Days on the Road: Crossing the Plains in 1865Herndon, Sarah Raymond
History
Days on the Road: Crossing the Plains in 1865
Herndon, Sarah Raymond
Overland journeys to the Pacific; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
Thursday, June 1.
Our little village on wheels has stopped near a large two-story
log-house that was built in the early fifties for a wayside tavern;
there are fifteen rooms; there are frightful stories told of dark deeds
having been committed under that roof, of unwary travelers homeward
bound from California that never reached home, but whether true or not
I cannot say. The people of the other trains are having a dance in the
large dining-room of the old house.
* * * * *
Friday, June 2.
As Ezra and I were riding in front of the train we came to where a man
was sitting on the ground hugging his knees, two men were standing near
trying to talk to him, seemingly. As we rode up one of them came toward
us, saying, “That is an Indian, over there.” We rode close to him, and
Ezra said, “How;” but he did not even grunt. He was very disappointing
as the “Noble Red Man” we read about. He wore an old ragged federal
suit, cap and all. There were no feathers, beads nor blankets. He was
not black like a negro, more of a brown, and a different shade from the
mulatto. He was ugly as sin.
ON THE BANKS OF THE PLATTE.
Saturday, June 3.
Here we are on the Platte with about two hundred wagons in sight. We
are now on what is known as “The Plains.” My idea of the plains has
been very erroneous, for I thought they were one continuous level
or plain as far as the eye could reach, no hills nor hollows, but
it is nothing else than the Platte River Valley with high bluffs on
either side. There is some timber on the banks, but the timber of any
consequence is on the islands in the middle of the river, out of reach
of the axe of the emigrant. This is the junction of the roads from St.
Joe and Plattsmouth, and that is why there are so many wagons here
to-night. Surely, among all these people there must be a minister of
the Gospel, so perhaps we will have public worship to-morrow. Our trip
grows more interesting, even Mrs. Kerfoot seems interested, as so many
people are going West, it must be the thing to do.
* * * * *
Sunday, June 4.
We are organized into a company of forty-five wagons, a captain and
orderly sergeant have been elected, and hereafter we will travel by
system. Mr. Hardinbrooke is our captain. He has gone on this trip
before; he is taking his wife and little girl with him to Montana. A
Mr. Davis is our orderly sergeant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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