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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 18:47:21 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-14 18:47:21 -0700 |
| commit | 829ae854023033b046d4c768725cac0a227bf7f0 (patch) | |
| tree | 6646b204e17e056b0bb033cd49c04021cd9da4af /old/44600-h | |
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diff --git a/old/44600-h/44600-h.htm b/old/44600-h/44600-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..235c004 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/44600-h/44600-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5998 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Martha of California, by James Otis. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +h1{ + text-align: center; + clear: both; + margin-top: 6em; +} + +h2 {text-align: center; + clear: both; + margin-top: 4em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + font-size: 1.2em; +} +.chap1 {margin-top: 1em;} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: left; + margin-bottom: .75em; +} + +.pagenum { + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; +} +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-left: 33%; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +hr.l05 { width: 5%; + margin-left: 47%;} + +hr.l15 { width: 15%; + margin-left: 42%; } + +.center { text-align: center; } + +.ralign { text-align: right; } +.smcap { font-variant: small-caps; } + +.caption { + font-weight: bold; + margin-left: 15%; + margin-right: 15%; + text-align: center; + margin-bottom: 2em; +} + +ul.none { list-style-type:none; } + +li {text-indent: -2em; + margin-left: 2em;} + + +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +.figright { + float: right; + clear: right; + margin-left: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + +.figleft { + float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 1em; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; +} + +.poetry-container { text-align: center; } + +.poem { + display: inline-block; + font-size: 95%; + margin-bottom: 1em; + text-align: left; +} + +@media handheld { + .poem { + display: block; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; + } +} + +.poem p { + margin: 0; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em; } + +.poem p.i1{ margin-left: 1em; } +.poem p.o1 { margin-left: -.4em; } + +.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} +.p6 {margin-top: 6em;} + +.b15 {font-size:1.5em;} +.b12 {font-size:1.2em;} +.s08 {font-size:.8em;} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + empty-cells: show; +} + +td {padding-left: 1em; + padding-right: 1em; +} +.tdr { text-align: right; } + +.tnbox { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + margin-bottom: 8em; + margin-top: auto; + text-align: center; + border: 1px solid; + padding: 1em; + color: black; + background-color: #f6f2f2; + width: 25em; +} + +.bbox { + border: solid 2px; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + padding-bottom: .5em; + padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; + padding-right: .5em; +} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Martha of California, by James Otis + +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: Martha of California + A Story of the California Trail + +Author: James Otis + +Release Date: January 6, 2014 [EBook #44600] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA *** + + + + +Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="tnbox"> +<p class="center"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></p> +<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. +Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation in the original +document have been preserved.</p> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="376" height="550" alt="Cover" /> +</div> + +<div class='figcenter p6'> + <img src="images/i-001.jpg" width="550" height="344" alt="" /> +<p class='caption'>Map to illustrate<br /> +the Story of<br /> +Martha of California</p> +</div> + +<h1> +<span class='smcap'>Martha of California</span></h1> + +<p class="center p4 b12"><span class='smcap'>A Story of the California Trail</span></p> + +<p class="center p4">BY<br /> +JAMES OTIS</p> + +<div class='figcenter p4'> +<img src="images/i-002.jpg" width="94" height="99" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p class="center p4">NEW YORK -:- CINCINNATI -:- CHICAGO<br /> +AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY +</p> + +<div class="bbox p6"> +<h2 class="chap1"> +JAMES OTIS'S PIONEER SERIES +</h2> + +<ul class="none"> +<li> +<b>ANTOINE OF OREGON</b>: <span class='smcap'>A Story of the Oregon Trail</span>. +</li> + +<li> +<b>BENJAMIN OF OHIO</b>: <span class='smcap'>A Story of the Settlement of +Marietta</span>. +</li> + +<li> +<b>HANNAH OF KENTUCKY</b>: <span class='smcap'>A Story of the Wilderness +Road</span>. +</li> + +<li> +<b>MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA</b>: <span class='smcap'>A Story of the California +Trail</span>. +</li> + +<li> +<b>PHILIP OF TEXAS</b>: <span class='smcap'>A Story of Sheep Raising in Texas</span>. +</li> + +<li> +<b>SETH OF COLORADO</b>: <span class='smcap'>A Story of the Settlement of +Denver</span>. +</li> +</ul> + +</div> + +<p class="center s08 p6"> +<span class='smcap'>Copyright, 1913, by<br /> +Mrs. A. L. KALER.</span><br /> + +<span class='smcap'>Copyright, 1913, in Great Britain.</span></p> +<hr class="l05" /> +<p class="center s08">MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA.</p> + +<p> +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_3' name='Page_3'>[3]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +FOREWORD +</h2> + +<p> +The author of this series of stories for children +has endeavored simply to show why and how the +descendants of the early colonists fought their way +through the wilderness in search of new homes. The +several narratives deal with the struggles of those +adventurous people who forced their way westward, +ever westward, whether in hope of gain or in answer +to "the call of the wild," and who, in so doing, +wrote their names with their blood across this +country of ours from the Ohio to the Columbia. +</p> + +<p> +To excite in the hearts of the young people of +this land a desire to know more regarding the building +up of this great nation, and at the same time +to entertain in such a manner as may stimulate to +noble deeds, is the real aim of these stories. In them +there is nothing of romance, but only a careful, +truthful record of the part played by children in +the great battles with those forces, human as well +as natural, which, for so long a time, held a vast +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_4' name='Page_4'>[4]</a></span> +portion of this broad land against the advance of +home seekers. +</p> + +<p> +With the knowledge of what has been done by +our own people in our own land, surely there is +no reason why one should resort to fiction in order +to depict scenes of heroism, daring, and sublime +disregard of suffering in nearly every form. +</p> + +<p class="ralign"> +JAMES OTIS. +</p> +<p> +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_5' name='Page_5'>[5]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +CONTENTS +</h2> + +<table summary="Table of Contents"> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td class="tdr"><span class="s08">PAGE</span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Change of Homes</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>"<span class='smcap'>Joe Bowers</span>"</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Reasons for Moving</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Mother's Anxiety</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>How We Were to Travel</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Our Movable Home</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Leaving Ashley</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Eben Jordan</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>On the Road</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Eben's Predictions</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>What We Heard about California</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The First Encampment</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Night in Camp</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Town of Independence</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Kansas Indians</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_34">34</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Looking into the Future for Trouble</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Stormy Day</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Lack of Fuel</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Making Camp in a Storm</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Thunderstorm</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_6' name='Page_6'>[6]</a></span></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Another Company of Pikers</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Stock Stray Away</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>An Indian Village</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>I Weary with so much Traveling</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Eben's Boasts</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Suffering with Thirst</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>In Search of Water</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Quenching our Thirst</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Making Butter</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Kansas Ferry</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Surprise at Soldier Creek</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Bread Making</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Prairie Peas</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Eben as a Hunter</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Herd of Buffaloes</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Excitement in the Camp</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Feast of Buffalo Meat</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Curing the Meat</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Wash Day</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Uncomfortable Traveling</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Ellen's Advice regarding the Story</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Indians and Mosquitoes</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Prairie Dogs</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Colonel Russell's Mishap</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Chimney Rock</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>At Fort Laramie</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_7' name='Page_7'>[7]</a></span></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Cooking in Front of a Fireplace</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Trappers, Hunters, and Indians</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>On the Trail Once More</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Independence Rock</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Arrival at Fort Bridger</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>With our Faces toward California</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>At Bear River</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Coming of Winter</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Utah Indians</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Dangerous Trail</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Sunflower Seeds and Antelope Stew</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Forest Fire</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Great Salt Lake</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Eben as a Fisherman</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Grasshopper Jam</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Deserted Village</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Great Salt Desert</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Preparing for a Dangerous Journey</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Bread and Coffee Making</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Breaking Camp at Midnight</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Approach to the Salt Desert</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Plain of Salt</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Like a Sea of Frozen Milk</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Salt Dust</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Bitter Disappointment</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Coffee instead of Water</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_8' name='Page_8'>[8]</a></span></td> + <td></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Spring of Sweet Water</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Oasis</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Searching for Water</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Beautiful Valley</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Snake Indians</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Scarcity of Food</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Springs of Hot Water</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>In the Land of Plenty</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Truckee River</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>A Home in the Sacramento Valley</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>The Mission of San José</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><span class='smcap'>Our Home in California</span></td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +<p> +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_9' name='Page_9'>[9]</a></span> +</p> + +<p class="center b15 p6"> +MARTHA +OF CALIFORNIA +</p> + +<hr class="l15" /> + +<h2 class="chap1"> +A CHANGE OF HOMES +</h2> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-010.jpg" width="141" height="309" alt="" /> +</div> +<p> +In case one should ask in the years to come +how it happened that I, Martha Early, +who was born in Ashley, Pike County, +in the state of Missouri, and lived there +until I was twelve years old, journeyed +across the prairies and deserts to California, +the question can be answered if +I write down what I saw when so many +people from our county went to make new +homes in that state where gold had been +found in such abundance. +</p> + +<p> +For my part, I used to wonder why people should be +willing to leave Missouri, enduring the many hardships +they knew awaited them on the journey of two thousand +miles, in order to buy land in a country where nearly +all the inhabitants were Spaniards and Mexicans. +</p> + +<p> +I suppose the stories told about the wonderful quantity +of gold which had suddenly been found in California +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_10' name='Page_10'>[10]</a></span> +caused our people to think particularly of that far-off +land. When the excitement of getting rich by digging +in the earth a few weeks or a few months had in a +measure died away, there came tales regarding the +fertile soil and the beauty of the country, until nearly +every one in Pike County, as well as in the county of the +same name just across the Mississippi River in the state +of Illinois, much the same as had a fever for moving. +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps that is why the people we met while +journeying called all the emigrants "Pikers." You +see there were so many from both the Pike counties +who went into California in the year 1851, that it +appeared to strangers as if every person on the trail +had come from Pike County. +</p> + +<h2> +"JOE BOWERS" +</h2> + +<p> +Then, too, fully half of all these emigrants were +singing or whistling that song of "Joe Bowers," which +was supposed to have been written by a Piker, and to +represent a man from Missouri or Illinois. +</p> + +<p> +Surely every one remembers it. The first verse, and +if I have heard it once I certainly have a thousand times, +goes like this:— +</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> +<div class="poem"> +<p class="o1"> +"My name it is Joe Bowers +</p> +<p class="i1"> + And I've got a brother Ike. +</p> +<p> +I came from old Missouri, +</p> +<p class="i1"> + Yes, all the way from Pike." +</p> +</div></div> +<p> +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_11' name='Page_11'>[11]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +The song was intended to show that this Joe Bowers +came from our county, and, perhaps, because so many +of the emigrants were singing it, all of us who went into +California in the year 1851 were, as I have said, called +"Pikers." +</p> + +<p> +However the name came about, I was a Piker, and +before we arrived in this wondrously beautiful country, +I wished again and again that I had +been almost any other than an emigrant, +for the way was long, and oh! +so wearisome. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-012.jpg" width="496" height="379" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +I must always think of Missouri as being one of the +best of all the states in the Union, because it was there +I was born and there I went to school until father +caught the California fever, which resulted in our setting +out on a journey which, for a time, seemed endless. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_12' name='Page_12'>[12]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +My father had no idea of going so far simply to dig for +gold. He had seen many who went across the country +in 1849 believing they would come back rich as kings, +yet who returned home poorer in pocket than when +they left; therefore he came to understand that only +a few of all that vast army of miners who hastened +into California after the discovery at Sutter's Mill, +got enough of the precious metal to pay for the food +they ate. +</p> + +<p> +Father thought he could buy better land in California +than was to be found in Pike County, for to have +heard the stories told by some of the people who had +come back disappointed from the land of gold, you +might have believed that one had only to put a few +seeds at random in the ground in order to gather +marvelous crops. +</p> + +<h2> +THE REASONS FOR MOVING +</h2> + +<p> +Nor was my father the only man who put faith in +at least some of the fanciful tales told concerning the +land of California which had so lately been given up +to the United States by the Spaniards. Our neighbors +for miles around were in a state of unrest and excitement, +until it was decided that nearly all would undertake +the long journey, and I could not prevent myself +from wondering if Pike County would not feel lonely +to have the people abandon it, for it surely seemed as +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_13' name='Page_13'>[13]</a></span> +if every man, woman, and child was making haste to +leave Missouri in search of the wondrous farming +lands. +</p> + +<p> +Mother looked woefully solemn when, on a certain evening, +father came home and told us that he had sold the +plantation for about half as much as it had +cost him, and was going to join the next +company that +set out from +Pike County. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-014.jpg" width="492" height="359" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +It was a long time before mother would have very +much to say about the journey, but as the days passed +and the neighbors who were going with us came to +our home that they might talk over the preparations +for moving, she became interested in making plans, +although again and again, when we two were alone, she +told me that this trailing over two thousand miles of +deserts and mountains was not to her liking. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_14' name='Page_14'>[14]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +MOTHER'S ANXIETY +</h2> + +<p> +It was only natural she should be worried about +making such a great change, for all father's worldly +goods consisted of the Pike County plantation and +the live stock, and if, after selling the land and spending +very nearly all his money to provide for the journey, +we found that California farms were no better than +the one we were leaving, it would +be the saddest kind of mistake. +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-015.jpg" width="492" height="252" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +"Your father +has set his mind +on going; the +homestead has +been sold, and we must make +the best of it, Martha, hoping that half the stories +we have heard about California are true," she said to +me so many times that I came almost to believe it +was a foolish venture upon which we were about to +embark. +</p> + +<p> +Then, when I began to wonder how we were to live +during such a long journey, and asked mother if it would +be possible for us to cook and churn and do the family +washing while traveling in an ox wagon, she would say +with a sigh:— +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_15' name='Page_15'>[15]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +"Don't, Martha, don't ask questions that I can't +answer! It seems to me almost certain that we shall +starve to death before getting anywhere near California, +even if we are not killed by Indians or wild beasts, +without having had time to get very hungry or +dirty." +</p> + +<p> +Yet we did travel the two thousand miles, walking +the greater part of the way, and although there were +many times when all of us were hungry, none actually +starved to death; nor were we killed by wild beasts or +Indians, else I could not be here in this beautiful place +writing this story. +</p> + +<p> +Father spent days and days getting ready for the +moving. After he had finished the preparations, I +thought the journey would not be so terribly hard, because +he had arranged everything so snug and cozy for +mother and me, that it really seemed as if we might +take actual comfort in case we could make shift to do +housework in a wagon. +</p> + +<h2> +HOW WE WERE TO TRAVEL +</h2> + +<p> +We owned only four yoke of cattle, but with some of +the money received from the sale of the plantation, +we bought as many more, which gave us sixteen oxen. +We were to take with us all five of the cows and both the +horses, on which father said mother and I might ride +when we were tired of sitting in the wagon; but I knew +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_16' name='Page_16'>[16]</a></span> +what kind of animals ours were under the saddle, and +said to myself that it would be many a long day before +I would trust myself on the back of either. +</p> + +<p> +It would have done you good to see our movable +home after father had made it ready, and by that I +mean the wagon in which mother and I were to ride. +It was small compared with the other, in which were to +be carried enough furniture for a single room, farming +tools, grain for the cattle, and a host of things; but I +did not give much heed to the load because I was so +deeply interested in what was to be a home for mother +and me during many a month. +</p> + +<p> +That wagon was enough to attract the attention of +any girl, for, fitted up as I first saw it, the inside looked +really like a playhouse, and when I said as much to +father, he declared that I was indeed the right kind of +girl to go into a wild country, if I could find anything +like sport during the tramp from Pike County to California. +</p> + +<p> +I surely must tell you about that wagon before +setting down anything concerning the journey. It +was what is known as a Conestoga, and one may see +many of the same kind on the Santa Fe or the Oregon +trail. Imagine a boxlike cart nearly as long as an +ordinary bedroom and so wide that I could stretch +myself out at full length across the body. The top +and sides were covered with osnaburg sheeting, which +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_17' name='Page_17'>[17]</a></span> +is cloth made of flax or tow. Some people really sleep +between sheets made of that coarse stuff, but it is +so rough and irritating to the flesh that I had far rather +lie on the floor than in a bed where it is used. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-018.jpg" width="491" height="465" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Osnaburg sheeting makes excellent wagon covers, +however, for the rain cannot soak through the cloth, +and it is so cheap that one can well afford to use it in +double thickness, which serves to keep out the wind +as well as the water. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_18' name='Page_18'>[18]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +OUR MOVABLE HOME +</h2> + +<p> +The front of the wagon and a small window-like place +at the end were left open, but could be securely closed +with curtains that buttoned at the sides. +</p> + +<p> +Around the inside of the wagon were hung such things +as we might need to use often during the journey. +There were pots and pans, towels, clothing, baskets, +and two rifles, for father believed weapons might be +required when we came upon disagreeable savages, or +if game was to be found within shooting distance. +</p> + +<p> +Our cookstove was set up at the rear end of the wagon, +where it could be pushed out on a small shelf fastened +to the rear axle, when we wanted to use it. A most +ingenious contrivance we found that shelf to be, for +mother and I could remain inside the wagon and do our +cooking in stormy weather; but those women of the company +whose husbands had not been so thoughtful were +forced to stay out of doors while preparing a meal, no +matter how hard it might be raining. +</p> + +<p> +Our beds were laid in the bottom of the wagon and +covered with the bedclothes to save them from being +badly soiled, as would be likely if we slept upon them +at night, and cooked, ate, and did the housework on +them during the daytime. +</p> + +<p> +We did not try to carry many dishes, because there +were so many chances they would be broken, but +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_19' name='Page_19'>[19]</a></span> +nearly everything of the kind we used was of metal, +such as tin or iron. +</p> + +<p> +Underneath the cart were hung buckets, the churn, +lanterns, and such a collection of articles that I could +not but fancy people might believe we were peddlers +carrying so large an assortment of goods that they +had overrun the wagon body. +</p> + +<p> +What puzzled me before we started on the journey +was how we could persuade the cows to travel as we +would have them; but I soon came to understand that +it was a simple matter. +</p> + +<h2> +LEAVING ASHLEY +</h2> + +<p> +You must know that father was not the only man +in Ashley that intended to build up a new home in +California. More than half of the people were making +preparations for the journey, and when we finally set +off the procession was very imposing, with more than +fifty wagons, not one of them drawn by less than three +yoke of oxen or four pairs of mules; there were cows +almost without number and a flock of thirty or forty +sheep. +</p> + +<p> +I said to myself then, that we need have no fear the +savages would try to make trouble for us, because when +they saw so many people, the poor, ignorant things +would believe everybody on the banks of the Mississippi +was heading for California, and it would be a +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_20' name='Page_20'>[20]</a></span> +very brave Indian who dared be other than polite +to such a large company. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-021.jpg" width="504" height="456" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Even though you had never before heard of Pike +County, it would have been most interesting to see +the people of Ashley on the morning we set off. As +Ellen Morgan, a particular friend of mine who was +going to California also, said to me just before we +drove away, "It is much as if all the folks in the world +had come to see us leave town." +</p> + +<p> +The streets were actually thronged, as I have heard +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_21' name='Page_21'>[21]</a></span> +it said the streets of a large city oftentimes are, and +what with the shouts of the men, the screams of the children, +and the lowing of the cattle, it was quite as much +as I could do to make myself heard when I tried to +tell Ellen that at the last minute mother had given +permission for her to ride in our wagon. +</p> + +<p> +Of course the noise in the street could not have +been as great as I fancied, for Ellen had no trouble +in hearing me, as was shown when she came running +back to our wagon with her Sunday frock and other +valuable things neatly done up in a corn sack. +</p> + +<p> +Then it seemed to me that no improvement could +be made upon our manner of +traveling, for we two girls were +to be together all the while, and +even when the weather was stormy, +it would seem really cozy under our +double thickness of osnaburg cloth. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-022.jpg" width="161" height="232" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +It surprised me very much because +mother acted as if it saddened +her to set off on what could +not fail to be a delightful journey. I saw tears in her +eyes when she came out of our old home for the last +time, and wondered if she was sorry because she was +leaving the house where we had lived so long, or +whether she believed we would never find another +such delightful town as Ashley. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_22' name='Page_22'>[22]</a></span> +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-023.jpg" width="312" height="260" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Of course I felt just a little tearful when those +people who were to remain at home gathered around +the wagon to say "good-by"; +but there were so many of our +neighbors in the company we +would not have a +chance to be lonely, +and I was certain +that all the friends +we were leaving behind +would soon join us, having +come to realize, as had +father, that California was the only proper place in +which to live. +</p> + +<h2> +EBEN JORDAN +</h2> + +<p> +If I could have had everything arranged exactly to +please me, I would have insisted that Eben Jordan be +left in Ashley. He is a boy about six months older +than I, who always seems to take the greatest delight +in teasing us girls. I had no doubt but that he would +be very disagreeable at times, and felt, on that first +day, as if there could be no cloud on the California +skies if Eben had remained in Pike County. +</p> + +<p> +It is no more than fair for me to say, however, that, +much as I disliked the boy, Eben Jordan was one +who ever kept his ears open to the conversation of +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_23' name='Page_23'>[23]</a></span> +his elders and was more than willing to repeat to Ellen +and me whatever he learned. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-024.jpg" width="309" height="314" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Even before our company had left Ashley, he told +us the journey was to be begun by first going to Independence, +a town on the +Missouri River where the +Santa Fe traders and +those who would journey +by the Oregon +trail made ready +for the long march. +</p> + +<p> +Up to this time I had +had no idea of how we +were to get to California, +save we drove directly +across the prairies and +over the mountains, always in a westerly direction. +</p> + +<p> +But I must have understood that we could not +strike off across the country in any direction we fancied, +because we must follow some trail in order to find a +plentiful supply of grass for the cattle and mules and +sheep, as well as water for ourselves. +</p> + +<p> +Eben said that the leaders of the company, among +whom was my father, had talked not a little regarding +the country through which we should pass. Thus he +learned that we would journey over what is known as +the Oregon trail as far as Fort Bridger, after which, striking +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_24' name='Page_24'>[24]</a></span> +off to the southward somewhat, we would go along +the shores of the Great Salt Lake, past Ogden's Hole, to +the land of the Bannock Indians. Then the course was +to be as nearly westward as the foothills would permit. +</p> + +<p> +"It will be a rare time for us all," Eben said gleefully, +after having told us girls that we would journey +nearly two thousand miles before coming to that +land for which we sought. "There will be game +until a fellow can't rest, and after we are once well +on the way, we shall come upon Indian tribe after +Indian tribe, when you girls will be only too glad to +shelter yourselves under my wing, for there is no +knowing what the savages may take it into their +heads to do, providing the opportunity offers." +</p> + +<p> +Ellen was not a little displeased because Eben +seemingly believed we would be glad of his protection, +and I really felt uneasy in mind when the lad left +us to go to his father's wagon, saying:— +</p> + +<p> +"It isn't well for you girls to be so high and mighty, +because before this journey has come to an end you +may be glad that I am willing to lend a hand." +</p> + +<p> +Ellen laughed at the idea that the time would ever +come when we might accept a favor from Eben Jordan. +She seemed so certain nothing disagreeable could happen +to us while our company was so large, that I soon +put away all forebodings and gave strict attention to +what was before us. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_25' name='Page_25'>[25]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +ON THE ROAD +</h2> + +<p> +It had taken our fathers considerable time to get +the people and the cattle in proper marching order; +but once this was done, they gave the word for the +procession to move forward, and the people at Ashley +whom we were leaving +behind cheered us +wildly as we went +slowly out from the town. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-026.jpg" width="307" height="399" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +It seemed much like +taking part in some wondrous +celebration, to +be riding thus amid +those who were +cheering and, I dare +say, envying us. +</p> + +<p> +Mother was content +to sit inside the wagon, +where father had placed a +short-legged chair for her +convenience, but Ellen and I remained on the front +seat where we could see all that was going on, and +until we were well clear of the town it did seem to +me that I was a very important person. +</p> + +<p> +It was late in the forenoon before we started, therefore +no halt was to be made for dinner, but this gave +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_26' name='Page_26'>[26]</a></span> +me little uneasiness, for mother had an ample supply of +cooked provisions on hand. +</p> + +<p> +Our neighbors at Ashley had spoken again and again +of the hardships which we would encounter before +arriving at the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and I said +to Ellen, when we were two or three miles from the +town, that I could not understand how any one could +believe such a journey might be either wearisome or +dangerous. +</p> + +<h2> +EBEN'S PREDICTIONS +</h2> + +<p> +Surely we were as comfortable as two girls could be, +with a covering over our heads in case it rained, and +enough food to satisfy our desires. +</p> + +<p> +Therefore what difference did it make, as I said to +Ellen, whether we were five months or six on the march? +Eben Jordan, who had come back from his father's +wagon along the line of procession as if to see that +everything was right, overhearing my words, replied +with a laugh, which sounded to me very disagreeable:— +</p> + +<p> +"You may well say, Martha Early, that this portion +of the journey is easy. We are now traveling on a +beaten road, with nothing to prevent our going forward +at the best pace of the oxen. Wait until we have +really started, after having come to Independence, and +leave the highway to take to the trail. You will find +the wagon tumbling and pitching over the rocks, or +floundering across fords, where watch must be kept +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_27' name='Page_27'>[27]</a></span> +sharply against the Indians, and every man needs to +have his eyes open lest he be attacked by wild beasts. +Then you shall say to me whether it makes no difference +to you if this journey requires five months or six." +</p> + +<p> +I refused to listen to the lad, who seemed to find the +greatest pleasure in making other people uncomfortable +in mind, and I turned toward Ellen, as if speaking to +her very earnestly in whispers, thereby causing Eben +to believe I had not heard what he said, whereupon +he went off laughing. +</p> + +<h2> +WHAT WE HEARD ABOUT CALIFORNIA +</h2> + +<p> +We had heard people talking about the wonderful +fortunes to be found in California, until it seemed as if +we might become rich simply by digging in the ground +a bit; but, as you shall hear, before our journey had +come to an end we understood that however much +valuable metal there might be in the earth, it was not +to be gathered like pebbles. +</p> + +<p> +We met on our way hundreds of people who had +gone into California with great expectations and were +coming back poorer than when they set out; but on +the first day we were ignorant of all this, and quite +convinced that it was a simple matter to become +wealthy by a very little labor. +</p> + +<p> +Before night came there was to me less pleasure +than during the first hour or two. The wagon jolted +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_28' name='Page_28'>[28]</a></span> +over the roads roughly, making it necessary to hold +firmly to the seat, lest I be thrown off, and it became +wearisome to sit so long in one position. +</p> + +<p> +Mother, who stretched herself out upon a bed in +the bottom of the wagon when she was tired of sitting +upright, did not weary so soon of this kind of traveling; +but nevertheless she was quite as well pleased as Ellen +and I, when, about four o'clock in the afternoon, word +was given that we should halt and make camp. +</p> + +<h2> +THE FIRST ENCAMPMENT +</h2> + +<p> +We were yet in a fairly thickly settled portion of +the country; but the leaders of our company determined +to make the encampment exactly as if we were +on the prairie or among the mountains, where there +might be danger from wild beasts or wilder savages, +and you may well fancy that Ellen and I were on our +feet as soon as the wagon came to a stop, for we had +heard so much of this camp making that both of us +were eager to see how it was done. +</p> + +<p> +All the wagons were drawn up in a large circle so that +the tongue of one came close to the tailboard of another, +and just inside this ring of vehicles were set up +small tents, which many of the company were to use +at night because their families were so large that +every one could not be given room in the wagons. +</p> + +<p> +Inside this row of tents were picketed the horses, +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_29' name='Page_29'>[29]</a></span> +or, at least, they were to be picketed as soon as night +should come; but when we first halted they were +fastened out upon the plain where they might eat the +grass, while the oxen, cows, and sheep were turned +loose with half a dozen of the men and boys watching +lest they should stray. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-030.jpg" width="500" height="177" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Because the people were not accustomed to thus +making an encampment, no little time was spent in +getting everything into what the leaders of the company +believed to be proper order, and then our mothers +set about cooking supper. +</p> + +<p> +In our wagon the stove was pushed back upon the +shelf made expressly for it, short lengths of pipe were +run through the osnaburg cloth and tied by wire to +the topmost part of the rear wagon bow, so they might +be held straight, and then mother set about her work +much as if she had been at home. +</p> + +<p> +It was most pleasant camping in the open air, and +before we had been halted an hour the place was +quite homelike. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_30' name='Page_30'>[30]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +At nearly every wagon one or more women were +making ready for supper; a short distance away the +men and the boys were herding the cattle, and near by, +inside or out of the inclosure, were scores and scores +of idle ones, who, their work being done, were now +enjoying a time of rest. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-031.jpg" width="499" height="481" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +There was much talking and shouting, but +above all one could hear that song of the true +Pikers:— +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_31' name='Page_31'>[31]</a></span> +</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> +<div class="poem"> +<p class="o1"> +"My name it is Joe Bowers, +</p> +<p class="i1"> + And I've got a brother Ike. +</p> +<p> +I came from old Missouri, +</p> +<p class="i1"> + Yes, all the way from Pike." +</p> +</div></div> + +<h2> +NIGHT IN CAMP +</h2> + +<p> +How Ellen and I enjoyed the supper on this first +night of the journey! Mother made sour-milk biscuit; +the stove worked to perfection, as if delighted because +it was being carried to California; and what with +cold meat and steaming hot tea it seemed as if I had +never tasted anything better than that meal. +</p> + +<p> +Although we had enjoyed ourselves hugely, especially +during the first part of the day's march, both Ellen and +I were tired, and when mother said we might make up +our bed on the bottom of the wagon, we were not only +willing, but eager to do so, for after the hearty supper +it seemed as if sleep had become a necessity. +</p> + +<p> +Once we had crossed over into Dreamland, our eyes +were not opened again until the sun was near to rising; +then the shouts of the men and the lowing of the +cattle caused us to spring up suddenly, almost fancying +that the camp had been attacked by savages, even +though we were not yet out of Pike County. +</p> + +<p> +If I had the time, it would please me to describe +the journey from our home in Ashley to a town known +as Independence, on the Missouri River, where the +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_32' name='Page_32'>[32]</a></span> +Oregon trail begins; but since, as father said again +and again, we did not really start until we had struck +the Oregon trail, it is best that I leave out all that +happened while we were coming from Pike County to +the Missouri River. +</p> + +<h2> +THE TOWN OF INDEPENDENCE +</h2> + +<p> +We traveled slowly, because the cows were not +easily herded, and, as Eben Jordan said, none of our +people were accustomed to such kind of marching. