Though far from being able-bodied, Niels determined to do his best at walking. He accordingly set out bravely with the other pedestrians, with whom, however, he was unable to keep up, as his gait was like that of a snail. His habit was to walk until overtaken by the train, or until he was so fatigued that he could not proceed further, when he would get into a wagon and ride. Occasionally he succeeded by perseverance in walking all day long, and was necessarily most of the time alone. By starting early, as soon as breakfast was over, and before the teams had been hitched up, he would be able to keep ahead of the train, and yet soon be outdistanced by his more able companions. Upon one occasion he got lost as a result of being alone. He arrived at a point where the road which he was following diverged into two. Not knowing which of the two he should take, he happened to choose the wrong one, and traveled for a long distance without being able to see those who had preceded him or the wagons in the rear. Without apprehension, he trudged along until he arrived at a river which was too deep and swift for him to wade, and which was spanned by a rude foot bridge, consisting of two or three lengths of a single round pole, supported where the ends joined amid-stream by two poles set up in the form of a cross, with the lower ends firmly imbedded in the stream, and securely lashed with rawhide at the intersection. The swiftness of the current and the distance from the foot bridge down to the stream made him dizzy when he looked down, so that he despaired of being able to cross the bridge, and yet felt that he must do so to overtake the train that he supposed must have forded at a point much lower down stream. In his emergency he knelt in prayer on the river bank, reminding the Lord of his dependence upon Him and appealing unto Him for help. He arose with a feeling of confidence, and without any trepidation or dizziness set out and walked along the pole as steadily as if he had been a tight-rope performer. Then, following his impression as to the course he ought to take, he walked on until he overtook the train, encamped, some time after nightfall, and when men were about to be dispatched to search for him. CHAPTER V. FEAT AS A PEDESTRIAN--LESSONS LEARNED AND AMBITION DEVELOPED WHILE TRAVELING--ARRIVAL IN SALT LAKE CITY--EMPLOYMENT DILIGENTLY SOUGHT--PRECARIOUS SUCCESS--MIRACULOUSLY FED. The journey on the whole, though tiresome, was not otherwise unpleasant. He enjoyed the society of his fellow emigrants, and felt that he had been blessed of the Lord beyond his most sanguine hopes; for notwithstanding his feeble condition when starting, he succeeded in walking more than three fourths of the way across the plains. He had also been cured of the asthma with which he had been so long afflicted--not suddenly, but so gradually that he hardly realized that he was outgrowing it.