OCR Text |
Show APPE0ACH TO CTVILIZATION. 237 8 o'clock this morning: 5th, encamped on the Mohahve River. We made 31 miles.since last evening. I return grateful thanks to the Omnipotent for conducting me safely over the mountains of snow, and the dangers of the desert wilderness. We may now consider the real perils of the journey past. San Bernandino is ninety miles S. W. of us. In four days, I trust we shall arrive in good health and condition. Yesterday two horses gave out. Our Mormon lady is the sub-tenant of one of our wagons ; her own was so heavy as to wear out the animals, she was obliged to leave it on the road. My poor mule is only a shadow of himself, I walked about fifteen miles yesterday, to relieve him. He has now good grass for his supper. When we struck the Mohahve River, it appeared to be only a dry bed of sand, with a few pools of water about six inches deep. We were very grateful that we found any at all, as our animals were suffering very much for the want of it. Cottonwood and willows grow abundantly near the banks. The sight of vegetation is refreshing, and indicates our approach to a country more adapted for the purposes of man. We left camp at four o'clock, in hopes of finding a better camp-ground. We travelled thirteen miles through loose deep sand, when, turning again to the river, we found a large sluggish pool of water, twenty-five feet in diameter, and one foot deep in the bed of the river, which sinks and rises in the sand for many miles. Good bunch grass was here in abundance, and our animals are faring sumptuously. |