146 
The Colorado River 
by Henry Grinnell, and was sent to her brother’s home in Los 
Angelesd Another characteristic example is related by Hobbs. 
In the desert beyond Yuma, 
“we came upon the remains of an emigrant train, which a month 
previous had attempted to cross this desert in going from the United 
States to California. While passing over the desert they had been 
met by a sand-storm and lost the road by the sand blowing over it, 
and had wandered off into the hills. They had finally got back into 
the road; but by that time they were worn out, and they perished 
of fatigue and thirst.” 
They had passed the watering-place, a small pool, and as they 
had already been two or three days without water, the mistake 
was fatal. They had lightened their loads by casting off goods, 
but it was useless. A squad of soldiers was sent out from Fort 
Yuma to bury the bodies, of which eight were women and 
children and nine were men. The desert has no compassion 
on the human intruder, and he who ventures there must count 
only on his own resources. 
The crossing of Green River was also difficult, except at low 
water, on account of the depth and force of the current. Some¬ 
times the emigrants utilised a waggon-box as a boat, and the 
Mormons, who passed in 1847, established a ferry. Later others 
operated ferries, and the valley vied with Yuma in the matter of 
human activity. Fort Bridger was a place for rest and repairs, 
for there was a primitive blacksmith forge and carpenter shop. 
Here lived Bridger with his dark-skinned wife, chosen from a 
native tribe, and Vasquez, also a famous hunter. The fort was 
simply a few log cabins arranged in a hollow square protected 
by palisades, through which was a gateway closed by timber 
doors. Simple though it was, its value to the emigrant so far 
away from any settlement can hardly be appreciated by any 
who have never journeyed through such a wilderness as still ex¬ 
isted beyond the Missouri. Could we pause here and observe 
the caravans bound toward the sunset, we could hardly find any¬ 
where a more interesting study. There were the Californian 
^ For the full story see Capture of the Oatfnan Girls, by R. B. Stratton. 
