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Show 125 a few miles farther soath, the • proportions of a good- sized tree. The fruit was large, and far superior in flavor to that of any other wild cherry I have tasted elsewhere. In fact, it was quite equal to many of our commoner cultivated cherries. Strangely enough, from ignorance or some superstition, the Indians were not accustomed to use it. The mescal of the natives appears to comprise two species of agave, i. e., Parryi and • Palmeri. The underground stem is baked in a pit, the exterior portion peeled off, and then used by the Apaches as a regular article of food. It is nutritious and palatable, but to one eating it for the first time is said to be slightly laxative. Is this property due to a principle identical with or resembling aloin f A fiber is obtained from the thick leaves that answers for the manufacture of cordage, the Apaches making it into lariats. The juice is boiled into sugar or sirup, or distilled into a whisky containing an enormous percentage of pore spirits. The stem, when dead and dry, is then, as the last use to which it can be put, find over the rafters of the native houses to spread the mud upon. And it is a fact all travelers in that region should know, that in some of the driest portions of the country thirst may be quenched by sucking from the cut end of the mescal stem the saccharine fluid it has such an abundance of. The Indians, with the same object in view, peel away the outer harder covering and chew the pithy material in the heart of the stem. Either plan may prove serviceable in time of urgent need. Looking down the cation from Camp Bowie, a beautiful view may be had of a portion of the San Simeon Plains. In August, when the grass is dried up, it fails to impress one as it would in the early spring- months, when the hill- sides and plain are literally strewn with flowers. Enough of grama- grass grows in the neighborhood of the post to afford abundant pasturage for all the stock. As might be expected, the water is strongly impregnated with lime, and is hence a fruitful source of bowel disorders among new- comers. The post garden was quite productive, and gave a fair supply of vegetables, its limited size being the only trouble. Crossing the spur of the Cbirioahui range south of Camp Bowie, we came to the present location of the Chiricahui Apache agency. Going from the plain east toward the mountain, the grass becomes abundant, the vegetation more varied, and the hills are covered with a fair growth of pine and oak. It is, in a word, one of the most desirable cattle- ranges in Arizona, having in many respects the general character of the valley of the San Simeon, but with more and better pasture. Water is abundant enough for herding purposes, though H does not extend far out of the mountains into the Mains during the dry season. Along the edge of the creek- bed there is a fine growth of button- wood, oak, and the small variety of walnut. The large herd of cattle belonging to the agency, with the Indian ponies, in all numbering several hundred head of animals, were ranging at will about the immediate vicinity, all looking in good condition, and without perceptibly diminishing the pasturage. Sulphur Spring, twenty- five miles west of this agency and fifteen east of the Dragoon Mountains, is likewise an important location, from its abundant supply of good grass. Before reaching it the road for miles lay through a dense growth of saccatone-grass, which was of infinitely less value than the shorter grama that fairly covered the ground at the springs. Without exception, this was the best location for this we had seen. Associated with it were a number of other species of scarcely less value. The water is warm, hut sufficient for grazing purposes. Earlier in the season this would doubtless prove a most interesting botanical locality. Goniphrona globosa and Pedis films were blooming in great profusion on the hill near the house. The neighboring Dragoon Mountains are yet in possession of the Indians, but will some day offer desirable locations for stock- ranches. There are several fine springs in them. The grass within reach of them is nearly inexhaustible. The tipper crossing of the San Pedro iB thirty miles south of west from Sulphur Spring. The road to it nearing the river lay through a dense growth of Acacia con-strielaj mesquite, and dwarfed pines. Quite a large number of cattle roam over the adjacent region. At this crossing there iB little or nothing done in the way of agriculture, though a few miles below along the stream a mixed Mexican and American population has occupied the land. They have productive farms, and supply much of the barley and corn for the Territory. All the ordinary vegetables of the country prow-well there. There are now several thousand acres under cultivation. The divide south of this is too dry to be of any use, except when cattle can be driven either to the Cienega or San Pedro for water from the hills. The soil is largely made up of sand and gravel detritus from the adjacent higher ground. Near the Cienega there is a most luxuriant growth of saccatone- grass on the flats, which, thongh of little value in itself, indicates that the soil is capable of producing more important crops. The prevailing vegetation on the hills is the ubiquitous creosote- plant. Anemopsis Californica and a Sareostemma grow abundantly on the damp ground near the water. The location is a good one for a stock- ranch. I shall refer to this, the San Pedro and the Sonoita Valley, under the head of PREVAILING DISEASES. Sooth of the Cienega the Santa Rita Mountains rise probably 10,500 feet above the |