who had no families were objecting to being bound to those who had women
and children with them. They argued that the road would be hard and
difficult and those wagons with women and children would require more
assistance than they would be able to render in return. They said they
could go back and follow Hunt who was on a better road and they could
proceed with more safely.

Among those with this train was Rev. J.W. Brier, his wife and three
children. He objected to being turned back and said he did not want to
be assisted, but would go with them and do his part and take care of
himself. The Author listened to the various speeches without speaking
and became satisfied that it would end in every one looking out for
himself in case of hard times. He went over to their camp again the next
night and wished to ask them why they were steering so nearly due north.
He said to them that they were going toward Salt Lake rather than
California, and that the Bennet party did not feel inclined to follow
them any farther in that direction. They replied that their map told
them to go north a day or more and then they would find the route as
represented. They would then turn west and reach Owen's Lake and from
there there would be no more trouble. The Jayhawker crowd seemed to
think they could go anywhere and no difficulty could happen which they
couldn't overcome. Bennett's little train turned west from this point
and the Jayhawkers went on north, but before night they changed their
minds and came following on after Bennett whom they overtook and passed,
again taking the lead.

Thus far the country had been well watered and furnished plenty of
grass, and most of them talked and believed that this kind of rolling
country would last all the way through. The men at leisure scattered
around over the hills on each side of the route taken by the train, and
in advance of it, hunting camping places and making a regular picnic of
it. There were no hardships, and one man had a fiddle which he tuned up
evenings and gave plenty of fine music. Joy and happiness seemed the
rule, and all of the train were certainly having a good time of it.

But gradually there came a change as the wagon wheels rolled westward.
The valleys seemed to have no streams in them, and the mountain ranges
grew more and more broken, and in the lower ground a dry lake could be
found, and water and grass grew scarce--so much so that both men and
oxen suffered. These dry l