initial commit of ebook 29543HEADmain

1 files changed, 6609 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/29543.txt b/29543.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51ae439
--- /dev/null
+++ b/29543.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6609 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail, by
+Ezra Meeker and Howard R. Driggs
+
+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: Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail
+
+Author: Ezra Meeker
+        Howard R. Driggs
+
+Illustrator: F. N. Wilson
+
+Release Date: July 29, 2009 [EBook #29543]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OX-TEAM DAYS ON THE OREGON TRAIL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail
+
+[Illustration: Ezra Meeker.]
+
+[Illustration: Signature: Ezra Meeker]
+
+
+
+
+_Pioneer Life Series_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail
+
+by
+_Ezra Meeker_
+
+          in collaboration with
+          _Howard R. Driggs_
+
+          Professor of Education in English
+          University of Utah
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          _Illustrated with drawings
+           by F. N. Wilson
+           and with photographs_
+
+
+          Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York
+
+          _World Book Company_
+
+          1927
+
+
+
+
+WORLD BOOK COMPANY
+
+THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE
+
+          Established 1905 by Caspar W. Hodgson
+          YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK
+          2126 PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO
+
+
+The Oregon Trail--what suggestion the name carries of the heroic toil of
+pioneers! Yet a few years' ago the route of the trail was only vaguely
+known. Then public interest was awakened by the report that one of the
+very men who had made the trip to Oregon in the old days was traversing
+the trail once more, moving with ox team and covered wagon from his home
+in the state of Washington, and marking the old route as he went. The
+man with the ox team was Ezra Meeker. He went on to the capital, where
+Mr. Roosevelt, then President, met him with joy. Then he traversed the
+long trail once more with team and wagon--back to that Northwest which
+he had so long made his home. This book gives Mr. Meeker's story of his
+experiences on the Oregon Trail when it was new, and again when,
+advanced in years, he retraced the journey of his youth that Americans
+might ever know where led the footsteps of the pioneers. The publication
+of this book in its Pioneer Life Series carries forward one of the
+cherished purposes of World Book Company--to supply as a background to
+the study of American history interesting and authentic narratives based
+on the personal experiences of brave men and women who helped to push
+the frontier of our country across the continent.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+PLS:MDOTD-5
+
+
+          Copyright 1922 by World Book Company
+          Copyright in Great Britain
+          _All rights reserved_
+          PRINTED IN U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR
+
+
+OUT in the state of Washington recently, a veteran of more than ninety
+years stepped into an aeroplane with the mail pilot and flew from
+Seattle to Victoria in British Columbia, and back again. The aged
+pioneer took the trip with all the zest of youth and returned
+enthusiastic over the adventure.
+
+This youthful veteran was Ezra Meeker, of Oregon Trail fame, who
+throughout his long, courageous, useful life has ever kept in the
+vanguard of progress. Seventy years ago he became one of the
+trail-blazers of the Farther West. In 1852, with his young wife and
+child, he made the hazardous journey over plains and mountains all the
+way from Iowa to Oregon by ox team. Then, after fifty-four years of
+struggle in helping to develop the country beyond the Cascades, this
+undaunted pioneer decided to reblaze the almost lost Oregon Trail.
+
+An old "prairie schooner" was rebuilt, and a yoke of sturdy oxen was
+trained to make the trip. With one companion and a faithful dog, the
+veteran started out. It took nearly two years, but the ox-team journey
+from Washington, the state, to Washington, our national capital, was
+finally accomplished.
+
+The chief purpose of Mr. Meeker in this enterprise was to induce people
+to mark the famous old highway. To him it represented a great battle
+ground in our nation's struggle to win and hold the West. The story of
+the Oregon Trail, he rightly felt, is an American epic which must be
+preserved. Through his energy and inspiration and the help of thousands
+of loyal men and women, school boys and school girls, substantial
+monuments have now been placed along the greater part of the old pioneer
+way.
+
+Two years ago it was my privilege to meet the author in his home city.
+Our mutual interest in pioneer stories brought us together in an effort
+to preserve some of them, and several days were spent in talking over
+the old times and visiting historic spots.
+
+Everywhere we went there was a glowing welcome for "Father Meeker," as
+he was called by some of his home folks, while "Uncle Ezra" was the name
+used affectionately by others. The ovation given him when he arose to
+speak to the teachers and students of the high school in Puyallup--the
+city he founded--was evidence of the high regard in which he is held by
+those who know him best.
+
+Other boys and girls and older folk all over the country would enjoy
+meeting Ezra Meeker and hearing of his experiences. Since this is not
+possible, the record of what he has seen and done is given to us in this
+little volume.
+
+The book makes the story of the Oregon Trail live again. This famous old
+way to the West was traced in the beginning by wild animals--the bear,
+the elk, the buffalo, the soft-footed wolf, and the coyote. Trailing
+after these animals in quest of food and skins, came the Indians. Then
+followed the fur-trading mountaineers, the home-seeking pioneers, the
+gold seekers, the soldiers, and the cowboys. Now railroad trains,
+automobiles, and even aeroplanes go whizzing along over parts of the old
+highway.
+
+Every turn in the Trail holds some tale of danger and daring or romance.
+Most of the stories have been forever lost in the passing away of those
+who took part in this ox-team migration across our continent. For that
+reason the accounts that have been saved are the more precious.
+
+Ezra Meeker has done a signal service for our country in reblazing the
+Oregon Trail. He has accomplished an even greater work in helping to
+humanize our history and vitalize the geography of our land, by giving
+to us, through this little volume, a vivid picture of the heroic
+pioneering of the Farther West.
+
+                                               HOWARD R. DRIGGS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+   INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR                      v
+
+
+PART ONE--FROM OHIO TO THE COAST
+
+   1. BACK TO BEGINNINGS                           1
+
+   2. BOYHOOD DAYS IN OLD INDIANA                  9
+
+   3. LEAVING THE HOME NEST FOR IOWA              15
+
+   4. TAKING THE TRAIL FOR OREGON                 21
+
+   5. THE WESTWARD RUSH                           33
+
+   6. THE PIONEER ARMY OF THE PLAINS              38
+
+   7. INDIANS AND BUFFALOES ON THE PLAINS         43
+
+   8. TRAILING THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN LAND          49
+
+   9. REACHING THE END OF THE TRAIL               57
+
+
+PART TWO--SETTLING IN THE NORTHWEST COUNTRY
+
+  10. GETTING A NEW START IN THE NEW LAND         69
+
+  11. HUNTING FOR ANOTHER HOME SITE               78
+
+  12. CRUISING ABOUT ON PUGET SOUND               86
+
+  13. MOVING FROM THE COLUMBIA TO PUGET SOUND     99
+
+  14. MESSAGES AND MESSENGERS                    106
+
+  15. BLAZING THE WAY THROUGH NATCHESS PASS      115
+
+  16. CLIMBING THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS             122
+
+  17. FINDING MY PEOPLE                          128
+
+  18. INDIAN WAR DAYS                            135
+
+  19. THE STAMPEDE FOR THE GOLD DIGGINGS         141
+
+  20. MAKING A PERMANENT HOME IN THE WILDS       146
+
+  21. FINDING AND LOSING A FORTUNE               154
+
+  22. TRYING FOR A FORTUNE IN ALASKA             160
+
+
+PART THREE--RETRACING THE OLD OREGON TRAIL
+
+  23. A PLAN FOR A MEMORIAL TO THE PIONEERS      165
+
+  24. ON THE OVERLAND TRAIL AGAIN                177
+
+  25. TRAILING ON TO THE SOUTH PASS              185
+
+  26. REVIVING OLD MEMORIES OF THE TRAIL         195
+
+  27. A BIT OF BAD LUCK                          204
+
+  28. DRIVING ON TO THE CAPITAL                  212
+
+  29. THE END OF THE LONG TRAIL                  219
+
+
+
+
+THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRAIL
+
+
+WORN deep and wide by the migration of three hundred thousand people,
+lined by the graves of twenty thousand dead, witness of romance and
+tragedy, the Oregon Trail is unique in history and will always be sacred
+to the memories of the pioneers. Reaching the summit of the Rockies upon
+an evenly distributed grade of eight feet to the mile, following the
+watercourse of the River Platte and tributaries to within two miles of
+the summit of the South Pass, through the Rocky Mountain barrier,
+descending to the tidewaters of the Pacific, through the Valleys of the
+Snake and the Columbia, the route of the Oregon Trail points the way for
+a great National Highway from the Missouri River to Puget Sound: a
+roadway of greatest commercial importance, a highway of military
+preparedness, a route for a lasting memorial to the pioneers, thus
+combining utility and sentiment.
+
+[Illustration: Signature: Ezra Meeker]
+
+
+
+
+PART ONE
+
+FROM OHIO TO THE COAST
+
+[Illustration: NORTH AMERICA IN 1830]
+
+This map shows the main divisions of North America as they were when
+Ezra Meeker was born. The shading in the Arctic region shows how much
+there was still for the explorers to discover.
+
+The Oregon Country is shown as part of the United States, although the
+whole region was in dispute between the United States and Great Britain.
+In the United States itself the settled part of the country was east of
+the dotted line that runs from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. West
+of this line was the Indian country, with only a few forts as outposts
+of settlement. Several territories had been organized, but Oregon,
+Missouri, and Nebraska were little more than names for vast undetermined
+regions.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The old Meeker homestead near Elizabeth, New Jersey.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE
+
+BACK TO BEGINNINGS
+
+
+I WAS born in Huntsville, Butler County, Ohio, on December 29, 1830.
+That was, at this writing, more than ninety years ago.
+
+My father's ancestors came from England in 1637. In 1665 they settled
+near Elizabeth City, New Jersey, building there a very substantial house
+which stood till almost 1910. More than a score of hardy soldiers from
+this family fought for the Colonies in the War of Independence. They
+were noted for their stalwart strength, steady habits, and patriotic
+ardor.
+
+Both my parents were sincere, though not austere, Christian people.
+Father inherited to the full the sturdy traits of his ancestors. I well
+remember that for three years, during our life in Indiana, he worked
+eighteen hours a day as a miller. For this hard service he received only
+twenty dollars a month and bran for the cow. Yet out of the ordeal he
+came seemingly as strong and healthy as when he entered it.
+
+My mother's maiden name was Phoebe Baker. English and Welsh strains of
+blood ran in her veins. Her father settled in Butler County, Ohio, in
+the year 1804, or thereabouts. My mother, like my father, could and did
+endure continuous long hours of severe labor without much discomfort. I
+have known her frequently to patch and mend our clothing until very late
+at night, and yet she would invariably be up in the morning by four to
+resume her labors.
+
+Small wonder that with such parents and with such early surroundings I
+am able to say that for fifty-eight years I was never sick in bed a
+single day. I, too, have endured long hours of labor during my whole
+life, and I can truthfully say that I have always liked to do my work
+and that I never watched for the sun to go down to relieve me from the
+burden of labor. My mother said I was "always the busiest young 'un" she
+ever saw, by which she meant that I was restless from the
+beginning--born so.
+
+According to the best information obtainable, I was born in a log cabin,
+where the fireplace was nearly as wide as the cabin. The two doors on
+opposite sides permitted the horse, dragging the backlog, to enter at
+one and then to go out at the other. Of course, the solid floor of split
+logs defied injury from such treatment.
+
+The skillet and the Dutch oven were used instead of the cook stove to
+bake the pone or johnny cake, to parch the corn, or to fry the venison
+which was then obtainable in the wilds of Ohio.
+
+A curtain at the farther end of the cabin marked the confines of a
+bedchamber for the "old folks." The older children climbed the ladder
+nailed to the wall to get to the loft floored with loose clapboards that
+rattled when trodden upon. The straw beds were so near the roof that
+the patter of the rain made music to the ear, and the spray of the
+falling water would often baptize the "tow-heads" left uncovered.
+
+[Illustration: Bringing in the backlog.]
+
+Our diet was simple, and the mush pot was a great factor in our home
+life. A large, heavy iron pot was hung on the crane in the chimney
+corner, where the mush would slowly bubble and sputter over or near a
+bed of oak coals for half the afternoon. And such mush!--always made
+from yellow corn meal and cooked three hours or more. This, eaten with
+plenty of fresh, rich milk, furnished the supper for the children. Tea?
+Not to be thought of. Sugar? It was too expensive--cost fifteen to
+eighteen cents a pound, and at a time when it took a week's labor to
+earn as much money as a day's labor would earn now. Cheap molasses we
+had sometimes, but not often, meat not more than once a day, but eggs in
+abundance.
+
+Everything father had to sell was low-priced, while everything mother
+must buy at the store was high. Wheat brought twenty-five cents a
+bushel; corn, fifteen cents; pork, two and two and a half cents a pound,
+with bacon sometimes used as fuel by reckless, racing steamboat
+captains of the Ohio and Mississippi.
+
+My earliest recollection, curiously enough, is of my schoolboy days,
+although I had so few. I was certainly not five years old when a
+drunken, brutal teacher undertook to spank me because I did not speak a
+word plainly. That is the first fight of which I have any recollection.
+I could hardly remember that but for the witnesses, one of them my
+oldest brother, who saw the struggle. My teeth, he said, did excellent
+work and drew blood quite freely.
+
+What a spectacle--a half-drunken teacher maltreating his pupils! But
+then, that was the time before a free school system. It was the time
+when even the parson would not hesitate to take a "wee drop," and when,
+if the decanter was not on the sideboard, the jug and gourd served as
+well in the field or in the house. In our neighborhood, to harvest
+without whisky in the field was not to be thought of; nobody ever heard
+of a log-rolling or barn-raising without whisky. Be it said to the
+everlasting honor of my father, that he set himself firmly against the
+practice. He said his grain should rot in the field before he would
+supply whisky to his harvest hands. I have only one recollection of ever
+tasting any alcoholic liquor in my boyhood days.
+
+I did, however, learn to smoke when very young. It came about in this
+way. My mother always smoked, as far back as I can remember. Women
+smoked in those days, as well as men, and nothing was thought of it.
+Well, that was before the time of matches,--leastwise, it was a time
+when it was necessary to economize in their use,--and mother, who was a
+corpulent woman, would send me to put a coal in her pipe. I would take a
+whiff or two, just to get it started, you know, and this soon developed
+into the habit of lingering to keep it going. But let me be just to
+myself. More than forty years ago I threw away my pipe and have never
+smoked since, and never will smoke again.
+
+My next recollection of school days was after father had moved to
+Lockland, Ohio, then ten miles north of Cincinnati. It is now, I
+presume, a suburb of that city. I played hooky instead of going to
+school; but one day, while I was under the canal bridge, the noise of
+passing teams so frightened me that I ran home and betrayed myself. Did
+my mother whip me? Bless her dear soul, no! Whipping of children, both
+at home and in the school-room, was then about as common as eating one's
+breakfast; but the family government of my parents was exceptional for
+that time, for they did not think it was necessary to rule by the rod.
+
+Because my mind did not run to school work and because my disposition
+was restless, my mother allowed me to work at odd jobs for pay instead
+of compelling me to attend school. This cut down my actual school days
+to less than six months. It was, to say the least, a dangerous
+experiment, and one to be undertaken only by a mother who knew her child
+better than any other person could. I do not by any means advise other
+mothers to adopt such a course.
+
+In those days apprenticeship was quite common. It was not thought to be
+a disgrace for a boy to be "bound out" until he was twenty-one,
+especially if he was to be learning a trade. Father took a notion he
+would bind me out to a Mr. Arthens, the mill owner at Lockland, who was
+childless, and one day he took me with him to talk it over. When asked,
+finally, how I should like the change, I promptly replied that it would
+be all right if Mrs. Arthens would "do up my sore toes," whereupon
+there was such an outburst of merriment that I never forgot it. We must
+remember that boys in those days did not wear shoes in summer, and quite
+often not in winter either. But mother put an end to the whole matter by
+saying that the family must not be divided, and it was not.
+
+Our pioneer home was full of love and helpfulness. My mother expected
+each child to work as well as to play. We were trained to take our part
+at home. The labor was light, to be sure, but it was service, and it
+brought happiness into our lives. For, after all, that home is happiest
+where every one helps.
+
+Our move to Indiana was a very important event in my boyhood days. This
+move was made during the autumn of 1839, when I was nine years old. I
+vividly remember the trip, for I walked every step of the way from
+Lockland, Ohio, to Attica, Indiana, about two hundred miles.
+
+There was no room in the heavily laden wagon for me or for my brother
+Oliver, aged eleven. It was piled so high with household goods that
+little space was left even for mother and the two babies, one yet in
+arms. But we lads did not mind riding on "Shank's ponies."
+
+The horses walked so briskly that we had to stick to business to keep up
+with them. We did find time, though, to throw a few stones at the frisky
+squirrels, or to kill a garter snake, or to gather some flowers for
+mother and the little ones, or to watch the redheaded woodpeckers
+hammering at the trees. The journey was full of interest for two lively
+boys.
+
+Our appearance was what might well be called primitive, for we went
+barefooted and wore "tow pants" and checkered "linsey-woolsey" shirts,
+with a strip of cloth for "galluses," as suspenders were at that time
+called. Little did we think or care about appearance, bent as we were
+on having a good time--and that we surely had.
+
+[Illustration: On the corduroy road.]
+
+One dreary stretch of swamp that kept us on the corduroy road behind the
+jolting wagon I remember well; this was near Crawfordsville, Indiana. It
+is now gone, the corduroy and the timber as well. In their places great
+barns and comfortable houses dot the landscape as far as the eye can
+reach.
+
+One habit that we boys acquired on that trip stuck to us all our lives,
+until the brother was lost at sea. When we followed behind the wagon, as
+we did part of the time, each took the name of the horse on his side of
+the road. I was "Tip," on the off side; while brother was "Top," on the
+near side. Tip and Top, a span of big, fat, gray horses that would run
+away "at the drop of the hat," were something to be proud of. This habit
+of Oliver's walking on the near side and my walking on the off continued
+for years and through many a mile of travel.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Plowing through the oak grubs on the Wabash.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO
+
+BOYHOOD DAYS IN OLD INDIANA
+
+
+WHEN we reached Indiana we settled down on a rented farm. Times were
+hard with us, and for a season all the members of the household were
+called upon to contribute their mite. I drove four yoke of oxen for
+twenty-five cents a day, and during part of the time boarded at home at
+that. This was on the Wabash, where oak grubs grew, my father often
+said, "as thick as hair on a dog's back;" but they were really not so
+thick as that.
+
+We used to force the big plowshare through and cut grubs as big as my
+wrist. When we saw a patch of them ahead, I would halloo and shout at
+the poor oxen and lay on the whip; but father wouldn't let me swear at
+them. Let me say here that I later discontinued this foolish fashion of
+driving, and always talked to my oxen in a conversational tone and used
+the whip sparingly.
+
+That reminds me of an experience I had later, in the summer when I was
+nineteen. Uncle John Kinworthy--a good soul he was, and an ardent
+Quaker--lived neighbor to us in Bridgeport, Indiana. One day I went to
+his house with three yoke of oxen to haul into place a heavy beam for a
+cider-press. The oxen had to be driven through the front dooryard in
+full sight and hearing of Uncle John's wife and three buxom Quaker
+girls, who either stood in the door or poked their heads out of the
+window.
+
+The cattle would not go through the front yard past those girls. They
+kept doubling back, first on one side and then on the other. Uncle
+Johnny, noticing that I did not swear at the cattle, and attributing the
+absence of oaths to the presence of ladies, or maybe thinking, like a
+good many others, that oxen could not be driven without swearing at
+them, sought an opportunity, when the mistress of the house could not
+hear him, to say in a low tone, "If thee can do any better, thee had
+better let out the word."
+
+My father, though a miller by trade, early taught me some valuable
+lessons about farming that I never forgot. We--I say "we" advisedly, as
+father continued to work in the mill and left me in charge of the
+farm--soon brought the run-down farm to the point where it produced
+twenty-three bushels of wheat to the acre instead of ten, by the
+rotation of corn and clover and then wheat. But there was no money in
+farming at the prices then prevailing, and the land for which father
+paid ten dollars an acre would not yield a rental equal to the interest
+on the money. The same land has recently sold for six hundred dollars an
+acre.
+
+For a time I worked in the _Journal_ printing office for S. V. B. Noel,
+who published a Free Soil paper. A part of my duty was to deliver the
+papers to subscribers. They treated me civilly, but when I was caught in
+the streets of Indianapolis with the Free Soil papers in my hand I was
+sure of abuse from some one, and a number of times narrowly escaped
+personal violence from the pro-slavery people.
+
+In the office I was known as the "devil," a term that annoyed me not a
+little. I worked with Wood, the pressman, as a roller boy, and in the
+same room was a power press, the power being a stalwart negro who turned
+a crank. Wood and I used to race with the power press, and then I would
+fly the sheets,--that is, take them off, when printed, with one hand and
+roll the type with the other. This so pleased Noel that he advanced my
+wages to a dollar and a half a week.
+
+One of the subscribers to whom I delivered that anti-slavery paper was
+Henry Ward Beecher, then pastor of the Congregational Church that faced
+the Governor's Circle. At that time he had not attained the fame that
+came to him later in life. I became attached to him because of his kind
+manner and the gentle words he always found time to give me.
+
+[Illustration: Carrying papers to Henry Ward Beecher.]
+
+One episode of my life at this time I remember because I thought my
+parents were in the wrong. Vocal music was taught in singing school,
+which was conducted almost as regularly as were the day schools. I was
+passionately fond of music. Before the change of my voice came I had a
+fine alto voice and was a leader in my part of the class. This fact
+coming to the notice of the trustees of Beecher's church, an effort was
+made to have me join the choir. Mother first objected, because my
+clothes were not good enough. Then an offer was made to clothe me
+suitably and pay me something besides. And now father objected, because
+he did not want me to listen to preaching of a sect other than that to
+which he belonged. The incident set me to thinking, and finally drove
+me, young as I was, into a more liberal faith, though I dared not openly
+espouse it.
+
+Another incident that occurred while I was working in the printing
+office I have remembered vividly all these years. During the campaign of
+1844, the Whigs held a gathering on the Tippecanoe battle ground. It
+could hardly be called a convention; a better name for it would be a
+political camp meeting. The people came in wagons, on horseback,
+afoot--any way to get there--and camped, just as people used to do at
+religious camp meetings.
+
+The journeymen printers of the _Journal_ office planned to go in a
+covered wagon, and they offered to make a place for the "devil" if his
+parents would let him go along. This was speedily arranged with mother,
+who always took charge of such matters. When the proposition came to
+Noel's ears, he asked the men to print me some campaign songs. This they
+did with a will, Wood running them off the press after the day's work
+while I rolled the type for him.
+
+My, wasn't I the proudest boy that ever walked the earth! Visions of a
+pocketful of money haunted me almost day and night until we arrived on
+the battle field. But lo and behold, nobody would pay any attention to
+me! Bands were playing here and there; glee clubs would sing and march,
+first on one side of the ground and then on the other; processions were
+parading and crowds surging, making it necessary to look out lest one be
+run over. Although the rain would pour down in torrents, the marching
+and countermarching went on all the same and continued for a week.
+
+An elderly journeyman printer named May, who in a way stood sponsor for
+our party, told me that if I would get up on the fence and sing the
+songs, the people would buy them. Sure enough, when I stood up and sang
+the crowds came, and I sold every copy I had. I went home with eleven
+dollars in my pocket, the richest boy on earth.
+
+In the year 1845 a letter came from Grandfather Baker in Ohio to my
+mother, saying that he would give her a thousand dollars with which to
+buy a farm. The burning question with my father and mother was how to
+get the money out from Ohio to Indiana. They actually went in a covered
+wagon to Ohio for it and hauled it home, all silver, in a box. This
+silver was nearly all foreign coin. Prior to that time but a few million
+dollars had been coined by the United States Government.
+
+Grandfather Baker had accumulated his money by marketing small things in
+Cincinnati, twenty-five miles distant. I have heard my mother tell of
+going to market on horseback with grandfather many times, carrying eggs,
+butter, and even live chickens on the horse she rode. Grandfather would
+not go into debt, so he lived on his farm a long time without a wagon.
+He finally became so wealthy that he was reputed to have a barrel of
+money--silver, of course. Out of this store came the thousand dollars
+that he gave mother. It took nearly a whole day to count the money. At
+least one of nearly every coin from every nation on earth seemed to be
+there, and the "tables" had to be consulted in computing the value.
+
+I was working on the _Journal_ at the time when the farm was bought, but
+it seemed that I was not cut out for a printer. My inclinations ran more
+to open-air life, so father placed me on the farm as soon as the
+purchase was made and left me in full charge of the work there, while he
+gave his time to milling. Be it said that I early turned my attention to
+the girls as well as to the farm and married young, before I reached the
+age of twenty-one. This truly was a fortunate venture, for my wife and I
+lived happily together for fifty-eight years.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The first railroad in Indiana.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE
+
+LEAVING THE HOME NEST FOR IOWA
+
+
+IN the early '50's there lived near Indianapolis two young people. Their
+fathers were old-time farmers, keeping no "hired man" and buying very
+little "store goods." The girl could spin and weave, make delicious
+butter, knit soft, well-shaped socks, and cook as good a meal as any
+other country girl around. She was, withal, as buxom a lass as ever grew
+in Indiana. The young man was a little uncouth in appearance,
+round-faced, rather stout in build--almost fat. He loved to hunt possums
+and coons in the woods round about. He was a little boisterous, always
+restless, and not especially polished in manners. Yet he had at least
+one redeeming trait of character: he loved to work and was known to be
+as industrious a lad as any in the neighborhood.
+
+These two young people grew up to the age of manhood and womanhood,
+knowing but little of the world outside their home sphere. Who can say
+that they were not as happy as if they had seen the whole world? Had
+they not experienced the joys of the sugar camp while "stirring off"
+the lively, creeping maple sugar? Both had been thumped upon the bare
+head by the falling hickory nuts in windy weather; had hunted the black
+walnuts half hidden in the leaves; had scraped the ground for the
+elusive beechnuts. They had ventured to apple parings together when not
+yet out of their 'teens.
+
+"I'm going to be a farmer when I get married," the lad quite abruptly
+said to the lass one day, without any previous conversation to lead up
+to the statement.
+
+His companion showed by her confusion that she had not mistaken what was
+in his mind. After a while she remarked, "Yes, I want to be a farmer
+too. But I want to be a farmer on our own land."
+
+Two bargains were confirmed then and there when the lad said, "We will
+go West and not live on pap's farm," and she responded, "Nor in the old
+cabin, nor any cabin unless it's our own."
+
+So the resolution was made that they would go to Iowa, get some land,
+and grow up with the country.
+
+About the first week of October, in 1851, a covered wagon drew up in
+front of Thomas Sumner's house, then but four miles out from
+Indianapolis on the National Road. It was ready to be loaded for the
+start.
+
+Eliza Jane, Thomas Sumner's second daughter, the lass already described,
+was now the wife of the young man mentioned (the author). She also was
+ready for the journey. She had prepared supplies enough to last all the
+way,--cake and butter and pumpkin pies, jellies and the like, with
+plenty of substantials besides. The two young people had plenty of
+blankets, a good-sized Dutch oven, an extra pair of shoes apiece, cloth
+for two dresses for the wife, and an extra pair of trousers for the
+husband.
+
+Tears could not be restrained as the loading progressed and the
+realization faced the parents of both that the young people were about
+to leave them.
+
+"Why, mother, we are only going to Iowa, you know, where we can get a
+home that shall be our own. It's not so far away--only about five
+hundred miles."
+
+[Illustration: A Dutch oven.]
+
+"Yes, I know, but suppose you get sick in that uninhabited country; who
+will take care of you?"
+
+Notwithstanding this motherly solicitude, the young people could not
+fail to know that there was a secret feeling of approval in the good
+woman's breast. After a few miles' travel the reluctant final parting
+came. We could not then know that this loved parent would lay down her
+life a few years later in a heroic attempt to follow the wanderers to
+Oregon. She rests in an unknown and unmarked grave in the Platte valley.
+
+What shall I say of that October drive from the home near Indianapolis
+to Eddyville, Iowa, in the delightful atmosphere of Indian summer? It
+was an atmosphere of hope and content. We had the wide world before us;
+we had good health; and above all we had each other.
+
+At this time but one railroad entered Indianapolis--it would be called a
+tramway now--from Madison on the Ohio River. When we cut loose from that
+embryo city we left railroads behind us, except where rails were laid
+crosswise in the wagon track to keep the wagon out of the mud. No matter
+if the road was rough--we could go a little slower, and shouldn't we
+have a better appetite for supper because of the jolting, and sleep the
+sounder? Everything in the world looked bright.
+
+The great Mississippi was crossed at Burlington. After a few days of
+further driving, we arrived at Eddyville, in Iowa. Though we did not
+realize it at the time, this was destined to be only a place to winter,
+a way station on our route to Oregon.
+
+My first introduction to an Iowa winter was in a surveyor's camp on the
+western borders of the state. This was a little north of Kanesville, now
+Council Bluffs. I began as cook for the camp, but very soon changed this
+position for that of flagman.
+
+If there are any settlers now left of the Iowa of that day, they will
+remember that the winter was bitter cold. On the way back from the
+surveying party to Eddyville, just before Christmas, I encountered one
+of the bitterest of those bitter days.
+
+A companion named Vance rested with me overnight in a cabin. We had
+scant food for ourselves or for the mare we led. It was thirty-five
+miles to the next cabin; we must reach that place or lie out in the
+snow. So a very early start was made before daybreak, while the wind
+lay. The good woman of the cabin baked us some biscuits for a noon
+lunch, but they were frozen solid in our pockets before we had been out
+two hours. The wind rose with the sun, and with the sun two bright sun
+dogs--a beautiful sight to behold, but arising from conditions
+intolerable to bear. Vance came near freezing to death, and would have
+done so had I not succeeded in arousing him to anger and getting him off
+the mare.
+
+[Illustration: NORTH AMERICA IN 1850
+
+By 1850 the general divisions of the continent had taken the shape that
+they have today. The states of Texas and California and the territories
+of Utah and New Mexico had been added to the United States, all as a
+result of the war with Mexico. The dispute with Great Britain over the
+Oregon Country had been settled by a compromise. The region just west of
+the Missouri, known as the Nebraska Territory, was still beyond the
+frontier.]
+
+I vowed then and there that I did not like the Iowa climate, and the
+Oregon fever that had already seized me was heightened. The settlement
+of the northern boundary by treaty in 1846 had ended the dispute between
+the United States and Great Britain for ownership of the region north of
+the Columbia. As a consequence, American settlers were beginning to
+cross the Columbia in numbers, and stories were coming back of the
+wonderful climate, the rich soil, and the wealth of lumber. The Oregon
+Country of that day included the present states of Oregon, Washington,
+and Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming.
+
+It was a special consideration for us that if we went to Oregon the
+government would give us three hundred and twenty acres of land, whereas
+in Iowa we should have to purchase it. The price would be low, to be
+sure, but the land must be bought and paid for on the spot. There were
+no preemption laws or beneficial homestead laws in force then, nor did
+they come until many years later.
+
+But what about going to Oregon when springtime came? An event was
+pending that rendered a positive decision impossible for the moment. It
+was not until the first week of April, 1852, when our first-born baby
+boy was a month old, that we could say we were going to Oregon in 1852.
+It would be a long, hard journey for such a little fellow, but as it
+turned out, he stood it like a young hero.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Crossing the muddy Missouri.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR
+
+TAKING THE TRAIL FOR OREGON
+
+
+WHEN we drove out of Eddyville, headed for the Oregon Country, our train
+consisted of but one wagon, two yoke of four-year old steers, and one
+yoke of cows. We also had one extra cow. This cow was the only animal we
+lost on the whole journey; she strayed away in the river bottom before
+we crossed the Missouri.
+
+Now as to the members of our little party. William Buck, who had joined
+us as partner for the expedition, was a man six years my senior. He had
+had some experience on the Plains, and he knew what outfit was needed;
+but he had little knowledge in regard to a team of cattle. He was an
+impulsive man, and to some extent excitable; yet withal a man of
+excellent judgment and honest as God makes men. No lazy bones occupied a
+place in Buck's body. He was scrupulously neat and cleanly in all his
+ways; courteous to every one; always in good humor and always looking
+upon the bright side of things. A better trail mate could not have been
+found.
