Produced by Richard J. Shiffer and the Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) [Transcriber's Note: Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other inconsistencies. Text that has been changed to correct an obvious error is noted at the end of this ebook.] CROSSING THE PLAINS DAYS OF '57 A NARRATIVE OF EARLY EMIGRANT TRAVEL TO CALIFORNIA BY THE OX-TEAM METHOD BY WM. AUDLEY MAXWELL COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY WM AUDLEY MAXWELL SUNSET PUBLISHING HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO MCMXV [Illustration: "They started flight" (See page 119.)] CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VI FOREWORD VII CHAPTER I. Forsaking the Old, in Quest of the New. First Camp. Fording the Platte 1 CHAPTER II. Laramie Fashions and Sioux Etiquette. A Trophy. Chimney Rock. A Solitary Emigrant. Jests and Jingles 13 CHAPTER III. Lost in the Black Hills. Devil's Gate. Why a Mountain Sheep Did Not Wink. Green River Ferry 31 CHAPTER IV. Disquieting Rumors of Redmen. Consolidation for Safety. The Poisonous Humboldt 49 CHAPTER V. The Holloway Massacre 62 CHAPTER VI. Origin of "Piker." Before the Era of Canned Good and Kodaks. Morning Routine. Typical Bivouac. Sociability Entrained. The Flooded Camp. Hope Sustains Patience 76 CHAPTER VII. Tangled by a Tornado. Lost the Pace but Kept the Cow. Human Oddities. Night Guards. Wolf Serenades. Awe of the Wilderness. A Stampede 97 CHAPTER VIII. Disaster Overtakes the Wood Family 116 CHAPTER IX. Mysterious Visitors. Extra Sentinels. An Anxious Night 123 CHAPTER X. Challenge to Battle 133 CHAPTER XI. Sagebrush Justice 144 CHAPTER XII. Night Travel. Arid Wastes to Limpid Waters 160 CHAPTER XIII. Into the Settlements. Halt 170 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE "They started flight" Frontispiece "Fording the Platte consumed one entire day" 11 "Wo-haw-Buck" 14