Chapter I: C. Wood, Superintendent (1)

WASHINGTON CITY, D. C., _March --, 1858_.

SIR: In compliance with your request, I beg leave to submit the following report, showing the present condition of the mail stage line running semi-monthly between San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California, containing also extracts from the journal of my trip over the line and back.

I have here grouped together observations, made from time to time, along the road, of the soil, climate, distances, deserts, mountains, supplies of wood, water, and grass, arable land, pasturage, and general character of the road we stage over. I have endeavored to avoid inserting anything except what I learned from the experiences of my trip; but the statements of the distances and altitudes are from government surveys, as I had neither time to measure the road nor to ascertain its altitudes.

_Extracts from my journal._

_June 12, 1857._--The late James E. Birch entered into a contract with your department for the transmission of a semi-monthly mail to and from San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California. I had been laboring in connexion with Mr. Birch during the period in which the great overland mail letting was pending, and, in compliance with the understanding between us, I took charge of the execution of this contract.

_June 15._--To-day I despatched a man from New York, with instructions to proceed at once to San Antonio, Texas, and there to purchase a suitable outfit with which to take the first mail, namely, that of July 9th, through to San Diego. That he might be able to transport the mail through in proper shape, and in schedule time if possible, I wrote a full authority for him to act in any emergency which might arise on the road, and also gave him the cash necessary to carry out these instructions. Never having travelled the road, I was of course unable to give specific directions to the first conductor, but depended, in a great degree, on his discretion.

_June 20._--By the mail steamer to California to-day I forwarded full instructions to Mr. R. E. Doyle, of San Francisco, accompanied by an authority from Mr. Birch to him, in virtue of which he was to take the management of that portion of the mail line running west of Tucson. I instructed Mr. Doyle to start the first mail, if possible, on the 24th of July, from San Diego.

[I subsequently learned, and insert the facts here to make my report more connected, that these instructions reached Mr. Doyle on the 13th of July; the steamer for San Diego would sail on the 18th, thus leaving him only five days for making his preparations. Mr. Doyle agreed to take an interest, and to advance the money needed to commence service on the Pacific end of the line. The purchase and shipment of the necessary saddles, bridles, blankets, rations, arms, &c., as well as the selection of the first conductors and guard, was a work requiring more than five days. The first outfit, all but the animals, was shipped to San Diego on the 18th; the steamer arrived there on her usual time, namely, July 21st, leaving three days only in which to purchase the required animals. The difficulty in finding suitable mules proved greater than was anticipated, and the outfit, though nearly complete, could not be made ready to leave at 6 a. m. of the 24th, according to contract. The first mail for San Antonio left San Diego on the 9th of August; relays of animals having previously been sent forward to Fort Yuma.]

_June 23._--From the 12th, the date of the signing of the contract, up to this date, I had been engaged in the necessary preliminary preparations for my journey to San Diego; also in making such purchases as I deemed indispensably necessary to be made in New York. My purchases in New York were limited, in comparison with the requirements of the line. I hardly knew myself what I wanted; therefore I determined to make the bulk of my purchases in San Antonio, where I hoped to get some reliable information as to my new duties.

To-day Mr. Birch gave me my authority to act for him, which authority was made out in the form of a common letter, addressed by him to me, instead of a power of attorney. His purpose was to convey to me the most unlimited powers. I enclose a copy of this document.

NEW YORK, _June 23, 1857_.

DEAR SIR: I have taken a contract with the Postmaster General to
carry the United States mail between San Diego and San Antonio twice
a month for four years, a copy of which contract you have been
furnished with. I wish you to take charge, for me, of the fulfilment
of this contract, and of any additions that may be made to it, as
my general agent for the purpose. After making all preliminary
arrangements which you deem proper, I desire you to proceed to the
line of the route, put it into operation, and perform the service.
You are authorized by me to make all the contracts, and do all things
you may deem necessary or proper for the purpose, having the same
authority in the premises that I would myself if present. To carry
out the above, I hand you certificates of deposit--

Ten of $1,000 each $10,000 00
Forty of $200 each 8,000 00
Cash 800 00
Advanced James Mason 1,200 00
----------
20,000 00
==========

To be distributed on my account.

JAMES E. BIRCH.

Mr. I. C. WOODS.

_June 24._--I left this morning for San Antonio, _via_ Chicago, Cairo, and New Orleans. The only assistant I took with me was a young gentleman of liberal education, who was acquainted with English, French, and Spanish, as well as the German, his native language. I have since found that it is an indispensible requisite to the economical management of our line that all mail conductors and agents should speak the Spanish language; we make a point of this now in selecting men for our service.

_July 5._--Having been detained on the way by business and railroad accidents, I only reached New Orleans the night before last, missing the mail connexion to Indianola. To-day I received a telegraphic communication from Mr. Birch, informing me that he would leave New York that day per steamer for California. It had been agreed between us that we were to meet in San Diego as soon as I could reach there.

[In the course of my journal I shall refer again to this appointment, though I deem it proper to mention here that I never saw Mr. Birch after we parted on the 23d June. He was lost in the Central America September 11th, three days after I reached the Pacific.]

