to halt, and pass
the remainder of the day endeavouring to discover a passage. This
occupied us till nightfall, and we had nothing to eat but plums and
berries. Melancholy were our thoughts when we reflected upon the
difficulties we might shortly have to encounter, and gloomy were our
forebodings as we wrapt ourselves in our blankets, half starved, and
oppressed with feelings of uncertainty as to our present position and
our future destinies.

The night passed without alarm; but the next morning we were sickened by
a horrible scene which was passing about half a mile from us. A party of
the same Indians whom we had seen the evening before were butchering
some of their captives, while several others were busy cooking the
flesh, and many were eating it. We were rooted to the spot by a thrill
of horror we could not overcome; even our horses seemed to know by
instinct that something horrible was acting below, for they snuffed the
air, and with their ears pointed straight forward, trembled so as to
satisfy us that for the present we could not avail ourselves of their
services. Gabriel crept as near as he could to the party, leaving us to
await his return in a terrible state of suspense and anxiety. When he
rejoined us, it appeared our sight had not deceived us. There were nine
more prisoners, who would probably undergo the same fate on the
following day; four, he said, were Comanches, the other five Mexican
females,--two young girls and three women.

The savages had undoubtedly made an inroad upon San Miguel or Taos, the
two most northern settlements of the Mexicans, not far from the Green
Mountains, where we were ourselves going. What could we do? We could not
fight the cannibals, who were at least one hundred in number, and yet we
could not go away, and leave men and women of our own colour to a
horrible death, and a tomb in the stomach of these savages. The idea
could not be borne, so we determined to remain and trust to chance or
Providence. After their abominable meal, the savages scattered about the
prairie in every direction, but not breaking up their camp, where they
left their prisoners, under the charge of twelve of their
young warriors.

Many plans did we propose for the rescue of the poor prisoners, but they
were all too wild for execution; at last chance favoured us, although we
did not entirely succeed in our enterprise. Three or four deer galloped
across the prairie, and passed not fifty yards from the cam