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had left my Rubber Cloth, returned for it & did not overtake our party again till nearly night = camped about sundown = grass eat off & poor = some of our men did not reach camp till very late & some stayed out all night = rained considerable from 8 to 10 oclock 13th started early travelled till about 1/2 past 12 when we camped on good grass 6 or 7 miles south ^ east of the road & 6 or 8 miles above the slough or sink = found quite a number of waggons encamped here = with straggling Digger Indians, that had come in to pick up cast off clothes & beg & steal all they could most of them were armed with guns = travelled yesterday about 23 miles by road & some 30 miles in our wanderings to find grass = today about 15 miles = most of our party stopped here = before entering the desert to let our animals recruit = but Dr White = Sewell = Olney & Close went on next morning so as not to travel the day after (Sunday) heard of grass near the sink & 14th went down 6 or 7 miles to be so much on our way we found here many dead animals & poor water in holes, burned grass to fry our bacon on guard from 9 1/2 to 12 = Capt Tuttle our morning guard went to sleep & our mules we found scattered = 15th started about sunrise travelled over a low level plain which looked like the bed of dried up lake to the sink = proper = which we reached about noon = found a few pools of stagnant water with many dead animals in & around them, the stench was intolerable = in some places the dead animals lay in heaps perhaps one or two hundred could be counted without moving your position = the emigrants had dug holes by the side of the pools to filter the water somewhat = & this all were obliged to use, fed our mules some hay we had cured at our last camp & then started on the desert = saw Miriages frequently to taunt us, after travelling a few miles the trail divides most of the emigrants going by the left hand route or Salmon River route we took