José — page 73: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

66 JOSE. acter,” he had said to his friend. “Ifa child had ever been lost in our family, I would swear that he is my brother, in order to account for the peculiar fascination which the boy exercises over me and which I obey without understanding why.” Combining pleasure with profit, Baumann had for several days past, devoted himself zealously to hunting prairie chickens, as fresh meat was not one of the things included in the bill-of-fare of the caravan. On the fourth day, however, an incident transpired which threatened to upset his reason entirely. Late one afternoon, the wagon train arrived at one of those dry gulches, which frequently yawn abruptly at the traveler’s feet on the Santa Fe trail, and are called canons, extending many miles toward the nearest water; and following the tracks of pre- ceding caravans, skirted the gulch to some con- venient fording-place, in order to resume the trail on the opposite shore. Baumann dismounted and turned his horse over to one of the drivers, and prepared to seek his way across the gulch alone. The soil was loamy, and afforded a firm foothold. There were also sundry marks, indicating that the path had been crossed before. The young man climbed slowly and carefully downward; arriving below he cut a green withe, and was looking for the best place to ascend the opposite bank, when his eyes fell upon a dark object that was boldly distinguished from the cotton-wood sprouts. He approached, and saw a short, black velvet wristband, one end tastefully decorated with a rosette, in the center of which was affixed a gold cross, evidently a lady’s ornament; but how it had Eomichookssco