boundary, and to secure which -Mexico was smart enough to get in the offset to which I have referred. -It is, I think, the "sink" of the Mimbres River, which, as a river, -lies wholly in the southwestern portion of New Mexico. It disappears, -however, before it crosses the boundary, to reappear as sixty or -seventy huge springs in Mexico (any one of these would be worth -$20,000 to $25,000 as water is now sold in the arid districts), which -drain into a beautiful lake, backed by a high sierra, the Las Palomas -Mountains, altogether forming a very picturesque scene. All the country -around is quite level, and thousands of acres can here be irrigated -with this enormous water supply; while it can only be done by the -quarter section in the Southwest on our side of the line, except, -probably, in a few rare instances. - -This was a favorite "stamping ground" of the more warlike bands of -Apache Indians but a few years ago. The water and grass for their -ponies and the game for themselves made it their veritable Garden of -Eden; settlement, therefore, was out of the question until these bold -marauders could be ejected with powder and lead. Not two leagues to -the north the road from Deming, N. M., to Las Palomas passes over two -graves of as many Apaches, killed a few years ago; while on a hill -hard by can be seen three crescent-shaped heaps of stones where the -great Apache chief Victorio, with three or four score warriors, made -a stand against the combined forces of the United States and Mexico, -which proved entirely too much for him in the resulting combat. More -worthless or meaner Indians were never driven out of a country than -were the Apaches after they had found this region uninhabitable, or at -least unbearable for their murderous methods of life; and for much of -the decisive action that led to this desirable end we have to thank the -Mexicans. - -The way the Las Palomas Mountains have of rising sheer out of a level -country is quite common in this region, plainly showing that the -mountains once rose from a great sea that washed their bases, and when -it receded with the uplifting of this region it left the level plain -to show where its flat bottom had been ages before. A fine example of -this is seen in the mountains called Tres Hermanas (the Three Sisters), -very near the boundary line, and but a few miles from the wagon road -leading from Deming south into old Mexico. They form an interesting -feature in the landscape as viewed from the railway on approaching -Deming, and are the subject of an illustration by our artist. - -[Illustration: TRES HERMANAS (THE THREE SISTERS)] - -Sometimes a single peak just gets its head above the level plain by a -few hundred feet, while again, great ranges extend for miles, their -tops covered with snow in the winter months. However long that level -plain may be, it always extends without break or interruption to -the next range. A railway would have but little trouble, so far as -grades are concerned, in getting through this country. It might be -necessary to wind a great deal to avoid hills and mountains, but if -the constructors were lavish with rails and ties, and did not mind -mileage, the grade would be almost as simple as building on a floor; -in fact it is the floor of an old inland ocean. - -A profile view of some of these ranges and isolated peaks gives some -very grotesque as well as picturesque views, and imaginative people of -the Southwest fancy they see many silhouette designs in the crests of -the mountains. Faces seem to predominate, and especially is Montezuma's -face quite lavishly distributed over this region. I think I can recall -at least a half dozen of them in the Southwest since I first visited -there in 1867. This unfortunate Aztec monarch must have had a very -rocky looking face, or his descendants must have thought exceeding well -of him to sculpture him so often, even in fancy, upon the mountain -crests. - -I went into a little face-making business of my own, so as to keep -along in the custom of the country while I was there. The most -southerly peak of the Florida range had quite a well-defined face, -upturned to the sky, that, to my imagination, looked more like the -well-known face of Benjamin Franklin than any other of nature's -sculpturing so often portrayed in mountains when assisted by the fancy -of man. - -Before leaving Las Palomas our material underwent inspection by the -customs officials, and no people could have been more polite and -considerate than were these officers toward us, giving us our necessary -papers without putting us to the inconvenience of unpacking our many -boxes and bundles. There is this peculiarity about Mexican frontier -customs: after passing the first one you are by no means through -with them, for the next two, three, or even four towns may also have -customhouse officers. I was in a Mexican town, La Ascencion, and had a -wagon unloaded before I knew they had a customhouse. I expected to be -shot at reveille the next morning; but instead they politely passed all -my personal baggage without even asking to see it, simply examining the -papers received at the first customhouse. - -[Illustration: PACHECO PEAK.] - -After leaving Las Palomas our course lay southward across a high -_mesa_, or table-land, until we reached the Boca Grande River. The -scenery along the Boca Grande is picturesque and somewhat peculiar. -The river bottom is flat, very wide, and rich in soil; but on the -flanks rise the Mexican mountains sheer out of the plains. To the -west are the Sierra Madres, covered with snow on the highest peaks, -making some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen as presented -from different points along the river's course. One of them, Pacheco -Peak, in the Boca Grande range (named after the Mexican Minister of -the Interior), is shown in the illustration. Slight spurs and _mesa_ -lands extend from the sierras in the valleys and often reach the river -bank, thereby forcing the road over them, but affording a foundation -that any macadamized highway in our own country might emulate. Some of -these ridges were ornamented with groupings of cactus (of the oquetilla -variety), if their presence can be called an ornament. Imagine a dozen -fishing rods, from ten to fifteen feet in length, all radiating from a -central point like a bouquet of bayonets, and each rod holding hundreds -of spikes throughout its length. You will thus have a faint idea of the -appearance of a bunch of oquetilla cactus. These bunches seem to prefer -growing along the rocky crests in rows of tolerable regularity that, to -a person at a distance, suggest the work of human hands. - -[Illustration: OQUETILLA CACTUS.] - -We traveled some thirty miles along the river without seeing a living -thing except a few jack rabbits and coyotes, when suddenly we rounded -a bend of the beautiful Boca Grande and came upon a stretch of valley -covered with zacaton grass, and which in a few years will be a valuable -ranche. Across this we saw two as hard-looking characters approaching -us as ever cut a throat. I was preparing to hand over to them all my -Mexican money and other valuables when they politely touched their hats -and simply said, "Documentos." Here, again, in the far-off woods and -hills were more customhouse officials. These men were here to prevent -smugglers from crossing the border between the towns and established -highways. - -We lunched that day on Espia Hill, used formerly as a customhouse post -of observation, but the Apache chief Geronimo, raiding through here, -collected a poll tax of one scalp apiece, and since then the post has -been abandoned. A short distance further the river changes from the -Boca Grande to the Casas Grandes. - -The Boca Grande and the Casas Grandes are the same river, like the Wind -River and the Big Horn in our own country, the two changing names at -a certain point. In other words, they have the same river bed, for in -the dryest seasons the Casas Grandes sinks and reappears further down -as the Boca Grande, the two streams being really identical most of the -way, however, and both of them emptying into the great "sink" known -as Laguna Guzman. I noticed one peculiarity of the rocky soil on the -ridges extending down from the foothills of the mountains that I have -never seen elsewhere, and might not have noticed even here had it not -been pointed out to me by one of my guides. Great areas of the soil -were covered with stones, mostly flat in shape, and so numerous that -but little vegetation could exist between them. A decidedly desolate -aspect was thus presented; indeed no one would believe that anything -except the oquetilla cactus could possibly grow here. One of my Mexican -men, however, assured me that the stones were only on the surface, -and that by removing them the richest of red soil could be found -underneath, not affording a single stone in a cubic yard of earth. -The soil had not been washed away when the rains beat down upon it, -as this "top-dressing" of flat rock had shielded it from such action, -protecting it, let us hope, for the future use of man. They told me -this peculiar kind was the richest and most easily cultivated soil in -Mexico, but it looked, with its covering of rocks, poor enough to put -in some terrestrial almshouse along with the Sahara Desert. - -This whole Southwest, or rather Northwest from a Mexican standpoint, -is a country of deceptive appearances. Hundreds of my readers have -probably traveled over the Santa Fé Railway as it courses through -the Rio Grande valley, and, recalling the grassy, pleasant-looking -country in the East, have wondered how this cheerless area of sand -and sagebrush could ever be utilized. Yet in this valley is a farm of -twenty-two acres for which sixty thousand dollars has been flatly -refused, although not one cent of its value is due to its proximity -to any important point (as the fact is with the valuable little farms -around our Eastern cities), but solely to what it will produce. Verily -the desolation of the land is deceptive, and, like beauty, is but skin -deep. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -NORTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA (CONTINUED)--MEXICAN MORMON COLONIES--FROM LA - ASCENSION TO CORRALITOS--SOME RUINS ALONG THE TAPASITA--A TOLTEC - BABYLON. - - -It is sixty to sixty-five miles from Las Palomas to La Ascension, and -not a settlement or a sign of life except jack rabbits, coyotes, and -customhouse officers is to be seen throughout the whole length of -this unusually rich country, so effectually did the Apaches enforce -their restrictive tariff but a few years ago. At rare intervals great -haciendas are found in these rich valleys, the main industry of -which is cattle raising. We passed a herd of about a thousand head -just before reaching La Ascension, all in magnificent condition, and -attended by some eight or ten _vaqueros_, who were driving them to -market. With the usual Mexican politeness they took particular pains to -give us the road; and to do so drove the whole herd over a high hill, -around the base of which the road ran. - -Just before reaching La Ascension we came to the Mormon colony of -Diaz (named by them in honor of the present President of the Mexican -Republic), numbering about fifty families. A discussion of their -religious tenets is clearly and fortunately out of my province, -not only from its heavy, dreary character, but for the reason that -everything wise and otherwise about Mormonism has already been put -before those who care to read it. But entirely aside from the subject -of polygamy, which has so completely obscured every other point about -these people, they have one characteristic which is seldom heard of in -connection with them and their wanderings in the Western wilderness. -I refer to their building up of new countries. They have no peer in -pioneering among the Caucasian races. They are so far ahead of the -Gentiles in organized and discriminating, businesslike colonization, -that the latter are not close enough to them to permit a comparison -that would show their inferiority. Of course they (the Mormons) see in -their belief an ample explanation for this excellence; it is far more -probable, however, as I look at it from my Gentile point of view, that -it is due to the peculiar organization of their Church, which so fits -them for the work of making the wilderness blossom as the rose. - -No other Christian Church exercises so much authority over the temporal -affairs of its members as the Mormon Church. However debatable this -exercise of authority may be in civilized communities, surrounded -by people of the same kind, there is no doubt in my mind as to its -favorable effect upon pioneer associations, encompassed by enemies in -man and nature. This view of the subject must be admitted by everyone -who has grown up on the Gentile frontier and seen the innumerable -bickerings between adjacent towns, the internal dissensions in the -towns themselves, the rivalry for "booms," the shotgun contests -for county seats, the thousands of exaggerations about their own -interests, and the hundreds of depreciations about those of others -adjoining. As in its spiritual, so in its temporal affairs, the -authority of the Mormon Church is remarkable for its effective power of -centralization. It judicially settles all questions for the general, -not the individual good; and upon this principle it determines, by -the character of the soil, and by the natural routes of travel, where -colonies shall locate, as well as what are the probable opportunities -for propagation of the faith. It is not at all surprising to one -who has observed these facts that an organized faith of almost any -character should have flourished, though surrounded by so much -disorganization. - -As a rule, at least from two to four years of quiet are needed after -an Indian war to restore such confidence among the whites that they -can settle the disturbed district in a _bona-fide_ way. I should, -however, except the Mormons from this class, but to do so without an -explanation would appear somewhat unreasonable. Their long and almost -constant frontier experience has taught them how to weigh Indian -matters correctly, as well as others pertaining to the ragged edge -of civilization. Although the Apaches had been subdued a dozen times -by the Mexican and American governments alternately, they knew when -the subduing meant subjugation, and before Geronimo and his cabinet -were halfway to the orange groves of Florida, Mormon wagon poles were -pointing to the rich valleys of Northwestern Chihuahua. - -They number here a few hundred families, a mere fraction in view of all -the available land of the magnificent valleys of the Casas Grandes, -Boca Grande, Santa Maria, and others; and they never will predominate -politically or in numbers over the other inhabitants if we include the -Mexican population, which is almost universally Catholic. In fact, -those already established seem content merely to settle down and be -let alone; this end they attain by purchase of tracts of land over -which they can throw their authority and be a little community unto -themselves, neither disturbing nor wishing to be disturbed by others. - -Their success has already invited the more avaricious, but less coldly -calculating Gentile; and while it is stating it a little strong to say -there is a "boom," or even indications of one, within the thirty to -sixty miles between villages, my conscience is not disturbed in saying -that I can at least agree with the great American poet that, - - We hear the first low wash of waves - Where soon shall roll a human sea. - -Already a railway was talked of, and the usual undue excitement was -manifested. Every stranger was supposed to have something to do -with it. Even my own little expedition was thought to be a sort of -preliminary reconnoissance. I have never constructed a railway in my -life, but I have been along the advancing lines of a number of new -ones, and have seen them grow from two iron rails in a wilderness to a -great country. I do not recall any that had much brighter prospects -ahead than the proposed one along the eastern slopes of the Sierra -Madres. That it must be built some day the resources of the country -clearly demand, and it is to be hoped that it will be at as early a -date as possible. - -At La Ascension we were greatly indebted to Mr. Francis, a young -English gentleman, who literally placed his house at our disposal, -giving up his own room for our comfort. As there were no inns in La -Ascension except those of the lowest order, this generous hospitality -of the only Englishman in the town was warmly appreciated by us. One -of our wagons having met with a slight accident, we remained over -Sunday to await repairs. As soon as this was known to the inhabitants -invitations began to pour in to attend cockfights, and one of especial -magnitude was organized in our honor. The finest cocks in the place -were to take part, and the _presidente_ or mayor of the town would -preside. Then, to add distinction to the already exciting programme, -a _baile_ or ball was hastily gotten up for the evening. Hospitality -could go no farther in this out-of-the-way town, for the people were -really not rich enough to support a bullfight. Early in the morning, -before the population had recovered from the dissipations of the -previous night, we bade our hospitable host "good-by," and, wrapped in -our heaviest coats against the chill morning air, we started southward -toward Corralitos, about thirty-five or forty miles away. After -crossing wide _mesas_ and threading our way around the bases of many -picturesque groups of mountains, we came to the Casas Grandes River -and valley, and along this stream, literally alive with ducks, we -traveled for some hours. It was a great temptation to get out the guns -and shoot at the ducks that were calmly sailing by us on the broad and -rapid stream; but as we had neither dog nor boat it would have been -impossible to secure them had we done so. The consoling thought was -ours that the hacienda was not far distant, and there we would likely -find everything necessary to assist us in this or any other sport. - -Approaching the hacienda we passed immense droves of horses and cattle -grazing on the rich bottom lands. Corralitos has a very pretty, an -almost poetical name, but it loses much of its romantic character when -it is known that it is named for some old, dilapidated sheep pens that -once existed here, corralitos being little pens or little corrals. -It is a hacienda, some eighty or ninety years old, with an extremely -interesting history, that would make a book more thrilling than any -fiction. The main building is a great square inclosure with very thick -walls, having many loopholes for guns, and high turrets or towers at -the corners. To enter the building are massive gates, while inside are -a number of courts with other gates leading to other inclosures, and -making the interior building appear like a small town. Here during the -fierce Apache raids the whole population was gathered for protection, -and the crack of Apache rifles has often been heard around the thick -walls. Dons of Spanish blood have extracted fortunes from the mountain -sides near by in mines that have been worked since shortly after the -Conquest. It is a hacienda of about a million acres in extent, and -one of the most beautiful in the whole State of Chihuahua, the Casas -Grandes River running for some thirty miles through the estate. The -true hacienda, of which we hear so much in Mexican narration, is really -a definite area of twenty-two thousand acres, but the name is now -used so as to mean almost any estate, whether large or small, under -one management. With the advance of railways haciendas are slowly -disappearing, and will soon exist only in poetry or fiction. - -The views from the hacienda are beautiful in the extreme. To the east -lies a range of mountains filled with seams of silver, the Corralitos -Company working some thirty to forty mines; while one hundred and fifty -to two hundred "prospects" await development. These mines have been -known and worked since the Spaniards entered this part of Mexico. To -the west of the hacienda flows the Casas Grandes River, flanked on -either side by enormous old cottonwood trees; while for a background -rise the immense peaks of the Sierra Madres, covered with snow, and -breaking into all sorts of fantastic shapes as they extend down toward -the river. - -The Corralitos Company is owned mainly in the United States, New York -capitalists being the principal stockholders. - -While at Diaz City I had learned from Dr. W. Derby Johnson, the -ecclesiastical head of the Mormon colonies in Upper Chihuahua, that at -the lower colony on the Piedras Verdes River a number of ancient Aztec -ruins were to be seen, very few of which had ever been heard of before. -I determined to visit them as soon as possible, for the reason that -Mr. Macdonald, the business manager of the lower colony, was expecting -to leave shortly for Salt Lake City. This gentleman was unusually well -acquainted with the country of the Piedras Verdes, having spent months -in surveying it, and being more familiar with its ancient ruins than -any other man living. Fortunately Dr. Johnson was going through to see -him--a two days' trip--so to a certain extent we joined our forces for -that time. Expecting to return to Corralitos, we left early one morning -for a drive of about sixty miles to the lower Mormon colony of Juarez, -named after Mexico's greatest President since the war of independence. - -Twenty-five or thirty miles to the south of Corralitos we came to the -town of Casas Grandes, said to consist of three thousand inhabitants, -but we did not see three people as we drove through its seemingly -deserted streets. It is the most important town in the valley, both -historically and in point of numbers. It takes its name, meaning "big -houses," from the ancient ruins situated in its suburbs, and comprising -the largest found in this part of Mexico when it was first visited by -Europeans many years ago. The name of the town has also been applied -to the river which flows just in front of it, and which is formed by -the junction of two others, the San Miguel and Piedras Verdes. The -San Miguel is the straight line prolongation of the Casas Grandes, -and is apparently the true stream; but the Piedras Verdes is the -more important, as its waters are perennially replenished by branches -which rise in the never-failing springs of the sierras to the west. At -Casas Grandes we left the river and struck out inland for the little -Mormon colony on the Piedras Verdes River, a distance of some twenty -or twenty-five miles. Like all other distances in this part of Mexico, -there is not a sign of civilization between, not even a camping place, -although the country traversed is a fine one for cattle grazing, with -numerous beautiful valleys where farms could be made remunerative, and -where three or four dozen houses ought to be seen if a tenth part of -the country's resources were developed. As we crossed stretch after -stretch of beautiful prairie, watered by many little mountain streams, -it seemed as though only a short time must pass before this fertile -country would be dotted with hundreds of homes and thousands of cattle -on its grassy hills. The meaning of Piedras Verdes is green rocks, but -the rock projections in cliff, hill, or stream, are of all imaginable -shades, not only of green, but of red, yellow, brown, rose, and even -blue. The effect is inconceivably beautiful against the wonderful blue -sky of this part of Mexico. Just before reaching the Mormon colony you -come to a high ridge from which can be seen the little town nestling -along the banks of the picturesque Piedras Verdes River. It is a scene -seldom surpassed in beauty. Far to the west are the grand Sierra -Madres, crested with snow, while nearer, the great shaggy hills, -covered with timber, and the many bright-colored rocks between, make up -a picture that neither poet nor painter could depict. - -Juarez is a bright-looking little town of some fifty families, who -raise all their own fruits and vegetables, and have a goodly supply -for the less thrifty people of the surrounding country. Our party was -kindly cared for by two or three of the Mormon families, as there -were no other places of shelter beside their homes. The next day we -started to visit the ancient ruins on the Tapasita River (a branch -of the Piedras Verdes), which flows through as beautiful a little -valley as I ever saw. Mr. Macdonald, the surveyor of this tract, -kindly consented to accompany us, although he was overburdened with -business incidental to starting the next day for Salt Lake City. In -the Tapasita valley I expected to find only a single well-defined group -of ruins. Imagine my surprise, then, upon discovering that the entire -country, especially in its valleys, was covered with such evidences. -A high hill, called the Picacho de Torreon, had been occupied on its -southern face by cliff dwellers; at our feet was a mass of rubbish that -indicated a ruin of the latter people. Twelve miles up the Tapasita -was still another extensive ruin of stone, while the intervening space -was constantly marked by similar remains. In fact, as before stated, -the whole valley was one vast continuation of ruins. We were surely -on ground once occupied by an ancient and dense population--where -the fertile resources of the country will again sustain another and -a far more civilized race. Even Juarez City found a great many such -mounds on its site, and digging into some of them has revealed much -of interest. Just before our arrival a pot or jar had been taken from -one of the mounds, and was bought by me of the young boy who unearthed -it. It is like many other jars from Casas Grandes, as well as from -better known ruins, and that have already figured in works on Mexico. -It differs, however, from most of them in having upon it the figure of -a bird, as representations of animals of any sort are very unusual -upon their decorated surfaces. The bird seems more nearly to resemble -the chaparral cock or California road runner than any other bird in -this part of the world. Geometrical designs are frequent, and of these -the zigzag, stairlike forms are the most common. Many other things had -been found in this mound, including a number of utensils of pottery, -together with the human bones of their makers. No doubt similar relics, -with some variations, could be found in all these mounds. We saw, I -think, many hundreds of these ruins in the Piedras Verdes region, -most of them merely mounds suggestive of what they once were. Ancient -ditches could also be plainly made out along the hillsides, showing -that the former inhabitants cultivated the rich soil of the valleys. -They well understood the value of water, too, for around the bases -of the small, streamless valleys leading into the watered ones were -damlike terraces, evidently designed to catch and retain the water -after showers until it was needed in the irrigating ditches. On the -top of high hills adjacent were fortified places, apparently where -they must have fled in times of danger from other tribes. They were a -wonderful and interesting people, one that would repay careful study, -even from the little evidence of their existence that is left. - -[Illustration: ANCIENT JAR UNEARTHED AT JUAREZ CITY.] - -On the Tapasita we came upon the ruins of what must have been a large -city of these people--the largest we saw in that part of the country. -The only life we saw there was a mountain lion or panther, that came -trotting along the valley until it saw us, when it turned back into the -mountains. Truly the wild beasts were wandering over the Toltec Babylon. - -It is impossible for an artist to convey in plain black and white any -idea of the beauty of this country; it is a land requiring the painter -to exhibit its beauties. - -One of the interesting peculiarities of the numerous ruins found -throughout this portion of the country, and that indicates a once -dense population living off the soil, is the way in which most of them -seem to have met their fate. When a ruined house is dug into all the -skeletons of its occupants are found in what may be termed the combined -kitchen and eating room,--these two rooms being in one,--and always -near a fireplace. The postures of these skeletons are as various as -it is possible for the human body to assume. They are found kneeling, -stretched out, sometimes with their locked hands over their heads, on -their sides, and, again, with their children in their arms, hardly any -two being alike in the same house or series of houses, where they were -united into a pueblo. Now in the whole study of sepulture it has been -almost universally found that even among the lowest savages as well as -among the most civilized peoples, whatever form of burial is adopted, -no matter how absurd from our point of view, it is uniform in the main -points, allowing, of course, slight deviations for caste or rank. The -positions of the skeletons in their own houses do not accord with this -general fact, and have led some to believe that this race was destroyed -by an earthquake or other violent action of nature. - -I had a long talk with Mr. Davis, superintendent of the Corralitos -Company, who has made a study of these ancient ruins from having them -almost forced upon his attention. That gentleman not only believes -they were cut off by a violent earthquake, as I have suggested, but -that this great cataclysm caught them at their evening meal. He infers -the latter fact from a consideration of the customs of the present -almost pureblooded Indians here, who must have descended from the -older race, although, singularly enough, knowing nothing of their -ancient progenitors. The evening meal is the only occasion when they -are all gathered together at home. The earthquake must have been a -very severe one, and have brought down the large buildings upon the -occupants before they could escape. This region is not especially -liable to such disasters. That it has them, however, occasionally, and -severe ones too, is shown by the Bavispe earthquake of a few years -ago, when that town was destroyed, some forty people killed, and the -whole country shaken up. Mr. Davis goes on with his theory that the -survivors were thus exposed to the mercy of their enemies (that they -had enemies before is shown by their fortifications adjoining almost -every village), and became cliff dwellers as a last resource to escape -the fury of their old assailants. These, probably, were savages by -comparison; and, living in savage homes, as skin tents or _wikeyups_, -and other light abodes, they suffered little from the great commotion -referred to. When the partially vanquished race became strong enough -they wandered southward as the first, or among the first, Toltec -excursions in that direction. - -While at Corralitos Mr. Davis told me of some ruins situated about -halfway between his hacienda and Casas Grandes, near Barranca. I -visited them next day, and found a very noticeable and well-defined -road leading straight up a hill to a slight bench overtopped by a -higher hill at the end of the bench. Here was an ancient ruin, built -of stone, and looking very much like a position of defense. It may -have been a sacrificial place, for otherwise I cannot account for the -careful construction of the road. For defensive purposes it would not -have been needed, especially one so well made; but observation has -taught me that, when no other reasonable explanation can be found for -doing a thing, superstitious or religious motives can be consistently -introduced to account for it. This hill was really an outlying one from -a larger near by and overlooking it. After climbing up the latter about -halfway a series of stone buildings, not discernible from the bottom, -were clearly made out. They encircled the hill, and about halfway -between these and the top of the hill was another row of encircling -buildings, faintly recognized by their ruins, although the masonry was -of the best character. On the top of the hill was a fortification, with -a well probably about twenty feet from the summit, overtopped and -almost hidden by a hanging mesquite bush. At the base of both hills was -a series of mounds extending as far as the eye could reach. I almost -fear to place an estimate on their number, nor can I positively say -they represented buildings at all. In all or nearly all other mounds -there is some sign of the house walls protruding through the _débris_; -here I found none, but they closely resemble the other mounds except -in this respect. Everything goes to show that these people were on the -defensive, and that defense was often necessary. The ruins looked very -much older than any others I had visited, but that can in a measure be -accounted for, I think, by the sandy character of the district. Nothing -makes an abandoned building or other work of man look so antiquated -as drifting sand piled up around it. This town, therefore, may have -been contemporaneous with the ruined towns of the Casas Grandes valley -generally, although the latter look much more recent from being built -on more compact soil. - -As I have already more than hinted, all these valleys along the -foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains may have held a dense -population when these ancient people sojourned here, and if the -physical characteristics were the same as at the present time it is -very easy to account for. To the westward it is too mountainous for -many people to find homes and cultivate the soil, while to the eastward -the country is too barren after one passes the line of the lakes, or -where the mountain rivers sink. The strip along the foothills, between -the main ridge of mountains and the plains, is about the only place -where an agricultural people could live in large numbers and thrive; -and now that the dreaded Apache Indian has been finally subdued, I -think the day is not far distant when it will be again peopled by a -community engaged in peaceful pursuits. These ancients probably raised -everything they needed, so that there was very little commerce between -them, and not much need of roads or trails, although a few of them are -occasionally made out with great distinctness. - -I have already spoken of the plainly marked road leading up the steep -sides of Davis Hill. One can see this fully a mile away, although -not able to fully make out its true character at that distance; the -observer might suppose it to be a strip of light grass in a depression, -until his error was corrected by a closer inspection. - -The fortifications on the summit, considered from a military -standpoint, were the most complete that could be desired. The hills -retreated on both sides, giving full scope to the eye up and down the -broad valley, every square yard of which was probably irrigated and -cultivated. Without doubt the fortifications could safely be left -unguarded in clear weather, when the inhabitants would probably be at -work on their farms. A few keen-sighted sentinels, suitably posted, -might give notice of a coming foe in ample time for the population -to man the intrenchments before an attack could possibly be made by -the most rapidly moving enemy. This, of course, assumes that the -able-bodied citizen of that day was equally an artisan or farmer and a -soldier; it is an assumption, however, that accords with our knowledge -of many other ancient races. - -On our way back to the hacienda from these ruins we passed through an -old, abandoned Mexican mining town called Barranca. It plainly showed -its ancient character in the long rows of slag that had come from the -adobe furnaces, some of which were still standing. - -Although many of the adobe houses were in excellent condition, even -the old church being in a fair state of preservation, there was not a -soul about the place. The primitive methods of doing the work and the -richness of the ore which had been smelted could be seen in any piece -of slag taken from the piles. By cutting a little almost pure lead and -silver were revealed, probably in the same proportions as they existed -in the vein. These piles of slag would represent a fortune, with new -and improved machinery like that employed in the United States, to -resmelt them, and with a railway running near. This place, moreover, is -only one of the many where fortunes are lying dormant in the different -slag piles of the old mines of northwestern Chihuahua alone. - -It is difficult to get information from the natives regarding the -mineral wealth of the country. If they have a good mine they are -exceedingly shy about saying so, and they are very jealous lest -foreigners should obtain valuable mining property. They dislike to -see it pass from under their control, and do not take kindly to the -foreign spirit of enterprise and improvement. This, however, is quite -contrary to the policy of the Mexican Government, which is doing all -it can to induce capital to come in for investment. The country is in -a stable, settled condition, and we found every part that we visited -quite as safe as the more settled communities of the United States. The -politeness and disposition to oblige of the humblest of the Mexican -people you can rely upon invariably, and that is more than can be said -of the corresponding class in more enlightened countries. - -This day of our visit to the ruins of Davis Hill was very warm, and our -driver, not having a taste for antiquarian research, even in the modest -degree possessed by me, had quite resented being dragged from the -shade of the great cottonwood trees around the hacienda. To show his -native independence of spirit he therefore refused to listen to advice -and water his horses on the road, but on returning allowed them to -drink all they wanted; as a consequence one horse died. We left Deming -with two large American horses, but now found it impossible, even on -that great hacienda, to obtain a suitable match, so we were obliged -to start off with a comical, sturdy broncho for a mate, which not -only gave a very lop-sided look to the conveyance, but an appearance -of extreme cruelty toward the little animal. Whenever the big horse -trotted the little fellow would take up a canter to keep alongside, and -it was almost enough to make a person seasick to watch the ill-mated -pair get over the ground. - -We were soon back again to Corralitos, and inside the forbidding -looking gates. Here we were very comfortably housed, with a bright -fire burning in the bedroom fireplace to take the chill off the air, -as the rooms in these thick adobe buildings are much like cellars in -their temperature, whether it is warm or cold outside. We had not been -in many hours before other strangers began to arrive: Englishmen from -their ranches, miners from the silver mines, a surveying party, and a -number of cattlemen. By nightfall the place was swarming with people, -and the problem was where to stow away so many for the night. The -long table in the old adobe dining room was three times full. There -is no lack of fresh meat on such an hacienda, all that is necessary -being to send out the butcher, who kills whatever is wanted from the -abundant supply on the range, for in that clear, rare atmosphere meat -is preserved until used. - -There is another feature of large haciendas like this that may prove -interesting. I refer to the store, which usually occupies one corner of -the building. At this store is found every kind of merchandise that is -wanted, and here is doled out to the Indian population in exchange for -their work certain quantities of flour or sugar,--you can be sure the -amount is always very small,--and in time the simple people draw much -more than is due them for work, as they are always allowed credit. Then -it is they become peons or slaves, for they rarely get out of debt, -but increase it until they are virtually owned by the lords of the -soil, who can do as they please with the poor creatures, and work them -whenever and wherever they see fit. These debts descend from father -to son; in this manner they are continually increasing, and so the -chains are riveted. I suppose the system has many advantages as well -as disadvantages, but certainly we see the disadvantages to the poor -and simple people, who, having their immediate wants supplied, do not -care to look beyond. Among the more intelligent this condition is very -galling, but as a rule they are shrewd enough to avoid it. - -Standing a short distance from the inclosing wall of the hacienda, and -in the midst of the poor quarter, was a dilapidated Roman Catholic -church. There was no resident priest, but one came twice a year from -a settlement farther south. At all hours of the day, however, women -could be found kneeling in front of the primitive altar, a poor, -degraded class, with not as much morality as the most savage tribes who -have never heard of civilization. - -My trip of over two hundred miles down the eastern slope of the Sierra -Madre Mountains, from the boundary between the two countries, coupled -with the information I gained _en route_, showed me that I might do -better by attempting to make my way through the great range from the -westward; so it was decided to make the change of base from the State -of Chihuahua to that of Sonora. - -While visiting at La Ascension on our return trip we saw about a -dozen Mexicans extracting silver from ore by a method which is as old -as that mentioned in the Bible. The rich ore, showing probably two -hundred and fifty dollars to the ton, had been taken out of the vein -with crowbars and by rough blasting, and then brought to the town -on the backs of burros. Here the huge rocks were first crushed with -sledge hammers until they were about the size of one's fist and could -be easily handled, then broken again with smaller hand hammers until -almost as fine as coarse sand. This was reduced to a complete powder -by being beaten in heavy leather bags. After these operations it was -mixed with water and thrown into an _arastra_, a cross between a coffee -mill and a quartz crusher; in other words, consisting of four stones -tied to a revolving mill-bar and turned by the inevitable mule. This -makes a paste rich in granulated silver, which is mixed with salt and -boiled in a little pot, as if they were making apple butter instead of -working one of the richest veins of silver in a country celebrated for -its valuable silver mines. The resulting mass is washed out in a pan, -as a prospecting miner washes for signs of gold, with the exception -that quicksilver is put in to form an amalgam with the now liberated -metal. The latter is pressed out with the hand, and the little ball of -amalgam, as bright as silver itself, has the mercury driven off by a -furnace only big enough to fry the eggs for a party of two. The pure -silver ball, glistening like hoar frost in the sun, is now beaten down -to the size of a big marble to prevent its breaking to pieces. It is -exasperating in the extreme to see such ignorant methods of man applied -to the rich offerings of nature. - -There was but very little out of the usual routine of travel for a -day or two, until we came to the third crossing of the Casas Grandes -River, at a point so near its entrance into Laguna Guzman that we felt -sure we would have no trouble in getting over. For, as I have already -explained, most of the rivers in this country are larger the nearer you -approach their heads. There had been no rains to swell the streams, and -our surprise can therefore be imagined when, upon reaching the river, -we found it a raging torrent. A long experience had taught me that it -does not pay to await the falling of a swollen river; so we set at -work to get over the obstreperous stream. The loads were all piled on -the seats, above the empty wagon beds, which, being thus weighted and -top-heavy, acted like so many boats when they dashed into the river. -Our driver, a Mexican, had the worst of it in a low, light wagon, drawn -by two small pinto bronchos. The flood swept him down stream under an -overhanging clump of willows, despite a rope tied to the tongue of the -wagon and another held firmly by a half dozen persons on the upstream -side. But he was as cool at the head as at the feet, although he was -knee deep in ice water at the time as he stood up in the wagon bed. -After waiting a moment to allow the horses to regain their bewildered -senses, he swam them upstream to the crossing, and the men, with a -whoop and a yell, dragged the whole affair on shore, looking like -drowned rats tied to a cigar box. We were three hours and a quarter -getting over that river, and felt as if we could have drowned the man -who wrote that Northern Mexico is a vast, waterless tract of country. - -[Illustration: CROSSING THE CASAS GRANDES RIVER.] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -SONORA--ALONG THE SONORA RAILWAY--HERMOSILLO--GUAYMAS, AND ITS - BEAUTIFUL HARBOR--FISHING AND HUNTING ABOUT GUAYMAS. - - -From Deming, N. M., it is but a five or six hours' ride by rail to -Benson in Arizona, the initial point of the Sonora railway, a branch -of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé, and extending to the seaport -of Guaymas in Mexico. The ride from Benson consumes two days, and the -route is through the mountains, down the lovely, fertile valleys, and -across the flat, tropical country of the seacoast. It is a ride of -great novelty and of surpassing beauty throughout the entire distance. -After the train reached Nogalles, a town which is half in the United -States and half in Mexico, it was made up in regular Mexican fashion -of first, second, and third class coaches; and, from the number of -Mexicans aboard, it appeared they were as much given to travel as their -more active neighbors of the North; with this difference, however: -that where they can save a penny by going second or third class they -do so. This fact removes an interesting feature of Mexican travel from -the sight of the average American tourist, for, as a rule, he prefers -comfort to the study of the picturesque in his fellow-travelers. - -When we reached Hermosillo, a place of about ten thousand people, the -station was filled with vendors of oranges; and such oranges I never -tasted elsewhere, although I have sampled that fruit in some of the -most famous groves of Florida and California. In sweetness, delicious -flavor, and juiciness they surpass all others; in fact it is impossible -to find a poor or insipid one among all you can buy and eat. It is a -pity there is so little market for this very superior fruit. The entire -country from Hermosillo down to the coast seems to be a perfect one -for orange culture, and for all other semi-tropical fruits. The prices -paid for oranges are very reasonable, for much more is grown than can -be consumed, and there seems to be little outlet for the surplus in any -direction. - -Just before reaching Guaymas the railway winds among the coast range -of mountains, and crosses a shallow arm of the sea that is bridged -with a long trestle. As you pass over the bridge you can look across -the harbor through the gaps in the steep mountains straight out to -sea, or rather into the Gulf of California. Again you are treated to -long vistas of the beautiful mountain-locked harbor as the train winds -around the steep peaks and you approach the old seaport. Before going -to this port, the principal one on the Gulf of California, I made up my -mind there would be comparatively little to say regarding it, as it is -not only the terminus of a railway, but is also located on one or two -lines of steamship travel, and would therefore be almost as well known -as some California resorts or other famous places of the Pacific coast. -It proved, on the contrary, to be seldom or never visited by tourists. -I could find nothing about it in my numerous guidebooks and volumes -devoted to Mexico, but nevertheless discovered a great deal of interest -in this typical old town that was both novel and attractive. When the -Sonora railway first reached here a number of years ago everything -was ready to be "boomed." A hotel to cost a quarter of a million was -started on a beautiful knoll overlooking the picturesque harbor, but -after about one-tenth that amount had been put into the foundation and -carriage way leading up the hill it was given up. - -It may not be inappropriate to say that all of Guaymas is very much -like the hotel--it has a fine foundation, but not much of anything -else, although its sanitary conditions for a winter resort are nowhere -else excelled. The first day you arrive you get a sample of the weather -in mild, warm days, with cool nights, that will not vary a hair's -breadth in all your stay. The harbor is picturesque in the extreme. It -is completely landlocked, and swarms with a hundred kinds of fishes. It -looks not unlike the harbor of San Francisco, and, although smaller, is -far more interesting in the many beautiful vistas it opens to sight as -one sails over its intricate waters. If it should ever become a popular -winter resort no finer fishing or sailing could be had than in the -harbor of Guaymas and the Gulf of California. A constant sea or land -breeze is blowing in summer and winter, but it is never strong enough -to make the waters dangerous. I have been fishing several times, and -certainly the piscatorial bill of fare, as shown by my experience, has -been an extremely varied one. - -While off the shore in the harbor one afternoon I caught a shark -measuring a little over six feet in length, which gave me a tussle of -about a quarter of an hour before I could pull it alongside and plunge -a knife into its heart. This last operation, be it observed, was not -so much to end its own sufferings as to prevent those of other and -better fish, and maybe a human being or so, in the near future. The -natives told me, however, that it was only the large spotted or tiger -shark, a species seldom seen there, that will deign to mistake the leg -of a swimmer for the early worm that is caught by the bird. None of -the shark kind enter the inner harbor where a sensible person would -naturally bathe, as he wants enough water to hide his movements from -his prey, and this condition seldom exists in the inner harbor. Indeed -its name, Guaymas, borrowed from that of an Indian tribe, means a cup -of water; and it is aptly applied, for the harbor is so landlocked -and protected that seldom more than the slightest ripple disturbs its -mirror-like surface, although breezes that will waft sailboats prevail -throughout the day. - -[Illustration: A VIEW OF GUAYMAS HARBOR.] - -As a further part of my fishing experience we caught a number of -perch-like fish called by the people _cabrilla_ (meaning little -goat-fish, on account of some fancied resemblance to that animal, so -numerous in the settled parts of Mexico), and which is pronounced the -sweetest fish known on the Pacific coast. They are not as big as one's -hand, and, of course, it takes a great many of them to make a mess for -a few persons, but once a mess is secured it cannot be equaled in all -the catches known to the piscatorial art. Another fish that we secured, -and which the natives call _boca dulce_ (sweet mouth), looked like a -German carp. It had a pale blue head, weighed from two to four pounds, -and seemed to run in schools, with no truants whatever to be found -outside the school. One might fish a day for the _boca dulce_ and never -get a bite, but on the instant one was caught you could haul them in -over the side of the boat as fast as you could bait and drop your hook, -the biting ceasing as suddenly as it began. They are a delicious fish -for eating, and should Guaymas ever become the large-sized city which -its favorable position seems to promise, the _boca dulce_ will furnish -one of the leading fishes for its market. - -While we were there the United States Fish Commission steamer -_Albatross_ came into the harbor from a long cruise in investigating -the fishes of the Gulf of California, and Captain Tanner of the United -States Navy told a small party of us that there were enough fish in -the Gulf of California to supply all the markets of Mexico and the -United States. Singularly enough, nearly all this great fish supply -in the Gulf was along the eastern coast of this American Adriatic, or -on the Sonora and Sinaloa side, rather than on or along the coast of -Lower California. A good system of railways to the interior mining -camps is needed to make this great supply available to the wealth of -this naturally wealthy, but now poorly developed country. This will -inevitably come, for no one can travel in Northern Mexico without -clearly seeing it has a grand and wonderful future ahead, that will -greatly strengthen us if we are in the ascendant, and that can -correspondingly hurt us in an hour of need if we are not. The tide is -rapidly setting in our favor, if we take proper advantage of it. - -When I first sailed on the waters of the Gulf of California, some -eighteen years ago, its commerce, although small indeed, was -three-fourths in the hands of Europeans, while to-day three-fourths -of it is American, and only the other fourth European. We labor under -one disadvantage, however, and that is we do not attempt to cater to -another's taste, even though to do so would be money in our pockets. -There are peculiar lines of cheap prints and cottons made in Europe -that are sold only on the west coast of Mexico, not a yard finding its -way to any other part of the world. Now, while our goods command higher -prices, and a great deal finds a market there, it does not "exactly -fill the bill," and Americans, probably from not knowing the real wants -of these people, do not manufacture the needed articles, and drive -foreign stuff from the Mexican market. The ignorance of our people as -to the commercial value of Mexico, and especially those parts off the -principal lines of railway, is certainly great, and is losing us money -now, and a more important influence later. Our enormous advantage of -contiguity is pressing us forward in spite of ourselves, and we ought -to sweep nearly every line of commerce in Mexico from the hands of -foreigners--a fact that is most emphatically true of the northern part -of that rich territory. - -After cooking our lunch of _cabrillas_ and _boca dulces_ on the -northern or inside shore of San Vincente Island we made a visit to -the caves on the southern or seaward face of the same island. This -led us through a little gorge between two high, beetling cliffs, -into which the sea had excavated the caves we were to see. Through, -or rather under, this gorge the waters pour into a small underground -funnel of the solid rock before they reach the little lagoon beyond. -At all hours the reverberation of the rushing tide is like thunder, as -it beats backward and forward in its prison. The upper crust of the -funnel is pierced with occasional holes and crevices, and at certain -stages of water these are the mouths of so many spouting geysers, as -each wave comes in and beats against the stone roof that confines it. -Woe to the person who tries to cross just as a high wave reaches its -maximum strength in the cave beneath! He will get the quickest and most -effectual bath of his lifetime. Once on the seaward face a long line of -caves is presented to view. - -[Illustration: CAVE OF SAN VINCENTE.] - -The high hills here are hard conglomerate, and the waves of the Gulf of -California, as we call it (the Gulf of Cortez as it was first named, -and is yet called by most Mexicans), have cut far under the cliffs, -leaving overhanging masses of rock, sometimes hundreds of feet in -depth, as measured along the roofs under which we walked. They looked -forbidding enough, and we feared that a few hundred tons might at -any moment fall on our heads; for here and there could be seen just -such deposits in the shallow waters, while occasional islands were -discerned along the front of some of the caves which must have been -formed when greater masses fell. But these fallings were without doubt -centuries apart, and all these caves fully as safe to explore as caves -in general. At any rate, every thought of danger was soon lost in -the delicious coolness; for the day on the shining water and white -sand beach had been very warm, although we hardly noticed it in the -excitement of our sport. The coloring in the largest cave was beautiful -beyond description. The sketch of our artist is as good as black and -white can make it; but it conveys little idea of the reality, save -form and contour. There was a narrow ledge on the skirts of the cave -where one could find a way to enter, except at the highest tide or when -a storm was beating landward, which is seldom the case, and never known -during the winter months. - -Guaymas has a wealth of natural attractions for the winter visitor or -traveler, but hardly any reared by the hand of man to make his stay -agreeable in a strictly physical sense. The hotels are all Mexican, -and while they should be judged from that standpoint, probably to an -American they would be very uncomfortable. Our hotel was a curious -compound of saloon, kitchen, dining room, and court, all in one, with -sleeping rooms ranged along two sides. One end of the building opened -on a street, and the other directly on the beautiful bay, within a -stone's throw of the water. The views in all directions from the water -front of that simple hotel were indescribably lovely, causing one to -forget the discomforts of the interior and the lack of cleanly food. - -Even the inhabitants, in their Nazarene primitiveness, are very -interesting. Although Guaymas claims seven thousand within her gates, -her waterworks are of the same character as those of the ancient -Egyptians. The chief description I shall give of them is a picture of -one of the public wells just in the suburbs of the town. The water from -these wells is used only for sprinkling the streets, and for household -purposes, such as washing, it being totally unfit for drinking. That -precious fluid is brought from a spring fully seven miles back in -the mountains. We were told that this water could be easily piped into -the town, and that there was some talk of an attempt to do so, for the -sleepy old place is beginning to awaken to the fact that the world is -moving ahead. - -[Illustration: ONE OF THE WELLS OF GUAYMAS.] - -Near the town is a sort of pleasure garden, or ranch, as it is -sometimes called. It is owned by an industrious German, who sank a -number of wells on the place, and obtained warm, cold, and mineral -waters, and established baths, which are very popular with the people -and make the place quite a resort. There are groves of all kinds of -tropical fruits and plants, with flowers in the greatest profusion; -the brilliant, gorgeous flowers of the tropics growing beside the more -modest ones of the temperate zone, and making the arid, rocky region -beautiful with blossoms and shade. During the rainy season this country -is the home of the tarantula, the centipede, and the scorpion, for they -flourish equally as well as the flowers. - -In one of the rooms of the American Consulate, facing the principal -plaza, is lodged a piece of a shell, thrown there, singularly enough, -by an American man-of-war when Guaymas was taken in 1847, during the -Mexican War. At that time the _Portsmouth_ and the _Congress_ entered -the harbor, shelled the town, and took it. The piece of shell referred -to lodged in the huge wooden rafters of the building, and as these -are never covered in the simple architecture of that country its -rusty, round side is plainly visible from beneath. From the positions -assigned to the vessels it is said to have been the _Congress_, -she of _Monitor-Merrimac_ fame afterward; and as the American flag -still floats from the staff directly over the shell it is quite an -interesting and historic piece of iron. Very few Americans, however, -associate the quiet little town of Guaymas with any event of the war -waged so long ago that its memories are almost lost in the later and -greater war of civil strife. - -In the good old times Guaymas used to have revolutions of its own. -Whenever a governor of the place was financially embarrassed, or -imagined he would soon be replaced by some fresh favorite from the City -of Mexico, he would issue a proclamation and send around to merchant -after merchant to take up a collection. If they had the temerity to -object, not wishing to part with their worldly goods in that fashion, -one of their number was selected as an example, taken out and shot, -which had the desired effect of causing the others to come to time. We -had the pleasure of meeting one of the old-time governors who had ruled -in this fashion. He now holds an important position, is a man of great -wealth, and a distinguished citizen--a tall, fine-looking man--but I -could not help thinking he looked the born pirate, and would enjoy -playing the despot again if he had the opportunity. - -The great mass of the working class of this western part of Mexico are -the Yaqui and Mayo Indians, portions of these tribes being civilized, -and others adhering to their wild and nomadic life in the mountains. -They are one of the most interesting features of the country. -For years savage members of the Yaqui tribe have waged bloody and -successful wars against the Mexican Government, and have been the -principal cause of the slow development of the Gulf coast; but since -the death of their famous leader Cajeme they have been peaceable -and quiet. As a race they are remarkably stalwart, handsome, and -aggressive, and are said to be able to endure any extremes of heat or -cold. They are enlisted in the service of the government whenever it -is possible, and make the best soldiers obtainable for this particular -country. - -While in Guaymas I heard from reliable sources that the _jabali_, -peccary, or Mexican wild hog, was quite plentiful along the line of -the Sonora Railway, and determined to get up a small party and attack -these pugnacious pigs in their own haunts. The _jabali_ (pronounced -hah-va-lee in the Mexican version of the Spanish language) is the wild -hog of Northern Mexico, and while one of them is in no wise equal to -the wild boar of other countries, still, as they go in droves, and -are equal in courage, they more than make up in numbers all they lose -by being considered individually. Up to this time my game list had -included polar bears, chipmunks, moose, jack rabbits, grizzlies, snipe, -elk, buffalo, snow birds, reindeer, vultures, panther, and others, -but as yet the scalp of no peccary dangled from my belt. So one fine -morning we pulled out for Torres station, about twenty or twenty-five -miles up the railway, where peccaries could be expected, and where -horses (better speaking, the bucking broncho of the Southwest) could -be procured, together with guides, ropers-in, etc. - -The fertile soil and warm sunshine of Sonora quickens the imagination -in a way unknown in the northern part of the United States, with its -colder clime and cloudy skies. The day before starting I had done a -good deal of telegraphing up the Sonora railway to learn just where -these peccaries might be the most numerous, and the replies were -enthusiastic as well as comical. Carbo sent back word that the section -men on the railway had to "shoo" the _jabalis_ off the track so as to -repair it; another station reported that wild hogs were seen every -day except Sundays; another station said there was a Yaqui Indian -guide there who went out with a lasso and a long, sharpened stick, -and brought in a peccary every morning before breakfast; while Torres -thought I could have _jabali_ about three miles from there. This was -the most modest report and the nearest station, so I decided on Torres. - -The country along the southern portion of the Sonora railway would -be interesting in the extreme to one unfamiliar with tropical or -sub-tropical countries. Its vegetation was most curious, and the -surrounding country picturesque. Fine scenery can, indeed, be viewed -in a thousand places in our own country, but it is not characterized -with such a wonderful plant growth as we saw that morning on our way -to the slaughter grounds of the peccaries. Here was the universal -mesquite, looking like a dwarfed apple tree, and that affords the -brightest fire of any wood ever burned. The tender of our engine was -filled with it, and, as far as fuel was concerned, we could have made -sixty miles an hour, had we wished to do so. The wood of the mesquite -is of a beautiful bright cherry red; many a time I have wondered if -this plentiful, tough, and twisted timber of the far Southwest could -not be utilized in some way as a fancy wood; certainly a more beautiful -color was never seen. Occasionally I thought I saw my old friend the -sagebrush; then there was the ironwood (_palo de hierro_), that looks -like a very fine variety of the mesquite. Its name is derived from its -hardness, and is well deserved. It requires an ax to fell each tree, -and as the quality of different trees is always the same, and that of -different axes is not, even this ratio of one ax to one tree has to -be changed occasionally, and always in favor of the tree. There was a -story going the rounds that a tramp, who had wandered into that country -(tramps sometimes get lost and find themselves in Sonora just once), -with the usual appetite of his class applied for something to eat. In -reply he was told, if he would get out a certain number of rails for -a fence, the proprietor would give him a week's board. It was, as he -thought, about a day's work that had been assigned him, and bright -and early next morning he sallied out with his ax on his shoulder. -Unfortunately the most tempting tree he met was an ironwood. Very late -in the evening he returned with the ax helve on his arm. "How many -rails did you split to-day?" was asked. "I did not split any, but I -hewed out one," was the reply; and then he resigned his position. - -There is also the _palo verde_, named for its color, with its bright, -vivid green leaf, twig, and bark, and its pretty yellow blossoms, -making a beautiful contrast with the more somber green of other trees. -Occasionally great rows of cottonwoods (the _alamo_ of the Mexicans) -show the line of water courses, while a number of shrubs covered with -blossoms are seen, apparently half tree, half cactus, so thick are -their brambles and thorns. But as to cactus! There are five hundred -species in America, of which Mexico has a large plurality, and the -majority of these can be found along this end of the Sonora railway. -There is the giant pitahaya, sometimes with a dozen arms, each as big -as an ordinary tree, and from thirty to forty feet in height. Each arm -has a score of pulpy ribs along its sides, and each rib has a button -of thorns every inch along its length, each button having twenty or -twenty-four great thorns sticking from it. I was told that when a -hunter is sorely pressed by peccaries, if he will climb a pitahaya -about ten feet, the thorns are so thick and terrible in their effect -that the peccaries will not dare to follow him, hardy and venturesome -as they are. Then there is the choya or cholla cactus, about as high as -one's waist. You can go around a pitahaya as you would a tree, but when -you find a field of chopalla (field of choyas) you might as well try -to go around the atmosphere to get to a given point. The cholla will -lean over until it breaks its back trying to get in your way, so that -it can dart a dozen or two spines into your flesh. They are the worst -of all; I could use almost as much of my readers' time in describing -different cactuses as I used of my own in picking them out of my flesh -after the peccary hunt was over, but I forbear. - -[Illustration: A MEXICAN CACTUS] - -When we reached Torres nobody seemed to know anything about peccaries, -and as the train stopped there for dinner we had plenty of time to -talk it over. It then appeared that wild hogs were to be found all -the way from Guaymas to Nogalles, but at this time of the year were -very scarce, and seen only in twos or threes, and not in droves. -In droves they are pugnacious and will easily bay; but in pairs -or very small numbers they are more timid, and not until they are -exhausted or overtaken by a swifter pursuer will they show fight. No -_jabalis_ could be depended on, and, as I had only a day or two to -spare, I determined to move on to Carbo, where the prospects seemed -better, and which place we reached in time for supper. This over we -busied ourselves about our horses, mules, guides, dogs, etc. The -superintendent of the railway at Guaymas had kindly volunteered to -telegraph to any point and secure us a Yaqui Indian or two to guide us -after the _jabalis_, and any number of hundreds of dogs to bay them if -needed. He said he could guarantee the dogs (and so could anyone else -who knew anything about a Mexican village), but he felt dubious about -the Yaqui Indians. We secured four broncho horses and two dejected -mules for the next day, and then went to sleep. I unrolled my blankets -and buffalo robe, laid them down on the railway station platform, and, -as the night was cold, had a fine sleep. The morning broke as clear -as crystal, and we were up bright and early; but in spite of all our -Caucasian hurry we did not get away until shortly after nine o'clock. -Our first destination was a ranch two miles to the southeast of the -town, owned by Colonel Muņoz. Here we were to get a Yaqui Indian for -a guide, and learn the latest quotations as to the peccary market. -Shortly after rising in the morning heavy clouds were seen in the -northeast, which kept spreading and coming nearer and nearer, with -vivid flashes of lightning and loud rumblings of thunder, until just -about the time we were halfway to the ranch of Colonel Muņoz it broke -over us with the full fury of a Sonora thunderstorm. Its worst feature -was its persistency. I never saw a thunderstorm hang on for six or -seven hours before in all my life, but this did, much to our personal -discomfort, and, worst of all, to the serious detriment of the hunt. - -Arriving at the ranch, we found that the Yaqui Indian guide, who, by -the way, was a famous peccary hunter, was absent, working on a distant -part of the hacienda. Now a hacienda or ranch in Sonora is about as -large as a county in most of our States, and it requires efficient -messenger service to get over one inside of half a day. We sent for -him, however, and as a small boy present volunteered the information -that he thought he could guide the party to where a pig might be -lurking in the brush, we concluded we would take a short spin with -him while waiting for the Yaqui Indian. He based his expectation of a -_jabali_ on the rain that had been falling, which sent the wild hogs -out, made it easy to trail them, and brought them to bay sooner than if -the weather had been dry. There was no horse for the youngster to ride, -so he was taken on behind one of the party, and we started out in the -pelting rain after "the poor little pigs," as one of the seņoras of -the hacienda put it. As the poor little pigs have been known to keep a -man up a tree for three days, we felt more like wasting ammunition than -sympathy on them. - -[Illustration: A MEXICAN JABALI.] - -The rain now came down in torrents, vivid sheets of lightning played in -our faces, and the rumbling of the thunder was often so loud we could -not hear the shoutings of one another. Now, indeed, we were anxious to -get a peccary; for while a little rain helps the hunter in his chase -after wild hogs, such a deluge is entirely against him. The dry gullies -were running water that would swim a peccary, and this was in their -favor in escaping from the dogs, for I should have said we had two dogs -with us: one a noble-looking fellow for a hunt, and resembling a Cuban -bloodhound, the other a most dejected-looking whelp, a cross between a -mongrel and a cur. The whole affair was the sloppiest, wettest failure, -and about noon we got back to the hacienda, looking like drowned rats. -A good Mexican dinner of chili con carne, red peppers, tabasco, and -a few other warm condiments was never better appreciated, and as the -Yaqui Indian had put in an appearance we crawled back into our wet -saddles, with our clothes sticking to us like postage stamps, and once -more sallied out. While we were eating dinner the rain had ceased, and -our otherwise dampened hopes had gone up in consequence; but when we -were about a mile away it seemed as if the very floodgates of heaven -had opened and let all the water down the back of our necks. Gullies -we had crossed in coming out almost dry now ran noisy, muddy waters -up to the horses' middle, and in some places halfway up their sides. -Thus we kept along for an hour or so, wet to the skin, and even under -the skin, cholla cactus burs sticking to us until we looked like sheep. -About two o'clock we heard loud shouts, and away we tore through cactus -spines and shrubby thorns, for it was a sign there were peccaries -ahead. Indeed they were ahead, and we chased them for eight miles. The -ground was slippery, and the unshod ponies went sliding around over it -like cats on ice with clam shells tied to their feet. I weighed 265 -pounds, and my small pony not over two or three times as much, and how -he kept up with the others, swinging through choyallas and around thick -mesquite brush is yet a mystery. - -[Illustration: CHASING THE JABALIS IN THE RAIN] - -Occasionally a horse would get a bunch of cactus in his fetlock joint, -and then he would turn up his heels to let the lightning pick it out, -regardless of his rider. Once or twice the peccaries were sighted as -two faint gray streaks, just outlined against the dark green brush, -into which they disappeared at once. Several times it looked as if we -ought to overtake them in a minute or two, but that minute never came. -Our Yaqui guide was valiantly to the front, making leaps over cactuses -that would have shamed a kangaroo, and keeping well ahead of the -horses. Suddenly he stopped and gave up the chase on the near side of -a broad river, the result of the rain. His face was melancholy in the -extreme, and it was known he would not give up the chase without the -best of reasons, as he was to receive a month's wages (five dollars) -if a _jabali_ were killed. He explained in Spanish that the party had -been following the hogs with an absolute certainty of catching them, -so tired had they become, when, to his dismay, the tracks of three -other fresh peccaries were seen coming in at this point. Whenever -fresh _jabalis_ join those worn out enough to come to bay, the latter -change their minds as to fighting, and will run as long as their fresh -companions hold out. We thus would have had another eight to twelve -miles' chase through the slippery mud, which the horses and mules -could not have endured, so exhausted were they already. We had seen -the beasts, nevertheless, and in losing them had learned one of their -distinct peculiarities, which fact was sufficient compensation for our -first, but never to be forgotten, hunt for wild pigs. - -[Illustration] - -The peccary, as already stated, is a ferocious little beast, never -hesitating, when in numbers, to attack other animals. The coyote leaves -them alone if numerous, and even the mountain lion passes them to look -for other game. Their tusks are deadly weapons, and they click like so -many hammers when the creature is angry. If any ambitious Nimrod wants -a hunt after the most peculiar game extant in the United States and -Mexico he ought to take a peccary chase in Central Sonora. - -The country around Guaymas is extremely fertile, and in no part of -the American continent is there a richer country than lies along the -eastern and northern portion of the Gulf of California. Sonora and -Sinaloa are conceded to be the richest States in Mexico, and just as -Mexico has been the most backward country of North America, so these -two States are the least advanced portion of Mexico. This condition -of affairs is due almost wholly to the same cause that has retarded -the growth of Arizona and New Mexico, namely, the raids of hostile -Indian tribes. These two States have not only been a favorite hunting -and scalping ground for the Apaches, but within their own borders -have been superior and warlike races to contend with in the Yaqui and -Mayo Indians. The last war of the Yaquis with the Mexican Government -lasted over twelve years, but since its close a number of years ago -the Indians are settling in the towns and villages, where they are -the most industrious portion of the working population. With the -disappearance of this disturbing element the most important problem -regarding the growth and development of the garden of the Pacific -appears to have been solved. Every grade of climate can be found here, -from the tropical seacoast to the temperate great plateaus, a short -distance inland. The country has a rich, well-watered soil; there are -vast, well-wooded mountain ranges, where all kinds of game are found -in abundance; the rivers and bays are filled with every variety of -fish, and two or more crops of fruits or staple articles can be raised -yearly. Such a country cannot long remain unnoticed and unsettled; for -when railways are constructed through it the attention of outsiders -must be drawn to the land. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA--FROM THE CITY OF CHIHUAHUA WESTWARD TO THE GREAT - MEXICAN MINING BELT. - - -While in Guaymas and discussing a practicable route into the heart of -the Sierra Madres, I was told by the general commanding the division -in which Guaymas was situated, and strongly advised by others having a -knowledge of the country, not to attempt an entrance into the mountains -from the western side, but rather from the high plateaus, of which the -city of Chihuahua was the central point. There were many excellent -reasons given for this advice. The Yaqui Indians were said to be -very restless at that time; the season of the year was unfavorable, -because all large rivers, like the Yaqui, Fuerte, and Mayo, were at -their height; again, there were no good points near the mountains -for outfitting such as the city of Chihuahua afforded. All these -reasons, together with the advance of exceedingly warm weather, made me -conclude to retrace my steps to the eastern side of the Sierra Madre -range. So we again passed over the Sonora railway, and enjoyed those -charming contrasts of the sea of flower-covered plains and mountains -during the two days' ride that took us to Benson. Thence we returned -to Deming, and from that point to El Paso, whence the Mexican Central -Railway takes one in a night's ride about two hundred and fifty miles -southward, to the city of Chihuahua. - -This is a place of about thirty thousand people, and is the most -important city in Northern Mexico. Like all towns in Mexico, but little -of it can be seen from the railway, only the tall spires of its famous -cathedral being visible; but the fine church alone well repays the -tourist for stopping over on his southern flight. Beside the cathedral, -there are many other features of interest to the tourist having -sufficient leisure, and the town should not be so universally slighted -as it now is. It is the outfitting point for all parties visiting the -many large and famous mines of the northern portion of the Sierra Madre -range. The journey from the city to the mines is made by diligence for -the first hundred miles, to the low-lying foothills of the mountains, -and then by mule-back for one hundred or one hundred and fifty miles, -to the heart of the great range. As this was nearly the route we wished -to pursue, the first two days were passed in outfitting and making -necessary arrangements. When we were informed that the diligence left -Chihuahua at three o'clock in the morning, we were convinced that the -Mexicans were by no means as indolent as they have been reported, -especially in the matter of early rising, or they would not start out -a stage at such an early hour. The conveyance must of necessity be -seldom patronized by any persons except the natives; and the calling of -passengers at that time for a seventy-five or eighty mile drive could -only be accounted for by a morbid desire of the people to be up before -the early bird. The day before leaving was passed in assorting all the -baggage absolutely needed for a long trip by mule-back, and in getting -together such necessary provisions as we would use. - -I had been told that but little could be purchased after leaving the -town, and then only at three or four times the expense of buying and -transporting the same from Chihuahua. So despite all our efforts to -cut down our luggage it had quite a formidable appearance, and I -judged that my pack train would be an imposing affair, even if the -daily bill of fare was not. Our traps were piled up in the office of -the diligence, and orders were given to call us quite early, that we -might be promptly on hand, for we were assured the diligence would -wait for no man. Quite reluctantly I retired early, and left the -pleasant crowd sitting on the piazza that surrounded the inner court -of the hotel. As the noises of one of these primitive Mexican hotels -cease about one o'clock in the morning, and begin about two, and as -the night watchman felt it incumbent to open my door every tour he -made, and hold his lantern in my face to see whether I was having a -good night's rest, there was little cause for alarm lest I should be -left. Nevertheless to make assurance trebly sure I was called by three -different persons. It was evidently a great event to have passengers -leave by the diligence. We were soon out in the streets, picking our -way along in total darkness, trying to make the requisite number of -twists and turns down the little side streets to the office (for this -Mexican diligence was a proud affair, and would not stoop to drive to -the hotel for passengers, not even for extra money). The rigid rules -of the corporation had to be enforced, and were above all price; so we -went floundering around in utter darkness until we were waylaid by a -friendly policeman with a lantern, who doubled us back on our tracks, -and assisted us to reach the dark door of the diligence office, which, -at that hour, was not distinguishable from any other door. At first we -were sure the policeman had made a mistake, for there was no sign of -life about the place, and it was full time for departure. - -Soon, however, a frowzy-headed man with a candle in his hand opened the -door and bade us enter; but I preferred walking up and down outside in -the cool morning air, and had a good half hour's exercise of that kind -before the coach came lumbering into sight. The huge, old-fashioned -affair had the queerest look imaginable; for, hitched to it in groups -of four each, with two leaders, were the tiniest mules I had ever seen. -With the arrival of the coach and ten the office at once burst into -life. I stood and counted my luggage as piece after piece was thrown -on behind, and felt as though I was monopolizing the highway, for my -freight towered up and filled the boot. The office was then examined -to see that nothing had been left; but, alas! that precaution was a -failure, as I found to my vexation at the end of the first day's drive. -It was broad daylight when we finally got away at half-past five in -the morning. Walking about in the cool air had given us voracious -appetites, and as we clattered by the humble huts of the peons and saw -them making their simple morning meals, we regretted exceedingly having -placed any faith in the punctuality of this particular diligence. As -we drove onward through the broad avenue of _alamos_ on the outskirts -of the town the fields were filled with the early workmen, who rise as -soon as it is light for their work, and rest in the heat of noonday. -In this part of the country these laborers are always dressed in white -that looks immaculate in the distance, against the dark background of -the fields, but it will not bear close inspection. I was thus able -to prove another virtue of the Mexican people, or at least a certain -portion of them, and this too despite the fact that my discovery does -not accord with the generally accepted American opinion of Mexican -laborers. There was no doubt that they were unusually early risers to -their work, as all that morning I found evidence of this fact. We drove -twenty miles before breakfast, and passed people going into the city -who had come as great a distance. As I have said, these same people -take their siesta in the afternoon, and are judged accordingly by -others who do not get up early enough to know what they have done. - -Leaving Chihuahua and bearing west toward the Sierra Madres, one finds -the road even crowded with Mexican transportation, all from the rich -silver belt now being rapidly developed, chiefly by American wealth. -There are great carts with solid wooden wheels of the Nazarene style, -the patient donkey of the same period, and all so numerous that one -would think there was an exodus from a city soon to be put under -siege. Almost anything that grows about the home of a Mexican of the -lower order furnishes an excuse for him to take it into town with a -hope of selling it. Until we were fairly out of the suburbs our party -were the only occupants of the coach, but there we were joined by a -Mexican gentleman, the son of a wealthy mine owner, who lived back in -the mountains. He was on his way to his fathers mining district, and, -as I had met him and talked with him before leaving, I had so timed -my departure as to be with him for at least a part of the journey. -The country directly back of Chihuahua reminded me greatly of our -own plains by the imperceptible manner in which it rises toward the -foothills of the mountains, although it was far more fertile and well -watered, as the numbers of rich ranches along the way testified. At -nine o'clock we stopped to eat breakfast and change mules. Our morning -meal consisted of a concoction dignified by the name of coffee, with -tortillas (the people's bread--pancakes of coarsely ground corn and -water) and some stale eggs served in battered tin dishes upon a rough -wooden box. The stage station being the only house in that part of the -country, we could not be choosers. I noticed, however, that the soil -was of the richest kind and well watered, so that anything could have -been raised. What a paradise could be made by energy and industry where -nature has already done so much. - -At noon we stopped at one of the numerous simple and dreary little -villages with which the country is studded. They appear far more -desolate than the open, bare _mesa_ lands. All are much alike, each -having one or two streets of adobe houses, and a church of forbidding -aspect, which fronts on a still more uninviting looking plaza, about -fifty or seventy-five feet square, and set with whitewashed adobe -benches, a stripe of green about the latter being almost the only thing -to remind one of the color of verdure. The plaza is the pleasure ground -of the people, and a more cheerless-looking place one could not imagine. - -In investigating some of the resources of this country I ran across a -(to me) new and interesting way of measuring wheat, and other products -of the soil. I found an old hunter on the Yukon River of Alaska who -measured the length of grizzly bears by the fathom; I have had a -Mexican charge me for a saddle by the pound, carefully weighing it and -estimating the resulting cost; and when I tried to find how much an -exceptionally fine field of wheat yielded to the acre, the reply was -equally surprising. The owner, as he boasted of the field, knew nothing -of so many bushels to the acre (or to the hectare, which is their usual -standard of measurement), nor even of any ratio of pounds or kilograms -to a known area; but he loudly bragged that he raised one hundred for -one, while only a few of his neighbors could claim as high as fifty -for one, forty for one being the average for the whole valley. Now -one hundred for one meant that he got one hundred grains for every -grain he planted, one hundred bushels for every bushel put in as seed. -If he had planted a bushel on an acre of ground and got one hundred -bushels in return it would be considered an enormous yield, and even -a Western farmer would dance with delight at such a result; but if he -had planted a bushel on ten acres of ground, and got the same hundred -bushels as before, the Mexican farmer would be as happy as ever, while -the American farmer would begin to wonder if the old farm could stand a -third mortgage or not. - -Of course the American will say that about a certain number of bushels -are sown to the acre, and that one hundred for one or fifty for one -really gives us a fair ratio in judging of the fertility of the land. -But I would answer that in Mexico little attention is paid even to -_such_ a ratio, or to any other in agriculture, and only the most -careful observation or inquiry can elicit the facts necessary for a -basis of proper conjecture. - -A Mexican diligence is ornamented with an assistant to the driver in -the shape of a nimble young fellow, whose business it is to throw -stones at the mules. He occupies the front seat alongside the driver, -and whenever the mules have the appearance of commencing to walk--which -occurs about every half minute--he jumps nimbly to the ground, makes a -dash ahead for the leaders, with his hands and pockets full of stones, -and pelts the unfortunate beasts well. Of course they make a tremendous -burst of speed, and he grasps the straps on the side of the coach and -swings himself on top; then the leaders look around, and, seeing -him up out of the way, they slacken down their pace again, when the -performance is repeated. Sometimes the mules do not wait to be pelted, -but when they see their enemy stoop down to gather the missiles they -gallop wildly ahead, leaving the road runner to make the best time he -can to catch up; which having done, he takes his revenge on the mules -from above at his leisure. - -If there is one thing in which the Mexicans can outdo us more than -another it is in stage or diligence driving, and this too with animals -that will not compare with ours in size or strength, although, in -proportion to their size, probably more enduring. They generally -make up in numbers what they lack in strength, for they hitch them -in troops and droves, so to speak. When we first started we had two -groups of four and two leaders; then we changed to four abreast and two -wheelers; then, as the country grew a little rougher, they hitched two -leaders to the six, making eight altogether. Now, again, we dropped to -six mules in pairs, as we see them at home. As the last stretch was a -tough one, we again had ten mules in sets of fours with two wheelers. -This over a very rough mountain road. Here was versatility in mule -driving that I never expected to see among a people that are generally -reported by most American writers to be of a decidedly non-versatile -character. - -When the Mexican mules are through staging they "skirmish" for a -living, grazing off such grass as can be had, or in lieu thereof -browsing on cottonwood and willow bush, not even disdaining a corner -of a corral or a wagon tongue or two if times are going a little hard -with them. Late in the afternoon we realized that we were entering the -foothills of the mountains, for the road wound through many picturesque -little ravines and ascended the rocky beds of the small creeks, often -taking to the middle of the stream when the caņon was very narrow or -thickly strewn with bowlders. It was quite a common occurrence for the -stage to be overturned on the road--if road it could be called--and the -most decided talent in mule driving was necessary to guide the groups -of little animals safely between the mossy rocks. Toward evening the -walls of the long caņon, with its broken craigs and fantastic turrets, -almost met overhead, so narrow was it; but after a few turns and -twists it widened, and after rounding the peak of a high mountain, -entered another caņon, where, strung out its whole length, was the town -of Cusihuiriachic. I do not intend to throw the name of this Mexican -town at my readers without giving a plan, section, and elevation of -it as a key to the riddle. We were now in the land of the Tarahumari -Indians of West Central Chihuahua, this long-winded name applying to -them just as equivalent Indian names are found in Maine and a few other -places in the Union. This large Indian tribe, probably numbering from -15,000 to 18,000 (the most authentic estimate I can get places them at -16,000, although I have heard them estimated at 30,000 in strength), -was once scattered over a considerable territory, and their names are -still given to most of the places in the country they occupied before -the advent of Europeans. - -[Illustration: IN CUSIHUIRIACHIC CAŅON.] - -Wherever there is water (so I was told by an old resident among these -strange and little known people, Don Enrique Muller) the name of the -camp or town alongside ended in _chic_, as in the example I have given -above, as also in Bibichic, Carichic, Baquiriachic, and a few others -I could mention--"all wool and a yard wide." The rest of the word -Cusihuiriachic, still long enough for five or six more names, means, -says my authority, "the place of the standing post." When they ruled -their own country many years ago the principal means of punishment -employed was the upright post, to which the offenders were tied and -treated to a Delaware dissertation. Such is the origin of the big name -of the little Mexican town of Cusihuiriachic, situated about halfway -between the city of Chihuahua and the great mining belt of the Sierra -Madres, west and southwest of the city, and to which it is a secondary -distributing point. The diligence ride is made to it in one day, a -little over seventy-five miles. The place claims five thousand people, -and there is but one street up the narrow gulch, which, however, is -long enough to justify its name. It is wholly a mining town, and has -some important quartz mills strung out along the little stream through -its principal and only street. When we reached our destination for the -night we found a square adobe inclosure, with an enormous gateway, -through which the stage rattled and then stopped in a small court for -us to dismount. From there we passed through another large gate into a -similar court, filled with a variegated assortment of mules, and after -dodging among them, to cross to the opposite side, we climbed three or -four steps, and entered the most primitive hotel any civilized man's -eyes ever rested on. - -[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF THE COACH] - -The patio or interior plaza of the hotel was, upon our arrival, being -used as a cockpit, and one or two hundred people were jammed therein. -Beside the Mexicans, there was one immense, brawny Chinaman. In the -middle of the pit lay two dead cocks; one belonged to the Chinaman, -and the other to some member of the Mexican aristocracy of the town. -An adverse decision had just been given regarding the victory of the -Chinaman's cock, and he was in the act of rolling up his sleeves to -pitch into the crowd and vindicate the prowess of his fowl; fortunately -our timely arrival prevented any further strife by diverting attention -to us, while the host was dragged from the midst of the fray to hunt up -a key to unlock one of the narrow pens--called rooms--that overlooked -the mule corral. Here, on a dirty brick floor, my bedding was spread, -and I slept to a chorus of squealing mules, which came in through the -grated, wooden-shuttered window. And right here I may say that I know -of no better opening for Americans of small means than starting and -keeping hotels in Mexican towns, where decent accommodations of the -kind are wanting, and where a great many Americans, as well as English -and other foreigners, pass through. I could mention fifty such towns -beside the example given. In the town referred to we were crowded, four -and six together, into those small pens--all travelers passing backward -and forward on business connected with mining interests or similar -industries. It seemed to be the universal custom of this portion of the -country to get up at three o'clock to take the diligence, no matter -how long or short the drive was to be. We were going only forty miles -farther the next day to Carichic; the diligence returned nearly eighty -miles to Chihuahua, and another stage line branched off for Guerrero, -to the northwest; but it appeared necessary that passengers should rise -at the same hour in order that all the coaches might get away at the -same time. - -The Carichic line is quite unfrequented, and only an ordinary wagon -is used as a stage for the few Mexicans who go that way; but in honor -of my party the large diligence was sent that day to carry us and -all our luggage. With the first streak of dawn we were threading our -way backward and forward across the little stream that runs through -the town, past sleeping pigs, geese, chickens, dogs, burros, and -Mexicans--an almost indiscriminate mass strung along the roadside. This -road led past the big quartz mill, grinding away day and night, and by -it we climbed up and out of the narrow caņon till the _mesa_ and the -hills were reached. Afterward the drive was through beautiful park-like -places, with groves of oak and pine, the road winding up and down the -mountain side, until, early in the afternoon, we reached Carichic. On -the road between Cusihuiriachic and Carichic we came to an adobe -building, that departed in a very picturesque way from the everlasting -mud box style of architecture so common to this country, and for which -departure we had to thank the Apaches. Not that they built it, for an -Apache never built anything except under compulsion, and at that time -compulsion of these Indians was about the scarcest thing in Mexico; -but, rather, they compelled the Mexicans to do it, that is, to erect -corner towers at the four corners of the mud box, and convert it into a -building of defense. In the picturesque mountain scenery it looked at -a short distance away like an old castle, and only a nearer inspection -dispelled the illusion. - -[Illustration: MEXICAN ADOBE HOUSE FORTIFIED AGAINST APACHE RAIDS.] - -While at Cusihuiriachic we had looked with some contempt on the -primitive accommodations of its forlorn and dilapidated hotel, and had -rather scouted the idea of its being possible to find a worse place or -greater disregard for the common necessities of life in any habitable -town. The little cell-like room, with its wooden bench, tin wash basin, -and bare brick floor on which to stow one's bedding, seemed to be -the extreme of simplicity; therefore we believed that Carichic could -hardly do less for us. But as everything is relative in this world, -I was soon to look back to the despised hotel as the last taste of -civilization, and to appreciate it accordingly. On reaching Carichic, -a town of six or seven hundred people, we were told there was no such -thing as a lodging house for us, and that it would be necessary for us -to camp in the streets or some field, unless our Mexican friend could -induce the village priest to allow us the use of a large empty room in -one corner of the big building he occupied. The loaning or renting of -a large empty room does not seem to be an act of great hospitality, -nevertheless it was so regarded. The Mexican gentleman, when passing -backward and forward over the trail between his father's mines and -Chihuahua, always made his headquarters with the priest or _cura_, who -was a great friend of his family; but everything and everybody from the -United States he looked upon with suspicion and distrust. Therefore, -considering the circumstances, his readiness to allow us under his -roof could only be considered as a marked hospitality, or as evidence -of a disposition to oblige our mutual Mexican friend. Perhaps he was -animated by a keen sense of duty, and found this a fitting opportunity -to mortify the spirit. But, whatever his motive, we were given the use -of the room. So the stage left us and our worldly possessions there, -for at Carichic all roads ended, and, as soon as I could make my -arrangements with a native packer for his pack train of mules, we were -to take one of the narrow Indian trails leading back into the heart of -the Sierra Madres. - -The priest's house was by far the most important in the village, being -built around a large interior court, with all the rooms facing on -this court, except the one given for our use. At the entrance to this -interior court was a large gate, which could be barricaded in case of -danger or an Indian uprising. On one of the outside corners of the -structure was a sort of storeroom, the door opening on the street, and -next to this storeroom--which contained a few old bottles and pieces -of leather--was the room assigned to us. At one end of our room was -a small fireplace, and along the rude adobe wall was a wooden bench, -and near it a table. One window, with wooden bars, and the door, were -the only openings. The floor was the common one of earth. As there was -not a place in the town where food could be bought, it was necessary -to open our boxes before our dinner could be prepared. Wood and water -were soon brought, a fire started in the fireplace, and our simple -meal could have been ready in fifteen minutes--and would have been -anywhere except under the auspices of our Mexican cook. We tried to -secure chickens and eggs--staple articles even on the frontier of -Mexico--but were told that time would be required to get them, and -that the next day would be the earliest moment at which they could -be procured. Tortillas, however, were forthcoming, and these, with -bacon, hard bread, cheese, and tea, made an excellent meal. Dionisio, -or Dionysius in English, my cook, had been highly recommended to me -at Chihuahua, and had been brought with me on that account, as I had -been influenced by glowing descriptions of his supposed good qualities. -Since the morning of our start from Chihuahua he had been the butt -and laughingstock of even the slowest of the Mexicans, who had heaped -all sorts of derisive epithets on him for his general stupidity. My -only hope was that he would blossom out as a good cook when he had an -opportunity; but here I was doomed to receive the full shock of his -utter incapacity, and to realize that he would only shine resplendently -as a complete failure on the whole journey. Finally I was forced to the -conclusion that he was palmed off on me simply to get him salaried and -off the the hands of somebody else. Although we arrived at Carichic -about noon, or shortly after, and preparations were begun at once for -our simple meal, we were compelled to eat it by the light of a tallow -candle. It was evident that, if more than one meal a day was to be had, -Dionisio would require an assistant to do all the work. - -As night approached the good padre tendered us the use of his parlor -floor on which to spread our bedding. This room occupied one side of -the interior court. It was a long, narrow place without windows, and -lighted only through the wooden doorways, of which there were two. In -one end of the room was a little old narrow iron bedstead; at the other -a small, black haircloth sofa, and a couple of chairs. On the walls -were a picture of the Virgin and a small crucifix, while in another -part, hung up beyond reach of the tallest man, was a small, a very -small mirror, evidently regarded as a profane thing and not to be used. -In the center of the room was a small strip of faded green Brussels -carpet. The whole place had a most depressing air, and the bare earthen -room outside was beautiful by comparison, for in the latter we had -the sunshine, and could see the lovely blue sky, and all around the -horizon, the rolling, tree-covered hills, with the distant peaks of -the Sierra Madres in the background. Nature had been very lavish with -this place, and at every point of the compass it was picturesque and -beautiful in the extreme. About Carichic the soil is wonderfully -fertile and the grass luxuriant. A lovely little mountain river winds -by on one side of the village. The people are principally the civilized -Tarahumari Indians, and this is one of their largest towns. There is, -however, as in all Indian towns, a slight sprinkling of Mexicans, and -to that portion of the community we looked for mules to carry us back -into the mountains. - -Shortly after my arrival a number of Indians were started out to look -up the animals; for we wished to get away the next morning if possible. -When night came a part of the needed complement had not been found; -for Mexican mules are always turned loose to hunt their living, and -they often wander off many miles, and it sometimes takes days to find -them. All night long the Indians were again out scouring the hills, but -in the morning there were still not mules enough; so nothing could be -done but patiently await their arrival. The next morning Francisco, -a most excellent packer, by taking one horse to carry a few light -bundles, had animals enough to make a start. Horses are of no service -whatever in these mountains. On the steep, rough, dangerous trails -the small Mexican mule is the only animal that can possibly cling, -crawl, and climb up and down the dizzy heights. The motley and scraggy -assortment of beasts led up for our inspection that morning gave us -the uncomfortable feeling that we would never reach any place if we -trusted to them. A little before ten o'clock my train of fourteen mules -was started; and we were told we must ride fast, as the trail just out -of the town was good, and it was necessary to make the noon camp at a -certain spot. The trail we took was one seldom used, except by the -Indians, and a few Mexicans who held mining property in that portion -of the mountains. It was, therefore, one of the roughest and steepest -in that region. Instead of seeking any sort of grade, it struck out -wherever fancy had dictated to the original Indian travelers, generally -over the steepest peaks or along the edge of some high and dizzy -precipice, even when this course was wholly unnecessary. Although that -made it somewhat laborious for us, as well as our animals, it gave us -unusually fine views and picturesque effects, and despite the roughness -of the trail we rode fifteen miles that morning and made our noon camp -on time. - -When but a very short distance out of Carichic, while crossing a high -ridge, I observed, in a little valley below, a curious looking creature -skulking along half hidden from view, toward the entrance to a cave in -a huge bowlder. I called the attention of my Mexican companion to him, -and he said he was only one of the wilder Tarahumari Indians, who lived -in this manner, and that I would see enough of them before I finished -my journey. This was my first introduction to a strange people hidden -away in those grand old mountains, and of which the world has known -comparatively nothing. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA--IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING CAVE AND CLIFF - DWELLERS--THE TARAHUMARI INDIANS, CIVILIZED AND SAVAGE. - - -I propose to devote the greater portion of this chapter to a -consideration of the Tarahumari Indians of Central and Southwestern -Chihuahua, a tribe of aborigines that I have occasionally seen -mentioned in works and articles on Mexico (especially its northern -part), but of which I can find no detailed account anywhere in the -literature I possess of this region. The fact of my having been in that -country for some time, seeing and investigating some of their most -curious habitations and customs, coupled with what information I could -get from a few hardy Mexican pioneers in the fastnesses of the great -Sierra Madre range, who corroborate each other, constitutes the basis -of my comments. - -Although the Tarahumari tribe of Indians are not at all well known--for -I doubt if many of my readers have ever heard of them--they are, -nevertheless, a very numerous people, and were they in the United -States or Canada, where statistics of even the savages are much better -kept than in Mexico, they would have an almost world-wide reputation. -On account of this utter lack of statistics it is impossible to state -with close approximation the number of Tarahumari Indians in this part -of the country. So I will have to rely on the estimates (really broad -guesses) of those best informed, giving my readers the benefit of my -own researches as a check, although not claiming they will make a very -good one, to the wide range of estimates made by others. In a previous -chapter I spoke of the number of these Indians, but really am inclined, -from all I could learn of them, to estimate their number at twenty -thousand or thereabouts. An Indian tribe of twenty thousand people in -our own country would be heard of often enough in press and public to -become a household word; but the isolation of the Tarahumari Indians -from the beaten lines of travel, and the little interest taken in them -by local and governmental officials (especially the interest which -would make their habitations, habits, and customs known to the world) -have thrown a veil over them both dark and mysterious. Some tribes of -no greater strength in the interior of Africa are better known to us -at home than are these Tarahumaris of the Sierra Madre Mountains of -Mexico. They are now seldom seen in the city of Chihuahua, or even on -the diligence lines radiating to the many western points which draw -their supplies from this town; and it is only when the mule trails to -the deeply hidden mountain mines are taken that they are seen at all. -Still better, if one cuts loose from these too, he will be yet more -likely to find them in all their rugged primitiveness. Those usually -seen by the white traveler to these parts are called civilized, and -live in log huts, tilling a bit of mountain slope, not unlike the lower -classes of Mexico, whom they copy in their departure from established -habits. It is no wonder, therefore, that little has been said about -them more than to mention occasionally where they once lived in a -country now held by a higher civilization. - -[Illustration: A CIVILIZED TARAHUMARI HOUSE.] - -Even the word "Chihuahua" itself is a Tarahumari word, and was applied -to the site of the present city of Chihuahua; its meaning is "the -place where our best wares were made." The territory lying between -the line of the Mexican Central Railway (which cuts through a small -part of their ancient country) and the Sierra Madres proper, or where -diligences cease to go and all transportation is done on mule-back or -with donkeys, the Tarahumaris have abandoned to invading civilization, -or have obeyed its mandates and become civilized themselves. They are -only found in a primitive state in the Sierra Madres, with the far -greater excess on the eastern slopes of the wide range. Beyond the -Tarahumaris to the west are the Mayo and Yaqui tribes of Indians, on -the rich and level slopes of the Mexican States of Sinaloa and Sonora; -while on the north they come in contact with the omnipresent and widely -feared Apache, whose hand was against everyone and everyone's hand -against him. - -Though a peaceful tribe of Indians, as far as their relations with -Mexico have been concerned, they nevertheless were not wanting in the -elements that made them good defenders of their land; and the Apaches, -so dreaded by others, gave the mountainous country of the Tarahumaris -a wide berth when on their raids in this direction. The Tarahumaris, -equally armed, which they seldom were, were more than a match for these -Bedouins of the boundary line between our own country and Mexico. One -who had ever seen a group of the wild Tarahumaris would not credit them -with a warlike or aggressive disposition, or even with much of the -defensive combativeness that is necessary to fight for one's country. -Even the semi-civilized among them are shy and bashful to a point of -childishness that I have never seen elsewhere among Indians or other -savages; and I have lived among nine-tenths of the Indian tribes of the -United States and a great number outside of our domains. Heretofore the -Eskimo of North Hudson Bay I deemed the most modest of savages, but -they are brigands compared with the Tarahumari natives. If they have -the least intimation of a white man's approach, he stands as little -show of seeing them as if they were some timid animal fleeing for life. - -A Mexican gentleman who owns a part interest in a rich silver mine in -the great broken Barrancas leading out from the Sierra Madre toward the -Pacific side, or into the States of Sinaloa and Sonora (but who always -reached his mine by way of Chihuahua), told me that he had several -times passed over the mountain trail on mule-back, when with a pack -train, and not seen a single Tarahumari, although the trip occupied a -number of days in their country, and took him where he should have seen -two or three hundred if they had made no effort to escape his notice. -The country thereabouts is well wooded and often heavily timbered, and -the timid native, hearing the clang of the mule shoes on the rough, -rocky trail, will at once retire to the seclusion of the nearest thick -brush, and there wait until the intruder is out of sight. - -They do not fly like a flock of quails suddenly surprised by the -hunter, however, for, if caught, they generally stand and stare it -out rather than seem to run from the white man while directly in -his presence; but if the latter is vigilant and keeps his eyes wide -open, he will often see them skulking away among the trees or behind -the rocks as he is approaching their houses, or the caves or cliff -dwellings wherein they abide. Of course, as one would naturally expect, -the more savage Tarahumari natives, or those living in the rocks, -cliffs, and caves, or brush jacals, are much wilder and more timid than -those pretending to adopt the forms and duties of civilization. It -is this peculiarity that has made it so hard to understand or learn -anything about them, and this too in a land where so little interest is -taken in gaining knowledge of the subject. - -[Illustration: AN INDIAN HOME BETWEEN ROCK PILLAR AND TREE.] - -In my wanderings through this portion of the Sierra Madres (and right -here I might state that on some Mexican maps this portion of the -great range is occasionally labeled as the _Sierra de Tarahumari_, -about the only place we ran across the name) I was more fortunate in -seeing a large number of them engaged in more nearly all the labors -and duties they are known to follow than is usually the case: the -civilized Tarahumari, living in rough stone and adobe houses, with -brush fences around his cultivated fields; and the most savage of the -race, acknowledging none of the Mexican laws or customs, and living -in caves in the rocks or under the huge bowlders, or in cliffs high up -the almost perpendicular faces of the rock, where they probably tend a -few goats and plant their corn on steep slopes, using pointed sticks to -make the holes in the ground into which the grains are deposited. - -In appearance the Tarahumari savage is, I think, a little above the -average height of our own Indians in the Southwest. They are well -built, and very muscular, while the skin of the cave and cliff dweller -is of the darkest hue of any American native I have ever seen, being -almost a mixture of the Guinea negro with the average copper-colored -aborigine that we are so accustomed to see in the western parts of the -United States. The civilized Tarahumaris are generally noticeably -lighter in hue. The Mayos and Yaquis on the west, the Apaches to the -north, the Tepehuanes to the south, and the Comanches to the east -are lighter in their complexions than the cave- and cliff-dwelling -Tarahumaris, although they live in much warmer climates than the -latter. There is every opportunity to inspect the skin of the savage -Tarahumari, as they wear only a breechclout and a pair of rawhide -sandals; and if it be a little chilly--as it always is at evening, at -night time, and morning on the elevated plateau land or mountainous -regions of Mexico--they may add a _serape_ of mountain goat's wool over -their naked shoulders. Their faces generally wear a mild, pleasing -expression, and their women are not bad-looking for savages, although -the older women break rapidly in appearance after passing thirty to -thirty-five years, as nearly as I could judge their ages. The savage -branch of the Tarahumaris is of course the more interesting as the most -nearly representing our own Indians of fifty to one hundred years ago, -or before white men came among them. The civilized are not unlike those -we have cultivating the soil in a rude way around the western agencies; -although those of Mexico have no governmental aid such as we so often -and so lavishly pour into the laps of our copper-colored brethren of -the North. - -The savage Tarahumari lives generally off all lines of communication, -shunning even the mountain mule trails if he can. His abode is a cave -in the mountain side or under the curving interior of some huge bowlder -on the ground. - -The Sierra Madre Mountains, where they live, are extremely picturesque -in their rock formation, giving thousands of shapes I have never see -elsewhere--battlements, towers, turrets, bastions, buttresses and -flying buttresses, great arches and architraves, while everything from -a camel to a saddle can be descried in the many projecting forms. It is -natural that in such formation--a curious blending of limestone pierced -by more recent upheavals of eruptive rock--many caves should be found, -and also that the huge, irregular, granitic and gneissoid bowlders, -left on the ground by the dissolving away of the softer limestone, -should often lie so that their concavities could be taken advantage of -by these earth-burrowing savages. - -The first cliff dwellers I saw were on the Bacochic River, the first -day out on mule-back from Carichic. These cliff dwellers had taken a -huge cave in the limestone rock, some seventy-five feet above the water -and almost overhanging the picturesque stream. They had walled up its -outward face nearly to the top, leaving the latter for ventilation -probably, as rain could not beat in over the crest of the butting -cliff. It had but one door, closed by an old torn goat hide, through -which the inhabitants had to crawl, like the Eskimo into their snow -huts or _igloos_, rather than any other form of entrance I can liken -it to. The only person we saw was a "wild man of the woods," who, with -a bow and arrows in his hand and the skin of a wild animal around his -loins for a breechclout, was skulking along the big bowlders near the -foot of the cliff. A dozen determined men inside this cliff dwelling -ought to have kept away an army corps not furnished with artillery, -although I doubt if the occupants hold these caves on account of -their defensive qualities, but rather for their convenience as places -of habitation, needing but little work to make them subserve their -rude and simple wants. My Mexican guide said they would only fly if -we visited them, leaving a little parched corn, a rough _metate_ or -stone for grinding it, an unburned _olla_ to hold their water, and -some skins, and, perchance, worn-out native blankets for bedding; so -I desisted from such a useless trip as getting over to their eyrie to -inspect it. - -About three months before my first expedition into Mexico, I saw a -notice going the rounds of the press that living cliff dwellers had -been seen in the San Mateo Mountains of New Mexico, and that as soon -as the snow melted a mounted party would be organized to pursue and -capture them; but I have heard nothing from it, beyond the little -stir created at the time, and which the finding of any living cliff -dwellers anywhere would be likely to create. Yet here are people of -that description, of whom the world seems to have heard nothing. How -many there are of them, as I have already said, it seems hard to tell. -We saw at least five to six hundred scattered around in the fastnesses -of this grand old mountain chain, and could probably have trebled this -if we had been looking for cave and cliff dwellers alone along and -off our line of travel. Let us place them at only three thousand in -strength, and we would have enough to write a huge book upon, giving as -startling developments as one could probably make from the interior of -some wholly unknown continent--in fact more curious; for the public is -somewhat prepared for such a story by the large number of old deserted -cliff dwellings found in Arizona and New Mexico, which have often been -assigned to a people older than the ruins of the Toltec or Aztec races. -That there is some relation between these old cliff dwellers and the -new ones I think more than likely; and I believe that most writers who -have seen both, or rather the ruins of the former and much of the life -of the latter, as I have, would agree with me in this view. - -It is pretty clearly settled that the Apaches are Athabascans, and -came from the far north; and it seems not unlikely that they drove -southward or exterminated the northern cliff dwellers, leaving only -these here as representatives, although numerous beyond belief, of -a most curious race generally supposed to be extinct. The Pueblo -Indians, of the same locality, by living in larger communities and -stronger abodes were better able to resist these Indian Northmen, -and consequently some of their towns still exist; but the old cliff -dwellers, like the new ones, could in many cases be cut off from -water by a persistent and aggressive enemy, such as the Apaches must -have been then, when just fresh from their northern excursion. It is -still more probable, however, that they drove them southward until the -retreating cliff dwellers became so powerful by being massed upon -their southern brothers that they could resist further aggression, and -therefore give successful battle to their old foe, as we know they -have been able to do recently when the Apaches were performing such -destructive work in this part of the country. - -It is a well-known fact in archæology that a badly defeated people, -driven from their country by a superior force of numbers, and occupying -a new and less desirable tract, will generally reproduce their -habitations, implements of the chase, and all other things which they -may be called upon to construct in a much less perfect manner than -when in their own country; and I found the cave and cliff dwellings of -the wild Tarahumaris in the Sierra Madre Mountains to be in general -less perfect than the cliff dwellings far to the north, as those near -Flagstaff, Ariz., the cave and cliff dwellings in the Mancos Caņon, -and many others I could mention in our own Southwest. Whatever may be -the relation between the dead and departed northern cliff dwellers and -their southern living representatives, it seems to me that it would -well pay some scientist to devote a few years to their thorough study, -as Catlin did so well among the Sioux, Cushing with the Zunis, and many -others I could mention. - -All these Tarahumaris, whether civilized to the extent of agriculture, -living in houses, and having the other arts in a crude degree, and -embracing Christianity, or whether in the most savage state, naked to -the skin except rawhide sandals, and living in caves or cliffs, while -still worshiping the sun, and hoping for the return of Montezuma some -day, all are to a great extent independent of the Mexican Government, -much more than are any of the peaceable Indians of the United States -from our own government, unless it be a few almost unknown tribes in -the interior of Alaska. If a Tarahumari commits a crime against, or -does an injury to, a Mexican or foreigner, the Mexican Government -takes notice of it and tries to punish the offender; but between -themselves, except in a few cases of flagrant murder, they can conduct -all administration of justice, as well as other matters, wholly by -officers of their own selection and by their own codes and customs. The -very wild ones--the cliff and cave dwellers--know nothing of Mexican -affairs, and in fact fly from all white people like so many quails -when they approach. The more civilized elect their own chiefs and -obey their executive mandates so well, as a general thing, that there -is really very little reason for the Mexicans to force their officials -upon them, if their only object is a maintenance of peace. Still the -half-wild tribes of some parts of the mountains even war against each -other without asking the Mexican Government yes or no, and conclude -their own treaties as a result of such quarrels on their own basis. I -was informed by Mr. Alberto Mendoza, a perfect master of both Spanish -and English, and an interpreter at one of the big Sierra Madres -silver mines, where there also was employed an excellent Tarahumari -interpreter, that such a war as I have described recently broke out and -was carried on by two factions in adjoining parts of the mountains. It -was a very strange affair, of course, but I doubt if its existence was -even known in any other part of Mexico. - -[Illustration: METHODS OF WARFARE] - -Singularly enough, the badge of office of the self-governing tribes -is a scepter, if an ornamented stick held in the hand can be called a -scepter. These black savages of the sierras obey it more implicitly, -however, than if it were a loaded Gatling gun trained on them. Whenever -a government official or justice seizes this mace of the Madre -Mountains, and holds it aloft, every person in sight is quelled more -effectually than if it were a stick of giant powder that would explode -if they did not obey. Its name among them, translated, is "God's -Justice," and certainly no superstitious people ever obeyed a mandate -more readily and completely than do they this mute expression of their -own laws, and without which they would often be lawless under the same -circumstances. - -An almost ludicrous case was told me of a foul murder having been -committed by the wild Tarahumaris on the person of a civilized one, -the murderers holding possession of the body. It was natural that the -civilized faction should want the corpse for burial, and they demanded -it, but it was refused. The civilized natives then went to the boundary -line of the two factions, hoping to get the chief of the wild savages -to assist them. Here they found some four or five hundred of the latter -drawn up in battle array, with bows and arrows, to dispute their -passage into their own land. The chief was absent and refused to come -to the assistance of the others, although demanded in the name of the -Mexican law, with corresponding punishment. The civilized natives then -conceived the idea of a small body of picked men going in a roundabout -way to compel his attendance, which was done, although he still refused -to exercise his authority to compel his own band to give up the corpse -of the dead Tarahumari. The forcing of the wild chief into the dispute -was about to bring on a collision between the two factions, when one -of the civilized natives wrenched his scepter from his hand, waved -it aloft, and demanded of the wild ones that they cease all hostile -demonstrations and bring in the body of the murdered man, all of which -they did in the name of "God's Justice." - -Nearly all the civilized Tarahumaris are Christianized, while the -wild ones living in cliffs and caves are--if they can be called -anything--still worshipers of the sun and believers in the return of -Montezuma; so this "God's Justice," as represented so effectually by -the mace or scepter, cannot mean solely the Christian God or that of -the Tarahumaris, for in either case it would have no effect on the -other. There can be only one conclusion that I can see, and that is -that this badge of authority is as old as the Tarahumaris themselves, -or at least antedates the conversion of the civilized ones by the old -Jesuits, or the conquering of the country by the Spaniards from Europe. -The Mexicans use nothing of the kind except, probably, in their state -and federal legislatures, as we do in some of ours, and it is not at -all likely that these natives, especially the wild ones, would have -borrowed it from so distant and almost never visited a source. - -The civilized Tarahumaris have their own elections, patterned after the -Mexicans in a crude way, while the wilder ones have their chiefs, but -whether they are elected or hereditary I was not able to ascertain; I -am inclined to think it is the former. - -The wildest known of the Tarahumari cliff and cave dwellers are -probably those of the Barranca del Cobre, which can be seen from the -Grand Barranca of the Urique, as one skirts its dizzy cliffs, being in -fact a spur of the Grand Barranca leading out to the east. There are -undoubtedly many other, but unknown, places where these savages dwell, -if possible more primitive than those of the Barranca del Cobre. In -this caņon the cliff dwellers are often stark naked, except for a pair -of _guarraches_, or rawhide sandals, these protecting the soles of the -feet from the flint-like broken rocks of this part of the country, and -without which even their tough hides would soon be disabled. Upon the -approach of whites they fly to their birdlike houses in the precipitous -cliffs like so many timid animals seeking their burrows. - -The next nearest grade of these people goes so far as to ornament the -person with breechclouts after the latest fashion set by Adam and Eve, -the more savage of these again using the skins of wild animals for this -purpose, while the better grade manages to secure some dirty clothes -from the others to finish out this necessary part of their wardrobe. -When it is reflected that the winters are quite severe on the higher -parts of these sierras, the snow being some winters two and three feet -deep, it is quite easy to conceive what constitutional toughness these -fellows must have in their scanty attire. - -An Eskimo would long to get back to the Arctic if he were here, so he -could sit on an iceberg and get warm. - -On the great mountain trails their feats of endurance are almost of a -marvelous character. The semi-civilized are often employed as couriers, -mail carriers, etc., and in all cases they invariably make from three -to five times the distance covered by the whites in the same time, -while there is no known domesticated animal that can possibly keep pace -with them in the mountains. - -It takes six or seven hours of fairly continuous climbing to make, by -mule-back, from the mine in a deep gulch to the "cumbra," or crest of -the Barranca del Cobre, by a most difficult mountain trail, the ascent -made being five thousand to six thousand feet. It takes four hours -to descend in the same way. A message was sent from "la cumbra" by a -Tarahumari foot runner to a person at the mine and an answer received -in an hour and twenty minutes, the same messenger carrying the letter -both ways, or making the round trip. - -One day a Tarahumari carrier passed us just after we had gone into -camp about three o'clock in the afternoon, bound for the same point we -expected to reach in three days' hard travel by mule-back. I wanted to -send a message by him to this place, and on ascertaining when he would -reach it was, as my hearers will easily infer, somewhat astonished to -find out that he expected to make it that night, and I was afterward -informed that he had done so. - -Not a great many years ago the mail from Chihuahua to Batopilas was -carried by a courier on his back, who made the distance over the -Sierra Madre range, a good 250 miles, and return, or a total of 500 -miles, in six days. Here he rested one day and repeated his trip, his -contract being for weekly service. Alongside of this the best records -ever made in the many six days' "go-as-you-please" contests that are -heard of in the great cities of the United States sink into almost -contemptible insignificance. I could give a dozen other instances, but -these are enough. Of course these runners make many "cut offs" from the -established mule trails when their course is along them, and they thus -save distance, but making all such allowance their endurance is still -phenomenal. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THROUGH THE SIERRA MADRES--ON MULE-BACK WESTWARD FROM CARICHIC. - - -As our next month was passed on mule-back, and Mexican mule-back at -that, I think it would be not at all inappropriate to make a brief -dissertation on this kind of brute for the necessary merits and -demerits of the journey. - -The Mexican mule is a sort of a cross between a mountain goat and -a flying squirrel, with the distinct difference that its surplus -electricity flows off from the negative pole instead of the positive, -as with the goat. It is in its meanderings on the mountain trail that -it shines resplendent, but with a luster wholly its own, that can be -no more compared with any other than can the flash of the diamond be -compared with the fire of the opal. I would like to place it alongside -of the American mule for comparison in the "deadly double column" of -the newspaper, but the Mexican beast would kick out the intervening -rule and "pi" the type before enough was up to form an opinion. On the -mountain trail this distinct species of mule was never known to fall, -although he has an exasperating and blood-curdling way of stumbling -along over it that would raise the hair of a bald-headed man on end. -Many a time I have watched the mule I was compelled to ride with a -view of discovering his methods of trying to frighten me to death as -payment for past injuries. Oftentimes the trail would lead past dizzy -heights or cliffs, where one could look sheer down far enough to be -dead before he reached the bottom should he fall, and every few feet -along the trail of not over a foot in width it would tumble in a foot -or so and again take up the original inclination of the mountain, or -about that of the leaning tower of Pisa. Here the mule would always be -sure to stick one foot over and stumble a little bit, but regain its -equilibrium at the next step, having clearly done it intentionally, and -for no other purpose than pure maliciousness. One can imagine the cool -Alpine zephyr that is wafted up the vertebræ with sufficient force to -blow the hair straight up on end. If you have touched the beast within -the last three or four days with the whip, or dug into its sides with -the spurs when it was absorbed in melancholy reflections, it'll be -sure to remember it when you are climbing over the comb of a cliff from -two thousand to three thousand feet high, and at the least movement of -your feet or twitching of your fingers it will throw its head high in -the air, like a hound on the scent, and go stumbling over every pebble -and blade of grass on the dangerous way, evidently trying to make you -regret that you had ever tried to punish so delicate a creature. At any -other time you can turn double somersaults on its back, or act like a -raving maniac, and it will not increase its funereal march a foot a day -as the result of your actions. Whenever a trail leads exceptionally -near a cliff, before it turns on the reverse grade down or up hill, the -Mexican mule never fails to go within an inch of the crest and let his -leg over with a slight quiver, as he turns around. - -All these mountain trails are full of little round, hard stones -about the size of marbles, and even larger ones, hidden underneath a -carpeting of pine needles. These are liable to make a mule stumble if -two feet are on the stones at once, but this is very seldom, although -they always go sliding over them on the steeper trails. It is wonderful -how these round rocks, hidden under the pine needles on the trail -or off it, will throw a human being prostrate if he dismounts a few -minutes to take a walk on a slope and stretch his stiffened limbs. Of -course the mule, under headway, is liable to walk over him before it -can stop or the person pick himself up. - -There is another pastime in which the Mexican mule delights, and -in which you won't. It likes to deviate enough to go under every -low-branched tree on the trail, and so universal is this trait of -character that the trail seems to lead from one low tree or vine to -another, just as the mule has a mind to make it. The dodging of limbs -and branches among the pines, cypresses, and oaks in the high lands -was not so bad, but down in the _tierra caliente_ or hot lands, where -brambly mesquite and thorny vines were tearing crescents out of your -clothes until you looked like a group of Turkish ensigns, it was much -more monotonous. - -The beast I was compelled to ride had one ear cut off near the head, -and looked top-heavy in the extreme. As a mule's ears make up a goodly -portion of it, as seen in elevation from the saddle on its back, I -was always frightened when he approached a cliff on the unabridged -side, and instinctively leaned in to counterpoise the heavy weight that -I thought might drag us over the precipice. He was familiarly known -by the party as "Old Steamboat," "Old Lumber Yard," and other names -indicating these characteristics; but he was large and so was I, and he -fell to my lot. When I first saw his abbreviated auricular appendage, -as a member of the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Mules," I -felt incensed upon hearing that it had been lost by the cut of a whip -in the hands of a previous driver; but before we had been acquainted -a week I had transferred all my sympathy from the mule to the man, -whoever he may have been. On the level ground this mule was slower -than the Mexican cook, who took fifteen minutes to wash a spoon; but -on a perilous path of half a foot in width, on a dizzy precipice, the -way he could box the compass with the lone ear, so as to catch some -faint sound at which he could get frightened at this inopportune time, -made me wish I could cut off the other ear at about the third cervical -vertebra. - -About half-past one on the first day out from Carichic we stopped -for our lunch in a grove of beautiful pines in the valley of the -Pasigochic, on the banks of a little stream of the same name. As I have -said, we had ridden about fifteen miles from Carichic and were all -very much in need of rest. Just before lunching we passed a number of -Tarahumari Indians of the civilized class, working in a small field of -about three or four acres. Even in this small space there were a dozen -others hard at work. Their dark, swarthy bodies were almost the color -of the rich soil in which they toiled, making their white breechclouts -and white straw hats, the only things they wore, look curious enough -when they moved about like so many unpoetical ghosts, as seen at a -distance. - -[Illustration: A TARAHUMARI MOUNTAIN HOME.] - -We were now well into the Sierra Madre range, and although the scenery -was so far about the equal of the Alleghanies or Catskills, there was -not much level ground for cultivation, and this was eagerly seized by -the working natives, not only to raise crops for their own use, but to -have some to sell; for from six to seven days' travel to the southwest -was the richest silver district in the world, where all kinds of -produce brought fabulous prices that would have enriched an American -farmer in one season--flour forty cents a pound and other things in -proportion. Indeed one of the best distinctions that could be made -between the wild and civilized Tarahumaris is the fact that the former -knows nothing of money nor makes any attempt to secure it, bartering -directly by exchange with the civilized native for those things he -wants and does not make; while the latter makes money his medium of -exchange, and seems to thoroughly appreciate its value. - -The midday lunch for a party of Mexicans moving through the mountains -is quite long by comparison with American parties under like -circumstances. It was two hours before we got away again. There are -probably two reasons for this, one being that the midday is generally -warmer with them than with us, although this did not apply to us in the -cool, timbered regions of the high sierras; while the second reason is -clearly found in the fact that they seldom feed their mules on these -mountain trips, and must give them time to graze a fair-sized meal at -noon. The Mexican packs and unpacks the mules twice a day, the American -but once; for by feeding grain he can keep going until they want to -camp, making it much earlier than his Mexican brother, who, starting -at three o'clock, has to go until six or seven to make a respectable -afternoon's march. By three o'clock the American is generally in camp, -having made the same distance and having done half the work. It is -doubtful, however, if American mules would do as well here under like -circumstances. - -After leaving the pretty and picturesque Pasigochic, a high hill is -ascended, and late that afternoon we passed the highest point between -the morning and evening camps, eighteen hundred feet. On the high -hills were seen the beautiful madroņa tree, or strawberry tree, with -blood-red bark, and bright green and yellow leaves, and covered with -white blossoms, so startling a mixture of colors that it would hardly -be believed if painted and put on exhibition. They were everywhere, -from the merest bush in size to trees twenty and thirty feet in height. -In form they are not unlike a spreading apple tree, with strongly -contorted and twisted branches. Then there were many oaks of different -kinds, the _encino robles_ or everlasting oak, the white oak, and the -little black variety. There were a dozen kinds I knew nothing of in my -limited vocabulary of forest trees. The pines were beautiful, and in -many places forty to fifty merchantable trees to the acre, straight as -an arrow, and without a limb for sixty or seventy feet from the ground. -In one or two clusters I noticed groups of pines like those an old -lumberman once pointed out to me in the forests of Oregon as good mast -timber. I have seen the same repeated dozens of times on the slopes -of the Sierra Madre range. This dense mass of spar and mast timber, -as I shall call it, is nearly always found on the richest soil of the -mountain, generally in the narrow little valleys where the silt from -the sides is swept down by the rains until the soil is many feet deep. - -The great coniferous forest of the northern part of the Sierra Madre -range of Mexico is probably one of the largest in the world (it is -undoubtedly the largest virgin forest on either continent), and when -its resources are opened by well-constructed wagon roads, or, better -still, by a railway system, it will undoubtedly prove an enormous -source of revenue to the Mexican States of Chihuahua and Sonora, and -to no little extent those of Sinaloa and Durango--a source nearly as -profitable as their mineral wealth, and this is saying a great deal, -for these States comprise the richest silver district in the world. - -That evening we camped in the valley of the Guigochic, on another -beautiful mountain stream, where a little park of an acre or two gave -our mules some sweet alpine grasses, which warranted us in believing -that half the morning would not be passed in chasing over the hills to -find stray mules, as is so often the case in Mexico when these beasts -are turned loose to search for their food. We were all thoroughly tired -with our first day's ride on mule-back, but nevertheless turned in to -help the cook, as we realized that we wanted something to eat that -night. The tent was pitched between two magnificent pines of enormous -size, and I slept to the music of the wind in their branches. We -left our camp by the light of the camp fire next morning and started -over the crest of one of the steepest mountains overlooking our -camp. Halfway up the steep trail we passed two graves of stone heaps -surmounted by rough wooden crosses. At this spot a man and his wife -had been killed by the Apaches a few years ago. These same Apaches -had penetrated too far into Tarahumari land, and after a disastrous -encounter with the latter were fleeing themselves, when they met the -defenseless Mexican and his wife and killed them. This was the farthest -point west where a white person had been killed by Apache Indians in -this part of Chihuahua. After climbing this hill of 1500 or 1600 feet -our trail still led upward, the mountains growing steeper and steeper. -When we reached the top of one peak we would immediately begin the -zigzag descent, then climb up another and down again. Sometimes the -trail wound over a bald, rocky peak, where steps by long years of use -had been worn deep in the soft rock; and into these little places the -mules would carefully place their feet, there really being no other -foothold for them. Again there would be a chain of gigantic stairs -leading down some steep mountain side, where one could look hundreds of -feet, and see tall trees that from such an elevation resembled small -shrubs. The nimble and sure-footed animals would place all four feet -together and jump down from one step to another, oftentimes more than -their own height, so that one felt sure of being sent flying over the -cliff, Again, the trail would be over the loose, rolling stones, and -the little animals would fairly slide down these dangerous places. -By noon we reached the quaint little civilized pueblo of Tarahumari -Indians named Naqueachic, they living in rude log houses instead of -caves or cliff dwellings. - -At the pueblo of Naqueachic of civilized Tarahumaris I found a curious -method of cooking. Over the fire the food was boiling in two different -dishes. One contained a substance that looked like a compound of -mucilage and brick dust. The mademoiselle in charge would take up a -calabash gourd full, holding a pint or two, and, although the gourd was -held mouth up all the time, before it was three feet above the pot it -was completely emptied, so tenacious and stringy was the substance, -like the white of a soft boiled egg. This was repeated every five or -ten seconds, evidently to keep it from burning. It is made from the -soft, pulpy leaves or stalks of the nopal cactus; and is about as -palatable to a white man as gruel and sawdust would be. The other pot -contained some mixture of corn, beans, and probably one or two other -more savage ingredients, a sort of Sierra Madre succotash. - -In one corner of the room--I might say the house, for there was only -one room in the house--was a rude loom for weaving blankets, which -they make from the wool of their mountain sheep, and which under all -the circumstances are quite creditable. The ornamentation is not very -great, and yet none of them lack this seemingly necessary part of a -blanket. These blankets are usually of a dark brown color, with one or -two dark yellow stripes across them at the ends. Being "all wool and a -yard wide" they are quite warm, much warmer than some Mexican woolen -blankets that I bought at Chihuahua, which seemed better calculated to -keep the heat out on the cold nights in the mountains than to keep it -in. - -The civilized Tarahumaris are quite cleanly for savages, noticeably -more so than the lower order of Mexicans, and yet there is plenty of -room, great, unswept back counties of it, for improvement in this -respect. - -After leaving the interesting little village of Naqueachic we at once -started over a high range or crest some twenty-nine hundred feet above -our level, and from the top could look down in a beautiful valley on -one of the most important Tarahumari villages in the Sierra Madres, the -town of Sisoguichic. I would have liked to camp here for the night, but -as there was no corn for the mules or grass for them to graze on we -were compelled to proceed. - -[Illustration: OLD TARAHUMARI INDIAN.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--AMONG THE CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS IN THE - HEART OF THE SIERRA MADRE RANGE. - - -That night our camp was in an immense pine forest on the crest of one -of the high peaks, and here we parted with our Mexican friend Don -Augustin Becerra, to whom we had already become deeply indebted, and -who found it necessary to hasten on to his father's mines at Urique, -which we were to make more leisurely. - -There is a widely dispersed variety of pitch pine in these mountains, -which may be said to be the candles or the lanterns of the natives of -the country. The night scenes in the pitch-pine States of the South -have long formed themes in prose and poetry, but those States are in -the flat-land coasts of our country, with no scenery to give any of -the strange, weird effects of a broken land. At one camp I made upon a -high _potrero_, I saw such a scene. It was in a little flat place in -the mountain, where the grass was good for the mules, but where the -water was far down the precipitous ravine or box caņon that opened out -by a gorge to a great barranca as deep and wide as the Grand Caņon of -the Colorado. A half-dozen men at a time, all with pitch-pine torches, -descended after water, or to drive the mules to and from water. As -they cut long slivers of pine, eight to ten feet in length, that blaze -for two-thirds to three-fourths their length, the strange effect on -the wild scenery, stretching for miles, can be more easily conceived -than described. To have put it faithfully on canvas would have made -the reputation of any artist, and the equal of which I have never -seen. Vereschagin's "My Camp in the Himalayas" seemed almost tame by -comparison. The great wide sombreros, glittering with silver--for -even the common peons of Mexico have more costly hats than the "Four -Hundred" of New York--the bright red foliage of the manzanillas and the -madroņo trees, rendered doubly lurid by the reflection of the torches, -the sharp rocks of the caņon in battlemented and castellated confusion, -stretching off to the mighty barranca five thousand to six thousand -feet deep, really made up a picture that not one painter in a thousand -could have done justice to, and not one could imitate. - -On our third day out we crossed a most picturesque stream called the -Panascos River. Near the crossing were a number of huge irregular -bowlders lying at the foot of a sculptured cliff. Under those -that formed cave-like recesses were a number of Tarahumari cave -dwellers, looking absolutely comical in their wide-brim straw hats of -coarse grass and their primitive breechclouts. Their skins were so -dark-colored that had it not been for this white clothing at the two -termini it would have been hard to make them out in the dark, deep -caverns into which most of them fled upon our approach. - -[Illustration: CAVE-DWELLING TARAHUMARIS.] - -A recently occupied cave of these strange earth-burrowing savages -could nearly always be told by the stains of ascending smoke from -the highest point of entrance to the cave. If the cave has been -abandoned for any length of time the rain soon wipes out this sure sign -of habitation. We passed a large number of caves with funnel-shaped -smoke stains, leading up from the outside, but the silence of death -surrounded them, as if human life had never been within a mile of the -place; but I have not the remotest doubt that there were a dozen -people inside of each, peeping at us from around the dark corners, -having heard our approach and fled in time to keep well out of our -sight. Nothing is noisier than a Mexican mule packer, and the mountains -are always resounding with his pious shouting to his lazy, plodding -animals as he urges them on; so I considered it very lucky indeed that -we saw as many of the living cave and cliff dwellers as we actually -did, so excessively shy are these poor, timid creatures. - -[Illustration: HOME OF CAVE DWELLERS.] - -One of our Mexican packers tried to buy a sheep of one of the civilized -Tarahumaris a little farther on, but he would not part with one for any -money, although apparently having plenty to spare. Many of the pueblos -of the civilized Tarahumaris are really isolated communities, raising -all they need for food from the soil, or wool for clothing, or both -from animals of the chase, and consequently seldom buying or selling. - -That same day we passed La Sierra de los Ojitos. It is a high, shaggy -mountain, covered to the very top with a dense forest of pine, and -indicates where the waters divide to the east and west. On its slope -that we faced, its rivulets poured their contents into the Gulf of -Mexico, while from the opposite slope they go into the Pacific Ocean, -or rather its great Mexican arm, the Gulf of California. It is the -highest point of the Sierra Madres that we encountered on the trail, -and I found it to be 12,500 feet above the level of the sea, with La -Sierra de los Ojitos towering some 2000 to 3000 feet higher on our -left. I camped that night in a picturesque box caņon, which I named -Carillo Cajon after the Governor of the State of Chihuahua, who had -done a great deal to help the expedition with all the local authorities -in the different parts of the State that I might visit. We camped at -the first available point we could find, and even here slept at an -inclination of some thirty degrees to the level, the mules grazing -nearly overhead above us and occasionally rolling a stone down on us -during the night. - -This part of the Sierra Madres has a great deal of game in it, but -the most essential things to hunt it with would be a good pair of -wings, things that unfortunately travelers never have. There are many -white-tailed deer in the well-wooded valleys, but a brass band would -find them before a Mexican pack train, as it makes much less noise. In -fact this is true of nearly all kinds of game that can be frightened -off by the lung power of man. There are also many bears here, but we -saw none, nor any fresh signs of them. It is said by those who ought -to know that there are two kinds of bears in the Sierra Madre range, -lying between Chihuahua and Sonora--the common black species, and a -huge brown kind that must be, I think, the cinnamon or the grizzly -bear, so common farther north. The Tarahumari natives hunt the deer -in a very singular manner, but they leave the bears alone, as their -weapons, the bows of mora wood, are not strong enough for such an -uncertain encounter. The jaguar, or Mexican spotted panther, is known -as far north as this, but seems to keep to the warm lands, or _tierra -caliente_, which restricts it to the low plains of Sonora and Sinaloa, -just west of here. - -The endurance of these savage sons of the sierras in chasing deer is -wonderful. They take a small native dog and starve it for three or four -days till it has a most ravenous appetite; then they go deer hunting, -and put this keen-nosed, hungry animal on the freshest deer trail they -can find. It is perfectly needless to add that he follows it with a vim -and energy unknown to full stomachs. Fast as a hungry, starved dog is -on a trail that promises a good breakfast, he does not keep far ahead -of the swift-footed cliff dweller, who is always close enough behind -to render any assistance that may be required if the deer is overtaken -or a fresher trail is run across. I should say the dog is always -liberally rewarded if the hunt is a success. - -If night overtakes the pursuers they sleep on the trail, and resume -the chase as early next morning as the light will allow. Once on the -trail, however, the deer is a doomed animal, although the pursuers have -been known to sleep for two or three nights on its course before it was -overtaken, especially if the fleeing animal knew in some way that it -was pursued long before it was overtaken. Once overhauled, a series of -tactics is begun so as to divide the labor of the pursuit between the -dog and the man, but to give no corresponding advantage to the deer. -Wide detours are forced upon the deer by the swift dog, each recurring -one being easier to make, and the pursued animal is brought near the -man, who, with loud shouts and demonstrations, heads off the exhausted -animal every little while and turns it back on the pursuing dog, until -finally in one of the retreats it falls a temporary prey to its canine -foe, when the man rushes in and with a knife soon dispatches the game. - -Early one morning we could hear wild turkeys calling from one cliff to -the other, but as these were over a thousand feet higher and steeper -than the leaning-tower of Pisa, I suddenly lost all the wild turkey -zeal I had brought along with me for the trip. Then, again, if a -commander leaves his pack train just as they are getting away, he will -surely find a delay of an hour or two on his hands, for which it would -take a dozen turkeys to make amends. There is a plentiful supply of -game in the Mexican sierras, however, for any sportsman who wishes to -devote his attention directly to that pastime, as shown by the big -scores the natives make when they go on a hunting trip. - -[Illustration: AN OCCUPIED CAVE DWELLING] - -Early next morning we made a start from our camp on the caņon's side, -by the light of the pitch-pine torches, and climbed over and out of -the deep gorge into a more open country, where the sunlight could -penetrate. Here the trail was of velvety softness, and we surprised a -number of cave-dwelling Indians sitting and standing about their homes -among the big bowlders. The only garments they had on were ragged -breechcloths of cotton, but some had the extra adornment of a strip -of red cloth about their shocky black hair. The air was intensely -cold, so much so that we were wrapped in our heaviest coats, but -these savages apparently did not feel the cold, and if they shivered -at all it was probably at the sight of us--for their fear was quite -evident--and it was plain they longed to beat a retreat to their huge -rocky homes; but they stood it out till we passed, and then in an -instant they vanished. - -[Illustration: HOME OF CAVE DWELLER.] - -Before this day's march was ended we passed through a little Tarahumari -mountain town called Churo. It was in a small circular valley, and -on all sides were the steep, high peaks of the mountains. Here the -Indians had tried to raise a few apples, but the trees were gnarled and -twisted, and the apples not much larger than those of wild crab trees, -although much sweeter to the taste. Of course there was no store of any -kind in the little settlement, and if Mexicans, passing through the -place, wished to obtain anything from the Indians, their method was -to take it, placing whatever they considered its equivalent in silver -before the Indian, and leaving it for the latter to accept. If asked to -sell any of their produce or set a price on it, the Indians stolidly -refuse, even though the price may be two or three times greater than -they could possibly obtain at the nearest Mexican mining town. They -know nothing of the value of gold, and paper money they utterly refuse; -silver is the only money they will take even in this reluctant fashion. - -[Illustration: TARAHUMARI TOWN OF CHURO.] - -Upon reaching Cusihuiriachic I found that my Winchester rifle had been -left in the stage office in Chihuahua. I sent back word to forward -it by next stage to Carichic, but as the next stage did not arrive -at that place for four or five days we would have just that much -start of it in the mountains, and we therefore at that place engaged -a Tarahumari Indian boy to bring it whenever it did arrive. The gun -reached Carichic at noon of one day, and early the next forenoon the -young Indian appeared on our trail with it, having made the distance -in one night and a little over half a day. Of course he must have -used many short cuts across the country of which we were ignorant; -nevertheless it was quite a feat, for the distance traveled by us was -about 110 miles. - -From Carillo Cajon, where our last camp had been, to the westward -and southwestward the scenery steadily becomes grander and more -mountainous; until the Grand Barranca of the Urique is reached it -fully equals the Grand Caņon of the Colorado at any point on its -course. Long before, indeed, on our southward march beautiful vistas -break to the right and the left, and especially to the east. About five -o'clock one afternoon, just as we were emerging from a dense forest -of high pines, and little thinking of seeing stupendous scenery, we -suddenly came to the very edge of a cliff fully 1000 feet high, and -from which we could look down 4000 to 5000 feet on as grand a scene -of massive crags, sculptured rock, and broken barrancas as the eye -ever rested on. It was already late in the afternoon, so I determined -to remain over a day at this point and devote it to camera and caņon. -This camp on the picturesque brink of the Grand Barranca I called Camp -Diaz, after Mexico's president. - -The Grand Barranca of the Urique is one of the most massive pieces -of nature's architecture that the world affords. It is quite similar -in some respects to the Grand Caņon of the Colorado, and this is the -nearest to which I can compare it in the United States. The latter, -grand as the scenery undoubtedly is, soon tires by its monotonous -aspect of perpendicular walls in traveling any distance, while the -Grand Barranca could be followed as far as it deserves the name of -"grand" and every view and every vista would have some startling and -attractive change to please the eye. It is a "cross" between the Grand -Caņon of the Colorado and the Yosemite Valley--if we can imagine -such scenery after seeing both. Were the Urique River navigable, -fortunes could easily be made by transportation lines carrying -tourists to and fro, provided even only one terminus connected with -some well-established line of travel. But unfortunately it is not -navigable, no amount of money could make it so, and all tourists or -travelers who are afraid of a little work or roughing it will miss one -of the most magnificent panoramas. It is simply impossible to crowd -into a pen-and-ink sketch or a photograph any adequate views of this -stupendous mountain scenery. It is rather a field for an artist, who -will put the product of his palette and brush on heroic-sized canvas, -and make one of the masterpieces of the world. The heart of the Andes -or the crests of the Himalayas contain no more sublime scenery than the -wild, almost unknown fastnesses of the Sierra Madres of Mexico. - -[Illustration: A VIEW THROUGH ROCK OPENING ACROSS THE GRAND BARRANCA OF -THE URIQUE.] - -From the cliffs we were on, among the pines and cedars, we could look -far down into the valley of the Urique with our field glasses and see -the great pitahaya cactus, a product of the tropical climes. In between -were the oaks and other products of temperate climates, showing us in a -huge panorama nearly all the plant life from the equator to the poles. -We sat on the bold, beetling cliffs, and could drink ice water from -the clear mountain springs that threw themselves in silvery cascades -below, and view the river far down in the valley, a perpendicular mile -below us, the waters of which were so warm that we knew we could bathe -in them with comfort. Away off across the great caņon were lights, as -evening fell, beaming from the caves of the cliff dwellers on the -perpendicular side of the mountain. Truly it was a strange, wild sight. - -One of the lights that was "raised," as the sailors would say, in -the evening, was in what seemed to be a perpendicular cliff on the -opposite side of the mighty barranca, as near as we could make out in -the gloom of the falling night. Its position was located, and, surely -enough, on the next day our conjectures were verified, for we could -see a few dim dottings showing caves, while to the main one led up a -steep talus of _débris_ that tapered to a point just in front of the -entrance. Strangest of all, but a little way down the side of this very -steep talus, so very steep that one would have had much difficulty in -ascending unless there were brush to assist in climbing, we could -easily make out, with the help of our glasses, that corn had been -planted by these strange people. It seemed as if the tops of the dwarf -plants were just up to the roots of the next row of corn above them, if -they can really be said to have been planted in rows at all. - -[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A CLIFF DWELLER'S HOME, SEVENTY-FIVE FEET -ABOVE THE WATER.] - -Much as I would have liked to visit the place, the condition of my -mules and the state of my provisions made it clearly out of the -question; moreover, I was informed that better chances to see cliff -dwellers would present themselves before long, which statement, -fortunately, was soon verified. Not far from Camp Diaz was a place -where we could have tied our braided horsehair lariats together and let -a person down one hundred to two hundred feet into the tops of some -tall pine trees, and from there gain the first incline, which, though -dizzily steep, I think would have led, by a little Alpine engineering, -into the bottom of the big barranca four or five thousand feet below, -and thence an ascent could be made to the caves of the cliff dwellers. -But there were other and more potent considerations, which I have -given, that prevented our attempting this acrobatic performance with -the cliffs and crags as spectators. We might say that we were now out -of the land of the living cave dwellers and in the land of the living -cliff dwellers, although the latter live in caves in the cliffs. But -I make the distinction between the two, of caves on the level of the -ground in the valleys or the sides of mountains, and the caves in -cliffs or walls. The latter are reached by notched sticks used as -ladders, or, as I saw in a few cases, by natural steps in the strata -of alternate hard and soft rock, and up which nothing but a monkey or -a Sierra Madre cliff dweller could ascend. Many of these cliff houses -in the caves and great indentations are one hundred to two hundred -feet above the water of some mountain stream, over which they hang -like swallows' nests. Truly they are a most wonderful and interesting -people, well worth a large volume or two to describe all that is -singular and different in them from other people, savage or civilized. - -[Illustration: IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING CLIFF DWELLERS.] - -One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Sierra Madre -range, and one that will attract widespread admiration in the near -future when this country is better known, is its wonderful rock -sculpture. I do not think I exaggerate in saying that I passed -hundreds of isolated sculptured rocks in one day. All sketches fail -to give an idea of these beautiful formations. They must be seen to -afford a conception of their beauty and grotesqueness. Undoubtedly -they outrank all other ranges of North America and, as far as I can -learn, of the whole world. Even the Garden of the Gods in Colorado -is flat in comparison with some of the many miles of glorious rock -formations in these grand old mountains. The trail from Camp Diaz to -our fifth camp in the Arroyo de los Angelitos along the western side -of the Grand Barranca of the Urique, was as picturesque as the most -poetical imagination could conceive. The trail wound up and down the -steep arroyos and along the edge of the high cliffs, giving views of -unsurpassed beauty and grandeur. That night we slept for the last time -under the somber pines and listened to the whip-poor-wills, for the -next night we had descended seven thousand feet, and were among the -oranges and palms, the paroquets and humming birds. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -IN SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--DOWN THE URIQUE BARRANCA--FROM PINE TO - PALM--URIQUE AND ITS MINES. - - -As this was to be a most important day our small party on the crest of -one of the high sierras was astir earlier than usual. Our camp had been -made in a little glen between two peaks, alongside one of the numerous -clear, cold streams that wind in and about through all these mountains, -and furnish the loveliest and most picturesque spots imaginable for -camping. Francisco, my chief packer, a bright, good-natured Mexican, -was off long before sunrise, scouring the ridges and the gulches for -the mules, as these animals often wander miles away at night, and in -the morning all the available people in camp are turned out to look -for them. This search sometimes wears well into the day before these -frisky beasts are brought in; then some stray human member of the party -has to be found, and when all this is accomplished it is nearly time -to turn out the mules for another feed. On this particular morning -fortune favored us, however, and soon our dejected-looking beasts were -tied in line with the lariats, while we sat on the ground a short -distance from them, each with a tin plate in our laps and a tin cupful -of coffee in our hands. The night before an Indian had arrived at our -camp, sent out from Urique by our Mexican friend, with roasted chickens -and fresh eggs. The chickens had vanished on the evening of their -arrival, but the eggs furnished us a royal breakfast with the usual -bill of fare, bacon and coffee. An early morning in the Sierra Madres, -even in midsummer, will make the teeth chatter. The only comfort one -can get, after piling on heavy coats, is to pass the time in revolving -about the camp fire just out of reach of the smoke till breakfast is -ready. Any attempt at washing is sure to be a failure, for the water -is as cold as ice and the fingers refuse to work in the frosty air; so -it is generally about midday before dirt and the traveler cease to be -companions. After we had thawed out with the hot coffee, and all the -packs had been strapped on the mules, the animals were started ahead, -with Francisco's assistant, a muscular Indian, running after them; -then the saddles were placed on our worn-out beasts, and off we went -with light hearts, for this day's ride was to take us to the large -mining village of Urique, buried away in the depths of the Urique -Barranca. We had been on the road about an hour, up hill and down -dale, crossing innumerable mountain streams, and skirting the edges -of precipices from which we caught glimpses of the beautiful valleys -thousands of feet below, when we rounded the corner of an immense spur, -climbed a high bald point of the mountain, and came suddenly to what -appeared to be the end of land. We could now look out for miles into -the great mining barranca, broken into innumerable crags and turrets, -with ridges and banks of mountains piled high on every side, mountains -of purple, red, yellow, and green, magnificent and fantastic, fading -away into other barrancas to the right and left. Here we paused, seven -thousand feet above the valley, and looked at the wonderful panorama -spread before us, celebrated even among these grand old mountains--by -the few who have penetrated their fastnesses--as one of the most -famous views and formidable descents in the whole range. The guides -carefully examined all the packs and saddles, and every strap and rope -was tightened and made secure. All were directed to remain in their -saddles, as the descent was too steep and the way too dangerous for -walking, the path or trail being covered with loose rolling stones. We -had been told to give the mules their heads, and trust to their being -perfectly sure-footed, for in that respect a Mexican mule is about as -certain as a mountain goat. - -From "La Cumbra," or the crest of the Sierra Madres, we could look down -in the valley of the Urique River, as I have said, something over a -vertical mile. As we stood among the pines we could see the plantations -of oranges far below, one of which, called "La Naranja"--the Spanish -for orange--seemed almost under our feet; in fact it was not farther -away in horizontal measure than it was vertical, or about a mile in -both. The Barranca of the Urique was much more open at this point than -where we had first struck it at Camp Diaz, but it was, nevertheless, -fully as grand and sublime in its mighty scenery, although of quite -another kind. The enormous buttresses, almost spurs of mountains, -that stood out along the caņon-like sides of the former, with their -bristling, perpendicular fronts of thousands of feet in height, were -now rounded off along the ridges with their vertical descents, and only -their sides were straight up and down. In fact it was down these steep -ridges that we must make our descent by zigzag trails that gave us a -grade on which a mule could stand. Every time we came to the side of a -ridge the trail hung over a precipice with a sickening dizziness to the -rider until the mule could make the turn and get back on the descending -trail. Occasionally it was necessary to leave one ridge for another -far away that gave a better grade, and then we might have to skirt -some cumbra, or crest, with walls practically vertical on either side, -where, if we ever started to fall, we could guarantee ourselves one -thousand five hundred to two thousand feet of plain sailing. - -On the trail from Batopilas to Parral is the "La Infinitad" of the -Mexican miners (the Infinity), where the trail, not over half a foot -wide, looks down a sheer vertical twenty-six hundred feet. - -Presently the pines begin to grow less numerous and to be interspersed -with the many varieties of oak for which the Sierra Madres will one -day be noted, the most conspicuous of which is the _encino robles_, -or everlasting oak, a beautiful tree with enormous leaves of a bright -green color. The oaks increase in numbers as we descend, and the -pines soon disappear; for we are getting out of the country of cold -nights, which the conifers love so much. Presently a thorny mesquite -is seen, and in half an hour we have traveled from Montana to Texas, -in a climatic way. On the cumbra we jumped off from our mules and -ran along by the half hour in the cool, fresh mountain air. Now five -minutes brings out our handkerchiefs to wipe our perspiring brows. -The northern cactus will soon mingle with the mesquite, and then the -great pitahaya tells us we are on the verge of the tropics, while each -tree in the orange orchard just below us can be made out, and after a -few more turns on the twisting trails, even the yellow oranges on the -bright green trees become distinct. Another half hour and we are on the -level, while not that length of time has been added before palms are -over our head, and the heat is almost unbearable to those who have been -for weeks on the high mountain tops of the cool sierras. In a little -over four hours we dropped from the land of the pine to the land of -the palm, and this too on mule-back, a feat that could be performed in -few countries outside of Mexico. We were now out of the land of wild -forests and wild men, back again among Mexican civilization, but of a -kind almost unknown to the outside world, although one of the richest -mining districts and one of the oldest points of colonization on the -North American continent. - -Our path was now lined with lovely, flowering, thorny shrubs, that -stretched out and tried to scratch us, and often succeeded as we passed -by. When we reached the little plateau of the first orange grove we -rested awhile, and from here could look back to the cool place we had -left but four short hours before. The way down from this resting -place seemed steeper and longer than the first half of the journey; the -heat became intense, the air throbbing and shimmering in the brilliant -sunshine. Gayly colored paroquets and strange tropical birds went -flitting past us and filled the air with their noisy calls and cries. -The trail, however, had a persistent, unaccountable Indian method of -keeping away from all shade, and wound among the thickest masses of -thorny shrubs, which compelled us constantly to keep an eye on them, -or be reminded in a manner more painful than pleasant. These, and the -intense heat, made me long for the mountain life again. Although we -had dropped from the crest of the range and land of pines to the land -of palms, seven thousand feet, still we had many miles to wind up the -great tropical barranca before we would reach the village. - -[Illustration: FROM ORANGE PLANTATION TO CUMBRA, OR CREST OF MOUNTAIN, -SIX THOUSAND FEET. LOOKING BACKWARD.] - -One of the most dangerous places on the entire trail, about six hundred -feet above the river, was where the mountain had apparently caved in -on a sharp curve. This cave-in was directly under the trail, and here -it crossed it with an abrupt turn around the point of the mountain. A -small torrent had cut its way down at this point, and goats and other -animals, when grazing on the steep slope above, had loosened quantities -of stones and earth, which had fallen and built out a sort of ledge or -shelf at the same point. This shelf projected over the great curve in -the hill, and on approaching this place it looked as if a mule must -either walk off with his fore feet or let his hind ones drop over -the cliff in making the turn. Of course the trail was as narrow as -possible for a trail to be and allow an animal to cling to it. - -Through the kindness of Don Augustin Becerra there was sent out from -Urique to the orange plantation a very large mule for my personal -comfort. This animal was of the pinto variety and a fine traveler. -After my desperate encounters with "Old Steamboat" it was positive -luxury to ride him. He had some faults, however; he was fresh and fast, -so kept well in advance of the rest of the train. When we neared this -particularly dangerous place my mule took up a gentle trot and went -pounding around the curve in a way that almost turned my hair gray, and -I know we all breathed more freely after getting away from the perilous -spot. - -The Mexican town of Urique, numbering some three thousand people, -was first established in 1612, years before the first pilgrim landed -on Plymouth Rock, and yet it is as unknown as though in the interior -of Africa. That living cave and cliff dwellers should be found but a -little way off from the rough and even dangerous trail that leads to -the secluded town which no one troubled himself to report to the world -outside, shows what a wonderful isolation can exist and still be called -civilization. The only way out of and into the town was on the back -of the melancholy mule, and an old resident told me he believed that -three-fourths of the people had never seen a wagon, not even the wooden -carts of the Mexicans that so remind one of scriptural times; certainly -no wagon or cart was ever hauled through the streets of Urique. In -this deep barranca there is just room enough for the Urique River (a -beautiful stream), and alongside of it, straggling out for a couple of -miles or more, a row of houses hugging the banks of the stream, then a -narrow street and a similar row of houses crowded up on the slope of -the mountain. Back of this rise abruptly the steep, broken crests of -the Sierra Madres. On the opposite side of the river there is only room -now and then for a chance house that clings to the steep sides of the -hills or burrows into them. - -[Illustration: URIQUE FROM THE RIVER.] - -We rode with a great clatter up the single street lying white and still -in the noonday sun, and had we not known that preparations had been -made for us--as our arrival was anticipated by Don Augustin Becerra--we -might have mistaken the place for a deserted village. After riding a -mile through the street we reached a little plaza about twenty-five -feet square, where the mountains receded and made room for this level -little patch of ground. Here one of the great wooden doors of the -apparently deserted houses opened and our host came forth, followed -by a number of others. By the time the whole party reached the plaza -there were one or two hundred Mexicans congregated to welcome us and -see us alight. As there were no accommodations of any sort in the town -for travelers, Don Augustin Becerra, with the graceful courtesy of a -Mexican gentleman, had moved out of his own home and literally placed -his whole house and all it contained at our disposal; and this was -done as though it were the most commonplace thing in the world, and -without the least sign of ostentatious politeness. I doubt very much -whether any American under the same circumstances would have done as -much. His father, Don Buenaventura Becerra, lived here also, and both -united in showering on us the most acceptable acts of hospitality -during our whole stay; and these were doubly welcome, coming as they -did in such a spontaneous and wholly unexpected manner. - -[Illustration: THE ONLY STREET OF URIQUE.] - -Urique is most interesting in that vast and substantial mineral wealth -of which the little town is practically the center. The discovery -of the rich district of Urique is to be attributed, so I am told, -to the "adelantados" or "conquistadores," Spanish names equivalent -to "adventurers," and then given to the commanders of expeditions -organized but a short time after the conquest to explore the country -and extend the domains of the Spanish crown. Directly overlooking -this beautiful little mountain town is the Rosario mine, one of the -principal mines of the district. Its ore runs from two hundred to two -thousand dollars to the ton. In fact only the richest ores of any -mine can be worked in the Central Sierra Madres, where everything is -carried for hundreds of miles on mule-back at rates that would make a -freight agent's mouth water. Salt for chlorination works, that we get -for five to ten dollars a ton where there are railways, here costs -from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five dollars a ton, and -even much more during the rainy season of about three months, when all -the streams are swollen and the dizzy mountain trails are dangerous -in the extreme. This rainy season in Northern Mexico lasts from -about the first or middle of June until the middle of September. It -is against such enormous odds that man has to battle with Nature in -this secluded part of the earth in order to get at her wealth that -is otherwise so lavishly strewn around. After one has passed ten or -twelve days on the roughest of mountain trails in order to reach this -point, and reflects that the discoverers must have been without even -this poor aid to progress, one's respect for the old Spanish explorers -of the seventeenth century is sure to be heartily accorded. They were -undoubtedly a much hardier, more daring, persistent, and intrepid class -of people than those who struck the Atlantic shores of our own country. -But, great ghost of Cortes, how things have changed! It seems as if -the will and energy of three centuries had been crowded into as many -years, and then allowed to stand still, like a watch that loses its -balance and spins off the twenty-four hours in nearly as many seconds. - -[Illustration: LOOKING DOWN THE URIQUE BARRANCA TOWARD THE RIVER.] - -And right here I would refer to the frequent discussion of writers -on Mexico as to whether Mexicans are opposed to the introduction of -foreign labor and capital to develop their country. All around the town -of Urique are to be found mines of gold and silver either operated -or about to be operated by Americans, English, Germans, and other -foreigners; while many other enterprises are starting toward this -rich country opened by the Spanish before a white man had crossed the -Alleghenies. I was therefore in a fair position to hear what their -descendants had to say, and in giving it utterance let me compare them -with our own countrymen. Individually the Mexican is never so bitter -against foreigners as the American, although the latter nation is much -more an aggregation of foreigners than the former, and of much later -date from other countries. I often heard quite caustic comparisons from -sensible Mexicans as to foreign methods of mining, railroading, etc., -which I think were sometimes exaggerative, and they even expressed -opposition to their coming in at all, but never in a manner so -pronounced as with us. - -The whole of the rich Urique district, formerly an old Spanish grant -many square miles in extent, was granted the Becerra family of three -brothers by the Mexican Government. Their wealth is reputed to be many -millions, and this we could readily believe while passing through a -portion of their vast possessions. There are now in the Urique district -a dozen bonanza mines worked by the old Spanish system, which would -yield enormous revenues if there were any method by which the ore could -be transported at reasonable rates. From almost any point on the one -street of the town you could look up the steep mountain sides and see -three or four of these old Spanish mines. The method of working them -was wholly on the same plan as that adopted a hundred years before, -even the machinery being of the most primitive type. - -That night I took a swim in the Urique River and found the water as -warm as fresh milk, although the water I had used in the morning from -some of its small tributaries on the cumbra was as cold as ice. - -The post office in the little town was a most curiously primitive -affair, being merely an awning of branches held up against a tree by -a post in the ground. Under this an old man was seated on a chair; we -saw nothing here to indicate a post office, but were assured this was -the spot to deposit our letters. The man regarded me with surprise and -distrust, and the sight of the three or four letters I wished to mail -drew a large crowd. The old man could not read, and I told him where -the letters were to go; then, after a great deal of jabbering among the -crowd regarding the amount of postage, which I fortunately knew and -told him, the letters were mailed by being deposited in an empty cigar -box at his side, to be handed to the Indian mail carrier on his next -trip out of Urique. - -Our stay was unexpectedly prolonged by the illness of one of the party. -It was the warmest season of the year in the deep tropical barranca, -and the change from the cool mountain air of the high sierras was -extremely trying to all. We found it was necessary to make an effort -to bestir ourselves as far as sightseeing was concerned, but we dared -to venture out only after sunset from our comfortable quarters in the -thick adobe building. There was no twilight in the great caņon. Almost -as soon as the sun disappeared behind the steep mountains darkness -came; but the moonlight nights were simply glorious, transforming the -tropical valley into a perfect fairyland; even the homely adobe -houses were beautiful, and the most commonplace Mexican, in his great -sombrero with a serape thrown gracefully over his shoulders, added a -picturesque touch to the scene. Every available level spot of land in -the valley had been turned by the owners into an orange grove or a -ranch on which to raise fruits and vegetables for consumption by their -families; and, as all the edible vegetation of nearly every clime grew -there, their tables were always abundantly supplied. - -[Illustration: INDIAN GIRL WINNOWING BEANS] - -In wandering along the river bank I noticed one very effective way the -natives had to protect their gardens from the intrusions of the small -boy or even smaller animals. On the top of a common adobe fence they -planted a row of the cholla cactus, the most prickly of all that great -family of needles. Even the agile cat could not get over nor around -this formidable fence. - -We made two ineffectual efforts to get away from Urique before we -finally succeeded. In the first instance the packers did not arrive -with the mules until noon, thinking by this ruse they would be able to -camp in the valley instead of on the mountain, for they much prefer -the tropical heat to the chill of the high mountains. The next time -they were promptly on hand, but one of the party was too ill to sit -up. The third time fortune favored us, and, after bidding adieu to our -hospitable friends, we started for the famous Cerro Colorado mine, said -to be the richest gold mine in all this part of Mexico. We followed -the narrow mule trail that wound along the brawling river, hemmed in -on either side by mountains towering three, four, and five thousand -feet above us, and were well up the caņon before the first rays of the -sun could reach us over the mountain tops. All along the trail the -river was lined with beautiful flowering shrubs of every conceivable -shade and color. Flitting around among them were brilliantly colored -paroquets and many other birds with gay plumage. That morning's ride of -ten or twelve miles up the caņon, sheltered as we were from the fierce -rays of the sun--which emphasized and reflected the many-colored rocks -of the mountains that were carved and sculptured into all beautiful and -fantastic shapes--was one of such rare beauty and perfection that even -the most graphic pen would despair of doing justice to the subject. -About noon we crossed a small branch of the Urique River, for we had -turned off from the main caņon into a smaller one, and then started -up the steep mountain side. Up the weary mules scrambled and climbed -for six long hours, resting now and then while we looked backward and -downward at the land of the tropics, all wayside signs of which were -fast disappearing. Just before leaving the Urique River we came to a -native tannery, which was about as primitive an affair as any we saw -in the whole Sierra Madres. For some two hundred yards along the wide -river its bottom was white with outstretched hides held there by heavy -stones on the upstream corners, and these hides were kept there for -weeks to rid them of their hair. Of course we tasted but little of the -water below that point. On enormous bent beams at the lower end was -found a number of hides stretched, and naked men scraping them with -sharpened stones. Despite the style of work, the leather they make is -remarkably soft and pliable. An hour or two before our evening camp -was made we were once more traveling along underneath the shade of the -great somber pines, and the air seemed cold and unpleasant after our -late tropical experience. As we had no tent with us, we simply spread -our beds upon the soft pine needles and slept with the stars shining -in our faces. At the first streak of daylight we were eating our -breakfast, and shortly after were off over the velvety trail that led -up the peaks and across many small barrancas toward the deep gorge in -which was the celebrated Cerro Colorado mine. - -[Illustration: INDIAN TANNERY] - -All this portion of the Sierra Madres is unsurpassed for magnificent -and thrilling views over dizzy mountain trails. At many places one -could look off into infinity from a ledge not over a foot and a half -in width on which the mules must walk. Occasionally a steep wall of -rock rises many hundreds of feet on one side and along this the mule -will carefully scrape. The descent into Cerro Colorado was the most -continuous steep I ever saw. Almost before we knew it we were in the -tropics again, and that by an incline where, in a dozen places, the -uphill rider on one zigzag could, without taking his foot out of the -stirrup, kick off the hat of one below him on the other course as he -passed. - -Cerro Colorado is reputed to be the largest gold mine in the world, and -was discovered as recently as 1888. That it should have remained so -long unknown to any prospector in such a rich silver-mining district -is one of the morsels of mining history, even a far greater mystery -to me than that the existence of living cave and cliff dwellers on -the rough mountain trails leading thereto should have been kept so -long quiet. Cliff dwellers or angels in the air above them, or cave -dwellers or demons in the earth under them would have attracted but -little attention from a seeker of precious metals beyond the momentary -astonishment at their sight. - -[Illustration: VIEW IN MOUNTAINS, WITH CLIFF DWELLINGS, NEAR CERRO -COLORADO.] - -The Cerro Colorado mine is an immense buttress or spur from the flank -of the Sierra Madres, the whole spur showing signs of gold, not in -any distinct vein, but in great masses distributed here and there -through the mountain, a sort of "pocket" system, as miners would say. -This great buttress or spur is 1800 meters (something over a mile) in -length, 1200 meters in breadth, and 500 meters in height, and runs -from $1 to $3300 a ton, as would be expected in the pocket system of -deposits. Small deposits have been found of one hundred weight or so, -however, that would run enormously--over $100,000 to the ton. The gold -is not wholly in pockets, for it is found distributed in all parts of -the great red hill, at least in the minimum of one dollar per ton. It -requires eight mines to cover the tract properly. Enormous works were -being put in to develop the property, and in a few years it will be -known whether this is the largest gold mine in the world or not. It -is the property of the Becerra brothers, and when I visited it Don -José Maria Becerra was at the mine and spared no pains to make my stay -pleasant. He was then engaged in placing the most improved machinery -and constructing enormous works for water power, etc. He brought out -and laid on a chair four great lumps of gold, of about the value of -seventy thousand dollars, that had just been run out by the Mexican -_arastra_, for they were still using the ancient method of mining, -awaiting the arrival of the new machinery. Our host was preparing to -start for London and Paris on business connected with his mine, and -when we again heard of him it was the sad news of his death in London. -This was not only a severe loss to his family, but a great blow to -that portion of the country where his progressive energy had done so -much to further its development. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--DESCRIPTION OF ONE OF THE RICHEST SILVER - REGIONS OF THE WORLD--MINERAL WEALTH OF THE SIERRA MADRES--THE - BATOPILAS DISTRICT. - - -After leaving Cerro Colorado, with its undeveloped possibilities, -the trail leads southwestward through the broken barrancas toward -Batopilas. This portion of the trail has been so improved by the -energetic mine owners, and was so broad and smooth, that our mules -could often take up a trot, which seemed doubly fast after our -laborious plodding through the rough, unbroken portion over which we -had passed. This trail had been built along some of the steepest -cliffs and most rugged mountain sides, and must have been a work of -great expense, for after every rainy season, lasting from June till -September, these are badly washed out and require continuous repairs. -The usual Mexican method is to abandon a badly washed trail and strike -out in a new direction. Thus one finds all sorts of paths in the -mountains, and it is necessary to have a good guide who knows the way -thoroughly, or bring up suddenly on the washed-out ledge of an unused -trail and then retrace your steps to its junction with another. Long -before we reached Batopilas we came upon some of the massive work being -constructed at that point, and were in a measure prepared for the -energetic American activity, but not for the castle-like structure, the -hacienda of San Miguel and San Antonio, as the home of ex-Governor -Shepherd, the part owner and superintendent of those famous mines is -called. Entering through a massive stone archway, we passed by some -of the principal offices within the inclosure, and then on to the -residence portion of the great conglomeration of buildings. Here our -welcome was of the heartiest description, and everything possible was -done for our comfort and pleasure. The great buildings were lighted -by electricity and furnished with all modern conveniences, including -hot and cold water, steam baths, and, an unusual luxury, an immense -swimming pool, formed by a slight deflection of a portion of the -Batopilas River. The many comforts of this place made us loath to leave -it for the mountain trail. - -I shall try and give my readers some slight idea of the wealth of -this portion of a country so famous in early Spanish conquest. In -those great, broken barrancas, leading out to the westward from the -heart of the Central Sierra Madres, I found myself in the richest -mineral district of America, and probably the richest in the world. -The fact that this is not generally known (and, to tell the truth, -but very little has ever been published in the English language about -so rich a district, and that little is very old) would make it easy -to write a book on this region alone, and still leave a great deal -unsaid. One of the late cyclopedias says of Mexican mines, "Almost -one-half of the total yield [of silver] is derived from the three -great mining districts in Guanajuato, Zacatecas, and Catorce." Like -most cyclopedias, this one was a little late in its information when -printed, although it had an inkling of the truth in saying: "The -State of Sinaloa is said to be literally covered with silver mines. -Scientific explorers who visited the Sinaloa mines in 1872 reported -that those on the Pacific slope would be the great source of the supply -of silver for the next century." The fact is that the center of the -greatest source of supply has moved even north of Sinaloa, to about the -boundary line between the States of Chihuahua and Sonora, and about -one-third of the way from its southern end. Taking either Batopilas or -Urique as a base, and with a radius of 180 or 200 miles, that is, a -diameter of 400 miles on them as a center, there is no doubt that the -resulting circle will include the richest mining district in America, -and probably in the world, both in a present and prospective sense. -From within that circle comes a little over one-fourth the bullion of -the whole of Mexico, although this area is insignificant compared with -all the territory of that celebrated republic. - -In 1864 a report of the mines of Mexico was expressly made for Napoleon -III. by Dr. Roger Dubois, the French consul. He said as follows of -those of Western Chihuahua: "Of all the States of the Mexican Republic, -Chihuahua is, without contradiction, the richest in minerals, and we -count no less than three thousand different leads, the greater part -of which are silver." Probably three or four times that number could -be added to Dr. Dubois' estimate of just a quarter of a century ago -to bring it up to the present date, all of the new mines being in -the Sierra Madres, where not one in a hundred can be worked unless of -fabulous richness. One of the new railways projected into this part -of Mexico made a most thorough examination of this mining belt to see -what could be depended on for freight, and their chief engineer told -me that no less than two thousand mines of silver that do not pay now -could be made to do so by the cheap transportation of a railway. If -one will reflect that there are now in the whole of Mexico but 1247 -mines being worked (gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, and cinnabar), -it is easy to see that my statement of this being the richest mining -district of Mexico, and therefore of America, will admit of no doubt, -and especially in a prospective sense. Already, in anticipation of a -railway, many large companies are prospecting their concessions, while -the individual miner is also to be found with pickax, pan, and shovel -on his back, making for this El Dorado, so old in many ways, and yet so -very new. - -Mr. H. H. Porter, the prospecting engineer of the Batopilas Mining -Company, told me, and showed me the various specimens to verify -his statement, that in one little area three hundred yards square, -there were found twelve veins of silver running from three dollars -to seventy-eight dollars to the ton. The reader unacquainted with -mining may understand this by my saying that any silver mine of over -twenty dollars to the ton is a fortune to its owner if on or near a -railway. There are over five hundred veins in the Batopilas concession -of sixty-four square miles, and should any new railway running near -by justify further research, it could probably be made five thousand -without much trouble. - -The history of the big Batopilas Mining Company, about the center of -the district I have spoken of, and which stands head and shoulders -above all the surrounding mining companies, is a fair example of all in -this part of the country where my travels were cast. - -Batopilas, or Real de San Pedro de Batopilas, as it was originally -named, is said to have been discovered in October, 1632. Like Urique, -its discovery is to be ascribed to the "adelantados" sent out shortly -after the conquest to explore the country and enlarge the possessions -of Spain. It is surmised that the rich mineral finds made near the -capital, and which subsequently extended far into the interior, led -to the progress of the "adelantados" further north, and inspired the -expedition into the Sierra Madres which gave rise to the discovery -of Batopilas. Tradition has it that upon their descent to the river -bottom the "adelantados" were struck by the luminous appearance of -the rocks, which were covered in many parts by snowy flakes of native -silver. Hence the name "Nevada," signifying "a fall of snow," which -was applied to the first mine worked in the district. The news of -the discovery spread far and wide, and, as the evidence of its great -richness multiplied, it soon became one of the most famous mines of -New Spain. The first miners of the new discovery made a magnificent -present to the viceroy, composed entirely of large pieces of native -silver, the richness of the ore being unprecedented. I have now in my -possession ore from Batopilas that runs from six thousand to eight -thousand dollars to the ton, and that looks like a mass of solid silver -ten-penny nails imperfectly fused together; so I can readily see how -the present of solid native silver could have been made. - -In 1790 a royal decree ordered the collection of all data for a history -of New Spain, and a special commission of scientists was ordered by -the viceroy and Royal Tribunal of Mines to report upon the Batopilas -district. There is but one copy of the report extant, which I traced to -the city of Chihuahua. The commission states that the silver extracted -from Batopilas in a few years amounted to fifty million dollars, not -including that which was surreptitiously taken out to escape the -heavy imposts levied by the crown, and which must have been enormous. -The most famous period of "bonanza" for the Batopilas district was -during the last fifty years of the eighteenth and the first years of -the present century. During this time the famous mines of Pastrana, El -Carmen, Arbitrios, and San Antonio were discovered, and yielded the -fabulous returns which have been variously estimated at from sixty -million to eighty million dollars. From the outset of the Mexican -Revolution in 1810 a period of decay set in, which reduced Batopilas -greatly and almost caused its ruin. The many revolutions, together with -the wonderful discoveries of very rich gold and silver mining districts -adjoining this one, depopulated it to such a degree that it counted -but ten resident families in 1845. From this time the reaction which -has made Batopilas the richest silver district in the world may be -said to date. The old mines were again opened and new ones discovered. -The measure of success did not compare with that attained in the time -of the Spaniards, however, owing to the lesser energy displayed, but -proved amply sufficient to repay the timid efforts of the native -speculators. - -Not until the year 1862 did American enterprise direct its efforts -in so promising a direction. A purchase was effected by an American -company, composed principally of gentlemen interested in Wells, Fargo -& Co., whereby the property embracing the famous veins of San Antonio -and El Carmen passed into their hands. They operated with great -success in the face of many difficulties until the year 1879, when the -property again changed hands, and was acquired by a stock company, -which has held and worked it to the present day. The American companies -in this, the richest mining district in the world, are: The Batopilas -Mining Company, the Todos Santos Silver Mining Company, and the Santo -Domingo Silver Mining Company. The Mexican mining companies are quite -numerous, as may be supposed, but I shall not detail them, as it would -require too much space. Many of them are very important, as the Urique -and Cerro Colorado companies. Altogether there are over a hundred in a -greater or less degree of active operation in this rich district, all -contained within a radius of four miles. Of these the Batopilas Mining -Company owns and operates over sixty. It is without doubt one of the -most important American mining ventures in Mexico. It is also a mining -company that has had great difficulties to contend with. Its isolation -in the establishment of a business of such magnitude in the heart of -the Sierra Madres in so short a number of years is an accomplishment -suggestive of great energy. This company owns nearly all the famous old -mines in this district which, in the times of the Spaniards, yielded -those fabulous bonanzas that caused the astonishment of the world. It -has had to repair the follies which, from a scientific standpoint, -were committed by several generations of inexpert and short-sighted -Mexican mine owners. It has had to clear the old mines of immense -masses of rock and dirt which had accumulated during many decades -of abandonment, "gutting and scalping," as the miners say. Recently -over one hundred miles of openings have been made. The most important -is the great Porfirio Diaz tunnel, to be 3-1/2 miles in length when -completed--one of the longest and most important mining tunnels in the -world, cutting over sixty well-known veins at the river's level. No one -can look at the great mills, the aqueduct of enormous masonry (eight or -nine miles long, and that will take up all the water of the Batopilas -river), or the town of Batopilas (a most active place of six thousand -people) without respecting the energy that has accomplished all this. -The history of Batopilas is only the history of many other mining -districts throughout this country, and the fortunes taken from these -mines, and those still behind in them, seem unreal and bordering on -romance. - -There is one mine near the city of Chihuahua, the Santa Eulalia, which -in days gone by built the fine cathedral at that place at a cost of -eight hundred thousand dollars. This was done by simply paying a tax of -about twenty-five cents on every pound of silver mined, which was ample -atonement for any or all sins that the owners could commit. - -From Batopilas, north or south, the mighty range of mountains lowers in -height, while the big barrancas do not cut so deep into their flanks -anywhere else as here, giving the finest Alpine scenery to be found in -this part of the continent. - -Some of the outside facts regarding the mines are really more -interesting than the mines themselves. The miners work in the hot -interiors bare to the skin, except their sandals and a breechcloth. -Even these have to be examined when they emerge from the mine after -the work is over. The sandals are taken off and beaten together, while -the breechcloth is treated in the same manner if the examiner demands -it. Of course the miners are usually known to the examiner, and his -searches vary with the supposed honesty of the different workmen. In a -mine where pure silver has been known to be cut out with cold chisels -by the mule load, and sent direct to the retorts for smelting, the -temptation was very great to purloin a little with each departure from -the mine; and accounts of the sly efforts of some of the thieves appear -more like the yarns in detective stories than cold facts. Ventilating -tubes, small as gas pipe and covered with wire gauze, have been used to -transfer the metal from the interior to the exterior of the mine for -quite long distances. Imitation kits of tools have been made of drills, -hammers, etc., all of which were hollow and used for stuffing in stray -bits of solid silver. Even candles and candle holders were made hollow -and thus used for stealing. I could give a dozen other most singular -means employed by these miners in their pilferings. - -The tunneling of the old Spaniards was very slow compared with that -now done by machinery. In some places there were evidences that they -had heated the stones by fire and had then thrown water thereon, -shivering the front by sudden chilling, a method yet employed in -Honduras and Guatemala, according to an engineer at Batopilas who had -recently arrived from those countries. - -One of the most singular things connected with prospecting in this -particular portion of the mountains is the means by which large -deposits of silver near a tunnel can be located. If an iridescent, -smoke-like appearance spreads over the rocks at any point of a new -tunnel or drift at the end of a week or two, the engineers always -drift for it and generally strike silver. This stain is called by -them "silver smoke," and is said to be unknown in any other mines. I -was given a half dozen theories in regard to it, mostly of a chemical -character, but the mere fact that such a strange condition exists -to help man pry into nature's secrets is more interesting than any -explanation. - -From the garden of the hacienda, surrounded by banana and orange groves -and all kinds of tropical plants and flowers, one can look up the steep -sides of the mountains, which rise abruptly on both sides, to the oaks -and pines beyond, and, while sitting on the veranda sipping ices or -drinking cool and refreshing drinks, and vigorously using the fan, -realize that only a mile above, on the cumbra or crest of the steep -mountain, the ice water flows freely in the little mountain streams and -the heaviest flannels only would be comfortable. - -My stay at Batopilas was somewhat prolonged in waiting for a party -that was soon to descend with bullion to Chihuahua. I had originally -intended to continue my course toward the Pacific, but the hot weather, -more severe in May and June than during July and August, owing to the -rainy season tempering the latter, and the fact that I could find a -more interesting trip through the Sierra Madres by another trail than -that by which I had entered, determined me to turn my face eastward and -keep on the high plateau with its grand equable climate. In leaving -Batopilas the large pack train carrying the bullion was given two days' -start, and we were to ride and join them after they had made the cumbra -or crest of the mountains. This trail took me well to the southward -of the one traversed on entering the mountains, and gave me a new and -interesting country. - -On the high mountain crest between Urique and Batopilas I had gained -my furthest point west. The Sierra Madres break more abruptly on -their westward slopes, and from the crest we could make out the great -plains of Sinaloa and Sonora stretching far away toward the Gulf of -California. The country to the west in Sonora and Northern Sinaloa is -one of the most fertile in Mexico. The valleys of the Fuerte, the Mayo, -and the Yaqui are as rich as any river valleys in North America, and -perfectly susceptible of sustaining a dense population, or will be when -all the Indian troubles of that region are definitely settled. Most of -the crops are of the kind, however, that need cheap transportation -to compete with less favored districts in the markets of the world, -and are now restricted in amount to what is necessary for a mere local -consumption. Here wheat yields enormously to the acre, and the fields -are so dense that it is next to impossible to wade through them. Cotton -grows more luxuriantly than anywhere on the North American continent. -Cotton is planted here oftentimes only once in many years, and large -fields are seen four, five, and even seven years old, yielding two and -three crops annually. In the same field can be seen plants in blossom, -pods, and ripe cotton being picked. It will be one of the leading -cotton districts of the world when a railway cuts through it so that -the producer can have some show to compete with other districts. Corn -is very prolific, coffee produces well, tobacco is of fine flavor, -and oranges, guavas, bananas, and plantains are plentiful and of rich -flavor; but transportation on a pack mule for 100 or 200 miles is too -uncertain as to condition of delivery, and too certain as to exorbitant -price, to encourage their cultivation beyond local needs of a limited -amount. The Fuerte (in Spanish meaning "strong") is a strong-flowing -river with enough water--as its name would indicate--to irrigate both -sides of its course for nine or ten miles in width. The Mayo is but -little inferior, and the Yaqui is even greater. - -[Illustration: INDIAN WOMAN GRINDING CORN.] - -The Pacific ports of this fertile belt are Mazatlan, Guaymas, and -Topolobampo. At the latter point an American colony was founded some -years ago, of which the reading public heard considerable, not very -favorable to that country as a colonization district, and with a -great deal of aspersion thrown at the colonizers. There was so much -crimination and recrimination by the two sides that I do not believe -anybody ever obtained a clear idea of how matters stood there. The -fact is about this: A colony was put in a part of an extremely rich -country with the ultimate expectation that a railway would be completed -from that point to the Rio Grande and to Eastern connections. Had the -railway been finished, every colonist with enough gray matter in his -brain to know his way home would have made a competence at least, -and probably a fortune. This is just as sure as that fortunes have -elsewhere been made through the development by railways of new, rich -countries. But with its failure there was no halfway ground to stand -on, so that in this instance there arose such an amount of misty -accusation and rejoinder that many people in an indefinite way laid all -the blame on the country; a most erroneous conclusion. When a railway -is completed through this country there will be the usual amount of -money made that such circumstances justify, but only by those who have -selected the right time for it. - -[Illustration: A CIVILIZED TARAHUMARI COOKING.] - -As I have already said, the main portion of the large pack train -was started ahead to give it an opportunity to rest a little before -attempting to climb the steep mountain trail, and, after reaching -the cumbra, or crest, another breathing spell before starting on -their long journey. It was now nearing the rainy season, and even if -we made haste we would only just escape this unpleasant and rather -dangerous time in the high sierras, for there the floods pour down and -often carry out large portions of the trail on the steep and narrow -mountain passes. Our pack train consisted, all told, of about seventy -or eighty mules, twenty to thirty of them loaded with silver bricks for -Chihuahua, the rest of the train being the pack and riding mules of the -various drivers and attendants of the "conductor," as the principal -personage in charge of the bullion is called. - -This person was an immense quadroon, a person of unusual executive -ability in that position, and thoroughly trusted by the superintendent, -ex-Governor Alexander Shepherd. He had under him a half dozen able -assistants, all Mexicans, and was accompanied by three or four -"valiantes," as they are called, men of renowned prowess, who have at -least "killed their man," and who could be relied on to protect the -train in case of attack by robbers. As this large cavalcade moved off -up the narrow barranca or caņon it presented a motley and picturesque -appearance from its gayly dressed and heavily armed attendants, well -mounted on their sturdy mules, to the Indian drivers, with only a -blanket apiece for covering and a stout stick to help them over the -ground. Even the most civilized of these Indians think nothing of such -a walk, two or three hundred miles, resting every night as they do when -in attendance on a large pack train and sharing in the good food -supplied them by the owner. Indeed it is really a treat to them. Among -the Indian drivers were two or three who had never seen a railway, -nor had they ever visited a city as large as Chihuahua, and they were -looking forward with feverish anxiety to this great event of their -lives. They had heard of the wonderful Mexican Central Railway and the -great trains of cars that moved so fast, but their minds seemed filled -with unbelief until they could really take it in for themselves. The -semi-civilized or civilized Tarahumari Indians are the best natured -people imaginable, and there is nothing they are not willing or anxious -to do for you if in your employ. They possess the same docile obedience -and fondness that a dog exhibits for his master, and are constantly -anticipating little wants and looking for little favors they can do -you, and this too without expecting any reward whatever. - -[Illustration: A GOATHERD'S CACHE IN THE MOUNTAINS.] - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA--THE RETURN BY ANOTHER TRAIL--THE CAŅON OF - THE CHURCHES--AMONG THE CLIFF DWELLERS. - - -After bidding adieu to our hospitable host and the many friends at -the great hacienda, we started quite late in the afternoon to ride -about eight or nine miles up the Batopilas River to a station of -the Batopilas Mining Company called the Potrero. On either side the -Batopilas lifts its banks from four to five and even to six thousand -feet above the river bed, making a wonderfully beautiful panorama of -rugged mountain scenery as you wind along, sometimes climbing up a -few hundred feet and then descending to the water's edge to cross at -some favorable ford. For the caņon through its entire length is very -narrow, and in some places there is only room for the rushing river -with the trail hugging the banks or finding a foothold for the mules -on the steep, broken mountain side. I hardly know which looks the more -impressive, to stand upon the crest of a high caņon or to wind through -its depths and look up at its beetling sides, which seem to cleave -the clouds. Whatever be the point of view, from top or bottom, with -the usual discontent of human beings in all things, the observer will -always wish he were at the other place, from which, as he imagines, -something better could be seen. - -At the Potrero I found a good, substantial log house, built and -maintained by the Batopilas Company, and used by them as a shelter for -members of their pack trains, instead of depending on the sky for a -covering. One end of the house was divided off, where grain was stored -for all the animals. There was also a storeroom for provisions of -various kinds, thus saving much packing over the rough mountain trail. - -These houses, I learned, had been built about every thirty-five miles -along the trail, and at each a trusty Indian lived to care for them. -They were a great comfort, and seemed even luxurious after a hard -all-day ride on the rough trail. At each was a large corral or pen, -into which the mules were turned for their feed, and this too was a -saving of labor and time to the packers, and allowed one to make -a much earlier start, as well as to omit the long noon camp of the -Mexicans. In each of the houses was an immense fireplace, which, on the -arrival of the party, was piled with pitch-pine, and a most welcome -blaze and warmth soon thawed out the coldest. - -At the Potrero a church, built by the first Jesuits in this country, -still remains, and is used for devotion by the Indians, although -roofless and over two hundred years old. Standing near the ruined -door, and looking in, one sees an altar surmounted by a cross and -a scaffolding of flowers. Above this is one of the most beautiful -pictures ever seen in such a peculiar framing. The roofless old church -reveals the most magnificent castellated cliffs to be seen along the -Batopilas River for many miles. Taking the tops of the battlements, -which rise thousands of feet in sheer altitude in many places, so that -they will fall just below the top of the church door, thus leaving a -little streak of blue sky between, and viewing the scene as framed by -the rest of the church, the observer has a picture before him that -would make the reputation of any artist who could transfer it to -canvas with reasonable ability. Near by was the primitive belfry, two -sticks set in the ground, and the bell, an old bronze one, hung from a -cross-piece between them. Once each year a priest visited this place, -upon which occasion a great festival was held. Indian runners were -sent out into the mountains for many miles around, to induce the timid -Tarahumaris to come in. Here all the civilized and semi-civilized -brought their children to be christened, and they again induced many -of the wilder Indians of the cliffs and caves to join them. In this -way the priests reach the wilder ones, and sometimes conversions -are made among them. This is their only method of approaching the -uncivilized natives, through the medium of those not quite so wild, -who allow them to visit their homes in the cliffs and crags and hold a -limited intercourse. From the steep cliffs above the resort, the wild -Tarahumaris can look down on the strange doings of their more civilized -brothers in the little valley below. This they told us was often done, -but the instances were quite rare in which the very wild ones had been -coaxed down from the crags above. - -I have been asked what chance a missionary would have among these -people and how he could best reach them. Where the patient priest or -Jesuit fails to penetrate with all the assistance he can derive from -those of his own faith who are kinsmen of the people to be approached, -it would seem indeed a difficult task for those of other beliefs. - -I was told that these people, the semi-civilized Tarahumaris, are -particularly fond of colored prints, and any brightly colored picture -is to them an object of veneration. Often old copies of _Puck_ or -_Judge_ drift down here, passing from the hands of miners to Mexicans -and thence to the Indians. These they preserve and worship as saints, -and to them they offer up their simple prayers. - -Early the next morning we were to climb to the top of the steep cliffs -behind the old church at the Potrero; that night we slept for the last -time in the land of the tropics. Late in the evening I walked over by -the home of a Tarahumari Indian. He had a bright fire burning in front -of his hut, and on the ground his family were all sleeping peacefully, -even down to a very young baby. The house appeared to be deserted, -being used probably only during the rainy season. - -Next morning by four o'clock we began the ascent of the steep mountain. -It was before daylight when we left the caņon, and by the time we had -climbed for three hours I noticed one of the most singular cliff or -cave dwellings I had so far seen. There was a distinct trail leading -to it. This trail could be perceived from the very bottom of a deep -caņon which branched off from the Batopilas, led along dizzy cliffs, -holding to the sides of the steep mountain until it reached a height -fully equal to our own, and finally disappeared in an enormous cave. -This must have been capable of containing hundreds of people, as it was -over a mile distant, and at that distance we could perfectly discern -its mouth and even its interior walls. It was the dizziest climb to a -home I have ever read of or seen. - -[Illustration: THE HOME OF A TARAHUMARI INDIAN] - -That afternoon I came to the farms of some civilized Tarahumaris, built -on the very steep mountain side, on which the dirt was held back by -terraces or rude retaining walls, so very similar to those seen around -the ruins of Northwestern Chihuahua, supposed to be Toltec or Aztec, -that I could not help thinking that there was some closer connection -between them than that of mere resemblance. - -I had heard a dozen theories to account for these terraces in the -North, as for collecting water in dry seasons, for conducting water, -as places for defense, etc., etc., but, with an actual case directly -under observation, this seems to be a better explanation: In decades -and centuries of rainy seasons of more or less violence, after the -people had abandoned these northern houses, or had been killed by their -enemies, all the retained loose earth would have been swept away, -leaving only rude and dilapidated walls or terraces sweeping around the -mountain sides, from which almost anything could be inferred, whether -the most peaceful form or the most warlike fortification. - -Although our journey began at four o'clock in the morning it was two -or three o'clock in the afternoon before we reached the welcome shelter -of the next station, and it seemed to me from beginning to end one -uninterrupted climb. This station on the Teboreachic was an exception -to the rest on the trail regarding distance, for it is only eighteen -miles from the Potrero, although eighteen miles of incessant uphill -work. While the trail is by no means as steep or dangerous as that -leading into the Urique barranca, it is fully as long a climb to reach -the top or cumbra, and one does not welcome a retreat to the somber -pines with half the enthusiasm inspired by a descent into the tropical -foliage of the deep barrancas. I have already described so many ascents -and descents, that carried us from one kind of climate to another, that -I hardly think it necessary to repeat it in this instance. One feature -of the ascent, however, exceptionally pleasant, was the ease with which -one could get off one's tired mule and not only earn its gratitude, if -a mule may be said to possess that virtue, but also stretch one's weary -limbs by climbing over a comparatively good trail. - -As soon as we were well up in the mountains we found the region -extremely well watered, beautiful streams flowing through every little -glen or valley, many of them filled with small trout. This Batopilas -trail differed from the other in that some attempt at grade had been -made. It did not adopt the erratic Indian method of making for the top -of every tall peak and then climbing down on the other side, only to -repeat the performance until the rider became almost seasick from the -undulations. Since Batopilas came into the hands of Americans there -has been a constant effort on their part to look for better grades -and secure a simpler method of ingress and egress from their mountain -mines, and they are continually broadening and improving the path. -Still, at the best, they can never make anything but a narrow mountain -trail in that country of crag and caņon. The day will come when -railways are built through that rich region, but until then the patient -mule will be the only means of transportation. - -The first night on the Teboreachic was a most delightfully cool one -after the long spell of warm weather we had experienced on the lower -levels. It was preceded by a slight thunder shower, the first one of -the season, but it warned us in unmistakable terms that the rainy -season was not far off, and that we had better get out of the mountains -before it was upon us. Before making La Laja, the second night, we -passed the homes of many Indians, both of the semi-civilized type and -the wilder ones of the cliffs and caves. At one point I stopped to get -a photograph of the homes of some cliff dwellers, where, directly below -the cliffs, were a couple of rude stone huts, built on a steep side of -the mountain. The men seemed to be absent from this place, but we could -see the forms of some women moving about and crouching down to avoid -being seen by us. My Mexican man, Dionisio, was greatly alarmed at my -action in dropping behind the party to photograph this group of strange -homes, and loudly declared we would all be shot by the men, should -they return and see us at this, to them, strange work. It was almost -impossible to induce Dionisio to bring up my camera or hold my mule, so -anxious was he to get away. There was really no danger whatever from -these people, as they only fight to defend their homes, but the fear of -the cowardly Mexican was very amusing. - -[Illustration: HOMES OF SEMI-CIVILIZED TARAHUMARIS.] - -Before leaving Batopilas we had been told that whatever we had seen of -the wonderful or beautiful in nature on our outward journey by other -trails, a treat of a most magnificent character was reserved for us on -this route, one that was unique and wholly without parallel in those -grand old mountains. This was the day's journey through the Arroyo de -las Iglesias. So we were in a measure prepared for the many beautiful -sights that awaited us on our third day. Although we had been passing -through picturesque valleys and were constantly crossing lovely -mountain brooks, one must admit without hesitation that of the many -hundreds of beautiful streams in the Sierra Madre Mountains, flanked -by cut and carved stone, there is none that will compare in extent or -beauty with the sculptured rock of the Arroyo de las Iglesias (the -Caņon of the Churches), so named on account of the spires of rock that -greet one on every side for the greater part of a day's travel. For -eighteen or twenty miles the Caņon of the Churches seems more like some -theatrical representation of a fairy scene than a real one from nature. -The limestone has been eroded into a thousand fantastic forms by the -action of the elements, the predominating one being some feature of a -church or cathedral, either in spires, minarets, or flying buttresses -built far out from the main walls of the caņon. The most grotesque -forms are those that generally cap the spires; it seems necessary that -some hard rock above should protect the softer underneath in order to -insure one of these petrified pinnacles of nature. - -One of them, two hundred feet in height, as seen from the caņon, was -as good a spread eagle as a person would want to see cut out of stone, -while on a tower not a hundred yards away was a bust of Hadrian, quite -as good as that in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ten times as large, -and a thousandfold more conspicuously placed. A person with a small -amount of imagination could easily make a land of enchantment out of -this _arroyo_ with its singular columns and pillars, its leaning -towers and busts and statues, that meet him on every side and are -repeated every few hundred yards by great caņons that break off to -the right and left, and which are perfect duplicates of the original -through which the traveler wends his way. - -Strange, singular, and curious as are these works of nature, they are -not so astonishing to the average civilized person as the works of -man. Among these beetling crags and dizzy cliffs savage men have found -places to erect their houses and live their lives. Ladders of notched -sticks lead from one crag to the crest of another, whenever the rude -steps made by nature do not allow these creatures of the cliffs to -climb their almost perpendicular faces; a false step on the slight -ladders or a turning of one of them, which to me seemed so likely, -would send the climber two hundred to three hundred feet to the bottom -of the caņon, perhaps a mangled corpse. - -[Illustration: HOMES OF CLIFF DWELLERS IN ARROYO DE LAS IGLESIAS.] - -Had I wanted to visit them directly in their homes I doubt very much -if I could have reached them, for I am sorry to say I am not a sailor, -a tight-rope performer, or an aëronaut. Beyond this place the people -had fled to their houses, and could, by disarranging a single notched -stick, have made our ascent impossible. This, I think, was one of the -methods of defense adopted by ancient cliff dwellers of Arizona, as -shown at least by some which I have seen and which now, with the logs -rotted away, are unapproachable. It is even possible, as I have more -than hinted before, that there is some closer affinity between the -Arizona and Mexican cliff dwellers than this simple but suggestive one -I have mentioned. It is certainly a question I would like to see some -good archæologist struggle with for a year or two. - -So steep are the walls of the Arroyo de las Iglesias in many places -where we observed cliff dwellers that, had they thrown an object from -the little portholelike window of their stone pens with ordinary -strength, it would certainly have brought up in the caņon bottom -probably two hundred or three hundred feet below. How they can rear -little children on these cliffs without a loss of one hundred per cent. -annually is to me one of the most mysterious things connected with -these strange people. - -They are worshipers of the sun, so good authorities say, and on -the first day of a child's life they dedicate it to that great orb -by placing it in his direct rays. In many other ways they show their -devotion to that source which has been loved by so many primitive -people. Their whole range of worship would certainly be interesting -in the extreme. They have the greatest dread of the owl, which, as is -known elsewhere as well as here, has some association or other of evil -connected with it, from the slightest disaster to death. How many other -things they fear no one knows, but they certainly are not afraid to -climb cliffs and crags that would frighten the average white man half -to death to even contemplate. - -[Illustration: IN ARROYO DE LAS IGLESIAS, CLIFF DWELLINGS IN ROCKS.] - -That all their children are not killed off every month by falling from -the elevations is shown by the fact that we saw a few of them playing -in a little "clearing" in the brush at the bottom of the caņon. But -we did not see them very long, for as soon as they got sight of the -leading member of our party they fled to the brush and caves, and a -pointer dog could not have flushed one five minutes later. - -I have already described some of their strange methods of hunting game. -In fishing they build dams in the mountain streams and poison the fish -that collect therein with a deadly plant the Mexicans call _palmilla_, -securing everything, fingerlings and all. They never tattoo, paint, or -wear masks as far as I could ascertain. They are a strange, wild set of -savages in a strange, picturesque country, a country that will repay -visiting in the future should the means of transportation--railways -or better stage facilities--ever be sufficiently improved. - -[Illustration: A CLIFF DWELLING.] - -After leaving the wonderful Valley of the Churches it requires a -night's rest before one is ready to give much admiration or attention -to the magnificent scenery on every hand. It seems as if you had had a -surfeit of the beautiful. I obtained a number of interesting sketches -and photographs of these homes in the clouds. The photographs were -taken under great drawbacks, as the days were stormy and cloudy, and -even the lowest of the cliff dwellings were difficult of approach. - -Just as we were descending a high mountain into the beautiful valley -of the Tatawichic, we passed by an enormous rock on the steep trail of -the mountain side that must have been fully three hundred feet high -and not over thirty feet in diameter, which did not vary a foot from -its base to its top, where it was rounded off like a half globe. It -was green in color, looked exactly like a pitahaya cactus turned into -stone, and seemed wonderfully unstable as seen from the trail that -wound around its base on the steep descent. The name of the station at -this point was Pilarcitas (Little Pillars), from the many curious and -fantastic rock formations which assumed the shape of pillars, either -singly or in groups of two, three, or more. The previous night had been -very cold in the mountains, and the constant showers only increased the -chill; so we found the little station houses the most welcome places of -refuge as night came on. - -The last station on this trail is about four or five miles from -Carichic, and is in the center of a productive and well-watered valley. -The little cultivation done there by the Indians shows a wonderful -fertility of soil; in truth there are but few of the staple products -that could not be grown in that portion of the country in the greatest -abundance. At this last station of the Batopilas Company they start -their private stages directly for Chihuahua. We remained over for a -day, awaiting the departure of the regular diligence from Carichic. - -[Illustration: STONE PILLAR ABOUT THREE HUNDRED FEET HIGH, RESEMBLING -CACTUS.] - -While here I talked with an intelligent American, who had lived for -many years in this country, about the Tarahumaris. He told me he had -that season attended one of their foot races, a favorite pastime of -these people. At this particular contest one of the fleetest and most -enduring foot runners in all the great band of the Tarahumaris (or -tribe of "foot runners," as we know they are called) was a contestant. -That summer he had made one hundred Spanish miles--about ninety of -ours--in eleven hours and twenty minutes, in a great foot contest near -the Bacochic River, resting but once for half an hour in this terribly -long race. The man, Mr. Thomas Ewing by name, told me that he attempted -to run this foot runner a _vuelta_, (which is six miles straight away -and return, or twelve miles altogether), Ewing using a horse; and -although the white man tried this three times with three different -horses, the Tarahumari cave dweller beat him each time. These contests -of the Tarahumaris are almost always very long and exciting. They make -their bets with stock of some kind, sheep, cattle, or goats, and large -numbers of these change hands on the outcome of the races. In a letter -to me regarding these races, Mr. Ewing writes of one of the runners: - -"I was with him"--the Indian--"when he was running his fifth round. It -was about eight o'clock in the morning, and he was running at about -eight miles an hour. At that time his competitor was about six miles -behind him. I rode beside him for about four miles, when my horse had -enough of it. There were a hundred Indians or more to see the race, -and they had stations about every two miles on the trail, where they -stopped the runners, rubbed them down, and gave them _pinola_, a -parched corn, ground fine and mixed with water. The runners stopped one -minute, or about that, at each station for rest. The Indian who won -this race, although tired, finished in good shape, and took in about -fifty dollars in stock." - -These contests in running are said to be one of the amusements of even -the wildest of the Tarahumaris, although I doubt whether many white -men have witnessed them. Even as early as the days when Grijalva, the -discoverer of Mexico, and Cortes, its conquerer, landed on its shores -where now is the important port of Vera Cruz, within twenty-four hours -after their appearance an Aztec artist had made perfect representations -of the fleet, the kind and amount of armament, and correct pictures -of the artillery and horses (although he had never seen such things -before), and had transmitted them nearly two hundred miles by carrier -to the City of Mexico, placing them in the hands of the Aztec Emperor -Montezuma. Cortes afterward found that the Aztec, Tlascalan, and other -armies of that portion of the country always moved at a run when on -the march, thus trebling and quadrupling the military marches of -the present day. This was the first intimation to Europeans of the -endurance and swift-footedness of the natives of the great Mexican -plateau, and a similar characteristic was found to be almost universal -among the Indians of the plateau. But it was afterward discovered that -the people most prominent in this respect was one in the far north of -New Spain, hidden away in the fastnesses of the Sierra Madres, whose -very name, as given by other tribes, Tarahumari, meaning foot runners, -indicated their special excellence. - - -THE END. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: - -Obvious printer errors have been corrected. Otherwise, the author's -original spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been left intact. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers, by -Frederick Schwatka - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE LAND OF CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS *** - -***** This file should be named 51532-8.txt or 51532-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/5/3/51532/ - -Produced by Chris Whitehead, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/51532-8.zip b/old/51532-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 99e916c..0000000 --- a/old/51532-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h.zip b/old/51532-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f63926c..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/51532-h.htm b/old/51532-h/51532-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index da0a7f5..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/51532-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5146 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of in the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers, by Lieut. Frederick Schwaika. - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover-image.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1, h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -h1 -{ - text-align: center; - font-size: x-large; - font-weight: normal; - line-height: 1.6; -} - -h1 small -{ - font-size: small; -} - -.center -{ - text-align: center; -} - -.pagebreak {page-break-after: always;} - -.hang { - text-indent: -2em; - margin-left: 3em; -} - -.spaced -{ - line-height: 1.5; -} - -.space-above - -{ - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.big -{ - font-size: large; -} - -.small -{ - font-size: small; -} - -.ph2 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } - -td.chapnum { text-align: right; vertical-align: top; padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;} -td.chappage { text-align: right; vertical-align: top; padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;} -td.chapinf { text-align: left; vertical-align: top; padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;} - -.pagebreak {page-break-after: always;} - -.border -{ - border: 1px solid; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} - -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 47.5%;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.dropcap {float: left; width: .8em; font-size: 150%; line-height: 15%; margin-top: .51em;} - -span.dropcap { - padding-right: 3px; - font-size: 150%; - line-height: 15%; - width: .8em; - margin-top: .51em; - font-weight: bold; -} - -table.centered { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.covernote { - visibility: visible; - display: block; -} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -/* Poetry */ - -.poem { - margin-left:10%; - margin-right:10%; - text-align: left; -} - -.poem br {display: none;} - -.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} - - .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers, by -Frederick Schwatka - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers - -Author: Frederick Schwatka - -Release Date: March 22, 2016 [EBook #51532] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE LAND OF CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Whitehead, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img class="border" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" src="images/cover-image.jpg" id="coverpage" width="500" height="731" alt="Cover for In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers" /> -<div class="transnote covernote"> -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">The cover image was restored by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;"> -<img src="images/image1.jpg" width="425" height="612" alt="Title page for In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 15em;" ><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1895, by</span><br /> -THE CASSELL PUBLISHING CO.</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<p class="center" style="margin-bottom: 15em;"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1899, by</span><br /> -THE EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="5" style="max-width: 65%;" summary="CONTENTS"> -<tr><td class="chapinf">CHAPTER</td> <td></td> <td class="chappage">PAGE</td></tr> - - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#I">I.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Northwestern Chihuahua—Preparing for</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> the Expedition—From Deming, N. M., to</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Casas Grandes, Chihuahua</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">1</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#II">II.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Northwestern Chihuahua</span> (<i>Continued</i>)—<span class="smcap">Mexican</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Mormon Colonies—From La Ascencion</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> to Corralitos—Some Ruins along the</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Tapasita—A Toltec Babylon</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">34</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#III">III.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Sonora—Along the Sonora Railway—Hermosillo—Guaymas,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> and its Beautiful Harbor—Fishing</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> and Hunting about Guaymas</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">80</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#IV">IV.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Central Chihuahua—From the City of</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Chihuahua Westward to the Great Mexican</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Mining Belt</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">131</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#V">V.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Central Chihuahua—In the Land of the</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Living Cave and Cliff Dwellers—The</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Tarahumari Indians, Civilized and Savage</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">172</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#VI">VI.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"> <span class="smcap">Through the Sierra Madres—On Mule-back</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Westward from Carichic</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">206</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#VII">VII.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Southwestern Chihuahua—Among the Cave</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> and Cliff Dwellers in the Heart of the</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Sierra Madre Range</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">227</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#VIII">VIII.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> In Southwestern Chihuahua—Down the</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Urique Barranca—From Pine to Palm—Urique</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> and its Mines</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">265</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#IX">IX.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Southwestern Chihuahua—Description of</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> One of the Richest Silver Regions of the</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> World—Mineral Wealth of the Sierra</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Madres—The Batopilas District</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">311</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="chapnum"><a href="#X">X.</a></td> <td class="chapinf"><span class="smcap"> Southwestern Chihuahua—The Return by</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Another Trail—The Caņon of the</span><br /> -<span class="smcap"> Churches—Among the Cliff Dwellers</span>,</td> <td class="chappage">345</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/image2.jpg" width="350" height="575" alt="Falls of the Becorachic, Sierra Madre Mountains, -1239 feet high" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">FALLS OF THE BECORACHIC, SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS,<br /> -1239 FEET HIGH</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;">IN THE LAND OF</h2> - -<h1 style="margin-bottom: 1em;">CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS.</h1> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<h2 style="margin-top: 1em;"><a name="I" id="I">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> - -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>NORTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA—PREPARING<br /> -FOR THE EXPEDITION—FROM DEMING,<br /> -N. M., TO CASAS GRANDES,<br /> -CHIHUAHUA.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> first chapter describing an expedition is liable to be prosaic to -the point of dullness. It is full of promises that are expected to be -realized, while as yet nothing has been done. Not one-tenth of these -may formulate, and yet the expedition may be a success in unexpected -results; for in no undertaking is there so much uncertainty as in -travel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> through little known countries. Then, again, the writer is -likely to consider himself called upon to give a lengthy description of -the party in the preliminary letter, and, as I have often seen, even -descend to an enumeration of the qualities of the cook or the color of -the mules. The next night the cook may desert and the mules may run -away, so that others must be procured, and therefore they are of no -more interest to the reader than any other of the millions of cooks or -mules that would make any writer wealthy if he could find a publisher -who would print his description of them. I intend to break away from -that stereotyped formula in this first chapter and briefly state -that I was in the field of Northern Mexico, hoping to obtain new and -interesting matter beyond the everlasting descriptions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> that are now -pumped up for the public by versatile writers along the beaten lines -of tourist travel, as determined by the railroads, and, occasionally, -the diligence lines. I had a good outfit of wagons, horses, mules, and -last, but not least, men for that purpose. Each and every member of the -expedition will be heard from when anything has been done by them, and -not before. When the mule Dulce kicks a hectare of daylight through the -cook for spilling hot grease on his heels I will give a description -of Dulce and an obituary notice of the cook; but until then they will -remain out of the account.</p> - -<p>We crossed the boundary south of Deming early in March, 1889, and -entered Mexican territory, where our travels can be said to have begun. -If one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> will take the pains to look at a map of this portion of Mexico -he will see that it projects into the United States some distance -beyond the average northern boundary, the Rio Grande being to our east, -and an "offset," as we would say in surveying, being to our west, this -"offset" running north and south. This flat peninsula projecting into -our own country can be better understood by visiting it and comparing -it with the surrounding land of the United States, coupled with a -history of the country. Roughly speaking, the Mexican-United States -boundary, as settled by the Mexican War, followed the line of the -Southern Pacific Railway as now constructed, and the so-called Gadsden -purchase from Mexico of a few years later fixed the boundary as we now -see it, giving us a narrow, sabulous strip<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> of Mexican territory, but a -definite boundary, easily established by surveys.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/image3.jpg" width="500" height="326" alt="Outfitting at Deming" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">OUTFITTING AT DEMING</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>The Mexicans were on the ground and knew just what they were doing -when they arranged for selling us this narrow strip; while, as usual, -we did everything from Washington, and knew just about as little -concerning it as we possibly could and be sure we were purchasing a -part of Mexico. The Mexicans ran this flat-topped peninsula far to the -north, inclosing lakes, rivers, and springs, and waters innumerable; -while, as a generous compensation, they gave us more land to the west, -but a land where a coyote carries three days' rations of jerked jack -rabbit whenever he makes up his mind to cross it. There is no more -comparison between the offset of Mexico that projects here into the -United States,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> and the offset from the United States that projects -into Mexico west of here, than there is in comparing the fertile plains -of Iowa or Illinois with Greenland or the Great Sahara Desert.</p> - -<p>Everyone familiar with the exceedingly rich lands of the Southwest, -when so much of it is worthless for want of water, knows how valuable -that liquid is in this region, especially if it occurs in quantities -sufficiently large for the purposes of irrigation. I have stood on -land that I could purchase for five cents an acre or less, and that -stretched out behind me for limitless leagues, and could jump on other -land whose owner had refused a number of hundreds of dollars an acre, -although, as far as the eye could see, there was no more difference -between them than between any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> two adjoining acres on an Illinois farm. -The real difference was one to be determined by the surveyor's level, -which showed that water could be put on the valuable tract and not on -the other. This also is the difference between the Mexican "offset" in -the North, lying between the Rio Grande and the meridianal boundary -to the west, and the American tract that juts into Mexico just west -of this again. They both share the same soil as you gaze at them from -the deck of your "burro," and you can even see no difference in them -on closer inspection, after your mule has assisted you to alight; but -there is a real and tangible value difference of from one hundred to -two hundred dollars a year per acre between the grapes and other fruits -and vegetables you can raise on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> one, with water trickling round their -roots, and the sagebrush and grease wood of the other, not rating at -ten cents a township.</p> - -<p>The diplomats of our country at Washington may be all Talleyrands in -astuteness, but in the Gadsden purchase they got left so far behind -that they have never yet been able to see how badly they were handled -in the bargain.</p> - -<p>As our people travel along the line of the Southern Pacific Railway, -through its arid wastes of sand and sunshine, they can little realize -the beautiful country of Northern Chihuahua and Sonora that lies so -close to them to the southward. And yet some of this seemingly arid -land in Southern New Mexico and Arizona is destined to become of far -more value than its present appearance would indicate.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> Anglo-Saxon -energy is converting little patches here and there into fertile spots, -and these are constantly increasing. A great portion of the land -is fine for cattle grazing, and these little oases make centers of -crystallizing civilization, which render the country for miles around -valuable for this important industry.</p> - -<p>The persons who believe that New Mexico will not eventually become one -of the finest States in our Union belong to the class of those who put -Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas in the great American desert a decade or -two ago.</p> - -<p>There is still another physical feature of at least Northern Mexico -that I have never seen dwelt upon, even in the numerous physical -geographies that are now extant, and it is well worth explaining.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -Books innumerable have spoken of the <i>tierra caliente</i>, or low, hot -lands near the coast, the <i>tierra templada</i>, or temperate lands of -the interior plateaus, and the <i>tierra fria</i>, or cold lands of the -mountains and higher plateaus; and these subdivisions are really good -as explaining Mexican climate, but they give us but little idea of -the country's surface itself beyond that of altitude, and even less -regarding its resources and adaptability to the wants of man. The -<i>tierra caliente</i>, or hot lands of the coast, are out of the question -as habitations for white men; but the <i>tierra templada</i> and <i>tierra -fria</i>, as everyone familiar with climatology knows, gives us the finest -climate in the world, as do all elevated plateaus in sub-tropical -countries. But these elevated plateaus, or different portions of them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -are not alike in resources, and their variations are simply due to the -variations in the water supply.</p> - -<p>The backbone ridge of mountains in Mexico is the Sierra Madre, or -Mother Mountains, for from them all other ridges and spurs seem to -emanate. From their crests, as with all other mountains in the world, -spring innumerable rivulets and creeks, which, uniting, form rivers. -But nearly everywhere else these streams increase in size by the -addition of the waters of other tributaries until they reach the sea.</p> - -<p>Not so with the Mexican rivers of this locality. Shortly after leaving -the mountains and reaching the foothills, they receive no additions -from other sources, and after flowing from fifty to one hundred miles -they sink into the ground.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> These "sinks" are usually large lakes, -and a map of the country would make one believe that the rivers were -emptying into them, but in reality they only disappear as just stated, -to reappear in the hot lands as the heads of rivers. Now all the -country between the Sierra Madre and the "sinks," or at least all the -valley country, can be readily irrigated by this perennial flow of -water. The rivers are fringed with trees, and the grass is in excellent -condition, while beyond, the plains are treeless, the soil arid, and -the prospect cheerless in comparison. To particularize: if the reader -looks at the map of Chihuahua he will see a series of lakes (they are -the "sinks" to which I refer): Laguna de Guzman, Laguna (the Spanish -for lake) de Santa Maria, Laguna de Patos, etc., extending nearly north -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> south, and parallel with the crest of the Sierra Madres. Between -the lakes and the crest is a beautiful country, capable of sustaining a -dense population; while outside of it, to the eastward, so much cannot -be said in its favor, although probably the latter is a good grazing -district. Now the railway runs outside or eastward of the line of the -"sinks," where the country is flat and the engineering difficulties are -at a minimum; and as nearly all the descriptions we have of Mexico are -based upon observations made from car windows, it is easy to see how -erroneous an opinion can be formed of this northern portion of Mexico, -which is so constantly, though conscientiously, misrepresented by -scores of writers.</p> - -<p>The first lake we came to in Mexico was Laguna Las Palomas (the -Doves),<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> only a few miles beyond the boundary, and to secure which -Mexico was smart enough to get in the offset to which I have referred. -It is, I think, the "sink" of the Mimbres River, which, as a river, -lies wholly in the southwestern portion of New Mexico. It disappears, -however, before it crosses the boundary, to reappear as sixty or -seventy huge springs in Mexico (any one of these would be worth -$20,000 to $25,000 as water is now sold in the arid districts), which -drain into a beautiful lake, backed by a high sierra, the Las Palomas -Mountains, altogether forming a very picturesque scene. All the country -around is quite level, and thousands of acres can here be irrigated -with this enormous water supply; while it can only be done by the -quarter section in the Southwest on our side of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> line, except, -probably, in a few rare instances.</p> - -<p>This was a favorite "stamping ground" of the more warlike bands of -Apache Indians but a few years ago. The water and grass for their -ponies and the game for themselves made it their veritable Garden of -Eden; settlement, therefore, was out of the question until these bold -marauders could be ejected with powder and lead. Not two leagues to -the north the road from Deming, N. M., to Las Palomas passes over two -graves of as many Apaches, killed a few years ago; while on a hill -hard by can be seen three crescent-shaped heaps of stones where the -great Apache chief Victorio, with three or four score warriors, made -a stand against the combined forces of the United States and Mexico, -which proved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> entirely too much for him in the resulting combat. More -worthless or meaner Indians were never driven out of a country than -were the Apaches after they had found this region uninhabitable, or at -least unbearable for their murderous methods of life; and for much of -the decisive action that led to this desirable end we have to thank the -Mexicans.</p> - -<p>The way the Las Palomas Mountains have of rising sheer out of a level -country is quite common in this region, plainly showing that the -mountains once rose from a great sea that washed their bases, and when -it receded with the uplifting of this region it left the level plain -to show where its flat bottom had been ages before. A fine example of -this is seen in the mountains called Tres Hermanas (the Three Sisters), -very near the boundary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> line, and but a few miles from the wagon road -leading from Deming south into old Mexico. They form an interesting -feature in the landscape as viewed from the railway on approaching -Deming, and are the subject of an illustration by our artist.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/image4.jpg" width="350" height="556" alt="Tres Hermanas (The Three Sisters)" /> -</div> -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">TRES HERMANAS (THE THREE SISTERS)</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Sometimes a single peak just gets its head above the level plain by a -few hundred feet, while again, great ranges extend for miles, their -tops covered with snow in the winter months. However long that level -plain may be, it always extends without break or interruption to -the next range. A railway would have but little trouble, so far as -grades are concerned, in getting through this country. It might be -necessary to wind a great deal to avoid hills and mountains, but if -the constructors were lavish with rails and ties, and did not mind -mileage,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> the grade would be almost as simple as building on a floor; -in fact it is the floor of an old inland ocean.</p> - -<p>A profile view of some of these ranges and isolated peaks gives some -very grotesque as well as picturesque views, and imaginative people of -the Southwest fancy they see many silhouette designs in the crests of -the mountains. Faces seem to predominate, and especially is Montezuma's -face quite lavishly distributed over this region. I think I can recall -at least a half dozen of them in the Southwest since I first visited -there in 1867. This unfortunate Aztec monarch must have had a very -rocky looking face, or his descendants must have thought exceeding well -of him to sculpture him so often, even in fancy, upon the mountain -crests.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> - -<p>I went into a little face-making business of my own, so as to keep -along in the custom of the country while I was there. The most -southerly peak of the Florida range had quite a well-defined face, -upturned to the sky, that, to my imagination, looked more like the -well-known face of Benjamin Franklin than any other of nature's -sculpturing so often portrayed in mountains when assisted by the fancy -of man.</p> - -<p>Before leaving Las Palomas our material underwent inspection by the -customs officials, and no people could have been more polite and -considerate than were these officers toward us, giving us our necessary -papers without putting us to the inconvenience of unpacking our many -boxes and bundles. There is this peculiarity about Mexican frontier -customs:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> after passing the first one you are by no means through -with them, for the next two, three, or even four towns may also have -customhouse officers. I was in a Mexican town, La Ascencion, and had a -wagon unloaded before I knew they had a customhouse. I expected to be -shot at reveille the next morning; but instead they politely passed all -my personal baggage without even asking to see it, simply examining the -papers received at the first customhouse.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/image5.jpg" width="500" height="264" alt="Pacheco Peak." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">PACHECO PEAK.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>After leaving Las Palomas our course lay southward across a high -<i>mesa</i>, or table-land, until we reached the Boca Grande River. The -scenery along the Boca Grande is picturesque and somewhat peculiar. -The river bottom is flat, very wide, and rich in soil; but on the -flanks rise the Mexican mountains sheer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> out of the plains. To the -west are the Sierra Madres, covered with snow on the highest peaks, -making some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen as presented -from different points along the river's course. One of them, Pacheco -Peak, in the Boca Grande range (named after the Mexican Minister of -the Interior), is shown in the illustration. Slight spurs and <i>mesa</i> -lands extend from the sierras in the valleys and often reach the river -bank, thereby forcing the road over them, but affording a foundation -that any macadamized highway in our own country might emulate. Some of -these ridges were ornamented with groupings of cactus (of the oquetilla -variety), if their presence can be called an ornament. Imagine a dozen -fishing rods, from ten to fifteen feet in length, all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> radiating from a -central point like a bouquet of bayonets, and each rod holding hundreds -of spikes throughout its length. You will thus have a faint idea of the -appearance of a bunch of oquetilla cactus. These bunches seem to prefer -growing along the rocky crests in rows of tolerable regularity that, to -a person at a distance, suggest the work of human hands.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 325px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image6.jpg" width="325" height="301" alt="Oquetilla Cactus." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">OQUETILLA CACTUS.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<p>We traveled some thirty miles along the river without seeing a living -thing except a few jack rabbits and coyotes, when suddenly we rounded -a bend of the beautiful Boca Grande and came upon a stretch of valley -covered with zacaton grass, and which in a few years will be a valuable -ranche. Across this we saw two as hard-looking characters approaching -us as ever cut a throat. I was preparing to hand over to them all my -Mexican money and other valuables when they politely touched their hats -and simply said, "Documentos." Here, again, in the far-off woods and -hills were more customhouse officials. These men were here to prevent -smugglers from crossing the border between the towns and established -highways.</p> - -<p>We lunched that day on Espia Hill,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> used formerly as a customhouse post -of observation, but the Apache chief Geronimo, raiding through here, -collected a poll tax of one scalp apiece, and since then the post has -been abandoned. A short distance further the river changes from the -Boca Grande to the Casas Grandes.</p> - -<p>The Boca Grande and the Casas Grandes are the same river, like the Wind -River and the Big Horn in our own country, the two changing names at -a certain point. In other words, they have the same river bed, for in -the dryest seasons the Casas Grandes sinks and reappears further down -as the Boca Grande, the two streams being really identical most of the -way, however, and both of them emptying into the great "sink" known -as Laguna Guzman. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> noticed one peculiarity of the rocky soil on the -ridges extending down from the foothills of the mountains that I have -never seen elsewhere, and might not have noticed even here had it not -been pointed out to me by one of my guides. Great areas of the soil -were covered with stones, mostly flat in shape, and so numerous that -but little vegetation could exist between them. A decidedly desolate -aspect was thus presented; indeed no one would believe that anything -except the oquetilla cactus could possibly grow here. One of my Mexican -men, however, assured me that the stones were only on the surface, -and that by removing them the richest of red soil could be found -underneath, not affording a single stone in a cubic yard of earth. -The soil had not been washed away when the rains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> beat down upon it, -as this "top-dressing" of flat rock had shielded it from such action, -protecting it, let us hope, for the future use of man. They told me -this peculiar kind was the richest and most easily cultivated soil in -Mexico, but it looked, with its covering of rocks, poor enough to put -in some terrestrial almshouse along with the Sahara Desert.