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suffer. We have a swallow each left. We are getting into the San Andres valley but are still several miles in the foothills. We hope to cross the valley tonight and find the railroad track by daylight. People very hostile. We have 2 revolvers and an automatic rifle. Hope we shall not have to use them. 6:30 P.M. We have not found water yet. Just came across the first cultivated field with a couple of adobe houses at the other end. We shall make a detour of these houses getting up on a hill to look about again before the sun goes down. 7:05 P.M. It is so dark that I can hardly see to write. We are up on a hill in back of the house we made a detour of. No signs of water yet. Must find some soon. 11:40 P.M. We found water at 8:10 P.M. catching the reflection of a star. We drank until we couldn't drink any more and it sure tasted good eveni if we did have to brush the scum aside. We ate a portion of an emergency ration and rested. At 9:20 we left just as the moon was rising and plodded our weary way across the cornfields, avoiding houses and running into all sorts of arroyos. This is written by moonlight for the moon is good to us and helps us on our way. Both of us dead tired but buckling down to get across the valley tonight if possible. Thurs, A;pril 20 - Rested several timse during the night. At 2:10 A.M. both fell sound asleep as we were resting and at 2:30 an approaching bull woke us up. At 3:30 A.M. the same thing happend again. At 4:45 A.M. we had climbed to the top of a large hill, rested, and then went down, getting in a ravine when we tried to rest from 4:55 to 6:30 A.M. I slept a couple of winks and had illusions of our soldiers in the vicinity, auto trucks present to take us, etc. Willis did not sleep. We started up the hill (very steep) at 6:40 A.M. and are now resting a little at 6:55 A.M. A piece of hardtack was our breakfast. We hope to climb to the top of a neighboring hill and see the country about, loocating Laguna de San Bernabee. We are really lost. The skin is all off my hips from the chafing of my belt. 8:00 A.M. We have rested for 20 minutes and I just looked around with my glasses discovering San Andres and the railroad trestle in the canyons leading to Bustillos. At last we are oriented and on the right track - though it was a mighty hard pull up to the top of the hill. We are both dead tired and can make very little progress. We shall probably be out again all night tonight. 9:45 A.M. Struck a nice little valley after the worst going of our trip so far. We are resting under a tree near the dry stream bed and have removed our shoes for a half hour - the first time on the hike. We have a steep hill before us to climb and then we hope to get out on the San Antonio plateau. 10:50 A.M. Still we are going over hills + through valleys thinking each to be the last. We go five minutes or less at a time when we have to take rest. We are both hungry + thirsty but are trying to hold off until we get to water. 5:05 P.M. We crossed fields + hills in the hot sun until 1:00 P.M. when we became so exhausted that we lay down under a tree in a small arroyo, scaring a coyote from his bed. We ate a little and went very |
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