_July 7._--We were due in Indianola this morning at daylight, but unfortunately grounded in a fog on a sand bar at the entrance of the bay, which lost us the connexion with the coach for San Antonio. This delay prevented my attending in person to despatching the mail of the 9th from San Antonio, as I had much desired to do.

_July 11._--Reached San Antonio to-day at 4 p. m.

_July 13, Monday._--As my letter of authority will show, Mr. Birch gave me eighteen thousand eight hundred dollars in hand. After deducting the cost of some purchases of arms and clothing made in New York, I have, on reaching San Antonio, about seventeen thousand seven hundred dollars. With this money I commenced operations at once. To-day I hired a corral and office, also commenced making arrangements for men, in all of which I was very kindly assisted by Mr. G. H. Giddings.

_July 16._--Busily engaged in purchasing mules and the necessary articles to fit out the mail trains. To-day I hired Captain Henry Skillman as a conductor to take the mail of the 24th through to the Pimos villages, with which country he is very familiar. After this first trip through he is to run regularly on the Arizona section. Captain Skillman is, I believe, well known to your department as the first contractor for the mail between San Antonio and Santa Fé.

_July 19._--To-day I despatch an extra train with stores for the road, and under instructions to go as far as Fort Lancaster, three hundred miles from here, and then to return. By this train I sent relays to be used by the up mail of the 24th, which is to be under charge of Captain Skillman. Nine mules were to be left at Fort Clarke, and eighteen at Fort Lancaster.

[This train was attacked and captured on Devil’s river by the Indians. I have referred to it more particularly in the course of my journal.]

_July 22._--Mr. Giddings’ mail in from El Paso; they met our mail of July 9 getting along safely, though slowly.

_July 24._--Punctual to the hour named in the contract, 6 a. m., I this morning despatched the mail coach from the Plaza with the through mail to San Diego. The postmaster made up mails also for all the intermediate military posts on our route, although supplying them was not at first contemplated in the contract. Desiring to manifest, from the first, a spirit of accommodation to all parties, we were happy to take charge of anything the postmaster chose to send. This mail was the second _through mail_ which had left San Antonio, being at the same time the first that had been sent forward in a coach. This outfit consisted of--

One coach and harness.

Six men, well armed with rifles, and a Colt’s pistol to each.

Four saddles and accoutrements.

Ropes, hopples, shoeing tools, shoes and nails.

Cooking utensils, and numerous minor articles.

Provisions for thirty days, calculated to last to the Pimos villages and back to El Paso.

Thirty-six mules; of these, twenty-seven had been sent forward on the road as relays.

Also six hundred dollars in cash to purchase supplies on the route.

[It was twenty-one of these mules which were captured on Devil’s river by the Indians; see journal of June 19 and August 2.]

[To insure this mail getting through in schedule time, if possible, I gave Capt. Skillman authority to act for the line in any emergencies which might arise. The reputation which he enjoyed in San Antonio fully warranted me in entrusting this pioneer coach to him, and I subsequently found him every way qualified for the service he had undertaken, as some interesting incidents connected with his trip will prove hereafter.]

[I will here add a brief sketch of the manner in which I had planned to send the mail through to San Diego. In my instructions of June 20 to Mr. R. E. Doyle, I had requested him to make all his arrangements to send the mails from San Diego as far east as the Pimos villages. In my plan of operation, taking San Antonio as the starting point, I would work westwardly, while with his plan of operation, with San Diego as the basis, he would work eastwardly, I proposed to make the connexions between the two systems at the Pimos villages. I calculated that Captain Skillman would reach these Pimos villages about the 17th of August, (he reached there August 20;) furthermore, that he could meet there the mail of August 9 from San Diego, and then he would return to El Paso in time to make the through connexion there with the mail train from San Antonio, which train I undertook to have in waiting. Owing to circumstances entirely beyond my control, and likely to arise only in a pioneer trip, the mail from San Diego failed to make the connexion at the Pimos villages by thirty-six hours. It was a part of the plan that Captain Skillman should purchase a complete new outfit of mules at El Paso, which he was unable to do.

At Cook’s Wells he overtook the mail of July 9 from San Antonio, waiting for an escort. The two trains proceeded together under charge of Captain Skillman as far as the Pimos villages, at which point the conductor of the mail of July 9 pushed on to San Diego with both mails, reaching his destination at 11 a. m. August 30. I have found no reason, as yet, to alter the system of mail connexion referred to in this note, though the place where we now join the eastern and western management is at Tucson, Arizona Territory. One hundred miles west of the Pimos villages each carrier now delivers the mails, and retraces the road with the return mail.]

_July 29._--Since my arrival in San Antonio, I had made every possible exertion to procure mules adapted to the purpose of staging. I drove about the country myself, and sent agents to purchase wherever we heard of any good mules for sale. As yet, the right kind come in slowly.

