The second night the brave Jayhawkers who had been so firm in going north hove in sight in our rear.  They had at last concluded to accept my advice and had came over our road quite rapidly.  We all camped together that night, and next morning they took the lead again.  After crossing a small range they came to a basin which seemed to have no outlet, and was very barren.  Some of the boys in advance of the teams had passed over this elevation and were going quite rapidly over the almost level plain which sloped into the basin, when they saw among the bunches of sage brush behind them a small party of Indians following their road, not very far off, but still out of bow and arrow range.  The boys were suddenly able to take much longer steps than usual and a little more rapidly too, and swinging round toward the teams as soon as possible, for they already had some fears that an arrow might be sticking in their backs in an unpleasantly short space of time, for the Indians were good travelers.  When they came in sight of the wagons, the Indians vanished as quickly as if they had gone into a hole, with no sign remaining, except a small dog which greatly resembled a prairie wolf, and kept a safe distance away.  No one could imagine where the fellows went so suddenly.

We drove to the west side of this basin and camped near the foot of a low mountain.  The cattle were driven down into the basin where there was some grass, but at camp we had only the water in our kegs.

Some of the boys climbed the mountain on the north but found no springs:  Coming down a canon they found some rain water in a basin in the rocks and all took a good drink.  Lew West lay down and swallowed all he could and then told the boys to kill him for he never would feel so good again.  They finished the pool, it was so small, before they left it.  In going on down the canon they saw an Indian dodge behind some big rocks, and searching, they found him in a cave as still as a dead man.  They pulled him out and made him go with them, and tried every way to find out from him where they were and where Owen’s Lake was, as they had been told the lake was on their route.  But he proved to be no wiser than a man of mud, and they led him along to camp, put a red flannel shirt on him to cover his nakedness, and made him sleep between two white men so he could not get away easily.  In the morning they were more successful, and he showed us a small ravine four miles away which had water in it, enough for our use, and we moved up and camped there, while the boys and the Indian started over a barren, rocky mountain, and when over on the western slope they were led to a water hole on a steep rocky cliff where no one but an Indian would ever think of looking for water.  They took out their cups and had a good drink all around, then offered the Indian some, but he disdained the civilized way, and laying down his bow and arrows took a long drink directly out of the pool.  He was so long in getting a good supply that the boys