258 
THE COPPER MINES TO 
A few miles in advance, following the road, I also per- 
ceived a line of large cotton- woods. I hastened for- 
ward in advance of the party, and when I reached the 
spot, I directed Wells, my carriage driver, to look 
around among the trees and bushes, whose luxuriance 
indicated their proximity to water. He had got but a 
few rods when I heard him halloa, and soon after take 
to a tree. His red flannel shirt had excited the ire of 
a bull, which, with a herd of wild cattle, was browsing 
among the bushes. But my party coming up at this 
juncture, they all took to their heels in single file, the 
bull leading the van, and were soon lost in the high 
chapporal. We were again doomed to disappoint- 
ment. No water was found. I now hastened back 
with all speed to Black Water Creek, where the train 
with the rest of the party had arrived. They were 
pondering what to do in the dilemma. Their disap- 
pointment being not less than my own. We had now 
come about twenty-two miles from the last water, and 
nearly forty from our last camping place in the Guada- 
lupe Pass. So confident had we been on leaving San 
Bernardino that we should find water at this place, if 
not at two intermediate stations, that we had not taken 
the trouble to fill our kegs. We always avoided carry- 
ing kegs of water when not absolutely necessary, on 
account of the weight, and the appearance of a river 
on the map was a sufiicient excuse for omitting to do 
so at this time. For the same reason we had collected 
no wood. The place where we had stopped was also 
entirely destitute of grass, so that we had but a poor 
prospect of a meal before us. Two of us had a little 
water in our canteens ; we put this together, made a 
