In
this case, too, the forms of the boat were against us. With the keel
removed and with their high sides catching the wind, they were carried
back and forth like small balloons. Well, we could put up with it for
a while, for those very features would prove most valuable in the
rough-water canyons which were to follow!
Emerging from the canyon at last, we saw a ferry loaded with sheep
crossing the stream. On the left shore was a large corral, also filled
with sheep which a half dozen men were driving back and forth into
different compartments. Later these men told us there were 2400 sheep
in the flock. We took their word for it, making no attempt to count
them. The foreman of the ranch agreed to sell us some sugar and
honey,--these two articles being a welcome addition to our list of
supplies, which were beginning to show the effects of our voracious
appetites.
We found many other log cabins and ranches as we proceeded. Some of
them were deserted; at others men were busily engaged in cutting hay
or the wild grass that grew in the bottoms. The fragrance of new-mown
hay was in the air. Young boys and women were among these busy
workers, some of the women being seated on large harvesters, handling
the horses with as much dexterity as any of the men.
The entire trip through this pretty valley was full of interest. We
were hailed from the shore by some of the hay ranchers, it being a
novel sight to them to see a river expedition.
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