</p> - -<p>This whole Southwest, or rather Northwest from a Mexican standpoint, -is a country of deceptive appearances. Hundreds of my readers have -probably traveled over the Santa Fé Railway as it courses through -the Rio Grande valley, and, recalling the grassy, pleasant-looking -country in the East, have wondered how this cheerless area of sand -and sagebrush could ever be utilized. Yet in this valley is a farm of -twenty-two acres for which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> sixty thousand dollars has been flatly -refused, although not one cent of its value is due to its proximity -to any important point (as the fact is with the valuable little farms -around our Eastern cities), but solely to what it will produce. Verily -the desolation of the land is deceptive, and, like beauty, is but skin -deep.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="II" id="II">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> - -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>NORTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA (CONTINUED)—MEXICAN<br /> -MORMON COLONIES—FROM LA ASCENSION<br /> -TO CORRALITOS—SOME RUINS ALONG THE<br /> -TAPASITA—A TOLTEC BABYLON.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span><span class="smcap">t</span> is sixty to sixty-five miles from Las Palomas to La Ascension, and -not a settlement or a sign of life except jack rabbits, coyotes, and -customhouse officers is to be seen throughout the whole length of -this unusually rich country, so effectually did the Apaches enforce -their restrictive tariff but a few years ago. At rare intervals great -haciendas are found in these rich valleys, the main<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> industry of -which is cattle raising. We passed a herd of about a thousand head -just before reaching La Ascension, all in magnificent condition, and -attended by some eight or ten <i>vaqueros</i>, who were driving them to -market. With the usual Mexican politeness they took particular pains to -give us the road; and to do so drove the whole herd over a high hill, -around the base of which the road ran.</p> - -<p>Just before reaching La Ascension we came to the Mormon colony of -Diaz (named by them in honor of the present President of the Mexican -Republic), numbering about fifty families. A discussion of their -religious tenets is clearly and fortunately out of my province, -not only from its heavy, dreary character, but for the reason that -everything wise and otherwise about Mormonism has already<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> been put -before those who care to read it. But entirely aside from the subject -of polygamy, which has so completely obscured every other point about -these people, they have one characteristic which is seldom heard of in -connection with them and their wanderings in the Western wilderness. -I refer to their building up of new countries. They have no peer in -pioneering among the Caucasian races. They are so far ahead of the -Gentiles in organized and discriminating, businesslike colonization, -that the latter are not close enough to them to permit a comparison -that would show their inferiority. Of course they (the Mormons) see in -their belief an ample explanation for this excellence; it is far more -probable, however, as I look at it from my Gentile point of view, that -it is due<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> to the peculiar organization of their Church, which so fits -them for the work of making the wilderness blossom as the rose.</p> - -<p>No other Christian Church exercises so much authority over the temporal -affairs of its members as the Mormon Church. However debatable this -exercise of authority may be in civilized communities, surrounded -by people of the same kind, there is no doubt in my mind as to its -favorable effect upon pioneer associations, encompassed by enemies in -man and nature. This view of the subject must be admitted by everyone -who has grown up on the Gentile frontier and seen the innumerable -bickerings between adjacent towns, the internal dissensions in the -towns themselves, the rivalry for "booms," the shotgun contests -for county seats, the thousands of exaggerations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> about their own -interests, and the hundreds of depreciations about those of others -adjoining. As in its spiritual, so in its temporal affairs, the -authority of the Mormon Church is remarkable for its effective power of -centralization. It judicially settles all questions for the general, -not the individual good; and upon this principle it determines, by -the character of the soil, and by the natural routes of travel, where -colonies shall locate, as well as what are the probable opportunities -for propagation of the faith. It is not at all surprising to one -who has observed these facts that an organized faith of almost any -character should have flourished, though surrounded by so much -disorganization.</p> - -<p>As a rule, at least from two to four years of quiet are needed after -an Indian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> war to restore such confidence among the whites that they -can settle the disturbed district in a <i>bona-fide</i> way. I should, -however, except the Mormons from this class, but to do so without an -explanation would appear somewhat unreasonable. Their long and almost -constant frontier experience has taught them how to weigh Indian -matters correctly, as well as others pertaining to the ragged edge -of civilization. Although the Apaches had been subdued a dozen times -by the Mexican and American governments alternately, they knew when -the subduing meant subjugation, and before Geronimo and his cabinet -were halfway to the orange groves of Florida, Mormon wagon poles were -pointing to the rich valleys of Northwestern Chihuahua.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> - -<p>They number here a few hundred families, a mere fraction in view of all -the available land of the magnificent valleys of the Casas Grandes, -Boca Grande, Santa Maria, and others; and they never will predominate -politically or in numbers over the other inhabitants if we include the -Mexican population, which is almost universally Catholic. In fact, -those already established seem content merely to settle down and be -let alone; this end they attain by purchase of tracts of land over -which they can throw their authority and be a little community unto -themselves, neither disturbing nor wishing to be disturbed by others.</p> - -<p>Their success has already invited the more avaricious, but less coldly -calculating Gentile; and while it is stating it a little strong to say -there is a "boom,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> or even indications of one, within the thirty to -sixty miles between villages, my conscience is not disturbed in saying -that I can at least agree with the great American poet that,</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">We hear the first low wash of waves</span><br /> -<span class="i0">Where soon shall roll a human sea.</span><br /> -</div></div> - -<p>Already a railway was talked of, and the usual undue excitement was -manifested. Every stranger was supposed to have something to do -with it. Even my own little expedition was thought to be a sort of -preliminary reconnoissance. I have never constructed a railway in my -life, but I have been along the advancing lines of a number of new -ones, and have seen them grow from two iron rails in a wilderness to a -great country. I do not recall any that had much brighter prospects<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -ahead than the proposed one along the eastern slopes of the Sierra -Madres. That it must be built some day the resources of the country -clearly demand, and it is to be hoped that it will be at as early a -date as possible.</p> - -<p>At La Ascension we were greatly indebted to Mr. Francis, a young -English gentleman, who literally placed his house at our disposal, -giving up his own room for our comfort. As there were no inns in La -Ascension except those of the lowest order, this generous hospitality -of the only Englishman in the town was warmly appreciated by us. One -of our wagons having met with a slight accident, we remained over -Sunday to await repairs. As soon as this was known to the inhabitants -invitations began to pour in to attend cockfights, and one of especial -magnitude<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> was organized in our honor. The finest cocks in the place -were to take part, and the <i>presidente</i> or mayor of the town would -preside. Then, to add distinction to the already exciting programme, -a <i>baile</i> or ball was hastily gotten up for the evening. Hospitality -could go no farther in this out-of-the-way town, for the people were -really not rich enough to support a bullfight. Early in the morning, -before the population had recovered from the dissipations of the -previous night, we bade our hospitable host "good-by," and, wrapped in -our heaviest coats against the chill morning air, we started southward -toward Corralitos, about thirty-five or forty miles away. After -crossing wide <i>mesas</i> and threading our way around the bases of many -picturesque groups of mountains, we came to the Casas Grandes River -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> valley, and along this stream, literally alive with ducks, we -traveled for some hours. It was a great temptation to get out the guns -and shoot at the ducks that were calmly sailing by us on the broad and -rapid stream; but as we had neither dog nor boat it would have been -impossible to secure them had we done so. The consoling thought was -ours that the hacienda was not far distant, and there we would likely -find everything necessary to assist us in this or any other sport.</p> - -<p>Approaching the hacienda we passed immense droves of horses and cattle -grazing on the rich bottom lands. Corralitos has a very pretty, an -almost poetical name, but it loses much of its romantic character when -it is known that it is named for some old, dilapidated sheep pens that -once existed here, corralitos being little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> pens or little corrals. -It is a hacienda, some eighty or ninety years old, with an extremely -interesting history, that would make a book more thrilling than any -fiction. The main building is a great square inclosure with very thick -walls, having many loopholes for guns, and high turrets or towers at -the corners. To enter the building are massive gates, while inside are -a number of courts with other gates leading to other inclosures, and -making the interior building appear like a small town. Here during the -fierce Apache raids the whole population was gathered for protection, -and the crack of Apache rifles has often been heard around the thick -walls. Dons of Spanish blood have extracted fortunes from the mountain -sides near by in mines that have been worked since shortly after the -Conquest.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> It is a hacienda of about a million acres in extent, and -one of the most beautiful in the whole State of Chihuahua, the Casas -Grandes River running for some thirty miles through the estate. The -true hacienda, of which we hear so much in Mexican narration, is really -a definite area of twenty-two thousand acres, but the name is now -used so as to mean almost any estate, whether large or small, under -one management. With the advance of railways haciendas are slowly -disappearing, and will soon exist only in poetry or fiction.</p> - -<p>The views from the hacienda are beautiful in the extreme. To the east -lies a range of mountains filled with seams of silver, the Corralitos -Company working some thirty to forty mines; while one hundred and fifty -to two hundred "prospects"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> await development. These mines have been -known and worked since the Spaniards entered this part of Mexico. To -the west of the hacienda flows the Casas Grandes River, flanked on -either side by enormous old cottonwood trees; while for a background -rise the immense peaks of the Sierra Madres, covered with snow, and -breaking into all sorts of fantastic shapes as they extend down toward -the river.</p> - -<p>The Corralitos Company is owned mainly in the United States, New York -capitalists being the principal stockholders.</p> - -<p>While at Diaz City I had learned from Dr. W. Derby Johnson, the -ecclesiastical head of the Mormon colonies in Upper Chihuahua, that at -the lower colony on the Piedras Verdes River a number of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> ancient Aztec -ruins were to be seen, very few of which had ever been heard of before. -I determined to visit them as soon as possible, for the reason that -Mr. Macdonald, the business manager of the lower colony, was expecting -to leave shortly for Salt Lake City. This gentleman was unusually well -acquainted with the country of the Piedras Verdes, having spent months -in surveying it, and being more familiar with its ancient ruins than -any other man living. Fortunately Dr. Johnson was going through to see -him—a two days' trip—so to a certain extent we joined our forces for -that time. Expecting to return to Corralitos, we left early one morning -for a drive of about sixty miles to the lower Mormon colony of Juarez, -named after Mexico's greatest President since the war of independence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> - -<p>Twenty-five or thirty miles to the south of Corralitos we came to the -town of Casas Grandes, said to consist of three thousand inhabitants, -but we did not see three people as we drove through its seemingly -deserted streets. It is the most important town in the valley, both -historically and in point of numbers. It takes its name, meaning "big -houses," from the ancient ruins situated in its suburbs, and comprising -the largest found in this part of Mexico when it was first visited by -Europeans many years ago. The name of the town has also been applied -to the river which flows just in front of it, and which is formed by -the junction of two others, the San Miguel and Piedras Verdes. The -San Miguel is the straight line prolongation of the Casas Grandes, -and is apparently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> the true stream; but the Piedras Verdes is the -more important, as its waters are perennially replenished by branches -which rise in the never-failing springs of the sierras to the west. At -Casas Grandes we left the river and struck out inland for the little -Mormon colony on the Piedras Verdes River, a distance of some twenty -or twenty-five miles. Like all other distances in this part of Mexico, -there is not a sign of civilization between, not even a camping place, -although the country traversed is a fine one for cattle grazing, with -numerous beautiful valleys where farms could be made remunerative, and -where three or four dozen houses ought to be seen if a tenth part of -the country's resources were developed. As we crossed stretch after -stretch of beautiful prairie, watered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> by many little mountain streams, -it seemed as though only a short time must pass before this fertile -country would be dotted with hundreds of homes and thousands of cattle -on its grassy hills. The meaning of Piedras Verdes is green rocks, but -the rock projections in cliff, hill, or stream, are of all imaginable -shades, not only of green, but of red, yellow, brown, rose, and even -blue. The effect is inconceivably beautiful against the wonderful blue -sky of this part of Mexico. Just before reaching the Mormon colony you -come to a high ridge from which can be seen the little town nestling -along the banks of the picturesque Piedras Verdes River. It is a scene -seldom surpassed in beauty. Far to the west are the grand Sierra -Madres, crested with snow, while nearer, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> great shaggy hills, -covered with timber, and the many bright-colored rocks between, make up -a picture that neither poet nor painter could depict.</p> - -<p>Juarez is a bright-looking little town of some fifty families, who -raise all their own fruits and vegetables, and have a goodly supply -for the less thrifty people of the surrounding country. Our party was -kindly cared for by two or three of the Mormon families, as there -were no other places of shelter beside their homes. The next day we -started to visit the ancient ruins on the Tapasita River (a branch -of the Piedras Verdes), which flows through as beautiful a little -valley as I ever saw. Mr. Macdonald, the surveyor of this tract, -kindly consented to accompany us, although he was overburdened with -business incidental to starting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> the next day for Salt Lake City. In -the Tapasita valley I expected to find only a single well-defined group -of ruins. Imagine my surprise, then, upon discovering that the entire -country, especially in its valleys, was covered with such evidences. -A high hill, called the Picacho de Torreon, had been occupied on its -southern face by cliff dwellers; at our feet was a mass of rubbish that -indicated a ruin of the latter people. Twelve miles up the Tapasita -was still another extensive ruin of stone, while the intervening space -was constantly marked by similar remains. In fact, as before stated, -the whole valley was one vast continuation of ruins. We were surely -on ground once occupied by an ancient and dense population—where -the fertile resources of the country will again sustain another and -a far more civilized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> race. Even Juarez City found a great many such -mounds on its site, and digging into some of them has revealed much -of interest. Just before our arrival a pot or jar had been taken from -one of the mounds, and was bought by me of the young boy who unearthed -it. It is like many other jars from Casas Grandes, as well as from -better known ruins, and that have already figured in works on Mexico. -It differs, however, from most of them in having upon it the figure of -a bird, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> representations of animals of any sort are very unusual -upon their decorated surfaces. The bird seems more nearly to resemble -the chaparral cock or California road runner than any other bird in -this part of the world. Geometrical designs are frequent, and of these -the zigzag, stairlike forms are the most common. Many other things had -been found in this mound, including a number of utensils of pottery, -together with the human bones of their makers. No doubt similar relics, -with some variations, could be found in all these mounds. We saw, I -think, many hundreds of these ruins in the Piedras Verdes region, -most of them merely mounds suggestive of what they once were. Ancient -ditches could also be plainly made out along the hillsides, showing -that the former inhabitants cultivated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> the rich soil of the valleys. -They well understood the value of water, too, for around the bases -of the small, streamless valleys leading into the watered ones were -damlike terraces, evidently designed to catch and retain the water -after showers until it was needed in the irrigating ditches. On the -top of high hills adjacent were fortified places, apparently where -they must have fled in times of danger from other tribes. They were a -wonderful and interesting people, one that would repay careful study, -even from the little evidence of their existence that is left.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image7.jpg" width="425" height="230" alt="Ancient Jar Unearthed at Juarez City." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">ANCIENT JAR UNEARTHED AT JUAREZ CITY.</p> - -<p>On the Tapasita we came upon the ruins of what must have been a large -city of these people—the largest we saw in that part of the country. -The only life we saw there was a mountain lion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> or panther, that came -trotting along the valley until it saw us, when it turned back into the -mountains. Truly the wild beasts were wandering over the Toltec Babylon.</p> - -<p>It is impossible for an artist to convey in plain black and white any -idea of the beauty of this country; it is a land requiring the painter -to exhibit its beauties.</p> - -<p>One of the interesting peculiarities of the numerous ruins found -throughout this portion of the country, and that indicates a once -dense population living off the soil, is the way in which most of them -seem to have met their fate. When a ruined house is dug into all the -skeletons of its occupants are found in what may be termed the combined -kitchen and eating room,—these two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> rooms being in one,—and always -near a fireplace. The postures of these skeletons are as various as -it is possible for the human body to assume. They are found kneeling, -stretched out, sometimes with their locked hands over their heads, on -their sides, and, again, with their children in their arms, hardly any -two being alike in the same house or series of houses, where they were -united into a pueblo. Now in the whole study of sepulture it has been -almost universally found that even among the lowest savages as well as -among the most civilized peoples, whatever form of burial is adopted, -no matter how absurd from our point of view, it is uniform in the main -points, allowing, of course, slight deviations for caste or rank. The -positions of the skeletons in their own houses do<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> not accord with this -general fact, and have led some to believe that this race was destroyed -by an earthquake or other violent action of nature.</p> - -<p>I had a long talk with Mr. Davis, superintendent of the Corralitos -Company, who has made a study of these ancient ruins from having them -almost forced upon his attention. That gentleman not only believes -they were cut off by a violent earthquake, as I have suggested, but -that this great cataclysm caught them at their evening meal. He infers -the latter fact from a consideration of the customs of the present -almost pureblooded Indians here, who must have descended from the -older race, although, singularly enough, knowing nothing of their -ancient progenitors. The evening meal is the only occasion when they -are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> all gathered together at home. The earthquake must have been a -very severe one, and have brought down the large buildings upon the -occupants before they could escape. This region is not especially -liable to such disasters. That it has them, however, occasionally, and -severe ones too, is shown by the Bavispe earthquake of a few years -ago, when that town was destroyed, some forty people killed, and the -whole country shaken up. Mr. Davis goes on with his theory that the -survivors were thus exposed to the mercy of their enemies (that they -had enemies before is shown by their fortifications adjoining almost -every village), and became cliff dwellers as a last resource to escape -the fury of their old assailants. These, probably, were savages by -comparison; and, living in savage homes, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> skin tents or <i>wikeyups</i>, -and other light abodes, they suffered little from the great commotion -referred to. When the partially vanquished race became strong enough -they wandered southward as the first, or among the first, Toltec -excursions in that direction.</p> - -<p>While at Corralitos Mr. Davis told me of some ruins situated about -halfway between his hacienda and Casas Grandes, near Barranca. I -visited them next day, and found a very noticeable and well-defined -road leading straight up a hill to a slight bench overtopped by a -higher hill at the end of the bench. Here was an ancient ruin, built -of stone, and looking very much like a position of defense. It may -have been a sacrificial place, for otherwise I cannot account for the -careful construction of the road.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> For defensive purposes it would not -have been needed, especially one so well made; but observation has -taught me that, when no other reasonable explanation can be found for -doing a thing, superstitious or religious motives can be consistently -introduced to account for it. This hill was really an outlying one from -a larger near by and overlooking it. After climbing up the latter about -halfway a series of stone buildings, not discernible from the bottom, -were clearly made out. They encircled the hill, and about halfway -between these and the top of the hill was another row of encircling -buildings, faintly recognized by their ruins, although the masonry was -of the best character. On the top of the hill was a fortification, with -a well probably about twenty feet from the summit,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> overtopped and -almost hidden by a hanging mesquite bush. At the base of both hills was -a series of mounds extending as far as the eye could reach. I almost -fear to place an estimate on their number, nor can I positively say -they represented buildings at all. In all or nearly all other mounds -there is some sign of the house walls protruding through the <i>débris</i>; -here I found none, but they closely resemble the other mounds except -in this respect. Everything goes to show that these people were on the -defensive, and that defense was often necessary. The ruins looked very -much older than any others I had visited, but that can in a measure be -accounted for, I think, by the sandy character of the district. Nothing -makes an abandoned building or other work of man look so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> antiquated -as drifting sand piled up around it. This town, therefore, may have -been contemporaneous with the ruined towns of the Casas Grandes valley -generally, although the latter look much more recent from being built -on more compact soil.</p> - -<p>As I have already more than hinted, all these valleys along the -foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains may have held a dense -population when these ancient people sojourned here, and if the -physical characteristics were the same as at the present time it is -very easy to account for. To the westward it is too mountainous for -many people to find homes and cultivate the soil, while to the eastward -the country is too barren after one passes the line of the lakes, or -where the mountain rivers sink.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> The strip along the foothills, between -the main ridge of mountains and the plains, is about the only place -where an agricultural people could live in large numbers and thrive; -and now that the dreaded Apache Indian has been finally subdued, I -think the day is not far distant when it will be again peopled by a -community engaged in peaceful pursuits. These ancients probably raised -everything they needed, so that there was very little commerce between -them, and not much need of roads or trails, although a few of them are -occasionally made out with great distinctness.</p> - -<p>I have already spoken of the plainly marked road leading up the steep -sides of Davis Hill. One can see this fully a mile away, although -not able to fully make out its true character at that distance;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> the -observer might suppose it to be a strip of light grass in a depression, -until his error was corrected by a closer inspection.</p> - -<p>The fortifications on the summit, considered from a military -standpoint, were the most complete that could be desired. The hills -retreated on both sides, giving full scope to the eye up and down the -broad valley, every square yard of which was probably irrigated and -cultivated. Without doubt the fortifications could safely be left -unguarded in clear weather, when the inhabitants would probably be at -work on their farms. A few keen-sighted sentinels, suitably posted, -might give notice of a coming foe in ample time for the population -to man the intrenchments before an attack could possibly be made by -the most rapidly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> moving enemy. This, of course, assumes that the -able-bodied citizen of that day was equally an artisan or farmer and a -soldier; it is an assumption, however, that accords with our knowledge -of many other ancient races.</p> - -<p>On our way back to the hacienda from these ruins we passed through an -old, abandoned Mexican mining town called Barranca. It plainly showed -its ancient character in the long rows of slag that had come from the -adobe furnaces, some of which were still standing.</p> - -<p>Although many of the adobe houses were in excellent condition, even -the old church being in a fair state of preservation, there was not a -soul about the place. The primitive methods of doing the work and the -richness of the ore which had been smelted could be seen in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> any piece -of slag taken from the piles. By cutting a little almost pure lead and -silver were revealed, probably in the same proportions as they existed -in the vein. These piles of slag would represent a fortune, with new -and improved machinery like that employed in the United States, to -resmelt them, and with a railway running near. This place, moreover, is -only one of the many where fortunes are lying dormant in the different -slag piles of the old mines of northwestern Chihuahua alone.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to get information from the natives regarding the -mineral wealth of the country. If they have a good mine they are -exceedingly shy about saying so, and they are very jealous lest -foreigners should obtain valuable mining property. They dislike to -see it pass from under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> their control, and do not take kindly to the -foreign spirit of enterprise and improvement. This, however, is quite -contrary to the policy of the Mexican Government, which is doing all -it can to induce capital to come in for investment. The country is in -a stable, settled condition, and we found every part that we visited -quite as safe as the more settled communities of the United States. The -politeness and disposition to oblige of the humblest of the Mexican -people you can rely upon invariably, and that is more than can be said -of the corresponding class in more enlightened countries.</p> - -<p>This day of our visit to the ruins of Davis Hill was very warm, and our -driver, not having a taste for antiquarian research, even in the modest -degree possessed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> by me, had quite resented being dragged from the -shade of the great cottonwood trees around the hacienda. To show his -native independence of spirit he therefore refused to listen to advice -and water his horses on the road, but on returning allowed them to -drink all they wanted; as a consequence one horse died. We left Deming -with two large American horses, but now found it impossible, even on -that great hacienda, to obtain a suitable match, so we were obliged -to start off with a comical, sturdy broncho for a mate, which not -only gave a very lop-sided look to the conveyance, but an appearance -of extreme cruelty toward the little animal. Whenever the big horse -trotted the little fellow would take up a canter to keep alongside, and -it was almost enough to make a person<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> seasick to watch the ill-mated -pair get over the ground.</p> - -<p>We were soon back again to Corralitos, and inside the forbidding -looking gates. Here we were very comfortably housed, with a bright -fire burning in the bedroom fireplace to take the chill off the air, -as the rooms in these thick adobe buildings are much like cellars in -their temperature, whether it is warm or cold outside. We had not been -in many hours before other strangers began to arrive: Englishmen from -their ranches, miners from the silver mines, a surveying party, and a -number of cattlemen. By nightfall the place was swarming with people, -and the problem was where to stow away so many for the night. The -long table in the old adobe dining room was three times full. There -is no lack of fresh meat on such an hacienda,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> all that is necessary -being to send out the butcher, who kills whatever is wanted from the -abundant supply on the range, for in that clear, rare atmosphere meat -is preserved until used.</p> - -<p>There is another feature of large haciendas like this that may prove -interesting. I refer to the store, which usually occupies one corner of -the building. At this store is found every kind of merchandise that is -wanted, and here is doled out to the Indian population in exchange for -their work certain quantities of flour or sugar,—you can be sure the -amount is always very small,—and in time the simple people draw much -more than is due them for work, as they are always allowed credit. Then -it is they become peons or slaves, for they rarely get out of debt, -but increase it until they are virtually owned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> by the lords of the -soil, who can do as they please with the poor creatures, and work them -whenever and wherever they see fit. These debts descend from father -to son; in this manner they are continually increasing, and so the -chains are riveted. I suppose the system has many advantages as well -as disadvantages, but certainly we see the disadvantages to the poor -and simple people, who, having their immediate wants supplied, do not -care to look beyond. Among the more intelligent this condition is very -galling, but as a rule they are shrewd enough to avoid it.</p> - -<p>Standing a short distance from the inclosing wall of the hacienda, and -in the midst of the poor quarter, was a dilapidated Roman Catholic -church. There was no resident priest, but one came twice a year from -a settlement farther south.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> At all hours of the day, however, women -could be found kneeling in front of the primitive altar, a poor, -degraded class, with not as much morality as the most savage tribes who -have never heard of civilization.</p> - -<p>My trip of over two hundred miles down the eastern slope of the Sierra -Madre Mountains, from the boundary between the two countries, coupled -with the information I gained <i>en route</i>, showed me that I might do -better by attempting to make my way through the great range from the -westward; so it was decided to make the change of base from the State -of Chihuahua to that of Sonora.</p> - -<p>While visiting at La Ascension on our return trip we saw about a -dozen Mexicans extracting silver from ore by a method which is as old -as that mentioned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> in the Bible. The rich ore, showing probably two -hundred and fifty dollars to the ton, had been taken out of the vein -with crowbars and by rough blasting, and then brought to the town -on the backs of burros. Here the huge rocks were first crushed with -sledge hammers until they were about the size of one's fist and could -be easily handled, then broken again with smaller hand hammers until -almost as fine as coarse sand. This was reduced to a complete powder -by being beaten in heavy leather bags. After these operations it was -mixed with water and thrown into an <i>arastra</i>, a cross between a coffee -mill and a quartz crusher; in other words, consisting of four stones -tied to a revolving mill-bar and turned by the inevitable mule. This -makes a paste rich in granulated silver, which is mixed with salt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> and -boiled in a little pot, as if they were making apple butter instead of -working one of the richest veins of silver in a country celebrated for -its valuable silver mines. The resulting mass is washed out in a pan, -as a prospecting miner washes for signs of gold, with the exception -that quicksilver is put in to form an amalgam with the now liberated -metal. The latter is pressed out with the hand, and the little ball of -amalgam, as bright as silver itself, has the mercury driven off by a -furnace only big enough to fry the eggs for a party of two. The pure -silver ball, glistening like hoar frost in the sun, is now beaten down -to the size of a big marble to prevent its breaking to pieces. It is -exasperating in the extreme to see such ignorant methods of man applied -to the rich offerings of nature.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> - -<p>There was but very little out of the usual routine of travel for a -day or two, until we came to the third crossing of the Casas Grandes -River, at a point so near its entrance into Laguna Guzman that we felt -sure we would have no trouble in getting over. For, as I have already -explained, most of the rivers in this country are larger the nearer you -approach their heads. There had been no rains to swell the streams, and -our surprise can therefore be imagined when, upon reaching the river, -we found it a raging torrent. A long experience had taught me that it -does not pay to await the falling of a swollen river; so we set at -work to get over the obstreperous stream. The loads were all piled on -the seats, above the empty wagon beds, which, being thus weighted and -top-heavy, acted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> like so many boats when they dashed into the river. -Our driver, a Mexican, had the worst of it in a low, light wagon, drawn -by two small pinto bronchos. The flood swept him down stream under an -overhanging clump of willows, despite a rope tied to the tongue of the -wagon and another held firmly by a half dozen persons on the upstream -side. But he was as cool at the head as at the feet, although he was -knee deep in ice water at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> the time as he stood up in the wagon bed. -After waiting a moment to allow the horses to regain their bewildered -senses, he swam them upstream to the crossing, and the men, with a -whoop and a yell, dragged the whole affair on shore, looking like -drowned rats tied to a cigar box. We were three hours and a quarter -getting over that river, and felt as if we could have drowned the man -who wrote that Northern Mexico is a vast, waterless tract of country.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image8.jpg" width="500" height="225" alt="Crossing the Casas Grandes River." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">CROSSING THE CASAS GRANDES RIVER.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="III" id="III">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>SONORA—ALONG THE SONORA RAILWAY—<br /> -HERMOSILLO—GUAYMAS, AND ITS<br /> -BEAUTIFUL HARBOR—FISHING AND<br /> -HUNTING ABOUT GUAYMAS.</big></p></td></tr></table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">F</span><span class="smcap">rom</span> Deming, N. M., it is but a five or six hours' ride by rail to -Benson in Arizona, the initial point of the Sonora railway, a branch -of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé, and extending to the seaport -of Guaymas in Mexico. The ride from Benson consumes two days, and the -route is through the mountains, down the lovely, fertile valleys, and -across the flat, tropical country of the seacoast. It is a ride of -great novelty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> and of surpassing beauty throughout the entire distance. -After the train reached Nogalles, a town which is half in the United -States and half in Mexico, it was made up in regular Mexican fashion -of first, second, and third class coaches; and, from the number of -Mexicans aboard, it appeared they were as much given to travel as their -more active neighbors of the North; with this difference, however: -that where they can save a penny by going second or third class they -do so. This fact removes an interesting feature of Mexican travel from -the sight of the average American tourist, for, as a rule, he prefers -comfort to the study of the picturesque in his fellow-travelers.</p> - -<p>When we reached Hermosillo, a place of about ten thousand people, the -station<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> was filled with vendors of oranges; and such oranges I never -tasted elsewhere, although I have sampled that fruit in some of the -most famous groves of Florida and California. In sweetness, delicious -flavor, and juiciness they surpass all others; in fact it is impossible -to find a poor or insipid one among all you can buy and eat. It is a -pity there is so little market for this very superior fruit. The entire -country from Hermosillo down to the coast seems to be a perfect one -for orange culture, and for all other semi-tropical fruits. The prices -paid for oranges are very reasonable, for much more is grown than can -be consumed, and there seems to be little outlet for the surplus in any -direction.</p> - -<p>Just before reaching Guaymas the railway winds among the coast range -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> mountains, and crosses a shallow arm of the sea that is bridged -with a long trestle. As you pass over the bridge you can look across -the harbor through the gaps in the steep mountains straight out to -sea, or rather into the Gulf of California. Again you are treated to -long vistas of the beautiful mountain-locked harbor as the train winds -around the steep peaks and you approach the old seaport. Before going -to this port, the principal one on the Gulf of California, I made up my -mind there would be comparatively little to say regarding it, as it is -not only the terminus of a railway, but is also located on one or two -lines of steamship travel, and would therefore be almost as well known -as some California resorts or other famous places of the Pacific coast. -It proved, on the contrary, to be seldom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> or never visited by tourists. -I could find nothing about it in my numerous guidebooks and volumes -devoted to Mexico, but nevertheless discovered a great deal of interest -in this typical old town that was both novel and attractive. When the -Sonora railway first reached here a number of years ago everything -was ready to be "boomed." A hotel to cost a quarter of a million was -started on a beautiful knoll overlooking the picturesque harbor, but -after about one-tenth that amount had been put into the foundation and -carriage way leading up the hill it was given up.</p> - -<p>It may not be inappropriate to say that all of Guaymas is very much -like the hotel—it has a fine foundation, but not much of anything -else, although its sanitary conditions for a winter resort<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> are nowhere -else excelled. The first day you arrive you get a sample of the weather -in mild, warm days, with cool nights, that will not vary a hair's -breadth in all your stay. The harbor is picturesque in the extreme. It -is completely landlocked, and swarms with a hundred kinds of fishes. It -looks not unlike the harbor of San Francisco, and, although smaller, is -far more interesting in the many beautiful vistas it opens to sight as -one sails over its intricate waters. If it should ever become a popular -winter resort no finer fishing or sailing could be had than in the -harbor of Guaymas and the Gulf of California. A constant sea or land -breeze is blowing in summer and winter, but it is never strong enough -to make the waters dangerous. I have been fishing several times, and -certainly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> the piscatorial bill of fare, as shown by my experience, has -been an extremely varied one.</p> - -<p>While off the shore in the harbor one afternoon I caught a shark -measuring a little over six feet in length, which gave me a tussle of -about a quarter of an hour before I could pull it alongside and plunge -a knife into its heart. This last operation, be it observed, was not -so much to end its own sufferings as to prevent those of other and -better fish, and maybe a human being or so, in the near future. The -natives told me, however, that it was only the large spotted or tiger -shark, a species seldom seen there, that will deign to mistake the leg -of a swimmer for the early worm that is caught by the bird. None of -the shark kind enter the inner harbor where a sensible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> person would -naturally bathe, as he wants enough water to hide his movements from -his prey, and this condition seldom exists in the inner harbor. Indeed -its name, Guaymas, borrowed from that of an Indian tribe, means a cup -of water; and it is aptly applied, for the harbor is so landlocked -and protected that seldom more than the slightest ripple disturbs its -mirror-like surface, although breezes that will waft sailboats prevail -throughout the day.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image9.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="A View of Guaymas Harbor" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A VIEW OF GUAYMAS HARBOR.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>As a further part of my fishing experience we caught a number of -perch-like fish called by the people <i>cabrilla</i> (meaning little -goat-fish, on account of some fancied resemblance to that animal, so -numerous in the settled parts of Mexico), and which is pronounced the -sweetest fish known on the Pacific coast. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> are not as big as one's -hand, and, of course, it takes a great many of them to make a mess for -a few persons, but once a mess is secured it cannot be equaled in all -the catches known to the piscatorial art. Another fish that we secured, -and which the natives call <i>boca dulce</i> (sweet mouth), looked like a -German carp. It had a pale blue head, weighed from two to four pounds, -and seemed to run in schools, with no truants whatever to be found -outside the school. One might fish a day for the <i>boca dulce</i> and never -get a bite, but on the instant one was caught you could haul them in -over the side of the boat as fast as you could bait and drop your hook, -the biting ceasing as suddenly as it began. They are a delicious fish -for eating, and should Guaymas ever become the large-sized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> city which -its favorable position seems to promise, the <i>boca dulce</i> will furnish -one of the leading fishes for its market.</p> - -<p>While we were there the United States Fish Commission steamer -<i>Albatross</i> came into the harbor from a long cruise in investigating -the fishes of the Gulf of California, and Captain Tanner of the United -States Navy told a small party of us that there were enough fish in -the Gulf of California to supply all the markets of Mexico and the -United States. Singularly enough, nearly all this great fish supply -in the Gulf was along the eastern coast of this American Adriatic, or -on the Sonora and Sinaloa side, rather than on or along the coast of -Lower California. A good system of railways to the interior mining -camps is needed to make this great supply available to the wealth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> of -this naturally wealthy, but now poorly developed country. This will -inevitably come, for no one can travel in Northern Mexico without -clearly seeing it has a grand and wonderful future ahead, that will -greatly strengthen us if we are in the ascendant, and that can -correspondingly hurt us in an hour of need if we are not. The tide is -rapidly setting in our favor, if we take proper advantage of it.</p> - -<p>When I first sailed on the waters of the Gulf of California, some -eighteen years ago, its commerce, although small indeed, was -three-fourths in the hands of Europeans, while to-day three-fourths -of it is American, and only the other fourth European. We labor under -one disadvantage, however, and that is we do not attempt to cater to -another's taste, even though to do so would be money in our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> pockets. -There are peculiar lines of cheap prints and cottons made in Europe -that are sold only on the west coast of Mexico, not a yard finding its -way to any other part of the world. Now, while our goods command higher -prices, and a great deal finds a market there, it does not "exactly -fill the bill," and Americans, probably from not knowing the real wants -of these people, do not manufacture the needed articles, and drive -foreign stuff from the Mexican market. The ignorance of our people as -to the commercial value of Mexico, and especially those parts off the -principal lines of railway, is certainly great, and is losing us money -now, and a more important influence later. Our enormous advantage of -contiguity is pressing us forward in spite of ourselves, and we ought -to sweep nearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> every line of commerce in Mexico from the hands of -foreigners—a fact that is most emphatically true of the northern part -of that rich territory.</p> - -<p>After cooking our lunch of <i>cabrillas</i> and <i>boca dulces</i> on the -northern or inside shore of San Vincente Island we made a visit to -the caves on the southern or seaward face of the same island. This -led us through a little gorge between two high, beetling cliffs, -into which the sea had excavated the caves we were to see. Through, -or rather under, this gorge the waters pour into a small underground -funnel of the solid rock before they reach the little lagoon beyond. -At all hours the reverberation of the rushing tide is like thunder, as -it beats backward and forward in its prison. The upper crust of the -funnel is pierced with occasional holes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> and crevices, and at certain -stages of water these are the mouths of so many spouting geysers, as -each wave comes in and beats against the stone roof that confines it. -Woe to the person who tries to cross just as a high wave reaches its -maximum strength in the cave beneath! He will get the quickest and most -effectual bath of his lifetime. Once on the seaward face a long line of -caves is presented to view.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image10.jpg" width="500" height="320" alt="Cave of San Vincente." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">CAVE OF SAN VINCENTE.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>The high hills here are hard conglomerate, and the waves of the Gulf of -California, as we call it (the Gulf of Cortez as it was first named, -and is yet called by most Mexicans), have cut far under the cliffs, -leaving overhanging masses of rock, sometimes hundreds of feet in -depth, as measured along the roofs under which we walked. They looked -forbidding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> enough, and we feared that a few hundred tons might at -any moment fall on our heads; for here and there could be seen just -such deposits in the shallow waters, while occasional islands were -discerned along the front of some of the caves which must have been -formed when greater masses fell. But these fallings were without doubt -centuries apart, and all these caves fully as safe to explore as caves -in general. At any rate, every thought of danger was soon lost in -the delicious coolness; for the day on the shining water and white -sand beach had been very warm, although we hardly noticed it in the -excitement of our sport. The coloring in the largest cave was beautiful -beyond description. The sketch of our artist is as good as black and -white can make it; but it conveys little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> idea of the reality, save -form and contour. There was a narrow ledge on the skirts of the cave -where one could find a way to enter, except at the highest tide or when -a storm was beating landward, which is seldom the case, and never known -during the winter months.</p> - -<p>Guaymas has a wealth of natural attractions for the winter visitor or -traveler, but hardly any reared by the hand of man to make his stay -agreeable in a strictly physical sense. The hotels are all Mexican, -and while they should be judged from that standpoint, probably to an -American they would be very uncomfortable. Our hotel was a curious -compound of saloon, kitchen, dining room, and court, all in one, with -sleeping rooms ranged along two sides. One end of the building opened -on a street, and the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> directly on the beautiful bay, within a -stone's throw of the water. The views in all directions from the water -front of that simple hotel were indescribably lovely, causing one to -forget the discomforts of the interior and the lack of cleanly food.</p> - -<p>Even the inhabitants, in their Nazarene primitiveness, are very -interesting. Although Guaymas claims seven thousand within her gates, -her waterworks are of the same character as those of the ancient -Egyptians. The chief description I shall give of them is a picture of -one of the public wells just in the suburbs of the town. The water from -these wells is used only for sprinkling the streets, and for household -purposes, such as washing, it being totally unfit for drinking. That -precious fluid is brought from a spring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> fully seven miles back in -the mountains. We were told that this water could be easily piped into -the town, and that there was some talk of an attempt to do so, for the -sleepy old place is beginning to awaken to the fact that the world is -moving ahead.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image11.jpg" width="500" height="291" alt="One of the Wells of Guaymas." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">ONE OF THE WELLS OF GUAYMAS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Near the town is a sort of pleasure garden, or ranch, as it is -sometimes called. It is owned by an industrious German, who sank a -number of wells on the place, and obtained warm, cold, and mineral -waters, and established baths, which are very popular with the people -and make the place quite a resort. There are groves of all kinds of -tropical fruits and plants, with flowers in the greatest profusion; -the brilliant, gorgeous flowers of the tropics growing beside the more -modest ones of the temperate zone, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> making the arid, rocky region -beautiful with blossoms and shade. During the rainy season this country -is the home of the tarantula, the centipede, and the scorpion, for they -flourish equally as well as the flowers.</p> - -<p>In one of the rooms of the American Consulate, facing the principal -plaza, is lodged a piece of a shell, thrown there, singularly enough, -by an American man-of-war when Guaymas was taken in 1847, during the -Mexican War. At that time the <i>Portsmouth</i> and the <i>Congress</i> entered -the harbor, shelled the town, and took it. The piece of shell referred -to lodged in the huge wooden rafters of the building, and as these -are never covered in the simple architecture of that country its -rusty, round side is plainly visible from beneath. From the positions -assigned to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> the vessels it is said to have been the <i>Congress</i>, -she of <i>Monitor-Merrimac</i> fame afterward; and as the American flag -still floats from the staff directly over the shell it is quite an -interesting and historic piece of iron. Very few Americans, however, -associate the quiet little town of Guaymas with any event of the war -waged so long ago that its memories are almost lost in the later and -greater war of civil strife.</p> - -<p>In the good old times Guaymas used to have revolutions of its own. -Whenever a governor of the place was financially embarrassed, or -imagined he would soon be replaced by some fresh favorite from the City -of Mexico, he would issue a proclamation and send around to merchant -after merchant to take up a collection. If they had the temerity to -object,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> not wishing to part with their worldly goods in that fashion, -one of their number was selected as an example, taken out and shot, -which had the desired effect of causing the others to come to time. We -had the pleasure of meeting one of the old-time governors who had ruled -in this fashion. He now holds an important position, is a man of great -wealth, and a distinguished citizen—a tall, fine-looking man—but I -could not help thinking he looked the born pirate, and would enjoy -playing the despot again if he had the opportunity.</p> - -<p>The great mass of the working class of this western part of Mexico are -the Yaqui and Mayo Indians, portions of these tribes being civilized, -and others adhering to their wild and nomadic life in the mountains. -They are one of the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> interesting features of the country. -For years savage members of the Yaqui tribe have waged bloody and -successful wars against the Mexican Government, and have been the -principal cause of the slow development of the Gulf coast; but since -the death of their famous leader Cajeme they have been peaceable -and quiet. As a race they are remarkably stalwart, handsome, and -aggressive, and are said to be able to endure any extremes of heat or -cold. They are enlisted in the service of the government whenever it -is possible, and make the best soldiers obtainable for this particular -country.</p> - -<p>While in Guaymas I heard from reliable sources that the <i>jabali</i>, -peccary, or Mexican wild hog, was quite plentiful along the line of -the Sonora Railway, and determined to get up a small party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> and attack -these pugnacious pigs in their own haunts. The <i>jabali</i> (pronounced -hah-va-lee in the Mexican version of the Spanish language) is the wild -hog of Northern Mexico, and while one of them is in no wise equal to -the wild boar of other countries, still, as they go in droves, and -are equal in courage, they more than make up in numbers all they lose -by being considered individually. Up to this time my game list had -included polar bears, chipmunks, moose, jack rabbits, grizzlies, snipe, -elk, buffalo, snow birds, reindeer, vultures, panther, and others, -but as yet the scalp of no peccary dangled from my belt. So one fine -morning we pulled out for Torres station, about twenty or twenty-five -miles up the railway, where peccaries could be expected, and where -horses (better speaking, the bucking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> broncho of the Southwest) could -be procured, together with guides, ropers-in, etc.</p> - -<p>The fertile soil and warm sunshine of Sonora quickens the imagination -in a way unknown in the northern part of the United States, with its -colder clime and cloudy skies. The day before starting I had done a -good deal of telegraphing up the Sonora railway to learn just where -these peccaries might be the most numerous, and the replies were -enthusiastic as well as comical. Carbo sent back word that the section -men on the railway had to "shoo" the <i>jabalis</i> off the track so as to -repair it; another station reported that wild hogs were seen every -day except Sundays; another station said there was a Yaqui Indian -guide there who went out with a lasso and a long, sharpened stick,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -and brought in a peccary every morning before breakfast; while Torres -thought I could have <i>jabali</i> about three miles from there. This was -the most modest report and the nearest station, so I decided on Torres.</p> - -<p>The country along the southern portion of the Sonora railway would -be interesting in the extreme to one unfamiliar with tropical or -sub-tropical countries. Its vegetation was most curious, and the -surrounding country picturesque. Fine scenery can, indeed, be viewed -in a thousand places in our own country, but it is not characterized -with such a wonderful plant growth as we saw that morning on our way -to the slaughter grounds of the peccaries. Here was the universal -mesquite, looking like a dwarfed apple tree, and that affords the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -brightest fire of any wood ever burned. The tender of our engine was -filled with it, and, as far as fuel was concerned, we could have made -sixty miles an hour, had we wished to do so. The wood of the mesquite -is of a beautiful bright cherry red; many a time I have wondered if -this plentiful, tough, and twisted timber of the far Southwest could -not be utilized in some way as a fancy wood; certainly a more beautiful -color was never seen. Occasionally I thought I saw my old friend the -sagebrush; then there was the ironwood (<i>palo de hierro</i>), that looks -like a very fine variety of the mesquite. Its name is derived from its -hardness, and is well deserved. It requires an ax to fell each tree, -and as the quality of different trees is always the same, and that of -different axes is not, even this ratio of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> one ax to one tree has to -be changed occasionally, and always in favor of the tree. There was a -story going the rounds that a tramp, who had wandered into that country -(tramps sometimes get lost and find themselves in Sonora just once), -with the usual appetite of his class applied for something to eat. In -reply he was told, if he would get out a certain number of rails for -a fence, the proprietor would give him a week's board. It was, as he -thought, about a day's work that had been assigned him, and bright -and early next morning he sallied out with his ax on his shoulder. -Unfortunately the most tempting tree he met was an ironwood. Very late -in the evening he returned with the ax helve on his arm. "How many -rails did you split to-day?" was asked. "I did not split any, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> I -hewed out one," was the reply; and then he resigned his position.</p> - -<p>There is also the <i>palo verde</i>, named for its color, with its bright, -vivid green leaf, twig, and bark, and its pretty yellow blossoms, -making a beautiful contrast with the more somber green of other trees. -Occasionally great rows of cottonwoods (the <i>alamo</i> of the Mexicans) -show the line of water courses, while a number of shrubs covered with -blossoms are seen, apparently half tree, half cactus, so thick are -their brambles and thorns. But as to cactus! There are five hundred -species in America, of which Mexico has a large plurality, and the -majority of these can be found along this end of the Sonora railway. -There is the giant pitahaya, sometimes with a dozen arms, each as big -as an ordinary tree, and from thirty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> to forty feet in height. Each arm -has a score of pulpy ribs along its sides, and each rib has a button -of thorns every inch along its length, each button having twenty or -twenty-four great thorns sticking from it. I was told that when a -hunter is sorely pressed by peccaries, if he will climb a pitahaya -about ten feet, the thorns are so thick and terrible in their effect -that the peccaries will not dare to follow him, hardy and venturesome -as they are. Then there is the choya or cholla cactus, about as high as -one's waist. You can go around a pitahaya as you would a tree, but when -you find a field of chopalla (field of choyas) you might as well try -to go around the atmosphere to get to a given point. The cholla will -lean over until it breaks its back trying to get in your way, so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -it can dart a dozen or two spines into your flesh. They are the worst -of all; I could use almost as much of my readers' time in describing -different cactuses as I used of my own in picking them out of my flesh -after the peccary hunt was over, but I forbear.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image12.jpg" width="350" height="583" alt="A Mexican Cactus" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A MEXICAN CACTUS</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>When we reached Torres nobody seemed to know anything about peccaries, -and as the train stopped there for dinner we had plenty of time to -talk it over. It then appeared that wild hogs were to be found all -the way from Guaymas to Nogalles, but at this time of the year were -very scarce, and seen only in twos or threes, and not in droves. -In droves they are pugnacious and will easily bay; but in pairs -or very small numbers they are more timid, and not until they are -exhausted or overtaken by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> a swifter pursuer will they show fight. No -<i>jabalis</i> could be depended on, and, as I had only a day or two to -spare, I determined to move on to Carbo, where the prospects seemed -better, and which place we reached in time for supper. This over we -busied ourselves about our horses, mules, guides, dogs, etc. The -superintendent of the railway at Guaymas had kindly volunteered to -telegraph to any point and secure us a Yaqui Indian or two to guide us -after the <i>jabalis</i>, and any number of hundreds of dogs to bay them if -needed. He said he could guarantee the dogs (and so could anyone else -who knew anything about a Mexican village), but he felt dubious about -the Yaqui Indians. We secured four broncho horses and two dejected -mules for the next day, and then went to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> sleep. I unrolled my blankets -and buffalo robe, laid them down on the railway station platform, and, -as the night was cold, had a fine sleep. The morning broke as clear -as crystal, and we were up bright and early; but in spite of all our -Caucasian hurry we did not get away until shortly after nine o'clock. -Our first destination was a ranch two miles to the southeast of the -town, owned by Colonel Muņoz. Here we were to get a Yaqui Indian for -a guide, and learn the latest quotations as to the peccary market. -Shortly after rising in the morning heavy clouds were seen in the -northeast, which kept spreading and coming nearer and nearer, with -vivid flashes of lightning and loud rumblings of thunder, until just -about the time we were halfway to the ranch of Colonel Muņoz it broke -over us with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> full fury of a Sonora thunderstorm. Its worst feature -was its persistency. I never saw a thunderstorm hang on for six or -seven hours before in all my life, but this did, much to our personal -discomfort, and, worst of all, to the serious detriment of the hunt.