+
+Buck's skill in camp work and his lack of ability to handle the team
+naturally settled the division of the work between us. It was he who
+selected the outfit to go into the wagon, while I fitted up the wagon
+and bought the team. We had butter packed in the center of the flour,
+which was in double sacks; eggs packed in corn meal or flour, enough to
+last us nearly five hundred miles; fruit in abundance, and dried
+pumpkins; a little jerked beef, not too salt. Last though not least,
+there was a demijohn of brandy "for medicinal purposes only," as Buck
+said, with a merry twinkle of the eye.
+
+The little wife had prepared the homemade yeast cake which she knew so
+well how to make and dry, and we had light bread to eat all the way
+across. We baked the bread in a tin reflector instead of the heavy Dutch
+oven so much in use on the Plains.
+
+The butter in part melted and mingled with the flour, yet it did not
+matter much, as the "shortcake" that resulted made us almost glad the
+mishap had occurred. Besides, did we not have plenty of fresh butter,
+from the milk of our own cows, churned every day in the can by the
+jostling of the wagon? Then the buttermilk! What a luxury! I shall
+never, as long as I live, forget the shortcake and corn bread, the
+puddings and pumpkin pies, and above all the buttermilk.
+
+As we gradually crept out on the Plains and saw the sickness due to
+improper food, or in some cases to its improper preparation, it was
+borne in upon me how blessed I was, with such a trail partner as Buck
+and such a life partner as my wife. Some trains were without fruit, and
+most of them depended upon saleratus for raising their bread. Many had
+only fat bacon for meat until the buffalo supplied a change; and no
+doubt much of the sickness attributed to the cholera was caused by bad
+diet.
+
+I am willing to claim credit to myself for the team, every hoof of which
+reached the Coast in safety. Four steers and two cows were sufficient
+for our light wagon and the light outfit, not a pound of which but was
+useful (except the brandy) and necessary for our comfort. I had chosen
+steers that had never been under the yoke, though plenty of broken-in
+oxen could have been had, generally of that class that had been broken
+in spirit as well as to the yoke.
+
+The ox has had much to do with the settlement of the country. The
+pioneers could take care of an ox team in a new settlement so much
+cheaper than a horse team that this fact alone would have been
+conclusive; but aside from this, oxen were better for the work in the
+clearings or for breaking up the vast stretches of wild prairie sod. We
+used to work four or five yoke to the plow, and when dark came we
+unhitched and turned them on the unbroken sod to pasture for the night.
+
+I have often been asked how old an ox will live to be. I never knew of a
+yoke over fourteen years old, but I once heard of one that lived to be
+twenty-four.
+
+On the Plains, oxen were better than horses for getting their feed and
+fording streams. There was another advantage, and a very important one,
+to oxen: the Indians could not run them off at night as easily as they
+could horses.
+
+[Illustration: The tin reflector used for baking.]
+
+The first day's drive out from Eddyville was a short one. When we got to
+plodding along over the Plains, we made from fifteen to twenty miles a
+day. That was counted a good day's drive, without unusual accidents or
+delays.
+
+As I now remember, this was the only day on the entire trip when the
+cattle were allowed to stand in the yoke at noontime, while the owners
+lunched and rested. When it was near nightfall we made our first camp.
+Buck excitedly insisted that we must not unyoke the cattle.
+
+"What shall we do?" I asked. "They can't live in the yoke always."
+
+"Yes, but if you unyoke here you will never catch them again," he said.
+
+One word brought on another until we were almost in a dispute, when a
+stranger, Thomas McAuley, who was camped near by, stepped in. He said
+his own cattle were gentle; there were three men of his party, and they
+would help us yoke up in the morning. I gratefully accepted his offer
+and unyoked, and we had no trouble in starting off the next morning.
+After that, never a word with the least semblance of contention to it
+passed between Buck and me.
+
+Scanning McAuley's outfit in the morning, I was quite troubled to start
+out with him. His teams, principally cows, were light, and they were
+thin in flesh; his wagons were apparently light and as frail as the
+teams. But I soon found that his outfit, like ours, carried no extra
+weight, and he knew how to care for a team. He was, besides, an obliging
+neighbor, which was fully demonstrated on many trying occasions, as we
+traveled in company for more than a thousand miles, until his road to
+California parted from ours at the big bend of the Bear River.
+
+Of the trip through Iowa little remains to be said further than that the
+grass was thin and washy, the roads muddy and slippery, and the weather
+execrable, although May had been ushered in long before we reached the
+little Mormon town of Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), a few miles
+above the place where we were to cross the Missouri River. Here my
+brother Oliver joined us, having come from Indianapolis with old-time
+comrades and friends. Now, with the McAuleys and Oliver's party, we
+mustered a train of five wagons.
+
+[Illustration: A yoke of oxen.]
+
+It was here at Kanesville that the last purchases were made, the last
+letter sent back to anxious friends. Once across the Missouri and headed
+westward, we should have to cross the Rocky Mountains to find a town
+again.
+
+We had now come to the beginning of the second stage of our long
+journey. We had reached the Missouri River. From the western bank of the
+river we should strike out across the Plains, through what is now
+Nebraska and Wyoming, to the crest of the continent. We should follow
+the ox-team trail along the north bank of the Platte, and then up the
+north fork of the Platte to the mountains. But first we must get across
+the Missouri.
+
+"What on earth is that?" exclaimed one of the women, as we approached
+the landing for the ferry which crossed the river to a point a few miles
+below where Omaha now stands.
+
+"It looks for all the world like a big white flatiron," answered
+another.
+
+[Illustration: On this page and the following are shown the main trails
+that stretched across the continent, west of the Missouri, in the years
+before the building of railroads. The Oregon Trail from Kanesville to
+Portland is marked with the heaviest line. The lighter line from
+Huntsville to Kanesville shows Ezra Meeker's early travels; this marks
+not a trail but a main-traveled road. People starting out from St. Louis
+for the Oregon Country went by way of the Santa Fe Trail about as far as
+Fort Leavenworth, then northwest to Fort Kearney on the Platte River,
+where they joined the trail from Kanesville. The Santa Fe Trail was the
+earliest trail to be made; trading expeditions had gone from St. Louis
+to Santa Fe since the early 1800's. The California Trail and the Oregon
+Trail are the same as far as the big bend of the Bear River, at which
+point the California Trail goes off to the southwest.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+We drivers had little time for looking and for making comparisons. All
+our attention had to be given to our teams, for as we neared the
+landing we found the roads terribly cut up on account of the
+concentrated travel.
+
+It was indeed a sight long to be remembered. The "white flatiron" proved
+to be wagons with their tongues pointing to the landing. A center train
+with other parallel trains extended back in the rear, gradually covering
+a wider range the farther back from the river it went. Several hundred
+wagons were thus closely interlocked, completely blocking the approach
+to the landing.
+
+All about were camps of every kind, some without any covering at all,
+others with comfortable tents. Nearly everybody appeared to be intent on
+merrymaking, and the fiddlers and dancers were busy; but here and there
+were small groups engaged in devotional services. These camps contained
+the outfits, in great part, of the wagons in line; some of them had been
+there for two weeks with still no prospect of securing an early
+crossing. Two scows only were engaged in crossing the wagons and teams.
+
+The muddy waters of the Missouri had already swallowed up two victims.
+On the first day we were there, I saw a third victim go under the drift
+of a small island within sight of his shrieking wife. The stock had
+rushed to one side of the boat, submerging the gunwale, and had
+precipitated the whole load into the dangerous river. One yoke of oxen
+that had reached the farther shore deliberately reentered the river with
+a heavy yoke on, and swam to the Iowa side; there they were finally
+saved by the helping hands of the assembled emigrants.
+
+"What shall we do?" was the question passed around in our party, without
+answer. Tom McAuley was not yet looked upon as a leader, as was the case
+later.
+
+"Build a boat," said his sister Margaret, a most determined maiden lady,
+the oldest of the party and as resolute and brave as the bravest.
+
+But of what should we build it? While a search for material was being
+made, one of our party, who had got across the river in search of
+timber, discovered a scow, almost completely buried, on the sandpit
+opposite the landing. The report seemed too good to be true.
+
+The next thing to do was to find the owner. We discovered him eleven
+miles down the river.
+
+"Yes, if you will agree to deliver the boat safely to me after crossing
+your five wagons and teams, you may have it," said he.
+
+[Illustration: Digging out the scow.]
+
+The bargain was closed then and there. My, but that night didn't we make
+the sand fly from the boat! By morning we could begin to see the end of
+the job. Then, while busy hands began to cut a landing on the
+perpendicular sandy bank of the Iowa side, others were preparing sweeps.
+All was bustle and stir.
+
+Meanwhile it had become noised around that another boat would be put on
+to ferry people over, and we were besieged with applications from
+detained emigrants. Finally, the word coming to the ears of the
+ferrymen, they were foolish enough to undertake to prevent us from
+crossing without their help. A writ of replevin or some other process
+was issued,--I never knew exactly what,--directing the sheriff to take
+possession of the boat when it landed. This he attempted to do.
+
+I never before or since attempted to resist an officer of the law; but
+when that sheriff put in an appearance and we realized what his coming
+meant, there wasn't a man in our party that did not run to the nearby
+camp for his gun. It is needless to add that we did not need to use the
+guns. As if by magic a hundred other guns came in sight. The sheriff
+withdrew, and the crossing went on peaceably till all our wagons were
+safely landed.
+
+We had still another danger to face. We learned that an attempt would be
+made to take the boat from us, the action being not against us, but
+against the owner. Thanks to the adroit management of McAuley and my
+brother Oliver, we were able to fulfill our engagement to deliver the
+boat safely to the owner.
+
+We were now across the river, and it might almost be said that we had
+left the United States. When we set foot upon the right bank of the
+Missouri River we were outside the pale of law. We were within the
+Indian country, where no organized civil government existed.
+
+Some people and some writers have assumed that on the Plains each man
+was "a law unto himself" and free to do his own will,--dependent, of
+course, upon his physical ability to enforce it. Nothing could be
+farther from the facts than this assumption, as evil-doers soon found
+out to their discomfort.
+
+It is true that no general organization for law and order was effected
+on the western side of the river. But the American instinct for fair
+play and a hearing for everybody prevailed, so that while there was no
+mob law, the law of self-preservation asserted itself, and the counsels
+of the level-headed older men prevailed. When an occasion called for
+action, a "high court" was convened, and woe betide the man that would
+undertake to defy its mandates after its deliberations were made public!
+
+An incident that occurred in what is now Wyoming, well up on the
+Sweetwater River, will illustrate the spirit of determination of the
+sturdy men of the Plains. A murder had been committed, and it was clear
+that the motive was robbery. The suspected man and his family were
+traveling along with the moving column. Men who had volunteered to
+search for the missing man finally found evidence proving the guilt of
+the person suspected. A council of twelve men was called, and it
+deliberated until the second day, meanwhile holding the murderer safely.
+
+What were they to do? Here were a wife and four little children
+depending upon this man for their lives. What would become of his family
+if justice was meted out to him? Soon there developed an undercurrent of
+opinion that it was probably better to waive punishment than to endanger
+the lives of the family; but the council would not be swerved from its
+resolution. At sundown of the third day the criminal was hanged in the
+presence of the whole camp. This was not done until ample provision had
+been made to insure the safety of the family by providing a driver to
+finish the journey. I came so near to seeing the hanging that I did see
+the ends of the wagon tongues in the air and the rope dangling
+therefrom.
+
+From necessity, murder was punishable with death. The penalty for
+stealing was whipping, which, when inflicted by one of those long ox
+lashes in the hands of an expert, would bring the blood from the
+victim's back at every stroke. Minor offenses, or differences generally,
+were arbitrated. Each party would abide by the decision as if it had
+come from a court of law. Lawlessness was not common on the Plains. It
+was less common, indeed, than in the communities from which the great
+body of the emigrants had been drawn, for punishment was swift and
+certain.
+
+The greater body of the emigrants formed themselves into large companies
+and elected captains. These combinations soon began to dissolve and
+re-form, only to dissolve again, with a steady accompaniment of
+contentions. I would not enter into any organized company, but neither
+could I travel alone. By tacit agreement our party and the McAuleys
+travelled together, the outfit consisting of four wagons and thirteen
+persons--nine men, three women, and the baby. Yet although we kept apart
+as a separate unit, we were all the while in one great train, never out
+of sight and hearing of others. In fact, at times the road would be so
+full of wagons that all could not travel in one track, and this fact
+accounts for the double roadbeds seen in so many places on the trail.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Giving chase to the buffaloes.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE
+
+THE WESTWARD RUSH
+
+
+WE crossed the Missouri on the seventeenth and eighteenth of May. The
+next day we made a short drive, and camped within hearing of the shrill
+steamboat whistle that resounded far over the prairie.
+
+The whistle announced the arrival of a steamer. This meant that a dozen
+or more wagons could be carried across the river at a time, and that a
+dozen or more trips could be made during the day, with as many more at
+night. Very soon we were overtaken by this throng of wagons. They gave
+us some troubles, and much discomfort.
+
+The rush for the West was then at its height. The plan of action was to
+push ahead and make as big a day's drive as possible; hence it is not to
+be wondered at that nearly all the thousand wagons that crossed the
+river after we did soon passed us.
+
+"Now, fellers, jist let 'em rush on. If we keep cool, we'll overcatch
+'em afore long," said McAuley.
+
+And we did. We passed many a team, broken down as a result of those
+first few days of rush. People often brought these and other ills upon
+themselves by their own indiscretion.
+
+The traveling had not progressed far until there came a general outcry
+against the heavy loads and unnecessary articles. Soon we began to see
+abandoned property. First it might be a table or a cupboard, or perhaps
+a bedstead or a cast-iron cookstove. Then feather beds, blankets,
+quilts, and pillows were seen. Very soon, here and there would be an
+abandoned wagon; then provisions, stacks of flour and bacon being the
+most abundant--all left as common property.
+
+It was a case of help yourself if you would; no one would interfere. In
+some places such a sign was posted,--"Help yourself." Hundreds of wagons
+were left and hundreds of tons of goods. People seemed to vie with each
+other in giving away their property. There was no chance to sell, and
+they disliked to destroy their goods.
+
+Long after the end of the mania for getting rid of goods to lighten
+loads, the abandonment of wagons continued, as the teams became weaker
+and the ravages of cholera among the emigrants began to tell. It was
+then that many lost their heads and ruined their teams by furious
+driving, by lack of care, and by abuse. There came a veritable
+stampede--a strife for possession of the road, to see who should get
+ahead. It was against the rule to attempt to pass a team ahead; a wagon
+that had withdrawn from the line and stopped beside the trail could get
+into the line again, but on the march it could not cut ahead of the
+wagon in front of it. Yet now whole trains would strive, often with bad
+blood, for the mastery of the trail, one attempting to pass the other.
+Frequently there were drivers on both sides of the team to urge the
+poor, suffering brutes forward.
+
+[Illustration: _United States Geological Survey_
+
+The Platte River. Along this old stream the Oregon Trail wound its way
+for nearly five hundred miles.]
+
+We were on the trail along the north side of the Platte River. The
+cholera epidemic struck our moving column where the throng from the
+south side of the Platte began crossing. This, as I recollect, was near
+where the city of Kearney now stands, about two hundred miles west of
+the Missouri River.
+
+"What shall we do?" passed from one to another in our little family
+council.
+
+"Now, fellers," said McAuley, "don't lose your heads, but do jist as
+you've been doing. You gals, jist make your bread as light as ever, and
+we'll take river water the same as ever, even if it is most as thick as
+mud, and boil it."
+
+We had all along refused to dig little wells near the banks of the
+Platte, as many others did; for we had soon learned that the water
+obtained was strongly charged with alkali, while the river water was
+comparatively pure, except for the sediment, so fine as seemingly to be
+held in solution.
+
+"Keep cool," McAuley continued. "Maybe we'll have to lay down, and maybe
+not. Anyway, it's no use frettin'. What's to be will be, 'specially if
+we but help things along."
+
+This homely yet wise counsel fell upon willing ears, as most of us were
+already of the same mind. We did just as we had been doing, and all but
+one of our party escaped unharmed.
+
+We had then been in the buffalo country for several days. Some of the
+young men, keen for hunting, had made themselves sick by getting
+overheated and drinking impure water. Such was the experience of my
+brother Oliver. Being of an adventurous spirit, he could not restrain
+his ardor, gave chase to the buffaloes, and fell sick almost to death.
+
+This occurred just at the time when we encountered the cholera panic. It
+must be the cholera that had taken hold of him, his companions argued.
+Some of his party could not delay.
+
+"It is certain death," I said, "to take him along in that condition."
+
+They admitted this to be true.
+
+"Divide the outfit, then," it was suggested.
+
+Two of Oliver's companions, the Davenport brothers, would not leave him;
+so their portion of the outfit was set aside with his. This gave the
+three a wagon and a team.
+
+Turning to Buck, I said, "I can't ask you to stay with me."
+
+The answer came back as quick as a flash, "I'm going to stay with you
+without asking."
+
+And he did, too, though my brother was almost a total stranger to him.
+
+We nursed the sick man for four days amidst scenes of death and
+excitement such as I hope never again to see. On the fifth day we were
+able to proceed and to take the convalescent man with us.
+
+The experience of our camp was the experience of hundreds of others:
+there were countless incidents of friends parting; of desertion; of
+noble sacrifice; of the revelation of the best and the worst in man.
+
+In a diary of one of these pioneers, I find the following: "Found a
+family consisting of husband, wife, and four small children, whose
+cattle we supposed had given out and died. They were here all alone, and
+no wagon or cattle in sight." They had been thrown out by the owner of a
+wagon and left on the road to die.
+
+From a nearby page of the same diary, I read: "Here we met Mr. Lot
+Whitcom, direct from Oregon. Told me a great deal about Oregon. He has
+provisions, but none to sell; but gives to all he finds in want, and who
+are unable to buy."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Pioneers on the march.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX
+
+THE PIONEER ARMY OF THE PLAINS
+
+
+DURING the ox-team days a mighty army of pioneers went West. In the year
+that we crossed (1852), when the migration was at its height, this army
+made an unbroken column fully five hundred miles long. We knew by the
+inscribed dates found on Independence Rock and elsewhere that there were
+wagons three hundred miles ahead of us, and the throng continued
+crossing the river for more than a month after we had crossed it.
+
+How many people this army comprised cannot be known; the roll was never
+called. History has no record of a greater number of emigrants ever
+making so long a journey as did these pioneers. There must have been
+three hundred and fifty thousand in the years of the great rush
+overland, from 1843 to 1857. Careful estimates of the total migration
+westward from 1843 to 1869, when the first railroad across the continent
+was completed, make the number nearly half a million.
+
+The animals driven over the Plains during these years were legion.
+Besides those that labored under the yoke, in harness, and under saddle,
+there was a vast herd of loose stock. A conservative estimate would be
+not less than six animals to the wagon, and surely there were three
+loose animals to each one in the teams. Sixteen hundred wagons passed us
+while we waited for Oliver to recover. With these teams must have been
+nearly ten thousand beasts of burden and thirty thousand head of loose
+stock.
+
+Is it any wonder that the old trail was worn so deep that even now in
+places it looks like a great canal? At one point near Split Rock,
+Wyoming, I found the road cut so deep in the solid sandstone that the
+kingbolt of my wagon dragged on the high center.
+
+The pioneer army was a moving mass of human beings and dumb brutes, at
+times mixed in inextricable confusion, a hundred feet wide or more.
+Sometimes two columns of wagons, traveling on parallel lines and near
+each other, would serve as a barrier to prevent loose stock from
+crossing; but usually there would be a confused mass of cows, young
+cattle, horses, and men afoot moving along the outskirts. Here and there
+would be the drivers of loose stock, some on foot and some on horseback:
+a young girl, maybe, riding astride and with a younger child behind her,
+going here and there after an intractable cow, while the mother could be
+seen in the confusion lending a helping hand. As in a thronged city
+street, no one seemed to look to the right or to the left, or to pay
+much attention, if any, to others, all being bent only on accomplishing
+the task in hand.
+
+The dust was intolerable. In calm weather it would rise so thick at
+times that the lead team of oxen could not be seen from the wagon. Like
+a London fog, it seemed thick enough to cut. Then again, the steady flow
+of wind through the South Pass would hurl the dust and sand like fine
+hail, sometimes with force enough to sting the face and hands.
+
+Sometimes we had trying storms that would wet us to the skin in no time.
+One such I remember well, being caught in it while out on watch. The
+cattle traveled so fast that it was difficult to keep up with them. I
+could do nothing but follow, as it would have been impossible to turn
+them. I have always thought of this storm as a cloudburst. Anyhow, in an
+incredibly short time there was not a dry thread left on me. My boots
+were as full of water as if I had been wading over boot-top depth, and
+the water ran through my hat as though it were a sieve. I was almost
+blinded in the fury of the wind and water. Many tents were leveled by
+this storm. One of our neighboring trains suffered great loss by the
+sheets of water on the ground floating away camp equipage, ox yokes, and
+all loose articles; and they narrowly escaped having a wagon engulfed in
+the raging torrent that came so unexpectedly upon them.
+
+Fording a river was usually tiresome, and sometimes dangerous. I
+remember fording the Loup fork of the Platte with a large number of
+wagons fastened together with ropes or chains, so that if a wagon got
+into trouble the teams in front would help to pull it out. The quicksand
+would cease to sustain the wheels so suddenly that the wagon would drop
+a few inches with a jolt, and up again the wheel would come as new sand
+was struck; then down again it would go, up and down, precisely as if
+the wagons were passing over a rough corduroy road that "nearly jolted
+the life out of us," as the women folks said after it was over, and no
+wonder, for the river at this point was half a mile wide.
+
+Many of the pioneers crossed rivers in their wagon boxes and very few
+lost their lives in doing so. The difference between one of these
+prairie-schooner wagon boxes and that of a scow-shaped, flat-bottomed
+boat is that the wagon box has the ribs on the outside, while in a boat
+they are on the inside.
+
+The number of casualties in that army of emigrants I hesitate to guess
+at. Shall we say that ten per cent fell on the way? Many old plainsmen
+would think that estimate too low; yet ten per cent would give us five
+thousand lives as one year's toll paid for the peopling of the Oregon
+Country. Mrs. Cecilia McMillen Adams, late of Hillsboro, Oregon, kept a
+painstaking diary when she crossed the Plains in 1852. She counted the
+graves passed and noted down the number. In this diary, published in
+full by the Oregon Pioneer Association, I find the following entries:
+
+  June 14. Passed seven new-made graves.
+  June 16. Passed eleven new graves.
+  June 17. Passed six new graves.
+  June 18. We have passed twenty-one new graves today.
+  June 19. Passed thirteen graves today.
+  June 20. Passed ten graves.
+  June 21. No report.
+  June 22. Passed seven graves. If we should go by the camping grounds,
+           we should see five times as many graves as we do.
+
+This report of Mrs. Adams's, coupled with the facts that a parallel
+column from which we have no report was traveling up the south side of
+the river, and that the outbreak of cholera had taken place originally
+in this column coming from the southeast, fully confirms the estimate of
+five thousand deaths on the Plains in 1852. It is probably under rather
+than over the actual number.
+
+To the emigrants the fact that all the graves were new-made brought an
+added touch of sadness. The graves of previous years had disappeared,
+leveled by the storms of wind or rain, by the hoofs of the stock, or
+possibly by ravages of the hungry wolf. Many believed that the Indians
+had robbed the graves for the clothing on the bodies. Whatever the
+cause, all, or nearly all, graves of previous years were lost, and we
+knew that the last resting places of those that we might leave behind
+would also be lost by the next year.
+
+One of the incidents that made a profound impression upon the minds of
+all was the meeting with eleven wagons returning, and not a man left in
+the entire train. All the men had died and had been buried on the way,
+and the women and children were returning to their homes alone from a
+point well up on the Platte, below Fort Laramie. The difficulties of the
+return trip were multiplied on account of the throng moving westward.
+How those women succeeded in their attempt, or what became of them, we
+never knew.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: In an instant each Indian had dropped to the side of his
+horse.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN
+
+INDIANS AND BUFFALOES ON THE PLAINS
+
+
+OUR trail led straight across the Indian lands most of the way. The
+redmen naturally resented this intrusion into their territory; but they
+did not at this time fight against it. Their attitude was rather one of
+expecting pay for the privilege of using their land, their grass, and
+their game.
+
+As soon as a part of our outfits were landed on the right bank of the
+Missouri River, our trouble with the Indians began, not in open
+hostilities, but in robbery under the guise of beggary. The word had
+been passed around in our little party that not a cent's worth of
+provisions would we give up to the Indians. We believed this policy to
+be our only safeguard from spoliation, and in that we were right.
+
+Our women folks had been taken over the river with the first wagon and
+had gone on to a convenient camp site nearby. The first show of weapons
+came from that side of our little community, when some of the bolder
+Pawnees attempted to pilfer around the wagons. No blood was shed,
+however, and indeed there was none shed by any of our party during the
+entire journey.
+
+[Illustration: Demanding pay for crossing.]
+
+Soon after we had left the Missouri River we came to a small bridge over
+a washout across the road, evidently constructed by some train just
+ahead of us. The Indians had taken possession and were demanding pay for
+crossing. Some parties ahead of us had paid, while others were
+hesitating; but with a few there was a determined resolution not to pay.
+When our party came up it remained for that fearless man, McAuley, to
+clear the way in short order, though the Indians were there in
+considerable numbers.
+
+"You fellers come right on," said McAuley. "I'm goin' across that bridge
+if I have to run right over that Injen settin' there."
+
+And he did almost run over the Indian, who at the last moment got out of
+the way of his team. Other teams followed in such quick succession and
+with such a show of guns that the Indians withdrew and left the road
+unobstructed.
+
+Once I came very near to getting into serious trouble with three Indians
+on horseback. We had hauled my wagon away from the road to get water, I
+think, and had become separated from the passing throng. We were
+almost, but not quite, out of sight of any wagons or camps.
+
+The Indians came up ostensibly to beg, but really to rob. They began
+first to solicit, and afterwards to threaten. I started to drive on, not
+thinking they would use actual violence, as there were other wagons
+certainly within a half mile. I thought they were merely trying to
+frighten me into giving up at least a part of my outfit. Finally one of
+the Indians whipped out his knife and cut loose the cow that I was
+leading behind the wagon.
+
+I did not have to ask for my gun. My wife, who had been watching from
+within the wagon, saw that the time had come to fight and handed my
+rifle to me from under the cover. Before the savages had time to do
+anything further they saw the gun. They were near enough to make it
+certain that one shot would take deadly effect; but instead of shooting
+one Indian, I trained the gun so that I might quickly choose among the
+three. In an instant each Indian had dropped to the side of his horse
+and was speeding away in great haste. The old saying that "almost any
+one will fight when cornered" was exemplified in this incident; but I
+did not want any more such experiences, and consequently thereafter
+became more careful not to be separated from the other wagons.
+
+On the whole, we did not have much trouble with the Indians in 1852. The
+great numbers of the emigrants, coupled with the superiority of their
+arms, made them comparatively safe. It must be remembered, also, that
+this was before the treaty-making period, and the Indians of the Plains
+were not yet incensed against white men in general.
+
+Herds of buffalo were more often seen than bands of Indians. The buffalo
+trails generally followed the water courses or paralleled them. But
+sometimes they would lead across the country with scarcely any
+deviation from a direct course. When on the road a herd would
+persistently follow their leader, whether in the wild tumult of a
+stampede or in leisurely grazing as they traveled.
+
+A story is told, and it is doubtless true, of a chase in the upper
+regions of the Missouri, where the leaders of the buffalo herd, either
+voluntarily or by pressure from the mass behind, leaped to their death
+over a perpendicular bluff a hundred feet high, overlooking the river.
+The herd followed blindly until not only hundreds but thousands lay
+struggling at the foot of the bluff. They piled one upon another till
+the space between the river and the bluff was bridged, and the last of
+the victims plunged headlong into the river.
+
+Well up on the Platte, but below Fort Laramie, we had the experience of
+a night stampede that struck terror to the heart of man and beast. It so
+happened that we had brought our cattle into camp that evening, a thing
+we did not usually do. We had driven the wagons into a circle, with the
+tongue of each wagon chained to the hind axletree of the wagon ahead.
+The cattle were led inside the circle and the tents were pitched
+outside.
+
+[Illustration: A night out on the range.]
+
+Usually I would be out on the range with the oxen at night, and if I
+slept at all, snuggled up close to the back of my good ox, Dandy; but
+that night, with the oxen safe inside the enclosure, I slept in the
+wagon.
+
+William Buck and my brother Oliver were in a tent near by, sleeping on
+the ground.
+
+[Illustration: _L. A. Huffman_
+
+A remnant of the buffalo herds that once roamed the Plains.]
+
+Suddenly there was a sound like an approaching storm. Almost instantly
+every animal in the corral was on its feet. The alarm was given and all
+hands turned out, not yet knowing what caused the general commotion. The
+roar we heard was like that of a heavy railroad train passing at no
+great distance on a still night. As by instinct all seemed to know
+suddenly that it was a buffalo stampede. The tents were emptied of their
+inmates, the weak parts of the corral guarded, the frightened cattle
+looked after, and every one in the camp was on the alert to watch what
+was coming.
+
+In the darkness of the night we could see first the forms of the
+leaders, and then such dense masses that we could not distinguish one
+buffalo from the other. How long they were in passing we forgot to note;
+it seemed like an age. When daylight came the few stragglers yet to be
+seen fell under the unerring aim of the frontiersman's rifle.
+
+We were lucky, but our neighbors in camp did not escape loss. Some were
+detained for days, gathering up their scattered stock, while others were
+unable to find their teams. Some of the animals never were recovered.
+
+When not on the road, the buffalo were shy, difficult to approach, and
+hard to bag, even with the long-range rifles of the pioneers. But for
+over six hundred miles along the trail, a goodly supply of fresh meat
+was obtainable.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The prairie wagon used as a boat.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT
+
+TRAILING THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN LAND
+
+
+AS the column of wagons passed up the Platte in what is now western
+Nebraska, there was some relief from the dust. The throng was visibly
+thinned out; some had pushed on beyond the congested district, while
+others had lagged behind. The dead, too, had left room upon the road.
+
+When we reached the higher lands of Wyoming, our traveling became still
+more pleasant. The nights were cooler, and we had clearer, purer water.
+As we gradually ascended the Sweetwater, life grew more tolerable and
+discomfort less acute.
+
+We were now nearing the crest of the continent. The climb was so
+gradual, however, as to be hardly observable. The summit of the Rocky
+Mountains, through the South Pass, presents a wide, open, undulating
+country. The Pass offers, therefore, an easy gateway to the West.
+
+Passing Pacific Springs at the summit, we rolled over to Big Sandy
+Creek. At this point we left the Salt Lake Trail (known also as the
+Mormon Trail) and took the Sublette Cut-off over to Bear River. This
+was a shorter trail to the Oregon Country, made by William Sublette, one
+of the American fur traders of the early days. The earlier emigrants to
+Oregon went on to Fort Bridger before leaving the Salt Lake route.
+
+[Illustration: _Howard R. Driggs_
+
+The big bend of the Bear River in Idaho.]
+
+The most attractive natural phenomenon encountered on the whole trip was
+found at the Soda Springs, near Bear River in Idaho. Some of the
+springs, in fact, are right in the bed of the river. One of them,
+Steamboat Spring, was spouting at regular intervals as we passed.
+
+Just after leaving Soda Springs our little company of friends separated.
+The McAuleys and William Buck took the trail to California, while with
+Oliver and the Davenport brothers we went northwest to Oregon. Jacob,
+the younger of the brothers, fell sick and gradually grew worse as the
+journey grew harder. Shortly after reaching Portland the poor boy died.
+
+Thomas McAuley settled in the Hobart hills in California and became a
+respected citizen of that state. When last I heard of him he was
+eighty-eight years old.
+
+William Buck has long since lain down to rest. A few years after we had
+parted on the big bend of the Bear River, I heard from William in a way
+that was characteristic of the man. He had been back to "the States," as
+we then called the eastern part of our country, and returning to
+California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, he had brought fifty swarms
+of bees. Three of these swarms he sent up to me in Washington. As far as
+I know these were the first honey bees in that state. William Buck was a
+man who was always doing a good turn for his friends.
+
+When Snake River was reached, and in fact even before that, the heat
+again became oppressive, the dust stifling, and the thirst at times
+almost maddening. In some places we could see the water of the Snake
+winding through the lava gorges; but we could not reach it, as the river
+ran in the inaccessible depths of the canyon. Sickness again became
+prevalent, and another outbreak of cholera claimed many victims.
