source of one of the main prongs of Whitewater…
source date: 1891
availability: public-domain

o say that my hunger and thirst was satisfactorily appeased. Mr. McPherson is a genial fellow in camp. He told me he received a scare the second day he was in camp that turned a large number of hairs on his head gray. By invitation of Mr. Bush he went up to the ( 67 ) source of one of the main prongs of Whitewater in order to see the fine spring at its head and taste its pure cool water, while making his way through the dense bushes and undergrowth, he heard the well known grunt of a surprised bear. Bruin was lying in the bushes, cooling himself off in the stream. McPherson had no fire arms with him. He made a spring backward, fell over a log into the stream, sprained his ankle and otherwise was badly shaken up. He came limping into camp without a hat and as white as ghosts are supposed to be. He was suffering with his ankle when I left but he says he don’t mind that half as bad as the fright he received. He half suspects that Mr. Bush set up a job on him. Freighting is very light now between the Mogollons and Silver City, and the freighters are bitterly complaining.