this section, seeing not a rabbit,
bird, or living thing we could use for food. Bennett had the same load
in his gun he put there when we left the wagons, and all the powder I
had burned was that used in killing the oxen we had slain whenever it
became necessary to provide for our barren kitchen.

As we approached the low foot-hills the trail became better travelled
and better to walk in, for the Jayhawkers who had scattered, every one
for himself apparently, in crossing the plain, seemed here to have drawn
together and their path was quite a beaten one. We saw from this that
they followed the tracks made by Rogers and myself as we made our first
trip westward in search of bread. Quite a little before the sun went out
of sight in the west we reached our camping place in the lower hills at
the eastern slope of a range we must soon cross. Here was some standing
water in several large holes, that proved enough for our oxen, and they
found some large sage brush and small bushes round about, on which they
browsed and among which they found a few bunches of grass. Lying about
were some old skulls of cattle which had sometime been killed, or died.
These were the first signs of the sort we had seen along this route.
They might have been killed by Indians who doubtless used this trail.

The next day in crossing the range before us, we reached the edge of the
snow, which the sun had softened, and we dare not attempt to cross.
Early in the morning, when it was frozen hard the cattle could travel it
very well. The snow belt was five or six miles wide, and the snow two or
three feet deep. This was a very good camping place except that we had
to melt snow for all our water, but this being coarse and icy it was not
a great job as we found enough dry juniper trees and twigs to make a
very good fire. Here we also had to kill another ox. This one in its
turn was Arcane's, and left him only two, and Bennett three, but we
think that if we have no accident we shall get them along with us till
we can get other food, as they have very light loads to pack. When the
ox is killed and the meat prepared the mule has, for a time, a larger
load than all the oxen have, but seems content and nips a bite of food
whenever it can see a chance anywhere along the road, giving us no more
trouble than a dog. And by the way, I think I have not mentioned our
faithful camp dog, a worthy member of our party who stood watch always
and gave us a sure alarm if anyt