+
+There were but few ferries, and none at all in many places where
+crossings were to be made. Even where there was a ferry, the charges
+were so high that they were out of reach of most of the emigrants. As
+for me, all my funds had been absorbed in procuring my outfit at
+Eddyville, in Iowa. We had not dreamed that there would be use for money
+on the Plains, where there were neither supplies nor people. But we soon
+found out our mistake.
+
+The crossing of the Snake River, although late in the journey, gave us
+the opportunity to mend matters. About thirty miles below Salmon Falls
+the dilemma confronted us of either crossing the Snake River or having
+our teams starve on the trip down the river on the south bank. We found
+that some emigrants had calked two wagon beds and lashed them together,
+and were using this craft for crossing. But they would not help others
+across for less than three to five dollars a wagon, the party swimming
+their own stock.
+
+If others could cross in wagon beds, why couldn't we do likewise?
+Without more ado all the old clothing that could possibly be spared was
+assembled, and tar buckets were scraped. Old chisels and broken knives
+were hunted up, and a boat repairing and calking campaign began. Very
+soon the wagon box rode placidly, even if not gracefully, on the waters
+of the Snake River.
+
+My boyhood experience at playing with logs and leaky old skiffs in the
+waters of White River now served me well; I could row a boat. My first
+venture across the Snake River was with the wagon gear run over the
+wagon box, the whole being gradually worked out into deep water. The
+load was so heavy that a very small margin was left to prevent the water
+from breaking over the sides, and some water did enter as light ripples
+on the surface struck the _Mary Jane_--for we had duly named our craft.
+I got over safely, but after that I took lighter loads, and I really
+enjoyed the work, with the change from the intolerable dust to the clear
+atmosphere of the river.
+
+Some people were so infatuated with the idea of floating on the water
+that they were easily persuaded by an unprincipled trader at the lower
+crossing to dispose of their teams for a song and to embark in their
+wagon beds for a voyage down the river. A number of people thus lost
+everything they had, and some even lost their lives. After terrible
+hardships, the survivors reached the road again, to become objects of
+charity. I knew one survivor who was out seven days without food other
+than a scant supply of berries and vegetable growth and "a few
+crickets, but not many."
+
+We had no trouble to get the cattle across, although the river was wide.
+Dandy would do almost anything I asked of him; so, leading him to the
+water's edge, with a little coaxing I got him into swimming water and
+guided him across with the wagon bed. The others all followed, having
+been driven into deep water after the leader. It seems almost incredible
+how passively obedient cattle will become after long training on such a
+journey. Indeed, the ox is always patient, and usually quite obedient;
+but when oxen get heated and thirsty, they become headstrong and
+reckless, and won't obey. I have known them to take off the road to a
+water hole, when apparently nothing could stop them till they had gone
+so far into the mud and water that it was a hard job for them to get out
+again.
+
+We had not finished crossing when tempting offers came from others to
+cross them; but all our party said, "No, we must travel." The rule had
+been adopted to travel some distance every day that it was possible.
+"Travel, travel, travel," was the watchword, and nothing could divert us
+from that resolution. On the third day we were ready to pull out from
+the river, with the cattle rested by the enforced wait.
+
+Now the question was, what about the lower crossing? Those who had
+crossed over the river must somehow get back. It was less than a hundred
+and fifty miles to the place where we must again cross to the south side
+(the left bank) of the river. I could walk that distance in three days,
+while it would take our teams ten. Could I go on ahead, procure a wagon
+box, and start a ferry of my own? The thought brought an affirmative
+answer at once.
+
+With only food and a small blanket for load, I walked to the lower
+crossing. It may be ludicrous, but it is true, that the most I remember
+about that tramp is the jack rabbits. Such swarms, as I traveled down
+the Boise valley, I had never seen before and I never saw again.
+
+I soon obtained a wagon bed, and all day long for several days I was at
+work crossing people. I continued at this till our teams came up, and
+for a few days after that. I left the river with a hundred and ten
+dollars in my pocket. All but two dollars and seventy-five cents of this
+was gone before I arrived in Portland.
+
+But we could not delay longer, even to make money. I thought I could see
+signs of failing strength in my young wife and the baby. Not for
+mountains of gold would we jeopardize their lives.
+
+All along the way the baby and the little mother had been tenderly cared
+for. We used to clear away a space in the wagon bed for them to take a
+nap together. The slow swaying of the wagon over smooth, sandy stretches
+made a rock-a-by movement that would lull them off to dreamland and make
+them forget the weary way.
+
+When we left the lower crossing, the mother and baby were placed in a
+small wagon. A sprightly yoke of oxen was hitched to it that they might
+get an early start and keep out of the dust. What few delicacies the
+pioneers had were given to them. By this tender care the mother and
+child were enabled to continue to the end of the long journey, though
+the brave little mother was frail and weak from the wearisome struggle
+before we reached a resting place at last.
+
+[Illustration: A nap in the wagon.]
+
+What became of that baby? He thrived and grew to manhood and he is now
+living, sixty-nine years of age, in California. Some of his
+grandchildren are almost grown to manhood and womanhood.
+
+[Illustration: _Myers, Boise, Idaho_
+
+Thousand Springs of the Snake River, Idaho.]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The travel-worn wanderers sing "Home, Sweet Home."]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE
+
+REACHING THE END OF THE TRAIL
+
+
+AFTER leaving the Snake River we had one of the worst stretches of the
+trying journey. From the lower crossing of the Snake River at old Fort
+Boise to The Dalles is approximately three hundred and fifty miles over
+mountains and deserts. It became a serious question with many travelers
+whether there would be enough provisions left to keep them from
+starvation and whether their teams could muster strength to take the
+wagons in. Many wagons were left by the wayside. Everything that could
+possibly be spared shared the same fate. Provisions, and provisions
+only, were religiously cared for. Considering the weakened condition of
+both man and beast, it was small wonder that some ill-advised persons
+should take to the river in their wagon beds, many thus going to their
+death.
+
+[Illustration: _Benj. A. Gifford_
+
+The cataract of the Columbia.]
+
+The dust got deeper every day. Going through it was like wading in water
+as to resistance. Often it would lie in the road fully six inches deep,
+so fine that a person wading through it would scarcely leave a track.
+And when disturbed, such clouds! No words can describe it.
+
+[Illustration: _Benj. A. Gifford_
+
+Shifting sands of eastern Oregon.]
+
+At length, after we had endured five long months of soul-trying travel
+and had covered about eighteen hundred miles, counting from the crossing
+of the Missouri, we dragged ourselves on to the end of the Overland
+Trail at The Dalles on the Columbia River. From here my wife and I, with
+the baby, went by boat down the river, while Oliver took the ox team on
+to Portland by the land way.
+
+The Dalles is a name given to the peculiar lava rock formation that
+strikes across the Columbia, nearly two hundred miles from the mouth.
+These rocks throw the great stream into a fury of foaming rapids. An
+Indian legend says that the Bridge of the Gods was once near The Dalles,
+but that the bridge broke and fell.
+
+On the September day in 1852 when we reached The Dalles, we found there
+a great crowd of travel-worn people. This assemblage was constantly
+changing. It was a coming-and-going congregation.
+
+[Illustration: _Gifford & Prentiss_
+
+Where the Columbia cuts through the Cascades.]
+
+The appearance of this crowd of emigrants beggars description. Their
+dress was as varied as pieces in a crazy quilt. Here was a matronly dame
+in clean apparel, but without shoes; her husband perhaps lacked both
+shoes and hat. Youngsters of all sizes were running about with scarcely
+enough clothing to cover their nakedness. Some suits and dresses were so
+patched that it was impossible to tell what was the original cloth. The
+color of practically everybody's clothing was that of desert dust.
+
+Every little while other sweat-streaked, motley-dressed homeseekers
+would straggle up to this end of the long trail. Their thoughts went
+back to their old homes, or to the loved ones that they had laid away
+tenderly in the shifting sands of the Plains. Most of them faced the
+future with fortitude; the difficulties they had met and mastered had
+but steeled them to meet the difficulties ahead. There was an
+undercurrent of gladness in their souls with the thought that they had
+achieved the end of the Overland Trail. They were ready now to go on
+down the Columbia to find their new homes in this great, unknown Land of
+Promise.
+
+Almost every nationality was represented among them. All traces of race
+peculiarity and race prejudice, however, had been ground away in the
+mill of adversity. The trying times through which these pioneers had
+just passed had brought all to a kinship of feeling such as only trail
+and danger can beget.
+
+Friendships, sincere and lasting, came as one of the sweet rewards of
+those days of common struggle and adversity. Few of the pioneers are now
+left to talk over the old days; when any of them do meet, the greeting
+is one of brotherhood indeed.
+
+We camped but two days on the bank of the Columbia River. When I say
+"we," let it be understood that I mean myself, my young wife, and the
+baby boy who was but seven weeks old when the start was made from
+Eddyville.
+
+[Illustration: _Kiser Bros._
+
+St. Peter's Dome--one of the sentinels of the Columbia.]
+
+I do not remember the embarking on the great scow for our trip down
+the Columbia to the Cascades. But incidents of the voyage come to me as
+vividly as if they had happened but yesterday.
+
+Those who took passage felt that the journey was ended. The cattle had
+been unyoked for the last time; the wagons had been rolled to the last
+bivouac; the embers of the last camp fire had died out. We were entering
+now upon a new field with new present experiences, and with new
+expectancy for the morrow.
+
+The scow, or lighter, upon which we took passage was decked over, but
+without railing, offering a smooth surface upon which to pile our
+belongings. These, in the majority of cases, made but a very small
+showing. The whole deck surface of the scow was covered with the
+remnants of the homeseekers' outfits, which in turn were covered by the
+owners, either sitting or reclining upon their possessions, with but
+scant room to change position or move about in any way. There must have
+been a dozen families or more on the boat, or about sixty persons. These
+were principally women and children; the young men and some of the older
+ones were still struggling on the mountain trail to get the teams
+through to the west side of the Cascade Mountains.
+
+As we went floating down that wonderful old river, the deep depression
+of spirits that, for lack of a better name, we call "the blues," seized
+upon us. Do you wonder why? We were like an army that had burned the
+bridges behind it. We had scant knowledge of what lay in the track
+before us. Here we were, more than two thousand miles from
+home,--separated from it by a trackless, uninhabited waste of country.
+It was impossible for us to retrace our steps. Go ahead we must, no
+matter what we were to encounter.
+
+Then, too, we had for months borne the burden of duties that could not
+be avoided or delayed, until many were on the verge of collapse from
+strain and overwork. Some were sick, and all were reduced in flesh from
+the urgent toil at camp duty and from lack of variety of food. Such was
+the condition of the motley crowd of sixty persons as we slowly neared
+that wonderful channel through which the great Columbia flows while
+passing the Cascade range.
+
+For myself, I can truly say that the journey had not drawn on my
+vitality as it had with so many. True, I had been worked down in flesh,
+having lost nearly twenty pounds; but what weight I had left was the
+bone and sinew of my system. The good body my parents had given me
+carried me then and afterwards through many hardships without great
+distress.
+
+[Illustration: _Benj. A. Gifford_
+
+Multnomah Falls along the Columbia; named after a famous Indian chief.]
+
+In our company, a party of three, a young married couple and an
+unmarried sister, lounged on their belongings, listlessly watching the
+ripples on the water, as did also others of the party. But little
+conversation was passing. Each seemed to be communing with himself or
+herself, but it was easy to see what were the thoughts occupying the
+minds of all. The young husband, it was plain to be seen, would soon
+complete that greater journey to the unknown beyond, a condition that
+weighed so heavily upon the ladies of the party that they could ill
+conceal their solicitude and sorrow. Finally, to cheer up the sick
+husband and brother, the ladies began in sweet, subdued voices to sing
+the old familiar song of "Home, Sweet Home," whereupon others of the
+party joined in the chorus with increased volume of sound. As the echo
+died away, at the moment of gliding under the shadow of the high
+mountain, the second verse was begun, but was never finished. If an
+electric shock had startled every individual of the party, there could
+have been no more simultaneous effect than when the second line of the
+second verse was reached, when instead of song, sobs and outcries of
+grief poured forth from all lips. It seemed as if there were a tumult of
+despair mingled with prayer. The rugged boatmen rested upon their oars
+in awe, and gave way in sympathy with the scene before them, until it
+could be truly said no dry eyes were left nor aching heart but was
+relieved. Like the downpour of a summer shower that suddenly clears the
+atmosphere to welcome the bright shining sun that follows, so this
+sudden outburst of grief cleared away the despondency, to be replaced by
+an exalted, exhilarating feeling of buoyancy and hopefulness. The tears
+were not dried till mirth took possession--a real hysterical
+manifestation of the whole party, ending all depression for the rest of
+the trip.
+
+On this last stage of the journey other parties had much more trying
+experiences than ours. John Whitacre, afterward governor of Oregon, was
+the head of a party of nine that constructed a raft at The Dalles out of
+dry poles hauled from the adjacent country. While their stock was
+started out over the trail, their two wagons were put upon the raft.
+With the women and children in the wagons, perched on the provisions and
+bedding, the start was made to float down the river to the Cascades.
+
+They had hardly begun the journey when the waves swept over the raft. It
+was like a submerged foundation upon which their wagons stood. A landing
+a few miles out of The Dalles averted a total wreck, and afforded
+opportunity to strengthen the buoyancy of the raft with extra timber
+carried upon the backs of the men for long distances.
+
+Then the question arose, how should they know when they would reach the
+falls? Would they be able to discover the falls in time to make a
+landing? Their fears finally got the better of them and a line was run
+ashore; but instead of making a landing, they found themselves hard
+aground out of reach of land, except by wading a long distance. This
+occurred while they were many miles above the falls, or Cascades. At
+last they gave up the raft and procured a scow. In this they reached the
+head of the Cascades in safety.
+
+As we neared Portland we felt that a long task had been completed. Yet
+reaching the end of the Overland Trail did not mean that our pioneer
+struggles were over. Before us lay still another task--the conquest of
+the new land. And it was no easy work, we were to learn, to find a home
+or make one in the western wilderness.
+
+
+
+
+PART TWO
+
+SETTLING IN THE NORTHWEST COUNTRY
+
+[Illustration: This is the region in which Ezra Meeker settled in 1852,
+when it was all known as the Oregon Country and had not been divided
+into Washington and Oregon. The journey from Portland to Kalama, where
+the first cabin was built, is shown by line 1. The line marked 2 shows
+the route followed in the journey to explore the Puget Sound region. The
+brothers went as far as Port Townsend, but turned back to make the
+second home at Steilacoom. Line 3 is the trail through the Natchess
+Pass, the trail that Ezra Meeker followed to meet his father's party
+coming up through the Blue Mountains.]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Looking for work on the good ship _Mary Melville_.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN
+
+GETTING A NEW START IN THE NEW LAND
+
+
+ON the first day of October, 1852, at about nine o'clock at night, with
+a bright moon shining, we reached Portland. Oliver met us; he had come
+ahead by the trail and had found a place for us to lodge.
+
+I carried my wife, who had fallen ill, in my arms up the steep bank of
+the Willamette River and three blocks away to the lodging house, which
+was kept by a colored man.
+
+"Why, suh, I didn't think yuse could do that, yuse don't look it," said
+my colored friend, as I placed my wife on the clean bed in a cozy little
+room.
+
+This was the first house we had been in for five months. From April
+until October we had been on the move. Never a roof had been over our
+heads other than the wagon cover or tent, and no softer bed had we known
+than the ground or the bottom of the wagon.
+
+We had found a little steamer to carry us from the Cascades to Portland,
+along with most of the company that had floated in the scow down the
+river from The Dalles. The great Oregon Country, then including the
+Puget Sound region, was large enough to swallow up a thousand such
+migrations.
+
+Portland was no paradise at that time. It would be difficult to imagine
+a sorrier-looking place than the one that confronted us upon arrival.
+Some rain had fallen, and more soon followed. With the stumps and logs
+and mud and the uneven stretches of ground, it was no easy matter to
+find a resting place.
+
+The tented city was continually enlarging. People seemed to be dazed; it
+was hard to find paying work; there was insufficient shelter to house
+all. The country looked a great field of forests and mountains.
+
+Oliver and I had between us a cash capital of about three dollars. It
+was clear that we must find work at once, so at earliest dawn next day
+Oliver took the trail leading down the river, to search for something to
+do. I had a possible opportunity for work and wages already in mind.
+
+As we were passing up the Willamette, a few miles below Portland, on the
+evening of our arrival, a bark lay seemingly right in our path as we
+steamed by. This vessel looked to our inexperienced eyes like a
+veritable monster, with hull towering high above our heads and masts
+reaching to the sky. Probably not one of that whole party of
+frontiersmen had ever before seen a deep-sea vessel.
+
+The word went around that the bark was bound for Portland with a cargo
+of merchandise and was to take a return cargo of lumber. As we passed
+her there flashed through my mind the thought that there might be
+opportunity for work on that vessel next day. Sure enough, when morning
+came, the staunch bark _Mary Melville_ lay quietly in front of the
+mill.
+
+Without loss of time my inquiry was made: "Do you want any men on board
+this ship?"
+
+A gruff-looking fellow eyed me all over as much as to say, "Not you
+anyhow." But he answered, "Yes. Go below and get your breakfast."
+
+I fairly stammered out, "I must go and see my wife first, and let her
+know where I am."
+
+Thereupon came back a growl: "Of course, that will be the last of you!
+That's the way with these newcomers, always hunting for work and never
+wanting it." This last aside to a companion, in my hearing.
+
+I swallowed my indignation, assured him that I would be back in five
+minutes, and went post-haste to impart the good news.
+
+Put yourself in my place, you who have never come under the domination
+of a surly mate on a sailing vessel of seventy years ago. My ears fairly
+tingled with anger at the harshness of the orders, but I stuck to the
+work, smothering my rage at being berated while doing my very best. As
+the day went on I realized that the man was not angry; he had merely
+fallen into that way of talking. The sailors paid slight heed to what he
+said. Before night the fellow seemed to let up on me, while increasing
+his tirades at the regular men. The second and third day wore off. I had
+blistered hands, but never a word about wages or pay.
+
+"Say, boss, I'se got to pay my rent, and we'se always gits our pay in
+advance. I doan' like to ask you, but can't you git the old boss to put
+up somethin' on your work?"
+
+I could plainly see that my landlord was serving notice to pay or move.
+What should I do? Suppose the old skipper should discharge me for asking
+for wages before the end of the week? But when I told him what I wanted
+the money for, the old man's eyes moistened. Without a word he gave me
+more money than I had asked for, and that night the steward handed me a
+bottle of wine for the "missus." I knew that it came from the old
+captain.
+
+The baby's Sunday visit to the ship, the Sunday dinner in the cabin, the
+presents of delicacies that followed, even from the gruff mate, made me
+feel that under all this roughness lay a tender humanity. Away out here,
+three thousand miles from home, the same sort of people lived as those I
+had left behind me.
+
+Then came this message:
+
+
+                                   St. Helens, October 7th, 1852.
+
+          Dear Brother: Come as soon as you can. Have rented
+          a house, sixty boarders. This is going to be the
+          place. Shall I send you money?
+
+                                                OLIVER P. MEEKER.
+
+The mate importuned me to stay until the cargo was on board. I did stay
+until the last stick of lumber was stowed, the last pig in the pen, and
+the ship swinging off, bound on her outward voyage. I felt as if I had
+an interest in her.
+
+Sure enough, I found St. Helens to be the place. Here was to be the
+terminus of the steamship line from San Francisco. "Wasn't the company
+building this wharf?" "They wouldn't set sixty men to work on the dock
+unless they meant business." "Ships can't get up the Willamette--that's
+nothing but a creek. The big city is going to be here."
+
+This was the talk that greeted my ears as I went looking about. We had
+carried my wife, this time in a chair, to our hotel--yes, our
+hotel!--and there we had placed her, and the baby too, of course, in the
+best room the house afforded.
+
+One January morning in 1853, our sixty men boarders did not go to work
+at the dock building as usual. Orders had come to suspend work. Nobody
+knew why, or for how long. We soon learned that the steamship company
+had given up the fight against Portland and would thenceforward run its
+steamers to that port. The dock was never finished and was allowed to
+fall into decay. With our boarders scattered, our occupation was gone,
+and our supplies were in great part rendered worthless to us by the
+change.
+
+Meantime, snow had fallen to a great depth. The price of forage for
+cattle rose by leaps and bounds, and we found that we must part with
+half of our stock to save the rest. It might be necessary to provide
+feed for a month, or for three months; we could not tell. The last cow
+was given up that we might keep one yoke of oxen, so necessary for the
+work on a new place.
+
+The search for a claim began at once. After one day's struggle against
+the current of the Lewis River, and a night standing in a snow and sleet
+storm around a camp fire of green wood, Oliver and I found our ardor
+cooled a little. Two hours sufficed to take us back home next morning.
+
+Claims we must have, though. That was what we had come to Oregon for. We
+were going to be farmers; wife and I had made that bargain before we
+closed the other more important contract. We were still of one mind as
+to both contracts.
+
+Early in January of 1853 the snow began disappearing rapidly, and the
+search for claims became more earnest. Finally, about the twentieth of
+January, I drove my stake for a claim. It included the site where the
+city of Kalama now stands.
+
+With my mind's eye I can see our first cabin as vividly as on the day
+it was finished. It was placed among the trees on a hillside, with the
+door in the end facing the beautiful river. The rocky nature of the site
+permitted little grading, but it added to the picturesqueness.
+
+The great river, the Columbia, was a mile wide at the point where our
+house stood. Once a day at least it seemed to tire from its ceaseless
+flow and to take a nooning spell. This was when the tides from the ocean
+held back the waters of the river. Immediately in front of our landing
+lay a small island of a few acres, covered with heavy timber and
+driftwood. This has long since been washed away, and ships now pass over
+the place in safety.
+
+The cabin was built of small, straight logs. The ribs projected a few
+feet to provide an open front porch--not for ornament, but for storage
+of dry wood and kindling. The walls were but a scant five feet high; the
+roof was not very steep; and there was a large stone fireplace and a
+chimney.
+
+The cabin was not large nor did it contain much in the way of
+furnishings; but it was home--our home.
+
+Our home! What a thrill of joy that thought brought to us! It was the
+first home we had ever had. We had been married nearly two years, yet
+this was really our first abiding place, for all other dwellings had
+been merely way stations on our march from Indianapolis to this cabin.
+The thought brought not only happiness but health to us. The glow
+returned to my wife's cheek, the dimple to the baby's. And such a baby!
+In the innocence of our souls we honestly thought we had the smartest,
+cutest baby on earth.
+
+Scarcely had we settled in our new home before there came a mighty flood
+that covered the waters of the river with wrecks of property. Oliver and
+I, with one of our neighbors, began to secure the logs that came
+floating down in great numbers. In a very short time we had a raft that
+was worth a good sum of money, could we but get it to market.
+
+[Illustration: Our first cabin home.]
+
+Encouraged by this find, we immediately turned our attention to some
+fine timber standing close to the bank near by, and began hand-logging
+to supplement what we had already secured afloat. This work soon gave us
+ample means to buy our winter supplies, even though flour was fifty
+dollars a barrel. And yet, because of that same hand-logging work, my
+wife came very near becoming a widow one morning before breakfast; but
+she did not know of it until long afterwards.
+
+It occurred in this way. We did not then know how to scaffold up above
+the tough, swelled bases of the large trees, and this made it very
+difficult to chop them down. So we burned through them. We bored two
+holes at an angle to meet inside the inner bark, and when we got a fire
+started there the heart of the tree would burn through, leaving an outer
+shell of bark.
+
+One morning, as usual, I was up early. After lighting the fire in the
+stove and putting on the kettle, I hastened to the burning timber to
+start the logging fires afresh. As I neared a clump of three giants, two
+hundred and fifty feet tall, one began toppling over toward me. In my
+confusion I ran across the path where it fell. This tree had scarcely
+reached the ground when a second started to fall almost parallel to it,
+the two tops barely thirty feet apart and the limbs flying in several
+directions. I was between the two trees. If I had not become entangled
+in some brush, I should have been crushed by the second falling tree. It
+was an escape so marvelous as almost to lead one to think that there is
+such a thing as a charmed life.
+
+[Illustration: A narrow escape.]
+
+In rafting our precious accumulations of timber down the Columbia River
+to Oak Point, we were carried by the current past the place where we had
+expected to sell our logs at six dollars a thousand feet. Following the
+raft to the larger waters, we finally reached Astoria, where we sold the
+logs for eight dollars a thousand instead of six, thus profiting by our
+misfortunes.
+
+But this final success had meant an involuntary plunge off the raft into
+the river with my boots on, for me, and three days and nights of
+ceaseless toil and watching for all of us. We voted unanimously that we
+would have no more such work.
+
+The flour sack was nearly empty when I left home. We were expecting to
+be absent but one night, and we had been gone a week. There were no
+neighbors nearer our cabin than four miles, and no roads--scarcely a
+trail. The only communication was by the river. What about the wife and
+baby alone in the cabin, with the deep timber at the rear and a heavy
+jungle of brush in front? Happily we found them all right upon our
+return.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A lesson in the art of clam baking.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN
+
+HUNTING FOR ANOTHER HOME SITE
+
+
+OUR enjoyment of this first home did not last long. Hardly were we
+fairly settled, when news came that unsettled us again.
+
+In April of 1853, the word had begun to pass around that we were to have
+a new Territory to embrace the country north of the Columbia River. Its
+capital was to be on Puget Sound. Here on the Columbia we should be away
+off to one side, out of touch with the people who would shortly become a
+great separate commonwealth.
+
+It seemed advisable to look about a little, before making the move; so
+leaving the little wife and baby in the cabin home one bright morning in
+May, Oliver and I each made a pack of forty pounds and took the trail,
+bound for Puget Sound. We camped where night overtook us, sleeping in
+the open air without shelter or cover other than that afforded by some
+friendly tree with drooping limbs.
+
+Our trail first led us down near the right bank of the Columbia to the
+Cowlitz, thence up the latter river thirty miles or more, and then
+across the country nearly sixty miles to Olympia.
+
+At this time there might have been, about Puget Sound, two thousand
+white people all told, while now there are nearer a million. But these
+people were so scattered we did not realize there were even that number,
+for the Puget Sound country is a big place--more than two hundred miles
+long and seventy-five miles wide--between two mountain ranges, with the
+Cascades on the east and the Olympics on the west. The waters of the
+Sound, including all the channels and bays and inlets and shores of
+forty islands, make more than sixteen hundred miles of shore
+line--nearly as many miles as the Oregon Trail is long; that is, almost
+as many miles as we had the previous year traversed from the Missouri
+River to the Sound.
+
+Our expectations had been raised high by the glowing accounts of Puget
+Sound. But a feeling of deep disappointment fell upon us when we could
+see in the foreground only bare, dismal mud flats, and beyond these a
+channel scarcely twice as wide as that of the great river we had left,
+bounded on either side by high, heavily timbered land. We wished
+ourselves back at our cabin on the Columbia.
+
+Should we turn around and go back? No; we had never done that since
+leaving our Indiana home. But what was the use of stopping here? We
+wanted a place to make a farm, and we could not do it on such forbidding
+land as this. The dense forest stretching out before us was interesting
+enough to the lumberman, and for aught I knew there were channels for
+the ships; but I wanted to be neither lumberman nor sailor. My first
+camp on Puget Sound was not cheerful.
+
+Olympia at the time contained about one hundred inhabitants. It had
+three stores, a hotel, a livery stable, a saloon, and one weekly
+newspaper. A glance at the advertising columns of this paper, _The
+Columbian_ (the name which was expected to be that of the new
+territory), disclosed but a few local advertisers. "Everybody knows
+everybody here," a resident remarked to me, "so what's the use of
+advertising?"
+
+We could not stay at Olympia. We had pushed on past some good locations
+on the Chehalis, and farther south, without locating. Should we now
+retrace our steps? Oliver said no, and my better judgment also said no,
+though I was sorely pressed with a feeling of homesickness.
+
+The decision was quickly made to see more of this Puget Sound. But how
+were we to see these--to us--unexplored waters? I declared that I would
+not go in one of those Indian canoes, that we should upset it before we
+were out half an hour. I had to admit that the Indians navigated the
+whole Sound in these canoes and were safe, but I would not trust myself
+in a craft that would tip as easily as a Siwash canoe. When I came to
+know the Indians better and saw their performances in these frail craft,
+my admiration for the canoes was even greater than my distrust had been.
+
+Neither Oliver nor I had much experience in boating, and we had none in
+boat building. However, when we had discarded the idea of taking a
+canoe, we set to work with a hearty good will to build us a skiff. We
+made it out of light lumber, then easily obtained at Tumwater. We
+determined to have the skiff broad enough not to upset easily, and long
+enough to carry us and our light cargo of food and bedding.
+
+As in the trip across the Plains, we must provide our own
+transportation. Here and there might be a vessel loading piles and
+square timber for the San Francisco market, but not a steamer was then
+plying on the Sound; there was not even a sailing craft that essayed to
+carry passengers.
+
+As the tide drew us off on the placid waters of the bay at Olympia, with
+just a breath of air stirring, our little eighteen-foot craft behaved
+splendidly. The slight ripples jostling against the bow brought dreams
+of a pleasure trip, to make amends for the tiresome pack across the
+country.
+
+[Illustration: A Siwash Indian in his canoe.]
+
+We floated lazily with the tide, sometimes taking a few strokes with the
+oars, and at other times whistling for the wind. The little town of
+Olympia to the south became dimmed by distance. But we were no sooner
+fairly out of sight of the little village than the question came up
+which way to go. What channel should we take?
+
+"Let the tide decide; that will carry us out toward the ocean."
+
+"No, we are drifting into another bay; that cannot be where we want to
+go."
+
+"Why, we are drifting right back almost in the same direction from which
+we came, but into another bay! We'll pull this way to that point to the
+northeast."
+
+"But there seems a greater opening of water to the northwest."
+
+"Yes, but I do not see any way out there."
+
+So we talked and pulled and puzzled, until finally it dawned upon us
+that the tide had turned and we were being carried back into South Bay,
+to almost the very spot whence we had come.
+
+"The best thing we can do is to camp," said Oliver.
+
+I readily assented. So our first night's camp was scarcely twelve miles
+from where we had started in the morning. It was a fine camping place. A
+beautiful pebbly beach extended almost to the water's edge even at low
+tide. There was a grassy level spit, a background of evergreen giant-fir
+timber, and clear, cool water gushing out from the bank near by. And
+such fuel for the camp fire!--broken limbs with just enough pitch to
+make a cheerful blaze and yet body enough to last well. We felt so happy
+that we were almost glad the journey had been interrupted.
+
+Oliver was the carpenter of the party, the tent-builder, wood-getter,
+and general roustabout, while I, the junior, was "chief cook and
+bottle-washer."
+
+An encampment of Indians being near, a party of them soon visited our
+camp and began making signs for trade.
+
+"_Mika tik eh_[1] clams?" said one of the matrons of the party.
+
+"What does she say, Oliver?"
+
+"I'm blessed if I know, but it looks as if she wanted to sell some
+clams."
+
+After considerable dickering, with signs and gestures and words many
+times repeated, we were able to impart the information that we wanted a
+lesson in cookery. If she would show us how to cook the clams, we would
+buy some. This brought some merriment in the camp. The idea that there
+lived a person who did not know how to cook clams! Without saying by
+your leave or anything else, the motherly looking native woman began
+tearing down our camp fire.
+
+[Illustration: _Edward S. Curtis_
+
+Indians gathering clams on the beach.]
+
+"Let her alone, and see what she's up to," said Oliver, noticing that I
+was disturbed at such interference with my well-laid plans for
+bread-baking.
+
+She covered the hot pebbles and sand where the fire had been with a
+lighter layer of pebbles. Upon these the clams were deposited. They were
+covered with fine twigs, and upon the twigs earth was placed.
+
+"_Kloshe_,"[2] she said.
+
+"_Hyas kloshe_,"[3] said her husband, who squatted near by, watching the
+proceedings with evident approval.
+
+"What did they say?" I asked.
+
+"I know what they said, but I don't know what they meant," responded
+Oliver, "unless it was she had done a good job; and I think she has."
+
+Thus began and ended our first lesson in the Chinook jargon, and our
+first experience with a clam bake.
+
+This first clam bake gave us great encouragement. We soon learned that
+the bivalves were to be found in almost unlimited quantity and were
+widely distributed. The harvest was ready twice a day, when the tide was
+out, and we need have no fear of a famine even if cast away in some
+unfrequented place.
