The National tribune., 1902-12-04

white mans blood" In those days their
weapons consisted of bows and arrows,
with which they were great experts, like
nearly all Indians; the war club, made OF
the gnarled mesquite wood; and for de-
Tense they used a round shield of I'M
dressed dried oXhidc.
These Indians sustained themselves, rs
now. by agriculture, irrigating their fields
by means of small bitches which carried
the waters of the ella through a larger
ditch or canal upon their arabic lands.
These larger bitches were the common
property of the different villages. In Or
der to guide the water into them they con
structed large dams on convenient spots of
the river shore, which they built and re-
newed from year to year with rocks, tree
trunks, willow branches and rushes.
On account of complete lack Of water at
the Piciiaco Ga high, steep cliff rising
abruptly on the south side of the road) We
had to make another forced march from
Blue Water to Point of Mountain, which
the mail rider said to be n distance of 4S
miles, but which | should rather estimate
at 81 miles. At all events, although we
made no halt on the road, and ate as we
went along. we occupied II hours in this
march, and arrived at our destination COM
pletely worn out with fatigue; for it must
be remembered that on this whole route we
Travelled frequently for long stretches over
heavy sand. Many of the men had bis
tered feet, while others were sadly chafed.
Our wagons, with their escort, came to
camp fully three hours LATER.
Here We rested again for one day, and
the following resumed the march toward
Tucson, only Is miles away, at that time,
next to Prescott, the most important town
in AriZOna-wlIich was not saying much.
After travelling about nine miles. we came
into a valley where there was a house and
small inclOsure for animals, standing on n
small wooded knoll, mt whose foot gently
flowed the Santa Cruz River, at that spot
not larger in size than a creek: from here
On We had the valley in sight all the time,
and We're not little delighted at its as
pect: here and there were small fields of
grain clad in that soft, pale-green verdure
which precedes the ripening of ihe ears,
while the cottonwood trees standing along
the borders of the river presented to the
eye their beautiful foliage clad in vivid,
brilliant emerald green.
We all experienced Il feeling of great
relief and almost delight as we beheld
these signs of civilized life after encounter
ing for SO long period nothing but sand.
dust, rocks, cacti, thorns, greasewood, rat
tlesnakes and the enormous venOmOus liz
ards, there called ella monsters Heloder-
ma suspectum), road-runners tchaparral
cocks, and now and then q tarantula, lazi-
dus
We arrived at Tucson on April %, and
went into camp in grove of mesquite
bushes about One-quarter of mile south
of the town. Here we discharged our rifles
and began to clean up.
TUCSON IN 1866
The Tucson of those days had but one
regular street, now called Main Street. The
buildings which deserved the name of
houses were Of adobe with fiat mud roofs:
hos. ..f In, y
constructed of mesquite poles and the long
wands of the candlewood Fouguiera SPLEEN
dens). the chinks being filed in with mud
plaster. With the exception of the sold
diers and teamsters in transit, there were
not over a dozen American men in the
town, and not one American woman. The
doors OF many houses consisted of raw
hides stretched over rough frames. the win
dows being simply apertures in the walls,
barred with upright sticks stuck therein.
The aspect Of the town reminded me for
chilly of the small hamlets [ had seen in
the Holy Land, the more so as the women,
all half-breeds, wore about the same dress
as the Palestine women and carried upon
their heads water-jars of the exact pattern
in use in the Orient.
We soon discovered. however, that the
languid state of inactivity and silence pre-
vailing in the villages about Jerusalem did
not exist here. When | visited the town
towards evening, in order to present our
ration return to the Commissary of Sub
sistence Capt. Gilbert c. Smith with n
view of obtaining our rations. | found that
the one street of Tucson was fairly bub-
bling with life and motion. lis whole
length was taken up by long train of
army wagons and another of s.prairie
schooners," carrying -four from Sonora,
Mexico, while heavilyloaded hay wagons
were trying to make their way to the Gov
eminent corral, where numberless horses
and mules were continually coming and
going. as the Quartermaster's Department
OF this place was the chief depot of sun
plies for all the military posts of Southern
Arizona. Cursing Transfers. rollickine SOL
diers, rustling gamblers and the usual non
descripts of a frontier town jostled each
other in the narrow street, devoid of side
walks.
As soon as had received and loaded mn
our rations. of which the long-untasted and
mucli-coveted fresh meat was the most de-
sirable article, | started my ration wagon
TO camp, and looked for n store where
might purchase a mucl-needed paper OF
needles and some thread. The only store
worthy of the name was quite easily found
and the desired articles were produced. To