The voice was as distinct as any I ever heard, and I half turned to see if anyone was there, but saw no one; and after debating a short time in my mind decided that I must not refuse, and I said mentally, "Well, I will."
The next day I saw Hyrum and told him I would go with him and I wanted fifty dollars to leave with my wife. He handed me the money and I started with him on the following morning.
My health improved all the way there. I worked at carpenter work all Winter and returned in the Spring, a sound, healthy man.
Other advantages and information gained while gone, prove to me that I was inspired or told to go and do the very thing that was necessary for my present salvation. It was a very important mission to me; and how important no mortal but myself knows.
[CHAPTER III.]
OUT OF PROVISIONS—LIVE ON HORSE FLESH— ARRIVAL AT CARSON—START BACK FOR HOME—DESCRIPTION OF THE JOURNEY —AIDED BY RED MEN—MEET WITH MORE INDIANS—OUR MANNER OF DEALING WITH THEM.
Three days after leaving our newly-made friends, the Indians, we were on a hard desert, where in one place we crossed a field of crystallized mineral of some kind, which had the appearance of ice, and rode our horses safely over it. That night, on the same desert, one of the fattest horses in the company failed and was left just before we had crossed the desert, and it was nearly morning when we camped. At daylight I sent for the horse to eat, as we were then out of provisions.
The uninvited increase of the company had very small rations at starting, and when their food was exhausted I fed them until there was nothing left to eat for any of us, then we killed the horse and lived on its flesh for one week.
Two days after killing the horse we were on another desert and traveled until far into the night, for we could see no end to the desert; and since living on horseflesh for food we crowded the animals to make the best time possible to get where better food could be had, and more water, for we found water scarce and both men and beasts were in a suffering condition. About 2 o'clock in the morning a stop was made to rest the animals, for they had neither food nor water for over twenty-four hours. The saddles were removed and the animals were turned loose in the desert, where neither bush, stick nor grass could be seen. Being loosened, the animals all began feeding on something, though we could see nothing. We set out a guard, as usual. In the morning we found the horses feeding on a weed or grass of a wine color, about four inches high, covering in area about eight acres, and nowhere else did we ever see any more of that kind of feed.
We reached Carson on the 15th of October. We could not start back until word could be got to and from San Francisco. It was getting late in the season and we soon began to feel uneasy about the Winter snows we might encounter, but I had thought of this all the way and took such notes of the route as would enable me to recognize the way again even if the mountains should be covered with snow. I kept what sailors would call a "log book," in which was written a regular description of every landscape— certain shaped mountains here, a grove of cedars there, etc.; and at every turn of the road, consulted the compass, noting the various directions, and had some certain land-marks at each turn, with estimates of distances between points.