"Early on Sunday morning, the 20th, we hitched up without feed or water and left our encampment of death, poison waters, and alkaline marshes and drove three miles to a good camping {302} ground and sweet water. This was on the Willow Spring branch, about three miles from the head. "We halted two hours and took breakfast. President Young wished me to go on about fifteen miles and look up a camping ground for the night. So I went forward with George A. Smith to the head of the Willow Spring. Here he stopped with a doctor of a Missouri company, who had been attending a sick family, to wait for our wagons to come up, and I rode on alone. After traveling alone several miles, Brother John Brown came up, and we rode on together over a sandy, barren, sage country to a creek of good water about ten miles west of the Willow Spring. We arrived here at half past 1 o'clock, and turned our horses out to graze. "Here we tarried till four o'clock and watched for our wagons to come in sight, but we could see none. At length two horsemen were seen approaching and we waved a small flag for them to come to us, supposing they were of our company, but they turned out to be two hunters of the Missouri company, carrying in buffalo meat to their camp. In the distance they thought we were Indians and made off. "I mounted my horse and put after them and soon overtook them and made inquiries concerning our company. They said they had not seen it, but had seen about a dozen wagons coming by themselves. "I then concluded that our camp had stopped at the Willow Spring. Captain Smith, who was of the Missouri company, invited us to go on and camp with them for the night, as they did not expect to go more than a few miles farther than the creek we were then on. We could see five miles on the road back, and no wagons were in sight; and as it was now five o'clock, I concluded our company would not come on, and if they did, they would come no farther than the creek. "We accepted Captain Smith's proposal, and went on with him to spend the night in his camp; but instead of journeying only a miles or so, he continued on mile after mile, finding neither feed nor water, excepting salt and alkaline ponds until we struck the Sweet Water at Independence Rock, so noted already in Fremont's {303} journal, and by other travelers. This was twelve miles from the creek before spoken of. "The Sweet Waters were sweet indeed, both to man and beast, after traveling through so much alkali country, and there was good feed for the stock. "After a good supper of bacon, buffalo meat, corn bread, coffee, milk, etc., I lay down in the tent with the Missourians, but did not rest well. I found that there was a great difference between these Missouri emigrants and our own, where there was no such thing as cursing, swearing, quarreling, contending with other companies, etc., allowed or practiced.