Crossing the Plains, Days of '57

YPICAL BIVOUAC. SO

AMP. HOPE SUS

of "Missourian," had its origin on these plains. At first it was applie

id with a shrug implying that the speaker arrogated to himself much superiority by reason of the fact stated. The display of such signs, and announcements like that just mentioned, were of such frequent occurrence that the substance was soon abbreviated to "Piker," and became a b

st, regardless of their origin. Many years' of mingling of California's cosmopolitan population has changed all that; producing her present homogeneous, sterling, virile, and somewhat distinct type of "Califo

f canned goods. Nearly all of the foodstuffs carried by the emigrants were in cru

d mainly by the motion of the wagons, in the regular course. That this did not last long was due to reduction of milk supply.

ined largely by chance; we having no knowledge of localities where hunting and fishing were likely to be successful, and it being deemed unsafe for members of the party to wander far or remain long

iews, and incidents of travel generally, which would do more for realism than can any word-picture. We often see specimens of artists' work purporting

cky hillside, woefully scanning their team of done-out oxen and one wagon with a broken axle; no means at hand for recuperation and repair. In the scorching sun of a July day they waited, utterly

another in distress and "pa

e sufficiently fatigued to wish for making camp again. Therefore, from the morning start till the evening stop wa

lace by the side of his mate that the driver had only to place one end of the yoke on the neck of the "off" ox, known, for example, as "Bright," and hold the other end toward the "nigh" ox, saying, "Come under here, Buc

or reclining positions for those who rode in the "schooners," that they might be as comfortable as possible, and read, sleep, or, as the women often did, sew and knit, or play games. During some parts of the trip s

g the desiderata. Obedient to habit, every person and animal dropped into place and action. With the wagons drawn to position for the

the smoothest spots of sand or grass. Eager hands gathered such fuel as was available, and the camp-fire blazed. Buckets of water were brought from the spring or stream; and in an incredibl

duals, taking a plate and a portion, sat on a wagon-tongue or a convenient stone. Camp-stools and "split-bottomed" chairs were among the l

ry to add that bacon and coffee were easy staples. Bread was mainly in the form of quick-fire biscuits, baked in a skillet o

e heat being generally irksome and often distressingly hot. Many of the men came to prefer sleeping wholly i

read the Bible sometimes, in lieu of attendance at any church service. When wood was plentiful, a bonfire added to the cheerfulness and comfort of the occasion. Often neighboring trains camped quite near, when much enjoyment was foun

e can have forgotten one night at the Platte River, when we had a most dismal exper

separated from us by a branch of the river, about twenty yards wide and a foot deep. Some of us waded over, getting our clothes soaked; others crossed on horseback, and carried back fr

round in the tents, and all turned in-but not for long. Some one said, "water is running under my bed." Then another and another made the same complaint. Soon we learned the deplo

s, on camp stools and boxes; and the rain continued pouring in steady, relentless disregard of our misery. Except where lighted by the single lantern the darkness was, of course, absolute. Relief was im

nditions as we found them from time to time, discomforts, such as under other circumstances would have been considered intolerable, were passed without comment. There were times and s

ut the middle of August, and beyond the middle of the journey. Permit the imagination to place the scene alongside that of the present-day modes of traversing the same territory, when the distance is co

re is hazy, with dust and vibrating waves of heat arising from the ground. Far away to the northwest is the outline of some mountains, just visible in the dim dist

eful. And why hopeful? The inherent and indomitable trait of the race which makes it possible for humanity to look over and past present difficulties, ho

d and see the slowly creeping line of wagons and stock, for many miles fore and aft, as they bend their way in and out, ar

he horses and cattle can eat, and no water except the little in the keg and canteens; so the carrying animals

nd gingham dresses. The men are unshaven. All are sunburnt to a rich, leathern brown. Some are thin, and at this particular time, wearing a serious ex

flying dust, they proceed cheerfully to build a fire, of sticks and dry weeds; they fry bacon and

l!" They laugh as they eat

spective; but a sketch true to life, as life was th

lains route in 1852, wrote later to relatives in Illinois, "I would not bring a family across for all that is contained in Oregon and California." Himself sin

forgets, for the moment, how hard it was, and dwells upon it, telling it over and over again, with the same pride and sense of noble achievement that the old soldier feels when recounting the battles and the camp life and the hard marches of the war, when he was young, away back in the sixties. One crossing this country by present-day conveyances, in richly appointed railroad trains, with all the comforts obtainable in modern sleeping, dining and parlor cars, can hardly be expected to conceive what it was to co

, a disposition to be jolly, even to the degree of hilarity, was the prevailing spirit. That, too, under circumstances often so trying that they might have thrown a sensitive disposition out of balance. All this in the wilds of an

which carry rich harvests from the well-tilled farms, and connect numerous cities, was thought of ordinarily by the emigrants in early days only as it appeared to them, and then was, the stamping ground of savage tribes and the home of wild beasts, untouched by the transforming hand of civi