as the winter season and the heat did not trouble them; moreover,
the rains and snows furnished some water.

None of the wagons were taken beyond the camp at the western edge
of the valley, under the towering peaks of the Panamint Range.
This place is now known as Bennett's Wells. Here the wagons were
broken up and burned, and the loads, which were now very light,
were either taken by the men themselves or placed upon the backs
of the few remaining oxen. It was thought that the fair fields
of California would be seen from the top of the Panamint Range;
but when the travellers reached the summit other desert valleys
appeared in the west, and beyond these, in the dim distance, another
snowy range was visible.

The emigrants now divided into parties. One party reached Owens
Lake, and turning south, finally passed over the Sierras by the
way of Walkers Pass and went down the valley of the Kern River.
Another, the Bennett party, including some women and children,
remained at the springs in Death Valley, while two of the men started
out alone, in the hope of reaching the settlements and returning
with food. These men crossed the Panamint Range and struggled on
for days in a southwesterly direction, over desert valleys and
mountains. They were frequently on the point of giving up in despair
for want of food and water.

At last, far to the south, the snowy crest of the San Gabriel Range
came into sight. Continuing in a southwesterly direction through
the Mohave Desert, the men reached a low pass in the mountains and
followed a stream until they came upon a Mexican ranch, where the
sight of green meadows, upon which horses and cattle were feeding,
delighted their weary eyes.

Several animals were secured and loaded with food. Then the men
turned back into the desert. They at last reached the desolate
valley again, after an absence of about a month, and found most of
the party alive, although nearly driven to despair. With the aid
of a mule and several oxen, the party came safely to the fertile
valleys near the coast.

Another party, known as the Jayhawkers, struggled on behind the
two men who went for relief, and the most of its members also came
safely out of the desert, though not without extreme suffering.
In all, fourteen people of this expedition perished.

[Illustration: FIG. 74.--SOUTHERN END OF DEATH VALLEY

Showing the white deposits of soda]

If you ever have an opportunity to travel over this region, you
w