ted with one hundred and seven
wagons and about five hundred horses and cattle. The course led
in a southwesterly direction past Sevier Lake and Mountain Meadows
in southwestern Utah. In the latter locality the party divided,
the larger number leaving the old trail and taking a more westerly
direction. They thought in this way to shorten the distance, and
hoped, by skirting the southern end of the Sierra Nevada mountains,
to-gain the San Joaquin Valley in California.

Now trouble began. No one had ever been over the new route, and
the location of the springs and the passes through which the wagons
could be taken had to be sought out in advance. Soon many of the
party turned back to the known trail, but the others continued,
though with no knowledge of the nature of the country which they
must cross.

Day after day and week after week the slow ox-teams crawled across
the broad deserts and over the low mountain ranges. From the top
of each successive mountain ridge the men looked with longing eyes
toward the west, hoping to get a sight of the snowy Sierras. Finally
want of water and food began to weaken the cattle and the wagons
were lightened as much as possible.

As the party approached the eastern boundary of California the
mountains grew higher and the deserts more arid. In the clear air
the snow-covered peaks of the Panamint Range began to be visible,
although one hundred miles away. The weary emigrants believed that
these peaks belonged to the Sierra Nevadas, and that beyond them
lay the green valleys of California. How great was their mistake!
The Panamint Range looks down upon Death Valley with a bold and
almost impassable front, while still other broad deserts lie between
this range and the real Sierras.

Upon reaching the head of the Amargosa River the party began to
separate, for by this time many thought only of saving their lives
at any cost. Some followed Furnace Creek to its sink in Death Valley;
others went over the Funeral range and came down upon the lower
portion of the Amargosa River. In many cases the wagons were abandoned
and the oxen were killed for food.

When they came into the sink we now know as Death Valley, the members
of the different parties began to feel that they were really lost.
From the records that have come down to us we can see that they had
not the slightest idea of the direction which they should take or
of their distance from the settlements in California. Fortunately it
w