Lieutenant Wise and his boat's crew, on leaving the town, began to make their way down-country between the coast and the Buonaventura River, relying for hospitality mainly on the American settlers, many of whom did a thriving and regular trade in skins. They found the district tolerably quiet, though there were reports of various fierce battles between the Comanches and their old enemies the Apaches, many of the latter being, it was said, in the pay of the Mexicans. It was at a trappers' camp that Wise heard this piece of news, a queer little circle of log-huts erected on a wide clearing in one of the river forests which they came upon by accident late one afternoon. The trappers--all of them American or American-Irish--gave a very cordial welcome to the little party, though they would not at first admit the necessity for their offer of protection. "See here," said one of them. "The Mexicans are shifting down south right hard, and all you're likely to see, you've seen in Monterey. Your ship, or else some other, has bombarded Santa Barbara already; and, like as not, is clearing San Diego out by now. As for the redskins, take an old stager's advice and let 'em fight it out theirselves. There's one lot we'd like very well to get hold of, but the rest we don't vally a cuss." "Who are they?" asked Wise, sitting down to the meal of grilled deer's meat that was set before him. "More'n we can tell ye. Some o' that coyotero lot that have learned to use a rifle; for gun-stealing and horse and rifle-lifting they've got no living ekals. Last week they killed two of our fellows at a camp up the river; scalped 'em; broke open the magazine, and got away with all the powder and lead, as well as half a dozen spare guns. 'Twas no good the rest going to look for 'em when they came home; p'raps they were half a hundred miles away by then." "I've had orders to seize all firearms found on Indians," said the lieutenant. "And don't forget it," said one of his hosts. "Take my word, them guns, and a good many hundreds beside, have gone down-country to the Mexicans; and the Injuns are allowed to keep all the horses and eat all the mules for their reward." "Eat the mules?" "What else? What _won't_ Apaches eat, for that matter? How do you reckon they come to be called _coyoteros_? Half of 'em 'd live on coyotes" (prairie wolves) "and never touch anything more Christian, if they had their way. Well; I s'pose we'll get a visit from 'em next; so far we've lost nothing but horses." "Are all of you in camp now?" asked Wise. At present he had only seen fourteen men. "No; there's six gone across the river to trade for horses; for, barring what they're riding, we've only got one left, and he's sick. If the redskins come ever so, we can't run after 'em." "I can stay till the day after to-morrow, if you think they're likely to come within that time. I daren't stay longer, for we're to join the ship at San Diego on the twenty-sixth."