s made enormous profits, and
their families lived in luxury in San Francisco.

The rest of the population consisted of a very poor class of Mexicans,
Cocopah, Yuma and Mojave Indians, and half-breeds.

The duties of the army officer stationed here consisted principally in
receiving and shipping the enormous quantity of Government freight which
was landed by the river steamers. It was shipped by wagon trains across
the Territory, and at all times the work carried large responsibilities
with it.

I soon realized that however much the present incumbent might like the
situation, it was no fit place for a woman.

The station at Ehrenberg was what we call, in the army, "detached
service." I realized that we had left the army for the time being; that
we had cut loose from a garrison; that we were in a place where good
food could not be procured, and where there were practically no servants
to be had. That there was not a woman to speak to, or to go to for
advice or help, and, worst of all, that there was no doctor in the
place. Besides all this, my clothes were all ruined by lying wet for a
fortnight in the boxes, and I had practically nothing to wear. I did not
then know what useless things clothes were in Ehrenberg.

The situation appeared rather serious; the weather had grown intensely
hot, and it was decided that the only thing for me to do was to go to
San Francisco for the summer.

So one day we heard the whistle of the "Gila" going up; and when she
came down river, I was all ready to go on board, with Patrocina and
Jesusita, [*] and my own child, who was yet but five months old. I bade
farewell to the man on detached service, and we headed down river. We
seemed to go down very rapidly, although the trip lasted several days.
Patrocina took to her bed with neuralgia (or nostalgia); her little
devil of a child screamed the entire days and nights through, to the
utter discomfiture of the few other passengers. A young lieutenant and
his wife and an army surgeon, who had come from one of the posts in the
interior, were among the number, and they seemed to think that I could
help it (though they did not say so).

* Diminutive of Jesus, a very common name amongst the
Mexicans. Pronounced Hay-soo-se-ta.

Finally the doctor said that if I did not throw Jesusita overboard,
he would; why didn't I "wring the neck of its worthless Mexican of
a mother?" and so on, until I really grew very nervous and unhappy,
think