In the morning Jayhawkers, and others of the train that were not considered strictly of our own party, yoked up and started due west across the level plain which I had predicted as having no water, and I really thought they would never live to get across to the western border.  Mr. Culverwell and Mr. Fish stayed with us, making another wagon in our train.  We talked about the matter carefully, I did not think it possible to get across that plain in less than four or six days, and I did not believe there was a drop of water on the route.  To the south of us was a mountain that now had considerable snow upon its summit, and some small pine trees also.  Doubtless we could find plenty of water at the base, but being due south, it was quite off our course.  The prospects for reaching water were so much better in that way that we finally decided to go there rather than follow the Jayhawkers on their desolate tramp over the dry plain.

So we turned up a canon leading toward the mountain and had a pretty heavy up grade and a rough bed for a road.  Part way up we came to a high cliff and in its face were niches or cavities as large as a barrel or larger, and in some of them we found balls of a glistening substance looking something like pieces of varigated candy stuck together.  The balls were as large as small pumpkins.  It was evidently food of some sort, and we found it sweet but sickish, and those who were so hungry as to break up one of the balls and divide it among the others, making a good meal of it, were a little troubled with nausea afterwards.  I considered it bad policy to rob the Indians of any of their food, for they must be pretty smart people to live in this desolate country and find enough to keep them alive, and I was pretty sure we might count them as hostiles as they never came near our camp.  Like other Indians they were probably revengeful, and might seek to have revenge on us for the injury.  We considered it prudent to keep careful watch for them, so they might not surprise us with a volley of arrows.

The second night we camped near the head of the canon we had been following, but thus far there had been no water, and only some stunted sage brush for the oxen, which they did not like, and only ate it when near the point of starvation.  They stood around the camp looking as sorry as oxen can.  During the night a stray and crazy looking cloud passed over us and left its moisture on the mountain to the shape of a coat of snow several inches deep.  When daylight came the oxen crowded around the wagons, shivering with cold, and licking up the snow to quench their thirst.  We took pattern after them and melted snow to get water for ourselves.

By the looks of our cattle it did not seem as if they could pull much, and light loads were advisable on this up grade.  Mr. Bennett was a carpenter and had brought along some good tools in his wagon.  These he reluctantly unloaded, and almost everything else except bedding and provisions, and leaving them upon the ground, we rolled up the hills slowly, with loads as light as possible.