The copper era., 1905-08-10


 once come in to Mcdowell and draw a
 ration. Now a new beef contract
 in the hills was planhed: You see
 the beef head wddla coGnt for ten 1 rations, and the offal which we
 were dumping in the river would
 count for goodness knows how many.
 Make it we must and oh! the thought i of what a blessed thing 1t was to dwell beneath the bdhfier of the best gcvefnnient the world ever saw, spur
 red us on.
 Now, I had no stock except two
 horses working in the edrfal, These I could not take, so walked over to ilthe wagon where Kirkland was lying down on his blankets, and told him all. Would he loan me his four little mulesY Now 1 struck Bill just right. That same day the big boss had told him d man from the Salt river had offered to put up gramma hay ever so much cheaper, he and his men were buying very little at the store and many other things. 1 pictured to my old friend the complete co1- lapse of the boss if we made it stick, and the piles Of hay cut near Sun- flower would not be count ed then by a quastermaster ration; but when this peace outfit was gone d bdard of survey would fix its weight. Some had been blown down and scattered by the wind but the board would fix all that and the cold wind of diversity would not be likely to strike the con tract of the brother in-law of the secretary of war. Bill, a man of very few words. raised himself in his bed, and said, ''Sou afe taking d des- perate fisk, but you shall have the mules. 1 will keep them up and shoe them tomorrow. Yes, go, but mind you make no bobble and take out no whiskey."
 Alder Ali asked as he often did a day off to go to Rowe's station at the Verde; sd on the next night three men crossed the river riding little black mules, and leading another one saddled, rode on to the eastward on a trail only practical eye could fol- low. Dead lowland brush, cactus,
 volcanic rock, where by day played the wind devils of the desert, above Us the stars. Those wonderful desert stars which never flicker joined the moon working her neCromanCeS; now in fancy hemning us in mountains through which there was no pass, and then at, once shift like a theater scene. We rode in silence, each no doubt, busy with his thoughts. The glamour was off and l saw a very fool-hardy trip. Suppose we could not find Del Shay alone with his band? What then? 1 had lived in Arizona from boyhood but 1 knew very little of the Apache. 1 had other outfits mix and talk with them, and in a few short months announce they had learned the lore ot Apache and his ways. Yea! even wrote books on him and his, but I never could. It is true, Del Shay, the last year past, and other chiefs had been struck and placed confidence in Alder Ali, at Reno he had dished out their rations oh the square. He was not a Mexican or American of that they were sure. He was their | own color, too, and in some way they seemed to think revered the same | great spirit-a true son of the Ara. bian desert. He carried to the end | copy of the Koran and each morn | ming sprinkled water to the rising sun. Our new friend, the New York l newspaper man, whose boldness and | braveness had charmed me, did not | seem to know or care what came | next. On and on we rode until we | had passed Sunflower valley. 1 had | dropped a little behind for 1 was tired when from behind d great spine | of the Spanish bayonet and Clump of | yucca palm rung out "YOr' and l ] felt d hand clutch my bridle rein and a scared and jumping mule to hold, and l felt jingle go all along my nerves as l looked on Sish-la-Pans, 1 freshly streaked black and car mined face as I came to find that he was the Tonto war chief, who held | sf fn in ! days in Arizona-a man even held his own with reckless hand. The call at once brought Alder Ali, a friendly call, a brief talk, then came in French. "all is we'll" and the glad invocation rose clear on the wild stiffness of the desert night: Allah be praised! God is great and Mo- hamet is his prophet!' Del Shay was at old camp Reno all alone with his band. The road was clear. With the same calm air our new found | friend looked on, took out his cigar case and with d grace that a Ches terfeld would envy, offered this painted savage it's contents. We | seemed to catch the inspiration and i as the sun rose on the tinted atmos- phere, bringing with it a veil of lilac, we halted on the crest of Reno hill. looked down on the smoke beginning | to rise >traight from circle of fires. | It had rained and the mules waded 1 fetlock deep in the gorgeous orange, | California poppies, while overhead | the breath of heaven fresh from the wind-swept peaks of the Sierra Anches brought what Alder Ali | declared reminded him of his boy hood days, wait from "Araby the blessed" Alder Ali rode ahead and | soon MT. Ross was made known to | Del Shay. The Tonto chief was then forty years of age. spare and tall, with a very grave smile. He had | with him all of his band and they | were d motley crowd as far removed | from the conventional Indian as reality is usually removed from fancy.
 The skin of an Apache is not red but dingy brown and instead of the straight limbs and naughty bearing of the Indian of fancy, they were and bowlegged and about some was a suggestion reptilia. 1 saw at least two of the women whose noses had been cut away-a disgust ing sight-we were told for q lapse of virtue-and this was all. The young man sent by the Herald looked on in the same quiet way. Now some ! H. IL IL