+
+"_Ya-ka kloshe al-ta_,"[4] said the Indian woman, uncovering the
+steaming mass and placing the clams on a sliver found near by. "_De-late
+kloshe muck a muck alta._"[5]
+
+Without understanding her words, but knowing well what she meant, we
+fell to disposing of this, our first clam dinner. We divided with the
+Indians the bread that had been baked and some potatoes that had been
+boiled. The natives soon withdrew to their own camp.
+
+Before retiring for the night, we repaid the visit. To see the little
+fellows of the camp scud behind their mother when the strangers entered,
+and shyly peep out from their retreat, while the mother lovingly
+reassured them with kind and affectionate caresses, and finally coaxed
+them out from under cover, revealed something of the character of the
+natives that neither of us had realized before. We had been in Indian
+country for nearly a year, but with guns by our side, if not in our
+hands, during nearly half the time. We had not stopped to study the
+Indian character. We took it for granted that the Indians were our
+enemies and watched them suspiciously; but here seemed to be a
+disposition to be neighborly and helpful.
+
+We took a lesson in Chinook, and by signs and words held conversation
+until a late hour. When we were ready to leave they gave us a slice of
+venison, enough for several meals. Upon offering to pay for it we were
+met with a shake of the head, and with the words, "_Wake, wake, kul-tus
+pot-latch_," which we understood by their actions to mean they made us a
+present of it.
+
+We had made the Indians a present first, it is true; but we did not
+expect any return, except perhaps goodwill. From that time on during the
+trip,--I may say, for all time since,--I found the Indians of Puget
+Sound always ready to reciprocate acts of kindness. They hold in high
+esteem a favor granted, if it is not accompanied by acts showing it to
+be designed simply to gain an advantage.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] You want.
+
+[2] Good.
+
+[3] Very good.
+
+[4] Good now; ready to serve now.
+
+[5] Exceedingly good to eat.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A fleet of Siwash canoes.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE
+
+CRUISING ABOUT ON PUGET SOUND
+
+
+OUR second day's cruise about the Sound took us past historic grounds.
+We went by old Fort Nisqually, one of the earliest posts of the Hudson's
+Bay Company on Puget Sound. Some houses had been built on the spot in
+1829 or 1830, though the fort, one fourth of a mile back from water, was
+not constructed until 1833, just twenty years before our visit.
+
+As the tide and wind favored us, we did not stop. Soon we came in sight
+of a fleet of seven vessels lying at anchor in a large bay, several
+miles in extent. The sight of those seven vessels lying in the offing
+made a profound impression upon our minds. We had never before seen so
+many ships at one place. Curiously enough, among them was the good bark
+_Mary Melville_, with her gruff mate and big-hearted master, Captain
+Barston.
+
+Upon the eastern slope of the shores of this bay lay the two towns, Port
+Steilacoom, and Steilacoom City, both established in 1851. A far larger
+trade centered here than at any other point on Puget Sound, and we
+decided on a halt to make ourselves acquainted with the surroundings. A
+mile and a half from the shore we found also Fort Steilacoom. It was
+simply the camp of a company of United States soldiers, quartered in
+wooden shells of houses and log cabins.
+
+Intense rivalry ran between the two towns, upper and lower Steilacoom,
+at this time. As a result things were booming. We were sorely tempted to
+accept the flattering offer of four dollars a day for common labor in a
+timber camp, but concluded not to be swerved from the search for a new
+homesite.
+
+During this visit we began seeing Indians in considerable numbers. They
+seemed to be a listless lot, with no thought for the future, or even for
+the immediate present. The Indians in those days seemed to work or play
+by spurts and spells. Here and there we saw a family industriously
+pursuing some object; but as a class they seemed to me the laziest set
+of people on earth.
+
+That opinion was materially modified later, as I became better
+acquainted with their habits. I have found just as industrious people,
+both men and women, among the Indians as among the whites. The workers,
+it may be said, are less numerous among the men; the women are all
+industrious.
+
+Should we camp here and spy out the land, or should we go forward and
+see what lay before us? After a sober second thought, we realized that
+we had nothing to trade but labor; and we had not come as far as this to
+be laborers for hire. We had come to find a place to make a farm, and a
+farm we were going to have. Again we set about searching for claims, and
+the more we searched the less we liked the look of things.
+
+Finally, on the fourth day, after a long, wearisome tramp, we cast off
+at high tide, and in a dead calm, to continue our cruise. Oliver soon
+dropped into a comfortable afternoon nap, leaving me in full command. As
+the sun shone warm and the tide was taking us rapidly in the direction
+we wanted to go, why shouldn't I doze a little too, even if we did miss
+some of the sightseeing?
+
+I was aroused from my nap by Oliver's exclaiming, "What is that?" Then,
+half to himself, "As I live, it's a deer swimming out here in the bay!"
+
+"It surely can't be," I responded, three quarters asleep.
+
+"That's what it is!" he asserted.
+
+We were wide awake now and gave chase. Very soon we caught up with the
+animal and succeeded in throwing a rope over its horns. By this time we
+had drifted into the Narrows, and we soon found we had something more
+important to do than to tow a deer.
+
+We were among the tide rips of the Sound. Turning the deer loose, we
+pulled our best for the shore, and found shelter in an eddy. A
+perpendicular bluff rose from the highwater mark, leaving no place for
+camp fire or bed.
+
+The tide seemed to roll in waves and with contending forces of currents
+and counter currents, yet all moving in a general direction. It was our
+first introduction to a genuine tide rip. The waters boiled as if in a
+veritable caldron, swelling up here and there in centers and whirling
+with dizzy velocity. A flat-bottomed boat like our little skiff, we
+thought, could not stay afloat there very long.
+
+Just then some Indian canoes came along, moving with the tide. We
+expected to see them swamped as they encountered the troubled waters;
+but to our astonishment they passed right through without taking a drop
+of water Then there came two well-manned canoes creeping alongshore
+against the tide. I have said well-manned, but half the paddles, in
+fact, were wielded by women, and the post of honor, or that where most
+dexterity was required, was occupied by a woman.
+
+[Illustration: _Edward S. Curtis_
+
+Sunset on the Pacific.]
+
+"_Me-si-ka-kwass kopa s'kookum chuck?_"[6] said the maiden in the bow of
+the first canoe, as it drew alongside our boat, in which we were
+sitting.
+
+Since our evening's experience at the clambake camp, we had been
+industriously studying the Chinook language, and we could understand
+that she was asking if we were afraid of the rough waters. We responded,
+partly in English and partly in Chinook, that we were, and besides that
+it was impossible for us to proceed against the strong current.
+
+"_Ne-si-ka mit-lite_,"[7] she replied; that is to say, she told us that
+the Indians were going to camp with us and wait for the turn of the
+tide, and accordingly they landed near by.
+
+[Illustration: _Asahel Curtis_
+
+Mt. Rainier.]
+
+By the time the tide had turned, night had come. We hardly knew
+whether to camp in our boat or to start out on unknown waters in the
+dark. Our Indian visitors made preparations to proceed on their journey,
+and assured us it was all right ahead. They offered to show us to good
+camping grounds in a big bay where the current was not strong.
+
+Sure enough, a short pull with a favorable current brought us to the
+Narrows and into Commencement Bay, in sight of numerous camp fires in
+the distance. I remember that camp quite vividly; though I cannot locate
+it exactly, I know that it was on the water front within the present
+limits of the large and thriving city of Tacoma.
+
+I well remember our supper of fresh salmon. Of all the delicious fish
+known, give me the salmon caught by trolling in early summer in the deep
+waters of Puget Sound, the fish so fat that the excess of oil must be
+turned out of the pan while cooking. We had scarcely got our camp fire
+started before a salmon was offered us; I cannot recall what we paid,
+but I know it was not a high price, else we could not have purchased.
+
+The following day we could see Mt. Rainier, with its reflection in the
+placid waters of the bay. Theodore Winthrop, the observant traveler who
+came into these same waters a few months later and wrote of it as Mt.
+Tacoma, described it as "a giant mountain dome of snow, seeming to fill
+the aerial spaces as the image displaced the blue deeps of tranquil
+water." A wondrous sight it was and is, whatever the name.
+
+Next day we entered the mouth of the Puyallup River. We had not
+proceeded far up this stream before we were interrupted by a solid drift
+of monster trees and logs, extending from bank to bank up the river for
+a quarter of a mile or more. The Indians told us that there were two
+other like obstructions a few miles farther up the river, and that the
+current was very strong.
+
+We secured the services of an Indian and his canoe to help us up the
+river, and left our boat at the Indians' camp near the mouth. It took a
+tugging of two days to go six miles. We had to unload our outfit three
+times to pack it over cut-off trails, and drag our canoe around the
+drifts. It was a story of constant toil with consequent discouragement,
+not ending until we camped on the bank of the river within the present
+limits of the thriving little city of Puyallup.
+
+The Puyallup valley at that time was a solitude. No white settlers were
+found, though it was known that two men had staked claims and had made
+some slight improvements. An Indian trail led up the river from
+Commencement Bay, and another led westward to the Nisqually plains. Over
+these pack animals could pass, but wagon roads there were none; and
+whether a feasible route for one could be found, only time and labor
+could determine.
+
+We retraced our steps, and in the evening landed again at the mouth of
+the river after a severe day's toil. We were in no cheerful mood. Oliver
+did not sing as usual while preparing for camp. Neither did I have much
+to say; but I fell to work, mechanically preparing the much-needed meal.
+We ate in silence and then went to sleep.
+
+We had crossed the two great states of Illinois and Iowa, over hundreds
+of miles of unoccupied prairie land as rich as anything that ever "lay
+out of doors," on our way from Indiana to Oregon in search of land on
+which to make a home. Here, at what we might call the end of our rope,
+we had found the land, but with conditions that seemed almost too
+adverse to overcome.
+
+It was a discouraging outlook, even if there had been roads. Such
+timber! It seemed an appalling undertaking to clear this land, the
+greater part of it being covered with a heavy growth of balm and alder
+trees and a thick tangle of underbrush besides. When we fell asleep that
+night, it was without visions of new-found wealth. And yet later I did
+tackle a quarter-section of that heaviest timber land, and never let up
+until the last tree, log, stump, and root had disappeared, though of
+course, not all cleared off by my own hands.
+
+If we could have known what was coming four months later, we would have
+remained, in spite of our discouragement, and searched the valley
+diligently for the choicest locations. For in October following there
+came the first immigrants over the Natchess Pass Trail into Washington.
+They located in a body over nearly the whole valley, and before the year
+was ended had made a rough wagon road out to the prairies and to
+Steilacoom, the county seat.
+
+We lingered at the mouth of the river in doubt as to what best to do. My
+thoughts went back to wife and baby in the lonely cabin on the Columbia
+River, and again to that bargain we had made before marriage, that we
+were going to be farmers. How could we be farmers if we did not have
+land? Under the donation act we could hold three hundred and twenty
+acres, but we must live on it for four years; it behooved us to look out
+and secure our location before the act expired, which would occur the
+following year.
+
+With misgivings and doubts, on the fourth day Oliver and I loaded our
+outfit into our skiff and floated out on the receding tide, whither, we
+did not know.
+
+As we drew off from the mouth of the Puyallup River, numerous parties of
+Indians were in sight. Some were trolling for salmon, with a lone Indian
+in the bow of each canoe; others with poles were fishing for smelt;
+still others with nets seemed waiting for fisherman's luck.
+
+Other parties were passing, those in each canoe singing a plaintive
+chant in minor key, accompanied by heavy strokes of the paddle handles
+against the sides of the canoe, as if to keep time. There were some fine
+voices to be heard, and though there were but slight variations in the
+sounds or words, the Indians seemed never to tire in repeating, and I
+must confess we never tired of listening.
+
+During the afternoon, after we had traveled some twenty miles, we saw
+ahead of us larger waters, into which we entered, finding ourselves in a
+bay five or six miles wide, with no very certain prospect of a camping
+place. Just then we espied a cluster of cabins and houses on a point to
+the east. There we made a landing, at what is now known as Alki Point,
+though it then bore the pretentious name of New York.
+
+We soon pushed on to the east shore, where the steam from a sawmill
+served as a guide, and landed at a point that cannot be far from the
+western limit of the present Pioneer Place, in Seattle, near where the
+totem pole now stands.
+
+As we were not looking for a mill site or town site, we pushed on next
+day. We had gone but a few miles when a favorable breeze sprang up,
+bringing with it visions of a happy time sailing; but behind us lay a
+long stretch of open waters several miles wide, and ahead we could see
+no visible shelter and no lessening of width; consequently the breeze
+was not entirely welcome. In a short time the breeze stiffened, and we
+began to realize that we were in danger. We were afraid to attempt a
+landing on the surf-beaten shore; but finally, the wind increasing, the
+clouds lowering, and the rain coming down in torrents, we had to take
+the risk. Letting down the sail, we headed our frail craft towards the
+shore. Fortune favored us, for we found a good sandy beach upon which to
+land, though we got a thorough drenching while so doing.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+A rich haul of salmon.]
+
+Here we were compelled to remain two or three days in a dismal camp,
+until the weather became more favorable. Then launching our boat, we
+pulled for the head of Whidbey's Island, a few miles to the northwest.
+
+Now I have a fish story to tell. I have always been shy about telling
+it, lest some smart fellow should up and say I was drawing on my
+imagination: I am not.
+
+When we had broken camp and were sailing along, we heard a dull sound
+like that often heard from the tide rips. As we rested on our oars, we
+could see that there was a disturbance in the water and that it was
+moving toward us. It extended as far as we could see, in the direction
+we were going. The sound increased and became like the roar of a heavy
+fall of rain or hail on water, and we became aware that it was a vast
+school of fish moving south, while millions were seemingly dancing on
+the surface of the water or leaping in the air.
+
+We could feel the fish striking against the boat in such vast numbers
+that they fairly moved it. The leap in the air was so high that we tried
+tipping the boat to catch some as they fell back, and sure enough, here
+and there one would drop into the boat. We soon discovered some Indians
+following the school. They quickly loaded their canoes by using the
+barbed pole and throwing the impaled fish into their canoes. With an
+improvised net we too soon obtained all we wanted.
+
+When we began to go on we were embarrassed by the mass of fish moving in
+the water. As far as we could see there was no end to the school ahead
+of us; but we finally got clear of the moving mass and reached the
+island shore in safety, only to become weather-bound in the wilds once
+more.
+
+This camp did not prove so dreary as the last one, although it was more
+exposed to the swell of the big waters and the sweep of the wind. To the
+north we had a view of thirty miles or more, to where horizon and water
+blended, leaving it doubtful whether land was in sight or not. As we
+afterwards ascertained, we could see the famous San Juan Island, later
+the bone of contention between our government and Great Britain, when
+the northern boundary of the United States was settled.
+
+Port Townsend lay some ten miles from our camp, but was shut out from
+view by an intervening headland. We did not know the exact location of
+the town. Like the lost hunters, "we knew where we were, but we didn't
+know where any place else was." Not lost ourselves, the world was lost
+from us.
+
+Three ships passed us while we were at this camp, one coming from out of
+space, as it seemed, a mere speck, and growing to a full-fledged
+deep-sea vessel, with all sails set, scudding before the wind. The other
+two were gracefully beating their way out against the stiff breeze to
+the open waters beyond. What prettier sight is there than a full-rigged
+vessel with all sails spread! The enthusiasm that rose as we gazed at
+the ships, coupled with a spirit of adventure, prompted us to go
+farther.
+
+[Illustration: A deep-sea vessel sailing before the wind.]
+
+It was a calm, beautiful day when we reached Port Townsend. Distance
+lends enchantment, the old adage says; but in this case the nearer we
+approached to the place, the greater our admiration. The shining, pebbly
+beach in front, the clear, level spot adjoining, with the beautiful open
+and comparatively level plateau in the background, and two or three
+vessels at anchor in the foreground, made a picture of a perfect city
+site.
+
+Upon closer examination of the little town we found that the first
+impression, gained from a distance, was illusory. Many shacks and
+camps, at first mistaken for the white men's houses, were found to be
+occupied by natives. They were a drunken, rascally rabble, spending
+their gains from the sale of fish and oil in a debauch that would last
+as long as their money held out.
+
+This seemed to be a more stalwart race of Indians than those to the
+south, doubtless from the buffeting received in the larger waters. They
+would often go out even to the open sea on their fishing excursions in
+canoes manned by thirty men or more.
+
+After spending two or three days exploring the country, we turned back
+to the bay where lay the seven ships we had seen near Steilacoom. We
+remembered the timber camps, the bustle and stir of the little new
+village, and the activity that we saw there, greater than anywhere else
+on the waters of the Sound. Most of all, my thoughts would go on to the
+little cabin on the Columbia River.
+
+Three days sufficed to land us back in the bay we sought, but the ships
+were gone. Not a sailing craft of any kind was in sight of the little
+town, though the building activity was going on as before.
+
+The memory of those ships, however, remained with us and determined our
+minds on the important question where the trade center was to be. We
+decided therefore that our new home should be near Steilacoom, and we
+finally staked out a claim on an island not far from that place.
+
+Once the claim had been decided upon, my next desire naturally was to
+get home to my family. The expedition had taken thirty days, and of
+course there had been no news from my wife, nor had I been able to send
+back any word to her.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] Are you afraid of the rapid water?
+
+[7] I will stay with you.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: On the trail again with Buck and Dandy.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN
+
+MOVING FROM THE COLUMBIA TO PUGET SOUND
+
+
+"CAN I get home tonight?" I asked myself.
+
+It was an afternoon of the last week of June, in 1853, and the sun was
+yet high. I was well up the left bank of the Cowlitz River; how far I
+could not tell, for there were no milestones on the crooked,
+half-obstructed trail leading downstream. At best it would be a race
+with the sun, but the days were long, and the twilight was long, and I
+would camp that much nearer home if I made haste.
+
+My pack had been discarded on the Sound. I had neither coat nor blanket.
+I wore a heavy woolen shirt, a slouch hat, and worn shoes; both hat and
+shoes gave ample ventilation. Socks I had none; neither had I
+suspenders, an improvised belt taking their place. I was dressed for the
+race and was eager for the trial. At Olympia I had parted with my
+brother, who had returned to stay at the claims we had taken, while I
+was to go home for the wife and baby, to remove them to our new home.
+
+I did not particularly mind the camping, but I did not fancy the idea
+of lying out so near home if by extra exertion I could reach the cabin
+before night. There was no friendly ox to snug up to for warmth, as in
+so many of the bivouacs on the plains; but I had matches, and there were
+many mossy places for a bed under the friendly shelter of drooping
+cedars. We never thought of catching cold from lying on the ground or on
+cedar boughs, or from getting a good drenching.
+
+After all, the cabin could not be reached, as the trail could not be
+followed at night. Slackening pace at nightfall to cool my system
+gradually, I finally made my camp and slept as soundly as if on a bed of
+down. My consolation was that the night was short and I could see to
+travel by three o'clock.
+
+I do not look upon those years of camp and cabin life as years of
+hardship. To be sure, our food was plain as well as our dress; our hours
+of labor were long and the labor itself was frequently severe; the
+pioneers appeared rough and uncouth. Yet underlying all this there ran a
+vein of good cheer, of hopefulness. We never watched for the sun to go
+down, or for the seven o'clock whistle, or for the boss to quicken our
+steps. The days were always too short, and interest in our work was
+always unabated.
+
+The cabin could not be seen until the trail came quite near it. When I
+caught sight of a curl of smoke I knew I was almost there. Then I saw
+the cabin and a little lady in almost bloomer dress milking the cow. She
+never finished milking that cow, nor did she ever milk any cow when her
+husband was at home.
+
+There were so many things to talk about that we could scarcely tell
+where to begin or when to stop. Much of the conversation naturally
+centered on the question of our moving to a new home.
+
+"Why, at Olympia, eggs were a dollar a dozen. I saw them selling at
+that. The butter you have there would bring you a dollar a pound as fast
+as you could weigh it out. I saw stuff they called butter sell for that.
+Potatoes are selling for three dollars a bushel and onions at four.
+Everything the farmer raises sells high."
+
+"Who buys?"
+
+"Oh, almost everybody has to buy. There are ships and timber camps and
+the hotels, and--"
+
+"Where do they get the money?"
+
+"Everybody seems to have money. Some take it there with them. Men
+working in the timber camps get four dollars a day and their board. At
+one place they paid four dollars a cord for wood to ship to San
+Francisco, and a man can sell all the shingles he can make at four
+dollars a thousand. I was offered five cents a foot for piles. If we had
+Buck and Dandy over there we could make twenty dollars a day putting in
+piles."
+
+"Where could you get the piles?"
+
+"Off the government land, of course. All help themselves to what they
+want. Then there are the fish and the clams and oysters, and--"
+
+"But what about the land for the claim?"
+
+That question was a stumper. The little wife never lost sight of that
+bargain made before we were married. Now I found myself praising a
+country for the agricultural qualities of which I could not say much.
+But if we could sell produce higher, might we not well lower our
+standard of an ideal farm? The claim I had taken was described with a
+touch of apology, in quality falling so far below what we had hoped to
+acquire. However, we decided to move, and began to prepare for the
+journey.
+
+The wife, baby, bedding, ox yoke, and log chain were sent up the Cowlitz
+in a canoe. Buck and Dandy and I took the trail. On this occasion I was
+ill prepared for a cool night camp, having neither blanket nor coat. I
+had expected to reach Hard Bread's Hotel, where the people in the canoe
+would stop overnight. But I could not make it, so again I lay out on the
+trail. "Hard Bread's," an odd name for a hotel, was so called because
+the old widower that kept the place fed his patrons on hardtack three
+times a day.
+
+I found that my wife had not fared any better than I had on the trail,
+and in fact not so well. The floor of the cabin--that is, the hotel--was
+a great deal harder than the sand spit where I had passed the night. I
+had plenty of pure, fresh air, while she, in a closed cabin and in the
+same room with many others, had neither fresh air nor freedom from
+creeping things that make life miserable. With her shoes for a pillow, a
+shawl for covering, small wonder that she reported, "I did not sleep a
+wink last night."
+
+We soon arrived at the Cowlitz landing, the end of the canoe journey.
+Striking the tent that had served us so well on the Plains and making a
+cheerful camp fire, we speedily forgot the hard experiences of the
+trail.
+
+Fifty miles more of travel lay before us. And such a road! However, we
+had one consolation,--it would be worse in winter than at that time.
+
+Our wagon had been left at The Dalles and we had never seen or heard of
+it again. Our cows were gone--given for provender to save the lives of
+the oxen during the deep December snow. So when we took account of
+stock, we had the baby, Buck and Dandy, a tent, an ox yoke and chain,
+enough clothing and bedding to keep us comfortable, a very little food,
+and no money. The money had all been expended on the canoe passage.
+
+Should we pack the oxen and walk, and carry the baby, or should we build
+a sled and drag our things over to the Sound, or should I make an effort
+to get a wagon? This last proposition was the most attractive, and so
+next morning, driving my oxen before me and leaving wife and baby to
+take care of the camp, I began the search for a wagon.
+
+That great-hearted pioneer, John R. Jackson, did not hesitate a moment,
+stranger though I was, to say, "Yes, you can have two if you need them."
+
+Jackson had settled there eight years before, ten miles out from the
+landing, and now had an abundance around him. Like all the earlier
+pioneers, he took a pride in helping others who came later. He would not
+listen to our proceeding any farther before the next day. He insisted on
+entertaining us in his comfortable cabin, and sent us on our way in the
+morning, rejoicing in plenty.
+
+Without special incident we in due time arrived at the falls of the
+Deschutes (Tumwater) and on the shore of Puget Sound. Here a camp must
+be established again. The wife and baby were left there while I drove
+the wagon back over the tedious road to Jackson's and then returned with
+the oxen to tidewater.
+
+[Illustration: A cat-and-clay chimney, made of small split sticks
+embedded in layers of clay mortar.]
+
+My feelings may well be imagined when, upon returning, I found wife,
+baby, and tent all gone. I knew that smallpox was raging among the
+Indians, and that a camp where it was prevalent was less than a quarter
+of a mile away. The dread disease had terrors then that it does not now
+possess. Could it be possible my folks had been taken sick and had been
+removed?
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The question was soon solved. It appeared that I had scarcely got out of
+sight on my trip back with the oxen before one of those royal pioneer
+matrons had come to the camp. She pleaded and insisted, and finally
+almost frightened the little wife into going with her and sharing her
+house, which was near by, but out of danger from the smallpox. God bless
+those earlier pioneers! They were all good to us, sometimes to the point
+of embarrassment, in their generous hospitality.
+
+Oliver was to have had the cabin ready by the time I returned. He not
+only had not done that, but had taken the boat and had left no sign to
+tell us where either brother or boat could be found. Not knowing what
+else to do, I paddled over to the town of Steilacoom. There I found out
+where the boat and the provisions had been left, and after an earnest
+parley succeeded in getting possession. With my canoe in tow I soon made
+my way back to where my little flock was, and speedily transferred all
+to the spot that was to be our island dwelling. We set up our tent, and
+felt at home once more.
+
+[Illustration: Crows breaking clams by dropping them on boulders.]
+
+Steilacoom, three miles across the bay, had grown during my absence, and
+in the distance it looked like a city in fact as well as in name. Mt.
+Rainier looked bigger and taller than ever. Even the songs of the
+Indians sounded better; the canoes looked more graceful, and the paddles
+seemed to be wielded more expertly. Everything looked cheerful;
+everything interested us, especially the crows, with their trick of
+breaking clams by rising in the air and dropping them on the boulders.
+There were so many new things to observe that for a time we almost
+forgot that we were nearly out of provisions and money and did not know
+what had happened to Oliver.
+
+Next morning Oliver returned to the village. Finding that the boat and
+provisions had been taken and seeing smoke in the bight, he surmised
+what had happened and came paddling across to the tent. He had received
+a tempting offer to help load a ship and had just completed his
+contract. As a result of this work, he was able to exhibit a slug of
+California gold and other money that looked precious indeed in our eyes.
+
+The building of our second cabin with its stone fireplace, cat-and-clay
+chimney, lumber floor, real window with glass in it, together with the
+high-post bedstead made out of tapering cedar saplings, the table
+fastened to the wall, the rustic chairs, seemed but like a play spell.
+No eight-hour day there--eighteen would be nearer the mark; we never
+tired.
+
+It was in this same year, 1853, that Congress cut off from Oregon the
+region that now comprises the state of Washington and all of Idaho north
+of the Snake River. The new district was called Washington Territory, so
+we who had moved out to the Oregon Country found ourselves living in
+Washington.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Bobby carried me safely over the sixty crossings and
+more.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN
+
+MESSAGES AND MESSENGERS
+
+
+AT last we were really settled and could begin the business for which we
+had come West; henceforth the quiet life of the farmer was to be ours,
+we thought. But again we had not reckoned with the unexpected.
+
+While we were working on our new cabin, we received a letter from
+father, saying: "Boys, if Oliver will come back to cross with us, we
+will go to Oregon next year." The letter was nearly three months old
+when we received it.
+
+Our answer was immediate: "Oliver will be with you next spring."
+
+Then came the question of money. Would Davenport, who had bought the
+Columbia River claims, pay in the fall? Could he? We decided that we
+must go to the timber camp to earn the money to pay the expenses of
+Oliver's journey, that we must not depend altogether on the Columbia
+River asset.
+
+"What shall we do with the things?" asked my wife.
+
+"Lock them up in the cabin," suggested Oliver.
+
+"And you go and stay with the Dofflemires," I added.
+
+"Not I," she returned. "I'm going along to cook."
+
+All our well-laid plans were thus suddenly changed. Our clearing of the
+land was deferred; the chicken house, the inmates of which were to make
+us rich, was not built; the pigs were not bought to fatten on the clams,
+and many other pet schemes were dropped that Oliver might go back East
+to bring father and mother across the Plains.
+
+We struck awkward but rapid and heavy strokes in the timber camp
+established on the bluff overlooking the falls at Tumwater. The little
+cook supplied the huckleberry pudding for dinner, with plenty of the
+lightest, whitest bread, and vegetables, meat, and fish served in style
+good enough for kings. Such appetites! No coaxing was required to get us
+to eat a hearty meal. Such sound sleep, such satisfaction! Talk about
+hardships--it was all pleasure as we counted the eleven dollars a day
+that the Tullis brothers paid us for cutting logs, at one dollar and
+seventy cents a thousand. We earned this every day. Yes, we should be
+able to make money enough together to pay Oliver's passage to Iowa.
+
+It was to be a long journey--over to the Columbia River, out from there
+by steamer to San Francisco, then to the Isthmus, then to New York.
+After that, by rail as far west as there was a railroad, then on foot to
+Eddyville, Iowa, where the start was again to be made. It would take
+Oliver two months to reach Eddyville, and then at least seven more to
+lead the newcomers over the trail from Iowa to Puget Sound.
+
+Oliver was soon speeding on his way, and again my wife and I were left
+without money and with but a scant supply of provisions. How we made out
+through the winter I can hardly remember, but we managed somehow and
+kept well and happy. Soon after Oliver's departure our second baby was
+born.
+
+In the latter part of August, 1854, eight months after Oliver had left
+us, James K. Hurd, of Olympia, sent me word that he had been out on the
+immigrant trail and had heard that some of my relatives were on the
+road, but that they were belated and short of provisions. He advised me
+to go to their assistance, to make sure of their coming directly over
+the Cascade Mountains, and not down the Columbia River.
+
+How my people, with Oliver's experience to guide them, should be in the
+condition described, was past my comprehension. However, I accepted the
+statement as true. I felt the particular importance of their having
+certain knowledge as to prevailing conditions of an over-mountain trip
+through the Natchess Pass. The immigrants of the previous year had
+encountered formidable difficulties in the mountains, narrowly escaping
+the loss of everything, if not facing actual starvation. I could not
+help feeling that possibly the same conditions still prevailed. The only
+way to determine the question was to go and see for myself, to meet my
+father's party and pilot them through the pass.
+
+[Illustration: We struck awkward but rapid and heavy strokes.]
+
+But how could I go and leave wife and two babies on our island home?
+The summer had been spent in clearing land and planting crops, and my
+money was very low. To remove my family would cost something in cash,
+besides the abandonment of the season's work to almost certain
+destruction. Without a moment's hesitation my wife said to go; she and
+Mrs. Darrow, who was with us as nurse and companion, would stay right
+where they were until I got back.
+
+I was not so confident of the outcome as she. At best the trip was
+hazardous, even when undertaken well-prepared and with company. As far
+as I could see, I might have to go on foot and pack my food and blanket
+on my back. I knew that I should have to go alone. Some work had been
+done on the road during the summer, but I was unable to learn definitely
+whether any camps were yet in the mountains.
+
+At Steilacoom there was a certain character, a doctor, then understood
+by few, and I may say not by many even to the end. Yet, somehow, I had
+implicit confidence in him, though between him and me there would seem
+to have been a gulf that could not be closed. Our habits of life were
+diametrically opposite. I would never touch a drop, while the doctor was
+always drinking--never sober, neither ever drunk.
+
+It was to this man that I entrusted the safe keeping of my little
+family. I knew my wife had such an aversion to people of his kind that I
+did not even tell her with whom I would arrange to look out for her
+welfare, but suggested another person to whom she might apply in case of
+need.
+
+When I spoke to the doctor about what I wanted, he seemed pleased to be
+able to do a kind act. To reassure me, he got out his field glasses and
+turned them on the cabin across the water, three miles distant. Looking
+through them intently for a moment he said, "I can see everything going
+on over there. You need have no uneasiness about your folks while you
+are gone."
+
+And I did not need to have any concern. Twice a week during all the time
+I was away an Indian woman visited the cabin on the island, always with
+some little presents. She would ask about the babies and whether there
+was anything needed. Then with the parting "_Alki nika keelapie_,"[8]
+she would leave.
+
+With a fifty-pound flour sack filled with hard bread, or navy biscuit, a
+small piece of dried venison, a couple of pounds of cheese, a tin cup,
+and half of a three-point blanket, all made into a pack of less than
+forty pounds, I climbed the hill at Steilacoom and took the road leading
+to Puyallup. The first night was spent with Jonathan McCarty, whose
+cabin was near where the town of Sumner now stands.
+
+McCarty said: "You can't cross the streams on foot; I'll let you have a
+pony. He's small, but sure-footed and hardy, and he'll carry you across
+the rivers anyhow." McCarty also said: "Tell your folks this is the
+greatest grass country on earth. Why, I am sure I harvested five tons of
+timothy to the acre this year."
