it moving. The women
warned us that in the valley at the foot of the hill was a very bad mud
hole which we must inevitably negotiate. They said that a stream from
the mountains had in a recent freshet overflowed the plain and reduced
both the road and the adjoining country to the state of a swamp. They
assured us that we simply must go through the mud hole and that we were
bound to get stuck in it. They cheered us, however, by telling us that a
nearby settler had a sturdy draught horse and that he would in all
probability pull us out for the sum of $2.00 a motor car. We thanked
them for their warning and drove down the long hill into the next
valley.

I had been interested while waiting for Mr. N.'s machine to come up, to
see the beautiful cactus blossoms growing close to the ground on both
sides of the road. They were of a rich yellow and a rich magenta color,
single petaled and really beautiful. I saw them growing all along
through the desert. In some places they made broad patches of color.

Coming on to another wide valley stretching away for eighty miles and
more, we saw the mud hole before us and carefully examined the sides of
the road to see if we could not make a detour. The spongy, muddy soil
assured us that it was hopeless, and that what the women had told us was
only too true. In the meantime the settler, working with his wife and
baby near at hand in his newly cleared field, kept an eye on us. But he
did not come to our rescue until we called him. The Ford, being the
machine of lighter weight, started first through the mud hole. Its
wheels sank immediately and no turning on of power could push it
forward. We then shouted to the settler. He came across the field with
his big horse, and as he drew near we saw that he was a tall, good
looking man with an open and kindly face. I was secretly glad that the
poor fellow who had so recently cast his lot in this lonely and immense
valley had a chance to earn some ready money. After a little pleasant
dickering he agreed to pull the machines out for $1.00 apiece. The
splendid big horse was harnessed to the machine and at the word he threw
his weight against his traces and philosophically pulled away, while Mr.
N. at the same instant turned on his power. The machine easily came out
of the mud and was soon on dry ground. T. drove our machine forward, was
instantly imbedded in the mud and was pulled out in the same way. It was
interesting to see how the big horse threw