silica or lime of the water; water-soaked we call
it. I saw a number of such springs in which several branches of trees
were lying across the small opening at the point of convergence. When
once these are firmly lodged, they form a support for smaller branches
and twigs, and thus the tufts of grass which the spring floods or
melting snows bring down from the sides of the mountain will, after a
few years, made a sufficiently strong foundation for the earth, which
will also wash down the slopes into the spring. Once a firm footing is
established, it is only a question of time when the spring will be
filled to the brim with earth. Then gradually the seed blown over the
surface of the spring from the weeds and grass near by will take root,
and, in the course of a few years, a strong turf will be formed, through
which the water may percolate in many places, though giving to the
unsuspecting traveler no sign of its treacherous character. I think that
it was through such a turf as this that the fore legs of my horse and my
right hand were plunged.[T]

[Illustration: BREAKING THROUGH THE TURF, FORMED OVER THE SURFACE OF
SUCH A SPRING AS THAT SHOWN ABOVE.]

My pack horse which I rode to-day, a buckskin colored broncho, which is
docile under the pack saddle, "bucked" as I mounted him this morning;
but I kept my seat in the saddle without difficulty. Walter Trumbull,
however, on my return to-night, presented me with a sketch which he says
is a faithful portrayal of both horse and rider in the acrobatic act. I
think the sketch is an exaggeration, and that I hugged the saddle in
better form than it indicates.

[Illustration: MY BUCKING BRONCHO.]

Tuesday, September 13.--It was Jake Smith's turn to stand guard last
night, but he refused to do so, and Washburn took his place.

We have remained in camp all day. At about 9 o'clock this morning it
began to rain and hail, and we have had a little snow, which continued
to fall at intervals all day. At about 6 o'clock this evening Hauser and
Gillette arrived in camp, having returned on the trail to within three
miles of the place where we camped on the night of September 7th. They
examined the trail and the beach with the utmost care, but without
discovering any trace of Mr. Everts. They say that the trail over which
our train passed, or, rather, the path which our train made, was hardly
plain enough to be followed, and in many places where the pine leaves
had fallen thick upon the g