+
+[Illustration: Twice a week the Indian woman visited the cabin.]
+
+The next day found me on the road with my blanket under the saddle, my
+sack of hard bread strapped on behind. I was mounted to ride on level
+stretches of the road, or across streams, of which I had fully sixty
+crossings to make.
+
+White River on the upper reaches is a roaring torrent; the rush of
+waters can be heard for a mile or more from the high bluff overlooking
+the narrow valley. The river is not fordable except in low water, and
+then in but few places. The river bed is full of stones worn rounded and
+smooth and slippery, from the size of a man's head to large boulders,
+thus making footing for animals uncertain. After my first experience, I
+dreaded the crossings to come more than all else on the trip, for a
+misstep of the pony's might be fatal.
+
+The little fellow, Bobby, seemed to be equal to the occasion. If the
+footing became too uncertain, he would stop stock still and pound the
+water with one foot, then reach out carefully until he could find secure
+footing, and finally move up a step or two. The water of the river is so
+charged with sediment that the bottom cannot be seen; hence the
+necessity of feeling the way. I soon learned that my pony could be
+trusted on the fords better than I. Thereafter I held only a supporting,
+not a guiding, rein and he carried me safely over all the crossings on
+my way out.
+
+Allan Porter lived near the first crossing. As he was the last settler I
+should see and his the last place where I could get feed for my pony,
+other than grass or browse, I put up for the night under his roof.
+
+He said I was going on a "Tom Fool's errand," for my folks could take
+care of themselves, and he tried to dissuade me from proceeding on my
+journey. But I would not be turned back. The following morning I cut
+loose from the settlements and plunged into the deep forest of the
+mountains.
+
+The road, if it could be called a road, lay in the narrow valley of
+White River or on the mountains adjacent. In some places, as at Mud
+Mountain, it reached more than a thousand feet above the river bed.
+There were stretches where the forest was so dense that one could
+scarcely see to read at midday, while elsewhere large burned areas gave
+an opening for daylight.
+
+During the forenoon of this day, in one of those deepest of deep
+forests, Bobby stopped short, his ears pricked up. Just then I caught an
+indistinct sight of a movement ahead, and thought I heard voices; the
+pony made an effort to turn and bolt in the opposite direction. Soon
+there appeared three women and eight children on foot, coming down the
+road in complete ignorance of the presence of any one but themselves in
+the forest.
+
+"Why, stranger! Where on earth did you come from? Where are you going,
+and what are you here for?" asked the foremost woman of the party.
+
+Mutual explanations followed. I learned that their teams had become
+exhausted and all the wagons but one had been abandoned, and that this
+one was on the road a few miles behind. They were entirely out of
+provisions and had had nothing to eat for twenty hours except what
+natural food they had gathered, and that was not much. They eagerly
+inquired the distance to food, which I thought they might possibly reach
+that night. Meanwhile I had opened my sack of hard bread and had given
+each a cracker, at the eating of which the sound resembled pigs cracking
+dry, hard corn.
+
+Neither they nor I had time to parley long. The women with their
+children, barefoot and ragged, bareheaded and unkempt, started down the
+mountain, intent on reaching food, while I went up the road wondering
+how often this scene was to be repeated as I advanced on my journey.
+
+[Illustration: _Edward S. Curtis_
+
+White River in the upper reaches is a roaring torrent.]
+
+A dozen biscuits of bread is usually a very small matter, but with me it
+might mean a great deal. How far should I have to go? When could I find
+out? What would be the plight of my people when found? Or should I find
+them at all? Might they not pass by and be on the way down the Columbia
+River before I could reach the main immigrant trail? These and kindred
+questions weighed on my mind as I slowly ascended the mountain.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[8] By and by I will return.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The boy led his mother across the log.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN
+
+BLAZING THE WAY THROUGH NATCHESS PASS
+
+
+THE Natchess Pass Trail, along which I must make my way, had been blazed
+by a party of intrepid pioneers during the summer of 1853. Fifteen
+thousand dollars had been appropriated by Congress to be expended for a
+military road through the pass. I saw some of the work, but do not
+remember seeing any of the men who were improving the road.
+
+I stuck close to the old trail, making my first camp alone, just west of
+the summit. I had reached an altitude where the night chill was keenly
+felt, and with only my light blanket missed the friendly contact of the
+faithful ox that had served me so well on the Plains. My pony had
+nothing but browse for supper, and he was restless. Nevertheless I slept
+soundly and was up early, refreshed and ready to resume the journey.
+
+Such a road as I found is difficult to imagine. How the pioneer
+trail-blazers had made their way through it is a marvel. It seemed
+incredible that forests so tall and so dense could have existed
+anywhere on earth. Curiously enough, the heavier the standing timber,
+the easier it had been to slip through with wagons, there being but
+little undecayed timber or down timber. In the ancient days, however,
+great giants had been uprooted, lifting considerable earth with the
+upturned roots. As time went on the roots decayed, making mounds two,
+three, or four feet high and leaving a corresponding hollow into which
+one would plunge; for the whole was covered by a dense, short evergreen
+growth that completely hid from view the unevenness of the ground. Over
+these hillocks and hollows and over great roots on top of the ground,
+they had rolled their wagons.
+
+All sorts of devices had been tried to overcome obstructions. In many
+places, where the roots were not too large, cuts had been taken out. In
+other places the large timber had been bridged by piling up smaller
+logs, rotten chunks, brush, or earth, so that the wheels of the wagon
+could be rolled over the body of the tree. Usually three notches would
+be cut on the top of the log, two for the wheels and one for the reach,
+or coupling pole, to pass through.
+
+In such places the oxen would be taken to the opposite side, and a chain
+or rope would be run to the end of the wagon tongue. One man drove, one
+or two guided the tongue, others helped at the wheels. In this way, with
+infinite labor and great care, the wagons would gradually be worked over
+all obstacles and down the mountain in the direction of the settlements.
+
+But the more numerous the difficulties, the more determined I became to
+push through at all hazards, for the greater was the necessity of
+acquainting myself with the obstacles to be encountered and of reaching
+my friends to encourage and help them.
+
+[Illustration: _Edward S. Curtis_
+
+In the heart of a Cascade forest.]
+
+Before me lay the summit of the great range, the pass, at five thousand
+feet above sea level. At this summit, about twenty miles north of Mt.
+Rainier in the Cascade range, is a small stretch of picturesque open
+country known as Summit Prairie, in the Natchess Pass.
+
+In this prairie, during the autumn of 1853, a camp of immigrants had
+encountered grave difficulties. A short way out from the camp, a steep
+mountain declivity lay squarely across their track. One of the women of
+the party exclaimed, when she first saw it, "Have we come to the
+jumping-off place at last?" It was no exclamation for effect, but a
+fervent prayer for deliverance. They could not go back; they must either
+go ahead or starve in the mountains.
+
+Stout hearts in the party were not to be deterred from making the effort
+to proceed. Go around this hill they could not. Go down it with logs
+trailed to the wagons, as they had done at other places, they dared not,
+for the hill was so steep the logs would go end over end and would be a
+danger instead of a help. The rope they had was run down the hill and
+turned out to be too short to reach the bottom.
+
+James Biles, one of the leaders, commanded, "Kill a steer." They killed
+a steer, cut his hide into strips, and spliced the strips to the rope.
+It was found to be still too short to reach to the bottom.
+
+The order went out: "Kill two more steers!" And two more steers were
+killed, their hides cut into strips and the strips spliced to the rope,
+which then reached to the bottom of the hill.
+
+By the aid of that rope and the strips of the hides of those three
+steers, twenty-nine wagons were lowered down the mountain side to the
+bottom of the steep hill. Only one broke away; it crashed down the
+mountain and was smashed into splinters.
+
+The feat of bringing that train of wagons in, with the loss of only one
+out of twenty-nine, is the greatest I ever knew or heard of in the way
+of pioneer travel.
+
+[Illustration: By the aid of one short rope and the strips of the hides
+of three steers, twenty-nine wagons were lowered down the mountain
+side.]
+
+Nor were the trials ended when the wagons had been brought down to the
+bottom of that hill. With snail-like movements, the cattle and men
+becoming weaker and weaker, the train crept along, making less progress
+each day, until finally it seemed that the oxen could do no more. It
+became necessary to send them forward on the trail ten miles, to a place
+where it was known that plenty of grass could be had. Meanwhile the work
+on the road continued until the third day, when the last particle of
+food was gone. Then the teams were brought back, the trip over the whole
+ten miles was made, and Connell's Prairie was reached at dark.
+
+In the struggle over that ten miles the women and children had largely
+to take care of themselves while the men tugged at the wagons. One
+mother and her children, a ten-year old boy, a child of four years, and
+a babe of eight months, in some way were passed by the wagons. These
+four were left on the right bank of the river when the others had
+crossed.
+
+A large fallen tree reached across the river, but the top on the farther
+side lay so close to the water that a constant trembling and swaying
+made it a dangerous bridge to cross on. None of the four had eaten
+anything since the day before, and but a scant supply then; but the boy
+resolutely shouldered the four-year-old child and deposited him safely
+on the other side. Then came the little tot, the baby, to be carried
+across in his arms. Last came the mother.
+
+"I can't go!" she exclaimed. "It makes me so dizzy!"
+
+"Put one hand over your eyes, mother, and take hold of me with the
+other," said the boy. They began to move out sidewise on the log, half a
+step at a time.
+
+"Hold steady, mother; we are nearly over."
+
+"Oh, I am gone!" she cried, as she lost her balance and fell into the
+river. Happily, they were so near the farther bank that the little boy
+was able to catch with one hand a branch that hung over the bank while
+he held on to his mother with the other hand, and so she was saved.
+
+It was then nearly dark, and without knowing how far it was to camp, the
+little party started on the road, tarrying on the bank of the river only
+long enough for the mother to wring the water out of her skirts. The boy
+carried the baby, while the four-year-old child walked beside his
+mother. After nearly two miles of travel and the ascent of a very steep
+hill, they caught the glimmer of camp lights; the mother fell senseless,
+utterly prostrated.
+
+The boy hurried his two little brothers into camp, calling for help to
+rescue his mother. The appeal was promptly responded to; she was carried
+into camp and tenderly cared for until she revived.
+
+There were one hundred and twenty-eight people in that train. Among
+them, as a boy, was George Himes, who for many years has been Secretary
+of the Oregon Historical Society. To him we are indebted for most of
+this story of pioneer heroism.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Bobby and I went up the mountain in a zig-zag course.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN
+
+CLIMBING THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS
+
+
+UP through the Natchess Pass Bobby and I took our lonely way, to reach
+and bring over this same difficult trail the party in which were my
+parents and my brothers and sisters.
+
+From the first chill night, following the sweat due to the climb of the
+day before, my muscles were a bit stiffened; but I was ready for the
+climb to the summit. Bobby was of a different mind. As I have said, he
+had been restless during the night. I had just strapped the roll of
+blankets and hard bread securely behind the saddle, when he suddenly
+turned his face homeward and trotted off gaily, down the mountain.
+
+I could do nothing but follow him. The narrow cut of the road and
+impenetrable obstructions on either side prevented my heading off his
+rascally maneuvers. Finally, on finding a nip of grass by the roadside,
+he slackened his gait, and after several futile attempts I managed to
+get a firm hold of his tail. After this we went down the mountain
+together, much more rapidly than we had come up the evening before.
+
+Bobby forgot to use his heels, else he might for a longer time have been
+master of the situation. The fact was he did not want to hurt me, but
+was determined to go no farther into mountains where he could not get a
+supper. The contest was finally settled in my favor when I managed to
+catch hold of the rein. Did I chastise him? Not a bit. I did not blame
+him; we were partners, but it was a one-sided partnership, as he had no
+interest in the enterprise other than to get enough to eat as we went
+along, and when he saw no prospect of food, he rebelled.
+
+We were soon past our camping ground of the night before, and on our way
+up the mountain. Bobby would not be led; if I tried to lead him, he
+would hold back for a while, then, making a rush up the steep ascent, he
+would be on my heels or toes before I could get out of the way. I would
+seize his tail with a firm grasp and follow. When he moved rapidly, I
+was helped up the mountain. When he slackened his pace, then came the
+resting spell. The engineering instinct of the horse tells him how to
+reduce grades by angles, and Bobby led me up the mountains in zig-zag
+courses, I following always with the firm grasp of the tail that meant
+we would not part company, and we did not.
+
+By noon we had surmounted all obstacles and stood upon the summit
+prairie--one of them, for there are several. Here Bobby feasted to his
+heart's content, while for me it was the same old story--hardtack and
+cheese, with a small allotment of dried venison.
+
+To the south, apparently but a few miles distant, the old mountain,
+Rainier, loomed up into the clouds fully ten thousand feet higher than
+where I stood, a grand scene to behold, worthy of all the effort
+expended to reach this point. But I was not attuned to view with
+ecstasy the grandeur of what lay before me; rather I scanned the horizon
+to ascertain, if I could, what the morrow might bring forth.
+
+This mountain served the pioneer as a huge barometer to forecast the
+weather. "How is the mountain this morning?" the farmer asked in harvest
+time. "Has the mountain got his nightcap on?" the housewife inquired
+before her wash was hung on the line. The Indian would watch the
+mountain with intent to determine whether he might expect _snass_
+(rain), or _kull snass_ (hail), or _t'kope snass_ (snow), and seldom
+failed in his conclusions. So that day I scanned the mountain top,
+partially hid in the clouds, with forebodings verified at nightfall.
+
+A light snow came on just before night, which, with the high mountains
+on either side of the river, spread darkness rapidly. I was loath to
+camp. If I could safely have found my way, I would have traveled all
+night. The trail in places was very indistinct and the canyon was but a
+few hundred yards wide, with the tortuous river striking first one bluff
+and then the other, making numerous crossings necessary.
+
+Finally I saw that I must camp. I crossed the river to an opening where
+the bear tracks were so thick that the spot seemed a playground for all
+these animals roundabout. The black bears on the western slope were
+timid and not dangerous; but I did not know about this species of the
+eastern slope.
+
+I found two good-sized trees that had fallen obliquely across each
+other. With my pony tethered as a sentinel, and my fire as an advance
+post, I went to bed, nearly supperless. I felt lonesome; but I kept my
+fire burning all night, and I slept soundly.
+
+Early next morning found Bobby and me on the trail. We were a little
+chilled by the cold mountain air and very willing to travel. Towards
+nightfall I heard the welcome tinkling of a bell, and soon saw first the
+smoke of camp fires, and then a village of tents and grime-covered
+wagons. How I tugged at Bobby's halter to make him go faster and then
+mounted him, without getting much more speed, can better be imagined
+than told.
+
+[Illustration: A night camp in the mountains with a fire to keep off the
+bears.]
+
+Could it be the camp I was searching for? It had about the number of
+wagons and tents that I expected to meet. No; I was doomed to
+disappointment. Yet I rejoiced to find some one to camp with and talk to
+other than the pony.
+
+The greeting given me by those tired and almost discouraged travelers
+could not have been more cordial had they been my relatives. They had
+been toiling for nearly five months on the road across the Plains, and
+now there loomed up before them this great mountain range to cross.
+Could they do it? If they could not get over with their wagons, could
+they get the women and children through safely? I was able to lift a
+load of doubt and fear from their jaded minds.
+
+Before I knew what was happening, I caught the fragrance of boiling
+coffee and fresh meat cooking. The good matrons knew without telling
+that I was hungry and had set to work to prepare me a meal, a sumptuous
+meal at that, taking into account the whetted appetite incident to a
+diet of hard bread straight, and not much of that either, for two days.
+
+We had met on the Yakima River, at the place where the old trail crosses
+that river near the site of the present flourishing city of North
+Yakima.
+
+[Illustration: Mountain wolves.]
+
+In this party were some of the people who next year lost their lives in
+the White River massacre. They were Harvey H. Jones, his wife, and three
+children, and George E. King, his wife, and one child. One of the little
+boys of the camp, John I. King, lived to write a graphic account of the
+tragedy in which his mother and stepfather and their neighbors lost
+their lives. Another boy, a five-year-old child, was taken off, and
+after being held captive for nearly four months was then safely
+delivered over by the Indians to the military authorities at Fort
+Steilacoom.
+
+I never think of those people but with sadness. Their struggle,
+doubtless the supreme effort of their lives, was only to go to their
+death. I had pointed out to them where to go to get good claims, and
+they had lost no time, but had gone straight to the locality recommended
+and had set immediately to work preparing shelter for the winter.
+
+"Are you going out on those plains alone?" Mrs. Jones asked me
+anxiously.
+
+When I told her that I would have the pony with me, she insisted, "Well,
+I don't think it is safe."
+
+Mr. Jones explained that his wife was thinking of the danger from the
+ravenous wolves that infested the open country. The party had lost
+weakened stock from their forages right close to the camp. He advised me
+not to camp near the watering places, but to go up on the high ridge. I
+followed his advice with the result, as we shall see, of missing my road
+and losing considerable time, which meant not a little trouble and
+anxiety.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: To dig under was the only way to pass the obstruction.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
+
+FINDING MY PEOPLE
+
+
+ON leaving my newly found friends I faced a discouraging prospect. The
+start for the high, arid table-lands bordering the Yakima valley cut me
+loose from all communication. No more immigrants were met until I
+reached the main-traveled route beyond the Columbia River.
+
+The road lay through a forbidding sage plain, or rather an undulating
+country, covered by shifting sands and dead grass of comparatively scant
+growth. As the sun rose, the heat became intolerable. The dust, in
+places, brought vivid memories of the trip across the Plains.
+
+Strive against it as I might, my eyes would strain at the horizon to
+catch a glimpse of the expected train. Then an intolerable thirst seized
+upon me and compelled me to leave the road and descend into the valley
+for water.
+
+I dared not linger off the trail and take chances of missing the
+expected train. So I went through another stretch of travel, of heat,
+and of thirst, that lasted until during the afternoon, when I found
+water on the trail. Tethering my pony for his much-needed dinner, I
+opened my sack of hard bread to count the contents; my store was half
+gone. I lay down in the shade of a small tree near the spring to take an
+afternoon nap. Rousing before sundown, refreshed, Bobby and I took the
+trail with new courage.
+
+When night came, I could not find it in my heart to camp. The cool of
+the evening invigorated the pony, and we pushed on. Finding that the
+road could be followed, though but dimly seen, I kept on the trail until
+a late hour, when I unsaddled and hobbled the pony. The saddle blanket
+was brought into use, and I was soon off in dreamland forgetting all
+about the dust, the trail, or the morrow.
+
+In the morning I awoke to find that the pony had wandered far off on the
+hillside, so far, in fact, that it required close scanning to discover
+him. To make matters worse, his hobbles had become loosened, giving him
+free use of all his feet, and he was in no mood to take the trail again.
+Coaxing was of no avail, driving would do no good. Taking an opportunity
+to seize his tail, I followed him around about over the plain and
+through the sage brush at a rapid gait; finally he slackened pace and I
+again became master.
+
+[Illustration: Hobbling the pony.]
+
+For the life of me I could not be sure of the direction of the trail
+after all this roaming over the plain at Bobby's heels, but I happened
+to take the right course. When the trail was found, there was the saddle
+to look for, and this was located with some difficulty.
+
+The sun was high when we started on our journey. A few hundred yards of
+travel brought uneasiness, as it was evident that we were not on the
+regular trail. Not knowing but this was some cut-off, I went on until
+the Columbia River bluff was reached and the great river was in sight,
+half a mile distant and several hundred feet lower. Taking a trail down
+the bluff that seemed more promising than the wagon tracks, I began to
+search for the road at the foot of the bluff, only to find every
+semblance of a road gone. I lost more than a half-day's precious time,
+and again was thrown into anxiety lest I had missed the long-sought
+train.
+
+The next incident that I remember vividly was my attempt to cross the
+Columbia, just below the mouth of the Snake River. I had seen but few
+Indians on the whole trip and, in fact, the camp I found there on the
+bank of the great river was the first I distinctly remember coming upon.
+I could not induce the Indians to cross me over; they seemed surly and
+unfriendly. Their behavior was so in contrast to that of the Indians on
+the Sound that I could not help wondering what it meant. No one, to my
+knowledge, lost his life at the hands of the Indians that season, but
+the next summer all or nearly all the travelers who ventured into that
+country unprotected were murdered.
+
+That night I camped late, opposite Wallula (old Fort Walla Walla), in a
+sand storm of great fury. I tethered my pony this time, and rolled
+myself up in the blanket, only to find myself fairly buried in the
+drifting sand in the morning. It required a great effort to creep out of
+the blanket, and an even greater effort to free the blanket from the
+accumulated sand. By this time the wind had gone down and comparative
+calm prevailed.
+
+[Illustration: I spent two hours calling across the river at the top of
+my voice.]
+
+Then came the attempt to make myself heard across the wide river by the
+people of the fort. I traveled up and down the river bank for half a
+mile or so, in the hope of catching a favorable breeze to carry my voice
+to the fort, yet all to no avail. I sat upon the bank hopelessly
+discouraged, not knowing what to do. I must have been two hours
+hallooing at the top of my voice, until I was hoarse from the violent
+effort.
+
+Finally, while sitting there wondering what to do, I spied a blue smoke
+arising from a cabin on the other side. Soon after I saw a man; he
+immediately responded to my renewed efforts to attract attention. The
+trouble had been that the people were all asleep, while I was there in
+the early morning expending my breath for nothing.
+
+The man was Shirley Ensign, of Olympia, who had established a ferry
+across the Columbia River and had lingered to set over belated
+immigrants, if any should come along. He came across the river and gave
+me glad tidings. He had been out on the trail fifty miles or more and
+had met my people. They were camped some thirty miles away, he thought,
+and they would reach the ferry on the following day.
+
+But I could not wait there for them. Procuring a fresh horse, I started
+out in a cheerful mood, determined to reach camp that night if I could
+possibly do so. Sundown came, and there were no signs of camp. Dusk came
+on, and still no signs. Then I spied some cattle grazing on the upland,
+and soon came upon the camp in a ravine that had shut it from view.
+
+Rejoicing and outbursts of grief followed. I inquired for my mother the
+first thing. She was not there. Months before she had been buried in the
+sands of the Platte valley. My younger brother also lay buried on the
+Plains, near Independence Rock. The scene that followed is of too sacred
+memory to write about.
+
+When we came to consider how the party should proceed, I advised the
+over-mountain trip. But I cautioned them to expect some snow and much
+hard work.
+
+"How long will it take?" they asked.
+
+"About three weeks."
+
+This brought disappointment; they had thought they were about through
+with the journey.
+
+"You came to stay with us, didn't you?"
+
+"I want to; but what about my wife and the two babies, at the island?"
+
+Father said some one must go and look after them. So Oliver was sent
+ahead, while I was to take his place and help the immigrants through the
+Natchess Pass.
+
+In our train were fifty or more head of stock, seven wagons, and
+seventeen people. We made the trip across the divide in twenty-two days
+without serious mishap or loss. This was good time, considering the
+difficulties that beset our way at every step. Every man literally "put
+his shoulder to the wheel." We were compelled often to take hold of the
+wheels to boost the wagons over the logs or to ease them down steep
+places. Our force was divided into three groups,--one man to each wagon
+to drive; four to act as wheelmen; father and the women, on foot or
+horseback, to drive the stock. God bless the women folks of the Plains!
+Nobler, braver, more uncomplaining souls were never known. I have often
+thought that some one ought to write a just tribute to their valor and
+patience, a book of their heroic deeds.
+
+One day we encountered a newly fallen tree, cocked up on its own
+upturned roots, four feet from the ground. Go around it we could not; to
+cut it out with our dulled, flimsy saw seemed an endless task.
+
+"Dig down, boys," said father, and in short order every available shovel
+was out of the wagons. Very soon the way was open fully four feet deep,
+and oxen and wagons passed under the obstruction.
+
+Do you say that we endured great hardships? That depends upon the point
+of view. As to this return trip, I can truly say for myself that it was
+not one of hardship. I enjoyed overcoming the difficulties, and so did
+the greater number of the company. Many of them, it is true, were
+weakened by the long trip across the Plains; but better food was
+obtainable, and the goal was near at hand. It was a positive pleasure,
+therefore, to pass over the miles, one by one, assured that final
+success was a matter of only a very short time.
+
+When our little train at last emerged from the forests and came out
+into the Nisqually plains, it was almost as if we had come into a
+noonday sun from a dungeon, so marked was the contrast. Hundreds of
+cattle, sheep, and horses were quietly grazing, scattered over the
+landscape as far as one could see. The spirits of the tired party rose
+as they looked upon this scene, indicating a contentment and prosperity
+in which they might participate if they so desired.
+
+Our cabin, eighteen feet square, could not hold all the visitors.
+However, it was an easy matter to set up the three tents they had
+brought with them, and for several days we held a true reunion. Great
+was the feasting, with clam bakes, huckleberry pies and puddings,
+venison for meat, and fresh vegetables from our garden, at which the
+newcomers could not cease from marveling. The row of sweet peas that my
+wife had planted near the cabin helped to put heart into those
+travel-weary pioneers; where flowers could be planted, a home could be
+made.
+
+For a short time the little party halted to take breath and to look over
+the new country. This rest, however, could not last long. Preparations
+must be made without delay for shelter from the coming storms of winter;
+the stock must be cared for, and other beginnings made for a new life of
+independence.
+
+After surveying the situation, father said the island home would not do.
+He had come two thousand miles to live neighbors; I must give up my
+claim and take up another near his, on the mainland. Abandoning the
+results of more than a year's hard work, I acted upon his request, and
+across the bay we built our third cabin.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The night ride to the fort.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
+
+INDIAN WAR DAYS
+
+
+ONE of the saddest chapters in the early history of Washington Territory
+was the trouble with the Indians, which led finally to open war.
+
+On October 28, 1855, word came that all the settlers living on White
+River had been killed by the Indians and that the next day those in the
+Puyallup valley would be massacred. At the risk of his life a friendly
+Indian brought this news to us in the dead hours of the night.
+
+The massacre had occurred less than twenty miles from where we lived.
+For all we knew the Indians might be on us at any moment. There were
+three men of us, and each had a gun.
+
+The first thing we did was to harness and hitch the team to the wagon.
+Then we opened the gates to let the calves get to their mothers, turned
+the pigs loose, and opened the chicken-house door--all this without
+light. Then the drive for our lives began, the women and babies lying
+close to the bottom of the wagon, the men with guns ready for action.
+
+We reached Fort Steilacoom unmolested. But we could not in safety stop
+there. The place was really no fort at all, only an encampment, and it
+was already filled with refugees from the surrounding settlements. So we
+pushed on into the town and stayed there until a blockhouse was built.
+
+This building was about fifty feet wide and nearly a hundred feet long.
+It was bullet-proof, without windows, and two stories high. A heavy door
+swung at the front entrance to the lower story, while an inclined walk
+from higher ground in the rear enabled us to reach the upper story;
+inside, a ladder served the purpose of a stairway between the two
+stories.
+
+The blockhouse proved a haven of safety during the Indian trouble, not
+only to our own family but to many of our neighbors besides.
+Seventy-five such houses were built during these troublous times.
+Numbers of settlers did not go back to their homes for several years.
+
+The Indians finally came in force just across the Sound and defied the
+troops. They also prevented the soldiers from landing from the steamer
+sent against them. A few days later we heard the guns from Fort
+Nisqually, which, however, I have always thought was a false alarm. It
+was when a captive child was brought in that we began to feel the
+gravity of the situation.
+
+Yet many of our fears turned out to be baseless. For instance, one day
+Johnny Boatman, a little boy not quite four years old, was lost. His
+mother was almost crazed, for word went out that the Indians had stolen
+him. A day later the lad was found under a tree, asleep. He had simply
+wandered away.
+
+A perplexing feature of the whole affair came from the fact that there
+were two warring camps among the forces of both the Indians and the
+whites. Some of the Indians were friendly; we had ample proof of that
+fact. Some of the whites were against the harsh measures taken by those
+in charge. This dissension led to much unnecessary trouble and
+bloodshed.
+
+[Illustration: The blockhouse, a haven of safety.]
+
+The war was brought on by the fact that the Indians had been wronged.
+This seems certain. They had been robbed of their lands, by the treaties
+made in 1854, and there had been atrocious murders of Indians by
+irresponsible white men. The result was suffering and trouble for all of
+us.
+
+The war brought troops, many of whom were reckless men; the army then
+was not up to the standard of today. Besides, there came in the wake of
+the soldiers a trail of gamblers and other disreputable people to vex
+and perplex us. In the blockhouses could be seen bullet marks which we
+knew did not come from Indians.
+
+I remember a little drummer boy, known as Scotty, who used frequently to
+come over to our home. He was a bright little fellow, and the Colonel,
+finding it was agreeable to us, encouraged him to make these visits,
+perhaps to get him away a little from the rough life of the post. Scotty
+had been living with a soldier there who, as report had it, used to get
+drunk and beat his wife. When my wife asked Scotty one day if the
+soldier abused his wife, he replied, "Well, I can't say exactly that he
+abuses her. He only cuffs and kicks her around the house sometimes."
+Poor boy! he had seen so much rough living that he didn't know what
+abuse meant.
+
+Not all the soldiers were of this drunken cast, of course. Many brave
+and noble men were among the military forces. The Indians, naturally,
+did not discriminate between good and bad soldiers. They hated and
+fought the troops, while at the same time they would often protect the
+pioneers, with whom they had been generally friendly.
+
+I had lived in peace with these Indians and they had gained my
+confidence. As events subsequently showed, I held their friendship and
+confidence. At one time, during the war, a party of Indians held me
+harmless within their power. They had said they would not harm those who
+had advocated their cause at the time the treaties were made.
+
+[Illustration: The lost child.]
+
+Soon after the outbreak noted, I disregarded the earnest entreaties of
+many persons and went back to my stock and to the cabin to care for the
+abandoned dairy and young cattle.
+
+I did not believe the Indians would molest me, but took the precaution
+of having my rifle in a convenient place. I did not need to use it. When
+nightfall came I did withdraw from my cabin, not from fear of war
+parties, but of individual outlaws.
+
+The sole military experience of my life consisted in an expedition to
+the Puyallup valley with a company of seventeen settlers soon after the
+outbreak described. The settlers of Puyallup had left their homes the
+day after the massacre in such haste that they were almost destitute of
+clothing, bedding, and food, as well as shelter. A strong military force
+had penetrated the Indian country--the upper Puyallup valley and beyond.
+We knew of this, but did not know that the soldiers had retreated by
+another road, virtually driven out, the very day we went in armed with
+all sorts of guns and with scarcely any organization.
+
+We had gone into the Indian stronghold not to fight Indians, but to
+recover property. Nevertheless, there would have been hot work if we had
+been attacked. The settlers knew the country as well as did the Indians
+and were prepared to meet them on their own ground and in their own way.
+
+The Indians were in great force but a few miles distant. They had scouts
+on our tracks, but did not molest us. We visited every settler's cabin
+and secured the belongings not destroyed. On the sixth day we came away
+with great loads of "plunder." All the while we were in blissful
+ignorance that the troops had been withdrawn, and that no protection lay
+between us and the Indian forces.
+
+After this outbreak, Indians and settlers about our neighborhood lived
+in peace, on the whole. To anyone who treated them fairly, the Indians
+became loyal friends.
+
+Mowich Man, an Indian whom I was to know during many years, was one of
+our neighbors. He frequently passed our cabin with his canoe and
+people. He was a great hunter, a crack shot, and an all-round Indian of
+good parts. Many is the saddle of venison that he brought me in the
+course of years. Other pioneers likewise had special friends among the
+Indians.
+
+Some of Mowich Man's people were fine singers. His camp, or his canoe if
+he was traveling, was always the center for song and merriment. It is a
+curious fact that one seldom can get the Indian music by asking for it,
+but rather must wait for its spontaneous outburst. Indian songs in those
+days came from nearly every nook and corner and seemed to pervade the
+whole country. We often could hear the songs and accompanying stroke of
+the paddle long before we saw the floating canoes.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Carrying a dairy to the new mining town.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN
+
+THE STAMPEDE FOR THE GOLD DIGGINGS
+
+
+HARDLY had we got fairly over the Indian War when another wave of
+excitement broke up our pioneer plans again. On March 21, 1858, the
+schooner _Wild Pigeon_ arrived at Steilacoom with the news that the
+Indians had discovered gold on Fraser River, that they had traded
+several pounds of the precious metal with the Hudson's Bay Company, and
+that three hundred people had left Victoria and its vicinity for the new
+land of El Dorado. Furthermore, the report ran, the mines were
+exceedingly rich.
