TREES AND MORMON BEARDS 157 



luxurious addition to my supper brought me 

 a dish of rich, sweet cream, the first I had seen 

 in many weeks. 



Eighteen miles beyond Seaman's ranch lies 

 Hatch, the first settlement on the west fork of 

 the Sevier River. This I aimed to reach in 

 half a day. From the ranch there is a gradual 

 rise for several miles, before the descent is be- 

 gun. I had crossed the divide and was drop- 

 ping down the north slope when I met a horse- 

 man. 



"How far is it to Hatch?" I inquired. 



"Eight miles; maybe a little less," he an- 

 swered. 



This was encouraging. Two or three miles 

 farther on I met another. 



"How far to Hatch?" I asked. 



"Plumb twelve miles, an' long ones," he ad- 

 vised, and my spirits fell. 



Presently I met another, and still anxious to 

 learn what progress I was making, I again put 

 the question, "How far to Hatch?" 



"Not more'n six miles." 



I was again hopeful and expectant of soon 

 discovering Hatch, until at the end of another 

 two miles an individual insisted that Hatch was 

 still "ten good, long miles away." The expla- 

 nation of these various and discordant estimates 



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