Jim, thanks for all the replies.
I know that the soil does dry out over the course of the year, every 4th of July there's a hole dug (near where we dug hole #2) for a bean pot cook to happen, it's dug at least 36" down, no water is seen at that time.
Here's the thread I was referring to for doing a foundation pour without footings:
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/27356-post7.html (Another foundation question)
I think it will work just fine, but I'm having a hard time convincing the owner (and $$$ provider). Anybody with horrendous results that wants to add in?