The Project Gutenberg EBook of Across the Plains to California in 1852, by
Lodisa Frizell
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Across the Plains to California in 1852
Journal of Mrs. Lodisa Frizzell
Author: Lodisa Frizell
Editor: Victor Hugo Paltsits
Release Date: February 28, 2010 [EBook #31449]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PLAINS TO CALIFORNIA IN 1852 ***
Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
ACROSS THE PLAINS TO CALIFORNIA IN 1852
JOURNAL OF MRS. LODISA FRIZZELL
EDITED FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT IN THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
BY VICTOR HUGO PALTSITS
KEEPER OF MANUSCRIPTS
[Illustration: Logo]
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
1915
REPRINTED MAY 1915
FROM THE BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
OF APRIL 1915
[Illustration: _Indians._
FROM A WATER-COLOR BY MRS. FRIZZELL, AUTHOR OF THE ACCOMPANYING
NARRATIVE]
* * * * *
ACROSS THE PLAINS TO CALIFORNIA IN 1852
FROM THE LITTLE WABASH RIVER IN ILLINOIS TO THE PACIFIC SPRINGS OF
WYOMING
JOURNAL OF MRS. LODISA FRIZZELL
EDITED FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT IN THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
BY VICTOR HUGO PALTSITS, KEEPER OF MANUSCRIPTS
EDITOR'S NOTE
This simple narrative journal was written at Cañon Creek in the Sierra
Nevada Mountains of California, in the middle of December, 1852, by Mrs.
Lodisa Frizzell, who, with her husband, Lloyd Frizzell, and their four
sons, set out on April 14th, of that year, from their unnamed home, not
far from Ewington, Effingham County, Illinois, on the upper reaches of
the Little Wabash River, on an overland journey to California. The
journal records her observations and experiences from the Little Wabash,
across Illinois and Missouri, to St. Louis and St. Joseph, and over the
St. Joseph and Oregon Trails to the Pacific Springs, in Fremont County,
Wyoming. Here, at the continental divide and at the halfway point of her
journey, the journal ends, on June 26th, or the seventy-fourth day out.
It was nearly seven months later, in her snowbound quarters of the
Sierra Nevadas, that she busied herself with its composition from notes
she had kept by the way, enlivened by her memory.
Mrs. Frizzell's journal was secured by The New York Public Library with
the manuscripts of the Ford Collection, presented by the late J.
Pierpont Morgan. It has a quaint manuscript title-page, as follows:
_Narative of a Journal [sic] across the "Plains" in 1852 by Mrs. Lodisa
Frizzell. Illustrated by several original drawings. And to my relatives,
and friends, respectfully subscribed._ A later hand has written over the
title the words, "The Overland Route to California." Among the numerous
amateurish illustrations drawn by lead pencil and tinted with colors,
three are reproduced here; also her three route maps. The other
illustrations include the following: "The home I left behind me" (Her
home in Illinois); "Crossing the Nimehaw"; "Killing a buffalo";
"Independence Rock"; "A view of Devil's Gate"; "Distant view of
Courthouse & Chimney rocks"; "Chimney Rock 5 miles distant"; "Distant
view of Laramie Peak"; "A view of Sweetwater mountains. 5 miles west of
the Devil's Gate"; "Buffalo skeletons"; "View of the Wind range of
mountains"; "View of South Pass"; "A Horned Frog."
Written on inner covers or flyleaves are several names, which may be of
value for future identification. They are: John G. Harness, 1852; Nancy
Varnyan; G. W. Catron; Wm. Malone; Orin Anderson and T. Alexander.
Nothing has been discovered of the personal history of this Frizzell
family. The patronymic, however, is found at an early period in New
England.
In 1859, Lieutenant Gouverneur K. Warren, of the corps of topographical
engineers, U. S. A., issued a _Memoir_ and map of the exploring
expeditions in the West, from 1800 to 1857, and an epitome thereof forms
a part of volume 1 of Wheeler's _Report_, appendix F, of the United
States Geographical Surveys west of the one hundredth meridian
(Washington, 1889). Among the narratives of those who, in the main,
travelled the route covered by Mrs. Frizzell, the earliest is the
journal of Robert Stuart, 1812, of which The New York Public Library has
a complete typewritten transcript, made from the original manuscript in
1908. This journey was begun in June, 1812, at Astoria, and ended at the
Ohio. It was undertaken by representatives of the Pacific Fur Company.
The next important expedition to the Rocky Mountains was made by Captain
B. L. E. Bonneville, 1832-1836, of which we have the record in
Washington Irving's _The Rocky Mountains_, first published in 1837, in
two volumes. In 1835, Colonel, afterwards General Henry Dodge, covered a
part of the way en route from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1842, J. C.
Frémont traversed the Plains on his first expedition, ending in the Wind
River Mountains, and in 1843-1844, he went over much of the same ground.
Joel Palmer's journal of his travels over the Rocky Mountains, in
1845-1846, was printed in 1852, and has been edited as a part of
Thwaites's _Early Western Travels_. Among the California pioneers, who
went over the route in the mad rush of 1849, was Amasa Delano, who wrote
an illuminating journal, published as _Life on the Plains_, in 1854.
These and many other publications have been consulted in editing the
Frizzell journal.
THE JOURNAL
PREFACE
Agreeable to my promise I now set down to write the incidents of my
journey to Callifornia. Having taken notes by the way, I shall be able
by the assistance of my memory, to give you a full & accurate account of
the "trip." It is now about the middle of December,[1] I am here in
midst of the Sierra Nevada rightly named snowy mountains, the snow has
been constantly falling for the last ten days & still it has not abated;
it is now some ten or twelve feet in this place (Canyan Creek[2]) & on
the mountain tops, fifty or more, there is no passing or repassing at
present, I am shut up in my room, the snow having completely blocked up
both doors and windows, I therefore have lighted my candles & sat down
to amuse myself & "while the tideous hours away" by giving you my
narative.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] December, 1852.
[2] Cañon Creek, a north branch of Trinity R., in Trinity Co., Cal.
CHAPTER I
FROM THE WABASH RIVER[3] TO ST. LOUIS
We (that is George Westall Bethel Elliot, my husband[4] & myself)
started for California on the 14th day of April, with five yoke of
cattle one pony & sidesaddle, & accompanied by several of our friends &
neighbors as far as the first town, where we parted & said our last
_good by_, & turning westward which was to be our course for most of the
way of our long journey.
The first night we put up at widdow womans, we did not camp out, all
though we had intended to commence camping from the start, but it goes
so much "agin the grane" at first, & then there is so many fine people
passing & repassing along the road, while you are eating your meal on a
log, or stump, or the end board of your waggon, with your tin plates tin
cups &c. For my part I felt _kinder streaked_[5] at first, especially
while we traveled in the states. As I said we did not camp out the first
night & having plenty of victuals with us went in made some tea, fried
some eggs, eat our suppers, & were accomodated with a fine bed, which is
a great luxury after a hard days travel; but my thoughts and reflections
were such that I could not readily fall asleep. Who is there that does
not recollect their first night when started on a long journey, the
wellknown voices of our friends still ring in our ears, the parting kiss
feels still warm uppon our lips, & that last seperating word _Farewell!_
sinks deeply into the heart. It may be the last we may ever hear from
some or all of them, & to those who start for California there can be no
more solemn scene of parting only at death; for how many are now
sleeping in death on the lonely plains whose Farewell was indeed their
last.
[April 15--2d day] But to return, we started in the morning of our
seckond day, a fine clear sky, but the roads rather muddy. Loyd[6]
killed ten plovers with 2 shots of his double barrel shotgun, which we
dressed, & had a fine supper, which we cooked by a log in the wood where
we camped for the night, about half a mile west of Ewington.[7] We
obtained lodging nearby, slept soundly started in the morning [April
16--3d day] after preparing our hasty meal; it soon commenced raining I
kept in the waggon, we killed 2 ducks & some plovers, bought some
butter, & at night having come about 21 miles we encamped had a fine
supper, the proprietor of the place came down & spent the evening with
us around our large fire, we went up to the house with him stayed 'till
morning, yoked up our team started on our journey [April 17--4th day],
killed 2 squirrels & some quails, 3 horse teams passed us to-day for
California, we put up to-night 3 miles east of Greenville.[8]
[April 18--5th day] To day Sunday passed through the beautiful town of
Greenville which approached from the east has a very picturesque
appearance from the hill which overlooks the town & surrounding country,
Crossed Lookingglass Prairie[9] which is the most beautiful & fertile
prairie I ever saw, but being so large it is but thinly settled,
encamped on the west side of it, at a house, it being to late to reach
the timber that night.
[April 19--6th day] Killed 3 squirrels traveled 22 miles encamped in a
wood, slept in the waggon for the first time, passed through a small
town this morning [April 20--7th day] as we proceeded on our journey, &
about 10 o'clock we came to the pleasant town of C----ville,[10] from
there we had the pleasure of traveling on a fine plank road, we soon
came in sight of the tall spires of the city of St. Louis,[11] & there
were other signs that we were approaching a great metropolis, there were
gentlemen on the ponds[12] fishing some gunning, & several little boys
along the roadside with spear in hand, a sack thrown over their shoulder
& with deliberate aim picked up every frog that dared to put their heads
above the water. they were not doing this for sport or prehaps [sic] the
frogs might have reproved them, but for proffit, I asked one little
fellow what he got for his frogs? he said 3 bits[13] a dozzen. About the
middle of the day we arived on the bank of the Mississippi opposite St.
Louis, encamped in sight of several waggons which we knew from
appearences were for the same destination as ourselves, the horse teems
which had passed us some days before soon came up, some of their party
had been through before, & we intended to travel with them seeing that
we could go as far in a day as they did, but circumstances prevented as
you will soon see. The men all went over to the city, & returned in the
evening with an account of the vast number of Californians (as we were
called here) who were there outfiting & shipping &c.
