AN ARDUOUS JOURNEY. 123 



horses and then started on, overtaking the doctor and 

 the judge at eight o'clock. 



All day long they toiled on through the sand and 

 dust, which was now supplemented by clouds of 

 smoke from the distant burning mountain. Camp 

 was made at noon and an attempt made to rest and 

 eat, but it was a dismal failure. A little water found 

 in a hole, which was so vile that the horses would 

 not drink it, was boiled and coffee made, but it was 

 not fit to drink. 



At half-past three in the afternoon the Grand Cou- 

 lee was reached. Here the road dropped down almost 

 perpendicularly into the canon and rose as precipi- 

 tously on the other side. In the distance could be 

 seen the magnificent range of the Cascades, along the 

 Columbia River, which at this place flows through 

 an immense gorge. Here the party suffered the tor- 

 tures of Tantalus, for while they could see and hear 

 the water as the stream dashed down the gorge far 

 below them, they could not by any possibility get 

 down to it, and were compelled to travel three miles 

 farther before they could obtain a drink. 



After a short rest the long pull up the mountains 

 began. The saddle-horses were fastened by a long 

 rope to the tongue of the wagon, and thus assisted in 

 getting the vehicle up the trail. The road narrowed 

 and wound in and out among the steep hills, along 

 the crags and cliffs of the mountain-side. While 

 going over this trail, Mac's bucking " cayuse" took it 

 into his head to show off, and the result was that he 

 fell and got tangled up in the ropes, dragging down 

 Dyche's horse. The latter was almost caught in the 



