How anxiously we awaited their arrival none may know, who have
not suffered the pangs of hunger. At last they made their appearance,
bringing with them a quantity of berries called by the Indians
oth-to-toa. This berry was pleasanter to taste than the mesquite. The
juice, when extracted and mixed with water, tasted very much like the
orange.

In one of my strolls I had observed some blackbirds, and in the hope of
finding their nests, I was induced to wander to a greater distance from
the village than I had been at any previous time. My search was rewarded
by a quantity of eggs, and filling my Indian shirt with as many as I
could carry, I retraced my steps.

In struggling through the tangled underbrush, I lost my way, and after
wandering about for some time in the hope of finding the path, I came
to a small spring that was bubbling up from a crevice in the rock.

The night had closed in rapidly, and, finding it was too dark to
prosecute my journey further, I concluded to remain here for the
remainder of the night. Gathering a few dried leaves, I soon had a fire
lighted, and then securing enough brush to last me until dawn, I set
about preparing my supper, which was merely roasted eggs. This frugal
meal was soon dispatched, and heaping more wood on the fire, I selected
a dry spot, and stretching my tired limbs, was soon in a sound slumber.
How long I slept I know not, but I was awakened by peals of thunder and
flashes of the most vivid lightning. These sounds were unusual in this
country, as rain rarely fell in these latitudes.

Should a storm of any magnitude pour its waters through the gorge in
which I then was, I felt my position would be perilous in the extreme. I
gathered up my supplies, that were collected at such an expenditure of
labor, and scrambled over rocks and through sand towards the side of the
mountain. I had not gone far when the rain commenced--first in large
drops, and then in a steady patter; before many minutes the storm burst
upon the mountain in all its fury. The rain fell in sheets, and
literally deluged surrounding objects. My resting place was becoming
untenable, and my life was momentarily imperiled by huge masses of
falling rock, which had been loosened from its bed and came tearing
down the mountain side, carrying all before it. Shielding myself behind
trees and boulders, I climbed upwards, in the hope of finding a more
permanent shelter than that afforded by the stumps of trees. The rain