+
+The wave of excitement that went through the little settlement upon the
+receipt of this news was repeated in every town and hamlet of the whole
+Pacific Coast. It continued even around the world, summoning adventurous
+spirits from all civilized countries of the earth.
+
+Everybody, women folk and all, wanted to go, and would have started pell
+mell had there not been that restraining influence of the second
+thought, especially powerful with people who had just gone through the
+mill of adversity. My family was still in the blockhouse that we had
+built in the town of Steilacoom during the Indian War. Our cattle were
+peacefully grazing on the plains a few miles away.
+
+One of the local merchants, Samuel McCaw, bundled up a few goods, made a
+flying trip up Fraser River, and came back with fifty ounces of gold
+dust and the news that the mines were all that had been reported and
+more, too. This of course, added fuel to the flame. We all believed a
+new era had dawned upon us, similar to that of ten years before in
+California, which changed the world's history. High hopes were built,
+most of them to end in disappointment.
+
+Not but that there were extensive mines, and that they were rich, and
+that they were easily worked; how to get to them was the puzzling
+question. The early voyagers had slipped up the Fraser before the
+freshets came down from the melting snows to swell the torrents of that
+river. Those going later either failed altogether and gave up the
+unequal contest, or lost an average of one canoe or boat out of three in
+the persistent attempt. How many lives were lost never will be known.
+
+Contingents began to arrive in Steilacoom from Oregon, from California,
+and finally from "the States." Steamers great and small began to appear,
+with little cargo but with passenger lists that were said to be nothing
+compared to those of ships coming in less than a hundred miles to the
+north of us. These people landing in Whatcom in such great numbers must
+be fed, we agreed. If the multitude would not come to us to drink the
+milk of our cows and eat their butter, what better could we do than to
+take our cows to the place where we were told the multitude did not
+hesitate to pay a dollar a gallon for milk and any price one might ask
+for fresh butter!
+
+But how to get even to Whatcom was the rub. All space on the steamers
+was taken from week to week for freight and passengers, and no room was
+left for cattle. In fact, the run on provisions for the gold rush was so
+great that at one time we were almost threatened with famine. Finally
+our cattle, mostly cows, were loaded in an open scow and taken in tow
+alongside the steamer, the _Sea Bird_, I think it was.
+
+[Illustration: A "shaker" used to wash out gold.]
+
+All went well enough until we arrived off the head of Whidby Island.
+Here a choppy sea from a light wind began slopping over the scow and
+evidently would sink us despite our utmost efforts at bailing. When the
+captain would slow down the speed of his steamer, all was well; but the
+moment greater power was applied, over the gunwales would come the
+water.
+
+The dialogue that ensued between the captain and me was more emphatic
+than elegant. He dared not risk letting go of us, however, or of running
+us under, for fear of incurring the risk of heavy damages. I would not
+consent to be landed. So about the twentieth of June we were set adrift
+in Bellingham Bay and, tired and sleepy, landed on the beach.
+
+Our cows must have feed, they must be milked, the milk must be marketed.
+There was no rest for us during another thirty-six hours. In fact, there
+was but little sleep for anybody on that beach at the time. Several
+ocean steamers had just dumped three thousand people on the beach, and
+there was still a scramble to find a place to build a house or stretch
+a tent, or even to spread a blanket, for there were great numbers
+already there, landed by previous steamers. The staking of lots on the
+tide flats at night, when the tide was out, seemed to be a staple
+industry.
+
+A few days after my arrival four steamers came with an aggregate of more
+than two thousand passengers. Many of these, however, did not leave the
+steamer; they took passage either to their port of departure--San
+Francisco or Victoria--or to points on the Sound. The ebb tide had set
+in, and although many steamers came later and landed passengers, their
+return lists soon became large and the population began to diminish.
+
+Taking my little dory that we had with us on the scow, I rowed to the
+largest steamer lying at anchor. So many small boats surrounded the
+steamer that I could not get within a hundred feet of it. All sorts of
+craft filled the intervening space, from the smallest Indian canoe to
+large barges, the owner of each craft striving to secure customers.
+
+The great difficulty was to find a trail to the gold fields. This pass
+and that pass was tried without success. I saw sixty men with heavy
+packs on their backs start out in one company. Every one of these had to
+come back after floundering in the mountains for weeks. The Indians,
+among whom the spirit of war still smouldered, headed off some of the
+parties. The snows kept back others; and finally the British, watching
+their own interests, blocked the way through their land. As a result the
+boom burst, and people resought their old homes.
+
+It is doubtful if another stampede of such dimensions as that to the
+Fraser in 1858 ever occurred where the suffering was so great, the
+prizes so few, and the loss of life proportionately so great. Probably
+not one in ten that made the effort reached the mines, and of those who
+did the usual percentage drew the blanks inevitable in such stampedes.
+And yet the mines were immensely rich; many millions of dollars of gold
+came from the find in the lapse of years, and gold is still coming,
+though now more than sixty years have passed.
+
+While the losses of the people of the Puget Sound country were great,
+nevertheless good came out of the great stampede in the large accession
+of population that remained after the return tide was over. Many people
+had become stranded and could not leave the country, but went to work
+with a will to make a living there. Of these not a few are still honored
+citizens of the state that has been carved out of the territory of that
+day.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Carrie sees "a big cat" sharpening its claws.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY
+
+MAKING A PERMANENT HOME IN THE WILDS
+
+
+THE days that followed our venture in the gold field were more peaceful
+and prosperous. Soon after the Indian War we had moved to a new claim.
+We began now to realize to the full our dream of earlier days, to settle
+on a farm and build a home.
+
+Three neighbors were all we had, and the nearest lived nearly two miles
+away. Two of them kept bachelor's hall. The thick, high timber made it
+impossible for us to see any of our neighbors' houses. We could reach
+only one by a road; to the others we might go by a trail. Under such
+conditions we could not have a public school. This, however, did not
+keep us from having a school of our own.
+
+One day one of our farther-off neighbors, who lived more than four miles
+away, came to visit us. Naturally the children flocked around him to
+hear his stories in broad Scotch and to ply him with questions. In his
+turn, he began to ask them questions. One of these was, "When do you
+expect to go to school?"
+
+"Oh, we have school now," responded the children. "We have school every
+day."
+
+"And pray, who is your teacher, and where is your schoolhouse?"
+
+"Father teaches us at home every morning before breakfast. He hears the
+lessons then, and mother helps us too."
+
+"Your father told me a while ago that you had your breakfast at six
+o'clock. What time do you get up?"
+
+"Why, father sets the clock for half-past four, and that gives us an
+hour while mother gets breakfast, you know."
+
+Boys and girls of today may pity those poor pioneer children who had to
+get up so early. They may as well dismiss such feelings from their
+hearts. The children were cheerful and healthy; they did some work
+during the day in addition to studying their lessons; and besides they
+went to bed earlier than some boys and girls do these days.
+
+In January 1861 the wreck of the steamer _Northerner_ brought great
+sorrow to us, for my brother Oliver was among those lost. The ship
+struck on an uncharted rock.
+
+During the stay at Steilacoom in the time of the Indian troubles, we had
+begun a trading venture, in a small way. The venture having proved
+successful, we invested all our savings in a new stock of merchandise,
+and this stock, not all paid for, went down with the ship. Again we must
+start in life, and we moved to a new location, a homestead in the
+Puyallup valley. Here we lived and farmed for forty-one years, seeing
+the town of Puyallup grow up on and around the homestead.
+
+In the Puyallup valley there were more neighbors--two families to the
+square mile. Yet no neighbors were in sight, because the timber and
+underbrush were so thick we could scarcely see two rods from the edge of
+our clearing. But the neighbors were near enough for us to provide a
+public school and build a schoolhouse.
+
+Some of the neighbors took their axes to cut the logs, some their oxen
+to drag them, others their saws and cleaving tools to make clapboards
+for the roof. Others again, more handy with tools, made the benches out
+of split logs, or, as we called them, puncheons. With willing hands to
+help, the schoolhouse soon received the finishing touches.
+
+The side walls were scarcely high enough for the doorway, so one was cut
+in the end. The door hung on wooden hinges, which squeaked a good deal
+when the door was opened or shut; but the children did not mind that.
+The roof answered well enough for the ceiling overhead, and a cut in one
+of the logs on each side made two long, narrow windows for light. The
+children sat with their faces to the walls, with long shelves in front
+of them, while the smaller tots sat on low benches near the middle of
+the room. When the weather would permit, the teacher left the door open
+to admit more light. There was no need to let in more fresh air, as the
+roof was quite open and the cracks between the logs let in plenty of it.
+
+Sometimes we had a woman for teacher, and then the salary was smaller,
+as she boarded around. That meant some discomfort for her during part of
+the time, where the surroundings were not pleasant.
+
+One day little Carrie, my daughter, started to go to school, but soon
+came running back out of breath.
+
+"Mamma! Mamma! I saw a great big cat sharpening his claws on a great big
+tree, just the way pussy does!" she said as soon as she could catch her
+breath.
+
+Sure enough, upon examination, there were the marks of a cougar as high
+up on the tree as I could reach. It must have been a big one to reach so
+far up the tree. But the incident soon dropped out of mind and the
+children went to school on the trail as if nothing had happened.
+
+Afterwards I met a cougar on a lonely trail in the woods near where
+Auburn now stands. I had been attempting to drive some wild cattle home,
+but they were so unruly that they scattered through the timber and I was
+obliged to go on without them late in the day. The forest was so dense
+that it was hard to see the road even when the sun was shining; on a
+cloudy day it seemed almost like night, though I could see well enough
+to keep on the crooked trail.
+
+Just before I got to Stuck River crossing I came to a turn in the trail
+where it crossed the top of a big fir that had been turned up by the
+roots and had fallen nearly parallel with the trail. The big roots held
+the butt of the tree up from the ground. I think the tree was four feet
+in diameter a hundred feet from the butt, and the whole body, from root
+to top, was eighty-four steps long, or about two hundred and fifty feet.
+
+I didn't stop to step it then. But you may be sure I took some pretty
+long strides about that time; for just as I stepped over the fallen tree
+near the top, I saw something move on the big body near the roots. The
+thing was coming right towards me. In an instant I realized that it was
+a great cougar. He was pretty, but he did not look especially pleasing
+to me.
+
+I didn't know what to do. I had no gun with me, and I knew perfectly
+well there was no use to run. Was I scared, did you say? Did you ever
+have creepers run up your back and right to the roots of your hair, and
+nearly to the top of your head?
+
+Did the cougar hurt me? If I had been hurt I shouldn't have been here to
+tell you this story. The fun of it was that the cougar hadn't seen me
+yet, but as soon as he did he scampered off as if the Old Harry himself
+were after him, while I sped off down the trail as if old Beelzebub were
+after me.
+
+But no wild animals ever harmed us, and we did not die for want of
+food, clothing, or shelter, although we did have some experiences that
+were trying. Before the clearings were large we sometimes were pinched
+for both food and clothing. I will not say we suffered much for either,
+though I know that some families at times lived on potatoes, straight.
+Usually fish could be had in abundance, and there was considerable
+game--some bear and plenty of deer.
+
+[Illustration: The Christmas tree with its homemade gifts.]
+
+The clothing gave us more trouble, as but little money came to us for
+the small quantity of produce we had to spare. I remember one winter
+when we were at our wits' ends for shoes. We just could not get money to
+buy shoes enough to go around, but we managed to get leather to make
+each member of the family one pair. We killed a pig to get bristles for
+the wax-ends, cut the pegs from alder log and seasoned them in the oven,
+and made the lasts out of the same timber. Those shoes were clumsy, to
+be sure; but they kept our feet dry and warm, and we felt thankful for
+them and sorry for some neighbors' children, who had to go barefooted
+even in quite cold weather. Carrie once had a pair of nice white shoes
+"for best," I remember, that one of her brothers made for her, with
+buckskin uppers and light tan-colored soles.
+
+You must not think that we had no recreation and that we were a
+sorrowful set. There was never a happier lot of people than these same
+hard-working pioneers and their families. We had joy in our home life,
+and amusements as well as labor.
+
+Music was our greatest pleasure. We never tired of it. "Uncle John," as
+every one called him, the old teacher, was constantly teaching the
+children music; so it soon came about they could read their music as
+readily as they could their school books.
+
+No Christmas ever went by without a Christmas tree, at which the whole
+neighborhood joined. The Fourth of July was never passed without a
+celebration. We made the presents for the tree if we could not buy them,
+and supplied the musicians, reader, and orator for the celebration.
+Everybody had something to do and a voice in saying what should be done,
+and that very fact made all happy.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+A dairy farm in Washington, where once the forest stood.]
+
+It was sixteen miles to our market town, Steilacoom, over the roughest
+kind of road. Nobody had horse teams at the start; we had to go with ox
+teams. We could not make the trip out and back in one day, and we did
+not have money to pay hotel bills. We managed in this way: we would
+drive out part of the way and camp; the next morning we would drive into
+town very early, do our trading, and if possible, drive back home the
+same day. If not able to do this, we camped on the road again. But if
+the night was not too dark we would reach home that night. And oh, what
+an appetite we would have, and how bright the fire would be, and how
+joyous the welcome in the cabin home!
+
+The trees and stumps are all gone now and brick buildings and other good
+houses occupy much of the land. As many people now live in that school
+district as lived both east and west of the mountains when the Territory
+was created in March of 1853. Instead of going in ox teams, or even
+sleds, the people have carriages or automobiles; they can travel on any
+of the eighteen passenger trains that pass daily through Puyallup, or on
+street cars to Tacoma, and also on some of the twenty to twenty-four
+freight trains, some of which are a third of a mile long. Such are some
+of the changes wrought in fifty years since pioneer life began in the
+Puyallup valley.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A hop field with the hops ready for picking.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
+
+FINDING AND LOSING A FORTUNE
+
+
+OUR youthful dream of becoming farmers was now realized in fullest
+measure. The clearing was gradually enlarged, and abundant crops came to
+reward our efforts. The comfort and plenty we had hoped and struggled
+for was attained. Next came a development in the family fortunes that we
+had not dreamed of. Never had we thought to see the Meeker family
+conducting a business that would require a London office.
+
+This unexpected prosperity came to us through the hop-growing industry,
+upon which we entered with all our force. The business was well started
+by the time of my father's death in 1869, and in the fifteen years
+following the acreage planted to hops was increased until the crop-yield
+of 1882, a yield of more than seventy-one tons, gave the Puyallup valley
+the banner crop, as to quantity, of the United States--and, some
+persons asserted, of the world.
+
+The public, generally, gave me the credit of introducing hop culture
+into the Northwest. Therefore it seems fitting to tell here the story of
+the beginnings of an industry that came to have great importance.
+
+In March of 1865, Charles Wood of Olympia sent about three pecks of hop
+roots to Steilacoom for my father, Jacob R. Meeker, who then lived on
+his claim in the Puyallup valley. John V. Meeker, my brother, passed by
+my cabin when he carried the sack of roots on his back from Steilacoom
+to my father's home, a distance of about twenty miles, and from the sack
+I took roots enough to plant six hills of hops. As far as I know those
+were the first hops planted in the Puyallup valley. My father planted
+the remainder, and in the following September harvested the equivalent
+of one bale of hops, 180 pounds. This was sold for eighty-five cents a
+pound, or a little more than a hundred and fifty dollars for the bale.
+
+This sum was more money than had been received by any of the settlers in
+the Puyallup valley, except perhaps two, from the products of their
+farms for that year. My father's near neighbors obtained a barrel of hop
+roots from California the next year, and planted them the following
+spring--four acres. I obtained what roots I could get that year, but not
+enough to plant an acre. The following year (1867) I planted four acres,
+and for twenty-six successive years thereafter we added to the area
+planted, until our holdings reached past the five-hundred-acre mark and
+our production was more than four hundred tons a year.
+
+None of us knew anything about the hop business, and it was entirely by
+accident that we engaged in it. But seeing that there were possibilities
+of great gain, I took pains to study hop culture, and found that by
+allowing our hops to mature thoroughly, curing them at a low
+temperature, and baling them while hot, we could produce hops that would
+compete with any product in the world. Others of my neighbors planted
+them, and so did many people in Oregon, until soon there came to be a
+field for purchasing and shipping hops. But the fluctuations in price
+were so great that in a few years many growers became discouraged and
+lost their holdings.
+
+[Illustration: The site of the cabin home in Puyallup is now Pioneer
+Park, Ezra Meeker's gift to the city that he founded. In it still stands
+the ivy vine that for fifty years grew over the cabin.]
+
+Finally, during the failure of the world's hop crop in the year 1882,
+there came to be unheard-of prices for hops, and fully one third of the
+crop of the Puyallup valley was sold for a dollar a pound. I had that
+year nearly one hundred thousand pounds, which brought an average of
+seventy cents a pound.
+
+My first hop house was built in 1868--a log house. It still stands in
+Pioneer Park in Puyallup. We frequently employed more than a thousand
+people during harvest time. Many of these were Indians, some of whom
+would come for a thousand miles down the coast from British Columbia
+and even the confines of Alaska; they came in the great cedar-log canoes
+manned with twenty paddlers or more. For the most part I managed my
+Indian workers very easily. Once I had to tie up two of them to a tree
+for getting drunk; their friends came and stole away the
+prisoners--which was what I intended they should do.
+
+It was in 1870, eighteen years after my arrival from across the Plains,
+that I made my first return journey to the States. I had to go through
+the mud to the Columbia River, then out over the bar to the Pacific
+Ocean, and down to San Francisco. Then there was the seven days' journey
+over the Central and Union Pacific and connecting lines; this meant
+sitting bolt upright all the way, for there were no sleeping cars then,
+and no diners either.
+
+About 1882 I had come to realize that the important market for hops was
+in England, and E. Meeker & Co. began sending trial shipments, first
+seven bales, then the following year five hundred bales, then fifteen
+hundred. Finally our annual shipments reached eleven thousand bales a
+year, or the equivalent in value of half a million dollars--said at that
+time to be the largest export hop business of any one concern in the
+United States. At one time I had two full trainloads between the Pacific
+and the Atlantic, on their way to London. I spent four winters in London
+dealing in the hop market.
+
+Little as I had thought ever to handle an international business, still
+less had I thought ever to write a book. My first publication was an
+eighty-page pamphlet descriptive of Washington Territory, printed in
+1870. My first real book, _Hop Culture in the United States_, was
+published in 1883. I mention this fact simply as one instance out of the
+many that could be given of the unexpected lines of development that
+life in the new land opened out to the pioneers.
+
+The hop business could not be called a venture; it was simply a growth.
+The conditions were favorable to us in that we could produce hops for
+the world's market at the lowest prices. We actually pressed the English
+growers so closely that more than fifteen thousand acres of hops were
+destroyed in that country.
+
+Our great prosperity was not to last. One evening in 1892, as I stepped
+out of my office and cast my eyes toward one group of hop houses, it
+struck me that the hop foliage of a field near by was off color--did not
+look natural. One of my clerks from the office said the same thing--the
+vines did not look natural. I walked down to the yards, a quarter of a
+mile away, and there first saw the hop louse. The yard was literally
+alive with lice, and they were destroying at least the quality of the
+hops. I issued a hop circular, sending it to more than six hundred
+correspondents all along the coast in California, Oregon, Washington,
+and British Columbia, and before the week was out I began to receive
+samples from them, and letters asking what was the matter with the hops.
+
+It appeared that the attack of lice was simultaneous in Oregon,
+Washington, and British Columbia, extending over a distance coastwise of
+more than five hundred miles, and even inland up the Skagit River, where
+there was an isolated yard. This plague was like a clap of thunder out
+of a clear sky to us.
+
+I sent my second son, Fred Meeker, to London to learn the English
+methods of fighting the pest and to import some spraying machinery. We
+found to our cost, however, in the course of time, that the English
+methods did not suit our different conditions; for while we could kill
+the lice, we had to use so much spraying material on the dense foliage
+that, in killing them, we virtually destroyed the hops. Instead of being
+able to sell our hops at the top price of the market, we saw our product
+fall to the foot of the list. The last crop I raised cost me eleven
+cents a pound and sold for three under the hammer at sheriff's sale.
+
+At that time I had advanced to my neighbors and others upon their hop
+crops more than a hundred thousand dollars, which was lost. These people
+simply could not pay, and I forgave the debt, taking no judgments
+against them, and I have never regretted the action. All my
+accumulations were swept away, and I quit the business--or, rather, the
+business quit me.
+
+After a long struggle with the hop plague, nearly all the hops were
+plowed up and the land in the Puyallup valley and elsewhere was used for
+dairy farming, fruit growing, and general crops. It is actually of a
+higher value now than when it was bearing hops.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _United States Forest Service_
+
+Going up the Chilkoot Pass.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
+
+TRYING FOR A FORTUNE IN ALASKA
+
+
+AFTER the failure of the hop business, I was left more or less at sea
+for some years. I tried various other projects--among them the raising
+of sugar beets. The country, we soon found, was not adapted to this
+industry. Then I tried banking, likewise with little success. Finally I
+decided to strike out for the mines of Alaska. This adventure, taken
+when I was nearly three score and ten years of age, was full of exciting
+experiences. Indeed, it left me richer only in experience.
+
+I had lived in the old Oregon country forty-four years and had never
+seen a mine. Mining had had no attraction for me. But when my
+accumulations had all been swallowed up, I decided to take a chance. In
+the spring of 1898 I made my first trip over the Chilkoot Pass, went
+down the Yukon river to Dawson in a flatboat, and ran the famous White
+Horse Rapids with my load of vegetables for the Klondike miners.
+
+One may read most graphic descriptions of Chilkoot Pass; but the
+difficulties met by those earlier fortune-seekers who tried it were
+worse than the wildest fancy can picture. I started in with fifteen tons
+of freight and got through with nine. On one stretch of two thousand
+feet, I paid forty dollars a ton. Some others paid even more.
+
+The trip part of the way reminded me of the scenes on the Plains in
+1852, when the people and teams crowded each other on the several
+parallel trails. At the pass, most of the travel came upon one track,
+and that so steep the ascent could be made only by cutting steps in the
+ice and snow--fifteen hundred steps in all. Frequently every step would
+be full, while crowds jostled each other at the foot of the ascent to
+get into the single file, each man carrying a hundred-pound pack on his
+back.
+
+After all sorts of trying experiences, I finally arrived in Dawson,
+where I sold my fresh potatoes at thirty-six dollars a bushel and other
+things at proportionate prices. In two weeks I started up the river,
+homeward bound, with two hundred ounces of Klondike gold in my belt. But
+four round trips in two years satisfied me that I did not want any more
+of such experiences.
+
+Once, fortunately, I was detained for a couple of days, and thereby
+escaped an avalanche that buried fifty-two other people in the snow. I
+passed by the morgue the second day after the catastrophe on my way to
+the summit, doubtless over the bodies of many unknown dead, embedded so
+deeply in the snow that it was utterly impossible to recover them.
+
+The good ducking I received in my first passage through the White Horse
+Rapids made me resolve I would not go through there again. But I did it
+on the very next trip that same year, and came out of it dry. Again,
+when going down the Thirty-Mile River, it did seem that we could not
+escape being dashed upon the rocks. But somehow or other we got through
+safely, though the bank was strewn with wrecks and the waters had
+swallowed up many victims.
+
+When the Yukon proper was reached, the current was less swift, but the
+shoals were numerous. More than once we were "hung up" on the bar, each
+time uncertain how we should get off. No mishap resulted, except once
+when a hole was jammed into the scow, and we thought we were "goners"
+for sure; but we effected a landing so quickly that we unloaded our
+cargo dry.
+
+While I now blame myself for taking such risks, I must admit that I
+enjoyed it. I was sustained, no doubt, by high hopes of coming out with
+my "pile." But fate or something else was against me, for mining
+ventures swept all my gains away "slick as a mitten," as the old phrase
+goes. I came out over the rotten ice of the Yukon in April of 1901 to
+stay, and to vow I never wanted to see another mine or visit another
+mining country.
+
+In two weeks after my arrival home my wife and I celebrated our golden
+wedding. There was nothing but a golden welcome home, even if I had not
+returned with my pockets filled with gold.
+
+Since I was then past my allotted three score years and ten, it
+naturally seemed that my ventures were at an end. But for many of these
+years I had been cherishing a dream that I felt must come true to round
+out my days most satisfactorily. I longed to go back over the old Oregon
+Trail and mark it for all time for the children of the pioneers who
+blazed it, and for the world. How that dream was made to come true is
+the story to be told in the succeeding part of this book of pioneer
+stories.
+
+
+
+
+PART THREE
+
+RETRACING THE OLD OREGON TRAIL
+
+[Illustration: With the development of railroad construction it was
+thought that roads would go out of use except for local communication.
+But since the advent of motor vehicles, transcontinental highways have
+again become of great importance. For many reasons it is highly
+desirable that there should be good roads clear across the continent.
+Two have been proposed, and in sections meet the requirements of a great
+transcontinental highway; but neither is yet completed. One is the
+Oregon Highway, which follows the old Oregon Trail. This is the route
+over which Ezra Meeker traveled by ox-team in 1906 and on which many
+monuments have been erected to commemorate the pioneers of the 1840's
+and '50's. The other is the Lincoln Highway, shown by the lighter line
+on this map.]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Out on the trail again.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
+
+A PLAN FOR A MEMORIAL TO THE PIONEERS
+
+
+THE ox is passing--in fact, has passed. The old-time spinning wheel and
+the hand loom, the quaint old cobbler's bench with its handmade lasts
+and shoe pegs, the heavy iron mush pot on the crane in the chimney
+corner,--all have gone. The men and women of sixty years or more ago are
+passing, too. All are laid aside for what is new in the drama of life.
+While these old-time ways and scenes and actors have had their day, yet
+the experiences and the lessons they taught are not lost to the world.
+
+The difference between a civilized and an untutored people lies in the
+application of experiences. The civilized man builds upon the
+foundations of the past, with hope and ambition for the future. The
+savage has neither past nor aspiration for the future. To keep the flame
+of patriotism alive, we must keep the memory of the past vividly before
+us.
+
+It was with these thoughts in mind that the expedition to mark the old
+Oregon Trail was undertaken. There was this further thought, that on
+this trail heroic men and women had fought a veritable battle--a battle
+that wrested half a continent from the native race and from another
+mighty nation contending for mastery in unknown regions of the West. To
+mark the field of that battle for future generations was a duty waiting
+for some one; I determined to be the one to fulfill it.
+
+The journey back over the old Oregon Trail by ox team was made during my
+seventy-seventh year. On January 29, 1906, I left my home in Puyallup,
+Washington, and on November 29, 1907, just twenty-two months later to
+the day, I reached Washington, our national capital, with my cattle and
+my old prairie schooner. Not all of this time was spent in travel, of
+course; a good deal of it was taken up in furthering the purpose of the
+trip by arranging for the erection and dedication of monuments to mark
+the Trail.
+
+To accomplish the purpose of marking the trail would have been enough to
+make the journey worth while to me, besides all the interest of
+freshening my recollections of old times and reviving old memories.
+There is not space in this book to dwell on all the contrasts that came
+to my mind constantly,--of the uncleared forests with the farms and
+orchards of today, of the unbroken prairie lands with the ranches and
+farms and cities that now border the old trail from the Rockies to the
+Mississippi. There is nothing like an ox-team journey, I maintain, to
+make a person realize this country, realize its size, the number of its
+people, and the variety of conditions in which they live and of
+occupations by which they live. I wish I could share with every boy and
+girl in the country the panorama view that unrolled itself before me in
+this journey from tidewater to tidewater.
+
+The ox team was chosen as a typical reminder of pioneer days. The Oregon
+Trail, it must be remembered, is essentially an ox-team trail. No more
+effective instrument, therefore, could have been chosen to attract
+attention, arouse enthusiasm, and secure aid in forwarding the work,
+than this living symbol of the old days.
+
+Indeed, too much attention, in one sense, was attracted. I had scarcely
+driven the outfit away from my own dooryard before the wagon and wagon
+cover, and even the map of the old trail on the sides of the cover,
+began to be defaced. First I noticed a name or two written on the wagon
+bed, then a dozen or more, all stealthily placed there, until the whole
+was so closely covered that there was no room for more. Finally the
+vandals began carving initials on the wagon bed and cutting off pieces
+to carry away. Eventually I put a stop to such vandalism by employing
+special police, posting notices, and nabbing some offenders in the very
+act.
+
+Give me Indians on the Plains to contend with; give me fleas or even the
+detested sage-brush ticks to burrow into the flesh; but deliver me from
+cheap notoriety seekers!
+
+I had decided to take along one helper, and a man by the name of Herman
+Goebel went as far as The Dalles with the outfit. There William Marden
+joined me for the journey across the Plains. Marden stayed with me for
+three years, and proved to be faithful and helpful.
+
+And now a word as to my oxen. The first team consisted of one
+seven-year-old ox, Twist, and one unbroken five-year-old range steer,
+Dave. When we were ready to start, Twist weighed 1,470 pounds and Dave
+1,560. This order of weight was soon changed. In three months' time
+Twist gained 130 pounds and Dave lost 80. All this time I fed them with
+a lavish hand all the rolled barley I dared give and all the hay they
+would eat.
+
+[Illustration: Preparing to cross a river; unyoking the oxen.]
+
+Dave would hook and kick and perform every other mean trick. Besides, he
+would stick his tongue out from the smallest kind of exertion. He had
+just been shipped in off the Montana cattle range and had never had a
+rope on him, unless it was when he was branded. Like a great over-grown
+booby of a boy, he was flabby in flesh, and he could not endure any sort
+of exertion without discomfort. At one time I became very nearly
+discouraged with him.
+
+Yet this was the ox that made the round trip. He bore his end of the
+yoke from the tidewaters of the Pacific to the tidewaters of the
+Atlantic, at the Battery, New York City, and on to Washington City to
+meet the President. He finally became subdued, though not conquered. At
+times he became threatening with his horns, and I never did trust his
+heels.
+
+[Illustration: Taking off the wagon box.]
+
+The other ox, Twist, died suddenly on August 9, 1906, and was buried
+within a few rods of the trail. It was two months to a day after his
+death before I could find a mate for the Dave ox, and then I had to take
+another five-year-old steer off the cattle range of Nebraska. This
+steer, Dandy, evidently had never been handled; but he came of good
+stock and, with the exception of awkwardness, gave me no serious
+trouble. Dandy was purchased out of the stockyard at Omaha. He then
+weighed 1,470 pounds, and the day before he went to see the President he
+tipped the scales at the 1,760-pound notch. Dandy proved to be a
+faithful, serviceable ox.
+
+On the journey Dave had to be shod fourteen times, I think, and he
+always struggled to get away. Once, on the summit of the Rocky
+Mountains, we had to throw Dave and tie him hard and fast before we
+could shoe him. It takes two shoes to one foot for an ox, instead of one
+as for a horse, though the fastening is the same; that is, by nailing
+into the hoof. At one time Dandy's hoofs became so worn that I could not
+fasten a shoe on him, and so I had what we called leather boots put on,
+that left a track like an elephant's; but he could not pull well with
+them on.
+
+[Illustration: Calking the wagon box to turn it into a boat.]
+
+Besides the oxen we had a dog, Jim. More will be told of him later.
+
+An authentic prairie schooner, a true veteran of the Plains, was out of
+the question. In building the new one, use was made of parts of three
+old wagons. The woodwork of the wagon had to be new throughout except
+for one hub, which had done service across the Plains in 1853. This hub
+and the bands, boxes, and other iron parts were from two old-time wagons
+that had crossed the Plains in 1853. They differed somewhat in size and
+shape; hence the hubs of the fore and hind wheels did not match.
+
+[Illustration: Launching the schooner to cross the river.]
+
+The axles were of wood, with the old-time linchpins and steel skeins,
+which called for the use of tar and the tar bucket instead of axle
+grease. Why? Because if grease were used, the spokes would work loose,
+and soon the whole wheel would collapse. The bed was of the old
+prairie-schooner style, with the bottom boat-shaped and the ribs on the
+outside.
+
+My first camp for the return journey over the old trail was made in my
+own dooryard at Puyallup. This was maintained for several days to give
+the wagon and team a trial. After the weak points had been strengthened
+and everything pronounced to be in order, I left home for the long
+trip.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+Great changes had taken place along the old trail through
+Washington and Oregon; here are strawberries growing where the forest
+stood in 1852.]
