Bennett and Arcane now concluded not to wait for me to go ahead and explore out a way for them to follow, as I had done for a long time, but to go ahead as it was evidently the best way to turn south and make our own road, and find the water and passes all for ourselves.

So they hitched up and rolled down the canon, and out into the valley and then turned due south.

We had not gone long on this course before we saw that we must cross the valley and get over to the west side.

To do this we must cross through some water, and for fear the ground might be miry, I went to a sand hill near by and got a mesquite stick about three feet long with which to sound out our way.

I rolled up my pants pulled off my moccasins and waded in, having the teams stand still till I could find out whether it was safe for them to follow or not by ascertaining the depth of the water and the character of the bottom.
The water was very clear and the bottom seemed uneven, there being some deep holes.