Columbus and Other Heroes of American DiscoveryD'Anvers, N.
History
Columbus and Other Heroes of American Discovery
D'Anvers, N.
America -- Discovery and exploration; North America -- Discovery and exploration
The Pawnees, the Sioux, and the Arapahoes, amazed and awe-struck at
their numbers, fled at their approach, but the less easily cowed
enemies of famine and pestilence thinned their ranks. Still undaunted,
the survivors, leaving the dead bodies of their comrades a prey to the
wild beasts of the wilderness, pressed on, and, the Rocky Mountains
left behind, they swarmed into the valley of Humboldt’s River,
watering the western half of the newly-formed State of Utah. Many were
here obliged to halt for want of fodder for their cattle or food for
themselves; and it is related that some of the adventurers, in their
eager lust to be the first to arrive in the new El Dorado, set fire to
the meadows of dry grass to hinder the progress of those behind them.
On the shores of the Humboldt River a separation took place in the
ranks of those still able to proceed, some making for the head of the
Sacramento Valley, others choosing the better route to the American
fork of the Sacramento River. Of the former, nearly all perished
before reaching their destination; of the latter, many were rescued by
the noble heroism of parties sent out from California to their relief.
Enough of the original thirty thousand survived to fill the hitherto
desolate valley of the new south-western state with life. Every
ensuing spring brought new comers; the little settlement of Yerba
Buena became the port of San Francisco, which, from “a scattering town
of tent and canvas houses,” grew in four short months to a populous
city, “displaying,” to quote the words of Bayard Taylor, “street after
street of well-built edifices, filled with an active and enterprising
people, and exhibiting every mark of permanent commercial prosperity;”
while on every stream clustered the huts of miners, and from every
sheltered nook rose the smoke of the settler’s cabin.
CHAPTER XVI.
AMONG THE APACHES, NAVAJOES, AND ZUNI INDIANS OF TEXAS,
ARIZONA, AND NEW MEXICO.
SHORTLY after the great tide of emigration had swept into California,
yet another vast tract of country, that now known under the several
titles of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, was annexed to the United
States. We have already visited these districts in the company of
various early heroes, chiefly missionary; but in the adventures of
Cozens, as related in his _Marvelous Country_, we find so many vivid
pictures of the life of the wild inhabitants at the present day, that
we propose supplementing our record of discovery by a short abstract
of his travels.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account