Less than a hundred
yards west of the spring was a ridge which did not rise fifty feet
above it, and that was the "backbone" of the continent. The water of
Agua Fria flowed into the Atlantic; the springs on the other side of
the ridge flowed into the Pacific.
The wagons of the Arnold family travelled between the rear-guard and
the government wagons. They consisted of two large "prairie
schooners," drawn by three pairs of oxen each, a lighter wagon, drawn
by four horses, beside which four cows, two ponies, and four dogs were
usually grouped. The father and eldest daughter drove the ox-teams,
the mother the horse-team, and two daughters rode the ponies. Brenda's
pony, Gypsy, was her own property, purchased soon after she joined
her uncle in Colorado. As my station and Frank's were with the
rear-guard, or along the flanks of the train, Miss Brenda commonly
rode with us after daylight. Henry, after leaving Fort Wingate, rode
with the advance.
After supper at Agua Fria, Corporal Frank ordered all water-kegs to be
filled, for the water at El Morro, or Inscription Rock, our next
camping-place, was poor.
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