either
carried the child away,' thought I, `or the fierce wolves have devoured
it altogether.'

"In one of the wagons I found an old mess-chest lying hid under some
rubbish. It had escaped the hurried plunder of the savages. On opening
it, I saw that it contained, among other things, some coffee and several
pounds of jerked meat. This was a fortunate event, for the meat and
coffee nourished me, until I was able to gather a sufficient quantity of
the pinons.

"In this way I spent a whole month, sleeping in one of the wagons at
night, and crawling off to collect pinons during the day. I had but
little fear that the Indians would return; for I knew that that part of
the country was not inhabited by any tribe; and we must have fallen in
with a party of the Arapahoes, wandering out of their usual range. As
soon as I grew strong enough, I dug a grave, where I interred the
remains of my poor wife; and now I began to think of taking my leave of
that melancholy scene.

"I knew that I was not much more than a hundred miles distant from the
eastern settlements of New Mexico; but a hundred miles of uninhabited
wilderness, and on foot, was a barrier that seemed almost as impassable
as the ocean itself. I was determined, however, to make the attempt;
and I set about sewing a bag in which I should carry my roasted pinons--
the only provision I could get to sustain me through the journey.

"While engaged in this operation, with my eyes fixed upon the work, I
heard footsteps near me. I raised my head suddenly, and in alarm. What
was my joy, when I saw that the object which had startled me was neither
more nor less than a mule, that was slowly coming towards the camp! I
recognised it as one of the mules that had belonged to our caravan.

"The animal had not yet observed me; and I thought it might shy away, if
I showed myself too suddenly. I resolved, therefore, to capture it by
stratagem. I crept into the wagon, where I knew there was a lazo; and
having got hold of this, I placed myself in ambush, where I saw the mule
would most likely pass. I had scarcely got the noose ready, when, to my
extreme satisfaction, the mule came directly to where I lay expecting
it. The next moment its neck was firmly grasped in the loop of the
lazo, and the animal itself stood tied to the tongue of one of the
wagons. It was one of our mules that had escaped from the Indians, and
after wandering over the country for weeks had now found the