CHAPTERXVIII。
Ateightinthemorningwereachedtheremnantandruinofwhathadbeentheimportantmilitarystationof“CampFloyd，“someforty-fiveorfiftymilesfromSaltLakeCity。AtfourP。M。wehaddoubledourdistanceandwereninetyorahundredmilesfromSaltLake。AndnowweenteredupononeofthatspeciesofdesertswhoseconcentratedhideousnessshamesthediffusedanddilutedhorrorsofSahara——an“alkali“desert。Forsixty-
eightmilestherewasbutonebreakinit。Idonotrememberthatthiswasreallyabreak；indeeditseemstomethatitwasnothingbutawateringdepotinthemidstofthestretchofsixty-eightmiles。Ifmymemoryservesme，therewasnowellorspringatthisplace，butthewaterwashauledtherebymuleandoxteamsfromthefurthersideofthedesert。Therewasastagestationthere。Itwasforty-fivemilesfromthebeginningofthedesert，andtwenty-threefromtheendofit。
Weplowedanddraggedandgropedalong，thewholelive-longnight，andattheendofthisuncomfortabletwelvehourswefinishedtheforty-five-
milepartofthedesertandgottothestagestationwheretheimportedwaterwas。Thesunwasjustrising。Itwaseasyenoughtocrossadesertinthenightwhilewewereasleep；anditwaspleasanttoreflect，inthemorning，thatweinactualpersonhadencounteredanabsolutedesertandcouldalwaysspeakknowinglyofdesertsinpresenceoftheignorantthenceforward。Anditwaspleasantalsotoreflectthatthiswasnotanobscure，backcountrydesert，butaverycelebratedone，themetropolisitself，asyoumaysay。Allthiswasverywellandverycomfortableandsatisfactory——butnowweweretocrossadesertindaylight。Thiswasfine——novel——romantic——dramaticallyadventurous——