We were yet 300 miles from Los Angeles, though Yuma, the next town, was but twenty miles away. Gila City contains one small store, about the size of a man's hand; two small dwellings, and a miniature depot. The population numbers but four or five people. One thing is plentiful there, though--long-eared jack rabbits and cotton tails by the thousand. This section abounds with thousands of quail, too, and on warm days not a few rattlesnakes can be seen sunning in the desert. The shanty cars of the construction company stood on the side-track, and as there was nothing else to do we went over to them. The men were already up and the section foreman's wife was preparing breakfast. We told the foreman that the Mexican had sent us down from Tucson, and were engaged by him at $1.50 per day and board. Presently we were invited into one of the cars for breakfast. The men seated around that table presented a picture seldom seen. Besides Allen and myself, there were three dark-skinned Mexicans, a half-breed Indian, the foreman, who was a Texan, and two ex-cowpunchers, besides an Irishman and a Chinaman. As for the breakfast itself, I have never eaten better grub anywhere, and the cooking was splendid. Notwithstanding the motley crew around us, both Allen and myself made a hearty meal. The teams were soon hitched, and after proceeding down the track about a mile the day's work commenced. I was given a scraper team to drive, and Allen was put at pick and shovel work. As soon as the sun rose it quickly got hot, and by 8 o'clock it began to sting through our clothes. At 10 o'clock the heat was so intense that all hands quit work and went back to the shade of the shanty cars. Neither Allen nor myself had ever worked under such a hot sun before. Both of us came near fainting, and even when we reached the shanties, perspiration was still running from every pore. All work was suspended until 4 p. m. (In this part of the world, owing to the intense heat, a day's work commences at 5 a. m. and lasts until 10 a. m. In the middle of the day you take a six hours' rest. Commencing work again at 4 o'clock in the afternoon you work until 7 p. m., making an eight-hour day.) On the morning of the second day, Allen got pretty badly hurt. A big bowlder, becoming dislodged from above his head, rolled down the cliff where he was at work, and struck him a painful blow upon the back of his hand. Already overheated from exertion in the hot sun, his injured hand threw him into a hard chill, and he was forced to quit work. Some of the Mexicans and others standing around began laughing as if they thought it a great joke. The foreman, instead of sympathizing with him, joined in the laugh. (The entire gang had put us down as tenderfeet.) There was no use getting mad, for these tough-looking chaps were too many for us, and we did the next best thing. We gave up our job and walked back to the shanties.