The Author came into camp about nine o’clock in the evening after climbing many peaks and taking a survey of the surrounding country with a field glass.  Men from nearly every mess came to him to inquire what he had seen.  They asked all sorts of questions and wanted an opinion as to the advisability of trailing across the prairie directly west, which then seemed easy.  They were told that from what could be seen from the summit of buttes both north and south of the camp, ranging a hundred or so miles in almost every direction, it was believed no water could be found, between the present camp and a range of mountains which could be seen crossing the route far to the west.  “Well,” said Capt.  Doty of the Jayhawkers, “I don’t like to hear such discouraging talk from Manley, but I think we will have to steer straight ahead.  The prospect for water seems to be about the same, west or south, and I cannot see that we would better ourselves, by going north.”  When morning came Capt.  Doty and his party yoked up and set out straight across the desert, leaving seven wagons of the Bennett party still in camp.

For some time all of us had seen in the range ahead an appearance of a pass, or lower place in the mountain, and we had got to calling it Martin’s Pass, naming it after Jim Martin.  There was a snow-capped peak just to the south of it and the pass, now apparently exactly west of the lake camp, seemed to the Jayhawkers easy to reach.  Their wills were strong enough and they were running over with determination and energy enough to carry them over any plain, no matter how dry or barren, or over any mountain no matter how rugged and steep.

Five days they traveled, without finding water, and small supply they took along had been consumed.  For lack of water they could not eat or sleep.  The oxen gathered round the little fire and seemed to beg for water, they had no cud to chew unless it was the cud of disappointment.  The range of mountains they had been aiming for still seemed far away and the possible show for reaching it seemed very poor indeed, and the prospect of any water hole between them and the mountains poorer yet.  Hope was pretty near gone.  Martins mess unyoked their oxen from the wagons, put some small packs on their own backs, and loaded some upon the backs of the oxen, and turned south toward the nearest snowy mountain they could see, the same one towards which the Bennett party steered from the lake camp.

The Doty party kept their courage longer and kept on straight ahead for another day, and then camped, almost without hope.  No rest came to them, nor sleep.  Towards morning as they stood around the fire a stray cloud appeared and hid the stars, and shortly after began to unload a cargo of snow it carried.  They spread out every blanket, and brushed up every bit they could from the smooth places, kindled a little fire of brush under the camp kettles and melted all the snow all of them could gather, besides filling