The herders, near the towns in New Mexico, are usually small boys, who are under the surveillance of one or two men stationed near by.  When the Apaches and Utahs steal these herds they always take the young herders along in order to look after the property in their mountain retreats.  They rarely mortally injure these boys, for they say that it is against their own interest to do so; but instead, they prefer to save their lives, so that they may be useful in guarding other flocks which, perchance, may fall into their hands.  Most of these youthful prisoners in time make their escape; and, after a series of hardships, return safe to their homes.  Many Mexicans can give such adventures of their early experience, but scarcely one of them can recall a single kind act shown them by their captors save the mere sparing of their lives.

As we were viewing the herd, we thought that we noticed the figures of the horsemen throwing themselves from one side to the other of their horses, as if very busily employed in frightening the sheep.  We now held a council, and decided that our best policy was to quit the main road, as it was crooked, and make a straight march across the prairies for the town of Red River, which was located about twenty miles in our advance.  It was our opinion, which afterwards proved to be correct, that, if the Indians were stealing the stock belonging to the town of Costillo, they were also engaged in attacking the place itself.  For, while a strong party were engaged in drawing off the attention of the people, another would be driving off the cattle, sheep, etc.  To return, therefore, would be almost certain death; so, at a full gallop we commenced our direct course.  As the sage bushes were thick and high and the ground much broken by various kind of holes, we soon found that we had our hands full in managing our horses.  We had hardly started afresh before our eyes were attracted to one side of us; and in the direction of the Rio del Norte, which runs through the valley, saw, what we at first considered to be, antelope; but which, afterwards, proved to be Indians in pursuit of us.  As we watched closely these supposed antelope; we remarked that they kept in Indian file, and that the course they were on would diagonally intercept our own point of the compass.  We began now to suspect that the white appearance assumed by these objects was owing to the strong sunlight which dazzled our eyesight, and struck on the dressed side of buffalo robes, and that in these robes were concealed human beings who had formed the determination to have our scalps.