The complete organization was divided into seven divisions, each with its captain, and division No. 1 was to lead the march the first day and then fall to the rear while No. 2 took the advance, and so continued till all had taken their turn.  The leading party was to guard and care for the cattle and deliver them in the morning.  The regulations were read aloud to the captains, and this rather large army of men, women and children, with about five hundred head of stock, moved out very systematically.  It would sometimes be fully ten o’clock before the rear division could make a start, and correspondingly late before they could get up with the main camp at night.  They got along very well, but cleaned the country of grass for some distance each side of the trail, as they swept along.

About the first of November Capt.  Smith overtook us with the pack train, and camped with us at night.  He formed many acquaintances and told them he was going to take a shorter route and save five hundred miles, rather than take the long route by way of Los Angeles.  He had a map of his proposed route, and it was very much like the one we had.  He also stated that it could probably be as easily traveled as the one by way of Los Angeles, and as a consequence of his talk, cut-off fever began to rage in camp again.  Some got very enthusiastic in the matter and spoke publicly in favor of following Capt.  Smith when he should come to the place when his short route turned away from the other trail.  His plan grew so much in favor that when the place was reached a hundred wagons turned out into the Smith trail, leaving Capt.  Hunt only the seven Mormon wagon bound for San Bernardino, Hunt stood at the forks of the road as the wagons went by and said to them;—­“Good-bye, friends.  I cannot, according to my agreement go with you, for I was hired for this road, and no other was mentioned.  I am in duty bound to go even if only one wagon decides to go.”  When the last wagon had passed him he still stood talking with several who had chosen the new way and told them they were taking a big risk, for they did not know very much about the route, and he had been thinking that they might find it pretty rough and hard to get over the first time.  He said that if all decided to go that way he would go and help them, even if they went to h-ll, but as it was he could not.  He wished them luck and the two trains parted company.

At the end of three days of travel on the Smith trail they came to the top of a long steep hill.  The trail went down and down, and they see no way of crossing the terribly deep canon that was before them.  So they went into camp and sent explorers out to investigate and find a crossing if possible.