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Show BIVOUAC ON DOLPHIN ISLAND. 189 oat.- The Jordan was over its banks from the melting of the snows in the mountains. Thursdayy May 24.-- Haying laid in all the necessary supplies, we returned to the island to- day, killed a beef, and made all pre* parations for an. early start next day. The range for cattle on this island is now very fine, and the herd appears in excellent condition. . The drove of Indian horses, which had suffered much from the hard winter at Fort Bridge?, begins to improve, and many of them are very handsome animals. Monday, May 28.- Owing to head winds and heavy'blows upon the lake, we have been constantly occupied for the last four days in endeavouring to reach our companions on the salt- plains of the western shore- a place which the men had, not inappropriately, distinguished by the title of " Tophet." An hour before sundown we descried the smoke of their camp- fires near a small island on the west coast, called Dolphin Island, and shaped our course accordingly. When it became dark, we made out the camp- fire itself, and hoisted' a signal- lantern to let them know that fresh beef, vegetables, and water were near at hand. At two in the morning we landed, or rather grounded, near what we supposed to be the sand- flat of & e main land, north of the island, and apparently some half- mile from the' camp. The moon was shirting bright q, nd clear, and, anchoring the boat, lest she should drift'off before morning, we shouldered our blankets, a keg or two of water, and some pieces of fresh beef, and'commenced our tramp fpr the encampment. Reaching the shore, we trudged on with bare feet for about a mile, over sharp incrustations of salt and . sand, whan we most unexpectedly came again to water. Judging it to be a mere pool or washing up of the lake, we disre-, garded so petty an impediment, and continued plodding our weary way through it for about a mile farther, when, finding that it bdgan to grow deeper and deeper, it being then nearly up to the waist, we returned to the flats, and, kindling a fire of sage- brush, lay down upon the sand until daylight. The night was uncomfortably chilly, and a single blanket was but a sorry protection against the cold, damp sand and the searching winds from the neighbouring mountains. Tuesday, May 28.-- A little after sunrise, we perceived some of the shore party approaohing in the skiff; and we now found that, instead of landing last night, as we had supposed, on the main, we had struck a wide sand- flat extending northward from the island, had |