[April 21--8th day] This morning we went down to the Ferry crossed over,
& with much difficulty forced our way through the narrow streets which
were crowded with drays, & the loose stalk which was being driven down
to the ferry boat, but we made our way up to the place where we were to
get our outfit, it was nearly opposite the postoffice, fortunately there
was a pile of bricks lying on the side of the road which protected our
team or I think they must have been run over. I choose to set in the
waggon while they were trading; & never before did I see such bustle, &
hear such a din as I did in those two hours, or ever see such a drama
pass before me, for being in the immediate vicinity of the postoffice
there were constantly passing in & out, a mixed multitude of all ages
sex & condition, I amused myself by noticing them as they passed while I
was unobserved in our huge covered waggon. Many of them as they came out
with a letter would immediately break the seal and commence reading,
although this subjected them to be run against by every passer by, but
they did not seem to heed it, and when to much annoyed they would lean
against the palings or set down in some sheltered spot. There was the
man of business, whom you could distinguish by his brisk walk, important
airs, fine dress & appearence, he would merely glance at the signature,
put it in his pocket, & hurry back to his shop, but I noticed one old
man as he broke open his letter & was reading it, appeared dejected; he
would stop, and his mind would seem abstracted, for he heeded nothing
which passed arround him, it know [no] doubt contained unwelcome news. I
thought it might have been the conduct of some profligate son, or
perhaps of some disaster which affected his pecuniary condition. I also
noticed a woman reading a letter as she walked along leading a small
child, she appeared to be about 40 years of age, rather poorly clad;
when she broke the seal she appeared aggitated, but she had not read far
before she smiled & tears of joy ran down her cheeks, I could not
mistake the mother or wife was there; & I conjectured with some
probability that it was favorable news from a husband or son in
California. But I will not attempt to discribe all I saw, but I must say
that the noise & bustle of those two hours was enough to give one the
headache it exceeded that of the levy of New-Orleans.
[Illustration: _Distant view of St. Louis._]
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Little Wabash River of Illinois.
[4] Her husband was Lloyd Frizzell.
[5] An Americanism with various meanings,--"ashamed," "disconcerted,"
etc.
[6] Her husband.
[7] Ewington, Effingham Co., Ill., twenty-nine miles northeast of
Vandalia, on the west bank of the Little Wabash River. It was formerly
the county seat and derived its name from Gen. W. L. D. Ewing, a
prominent lawyer of Vandalia.
[8] Greenville, Bond Co., Ill., the county seat, situate on the East
Fork of Big Shoal Creek.
[9] Looking Glass Prairie, a large, fine and undulating prairie, situate
between Silver and Sugar Creeks, on the eastern border of St. Clair Co.,
Ill.
[10] Collinsville, Madison Co., Ill.
[11] They were near East St. Louis.
[12] Indian Lake may be meant.
[13] A colloquialism usually denoting a shilling, valued at twelve and a
half cents. A long bit is fifteen cents and a short bit is ten cents.
CHAPTER II
FROM ST. LOUIS TO ST. JOSEPH
At length it was decided that myself with the outfit should be shiped on
board a steamer & sent to St. Joseph,[14] accordingly I was conveyed on
board the Martha Jewett[15] which was loading with freight for that, &
intermediate points, while the men with the team would proceed by land.
The cabin of this well furnished & beautiful steamer was filled with
passengers two thirds of whom were for California.
[April 22--9th day] Started up the river about 2, o'clock this
afternoon, the company being all strangers to me I felt quite lonesome,
thought much about "those I left behind me."
[April 23--10th day] A man fell overboard this morning, he was a deck
passenger going to California, broke two of his ribs, he is not expected
to live, he has no family as I could learn. there are about 200
passengers on board for California.
[April 24--11th day] The man died last night, carried him on to
Boonville[16] & buried him, I did not learn his name. We got on rather
slowly for the boat is very heavily laden, there is some 100 head of
cattle horses & mules on board, a good many among whom were those
gentlemen with whom we had intended to travel having shipped their teems
& waggons besides their other freight, & the river is quite low.
[April 25--12th day] Sunday quite sad although there were some 40 ladies
on board, I have been reading the various guides of the rout to
California, they have not improved my ideas of the _pleasure_ of the
trip, no very flattering accounts I assure you, but hope we may find it
better, not worse.
[April 26--13th day] The country along the Mississouri [_sic_] most of
the way, is quite broken, & hilly, many of the towns are small &
uninteresting, but there are some, though not large which do a great
deal of business. The scenery is quite monotonous.
[April 27--14th day] Passed the wreck of the steamer Luda,[17] which was
blown up a short time since, it was a sad sight; for nearly 200 hundred
lives were lost by that fatal accident, & the most of them I was told
were for California. Men were at work digging from the hulk (which was
nearly all that was left, so great was the explosion) such articles as
were of value, or to ascertain if there were any dead bodies, to give
them burial. I suppose they had found many for they had a line on which
was hung promiscuously men, women, & children's clothes, it made ones
heart ache to look uppon such a sight, but what must be the feelings of
those who should recognize amidst those wet & muddy articles, some well
known garment, of relative or friend, whose body in death lies sleeping
beneath the turbulent waters & sands, of the Mississouri [_sic_]. Passed
the town of Kanzas,[18] here was some 60 waggons of the Sante Fee
traders. Saw several indians here, one squaw on a beautiful white pony.
This is a pretty place, we also passed Ft. Levenworth[19] which is
pleasantly situated on an elevated plain, which affords a fine view,
this as its name indicates is a military station. Saw several of the
black war dogs[20] standing around there, but I guess they have very
little to bark at now.
[April 28--15th day[21]] Arived at St. Josep[h] this evening, the banks
of the river & all around the town were white with waggons, & tents;
while the people came running down to the wharf by hundreds, a great
many came on board for their families, or to look for some expected
friend; they would come to the cabin door, & with an anxious looks
survey all within, but if the ones they sought were there, it was but
for a moment, before the eye of affection would recognize, the wife her
husband, the daughter her father, the father by his whole family all
rushing up to him to see who should be first caressed. They soon all
left the boat excepting a few I was one as it was now dark, & it was
reported that the tavern were all full.
[April 29--16th day] I left the boat this morning with a family with
whom I had formed an agreeable acquaintance, who were going to
California, & they having accertained that it was impossible to get
boarding in town, concluded to cross the river, & pitch their tent, &
having a good sheet iron cooking stove & they would board themselves; &
as their teems were coming by land & not expected for several days I was
invited to go over with them which I accordingly did. We proceeded to
the ferry, but could not cross for 2 hours for the crowd of teams which
were in before us; while waiting there, some 200 indians of the
Pawtawattimees & Winewbagoes[22] came down the street, affording me one
of the strangest sights I ever saw. They were verry dark complected,
quite black, half clothed, & some few were ornamented; they had some 30
or 40 ponies which were laden as I should judge by the variety; with
every thing that they possessed; for there were fastened on the top of
the enormous loads which they carried, dogs, puppies, paupooses,
chickens, & those who were unable to walk by reason of age or infirmity.
One of the puppies thus confined kept yelping, probably from hunger, an
old indian perhaps tired of hearing it, or thinking that it disturbed
us, steped up & shot it in the head with a blunt arrow & killed it, and
then threw it in the river. They were in a hurry to cross over and
crowded down to the waters edge, the ferrymen would not take but a few
of them at a time for there was not room for the waggons, one old skuaw
was as mad as a wet hen, she scolded a perfect storm, one of the men who
stood by understood her, & interpreted to us what she said, & it served
to amuse us not a little. Our turn now come we crossed over to the wild
and unhabited (except by indians) Territory of Nebraska. We soon had our
tent up got some dinner, the indians came round the tent, some begging,
some having a few articles to trade, and as they concluded a bargain or
"swop" as they call it, they shake hands with all around and say, good,
good, & then depart.
[April 30--17th day] Last night I slept but little, the indians had
encamped not far from us, & they kept up a constant singing, or howling
for it was the most doleful noise I ever heard, & they were passing
around the tent, & some would pull open the door & peep in, I knew they
had liquor, for I had seen several of them drunk, I was fearful what
they might do, the strangeness of the scene & the wildness of the place,
made me conjure up in my mind all the indian massacres of which I had
ever read or heard, but the Major[23] & his family slept soundly, for he
had been through before consequently he heeded them not, nor did I say a
word, but was glad when day broke; my fears were dispelled with the
darkness. Seated outside the tent I was amused watching the indians
shoot with their bows & arrows for 5 or 10 cts that some men would put
up for the purpose of seeing them shoot, or looking at them ride on
their ponies in a manner that none but indians can; it is a novel sight
to see them, their faces painted, or tattooed, wraped in their red
blankets with a kind of cap on their heads, & stuck in the top were from
one to a dozen long feathers of various colors, & by a word to their
ponies, for I seldom see them use a whip, they scamper away with the
speed of the wind.
[May 1--18th day] Teams crossing the river all the while, but there is
not half ferry boats enough here, great delay is the consequence,
besides the pushing, & crowding, to see who shall get across first.
There is every description of teams & waggons; from a hand cart &
wheel-barrow, to a fine six horse carriage & buggie; but more than two
thirds are oxen & waggons similar to our own; & by the looks of their
loads they do not intend to starve. Most of the horses, mules & cattle,
are the best the states afford; they are indeed beautiful, but I fear
some of them will share the fate of the "gallant grey" of Snowdouns
Knight.[24] [May 2--19th day] It being a very pleasant day we walked out
toward the indian encampment, we saw a little way to our left a painted
post, which the Major said denoted that an indian was buried there; we
turned aside, found there were two graves on[e] of quite recent date, &
recolecting that I had seen a coffin put on the ferryboat that day I
came over I supposed this to be the same, deposited here, & that the
noise I heard them making the following night, was the funeral dirge.
