ELDORADO loi 



On the third day after our arrival at Peak Springs, 

 at 5 o'clock p. m., we again packed our faithful ani- 

 mals, to which we gave the best care possible, if for 

 no other reason than for self-interest, as they were 

 regarded as the most important and indispensable mem- 

 bers of our family. After going two or three miles 

 leisurely along the base of the mountain, where nu- 

 merous springs and good grass abounded, we struck 

 out over another forty-mile desert, which we regarded 

 as a play spell compared with what we had already ex- 

 perienced. Night travel was preferred for making 

 long distances, on account of the heat during the day. 

 As we were then at an elevation of between 4,000 and 

 5,000 feet above sea level, the moon and stars in that 

 saline and rarefied atmosphere shone with peculiar 

 brilliance, and at that time, with nearly a full moon, it 

 was almost as light as day. As before, we provided 

 refreshments for our horses and made one halt only 

 during the night, and reached a camping ground at 

 8 o'clock in the morning, where was a limited supply of 

 feed and a little brackish water. We remained here un- 

 til evening and again packed our horses and continued 

 our journey about ten miles, where better accommo- 

 dations were found. 



io the limit of vision, in every direction, the whole 

 region presented a barren and desolate appearance. 

 Isolated, rocky peaks and broken ridges rose at long 

 intervals out of the plain, but no tree or vegetable 

 growth, except the ever-present and hated sage-brush 

 (only when it was needed for fuel) was to be seen. 

 For the 130 miles of desert travel not a living creature 

 or sign of animal life had been seen. 



To the west, the direction our route lay, possibly 



