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
I was caught in a hail-storm this morning. I was half a mile from the
wagons, on a high bluff, looking over the river, watching the storm
coming. I did not realize that it was so near, but all at once it came
down pell-mell and gave me some pretty hard knocks. Dick seemed in a
hurry to get to the train, and I let him go. We seemed to fly over the
ground through the storm, but we had the benefit of it all, for it
stopped just when we reached the wagons.
I unsaddled Dick and turned him out, while I took passage in the
wagon, changed my wet clothes for dry ones and wrapped in a shawl to
keep from taking cold. When the teams were being hitched up at noon,
Hillhouse said to me, “Dick has not had water; you would better ride to
the river and give him a drink.”
The river was half a mile from the road, but in sight all the way. Dick
cantered to the watering place, drank all he wanted, and we started
back when I saw someone coming toward me. I will not say who it was
because of what followed.
“I thought you were getting too far behind for safety.”
“Oh, there isn’t any danger; you need not bother about me.”
“Bother? Oh, no.” And then came a declaration that about took my
breath. At first I felt that I would like to box the presumptuous boy’s
ears. Then I wanted so much to laugh. But when I saw how desperately in
earnest he was I thought, perhaps, I have been to blame for not seeing
how things were tending. I was perfectly amazed; such a thought never
occurred to me.
Our ride back to the train was rather embarrassing to me. I tried to
make him see the comicality of the whole business, but he would not see
it. We passed a station where the Indians had burned all that would
burn, but these adobe, dirt-roof houses, or cabins rather, would not
make much of a blaze I imagine. Inside one of the cabins--or what was
left of it--were two dead Indians that had been killed in the fray.
* * * * *
Sunday, June 25.
Mr. Reade came with six young ladies to call upon us this morning, also
one gentleman from the Irvine train. They had gone down into their
trunks and were dressed in civilization costumes. They were Misses
Nannie and Maggie Irvine--sisters--their brother, Tom Irvine, Miss
Mollie Irvine, a cousin--Miss Forbes, and two other young ladies,
whose names I have forgotten. They are all very pleasant, intelligent
young people.
The trains are keeping as close together as possible, for protection,
for the Indians are on the warpath. Every station and ranch-building
that we are passing these days have been destroyed.
PREACHING SERVICES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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