</p> - -<p>Arriving at the ranch, we found that the Yaqui Indian guide, who, by -the way, was a famous peccary hunter, was absent, working on a distant -part of the hacienda. Now a hacienda or ranch in Sonora is about as -large as a county in most of our States, and it requires efficient -messenger service to get over one inside of half a day. We sent for -him, however, and as a small boy present volunteered the information -that he thought he could guide the party to where a pig might be -lurking in the brush, we concluded we would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> take a short spin with -him while waiting for the Yaqui Indian. He based his expectation of a -<i>jabali</i> on the rain that had been falling, which sent the wild hogs -out, made it easy to trail them, and brought them to bay sooner than if -the weather had been dry. There was no horse for the youngster to ride, -so he was taken on behind one of the party, and we started out in the -pelting rain after "the poor little pigs," as one of the seņoras of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -the hacienda put it. As the poor little pigs have been known to keep a -man up a tree for three days, we felt more like wasting ammunition than -sympathy on them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image13.jpg" width="350" height="256" alt="A Mexican Jabali." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A MEXICAN JABALI.</p> - -<p>The rain now came down in torrents, vivid sheets of lightning played in -our faces, and the rumbling of the thunder was often so loud we could -not hear the shoutings of one another. Now, indeed, we were anxious to -get a peccary; for while a little rain helps the hunter in his chase -after wild hogs, such a deluge is entirely against him. The dry gullies -were running water that would swim a peccary, and this was in their -favor in escaping from the dogs, for I should have said we had two dogs -with us: one a noble-looking fellow for a hunt, and resembling a Cuban -bloodhound, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> other a most dejected-looking whelp, a cross between a -mongrel and a cur. The whole affair was the sloppiest, wettest failure, -and about noon we got back to the hacienda, looking like drowned rats. -A good Mexican dinner of chili con carne, red peppers, tabasco, and -a few other warm condiments was never better appreciated, and as the -Yaqui Indian had put in an appearance we crawled back into our wet -saddles, with our clothes sticking to us like postage stamps, and once -more sallied out. While we were eating dinner the rain had ceased, and -our otherwise dampened hopes had gone up in consequence; but when we -were about a mile away it seemed as if the very floodgates of heaven -had opened and let all the water down the back of our necks. Gullies -we had crossed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> coming out almost dry now ran noisy, muddy waters -up to the horses' middle, and in some places halfway up their sides. -Thus we kept along for an hour or so, wet to the skin, and even under -the skin, cholla cactus burs sticking to us until we looked like sheep. -About two o'clock we heard loud shouts, and away we tore through cactus -spines and shrubby thorns, for it was a sign there were peccaries -ahead. Indeed they were ahead, and we chased them for eight miles. The -ground was slippery, and the unshod ponies went sliding around over it -like cats on ice with clam shells tied to their feet. I weighed 265 -pounds, and my small pony not over two or three times as much, and how -he kept up with the others, swinging through choyallas and around thick -mesquite brush is yet a mystery.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image15.jpg" width="500" height="303" alt="Chasing the Jabalis in the Rain" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">CHASING THE JABALIS IN THE RAIN</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>Occasionally a horse would get a bunch of cactus in his fetlock joint, -and then he would turn up his heels to let the lightning pick it out, -regardless of his rider. Once or twice the peccaries were sighted as -two faint gray streaks, just outlined against the dark green brush, -into which they disappeared at once. Several times it looked as if we -ought to overtake them in a minute or two, but that minute never came. -Our Yaqui guide was valiantly to the front, making leaps over cactuses -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> would have shamed a kangaroo, and keeping well ahead of the -horses. Suddenly he stopped and gave up the chase on the near side of -a broad river, the result of the rain. His face was melancholy in the -extreme, and it was known he would not give up the chase without the -best of reasons, as he was to receive a month's wages (five dollars) -if a <i>jabali</i> were killed. He explained in Spanish that the party had -been following the hogs with an absolute certainty of catching them, -so tired had they become, when, to his dismay, the tracks of three -other fresh peccaries were seen coming in at this point. Whenever -fresh <i>jabalis</i> join those worn out enough to come to bay, the latter -change their minds as to fighting, and will run as long as their fresh -companions hold out. We thus would have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> had another eight to twelve -miles' chase through the slippery mud, which the horses and mules -could not have endured, so exhausted were they already. We had seen -the beasts, nevertheless, and in losing them had learned one of their -distinct peculiarities, which fact was sufficient compensation for our -first, but never to be forgotten, hunt for wild pigs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" src="images/image14.jpg" width="500" height="318" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p>The peccary, as already stated, is a ferocious little beast, never -hesitating, when in numbers, to attack other animals. The coyote leaves -them alone if numerous, and even the mountain lion passes them to look -for other game. Their tusks are deadly weapons, and they click like so -many hammers when the creature is angry. If any ambitious Nimrod wants -a hunt after the most peculiar game extant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> in the United States and -Mexico he ought to take a peccary chase in Central Sonora.</p> - -<p>The country around Guaymas is extremely fertile, and in no part of -the American continent is there a richer country than lies along the -eastern and northern portion of the Gulf of California. Sonora and -Sinaloa are conceded to be the richest States in Mexico, and just as -Mexico has been the most backward country of North America, so these -two States are the least advanced portion of Mexico. This condition -of affairs is due almost wholly to the same cause that has retarded -the growth of Arizona and New Mexico, namely, the raids of hostile -Indian tribes. These two States have not only been a favorite hunting -and scalping ground for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> Apaches, but within their own borders -have been superior and warlike races to contend with in the Yaqui and -Mayo Indians. The last war of the Yaquis with the Mexican Government -lasted over twelve years, but since its close a number of years ago -the Indians are settling in the towns and villages, where they are -the most industrious portion of the working population. With the -disappearance of this disturbing element the most important problem -regarding the growth and development of the garden of the Pacific -appears to have been solved. Every grade of climate can be found here, -from the tropical seacoast to the temperate great plateaus, a short -distance inland. The country has a rich, well-watered soil; there are -vast, well-wooded mountain ranges, where all kinds of game<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> are found -in abundance; the rivers and bays are filled with every variety of -fish, and two or more crops of fruits or staple articles can be raised -yearly. Such a country cannot long remain unnoticed and unsettled; for -when railways are constructed through it the attention of outsiders -must be drawn to the land.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;" src="images/image16.jpg" width="500" height="402" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="IV" id="IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA—FROM THE CITY OF<br /> -CHIHUAHUA WESTWARD TO THE GREAT<br /> -MEXICAN MINING BELT.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">W</span><span class="smcap">hile</span> in Guaymas and discussing a practicable route into the heart of -the Sierra Madres, I was told by the general commanding the division -in which Guaymas was situated, and strongly advised by others having a -knowledge of the country, not to attempt an entrance into the mountains -from the western side, but rather from the high plateaus, of which the -city of Chihuahua was the central point. There were many excellent -reasons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> given for this advice. The Yaqui Indians were said to be -very restless at that time; the season of the year was unfavorable, -because all large rivers, like the Yaqui, Fuerte, and Mayo, were at -their height; again, there were no good points near the mountains -for outfitting such as the city of Chihuahua afforded. All these -reasons, together with the advance of exceedingly warm weather, made me -conclude to retrace my steps to the eastern side of the Sierra Madre -range. So we again passed over the Sonora railway, and enjoyed those -charming contrasts of the sea of flower-covered plains and mountains -during the two days' ride that took us to Benson. Thence we returned -to Deming, and from that point to El Paso, whence the Mexican Central -Railway takes one in a night's ride about two hundred and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> fifty miles -southward, to the city of Chihuahua.</p> - -<p>This is a place of about thirty thousand people, and is the most -important city in Northern Mexico. Like all towns in Mexico, but little -of it can be seen from the railway, only the tall spires of its famous -cathedral being visible; but the fine church alone well repays the -tourist for stopping over on his southern flight. Beside the cathedral, -there are many other features of interest to the tourist having -sufficient leisure, and the town should not be so universally slighted -as it now is. It is the outfitting point for all parties visiting the -many large and famous mines of the northern portion of the Sierra Madre -range. The journey from the city to the mines is made by diligence for -the first hundred miles, to the low-lying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> foothills of the mountains, -and then by mule-back for one hundred or one hundred and fifty miles, -to the heart of the great range. As this was nearly the route we wished -to pursue, the first two days were passed in outfitting and making -necessary arrangements. When we were informed that the diligence left -Chihuahua at three o'clock in the morning, we were convinced that the -Mexicans were by no means as indolent as they have been reported, -especially in the matter of early rising, or they would not start out -a stage at such an early hour. The conveyance must of necessity be -seldom patronized by any persons except the natives; and the calling of -passengers at that time for a seventy-five or eighty mile drive could -only be accounted for by a morbid desire of the people to be up before -the early<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> bird. The day before leaving was passed in assorting all the -baggage absolutely needed for a long trip by mule-back, and in getting -together such necessary provisions as we would use.</p> - -<p>I had been told that but little could be purchased after leaving the -town, and then only at three or four times the expense of buying and -transporting the same from Chihuahua. So despite all our efforts to -cut down our luggage it had quite a formidable appearance, and I -judged that my pack train would be an imposing affair, even if the -daily bill of fare was not. Our traps were piled up in the office of -the diligence, and orders were given to call us quite early, that we -might be promptly on hand, for we were assured the diligence would -wait for no man. Quite reluctantly I retired early,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> and left the -pleasant crowd sitting on the piazza that surrounded the inner court -of the hotel. As the noises of one of these primitive Mexican hotels -cease about one o'clock in the morning, and begin about two, and as -the night watchman felt it incumbent to open my door every tour he -made, and hold his lantern in my face to see whether I was having a -good night's rest, there was little cause for alarm lest I should be -left. Nevertheless to make assurance trebly sure I was called by three -different persons. It was evidently a great event to have passengers -leave by the diligence. We were soon out in the streets, picking our -way along in total darkness, trying to make the requisite number of -twists and turns down the little side streets to the office (for this -Mexican diligence was a proud<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> affair, and would not stoop to drive to -the hotel for passengers, not even for extra money). The rigid rules -of the corporation had to be enforced, and were above all price; so we -went floundering around in utter darkness until we were waylaid by a -friendly policeman with a lantern, who doubled us back on our tracks, -and assisted us to reach the dark door of the diligence office, which, -at that hour, was not distinguishable from any other door. At first we -were sure the policeman had made a mistake, for there was no sign of -life about the place, and it was full time for departure.</p> - -<p>Soon, however, a frowzy-headed man with a candle in his hand opened the -door and bade us enter; but I preferred walking up and down outside in -the cool morning air, and had a good half hour's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> exercise of that kind -before the coach came lumbering into sight. The huge, old-fashioned -affair had the queerest look imaginable; for, hitched to it in groups -of four each, with two leaders, were the tiniest mules I had ever seen. -With the arrival of the coach and ten the office at once burst into -life. I stood and counted my luggage as piece after piece was thrown -on behind, and felt as though I was monopolizing the highway, for my -freight towered up and filled the boot. The office was then examined -to see that nothing had been left; but, alas! that precaution was a -failure, as I found to my vexation at the end of the first day's drive. -It was broad daylight when we finally got away at half-past five in -the morning. Walking about in the cool air had given us voracious -appetites, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> as we clattered by the humble huts of the peons and saw -them making their simple morning meals, we regretted exceedingly having -placed any faith in the punctuality of this particular diligence. As -we drove onward through the broad avenue of <i>alamos</i> on the outskirts -of the town the fields were filled with the early workmen, who rise as -soon as it is light for their work, and rest in the heat of noonday. -In this part of the country these laborers are always dressed in white -that looks immaculate in the distance, against the dark background of -the fields, but it will not bear close inspection. I was thus able -to prove another virtue of the Mexican people, or at least a certain -portion of them, and this too despite the fact that my discovery does -not accord with the generally accepted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> American opinion of Mexican -laborers. There was no doubt that they were unusually early risers to -their work, as all that morning I found evidence of this fact. We drove -twenty miles before breakfast, and passed people going into the city -who had come as great a distance. As I have said, these same people -take their siesta in the afternoon, and are judged accordingly by -others who do not get up early enough to know what they have done.</p> - -<p>Leaving Chihuahua and bearing west toward the Sierra Madres, one finds -the road even crowded with Mexican transportation, all from the rich -silver belt now being rapidly developed, chiefly by American wealth. -There are great carts with solid wooden wheels of the Nazarene style, -the patient donkey of the same period, and all so numerous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> that one -would think there was an exodus from a city soon to be put under -siege. Almost anything that grows about the home of a Mexican of the -lower order furnishes an excuse for him to take it into town with a -hope of selling it. Until we were fairly out of the suburbs our party -were the only occupants of the coach, but there we were joined by a -Mexican gentleman, the son of a wealthy mine owner, who lived back in -the mountains. He was on his way to his fathers mining district, and, -as I had met him and talked with him before leaving, I had so timed -my departure as to be with him for at least a part of the journey. -The country directly back of Chihuahua reminded me greatly of our -own plains by the imperceptible manner in which it rises<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> toward the -foothills of the mountains, although it was far more fertile and well -watered, as the numbers of rich ranches along the way testified. At -nine o'clock we stopped to eat breakfast and change mules. Our morning -meal consisted of a concoction dignified by the name of coffee, with -tortillas (the people's bread—pancakes of coarsely ground corn and -water) and some stale eggs served in battered tin dishes upon a rough -wooden box. The stage station being the only house in that part of the -country, we could not be choosers. I noticed, however, that the soil -was of the richest kind and well watered, so that anything could have -been raised. What a paradise could be made by energy and industry where -nature has already done so much.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> - -<p>At noon we stopped at one of the numerous simple and dreary little -villages with which the country is studded. They appear far more -desolate than the open, bare <i>mesa</i> lands. All are much alike, each -having one or two streets of adobe houses, and a church of forbidding -aspect, which fronts on a still more uninviting looking plaza, about -fifty or seventy-five feet square, and set with whitewashed adobe -benches, a stripe of green about the latter being almost the only thing -to remind one of the color of verdure. The plaza is the pleasure ground -of the people, and a more cheerless-looking place one could not imagine.</p> - -<p>In investigating some of the resources of this country I ran across a -(to me) new and interesting way of measuring wheat, and other products -of the soil. I found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> an old hunter on the Yukon River of Alaska who -measured the length of grizzly bears by the fathom; I have had a -Mexican charge me for a saddle by the pound, carefully weighing it and -estimating the resulting cost; and when I tried to find how much an -exceptionally fine field of wheat yielded to the acre, the reply was -equally surprising. The owner, as he boasted of the field, knew nothing -of so many bushels to the acre (or to the hectare, which is their usual -standard of measurement), nor even of any ratio of pounds or kilograms -to a known area; but he loudly bragged that he raised one hundred for -one, while only a few of his neighbors could claim as high as fifty -for one, forty for one being the average for the whole valley. Now -one hundred for one meant that he got one hundred grains for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> every -grain he planted, one hundred bushels for every bushel put in as seed. -If he had planted a bushel on an acre of ground and got one hundred -bushels in return it would be considered an enormous yield, and even -a Western farmer would dance with delight at such a result; but if he -had planted a bushel on ten acres of ground, and got the same hundred -bushels as before, the Mexican farmer would be as happy as ever, while -the American farmer would begin to wonder if the old farm could stand a -third mortgage or not.</p> - -<p>Of course the American will say that about a certain number of bushels -are sown to the acre, and that one hundred for one or fifty for one -really gives us a fair ratio in judging of the fertility of the land. -But I would answer that in Mexico<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> little attention is paid even to -<i>such</i> a ratio, or to any other in agriculture, and only the most -careful observation or inquiry can elicit the facts necessary for a -basis of proper conjecture.</p> - -<p>A Mexican diligence is ornamented with an assistant to the driver in -the shape of a nimble young fellow, whose business it is to throw -stones at the mules. He occupies the front seat alongside the driver, -and whenever the mules have the appearance of commencing to walk—which -occurs about every half minute—he jumps nimbly to the ground, makes a -dash ahead for the leaders, with his hands and pockets full of stones, -and pelts the unfortunate beasts well. Of course they make a tremendous -burst of speed, and he grasps the straps on the side of the coach and -swings himself on top; then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> the leaders look around, and, seeing -him up out of the way, they slacken down their pace again, when the -performance is repeated. Sometimes the mules do not wait to be pelted, -but when they see their enemy stoop down to gather the missiles they -gallop wildly ahead, leaving the road runner to make the best time he -can to catch up; which having done, he takes his revenge on the mules -from above at his leisure.</p> - -<p>If there is one thing in which the Mexicans can outdo us more than -another it is in stage or diligence driving, and this too with animals -that will not compare with ours in size or strength, although, in -proportion to their size, probably more enduring. They generally -make up in numbers what they lack in strength, for they hitch them -in troops<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> and droves, so to speak. When we first started we had two -groups of four and two leaders; then we changed to four abreast and two -wheelers; then, as the country grew a little rougher, they hitched two -leaders to the six, making eight altogether. Now, again, we dropped to -six mules in pairs, as we see them at home. As the last stretch was a -tough one, we again had ten mules in sets of fours with two wheelers. -This over a very rough mountain road. Here was versatility in mule -driving that I never expected to see among a people that are generally -reported by most American writers to be of a decidedly non-versatile -character.</p> - -<p>When the Mexican mules are through staging they "skirmish" for a -living, grazing off such grass as can be had, or in lieu thereof -browsing on cottonwood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> and willow bush, not even disdaining a corner -of a corral or a wagon tongue or two if times are going a little hard -with them. Late in the afternoon we realized that we were entering the -foothills of the mountains, for the road wound through many picturesque -little ravines and ascended the rocky beds of the small creeks, often -taking to the middle of the stream when the caņon was very narrow or -thickly strewn with bowlders. It was quite a common occurrence for the -stage to be overturned on the road—if road it could be called—and the -most decided talent in mule driving was necessary to guide the groups -of little animals safely between the mossy rocks. Toward evening the -walls of the long caņon, with its broken craigs and fantastic turrets, -almost met overhead, so narrow was it; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> after a few turns and -twists it widened, and after rounding the peak of a high mountain, -entered another caņon, where, strung out its whole length, was the town -of Cusihuiriachic. I do not intend to throw the name of this Mexican -town at my readers without giving a plan, section, and elevation of -it as a key to the riddle. We were now in the land of the Tarahumari -Indians of West Central Chihuahua, this long-winded name applying to -them just as equivalent Indian names are found in Maine and a few other -places in the Union. This large Indian tribe, probably numbering from -15,000 to 18,000 (the most authentic estimate I can get places them at -16,000, although I have heard them estimated at 30,000 in strength), -was once scattered over a considerable territory, and their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> names are -still given to most of the places in the country they occupied before -the advent of Europeans.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image17.jpg" width="500" height="297" alt="In Cusihuiriachic Caņon." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">IN CUSIHUIRIACHIC CAŅON.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Wherever there is water (so I was told by an old resident among these -strange and little known people, Don Enrique Muller) the name of the -camp or town alongside ended in <i>chic</i>, as in the example I have given -above, as also in Bibichic, Carichic, Baquiriachic, and a few others -I could mention—"all wool and a yard wide." The rest of the word -Cusihuiriachic, still long enough for five or six more names, means, -says my authority, "the place of the standing post." When they ruled -their own country many years ago the principal means of punishment -employed was the upright post, to which the offenders were tied and -treated to a Delaware dissertation. Such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> is the origin of the big name -of the little Mexican town of Cusihuiriachic, situated about halfway -between the city of Chihuahua and the great mining belt of the Sierra -Madres, west and southwest of the city, and to which it is a secondary -distributing point. The diligence ride is made to it in one day, a -little over seventy-five miles. The place claims five thousand people, -and there is but one street up the narrow gulch, which, however, is -long enough to justify its name. It is wholly a mining town, and has -some important quartz mills strung out along the little stream through -its principal and only street. When we reached our destination for the -night we found a square adobe inclosure, with an enormous gateway, -through which the stage rattled and then stopped in a small court for -us to dismount.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> From there we passed through another large gate into a -similar court, filled with a variegated assortment of mules, and after -dodging among them, to cross to the opposite side, we climbed three or -four steps, and entered the most primitive hotel any civilized man's -eyes ever rested on.</p> - -<p>The patio or interior plaza of the hotel was, upon our arrival, being -used as a cockpit, and one or two hundred people were jammed therein. -Beside the Mexicans, there was one immense, brawny Chinaman. In the -middle of the pit lay two dead cocks; one belonged to the Chinaman, -and the other to some member of the Mexican aristocracy of the town. -An adverse decision had just been given regarding the victory of the -Chinaman's cock, and he was in the act of rolling up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> his sleeves to -pitch into the crowd and vindicate the prowess of his fowl; fortunately -our timely arrival prevented any further strife by diverting attention -to us, while the host was dragged from the midst of the fray to hunt up -a key to unlock one of the narrow pens—called rooms—that overlooked -the mule corral. Here, on a dirty brick floor, my bedding was spread, -and I slept to a chorus of squealing mules, which came in through the -grated, wooden-shuttered window. And right here I may say that I know -of no better opening for Americans of small means than starting and -keeping hotels in Mexican towns, where decent accommodations of the -kind are wanting, and where a great many Americans, as well as English -and other foreigners, pass through. I could mention fifty such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> towns -beside the example given. In the town referred to we were crowded, four -and six together, into those small pens—all travelers passing backward -and forward on business connected with mining interests or similar -industries. It seemed to be the universal custom of this portion of the -country to get up at three o'clock to take the diligence, no matter -how long or short the drive was to be. We were going only forty miles -farther the next day to Carichic; the diligence returned nearly eighty -miles to Chihuahua, and another stage line branched off for Guerrero, -to the northwest; but it appeared necessary that passengers should rise -at the same hour in order that all the coaches might get away at the -same time.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image18.jpg" width="500" height="313" alt="Arrival of the Coach" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">AARRIVAL OF THE COACH</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>The Carichic line is quite unfrequented, and only an ordinary wagon -is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> used as a stage for the few Mexicans who go that way; but in honor -of my party the large diligence was sent that day to carry us and -all our luggage. With the first streak of dawn we were threading our -way backward and forward across the little stream that runs through -the town, past sleeping pigs, geese, chickens, dogs, burros, and -Mexicans—an almost indiscriminate mass strung along the roadside. This -road led past the big quartz mill, grinding away day and night, and by -it we climbed up and out of the narrow caņon till the <i>mesa</i> and the -hills were reached. Afterward the drive was through beautiful park-like -places, with groves of oak and pine, the road winding up and down the -mountain side, until, early in the afternoon, we reached Carichic. On -the road between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> Cusihuiriachic and Carichic we came to an adobe -building, that departed in a very picturesque way from the everlasting -mud box style of architecture so common to this country, and for which -departure we had to thank the Apaches. Not that they built it, for an -Apache never built anything except under compulsion, and at that time -compulsion of these Indians was about the scarcest thing in Mexico; -but, rather, they compelled the Mexicans<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> to do it, that is, to erect -corner towers at the four corners of the mud box, and convert it into a -building of defense. In the picturesque mountain scenery it looked at -a short distance away like an old castle, and only a nearer inspection -dispelled the illusion.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image19.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="Mexican Adobe House Fortified against Apache Raids" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">MEXICAN ADOBE HOUSE FORTIFIED AGAINST APACHE RAIDS.</p> - -<p>While at Cusihuiriachic we had looked with some contempt on the -primitive accommodations of its forlorn and dilapidated hotel, and had -rather scouted the idea of its being possible to find a worse place or -greater disregard for the common necessities of life in any habitable -town. The little cell-like room, with its wooden bench, tin wash basin, -and bare brick floor on which to stow one's bedding, seemed to be -the extreme of simplicity; therefore we believed that Carichic could -hardly do less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> for us. But as everything is relative in this world, -I was soon to look back to the despised hotel as the last taste of -civilization, and to appreciate it accordingly. On reaching Carichic, -a town of six or seven hundred people, we were told there was no such -thing as a lodging house for us, and that it would be necessary for us -to camp in the streets or some field, unless our Mexican friend could -induce the village priest to allow us the use of a large empty room in -one corner of the big building he occupied. The loaning or renting of -a large empty room does not seem to be an act of great hospitality, -nevertheless it was so regarded. The Mexican gentleman, when passing -backward and forward over the trail between his father's mines and -Chihuahua, always made his headquarters with the priest or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> <i>cura</i>, who -was a great friend of his family; but everything and everybody from the -United States he looked upon with suspicion and distrust. Therefore, -considering the circumstances, his readiness to allow us under his -roof could only be considered as a marked hospitality, or as evidence -of a disposition to oblige our mutual Mexican friend. Perhaps he was -animated by a keen sense of duty, and found this a fitting opportunity -to mortify the spirit. But, whatever his motive, we were given the use -of the room. So the stage left us and our worldly possessions there, -for at Carichic all roads ended, and, as soon as I could make my -arrangements with a native packer for his pack train of mules, we were -to take one of the narrow Indian trails leading back into the heart of -the Sierra Madres.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p> - -<p>The priest's house was by far the most important in the village, being -built around a large interior court, with all the rooms facing on -this court, except the one given for our use. At the entrance to this -interior court was a large gate, which could be barricaded in case of -danger or an Indian uprising. On one of the outside corners of the -structure was a sort of storeroom, the door opening on the street, and -next to this storeroom—which contained a few old bottles and pieces -of leather—was the room assigned to us. At one end of our room was -a small fireplace, and along the rude adobe wall was a wooden bench, -and near it a table. One window, with wooden bars, and the door, were -the only openings. The floor was the common one of earth. As there was -not a place in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> town where food could be bought, it was necessary -to open our boxes before our dinner could be prepared. Wood and water -were soon brought, a fire started in the fireplace, and our simple -meal could have been ready in fifteen minutes—and would have been -anywhere except under the auspices of our Mexican cook. We tried to -secure chickens and eggs—staple articles even on the frontier of -Mexico—but were told that time would be required to get them, and -that the next day would be the earliest moment at which they could -be procured. Tortillas, however, were forthcoming, and these, with -bacon, hard bread, cheese, and tea, made an excellent meal. Dionisio, -or Dionysius in English, my cook, had been highly recommended to me -at Chihuahua, and had been brought with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> me on that account, as I had -been influenced by glowing descriptions of his supposed good qualities. -Since the morning of our start from Chihuahua he had been the butt -and laughingstock of even the slowest of the Mexicans, who had heaped -all sorts of derisive epithets on him for his general stupidity. My -only hope was that he would blossom out as a good cook when he had an -opportunity; but here I was doomed to receive the full shock of his -utter incapacity, and to realize that he would only shine resplendently -as a complete failure on the whole journey. Finally I was forced to the -conclusion that he was palmed off on me simply to get him salaried and -off the the hands of somebody else. Although we arrived at Carichic -about noon, or shortly after, and preparations were begun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> at once for -our simple meal, we were compelled to eat it by the light of a tallow -candle. It was evident that, if more than one meal a day was to be had, -Dionisio would require an assistant to do all the work.</p> - -<p>As night approached the good padre tendered us the use of his parlor -floor on which to spread our bedding. This room occupied one side of -the interior court. It was a long, narrow place without windows, and -lighted only through the wooden doorways, of which there were two. In -one end of the room was a little old narrow iron bedstead; at the other -a small, black haircloth sofa, and a couple of chairs. On the walls -were a picture of the Virgin and a small crucifix, while in another -part, hung up beyond reach of the tallest man, was a small,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> a very -small mirror, evidently regarded as a profane thing and not to be used. -In the center of the room was a small strip of faded green Brussels -carpet. The whole place had a most depressing air, and the bare earthen -room outside was beautiful by comparison, for in the latter we had -the sunshine, and could see the lovely blue sky, and all around the -horizon, the rolling, tree-covered hills, with the distant peaks of -the Sierra Madres in the background. Nature had been very lavish with -this place, and at every point of the compass it was picturesque and -beautiful in the extreme. About Carichic the soil is wonderfully -fertile and the grass luxuriant. A lovely little mountain river winds -by on one side of the village. The people are principally the civilized -Tarahumari Indians,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> and this is one of their largest towns. There is, -however, as in all Indian towns, a slight sprinkling of Mexicans, and -to that portion of the community we looked for mules to carry us back -into the mountains.</p> - -<p>Shortly after my arrival a number of Indians were started out to look -up the animals; for we wished to get away the next morning if possible. -When night came a part of the needed complement had not been found; -for Mexican mules are always turned loose to hunt their living, and -they often wander off many miles, and it sometimes takes days to find -them. All night long the Indians were again out scouring the hills, but -in the morning there were still not mules enough; so nothing could be -done but patiently await their arrival. The next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> morning Francisco, -a most excellent packer, by taking one horse to carry a few light -bundles, had animals enough to make a start. Horses are of no service -whatever in these mountains. On the steep, rough, dangerous trails -the small Mexican mule is the only animal that can possibly cling, -crawl, and climb up and down the dizzy heights. The motley and scraggy -assortment of beasts led up for our inspection that morning gave us -the uncomfortable feeling that we would never reach any place if we -trusted to them. A little before ten o'clock my train of fourteen mules -was started; and we were told we must ride fast, as the trail just out -of the town was good, and it was necessary to make the noon camp at a -certain spot. The trail we took was one seldom used, except by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -Indians, and a few Mexicans who held mining property in that portion -of the mountains. It was, therefore, one of the roughest and steepest -in that region. Instead of seeking any sort of grade, it struck out -wherever fancy had dictated to the original Indian travelers, generally -over the steepest peaks or along the edge of some high and dizzy -precipice, even when this course was wholly unnecessary. Although that -made it somewhat laborious for us, as well as our animals, it gave us -unusually fine views and picturesque effects, and despite the roughness -of the trail we rode fifteen miles that morning and made our noon camp -on time.</p> - -<p>When but a very short distance out of Carichic, while crossing a high -ridge, I observed, in a little valley below, a curious looking creature -skulking along half<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> hidden from view, toward the entrance to a cave in -a huge bowlder. I called the attention of my Mexican companion to him, -and he said he was only one of the wilder Tarahumari Indians, who lived -in this manner, and that I would see enough of them before I finished -my journey. This was my first introduction to a strange people hidden -away in those grand old mountains, and of which the world has known -comparatively nothing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p> - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="V" id="V">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>CENTRAL CHIHUAHUA—IN THE LAND OF THE<br /> -LIVING CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS—THE<br /> -TARAHUMARI INDIANS, CIVILIZED AND<br /> -SAVAGE.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">I</span> <span class="smcap">propose</span> to devote the greater portion of this chapter to a -consideration of the Tarahumari Indians of Central and Southwestern -Chihuahua, a tribe of aborigines that I have occasionally seen -mentioned in works and articles on Mexico (especially its northern -part), but of which I can find no detailed account anywhere in the -literature I possess of this region. The fact of my having been in that -country for some time, seeing and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> investigating some of their most -curious habitations and customs, coupled with what information I could -get from a few hardy Mexican pioneers in the fastnesses of the great -Sierra Madre range, who corroborate each other, constitutes the basis -of my comments.</p> - -<p>Although the Tarahumari tribe of Indians are not at all well known—for -I doubt if many of my readers have ever heard of them—they are, -nevertheless, a very numerous people, and were they in the United -States or Canada, where statistics of even the savages are much better -kept than in Mexico, they would have an almost world-wide reputation. -On account of this utter lack of statistics it is impossible to state -with close approximation the number of Tarahumari Indians in this part -of the country. So I will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> have to rely on the estimates (really broad -guesses) of those best informed, giving my readers the benefit of my -own researches as a check, although not claiming they will make a very -good one, to the wide range of estimates made by others. In a previous -chapter I spoke of the number of these Indians, but really am inclined, -from all I could learn of them, to estimate their number at twenty -thousand or thereabouts. An Indian tribe of twenty thousand people in -our own country would be heard of often enough in press and public to -become a household word; but the isolation of the Tarahumari Indians -from the beaten lines of travel, and the little interest taken in them -by local and governmental officials (especially the interest which -would make their habitations, habits, and customs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> known to the world) -have thrown a veil over them both dark and mysterious. Some tribes of -no greater strength in the interior of Africa are better known to us -at home than are these Tarahumaris of the Sierra Madre Mountains of -Mexico. They are now seldom seen in the city of Chihuahua, or even on -the diligence lines radiating to the many western points which draw -their supplies from this town; and it is only when the mule trails to -the deeply hidden mountain mines are taken that they are seen at all. -Still better, if one cuts loose from these too, he will be yet more -likely to find them in all their rugged primitiveness. Those usually -seen by the white traveler to these parts are called civilized, and -live in log huts, tilling a bit of mountain slope, not unlike the lower -classes of Mexico, whom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> they copy in their departure from established -habits. It is no wonder, therefore, that little has been said about -them more than to mention occasionally where they once lived in a -country now held by a higher civilization.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image20.jpg" width="500" height="239" alt="A Civilized Tarahumari House." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A CIVILIZED TARAHUMARI HOUSE.</p> - -<p>Even the word "Chihuahua" itself is a Tarahumari word, and was applied -to the site of the present city of Chihuahua; its meaning is "the -place where our best wares were made." The territory lying between -the line of the Mexican Central<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> Railway (which cuts through a small -part of their ancient country) and the Sierra Madres proper, or where -diligences cease to go and all transportation is done on mule-back or -with donkeys, the Tarahumaris have abandoned to invading civilization, -or have obeyed its mandates and become civilized themselves. They are -only found in a primitive state in the Sierra Madres, with the far -greater excess on the eastern slopes of the wide range. Beyond the -Tarahumaris to the west are the Mayo and Yaqui tribes of Indians, on -the rich and level slopes of the Mexican States of Sinaloa and Sonora; -while on the north they come in contact with the omnipresent and widely -feared Apache, whose hand was against everyone and everyone's hand -against him.</p> - -<p>Though a peaceful tribe of Indians, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> far as their relations with -Mexico have been concerned, they nevertheless were not wanting in the -elements that made them good defenders of their land; and the Apaches, -so dreaded by others, gave the mountainous country of the Tarahumaris -a wide berth when on their raids in this direction. The Tarahumaris, -equally armed, which they seldom were, were more than a match for these -Bedouins of the boundary line between our own country and Mexico. One -who had ever seen a group of the wild Tarahumaris would not credit them -with a warlike or aggressive disposition, or even with much of the -defensive combativeness that is necessary to fight for one's country. -Even the semi-civilized among them are shy and bashful to a point of -childishness that I have never seen elsewhere among Indians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> or other -savages; and I have lived among nine-tenths of the Indian tribes of the -United States and a great number outside of our domains. Heretofore the -Eskimo of North Hudson Bay I deemed the most modest of savages, but -they are brigands compared with the Tarahumari natives. If they have -the least intimation of a white man's approach, he stands as little -show of seeing them as if they were some timid animal fleeing for life.</p> - -<p>A Mexican gentleman who owns a part interest in a rich silver mine in -the great broken Barrancas leading out from the Sierra Madre toward the -Pacific side, or into the States of Sinaloa and Sonora (but who always -reached his mine by way of Chihuahua), told me that he had several -times passed over the mountain trail on mule-back, when with a pack -train, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> not seen a single Tarahumari, although the trip occupied a -number of days in their country, and took him where he should have seen -two or three hundred if they had made no effort to escape his notice. -The country thereabouts is well wooded and often heavily timbered, and -the timid native, hearing the clang of the mule shoes on the rough, -rocky trail, will at once retire to the seclusion of the nearest thick -brush, and there wait until the intruder is out of sight.</p> - -<p>They do not fly like a flock of quails suddenly surprised by the -hunter, however, for, if caught, they generally stand and stare it -out rather than seem to run from the white man while directly in -his presence; but if the latter is vigilant and keeps his eyes wide -open, he will often see them skulking away among the trees<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> or behind -the rocks as he is approaching their houses, or the caves or cliff -dwellings wherein they abide. Of course, as one would naturally expect, -the more savage Tarahumari natives, or those living in the rocks, -cliffs, and caves, or brush jacals, are much wilder and more timid than -those pretending to adopt the forms and duties of civilization. It -is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> this peculiarity that has made it so hard to understand or learn -anything about them, and this too in a land where so little interest is -taken in gaining knowledge of the subject.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image21.jpg" width="500" height="351" alt="An Indian Home Between Rock Pillar and Tree." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">AN INDIAN HOME BETWEEN ROCK PILLAR AND TREE.</p> - -<p>In my wanderings through this portion of the Sierra Madres (and right -here I might state that on some Mexican maps this portion of the -great range is occasionally labeled as the <i>Sierra de Tarahumari</i>, -about the only place we ran across the name) I was more fortunate in -seeing a large number of them engaged in more nearly all the labors -and duties they are known to follow than is usually the case: the -civilized Tarahumari, living in rough stone and adobe houses, with -brush fences around his cultivated fields; and the most savage of the -race, acknowledging none of the Mexican laws or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> customs, and living -in caves in the rocks or under the huge bowlders, or in cliffs high up -the almost perpendicular faces of the rock, where they probably tend a -few goats and plant their corn on steep slopes, using pointed sticks to -make the holes in the ground into which the grains are deposited.</p> - -<p>In appearance the Tarahumari savage is, I think, a little above the -average height of our own Indians in the Southwest. They are well -built, and very muscular, while the skin of the cave and cliff dweller -is of the darkest hue of any American native I have ever seen, being -almost a mixture of the Guinea negro with the average copper-colored -aborigine that we are so accustomed to see in the western parts of the -United States. The civilized Tarahumaris are generally noticeably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -lighter in hue. The Mayos and Yaquis on the west, the Apaches to the -north, the Tepehuanes to the south, and the Comanches to the east -are lighter in their complexions than the cave- and cliff-dwelling -Tarahumaris, although they live in much warmer climates than the -latter. There is every opportunity to inspect the skin of the savage -Tarahumari, as they wear only a breechclout and a pair of rawhide -sandals; and if it be a little chilly—as it always is at evening, at -night time, and morning on the elevated plateau land or mountainous -regions of Mexico—they may add a <i>serape</i> of mountain goat's wool over -their naked shoulders. Their faces generally wear a mild, pleasing -expression, and their women are not bad-looking for savages, although -the older women break rapidly in appearance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> after passing thirty to -thirty-five years, as nearly as I could judge their ages. The savage -branch of the Tarahumaris is of course the more interesting as the most -nearly representing our own Indians of fifty to one hundred years ago, -or before white men came among them. The civilized are not unlike those -we have cultivating the soil in a rude way around the western agencies; -although those of Mexico have no governmental aid such as we so often -and so lavishly pour into the laps of our copper-colored brethren of -the North.</p> - -<p>The savage Tarahumari lives generally off all lines of communication, -shunning even the mountain mule trails if he can. His abode is a cave -in the mountain side or under the curving interior of some huge bowlder -on the ground.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Sierra Madre Mountains, where they live, are extremely picturesque -in their rock formation, giving thousands of shapes I have never see -elsewhere—battlements, towers, turrets, bastions, buttresses and -flying buttresses, great arches and architraves, while everything from -a camel to a saddle can be descried in the many projecting forms. It is -natural that in such formation—a curious blending of limestone pierced -by more recent upheavals of eruptive rock—many caves should be found, -and also that the huge, irregular, granitic and gneissoid bowlders, -left on the ground by the dissolving away of the softer limestone, -should often lie so that their concavities could be taken advantage of -by these earth-burrowing savages.</p> - -<p>The first cliff dwellers I saw were on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> the Bacochic River, the first -day out on mule-back from Carichic. These cliff dwellers had taken a -huge cave in the limestone rock, some seventy-five feet above the water -and almost overhanging the picturesque stream. They had walled up its -outward face nearly to the top, leaving the latter for ventilation -probably, as rain could not beat in over the crest of the butting -cliff. It had but one door, closed by an old torn goat hide, through -which the inhabitants had to crawl, like the Eskimo into their snow -huts or <i>igloos</i>, rather than any other form of entrance I can liken -it to. The only person we saw was a "wild man of the woods," who, with -a bow and arrows in his hand and the skin of a wild animal around his -loins for a breechclout, was skulking along the big bowlders near the -foot of the cliff. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> dozen determined men inside this cliff dwelling -ought to have kept away an army corps not furnished with artillery, -although I doubt if the occupants hold these caves on account of -their defensive qualities, but rather for their convenience as places -of habitation, needing but little work to make them subserve their -rude and simple wants. My Mexican guide said they would only fly if -we visited them, leaving a little parched corn, a rough <i>metate</i> or -stone for grinding it, an unburned <i>olla</i> to hold their water, and -some skins, and, perchance, worn-out native blankets for bedding; so -I desisted from such a useless trip as getting over to their eyrie to -inspect it.</p> - -<p>About three months before my first expedition into Mexico, I saw a -notice going the rounds of the press that living<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> cliff dwellers had -been seen in the San Mateo Mountains of New Mexico, and that as soon -as the snow melted a mounted party would be organized to pursue and -capture them; but I have heard nothing from it, beyond the little -stir created at the time, and which the finding of any living cliff -dwellers anywhere would be likely to create. Yet here are people of -that description, of whom the world seems to have heard nothing. How -many there are of them, as I have already said, it seems hard to tell. -We saw at least five to six hundred scattered around in the fastnesses -of this grand old mountain chain, and could probably have trebled this -if we had been looking for cave and cliff dwellers alone along and -off our line of travel. Let us place them at only three thousand in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -strength, and we would have enough to write a huge book upon, giving as -startling developments as one could probably make from the interior of -some wholly unknown continent—in fact more curious; for the public is -somewhat prepared for such a story by the large number of old deserted -cliff dwellings found in Arizona and New Mexico, which have often been -assigned to a people older than the ruins of the Toltec or Aztec races. -That there is some relation between these old cliff dwellers and the -new ones I think more than likely; and I believe that most writers who -have seen both, or rather the ruins of the former and much of the life -of the latter, as I have, would agree with me in this view.</p> - -<p>It is pretty clearly settled that the Apaches are Athabascans, and -came from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> the far north; and it seems not unlikely that they drove -southward or exterminated the northern cliff dwellers, leaving only -these here as representatives, although numerous beyond belief, of -a most curious race generally supposed to be extinct. The Pueblo -Indians, of the same locality, by living in larger communities and -stronger abodes were better able to resist these Indian Northmen, -and consequently some of their towns still exist; but the old cliff -dwellers, like the new ones, could in many cases be cut off from -water by a persistent and aggressive enemy, such as the Apaches must -have been then, when just fresh from their northern excursion. It is -still more probable, however, that they drove them southward until the -retreating cliff dwellers became so powerful by being massed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> upon -their southern brothers that they could resist further aggression, and -therefore give successful battle to their old foe, as we know they -have been able to do recently when the Apaches were performing such -destructive work in this part of the country.</p> - -<p>It is a well-known fact in archæology that a badly defeated people, -driven from their country by a superior force of numbers, and occupying -a new and less desirable tract, will generally reproduce their -habitations, implements of the chase, and all other things which they -may be called upon to construct in a much less perfect manner than -when in their own country; and I found the cave and cliff dwellings of -the wild Tarahumaris in the Sierra Madre Mountains to be in general -less perfect than the cliff dwellings far to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> north, as those near -Flagstaff, Ariz., the cave and cliff dwellings in the Mancos Caņon, -and many others I could mention in our own Southwest. Whatever may be -the relation between the dead and departed northern cliff dwellers and -their southern living representatives, it seems to me that it would -well pay some scientist to devote a few years to their thorough study, -as Catlin did so well among the Sioux, Cushing with the Zunis, and many -others I could mention.</p> - -<p>All these Tarahumaris, whether civilized to the extent of agriculture, -living in houses, and having the other arts in a crude degree, and -embracing Christianity, or whether in the most savage state, naked to -the skin except rawhide sandals, and living in caves or cliffs, while -still worshiping the sun, and hoping for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> the return of Montezuma some -day, all are to a great extent independent of the Mexican Government, -much more than are any of the peaceable Indians of the United States -from our own government, unless it be a few almost unknown tribes in -the interior of Alaska. If a Tarahumari commits a crime against, or -does an injury to, a Mexican or foreigner, the Mexican Government -takes notice of it and tries to punish the offender; but between -themselves, except in a few cases of flagrant murder, they can conduct -all administration of justice, as well as other matters, wholly by -officers of their own selection and by their own codes and customs. The -very wild ones—the cliff and cave dwellers—know nothing of Mexican -affairs, and in fact fly from all white people like so many quails -when they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> approach. The more civilized elect their own chiefs and -obey their executive mandates so well, as a general thing, that there -is really very little reason for the Mexicans to force their officials -upon them, if their only object is a maintenance of peace. Still the -half-wild tribes of some parts of the mountains even war against each -other without asking the Mexican Government yes or no, and conclude -their own treaties as a result of such quarrels on their own basis. I -was informed by Mr. Alberto Mendoza, a perfect master of both Spanish -and English, and an interpreter at one of the big Sierra Madres -silver mines, where there also was employed an excellent Tarahumari -interpreter, that such a war as I have described recently broke out and -was carried on by two factions in adjoining<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> parts of the mountains. It -was a very strange affair, of course, but I doubt if its existence was -even known in any other part of Mexico.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image22.jpg" width="350" height="585" alt="Methods of Warfare" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">METHODS OF WARFARE</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Singularly enough, the badge of office of the self-governing tribes -is a scepter, if an ornamented stick held in the hand can be called a -scepter. These black savages of the sierras obey it more implicitly, -however, than if it were a loaded Gatling gun trained on them. Whenever -a government official or justice seizes this mace of the Madre -Mountains, and holds it aloft, every person in sight is quelled more -effectually than if it were a stick of giant powder that would explode -if they did not obey. Its name among them, translated, is "God's -Justice," and certainly no superstitious people ever obeyed a mandate -more readily and completely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> than do they this mute expression of their -own laws, and without which they would often be lawless under the same -circumstances.</p> - -<p>An almost ludicrous case was told me of a foul murder having been -committed by the wild Tarahumaris on the person of a civilized one, -the murderers holding possession of the body. It was natural that the -civilized faction should want the corpse for burial, and they demanded -it, but it was refused. The civilized natives then went to the boundary -line of the two factions, hoping to get the chief of the wild savages -to assist them. Here they found some four or five hundred of the latter -drawn up in battle array, with bows and arrows, to dispute their -passage into their own land. The chief was absent and refused to come -to the assistance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> of the others, although demanded in the name of the -Mexican law, with corresponding punishment. The civilized natives then -conceived the idea of a small body of picked men going in a roundabout -way to compel his attendance, which was done, although he still refused -to exercise his authority to compel his own band to give up the corpse -of the dead Tarahumari. The forcing of the wild chief into the dispute -was about to bring on a collision between the two factions, when one -of the civilized natives wrenched his scepter from his hand, waved -it aloft, and demanded of the wild ones that they cease all hostile -demonstrations and bring in the body of the murdered man, all of which -they did in the name of "God's Justice."</p> - -<p>Nearly all the civilized Tarahumaris<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> are Christianized, while the -wild ones living in cliffs and caves are—if they can be called -anything—still worshipers of the sun and believers in the return of -Montezuma; so this "God's Justice," as represented so effectually by -the mace or scepter, cannot mean solely the Christian God or that of -the Tarahumaris, for in either case it would have no effect on the -other. There can be only one conclusion that I can see, and that is -that this badge of authority is as old as the Tarahumaris themselves, -or at least antedates the conversion of the civilized ones by the old -Jesuits, or the conquering of the country by the Spaniards from Europe. -The Mexicans use nothing of the kind except, probably, in their state -and federal legislatures, as we do in some of ours, and it is not at -all likely that these natives,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> especially the wild ones, would have -borrowed it from so distant and almost never visited a source.</p> - -<p>The civilized Tarahumaris have their own elections, patterned after the -Mexicans in a crude way, while the wilder ones have their chiefs, but -whether they are elected or hereditary I was not able to ascertain; I -am inclined to think it is the former.</p> - -<p>The wildest known of the Tarahumari cliff and cave dwellers are -probably those of the Barranca del Cobre, which can be seen from the -Grand Barranca of the Urique, as one skirts its dizzy cliffs, being in -fact a spur of the Grand Barranca leading out to the east. There are -undoubtedly many other, but unknown, places where these savages dwell, -if possible more primitive than those of the Barranca<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> del Cobre. In -this caņon the cliff dwellers are often stark naked, except for a pair -of <i>guarraches</i>, or rawhide sandals, these protecting the soles of the -feet from the flint-like broken rocks of this part of the country, and -without which even their tough hides would soon be disabled. Upon the -approach of whites they fly to their birdlike houses in the precipitous -cliffs like so many timid animals seeking their burrows.</p> - -<p>The next nearest grade of these people goes so far as to ornament the -person with breechclouts after the latest fashion set by Adam and Eve, -the more savage of these again using the skins of wild animals for this -purpose, while the better grade manages to secure some dirty clothes -from the others to finish out this necessary part of their wardrobe. -When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> it is reflected that the winters are quite severe on the higher -parts of these sierras, the snow being some winters two and three feet -deep, it is quite easy to conceive what constitutional toughness these -fellows must have in their scanty attire.</p> - -<p>An Eskimo would long to get back to the Arctic if he were here, so he -could sit on an iceberg and get warm.</p> - -<p>On the great mountain trails their feats of endurance are almost of a -marvelous character. The semi-civilized are often employed as couriers, -mail carriers, etc., and in all cases they invariably make from three -to five times the distance covered by the whites in the same time, -while there is no known domesticated animal that can possibly keep pace -with them in the mountains.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p> - -<p>It takes six or seven hours of fairly continuous climbing to make, by -mule-back, from the mine in a deep gulch to the "cumbra," or crest of -the Barranca del Cobre, by a most difficult mountain trail, the ascent -made being five thousand to six thousand feet. It takes four hours -to descend in the same way. A message was sent from "la cumbra" by a -Tarahumari foot runner to a person at the mine and an answer received -in an hour and twenty minutes, the same messenger carrying the letter -both ways, or making the round trip.</p> - -<p>One day a Tarahumari carrier passed us just after we had gone into -camp about three o'clock in the afternoon, bound for the same point we -expected to reach in three days' hard travel by mule-back. I wanted to -send a message by him to this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> place, and on ascertaining when he would -reach it was, as my hearers will easily infer, somewhat astonished to -find out that he expected to make it that night, and I was afterward -informed that he had done so.