, we
were compelled to stoop and bend over the ground, while the sun's rays
becoming more and more intense, made life intolerable. Did we lag but
for a moment, the ever vigilant eye of some adjacent Indian would note
the movement, and swooping down on us would urge us to renewed exertion,
by word or blow.

My first day's experience in this species of farming, was excruciating
agony. Being unskilled in the use of a hoe, I bruised myself severely,
for, instead of breaking the soil, I came down with full force on my
own limbs and feet; at such times a groan of agony would escape me,
which, instead of eliciting sympathy, would only excite laughter. Maimed
and bleeding, I toiled on, and wishing, oh! so fervently, that the next
blow might be on my head, instead of the inferior parts of my body.
Towards evening, my torture became unendurable, and throwing my tired
body on the ground, I determined not to work longer, let the
consequences be what they may. This conduct was so entirely unexpected,
that it took my captors by surprise, and finding blows of no avail, they
desisted, and left me to suffer alone. I had to be carried home, much to
the disgust of those whose duty it was to bear the burden; arriving at
the lodge, ointment was prepared from the juice expressed from the
leaves of the pita plant, and being applied to my bruised limbs, soon
allayed the inflammation and soreness.

A brief description of this remarkable plant may not be without interest
to the reader; what the _zamias_ is to the East Indian, the pita plant
is to the Southern Indian--it is food, medicine, stimulant, and
clothing. It is to be found in the greatest abundance along the great
American desert, near the base of the Rocky Mountains. In places where
it would seem impossible for living plants to thrive, there may be found
the _lechuguilla_, its stalk rising to the height of twenty feet, and
its thorny leaves branching out in clusters along its length; its fiber
is made into rope; the sap expressed from its leaves, when boiled to the
consistency of honey is an admirable dressing for wounds, causing light
cuts to cicatrice almost immediately, and even ugly gashes will yield to
it in time. The juice distilled, produces the fiery _mezcal_, familiarly
known among the trappers as "pass whiskey." It is made quite extensively
at El Paso, hence the _sobriquet_. The egg-shaped core, when cooked,
yields a thick, transparent body, similar to jelly; it is very
nutr