queros, rancheros, monteros; men who
in their frequent association with the mountain men, the Gallic and
Saxon hunters from the eastern plains, had acquired a degree of daring
which by no means belongs to their own race. They were the chivalry of
the Mexican frontier.

They smoked cigaritas, rolling them between their fingers in husks of
maize. They played monte on their spread blankets, staking their
tobacco. They cursed, and cried "Carrajo!" when they lost, and thanks
to the "Santisima Virgin" when the cards were pulled out in their
favour!

Their language was a Spanish patois; their voices were sharp and
disagreeable.

At a short distance from these was the second group that attracted my
attention. The individuals composing this were altogether different
from the former. They were different in every essential point: in
voice, dress, language, and physiognomy. Theirs was the Anglo-American
face, at a glance. These were the trappers, the prairie hunters, the
mountain men.

Let us again choose a type that may answer for a description of all.

He stands leaning on his long straight rifle, looking into the fire. He
is six feet in his moccasins, and of a build that suggests the idea of
strength and Saxon ancestry. His arms are like young oaks, and his
hand, grasping the muzzle of his gun, is large, fleshless, and muscular.
His cheek is broad and firm. It is partially covered by a bushy
whisker that meets over the chin and fringes all around the lips. It is
neither fair nor dark, but of a dull-brown colour, lighter around the
mouth, where it has been bleached by the sun, "ambeer," and water. The
eye is grey, or bluish grey, small, and slightly crowed at the corner.
It is well set, and rarely wanders. It seems to look into you rather
than at you. The hair is brown and of a medium length (cut, no doubt,
on his last visit to the trading post, or the settlements); and the
complexion, although dark as that of a mulatto, is only so from tan. It
was once fair: a blonde. The countenance is not unprepossessing. It
might be styled handsome. Its whole expression is bold, but
good-humoured and generous.

The dress of the individual described is of home manufacture; that is,
of his home, the prairie and the wild mountain park, where the material
has been bought by a bullet from his rifle. It is the work of his own
hands, unless indeed he may be one who has shared his cabin with some
Indian--Sioux, Crow, or Che