[There was another view which I took of my position as superintendent of the line, and one which governed me throughout in all my exertions. It was this:

An understanding existed between Mr. Birch and myself, that your department desired to have the new mail service commence at once, and to have it pushed, if possible, to an early and vigorous success. It had been from the first determined to spare neither money nor labor, if either, or both combined, could by any possibility produce the desired result. I had determined to go myself over the road and back again, in as short a period of time as was consistent with the proper discharge of my duties as superintendent. I had planned to leave San Antonio on the 1st of August for El Paso, with a train consisting of coaches, mules, rations, arms, men and general equipment, to be placed on that portion of our road situated in Arizona Territory, between El Paso and the Pimos villages.

I had further planned to reach El Paso in season to purchase the necessary mules with which to carry forward, in person, the mail for San Diego of 9th August. This mail I estimated would overtake me on the 21st or 22d at the last named place.]

_July 29._--After examining the subject thoroughly for several days past, I saw but one way in which to bring about the results I had in view within the time required. This was to purchase or hire the entire stock of mules and coaches used on the San Antonio and Santa Fé line, owned and run by G. H. Giddings, of San Antonio. Mr. Giddings had treated me with every possible consideration, and during the time I had been in San Antonio had rendered me as much assistance as though he had had a personal interest in the success of the enterprise. On the 26th I opened to him the matter of this purchase which I desired to make, and to-day made a conditional purchase of all the mules, coaches, and other property used on his mail route. The bringing of this property under my superintendence, in conjunction with the stock I had already purchased, would enable me to perform our mail service of twice a month, and also Mr. Giddings’ contract of once a month, with less stock than if the two lines had been run separately.

One of the most advantageous features of this arrangement with Mr. Giddings was his agreement to go to El Paso with the mail of August 9, there to remain as agent of this line during my necessary absence in California.

_July 31._--This morning I despatched the train of coaches, men, and supplies, referred to July 29. I shall take this train with me, and distribute it along the road wherever it is needed, principally to the west of El Paso.

This train, the fourth that had gone from San Antonio, and the third one I had sent off, consisted of three coaches and harness; seventeen men well armed with rifles, and a Colt’s pistol to each; thirty-eight mules; about four thousand pounds weight of rations, and equipments for the upper end of the line; ten saddles and accoutrements; also all the smaller articles usually sent forward in one of our mail trains.

_August 1._--Up to this date my personal luggage had not reached me from the coast, partly owing to my haste in leaving San Antonio, and partly to its not having been sent forward from Lavacca as speedily as it might have been after I had left it. Up to this date I have only seen my baggage once since leaving it at Lavacca the 9th of last July. It met me at El Paso, where I was compelled to leave it for want of room in my coach. To-day I left in the Santa Fé mail coach to overtake the train I sent out yesterday. We would travel together for several hundred miles.

Before I left San Antonio I completed the outfit for the up mail of August 9, in which mail Mr. Giddings was to come to El Paso, and the arrival of which I was to await there before proceeding westward on my journey.

The conductor of our train was compelled to remain all night in Castroville. This detention was in consequence of the herder having got intoxicated, and permitted six of our mules to stray. It was not prudent to go on and leave them behind in this condition, so we remained, in the hope of finding them in the morning by daylight.

Castroville is a very pretty town picturesquely situated on the west bank of the Medina river.

We found our road thus far to be an excellent one, though dusty at this time. The country through which we passed was parched and the grass dry, yielding but little nutriment to animals. It must be taken into consideration that southwestern Texas has had a partial drought for three successive seasons; this last year was the worst of all. Corn in San Antonio, and in the surrounding country, is now brought from New Orleans and from Mexico. We pay two dollars per bushel for all we consume. In seasons of good crops corn sells in and about San Antonio at fifty cents per bushel. Made 25 miles to-day.

[When I came back over this road in January the whole country was full of water; the river was barely passable, the roads were muddy and tedious all the way from Fort Clarke to San Antonio, and the prospects of a crop were excellent.]

_August 2._--Left Castroville at 4 a. m.; an hour afterwards we found five of our six missing mules grazing quietly by the road side unguarded. I thought at the time that this losing of mules was very strange, but I have since found it quite a feature in our business, and one that it is impossible to prevent. Animals are left behind because the mail cannot be detained waiting for broken down mules to recruit, or to find strayed stock. About 8 a. m. I met Captain Wallace, whom I had despatched from San Antonio on the 19th in charge of the train with relays for Captain Skillman. (See journal of that day and July 24.) All that now returned of a fine outfit was the conductor and one man on borrowed mules. A drizzling rain was falling, the two discomfitted mail men were wrapped in sombre looking blankets. One of them had his arm in a sling from a wound received in the fight, and indeed their whole appearance was well calculated to give their narrative of the loss a gloomy coloring to any one not familiar with Indian depredations.

