482 LONG MARCH WITHOUT WATER, Book III. 
weeks. Here, at San Xavier del Bac, we met Doctor 
E. with his heads of cattle, who had arrived there a 
fortnight before us. Our having missed the shorter way, 
caused us a loss of some weeks, and a cost of at least a 
thousand dollars. 
This disagreeable fact, however, was not credited by all 
our party for many days. The first inconvenience was 
that we hunted in vain to discover on the old road the 
watering-places of the new one, of which we had a list. I 
was not deceived about it, but I could not make the others 
adopt my view. 
The very first night we were obliged to pass without 
water, after our long journey from Ojo de Yaca. Our 
animals were very thirsty at starting in the morning, with a 
prospect of travelling thirty-five miles without meeting with 
any water. In the evening of this day both men and 
beasts were utterly exhausted, and a general depression 
seized the whole caravan. On a sudden a smooth and 
bright surface appeared at a distance in the prairie, which 
our people took to be a lake. A general joy burst forth at 
this sight ; which, however, I did not share, well knowing 
where the next watering-place would be. My objections 
were not listened to, and those of our party on horseback 
hastened towards the supposed lake. The refraction of the 
light increased the apparent surface of the water, and 
it had quite the appearance of a large lake filled with 
yellowish water, and with small green islands from which 
rose the tops of single yucca-trees. Meanwhile the cara- 
van was gradually approaching, and saw themselves at last 
on the edge of a level and dry plain, on the opposite 
side of which rose* a chain of high mountains. It was 
at the foot of these that we had to look for our next 
watering-place. The dry lake is laid down on the map as 
