Camp and Travel in New Mexico [pp. 347-369]

60Camp and Travel in New Me-eico.
his blacksnake; and while the sun was
setting, Johnson left us, his man follow ing reluctantly, as usual.
Johnson was more or less right. We
were the worst teamsters imaginable.
If our mules tried to avoid ruts, rocks,
and other torments along the road, we
always pulled the lines just in time for
the wheels to collide with them. He
could sit hours on his high seat and look
steadily at the road in front of his mules,
while we looked anywhere and every where else; and he could cook his sup per in comfort at a deserted camp-fire,
among old cast-off socks and dishrags,
while we could not.
We were in serious trouble at last, as
at this point began the notorious and
much dreaded Jornada del Muerto,
across which all must, as if their deeds
were evil, travel at night, and rest
through the bright hours. We had felt
much comfort in having company to
cross it with; and there we were at the
moment of starting, doomed to go
alone,'as we might need to wait weeks
for other company over the seventy-odd
miles of desert, with its high-priced water, and grass enough, if only we dared
let the mules eat it. Many were the
desperate battles that had been fought
thereon with attacking Indians by the
weary emigrants. Many poor pilgrim
men, women, and innocent little children, had upon these desert sands yielded their scalps to the scalping knife, and
then perished from pain and thirst.
Many were the human carcasses that
along its trail had been gnawed by coyotes, and picked by the buzzards, and
their skeletons left to be kicked about
by the four desert winds, and crumble
away with time, till the last remnants
of those who were in their time human
beings, as real, active, and sensitive, as
we, were obliterated from earth.
It was widely rumored that many of
the cut-throat class among the Mexicans, too, circulated over the desert in
ambush, and luxuriated among the can
ons of the Sierra Soledad Mountains, to
the east of the road, making it doubtful,
when travelers were attacked and killed,
whether they or the Indians did it; as
they had studied the Indian mode of
warfare and slaughter, to imitate it, so
that the blame would all be cast upon
the Indians.
We knew that Johnson would, as all
travelers did, urge on his mules to their
utmost strength in hurrying over to
safer quarters, leaving us no chance to
overtake him; for even could we get a
new axle made and put in place by day break, we dared not drive out until dusk
in the evening, which would put us twen ty-four hours behind him.
As Johnson drove away, Mrs. Baker
and I looked at each other in despair.
She had little thought for herself, but
Ida -what if Indians should attack us
and kill Ida, or carry her away with them
as an orphaned prisoner? And if we
were attacked, would she not find herself the only fighter in our camp? She
said nothing to reflect on my cowardice,
but I knew that she had some evidence,
at least, that I was scarcely yet out of
my childhood, and was not, like herself,
proof against hysteria. If a mule should
be shot, she knew that the calamity
would either make me fight more fiercely, or break down and lose consciousness, and she did not know which we
might expect.
Clark had gone on ahead, but, on looking back to know what caused the delay,
and what we were parleying about, he
discovered our broken-down condition,
and returned, saying with a smile: "Let
me wait and go with you. I'll do it, if
you say so." And so, between protest
and pressure of circumstances, we accepted him for escort.
The following day, as the sun was
again setting, we resumed our journey.
For ten miles we pulled through sand,
and then the road improved a trifle, as
we turned to the right of it, leaving
Lone Mountain and Round Mountain
360
[October,