ON THE GREAT SANDY DESERT. 159 



Utahs and Parowans, who chase them from their hunting 

 grounds and confine them to a strip of desert country, which 

 barely affords them enough sustenance to keep them from starv- 

 ing. Their diet for the most part is such as the ancient witches 

 were wont to feed on ere starting on their expeditions for tor- 

 menting mortals: snakes, lizards, toads and frogs, and such other 

 reptiles which the warmth of the sun draws from beneath the 

 surface of these cheerless regions. In order to dislodge this 

 delectable "game" from their lairs, many of the Diggers go 

 armed with hooked sticks. Some of these animals they swal- 

 low raw, merely jerking off the tail by way of "dressing." 

 Even of this disgusting food they rarely have a sufficiency, and 

 are mostly in a state of semi-starvation, so that we can partially 

 excuse them for the begging and thieving which necessity 

 compels them to resort to as a means of supporting existence. 

 Some live in caves, while others live in miserable tents. Their 

 abodes are always in a horrible condition of filth, and those of 

 us who were venturesome enough to explore their interiors, 

 found them inhabited by miserable humanity and reeking 

 with vile odors. They are very cowardly, and will never 

 attack whites unless they are overwhelmingly in the majority, 

 and then in the dead of night. They are more dreaded for 

 their thievish than their warlike habits by travelers, who suf- 

 fer sometimes severely from the inroads they make upon their 

 animals. The language of these Indians is composed of but 

 few words, and those merely relate to their animal wants; the 

 accent being strikingly similar to that of the Spanish. 



It was near 10 o'clock before we left our interesting camping 

 place; our route lying up a broad, sandy valley, occasionally 

 varied by miry flats, which were white with alkaline exuda- 

 tions, and giving forth a sickening odor. We at length 

 struck the river, which was two rods in width, its tortuous bed 

 sometimes deepening into holes of unknown depth. Its water 

 was impregnated with sulphur and very warm. Crossing the 



