In December 1895, a party of Mormon pioneers made a pilgrimage from a settlement in Mexico to St. George, Utah. The trip across the frozen winterlands was arduous and slow. Thirst and hunger plagued the people. With nothing but bleak, icy plains in sight, the men, women, and children in the traveling party pushed onward, longing to reach a desert watering place they had heard lay ahead. But when they discovered the site, their hopes were dashed still further—there was only enough water to fill one five-gallon keg and a bucket for the horses.