+
+The first drive was to Seattle through the towns of Sumner, Auburn, and
+Kent. In Seattle I had a host of friends and acquaintances, and I
+thought that there I could arouse interest in my plan and secure some
+aid for it. Nothing came of the effort. My closest friends, on the
+contrary, tried to dissuade me from going; and, I may say, actually
+tried to convince others that it would be an act of friendship not to
+lend any aid to the enterprise. I knew, or thought I knew, that my
+strength would warrant undertaking the ordeal; I felt sure I could make
+the trip successfully. But my friends remained unconvinced; so after
+spending two weeks in Seattle I shipped my outfit by steamer to Tacoma,
+only to meet the same spirit there.
+
+One pleasant incident broke the monotony. Henry Hewitt, of Tacoma,
+drove up alongside my team and said, "Meeker, if you get broke out there
+on the Plains, just telegraph me for money to come back on."
+
+"No," I said, "I'd rather hear you say to telegraph for money to go on
+with."
+
+"All right," came the response, "have it that way, then."
+
+Henry drove off, perhaps not giving the conversation a second thought
+until he received my telegram two months later, telling him that I had
+lost an ox and wanted him to send me two hundred dollars. The money was
+immediately wired to me.
+
+Somehow no serious thought of turning back ever entered my mind. When I
+had once resolved to make the trip, nothing but utter physical
+disability could deter me. I felt on this point just as I did when I
+first crossed the Plains in 1852.
+
+From Tacoma I shipped again by steamer to Olympia. The end of the old
+trail is but two miles distant from Olympia at Tumwater, the extreme
+southern point of Puget Sound. Here the first American party of
+homeseekers to Washington rested and settled in 1845. At this point I
+set a post, and afterwards arranged for a stone to be placed to mark the
+spot.
+
+On the twentieth of February I went to Tenino, south of Olympia, on the
+train. My outfit was drawn to this place by a horse team, the oxen being
+taken along under yoke. Dave was still not an ox, but an unruly steer. I
+dared not intrust driving him to other hands, yet I had to go ahead to
+arrange for the monument and the lecture.
+
+The twenty-first of February was a red-letter day. At Tenino I had the
+satisfaction of helping to dedicate the first monument erected to mark
+the old trail. The stores were closed, and the school children in a
+body came over to the dedication. The monument was donated by the Tenino
+Quarry Company; it is inscribed "Old Oregon Trail: 1843-57."
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+A prosperous fruit farm along the trail.]
+
+In the evening I addressed a good-sized audience, and sixteen dollars
+was received to help on the good work. The spirit of the people, more
+than the money, was encouraging.
+
+At Chehalis, Washington, the Commercial Club undertook to erect and
+dedicate a monument. John R. Jackson was the first American citizen to
+settle north of the Columbia River. One of the daughters, Mrs. Ware,
+accompanied by her husband, indicated the spot where the monument should
+be erected, and a post was planted. A touching incident was that Mrs.
+Ware was requested to put the post in place and hold it while her
+husband tamped the earth around it.
+
+At Toledo, the place where the pioneers left the Cowlitz River on the
+trail to the Sound, another marker was placed by the citizens.
+
+[Illustration: The first boulder marked on the old trail; near The
+Dalles of the Columbia.]
+
+From Toledo I shipped the whole outfit by steamer down the Cowlitz
+River, and took passage with my assistants to Portland, thus reversing
+the order of travel in 1853. We used steam instead of the brawn of
+stalwart pioneers and Indians to propel the boat. On the evening of
+March the first I pitched my tent in the heart of the city of Portland,
+on a grassy vacant lot.
+
+On the morning of the tenth of March I took steamer with my outfit,
+bound up the Columbia for The Dalles. How wondrous the change!
+Fifty-four years before, I had come floating down this same stream in a
+flatboat with a party of poor, heartsick pioneers; now I made the trip
+enjoying cushioned chairs, delicious foods, fine linens, magazines and
+books--every luxury of civilized life.
+
+That night I arrived at The Dalles, and drove nearly three quarters of a
+mile to a camping ground near the park. The streets were muddy, and the
+cattle were impatient and walked very fast, which made it necessary for
+me to tramp through the mud at their heads. We had no supper or even
+tea, as we did not build a fire. It was clear that night, but raining in
+the morning.
+
+Prior to leaving home I had written to the ladies of the Landmark
+Committee at The Dalles. What should they do but provide a monument
+already inscribed and in place, and notify me that I had been selected
+to deliver the dedicatory address!
+
+The weather of the next day treated us to some hardships that I had
+missed on the first overland journey. Ice formed in the camp half an
+inch thick, and the high wind joined forces with the damper of our
+stove, which had got out of order, to fill the tent with smoke and make
+life miserable.
+
+The fierce, cold wind also made it necessary to postpone the dedication
+for a day and finally to carry it out with less ceremony than had been
+planned. Nevertheless, I felt that the expedition was now fairly
+started. We had reached the point where the real journey would begin,
+and the interest shown in the plan by the towns along the way had been
+most encouraging.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Dalles, on the Columbia River.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
+
+ON THE OVERLAND TRAIL AGAIN
+
+
+IT was the fourteenth of March when I drove out of The Dalles to make
+the long overland journey. By rail, it is 1734 miles from The Dalles to
+Omaha, where our work of marking the old trail was to end. By wagon road
+the distance is greater, but not much greater--probably 1800 miles.
+
+The load was very heavy, and so were the roads. With a team untrained to
+the road and one of the oxen unbroken, with no experienced ox driver to
+assist me, and the grades heavy, small wonder if a feeling of depression
+crept over me. On some long hills we could move only a few rods at a
+time, and on level roads, with the least warm sun, the unbroken ox would
+poke out his tongue.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+An apple orchard in Washington.]
+
+We were passing now through the great farming district of eastern
+Oregon. The desert over which we had dragged ourselves in those long-ago
+days has been largely turned into great wheat fields. As we drew into
+camp one night a young man approached, driving eight harnessed horses.
+He told me that he had harrowed in thirty-five acres of wheat that day,
+and that it was just a common day's work to plow seven acres of land.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+Where a wheat farm of today has taken the place of the unbroken prairie
+in eastern Oregon.]
+
+I recalled my boyhood days when father spoke approvingly if I plowed two
+acres a day, and when to harrow ten acres was the biggest kind of a
+day's work. I also recalled the time when we cut the wheat with a
+sickle, or maybe with a hand cradle, and threshed it out with horses on
+the barn floor. Sometimes we had a fanning mill, and how it would make
+my arms ache to turn the crank! At other times, if a stiff breeze sprang
+up, the wheat and chaff would be shaken loose and the chaff would be
+blown away. If all other means failed, two stout arms at either end of a
+blanket or a sheet would move the sheet as a fan to clean the wheat. Now
+we see the great combination harvester garner thirty acres a day, and
+thresh it as well and sack it ready for the mill or warehouse. There
+is no shocking, no stacking or housing: all in one operation, the grain
+is made ready for market.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+In spite of the wide-spreading farms and fruit orchards, there are still
+forests in Washington and Oregon, and lumbering is still a great
+industry.]
+
+As we journeyed eastward, the Blue Mountains came into distant view.
+Half a day's brisk travel brought us well up toward the snow line. The
+country became less broken, the soil seemed better, the rainfall had
+been greater. We began to see red barns and comfortable farmhouses,
+still set wide apart, though, for the farms are large.
+
+In the Walla Walla valley the scene is different. Smaller farms are the
+rule and orchards are to be seen everywhere. We now passed the historic
+spot where the Whitman massacre occurred in 1847. Soon afterward we were
+in camp in the very heart of the thriving city of Walla Walla. It was
+near here that I had met my father when I crossed by the Natchess Pass
+Trail in 1854.
+
+Another day's travel brought us to Pendleton, Oregon. Here the
+Commercial Club took hold with a will and provided funds for a stone
+monument. On the last day of March it was dedicated with appropriate
+ceremonies.
+
+That evening I drove out to the Indian school in a fierce rainstorm to
+talk to the teachers and pupils about the Oregon Trail. A night in the
+wagon without fire and with only a scant supper sent my spirits down to
+zero. Nor did they rise when I learned next morning that the snow had
+fallen eighteen inches deep in the mountains. However, with this news
+came a warm invitation from the school authorities to use a room they
+had allotted to us, with a stove, and to help ourselves to fuel. That
+cheered us up greatly.
+
+There was doubt whether we could cross the Blue Mountains in all this
+snow. I decided to investigate; so I took the train. About midnight I
+was landed in the snow at Meacham, with no visible light in the hotel
+and no track beaten to it.
+
+Morning confirmed the report of the storm; twenty inches of snow had
+fallen in the mountains.
+
+An old mountaineer told me, "Yes, it is possible to cross, but I warn
+you it will be a hard job."
+
+It was at once arranged that the second morning thereafter his team
+should leave Meacham on the way to meet me.
+
+"But what about a monument, Mr. Burns?" I said. "Meacham is a historic
+place, with Lee's encampment in sight." (It was in 1834 that the
+Reverend Jason Lee had crossed the continent with Wyeth's second
+expedition.)
+
+"We have no money," came the quick reply, "but we've got plenty of
+muscle. Send us a stone and I'll warrant you the foundation will be
+built and the monument put in place."
+
+A belated train gave opportunity to return at once to Pendleton, where
+an appeal for aid to provide an inscribed stone for Meacham was
+responded to with alacrity. The stone was ordered, and a sound night's
+sleep followed.
+
+I quote from my journal. "Camp No. 31, April 4, 1906. We are now on the
+snow line of Blue Mountains (8 P.M.), and am writing this by our first
+really out-of-doors camp fire, under the spreading boughs of a friendly
+pine tree. We estimate we have driven twelve miles; started from the
+school at 7 A.M. The first three or four miles over a beautiful farming
+country; then we began climbing the foothills, up, up, up, four miles,
+reaching first snow at three o'clock."
+
+True to promise, the mountaineer's team met us on the way to Meacham,
+but not till we had reached the snow. We were axle-deep in it and had
+the shovel in use to clear the way, when Burns came upon us. By night we
+were safely encamped at Meacham, with the cheering news that the
+monument had arrived and could be dedicated the next day.
+
+The summit of the mountain had not been reached, and the worst tug lay
+ahead of us. But casting thoughts of this from mind, all hands turned to
+the monument, which by eleven o'clock was in place. Twist and Dave stood
+near it, hitched up, and ready for the start as soon as the order was
+given. Everybody in town was there, the little school coming in a body.
+After the speech we moved on to battle with the snow, and finally won
+our way over the summit.
+
+[Illustration: A monument to the old trail, on the high school grounds
+at Baker City, Oregon.]
+
+The sunshine that was let into our hearts at La Grande was also
+refreshing. "Yes, we will have a monument," the people responded. And
+they got one, too, dedicating it while I tarried.
+
+We had taken with us an inscribed stone to set up at an intersection
+near the mouth of Ladd's Canyon, eight miles out of La Grande. The
+school near by came in a body. The children sang "Columbia, the Gem of
+the Ocean," after which I talked to the assemblage for a few moments,
+and the exercises closed with all singing "America." Each child brought
+a stone and cast it upon the pile surrounding the base of the monument.
+
+The citizens of Baker City lent a willing ear to the suggestion to erect
+a monument on the high-school grounds, although the trail is six miles
+off to the north, and a fine granite shaft was provided for the
+high-school grounds and was dedicated. A marker was set on the trail.
+Eight hundred school children contributed an aggregate of sixty dollars
+to place a children's bronze tablet on this shaft. Two thousand people
+participated in the ceremony of dedication.
+
+News of these events was now beginning to pass along the line ahead. As
+a result the citizens in other places began to take hold of the work
+with a will. Old Mount Pleasant, Durkee, Huntington, and Vale were other
+Oregon towns that followed the good lead and erected monuments to mark
+the old trail. A most gratifying feature of the work was the hearty
+participation in it of the school children.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _Howard R. Driggs_
+
+A sheep herder's wagon in the sage-covered hills of Wyoming near the
+Oregon Trail.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
+
+TRAILING ON TO THE SOUTH PASS
+
+
+THE Snake River was crossed just below the mouth of the Boise, about
+where, almost fifty-four years before, we had made our second crossing
+of the river.
+
+We were landed on the historic site of old Fort Boise, established by
+the Hudson's Bay Company in September, 1834. This fort was established
+for the purpose of preventing the success of the American venture at
+Fort Hall, a post established earlier in 1834 by Nathaniel J. Wyeth.
+Wyeth's venture proved a failure, and the fort soon passed to his rival,
+the Hudson's Bay Company. Thus for the time being the British had rule
+of the whole of that vast region known as the Inland Empire, then the
+Oregon Country.
+
+Some relics of the old fort at Boise were secured. Arrangements were
+made for planting a doubly inscribed stone to mark the trail and the
+site of the fort, and afterwards, through the liberality of the
+citizens of Boise City, a stone was ordered and put in place.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+Sheep ready for shipment at Caldwell, Idaho.]
+
+At Boise, the capital of Idaho, there were nearly twelve hundred
+contributions to the monument fund by the pupils of the public schools.
+The monument stands on the State House grounds and is inscribed as the
+children's offering to the memory of the pioneers. More than three
+thousand people attended the dedication service.
+
+The spirit of cooperation and good will towards the enterprise that was
+manifested at the capital city prevailed all through Idaho. From Parma,
+the first town we came to on the western edge, to Montpelier, near the
+eastern boundary, the people of Idaho seemed anxious to do their part in
+marking the old trail. Besides the places already named, Twin Falls,
+American Falls, Pocatello, and Soda Springs all responded to the appeal
+by erecting monuments to mark the Old Trail.
+
+One rather exciting incident happened near Montpelier. A vicious bull
+attacked my ox team, first from one side and then the other. Then he
+got in between the oxen and caused them nearly to upset the wagon. I was
+thrown down in the mix-up, but fortunately escaped unharmed.
+
+[Illustration: The monument to the trail at Boise, Idaho.]
+
+This incident reminded me of a scrape one of our neighboring trains got
+into on the Platte in 1852, with a wounded buffalo. The train had
+encountered a large herd of these animals, feeding and traveling at
+right angles to the road. The older heads of the party, fearing a
+stampede of their teams, had ordered the men not to molest the
+buffaloes, but to give their whole attention to the care of the teams.
+One impulsive young fellow would not be restrained; he fired into the
+herd and wounded a large bull. The maddened bull charged upon a wagon
+filled with women and children and drawn by a team of mules. He became
+entangled in the harness and was caught on the wagon-tongue between the
+mules. The air was full of excitement for a while. The women screamed,
+the children cried, and the men began to shout. But the practical
+question was how to dispatch the bull without shooting the mules as
+well. Trainmen forgot their own teams and rushed to the wagon in
+trouble. The guns began to pop and the buffalo was finally killed. The
+wonder is that nobody was harmed.
+
+From Cokeville to Pacific Springs, just west of the summit of the Rocky
+Mountains at South Pass, by the road and trail we traveled, is one
+hundred and fifty-eight miles. Ninety miles of this stretch is away from
+the sound of the locomotive, the click of the telegraph, or the voice of
+the "hello girl." The mountains here are from six to seven thousand feet
+above sea level, with scanty vegetable growth. The country is still
+almost a solitude, save as here and there a sheep herder or his wagon
+may be discerned. The sly coyote, the simple antelope, and the cunning
+sage hen still hold sway as they did when I first traversed the country.
+The old trail is there in all its grandeur.
+
+[Illustration: Monument at Pocatello, Idaho.]
+
+"Why mark that trail!" I exclaimed. Miles and miles of it are worn so
+deep that centuries of storm will not efface it; generations may pass
+and the origin of the trail may become a legend, but these marks will
+remain.
+
+We wondered to see the trail worn fifty feet wide and three feet deep,
+and we hastened to photograph it. But after we were over the crest of
+the mountain, we saw it a hundred feet wide and fifteen feet deep. The
+tramp of thousands upon thousands of men and women, the hoofs of
+millions of animals, and the wheels of untold numbers of vehicles had
+loosened the soil, and the fierce winds had carried it away. In one
+place we found ruts worn a foot deep into the solid rock.
+
+The mountain region was as wild as it had been when I first saw it. One
+day, while we were still west of the Rocky Mountains, in Wyoming, two
+antelopes crossed the road about a hundred yards ahead of us, a buck and
+a doe. The doe soon disappeared, but the buck came near the road and
+stood gazing at us in wonderment, as if to ask, "Who the mischief are
+you?"
+
+[Illustration: Deep ruts had been worn in the solid rock of the trail
+through the mountain country.]
+
+Our dog Jim soon scented him, and away they went up the mountain side
+until Jim got tired and came back to the wagon. Then the antelope
+stopped on a little eminence on the mountain, and for a long distance we
+could see him plainly against a background of sky.
+
+At another time we actually got near enough to get a shot with our
+kodaks at two antelopes; but they were too far off to make good
+pictures. Our road was leading us obliquely up a gentle hill, gradually
+approaching nearer to one of the antelopes. I noticed that he would come
+toward us for a while and then turn around and look the other way for a
+while. Then we saw what at first we took to be a kid, or young antelope;
+but soon we discovered that it was a coyote wolf, prowling on the track
+of the antelope, and watching both of us. Just after the wagon had
+stopped, I saw six big, fat sage hens feeding not more than twice the
+length of the wagon away, just as I had seen them in 1852.
+
+[Illustration: Jim, the collie that made the journey from Washington to
+Washington.]
+
+The dog, Jim, had several other adventures with animals on the way.
+First of all, he and Dave did not get along very well. Once Dave caught
+Jim under the ribs with his right horn, which was bent forward and stood
+out nearly straight, and tossed him over some sage brush near by.
+Sometimes, if the yoke prevented him from getting a chance at Jim with
+his horn, he would throw out his nose and snort, just like a horse that
+has been running at play and stops for a moment's rest. But Jim would
+manage to get even with him. Sometimes we put loose hay under the wagon
+to keep it out of the storm, and Jim would make a bed on it. Then woe
+betide Dave if he tried to get any of that hay! I saw Jim one day catch
+the ox by the nose and draw blood. You may readily imagine that the war
+was renewed between them with greater rancor than ever. They never did
+become friends.
+
+One day Jim got his foot under the wheel of our wagon, and I was sure it
+was broken, but it was not; yet he nursed it for a week by riding in the
+wagon. He never liked to ride in the wagon except during a thunderstorm.
+Once a sharp clap of thunder frightened Jim so that he jumped from the
+ground clear into the wagon while it was in motion and landed at my
+feet. How in the world he could do it I never could tell.
+
+Jim had some exciting experiences with wild animals, too. He was always
+chasing birds, jack rabbits, squirrels, or anything in the world that
+could get into motion. One day a coyote crossed the road just a few rods
+behind the wagon, and Jim took after him. It looked as if Jim would
+overtake him, and, being dubious of the result of a tussle between them,
+I called Jim back. No sooner had he turned than the coyote turned, too,
+and made chase, and there they came, nip and tuck, to see who could run
+the faster. I think the coyote could, but he did not catch up until they
+got so near the wagon that he became frightened and scampered away up
+the slope of a hill.
+
+At another time a young coyote came along, and Jim played with him
+awhile. But by and by the little fellow snapped at Jim and made Jim
+angry, and he bounced on the coyote and gave him a good trouncing.
+
+Before we sheared him, Jim would get very warm when the weather was hot.
+Whenever the wagon stopped he would dig off the top earth or sand that
+was hot, to have a cool bed to lie in; but he was always ready to go
+when the wagon started.
+
+Cokeville was the first town reached in Wyoming. It stands on Smith's
+Fork, near where that stream empties into Bear River. It is also at the
+western end of the Sublette Cut-off Trail from Bear River to Big Sandy
+Creek, the cut-off that we had taken in 1852.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+Coal mining is one of the industries that have grown up in Wyoming.]
+
+The people of the locality resolved to have a monument at this fork in
+the old trail, and arrangements were made to erect one out of stone from
+a local quarry. This good beginning made in the state, we went on,
+climbing first over the rim of the Great Basin, then up and across the
+Rockies.
+
+I quote again from my journal: "Pacific Springs, Wyoming, Camp No. 79,
+June 20, 1906. Odometer, 958. [Miles registered from The Dalles,
+Oregon.] Arrived at 6 P.M., and camped near Halter's store and the post
+office. Ice found in camp during the night."
+
+On June 22 we were still camped at Pacific Springs. I had searched for a
+suitable stone for a monument to be placed on the summit of the range,
+and, after almost despairing of finding one, had come upon exactly what
+was wanted. The stone lay alone on the mountain side; it is granite, I
+think, but mixed with quartz, and is a monument hewed by the hand of
+Nature.
+
+[Illustration: _Chas. S. Hill_
+
+Wyoming oil wells.]
+
+Immediately after dinner we hitched the oxen to Mr. Halter's wagon. With
+the help of four men we loaded the stone, after having dragged it on the
+ground and over the rocks a hundred yards or so down the mountain side.
+We estimated its weight at a thousand pounds.
+
+There being no stonecutter at Pacific Springs to inscribe the monument,
+the clerk at the store formed the letters on stiff pasteboard. He then
+cut them out to make a paper stencil, through which the shape of the
+letters was transferred to the stone by crayon marks. The letters were
+then cut out with a cold chisel, deep enough to make a permanent
+inscription. The stone was so hard that it required steady work all day
+to cut the twenty letters and figures: THE OREGON TRAIL, 1843-57.
+
+We drove out of Pacific Springs at a little after noon and stopped at
+the summit to dedicate the monument. Then we left the summit and drove
+twelve miles to the point called Oregon Slough, where we put up the tent
+after dark.
+
+The reader may think of the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains as a
+precipitous defile through narrow canyons and deep gorges. Nothing is
+farther from the fact. One can drive through this Pass for several miles
+without realizing that the dividing line between the waters of the
+Pacific and those of the Atlantic has been passed. The road is over a
+broad, open, undulating prairie, the approach is by easy grades, and the
+descent, going east, is scarcely noticeable.
+
+All who were toiling west in the old days looked upon this spot as the
+turning point of their journey. There they felt that they had left the
+worst of the trip behind them. Poor souls that we were! We did not know
+that our worst mountain climbing lay beyond the summit of the Rockies,
+over the rugged Western ranges.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Nooning beside the prairie schooner.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
+
+REVIVING OLD MEMORIES OF THE TRAIL
+
+
+THE sight of Sweetwater River, twenty miles out from South Pass, revived
+many pleasant memories and some that were sad. I could remember the
+sparkling, clear water, the green skirt of undergrowth along the banks,
+and the restful camps, as we trudged along up the stream so many years
+ago. And now I saw the same channel, the same hills, and apparently the
+same waters swiftly passing. But where were the camp fires? Where was
+the herd of gaunt cattle? Where the sound of the din of bells? The
+hallooing for lost children? Or the little groups off on the hillside to
+bury the dead? All were gone.
+
+An oppressive silence prevailed as we drove to the river and pitched our
+camp within a few feet of the bank, where we could hear the rippling
+waters passing and see the fish leaping in the eddies. We had our choice
+of a camping place just by the skirt of a refreshing green brush with
+an opening to give full view of the river. It had not been so fifty-four
+years before, with hundreds of camps ahead of you. The traveler then had
+to take what he could get, and in many cases that was a place far back
+from the water and removed from other conveniences.
+
+[Illustration: _United States Geological Survey_
+
+Devil's Gate, on the Sweetwater River, one of the many beautiful streams
+in the uplands of Wyoming. The pioneer trail followed the course of this
+river.]
+
+The sight and smell of carrion, so common in camping places during that
+first journey, also were gone. No bleached bones, even, showed where the
+exhausted dumb brute had died. The graves of the dead pioneers had all
+been leveled by the hoofs of stock and the lapse of time.
+
+The country remains as it was in '52. There the trail is to be seen
+miles and miles ahead, worn bare and deep, with but one narrow track
+where there used to be a dozen, and with the beaten path that vegetation
+has not yet recovered from the scourge of passing hoofs and tires of
+wagons years ago.
+
+As in 1852, when the summit was passed I felt that my task was much
+more than half done, though half the distance was scarcely compassed.
+
+On June 30, at about ten o'clock, we encountered a large number of big
+flies that ran the cattle nearly wild. I stood on the wagon tongue for
+miles to reach them with the whipstock. The cattle were so excited that
+we did not stop at noon, but drove on. By half-past two we camped at a
+farmhouse, the Split Rock post office, the first we had found in a
+hundred miles of travel since leaving Pacific Springs.
+
+The Devil's Gate, a few miles distant, is one of the two best-known
+landmarks on the trail. Here, as at Split Rock, the mountain seems to
+have been split apart, leaving an opening a few rods wide, through which
+the Sweetwater River pours in a veritable torrent. The river first
+approaches to within a few hundred feet of the gap, then suddenly curves
+away from it, and after winding through the valley for half a mile or
+so, a quarter of a mile away, it takes a straight shoot and makes the
+plunge through the canyon. Those who have had the impression that the
+emigrants drove their teams through this gap are mistaken, for it's a
+feat no mortal man has done or can do, any more than he could drive up
+the falls of the Niagara.
+
+This year, on my 1906 trip, I did clamber through on the left bank, over
+boulders head high, under shelving rocks. I ate some ripe gooseberries
+from the bushes growing on the border of the river, and plucked some
+beautiful wild roses, wondering the while why those wild roses grew
+where nobody would see them.
+
+The gap through the mountains looked familiar as I spied it from the
+distance, but the roadbed to the right I had forgotten. I longed to see
+this place; for here, somewhere under the sands, lies all that was
+mortal of my brother, Clark Meeker, drowned in the Sweetwater in 1854.
+
+[Illustration: _United States Geological Survey_
+
+Devil's Gate, on the Sweetwater River, one of the famous landmarks on
+the old trail.]
+
+Independence Rock is the other most famous landmark. We drove over to
+the Rock, a distance of six miles from the Devil's Gate, and camped at
+ten o'clock for the day. This famous boulder covers about thirty acres.
+We groped our way among the inscriptions, to find some of them nearly
+obliterated and many legible only in part. We walked all the way around
+the stone, nearly a mile. The huge rock is of irregular shape, and it is
+more than a hundred feet high, the walls being so precipitous that
+ascent to the top is possible in only two places.
+
+Unfortunately, we could not find Fremont's inscription. Of this
+inscription Fremont writes in his journal of the year 1842: "August 23.
+Yesterday evening we reached our encampment at Rock Independence, where
+I took some astronomical observations. Here, not unmindful of the custom
+of early travelers and explorers in our country, I engraved on this rock
+of the Far West a symbol of the Christian faith. Among the thickly
+inscribed names, I made on the hard granite the impression of a large
+cross. It stands amidst the names of many who have long since found
+their way to the grave and for whom the huge rock is a giant
+gravestone."
+
+On Independence Day, 1906, we left Independence Rock. Our noon stop was
+on Fish Creek, eleven miles away. The next night we camped on the North
+Platte River. Fifty-four years before, I had left the old stream about
+fifteen miles below here on my way to the West.
+
+Next day, while nooning several miles out from Casper, we heard the
+whistle of a locomotive. It was the first we had heard for nearly three
+hundred miles. As soon as lunch was over, I left the wagon and walked to
+Casper ahead of the team to select a camping ground, secure feed, and
+get the mail.
+
+A special meeting of the Commercial Club of Casper was held that
+evening, and I laid the matter of building a monument before the
+members. They resolved to build one, opened the subscription at once,
+and appointed a committee to carry the work forward. Since then a
+monument twenty-five feet high has been erected at a cost of fifteen
+hundred dollars.
+
+Glen Rock is a small village, but the ladies there met and resolved they
+would have "as nice a monument as Casper's." One enthusiastic lady said,
+"We will inscribe it ourselves, if no stonecutter can be had."
+
+At Douglas also an earnest, well-organized effort to erect the monument
+was well in hand before we drove out of town.
+
+As we journeyed on down the Platte, we passed thrifty ranches and
+thriving little towns. It was haying time, and the mowers were busy
+cutting alfalfa. The hay was being stacked. Generous ranchers invited us
+to help ourselves to their garden stuff. All along the way was a spirit
+of good cheer and hearty welcome.
+
+Fort Laramie brings a flood of reminiscences to the western pioneer and
+his children. This old post, first a trappers' stockade, then in 1849 a
+soldiers' encampment, stood at the end of the Black Hills and at the
+edge of the Plains. Here the Laramie River and the Platte meet.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+The desert before irrigation.]
+
+The fort was a halfway station on the trail. From the time we crossed
+the Missouri in May, 1852, until we reached the old fort, no place name
+was so constantly in the minds of the emigrants as that of Fort Laramie.
+Here, in '52, we eagerly looked for letters that never came. Perhaps our
+friends and relatives had not written; perhaps they had written, but the
+letters were lost or sidetracked somewhere in "the States." As for
+hearing from home, for that we had to wait patiently until the long
+journey should end; then a missive might reach us by way of the Isthmus,
+or maybe by sailing vessel around Cape Horn.
+
+There is no vestige of the old traders' camp or the first United States
+fort left. The new fort--not a fort, but an encampment--covers a space
+of thirty or forty acres, with all sorts of buildings and ruins. One of
+the old barracks, three hundred feet long, was in good preservation in
+1906, being utilized by the owner, Joseph Wilde, for a store, post
+office, hotel, and residence. The guard house with its grim iron door
+and twenty-inch concrete walls is also fairly well preserved. One frame
+building of two stories, we were told, was transported by ox team from
+Kansas City at a cost of one hundred dollars a ton. The old place is
+crumbling away, slowly disappearing with the memories of the past.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+The desert after irrigation.]
+
+From Fort Laramie onward into western Nebraska we passed through a
+succession of thriving cities. The Platte has been turned to splendid
+service through the process of irrigation. Great canals lead its
+life-giving waters out to the thirsty plains that now "blossom as the
+rose." Rich fields of grain and hay and beets cover the valley. Great
+sugar factories, railroads, business blocks, and fine homes tell of the
+prosperity that has leaped out of the parched plains we trailed across.
+
+Scott's Bluff, however, is one of the old landmarks that has not
+changed. It still looms up as of old on the south side of the river
+about eight hundred feet above the trail. The origin of the name,
+Scott's Bluff, is not definitely known. Tradition says: "A trapper named
+Scott, while returning to the States, was robbed and stripped by the
+Indians. He crawled to these Bluffs and there famished. His bones were
+afterwards found and buried." These quoted words were written by a
+passing emigrant on the spot, June 11, 1852. Another version of the tale
+is that Scott fell sick and was abandoned by his traveling companions.
+After having crawled almost forty miles, he finally died near the bluff
+that bears his name. This occurred prior to 1830.
+
+From the bluff we drove as directly as possible to a historic grave, two
+miles out from the town and on the railroad right of way. In this grave
+lies a pioneer mother who died August 15, 1852, nearly six weeks after I
+had passed over the ground. Some thoughtful friend had marked her grave
+by standing a wagon tire upright in it. But for this, the grave, like
+thousands and thousands of others, would have passed out of sight and
+mind.
+
+The tire bore this simple inscription: "Rebecca Winters, aged 50 years."
+The hoofs of stock tramped the sunken grave and trod it into dust, but
+the arch of the tire remained to defy the strength of thoughtless hands
+that would have removed it.
+
+Finally the railroad surveyors came along. They might have run the track
+over the lonely grave but for the thoughtfulness of the man who wielded
+the compass. He changed the line, that the resting place of the pioneer
+mother should not be disturbed, and the grave was protected and
+enclosed.
+
+The railroad officials did more. They telegraphed word of the finding of
+this grave to their representative in Salt Lake City. He gave the story
+to the press; the descendants of the pioneer mother read it, and they
+provided a monument, lovingly inscribed, to mark the spot.
+
+[Illustration: _United States Geological Survey_
+
+Chimney Rock, an old sentinel on the trail in western Nebraska.]
+
+About twenty miles from Scott's Bluff stands old Chimney Rock. It is a
+curious freak of nature, and a famous landmark on the trail. It covers
+perhaps twelve acres, and rises coneshaped for two hundred feet to the
+base of the spire-like rock, the "chimney," that rests upon it and rises
+a full hundred feet more.
+
+A local story runs that an army officer trained a cannon on this spire,
+shot off about thirty feet from the top, and for this was
+court-martialed and dishonorably discharged from the army. I could get
+no definite confirmation of the story, though it was repeated again and
+again. It seems incredible that an intelligent man would do such an act,
+and if he did it, he deserved severe punishment.
