Our captured fish were given a bath in a
bucket of rain-water, and we had a fish dinner.
In the afternoon we made a test of the water from the river, and found
that it contained 20 per cent of an alkaline silt. When we had to use
this water, we bruised the leaf of a prickly pear cactus, and placed
it in a bucket of water. This method, repeated two or three times,
usually clears the muddiest water. We also dug holes in the sand at
the side of the river. The water, filtering through the sand, was
often clear enough to develop the tests we made with our films.
Jimmy continued to feel downhearted; and this afternoon he told us his
story. Our surmise about his being homesick was correct, but it was a
little more than that. He had an invalid mother, it seemed, and, aided
by an older brother, he had always looked after the needs of the
family. When the proposition of making the river trip came up, serious
objections were raised by the family; but when the transportation
arrived he had determined to go, in spite of their objections. Now he
feared that his mother would not live, or that we would be wrecked,
and he would not know where to turn, or what to do. No wonder he felt
blue!
All we could do was to promise to help him leave the river at the very
first opportunity. This would quite likely be at Jensen, Utah, still
fifty miles farther downstream.
It continued to rain by spells that night and the next morning. About
11 A.
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