d their ancestors,
from the contaminating influences of the outside world.

These Indians are a simple, honest, industrious tribe, quite superior to
their present situation, and claim that their ancestors have occupied the
country for more than a thousand years, and were far more civilized than
themselves.

Many of them are as black as negroes, and nearly all are fine specimens
of physical beauty. Still, as a race, they, like the old church, are but
a wreck of former greatness.

A ride of eight miles brought us to the town of Tucson, through which our
wagons passed to the Pico Chico Mountain, five miles beyond, where we
made our camp.

This was formerly an old Mexican fort, and was abandoned in 1853, after
the survey of the boundary line between Mexico and the United States.

We were here informed, that the Apaches had attacked and captured a small
train that was travelling over the route we were following, only the week
before; consequently, our chances of getting through unmolested were very
good; a piece of information that we received gladly.

The boys and myself spent several hours in Tucson, looking about the
town, and its many curiosities, being especially interested in several
half-naked, dirty Apaches, which were lounging about, with large nuggets
of gold tied up in their filthy rags.

Horse-racing, wrestling, gambling, drinking mescal, and shooting people,
seemed to be the principal occupation of its inhabitants, who, as a
whole, were about as villainous a looking set of cut-throats as could be
found west of the Rio Grande.

CHAPTER XVI.

Tucson is located in the heart of the great silver and gold bearing
regions of Arizona, and it was exceedingly difficult to prevent the boys
from loading themselves with specimens of the many ores offered for sale,
by every loafer, greaser, and Indian, that we met on the street.

Hal managed to absent himself for a short time; and, when I found him,
had traded Ned's watch for about as small and lively a specimen of a
Mexican mule as I ever saw, which, he assured me in good faith, he had
bought for Patsey's exclusive use.

I afterwards learned from Ned, that, ever since the boy had become the
owner of a buckskin suit, he imagined that it little comported with the
dignity of a person who could sport "sich an illegant suit, to ride in
wagins, or walk afoot, whin he ought to ride on horseback, like a
gintilmon;" promising, that, if Hal would procure him a mule in T