had picked him up and brought him along over 1000 miles and attended
him until he died. Humanity sickens at such selfishness as that
manifested by his comrades. They were three in number--he owned one
fourth of the craft in common with them, but becoming sick, the brutes
left him to the mercy of Indians, wolves, or such strangers as chance
might throw in his way. The scoundrels should serve 10 years in the
penitentiary if they ever get back to Missouri. We find many sick on
the road now, and some deaths, but three-fourths of all that are sick
are from Missouri. I do not know why it is, but such appears to be the
fact.

This afternoon we had a long bad hill to descend, when we reached Goose
Creek, and traveled up a few miles and camped for the night.--We have
had an abundance of grass and water to-day. A singular looking gigantic
bluff of rocks lies directly opposite from us, which we call the
castle, and it looks like an ancient castle, with its mossy battlements
and sturdy towers. I saw some of the most beautiful specimens of white
marble to-day that it hast been my fortune to examine. There was a
quarry of it filling a mountain. It was as pure as alabaster, and
probably has not a rival in the world. Horse shoe nails sold to-day for
25 cents a piece.

25 miles.

12th. Followed up the Goose creek 13 miles, then up a spring branch
thro' a gorge in the mountains and across some barren ridges without
water, about 12 miles, when we entered the Thousand Spring Valley. The
ridge that we crossed is composed almost entirely of lava, or melted
stone, and is very rough and sharp to travel over. We did not camp
until after dark, there being no grass at the first springs, and then
we camped in the wild sage without grass, but we could go no farther
that night. Fourteen horses ran away whilst we were getting our
supplies. Some of them were found during the night, and the rest in the
morning; they had found good grass up in the hills. Most of our men
were out all night, so that this night seems but a continuation for the
morrow.

30 miles.

13th. Crossed the ridge from the Thousand Spring Valley to the Cold
Creek Valley about 12 miles, no grass or water. Cold Creek is a dry
creek where we struck it, but furnishes some water for stock. Our
course lay up the creek, which we followed up to near its head, where
we camped at some good springs impregnated with sulphur. We found
plenty of grass at night, and have seen considera