e. Besides,
our principal guide, Agustin Rios, became dangerously ill. He was
sixty-five years old, and I decided to send him back.

When I hired him I had not been aware that he was afflicted with an
incurable disease, and that on this account his wife had tried to
keep him at home. Now he had to be carried on a sort of palanquin
constructed for the occasion, and I regret to state that he died
before he reached his home in Nacori. He had been a reliable man,
and his loss was very deplorable.

Before he left he gave me directions for finding a rather large ancient
pueblo, which he had come across once in the sierra, and of which he
frequently spoke to us. However, our search for it proved fruitless,
and I am inclined to think that it would probably not have differed
much from those we found later on Bavispe River.

From now on I made it a rule to send three or four men about two days
ahead of the main body of the expedition, to make a path. Occasionally
they were guided by Apache tracks, but for the most part we cut our own
way through the wilderness. Instead of adopting the Mexican method of
going uphill as straight as practicable, I had the trail cut zigzag,
and to this I attribute the fact that I was able to pull through at
all, as it saved the animals an immense amount of strain. The steepest
inclination we ascended was 40 deg., while for the most part we climbed
at an angle of about 30 deg.. On some of the ridges, in order to help an
animal up, one man had to drag it by a line, while two others pushed
it from behind. In many places the mules had to be led one by one
along the narrow edge of chasms.

To look at these mountains is a soul-inspiring sensation; but to travel
over them is exhaustive to muscle and patience. And the possibility
of losing at any moment perhaps the most valuable part of your outfit
is a constant and severe strain on your mind. Nobody except those who
have travelled in the Mexican mountains can understand and appreciate
the difficulties and anxieties attending such a journey. Not only the
animals themselves, but everything they carry is vital to the success
of the expedition, and there is always a danger that, for instance,
your camera and photographic outfit, and the priceless collection of
negatives already taken, may roll down a precipice.

A mule with its bulky pack is, to a certain extent, helpless on these
narrow mountain trails. Old and experienced animals often manoeuvre
their p