iat, frightened by the roaring of the
springs, and plunged along too near one of them, when the surrounding
incrustation gave way and he sank down to his body, but frantically
extricated himself without standing upon the order of his
extrication;--but he has cut his foot so badly that I do not think it
will be prudent to ride him to-day. In his stead I will ride my smaller
pack horse, who has nearly recovered from the effects of the scalding he
received on my trip to Brown mountain. The hair has come off his legs in
several places as the result of that mishap, yet his wonderful vitality
always leaves him in a cheerful frame of mind and ready for any duty.

This has been a gloomy morning in our camp, for we all have been
depressed at the thought of leaving the lake and abandoning the search
for Mr. Everts. We have discussed the situation from every point of
view, and have tried to put ourselves in his place and have considered
all the possibilities of fate that may befall him. At one moment he may
be buoyed up with hope, however faint--at another weighed down by
despair and fear, with all their mental terrors. Has he met death by
accident, or may he be injured and unable to move, and be suffering the
horrors of starvation and fever? Has he wandered aimlessly hither and
thither until bereft of reason? As I contemplate all these
possibilities, it is a relief to think that he may have lost his life at
the hand of some vagabond Indian.

As the result of this conference we have decided upon a final plan of
action. We will give to Gillette from our remnant of provisions, ten
days' rations, and Lieutenant Doane will detail Privates Moore and
Williamson, with ten days' rations, and the three will continue the
search from this point. Mr. Gillette says that with the ten days'
rations they can devote five days to a continuous search, and the
remaining five days will be sufficient, with forced traveling, for them
to overtake us.

Hauser has endeavored to throw a little cheer into the conference by
saying to Gillette:

"I think that I should be willing to take the risk of spending
ten days more in this wilderness, if I thought that by so
doing I could find a father-in-law." This provoked an uproarious
shout of laughter, for we well understood that
Hauser alluded to the many social courtesies which Gillette,
in Helena, had extended to Miss Bessie Everts, the charming
daughter of our lost comrade, and one of the most