So they tried
fishing, and caught some "croakers," which tasted very fresh and
good, after all the curried and doctored-up messes we had been
obliged to eat on board ship.
We spent seven days in and out of that slue. Finally, on August
the 26th, the wind subsided and we started up river. Towards
sunset we arrived at a place called "Old Soldier's Camp." There
the "Gila" joined us, and the command was divided between the two
river-boats. We were assigned to the "Gila," and I settled myself
down with my belongings, for the remainder of the journey up
river.
We resigned ourselves to the dreadful heat, and at the end of two
more days the river had begun to narrow, and we arrived at Fort
Yuma, which was at that time the post best known to, and most
talked about by army officers of any in Arizona. No one except
old campaigners knew much about any other post in the Territory.
It was said to be the very hottest place that ever existed, and
from the time we left San Francisco we had heard the story, oft
repeated, of the poor soldier who died at Fort Yuma, and after
awhile returned to beg for his blankets, having found the regions
of Pluto so much cooler than the place he had left.
