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108
ROCHESTER ALUMNI R E V I E W
Historical Ruins of Tumacacori Mission Which Provided a Haven for the Author
it was not carried out, as it was agreed
that if anyone attenwted to get in the noise
and delay in removing the barricades would
give u time to get our artillery into action.
We were wel l armed, as nearly all travelers
were in those d ays. N oth ing disturbed
au r sleep, however, and after an
early breakfast we found our stock allrigh t.
I have read th at years ago there were
smelter at this mission , where the padres
reduced the ilver are brought in from
nearby mines. I will vouch for the fact ,
for we saw and examined them that morning,
and though made of adobe they were
in a fairly good state of preservation. There
were small slivers of high grade are on
the dump, and I succeeded in fishing up
an attractive small piece of silver-glance
are which I k ept as a souvenir.
A Cold Foot-Bath
'Vith packs adj usted , we started directly
aero the valley to get into the main road.
The river wa running quite a stream,
and the bottom was bad. One of the pack
animal got down, the one on which was
packed many of the eatables incl ud ing a
good upply of ugar. It took two or
three of us in the water leg-deep to get him
up a � d out, and the water that J anuary
mormng was not of the tempera ture for a
comfortable bath.
Once in the wagon road our leader di­
vulged his plan for defence ' : each man was
to walk and lead hi horse, carryi ng his
gun slung across his left arm and to drop
a hundred steps behind the man in front.
This was because of the dense mesquite
brush, or "monte," through which the
road ran. In case of an attack at any
point, those in the rear or the lead, as the
case migh t be, could Rank the attacking
party. This was fun and exciting for a
few miles, but a drizzling rain set in, and,
moreover, those of us who had been in
the river hadn 't dried off, and trampin g
along the muddy road ceased to be exciting
in the least. At noon we took a short
rest and a cold lunch. Everyone wore a
grouch and pronounced this unnecessary
precaution all nonsense. However, the
struggling procession was kept up until
about 4 p. m., when we went into camp on
the bank of the Santa Cruz at the Boseque
Ranch.
A Hapless Wanderer
A cheerful fire, the odor of coffee in the
pot, an appetizing kettle of beans that had
not been on the pack with the sugar, together
with the sizzling of bacon in the
frying pan, served to put all hands in a
better humor. But just as someone sang
out, "Come and get it !", there appeared
on the road leading into our camp a crazy
looking, hatless and watless individual of
our own race and color. His lips moved,
and he spoke disj ointed words, for he was
so "het up" that he stuttered. However,
we soon go t enough from him to learn that