The particulars of this disaster, as I gathered them from the two men, were as follows: The train was getting along finely on its way to Fort Lancaster, being at the time of the attack eighteen miles north of _Fort Hudson_. The Indians appeared suddenly on all sides of them from the chapparal, and commenced firing at the mules in the coach, the loose mules being a few hundred yards ahead. The frightened animals ran into a mezguer, turned short round, and broke the pole. As this accident prevented his keeping up with the _mulada_ ahead, the conductor, who was driving at the time, jumped from the box, called to a young man by the name of Clifford to follow him, and went to the assistance of the men driving the herd. Clifford was either surrounded by Indians, or wounded so that he was unable to get away from the coach, and died fighting hand to hand with the Indians. The conductor got the _mulada_ turned off from the road for the purpose of making a detour to escape his pursuers; but the chase was so hot, and one saddle mule having to be double mounted, they were compelled to betake themselves to running and leave the mules and property to their fate.

We lost coach and harness, twenty-one mules, provision and equipment, one hundred dollars in money, and one box of personal property valued at some hundreds of dollars, belonging to a sergeant’s wife at Fort Lancaster.

The Indians were supposed to be Camanches.

At Fort Hudson the conductor found a scouting party, of the second cavalry, from Fort Clarke. They had been on the Rio Grande, examining well known Indian trails which lead into Mexico. Captain Whiting, the officer in command of this scouting party, immediately started on the trail of the Indians who had captured our train. A party of infantry was kindly sent out by Lieutenant Fink, commanding at Fort Hudson, for the purpose of burying young Clifford and of bringing in the broken coach, if worth preservation.

Captain Whiting overtook the Indians and recaptured nearly all our mules, though many of them we found were ruined for stage purposes.

The accident was rather a disagreeable one to come upon us, in the outset of our enterprise. It seemed to place a number of great obstacles in my way. I hardly knew how to prevent its being repeated, or whether such attacks were to be of common occurrence. I knew not where to look for mules to replace those stolen, as good stage animals were not plenty in or about San Antonio. That which seemed another risk presented itself in the fact that Captain Skillman was only a few days behind Wallace’s train; this naturally suggested the thought that perhaps the Indians would remain concealed among the cañons of Devil’s river until he came along, and cut him off. On the other hand there seemed a chance that they would let a mail party like his pass unmolested, preferring to try us because we had a large _mulada_, and presented a temptation worth fighting for. However, I consoled myself with this fact that I had left a good outfit in San Antonio for the mail of August 9, and that furthermore I had then with me a strong party of men, sufficient, in my opinion, to guard the relays and property under my charge. I had time to consider as to my course before passing Fort Clarke. Commending my discomfited conductor to a surgeon at once, and promising to send such instructions from Fort Clarke as were rendered necessary by his loss, we went on our way.

Our route to-day has been over an excellent road passing through a country adapted to grazing, or capable of being cultivated to advantage, in seasons when rain enough falls to insure a crop. We camped at midnight five miles this side of “Uvalde.” Made a distance of 58 miles to-day.

_August 3._--Left our camp at 5 a. m. During the morning we passed a government train under charge of Captain John E. Pope, topographical engineers. Captain Pope is _en route_ for the Llano Estacado, near the 32d parallel of latitude, to experiment as to the practicability of procuring water there by means of artesian wells.

[When I returned over this portion of our road in January, I found that Captain Pope was at his camp near the mouth of Delaware creek. I consider it an excellent thing for this section of country that our government should undertake to establish or disprove the opinions expressed by many scientific men upon the question of obtaining water by means of artesian wells in the Llano Estacado of Texas, and on the high table lands of Arizona and New Mexico. I refer to this matter again in treating of the present watering places on our route, and in presenting my ideas of the proper method of securing an adequate supply of water at intermediate points.]

We cooked our breakfast this morning under the trees just outside of the tower of Uvalde. We have tin plates, tin cups, knives and forks, iron spoons, a gunny bag as a table cloth, and one seat in the shape of a water keg among eight of us. Camped for the night at 8 p. m. Made 42 miles to-day.

_August 4._--Left camp at 3 a. m. Reached Fort Clarke at 5 a. m. Left Fort Clarke at 1 p. m.

I wrote to Mr. Birch to-day, informing him of my progress up to this point, calling his attention particularly to the attack on Captain Wallace, which resulted in the loss of that complete outfit. I further advised him of having drawn on him at 90 days’ date for the sum of five thousand dollars, payable at the Bank of Manhattan Company, New York, at which I knew he kept his account. I requested Mr. Birch to remit this money at once from California to the cashier of the bank, as our agent at San Antonio would need money to purchase new stock with which to replace those stolen by the Indians; this letter I addressed to Sacramento, the city which would be his headquarters during his stay in California.

[Desiring to make this draft the basis of a further credit for our agent in San Antonio, I enclosed it to the firm there who had agreed to make advances to the line. I requested them to continue such advances according to promise, and further desired them to collect this draft of $5,000, passing the same to the credit of the line on open account. In consequence of Mr. Birch’s death this draft was not paid at maturity, but returned protested to Texas, and is supposed to have been in the mail on board the steamer Opelousas, which was lost in the Gulf.]

