We packed up our chutes again and headed south. From time to time we saw small herds of cattle gathered around an artesian well but no sigh of people. Then, about noon, we spotted several frame buildings (a house and two sheds) and a man on the roof of one of the sheds repairing the shingles. He saw us at the same time and dropped his hammer and climbed down from the roof. His first words were, “They really dropped you off the target” and ten he looked again and said, “Hey, yo're the guys.” We learnd later that he at first thought we had been parachuted onto the island to search for survivors, then he realized we were the crew of crashed airplane.

Meanwhile, Orren Hale took us to the ranch house and treated us to some excellent chocolate cake and coffee from a huge granite-ware pot on a coal stove. His first question was, “did the buffalo bother you?” It was then we learned of the buffalo herd and in fact, in his words, “it's the mating season and they're meaner than hell.”

But I noticed that my chute had been made during WW II by Cole of California, a well-known manufacturer of swimwear. Just for the hell of it I wrote them a thank you note for making such a fine parachute which saved my life.