</p> - -<p>Not a great many years ago the mail from Chihuahua to Batopilas was -carried by a courier on his back, who made the distance over the -Sierra Madre range, a good 250 miles, and return, or a total of 500 -miles, in six days. Here he rested one day and repeated his trip, his -contract being for weekly service. Alongside of this the best records -ever made in the many six days' "go-as-you-please" contests that are -heard of in the great cities of the United States sink into almost -contemptible insignificance. I could give a dozen other instances, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -these are enough. Of course these runners make many "cut offs" from the -established mule trails when their course is along them, and they thus -save distance, but making all such allowance their endurance is still -phenomenal.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="VI" id="VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>THROUGH THE SIERRA MADRES—ON<br /> -MULE-BACK WESTWARD FROM<br /> -CARICHIC.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">A</span><span class="smcap">s</span> our next month was passed on mule-back, and Mexican mule-back at -that, I think it would be not at all inappropriate to make a brief -dissertation on this kind of brute for the necessary merits and -demerits of the journey.</p> - -<p>The Mexican mule is a sort of a cross between a mountain goat and -a flying squirrel, with the distinct difference that its surplus -electricity flows off from the negative pole instead of the positive, -as with the goat. It is in its meanderings on the mountain trail that -it shines<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> resplendent, but with a luster wholly its own, that can be -no more compared with any other than can the flash of the diamond be -compared with the fire of the opal. I would like to place it alongside -of the American mule for comparison in the "deadly double column" of -the newspaper, but the Mexican beast would kick out the intervening -rule and "pi" the type before enough was up to form an opinion. On the -mountain trail this distinct species of mule was never known to fall, -although he has an exasperating and blood-curdling way of stumbling -along over it that would raise the hair of a bald-headed man on end. -Many a time I have watched the mule I was compelled to ride with a -view of discovering his methods of trying to frighten me to death as -payment for past injuries. Oftentimes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> the trail would lead past dizzy -heights or cliffs, where one could look sheer down far enough to be -dead before he reached the bottom should he fall, and every few feet -along the trail of not over a foot in width it would tumble in a foot -or so and again take up the original inclination of the mountain, or -about that of the leaning tower of Pisa. Here the mule would always be -sure to stick one foot over and stumble a little bit, but regain its -equilibrium at the next step, having clearly done it intentionally, and -for no other purpose than pure maliciousness. One can imagine the cool -Alpine zephyr that is wafted up the vertebræ with sufficient force to -blow the hair straight up on end. If you have touched the beast within -the last three or four days with the whip, or dug into its sides with -the spurs when it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> was absorbed in melancholy reflections, it'll be -sure to remember it when you are climbing over the comb of a cliff from -two thousand to three thousand feet high, and at the least movement of -your feet or twitching of your fingers it will throw its head high in -the air, like a hound on the scent, and go stumbling over every pebble -and blade of grass on the dangerous way, evidently trying to make you -regret that you had ever tried to punish so delicate a creature. At any -other time you can turn double somersaults on its back, or act like a -raving maniac, and it will not increase its funereal march a foot a day -as the result of your actions. Whenever a trail leads exceptionally -near a cliff, before it turns on the reverse grade down or up hill, the -Mexican mule never fails to go within an inch of the crest and let his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -leg over with a slight quiver, as he turns around.</p> - -<p>All these mountain trails are full of little round, hard stones -about the size of marbles, and even larger ones, hidden underneath a -carpeting of pine needles. These are liable to make a mule stumble if -two feet are on the stones at once, but this is very seldom, although -they always go sliding over them on the steeper trails. It is wonderful -how these round rocks, hidden under the pine needles on the trail -or off it, will throw a human being prostrate if he dismounts a few -minutes to take a walk on a slope and stretch his stiffened limbs. Of -course the mule, under headway, is liable to walk over him before it -can stop or the person pick himself up.</p> - -<p>There is another pastime in which the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> Mexican mule delights, and -in which you won't. It likes to deviate enough to go under every -low-branched tree on the trail, and so universal is this trait of -character that the trail seems to lead from one low tree or vine to -another, just as the mule has a mind to make it. The dodging of limbs -and branches among the pines, cypresses, and oaks in the high lands -was not so bad, but down in the <i>tierra caliente</i> or hot lands, where -brambly mesquite and thorny vines were tearing crescents out of your -clothes until you looked like a group of Turkish ensigns, it was much -more monotonous.</p> - -<p>The beast I was compelled to ride had one ear cut off near the head, -and looked top-heavy in the extreme. As a mule's ears make up a goodly -portion of it, as seen in elevation from the saddle on its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> back, I -was always frightened when he approached a cliff on the unabridged -side, and instinctively leaned in to counterpoise the heavy weight that -I thought might drag us over the precipice. He was familiarly known -by the party as "Old Steamboat," "Old Lumber Yard," and other names -indicating these characteristics; but he was large and so was I, and he -fell to my lot. When I first saw his abbreviated auricular appendage, -as a member of the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Mules," I -felt incensed upon hearing that it had been lost by the cut of a whip -in the hands of a previous driver; but before we had been acquainted -a week I had transferred all my sympathy from the mule to the man, -whoever he may have been. On the level ground this mule was slower -than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> the Mexican cook, who took fifteen minutes to wash a spoon; but -on a perilous path of half a foot in width, on a dizzy precipice, the -way he could box the compass with the lone ear, so as to catch some -faint sound at which he could get frightened at this inopportune time, -made me wish I could cut off the other ear at about the third cervical -vertebra.</p> - -<p>About half-past one on the first day out from Carichic we stopped -for our lunch in a grove of beautiful pines in the valley of the -Pasigochic, on the banks of a little stream of the same name. As I have -said, we had ridden about fifteen miles from Carichic and were all -very much in need of rest. Just before lunching we passed a number of -Tarahumari Indians of the civilized class, working in a small field of -about three or four acres.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> Even in this small space there were a dozen -others hard at work. Their dark, swarthy bodies were almost the color -of the rich soil in which they toiled, making their white breechclouts -and white straw hats, the only things they wore, look curious enough -when they moved about like so many unpoetical ghosts, as seen at a -distance.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image23.jpg" width="500" height="324" alt="A Tarahumari Mountain Home." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A TARAHUMARI MOUNTAIN HOME.</p> - -<p>We were now well into the Sierra Madre range, and although the scenery<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -was so far about the equal of the Alleghanies or Catskills, there was -not much level ground for cultivation, and this was eagerly seized by -the working natives, not only to raise crops for their own use, but to -have some to sell; for from six to seven days' travel to the southwest -was the richest silver district in the world, where all kinds of -produce brought fabulous prices that would have enriched an American -farmer in one season—flour forty cents a pound and other things in -proportion. Indeed one of the best distinctions that could be made -between the wild and civilized Tarahumaris is the fact that the former -knows nothing of money nor makes any attempt to secure it, bartering -directly by exchange with the civilized native for those things he -wants and does not make; while the latter makes money<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> his medium of -exchange, and seems to thoroughly appreciate its value.</p> - -<p>The midday lunch for a party of Mexicans moving through the mountains -is quite long by comparison with American parties under like -circumstances. It was two hours before we got away again. There are -probably two reasons for this, one being that the midday is generally -warmer with them than with us, although this did not apply to us in the -cool, timbered regions of the high sierras; while the second reason is -clearly found in the fact that they seldom feed their mules on these -mountain trips, and must give them time to graze a fair-sized meal at -noon. The Mexican packs and unpacks the mules twice a day, the American -but once; for by feeding grain he can keep going until they want to -camp, making it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> much earlier than his Mexican brother, who, starting -at three o'clock, has to go until six or seven to make a respectable -afternoon's march. By three o'clock the American is generally in camp, -having made the same distance and having done half the work. It is -doubtful, however, if American mules would do as well here under like -circumstances.</p> - -<p>After leaving the pretty and picturesque Pasigochic, a high hill is -ascended, and late that afternoon we passed the highest point between -the morning and evening camps, eighteen hundred feet. On the high -hills were seen the beautiful madroņa tree, or strawberry tree, with -blood-red bark, and bright green and yellow leaves, and covered with -white blossoms, so startling a mixture of colors that it would hardly -be believed if painted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> and put on exhibition. They were everywhere, -from the merest bush in size to trees twenty and thirty feet in height. -In form they are not unlike a spreading apple tree, with strongly -contorted and twisted branches. Then there were many oaks of different -kinds, the <i>encino robles</i> or everlasting oak, the white oak, and the -little black variety. There were a dozen kinds I knew nothing of in my -limited vocabulary of forest trees. The pines were beautiful, and in -many places forty to fifty merchantable trees to the acre, straight as -an arrow, and without a limb for sixty or seventy feet from the ground. -In one or two clusters I noticed groups of pines like those an old -lumberman once pointed out to me in the forests of Oregon as good mast -timber. I have seen the same repeated dozens of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> times on the slopes -of the Sierra Madre range. This dense mass of spar and mast timber, -as I shall call it, is nearly always found on the richest soil of the -mountain, generally in the narrow little valleys where the silt from -the sides is swept down by the rains until the soil is many feet deep.</p> - -<p>The great coniferous forest of the northern part of the Sierra Madre -range of Mexico is probably one of the largest in the world (it is -undoubtedly the largest virgin forest on either continent), and when -its resources are opened by well-constructed wagon roads, or, better -still, by a railway system, it will undoubtedly prove an enormous -source of revenue to the Mexican States of Chihuahua and Sonora, and -to no little extent those of Sinaloa and Durango—a source nearly as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -profitable as their mineral wealth, and this is saying a great deal, -for these States comprise the richest silver district in the world.</p> - -<p>That evening we camped in the valley of the Guigochic, on another -beautiful mountain stream, where a little park of an acre or two gave -our mules some sweet alpine grasses, which warranted us in believing -that half the morning would not be passed in chasing over the hills to -find stray mules, as is so often the case in Mexico when these beasts -are turned loose to search for their food. We were all thoroughly tired -with our first day's ride on mule-back, but nevertheless turned in to -help the cook, as we realized that we wanted something to eat that -night. The tent was pitched between two magnificent pines of enormous -size, and I slept to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> music of the wind in their branches. We -left our camp by the light of the camp fire next morning and started -over the crest of one of the steepest mountains overlooking our -camp. Halfway up the steep trail we passed two graves of stone heaps -surmounted by rough wooden crosses. At this spot a man and his wife -had been killed by the Apaches a few years ago. These same Apaches -had penetrated too far into Tarahumari land, and after a disastrous -encounter with the latter were fleeing themselves, when they met the -defenseless Mexican and his wife and killed them. This was the farthest -point west where a white person had been killed by Apache Indians in -this part of Chihuahua. After climbing this hill of 1500 or 1600 feet -our trail still led upward, the mountains growing steeper and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> steeper. -When we reached the top of one peak we would immediately begin the -zigzag descent, then climb up another and down again. Sometimes the -trail wound over a bald, rocky peak, where steps by long years of use -had been worn deep in the soft rock; and into these little places the -mules would carefully place their feet, there really being no other -foothold for them. Again there would be a chain of gigantic stairs -leading down some steep mountain side, where one could look hundreds of -feet, and see tall trees that from such an elevation resembled small -shrubs. The nimble and sure-footed animals would place all four feet -together and jump down from one step to another, oftentimes more than -their own height, so that one felt sure of being sent flying over the -cliff, Again,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> the trail would be over the loose, rolling stones, and -the little animals would fairly slide down these dangerous places. -By noon we reached the quaint little civilized pueblo of Tarahumari -Indians named Naqueachic, they living in rude log houses instead of -caves or cliff dwellings.</p> - -<p>At the pueblo of Naqueachic of civilized Tarahumaris I found a curious -method of cooking. Over the fire the food was boiling in two different -dishes. One contained a substance that looked like a compound of -mucilage and brick dust. The mademoiselle in charge would take up a -calabash gourd full, holding a pint or two, and, although the gourd was -held mouth up all the time, before it was three feet above the pot it -was completely emptied, so tenacious and stringy was the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> substance, -like the white of a soft boiled egg. This was repeated every five or -ten seconds, evidently to keep it from burning. It is made from the -soft, pulpy leaves or stalks of the nopal cactus; and is about as -palatable to a white man as gruel and sawdust would be. The other pot -contained some mixture of corn, beans, and probably one or two other -more savage ingredients, a sort of Sierra Madre succotash.</p> - -<p>In one corner of the room—I might say the house, for there was only -one room in the house—was a rude loom for weaving blankets, which -they make from the wool of their mountain sheep, and which under all -the circumstances are quite creditable. The ornamentation is not very -great, and yet none of them lack this seemingly necessary part of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> a -blanket. These blankets are usually of a dark brown color, with one or -two dark yellow stripes across them at the ends. Being "all wool and a -yard wide" they are quite warm, much warmer than some Mexican woolen -blankets that I bought at Chihuahua, which seemed better calculated to -keep the heat out on the cold nights in the mountains than to keep it -in.</p> - -<p>The civilized Tarahumaris are quite cleanly for savages, noticeably -more so than the lower order of Mexicans, and yet there is plenty of -room, great, unswept back counties of it, for improvement in this -respect.</p> - -<p>After leaving the interesting little village of Naqueachic we at once -started over a high range or crest some twenty-nine hundred feet above -our level, and from the top could look down in a beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> valley on -one of the most important Tarahumari villages in the Sierra Madres, the -town of Sisoguichic. I would have liked to camp here for the night, but -as there was no corn for the mules or grass for them to graze on we -were compelled to proceed.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image24.jpg" width="400" height="476" alt="Old Tarahumari Indian" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">OLD TARAHUMARI INDIAN.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span></p> - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="VII" id="VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA—AMONG THE<br /> -CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS IN THE<br /> -HEART OF THE SIERRA MADRE RANGE.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">T</span><span class="smcap">hat</span> night our camp was in an immense pine forest on the crest of one -of the high peaks, and here we parted with our Mexican friend Don -Augustin Becerra, to whom we had already become deeply indebted, and -who found it necessary to hasten on to his father's mines at Urique, -which we were to make more leisurely.</p> - -<p>There is a widely dispersed variety of pitch pine in these mountains, -which may be said to be the candles or the lanterns<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> of the natives of -the country. The night scenes in the pitch-pine States of the South -have long formed themes in prose and poetry, but those States are in -the flat-land coasts of our country, with no scenery to give any of -the strange, weird effects of a broken land. At one camp I made upon a -high <i>potrero</i>, I saw such a scene. It was in a little flat place in -the mountain, where the grass was good for the mules, but where the -water was far down the precipitous ravine or box caņon that opened out -by a gorge to a great barranca as deep and wide as the Grand Caņon of -the Colorado. A half-dozen men at a time, all with pitch-pine torches, -descended after water, or to drive the mules to and from water. As -they cut long slivers of pine, eight to ten feet in length, that blaze -for two-thirds to three-fourths<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> their length, the strange effect on -the wild scenery, stretching for miles, can be more easily conceived -than described. To have put it faithfully on canvas would have made -the reputation of any artist, and the equal of which I have never -seen. Vereschagin's "My Camp in the Himalayas" seemed almost tame by -comparison. The great wide sombreros, glittering with silver—for -even the common peons of Mexico have more costly hats than the "Four -Hundred" of New York—the bright red foliage of the manzanillas and the -madroņo trees, rendered doubly lurid by the reflection of the torches, -the sharp rocks of the caņon in battlemented and castellated confusion, -stretching off to the mighty barranca five thousand to six thousand -feet deep, really made up a picture that not one painter in a thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -could have done justice to, and not one could imitate.</p> - -<p>On our third day out we crossed a most picturesque stream called the -Panascos River. Near the crossing were a number of huge irregular -bowlders lying at the foot of a sculptured cliff. Under those -that formed cave-like recesses were a number of Tarahumari cave -dwellers, looking absolutely comical in their wide-brim straw hats of -coarse grass and their primitive breechclouts. Their skins were so -dark-colored that had it not been for this white clothing at the two -termini it would have been hard to make them out in the dark, deep -caverns into which most of them fled upon our approach.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image25.jpg" width="500" height="323" alt="Cave-Dwelling Tarahumaris." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">CAVE-DWELLING TARAHUMARIS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>A recently occupied cave of these strange earth-burrowing savages -could nearly always be told by the stains of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> ascending smoke from -the highest point of entrance to the cave. If the cave has been -abandoned for any length of time the rain soon wipes out this sure sign -of habitation. We passed a large number of caves with funnel-shaped -smoke stains, leading up from the outside, but the silence of death -surrounded them, as if human life had never been within a mile of the -place; but I have not the remotest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> doubt that there were a dozen -people inside of each, peeping at us from around the dark corners, -having heard our approach and fled in time to keep well out of our -sight. Nothing is noisier than a Mexican mule packer, and the mountains -are always resounding with his pious shouting to his lazy, plodding -animals as he urges them on; so I considered it very lucky indeed that -we saw as many of the living cave and cliff dwellers as we actually -did, so excessively shy are these poor, timid creatures.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image26.jpg" width="300" height="263" alt="Home of Cave Dwellers." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">HOME OF CAVE DWELLERS.</p> - -<p>One of our Mexican packers tried to buy a sheep of one of the civilized -Tarahumaris a little farther on, but he would not part with one for any -money, although apparently having plenty to spare. Many of the pueblos -of the civilized Tarahumaris are really isolated communities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> raising -all they need for food from the soil, or wool for clothing, or both -from animals of the chase, and consequently seldom buying or selling.</p> - -<p>That same day we passed La Sierra de los Ojitos. It is a high, shaggy -mountain, covered to the very top with a dense forest of pine, and -indicates where the waters divide to the east and west. On its slope -that we faced, its rivulets poured their contents into the Gulf of -Mexico, while from the opposite slope they go into the Pacific Ocean, -or rather its great Mexican arm, the Gulf of California. It is the -highest point of the Sierra Madres that we encountered on the trail, -and I found it to be 12,500 feet above the level of the sea, with La -Sierra de los Ojitos towering some 2000 to 3000 feet higher on our -left. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> camped that night in a picturesque box caņon, which I named -Carillo Cajon after the Governor of the State of Chihuahua, who had -done a great deal to help the expedition with all the local authorities -in the different parts of the State that I might visit. We camped at -the first available point we could find, and even here slept at an -inclination of some thirty degrees to the level, the mules grazing -nearly overhead above us and occasionally rolling a stone down on us -during the night.</p> - -<p>This part of the Sierra Madres has a great deal of game in it, but -the most essential things to hunt it with would be a good pair of -wings, things that unfortunately travelers never have. There are many -white-tailed deer in the well-wooded valleys, but a brass band would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -find them before a Mexican pack train, as it makes much less noise. In -fact this is true of nearly all kinds of game that can be frightened -off by the lung power of man. There are also many bears here, but we -saw none, nor any fresh signs of them. It is said by those who ought -to know that there are two kinds of bears in the Sierra Madre range, -lying between Chihuahua and Sonora—the common black species, and a -huge brown kind that must be, I think, the cinnamon or the grizzly -bear, so common farther north. The Tarahumari natives hunt the deer -in a very singular manner, but they leave the bears alone, as their -weapons, the bows of mora wood, are not strong enough for such an -uncertain encounter. The jaguar, or Mexican spotted panther, is known -as far north as this, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> seems to keep to the warm lands, or <i>tierra -caliente</i>, which restricts it to the low plains of Sonora and Sinaloa, -just west of here.</p> - -<p>The endurance of these savage sons of the sierras in chasing deer is -wonderful. They take a small native dog and starve it for three or four -days till it has a most ravenous appetite; then they go deer hunting, -and put this keen-nosed, hungry animal on the freshest deer trail they -can find. It is perfectly needless to add that he follows it with a vim -and energy unknown to full stomachs. Fast as a hungry, starved dog is -on a trail that promises a good breakfast, he does not keep far ahead -of the swift-footed cliff dweller, who is always close enough behind -to render any assistance that may be required if the deer is overtaken -or a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> fresher trail is run across. I should say the dog is always -liberally rewarded if the hunt is a success.</p> - -<p>If night overtakes the pursuers they sleep on the trail, and resume -the chase as early next morning as the light will allow. Once on the -trail, however, the deer is a doomed animal, although the pursuers have -been known to sleep for two or three nights on its course before it was -overtaken, especially if the fleeing animal knew in some way that it -was pursued long before it was overtaken. Once overhauled, a series of -tactics is begun so as to divide the labor of the pursuit between the -dog and the man, but to give no corresponding advantage to the deer. -Wide detours are forced upon the deer by the swift dog, each recurring -one being easier to make, and the pursued animal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> is brought near the -man, who, with loud shouts and demonstrations, heads off the exhausted -animal every little while and turns it back on the pursuing dog, until -finally in one of the retreats it falls a temporary prey to its canine -foe, when the man rushes in and with a knife soon dispatches the game.</p> - -<p>Early one morning we could hear wild turkeys calling from one cliff to -the other, but as these were over a thousand feet higher and steeper -than the leaning-tower of Pisa, I suddenly lost all the wild turkey -zeal I had brought along with me for the trip. Then, again, if a -commander leaves his pack train just as they are getting away, he will -surely find a delay of an hour or two on his hands, for which it would -take a dozen turkeys to make amends. There is a plentiful supply<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> of -game in the Mexican sierras, however, for any sportsman who wishes to -devote his attention directly to that pastime, as shown by the big -scores the natives make when they go on a hunting trip.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image27.jpg" width="375" height="506" alt="An Occupied Cave Dwelling" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">AN OCCUPIED CAVE DWELLING</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Early next morning we made a start from our camp on the caņon's side, -by the light of the pitch-pine torches, and climbed over and out of -the deep gorge into a more open country, where the sunlight could -penetrate. Here the trail was of velvety softness, and we surprised a -number of cave-dwelling Indians sitting and standing about their homes -among the big bowlders. The only garments they had on were ragged -breechcloths of cotton, but some had the extra adornment of a strip -of red cloth about their shocky black hair. The air was intensely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -cold, so much so that we were wrapped in our heaviest coats, but -these savages apparently did not feel the cold, and if they shivered -at all it was probably at the sight of us—for their fear was quite -evident—and it was plain they longed to beat a retreat to their huge -rocky homes; but they stood it out till we passed, and then in an -instant they vanished.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image28.jpg" width="375" height="541" alt="Home of Cave Dweller." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">HOME OF CAVE DWELLER.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Before this day's march was ended we passed through a little Tarahumari -mountain town called Churo. It was in a small circular valley, and -on all sides were the steep, high peaks of the mountains. Here the -Indians had tried to raise a few apples, but the trees were gnarled and -twisted, and the apples not much larger than those of wild crab trees, -although much sweeter to the taste. Of course there was no store of any -kind in the little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> settlement, and if Mexicans, passing through the -place, wished to obtain anything from the Indians, their method was -to take it, placing whatever they considered its equivalent in silver -before the Indian, and leaving it for the latter to accept. If asked to -sell any of their produce or set a price on it, the Indians stolidly -refuse, even though the price may be two or three times greater than -they could possibly obtain at the nearest Mexican mining town. They -know nothing of the value of gold, and paper money they utterly refuse; -silver is the only money they will take even in this reluctant fashion.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image29.jpg" width="500" height="308" alt="Tarahumari Town of Churo." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">TARAHUMARI TOWN OF CHURO.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Upon reaching Cusihuiriachic I found that my Winchester rifle had been -left in the stage office in Chihuahua. I sent back word to forward -it by next<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> stage to Carichic, but as the next stage did not arrive -at that place for four or five days we would have just that much -start of it in the mountains, and we therefore at that place engaged -a Tarahumari Indian boy to bring it whenever it did arrive. The gun -reached Carichic at noon of one day, and early the next forenoon the -young Indian appeared on our trail with it, having made the distance -in one night and a little over half a day. Of course he must have -used many short cuts across the country of which we were ignorant; -nevertheless it was quite a feat, for the distance traveled by us was -about 110 miles.</p> - -<p>From Carillo Cajon, where our last camp had been, to the westward -and southwestward the scenery steadily becomes grander and more -mountainous;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> until the Grand Barranca of the Urique is reached it -fully equals the Grand Caņon of the Colorado at any point on its -course. Long before, indeed, on our southward march beautiful vistas -break to the right and the left, and especially to the east. About five -o'clock one afternoon, just as we were emerging from a dense forest -of high pines, and little thinking of seeing stupendous scenery, we -suddenly came to the very edge of a cliff fully 1000 feet high, and -from which we could look down 4000 to 5000 feet on as grand a scene -of massive crags, sculptured rock, and broken barrancas as the eye -ever rested on. It was already late in the afternoon, so I determined -to remain over a day at this point and devote it to camera and caņon. -This camp on the picturesque brink of the Grand Barranca<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> I called Camp -Diaz, after Mexico's president.</p> - -<p>The Grand Barranca of the Urique is one of the most massive pieces -of nature's architecture that the world affords. It is quite similar -in some respects to the Grand Caņon of the Colorado, and this is the -nearest to which I can compare it in the United States. The latter, -grand as the scenery undoubtedly is, soon tires by its monotonous -aspect of perpendicular walls in traveling any distance, while the -Grand Barranca could be followed as far as it deserves the name of -"grand" and every view and every vista would have some startling and -attractive change to please the eye. It is a "cross" between the Grand -Caņon of the Colorado and the Yosemite Valley—if we can imagine -such scenery after seeing both. Were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> the Urique River navigable, -fortunes could easily be made by transportation lines carrying -tourists to and fro, provided even only one terminus connected with -some well-established line of travel. But unfortunately it is not -navigable, no amount of money could make it so, and all tourists or -travelers who are afraid of a little work or roughing it will miss one -of the most magnificent panoramas. It is simply impossible to crowd -into a pen-and-ink sketch or a photograph any adequate views of this -stupendous mountain scenery. It is rather a field for an artist, who -will put the product of his palette and brush on heroic-sized canvas, -and make one of the masterpieces of the world. The heart of the Andes -or the crests of the Himalayas contain no more sublime scenery than the -wild, almost unknown<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> fastnesses of the Sierra Madres of Mexico.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image30.jpg" width="500" height="291" alt="A View through rock opening across the Grand Barranca of -the Urique" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A VIEW THROUGH ROCK OPENING ACROSS THE GRAND BARRANCA OF -THE URIQUE.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>From the cliffs we were on, among the pines and cedars, we could look -far down into the valley of the Urique with our field glasses and see -the great pitahaya cactus, a product of the tropical climes. In between -were the oaks and other products of temperate climates, showing us in a -huge panorama nearly all the plant life from the equator to the poles. -We sat on the bold, beetling cliffs, and could drink ice water from -the clear mountain springs that threw themselves in silvery cascades -below, and view the river far down in the valley, a perpendicular mile -below us, the waters of which were so warm that we knew we could bathe -in them with comfort. Away off across the great caņon were lights, as -evening fell,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> beaming from the caves of the cliff dwellers on the -perpendicular side of the mountain. Truly it was a strange, wild sight.</p> - -<p>One of the lights that was "raised," as the sailors would say, in -the evening, was in what seemed to be a perpendicular cliff on the -opposite side of the mighty barranca, as near as we could make out in -the gloom of the falling night. Its position was located, and, surely -enough, on the next day our conjectures were verified, for we could -see a few dim dottings showing caves, while to the main one led up a -steep talus of <i>débris</i> that tapered to a point just in front of the -entrance. Strangest of all, but a little way down the side of this very -steep talus, so very steep that one would have had much difficulty in -ascending<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> unless there were brush to assist in climbing, we could -easily make out, with the help of our glasses, that corn had been -planted by these strange people. It seemed as if the tops of the dwarf -plants were just up to the roots of the next row of corn above them, if -they can really be said to have been planted in rows at all.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image31.jpg" width="375" height="332" alt="Interior of a Cliff Dweller's home, seventy-five -feet above the Water." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">INTERIOR OF A CLIFF DWELLER'S HOME, SEVENTY-FIVE FEET<br /> -ABOVE THE WATER.</p> - -<p>Much as I would have liked to visit the place, the condition of my -mules and the state of my provisions made it clearly out of the -question; moreover, I was informed that better chances to see cliff -dwellers would present themselves before long, which statement, -fortunately, was soon verified. Not far from Camp Diaz was a place -where we could have tied our braided horsehair lariats together and let -a person down one hundred to two hundred feet into the tops of some -tall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> pine trees, and from there gain the first incline, which, though -dizzily steep, I think would have led, by a little Alpine engineering, -into the bottom of the big barranca four or five thousand feet below, -and thence an ascent could be made to the caves of the cliff dwellers. -But there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> were other and more potent considerations, which I have -given, that prevented our attempting this acrobatic performance with -the cliffs and crags as spectators. We might say that we were now out -of the land of the living cave dwellers and in the land of the living -cliff dwellers, although the latter live in caves in the cliffs. But -I make the distinction between the two, of caves on the level of the -ground in the valleys or the sides of mountains, and the caves in -cliffs or walls. The latter are reached by notched sticks used as -ladders, or, as I saw in a few cases, by natural steps in the strata -of alternate hard and soft rock, and up which nothing but a monkey or -a Sierra Madre cliff dweller could ascend. Many of these cliff houses -in the caves and great indentations are one hundred to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> two hundred -feet above the water of some mountain stream, over which they hang -like swallows' nests. Truly they are a most wonderful and interesting -people, well worth a large volume or two to describe all that is -singular and different in them from other people, savage or civilized.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image32.jpg" width="500" height="299" alt="In the Land of the Living Cliff Dwellers." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING CLIFF DWELLERS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Sierra Madre -range, and one that will attract widespread admiration in the near -future when this country is better known, is its wonderful rock -sculpture. I do not think I exaggerate in saying that I passed -hundreds of isolated sculptured rocks in one day. All sketches fail -to give an idea of these beautiful formations. They must be seen to -afford a conception of their beauty and grotesqueness. Undoubtedly -they outrank all other ranges of North<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> America and, as far as I can -learn, of the whole world. Even the Garden of the Gods in Colorado -is flat in comparison with some of the many miles of glorious rock -formations in these grand old mountains. The trail from Camp Diaz to -our fifth camp in the Arroyo de los Angelitos along the western side -of the Grand Barranca of the Urique, was as picturesque as the most -poetical imagination could conceive. The trail wound up and down the -steep arroyos and along the edge of the high cliffs, giving views of -unsurpassed beauty and grandeur. That night we slept for the last time -under the somber pines and listened to the whip-poor-wills, for the -next night we had descended seven thousand feet, and were among the -oranges and palms, the paroquets and humming birds.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="VIII" id="VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>IN SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA—DOWN THE<br /> -URIQUE BARRANCA—FROM PINE TO<br /> -PALM—URIQUE AND ITS MINES.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">A</span><span class="smcap">s</span> this was to be a most important day our small party on the crest of -one of the high sierras was astir earlier than usual. Our camp had been -made in a little glen between two peaks, alongside one of the numerous -clear, cold streams that wind in and about through all these mountains, -and furnish the loveliest and most picturesque spots imaginable for -camping. Francisco, my chief packer, a bright, good-natured Mexican, -was off long before sunrise, scouring the ridges and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> gulches for -the mules, as these animals often wander miles away at night, and in -the morning all the available people in camp are turned out to look -for them. This search sometimes wears well into the day before these -frisky beasts are brought in; then some stray human member of the party -has to be found, and when all this is accomplished it is nearly time -to turn out the mules for another feed. On this particular morning -fortune favored us, however, and soon our dejected-looking beasts were -tied in line with the lariats, while we sat on the ground a short -distance from them, each with a tin plate in our laps and a tin cupful -of coffee in our hands. The night before an Indian had arrived at our -camp, sent out from Urique by our Mexican friend, with roasted chickens -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> fresh eggs. The chickens had vanished on the evening of their -arrival, but the eggs furnished us a royal breakfast with the usual -bill of fare, bacon and coffee. An early morning in the Sierra Madres, -even in midsummer, will make the teeth chatter. The only comfort one -can get, after piling on heavy coats, is to pass the time in revolving -about the camp fire just out of reach of the smoke till breakfast is -ready. Any attempt at washing is sure to be a failure, for the water -is as cold as ice and the fingers refuse to work in the frosty air; so -it is generally about midday before dirt and the traveler cease to be -companions. After we had thawed out with the hot coffee, and all the -packs had been strapped on the mules, the animals were started ahead, -with Francisco's assistant, a muscular Indian, running<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> after them; -then the saddles were placed on our worn-out beasts, and off we went -with light hearts, for this day's ride was to take us to the large -mining village of Urique, buried away in the depths of the Urique -Barranca. We had been on the road about an hour, up hill and down -dale, crossing innumerable mountain streams, and skirting the edges -of precipices from which we caught glimpses of the beautiful valleys -thousands of feet below, when we rounded the corner of an immense spur, -climbed a high bald point of the mountain, and came suddenly to what -appeared to be the end of land. We could now look out for miles into -the great mining barranca, broken into innumerable crags and turrets, -with ridges and banks of mountains piled high on every side, mountains -of purple,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> red, yellow, and green, magnificent and fantastic, fading -away into other barrancas to the right and left. Here we paused, seven -thousand feet above the valley, and looked at the wonderful panorama -spread before us, celebrated even among these grand old mountains—by -the few who have penetrated their fastnesses—as one of the most -famous views and formidable descents in the whole range. The guides -carefully examined all the packs and saddles, and every strap and rope -was tightened and made secure. All were directed to remain in their -saddles, as the descent was too steep and the way too dangerous for -walking, the path or trail being covered with loose rolling stones. We -had been told to give the mules their heads, and trust to their being -perfectly sure-footed, for in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> that respect a Mexican mule is about as -certain as a mountain goat.</p> - -<p>From "La Cumbra," or the crest of the Sierra Madres, we could look down -in the valley of the Urique River, as I have said, something over a -vertical mile. As we stood among the pines we could see the plantations -of oranges far below, one of which, called "La Naranja"—the Spanish -for orange—seemed almost under our feet; in fact it was not farther -away in horizontal measure than it was vertical, or about a mile in -both. The Barranca of the Urique was much more open at this point than -where we had first struck it at Camp Diaz, but it was, nevertheless, -fully as grand and sublime in its mighty scenery, although of quite -another kind. The enormous buttresses, almost spurs of mountains, -that stood out along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> caņon-like sides of the former, with their -bristling, perpendicular fronts of thousands of feet in height, were -now rounded off along the ridges with their vertical descents, and only -their sides were straight up and down. In fact it was down these steep -ridges that we must make our descent by zigzag trails that gave us a -grade on which a mule could stand. Every time we came to the side of a -ridge the trail hung over a precipice with a sickening dizziness to the -rider until the mule could make the turn and get back on the descending -trail. Occasionally it was necessary to leave one ridge for another -far away that gave a better grade, and then we might have to skirt -some cumbra, or crest, with walls practically vertical on either side, -where, if we ever started to fall, we could guarantee<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> ourselves one -thousand five hundred to two thousand feet of plain sailing.</p> - -<p>On the trail from Batopilas to Parral is the "La Infinitad" of the -Mexican miners (the Infinity), where the trail, not over half a foot -wide, looks down a sheer vertical twenty-six hundred feet.</p> - -<p>Presently the pines begin to grow less numerous and to be interspersed -with the many varieties of oak for which the Sierra Madres will one -day be noted, the most conspicuous of which is the <i>encino robles</i>, -or everlasting oak, a beautiful tree with enormous leaves of a bright -green color. The oaks increase in numbers as we descend, and the -pines soon disappear; for we are getting out of the country of cold -nights, which the conifers love so much. Presently a thorny mesquite -is seen, and in half an hour we have traveled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> from Montana to Texas, -in a climatic way. On the cumbra we jumped off from our mules and -ran along by the half hour in the cool, fresh mountain air. Now five -minutes brings out our handkerchiefs to wipe our perspiring brows. -The northern cactus will soon mingle with the mesquite, and then the -great pitahaya tells us we are on the verge of the tropics, while each -tree in the orange orchard just below us can be made out, and after a -few more turns on the twisting trails, even the yellow oranges on the -bright green trees become distinct. Another half hour and we are on the -level, while not that length of time has been added before palms are -over our head, and the heat is almost unbearable to those who have been -for weeks on the high mountain tops of the cool sierras.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> In a little -over four hours we dropped from the land of the pine to the land of -the palm, and this too on mule-back, a feat that could be performed in -few countries outside of Mexico. We were now out of the land of wild -forests and wild men, back again among Mexican civilization, but of a -kind almost unknown to the outside world, although one of the richest -mining districts and one of the oldest points of colonization on the -North American continent.</p> - -<p>Our path was now lined with lovely, flowering, thorny shrubs, that -stretched out and tried to scratch us, and often succeeded as we passed -by. When we reached the little plateau of the first orange grove we -rested awhile, and from here could look back to the cool place we had -left but four short hours before.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> The way down from this resting -place seemed steeper and longer than the first half of the journey; the -heat became intense, the air throbbing and shimmering in the brilliant -sunshine. Gayly colored paroquets and strange tropical birds went -flitting past us and filled the air with their noisy calls and cries. -The trail, however, had a persistent, unaccountable Indian method of -keeping away from all shade, and wound among the thickest masses of -thorny shrubs, which compelled us constantly to keep an eye on them, -or be reminded in a manner more painful than pleasant. These, and the -intense heat, made me long for the mountain life again. Although we -had dropped from the crest of the range and land of pines to the land -of palms, seven thousand feet, still we had many miles to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> wind up the -great tropical barranca before we would reach the village.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 325px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image33.jpg" width="325" height="551" alt="From Orange Plantation to Cumbra, or Crest of Mountain, -Six Thousand Feet. Looking backward." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">FROM ORANGE PLANTATION TO CUMBRA, OR CREST OF MOUNTAIN,<br /> -SIX THOUSAND FEET. LOOKING BACKWARD.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>One of the most dangerous places on the entire trail, about six hundred -feet above the river, was where the mountain had apparently caved in -on a sharp curve. This cave-in was directly under the trail, and here -it crossed it with an abrupt turn around the point of the mountain. A -small torrent had cut its way down at this point, and goats and other -animals, when grazing on the steep slope above, had loosened quantities -of stones and earth, which had fallen and built out a sort of ledge or -shelf at the same point. This shelf projected over the great curve in -the hill, and on approaching this place it looked as if a mule must -either walk off with his fore feet or let his hind ones drop over -the cliff in making the turn.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> Of course the trail was as narrow as -possible for a trail to be and allow an animal to cling to it.</p> - -<p>Through the kindness of Don Augustin Becerra there was sent out from -Urique to the orange plantation a very large mule for my personal -comfort. This animal was of the pinto variety and a fine traveler. -After my desperate encounters with "Old Steamboat" it was positive -luxury to ride him. He had some faults, however; he was fresh and fast, -so kept well in advance of the rest of the train. When we neared this -particularly dangerous place my mule took up a gentle trot and went -pounding around the curve in a way that almost turned my hair gray, and -I know we all breathed more freely after getting away from the perilous -spot.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Mexican town of Urique, numbering some three thousand people, -was first established in 1612, years before the first pilgrim landed -on Plymouth Rock, and yet it is as unknown as though in the interior -of Africa. That living cave and cliff dwellers should be found but a -little way off from the rough and even dangerous trail that leads to -the secluded town which no one troubled himself to report to the world -outside, shows what a wonderful isolation can exist and still be called -civilization. The only way out of and into the town was on the back -of the melancholy mule, and an old resident told me he believed that -three-fourths of the people had never seen a wagon, not even the wooden -carts of the Mexicans that so remind one of scriptural times; certainly -no wagon or cart was ever hauled through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> the streets of Urique. In -this deep barranca there is just room enough for the Urique River (a -beautiful stream), and alongside of it, straggling out for a couple of -miles or more, a row of houses hugging the banks of the stream, then a -narrow street and a similar row of houses crowded up on the slope of -the mountain. Back of this rise abruptly the steep, broken crests of -the Sierra Madres. On the opposite side of the river there is only room -now and then for a chance house that clings to the steep sides of the -hills or burrows into them.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image34.jpg" width="500" height="315" alt="Urique from the River" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">URIQUE FROM THE RIVER.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>We rode with a great clatter up the single street lying white and still -in the noonday sun, and had we not known that preparations had been -made for us—as our arrival was anticipated by Don Augustin Becerra—we -might have mistaken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> the place for a deserted village. After riding a -mile through the street we reached a little plaza about twenty-five -feet square, where the mountains receded and made room for this level -little patch of ground. Here one of the great wooden doors of the -apparently deserted houses opened and our host came forth, followed -by a number of others. By the time the whole party reached the plaza -there were one or two hundred Mexicans congregated to welcome us and -see us alight. As there were no accommodations of any sort in the town -for travelers, Don Augustin Becerra, with the graceful courtesy of a -Mexican gentleman, had moved out of his own home and literally placed -his whole house and all it contained at our disposal; and this was -done as though it were the most commonplace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> thing in the world, and -without the least sign of ostentatious politeness. I doubt very much -whether any American under the same circumstances would have done as -much. His father, Don Buenaventura Becerra, lived here also, and both -united in showering on us the most acceptable acts of hospitality -during our whole stay; and these were doubly welcome, coming as they -did in such a spontaneous and wholly unexpected manner.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image35.jpg" width="500" height="299" alt="The only street of Urique." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">THE ONLY STREET OF URIQUE.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Urique is most interesting in that vast and substantial mineral wealth -of which the little town is practically the center. The discovery -of the rich district of Urique is to be attributed, so I am told, -to the "adelantados" or "conquistadores," Spanish names equivalent -to "adventurers," and then given to the commanders of expeditions -organized but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> a short time after the conquest to explore the country -and extend the domains of the Spanish crown. Directly overlooking -this beautiful little mountain town is the Rosario mine, one of the -principal mines of the district. Its ore runs from two hundred to two -thousand dollars to the ton. In fact only the richest ores of any -mine can be worked in the Central Sierra Madres, where everything is -carried for hundreds of miles on mule-back at rates that would make a -freight agent's mouth water. Salt for chlorination works, that we get -for five to ten dollars a ton where there are railways, here costs -from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five dollars a ton, and -even much more during the rainy season of about three months, when all -the streams are swollen and the dizzy mountain trails are dangerous -in the extreme.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> This rainy season in Northern Mexico lasts from -about the first or middle of June until the middle of September. It -is against such enormous odds that man has to battle with Nature in -this secluded part of the earth in order to get at her wealth that -is otherwise so lavishly strewn around. After one has passed ten or -twelve days on the roughest of mountain trails in order to reach this -point, and reflects that the discoverers must have been without even -this poor aid to progress, one's respect for the old Spanish explorers -of the seventeenth century is sure to be heartily accorded. They were -undoubtedly a much hardier, more daring, persistent, and intrepid class -of people than those who struck the Atlantic shores of our own country. -But, great ghost of Cortes, how things have changed!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> It seems as if -the will and energy of three centuries had been crowded into as many -years, and then allowed to stand still, like a watch that loses its -balance and spins off the twenty-four hours in nearly as many seconds.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image36.jpg" width="500" height="271" alt="Looking down the Urique Barranca toward the river." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">LOOKING DOWN THE URIQUE BARRANCA TOWARD THE RIVER.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>And right here I would refer to the frequent discussion of writers -on Mexico as to whether Mexicans are opposed to the introduction of -foreign labor and capital to develop their country. All around the town -of Urique are to be found mines of gold and silver either operated -or about to be operated by Americans, English, Germans, and other -foreigners; while many other enterprises are starting toward this -rich country opened by the Spanish before a white man had crossed the -Alleghenies. I was therefore in a fair position to hear what their -descendants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> had to say, and in giving it utterance let me compare them -with our own countrymen. Individually the Mexican is never so bitter -against foreigners as the American, although the latter nation is much -more an aggregation of foreigners than the former, and of much later -date from other countries. I often heard quite caustic comparisons from -sensible Mexicans as to foreign methods of mining, railroading, etc., -which I think were sometimes exaggerative, and they even expressed -opposition to their coming in at all, but never in a manner so -pronounced as with us.</p> - -<p>The whole of the rich Urique district, formerly an old Spanish grant -many square miles in extent, was granted the Becerra family of three -brothers by the Mexican Government. Their wealth is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> reputed to be many -millions, and this we could readily believe while passing through a -portion of their vast possessions. There are now in the Urique district -a dozen bonanza mines worked by the old Spanish system, which would -yield enormous revenues if there were any method by which the ore could -be transported at reasonable rates. From almost any point on the one -street of the town you could look up the steep mountain sides and see -three or four of these old Spanish mines. The method of working them -was wholly on the same plan as that adopted a hundred years before, -even the machinery being of the most primitive type.</p> - -<p>That night I took a swim in the Urique River and found the water as -warm as fresh milk, although the water I had used<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> in the morning from -some of its small tributaries on the cumbra was as cold as ice.</p> - -<p>The post office in the little town was a most curiously primitive -affair, being merely an awning of branches held up against a tree by -a post in the ground. Under this an old man was seated on a chair; we -saw nothing here to indicate a post office, but were assured this was -the spot to deposit our letters. The man regarded me with surprise and -distrust, and the sight of the three or four letters I wished to mail -drew a large crowd. The old man could not read, and I told him where -the letters were to go; then, after a great deal of jabbering among the -crowd regarding the amount of postage, which I fortunately knew and -told him, the letters were mailed by being deposited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> in an empty cigar -box at his side, to be handed to the Indian mail carrier on his next -trip out of Urique.</p> - -<p>Our stay was unexpectedly prolonged by the illness of one of the party. -It was the warmest season of the year in the deep tropical barranca, -and the change from the cool mountain air of the high sierras was -extremely trying to all. We found it was necessary to make an effort -to bestir ourselves as far as sightseeing was concerned, but we dared -to venture out only after sunset from our comfortable quarters in the -thick adobe building. There was no twilight in the great caņon. Almost -as soon as the sun disappeared behind the steep mountains darkness -came; but the moonlight nights were simply glorious, transforming the -tropical valley into a perfect fairyland; even the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> homely adobe -houses were beautiful, and the most commonplace Mexican, in his great -sombrero with a serape thrown gracefully over his shoulders, added a -picturesque touch to the scene. Every available level spot of land in -the valley had been turned by the owners into an orange grove or a -ranch on which to raise fruits and vegetables for consumption by their -families; and, as all the edible vegetation of nearly every clime grew -there, their tables were always abundantly supplied.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 365px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image37.jpg" width="365" height="597" alt="Indian Girl Winnowing Beans" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">INDIAN GIRL WINNOWING BEANS</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>In wandering along the river bank I noticed one very effective way the -natives had to protect their gardens from the intrusions of the small -boy or even smaller animals. On the top of a common adobe fence they -planted a row of the cholla cactus, the most prickly of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> that great -family of needles. Even the agile cat could not get over nor around -this formidable fence.</p> - -<p>We made two ineffectual efforts to get away from Urique before we -finally succeeded. In the first instance the packers did not arrive -with the mules until noon, thinking by this ruse they would be able to -camp in the valley instead of on the mountain, for they much prefer -the tropical heat to the chill of the high mountains. The next time -they were promptly on hand, but one of the party was too ill to sit -up. The third time fortune favored us, and, after bidding adieu to our -hospitable friends, we started for the famous Cerro Colorado mine, said -to be the richest gold mine in all this part of Mexico. We followed -the narrow mule trail that wound along the brawling river, hemmed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> in -on either side by mountains towering three, four, and five thousand -feet above us, and were well up the caņon before the first rays of the -sun could reach us over the mountain tops. All along the trail the -river was lined with beautiful flowering shrubs of every conceivable -shade and color. Flitting around among them were brilliantly colored -paroquets and many other birds with gay plumage. That morning's ride of -ten or twelve miles up the caņon, sheltered as we were from the fierce -rays of the sun—which emphasized and reflected the many-colored rocks -of the mountains that were carved and sculptured into all beautiful and -fantastic shapes—was one of such rare beauty and perfection that even -the most graphic pen would despair of doing justice to the subject. -About noon we crossed a small<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> branch of the Urique River, for we had -turned off from the main caņon into a smaller one, and then started -up the steep mountain side. Up the weary mules scrambled and climbed -for six long hours, resting now and then while we looked backward and -downward at the land of the tropics, all wayside signs of which were -fast disappearing. Just before leaving the Urique River we came to a -native tannery, which was about as primitive an affair as any we saw -in the whole Sierra Madres. For some two hundred yards along the wide -river its bottom was white with outstretched hides held there by heavy -stones on the upstream corners, and these hides were kept there for -weeks to rid them of their hair. Of course we tasted but little of the -water below that point. On enormous bent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> beams at the lower end was -found a number of hides stretched, and naked men scraping them with -sharpened stones. Despite the style of work, the leather they make is -remarkably soft and pliable. An hour or two before our evening camp -was made we were once more traveling along underneath the shade of the -great somber pines, and the air seemed cold and unpleasant after our -late tropical experience. As we had no tent with us, we simply spread -our beds upon the soft pine needles and slept with the stars shining -in our faces. At the first streak of daylight we were eating our -breakfast, and shortly after were off over the velvety trail that led -up the peaks and across many small barrancas toward the deep gorge in -which was the celebrated Cerro Colorado mine.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image38.jpg" width="500" height="307" alt="Indian Tannery" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">INDIAN TANNERY</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span></p> - -<p>All this portion of the Sierra Madres is unsurpassed for magnificent -and thrilling views over dizzy mountain trails. At many places one -could look off into infinity from a ledge not over a foot and a half -in width on which the mules must walk. Occasionally a steep wall of -rock rises many hundreds of feet on one side and along this the mule -will carefully scrape. The descent into Cerro Colorado was the most -continuous steep I ever saw. Almost before we knew it we were in the -tropics again, and that by an incline where, in a dozen places, the -uphill rider on one zigzag could, without taking his foot out of the -stirrup, kick off the hat of one below him on the other course as he -passed.