ridge of true sierras with sharp, serrated crests, running mainly
from northwest to southeast. And between them and me was an expanse
of gloomy, pine-hidden cordons, one succeeding close upon another,
and running generally in the same direction as the sierras. Primeval
stillness and solitude reigned all over the woodland landscape. I
like the society of man, but how welcome and refreshing are occasional
moments of undisturbed communion with Nature!

On the following day the pack train moved along the path I had walked
over. We were pleasantly surprised to find at this season, the middle
of December, and at this elevation, a species of violet in bloom,
while _Lupinus_ and _Vicia_ were already in seed. We made our camp
at a place 7,400 feet above sea level, and here we noticed trincheras
close by, with water running through them from a marsh.

We also happened to come upon some stone piles made of rough stones
laid on top of each other to a height of about three feet. The Mexicans
called them "Apache Monuments," and I saw here eight or ten, three
at a distance of only twenty yards from each other and lying in a
line from east to west. On the next day we found an Apache track with
similar monuments. Some of these piles did not seem to be in places
difficult to travel, and therefore could hardly have been intended
for guide-posts, though others might have served that purpose; nor
is it easy to see how they could have been meant for boundary marks,
unless they were erected by some half-castes who kept company with the
Apaches, to divide off the hunting grounds of various families. It
seems to me more likely that they are connected with some religious
rite.

We had some little difficulty in making our descent to the Bavispe