Before leaving San Antonio I procured an order, which General Twiggs gave me very cheerfully, requesting the commanders of the military posts in his division to give me an escort for the mail whenever I asked it. I did not deem it necessary at this time to ask for one, as I had with me twenty well-armed men. Under any circumstances, however, when we were required to make mail speed, this order for an escort would prove useless, inasmuch as by its terms I was required to furnish transportation to the soldiers. We could not do it and make mail time. To escort a train of supplies for us, at any time, such an order would prove very acceptable, when the speed is about one-half that of the mail.

In this same order of General Twiggs, of which I regret not having a copy, he gave us permission to place our mules in the government herd, and also to keep an hostler with them at each of the military posts.

Camped for the night, at 10½ p. m.; made 42 miles to-day. August 5. Left camp at 4.40.

Leaving Fort Clarke may be properly described as leaving the settlements for the Indian country. This fact in connexion with the recent accident to our train made us all now doubly cautious on our day and night guards.

At noon to-day we saw Indian signs around a water hole; these signs consisted of pony tracks, unshod hoofs, and moccasin prints; they were presumed by our most most expert frontier men to be only a few hours old. Camped for the night at 8 p. m.

Made 41 miles to-day.

_August 6._--Left camp at 4 a. m.

[After this day I did not note the precise hour of leaving camp in the morning, or of camping at night, because the jolting, or some other cause, had put my own watch out of order. Our hours, however, were much the same as they have been stated until passing the Tucson, west of which a large portion of the work was night service.--See Journal, Sept. 1st to 18th.]

In carrying the mail we do not drive all the time from our morning start to the night camp. We stop four times during the day; twice for our two meals of breakfast and dinner; breakfast after the morning drive, dinner about 4 o’clock. We also stop once for a nooning, and once about sunset to graze the mules, at which hour they seem to feed best.

We stopped half an hour to-day at Camp Hudson, situated at the second crossing of the San Pedro, or the Devil’s river; here I found the remnant of our coach, with the pole and ten spokes broken, the bars gone, the top all stripped, a bullet hole through the body from a gun, carbine, or some piece carrying a heavy ball, and fired by the Indians. Made 42 miles to-day.

_August 7._--To-day we crossed the Llano Estacado at the narrowest part. By my schedule of distances you will perceive it is only thirty miles from Howard Springs to Live Oak creek, and only a portion of the distance can be properly called the _staked plain_; in fact this is about its southern termination. Camped about midnight. Made 52 miles to-day.

_August 8._--Our morning drive brought us about breakfast time just outside the lines at Fort Lancaster. I learned that Captain Skillman had purchased a pair of mules here, and gone on in good condition. We have had a fine road, with abundance of good grazing, all the way from Fort Clarke to this post. Now that we have been a number of days on our journey, we find that many of our mules are becoming foot sore or tired; these are such as are new to the service, and they become, by the time the night drive is over, very much fatigued. Mules, with us, have to go through a period of hardening and a process of acclimation before they become adapted to the purposes of prairie staging. The speed at which we trot them, their hard work, the drinking of different kinds of water at different stopping places, all try the constitution of the animal, while even eating corn, which we feed to them at all times, whether on the road or at stations, is something to be learned. On the journey up from San Antonio to El Paso we change the limestone water of the coast for the water impregnated variously with vegetable matter, alkali, or sulphur. This change is found to affect men as well as all descriptions of stock, and mules often times give out when hard driven immediately after drinking either the waters of the Pecos or those of any of the watering places between that river and Fort Davis. Coming down the road from El Paso to San Antonio, reversing the course of this change, the water is not found to have the same effect. Took in a supply of corn, for which we paid $2 50 per bushel. Made 28 miles, camping on the Pecos at 8 p. m.

_August 9._--To-day we passed a freshly made grave which marked a spot which had recently been the scene of a battle between a party of soldiers and the Indians. I gathered the following particulars: The soldiers, under a sergeant, were escorting a mail which, previously to the letting of our contract, had been once a month transported by the quartermaster’s department to and from Fort Davis and Fort Clarke. While the soldiers were at dinner, a few Indians came into their camp, under the protection of a white flag, asking for something to eat. As it turned out from their subsequent attack, this visit was a ruse to ascertain the strength of the party, as well as to form an idea of their vigilance. The soldiers treated them well, gave them some trifles, and the Indians partook of their hospitality. At parting they shook hands and went off on the road ahead, leaving the soldiers without the slightest suspicion of any danger. A few hundred yards from their camping place, as the wagon was descending a short steep hill into a gully which runs from the mountains to the Pecos, the soldiers were attacked by the Indians, and the sergeant was mortally wounded at the first fire. They retreated, fighting as well as they were able, while four of them carried the wounded sergeant; but an overwhelming number of the Indians pressed upon them so closely that, at his earnest request to save themselves and drop him, as he would only embarrass their efforts, they left the sergeant the prey of the Indians and gathered around the wagon. They were finally compelled to abandon the property, with the result, usual in such cases, of not being followed by the Indians, who only wanted the plunder. The soldiers came into Fort Lancaster, distant about forty miles.

