paches and Utahs steal these herds they always take the young
herders along in order to look after the property in their mountain
retreats. They rarely mortally injure these boys, for they say that
it is against their own interest to do so; but instead, they prefer to
save their lives, so that they may be useful in guarding other flocks
which, perchance, may fall into their hands. Most of these youthful
prisoners in time make their escape; and, after a series of hardships,
return safe to their homes. Many Mexicans can give such adventures of
their early experience, but scarcely one of them can recall a single
kind act shown them by their captors save the mere sparing of their
lives.

As we were viewing the herd, we thought that we noticed the figures of
the horsemen throwing themselves from one side to the other of their
horses, as if very busily employed in frightening the sheep. We now
held a council, and decided that our best policy was to quit the main
road, as it was crooked, and make a straight march across the prairies
for the town of Red River, which was located about twenty miles in our
advance. It was our opinion, which afterwards proved to be correct,
that, if the Indians were stealing the stock belonging to the town of
Costillo, they were also engaged in attacking the place itself. For,
while a strong party were engaged in drawing off the attention of
the people, another would be driving off the cattle, sheep, etc. To
return, therefore, would be almost certain death; so, at a full gallop
we commenced our direct course. As the sage bushes were thick and high
and the ground much broken by various kind of holes, we soon found
that we had our hands full in managing our horses. We had hardly
started afresh before our eyes were attracted to one side of us; and
in the direction of the Rio del Norte, which runs through the
valley, saw, what we at first considered to be, antelope; but which,
afterwards, proved to be Indians in pursuit of us. As we watched
closely these supposed antelope; we remarked that they kept in Indian
file, and that the course they were on would diagonally intercept
our own point of the compass. We began now to suspect that the white
appearance assumed by these objects was owing to the strong sunlight
which dazzled our eyesight, and struck on the dressed side of buffalo
robes, and that in these robes were concealed human beings who had
formed the determination to have our scalps.

During the