Bennett’s two men were named Silas Helmer and S.S. or C.C.  Abbott, but I have forgotten the names of Arcane’s men.  Mr. Abbott was from New York, a harness maker by trade, and he took his circular cutting knife with him, saying it was light to carry and the weapon he should need.  One of them had a gun.  They took the trail taken by the Jayhawkers.  All the provisions they could carry besides their blankets could not last them to exceed 10 days, and I well knew they could hardly get off the desert in that time.  Mr. Abbott was a man I loved fondly.  He was good company in camp, and happy and sociable.  He had shown no despondency at any time until the night of the last meeting and the morning of the parting.  His chances seemed to me to be much poorer than my own, but I hardly think he realized it.  When in bed I could not keep my thoughts back from the old home I had left, where good water and a bountiful spread were always ready at the proper hour.  I know I dreamed of taking a draft of cool, sweet water from a full pitcher and then woke up with my mouth and throat as dry as dust.  The good home I left behind was a favorite theme about the campfire, and many a one told of the dream pictures, natural as life, that came to him of the happy Eastern home with comfort and happiness surrounding it, even if wealth was lacking.  The home of the poorest man on earth was preferable to this place.  Wealth was of no value here.  A hoard of twenty dollar gold pieces could now stand before us the whole day long with no temptation to touch a single coin, for its very weight would drag us nearer death.  We could purchase nothing with it and we would have cared no more for it as a thing of value than we did the desert sands.  We would have given much more for some of the snow which we could see drifting over the peak of the great snow mountains over our heads like a dusty cloud.

Deeming it best to spare the strength as much as possible, I threw away everything I could, retaining only my glass, some ammunition, sheath knife and tin cup.  No unnecessary burden could be put on any man or beast, lest he lie down under it, never to rise again.  Life and strength were sought to be husbanded in every possible way.

Leaving this camp where the water was appreciated we went over a road for perhaps 8 miles and came to the mouth of a rocky canon leading up west to the summit of the range.  This canon was too rough for wagons to pass over.  Out in the valley near its mouth was a mound about four feet high and in the top of this a little well that held about a pailful of water that was quite strong of sulphur.  When stirred it would look quite black.  About the mouth of the well was a wire grass that seemed to prevent it caving in.  It seems the drifting sand had slowly built this little mound about the little well of water in a curious way.  We spent the night here and kept a man at the well all night to keep the water dipped out as fast as it flowed, in order to get enough for ourselves and cattle.  The oxen drank this water better than they did the brackish water of the former camp.