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> + <img src="images/i-033.jpg" width="464" height="221" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +We did, however, finally arrive at the real starting +point after eight days, during which time Ellen and I +came to understand that, however pleasant it was to +sit in the wagon and look out upon the country through +which we passed, it might grow wearisome. +</p> + +<p> +Ellen and I had fancied we would see something +very new and wonderful at Independence, and yet, +while everything was strange and there was much +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_33' name='Page_33'>[33]</a></span> +to attract one's attention, it was not so very different +from other settlements through which we had +passed. +</p> + +<p> +There was, however, a constant bustle and confusion +such as one could not see elsewhere. Enormous +wagons, which Eben Jordan said belonged to the +traders who went over the Santa Fe trail, were coming +into town or going out, each drawn by eight or ten +mules and accompanied by Spaniards or Negroes, +until one could but wonder where so many people +were going. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-034.jpg" width="500" height="318" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +There were trains, much like our own, belonging +to settlers who were going into Oregon, or, like ourselves, +into California. Those were halted just outside +the town, until the entire settlement was literally +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_34' name='Page_34'>[34]</a></span> +surrounded, while among them all, near the wagons +of the traders as well as those of the emigrants, lounged +Indians, nothing like the people I had imagined the +savages to be. +</p> + +<h2> +KANSAS INDIANS +</h2> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-035.jpg" width="382" height="431" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +As Ellen said, if that was the kind of Indian we +should meet with during the journey, then we need have +little or no fear, for the savages we saw at Independence +were nothing more nor less than beggars, who would +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_35' name='Page_35'>[35]</a></span> +greedily pick up and devour anything eatable that was +thrown at them. Eben Jordan made himself ridiculous +by marching around armed +with a rifle, and a huge +knife thrust in his belt, as +if expecting each instant +to be called upon +to defend his life. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-036.jpg" width="328" height="253" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +We were tired of +the settlement, even before +we had fairly arrived, and after +Ellen and I walked through the town, +wondering not a little at seeing a number of the +houses and stores built entirely of brick, we were content +to return to our own encampment, which was +about half a mile out on the prairie. +</p> + +<h2> +LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE FOR TROUBLE +</h2> + +<p> +Up to this time mother and I had but little trouble +in preparing the meals whenever we came to a halt; +but I heard some of the men say that within a few days +after we were once on the trail, all this would be changed. +There would be many times when we might not +find sufficient fuel to keep a fire in the stove, when we +would feel the pangs of thirst because of not being +able to get enough water, and when, the stock of +provisions which we had brought with us having +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_36' name='Page_36'>[36]</a></span> +been consumed, we would know what it was to be +hungry. +</p> + +<p> +When I repeated to mother what I had heard, she +nodded her head sadly, replying that she had thought +of all these things when father first determined to seek +a new home in the California country, and she doubted +not that we would come to know much suffering, before +we arrived at our journey's end. +</p> + +<p> +As may be supposed, I was not in a cheerful mood +when Ellen and I went to bed that night. During +the half hour or more while we lay there wakeful, we +spoke of all the possibilities of the future, and almost +regretted that our parents had decided to leave Pike +County, for surely they could find nowhere on the face +of this earth a place more agreeable in which to live. +</p> + +<h2> +A STORMY DAY +</h2> + +<p> +When another morning came, it surely seemed as if +all my fears were about to be realized, for the day +dawned dark and forbidding, the rain came down in +torrents, while the wind sighed and moaned as it drove +floods of water from one end of the wagon to the +other, wetting us completely even before we were +awake. +</p> + +<p> +I could not believe father would set off on the journey +at such a time as this, and was wondering how we +should be able to cook breakfast, when he called to +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_37' name='Page_37'>[37]</a></span> +mother that she make ready the morning meal, for in +half an hour the train would be in motion. +</p> + +<p> +No one had been sufficiently thoughtful to store +beneath the wagon a supply of dry fuel, and the consequence +was that we had nothing with which to build +a fire, save a few armfuls of water-soaked wood which +father and Eben Jordan succeeded in gathering, for +where so many emigrants were encamped, fuel of any +kind was indeed scarce. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-038.jpg" width="500" height="390" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +I almost forgave Eben for having appeared so ridiculous +when he strutted around fully armed, as I saw him +striving to gather wood for us when he might have +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_38' name='Page_38'>[38]</a></span> +remained under the cover of his father's wagon; indeed, +before many days passed both Ellen and I saw that +there was much good in the boy's heart, even though +he was too often disposed to make matters disagreeable +for us girls. +</p> + +<h2> +A LACK OF FUEL +</h2> + +<p> +Mother and I made our first attempt at cooking +while the stove was beneath the wagon cover and the +pipe thrust out through the hole in the rear. +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-039.jpg" width="311" height="491" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +If we had had +plenty of dry wood, +I have no doubt +but that the work +could have been +done with some +degree of comfort; +but as it was, we +were put to our +wits' ends, even to +get sufficient heat +to boil the water, +and when word was given for the +company to start, we had not really +begun to cook the breakfast. +</p> + +<p> +Of course it would have been +dangerous for us to attempt to +keep a fire burning while the wagon +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_39' name='Page_39'>[39]</a></span> +was moving. Therefore we would have been forced +to set off without breakfast, had not Ellen's mother +kindly sent us some corn bread which she had baked +the night before, and this, with fresh milk, made up our +meal. +</p> + +<p> +At the time I thought I was much injured because +of not having more food; but before we had come to +the land of California I often looked back upon that +morning with longing, remembering the meal of corn +bread and milk as though it was a feast. +</p> + +<p> +During all the long day, except for half an hour at +noon, the patient oxen plodded wearily on amid the +rain, oftentimes sinking fetlock-deep in the marshy +places. Everything was damp and every place uncomfortable, +and at times it seemed as if I could no longer +bear up under the suffering. +</p> + +<p> +In order to teach me that, instead of grumbling, I +ought to be thankful for the comforts I could enjoy, +mother told me to look at those who were exposed to +the storm. I saw father and the other men walking +beside the oxen, the rain pelting down upon them +pitilessly; I heard the cry of a baby in pain; and I +soon came to understand that my lot was far less +hard than that of many others. +</p> + +<p> +She read me a lesson on patience and contentment, +whatever might be my surroundings, until I grew +ashamed of having shown myself so disagreeable. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_40' name='Page_40'>[40]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +MAKING CAMP IN A STORM +</h2> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-041.jpg" width="308" height="349" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Determined as I was to make the best of whatever +might happen, I could not but be disheartened when, +nearly at nightfall, we halted to make camp again. +The rain was still descending like a cloud-burst; everything +around us, including the bedding, seemed saturated +with water. +Yet I saw the +men spread the thin +cloth tents, after +the wagons had +been drawn up in +a circle, or made +into a corral as the +travelers on the +trail call it; I saw +them wade ankle-deep +in the mud, +but with never +an impatient word +or gesture. It appeared sufficient to them if their +women and children could enjoy some little degree of +comfort. +</p> + +<p> +Again we strove to do our cooking under the wagon +covers, and again we were in need of fuel. Ellen and +I, with the skirts of our gowns over our heads for +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_41' name='Page_41'>[41]</a></span> +protection, scurried here and there, picking up twigs +and crying out with delight when we came upon a +piece of wood as large as one's fist. +</p> + +<p> +You can well imagine what kind of supper we had +that night. The inside of the wagon was filled with +smoke, for the short length of stovepipe did not afford +a strong draft, and mother labored, with the tears +streaming down her cheeks, to fry as much bacon as +would satisfy our hunger. +</p> + +<p> +The smoke was so dense that we all wept, smiling +even in the midst of our seeming tears when father said, +after he had milked the cows and had brought in quite +as much water as milk, that it was a question with him +whether he could stand better the smoke or the rain. +He was inclined to think he had rather be soaked +with water than cured like a ham. +</p> + +<p> +Again Eben Jordan showed his kindness of heart, +for he insisted upon helping this man and that, milk +the cows and herd the oxen and sheep, and he did +whatever came to his hand, all the while humming +"Joe Bowers." +</p> + +<p> +When Eben came into our wagon later in the evening, +Ellen and I treated him very kindly, for we were +coming to understand that this boy, who found so +much pleasure in vexing us girls, was ever ready to do a +good turn to another, even when it cost him much +labor and discomfort. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_42' name='Page_42'>[42]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +A THUNDERSTORM +</h2> + +<p> +During all that night it rained; but shortly after +midnight there came up such a terrific storm of thunder +and lightning that it seemed as if the very heavens +were bursting. +</p> + +<p> +Then all our men and boys were forced to go and +quiet the cattle, for the beasts were even as frightened +as we girls were, and, so father said, would have stampeded, +leaving us to spend the next day searching for +them on the prairies, had it not been for the precautions +of our people. +</p> + +<p> +When I complained to mother, just after father had +gone out into the tempest, that this journey to California +was nothing like what I had pictured it, she +said mildly that if I was growing disheartened now, it +would have been better had I never set out from +Pike County, for thus far matters had gone much to +our convenience and that shortly we would find real +trials and real troubles. +</p> + +<p> +Next morning, however, my spirits rose, for the sun +was shining brightly when I awoke; but word was +passed around the camp that instead of setting off at +once, we might spend two hours drying the bed clothing +and such of our belongings as had been saturated +during the storm. +</p> + +<p> +Then there was presented such a scene as would +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_43' name='Page_43'>[43]</a></span> +have interested any one who had never witnessed the +like before. On every wagon tongue were hung +blankets and garments of all kinds, and over the +wheels of each cart lay feather beds or bolsters, until +it must have looked as if every member of our company +had spent a day in washing, and was now about to do +the ironing. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-044.jpg" width="492" height="161" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Eben Jordan went here and there, aiding this one +or that when he had done what he might for his mother, +all the while singing "My name it is Joe Bowers," +until, even before our breakfast had been cooked, +fully half the company were joining in that foolish +song. Mother said almost fretfully, when Ellen and +I took up the refrain, that she wished the senseless +words had never been written, or that we had never +heard them. +</p> + +<h2> +ANOTHER COMPANY OF PIKERS +</h2> + +<p> +Although we started off late that morning, owing +to the drying out, we halted early in the afternoon, +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_44' name='Page_44'>[44]</a></span> +for we had come upon a company of men and women +who, like ourselves, were bound for the land of California. +The leader of the company was Colonel +Russell. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-045.jpg" width="498" height="444" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +To my surprise and delight these people also proved +to be Pikers, having come from a settlement about +twenty miles south of our old home. You may readily +fancy how enjoyable was that evening, when we visited +from wagon to wagon, listening to the stories of +what had thus far happened to the company, and +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_45' name='Page_45'>[45]</a></span> +repeating our own adventures, if such they could be +called. +</p> + +<p> +While we women and girls were thus engaged, the +men of both companies decided to travel together, believing +that by increasing the number there might be +less danger from the Indians, for Eben Jordan said +that the savages we saw at Independence were but +imitations of the fiercer ones whom we were most likely +to meet before our journey's end. +</p> + +<h2> +THE STOCK STRAY AWAY +</h2> + +<p> +I suppose it was the excitement occasioned by the +meeting with Colonel Russell's company, which caused +our men in charge of the cattle to be careless during the +evening and later in the night, for when morning came +we found that nearly all the oxen and a goodly number +of the cows had strayed from the camp and disappeared +completely. +</p> + +<p> +When Eben Jordan first told us of this, I believed a +great disaster had come upon us; but straightway +father and half a dozen of the other men mounted the +horses and set off across the prairie in search of the +missing cattle, as if this was trouble to be expected. +</p> + +<p> +In fact, before many days passed, I came to look upon +the straying or the stampeding of the live stock as of +little consequence. +</p> + +<p> +We had plenty of time to cook breakfast that morning +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_46' name='Page_46'>[46]</a></span> +while the men were searching over the prairie for +the cattle, and, much to my surprise, within three hours +all the stock had been brought into the encampment and +we were making ready once more for the day's journey. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-047.jpg" width="494" height="286" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Before noon we arrived at Blue Creek, where we had, +as it seemed to me, much trouble because the trail +leading to the stream was deep with mud, and the +bottom of the creek so soft that our people were forced +to wade waist-deep on either side of the wagons, lest +the wheels sink so far down that the oxen would not be +able to pull the heavy loads across. +</p> + +<p> +Again and again the men laid hold of the wheels, +straining every muscle as the drivers of the cattle +urged the patient beasts to their utmost exertions, and +before all our company had crossed that small creek the +day was so nearly at an end that there was nothing +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_47' name='Page_47'>[47]</a></span> +left for us to do save camp once more, although we +had traveled only six miles since setting out. +</p> + +<p> +Then came Sunday morning, when I believed we +would remain idle, for it did not seem right that we +should travel on the Lord's day; but, as father said, +while we were making such a long journey it was +necessary to push ahead during every hour of fair +weather, and to take our day of rest only when it was +absolutely necessary. +</p> + +<p> +And so, instead of worshiping God as we would have +done had we remained in Pike County, we went forward, +fording two small creeks and journeying over a dull, +level plain, whereon, save flowers, nothing was to be +seen to delight the eye. +</p> + +<h2> +AN INDIAN VILLAGE +</h2> + +<p> +Within an hour of sunset we came to a veritable +Indian village, although there were not many of the +savages living in it, and Ellen and I took advantage +of this first opportunity to see the redskins in their +homes. +</p> + +<p> +There were but four men, with perhaps a dozen +women and children, all living in lodges made of smoke-dried +skins, and looking exceedingly dirty and disagreeable. +</p> + +<p> +We girls were not inclined to linger there long, +although the Indians were willing we should, and when +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_48' name='Page_48'>[48]</a></span> +our short visit had been brought to a close, they followed +us, clustering around our wagons and waiting +patiently for food to be thrown to them. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-049.jpg" width="492" height="376" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +From this time on during a full week we continued +to push steadily forward, moving so slowly that even +we girls could understand the journey would be exceedingly +long and wearisome. +</p> + +<h2> +I WEARY WITH SO MUCH TRAVELING +</h2> + +<p> +More than once did I reproach myself with having +been so eager to leave Pike County, and many times +I said to myself that a girl who has a happy home +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_49' name='Page_49'>[49]</a></span> +is indeed foolish to wish for a change, lest, like +Ellen and me, they find, as mother often says, +that they have jumped out of the frying pan into +the fire. +</p> + +<p> +One day was much like another. Now the trail +would be hard underfoot and the traveling easy, +and again we would cross +a stream, the bottom +lands of which +were so marshy +that the oxen +lugged and +strained at +their yokes, +until oftentimes +it was +necessary +to double +up the +teams in +order that the +heavy wagons could be pulled over the soft footing. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-050.jpg" width="412" height="399" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +The only thing I remember which came to break +the monotony of the slow march was when, on a certain +evening, father returned with his pockets and +hands full of wild onions which he had found on the +prairie. Because our meals had consisted chiefly +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_50' name='Page_50'>[50]</a></span> +of corn bread and salted meat, I said to myself that +now we would have a feast. +</p> + +<p> +But alas! those wild onions were like my dreams +about traveling to the land of California. While +they looked fair on the outside before being cooked, +they were so strong to the taste that one nearly choked +in trying to eat them. +</p> + +<h2> +EBEN'S BOASTS +</h2> + +<p> +Eben Jordan, hearing of my disappointment, said +with a laugh that when we came to the country where +game was to be found he intended to bring into camp +all the fresh meat the company could eat, and one +might have thought from the way the boy talked that +he believed himself capable of feeding all our company +unaided. +</p> + +<p> +It would have been well if Eben had contented himself +with predicting the marvels which he counted on +performing; but, instead, he reminded me that before +we had come into the Land of Promise I might be +more than willing to eat wild onions and "smack my +lips over the disagreeable food." +</p> + +<p> +It seems that he heard, while in Independence, of +the sufferings of some people who had journeyed over +that same trail, when they found no game and their +provisions were consumed before the march came to +an end. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_51' name='Page_51'>[51]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +It would have been better, so I said to him, if he had +not repeated such things, for surely we were getting +all the discomfort that was needed to show how foolish +we had been in leaving Pike County, where no one +suffered from hunger or thirst, if he had a tongue in +his head to make known his desires. +</p> + +<p> +It seemed almost as if the boy was a real prophet, +for within a few hours Ellen and I did come to know +what thirst—bitter, parching thirst—was like. +</p> + +<p> +We had started out one morning when the rays of +the sun beat down upon us so fervently that the wagon +covering seemed to be no protection, and the only +relief we had was from the gentle breeze which was +blowing, not with sufficient force to relieve our suffering, +but enough to prevent us from being literally baked. +</p> + +<h2> +SUFFERING WITH THIRST +</h2> + +<p> +We drank, as did all our company, of the water which +we carried in kegs stowed in the wagons, and gave no +heed to the fact that the supply was scanty, for until +this time there had never been any lack of water. +</p> + +<p> +At noon even the breeze died away; there was not a +cloud in the sky, the trail was smooth and hard, running +over what father called the tableland of the prairie, +and the heat so intense that there were times when it +surely seemed as if I could not longer continue to +breathe. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_52' name='Page_52'>[52]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Then, when our sufferings were seemingly as great +as they could possibly be, mother discovered that our +store of water had been exhausted, and called to father, +asking that he get a supply from one of the other wagons. +</p> + +<p> +It seemed strange to me then, and does even now, +that at almost the same time all our company had run +short of water, and from one +end of the long train to the +other we could not beg +enough to moisten our +tongues. +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-053.jpg" width="311" height="317" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Perhaps it was the +knowledge that I +could not quench +my thirst which +caused me to suffer +more severely, and +when father said +we must travel no less than twelve miles before coming +to any stream, my heart sank within me. +</p> + +<p> +Ellen was suffering quite as much as I, except that +she had the good sense to hold her peace, and mother, +patient with me as ever, said all she could to prevent +me from dwelling too much upon my condition. +</p> + +<p> +Nor was I the only one in that company to suffer +severely. Whenever the train came to a halt that the +cattle might have a breathing spell, I could hear the +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_53' name='Page_53'>[53]</a></span> +smaller children crying for something to drink, and once +during the afternoon Eben Jordan came alongside our +wagon, asking if our water kegs were empty. +</p> + +<p> +Then I saw upon his face that look of eagerness and +desire such as I had read on Ellen's, and when I told him +we were suffering from thirst even more than any other +members of the company, he shook his head and replied:— +</p> + +<p> +"It is the younger ones who suffer the most, Martha +Early, for they cannot be made to understand that it is +necessary to wait; while you and I, who are older, +know it is only a case of grinning and bearing it as best +we may." +</p> + +<h2> +IN SEARCH OF WATER +</h2> + +<p> +I was irritated because Eben should read me a +lesson, for indeed his words sounded like a reproof. I +turned away from him, saying to myself that if it was +not possible to make the oxen move more rapidly, +there was danger of my dying, all of which was foolishness, +even wickedness, as you will agree. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-054.jpg" width="492" height="200" alt="" /> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_54' name='Page_54'>[54]</a></span></p> + +<p> +To force the beasts to a more rapid pace was absolutely +impossible. Already the sheep as well as the oxen +were showing signs of exhaustion and panting for water. +Their tongues were hanging out, and they moved slowly +as if unable to go farther, while five of the cows had +dropped down on the trail as if dying. +</p> + +<p> +We were forced to leave them behind, fearing lest +if time was spent in trying to get the +beasts on their feet again, +more of the stock would fall. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-055.jpg" width="498" height="297" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +I hardly knew how +the remainder of that +day passed, for I gave +no heed to anything +save my own suffering, thereby showing myself +wickedly selfish, until a great shout went up from +those who were in advance, telling that at last, after +what seemed like many, many long hours, we had +come within sight of a stream of water. +</p> + +<p> +Then the oxen, wild with thirst and smelling the +dampness in the air, plunged forward as if in a fury, +for the drivers were unable to hold them in check. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_55' name='Page_55'>[55]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +In a mad race went every yoke of the cattle, drawing +the heavy wagons that lurched first on one side and +then on the other as we went over the uneven surface of +the trail, until all the contents which had been stowed +so carefully were thrown violently about, while we +girls and mother had the greatest difficulty to save +ourselves from being flung out. +</p> + +<h2> +QUENCHING OUR THIRST +</h2> + +<p> +The oxen continued on until every yoke of them +stood in the creek, and there they halted, drinking +eagerly until their sides swelled out as if bursting. +</p> + +<p> +Regardless of the fact that our wagon was standing +in not less than twelve inches of water, Ellen and I +leaped out and drank from the stream like dogs, too +thirsty to wait longer. +</p> + +<p> +I have been in need of water many times since that +day, but never have I suffered so keenly, and I now +understand that the distress which well-nigh overcame +me was caused for the most part by my foolishly +dwelling upon the lack of water, whereas if I had +forced myself to think of other matters, much pain +might have been avoided. +</p> + +<p> +It was impossible to force the oxen across the creek, +and we were obliged to make camp on the easterly +side, for it seemed as if they would never have done +with drinking. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_56' name='Page_56'>[56]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +When they were so full that it was impossible to +swallow another mouthful, they refused to cross, but +struggled to get among the rich grass which covered +the bottom lands of the creek. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-057.jpg" width="495" height="419" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +After the horses, as well as the men and the cattle, +had been thus refreshed, half a dozen of our people, +among whom was Eben Jordan, rode back on the trail, +hoping to drive in some of the cows that had fallen +by the wayside. It was not until a late hour in the +evening that they returned, bringing with them only +two of the animals. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_57' name='Page_57'>[57]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Thus we suffered our first loss on the journey, and it +seemed to me a most serious matter; but even before +we had come to the trail which led to California, the loss +of even twice as many cattle could not have disturbed +me, for I had come to believe that we should arrive +at that Land of Promise, if indeed we were so fortunate +as to survive, almost empty-handed, owing +to the difficulties of the way which the beasts could +not overcome. +</p> + +<p> +The next day's march was ended early in the afternoon, +because then we had come to a stream, and those +who were familiar with the trail knew we could not +arrive at another place where water would be found +until late in the night. +</p> + +<h2> +MAKING BUTTER +</h2> + +<p> +So we encamped early, and mother decided to set +about churning, for long ago our store of butter had been +exhausted. We had but a small quantity of cream, +all of which had been saved since morning. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had she begun her work than fully +half the women of the company followed her example, +and at the side or in the rear of nearly every wagon was +a churn set out with either the girls or the boys working +the dasher. +</p> + +<p> +As Eben Jordan said when he offered to spell me at +the churn, it looked as if we people, who had set out +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_58' name='Page_58'>[58]</a></span> +from Ashley to find a new home in the land of +California, had decided to abandon the idea and +turn all our attention to making +butter. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-059.jpg" width="309" height="413" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Next morning we were +forced to continue the journey +before having breakfast, +for we were nearing +the Kansas River, and +would arrive there about +noon if the march was +begun as soon as daylight. +Even then +there would be hardly +more than time before +the sun set to +get all our train over, for the +stream was so deep that it could +not be forded, and we must send the wagons across in +boats. +</p> + +<h2> +A KANSAS FERRY +</h2> + +<p> +Although we were, as one might have supposed, in +an uninhabited country, father told me that at this +crossing of the Kansas River was a ferry owned by two +half-breed Indians, who made a business of freighting +heavy wagons across for a fee of one dollar each; but +all the live stock would be forced to swim. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_59' name='Page_59'>[59]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Now since none of the boats could carry more +than one wagon at a time, you may readily understand +how many hours would be needed in order to get +all our train from one side of the river to the other, +even though it was no more than two hundred yards +from bank to bank. Therefore, as I have said, it was +necessary we arrive at the ferry at +the earliest possible moment, lest night +overtake us while half +the company yet remained +on the eastern shore. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-060.jpg" width="502" height="351" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +The ferryboats were nothing more than square, +shallow boxes, which the Indians pushed across by +poles, after the cargo of wagons had been put on +board. +</p> + +<p> +Of course the women and the girls had nothing to do +with this ferrying, save to remain under the wagon +coverings where they would be out of the way. I +envied Eben Jordan, who could move about at will, for +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_60' name='Page_60'>[60]</a></span> +verily my heart was in my mouth, so to speak, during +all the time we were working our slow way across the +stream, fearing lest our boat should sink beneath us. +</p> + +<h2> +THE SURPRISE AT SOLDIER CREEK +</h2> + +<p> +Not until nearly six o'clock were all our company +on the western side of the river, and then I supposed +that we would immediately make camp; but to my +surprise word was given for the train to move on, and +we journeyed three miles more, coming to the bank of +Soldier Creek before darkness. +</p> + +<p> +It was at this place that a most pleasant surprise +awaited us. Colonel Russell's wife, who had walked +ahead while our train was being ferried across the +river, found quantities and quantities of wild strawberries +near the camping place. As soon as we women +and girls arrived, we set about gathering the berries, +until each family had a good supply of the luscious +fruit. Milk was not a poor substitute for cream to +us who had been living upon corn bread and salt meat +ever since we left the settlement of Independence. +</p> + +<p> +During the next two days we traveled steadily +onward, slowly, to be sure, but yet each step, as Ellen +said again and again, was taking us nearer the end of +the journey. In time I came to be impatient whenever +a halt was called, so eager was I to have done with +riding, for however comfortable a girl might make +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_61' name='Page_61'>[61]</a></span> +herself in one of the wagons, her limbs were certain +to become cramped before night. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-062.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +On the third day after crossing the Kansas River, +the leaders of our company decided that a halt was +needed in order to give the animals a rest. Their +hoofs had become dry and cracked from traveling +over the matted grass of last year, which covered the +prairie even beneath the new crop, and it was necessary +that something be done for them without delay. +</p> + +<p> +I had been looking forward to a full day's halt, even +though impatient when we were not moving forward, +for Ellen and I had planned to wander as far from the +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_62' name='Page_62'>[62]</a></span> +encampment as we could, searching for flowers and +wild peas, which grew there in great abundance, so +we had been told. +</p> + +<h2> +BREAD MAKING +</h2> + +<p> +Mother decided that now had come a time when +she must bake a plentiful supply of bread, for she was +determined not to be put to such straits as we were +during the rain storm, when it was next to impossible +to build a fire in the stove, and, of course, I was glad +to do whatever I might to aid her. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-063.jpg" width="494" height="331" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Before father had fairly got the stove out of the +wagon and set up where it could be most conveniently +used, nearly every other woman in the company had +decided to follow mother's example, and then came such +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_63' name='Page_63'>[63]</a></span> +a scene as was presented when each family did its +churning. +</p> + +<p> +In the rear or at the side of nearly every wagon a +stove was set up, and one might see everywhere women +rolling or kneading dough, girls running about on +errands, and boys doing their share by keeping the +fires going. +</p> + +<p> +I must say to Eben Jordan's credit that he was of +great assistance to mother and me that day. If he +had been a saint upon earth, he could not have done +more or worked with greater patience than he did, +running from stove to stove when the other boys had +neglected their duties. +</p> + +<p> +Mother told him laughingly that many times while +we lived in Ashley she had been vexed because of +the boyish pranks he played; but from this time +onward she should remember what he had done in +the way of aiding the cooks, and would overlook almost +anything which mischief might prompt him to do. +</p> + +<h2> +PRAIRIE PEAS +</h2> + +<p> +The baking came to an end, so far as our family +was concerned, shortly after noon; then Ellen and +I, taking Eben with us as guide and protector, went +out in search of peas and brought home enough to +supply several families, who had been neighbors of +ours, with a generous mess. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_64' name='Page_64'>[64]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Save for the fact that these prairie peas look somewhat +like those we have at home, I could find no likeness +between the two varieties. The wild peas have a +tough rind, and there are several seeds in the middle +of each; but after they have been boiled and allowed +to remain in vinegar a +few hours, they make +a fairly pleasing dish. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-065.jpg" width="504" height="416" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +When we began the march once more, I hoped to see +the cattle moving more spiritedly than before the halt; +but in this I was mistaken. It seemed to me that they +limped painfully, and worse than ever; that I was not +mistaken was proved, to my satisfaction at least, +when I heard father and another man saying to each +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_65' name='Page_65'>[65]</a></span> +other that before many days we should be forced to +kill two or three whose feet were in the worst condition. +</p> + +<p> +However, the days went on and our cattle continued +to work fairly well, although I noticed that when we +came to rough places, such as the crossing of a stream, +where it was necessary to climb a high bank on the +opposite side, the drivers were forced to double up the +teams more often than before, because the poor creatures +could not haul so heavy a load as when we first +started out. +</p> + +<h2> +EBEN AS A HUNTER +</h2> + +<p> +Within a week from the time of leaving Soldier +Creek, Eben Jordan was indeed puffed up with pride. +He came into camp late one afternoon dragging +behind him an antelope which he had shot +within two miles of where we halted an +hour previous. This proof that he had +shown himself a skillful hunter, caused +the boy literally to swell with joy as he +strutted around the body of +the beautiful animal +while our people +were looking at it. +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-066.jpg" width="309" height="263" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +It seemed too bad to kill such an innocent creature +as that antelope, and yet I forgot all the cruelty of +it when Eben brought to our wagon enough steaks +to provide all of us with a slice of fresh meat. Afterward +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_66' name='Page_66'>[66]</a></span> +it seemed to me much as if we had been +cannibals when we so eagerly devoured the handsome +animal. +</p> + +<p> +From that day on, whenever we made camp before +dark, Eben went out with his rifle, and more than once +he brought in a deer of some kind, dividing the meat +generously and fairly among us all. +</p> + +<h2> +A HERD OF BUFFALOES +</h2> + +<p> +Then came the time when we had our first glimpse +of buffaloes, and never shall I forget the scene. We +had been traveling in the bottom lands where we +found multitudes of paths deeply cut into the ground, +which some of our people said had been made by +buffaloes; but we girls never so much as dreamed we +might be near the beasts, until one morning father +called me hurriedly to look out of the wagon. +</p> + +<p> +Then I screamed, for we were literally surrounded by +thousands upon thousands of those fierce-looking, yet +stupid, beasts, who gave no more heed to our encampment +than if they had been accustomed to such things +all their lives. +</p> + +<p> +They circled around within a quarter of a mile of +where our cattle were feeding, and father said afterward +that unless our men had been exceedingly watchful and +active, the oxen and cows would have been stampeded +beyond a doubt. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_67' name='Page_67'>[67]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +EXCITEMENT IN THE CAMP +</h2> + +<p> +Our animals were in a high state of excitement, +striving to get through the lines of men who guarded +them, and of course there was no possibility of our +breaking camp until the buffaloes had departed, for, +so father said, there was not a driver in the company +who could handle half a dozen yoke of oxen while the +buffaloes were so near. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-068.jpg" width="498" height="275" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Not all our people stood gazing stupidly at this sea +of animals as did Ellen and I. You may be certain +Eben Jordan was among the first to go out dangerously +near the huge beasts, and he was followed by all the +men of the company, save those who were guiding our +live stock. +</p> + +<p> +I had supposed that the buffaloes would take to their +heels when a rifle was discharged; but much to my +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_68' name='Page_68'>[68]</a></span> +surprise they paid little or no attention at first to the +reports of the firearms. +</p> + +<p> +I dare not venture to say how many of the animals +were killed; but certainly it seemed to me, when about +noon the entire herd rushed off, the rumbling of their +hoofs on the hard earth sounding like thunder, that there +were no less than fifty carcasses spread out on the plain +within a mile of where our wagons had been drawn up +to form a corral. +</p> + +<h2> +A FEAST OF BUFFALO MEAT +</h2> + +<p> +There was so much game for us to bring in, that +during the remainder of the day every man and boy +that could be spared was kept busy at work skinning +the dead buffaloes or cutting up the flesh. +</p> + +<p> +What a feast we had that evening! We had buffalo +tongues baked in the ovens, or in front of small fires +which had been built here and there. Then there were +what father called hump ribs, steaks, and meat of every +kind that could be taken from a buffalo. Each member +of the company was eager to learn how every eatable +portion of the animal tasted, and, therefore, cooked two +or three times as much as could be used at one +meal. +</p> + +<p> +Our people had no more than time to skin and cut +up the carcasses before dark; on the following morning +word was passed around that each family must dry, or +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_69' name='Page_69'>[69]</a></span> +smoke-cure, as much of the flesh as possible within +the next four and twenty hours. