itch and lane
They lead me left and right,
For it is I who turns the plain
To gardens of delight."

Then hurrying on, the dashing stream
Into a river grew,
And rock and mountain made a seam
To let its torrent through;
And where the burning desert lay,
A happy river ran;
A thousand miles it coursed its way,
And blessed the homes of man.

Vain was the oak tree's proud conceit,
Dethroned the monarch lay;
The brook that babbled at its feet
Had washed its roots away.
Still in the canon's heart there springs
The desert's diadem,
And shepherds bless the day that brings
The snow-bank's tears to them.

We crossed the river on a ferry-boat that was large enough to hold four
wagons and some saddle-horses. The boat was run by a cable stretched
taut up stream fifteen or twenty feet from the boat. A line from the
bow and stern of the boat connected it with a single block which ran on
the cable. When ready to start, the bow-line was hauled taut, the stern
line slacked off to the proper angle, when, the current passing against
the side of the boat, it was propelled across very rapidly. The river
here was rapid, the water cold and deep, with a strong undercurrent.

We had to wait nearly a whole day before it came our turn to take our
wagons over. In the meantime we were detailed as follows: Ten men were
selected to get the wagons aboard the boat, cross over with them and
guard them until all were carried over; three or four men were sent
across and up the river to catch and care for the stock as it came out
of the river near a clump of cottonwoods. One of the company, named Owen
Powers, a strong, courageous young man and a good swimmer, volunteered
to ride the lead horse in and across to induce the other animals to
follow, the balance of the company herding them, as they were all loose
near the edge of the river. When everything was ready, Powers stripped
off, and mounting the horse he had selected, rode out into the stream.
The other animals, forty-seven of them followed, and when a few feet
from the shore had to swim. Everything was going all right until Powers
reached the middle of the river, when an undercurrent struck his horse,
laying him over partly on his side. Powers leaned forward to encourage
his horse, when the animal suddenly threw up his head, striking him a
terrible blow squarely in the face. He