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Show 231 a very small one almost hidden by the sage brush. The l i t t l e pool was surrounded by wire grass and a few wild rose bushes. Predictably, the waterhole was named Rose Spring, and the company pressed on. Mile a f t e r mile, Dame pushed r e l e n t l e s s l y down Lake Valley. A r i c h covering of sage and greasewood spread across the wide v a l l e y . But as the company advanced toward the south end of the valley the cedars and junipers on the bench became more abundant, sometimes flowing down the h i l l s i d e s and spreading into the valley i t s e l f . They continued t o follow the present-day course of U.S. Highway 93 past the B r i s t o l Range on t h e i r r i g h t and on t o the Pioche H i l l s. Here the company of twelve made for a gap between the h i l l s and the Highland Range near Arizona Peak, being led by an Indian they had found e a r l i e r in the day. The explorers were guided t o a b e a u t i f u l spring in a high "mountain cove." This spring, known today as Highland Spring, was called Cove Spring by Dame and i s found six miles west of modern Pioche, Nevada. On t h i s divide between Lake Valley and Meadow Valley, they found plenty of wood, water and g r a s s , a ll of which were e s s e n t i a l s t o the d e s e r t t r a v e l e r . It was again ten o'clock in the evening before the expedition camped for the n i g h t . Since sunrise they had traveled an i n c r e d i b l e f o r t y - f i v e miles through an unknown country, but they 24 were now very close t o t h e i r d e s t i n a t i o n. On Monday morning, May 24, Colonel Dame and company slipped over the divide into Meadow Valley and located a s i t e for a farm. The wagons had not yet arrived in the valley from Desert Swamp Springs, but they were believed to be near. |
