Sham-o-pari [pp. 316-319]

Sham-o-parli.
He escorted me to his camp, where Don
Luis, the caporal, or foreman, gave me a pres sing invitation to spend the night at their
camp fire.
The night was cold and blustering- it was
the r6th of November -but a wind-break
had been built of camisa brush, and a fire of
the same material burned brightly. Reclin ing on sheepskins around the fire, we ate a
bountiful supper of roast mutton, sul)ple mented by plenty of strong coffee, and the
evening was passed in listening to recitals of
skirmishes with the Indians and Apache
raids, with occasionally a song in Spanish. I
dropped asleep just as Manuel and Jose had
finished counting the matches in a box to
see who was to have the extra blanket, and
Jose getting the last match, Manuel pre pared to turn in under a gunny sack.
The morning broke cloudy and cold, and
in the midst of a high wind I saddled my
horse, and with a " ben viaje" from the Mexcatns, started ou t. Clouds of dust and sand
were blown across the trail, almost obliterating it; but as the wind was blowing in the
direction in which I was going, traveling was
possible. As upon the previous day, the
trail for miles led over a level prairie, then
through a narrow rockycafon, and ddbouched
into another prairie, on the other side of
which I observed a range of rocky bluffs upon
which I was certain I would find Sham-opari.
The wind, which had been blowing fiercely
all day, increased in force. The sky was
overcast with leaden clouds, and there was
every indication of a heavy stormn. Not wishing to be caught on the open p,rairie, I
spurred my horse to his utmost to reach the
bluffs, but although I was shortening the distance rapidly, the storm approached with a
still greater velocity. The snow began to
fall, and I realized that I was caught in a
blizzard.
Only those who have experienced it can
know tha awful force of these storms in a
prairie country. The whirling, blinding snow
obscured everything, and only for a few feet
on either side of the almost obliterated trail
could objects be discerned. I turned in hope
of reaching the caion that I had passed, so as
to get the shelter of the rocks, but the pierc ing wind compelled me to "face about"
immediately. I became so cold that I was
obliged to dismount and walk to keep up the
circulation.
I trudged on, seemingly for hours, without
the sign of a rock or of a gulch in which I
could take shelter. My horse, covered with
snow, with icicles hanging from his shaggy
mane, followed with downcast head behind
me, and at every step my dog would crouch
at my feet for protection from the cutting
wind. I surely should have reached the
cliffs by this time. Could I have wandered
off on one of the many trails leading out into
the open plain? If so, death from freezing
was inevitable. There was not a stick nor a
bush that could have been used for fuel, even
if a fire could have been thought of in that
terrible wind.
Instances that I had heard of persons hlaving been caught in blizzards, and having perished, flashed through my mind with a vividness that appalled me. There was to be
done, however, nothing but to keep going
onward.
Finally the country became more broken,
an indication that I was nearing the bluffs.
But as I had been told that the village was
on a mesa nine hundred feet high, this was
far from reassuring.
The trail wound around the base of the
bluff, and looking up its precipitous side I
thought I distinguished a house. I climbed
towards it, only to find that it was a rock.
But behind it, striving to gel some shelter
from the storm, were a group of Indian burros.
The sight of them gave me new courage,
and leaving lmy horse with them, - for nmy
hands were so frozen that I could no longer
hold the rope, - I continued the ascent of
the cliff, and crossing its brow saw a short
distance before me the wall of the village,
and soon was safely there.
I found an arched passage in the wall,
passing through which I entered a plaza or
open square. Owing to the extreme cold
the streets were deserted. On every side
1888.]
317