There was one old grey headed indian here, but on approach, he wraped
his blanket around him, & without speaking, or seeming to take notice of
us, walked off into the thickets, & disappeared. I looked after him as
he turned away, & felt as if I was an intruder. There was an air of
greatness about him, his tall and erect figure, & noble features; he had
doubtless sat arround the council fires of his tribe when they were
many, before the white man had reduced their numbers to a mere handful,
& perhaps this one now laid low, might have been the last belonging to
him; no doubt but he could "a tale unfold," of the events of bygone
years. But we proceeded onward & found that they had nearly all packed
up and gone, some of the squaws were mounted on their little ponies 2 on
each, seated on opposite sides, so as to ballance. We turned to the
tent, heard that the Majors teems had arrived in town, & would be over
in the morning. [May 3--20th day] A place having been found at a private
house where I could be accommodated for a few days, I recrossed the
river, went to the house where I was to stay, until the team came which
I most anxiously wished for, as the numbers which passed over dayly,
seemed to me so great that we should be behind, for there are a like
number crossing at several other points at the same time.
[May 4 to 7--21st to 24th days] Began to look for the team, but manny
said, it would take at least 18 or 20 days to come from St. louis here,
looked quite hard to-day.
[May 8--25th day] This morning I went out walked up a hill which
overlooks the town & river, never saw such a bustle, there was a large
drove of cattle filling the streets for some distance, which they were
crossing to the other side as fast as possible, with their little boats,
where there should have been at least 2 good large steam ferry boats, &
I should think that they could afford to build them, or charter them
from some other ports, this I know & all others who have experienced it,
that it is a great vexation to keep ones team standing for a day or two
in the street, & watch your chance to get ferried over, for the press is
so great that they will slip in before you if they can. I saw several
teams approaching the town, & I suppose I saw ours, for they came in
about that time, but I did not see the grey pony (which I afterwards
learned they had sold her back getting sore) nor the blue steer which
had died concluded it was not them, returned to the house, & thought if
it was them they would soon be in, but as it proved the letter which I
had deposited in the P. O., informing them of my wherebouts, was nailed
upon the door, & had been covered over by others of more recent date, I
had also left word with the commission merchant to whom the goods were
shiped that I was going over the river to stay several days prehaps
[_sic_] until they came; if not I would leave a line there, or in the P.
O. Loyd got this word, & not finding any line in the office, immediately
crossed the river & searched for me for several miles out on the road.
[May 9--26th day] Sunday I sat at the window observing every team &
every person, for I thought surely they would come to day, while they at
the same time were looking as hard for me. Loyd having got no tidi[ngs]
of me over the river; went to every church in the town, & looked if I
was there, but not seeing me, he went to the P. O. once more, & tearing
off some score of letters he found the desired information, & in a few
moments he was at the door; & "the lost was found," all was soon
explained, we eat our dinner, which was to be out last at a table for
some time. We went down, crossed over the river, after having procured
several articles to complete our outfit, found our team already on the
opposite bank ready to start, our other team from Calhoun Co.[25] was
in waiting to accompany us, they had fallen in company with our folk &
George[26] being acquainted with them, & as we had never heard from Mr.
Besser we were glad of their company, but there was no woman with them,
but 5 men one waggon 4 yoke of splendid cattle, they were merry fellows
and as we came up they joked us not a little about our looking for each
other at the same time. & congratulated us upon our success.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] On the Missouri River, from St. Louis to St. Joseph.
[15] The "Martha Jewett," of which W. C. Jewett was master, began her
trips on the Missouri River in 1852. She was "one of the finest and most
popular boats on the river in her day."
[16] Boonville, the county seat of Cooper Co., Mo.
[17] The "Saluda," a side-wheel steamer with double engine and two
boilers, having a capacity of 233 tons, was built in 1846. She exploded
at Lexington, Mo., on the morning of April 9, 1852, only eighteen days
prior to the above observation of Mrs. Frizzell.--_Chappell. History of
the Missouri River, 1906, p. 52, 74._
[18] Kansas City.
[19] Fort Leavenworth, two miles north of the city of Leavenworth, Kan.,
situate on Rattlesnake Hills, was first occupied as a cantonment in
1827, and became a regular fort of the U. S. government about 1832.
[20] Cannon.--_Original note_.
[21] Mrs. Frizzell made an error at this point, numbering the day as the
"18th", instead of 15th, which led to a misnumbering throughout. It has
been corrected here.
[22] Potawatomi and Winnebago.
[23] An original note names him "Major Stemmons, of Rockport, Mo." This
is evidently an error for _Slemmons_, a family-name that is yet found in
Atchison County.
[24] An allusion to the Knight of Snowdoun in Scott's _The Lady of the
Lake_.
[25] Calhoun Co., Ill.
[26] One of her sons.
CHAPTER III
FROM ST. JOSEPH TO FT. KEARNEY
Come now with me gentle reader, and let us cross the plains, I will
endeavor to show you whatever is worth seeing, & tell you as much as you
will care about hearing, while you are comfortably seated around your
own fireside, without fatiegue, or exposure, I will conduct you the
whole of this long & weary journey, which I wish if you should ever in
reality travel, that you may feel no more fatiegue than you do at the
presant moment, but I fear that you would, as you yourself will probably
admit before the close of this narative. This is considered th[e]
starting point[27] from this river is time reconed, & it matters not how
far you have come, this is the point to which they all refer, for the
question is never, when did you leave home? but, when did you leave the
Mississouri [sic] river? Our team looked bad one ox had died, the roads
through Missouri were muddy & bad. It was about 2 o'clock as we started
out through the heavy timbered bottom which extends back some 7 or 8
miles from the river, & which was to be the last of any note until we
reached the Siera Nevada Mts. It seems hard to believe, but it is
nevertheless true, that this immence distance is nearly destitute of
timber, particularly near the road. It comenced raining a little, we
reached the outskirts of the timber, called the bluffs, as the land
raises here, we encamped pitched our tent, soon had a large fire, got
supper, turned the cattle out to graze on the grass & bushes, for they
were vary hungry & devoured whatever came in their way, they soon filled
themselves & they were drove up & tied each one by a rope, to the
waggon, or bushes nearby. There were several campfires burning in sight,
we at length went to bed, Loyd & I occupied the waggon, while the boys
slept in the tent, I had bought rag carpet enough to spread over the
ground in the tent which proved excellent for keeping the wet, or sand,
from getting on the bedding, which consisted of buffalo robes &
blankets, which I considder the best for this journey, as they keep
cleaner & do not get damp so easily as cotton quilts.
[May 10--27th day] Stayed in camp to-day unloaded our waggon put every
thing that it was possible in sacks leaving our trunk chest, barrels &
boxes, which relieved the waggon, of at least, 300 lbs, besides it was
much more conveniently packed. Water being handy, we washed up all our
things & prepared to start soon in the morning. A boy about 12 years
old came to our tent poorly clad, he said he was going back, I asked him
several questions, & learned that he had ran away from his folks who
lived in the eastern part of Ohio, had got his passage from one
Steamboat to another, until he had reached St. Jo.[28] & then had got in
with some one to go to California, but he said they would not let him go
any further, & sent him back, I gave him something to eat & told him to
go back to his parents, I know not where he went but from his tale this
was not the first time that he had ran away from home. What a grief to
parents must such children be.
[Illustration: THREE ROUTE MAPS
ST. JOSEPH TO FT. KEARNY--FT. KEARNY TO FT. LARAMIE--FT. LARAMIE TO
SOUTH PASS]
[May 11--28th day] Fine morning, started out on the Plain which appeared
boundless, stretching away to the south & covered with excellent grass 5
or 6 inches high, but they were not near so level as I had supposed,
quite undulating like the waves of the sea when subsiding from a storm,
In 6 or 8 ms,[29] we came to where there was a general halt, some dozen
teams standing here waiting to cross a deep slue,[30] in which one team
& waggon were stuck & were obliged to unload part of their goods, it
being difficult to attatch more team to it where it then was, some
others taking the precaution doubled theirs before starting in, but
noticed that the great difficulty was in the cattle not pulling
together, we drove in just above them, passed over, went on our way
which for many miles is often in sight of the Mississouri [_sic_] river
and the highlands on the opposite bank to the cultivated fields of which
I often turned a "lingiring look" which is the last I have as yet seen,
or may see for some time, with one exception which I shall soon relate.
