At this moment Eben Jordan, taking Ellen and me by the hands, said,
forcing us to run with him:--
"By following the stream to its head we shall surely come upon a
spring."
And this we did, finding within two hundred yards a spring of the
sweetest water I have ever taken into my mouth.
Ellen and I drank again and again, seemingly never to be satisfied, and
it was only after I had shown myself very selfish that I remembered
poor mother, who, most likely, was standing by that muddy stream
waiting until the water had grown clear so she might drink.
[Illustration]
Then Eben Jordan went back, and a few moments later returned, bringing
with him all the women and children, and many of the men.
Having drunk our fill, Ellen and I went back to the wagon, where we
ate heartily of corn bread, and then laid ourselves down to sleep,
while the men and boys were bringing the teams into a circle to form a
corral.