River, but at last we discovered, and travelled down, an old but
still practicable trail, dropping nearly 1,000 feet. A little further
northward we came down another 1,000 feet, and thus we gradually
reached Bavispe, which is here a rapid, roaring stream, girth-deep,
and in many places deeper. It here flows northward, describing the
easterly portion of the curve it forms around the Sierra de Nacori.

I selected as a camping ground a small mesa on the left bank of the
river, among pines and oaks and high grass, about forty feet above
the water edge. A meadow set park-like with pines extended from here
nearly three-quarters of a mile along the river, and was almost half a
mile wide. Near our camp we found several old and rusty empty tin cans,
such as are used for putting up preserved food. One of them was marked
"Fort Bowie." Doubtless this spot had been used before as a camping
ground, probably by some of General Crook's scouts.





Chapter III

Camping at Upper Bavispe River--Low Stone Cabins, Fortresses, and
Other Remains Indicating Former Habitation--The Animals Starve on
the Winter Grass of the Sierra and Begin to Give Out--A Deserted
Apache Camp--comfort at Last--The Giant Woodpecker--We Arrive at
the Mormon Settlements of Pacheco and Cave Valley.


At Bavispe River we had to remain for some little time to allow