Survival skills
A human being can survive an average of three to five days without the intake of water. The issues presented by the need for water dictate that unnecessary water loss by perspiration be avoided in survival situations. The need for water increases with exercise.
Nicholas M. Nolan
The result was desperate men pushed to the edge of endurance and sanity in the barren wilderness from the lack of water. One man would endure 96 hours without that precious fluid of life. The main group of soldiers with Nolan would go 86 hours until they found salvation. The rest would go without for over 48 hours and some toward 86 hours without a drop to drink as they scattered in a bid to survive. Thanks to the telegraph the event and speculation would travel to the eastern newspapers where it was erroneously reported that the expedition had been massacred. Later the same papers would bring them "back from the dead" and declare Nolan a hero. The Military command would agree with the press, but never issue an official commendation, nor a censure.