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only definite style named in primary references is the word "ambulance" and this
was usually the passenger wagon used between the crossing of the Rio Grande and
Tucson.

The inconsistent mode of travel, often altering from mule back to passenger
wagon, caused many passengers to complain. In June 1858, Phocion R. Way wrote
the following in his diary:

"…3 o'clock P. M. We are now about 8 or 10 miles from Mesilla. We have stopped to feed.
We took another passenger at Mesilla, which makes our whole number 5. We have also to
carry feed for our mules, a large amount of baggage and the mail, which makes our load
very heavy—unusually heavy. The driver is fearful that we will break down before we get
through. The company should have sent another carriage but it was not done; in fact, the
company have deceived us and acted shamefully from the start. They told us that the two
carriages we started with would go all the way through to San Diego, and both of them have
been taken from us. We left the last one at Fillmore and have an old wagon in its place. The
one we have is strong and would do very well, but we should have another; it is not suffici-
ent. The mules we have now are good, but those we have had were broken down things;
and what is worse than all, they tell us now that the wagon will go no further than Tucson,
and consequently those unfortunate fellows who are going through to San Diego will have
to ride mule back from Tucson and keep up with the mail which is also packed on mules,
and travels day and night. The poor fellows will have to travel 500 miles over a barren desert
and I am afraid it is more than they can stand. It is a gross imposition that should not be
born [sic] and the public should know it. They paid their money with the full understanding
that they were to be taken through in an ambulance. The men employed along the line are
fine fellows, and of course they are not responsible for this. This is an important route and
will be much traveled, and [the] Government should see that it is properly managed."

After arriving at Tucson Phocion writes:

"The mail company do not run their stages farther than here, and those who paid their
passage through must ride over a sandy waste on mule back and furnish the mules them-
selves, or stay here and get the fever and ague. This is a most rascally imposition and the
company will very likely have to pay for it. If they are not compelled to pay damages, their
business will be very much injured by the representations of those imposed upon. The mail
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company are certainly not consulting their own interests by acting this way."

Phocion tells of one of the line’s wagons:

"Arrived at Fort Fillmore at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Here we will cross the Rio Grande
and take a westerly course for Tucson. …We have our large ambulance drawn by 6 mules,
and 4 passengers, 3 for Tucson and one for San Diego. …The ford is about 5 miles above
Fort Fillmore. [Before Way reached Tucson, he calls this vehicle a "waggon" or "wagon" five
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times].
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