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-070.jpg" width="498" height="371" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Straightway every man, woman, and child set about +either slicing the meat as thin as it could be cut with +sharp knives, or putting together racks made of sticks, +on which the strips of flesh were to be hung and exposed +to the rays of the sun, as well as to the smoke of the +fires that were to be built directly beneath them. +</p> + +<h2> +CURING THE MEAT +</h2> + +<p> +It was disagreeable work, and yet we were all, even +to the smallest girl, content to do our part, knowing +that we were thus laying up food for the future when +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_70' name='Page_70'>[70]</a></span> +it might not be possible to procure game, and when all +the stores we had brought with us from Pike County +had been eaten. +</p> + +<p> +The arms of the men who acted as carvers were +stained with blood to the elbows, while the hands and +even the faces of the women and children who carried +the sliced meat to hang it on the framework of sticks, +were colored in the same way. +</p> + +<p> +In addition to curing the meat in the sun and smoking +it, some of the men made what is called pemmican, a +most disagreeable looking mixture of flesh and fat +which I afterward came to eat greedily, when we had +nothing else with which to satisfy our hunger. +</p> + +<p> +Pemmican is made by first drying the very thinnest +of thin slices of meat in the sun, until they are so hard +that it is possible to rub or pound them to a powder. +</p> + +<p> +A bag is then formed of the buffalo skin, and into it +is packed powdered meat sufficient to fill it considerably +more than half full, after which tallow is melted and +poured into the bag until it can hold no more. Then +the entire mass is allowed to cool and harden. It is +then fit for eating, so father said; but mother, when the +time came that we were glad to have our portion of the +stuff, always boiled it so it might be served hot. +</p> + +<p> +It is not appetizing to me, and because I have +seen the mixture prepared I can eat it only when I +am very hungry. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_71' name='Page_71'>[71]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +A WASH DAY +</h2> + +<p> +Two full days were spent in curing the meat and +making pemmican, and even then we did not continue +the journey immediately, for the work had brought +our clothing to such a condition that a day for washing +was absolutely necessary. Therefore we remained for +another twenty-four hours. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-072.jpg" width="496" height="444" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +We were encamped near a small stream where could +be had plenty of water for the animals, and on either +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_72' name='Page_72'>[72]</a></span> +side of this tiny creek, shortly after sunrise, could be +seen many fires, kettles, and washtubs. +</p> + +<p> +What a tired girl I was when I stretched myself out +on mother's feather bed in the wagon that night! It +seemed to me that I had no more than closed my eyes +before I was asleep, and not until father was bustling +around inside the wagon next morning trying to build a +fire in the cookstove, did I awake. +</p> + +<p> +Then the patter, patter of rain on the wagon covering +told that we were to be treated to another downpour +of water, and eager though I was to reach California, +I hoped most fervently we would remain in camp yet +longer. +</p> + +<h2> +UNCOMFORTABLE TRAVELING +</h2> + +<p> +It was really difficult for me to open my eyes, so +heavily did slumber weigh upon them, when I asked +father if he had any idea of setting off in such a +storm, at the same time reminding him how our beasts +had struggled through the mud during the last rain. +</p> + +<p> +He laughingly told me that we would continue on the +trail, regardless of the weather; that a rain storm was +not to be compared in the way of discomfort with snow. +He said that unless we came to our journey's end before +the season of frost set in, we might never arrive, but +would be in danger of perishing, as others had who, +striving to reach California, had been overtaken by +winter among the mountains. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_73' name='Page_73'>[73]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +"So long as the cattle are in condition to push on, +just so long shall we continue to march, regardless of +whether the rain falls or the sun shines," he said, +speaking very solemnly, and mother's face grew grave +as if she was already beginning to understand the +better what might be before us. +</p> + +<p> +"There will be all too many days when we must +remain in camp; but now, after such a long rest, it +would be little less than wicked to remain +idle here simply because +it might be more +to our comfort." +</p> + +<div class="figright"> +<img src="images/i-074.jpg" width="314" height="318" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +There is little +need for me to explain +how disagreeable +it is to get +up in the morning and +attempt to keep a fire going +with wet fuel. +</p> + +<p> +Everything was damp and uncomfortable to the +touch, and all the surroundings looked much as Ellen +and I felt when we helped mother prepare breakfast. +</p> + +<p> +After that very unsatisfactory meal had been eaten, +for we had nothing save some half-fried bacon with +cold corn bread, not being able to make coffee because +the fire would persist in going out, the train was +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_74' name='Page_74'>[74]</a></span> +started. Ellen and I, crouching in the rear end +of the wagon where the rain could not drive in upon +us, sat close to the stove, which now seemed warmer +than when we were trying to cook breakfast, and +talked of the future. +</p> + +<p> +Of course I cannot set down all we said, for much +of it was foolish; but some of the conversation I have +remembered clearly even to this day. +</p> + +<h2> +ELLEN'S ADVICE REGARDING THE STORY +</h2> + +<p> +Ellen, when I had told her it was my intent to write +the story of our coming from Pike County, said that +it would not be proper for me to write anything about +what we saw or did while on the Oregon trail. We +were bound for California, and would not be upon +the direct road to that country until we had left +Fort Bridger. +</p> + +<p> +It was her idea that I should begin the story with the +time when we turned from the trail leading to Oregon, +and set our faces directly toward California; but, as +has been seen, I nearly forgot her advice, and even now +it seems impossible to do exactly as she proposed. +</p> + +<p> +I intend, however, in order to please her, to set +down only such matters as seem to me of the greatest +importance, and thereby hurry over a certain portion +of the march, beginning in earnest with the time +when we finally came to Fort Bridger. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_75' name='Page_75'>[75]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +INDIANS AND MOSQUITOES +</h2> + +<p> +Now you must bear in mind, although I may not +speak of them again, that we were constantly meeting +with Indians. Hardly a day passed that we did not +come upon a village, meet a party of hunters, or receive +visits from groups of two, three, or four who came to +beg. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-076.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Strange though it may seem, we became accustomed +to the savages as one does to seeing a dog or a cat around +the house, and gave little or no attention to them save +when they made themselves disagreeable. +</p> + +<p> +One other thing I will speak about now. Mosquitoes +and tiny flies, which seemed as fierce as tigers, were +with us all the time by day as well as by night. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_76' name='Page_76'>[76]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +When we first left Independence, it was difficult +for me to sleep at night because of these insects, and +during the day I spent the greater portion of my time +striving to keep them off my hands or face. As the +journey progressed it seemed as if they became less +poisonous; but I suppose my body had become +accustomed to the wounds, and I gave little heed +to them except when the weather was exceedingly +warm. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-077.jpg" width="493" height="398" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Until we came among the foothills, which is to +say, after we left Fort Bridger, we found game in +abundance. What had been sport to Eben became +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_77' name='Page_77'>[77]</a></span> +now a real labor, and he sought for fresh meat only +when urged to do so by his father or some of us girls. +</p> + +<p> +There were days when our men brought in no game +because they were unable to come across any; but we +were in a country abounding with deer, elks, buffaloes, +and even bears, and so did not suffer for food. +</p> + +<h2> +PRAIRIE DOGS +</h2> + +<p> +Even though I say nothing more regarding the +remainder of our journey over the Oregon trail, I must +speak of the little prairie dogs which we came upon +from time to time. +</p> + +<p> +They live in villages, sometimes, as father has said, +several acres in extent, and their houses are holes in +the ground, with a top or extension, made of earth +which they have pushed up from beneath. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-078.jpg" width="477" height="236" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Eben Jordan declares, and several men in the company +who have talked with the trappers or hunters +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_78' name='Page_78'>[78]</a></span> +say, that in every prairie dog's house may be found +a little gray owl, who has lodgings there, and oftentimes +with this owl is a rattlesnake. Now just fancy +the prairie dog, the owl, and the rattlesnake living +together! All I ever saw of the family was the dog, +and he is about the size of a large rat, with hair +which is a mixture of light brown and black in +color. +</p> + +<p> +It is impossible for me to tell you how entertaining +these little creatures are. When we passed by the +villages you could see them scampering around and +barking. Again and again I have seen them playing +about or sitting on the top of their houses, giving no +heed to us until the wagon train was close upon them, +when the entire colony would pop into their holes with +every evidence of fear. +</p> + +<p> +A moment later each little fellow would stick his +head out, his black, beadlike eyes glistening, while he +looked around as if asking whether or not you saw +how quickly he could get under cover when it pleased +him to do so. +</p> + +<p> +I know of nothing more comical than these little +animals, and yet they look so much like rats that +I would greatly prefer to see them at a distance rather +than make any attempt at taming them, as Eben +Jordan declares is his intention to do as soon as he can +catch one alive. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_79' name='Page_79'>[79]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +I have my doubts, however, about his being able +to catch one, unless he is cruel enough to wound it +first with a rifle ball. +</p> + +<h2> +COLONEL RUSSELL'S MISHAP +</h2> + +<p> +Just before we arrived at the Platte River, we +crossed a small creek, the bottom of which was exceedingly +soft; the men were forced +to double up the teams in order +to draw the heavy loads along, +and Colonel Russell's wagon upset in midstream, where +the water was two or three feet deep. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-080.jpg" width="501" height="330" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Now there was nothing comical in such a mishap, +and yet Ellen and I, who were standing on the bank of +the creek where we could see all that was going on, +laughed until I felt actually ashamed of myself. +It was all so ridiculous that I could not have kept +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_80' name='Page_80'>[80]</a></span> +my face straight whatever might have been the +result. +</p> + +<p> +If the accident had happened quickly, there would +not have been anything so very funny about it; +but, instead, the wagon toppled slowly, the men +striving meanwhile to prevent it from going entirely +over. In the heavy wagon were Mrs. Russell and +four children. We saw first +the youngest child, as if +some one had +tossed him out, come shooting +from the wagon and strike +the water. Then another child, and so on, one after +another, exactly like a lot of grasshoppers, until Mrs. +Russell herself appeared. Out they marched in the +same order, water streaming from their clothing, which +was bedaubed with mud. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-081.jpg" width="487" height="308" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Mother reproved Ellen and me severely for laughing +when our neighbors were suffering; but even as she +spoke the Russell procession passed along the edge +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_81' name='Page_81'>[81]</a></span> +of the bank, marking the way with mud and water, +and I noticed that it was all she could do to keep her +face straight while she scolded us. +</p> + +<h2> +CHIMNEY ROCK +</h2> + +<p> +When finally we crossed the Platte River, the men +of the company rejoiced, although I was unable to +learn why, except that it marked, as mother suggested, +the first stage of the journey, the second of which +would come to an end at Fort Bridger, and the third +in that land where we hoped to settle. +</p> + +<p> +Not long after crossing this river we had a first +glimpse of that enormous mass which travelers speak +of as Court House Rock, which, so those who have +seen both say, looks from the distance not unlike the +Capitol at Washington. A few miles farther on we +saw another huge pile called Chimney Rock. +</p> + +<p> +I doubt not but that both would have been well +worth the seeing, yet our desire to look at them more +closely was not gratified. The trail leads some distance +off, and when mother proposed to father that +we might halt for a day in order to get a nearer view +of the curiosities, he shook his head decidedly, saying, +almost gruffly, that we who were bent on finding new +homes had no time to fritter away in looking at this +odd thing or at that. +</p> + +<p> +Eben Jordan, however, borrowing one of his father's +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_82' name='Page_82'>[82]</a></span> +horses, rode off to Chimney Rock by himself, and +when he came back he told Ellen and me that we need +not shed many tears because of failing +to see it close at +hand, because it +was nothing more +than a lot of big +stones that +looked as if they +might have been carelessly plastered +together with mud. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-083.jpg" width="489" height="316" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Of course this couldn't be the fact; but Eben has +no eye for scenery and, I dare say, might turn his nose +up at what every one else would believe wonderful or +full of beauty. +</p> + +<h2> +AT FORT LARAMIE +</h2> + +<p> +Forty-eight days after leaving Independence we +came to Fort Laramie, which is more like a trading +post than like a fortification. It stands on the banks +of the river Platte, is owned by the American Fur +Company, and is six hundred and seventy-two miles +from Independence by the trail we came over. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_83' name='Page_83'>[83]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Just fancy! We had traveled nearly seven hundred +miles, the men of the company walking all the way; +yet during that time, with the exception of the mishap +to Colonel Russell's wagon and the loss of a few head +of cattle, we had come to no harm. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-084.jpg" width="484" height="392" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +At Fort Laramie we slept in a real house for the first +time since starting on the long journey. It was not +such a building as we lived in at Ashley, and yet it was +to me almost beautiful, after I had remained so long +in the wagon. +</p> + +<p> +I fancied I would sleep on that night as never +before since the march began, and that we would +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_84' name='Page_84'>[84]</a></span> +have supper and breakfast properly and conveniently +served. +</p> + +<p> +I had supposed the mosquitoes and the midges were +as thick in our wagons as it would be possible to find +them anywhere; but when we came into that house +the place was swarming with them, and they prevented +us from closing our eyes in rest during the entire night. +Never was a girl better pleased than I when the first +light of day came in through the windows. +</p> + +<h2> +COOKING IN FRONT OF A FIREPLACE +</h2> + +<p> +After striving to cook food in front of one of the two +fireplaces in that house, I was actually ashamed of +having complained because our stove in the wagon on +a stormy morning had +seemed to me like +some contrary +animal. +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-085.jpg" width="401" height="365" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +However much +trouble we +might have +had with +wet fuel and +lack of draft +owing to the +shortness of +the stovepipe, +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_85' name='Page_85'>[85]</a></span> +it was as nothing compared with those rude fireplaces, +where our faces were burned almost to a crisp, our +eyes filled with smoke, and whatever was cooking +came from the heat thickly incrusted with ashes. +</p> + +<p> +I resolved not to grumble at anything we might find +in California, provided we had conveniences where we +could cook with some degree of comfort, and a place +in which to lie down where we would be protected from +insects. +</p> + +<h2> +TRAPPERS, HUNTERS, AND INDIANS +</h2> + +<p> +I suppose Eben might describe Fort Laramie so that +it would to a stranger present the appearance of a stronghold; +but for my part I saw there only scores upon +scores of savages, loitering around outside the walls, +gambling, racing horses, bartering furs, or gorging +themselves with half-cooked meat, while here and there +could be seen the noisy trappers, some dressed fancifully +after the fashion of the Indians, and others decked out +in buckskin clothing. +</p> + +<p> +There were boasting hunters who swaggered around, +peering curiously under our wagon covers when we had +taken refuge there; and all around, corralled or feeding +near at hand, were cattle and ponies almost without +number. +</p> + +<p> +Our company was not the only party of Pikers at +Fort Laramie. It seemed to me there must have been +three or four hundred who had been traveling as we +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_86' name='Page_86'>[86]</a></span> +had traveled, some hoping to go into that land of +Oregon which was represented as being wondrously +beautiful, and others bound for California. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-087.jpg" width="496" height="485" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Ellen and I would have visited among the strange +Pikers had it not been for the throngs of trappers, +hunters, and +Indians, such as I +have already written +about. Mother +declared it would be well +for us girls to stay in our wagon, and this she came +to believe firmly after two of the trappers engaged in +a downright battle wherein both used knives, and +both were sorely wounded. