The news of Cabot's natural Hot water discovery was met with scorn and ridicule in 1914. It was not until 1937 that the first scientific analysis of the water took place and people began to realize the therapeutic value of the natural resource. By 1940, Los Angeles businessman L. W. Coffee had formed a profitable trust for the development of subdivisions, which became the City of Desert Hot Springs.
In 1917 the state announced its intention to build a road through the desert to Blythe, the border town between Arizona and California. Cabot and other desert residents successfully convinced the legislature that because the strong winds and blowing sands, the road should be built north of the railroad rather than through Palm Springs. Much of this was accomplished by arranging a personal tour for the engineers who arrived in a Model T Ford. Cabot and four other men, along with a team of mules and wagon full of supplies, tugged the Ford across the trail from Whitewater to Thousand Palms where another team from Indio took over. The road eventually became Highway 60-77-99 (Varner Road), the present scenic rout through the desert.
Although Cabot made many lasting friendships during his lifetime, his friendship with desert artist Carl Eytel was special. Together they explored the land, painting and becoming more fully aware of the Indian way of life as they went. Eytel was much loved by the Cahuilla Indians and when he died in 1934 was honored by being buried in their tribal cemetery.
In 1918, Cabot enlisted in the Army, which necessitated his bidding good-bye to his beloved friend, Merry Christmas. Although burros sold for ten dollars at the time, he was offered ten times as much because of her ability and loyalty. Cabot decided to allow her to roam the desert free, hoping they would meet when he returned from the war. He never saw her again. In later years he had a small ceramic likeness made of her.
Cabot left the Army in 1919 and settle in Furtilla, California, now an abandoned ghost town southeast of Indio. Where he operated a grocery store and was postmaster until 1924 in 1925 he returned to Europe to travel and study art of one year. On his return to the United States, he settled in Moorpark, California to operate a grocery store until he