ad turned, for a moment, into the river, and after
passing for a few rods in the river-bed, struck up again onto the bank.
At this place we made a fatal blunder. When the road went down into the
river, supposing that we were about to ford, we kept straight across the
stream. Finding a road upon the other side we had no suspicion but what
we were going well and travelled onward. For a long time we found trails
of varying degree of badness. Sometimes the branches formed a complete
tangle which, even in the daytime, would have required careful watching.
As it was, the faces of the party were well scratched with thorns.
Sometimes, we seemed to be on a good road; at others, we had hardly
found a trail. At one place we passed a ranch--Corral de San Diego. A
host of barking dogs announced our coming, and we cried out to the old
man living there to tell us the road. His directions were not clear, but
in attempting to follow them, we retraced our trail, and then struck
into another road. Keeping to it until we really could not follow
it further for the tangle, we retraced our steps until we came to a
cart-road crossing that on which we were. We started first to the right
upon this; then, concluding we were wrong, turned about and went the
other way. We soon found ourselves off the road again, and travelling
blindly through the brush. Coming to a round patch of clear sand, to
which the trail on which we were seemed to have led us, we could find no
way out. Convinced that we were hopelessly lost, we camped out upon the
sand for the night. Fortunately we had a little corn with us which we
gave to the horses, after which we tied them to the trees. As we lay
upon the sand in the bright moonlight, we could hear the dashing of the
sea waves not far away. The heat was intolerable and the mosquitoes
venomous. We secured no rest, and, at the first signs of day, were ready
for our start. The two boys went out to hunt a rabbit, but returned
with most discouraging reports. While they were absent, Don Anselmo and
myself were left in camp. Suddenly he cried out that our horses
were running away; such was really the case. The last one was just
disappearing in the brush and Anselmo started after them, leaving me
to keep the camp. When the other two returned, they, too, started in
pursuit. After a hard chase, the animals were captured and brought back.
By seven we had mounted and were on our way. We retraced our trail of
the night before, going bac