The first day was extremely damp and foggy; a pack of sneaking
wolves were howling about, within a few yards of us, but the sun came
out about eight o'clock, dispersing the fog and also the wolves.
We still continued our former course, and found an excellent road for
fifteen miles, when we entered a singular tract of land, unlike anything
we had ever before seen. North and south, as far as the eye could reach,
nothing could be seen but a sandy plain, covered with dwarf oaks two and
three feet high, and bearing innumerable acorns of a large size. This
desert, although our horses sank to the very knee in the sand, we were
obliged to cross; night came on before the passage was effected, and we
were quite tired with the fatigues of the day. We were, however,
fortunate enough to find a cool and pure stream of running water, on the
opposite side of which the prairie had been recently burnt, and the
fresh grass was just springing up; here we encamped.
We started the next morning, and ascended a high ridge, we were in great
spirits, little anticipating the horrible tragedy in which we should
soon have to play our parts. The country before us was extremely rough
and broken: we pushed on, however, buffeting, turning, and twisting
about until nearly dark, crossing and recrossing deep gullies, our
progress in one direction impeded by steep hills, and in another by,
yawning ravines, until, finally, we encamped at night not fifteen miles
from where we had started in the morning.
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