le us to reach the mountain. We resolved to halt for a
short while, in order to rest the oxen. Unfortunately, the relief had
come too late for one of them. It had been his last stretch; and when
we were about to start again, we found that he had lain down and was
unable to rise. We saw that we must leave him; and, taking such harness
as we could find, we put the horse in his place, and moved onward. We
were in hopes of finding another little garden of cactus plants; but
none appeared, and we toiled on, suffering as before.

"When we had got within about five miles of the mountain-foot, the other
ox broke down, and fell--as we supposed--dead. We could take the wagon
no farther; but it was no time either to hesitate or halt: we must try
it afoot, or perish where we were.

"I loosed out the horse, and left him to his will--I saw he was no
longer able to carry any of us. I took an axe from the wagon--also a
tin-pot, and a piece of dry beef that still remained to us. Cudjo
shouldered the axe and little Mary; I carried the beef, the pot, Luisa,
and my rifle; while my wife, Frank, and Harry, each held something in
their hands. Thus burdened, we bade adieu to the wagon, and struck off
toward the mountain. The dogs followed; and the poor horse, not willing
to be left behind, came tottering after.

"There is not much more of that journey to be detailed. We toiled
through the five miles the best way we could. As we drew nearer to the
mountain, we could see deep dark ravines running down its sides, and in
the bottom of one we distinguished a silvery thread, which we knew was
the foam of water as it dashed over the rocks. The sight gave us new
energy, and in another hour we had reached the banks of a crystal
stream, and were offering thanks for our deliverance."

CHAPTER TEN.

ADVENTURE WITH AN ARMADILLO.

"Well, my friends, we had arrived on the banks of a rivulet, and were
thanking God for bringing us safely there. We soon satisfied our
thirst, as you may believe, and began to look around us. The stream we
had reached was not that which runs into the valley here, but altogether
on the other side of the mountain. It was but a mere rill, and I saw
that several similar ones issued from the ravines, and after running a
short distance into the plain, fell off toward the south-east, and
united with others running from that side. I found afterwards that they
all joined into the same channel, forming a considera