304 ELDORADO 



hill to rest for the night. Here the atmosphere was 

 warmer, and undisturbed by the motion of the vessel, 

 they all slept soundly. The next morning after the 

 best breakfast they could prepare, they renewed their 

 journey, in hope of crossing a trail that their chart 

 told them led up the peninsula not far ofif. They were 

 all enervated by the life on board ship, and by their 

 scanty allowance of food for so long a time and their 

 halts were frequent and progress slow over the sharp 

 loose rocks. There was no soil on the surface and 

 the rocks had the appearance of having been burned 

 and were either red or black. Among them grew var- 

 ious species of cacti, the only vegetation. About mid- 

 day the heat became oppressive and in their distress 

 they began to throw away everything that encumbered 

 them. After crossing a high hill they entered a deep 

 ravine at the bottoni of which they had strong hopes 

 of finding water. Three of the party, who had started 

 without water, prefering to take the risk of not find- 

 ing it on shore rather than to take the nauseous fluid 

 from the schooner, gave out — two brothers, named 

 Smith, and one Gross, a lawyer — and were left behind. 

 At the bottom of the canyon they fixed their camp in 

 the shadow of a rock, for the heat was very great, and 

 scattered about in search of water. None could be 

 found and they continued down the ravine, which 

 seemed to have been the bed of a torrent in the rainy 

 season. About four o'clock in the afternoon they 

 came to a small canyon, where the rocks were damp 

 and they dug in various places, but found no moisture. 

 They licked the moist rocks in their distress, and with 

 their lips and mustaches covered with mud, renewed 

 the search. A bull dog, owned by one of the party 