We met two or three indians, saw a fresh made grave, a feather bed lying
upon it, we afterwards learned that a man & his wife had both died a few
days before, & were burried together here, they left 2 small children,
which were sent back to St. Joseph by an indian chief. We now came to
Wolf creek,[31] a small stream but very steep banks, the indians have
constructed a kind of bridge over it, & charged 50 cts per waggon, there
were several of them here, quite fine looking fellows, not near so dark
as those I had seen, but of the real copper color, said they were of the
Sacs & Fox tribes.[32] One was a chief, he was dressed in real indian
stile, had his hair shaved off all except the crown lock, which was tied
up & ornamented with beads & feathers, he, & one or two others, had
various trinkits upon their arms, legs, & heads, but their main dress
was their bright red blankets, There were several teams here, which were
passing over before us, when one of the teams getting stalled on the
opposite bank, which was steep & muddy, a little pert looking indian
jumped up comenced talking & jesticulating in great earnest; on
inquiring what it was he said? an interpreter nearby said, he was saying
to the driver, that if he could not go through there he could not go to
California, he had better go back home. We passed over when our turn
came, & went a short distance up the stream, & encamped; having come
about 20 ms, fine grass here, & some small timber along the banks of
this creek, I had a severe headache this evening, our folks having got
their supper, they were soon seated around a blazing fire, & were soon
joined by several indians, who likewise seated themselves by the fire, &
as one of them could speak a little English, they kept up quite a
conversation. They said they no steal white mans cattle, they good
indian, but the Pawnee he bad indian, he steal, no good, Loyd gave them
a drink of brandy which when they had tasted, said strong, strong, but
smacked their lips as if it was not stronger than they liked. I lay in
the waggon looked out upon this group, which as the glare of the fire
fell on the grim visages, & bare, brawny arms, & naked bodies; having
nothing on the upper part of the body but their loose blanket, & as they
move their arms about when speaking, their bodies are half naked most of
the time, the contrast was striking between their wild looks & savage
dress, to the familiar faces of our own company, & their civilized dress
and speech. [May 12--29th day] I felt quite well this morning, we soon
dispatched our breakfast, yoked up our cattle which were as full as
_ticks_, started out into the broad road, or roads, for here there are
several tracks, there is plenty of room for horse, or mule teams to go
around, which will be quite different when we come to the Mountains, we
passed the indian mission,[33] where there are several hundred acers of
land cultivated by indians under the superintendince of the
missionaries. Rested our teams at noon, took a lunch, went on some 10
miles farther [sic], & encamped, where there was good grass, but very
little water & no wood, we succeeded in boiling the tea kettle, & making
some coffee, & having plenty of bread, meat, & crackers, fruit pickles,
&c, we done very well for supper, it was quite cold tonight, but slept
well till morning.
[May 13--30th day] Started out soon this morning, passed several graves,
we hear that it is sickly on the route, that there are cholera,
smallpox, & measles, but rumor says so much, that you do not know when
to believe her, but the graves prove that some have died, & it must be
expected that from such a number, some would die; but it is very sad to
part with them here, for the heart can hardly support the addition, of
so much grief, for there are few whose hearts are not already pained, by
leaving so many behind. We came to another indian toll bridge, which
crossed a small ravine, charged but 25 cts, two indians here, went on
till near night and encamped for the night, very good place, in a hollow
to the left of the road. George caught some small fish with a pinhook.
[May 14--31st day] Soon in the morning we renewed our journey, through a
fine rotting[34] prairie, small groves of timber along the water
courses, giving the landscape a very picturesque appearance; saw several
graves to day, passed where they were burying a man, crossed the little
Nimahaw,[35] a fine stream, encamped on the bank. We had not been here
long, when a little white calf came up to us out of the bushes, &
appeared very hungry; it had probably been left on purpose, though most
of them are gennerally killed, but he might have been hid in the bushes,
& people are not very tenderhearted on this journey, but he reminded me
so much of home I would not let them shoot it; we left it there to be
devoured by wolves, or die of hunger, or be killed by some one else.
[May 15--32d day] We renewed our journey, when about noon it commenced
to rain we turned down to the right, & encamped, it continuing rainy, we
staid till next day; here was a small stream full of little fishes,
which if we had had a small sceine, we might have caught any amount; but
we had not so much as a fish hook, which we had forgoten to provide.
[May 16--33d day] Crossed the Big Nimahaw,[36] nooned here, there were
so many teams here crossing that we had to wait some 2 hours, for many
would not go through, until they had doubled their team; but we crossed
with our 4 yoke of small cattle, & the largest waggon there, without any
difficulty, but a little snug pulling; George said we done it _easy_;
our team is certainly no. 1. This is a fine mill stream, some very good
timber on its banks, & as rich prairie around as I ever saw, there is no
reason why it should not be settled some day. We passed the junction of
the Indipendence road,[37] there was as many teems in sight, as on ours,
& their track looked about the same, Saw a fine sheet iron stove sitting
beside the road, took it along cooked in it that night, & then left it;
for they are of very little account, unless you could have dry wood. We
met a man who was driving several cows, the men in the other waggon
recognized 4 of them, belonging to a man from their country, with whom
they had intended to travel. They asked the man where was the owner of
the cows? & why he was driving them back? he said first that he was the
owner, & that he had bought them; but as he could not tell where the man
was, nor discribe him, they concluded he had no right to them; & finaly
he said them four he had found, & they took them away from him; & as one
of them gave milk, we were enable[d] to live quite well; & I would
advise all to take cows on this trip, if you used the milk only to make
bread, for you can do very little with yeast, & the soda & cream tarter
I do not like.
[May 17--34th day] We went on through a rich & fertile country, &
encamped some 2 ms to the left of the road, in one of the most wild and
romantic places I ever saw; the wolves howled around the tent nearly all
night, I could not sleep soundly, therefor dreamed of being attacted by
bears, & wolves; when the sharp bark of one, close to the waggon, would
rouse me from my fitful slumbers but the rest slept so soundly, that
they hardly heard them; for people sleep in general very sound, on this
trip, for being tired at night, they feel like reposing.
[May 18--35th day] Proceeded onward, crossed the Big Blue river[38]
there was a ferry here, but we forded it, although it came near running
into our waggon bed; came on some 11, ms. father [_sic_], & encamped, to
the left, down in a hollow where there was small stream; Here[39] a
doctor from the same place of those men who were travelling with us,
came up, he had started to pack through with 2 horses, but soon getting
tired of it, he had let a man have one of the horses, & provisions, to
take him through: but he said they soon wanted him to help about every
thing & he got tired of it; & offered to go through with them, & cook
for them, they concented, as one of their company had gone back which I
had forgotten to mention, for we meet some going back every day, some
have been sick, some say that they are carrying the mail; but there is
most to great a number for that purpose. [May 19--36th day] Beautiful
morning the Dr. said I could ride his horse if I liked, & having my
saddle yet, I gladly excepted it; for it is tiresome riding in the
waggon all the while, & every waggon should be provided, with at least
one good horse, for the company to ride when they are weary, or when
they wish to go out & hunt; for it is very hard to go off from the road
a hunting, & perhaps kill some game, & then have it to carry & overtake
the teams; for as slow a[s] an ox teem may seem to move, they are very
hard to catch up with, when you fall behind an hour or two. and you need
a horse also, to ride through & drive the team in all bad places, & to
get up your cattle without getting your feet wet, by wading in water or
dew; if such exposures as these were avoided, I do not think there would
be as much sickness as there usually is, along here, for we have not
passed less than 100 fresh graves from St. Joseph to the Blue river. See
some dead stalk, the wolves have a feast, hope they will not disturb the
graves. [May 20--37th day] We travel about 20 ms. a day our cattle are
thriving, look well; but this Gy[p]sy life is anything but agreeable, it
is impossible to keep anything clean, & it is with great dificulty that
you do what little you have to do. Turned down to the left; tolerable
grass only; here we saw the first buffalo sign; the wolves kept barking
all night. [May 21--38th day] Raining some, came 7 or 8 ms, the rain
still continuing, we put up for the day, down to the left, near a dry
sandy creek, here was a fresh grave; there being some timber along this
creek, we soon had a large fire, & prepared our dinner. We have not as
yet seen any game, & a fishhook would have been of more service so far,
than half a dozen guns, The weather is quite cold, need overcoats, &
mittens. [May 22--39th day] Again we get up the cattle & start on; the
land here is poor, the country flat, & grass only in places, the road is
very crooked thus far; for the track runs wherever it is nearest level.
