A trip to California in 1853 : $b Recollections of a gold seeking trip by ox train across the plains and mountains by an old Illinois pioneerBailey, Washington
History
A trip to California in 1853 : $b Recollections of a gold seeking trip by ox train across the plains and mountains by an old Illinois pioneer
Bailey, Washington
Overland journeys to the Pacific
I was with the party at Cainsville, when an incident happened which I
never will forget. We were waiting for word from Jobe Spray, and uncle
and all the party except one other man and myself had left the camp and
gone to Cainsville. We were left to herd the cattle. While in the town,
uncle met a man who owned a farm near the camp. They rode out as far as
the camp together, and as uncle's horse was a little thin, having been
ridden through from Wisconsin, and the farm was but a short distance
away, he picketed out the horse, took off the saddle and threw it away
far enough so that the horse could not reach it. He proceeded on foot to
the man's farm.
From where I was herding, I could see the horse and went down, thinking
that some of the party had come back from Cainsville, and that I would
be able to get something to eat as I was very hungry. When I got to the
camp, I saw that it was uncle's horse, but could not see anything of
uncle. I started back to the cattle when I discovered the saddle in the
grass with a two-bushel sack tied to the horn of the saddle. I was
interested to know what was in the sack, thinking it might be crackers,
so I gave the sack a kick with the toe of my boot. There was a jingling
sound as if there were ox shoes and nails in it. So to satisfy my
curiosity, I untied the sack from the saddle, ran my hand into it and
took out, to my great surprise, a handful of gold. Tying up the sack, I
looked in all directions for uncle, but could not see him. I called out
for him as loud as I could, three or four time, but received no answer.
After waiting for quite awhile, I took the sack and hid it under some
clothing and bedding in the bottom of one of the covered wagons. I then
went to a high point near the cattle where I could watch both, the
cattle and the wagon.
Along in the afternoon, the folks returned from Cainsville, and my mind
was relieved, as I knew there was no further danger of prowlers. My
helper and myself, gathered up the stock, and when we got into camp,
it was dark and I was hungrier than I had ever been before in my life.
"Come to supper," was a welcome shout and the thought of the gold had
vanished. While eating, I heard uncle call out to some of the men:
"Did you see anything of a sack on my saddle horn?"
Several of the men answered, "No," before I could get my mouth emptied
and when my vocal canal was free from congestion, I holloed,
"I saw a sack on the horn of your saddle," and he answered back,
"All right Wash," and I told him to wait until I had my supper and I
would be over and get it for him.
I went to the camp fire where the men were huddled and asked uncle where
he had been and he said that he had walked to the farm across the
fields. I asked him how much was in the sack and replied, "Thirty-six
thousand Dollars."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account