The marvellous country, or, Three years in Arizona and New Mexico.: Containing an authentic history of this wonderful country and its ancient civilization ... together with a full and complete history of the Apache tribe of Indians .../ By Samuel Woodworth Cozzens. Illustrated by more than one hundred engravings.

120 PREPARATIONS FOR THE FEAST'.
dition amounted to thirty head of cattle, fifty mules, sixteen
ponies, and six scalps, which, he took particular pains to
impress upon me, were Mexican scalps. He also told me
that there was to be a grand feast and scalp-dance in honor
of their recent successful raid, and that it would be advisa])le for me to be present at the ceremonies; that I was
perfectly safe; that no one would harm me; that his tribe
were not thieves, but Apaches.
Unsatisfactory as these assurances were, I consoled myself
as best I could, and accepted his invitation with expressions
of pleasure which I was far from experiencing.
I spent the greater portion of the day in strolling about
the rancheria, visiting the huts, and conversing with those
who understood Spanish. From them I gathered some information concerning the surrounding country. I ascertained that the village contained nut far from seven hundred
inhabitants, and that the home of Mangus Colorado was
situated nearly a league to the westward, where he lived,
surrounded by about one hundred of his braves and their
families. That no white man had ever before visited the
ranchera. That the country around abounded in game,
and that large quantities of (oro) gold were to be found in
the cafions and gulches about five leagues to the north of
them.
Seeing that a crowd had gathered in the lower portion
of the village, I walked towards it, and saw a number of