We encamped on the Little blue,[40] which we had been following up for
the last 3 or 4 days, it is a poor place for grass. Some teams turned
back a day or two since, & one old lady said we had all better turn
back, for if the grass began to give out now, what would become of us if
we went on until our teams were not able to take us back; she said she
was going back, for she had made a living before she had ever heard of
California, & the rest might go on & starve their teams to death if they
liked. Saw the heads of [s]everal fine large fish lying here, but could
not catch any with a pin hook. [May 23--40th day] After some difficulty,
we got our cattle from the other side of the river, where they had
strayed during the night, but when we found they were across, some of
the men went over & watched them, which was the first time we had
watched them, but being now in the Pawnee country we were a little
afraid they might be stolen, but we did not see one of these indians,
some said it was because they were afraid of the smallpox. We passed a
spot where there was a board put up, & this information upon it, that a
man was found here on the 17th, horribly murdered, with wounds of a
knife, & buckshot, his shirt was lying there, with the blood & wounds
upon it, he was buried near by, it stated by whom &c. I have never
learned any more, but I hope the murderer may meet his reward, sooner or
later. [May 24--41st day] The day being clear & still, as we passed over
the 16 mile desert, to the head waters of the L. Blue[41]; we saw a
mirage, at first we thought we were near a pond of water which we saw
just over the ridge, & remarked that the guide had said there was no
water here; but when we came near, it was gone, and then suspecting what
it was, we looked around (for here you can see any distance in all
directions) we saw beautiful streams, bordered with trees, small lakes,
with islands, & once on looking back, we saw several men in the road,
who looked to be 15 ft tall, & once or twice we saw what appeared to be
large & stately buildings. Met a company of fur traders with 16 waggons
loaded with buffalo robes, they were very singular in appearence looking
like so many huge elephants, & the men, except 2, were half breeds; &
indians, & a rougher looking set, I never saw; & their teams which were
cattle, looked about used up; quite warm to day, crossed the last branch
of the Little Blue, it was dry and good crossing, we went on some 3
miles, and encamped near some small ponds of water, no wood, only what
we could find at old camping places; we had brought a little water in
our kegs, made some coffe[e], & just as we were done supper, the sun was
declining in the west, making thing[s] appear very distinctly on the
horizon, when there was an animal discovered, feeding on the plain, not
far distant. 2 of our men went in persuit, and after some time, returned
with a quarter of fresh meat, which they said was antelope; but asking
them why they did not bring more, & they making rather a vague reply,
and not being anyways anxious to have any of it cooked, & from certain
sly looks which they exchanged, I began to think something was wrong
about it, at length one went out in the morning [May 25--42nd day] and
found it to be an old sheep left from some drove, which was probably
unable to travel, but the sport was that they thinking it was an
antelope, and it being so dark that they could not see distinctly, &
knowing that they were hard to get a shot at, they crept on their hands
& knees for some distance, both fired at the same time, & shot the poor
sheep through & through; but to turn the joke, they brought up a piece,
to have the Dr. _& me_[42] cook some of it, but failed. This made us
something to joke & laugh about for some time, for it is seldom that you
meet with anything for merriment, on this journey. We reached the Platte
river,[43] after a hard days drive, although the sand hills which were
in sight, soon after we started in the morning; did not seem to be, but
2 or 3 ms. distant. Saw several antelope but could not get a shot at
them it being so level, There is no wood here, except what is procured
from the island, the river was not fordable at this time, but some swam
accross on horseback & procured some; but with much difficulty and
danger, the current being very swift, & the bottom quicksand; we
contented ourselves with a few willow bushes; there were some buffalo
chips, but we had not as yet got in the way of using them. [May 26--43d
day] We are about 5, ms below Ft. Karney.[44] Several indians of the
Sioux tribe came to our tent, the best looking indians I ever saw, they
were tall, strongly made, firm features, light copper color, cleanly in
appearance, quite well dressed in red blankets, and highly ornamented,
with bows and arrows in their hands. We gave them some crackers &
coffee, with which they seemed very much pleased. They signified that
they wished to trade, & pointing of to the right, we saw, many more
indians seated on the ground not far distant, with some 20 ponies
feeding around them, as we started out there, we saw a train of waggons
which were passing, halt, & appear to be perplexed, we soon saw the
cause, a huge indian, naked to his waist, with a drawn sword,
brandishing it in the road, & seemed to say, "stand & deliver." But when
we came up, he signified that he wished to trade, but they wishing to
proceed, & not wanting to be detained, they gave him some crackers &c,
each waggon as they passed, throwing him something on a blanket, which
he had spread on the ground beside the road; but I saw the indians
chuckle to one another, upon the success of the old chiefs maneuver.
This old chief accompanied us to the rest of the indians, & he gave the
doctor a buffalo robe for his vest, which he immediately put on,
buttoned it up, and appeared much pleased with his bargain; but not
better than the doctor did with his. We also got a very fine robe, for
a bridle & mantingals [_sic_], which were not very new. We struck our
tent, moved on up to the fort; there are 2 or 3 good frame building
here, saw some children playing in the porch of one of them, suppose
there are some families here but the barracks & magazines are mostly
built of turf; the place is not inclosed, & presents no striking
appearance, but we liked to look at a house as it had been some time
since we had seen one, and would be some time before we should see
another. They kept a register here, of the number of waggons which
passed, there had then passed 2657, & as many waggons pass without
touching here, I do not think they can keep a correct account, & I do
not think they try to get the number of those that pass on the north
side of the river, for it would be difficult to do. Opposite the town, &
extending up & down the river for 16 or 18 ms, is an island,[45] it is
covered with a fine growth of cottonwood timber, I was struck with its
appearance with the mirage which I had seen on the plain, & believe it
the same reflected by the atmosphere.
FOOTNOTES:
[27] St. Joseph, Mo.
[28] St. Joseph, Mo.
[29] Abbreviation used throughout for "miles."
[30] A variant of "slough."
[31] Wolf Creek, a tributary of the Missouri, rises in Brown Co. and
runs through Doniphan Co., Kan.
[32] Sauk and Fox, from this northeastern section of Kansas.
[33] This seems to refer to the Presbyterian mission among the Iowas and
the Sauk and Fox, established in 1837, near the present town of
Highland, Doniphan Co., Kan.
[34] So in the original and evidently an error for "rolling" or
undulating.
[35] The Little Nemaha R., in the southeastern corner of Nebraska, and
empties into the Missouri seven miles below Brownsville.
[36] Nemaha or Big Nemaha R., in the southeastern part of Nebraska,
emptying into the Missouri two miles below Rulo.
[37] This is a mistake, did not pass it till 2 days
afterwards.--_Original note._
[38] The Big Blue R., an affluent of the Kansas R., rising in Nebraska
and running nearly southward into Kansas.
[39] This it a mistake--did not join us till 3 days after
this.--_Original note._ This doctor's name is nowhere given in her
journal.
[40] The Little Blue R. rises in the southern part of Nebraska, runs
through Jefferson Co., thence into the State of Kansas, and empties into
the Big Blue R. in Marshall Co., of that state.
[41] Little Blue R.
[42] These words are partly erased in the original manuscript.
[43] The Platte or Nebraska R., and well-known affluent of the Missouri
R. Her description is similar to Frémont's, in his first exploration of
ten years earlier.--Frémont. _Report._ Washington, 1845, p. 16.
[44] Fort Kearny, Nebraska, named after Col. Stephen W. Kearny who, in
1845, conducted the first military expedition through the West, from
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. It
was at first named Fort Childs, in honor of Gen. Thomas Childs, of the
Mexican War. The post was abandoned permanently in 1871.
[45] Judging from the length of miles, the reference seems to be to the
group of islands of which Long Island, opposite Kearney, Neb., is the
largest.
CHAPTER IV
FROM FT. KERNEY TO FT. LARIMIE
Leaving our letters in the P. O. went on some 10 or 12 ms. & stoped for
the night, there was no wood, & was not likely to be fore some distance
according to the guides. [May 27--44th day] The grass being poor, & no
wood, & believing that it was better on the north side, & I guess our
cattle thought so too, for they all got into the river last night &
started to swim across, but after a while they give it up & come out. we
concluded to cross the river at the first ford we came to. We had
proceded some 4 or 5 ms. up the river; when we saw several waggons
standing on the bank, & the men watching something in the water; we soon
saw there was a waggon & team fording the river, we could hardly
descerne the team which was nearly under the water, and the waggon
looked like a little boat, it was preceeded by two men on horseback, who
rode side by side, surveying out the ford & marking it by sticking up
little sticks in the sand; we watched them till they were safely across,
& the pilots had returned, but there was a board stuck up here which
informed us, that the ford was safe, & that a large train had passed the
day before. I felt a little nervous when we were about to cross, for the
river here is all of one mile & a half wide, & a more foaming madening
river I never saw, & its banks being very low, & the water the color of
soapsuds you cannot see the bottom where it is not more than six inches
deep, consequently looks as deep as the Missouri when it is bank full, &
the many islands & bars which obstruct this swift current makes an awful
noise, you cannot make a person hear you, when you are in the river, at
5 yds. distant; and I call this one of the greatest adventures on the
whole route, for from the quicksands giving away under the waggon
wheels, there is danger of upsetting, which would be a very great
disaster indeed. Blocking up our waggon bed, we started in, for our
cattle do not mind mud, or water, the men with their coats, hats, &
boots off, with a kerchief around their heads, with whip in hand, into
the Platte river we go; but we are only one team in 20 that is now in
the river, making a line from bank to bank; we were about 2 hours in
crossing, & I do not think our team pulled as hard & for so long a time
on the road, at any place; for our waggon was heavy loaded with about 15
hundred lbs, & the wheels sunk in the sand about 6 inches most of the
way, but we did not stop but once, for fear the waggon would get fast in
the yielding sands, for there were 2 or 3 teams stuck, when we crossed,
2 were mule teams, their feet being so small they sank in the sands &
could not pull out; but when we got across, one of the men who traveled
with us, went back & pulled out one team; but there was no one anxious
to go in a second time. There being abundance of grass here, we turned
out our cattle after they had rested a little, but there was know [no]
wood, so after changing their clothes, & passing around the brandy
freely; we hiched up an went on some 4 miles father [_sic_] up the
river, & encamped in a beautiful place, on the bank of a stream called
Elm creek,[46] under the shade of two large elm trees; here was good
grass, plenty of the best of wood, & some water, for the creek was very
low, & as the sun was 3 hours high or more, some went out a hunting
while the old Dr[47] Beth & I went to cooking, we soon had the best of a
fire, cooked some meat & beens, stewed some apples & peaches, boiled
some rice, & baked buiscuit, & fried some crulls, & as I had a glass
pickle jar full of sour milk, & plenty of salaratus, I had as fine cakes
as if I had been at home; & when they returned in the evening we had a
general feast; for we had had no wood to cook with before for several
days, the men had seen plenty of game but the time did not permit of
their pursuing it, saw also deer Elk and buffalo tracks. [May 28--45th
day] We started out, but I would gladly have stayed today, rested &
cooked some more, for the guides said we would have no more wood for 200
ms, & we must now take to "picking up chips."[48] When a few miles out
we came to a very bad slue, deep & muddy, it would be a fortune to some
one to bridge it, it could be easily done, for it is not wide & the
timber could be had on Elm creek which is but a few miles back, & any
one would rather pay a reasonable toll, than to pull his team (cattle)
so hard. Saw several head of stalk [_i. e._, stock] which had give out,
one old cow by the road with a paper pined on her head, it stated that
she had been left to die, but if anyone choose, they might have her, but
requested that they would not abuse her as she had been one of the best
of cows, she looked so pittiful, & it called up so many assotiations in
my mind that it affected me to tears. Drove on and encamped; turned out
the cattle & put up the tent, then for a fire, no wood, but _chips_ in
abundance, no alternative, soon had a large pile of them, & set fire to
them, when they immediately blazed up & burned like dry bark, it was
laughable to see the boys jump around it, particularly Beth & saying it
"wooled them" bad. On saying that I feared the dust would get in the
meat, as it was frying, George said he would as soon have his broiled as
any way, so laughing, & jokeing we forgot our antipathies to the fire
some said it had improved all the supper, even the coffee. [May 29--46th
day] Hear of people killing buffalo, the ground is strewed with their
bones. Passed a prairie dog town,[49] killed two, that we might have a
near view of them; they resemble both the squirrel & puppy, teeth feet
and tail like the squirrel their shape is more like that of a puppy;
their color is redish grey, their size about twice that of a fox
squirrel, some pronounce them good to eat, they bark nearly like a
little puppy but their note is quicker & more like a squirrel, as we
first came in sight, they comenced barking & running from hole to hole,
& it is believed that they are all connected by subteraneous passages,
which is probably the case, for they are not but a few feet apart, and
on the near approach of any one, they will "disappear in a twinkling," &
appear as if they turn a summerset right down into their hole. They set
up straight on their hind feet when they bark, & they are so near the
color of the sand that you can hardly see them, unless in motion. Shot a
young hare, which made us a fine dinner. The water along here is very
poor; the river water is said to be healthiest, but it is warm, & muddy.
