Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/108



they found  a  letter  from  Hastings,  who  had  gone before, saymg  that  between  this  point  and  the next water  were  two  days  and  nights  of  hard  driving ; so they  rested  the  next  day  and  refreshed  themselves. Cutting grass  for  the  cattle,  and  laying  in  a  supply of water  for  the  two  days'  desert,  the  Great  Salt Lake plain  they  called  it,  at  daylight  on  the  morning of September  9th  they  broke  camp.

It was  a  dangerous  thing  to  do,  to  cast  themselves, their wives  and  little  ones,  their  cattle  and  all  their belongings, into  an  unknown  desert  where  they  had been assured  that  with  no  mishaps,  and  by  straight and hard  driving,  there  were  two  days  between  them and water;  but  there  was  now  no  help  for  it. The result proved  most  disastrous. The third  day,  at noon,  Eddy  and  some  others,  with  their  cattle,  suc- ceeded in reaching  a  spring  seventy-five  miles  distant from the  last  wells,  but  they  were  obliged  to  leave their wagons  twenty  miles  behind. About dark  Reed came up,  and  stated  that  the  rest  of  the  wagons  were forty miles  behind,  and  that  the  fainting  cattle  were being urged  forward  to  the  water  by  the  drivers. Reed and  Eddy  immediately  started  back,  the  latter with a  bucket  of  water,  which  he  carried  five  miles  for a prostrate  ox. Reed met  his  cattle  with  their  drivers ten miles  back,  and  went  on  to  assist  the  Donners ; but Reed's  cattle  all  died  before  they  reached  water. It was  not  until  the  evenino;  of  the  15th  that  all  ar- rived in  camp,  having  left  many  of  their  wagons  scat- tered along the  track,  and  half  their   animals  dead.

Affairs now  began  to  look  serious. Some families were completely  ruined;  dread  forebodings  began  to arise  in  the  minds  of  all. With the  ill-fated  desert behind them  they  could  not  retreat ;  before  them  the way was  dark  and  uncertain. The surviving  cattle were exhausted,  and  the  woodwork  of  the  wagons shrank in  the  dry  air  until  the  spokes  rattled  in  the wheels, and  the  tires  seemed  ready  to  fall  off. Tak- ing the cows  and  all  loose  animals,  feeble    and    dis-