The policy which requires government officers to respect a white flag in the hands of Indians has led to a number of massacres on the road. The policy of the mail men is, never, under any circumstances, to allow them near us, and much less to risk the danger of having them actually in camp. They have repeatedly tried the ruse of endeavoring to approach under the protection of a piece of dirty cotton cloth tied to a spear, but we send a ball over their heads so soon as they come within rifle range, after which warning they keep aloof.

Made 44 miles to-day.

_August 10._--Made 45 miles to-day, without anything having happened of particular interest.

_August 11._--Camped to-night a few miles east of Fort Davis, preferring to arrive there at breakfast to-morrow morning. Our mules were suffering yesterday and to-day from the effects of drinking the sulphur waters, which mineral impregnates nearly all the springs and creeks from the Pecos to Fort Davis. We are now rapidly ascending the table land of western Texas, where copious rains have been falling for some time. The grass is abundant and excellent in quality, but rather young for working mules that are compelled to make speed. The grass, combined with the sulphur water, compelled us for a day or two to be cautious not to overwork our stock. We avoid trouble by shortening our drives.

We made only 34 miles to-day.

_August 12._--At 3 a. m. this morning, accompanied by two men, I took the mail on to Fort Davis in my own light carriage, drawn by four mules, leaving the three heavy coaches and stock to come on at their leisure. Fort Davis is about 4,500 feet above the ocean; and before getting so far on my road even as this post, I had found the coaches, of which we had purchased eleven for the line, so heavy as to be unfit for the service. [The continual ascent of the roads, together with the weight the mules were compelled to haul, had fatigued them so much that I deemed it necessary to change them, if possible. To borrow some government mules for the trip to El Paso seemed to be an excellent plan, if I could procure such a privilege. I would then leave those I had here to be used as relays for the next up mail. From the information I had obtained, I had not the least doubt but that I could purchase plenty of mules in El Paso to use in stocking the upper portion of our road. I made application to Colonel Sewall, the commanding officer at this post, who, upon reflection, decided to loan me the mules I wanted. I made an arrangement which I considered a very favorable one, and it certainly was a great advantage at the time, but it afterwards proved a prolific source of trouble to me. To sustain my application for mules, I represented to Colonel Sewall my exact position; that I was the superintendent of the road and also sole agent for the contractor; that I was engaged in stocking and putting in running order this pioneer mail. I further took the liberty of stating how great an interest your department felt in the enterprise. I proposed to leave my forty-two mules at the fort, and that he should loan me thirty-six of theirs to take our coaches to El Paso. I stated to him my plan of purchasing on the Rio Grande all the mules I needed, and that I would return his at once with the first down mail. To this arrangement he assented, sending a corporal and two men with me to take charge of the mules.

I may as well mention here that, on reaching El Paso, I found myself in a position where, in consequence of inability to purchase mules, I had either to stop the mail until I could collect them in the towns up and down the valley and over the river, or else to take some of these Fort Davis mules further on my journey. Believing myself justified, under the circumstances, in deviating my promise as to the time of returning the mules, I took fourteen of them with me to Tucson; the balance, twenty-two in number, I returned at once to Fort Davis by the corporal. Of these fourteen so taken, seven were returned to Fort Davis during the period of my stay on the Pacific, while the other seven were replaced from our own herd, by virtue of an agreement which allowed Colonel Sewall to take such of ours as he wanted, to replace any of his mules which might be missing. Colonel Sewall was so indignant at my not sending back the whole number of his mules at once, that he wrote to all the posts along our line, requesting them to refuse me any favor, alleging, as his reason, my bad faith to him. He further desired the officers to continue such refusal until the mule transaction should be settled to his satisfaction. This request gave the line considerable trouble at Fort Fillmore, during my absence. On my return to Fort Davis I was unable to appease Colonel Sewall, though I explained to him the whole transaction, as I have endeavored to do here. He refused to order the quartermaster to withdraw his offensive letter to the posts on the line, although this was the point I particularly urged for his consideration, as injurious to our interests. I feel now, as I did at the time of taking the mules--which I did not do without reflection--that the circumstances justified my course; that the interest of the overland mail to the government was above the value even of the whole number of mules borrowed, and that, under these circumstances, I should have been forgiven for not keeping my promise.]

_August 13._--Left Fort Davis at 5.40 a. m. Early this morning I met the mail from Santa Fé, and, in accordance with the agreement between Mr. Giddings and myself to incorporate our two stocks, so as to perform the tri-monthly service, I sent back a portion of my own party, with orders to return as far as Fort Clarke. One great advantage of this additional force to the party going down was the greater protection the mail would receive in passing through that portion of the Indian country so recently the scene of depredations.

Made 29 miles to-day.

_August 14._--Our government mules, fresh and corn-fed, took us along at a much more rapid pace than we have been in the habit of travelling during the course of the past week.

We made 60 miles to-day.