[May 30--47th day] The road is along the bank of the river, which is
very straight, & on each side of which, are high sandhills or bluffs,
from 2 to 10 ms. distant from the river, it is the same the whole way, &
you can see no father [sic] on either side than these miniature
mountains, for they present in many places a beautiful outline; [May
31--48th day] the scenery along the river is very monotonous & the
weather is quite warm, & the diarhia prevails to some extent among the
emigrants, we are all slightly affected it is no doubt owing to the
quality of the water, for most of it, is impregnated more or less with
alkali. [June 1--49th day] One of our company quite sick to-day. The
grass is very good along here, looks like a meadow. Saw four buffalo
feeding near the bluffs, some 3 ms. distant, 2 of our party, & another
man, went in persuit; this man killed one of them, & they brought what
they could to the waggons, & left the remainder of it to the wolves. We
came on & encamped to the right, on the west bank of a beautiful stream,
I think called Buffalo creek,[50] we made some soup from the marrow bone
of our fresh meat, which I think an epicure would have called good, and
eating this with boiled rice helped us very much. Here is signs of game
in abundance, elk, deer, buffalo, antelope, hare, &c,
[June 2--50th day] The bluffs in this place approach the river, & the
road passes over them for 6 ms, the sand is from 6 to 15 inches in
depth, it being very warm, & such hard pulling that our cattle lolled
their tounges out for breath; we stoped when we came down to the river,
& nooned. Passed on, saw a train which was stoped & digging a grave for
a woman, who had died this morning, having been taken sick only last
night; she leaves a husband & 2 small children, this is sad at any time,
but much more so here. On a little father [_sic_], an old man was
suddenly taken with the cholera, by drinking a draught of cold water
from a spring, the Dr. stoped with him an hour or two, but thought he
would not live; I never heard from him again.
[June 3--51st day] Had a fine shower of rain last night, which has laid
the dust, & the road is level, & it is fine traveling to-day, nooned
opposite Cedar Bluffs,[51] which are on the south side of the river, &
the little dwarf cedars which grow upon them, are all the trees that I
have seen for many mile, & shall see again very soon.
[June 4--52d day] Passed where they were burying a man; scarce a day but
some one is left on these plains, to return to their mother dust; may
the Lord pity, & bless the widows & orphans, who are left behind.
[June 5--53d day] Nooned nearly opposite Castle Bluffs,[52] here we were
joined by 2 teams, a man & his family, & his widowed sister with her
family, she was going only to Salt Lake, they had 5 or 6 cows which gave
milk, they gave me an excellent one to milk, for they had more than they
could well tend to, & we were willing that they should travel with us,
which they did to the end of our journey.
[June 6--54th day] Most of the soil here is very barren, the wild sage
sets in here it is very small, not much wood about this. Came in sight
of Courthouse[53] and Chimney[54] rocks some 30 or 40 miles distant,
they have a beautiful appearance. Passed some bluffs on our right which
presented a very singular & picturesque appearance, resembling a ruined
wall & buildings. A few miles onward to the left we found good camping.
In a tent near by was a man very sick, the Dr. went & stayed with him
till morning [July 7--55th day], when he died, leaving a wife & one
child, they put him in his narrow bed & left him there to sleep (rest)
alone. Traveled about 25 ms, & encamped on the bank of the river
opposite Chimney rock, which appeared to us to be very near the other
bank of the river but I am told it is 3 ms. distant & that is why it did
not look larger to me, but I knew it was much larger than it seemed to
be there, for when we were 10 ms distant it did not appear any smaller &
not much farther off. There was a man very sick in a tent near by,
supposed to be cholera.
[June 8--56th day] A fine cool breeze from the mountains makes it very
pleasant. Passed a large prarie dog town it was about 2 ms long by one
broad, they kept up a wonderful barking, & running from house to house,
but disappeared on our approach & kept perfectly still, until we got a
little passed, when they would jump up, & stand as straight & bark with
all their might, & no doubt they were saying some very hard things
against us, for the boys shot several of them, although I beg[g]ed them
not to hurt them, for it is pitiful to see them when one is wounded or
killed outside, & cannot get into his hole; others will rush out, & drag
him in, when they will commence barking with all their might, & directly
the whole town join in, as if they had been informed, & understood that
one of their number was wounded or dead. If there were any of these
little animals in Ireland, we might easily account for their legends of
Faries, Elfs &c. And I think if their habits were thouroughly studied,
that they would be found to possess wonderful powers of instinct.
[June 9--57th day] Came in sight of Laramie Peak,[55] its dark outline
resting against the clouds had a sublime appearance. Passed where they
were diging a grave for a girl 12 years old; how hard it must be to
leave ones children on these desolate plains, but "God will watch over
all their dust till He shall bid it rise." [June 10--58th day] To-day &
yesterday the roads very sandy & in some places hilly, had a small
shower of rain, turned down to the river, nearly 2 miles from the road,
found excellent wood, which had been drifted there by the river in high
water, & likewise fine grass. We are about 5 ms. from Ft. Laramie.[56]
Near by where we nooned to-day, there was 2 dead indians in the top of a
cottonwood tree,[57] this being their manner of disposing of their dead.
They were wraped in well dressed buffalo hides, & then lashed to several
small poles, which were fastened to the limbs of the tree, it was a very
singular sight, they must have been there some time, as I found a part
of an old rusty knife, which had probably been one of the many things
which had been hung on the tree, such as, knife, bow & arrow, & whatever
he might have posessed. [June 11--59th day] We started out in the
morning for town, reached it about 9 o'clock or rather opposite the
place, we halted a little while, one of the company rode over & put some
letters in the P. O. This is quite a place, several fine buildings,
nestled here among the hills it looks like a rose in the wilderness.
There were several indian lodges not far from the road, & plenty of
indians. Taking a last look of the town we departed on our journey.
FOOTNOTES:
[46] Elm Creek, a northern affluent of the Platte River, west of Fort
Kearny, in the present Dawson Co., Neb.
[47] The doctor's name is nowhere revealed. Beth was one of her sons.
[48] Buffalo-chips, the dried dung of the American bison.
[49] The species _Cynomys Ludovicianus_, whose burrow-towns were common
east of the Rocky Mountains.
[50] Buffalo Creek, a northern affluent of the Platte River, in
Nebraska.
[51] Perhaps near Cedar Point, Keith Co., Neb.
[52] Not definitely located, but perhaps in Keith Co., Neb., between the
North Platte and South Platte Rivers.
[53] Courthouse Rock, a huge mass of sand and clay, near Pumpkin Creek,
in Cheyenne County, Neb. There is a good description of it in Delano's
_Life on the Plains_ (1854), p. 69-70.
[54] Chimney Rock, near the western boundary of Cheyenne County, Neb.
Its height, in 1832, as given by Captain Bonneville, was 175
yards.--Irving's _The Rocky Mountains_. Phila., 1837, vol. 1, p. 45. It
has become greatly reduced in height by erosion.--Chittenden's _Hist. of
American Fur Trade_, vol. 1, p. 467. For a description and view in 1842,
see Frémont's _Report_. Washington, 1845, p. 38.
[55] Laramie Peak, the highest point of the Laramie Mountains of
Wyoming, altitude 9020 feet.
[56] Fort Laramie, at the confluence of the North Platte and Laramie
Rivers, Wyoming, was named after Joseph Laramé (or La Ramie), a trapper
who lost his life here in 1821. Near by was an earlier station of the
American Fur Company, known successively as Fort William and Fort John.
A near view, as seen in 1842 by Frémont, is in his _Report_. Washington,
1845, opp. p. 40. The federal government bought out the trading company
in 1849 and Fort Laramie became a military station; a birdseye view of
the latter year is in H. H. Bancroft's _Works_, vol. 25, p. 690. For a
full history of the fort, see Coutant's _Hist. of Wyoming_, vol. 1, p.
296-329.
[57] One of the many mortuary customs of the Indians, known as
tree-burial.
CHAPTER V
FROM FT. LARAMIE TO THE SOUTH PASS
We now turned to the right, & commenced ascending the black hills,[58]
the scenery is wild & magnifficent, the contrast was delightful, we
encamped in a most romantic spot, where not far distant a fine spring of
cold water rushed out of the mountain; this was refreshing, and our
cattle climed [_sic_] the hills to feed upon the rich seeded grasses
which grow in bunches on their sides. The ground is covered with the
richest profusion, & variety of flowers, but all were strange to me,
except the wild rose which was the only one which was sweet sented.
