exdlich.] ITINERARY. 9 



.swarming with antelope. At that season of the year the young ones 

 were still quite small, and great solicitude was manifested on the part 

 of their mothers. Olymer captured one of the little animals alive, after 

 a chase of about two miles. The piteous bleating soon reached the ears 

 of an anxious mother, and she came within twenty yards of us, the very 

 picture of distress. After having tied a string to the little fellow we set 

 him free again. 



Our destination was a high, prominent point, where we proposed 

 making a station, and at the base of which we hoped to find water. A 

 steep ride over sandstones and some oolitic beds brought us to the sum- 

 mit. So far as we could see from there, no flowing water existed within a 

 radius of many miles. In the distance several lakes appeared, but even 

 with the aid of our field-glasses we could not determine whether the 

 appearance was not the result of mirage. Far below us the pack-train 

 slowly plodded along on an old road leading southward. Essex Moun- 

 tain was too far off to be reached that day, and the prospect of obtain- 

 ing water was by no means promising. Having completed our station, 

 we led the animals down a steep slope, over very much disintegrated 

 sandstones and marls. Sinking into the loose material deeply at every 

 step, the downward trip was fatiguing both to man and beast. Tracks 

 of antelope became scarcer as we receded from the Sweetwater, a feature 

 that did not tend to encourage our hope for water. About sundown 

 we found camp, located several hundred feet above the valley on the 

 slope of a ridge. Here a small spring was found, which, by artificial 

 enlargement, furnished a sufficient supply of water. Wood was obtained 

 from some groves of quaking asp, and we felt thankful for so comfort- 

 able a camp. One objection to it existed, however, in the abundance of 

 woodticks. Crawling in under the clothes these animals firmly fasten 

 themselves in the skin, producing most disagreeable sensations, and 

 sometimes causing small wounds that are slow to heal. 



Our course still lay southward. During the day following we made 

 several stations, travelling in the direction of the groups of basaltic hills 

 mentioned in previous pages. We rode over sterile country all day 

 long, nothing occurring to relieve the monotony save the appearance 

 of some antelopes. [Numerous small, gray birds (sage-sparrow) en- 

 joyed themselves in the sage-brush, probably deriving the water neces- 

 sary for their sustenance from the copious dew. In watching them we 

 observed that frequently they would fly up directly in front of the mule, 

 as if suddenly surprised, and in danger of being trodden upon. We 

 found, however, that they quietly slipped out of their nests at our ap- 

 proach, ran swiftly along the ground, dodging behind brush and grassy 

 and did not attempt to fly until observation directed upon them could 

 i»o longer reveal their habitations. This same sense of deception, due to 

 the instinct of self-protection, we noticed in many other birds of similar 

 regions. 



Having followed the trail of the pack-train until nearly dusk, we found 

 that it suddenly turned in the direction of Mount Essex, which had been 

 passed during the day. After a tedious ride of five or six miles through 

 loose sand, we found ourselves once more at our old camp at the base of 

 the mountain. The lake which we had seen two weeks ago had lost at 

 least 8 inches by evaporation, and the spring was no longer as large 

 as it had been. 



On the day following, June 17, we continued our march southward. 

 Ahead of us were several basaltic hills, and we hoped to find both 

 water and grass there. A ride of 16 miles along the old wagon-road 

 which we had been following brought us to the north base of a long, 



