Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878-19??, 1883-06-09
A Night with the Surveying Party.

The Chief Of the survey selects the
places for camping, and in his alb
sence, the next in command. Capt.
Bradford had made the selection in
this case, and it was on a patch of
level green-sward, reaching down to
Archie McIntosh's farm, on the side
next the river, and touching close
thicket of mesquite at the base of the
foothills on the opposite side. The
road from Globe to the. mouth of the
Tonic crossed it; and beside The road
two families that had journeyed, since
last March, "all the ways from San
Antoine, Texas and were "agoin to
Phenix, as one of their sunburAed and
sunbonnctted women told is, had
camped. As we rode into the twin
encampments-the one with its table
set, brightly painted wagons, transits
and levels and bright young men, the
other with everything, human, equine
and wooden travcl-stained aud worn,
with the long shadows of the Mazat-
zal's passing the surveyors and rest
ing on the prairie schooners of the
immigrants, it looked as if the sun
was spreading parting benedietion
tower fast dying institution, and GOV,
ering it with glory it had nobly
earned. In camp ready welcome
was extended to the visitors, includ-
ing the BELTS railway editor, and the
"new man from Boston, and supper
was had. What supper is there like
that in camp, after all; especially
when ones appetite is whetted with
a thirty mile ride, at an altitude run
ming from 1850, down to 1000 feet,
above the sea level. After supper we
sat and watched the sunlight creeping
along the mesa on the north side Of
the Salt river till it touched the IRON
stained buttes in the foothills of the
Sierra Anchas, and turned them into
yermillion illusions; till it touched the
brown cliffs and turned them purple;
till it touched the delicate outlines of
the pines upon the mountain tops and
turned them to gold. Little masses
Of ncbulous clouds were floating about
in tho face of crimson sky, with
their rounded edges showing colors of
gold and silver where they were light
or heavy; and all the while the "boys
were SIN oking their after supper che
roots and the Colonel was taking
in the beauty of the scene; and the
tired mules were eating leisurely of
the rank barley hay; and the night
kept stealing on apacc; and the water
from the Grapevine Springs was sing
ing a mild second to the murmuring
of the evening wind through the cot
tonwoods; and the waters of the Salt
river, rushing past masses of dead
drift wood, and fringes of willows, and
yellow barley fields, and through
rough gorges and over age-rounded
boulders sounded a monotonous bass.
And still the shadows grew deeper;
and the Texans came over to our
camp and listened while the'"boys"
sang "the sweet bye and bye, and we
associated it in our minds with the
advent of our railroad; and they sang,
there's land that is fairer than
this" and we did not believe it, be-
cause it could not be; and the night
was deepening; and they sang till the
welkin rang, and the air grew so full
of melody that when we woke the
next morning under the sunlight
we'd gone to sleep under the starlight
and heard the birds singing, we
thought it was the same song; and the
harmony of the trichling water from
the springs, and the noise Of the Salt
river seemed the music of a dream;
and the disengaged odors of the
crushed mint leaves that grew on the
margin of an acequia, near by, came
to us like an opiate to WOO us back to
slumber and to drcamland. And so
we spent our might with the survey
ors"-the boys scattered around
promiscuously, and Col. King, the
chief, and ourself under the same
piece Of canvass, and the same blue
sky and bright stars.
Last week they had series of fes-
tivities down a. the Salt river, which
eliminated in grand ball at Archie
McIptoSh's There ware r,nos IN