[June 12--60th day] The roads here are smooth & excellent, but hilly, &
in some places very steep, it is so hard that it is bad on the cattles
feet, & waggons. Passed where they were diging a grave for a woman, who
had died that morning, leaving a husband & 2 small children. She rests
in a lovely spot, in sight, & opposite Laramie Peak, & surrounded with
hills. Came to a good spring of water, & encamped quite early. Two of
our men went out hunting, & succeeded in killing an antelope, & a
mountain hare; we soon took their jackets off, & another such a
broiling, boiling & roasting you never saw, there being more than our
company wanted, we let our nearest neighbors have 2 quarters. we staid
here until the next day noon, it being sunday. [June 13.--61st day] We
drove about 10 ms. & encamped in the midst of volcanic hills, no water,
not much grass, the soil is thin, the ground is covered with cactus, or
prickley pear, the blossom of which is very beautiful of different
colors, some pink, some yellow & some red. Here the earth has felt a
shock at no very distant period, & by a convulsive throe, these enormous
piles of volcanic rocks were upheaved; I went out and climbed upon the
top of one of these mountains of red stone sat down, & looked with
wonder about, & thought of the dreadful scene which it must have once
presented. Then came the question, what has caused the earth to be to
its center shook? Sin! the very rocks seemed to reverberate, Sin has
caused them to be upheaved that they may be eternal monuments of the
curse & fall of man; viewing these symbols of divine wrath, I felt
humbled; I took a small stone & wrote upon a flat rock beside me,
Remember me in mercy O lord. I shall never forget this wild scene, & my
thoughts & reflections there.
[Illustration: _Indian mode of disposing of their dead_]
[June 14--62d day] Roads being good, we traveled about 24 ms. to-day,
returned to the river, encamped, it is quite small here, but runs faster
than ever, the water is not much better, Mountains in the distance on
both sides of the river, with small cedars & pines growing upon them.
Roads rocky & hilly, came to the river at noon [June 15--63d day], where
there was a grove of cottonwood trees, here were several indians
incamped, & a frenchman who kept a few articles to sell, the principle
article was whiskey, which he sold at 12 dollars per gallon, or 25 cts a
drink, there were several indian families, I went round to their lodges,
saw one old indian 106 years old, he shook hands with us, smiled,
appeared well, but he looked very aged; two fine looking young squaws
were seated at the door of the tent, embroidering a deer skin to make a
coat, they showed me one they had already made, & I must say that nicer
work with a needle I never saw, or any thing more beautiful, it looked
like sattin, & was finely ornamented with various colored beeds. These
two girls probably were this old mans descendants of the 3d or 4th
generation.
[June 16--64th day] Roads very hilly, sandy, & dusty, quite warm
weather, nights cool, light showers occasionly. We bought a cow to-day
to work with our odd steer; gave 16 dollars & a half; some of the rest
of the company bought 3 or 4, for people trade all along the road
selling brandy, hardbread, flour, bacon, sugar &c, for most of those
packing now are out of provisions, & b[u]y of the waggons, or get their
meals at the tents. people do not charge very high for whatever they
have to spare, for they do not like to haul it. [June 17--65th day] The
roads still sandy; we are about 100 ms. above Ft. Laramie saw a horned
frog[59] which appears to be the link between the toad and the terapin,
or mud turtle; it is about the size of a small toad, his body very flat
& round, light colored but specked with red & black specs; has two
knots, or horns on his head, a short peaked tail, & crawles around very
lively, but does not jump, like a frog or toad. Where we nooned today,
as we started out, we saw some men on the opposite side of the river
chaseing a buffalo, which on coming to the river, plunged in, & made for
our side; the men gathered their guns, ran for the bank, stationed
themselves by some trees, the buffalo coming to a sandbar in the middle
of the river, halted a while, & those on the other shore, poured out
upon him a shower of bullets. I looked for him to fall every moment, but
they overshot him, for their balls struck the water on this side; a dog
was sent into the river, he made for the buffalo, & seizing him by the
tail, he made for our shore & as he neared it, the dog still hanging to
his tail, & swimming, as he rose upon the bank, he commenced to gallop
away, when several guns were discharged at him, he halted, one lead
entered the seat of life, the red blood spouted from his side; an ounce
& a half ball from Georges double barrel shot gun, had done the deed; he
walked on a little farther to some water, went into it, fell down,
struggled & died in a few minutes. Twenty men with as many knives in as
many minutes, had him in pieces ready for the stewkettle. One old
mountaineer made choice of a _delicate_ part, observing that no one
would probably quarrel with him for his (part) piece. He was a fine male
buffalo, eight years old (judging from his horns) hair short, & nearly
black. I never saw a more noble looking animal, his eye looked green &
firy in death, such strength did his enormous neck, & great muscles
exhibit, that all wished they had a team like him. All repaired to their
tents, to have a feast, we drove down to the river, where there was
plenty of grass & wood, & encamped for the remainder of the day; we
jerked most of our meat,[60] baked, boiled & fried some; it was fine
beef, some said that it was better than any beef they had ever eat. In
the morning [June 18--66th day] we renewed our journey, quite refreshed.
Passed the ferry[61] of the north fork of Platte river; it is kept by
some french, & indians, they have 3 boats well fixed with ropes &
pullies, & cross with ease, and expedition, they charge 5 dollars per
waggon, 50 cts for every animal, & person; this is a heavy tax on the
emigration, besides, this vast amount of money is in a manner thrown
away, if the general government would take possession of or build
ferries on the principal streams on this route & the prices be reduced
one half or more; it would be a little something in Uncle Sams pocket, &
remove an obstruction, I might have said destruction, because property,
& even lives are lost, by trying to swim their teams across for as small
as the sum may seem, many have not got it, for they have probably laid
out all their money for their outfit, for most of those who go by land,
are perhaps not able to go by water, but let the case be as it may, no
one let him have ever so much money, likes to have it extorted from him.
There is no reason why a ferry should not be kept here at a reasonable
rate, for ferriage. On the high bluffs, on the south side of the river,
is plenty of excellent pine, & cedar timber, as the gunwales of their
boats show, for they said they got them there, & provisions for a few
men, could be had at a reasonable rate, of the emigrant. [June 19--67th
day] Fine roads this morning, we came to the top of a hill, where we had
a view of the Sweet water mountains,[62] distant some 40 miles, we
turned down to the right, & encamped in a beautiful little valley, good
grass but the water, what little there was, is charged with alkali but
there is no better anywhere near; a great many camped hear [_sic_]
to-night, it had the appearance of a large town, & in a tent near by
ours, they were fiddling & dancing, nearly all night; this was the first
dancing I had seen on the plains, although I had seen some choose
partners on the Steamboat, for the first sett on the plains, but there
had been so much sickness on the Platte, that perhaps they were
rejoicing that they had left it. [June 20--68th day] We passed on over a
sandy barren country, where even sage cannot grow, but a still hardier
shrub called greese wood[63] abounds here, it is good for nothing to
burn, & I cannot think of any use it is, unless, for the rabbits to hide
behind. Quite warm, cool breeze from the mountains; we crossed
greesewood creek,[64] went down some 2 ms, & encamped, not very good
grass, I have been told that it is better 5 or 6 miles farther down,
where it empties into Sweet water.[65]
[June 21--69th day] We saw several antelope, 2 of our men went in
persuit, killed a young one; came across a human skeleton, brought the
skull bone to the waggon, I think it was an indians skull. We soon came
in sight of Independence Rock,[66] it did not look at all like I had
formed an idea, & at a distance, it has no very imposing appearance; but
as we approached it, its magnitude was then striking, & beautiful, it is
an enormous mass of solid blocks of granite, it is so large that its
highth seems inconsiderable, until you climb upon it, which you can
easily do, at least I did, but when I reached the low place in the
middle, I took off my shoes, for in passing around the side to go up to
the top, there is some danger of sliping, which would presipitate you to
the bottom. There are thousands of names of persons upon this rock,
which have been placed there from year to year, by those who think,
"there is something in a name" & many beautiful flowers growing in the
crevices I have one which I gathered here near the top of the rock it is
a kind of Lilly a beautiful flower. We nooned here, & then went on
crossed sweet water,[67] which I had supposed from its name to be the
best water in the world, but it has more alkali in it, than the Platte,
it is not so muddy, but the water is nearly the same here, Some 6 or 8
miles onward, we came to what is called the Devils Gate,[68] it is a
deep chasam, or gap in the mountain, which has been rent assunder for
the passage of Sweet Water river, the opening is not wide, but the rocks
on each side are perpendicular, & of great highth some 400 ft., the road
passes a little to the right, where there is a nataral pass through the
mountain, but we could hear the river roaring, & chafing, through its
narrow rocky channel; a person who has curiosity, & nerve enough, may
climb & look over the brink of this yawning gulf. Some of our men went
up part way, but said that satisfied their curiosity. We passed here a
trading post, they kept quite an assortment of goods, which were all
brought from St. Louis, their [_sic_] enormous waggons, serving as a
kind of shop, & store house; they said they had brought 60 hundred to
the waggon from St. Louis; they had recruited their teams, some of them
were fat, for the grass here is excellent; they offered them for sale,
one of our company bought 3 yoke, for from 45, to 60 dollars per yoke.
This is a romantic place, & a good place for a post, for there is
abundance of grass, & water; & some considerable pine & cedar timber on
the mountains. We followed up the stream two or 3 ms & encamped, where
the mountains were of naked rocks, without the least vegetation upon
them, I now saw how appropriate the name, stony or rocky was applied to
them. We passed an alkali pond this morning & gathered up a panful of
the salaratus, which looks like frozen snow, forming a crust around the
edge of the water; I tried some of it, in some bread; it made it quite
light, but gave it a bitter taste.
