The officers and soldiers were desperate for something to do.

So they tried fishing, and caught some "croakers," which tasted very fresh and good, after all the curried and doctored-up messes we had been obliged to eat on board ship.
We spent seven days in and out of that slue.

Finally, on August the 26th, the wind subsided and we started up river.

Towards sunset we arrived at a place called "Old Soldier's Camp." There the "Gila" joined us, and the command was divided between the two river-boats.

We were assigned to the "Gila," and I settled myself down with my belongings, for the remainder of the journey up river.
We resigned ourselves to the dreadful heat, and at the end of two more days the river had begun to narrow, and we arrived at Fort Yuma, which was at that time the post best known to, and most talked about by army officers of any in Arizona.