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Show [ 23] 82 d had a fight with a party of Navajoe Indians. ~t appears men, ha. th m anies were em their march down the nver, some that .while he cdoh prri'edly up to them, crying out that the Navajoes Mexicans rus e u · h l d · h · b · · t the village murdenng t e peop e, an carrymg ad Just een m 0 ' · · · d · t l ff · · flocks and herds. Captau~ Gner Imme 1a e y set o. In off th.en d came in sight of the bold marauders. In a httle P:f~f\ ~~~~b:n In~~~~s began to abandon the c~ttle they were driving until at last 400 head had been left along the route. So warm and' exct't 'm g wa s the chase ' that th. e officerhs, who were blw ell mounte d h ee d e d not the want of theu men w · o were una e hto keep pac' e "·I't h them ' but they pressed on, .a nxious to retc odv e. r . t e I· mmense " cava Jgada" of sheep that .t he Indiansb WP.rde yef nhv mIg . Suddenly they saw they had rushed wto an nm usca e, o~ t e .n· d. · 'ng up from .their concealment, surrounded Captam Gner tans, nsi . h . d . d h t f and his three brave companion.s. WIth orn cnes an s ou so "N ava h oe, Navahoe ' " the Indtans sprang forwda rd t·o h t he · combatd; they were dressed for war, being ornamente Wit. pamts an plumes, and mounted on good horses, and armed With bows and arrows, and lances; but, fortunately, they were so crowded that they feared lest they s~ould s~oot each ot?er. At _length one of the chiefs came along s1de of.Lieutenant W dson; theu hor~es were on the gallop, each one waiting unt~l the horses .should· JUmp to· gether when at the same moment, Lieutenant WIlson and the In· dian fi:ed · th'e officer's pistol did . not go off, and the arrow of the chief only' c~t off a coat butt?n, and lodge.d in the saddle ~lanket of Captain Gner. As the Indian turned h1s horse, a Mexican, who had started at full speed, came in contact with him, and rolle.d horse and rider in the dust; the Indian was immediately upon.h1s feet, and rushed up to a dragoon soldier, who had a patent ~arbme, such as loaded at the breach, and had, unseen by the Indian, re· loaded it, and the Indian coming up within two or three feet, t~e soldier shot him dead. One other Ind,ian was killed, when Captam Grier ordered a retreat, and the four, drawing their sa?res, c~t their way out and rejoined th·eir company, ,,·bile the N a vaJoes sue· ceeded in carrying off 3,000 head of sheep. Lieu tenant Wilson was again fortunate; being out on a patrolf.l he captured a courier with letters to Chihuahua, whil'h had bee.n written by some of the principal men in New Mexico, and mam· fested a spirit of readiness for any insurrectionary movement.. , Novembe1· 13.-This morning I crossed the river at "Bosquec1to! and went to the encampment of the dragoons. Captain .Burgwm inform~d me that the traders were well prepared to defe~d them· selves m case of an attack; that they had constructed qmte a for· midable fort of wagons at Valverde, and that the co~ntry in the vicinity of t~eir camp afforded plenty of wood and grass, and~ I there· fore, determmed to move down the river on the next mornmg. h Novembe1· 14.-The day proving very favorable, we made amuc longer march than we had at first intended, as we proceeded a} least 10 _miles below San Pedro, which place is 4! miles south~ Bosquec1to. The road for many miles, in ~he latter part of our mar~k' was covered with a deposite of saline substances, which lay h e 83 . [ 23] fallen snow, and made an unpleasant glare, such as completely ~e~led our eyes. We got some golden-winged woodpeckers and b~~cher birds, "lanins borealis," bes.icles killing two large swans, "Gygnus American us," that proved to be very fat. We ~ncamped at "Bosque del Apache," far to the south of the last mhabited town that we shall see north of the J ornada del M uerto. November 15.-Before the sun had risen, we were travelling on our journey, and soon reached the celebrated valley of Valverde. We now came in sight of the camp of traders. We found assembled here many gentlemen whom we had forijJ.erly met, and our happy feelings at greeting them in this ~ild country were heartily reciprocated. We camped close along s1de of t~em. During the day a man entered camp, purportmg to be a messenger from Captain C~o~, and stat~ng that. <?aptain_ <?ook, . finding his men and animals fadmg, and his provisions gi vmg out, had changed his destination, and would now make a descent upon "El Paso." We were glad to hear this, as it was the people at that place )V"ho had made several demonstrations of attacking us here . But there was something about the man that excited suspicion, and the traders refused to furnish him with . the mules which he said were necess:try to enable ,him to carry on Captain Cook's letters asking for reinforcements. This man showed sealed letters from Captain C. directed to Captain Burgwin, but, notwithstanding, his whole story was an unprincipled fabrication, as we afterwards learned. The traders will suffer great losses on account of our difficulties. Every pound of freight brought to Chihuahua costs 18 cents; if stopped at Santa Fe, 9 cents; and all here say that if the duties of $1,000 a wagon load have to be paid they will lose everything. November 16.-W e were all scant of provisions. The traders have been at this place for the last forty days, and in that time have consumed their provisions, for they maqe no arrangements for such a prolonged stay. Common sugar and coffee cannot be had for less than 50 cents the po.und, and beeves sell for $20 the head. To employ our time, we went out gunning and killed a loon, "colymbus glacialis;" several ducks, 'anas merganser." On our ~eturn, ~e saw a fine bald-headed eagle that. was. sitting on a bar m the middle of the Rio del Norte. We hailed 1t as an emblem of our victorious banner, which bears this bold bird on its folds. November 17.-This morning I started for Socorro to pr'ocure corn f?r our mules. The "grama" is not sufficiently nourishing for ammals th~t have been_ labo:ing hard. We had rumors to-day that the Amencan traders m Chthuahua were allowed perfect libbr~ y,. except l\Ir. McGoffin and Senor Gonzales; that goods are nngmg 37~ cents per Yara, which is one-third more than many persons here are ready to sell for. V :yovember 18.-During the morning, we walked over the ruins of d a verde: They were ir;habited in 1820 and 1825, but constant 1 epreda~10_ns ?f the Apaches and N a vajoes forced the people to ~~s~rt t eu vlllage. Nothing now remains but the ruins of some 0 e walls, over which stillness reigns. I took a sketch of the· , |