[June 22--70th day] The roads very sandy; while we were nooning, there
was a severe hailstorm, but it had nearly expended itself, before it
reached us, but as we proceeded, we found the hail in places 2 or 3
inches deep, & they were so large, that it had trimed up the sage brush
completely; it lay on the ground in shady places till the next day, we
encamped for the night on the river, very good grass, but there was
alkali all over the ground, we tried to keep our cattle from it as much
as we could, but they got a little, which affected them some, but we
gave them some fat bacon, which is said to be good for them. Great sign
of buffalo here; also saw one today galloping away through a gap[69] in
the mountains. [June 23--71st day] To day we passed through a narrow
defile in the mountains, where we were compeled to ford the river 3
times,[70] in less than 2 miles, we had to block up our waggon bed
several inches; it is a very bad place, there is a way to go around, but
I am told that it is about 10 ms. & very sandy. There were goose berry
bushes here by the road side, this was the first fruit we had seen; we
gathered some of the green berries, stewed them for supper, found them
delicious. We soon emerged into an open plain, where the main chain of
the Rocky mountains appeared in the distance; Crossed Sweet Water again,
went up a few miles & encamped; not very good grass, plenty of alkali, &
some of the largest kind of sage, we soon had a good fire, for the
nights are getting cool here in the mountains, & after supper we were
seated around it, some sitting on yokes, & some on buffalo heads; & they
do not make a bad seat; and some are used for writing upon, & then
setting them up by the side of the road, generally informing the
passerby, that Mr. A. B. &c. passed such a day, all well &c. Saw some
written in '49 & '50, & though penciled was not yet effaced, we
frequently find a buffalo head stuck up with a notice, that there is a
spring in such & such a place; nearly all the skulls & shoulder blades
along the road, are more or less written upon. Loyd he wrote a
moralizing epitaph upon a very large old skull, stating that this animal
had fulfilled the laws of nature, & that his head, still served as a
seat to the weary traveler.
[June 24--72d day] Had a shower last evening, quite cool, have to wrap
up to keep warm, good roads, except 3 or 4 this morning, passed the ice
springs; here are great quantities of alkali, & saltpeter, which kills
the stalk [stock] which stop here, for we saw more dead cattle to day,
than we have seen before on the route. We did not stop to dig for
ice,[71] for we were cold enough without it. Passed on crossed Sweet
Water twice, & encamped on the same, found tolerable grass. There was a
trading post at the head of this little valey, which we passed in the
morning. [June 25--73d day] The roads to day hilly & rocky, weather
cold, had a sprinkle of snow & hail; as we reached the top of a high
ridge we had a fine view of the wind range of mountains[72] a little to
our right, these are the highest peaks of these mountains, which we have
been so long gradually ascending, nothing that I had before seen of
mountain scenery, was half so beautiful, for the white snow lying upon
the dark blue ground, looked like pictures of silver; no painting can
give that delicate tint, of light & shade, & it continually varied, as
the light of the sun shown upon it, or when it was obscured by clouds.
We passed a bank of snow, and an ice spring, so called, from its water
being as cold as ice could make it. It was excellent water but the
weather was rather to cold to have made much of a relish for it. We went
on to Strawberry creek[73] & encamped, good grass, & the water of this
beautiful stream, is excellent. George had a severe chill, this evening,
and a high fever, he was sick a day or two. We are about 15 ms from the
South Pass, _we are hardly half way_.[74] I felt tired & weary, O the
luxury of a house, a house! I felt what some one expressed, who had
traveled this long & tidious journey, that, "it tries the soul." I would
have given all my interest in California, to have been seated around my
own fireside, surrounded by friend & relation. That this journey is
tiresome, no one will doubt, that it is perilous, the deaths of many
testify, and the heart has a thousand missgivings, & the mind is
tortured with anxiety, & often as I passed the fresh made graves, I have
glanced at the side boards of the waggon, not knowing how soon it might
serve as a coffin for some one of us; but thanks for the kind care of
Providence we were favored more than some others.
[June 26--74th day] We proceeded onward, crossed Sweet Water for the
last time,[75] here it is a real mountain torrent, we soon arrived at
the summit, or Pass[76] of the Rocky Mountains, this has more the
appearance of a plain, for it is some 5 ms across, & nearly 30 ms wide
from north to south. The road is sandy, & some rocky, but not steep in
no place here. We traveled about 25 ms to-day, & encamped below the
Pacific Springs,[77] poor place to camp, for where there is any grass,
it is so miry that it is dangerous for stalk [stock] to go, 2 or 3 of
ours got in the mire & a good many others, they were got out, but with
much difficulty. We now consider ourselves about half way, but the "tug
of war" is yet to come. We have now bid adieu to the waters, which make
their way into the Atalantic, & now we drink of the waters which flow
into the Pacific. Our faithful team still looks well, they, nor we, have
not yet suffered only fatiegue, they have generally had plenty of grass
& water, but according to the guides we may suffer for both, but hope to
find it better than some have represented. More than half of the cattle
on the road have the hollow horn,[78] the man who is traveling with us
has lost, several head & there are two or three more which will not go
much farther.[79]
FOOTNOTES:
[58] So called from their having a dark appearance in the distance by
reason of the small cedars which grow upon them.--_Original note._ The
name Black Hills was used collectively to denote all of the ranges in
the region of the Laramie Mountains, which are situate in the southwest
corner of Wyoming and form a curvilinear or semi-circular range, of
which the lower part has now the restricted name of Black Hills. _Cf._
Delano's _Life on the Plains_, p. 80-81, 111, for an interesting,
contemporary topographical description.
[59] Not a frog, but a lizard, genus _Phrynosoma_.
[60] Refers to the process of cutting meat into long strips and
preserving it by drying in the open air or over a fire.
[61] As to these early ferries kept by French Canadians, etc., see
Coutant's _Hist. of Wyoming_, vol. 1, p. 365-367.
[62] Granite Mountains seem to be meant.
[63] Greasewood, a low shrub prevalent in saline localities of the West
and of various genera.
[64] Greasewood Creek, an affluent of the Sweetwater River.
[65] This river rises in the Wind River Mountains and is a western
affluent of the North Platte River. For the roads and fords in this
region, see Delano, p. 104-105.
[66] Independence Rock is said to have received its name from the
circumstance of a party ascending it on July 4th and celebrating there
Independence Day. It is an isolated mass of gray granite in length about
1950 feet, and in height about 120 feet, according to Frémont's
observation in 1842, at which time he marked a large cross thereon, a
fact which was introduced adversely against him during his presidential
campaign in 1856. Frémont speaks of the many names inscribed on the
rock.--Frémont's _Report_. Washington, 1845, p. 72. On account of these
names it has been called a "tombstone" and Father De Smet named it "the
great register of the desert." Joel Palmer, in 1845, described it as
follows: "Portions of it are covered with inscriptions of the names of
travelers, with the dates of their arrival--some carved, some in black
paint, and others in red."--_Journal_, in Thwaites's "Early Western
Travels," vol. 30, p. 67. For other descriptions, see Delano, p. 98;
Chittenden, vol. 1, p. 471-472.
[67] Sweetwater River.
[68] Described by Frémont, in 1842, as follows: "Devil's Gate, where the
Sweet Water cuts through the point of a granite ridge. The length of the
passage is about three hundred yards and the width thirty-five yards.
The walls of rock are vertical, and about four hundred feet in
height."--_Report._ Washington, 1845, p. 57, where a picture of it is
also given. For other descriptions, see Palmer's _Journal_, in
Thwaites's "Early Western Travels," vol. 30, p. 67-68; Delano, p.
99-100; Chittenden, vol. 1, p. 473-474.
[69] Delano, p. 104-105, refers to the "gap" or "gloomy gorge."
[70] The place known as the Three Crossings.
[71] The ice is found here by diging down some 18 or 20 inches below the
surface.--_Original note._
[72] The Wind River Mountains, a range of the Rocky Mountains, running
northwest and southeast, in Fremont County, Wyo., and of which Fremont
Peak, of 13,790 feet, is the highest altitude. It was the ultimate limit
of Frémont's expedition of 1842, and he presents a view of these
mountains in his _Report_. Washington, 1845, opp. p. 66. This range was
earlier described, _e. g._ in Irving's _The Rocky Mountains_. Phila.,
1837, vol. 1, p. 62-63.
[73] Strawberry Creek, in Fremont County, Wyo.
[74] These words are scored out in the original manuscript.
[75] See on this last crossing, Delano, p. 113; Chittenden, vol. 1,
chap. 26.
[76] The South Pass, "the most celebrated pass in the entire length of
the Continental Divide" and where "the traveler, though only half-way to
his destination, felt that he could see the beginning of the
end."--Chittenden, vol. 1, p. 475. It is in Fremont County, Wyo. Delano,
p. 115, describes it. Gold was discovered here and it became a great
goldmining center, for which see Coutant's _Hist. of Wyoming_, vol. 1,
chap. XLIII.
[77] The Pacific Springs empty into Pacific Creek, an affluent of the
Big Sandy River, in Fremont County, Wyo. Here is the first water that is
met flowing into the Pacific Ocean. _Cf._ Delano, p. 115. Chittenden,
vol. 1, p. 476, locates it as 952 miles on the Oregon Trail.
[78] A cattle disease through which the core of the horn is lost.
[79] Here her journal ends. It was written in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Across the Plains to California in 1852, by
Lodisa Frizell
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PLAINS TO CALIFORNIA IN 1852 ***
***** This file should be named 31449-8.txt or 31449-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/4/4/31449/
Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
https://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit https://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
https://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
