The morning call., 1891-06-25
AN ARIZONA
ADVENTURE.

under strong guard, and was walking
before my tent, impatiently waiting sum-
mons to dinner, which know by the strong
odor waited from an adjacent coffee-pO
would not be much longer delayed.
We were about ninety miles from the
nearest fort and hundreds from any settle
ment There were no ranches whatsoever
in this part, only some cattle and sheep be-
longing to MeXicanS, which were herded
through the Territory. These were in the
charge of Mexicans, who lived much the
same kind of life as did their stock. Their
blanket was their only house, and when
night came on they would lie down wher-
ever it might overtake them. For miles
around the land was as level as the bed of
hlliar1-table. Mountains were seen IN the
distance, which were inhabited by Indians;
but my little command and few rattle
snakes and tarantuias were the only living
things near.
Dinner is ready, Lieutenant" was the
welcome summons with which my cook
greeted me, aud was soon doing full justice
10 an army feld-dinner Of bean soup and
'slapjacks."
was In the midst of this savory repast
when l noticed a stranger approaching me.
He was a well-buIlt, powerful OOking man,
about 40 years OF age. His face was intel
lectUal and extremely handsome. He wore
u
were iron gray. He was coarsely clad and
carried no weapon This latter circum-
stance was the most remarkable thing OF all,
for in those days in Arizona one scarcely
moved without his arms.
Nearing me he asked in a pleasant. quiet
manner if | were the commanding officer.
replied that l was.
Il came to see if you cOuld lend me pis-
tOl or q carbne for a few days." he said.
You don't mean TO tell ME that you are
entirely without arms ?" l said, not unTeason-
ably aStOniShed.
Eyes; l have nothing of the kind" he
answered II have been annoyed for the
past three months by those Internal CaIifor-
MIA lions, and if l had shooting iron l
might xii some of them"
Are you camping near hereW | asked.
Il live just round the bend of the river.
Will you walk down with me?"
s Little dreaming | was so near a residence
l eagerly accepted MS invitation, and filling
my pipe and leaving the Sergeant in charge
of camp l started foItn with my new ac-
quaintance. As we made the turn in the
river | saw q large shelving rock rising from
the level prairie. 1t was not more than
hundred yards from the rivers bank, and
was really quite imposing IN Its dimeu SlunS.
Ii struck me as so peculiar, 50 emil. Y out
Of place, that l expressed ny surprise 10 my
companion.
Yes" he answered, 81 fancy it is a me-
teonte. l am under great obligations to it,
whatever it Is, aud however it came here,
for il has protected ME for months. That
rock Is my house"
Greatly aStonished, l asked if he lived
there quite alone.
mother live with me-"
By this time we had reached the natural
dwelling. At what might be termed It's
opening the rock was ten feet or more from
the ground, and 1t sheltered space about
twenty feet in breadth, gradually sloping
backward and downward. As 1 stepped
under the protecting roof | saw two women
sitting at work.
My host presented me- to his mother and
wife respectively, and | saw at at a glance
that they were MeXicans; not of the class,
however, known as greaserS, but repreSen-
tatlVeS OF much higher grade. Like most
MeXicans they were diSnclined to converse
in any language but their own; but when
they learned that my knowledge Of their
tongue was too slight TO enable me to under
stand them they Overcame their reluctance
and we chatted quite Pleasantly.
l learned that they had been living there
for three months. They came with the in
tentiOn Of farming, and later proposed
erecting a suitable dwelling.
The Indians had not mOlested them, but
| they were worried by the lions, which came
! by twos and thTees nightly to the opening Of
| their habitatiOn AMI there howled till day
| light, when they returned TO the mountain.
They told me 1t was necessary for one of
| them to be up at night to keep the fire burn
| ing, which was their only protection from
| these monsters.
| Consequently they had taken turns sitting
up nights for the last three months.
| What surprised me most was the absence
| Of all detenSeleSS weapons and farming im-
| Dlements. Not an article Of the kind was
! in their possession. l saw one horse grazing
/ near by and a dilapidated wagon. Neither
| chCtfal QV n pisfol va m he,
1t was very apparent that the man had
/ known better days. But in that wild coun-
| try iuquisltiveness often cost ones lie. To
! be sure l felt no fear with a good cavalry
| company at my back, but in most cases it
was better to be satisfied with what was
| told me and what l saw.
| Having listened to graphic description
of their lar IRON pleasant neighbOrs, | told
/ them frankly that if l had pistol or car
/ bine of my own l would willingly lend or
! give them one, but all the weapons in the
| command, even those on my person, be-
! lOnged to the Govsrnment, and that the
/ orders respecting them were so stringent
! that was utterly unable to Accommodate
| them.
81 had a pistol when 1 came here" said
my host, "but lost it crossing the river.
Since then you are the first person that las
been this way"
| felt really sorry for them, and also
! felt that they might think l had given
very himsy reason for refusing the loan
| they asked.
That three human beings should be au-
nOyed night after night by Wild beasts and
company Of cavalry unable 70 give them pro-
| lection seemed incredible, yet such appeared
to be the case.
At length happy thought struck me.
81 tell you what l will do" / said. 81
| will send the company in charge of the
| Sergeant about i've miles further down
| the river to encamD, then l will bring
! CuTley with me, and we will stay here
! tonight with you. Curley Is an old
| frOntersman, and is acting guide for me.
He is good shot and will enjoy the sport"
My proposal was joyfully accepted and |
! returned to camp TO give the necessary di-
| recIi0ns. About an hour later the cOmpan
moved out and Curley and | were alone.
! "What sort of an outfit is that down
thereY said my companion, pointing TO the
stone mansion had recently lett.
81 cannot tell you" | answered. "The
! people say they are worried by the lions,
and | have told them you and | will stay
/ with them tonight and sample a few"
Some escaped jaibird, suppose" said
! Curley. The cOuntry's full Of them"
eyes" | ans severed, ''the country is full of
them, but l am sure this manis no criminal.
| His manner and his appearance, barring his
| clothes, are those of gentleman. ana his
wife seems more tnan ordinarily refined"
"Well," said Curley, ''if they will trot out
| the lions for us We don't care what they
! are"
With that we started toward the rock.
The California lion may have a legitimate
name, but this is the only one have ever
| heard applied to him. He belongs TO the
| panther and wildcat families, being, be-
! leve, q cross between the two.
The animals are much larger than wild
| cats, and when angry are very ferOcOus.
/ One is sufficiently powerful to pull down
/ deer, and two will make shurt work of q
buffalo. Their home is in the mountains,
but they come to the plains and down into
| the canyons in search of food.
We spent the afternoon talking with our
new acquaintance, who seemed we'll in
formed on many subjects. Curley, VINO was
not bad Mexican scholar, carried on
brief conversation with the young wife in