r the land which is in his charge. "Monte," too,
seemed to consider that his presence as a guide and friend would be
necessary to the party, and came along with us; he is a "wild" dog of
the deerhound type, who was taken as a tiny puppy from a litter found in
a wood near Los Moyes, and has ever since been devoted to his captors.
There is a calm air of disinterested abstraction about "Monte" which is
very satisfying, and he is undoubtedly a philosopher. One of the two
Indian guides we picked up during the day's journey also had a dog, but
it was of a very different appearance and character to "Monte." "Monte"
looked on mankind in general as needing his care and supervision, while
the little black smooth-haired terrier felt "the great passion" for one
alone. His master was evidently his god, and if he lost sight of
"master" for two minutes it was really touching to hear his cries,
almost like those of a child, as he tried to trace his master through
the shallow water which we sometimes crossed.

His yelps as he splashed along, nose to the ground, almost voiced the
sentiment:--

"Rank and wealth I pass unheeding,
Never giving them their due;
For my heart and soul are needing,
Nothing in the world but "YOU!"

And he and his "YOU" were never very far apart.

In a country where kindness to animals is not considered necessary, and
is very rarely found, this example of devotion between dog and man was
all the more noticeable and appreciated. Needless to say, as soon as The
Saint observed it she wanted to "give the man a present," and was only
restrained from doing so because she had nothing suitable for
presentation in her luggage, or in that of The Instigator.

About one o'clock we came to the banks of the Salado, concerning the
crossing of which river we had heard so much. We had been told it was
impossible and impassable; that the rains had swollen the river too much
for a safe passage; that at the best of times the banks were too steep
and slippery for carts to negotiate, and that all idea of crossing had
better be given up. The Instigator and The Jehu merely smiled when they
heard of these difficulties, but some members of the party had wondered
how the traversing of that river was to be accomplished, and they were
agreeably surprised, on reaching the spot chosen for crossing, to find
that a tenant had built a narrow "tajamar," or earth bank, across the
river, which at this place was not very wide