</p> - -<p>Cerro Colorado is reputed to be the largest gold mine in the world, and -was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> discovered as recently as 1888. That it should have remained so -long unknown to any prospector in such a rich silver-mining district -is one of the morsels of mining history, even a far greater mystery -to me than that the existence of living cave and cliff dwellers on -the rough mountain trails leading thereto should have been kept so -long quiet. Cliff dwellers or angels in the air above them, or cave -dwellers or demons in the earth under them would have attracted but -little attention from a seeker of precious metals beyond the momentary -astonishment at their sight.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image39.jpg" width="500" height="302" alt="View in Mountains, with Cliff Dwellings, near Cerro Colorado." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">VIEW IN MOUNTAINS, WITH CLIFF DWELLINGS, NEAR CERRO COLORADO.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>The Cerro Colorado mine is an immense buttress or spur from the flank -of the Sierra Madres, the whole spur showing signs of gold, not in -any distinct vein, but in great masses distributed here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> and there -through the mountain, a sort of "pocket" system, as miners would say. -This great buttress or spur is 1800 meters (something over a mile) in -length, 1200 meters in breadth, and 500 meters in height, and runs -from $1 to $3300 a ton, as would be expected in the pocket system of -deposits. Small deposits have been found of one hundred weight or so, -however, that would run enormously—over $100,000 to the ton. The gold -is not wholly in pockets, for it is found distributed in all parts of -the great red hill, at least in the minimum of one dollar per ton. It -requires eight mines to cover the tract properly. Enormous works were -being put in to develop the property, and in a few years it will be -known whether this is the largest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> gold mine in the world or not. It -is the property of the Becerra brothers, and when I visited it Don -José Maria Becerra was at the mine and spared no pains to make my stay -pleasant. He was then engaged in placing the most improved machinery -and constructing enormous works for water power, etc. He brought out -and laid on a chair four great lumps of gold, of about the value of -seventy thousand dollars, that had just been run out by the Mexican -<i>arastra</i>, for they were still using the ancient method of mining, -awaiting the arrival of the new machinery. Our host was preparing to -start for London and Paris on business connected with his mine, and -when we again heard of him it was the sad news of his death in London. -This was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> only a severe loss to his family, but a great blow to -that portion of the country where his progressive energy had done so -much to further its development.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p> - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="IX" id="IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA—DESCRIPTION OF ONE<br /> -OF THE RICHEST SILVER REGIONS OF THE<br /> -WORLD—MINERAL WEALTH OF THE SIERRA<br /> -MADRES—THE BATOPILAS DISTRICT.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">A</span><span class="smcap">fter</span> leaving Cerro Colorado, with its undeveloped possibilities, -the trail leads southwestward through the broken barrancas toward -Batopilas. This portion of the trail has been so improved by the -energetic mine owners, and was so broad and smooth, that our mules -could often take up a trot, which seemed doubly fast after our -laborious plodding through the rough, unbroken portion over which we -had passed. This trail had been built<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> along some of the steepest -cliffs and most rugged mountain sides, and must have been a work of -great expense, for after every rainy season, lasting from June till -September, these are badly washed out and require continuous repairs. -The usual Mexican method is to abandon a badly washed trail and strike -out in a new direction. Thus one finds all sorts of paths in the -mountains, and it is necessary to have a good guide who knows the way -thoroughly, or bring up suddenly on the washed-out ledge of an unused -trail and then retrace your steps to its junction with another. Long -before we reached Batopilas we came upon some of the massive work being -constructed at that point, and were in a measure prepared for the -energetic American activity, but not for the castle-like structure, the -hacienda<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> of San Miguel and San Antonio, as the home of ex-Governor -Shepherd, the part owner and superintendent of those famous mines is -called. Entering through a massive stone archway, we passed by some -of the principal offices within the inclosure, and then on to the -residence portion of the great conglomeration of buildings. Here our -welcome was of the heartiest description, and everything possible was -done for our comfort and pleasure. The great buildings were lighted -by electricity and furnished with all modern conveniences, including -hot and cold water, steam baths, and, an unusual luxury, an immense -swimming pool, formed by a slight deflection of a portion of the -Batopilas River. The many comforts of this place made us loath to leave -it for the mountain trail.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span></p> - -<p>I shall try and give my readers some slight idea of the wealth of -this portion of a country so famous in early Spanish conquest. In -those great, broken barrancas, leading out to the westward from the -heart of the Central Sierra Madres, I found myself in the richest -mineral district of America, and probably the richest in the world. -The fact that this is not generally known (and, to tell the truth, -but very little has ever been published in the English language about -so rich a district, and that little is very old) would make it easy -to write a book on this region alone, and still leave a great deal -unsaid. One of the late cyclopedias says of Mexican mines, "Almost -one-half of the total yield [of silver] is derived from the three -great mining districts in Guanajuato, Zacatecas, and Catorce."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> Like -most cyclopedias, this one was a little late in its information when -printed, although it had an inkling of the truth in saying: "The -State of Sinaloa is said to be literally covered with silver mines. -Scientific explorers who visited the Sinaloa mines in 1872 reported -that those on the Pacific slope would be the great source of the supply -of silver for the next century." The fact is that the center of the -greatest source of supply has moved even north of Sinaloa, to about the -boundary line between the States of Chihuahua and Sonora, and about -one-third of the way from its southern end. Taking either Batopilas or -Urique as a base, and with a radius of 180 or 200 miles, that is, a -diameter of 400 miles on them as a center, there is no doubt that the -resulting circle will include the richest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> mining district in America, -and probably in the world, both in a present and prospective sense. -From within that circle comes a little over one-fourth the bullion of -the whole of Mexico, although this area is insignificant compared with -all the territory of that celebrated republic.</p> - -<p>In 1864 a report of the mines of Mexico was expressly made for Napoleon -III. by Dr. Roger Dubois, the French consul. He said as follows of -those of Western Chihuahua: "Of all the States of the Mexican Republic, -Chihuahua is, without contradiction, the richest in minerals, and we -count no less than three thousand different leads, the greater part -of which are silver." Probably three or four times that number could -be added to Dr. Dubois' estimate of just a quarter of a century ago -to bring it up to the present<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> date, all of the new mines being in -the Sierra Madres, where not one in a hundred can be worked unless of -fabulous richness. One of the new railways projected into this part -of Mexico made a most thorough examination of this mining belt to see -what could be depended on for freight, and their chief engineer told -me that no less than two thousand mines of silver that do not pay now -could be made to do so by the cheap transportation of a railway. If -one will reflect that there are now in the whole of Mexico but 1247 -mines being worked (gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, and cinnabar), -it is easy to see that my statement of this being the richest mining -district of Mexico, and therefore of America, will admit of no doubt, -and especially in a prospective sense. Already, in anticipation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> of a -railway, many large companies are prospecting their concessions, while -the individual miner is also to be found with pickax, pan, and shovel -on his back, making for this El Dorado, so old in many ways, and yet so -very new.</p> - -<p>Mr. H. H. Porter, the prospecting engineer of the Batopilas Mining -Company, told me, and showed me the various specimens to verify -his statement, that in one little area three hundred yards square, -there were found twelve veins of silver running from three dollars -to seventy-eight dollars to the ton. The reader unacquainted with -mining may understand this by my saying that any silver mine of over -twenty dollars to the ton is a fortune to its owner if on or near a -railway. There are over five hundred veins in the Batopilas concession -of sixty-four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> square miles, and should any new railway running near -by justify further research, it could probably be made five thousand -without much trouble.</p> - -<p>The history of the big Batopilas Mining Company, about the center of -the district I have spoken of, and which stands head and shoulders -above all the surrounding mining companies, is a fair example of all in -this part of the country where my travels were cast.</p> - -<p>Batopilas, or Real de San Pedro de Batopilas, as it was originally -named, is said to have been discovered in October, 1632. Like Urique, -its discovery is to be ascribed to the "adelantados" sent out shortly -after the conquest to explore the country and enlarge the possessions -of Spain. It is surmised that the rich mineral finds made near the -capital, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> which subsequently extended far into the interior, led -to the progress of the "adelantados" further north, and inspired the -expedition into the Sierra Madres which gave rise to the discovery -of Batopilas. Tradition has it that upon their descent to the river -bottom the "adelantados" were struck by the luminous appearance of -the rocks, which were covered in many parts by snowy flakes of native -silver. Hence the name "Nevada," signifying "a fall of snow," which -was applied to the first mine worked in the district. The news of -the discovery spread far and wide, and, as the evidence of its great -richness multiplied, it soon became one of the most famous mines of -New Spain. The first miners of the new discovery made a magnificent -present to the viceroy, composed entirely of large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> pieces of native -silver, the richness of the ore being unprecedented. I have now in my -possession ore from Batopilas that runs from six thousand to eight -thousand dollars to the ton, and that looks like a mass of solid silver -ten-penny nails imperfectly fused together; so I can readily see how -the present of solid native silver could have been made.</p> - -<p>In 1790 a royal decree ordered the collection of all data for a history -of New Spain, and a special commission of scientists was ordered by -the viceroy and Royal Tribunal of Mines to report upon the Batopilas -district. There is but one copy of the report extant, which I traced to -the city of Chihuahua. The commission states that the silver extracted -from Batopilas in a few years amounted to fifty million dollars, not -including that which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> was surreptitiously taken out to escape the -heavy imposts levied by the crown, and which must have been enormous. -The most famous period of "bonanza" for the Batopilas district was -during the last fifty years of the eighteenth and the first years of -the present century. During this time the famous mines of Pastrana, El -Carmen, Arbitrios, and San Antonio were discovered, and yielded the -fabulous returns which have been variously estimated at from sixty -million to eighty million dollars. From the outset of the Mexican -Revolution in 1810 a period of decay set in, which reduced Batopilas -greatly and almost caused its ruin. The many revolutions, together with -the wonderful discoveries of very rich gold and silver mining districts -adjoining this one, depopulated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span> it to such a degree that it counted -but ten resident families in 1845. From this time the reaction which -has made Batopilas the richest silver district in the world may be -said to date. The old mines were again opened and new ones discovered. -The measure of success did not compare with that attained in the time -of the Spaniards, however, owing to the lesser energy displayed, but -proved amply sufficient to repay the timid efforts of the native -speculators.</p> - -<p>Not until the year 1862 did American enterprise direct its efforts -in so promising a direction. A purchase was effected by an American -company, composed principally of gentlemen interested in Wells, Fargo -& Co., whereby the property embracing the famous veins of San Antonio -and El Carmen passed into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> their hands. They operated with great -success in the face of many difficulties until the year 1879, when the -property again changed hands, and was acquired by a stock company, -which has held and worked it to the present day. The American companies -in this, the richest mining district in the world, are: The Batopilas -Mining Company, the Todos Santos Silver Mining Company, and the Santo -Domingo Silver Mining Company. The Mexican mining companies are quite -numerous, as may be supposed, but I shall not detail them, as it would -require too much space. Many of them are very important, as the Urique -and Cerro Colorado companies. Altogether there are over a hundred in a -greater or less degree of active operation in this rich district, all -contained within a radius of four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span> miles. Of these the Batopilas Mining -Company owns and operates over sixty. It is without doubt one of the -most important American mining ventures in Mexico. It is also a mining -company that has had great difficulties to contend with. Its isolation -in the establishment of a business of such magnitude in the heart of -the Sierra Madres in so short a number of years is an accomplishment -suggestive of great energy. This company owns nearly all the famous old -mines in this district which, in the times of the Spaniards, yielded -those fabulous bonanzas that caused the astonishment of the world. It -has had to repair the follies which, from a scientific standpoint, -were committed by several generations of inexpert and short-sighted -Mexican mine owners. It has had to clear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span> the old mines of immense -masses of rock and dirt which had accumulated during many decades -of abandonment, "gutting and scalping," as the miners say. Recently -over one hundred miles of openings have been made. The most important -is the great Porfirio Diaz tunnel, to be 3½ miles in length when -completed—one of the longest and most important mining tunnels in the -world, cutting over sixty well-known veins at the river's level. No one -can look at the great mills, the aqueduct of enormous masonry (eight or -nine miles long, and that will take up all the water of the Batopilas -river), or the town of Batopilas (a most active place of six thousand -people) without respecting the energy that has accomplished all this. -The history of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> Batopilas is only the history of many other mining -districts throughout this country, and the fortunes taken from these -mines, and those still behind in them, seem unreal and bordering on -romance.</p> - -<p>There is one mine near the city of Chihuahua, the Santa Eulalia, which -in days gone by built the fine cathedral at that place at a cost of -eight hundred thousand dollars. This was done by simply paying a tax of -about twenty-five cents on every pound of silver mined, which was ample -atonement for any or all sins that the owners could commit.</p> - -<p>From Batopilas, north or south, the mighty range of mountains lowers in -height, while the big barrancas do not cut so deep into their flanks -anywhere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span> else as here, giving the finest Alpine scenery to be found in -this part of the continent.</p> - -<p>Some of the outside facts regarding the mines are really more -interesting than the mines themselves. The miners work in the hot -interiors bare to the skin, except their sandals and a breechcloth. -Even these have to be examined when they emerge from the mine after -the work is over. The sandals are taken off and beaten together, while -the breechcloth is treated in the same manner if the examiner demands -it. Of course the miners are usually known to the examiner, and his -searches vary with the supposed honesty of the different workmen. In a -mine where pure silver has been known to be cut out with cold chisels -by the mule load, and sent direct to the retorts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> for smelting, the -temptation was very great to purloin a little with each departure from -the mine; and accounts of the sly efforts of some of the thieves appear -more like the yarns in detective stories than cold facts. Ventilating -tubes, small as gas pipe and covered with wire gauze, have been used to -transfer the metal from the interior to the exterior of the mine for -quite long distances. Imitation kits of tools have been made of drills, -hammers, etc., all of which were hollow and used for stuffing in stray -bits of solid silver. Even candles and candle holders were made hollow -and thus used for stealing. I could give a dozen other most singular -means employed by these miners in their pilferings.</p> - -<p>The tunneling of the old Spaniards was very slow compared with that -now<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> done by machinery. In some places there were evidences that they -had heated the stones by fire and had then thrown water thereon, -shivering the front by sudden chilling, a method yet employed in -Honduras and Guatemala, according to an engineer at Batopilas who had -recently arrived from those countries.</p> - -<p>One of the most singular things connected with prospecting in this -particular portion of the mountains is the means by which large -deposits of silver near a tunnel can be located. If an iridescent, -smoke-like appearance spreads over the rocks at any point of a new -tunnel or drift at the end of a week or two, the engineers always -drift for it and generally strike silver. This stain is called by -them "silver smoke," and is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> said to be unknown in any other mines. I -was given a half dozen theories in regard to it, mostly of a chemical -character, but the mere fact that such a strange condition exists -to help man pry into nature's secrets is more interesting than any -explanation.</p> - -<p>From the garden of the hacienda, surrounded by banana and orange groves -and all kinds of tropical plants and flowers, one can look up the steep -sides of the mountains, which rise abruptly on both sides, to the oaks -and pines beyond, and, while sitting on the veranda sipping ices or -drinking cool and refreshing drinks, and vigorously using the fan, -realize that only a mile above, on the cumbra or crest of the steep -mountain, the ice water flows freely in the little mountain streams and -the heaviest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> flannels only would be comfortable.</p> - -<p>My stay at Batopilas was somewhat prolonged in waiting for a party -that was soon to descend with bullion to Chihuahua. I had originally -intended to continue my course toward the Pacific, but the hot weather, -more severe in May and June than during July and August, owing to the -rainy season tempering the latter, and the fact that I could find a -more interesting trip through the Sierra Madres by another trail than -that by which I had entered, determined me to turn my face eastward and -keep on the high plateau with its grand equable climate. In leaving -Batopilas the large pack train carrying the bullion was given two days' -start, and we were to ride and join them after they had made the cumbra -or crest of the mountains.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span> This trail took me well to the southward -of the one traversed on entering the mountains, and gave me a new and -interesting country.</p> - -<p>On the high mountain crest between Urique and Batopilas I had gained -my furthest point west. The Sierra Madres break more abruptly on -their westward slopes, and from the crest we could make out the great -plains of Sinaloa and Sonora stretching far away toward the Gulf of -California. The country to the west in Sonora and Northern Sinaloa is -one of the most fertile in Mexico. The valleys of the Fuerte, the Mayo, -and the Yaqui are as rich as any river valleys in North America, and -perfectly susceptible of sustaining a dense population, or will be when -all the Indian troubles of that region are definitely settled. Most of -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> crops are of the kind, however, that need cheap transportation -to compete with less favored districts in the markets of the world, -and are now restricted in amount to what is necessary for a mere local -consumption. Here wheat yields enormously to the acre, and the fields -are so dense that it is next to impossible to wade through them. Cotton -grows more luxuriantly than anywhere on the North American continent. -Cotton is planted here oftentimes only once in many years, and large -fields are seen four, five, and even seven years old, yielding two and -three crops annually. In the same field can be seen plants in blossom, -pods, and ripe cotton being picked. It will be one of the leading -cotton districts of the world when a railway cuts through it so that -the producer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> can have some show to compete with other districts. Corn -is very prolific, coffee produces well, tobacco is of fine flavor, -and oranges, guavas, bananas, and plantains are plentiful and of rich -flavor; but transportation on a pack mule for 100 or 200 miles is too -uncertain as to condition of delivery, and too certain as to exorbitant -price, to encourage their cultivation beyond local needs of a limited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> -amount. The Fuerte (in Spanish meaning "strong") is a strong-flowing -river with enough water—as its name would indicate—to irrigate both -sides of its course for nine or ten miles in width. The Mayo is but -little inferior, and the Yaqui is even greater.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image40.jpg" width="350" height="289" alt="Indian Woman Grinding Corn." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">INDIAN WOMAN GRINDING CORN.</p> - -<p>The Pacific ports of this fertile belt are Mazatlan, Guaymas, and -Topolobampo. At the latter point an American colony was founded some -years ago, of which the reading public heard considerable, not very -favorable to that country as a colonization district, and with a -great deal of aspersion thrown at the colonizers. There was so much -crimination and recrimination by the two sides that I do not believe -anybody ever obtained a clear idea of how matters stood there. The -fact is about this: A colony was put in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> a part of an extremely rich -country with the ultimate expectation that a railway would be completed -from that point to the Rio Grande and to Eastern connections. Had the -railway been finished, every colonist with enough gray matter in his -brain to know his way home would have made a competence at least, -and probably a fortune. This is just as sure as that fortunes have -elsewhere been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> made through the development by railways of new, rich -countries. But with its failure there was no halfway ground to stand -on, so that in this instance there arose such an amount of misty -accusation and rejoinder that many people in an indefinite way laid all -the blame on the country; a most erroneous conclusion. When a railway -is completed through this country there will be the usual amount of -money made that such circumstances justify, but only by those who have -selected the right time for it.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image41.jpg" width="375" height="251" alt="A Civilized Tarahumari Cooking." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A CIVILIZED TARAHUMARI COOKING.</p> - -<p>As I have already said, the main portion of the large pack train -was started ahead to give it an opportunity to rest a little before -attempting to climb the steep mountain trail, and, after reaching -the cumbra, or crest, another breathing spell before starting on -their long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> journey. It was now nearing the rainy season, and even if -we made haste we would only just escape this unpleasant and rather -dangerous time in the high sierras, for there the floods pour down and -often carry out large portions of the trail on the steep and narrow -mountain passes. Our pack train consisted, all told, of about seventy -or eighty mules, twenty to thirty of them loaded with silver bricks for -Chihuahua, the rest of the train being the pack and riding mules of the -various drivers and attendants of the "conductor," as the principal -personage in charge of the bullion is called.</p> - -<p>This person was an immense quadroon, a person of unusual executive -ability in that position, and thoroughly trusted by the superintendent, -ex-Governor Alexander<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> Shepherd. He had under him a half dozen able -assistants, all Mexicans, and was accompanied by three or four -"valiantes," as they are called, men of renowned prowess, who have at -least "killed their man," and who could be relied on to protect the -train in case of attack by robbers. As this large cavalcade moved off -up the narrow barranca or caņon it presented a motley and picturesque -appearance from its gayly dressed and heavily armed attendants, well -mounted on their sturdy mules, to the Indian drivers, with only a -blanket apiece for covering and a stout stick to help them over the -ground. Even the most civilized of these Indians think nothing of such -a walk, two or three hundred miles, resting every night as they do when -in attendance on a large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span> pack train and sharing in the good food -supplied them by the owner. Indeed it is really a treat to them. Among -the Indian drivers were two or three who had never seen a railway, -nor had they ever visited a city as large as Chihuahua, and they were -looking forward with feverish anxiety to this great event of their -lives. They had heard of the wonderful Mexican Central Railway and the -great trains of cars that moved so fast, but their minds seemed filled -with unbelief until they could really take it in for themselves. The -semi-civilized or civilized Tarahumari Indians are the best natured -people imaginable, and there is nothing they are not willing or anxious -to do for you if in your employ. They possess the same docile obedience -and fondness that a dog exhibits for his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> master, and are constantly -anticipating little wants and looking for little favors they can do -you, and this too without expecting any reward whatever.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image42.jpg" width="425" height="594" alt="A Goatherd's Cache in the Mountains." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A GOATHERD'S CACHE IN THE MOUNTAINS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2 style="margin-top: 3em;"><a name="X" id="X">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> - -<table class="centered" border="0" cellpadding="0" style="max-width: 50%;" summary="HEADING"> -<tr><td class="chapinf"><p class="hang"><big>SOUTHWESTERN CHIHUAHUA—THE RETURN BY<br /> -ANOTHER TRAIL—THE CAŅON OF THE<br /> -CHURCHES—AMONG THE CLIFF DWELLERS.</big></p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="dropcap">A</span><span class="smcap">fter</span> bidding adieu to our hospitable host and the many friends at -the great hacienda, we started quite late in the afternoon to ride -about eight or nine miles up the Batopilas River to a station of -the Batopilas Mining Company called the Potrero. On either side the -Batopilas lifts its banks from four to five and even to six thousand -feet above the river bed, making a wonderfully beautiful panorama of -rugged mountain scenery as you wind along, sometimes climbing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span> up a -few hundred feet and then descending to the water's edge to cross at -some favorable ford. For the caņon through its entire length is very -narrow, and in some places there is only room for the rushing river -with the trail hugging the banks or finding a foothold for the mules -on the steep, broken mountain side. I hardly know which looks the more -impressive, to stand upon the crest of a high caņon or to wind through -its depths and look up at its beetling sides, which seem to cleave -the clouds. Whatever be the point of view, from top or bottom, with -the usual discontent of human beings in all things, the observer will -always wish he were at the other place, from which, as he imagines, -something better could be seen.</p> - -<p>At the Potrero I found a good, substantial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span> log house, built and -maintained by the Batopilas Company, and used by them as a shelter for -members of their pack trains, instead of depending on the sky for a -covering. One end of the house was divided off, where grain was stored -for all the animals. There was also a storeroom for provisions of -various kinds, thus saving much packing over the rough mountain trail.</p> - -<p>These houses, I learned, had been built about every thirty-five miles -along the trail, and at each a trusty Indian lived to care for them. -They were a great comfort, and seemed even luxurious after a hard -all-day ride on the rough trail. At each was a large corral or pen, -into which the mules were turned for their feed, and this too was a -saving of labor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> and time to the packers, and allowed one to make -a much earlier start, as well as to omit the long noon camp of the -Mexicans. In each of the houses was an immense fireplace, which, on the -arrival of the party, was piled with pitch-pine, and a most welcome -blaze and warmth soon thawed out the coldest.</p> - -<p>At the Potrero a church, built by the first Jesuits in this country, -still remains, and is used for devotion by the Indians, although -roofless and over two hundred years old. Standing near the ruined -door, and looking in, one sees an altar surmounted by a cross and -a scaffolding of flowers. Above this is one of the most beautiful -pictures ever seen in such a peculiar framing. The roofless old church -reveals the most magnificent castellated cliffs to be seen along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> -Batopilas River for many miles. Taking the tops of the battlements, -which rise thousands of feet in sheer altitude in many places, so that -they will fall just below the top of the church door, thus leaving a -little streak of blue sky between, and viewing the scene as framed by -the rest of the church, the observer has a picture before him that -would make the reputation of any artist who could transfer it to -canvas with reasonable ability. Near by was the primitive belfry, two -sticks set in the ground, and the bell, an old bronze one, hung from a -cross-piece between them. Once each year a priest visited this place, -upon which occasion a great festival was held. Indian runners were -sent out into the mountains for many miles around, to induce the timid -Tarahumaris to come in. Here all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span> civilized and semi-civilized -brought their children to be christened, and they again induced many -of the wilder Indians of the cliffs and caves to join them. In this -way the priests reach the wilder ones, and sometimes conversions -are made among them. This is their only method of approaching the -uncivilized natives, through the medium of those not quite so wild, -who allow them to visit their homes in the cliffs and crags and hold a -limited intercourse. From the steep cliffs above the resort, the wild -Tarahumaris can look down on the strange doings of their more civilized -brothers in the little valley below. This they told us was often done, -but the instances were quite rare in which the very wild ones had been -coaxed down from the crags above.</p> - -<p>I have been asked what chance a missionary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> would have among these -people and how he could best reach them. Where the patient priest or -Jesuit fails to penetrate with all the assistance he can derive from -those of his own faith who are kinsmen of the people to be approached, -it would seem indeed a difficult task for those of other beliefs.</p> - -<p>I was told that these people, the semi-civilized Tarahumaris, are -particularly fond of colored prints, and any brightly colored picture -is to them an object of veneration. Often old copies of <i>Puck</i> or -<i>Judge</i> drift down here, passing from the hands of miners to Mexicans -and thence to the Indians. These they preserve and worship as saints, -and to them they offer up their simple prayers.</p> - -<p>Early the next morning we were to climb to the top of the steep cliffs -behind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> the old church at the Potrero; that night we slept for the last -time in the land of the tropics. Late in the evening I walked over by -the home of a Tarahumari Indian. He had a bright fire burning in front -of his hut, and on the ground his family were all sleeping peacefully, -even down to a very young baby. The house appeared to be deserted, -being used probably only during the rainy season.</p> - -<p>Next morning by four o'clock we began the ascent of the steep mountain. -It was before daylight when we left the caņon, and by the time we had -climbed for three hours I noticed one of the most singular cliff or -cave dwellings I had so far seen. There was a distinct trail leading -to it. This trail could be perceived from the very bottom of a deep -caņon which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> branched off from the Batopilas, led along dizzy cliffs, -holding to the sides of the steep mountain until it reached a height -fully equal to our own, and finally disappeared in an enormous cave. -This must have been capable of containing hundreds of people, as it was -over a mile distant, and at that distance we could perfectly discern -its mouth and even its interior walls. It was the dizziest climb to a -home I have ever read of or seen.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image43.jpg" width="500" height="311" alt="The Home of a Tarahumari Indian" /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">THE HOME OF A TARAHUMARI INDIAN</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>That afternoon I came to the farms of some civilized Tarahumaris, built -on the very steep mountain side, on which the dirt was held back by -terraces or rude retaining walls, so very similar to those seen around -the ruins of Northwestern Chihuahua, supposed to be Toltec or Aztec, -that I could not help thinking that there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span> was some closer connection -between them than that of mere resemblance.</p> - -<p>I had heard a dozen theories to account for these terraces in the -North, as for collecting water in dry seasons, for conducting water, -as places for defense, etc., etc., but, with an actual case directly -under observation, this seems to be a better explanation: In decades -and centuries of rainy seasons of more or less violence, after the -people had abandoned these northern houses, or had been killed by their -enemies, all the retained loose earth would have been swept away, -leaving only rude and dilapidated walls or terraces sweeping around the -mountain sides, from which almost anything could be inferred, whether -the most peaceful form or the most warlike fortification.</p> - -<p>Although our journey began at four<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span> o'clock in the morning it was two -or three o'clock in the afternoon before we reached the welcome shelter -of the next station, and it seemed to me from beginning to end one -uninterrupted climb. This station on the Teboreachic was an exception -to the rest on the trail regarding distance, for it is only eighteen -miles from the Potrero, although eighteen miles of incessant uphill -work. While the trail is by no means as steep or dangerous as that -leading into the Urique barranca, it is fully as long a climb to reach -the top or cumbra, and one does not welcome a retreat to the somber -pines with half the enthusiasm inspired by a descent into the tropical -foliage of the deep barrancas. I have already described so many ascents -and descents, that carried us from one kind of climate to another, that -I hardly think it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> necessary to repeat it in this instance. One feature -of the ascent, however, exceptionally pleasant, was the ease with which -one could get off one's tired mule and not only earn its gratitude, if -a mule may be said to possess that virtue, but also stretch one's weary -limbs by climbing over a comparatively good trail.</p> - -<p>As soon as we were well up in the mountains we found the region -extremely well watered, beautiful streams flowing through every little -glen or valley, many of them filled with small trout. This Batopilas -trail differed from the other in that some attempt at grade had been -made. It did not adopt the erratic Indian method of making for the top -of every tall peak and then climbing down on the other side, only to -repeat the performance until the rider became almost seasick from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> -undulations. Since Batopilas came into the hands of Americans there -has been a constant effort on their part to look for better grades -and secure a simpler method of ingress and egress from their mountain -mines, and they are continually broadening and improving the path. -Still, at the best, they can never make anything but a narrow mountain -trail in that country of crag and caņon. The day will come when -railways are built through that rich region, but until then the patient -mule will be the only means of transportation.</p> - -<p>The first night on the Teboreachic was a most delightfully cool one -after the long spell of warm weather we had experienced on the lower -levels. It was preceded by a slight thunder shower, the first one of -the season, but it warned us in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> unmistakable terms that the rainy -season was not far off, and that we had better get out of the mountains -before it was upon us. Before making La Laja, the second night, we -passed the homes of many Indians, both of the semi-civilized type and -the wilder ones of the cliffs and caves. At one point I stopped to get -a photograph of the homes of some cliff dwellers, where, directly below -the cliffs, were a couple of rude stone huts, built on a steep side of -the mountain. The men seemed to be absent from this place, but we could -see the forms of some women moving about and crouching down to avoid -being seen by us. My Mexican man, Dionisio, was greatly alarmed at my -action in dropping behind the party to photograph this group of strange -homes, and loudly declared we would all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> be shot by the men, should -they return and see us at this, to them, strange work. It was almost -impossible to induce Dionisio to bring up my camera or hold my mule, so -anxious was he to get away. There was really no danger whatever from -these people, as they only fight to defend their homes, but the fear of -the cowardly Mexican was very amusing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image44.jpg" width="500" height="380" alt="Homes of Semi-Civilized Tarahumaris." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">HOMES OF SEMI-CIVILIZED TARAHUMARIS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Before leaving Batopilas we had been told that whatever we had seen of -the wonderful or beautiful in nature on our outward journey by other -trails, a treat of a most magnificent character was reserved for us on -this route, one that was unique and wholly without parallel in those -grand old mountains. This was the day's journey through the Arroyo de -las Iglesias. So we were in a measure prepared for the many beautiful -sights that awaited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span> us on our third day. Although we had been passing -through picturesque valleys and were constantly crossing lovely -mountain brooks, one must admit without hesitation that of the many -hundreds of beautiful streams in the Sierra Madre Mountains, flanked -by cut and carved stone, there is none that will compare in extent or -beauty with the sculptured rock of the Arroyo de las Iglesias (the -Caņon of the Churches), so named on account of the spires of rock that -greet one on every side for the greater part of a day's travel. For -eighteen or twenty miles the Caņon of the Churches seems more like some -theatrical representation of a fairy scene than a real one from nature. -The limestone has been eroded into a thousand fantastic forms by the -action of the elements, the predominating one being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span> some feature of a -church or cathedral, either in spires, minarets, or flying buttresses -built far out from the main walls of the caņon. The most grotesque -forms are those that generally cap the spires; it seems necessary that -some hard rock above should protect the softer underneath in order to -insure one of these petrified pinnacles of nature.</p> - -<p>One of them, two hundred feet in height, as seen from the caņon, was -as good a spread eagle as a person would want to see cut out of stone, -while on a tower not a hundred yards away was a bust of Hadrian, quite -as good as that in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ten times as large, -and a thousandfold more conspicuously placed. A person with a small -amount of imagination could easily make a land of enchantment out of -this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span> <i>arroyo</i> with its singular columns and pillars, its leaning -towers and busts and statues, that meet him on every side and are -repeated every few hundred yards by great caņons that break off to -the right and left, and which are perfect duplicates of the original -through which the traveler wends his way.</p> - -<p>Strange, singular, and curious as are these works of nature, they are -not so astonishing to the average civilized person as the works of -man. Among these beetling crags and dizzy cliffs savage men have found -places to erect their houses and live their lives. Ladders of notched -sticks lead from one crag to the crest of another, whenever the rude -steps made by nature do not allow these creatures of the cliffs to -climb their almost perpendicular faces; a false step on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span> slight -ladders or a turning of one of them, which to me seemed so likely, -would send the climber two hundred to three hundred feet to the bottom -of the caņon, perhaps a mangled corpse.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image45.jpg" width="375" height="491" alt="Homes of Cliff Dwellers in Arroyo De Las Iglesias." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">HOMES OF CLIFF DWELLERS IN ARROYO DE LAS IGLESIAS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>Had I wanted to visit them directly in their homes I doubt very much -if I could have reached them, for I am sorry to say I am not a sailor, -a tight-rope performer, or an aëronaut. Beyond this place the people -had fled to their houses, and could, by disarranging a single notched -stick, have made our ascent impossible. This, I think, was one of the -methods of defense adopted by ancient cliff dwellers of Arizona, as -shown at least by some which I have seen and which now, with the logs -rotted away, are unapproachable. It is even possible, as I have more -than hinted before, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span> there is some closer affinity between the -Arizona and Mexican cliff dwellers than this simple but suggestive one -I have mentioned. It is certainly a question I would like to see some -good archæologist struggle with for a year or two.</p> - -<p>So steep are the walls of the Arroyo de las Iglesias in many places -where we observed cliff dwellers that, had they thrown an object from -the little portholelike window of their stone pens with ordinary -strength, it would certainly have brought up in the caņon bottom -probably two hundred or three hundred feet below. How they can rear -little children on these cliffs without a loss of one hundred per cent. -annually is to me one of the most mysterious things connected with -these strange people.</p> - -<p>They are worshipers of the sun, so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> good authorities say, and on -the first day of a child's life they dedicate it to that great orb -by placing it in his direct rays. In many other ways they show their -devotion to that source which has been loved by so many primitive -people. Their whole range of worship would certainly be interesting -in the extreme. They have the greatest dread of the owl, which, as is -known elsewhere as well as here, has some association or other of evil -connected with it, from the slightest disaster to death. How many other -things they fear no one knows, but they certainly are not afraid to -climb cliffs and crags that would frighten the average white man half -to death to even contemplate.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image46.jpg" width="375" height="520" alt="In Arroyo De Las Iglesias, Cliff Dwellings in Rocks." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">IN ARROYO DE LAS IGLESIAS, CLIFF DWELLINGS IN ROCKS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>That all their children are not killed off every month by falling from -the elevations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> is shown by the fact that we saw a few of them playing -in a little "clearing" in the brush at the bottom of the caņon. But -we did not see them very long, for as soon as they got sight of the -leading member of our party they fled to the brush and caves, and a -pointer dog could not have flushed one five minutes later.</p> - -<p>I have already described some of their strange methods of hunting game. -In fishing they build dams in the mountain streams and poison the fish -that collect therein with a deadly plant the Mexicans call <i>palmilla</i>, -securing everything, fingerlings and all. They never tattoo, paint, or -wear masks as far as I could ascertain. They are a strange, wild set of -savages in a strange, picturesque country, a country that will repay -visiting in the future should the means of transportation—railways -or better stage facilities—ever be sufficiently improved.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image47.jpg" width="375" height="529" alt="A Cliff Dwelling." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">A CLIFF DWELLING.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>After leaving the wonderful Valley of the Churches it requires a -night's rest before one is ready to give much admiration or attention -to the magnificent scenery on every hand. It seems as if you had had a -surfeit of the beautiful. I obtained a number of interesting sketches -and photographs of these homes in the clouds. The photographs were -taken under great drawbacks, as the days were stormy and cloudy, and -even the lowest of the cliff dwellings were difficult of approach.</p> - -<p>Just as we were descending a high mountain into the beautiful valley -of the Tatawichic, we passed by an enormous rock on the steep trail of -the mountain side that must have been fully three hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span> feet high -and not over thirty feet in diameter, which did not vary a foot from -its base to its top, where it was rounded off like a half globe. It -was green in color, looked exactly like a pitahaya cactus turned into -stone, and seemed wonderfully unstable as seen from the trail that -wound around its base on the steep descent. The name of the station at -this point was Pilarcitas (Little Pillars), from the many curious and -fantastic rock formations which assumed the shape of pillars, either -singly or in groups of two, three, or more. The previous night had been -very cold in the mountains, and the constant showers only increased the -chill; so we found the little station houses the most welcome places of -refuge as night came on.</p> - -<p>The last station on this trail is about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span> four or five miles from -Carichic, and is in the center of a productive and well-watered valley. -The little cultivation done there by the Indians shows a wonderful -fertility of soil; in truth there are but few of the staple products -that could not be grown in that portion of the country in the greatest -abundance. At this last station of the Batopilas Company they start -their private stages directly for Chihuahua. We remained over for a -day, awaiting the departure of the regular diligence from Carichic.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;"> -<img style="margin-top: 1em;" src="images/image48.jpg" width="375" height="528" alt="Stone Pillar About three hundred feet high, Resembling Cactus." /> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">STONE PILLAR ABOUT THREE HUNDRED FEET HIGH,<br /> -RESEMBLING CACTUS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<p>While here I talked with an intelligent American, who had lived for -many years in this country, about the Tarahumaris. He told me he had -that season attended one of their foot races, a favorite pastime of -these people. At this particular contest one of the fleetest and most -enduring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span> foot runners in all the great band of the Tarahumaris (or -tribe of "foot runners," as we know they are called) was a contestant. -That summer he had made one hundred Spanish miles—about ninety of -ours—in eleven hours and twenty minutes, in a great foot contest near -the Bacochic River, resting but once for half an hour in this terribly -long race. The man, Mr. Thomas Ewing by name, told me that he attempted -to run this foot runner a <i>vuelta</i>, (which is six miles straight away -and return, or twelve miles altogether), Ewing using a horse; and -although the white man tried this three times with three different -horses, the Tarahumari cave dweller beat him each time. These contests -of the Tarahumaris are almost always very long and exciting. They make -their bets with stock<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span> of some kind, sheep, cattle, or goats, and large -numbers of these change hands on the outcome of the races. In a letter -to me regarding these races, Mr. Ewing writes of one of the runners:</p> - -<p>"I was with him"—the Indian—"when he was running his fifth round. It -was about eight o'clock in the morning, and he was running at about -eight miles an hour. At that time his competitor was about six miles -behind him. I rode beside him for about four miles, when my horse had -enough of it. There were a hundred Indians or more to see the race, -and they had stations about every two miles on the trail, where they -stopped the runners, rubbed them down, and gave them <i>pinola</i>, a -parched corn, ground fine and mixed with water. The runners stopped one -minute, or about that, at each station for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span> rest. The Indian who won -this race, although tired, finished in good shape, and took in about -fifty dollars in stock."</p> - -<p>These contests in running are said to be one of the amusements of even -the wildest of the Tarahumaris, although I doubt whether many white -men have witnessed them. Even as early as the days when Grijalva, the -discoverer of Mexico, and Cortes, its conquerer, landed on its shores -where now is the important port of Vera Cruz, within twenty-four hours -after their appearance an Aztec artist had made perfect representations -of the fleet, the kind and amount of armament, and correct pictures -of the artillery and horses (although he had never seen such things -before), and had transmitted them nearly two hundred miles by carrier -to the City<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span> of Mexico, placing them in the hands of the Aztec Emperor -Montezuma. Cortes afterward found that the Aztec, Tlascalan, and other -armies of that portion of the country always moved at a run when on -the march, thus trebling and quadrupling the military marches of -the present day. This was the first intimation to Europeans of the -endurance and swift-footedness of the natives of the great Mexican -plateau, and a similar characteristic was found to be almost universal -among the Indians of the plateau. But it was afterward discovered that -the people most prominent in this respect was one in the far north of -New Spain, hidden away in the fastnesses of the Sierra Madres, whose -very name, as given by other tribes, Tarahumari, meaning foot runners, -indicated their special excellence.</p> - - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap" style="page-break-after: always;" /> - -<div class="transnote"> - -<p class="ph2">TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:</p> - -<p>Obvious printer errors have been corrected. Otherwise, the author's -original spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been left intact.</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Land of Cave and Cliff Dwellers, by -Frederick Schwatka - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE LAND OF CAVE AND CLIFF DWELLERS *** - -***** This file should be named 51532-h.htm or 51532-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/5/3/51532/ - -Produced by Chris Whitehead, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/cover-image.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/cover-image.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2e9ada6..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/cover-image.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image1.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image1.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6cc3170..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image1.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image10.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image10.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0cbfe30..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image10.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image11.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image11.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 236069a..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image11.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image12.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image12.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d2b32c9..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image12.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image13.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image13.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 917f1a6..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image13.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image14.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image14.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d528efc..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image14.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image15.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image15.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 62d57d4..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image15.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image16.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image16.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 388a9e0..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image16.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image17.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image17.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 481fa76..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image17.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image18.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image18.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5cd1dd1..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image18.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image19.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image19.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 54f7e0a..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image19.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image2.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8fd271c..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image20.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image20.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c370fba..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image20.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image21.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image21.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e629852..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image21.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image22.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image22.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index de7974b..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image22.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image23.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image23.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index cde7885..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image23.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image24.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image24.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3e11782..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image24.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image25.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image25.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index df807c0..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image25.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image26.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image26.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0ee6c8e..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image26.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image27.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image27.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e9bf451..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image27.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image28.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image28.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3ab1ba0..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image28.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image29.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image29.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 151e716..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image29.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image3.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image3.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c6246c7..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image3.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image30.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image30.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d1c6712..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image30.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image31.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image31.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ecf5d8d..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image31.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image32.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image32.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a9862a8..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image32.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image33.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image33.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ab15d4a..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image33.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image34.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image34.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3392df8..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image34.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image35.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image35.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f236ad5..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image35.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image36.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image36.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b095dec..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image36.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image37.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image37.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 65437b0..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image37.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image38.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image38.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0937717..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image38.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image39.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image39.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 669b534..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image39.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image4.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image4.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 114a753..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image4.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image40.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image40.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3bfb0ab..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image40.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image41.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image41.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9399b71..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image41.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image42.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image42.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ce08281..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image42.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image43.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image43.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c156cb7..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image43.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image44.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image44.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9bbdfd1..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image44.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image45.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image45.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c92a58f..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image45.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image46.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image46.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 88288e5..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image46.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image47.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image47.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c8af957..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image47.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image48.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image48.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a24051b..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image48.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image5.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image5.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 19d1d8c..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image5.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image6.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image6.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9a47da1..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image6.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image7.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image7.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7f5196b..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image7.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image8.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image8.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0a8257c..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image8.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51532-h/images/image9.jpg b/old/51532-h/images/image9.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 11dfe0b..0000000 --- a/old/51532-h/images/image9.jpg +++ /dev/null |
