d manage to get a little provision together, such as
flour and beans, that I could pack there on the mule, and I was pretty
sure I could find game that would be better meat than we had lived on
during the last two months on the desert.

We looked around to see if we could find something to do to earn a
little for a start, but were not successful. In our walk about this city
of mud we saw many things that seemed strange to us. There were more
women than men, and more children than grown-up people, while the dogs
were plenty. At the edge of the town, near the river were some grape
vines fenced in with living willows, interlaced in some places with dry
vines. The Indians moved very moderately around and no doubt had plenty
of beef to eat, with very few wants to provide for. We noticed some few
people paying for small things at the stores with small money. The women
all dressed much alike. The dress was of some cheap material, sandals on
feet, and a kind of long shawl worn over the head and thrown over the
shoulder. There seemed to be neither hoops nor corsets in their
fashions. The men wore trousers of white cotton or linen, with a calico
shirt, sandals, and a broad rimmed snuff colored hat. The Indians and
their wives went bareheaded.

Near the end of the street we came to a boarding house and went in and
sat down in the empty room. Soon a man came in, better dressed than
ourselves, and much to our surprise it was one of the old Death Valley
travelers, the Rev. J.W. Brier whom I last saw in his lone camp in the
desert, discoursing to his young sons on the benefits of an early
education. I know the situation struck me very strangely, with death
staring them in the face and he preaching!

We had a long talk about the hard journey we had each experienced. As
his party had not waited they had come through ahead of us. He said
himself and Mr. Granger had started a boarding house when they arrived,
and had been doing a good business. He said that as long as the
emigrants continued to come he could get along very well. We asked him
if there was any chance for us to work and get money to get some
provisions to help us on the way to the mines. He said he could give
work to one of us hauling water for the house with oxen and cart, and
the one who could manage oxen was the man. I was an ox driver and so
told him I would take his team and cart and set out with the work. He
said he could pay fifty dollars a month, and I accepted the