_August 15._--Our second drive to-day was for a mile or more, through a long and narrow cañon, with the mountains bordering the Rio Grande on the east. This cañon led us into the valley of the river, at a point one hundred miles below where our road leaves it in going westward. After crossing the valley, and making a camp on the banks of the river, our road to-day turns abruptly northward. We encountered a terrible thunder storm at noon, it being the first heavy rain we have had on the road. August is one of the rainy months throughout this portion of the Rio Grande valley and Sonora; we may, therefore, expect many such storms before reaching the coast range of mountains which form the climatic boundary between California and Arizona. After a thorough drenching, we started at two o’clock, in a bright sunny afternoon, and drove slowly up the Rio Grande. Through this particular portion of the valley the rainy season is an advantage to the otherwise sandy road. Along here, animals which are fatigued from a tedious or rapid journey through Texas must be well treated or they give out. Fifty miles above here, in the neighborhood of San Eleazario, and, indeed, at all the Spanish towns along the river, the road is made much worse by the rains. The corn and wheat fields are all cultivated by irrigation, and the irrigating ditches, called _acequias_, liable to be overflowed from the rain, cross the roads in many places. Camped to-night on a slough of the river.

Made 40 miles to-day.

_August 16._--The road proving so very muddy in some places, and heavy from sand in others, besides finding it was growing more and more muddy as we proceeded, I took my light four-mule carriage, with a change of animals, left all our heavy coaches and baggage, and started on with the mails. We reached the _presidio_ of San Elearan at 7 p. m. to-day; there we changed our mail, and then pushed on, after dark, for Socorro, where the conductor, with his train, was waiting to take the mail through to Santa Fé. Our drive from San Elearan to Socorro was at a slow walk through mud and water all the way, caused by the recent rains overflowing the ditches. Many portions of the surrounding country were covered with water like a lake.

Made 43 miles to-day.

_August 17._--Rained all night, showering during the morning. I went nineteen miles to-day, to Franklin, El Paso. The Santa Fé mail went on to its destination. The quartermaster at Fort Bliss very kindly gave me the use of his blacksmith shop in which to repair one of my wagons, by which timely aid I was enabled to place it in a pretty decent condition for service. Looked about me for mules to complete my outfit for the Pimos villages, but much to my disappointment could find none suited to our service. Mules are scarce at El Paso.

_August 18._--Another rainy day, with occasional sunshine. Found an abundance of very excellent fruit at El Paso: pears, peaches, and particularly grapes. The heavy train came in to-day.

_August 19._--A beautiful day; I find some difficulty in purchasing the required corn for my mules. Last year the corn crop of this valley was a partial failure, in consequence of which the corn at present in use here is brought from Chihuahua; I pay equal to about $2 50 per bushel. I find it impossible to purchase mules and get them here in season to be of use for the next mail going west, due here on the 21st or 22d. To insure that the next mail shall go forward with despatch, I deemed it best to-day to send the train up the river with directions to proceed as far as Fort Fillmore, 50 miles above El Paso, there to await the coming mail. Our mules need shoeing, and some other preparations are required for the journey. I have bought all the mules I could find, and lastly borrowed fourteen from the herd of government mules which I brought from Fort Davis. The others I returned in charge of the corporal who came up with me, (see journal, August 2.) I purchased to-day a pair of large Missouri mules, and at once sent my small wagon and nine mules down to the Presidio, 25 miles below El Paso, with directions to receive the up mail there, and bring it with all speed to Fort Fillmore; this I planned to save time.

_August 20._--Was engaged all day in preparing the way, as far as possible, to have the business of the line run smoothly during my absence, I stored my two heavy coaches to wait the chances of the future.

_August 21._--Early this afternoon an express came in from Captain Holliday, who was _en route_ to Fort Fillmore, for the purposes stated under date of August 19. He wrote me that his wagon had broken down, with the further prospect of being scarcely able to reach the post with it. I immediately purchased a private carriage, the only one in El Paso any way suited to our purpose. By the kindness of Colonel Reeves, commanding Fort Bliss, who loaned me a team, I was enabled to despatch the carriage for Fort Fillmore this evening. I had no mules at Franklin with which to send it up. At 10 p.m. the mail and Mr. Giddings came in from San Antonio, having left there August 9, the contract day. Our coach arrived here with a broken pole which is by no means a small obstacle in this remote country, particularly when the accident chances to happen after dark and no other carriage is to be obtained, while the mail must go on. By splicing we made it answer our present purpose, though consuming nearly all night in preparations.

_August 22._--Left El Paso at three o’clock, a. m., and found the roads heavy all the way along the river. Succeeded in reaching Fort Fillmore at six o’clock, p. m., after a day’s work of forty-two miles. I found the train encamped ready for departure, only waiting my arrival with the mail. We examined the Rio Grande to-night, preparatory to crossing; found the river not fordable, and also found there would be too much risk in attempting to ferry over in the night; thus we are unwillingly compelled to remain encamped on the east bank until to-morrow morning. Another source of trouble was my carriages; I found that neither of those I now had were fit to go on the road. Those we had originally purchased, two of which I brought up with me, were too heavy for the mules, while the two I now had were not strong enough to carry the required loads. In this dilemma I despatched two men to Las Cruces, six miles above Fort Fillmore, giving them orders to purchase at any fair price, if suited to our purpose, a second-hand carriage which we heard was there for sale. My messengers returned about two o’clock in the morning with an old ambulance, which answered a good purpose all the way to San Diego. By setting the axletrees of one of my other carriages I thought to secure two, which would answer a temporary purpose. Made 44 miles to-day.

