litarian standpoint. When out on
parade they float lazily across the sky, casting their moving shadows
below. The figures resemble a mammoth pattern of crazy patchwork in a
state of evolution spread out for inspection.

The impression that is made while looking out upon such a scene is that
of deep silence. Everything is hushed and still; but, by listening
attentively, the number of faint sounds that reach the ear in an
undertone is surprising. The soft soughing of the wind in the trees;
the gentle rustle of the grass as it is swayed by the passing breeze;
the musical ripple of water as it gurgles from the spring; the piping
of the quail as it calls to its mate; the twitter of little birds
flitting from bush to bough; the chirp of the cricket and drone of the
beetle are among the sounds that are heard and fall soothingly upon the
ear.

The trees growing upon the hillside bear a striking resemblance to an
old orchard and are a reminder of home where in childhood the hand
delighted to pluck luscious fruit from drooping boughs. A walk among
the trees makes it easy to imagine that you are in some such familiar
but neglected haunt, and instinctively you look about expecting to see
the old house that was once called home and hear the welcome voice and
footfall of cherished memory. It is no little disappointment to be
roused from such a reverie to find the resemblance only a delusion and
the spot deserted. Forsaken as it has been for many years by the
native savage Indians and prowling wild beasts, the land waits in
silence and patience the coming of the husbandman.

CHAPTER II

MY FIRST TRIP TO ARIZONA

I recall with vivid distinctness my first trip to Arizona and
introduction to ranch life in the spring of 1884. The experience made
a deep impression and has led me to repeat the visit many times since
then, with increased interest and pleasure.

During the previous year my brother located a cattle ranch for us in
Railroad Pass in southeastern Arizona. The gap is one of a series of
natural depressions in a succession of mountain chains on the
thirty-second parallel route, all the way from New Orleans to San
Francisco over a distance of nearly twenty-five hundred miles. The
Southern Pacific Railroad is built upon this route and has the easiest
grade of any transcontinental line.

Railroad Pass is a wide break between two mountain ranges and is a fine
grazing section. It is handsomely bounded and presents