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_87' name='Page_87'>[87]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +The people round about did not appear to think this +fighting wicked or strange, and instead of endeavoring +to make peace among them, all, even a few women, +stood around watching the fray as if it was some +exhibition of an innocent nature. +</p> + +<p> +I was sick with the sights of Fort Laramie even +before mother sent Ellen and me to the wagon, and +felt well content to remain there until next morning, +never grumbling when I struggled to keep a fire going in +the stove in order that we might cook supper. +</p> + +<h2> +ON THE TRAIL ONCE MORE +</h2> + +<p> +It seemed to me that every member of our company, +with the possible exception of Eben Jordan, +was delighted when the word had been passed around +during the evening that we should pull out at early +daybreak. +</p> + +<p> +We were getting near to that forking of the trail +where we would bear southward and then westward, +passing around a great salt sea on our way to California. +</p> + +<p> +We soon came among the foothills, and it was really +a relief to be climbing up one hill and sliding down +another, instead of driving over a level plain where +was nothing to vary the monotony. Although Ellen +and I were pleased with this change in the appearance +of the country, our fathers found little in it to give +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_88' name='Page_88'>[88]</a></span> +them pleasure, for we had come to where grass was +scanty and the way difficult for the animals. +</p> + +<p> +As father said, from then on we might suffer such +privations and hardships as we had not experienced +since leaving Independence; but that I could hardly +credit, for it did not seem to me possible we would +have more discomfort than when we were marching +in the rain, with the ground so soft that the cattle +could only with difficulty drag the wagon along. +</p> + +<p> +I suppose our people did have some trouble in finding +grass for the animals; but we girls knew little regarding +such matters. Our work was to aid in preparing +the meals, and, as Ellen said, in keeping our minds as +cheerful as possible; these tasks we performed to the +best of our ability, without hearing very much of the +perplexities of the men, save when Eben Jordan came +to us with tales of trouble. +</p> + +<h2> +INDEPENDENCE ROCK +</h2> + +<p> +After leaving Fort Laramie the first thing which +particularly attracted my attention was a perfect +mountain of rock, fully a hundred feet in height and +more than a mile in circumference, father told me, +which stood near the Sweetwater River, between the +ranges of mountains which border the Sweetwater +Valley. +</p> + +<p> +It was an "imposing work of nature," so Colonel +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_89' name='Page_89'>[89]</a></span> +Russell said; but to me the most interesting thing +about it was that the first celebration of the Fourth +of July by a company of people bound to Oregon was +held at the place. On the rocks, as high up as one can +see, are a multitude of names, many, many hundreds, +some painted, and others cut into the soft stone by +those who had visited the place. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-090.jpg" width="477" height="250" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Another thing about Independence Rock which +causes me to remember it even +more than as "an imposing +work of nature," +was that near it one could pick +up all the saleratus he needed, for there are veritable +ponds of it, where, so father said, water filled with the +salts had evaporated, leaving the saleratus itself in +pools which looked as if made of milk. +</p> + +<p> +Next morning we came upon a great gap in the +mountain wall which is called the Devil's Gate; +through it flows a beautiful stream, on the banks of +which we found wild currants and gooseberries in +greatest abundance. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_90' name='Page_90'>[90]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +ARRIVAL AT FORT BRIDGER +</h2> + +<p> +About the middle of July we arrived at Fort Bridger, +where we were to turn off upon the California trail, and +where, if Ellen's advice had been followed, this story of +mine would have begun. +</p> + +<p> +Why it should be called <i>Fort</i> Bridger I fail to understand, +for there are no signs of a fort about, but only +three or four miserable log huts in which live two +fur traders with +their trappers +and hunters. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-091.jpg" width="488" height="268" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +One might have believed it quite an important +place, however, because when we arrived there were +no less than five hundred Indians of the Snake tribe +encamped round about the log huts. Beyond them +on every hand could be seen wagon train after wagon +train of people who had come not only from Pike +County, but from Ohio and Indiana, as well as from +Illinois and Missouri, the greater number intent on +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_91' name='Page_91'>[91]</a></span> +gaining the Oregon country, with perhaps two hundred +who were going to California. +</p> + +<p> +Of course there were also at this place hunters and +trappers, traders coming from or going into Oregon or +California, Spaniards, Negroes, and red men, the greater +number of all this throng living in canvas tents, in +wagons or log huts, while the rest made shift as best +they might in the open air. +</p> + +<p> +It was, like Fort Laramie, a place where Ellen and +I had best remain in the wagons, for no one could tell +what the savages might do if two girls wandered +among their lodges, and certainly +we had no desire to make their +acquaintance. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-092.jpg" width="486" height="450" alt="" /> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_92' name='Page_92'>[92]</a></span></p> + +<p> +Here, as everywhere since leaving Independence, +we heard that song which by this +time had grown threadbare,— +</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> +<div class="poem"> +<p> +"My name it is Joe Bowers." +</p> +</div></div> + +<p> +The Negroes and the Spaniards, the +trappers and the hunters, were +all singing it, and the wonder to +Ellen and me was where so +many people could +have heard it. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-093.jpg" width="389" height="550" alt="" /> +</div> + +<h2> +WITH OUR FACES +TOWARD CALIFORNIA +</h2> + +<p> +After spending one day +at Fort Bridger we set +off early in the morning +with our faces turned toward +California, and our +hearts beating furiously. For +the first time since leaving home +it seemed as if we were really on +the journey. +</p> + +<p> +The trail ran up hill or down, all the way, but there +was very little difference, so far as hardships were +concerned, from that which we had already experienced. +</p> + +<p> +During the first three or four days our fathers had +no difficulty in finding grass and water in plenty for +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_93' name='Page_93'>[93]</a></span> +the cattle, although there were times, of course, when +for mile after mile we passed through nothing but +sage grass, which even the oxen would not eat. Every +night during this time, we came upon a pleasant place +in which to camp, and, best of all, so Eben Jordan +thought, the game was abundant everywhere. When +he had shot a small bear and brought it into camp, it +seemed as if his cup of happiness was full. One might +have thought the lad had performed some wondrous +deed, from the way he strutted to and fro, repeating +marvelous accounts of his battle with the beast. +</p> + +<h2> +AT BEAR RIVER +</h2> + +<p> +It was when we came to Bear River that I began to +understand how different this trail was from the one +which we had been traveling. +</p> + +<p> +Instead of finding a safe ford, we came upon a swiftly +running river, with a bed of rocks. So strong was the +current that when father waded in to drive the oxen +it was necessary for him to hold firmly to the bow of +the foremost yoke lest he be thrown from his footing; +the heavy cart pitched about until I was certain it +would be overturned even as had Mrs. Russell's. +</p> + +<p> +Mother said that if such an accident should befall +us, it would be no more than a just punishment to +Ellen and me because we had laughed so rudely when +the Russell family were in trouble. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_94' name='Page_94'>[94]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +THE COMING OF WINTER +</h2> + +<p> +Two days after leaving Fort Bridger we had the +first indication that winter was near at hand, even +though it was then July. That night the buckets of +water were crusted with ice a full half inch thick, and +upon the tops of the mountains which towered so high +above us snow had fallen. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-095.jpg" width="500" height="450" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +You can well fancy how we shivered while making +ready to cook breakfast. When the train had started, +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_95' name='Page_95'>[95]</a></span> +Ellen and I crawled under the bed clothing, for it +seemed as if we were like to freeze, and no one knows +how long we might have remained had not mother +insisted that we should sit once more on the front seat, +where we could see the wondrous beauties everywhere +around us. +</p> + +<p> +Just at that time we were traveling through what +seemed to be a mountain gorge; towering many +hundred feet above our heads on either side were +crags which had been formed in the most comical +figures. Some of them really looked like animals, +and I could see now and then the head of an elephant +or of a lion. +</p> + +<p> +Later in the day father told us that we had passed +in the early morning, while Ellen and I were asleep, a +rock which looked so much like a beast that the +trappers had given it the name of the Elephant's +Statue. +</p> + +<p> +During nearly two days we continued along these +rocky roads, with the mountains overshadowing us, +and in places the cliffs hanging so low that it seemed +as if the rumbling of our wagons must cause them to fall +upon our heads. +</p> + +<p> +The next night we kept a fire in the cookstove +because of the heavy frost in the air; then we came to +a narrow pass between the mountains, where was a +gorge or chasm, so deep that we could readily believe +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_96' name='Page_96'>[96]</a></span> +Eben Jordan when he said the people at Fort +Bridger told him the sun never penetrated to the +bottom. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-097.jpg" width="484" height="487" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +It was what is known as Ogden's Hole, and got its +name, according to one story, through being the death +place of a trapper by the name of Ogden, who had +hidden himself there from the Indians and was either +killed by them or starved to death, Eben was not +certain which. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_97' name='Page_97'>[97]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +UTAH INDIANS +</h2> + +<p> +There among the mountains we met a party of +Utah Indians armed only with bows and arrows, and +they journeyed with us until we camped for the +night, counting as a matter of course upon our feeding +them. +</p> + +<p> +The Utahs looked to me more manly than any other +Indians we had yet met. Surely they behaved themselves +in a seemly manner, for when supper had been +made ready, they seated themselves in a circle and +waited decently to be invited to partake of food. +</p> + +<p> +On the following morning, after we had traveled +about two miles, we came upon mountains which +looked as if they were standing there to bar our +advance, and for the life of us neither Ellen nor I +could understand how it would be possible to continue +the journey. +</p> + +<p> +Even the men of the company were perplexed, and +during half an hour or more the entire train was halted +while our people went first this way and then that, +seeking some trail over which we could pass. +</p> + +<p> +Then Colonel Russell came back to where we were +waiting anxiously and said he saw a narrow trail +winding directly up over those enormous cliffs. When +he pointed it out to the other men, we girls overheard +what he said, and I could not repress a cry of fear, +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_98' name='Page_98'>[98]</a></span> +for surely it did not seem as if any member of our +company could climb to such a height, over so narrow +a path, let alone trying to drive the oxen with the +heavy carts. +</p> + +<h2> +A DANGEROUS TRAIL +</h2> + +<p> +However, there was nothing to be done save attempt +the dangerous passage, unless, indeed, we were willing +to turn our faces toward Fort Bridger, admitting we +had been beaten. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-099.jpg" width="498" height="307" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +My heart was literally in my mouth when we began +that terrible climb among loose rocks, over a path so +narrow that it seemed, if the wheels of the wagon +slipped ever so little, we would be hurled to the bottom +of the cañon, which is another word for a deep +valley or a rift in the rocks. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_99' name='Page_99'>[99]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +The ascent was so steep that when we started no +less than twelve yoke of oxen were needed to each +wagon, and there was a steady, upward scrambling +climb of fully two miles; therefore you can well +understand how many hours +we spent in making that +short portion of the journey. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-100.jpg" width="498" height="474" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Only one wagon +was sent up the +trail at a time, lest +through some accident +it should run backward +and crush whatever might +be in its path. +</p> + +<p> +Until we were upon +the side of the mountain +where the trail +pitched downward into the valley, I kept my eyes +tightly closed, not daring to look at that dreadful +depth into which the slightest mishap might plunge us. +</p> + +<p> +When the panting oxen were brought to a standstill, +the fearful labor having been performed, Ellen +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_100' name='Page_100'>[100]</a></span> +said that she had been so frightened she was actually +exhausted, and indeed the perspiration, caused no +doubt by fear, was streaming down her face when I +ventured to open my eyes in order to look around. +</p> + +<p> +I can conceive of nothing more horrifying than that +journey, short though it was in point of distance, yet +so long while one was in a state of terror as to seem +almost endless. +</p> + +<p> +In going down on the other side, but one yoke of +cattle was hitched to each wagon, and kept there only +in order to hold the tongue steady and thus steer the +huge cart, while the hind wheels were chained, so that, +not being able to turn, they might act as a drag to +prevent us from sliding swiftly to destruction. +</p> + +<p> +Father said we had traveled no more than seven +miles when we had crossed that terrible mountain. +There we found ourselves in a valley green with grass, +where ran a small brook which was most pleasing to +look upon, since it told us that we would have water in +abundance. Coming upon such a spot after so much +horror, caused it to appear all the more beautiful. +</p> + +<h2> +SUNFLOWER SEEDS AND ANTELOPE STEW +</h2> + +<p> +Without knowing it at the moment of halting, we +made camp near two Indian lodges, where lived ten +or twelve of the Utah tribe; having gained so favorable +an impression of those savages when some of the members +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_101' name='Page_101'>[101]</a></span> +had visited our camp, Ellen and I, with Eben +Jordan, went among them, finding that they had set +themselves up for traders, counting upon the settlers +bound for the land of California, as customers. The +women showed us a store of powder made from sunflower +seeds, which had been parched and then pulverized; +this they offered in exchange for +food, or for ammunition. Ellen gave +a loaf of corn bread for perhaps a +quart of the stuff, and found it most agreeable to the +taste. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-102.jpg" width="487" height="379" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +That evening one of the men brought in a fat antelope, +and mother made our portion into as savory a stew as +I had eaten since we left Pike County. After that +delicious meal and with the pleasing knowledge that +we had come in safety over so terrible a road, I slept +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_102' name='Page_102'>[102]</a></span> +that night as soundly as I should have slept in my own +bed at home. +</p> + +<p> +It was decided that we would remain in that place, +which mother called the Happy Valley, for a day, in +order to give the cattle a long rest before they did more +mountain climbing, and the housewives took advantage +of the opportunity to wash clothing, bake bread, +and do up such small chores as were necessary. +</p> + +<p> +Consequently all the young people were busily +engaged keeping the fires going, churning, or performing +such other tasks as were required, so that we gave +little heed to what was going on around us until, when +the forenoon was about half spent, Eben Jordan excitedly +called our attention to a huge column of smoke +which was rising from the mountains to the westward. +</p> + +<h2> +A FOREST FIRE +</h2> + +<p> +At first I gave little heed to the matter, thinking it +might betoken the location of some Indian village; +but within another hour, so strong was the wind, the +fire had been driven up over the summit of the huge +mountain at the foot of which we were encamped, +when straightway we had over our heads, as it were, +a canopy of flame and smoke which shut out the light +of day, causing it to appear as if night had come and +the clouds were ablaze. +</p> + +<p> +Half-burned leaves and ashes were scattered upon us +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_103' name='Page_103'>[103]</a></span> +until we were literally powdered as if with dust, and the +men found it necessary to keep sharp watch over the +coverings of the wagons, lest an ember should drop +upon them. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-104.jpg" width="501" height="480" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +During all the remainder of the day and until nearly +morning, the fire raged with greatest fury; but, fortunately, +the flames did not come down into the valley. +When we set off next day, the cattle, much refreshed, +went on at a swift pace; but the air was yet so full of +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_104' name='Page_104'>[104]</a></span> +smoke that my eyes ached, while the tears ran down +my cheeks in tiny streams. +</p> + +<p> +Our way now lay along the foot of the range of mountains +which sloped down to the marshy plains bordering +that vast inland sea, which has always seemed so +mysterious to me because of being salt. +</p> + +<h2> +THE GREAT SALT LAKE +</h2> + +<p> +It was about noon when we had our first view of +the Great Salt Lake, and although I had never then +seen an ocean, I could not believe the existence of +anything more wondrous than that huge body of salt +water among the mountains. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-105.jpg" width="494" height="321" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Father says the lake is probably a full hundred miles +long, and at its widest part no less than sixty miles; +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_105' name='Page_105'>[105]</a></span> +but this he knows only from that which he heard from +the hunters or trappers, therefore I am not setting +it down as positive information. It seems to me I +remember having read in one of my schoolbooks that +it is no more than seventy-five miles long and thirty +miles wide. +</p> + +<p> +However, this much which father says is true: +that the lake has no outlet, and four barrels of its +water being evaporated, will produce nearly a barrel +of salt; therefore you can understand how much more +salty it is than a real ocean. +</p> + +<p> +No fish can live in it, and Eben Jordan declared that +one of the trappers at Fort Bridger told him a man +could not sink beneath the surface, so buoyant is the +water. +</p> + +<p> +The shore of this great inland sea was white with +a crust of soda or salt, and the odor which came from +the stagnant water in the marshes was so unpleasant +as to cause me to feel really ill. +</p> + +<h2> +EBEN AS A FISHERMAN +</h2> + +<p> +It was on this night, when we had our first view of +the Great Salt Lake, that Eben Jordan gave us a most +pleasing surprise. We had halted quite early in the +afternoon, and even before camp was made he disappeared; +but I gave no heed to the matter when I +heard his mother inquiring after him, for I thought +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_106' name='Page_106'>[106]</a></span> +the boy had gone off to try his skill as a hunter +again. +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-107.jpg" width="411" height="417" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Two or three hours later, however, it appeared that, +instead of chasing deer or bears, he had turned +fisherman for the time being, +and when he came into camp +just before we began to get +supper, he had with him +seventeen of the most beautiful +trout you could +imagine, which he +had caught in +one of the mountain +streams. +</p> + +<p> +They were +so large that +he literally +staggered +under the +weight, and the +single fish which he gave mother made an ample meal +for all our family. It surely was delicious, and while +eating it I made a mental resolve never again to speak +impatiently or angrily to Eben, whatever he might do, +for many times since our journey began he had been +very kind to us all. +</p> + +<p> +It really began to seem as if, after we had turned +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_107' name='Page_107'>[107]</a></span> +into the California trail, we were to come across everything +which was strange and wonderful, for next day, +after our train had rounded the base of one of the +mountains, we came upon six or seven springs of water +which was actually hot to the touch, as if on the point +of boiling, and which smelled so strongly of sulphur +that one would have been in danger of suffocation +had the fumes been inhaled. +</p> + +<p> +Those odd springs seemingly came up out of the +solid rock, and mother, whose curiosity was so far +aroused as to induce her to taste of the water, said +it was bitter and most disagreeable; but she had no +doubt it might be well for us all to take fairly strong +doses by way of medicine. +</p> + +<h2> +GRASSHOPPER JAM +</h2> + +<p> +We were yet within sight of the Great Salt Lake +when, one evening, three Indian men and two squaws, +miserably clad and very ugly, came into camp bringing +for sale or barter something that looked much +like preserves. +</p> + +<p> +Even though these people were so wretchedly dirty, +I was hoping mother might be induced to buy some +of their wares, so keenly did I hunger for something +sweet; but I speedily lost all desire for anything of +the kind, when one of the men in the company explained +what it was the Indians had for sale. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_108' name='Page_108'>[108]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +It seems impossible human beings could eat such +things, and yet this man told me it was true that the +Indians gathered a fruit called service berries, crushed +them into jam and mixed the +pulp with grasshoppers that +had been dried over the fire +and then pounded to a powder. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-109.jpg" width="497" height="417" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +He called the stuff "Indian fruit cake," and, much +to my disgust, not only bought a generous portion, +paying for it with needles, powder, and bullets, but +actually ate the mixture. I could not bring myself +even to look upon it, after knowing what it really was. +</p> + +<p> +Once more we came upon the mountains after leaving +the shores of Great Salt Lake, and again we climbed +up the steep ascents, with all the oxen toiling at a +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_109' name='Page_109'>[109]</a></span> +single wagon, and then slipped down on the opposite +side, until it seemed certain some terrible accident +must befall. +</p> + +<h2> +A DESERTED VILLAGE +</h2> + +<p> +One night we came to another place much like the +one we had called the Happy Valley, and there we found +an Indian village of fifteen or twenty lodges, every one +deserted, although we knew the people could not be +far away, for fires were burning brightly in front of +the dwellings, dogs were barking, and many willow +baskets filled with service berries were standing about. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-110.jpg" width="493" height="285" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +It was a beautiful spot for a home, and I could +almost have wished father would settle there, rather +than continue on over a trail which was as dangerous +as the one spread out before us. +</p> + +<p> +There were in the valley poplar and pine trees +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_110' name='Page_110'>[110]</a></span> +with many willows, and here and there a patch of +sunflowers shining out from the surrounding green +with a golden glory. +</p> + +<p> +I had supposed our people would camp there; but +instead of doing so they continued on, planning to +spend the night on the higher land. When we were +halfway up the ridge which led out from the valley, +the Indians, whom we had evidently frightened, came +out from their hiding places, whooping and shouting +as if to scare us, although I saw no token that they +were bent on doing us mischief. +</p> + +<p> +We camped on a slope of the ridge, down which ran +a small brook, and those who had tents set them up +in a grove of cedar trees where they looked most +inviting. When, however, Ellen and I strolled that +way we found the mosquitoes and midges so thick +that it seemed as if we had a veil in front of our +faces. +</p> + +<p> +That night the men of our company gathered apart +from the women and children, seemingly to discuss +some important matter; my curiosity was so far +aroused that when I saw Eben Jordan I called upon +him for an explanation, and he told me that we had +come to the most dangerous part of our journey, +where we must encounter perils so great that those +which had already been overcome would seem as +nothing. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_111' name='Page_111'>[111]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +THE GREAT SALT DESERT +</h2> + +<p> +We were near what is known as the Great Salt +Desert; in fact, were to cross it on the morrow, and +when Eben Jordan led me some distance farther up +the ridge, I could see it at my feet. +</p> + +<p> +The desert is covered with salt like sand, and on it +grows nothing except wild sage, while from where we +were then camped, until it would +be possible again to find water, +is no less than sixty miles, +as Eben said. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-112.jpg" width="309" height="333" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Sixty miles over a +soft surface where +the animals would +oftentimes sink fetlock-deep, +and the +wheels of the wagons +plow into the salt +sand until the progress +must be woefully slow. +In addition, all the while we would plod along knowing +that no water was to be had, save what we carried +with us, until the train gained the opposite side. +</p> + +<p> +We were camped on the side of a mountain which +seemed to be made up almost wholly of rock; this +place had been decided upon because there could be +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_112' name='Page_112'>[112]</a></span> +found a small spring, yielding barely enough water to +satisfy the desires of ourselves and the animals. +</p> + +<p> +It was the last spring or stream of fresh water we +should come upon until we had traveled across that +desert, which, from the distance, looked like a great +sea of milk. Once we had started upon the journey, +it would be necessary to continue on, heeding not +those who might fall by the way, so I heard father +and Colonel Russell say, for the lives of our people +depended upon our going steadily forward. +</p> + +<h2> +PREPARING FOR A DANGEROUS JOURNEY +</h2> + +<p> +Orders were given by the leaders of the party that +our mothers cook no pemmican nor any salted food, +lest it increase our thirst, and we ate bread with as +much milk as could be had from the cows; within +a few hours, for we were to set off again at midnight, +another meal, consisting wholly of bread made from +corn meal, would be served. +</p> + +<p> +The water of the spring was so salty as to be almost +undrinkable. During the evening the women and +girls were busily engaged making coffee, for in such +form the water was a trifle more palatable, and we were +advised to fill with the coffee every vessel that would +hold liquid. +</p> + +<p> +As for the cattle, they would be forced to make the +march of sixty miles with nothing to drink save what +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_113' name='Page_113'>[113]</a></span> +could be carried in two casks which had been bought +at Fort Bridger for that especial purpose. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-114.jpg" width="490" height="414" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +When I asked father how it would be possible for +us to give the animals drink even once, from no more +than sixty gallons of water, he said they were not intending +to allow +the poor creatures +to have +what they wanted. +The supply of water +would be used simply to +moisten the mouths of those that were suffering +most severely. There could be no question whatsoever +but that the live stock would be in great +misery, and if it so chanced that we people escaped +dire distress, then indeed we should hold ourselves +fortunate. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_114' name='Page_114'>[114]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +BREAD AND COFFEE MAKING +</h2> + +<p> +Fortunately Ellen and I had little time in which +to borrow trouble concerning the future, for every +woman and girl found plenty with which to occupy +her hands, as we prepared for the most dangerous and +disagreeable portion of all the journey. +</p> + +<p> +We made corn bread in abundance, cooking no less +than three times as much as we could eat, for Colonel +Russell suggested that it was possible we might abate +the thirst of the animals by giving them bread in +small quantities during the march, and so we filled +every available place in the wagon with this food. +</p> + +<p> +Mother made coffee enough to provide us with a +supply on that night, as well as for breakfast, and, +in addition, we had filled to the brim every vessel +which was water-tight, until I should think we must +have had no less than three gallons, while every other +wagon was equally well supplied. +</p> + +<p> +The men and boys were not idle while we baked the +corn bread and made coffee. They had enough and +plenty with which to occupy their time, for every +piece of harness, every yoke bow, wheel, or other +portion of the outfit which might give way, was looked +after carefully, lest there be a delay, because a halt on +the desert, so we had been told at Fort Bridger, might +mean death to us all. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_115' name='Page_115'>[115]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +That night the animals were corralled inside our +circle of wagons in order that they might be ready +when the hour came for us to set off, and for the first +time since I had known Eben Jordan I saw an expression +of anxiety upon the lad's face. +</p> + +<p> +Wherever one looked among our people he could see +gloomy faces, and there was no more singing of "Joe +Bowers," no whistling and joking among the lads, as +was usually the case during an evening in camp. +</p> + +<h2> +BREAKING CAMP AT MIDNIGHT +</h2> + +<p> +When midnight came, I had a very good idea that +there was more danger to be met in crossing the desert +than I had been willing to believe, for we were awakened +and told that the march would be begun in half an +hour. +</p> + +<p> +Father urged mother and us girls to eat and drink +heartily while we might. When I asked him why +we were to set off at such an unusual hour, he replied +in a serious manner that from the moment we started +until the desert had been crossed, there would be no +halt made unless some of the oxen fell by the wayside +and we were forced to delay in order to unyoke +them. +</p> + +<p> +When Ellen asked him how long a time the crossing +would take, he said he hoped no more than twenty or +twenty-four hours. He also told us it had been agreed +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_116' name='Page_116'>[116]</a></span> +that if one of the wagons should break down, or any +accident happen, the unfortunate ones were to be left +behind, the remainder of the company continuing on +without making any effort to aid them. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-117.jpg" width="499" height="297" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Then, perhaps for the first time, I began to realize +how much danger lay before us. Surely if our fathers +had agreed that during the coming march they would +make no halt for any reason, there must be grave cause +for fear. +</p> + +<p> +The men made ready for the march by the light of +the moon, and there were yet no signs of the coming +day when we set off; and then we were a mournful +party indeed, the drivers urging their beasts to the +utmost, as if they realized that every moment was +precious. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_117' name='Page_117'>[117]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +THE APPROACH TO THE SALT DESERT +</h2> + +<p> +There was nothing very dreadful to be seen on the +first six miles of the march, for then we were winding +our way up the ridge, on the side of which we had been +encamped, and save for the fact that Ellen and I were +suffering from the cold, the journey was much the +same as we had already known. +</p> + +<p> +Then we rode down the other side of the ridge, +among stunted cedar trees which looked as if they were +dying from lack of water, and Eben Jordan came past +our wagon to say we had come upon Captain Frémont's +trail. +</p> + +<p> +The fact that we were to follow in the footsteps of +other human beings gave me more courage and caused +Ellen to appear almost cheerful. +</p> + +<p> +We crossed a valley where nothing was growing save +wild sage, and then over rocky ridges which looked +much like masses of dark green glass, through a narrow +gap which might have been cut by the hand of man +in the solid ledge, after which we saw spread out +before us that vast desert plain, white as a sea of milk +and most desolate and forbidding in appearance. +</p> + +<h2> +A PLAIN OF SALT +</h2> + +<p> +Not a vestige of any green thing could be seen +within our range of vision. No bird was flying, and +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_118' name='Page_118'>[118]</a></span> +the silence was so like the silence of the tomb that I +did not dare to speak aloud while calling mother's +attention to this thing or that, when we halted for +a short time. +</p> + +<p> +This was the last stop we would make, save in case +of accident. Some of the animals ate the bread, others +refused it, and then I saw what would +have been, under other circumstances, +a comical sight, for the men +were going about with wet +cloths moistening +the mouths of the oxen. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-119.jpg" width="494" height="274" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +After spending nearly an hour in making the final +preparations, word was given for the train to set off. +Instead of being like milk, we found that the desert +was made up of a bluish clay, covered here and there +in blotches with what was much like salt, and these +white spots were so large and numerous as to give to +the whole the appearance of milky white when seen +from the distance. +</p> + +<p> +The oxen sank fetlock-deep, and as we advanced +there were times when they broke through what was like +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_119' name='Page_119'>[119]</a></span> +a crust, even to their very knees; therefore one can well +fancy that the wheels plowed into this yielding surface +until it was quite as much as the cattle could do to +pull the wagons along. +</p> + +<h2> +LIKE A SEA OF FROZEN MILK +</h2> + +<p> +If all the way had been as difficult as the start, we +might never have gained the other side; but as we +advanced the surface grew harder and harder, until +finally even the shoes of the horses failed to make any +impression upon it. Then I heard father say, as he +came back from time to time to speak with mother, +that it appeared to him as if we were traveling over a +solid crust of salt. +</p> + +<p> +At the end of an hour, perhaps, we came upon what +Ellen called another "soft spot," and for a distance of +two or three miles the oxen strained and tugged at the +yokes as they barely succeeded in drawing the wagons +at a snail's pace. +</p> + +<p> +Then we girls had most terrible forebodings, for it +seemed certain we could never hope to cross that place +before all the company had died from thirst. +</p> + +<p> +To our great relief as well as the relief of the cattle, +we came upon a hard surface once more, and the +oxen were urged to their utmost speed in order to make +up for the time we had lost while toiling through the +salty dust. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_120' name='Page_120'>[120]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +There was no halting for dinner. Now and then we +ate the corn bread, for with such terrible anxiety in our +hearts none of us were conscious of hunger; but again +and again and again did we sip the cold coffee, using it +sparingly, however. +</p> + +<h2> +SALT DUST +</h2> + +<p> +It was nearly ten o'clock in the forenoon when a dark +cloud began to gather in the south, and I said to mother, +with great joy, that we would +at least know the pleasure of being +wet, even though we could not get all we wanted to +drink, for surely there was a shower close upon us. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-121.jpg" width="504" height="316" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Indeed, we did have wind, with thunder and lightning, +but not a drop of water fell. On the contrary, the +breeze stirred up the dust from the plain and filled the +air with it, and our parched throats grew yet more +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_121' name='Page_121'>[121]</a></span> +dry because of the salt which we were forced to inhale, +even though we covered our faces with cloths. +</p> + +<p> +How the poor beasts suffered! Their tongues were +actually covered with salt, and not a mouthful of +water could they have as a relief from their distress. +</p> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-122.jpg" width="318" height="329" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Save for the absence of rain, it was a veritable +tempest of thunder and lightning, +lasting about twenty minutes; +then the sun came out with +more heat, as it seemed to me, +than before, which but +served to increase +our desire for water. +</p> + +<p> +When the sun +was no more than +three hours from +setting, I strained my +eyes ahead, hoping to +see the end of this horrible +journey, although mother had told me there was no +possibility of our coming to water until late in the +night, and I saw the foremost of the wagons leaving +the white plain, and passing over what promised to be +a good road, toward a rocky range. +</p> + +<p> +Then I shouted aloud in my joy, that we would soon +come to where it would be possible to quench our +thirst. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_122' name='Page_122'>[122]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT +</h2> + +<p> +For the moment mother believed I was right, but then +Eben Jordan dampened our joy by telling us that we +must ride over the ridge five or six miles, where were no +signs of water, and then we would come upon another +plain of salt, which was not less than +twelve miles in width. Only after +that had been crossed might we find +ourselves in safety. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-123.jpg" width="475" height="341" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Ellen threw herself +face downward +upon the +bed in the +bottom of the wagon, and lay there as if in a fit of +the sulks, while I crouched by mother's side, wondering +how long it would be before death came, for I had grown +so foolish in my sufferings that it was as if life was +nearly at an end. +</p> + +<h2> +COFFEE INSTEAD OF WATER +</h2> + +<p> +Mother left us to ourselves during half an hour or +more, and then told us plainly that we were showing +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_123' name='Page_123'>[123]</a></span> +ourselves to be very foolish girls. She insisted that we +eat the harder portions of the corn bread; that we take +frequent drinks of the coffee, and, above all, that we +resolutely calm our minds. +</p> + +<p> +It must have been that amid all my distress I fell +asleep, for suddenly I heard, as though coming from +afar off, shouts of joy and the voices of men calling one +to another. +</p> + +<p> +Starting up, I asked mother what was happening, +and gazed around wildly, for night had come and the +moon was not yet risen. +</p> + +<p> +"Thank God! the desert has been crossed, and we +have come at last to where water may be obtained!" +my mother cried fervently. +</p> + +<p> +She leaped out of the wagon, we two girls following, +and, running hurriedly, we went to where the men, +boys, and animals had gathered in a group. +</p> + +<p> +I believed we had come to a stream of sweet water, +but it was only a narrow brook, where ran hardly +more than a thread of water which had already been +trampled upon by the animals until it was like liquid +mud. +</p> + +<h2> +A SPRING OF SWEET WATER +</h2> + +<p> +At this moment Eben Jordan, taking Ellen and me +by the hands, said, forcing us to run with him:— +</p> + +<p> +"By following the stream to its head we shall surely +come upon a spring." +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_124' name='Page_124'>[124]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +And this we did, finding within two hundred yards +a spring of the sweetest water I have ever taken into +my mouth. +</p> + +<p> +Ellen and I drank again and again, seemingly never to +be satisfied, and it was only after I had shown myself +very selfish that I remembered +poor mother, who, most +likely, was standing by that muddy stream waiting +until the water had grown clear so she might drink. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-125.jpg" width="494" height="325" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Then Eben Jordan went back, and a few moments +later returned, bringing with him all the women and +children, and many of the men. +</p> + +<p> +Having drunk our fill, Ellen and I went back to the +wagon, where we ate heartily of corn bread, and then +laid ourselves down to sleep, while the men and boys +were bringing the teams into a circle to form a corral. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_125' name='Page_125'>[125]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +THE OASIS +</h2> + +<div class='figright'> +<img src="images/i-126.jpg" width="272" height="311" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +After this we remained idle thirty-six hours, being +forced to do so, as father said, because the animals +were so nearly exhausted that a long time of rest was +absolutely necessary. +</p> + +<p> +It was during this time that Eben Jordan again +displayed his skill as a hunter, for toward nightfall he +brought in two small antelopes; but the animals +were so tiny that each family had no +more than half enough to satisfy +their craving for fresh meat, and +we were forced to complete the +meal with bacon. +</p> + +<p> +Our halting place was on what +can be described only as +an oasis, stretching from +that sea of white to the +rocky cliffs beyond, and +father told us that while +we would not be forced to march over a plain of salt +during the next day, the journey would be exceedingly +wearisome and our suffering considerable, for another +entire day must be spent without water. +</p> + +<p> +Again we made preparations for a time of distress, +by boiling more coffee and filling up the water casks +with sweet water from the spring. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_126' name='Page_126'>[126]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +This time the anticipation was worse than the +reality. On resuming the march, we traveled over +the side of the barren ridge more than twelve miles, +until we came to a well-defined wagon trail which, so +some of our people said, had first been made by +emigrants from Missouri. +</p> + +<p> +I gave little heed as to who might first have passed +over the trail, rejoicing with Ellen that at last we had +come to some evidence of human beings; it seemed +as if our troubles were well-nigh at an end, for we were +told that this trail would lead us by the most direct +course into that land of California where we hoped +to find rest and comfort. +</p> + +<h2> +SEARCHING FOR WATER +</h2> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-128.jpg" width="500" height="441" alt="" /> +</div> +<p> +From this on, during four wearisome days, we were +kept upon a short allowance of water, and did not +dare eat much food lest it should unduly excite our +thirst. +</p> + +<div class='figleft'> +<img src="images/i-129.jpg" width="153" height="500" alt="" /> +</div> + + +<p> +Now and then we came upon a spring, when our +water casks and every vessel that could be used for +the purpose were filled to the brim, and yet again and +again we suffered from thirst, but not so keenly as while +crossing the desert. +</p> + +<p> +Whenever I slept, it was to dream of the river we had +left behind us on the border of Pike County, wishing +that it might be possible for me to go to its banks +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_127' name='Page_127'>[127]</a></span> +once more, and, even though the water was muddy, +drink my fill. +</p> + +<p> +In due time we came to that point in the trail where +we were forced to march directly over the face of +the mountains. Here our fathers +found the way +so difficult that +once more the teams were +doubled up, twelve or fifteen +yoke of cattle being put +on one wagon, and, after +hauling the heavy load to the summit of the range, +driven back to get another.</p> + + +<p> +Of course our progress was slow, and we traversed +mile after mile only with severe labor on the part of +the men and boys, for we girls and the women did no +more than walk in order to lessen the load. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_128' name='Page_128'>[128]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Then we came to a narrow +passage amid the rocks, which +was most frightful to look +upon, although there was +nothing whatever about it to +cause alarm. +</p> + +<p> +It was a gorge or cañon +much like a tunnel, where the +light from above was like a +slender silver thread, and we +went down into a narrow defile, +where was barely room for the +wagons to pass, and where the +rocks, dark and fearsome, rose +hundreds of feet above our +heads. +</p> + +<h2> +THE BEAUTIFUL VALLEY +</h2> + +<p> +When we had passed through +that forbidding place we received +our reward, for we came +into a most beautiful valley +with water and grass in abundance, +and, although it was +yet early in the afternoon, there was no thought of +anything save making camp, that we might enjoy the +blessings which were spread out before us. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_129' name='Page_129'>[129]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Before the sun had set Eben Jordan had killed another +antelope; but he did not dare go far from the +encampment in search of other game, for no sooner +had twilight come than we could hear the howling of +the wolves around us, until one's very blood ran cold. +It seemed certain, and indeed was a fact, that we were +literally surrounded by those +ravenous animals, +which were kept at a +respectful distance only by +the glare of our camp fires. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-130.jpg" width="496" height="329" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Next day, when we took up the line of march again, +it was the same old story of climbing over rocky ridges +and descending into valleys where could be found no +signs of vegetation, until we had come to a very network +of streams. +</p> + +<p> +At our next camp we were visited by a party of +Snake Indians, who, like the other savages we had seen, +pressed around us, begging for bits of bread. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_130' name='Page_130'>[130]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +SNAKE INDIANS +</h2> + +<p> +Those Indians were not at all like any we had seen +before; their clothing, what little there was of it, +consisted mostly of rabbit skins sewed together to +form cloaks. To my mind they resembled more the +Negroes than the Indians; but father said, save for +their inclination to steal anything upon which they +could lay their hands, that we need have no fear whatever +regarding them, because they were known to be +peaceable. The men were armed only with bows +and arrows and seemed to have great fear of a gun +or a pistol. +</p> + +<p> +The visitors had with them a quantity of dried meat +and roots which they wanted to trade with us for bread +or for blankets; but our store of provisions was not so +low that we would willingly eat what those creatures +had prepared. +</p> + +<p> +They lingered around the encampment, however, +coming as closely to the wagons as our people would +permit, and we girls and boys were told to keep +careful watch lest they steal all our possessions. +</p> + +<p> +Just at sunset, one of the men who was standing guard +over the cows shouted that a wild beast was creeping +up on us from a thicket a short distance away, to the +right of where father's wagon stood. +</p> + +<p> +Looking up quickly, I saw a huge panther crawling, +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_131' name='Page_131'>[131]</a></span> +as you might say, much as a cat approaches a mouse, +and it seemed to me that he was making ready to spring +directly upon us girls. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-132.jpg" width="498" height="377" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Ellen and I clambered shrieking into the wagon, +where we hid our heads in a feather bed like the silly +children we were, and straightway there ensued the +greatest tumult that can be imagined, as our hunters +strove to kill the ferocious animal. +</p> + +<p> +It is, perhaps, needless for me to say that the panther +escaped, although Eben Jordan claimed it would have +been possible for him to kill the beast, had he not been +hampered by frightened girls and men. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_132' name='Page_132'>[132]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +A SCARCITY OF FOOD +</h2> + +<p> +When the march was taken up once more, we journeyed +over a less forbidding, although a not very +pleasant, country, seeing antelopes at a distance, but +so wild that even Eben Jordan strove in vain to bring +one down. +</p> + +<p> +During four or five days we marched westward, seeing +now and then great numbers of animals which would +have served to provide us with fresh meat, but our men +were unable to kill any; then we found our supply of +food growing so small that it was decided each person +should have at a single meal no more than one slice of +bacon and a piece of corn bread as big as a man's hand. +</p> + +<p> +There is no good reason why I should set down such +mournful details. While we were pressing steadily but +painfully westward, so hungry that it seemed to me I +could have eaten anything resembling food, and thirsty +until my tongue was parched, the rays of the sun beat +down upon us with pitiless fury, until we were so worn +that life seemed at times like some frightful dream. +</p> + +<p> +I can remember distinctly, however, what happened +on that day when we heard those who were leading +the train, shout that we had come upon water in +abundance. When Ellen and I, leaping out of the +wagon, ran forward, we saw before us several large +springs from which the water was bubbling generously. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_133' name='Page_133'>[133]</a></span> +Our delight was even as great as the disappointment +was bitter, when the water was found to be almost +boiling hot. +</p> + +<h2> +SPRINGS OF HOT WATER +</h2> + +<p> +It seems hardly possible that any liquid could come +out of the earth so warm, and if I had never left +Pike County I would have set down +such a tale as a fable; but we did find +boiling water, so hot that +when Eben Jordan let +down into one of those springs a slice of bacon tied to +a string, it was well boiled in less than fifteen minutes. +</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/i-134.jpg" width="496" height="365" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +However, we were not to be deprived of water even +though it was hot, for father proposed that we fill +some of our cups, declaring it would be sweet to the +taste once it was cool. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_134' name='Page_134'>[134]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +This we did not only once, but three or four times, +during the continuation of the march, for we came +upon many of those hot springs on the trail after +we left the banks of Mary's River. +</p> + +<p> +Then came a day in August when, after an unusually +wearisome march, we suddenly overtook two emigrant +wagons in which were fourteen people who had come +from Missouri. +</p> + +<p> +Verily it seemed as if old friends were meeting, for +as our train came in sight, some of the strangers began +to sing, "My name it is Joe Bowers," and however +weary I had once been of hearing that tune, it now +sounded in my ears like music. +</p> + +<p> +That evening we spent visiting; those people, +like ourselves, were traveling toward the land of California, +and only those who have been journeying in +the desert and through the wilderness, without meeting +any human beings save Indians, can understand how +intent was the pleasure we experienced in being with +our own kind again. +</p> + +<p> +The emigrants decided to join our train, and we +were right glad to have them with us, although their +store of provisions was no greater than ours; but all +were put on what father called "short allowance," +which was to each person two slices of bacon and two +pieces of bread during one entire day. All our men +who had guns were continually searching for game; +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_135' name='Page_135'>[135]</a></span> +but while we could see antelope and even wild fowl, +both beasts and birds were so shy that the best hunters +among us could not get within gunshot. +</p> + +<h2> +IN THE LAND OF PLENTY +</h2> + +<p> +And so we traveled on, hungry, thirsty, and weary, +despairing now and then of ever coming again into a +land of plenty, until we arrived at the Truckee River, +which was more beautiful to my eyes than ever had +been the broad Mississippi. +</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/i-136.jpg" width="491" height="321" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +The waters of the river were clear as crystal and +very cool, while from it our people took within an hour +a sufficient number of trout to satisfy the hunger of +all. It seemed necessary we should eat until it was +absolutely impossible to swallow more, in order to +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_136' name='Page_136'>[136]</a></span> +atone in some way for the hunger that had pressed so +sorely upon us during the ten days previous. +</p> + +<p> +Eben Jordan said laughingly that we were much +like the savages, who were starved one day and in +danger of bursting with food the next. +</p> + +<h2> +THE TRUCKEE RIVER +</h2> + +<p> +It pleased me right well when father said that we +were to remain in camp one full day by the side of this +river, in order to give the animals the opportunity of +feeding upon the rich grass which grew in abundance +on every hand. +</p> + +<p> +At last we had come into California, and a beautiful +country indeed it appeared to me while we remained +near the river,—all the more beautiful, perhaps, because +of the suffering which it had cost us to get there. Both +Ellen and I now came to believe our fathers had been +wise indeed to leave the banks of the muddy Mississippi +for so glorious a river as the Truckee. +</p> + +<p> +All around us were evidences of bountiful nature, +for the land was seemingly overcrowded with game, +with food on every hand for the cattle, beautiful +flowers, and everything which goes to make one happy. +</p> + +<p> +How long the journey had been I did not really know +until Eben Jordan came to where Ellen and I were +sitting on the grass with the skirts of our gowns filled +with flowers. He had in his hands a bit of paper on +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_137' name='Page_137'>[137]</a></span> +which he had set down, from what had been told him +by the leaders of the company, the distance we people +had traveled since leaving Independence. This was no +less than two thousand and ninety miles, to which one +must add, in order to learn how long was our march, +the distance from Pike County to Independence, which +would, so Eben said, make a total of about two thousand +two hundred. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-138.jpg" width="482" height="319" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +Even then we were nearly two hundred miles from +San Francisco; however it was not the intention of our +fathers to journey so far across California, for we had +not come expecting to find gold, but to make for ourselves +farms, where we could live comfortably by +honest industry. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_138' name='Page_138'>[138]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +Already I am writing as if we had come to an end +of our journey, and so it seemed to me while we +remained in camp on the bank of the Truckee River; +but there were yet many days of toil before we +arrived at the place where our people had decided to +buy land. +</p> + +<p> +It was yet necessary that we cross the Sierra Nevada, +where we found a seemingly impassable trail over the +mountains, yet we knew that people like ourselves, +traveling in the same way, had gone before us, and all +the dangers and the difficulties seemed lessened because +of the fact that we had come so near to where we +intended to make our new homes. +</p> + +<h2> +A HOME IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY +</h2> + +<p> +After much labor in descending the Sierras, we +came upon the first settler's house we had seen since +starting out. It stood in the valley of the Sacramento, +on what is called Bear Creek, and was owned by Mr. +Johnson, who himself was a Piker. +</p> + +<p> +To me the house was odd looking, not because of +being so small as to have only two rooms, but because +it was built half of logs and half of adobes, or bricks +of mud which have been dried in the sun. It was a +rough building, and yet how homelike it appeared! +</p> + +<p> +Unfortunately Mr. Johnson and his family were +not at home. The building was closed, and although +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_139' name='Page_139'>[139]</a></span> +the door was not really locked, it had been fastened +with strips of rawhide in such a manner as to show that +the owner wished to keep out stragglers. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-140.jpg" width="495" height="279" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +As we journeyed leisurely and comfortably down the +valley of the Sacramento, we saw now and then large +droves of wild horses and elks feeding peacefully on the +plains, and there was never a night when Eben Jordan, +or some other of the hunters, did not bring in an +abundance of game. +</p> + +<h2> +THE MISSION OF SAN JOSÉ +</h2> + +<p> +Then came that day when we arrived at the little +village which is called the Mission of San José, and +although everything about us was strange, we said to +ourselves that at last we had come to our new home, for +it was near that place our fathers intended to buy land. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_140' name='Page_140'>[140]</a></span> +</p> + +<p> +The village of San José must at one time have had +many hundred inhabitants; but when we arrived it +was little better than a ruin. The houses, built of sun-dried +bricks, were without roofs and crumbling slowly +away, all of which appeared the more pitiful because of +the well-kept church and the fortlike two-story house +where lived the priests. Both buildings were in such +good repair that they afforded a striking contrast to +the tumble-down dwellings which could be seen near +at hand. +</p> + +<div class='figcenter'> +<img src="images/i-141.jpg" width="495" height="286" alt="" /> +</div> + +<p> +I would love to tell how father built for himself a +house on land which he bought from the priests of the +Mission, and how mother and I set about making a +home which should be somewhat the same in appearance +as the one we had left in Pike County, but it is not for +me to do so. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_141' name='Page_141'>[141]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +OUR HOME IN CALIFORNIA +</h2> + +<p> +It may be that at some time when our home here +is fully made as we would have it, I can tell you how we +live, what odd Spanish dishes we have on the table, how +great a profusion of fruit is at our hand for the gathering, +and very many other things which to me are most +interesting. +</p> + +<p> +I have learned to love this land even more than I +did Pike County, which at one time I believed the most +beautiful spot on earth, and although it pleases me now +and then, when settlers come over the long trail, to +hear the younger members of the company singing +"My name it is Joe Bowers," I have almost forgotten +that Missouri was once my home. +</p> + +<p> +I have come to look upon myself as belonging to +this beautiful valley where Nature is so lavish with all +her gifts, and therefore, instead of calling myself a +Piker, as in the days gone by, I dearly love to write so +all may see, that I am now, and ever shall be as long +as the good God allows me to remain in this world, +Martha of California. +<span class='pagenum'><a id='Page_142' name='Page_142'>[142]</a></span> +</p> + +<h2> +BOOKS CONSULTED IN WRITING +MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA +</h2> + +<ul class="none"> +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Bryant, Edwin</span>: What I Saw in California. D. Appleton & +Co. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Clampitt, John W.</span>: Echoes from the Rocky Mountains. +Belford, Clarke & Co. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Connelly, William Elsey</span>: Doniphan's Expedition. Pub. by +the Author. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Dexter, A. Hersey</span>: Early Days in California. Tribune-Republican +Press. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Drake, Samuel Adams</span>: The Making of the Great West. +Charles Scribner's Sons. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Frémont, J. C.</span>: The Second Expedition. Washington. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Knower, Daniel</span>: The Days of a Forty-Niner. Weed, Parsons +Print. Co. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Paxson, Frederick L.</span>: The Last American Frontier. The +Macmillan Company. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Thornton, J. Quinn</span>: Oregon and California. Harper & +Brothers. +</li> + +<li> +<span class='smcap'>Woods, Daniel B.</span>: Sixteen Months at the Gold Diggings. +Harper & Brothers. +</li> +</ul> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Martha of California, by James Otis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA *** + +***** This file should be named 44600-h.htm or 44600-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/6/0/44600/ + +Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + +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. 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