+
+It is saddening to think of the many places where equally stupid things
+have been done to natural wonders. Coming through Idaho, I had noticed
+that at Soda Springs the hand of the vandal had been at work. That
+interesting phenomenon, Steamboat Spring, the wonderment of all of us in
+1852, with its intermittent spouting, had been tampered with and had
+ceased to act.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Going up the steep, rocky sides of Little Canyon.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
+
+A BIT OF BAD LUCK
+
+
+"OLD Oregon Trail Monument Expedition, Brady Island, Nebraska, August 9,
+1906, Camp No. 120. Odometer, 1,536 5/8. Yesterday morning Twist ate his
+breakfast as usual and showed no signs of sickness until we were on the
+road two or three miles, when he began to put his tongue out and his
+breathing became heavy. But he leaned on the yoke more heavily than
+usual and determined to pull the whole load. I finally stopped, put him
+on the off side, gave him the long end of the yoke, and tied his head
+back with the halter strap to the chain; but to no purpose, for he
+pulled by the head very heavily. I finally unyoked, gave him a quart of
+lard, a gill of vinegar, and a handful of sugar, but all to no purpose,
+for he soon fell down and in two hours was dead."
+
+Such is the record in my journal of this noble animal's death. I think
+he died from eating some poisonous plant.
+
+When we started, Twist weighed 1470 pounds. After we had crossed two
+ranges of mountains, had wallowed in the snows of the Blue Mountains,
+followed the tortuous, rocky canyon of Burnt River, and gone through the
+deep sands of the Snake, this ox had gained 137 pounds, and weighed 1607
+pounds. While laboring under the short end of the yoke that gave him
+fifty-five per cent of the draft and an increased burden, he would keep
+his end of the yoke a little ahead, no matter how much the mate might be
+urged to keep up.
+
+There are pronounced individualities in animals as well as in men. I
+might have said virtues, too--and why not? If an animal always does his
+duty and is faithful and industrious, why not recognize this character,
+even if he is "nothing but an ox"?
+
+To understand the achievements of this ox it is necessary to know the
+burden that he carried. The wagon weighed 1430 pounds, had wooden axles
+and wide track, and carried an average load of 800 pounds. Along with an
+unbroken four-year old steer, a natural-born shirk, Twist had hauled the
+wagon 1776 miles, and he was in better working trim just before he died
+than when the trip began. And yet, am I sure that at some points I did
+not abuse him? What about coming up out of Little Canyon, or rather up
+the steep, rocky steps of stones like stairs, when I used the goad, and
+he pulled a shoe off his feet? Was I merciful then, or did I exact more
+than I ought?
+
+I can see him yet, in my mind, on his knees, holding the wagon from
+rolling into the canyon till the wheel could be blocked and the brakes
+set. Then, when bidden to start the load, he did not flinch. He was the
+best ox I ever saw, without exception, and his loss nearly broke up the
+expedition. His like I could not find again. He had a decent burial. A
+headboard marks his grave and tells of the aid he rendered in this
+expedition to perpetuate the memory of the old Oregon Trail.
+
+[Illustration: Twist, a noble animal.]
+
+What should I do--abandon the work? No. But I could not go on with one
+ox. So a horse team was hired to take us to the next town, Gothenburg,
+thirteen miles distant. The lone ox was led behind the wagon.
+
+Again I hired a horse team to haul the wagon to Lexington. At Lexington
+I thought the loss of the ox could be repaired by buying a pair of heavy
+cows and breaking them in to work, so I purchased two out of a band of
+two hundred cattle.
+
+"Why, yes, of course they will work," I said, in reply to a bystander's
+question. "I have seen whole teams of cows on the Plains in '52. Yes, we
+will soon have a team," I declared with all the confidence in the world,
+"only we can't go very far in a day with a raw team, especially in this
+hot weather."
+
+But one cow would not go at all! We could neither lead her nor drive
+her. Put her in the yoke, and she would stand stock still, just like a
+stubborn mule. Hitch the yoke by a strong rope behind the wagon with a
+horse team to pull, and she would brace her feet and actually slide
+along, but would not lift a foot. I never saw such a brute before, and
+hope I never shall again. I have broken wild, fighting, kicking steers
+to the yoke and enjoyed the sport, but from a sullen, tame cow, deliver
+me!
+
+"Won't you take her back and give me another?" I asked the seller.
+
+"Yes, I will give you that red cow,"--one I had rejected as unfit,--"but
+not one of the others."
+
+"What is this cow worth to you?"
+
+"Thirty dollars."
+
+So I dropped ten dollars, having paid forty for the first cow. Besides,
+I had lost the better part of a day and experienced a good deal of
+vexation. If I could only have had Twist back again!
+
+The fact gradually became apparent that the loss of that fine ox was
+almost irreparable. I could not get track of an ox anywhere, nor even of
+a steer large enough to mate the Dave ox. Besides, Dave always was a
+fool. Twist would watch my every motion, and mind by the wave of the
+hand, but Dave never minded anything except to shirk hard work. Twist
+seemed to love his work and would go freely all day. It was brought home
+to me more forcibly than ever that in the loss of the Twist ox I had
+almost lost the whole team.
+
+When I drove out from Lexington behind a hired horse team that day, with
+the Dave ox tagging on behind and sometimes pulling on his halter, and
+with an unbroken cow in leading, it may easily be guessed that the pride
+of anticipated success died out, and deep discouragement seized upon me.
+I had two yokes, one a heavy ox yoke, the other a light cow's yoke; but
+the cow, I thought, could not be worked alongside the ox in the ox yoke,
+nor the ox with the cow in the cow yoke. I was without a team, but with
+a double encumbrance.
+
+Yes, the ox has passed, for in all Nebraska I was unable to find even
+one yoke.
+
+I trudged along, sometimes behind the led cattle, wondering in my mind
+whether or not I had been foolish to undertake this expedition to
+perpetuate the memory of the old Oregon Trail. Had I not been rebuffed
+at the first by a number of business men who pushed the subject aside
+with, "I have no time to look into it"? Hadn't I been compelled to pass
+several towns where not even three persons could be found to act on the
+committee? And then there was the experience of the constant suspicion
+that there was some graft to be discovered, some lurking speculation.
+All this could be borne in patience; but when coupled with it came the
+virtual loss of the team, is it strange that my spirits went down below
+a normal point?
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+The railroad bridge at Omaha, crossing the Missouri where in 1853 we
+went over by ferry.]
+
+Then came the compensatory thought of what had been accomplished. Four
+states had responded cordially. Back along the line of more than fifteen
+hundred miles already stood many sentinels, mostly granite, to mark the
+trail and keep alive the memory of the pioneers. Moreover, I recalled
+the enthusiastic reception in so many places, the outpouring of
+contributions from thousands of school children, the willing hands of
+the people that built these monuments, and the more than twenty
+thousand people attending the dedication ceremonies. These heartening
+recollections made me forget the loss of Twist, the recalcitrant cow,
+and the dilemma that confronted me. I awakened from my reverie in a more
+cheerful mood.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+Sugar-beet factories were seen when we left behind us the open ranges of
+the Wyoming country and came into the sugar-beet section in Nebraska.]
+
+"Do the best you can," I said to myself, "and don't be cast down." My
+spirits rose almost to the point of exultation again.
+
+We soon reached the beautiful city of Kearney, named after old Fort
+Kearney, which stood across the river, and were given a fine camping
+place in the center of the town. It was under the shade trees that line
+the streets, and we had a fresh-cut greensward upon which to pitch our
+tents. People came in great numbers to visit the camp and express their
+appreciation of our enterprise. Later a monument was erected in this
+city.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+In the corn lands of Nebraska.]
+
+At Grand Island I found public sentiment in favor of taking action. It
+was decided, however, that the best time for the dedication would be in
+the following year, upon the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the
+settlement. I was a little disappointed in the delay, but felt that good
+seed was sown.
+
+Grand Island, with its stately rows of shade trees, its modest, tasteful
+homes, the bustle and stir on its business streets, with the constant
+passing of trains, shrieking of whistles, and ringing of bells,
+presented a striking contrast to the scene I saw that June day in 1852
+when I passed over the ground near where the city stands. Vast herds of
+buffalo then grazed on the hills or leisurely crossed our track and at
+times obstructed our way, and herds of antelope watched from vantage
+points.
+
+But now the buffalo and antelope have disappeared; the Indian likewise
+is gone. Instead of the parched plain of 1852, with its fierce clouds of
+dust rolling up the valley and engulfing whole trains, we saw a
+landscape of smiling, fruitful fields, inviting groves of trees, and
+contented homes.
+
+From Grand Island I went to Fremont, Nebraska, to head the procession in
+the semi-centennial celebration in honor of the founding of that city.
+In the procession I worked the ox and cow together. From Fremont I went
+on to Lincoln.
+
+All the while I was searching for an ox or a steer large enough to mate
+the Dave ox, but without avail. Finally, after looking over a thousand
+head of cattle in the stockyards of Omaha, I found a five-year-old
+steer, Dandy, which I broke in on the way to Indianapolis. This ox
+proved to be very satisfactory. He never kicked or hooked, and was
+always in good humor. Dave and Dandy made good team-mates.
+
+"As dumb as an ox" is a very common expression, dating back as far as my
+memory goes. In fact, the ox is not so "dumb" as a casual observer might
+think. Dave and Dandy knew me as far as they could see; sometimes when I
+went to them in the morning, Dave would lift his head, bow his neck,
+stretch out his body, and perhaps extend a foot, as if to say, "Good
+morning to you; glad to see you." Dandy was driven on the streets of a
+hundred cities and towns, and I never knew him to be at a loss to find
+his way to the stable or watering-trough, once he had been there and was
+started on a return trip.
+
+I arrived at Indianapolis on January 5, 1907, eleven months and seven
+days from the date of departure from my home at Puyallup, twenty-six
+hundred miles away.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+Along the Erie Canal, part of the National Highway to the West.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
+
+DRIVING ON TO THE CAPITAL
+
+
+AFTER passing the Missouri, and leaving the trail behind me, I somehow
+had a foreboding that I might be mistaken for a faker and looked upon as
+an adventurer, and I shrank from the ordeal. My hair had grown long on
+the trip across; my boots were somewhat the worse for wear, and my
+old-fashioned clothes (understood well enough by pioneers along the
+trail) were dilapidated. I was not the most presentable specimen for
+every sort of company. Already I had been compelled to say that I was
+not a "corn doctor" or any kind of doctor; that I did not have patent
+medicine to sell; and that I was not soliciting contributions to support
+the expedition.
+
+The first of March, 1907, found me on the road going eastward from
+Indianapolis. I had made up my mind that Washington should be the
+objective point. For my main purpose--to secure the building of a
+memorial highway--Congress, I felt, would be a better field to work in
+than out on the hopelessly long stretch of the trail, where one man's
+span of life would certainly pass before the work could be accomplished.
+But I thought it well to make a campaign of education to get the work
+before the general public so that Congress might know about it.
+Therefore a route was laid out to occupy the time until the first of
+December, just before Congress would again assemble. The route lay
+through Indianapolis, Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Buffalo, Albany, New
+York, Trenton, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, to Washington.
+
+For the most part I received a warm welcome all along the route. Dayton
+treated me generously. Mayor Badger of Columbus wrote giving me the
+freedom of the city; and Mayor Tom Johnson wrote to his chief of police
+to "treat Mr. Meeker as the guest of the city of Cleveland," which was
+done.
+
+At Buffalo, a benefit performance for one of the hospitals, in the shape
+of a circus, was in preparation. A part of the elaborate program was an
+attack by Indians on an emigrant train, the "Indians" being
+representative young men of the city. At this juncture I arrived in the
+city, and was besought to go and represent the train, for which they
+would pay me.
+
+"No, not for pay," I said, "but I will go."
+
+So there was quite a realistic show in the ring that afternoon and
+evening, and the hospital received more than a thousand dollars'
+benefit.
+
+Near Oneida some one said that I had better take to the towpath on the
+canal to save distance and to avoid going over the hill. It was against
+the law, he added, but everybody did it and no one would object. So,
+when we came to the forks of the road, I followed the best-beaten track
+and was soon traveling along on the level, hard, but narrow way, the
+towpath. All went well that day.
+
+We were not so fortunate the next day, however, when a boat with three
+men, two women, and three long-eared mules was squarely met, the mules
+being on the towpath. The mules took fright, got into a regular mixup,
+broke the harness, and went up the towpath at a two-forty gait.
+
+As I had walked into Oneida the night before, I did not see the sight or
+hear the war of words that followed. The men ordered Marden to "take
+that outfit off the towpath." His answer was that he could not do it
+without upsetting the wagon. The men said if he couldn't they would do
+it quick enough. They started toward the wagon, evidently intent upon
+executing their threat, meanwhile swearing at the top of their voices
+while the women scolded in chorus, one of them fairly shrieking.
+
+My old muzzle-loading rifle that we had carried across the Plains lay
+handy. When the men started toward him, Marden picked up the rifle to
+show fight and called on the dog Jim to take hold of the men. As he
+raised the gun to use it as a club, one of the boatmen threw up his
+hands, bawling at the top of his voice, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" He
+forgot to mix in oaths and slunk out of sight behind the wagon. The
+others also drew back. Jim showed his teeth, and a truce followed. With
+but little inconvenience the mules were taken off the path, and the ox
+team was driven past.
+
+The fun of it was that the gun that had spread such consternation hadn't
+been loaded for more than twenty-five years. The sight of it alone was
+enough for the three stalwart braves of the canal.
+
+It took New York to cap the climax--to bring me all sorts of
+experiences, sometimes with the police, sometimes with the gaping
+crowds, and sometimes at the City Hall.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+In the great automobile factory near Cleveland, Ohio, the old prairie
+schooner came into vivid contrast with the new means of following the
+trail.]
+
+Mayor McClellan was not in the city when I arrived; but the acting mayor
+said that while he could not grant me a permit to come in, he would have
+the police commissioner instruct his men not to molest me. Either the
+instructions were not general enough, or else the men paid no attention;
+for when I got down as far as 161st Street on Amsterdam Avenue, a
+policeman interfered and ordered my driver to take the team to the
+police station, which he very properly refused to do.
+
+It was after dark and I had just gone around the corner to engage
+quarters for the night when this occurred. Returning, I saw the young
+policeman attempt to move the team, but as he didn't know how, they
+wouldn't budge a peg, whereupon he arrested my driver and took him away.
+
+Another policeman tried to coax me to drive the team down to the police
+station. I said, "No, sir, I will not." He couldn't drive the team to
+the station, and I wouldn't, and so there we were. To arrest me would
+make matters worse, for the team would be left on the street without
+any one to care for it. Finally the officer got out of the way, and I
+drove the team to the stable. He followed, with a large crowd tagging
+after him. Soon the captain of the precinct arrived, called his man off,
+and ordered my driver released.
+
+It appeared that there was an ordinance against allowing cattle to be
+driven on the streets of New York. Of course, this was intended to apply
+to loose cattle, but the policemen interpreted it to mean any cattle,
+and they had the clubs to enforce their interpretation. I was in the
+city and couldn't get out without subjecting myself to arrest, according
+to their view of the law; and in fact I didn't want to get out. I wanted
+to drive down Broadway from one end to the other, and I did, a month
+later.
+
+All hands said nothing short of an ordinance by the board of aldermen
+would clear the way; so I tackled the aldermen. The _New York Tribune_
+sent a man over to the City Hall to intercede for me; the _New York
+Herald_ did the same thing. And so it came about that the aldermen
+passed an ordinance granting me the right of way for thirty days, and
+also endorsed my work. I thought my trouble was over when that ordinance
+was passed. Not so; the mayor was absent, and the acting mayor could not
+sign an ordinance until after ten days had elapsed. The city attorney
+came in and said the aldermen had exceeded their authority, as they
+could not legally grant a special privilege.
+
+Then the acting mayor said he would not sign the ordinance; but if I
+would wait until the next meeting of the aldermen, if they did not
+rescind the ordinance, it would be certified, as he would not veto it.
+Considering that no one was likely to test the legality of the
+ordinance, he thought I would be safe in acting as though it were
+legal. Just thirty days from the time I had the bother with the
+policemen, and having incurred two hundred and fifty dollars of extra
+expense, I drove down Broadway from 161st Street to the Battery, without
+getting into any serious scrape, except with one automobilist who became
+angered, but afterwards was "as good as pie."
+
+Thirty days satisfied me with New York. The crowds were so great that
+congestion of traffic always followed my presence, and I would be
+compelled to move. One day when I went to City Hall Park to have my team
+photographed with the Greeley statue, I got away only by the help of the
+police, and even then with great difficulty.
+
+[Illustration: In Wall Street, New York City.]
+
+A trip across Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn was also made, and then, two
+days before leaving the city, I came near to meeting a heavy loss.
+Somehow I got sandwiched in on the East Side of New York in the
+congested district of the foreign quarter and at nightfall drove into a
+stable, put the oxen in the stalls and, as usual, the dog Jim in the
+wagon. The next morning Jim was gone. The stableman said he had left the
+wagon a few moments after I had and had been stolen. The police accused
+the stablemen of being parties to the theft, in which I think they were
+right.
+
+Money could not buy that dog. He was an integral part of the expedition:
+always on the alert; always watchful of the wagon during my absence, and
+always willing to mind what I bade him do. He had had more adventures on
+this trip than any other member of the outfit. First he was tossed over
+a high brush by the ox Dave; then, shortly after, he was pitched
+headlong over a barbed wire fence by an irate cow. Next came a fight
+with a wolf; following this, came a narrow escape from a rattlesnake in
+the road. Also, a trolley car ran on to him, rolling him over and over
+again until he came out as dizzy as a drunken man. I thought he was a
+"goner" that time for sure, but he soon straightened up. Finally, in the
+streets of Kansas City, he was run over by a heavy truck while fighting
+with another dog. The other dog was killed outright, while Jim came near
+to having his neck broken. He lost one of his best fighting teeth and
+had several others broken. I sent him to a veterinary surgeon, and
+curiously enough he made no protest while having the broken teeth
+repaired or extracted.
+
+There was no other way to find Jim than to offer a reward. I did this,
+and feel sure I paid twenty dollars to one of the parties to the theft.
+The fellow was brazen enough, also, to demand pay for keeping him. That
+was the time when I got up and talked pointedly.
+
+But I had my faithful dog back, and I kept him more closely by me while
+I was making the rest of my tour. Six years later it chanced that I lost
+Jim. While we were waiting at a station, I let him out of the car for a
+few minutes. The train started unexpectedly and Jim was left behind. A
+good reward was offered for him, but nobody ever came to collect it.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Welcomed by President Roosevelt at the Capitol.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
+
+THE END OF THE LONG TRAIL
+
+
+I WAS glad enough to get out of the crowds of New York. It had given me
+some rich experiences, but that big city is no place for ox teams. It
+was good to get away from the jam and the hurry out on to the country
+roads.
+
+On the way to Philadelphia, between Newark and Elizabeth City, New
+Jersey, at a point known as Lyon's Farm, the old Meeker homestead stood,
+built in the year 1676. Here the Meeker Tribe, as we call ourselves,
+came out to greet me, nearly forty strong.
+
+On the way through Maryland we saw a good many oxen, some of them driven
+on the road. The funny part of it was to have the owners try to trade
+their scrawny teams for Dave and Dandy, offering money to boot, or two
+yoke for one. They had never before seen such large oxen as Dave and
+Dandy, and for that matter I never had myself. Dandy was of unusual
+size, and Dave was probably the largest trained ox in the United States
+then; he was sixteen hands high and eight feet in girth.
+
+I reached Washington, the capital, just twenty-two months to the day
+from the time I left home in Washington, the state. As soon as
+arrangements could be made I went to see President Roosevelt. Senator
+Piles and Representative Cushman, of the Washington Congressional
+delegation, introduced me to the President in the cabinet room.
+
+Mr. Roosevelt manifested a lively interest in the work of marking the
+trail. He did not need to be told that the trail was a battlefield, or
+that the Oregon pioneers who moved out and occupied the Oregon Country
+while it was yet in dispute between Great Britain and the United States
+were heroes. When I suggested that they were "the winners of the Farther
+West," he fairly snatched these words from my lips. He went even further
+than I had dreamed of or hoped for, in invoking Government aid to carry
+on the work. Addressing Senator Piles, the President said with emphasis:
+"I am in favor of this work to mark this trail. If you will bring before
+Congress a measure to accomplish it, I am with you and will give my
+support to do it thoroughly."
+
+Mr. Roosevelt thought the suggestion of a memorial highway should first
+come from the states through which the trail runs. However, it would be
+possible to get Congressional aid to mark the trail. In any event, he
+felt it ought to be done speedily.
+
+Unexpectedly the President asked, "Where is your team? I want to see
+it."
+
+Upon being told that it was nearby, without ceremony, and without his
+hat, he was soon alongside, asking questions faster than they could be
+answered, not idle questions, but such as showed his intense desire to
+get real information, bottom facts.
+
+President Roosevelt was a man who loved the pioneers and who understood
+the true West. His warm welcome remains in my heart as one of the
+richest rewards of the many that have come as compensation for my
+struggle to carry out my dream.
+
+On the eighth of January, 1908, I left Washington, shipping my outfit
+over the Allegheny Mountains to McKeesport, Pennsylvania. From
+McKeesport I drove to Pittsburgh, and there put the team into winter
+quarters to remain until the fifth of March. Thence I shipped by boat on
+the Ohio River to Cincinnati, stopping in that city but one day, and
+from there I shipped by rail to St. Louis, Missouri.
+
+My object now was to retrace the original trail from its beginnings to
+where it joined the Oregon Trail, over which I had traveled. This trail
+properly ran by water from St. Louis to Independence, thence westward
+along the Platte to Fort Laramie.
+
+At Pittsburgh and adjacent cities I was received cordially and
+encouraged to believe that the movement to make a great national highway
+had taken a deep hold in the minds of the people.
+
+I was not so much encouraged in St. Louis. The city officers were
+unwilling to do anything to further the movement, but before I left the
+city, the Automobile Club and the Daughters of the American Revolution
+did take formal action indorsing the work. St. Louis had really been the
+head and center of the movement that finally established the original
+Oregon Trail. It was from here that Lewis and Clark started on the
+famous expedition of 1804-05 that opened up the Northwest. Here was
+where Wyeth, Bonneville, and others of the early travelers on the trail
+had outfitted.
+
+[Illustration: _Brown Bros._
+
+The homeward trip took us through the great industrial cities of the
+Middle states, among them Pittsburgh.]
+
+The drive from St. Louis to Jefferson City, the capital of the State of
+Missouri, was tedious and without result other than that of reaching the
+point where actual driving began in early days. Governor Folk signified
+his approval of the work, and I was given a cordial hearing by the
+citizens.
+
+On the fourth of April I arrived at Independence, Missouri, which is
+generally understood to be the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. I
+found, however, that many of the pioneers had shipped farther up the
+Missouri, some driving from Atchison, some from Leavenworth, others from
+St. Joseph. At a little later period, multitudes had set out from
+Kanesville (now Council Bluffs), where Whitman and Parker made their
+final break with civilization and boldly turned their faces westward
+for the unknown land of Oregon.
+
+The Santa Fe and Oregon trails from Independence and Kansas City were
+identical for forty miles or thereabouts, out to the town of Gardner,
+Kansas. From there the Santa Fe Trail bore on to the west and finally to
+the southwest, while the Oregon Trail bore steadily on to the northwest
+and encountered the Platte valley below Grand Island in what is now
+Nebraska. At the forks of the road, the historian Chittenden says, "a
+simple signboard was seen which carried the words 'Road to Oregon,' thus
+pointing the way for two thousand miles. No such signboard ever before
+pointed the road for so long a distance, and probably another such never
+will."
+
+I determined to make an effort to find the spot where this historic sign
+once stood, and if possible to plant a marker there. Friends in Kansas
+City, one of whom I had not met for sixty years, took me by automobile
+to Gardner, where, after a search of a couple of hours, two old
+residents were found who were able to point out the spot. These men were
+Mr. V. R. Ellis and Mr. William J. Ott, aged respectively seventy-seven
+and eighty-two years, whose residence in the near vicinity dated back
+nearly fifty years. The point is at the intersection of Washington
+Street and Central Street in the town of Gardner.
+
+I planned to drive up the Missouri and investigate the remaining five
+prongs of the trail--Leavenworth, Atchison, St. Joseph, Kanesville, and
+Independence. I drove to Topeka, the capital city of Kansas, where I
+arrived the eleventh of May (1908). There the trail crosses the Kansas
+River under the very shadow of the State House, not three blocks away;
+yet only a few knew of it.
+
+On the twenty-third of May the team arrived at St. Joseph, Missouri, a
+point where many pioneers had outfitted in early days. While public
+sentiment there was in hearty accord with the work of marking the trail,
+yet plainly it would be a hard tug to get the people together on a plan
+to erect a monument. "Times were very tight to undertake such a work,"
+came the response from so many that no organized effort was made.
+
+[Illustration: The ox-team pioneer of 1852 tries the airplane trail in
+1921.]
+
+The committee of Congress in charge of the bill appropriating fifty
+thousand dollars to mark the trail, by this time had taken action and
+had made a favorable report. Such a report was held to be almost
+equivalent to the passage of a bill. So, all things considered, the
+conclusion was reached to suspend operations, ship the team home, and
+for the time being take a rest from the work. I had been out from home
+twenty-eight months, lacking but five days; hence it is small wonder
+that I concluded to listen to the inner longings to get back to home and
+home life. On the twenty-sixth of May I shipped the outfit by rail from
+St. Joseph to Portland, Oregon, where I arrived on the sixth day of
+June, 1908, and went into camp on the same grounds I had used in March,
+1906, on my outward trip.
+
+As I returned home over the Oregon Short Line I crossed the old trail in
+many places. This time, however, it was with Dave and Dandy quietly
+chewing their cud in the car, while I enjoyed all the luxuries of an
+overland train.
+
+I began vividly to realize the wide expanse of country covered, as we
+passed first one and then another of the camping places. I was led to
+wonder whether or not I should have undertaken the work if I could have
+seen the trail stretched out, as I saw it like a panorama from the car
+window. I sometimes think not. All of us at times undertake things that
+look bigger after completion than they did in our vision of them. We go
+into ventures without fully counting the cost. Perhaps that was the
+case, to a certain extent, in this venture; the work did look larger
+from the car window than from the camp.
+
+Nevertheless, I have no regrets to express or exultation to proclaim.
+The trail has not yet been fully or properly marked. We have made a good
+beginning, however, and let us hope the end will soon become an
+accomplished fact. Monumenting the old Oregon Trail means more than the
+mere preservation in memory of that great highway; it means the building
+up of loyalty, of patriotism, as well as the teaching of our history in
+a form never to be forgotten.
+
+Words can not express my deep feeling of gratitude for the royal welcome
+given me by the citizens of Portland. I was privileged to attend the
+reunion of the two thousand pioneers who had just assembled for their
+annual meeting.
+
+The drive from Portland to Seattle is also one long to be remembered; my
+friends and neighbors met me with kindliest welcome. On the eighteenth
+day of July, 1908, I drove into the city of Seattle and the long journey
+was ended. My dream of retracing the way over the Old Trail had come
+true.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE WHITE INDIAN BOY
+
+BY E. N. WILSON
+
+_In collaboration with Howard R. Driggs_
+
+EVERYONE who knew "Uncle Nick" Wilson was always begging him to tell
+about pioneer days in the Northwest. When "Uncle Nick" was eight years
+old, the Wilson family crossed the plains by ox team. When he was only
+twelve, he slipped away from home to travel north with a band of
+Shoshones with whom he wandered about for two years, sharing all the
+experiences of Indian life. Later, after he had returned home, he was a
+pony express rider, he drove a stage on the Overland route, and he acted
+as guide in an expedition against the Gosiute Indians.
+
+"Uncle Nick" knew pioneer life and he knew the heart of the Indian. So
+Mr. Driggs persuaded him to write his recollections and helped him to
+make his story into a book that is a true record of pioneering and of
+Indian life with its hardships and adventures.
+
+_The White Indian Boy_ is an exciting, true story that has interested
+many boys and girls and contributed to their understanding of the early
+history of the West.
+
+          _Cloth. xii + 222 pages. Illustrated. Price $1.20_
+
+          WORLD BOOK COMPANY
+          YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK
+          2126 PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE BULLWHACKER
+
+_ADVENTURES OF A FRONTIER FREIGHTER_
+
+BY WILLIAM FRANCIS HOOKER
+
+_Edited by Howard R. Driggs_
+
+
+BULLWHACKING is an occupation about which most persons know little in
+these days, but one that demanded courage out in Wyoming territory fifty
+years ago. The bullwhacker drove ox teams to outlying army posts and
+Indian reservations far from railroads, when the pioneers were pushing
+our frontier west of the Missouri.
+
+Mr. Hooker was one of these bullwhackers and his book is a true account
+of his adventures while driving frontier freighters. He tells one of the
+choice stories of America's making and in a way that makes the old West,
+with the Indian, the cowboy, and the outlaw, live again.
+
+Pioneer adventures are here recounted in an entertaining way, and they
+are convincing because the author is one of the few surviving men who
+whacked bulls and he knows of what he is writing. Used as an historical
+reader, this book will make vivid to pupils of the upper grades an
+adventurous period of our history.
+
+          _Cloth. xvi + 167 pages. Illustrated. Price $1.00_
+
+          WORLD BOOK COMPANY
+          YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK
+          2126 PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+FRONTIER LAW
+
+_A STORY OF VIGILANTE DAYS_
+
+BY WILLIAM J. MCCONNELL
+
+_In collaboration with Howard R. Driggs_
+
+
+THE restoring of law and order on our western frontier in the sixties
+was the work of courageous men with firm hands. It was one of the
+stirring periods in the evolution of our government. Mr. McConnell, who
+was first a captain of a band of Vigilantes before he was senator and
+then governor, gives in this book his own experiences in bringing the
+control of territorial affairs into the hands of law-abiding citizens.
+
+In straight-forward fashion he tells of his journey from Michigan to the
+coast, of mining in California, of homesteading in Oregon, of
+prospecting in Idaho. Most unusual and interesting is his account of the
+struggle against outlawry and the establishment of orderly government.
+
+Through this life story of a real American boy rings a clear note of
+Americanism with love of liberty, respect for law, and a willingness to
+face squarely the issues of life. It is one of the very few first-hand
+accounts of the Vigilantes and it will bring the events of those days,
+with the great lessons that they teach, nearer to the young student of
+our history.
+
+          _Cloth. xii + 233 pages. Illustrated. Price $1.20_
+
+          WORLD BOOK COMPANY
+          YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK
+          2126 PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+DEADWOOD GOLD
+
+_A STORY OF THE BLACK HILLS_
+
+BY GEORGE W. STOKES
+
+_In collaboration with Howard R. Driggs_
+
+
+THE life and work of the pioneer miners who opened up the golden
+treasures of the Black Hills form a stirring chapter in the history of
+the winning of the West. The story as told in this book is a vivid one,
+made more valuable and interesting because Colonel Stokes writes of his
+own experiences. He was one of the first to reach the new gold diggings
+in the seventies, and he saw the whole development from the early
+exciting days, on during the mad rush to Deadwood, to the discovery of
+some of the greatest gold mines in the world.
+
+There is in this volume much historical and geographical information.
+Especially does the book give a realistic picture of many aspects of the
+gold mining process and of the activities associated with the great gold
+rushes of all times. Serving as a supplementary reader in intermediate
+grades, this true story of American adventure will hold the interest of
+boys and girls.
+
+          _Cloth. xii + 163 pages. Illustrated. Price $1.00_
+
+          WORLD BOOK COMPANY
+          YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK
+          2126 PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Page vii, "189" changed to "185."
+
+Page 86, "eatablished" changed to "established" (established in 1851)
+
+Page 220, "Britian" changed to "Britain" (between Great Britain and the)
+
+Page 222, "Fe" changed to "Fe" (of the Santa Fe Trail)
+
+Page 223, "Sante Fe" changed to "Santa Fe" (The Santa Fe and Oregon
+trails)
+
+Page 223, "Fe" changed to "Fe" (Santa Fe Trail bore)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail, by
+Ezra Meeker and Howard R. Driggs
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OX-TEAM DAYS ON THE OREGON TRAIL ***
+
+***** This file should be named 29543.txt or 29543.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/5/4/29543/
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.