John and Mary Marks use a grinding wheel to sharpen tools at the Oro Grande survey and engineering crew's campsite. Mary is wearing leather gloves, a dark bodice with puffed sleeves tucked into a long, light-colored striped skirt, and a wide-brimmed hat. Standing, John is dressed in a waistcoat over a long-sleeved shirt, with dark pants and leather boots. There is an anvil and pickaxes behind them. The surrounding landscape includes evergreen trees and sage bushes, with a view of mountains in the background.

Kate Schwalbach at the Oro Grande survey and engineering crew's campsite. She is bent over, using a long stick to lift the lid of a cooking pot that is placed on the ground. Next to it is another cooking pot and a frying pan. In view on the left is a shovel leaning against a tree, and in the background is a white tent surrounded by pine trees. Kate is wearing a wide brimmed hat, a light-colored blouse with a large bow, a long dark skirt, leather gloves, and canvas gaiters buttoned up over her leather boots.