ARID DESERT. 1 1 



give up possession, and make my exodus into a new 

 land, not halting except for necessary rest till many, 

 many leagues were between me and my old camping- 

 ground. In the lapse of a week I expected to accom- 

 plish this purpose, but the further I advanced the 

 less inviting became the country, vegetation became 

 scarcer, and snow more abundant ; while, from the 

 rugged nature of the surface of the land, travelling 

 was monotonous, arduous, and fatiguing in the 

 extreme. 



Fortunately in this land water was always to be 

 obtained, and though food was scarce, I had exercised 

 so much economy as to possess a fair supply for my 

 own use ; otherwise I should have starved, for game 

 was scarce. From day's end to day's end scarcely a 

 wild animal was to be seen, and then so wary were 

 the denizens of this almost untrodden desert that 

 they constantly kept themselves beyond reach of my 

 missiles. My poor mule and mare, however, were 

 absolutely starving, for I verily believe, if every 

 particle of edible vegetation had been collected from 

 a hundred of the surrounding acres, it would not 

 have sufficed to make them one good meal. 



Having hoped from day to day that a change 

 would occur, I continued progressing to the north- 

 ward, until it was too late to think of retracing my 

 steps, and hope deferred had already caused my heart 

 to become sick. With the least enviable feelings I ever 

 remember to have experienced, day by day I observed 

 the clearly-defined ribs and prominent points of my 