_August 23._--We commenced crossing the river at about sunrise. Our method was this: we placed all our baggage and mails in skiffs, and ferrying them over in the first place, then swam our mules, and lastly the carriages were crossed, by placing the wheels of one side of the carriage on one skiff, and those of the other side in another skiff, and poling them along; on reaching the other side we pulled the carriage up the steep bank by man power.

At the town of Mesilla, which is situated some four miles from the ferry, I had to purchase yet another carriage in place of one of mine, the axeltrees of which proved entirely too light. This made four carriages I had purchased since arriving in the Rio Grande valley, before getting two which were even temporarily fit for carrying the mail. We finally got away from Mesilla at 11 o’clock, a. m. In consequence of the muddy state of the roads across the valley, which was here one continuous cornfield for some half dozen miles, we made very slow progress. The _Mesa_, so called, rises very abruptly after you cross the valley, and we pass to the left of this _Mesa_ through some one of its numerous cañons or gorges. The only road accessible at this time to wagons was so dimly defined that we missed our way and consumed all of the afternoon in trying to get to the top of the _Mesa_, and ended in being compelled to return to the village of “Pechacio,” where we passed the night. Made 8 miles to-day.

_August 24._--Left Pechacio village at daylight, this time with another guide; reached the top of the _Mesa_ through a cañon and road some three miles long. We are now crossing the _jornada_ of 65 miles, between La Mesilla and Cook’s wells. We found the road somewhat muddy, the result of the recent rains. We had a fearful thunder storm at noon to-day, and in about half an hour every one was wet through to the skin; afterwards the sun came out warm and pleasant and dried us to a cheerful temperature again. To-day our conductor, Captain Holliday, who is an experienced voyageur on the plains, discovered a natural tank in the rocks. He was first attracted to it by noticing a pair of doves which flew over his head and alighted there. [This tank held enough to water all of our mules, and on my return trip in November, I learned that the same conductor had found water enough for his mules every trip during the intermediate period. I state this incident as one illustrative of the probable chances of finding places adapted to natural tanks. Doves and a species of small sparrow are said to be sure signs of water.]

Camped at 8½ p. m., making 48 miles to-day.

_August 25._--Started at daylight this morning, and breakfasted at Cook’s spring, in a drizzling rain, which lasted at intervals all day. This spring is at the foot of the eastern slope of the Sierra Madre mountains. By examining the table of distances, it will be noticed that the Rio Mimbres is eighteen miles westward from Cook’s spring. We breakfasted at Cook’s spring, and dined several miles west of the Mimbres. This speed made over the mountains will, I think, convey a good idea of what must be the nature of our roads through the Sierra Madre. Passed the Rio Mimbres just before dinner; we had to be very cautious in crossing, else the force of the current would have upset our carriages; the stream was so much of a flood that we had to have one of the men plunge into the water and hold up the lead mules by a rope fastened to their heads. The force of the current and depth of water took them off their feet for a distance of a few yards. A few weeks later, one of our mail trains going west was camped two days on the eastern camp of the Mimbres, unable to cross. We stopped at Cow spring for a couple of hours, about sunset, to graze our animals; camped for the night at the mouth of a cañon leading up to the Burre mountains; camped at 10 o’clock 30 minutes, making fifty-five miles to-day.

_August 26._--Started at daylight. About 8 o’clock this morning, coming down through one of the many cañons leading from the Burre mountains, we found the mail coach which Captain Skillman had taken from San Antonio standing in our road. My first thought was, that another train had been cut off by the Indians, but an examination soon showed the nature of the accident; one of the hind wheels had evidently crushed down, and the two forward ones were gone. The wagon stood propped up carefully in the middle of the road. We concluded that Capt. Skillman had gone on with his two forward wheels, making what travellers term a “cache” among the surrounding rocks of all his spare articles. This we afterwards found to be the case. We stopped here only about as long as it takes to write the fact, then rolled away over the plaza on our journey. About sunset, we had a small sample of what might be suffered for want of water, if men were ignorant of the road. We had brought water from where we breakfasted to answer for our dinner uses, but the day had been very warm, and all of us had drunk very freely, until our canteens had become low. We were deceived by some wagon tracks into turning off from the main road, losing considerable time in finding our way back again, both men and mules being very thirsty. We found water in wagon ruts and holes in the ground. Down went men on the ground, mules and men both drinking in the same manner from the same holes. More accurate information as to distances, and the consequent preparation we now make for any portion of our journey, where we know there is a long stretch without water, does away with any danger from thirst, so far as the men and passengers are concerned; the mules sometimes have to go all day without water. Camped at 11 o’clock.

Made 43 miles to-day.