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
It is supposed the Indians killed the driver, took the horses, and
it is not known yet whether there were passengers or not, the coach
being so riddled with bullets; it is feared there were passengers. A
guard of soldiers go with the coaches we meet, or that pass us now. We
crossed Rock Creek on a toll-bridge, and had to pay fifty cents toll
for each wagon.
Just after we crossed the bridge, and where there is a sudden turn in
the road, as it winds around the mountain, we saw where two men had
been killed and two wagons burned last week. The tire became loose on a
wheel of the next to the last wagon in a freight train, the men stopped
to tighten it, while the rest of the train moved on, not thinking of
danger, and was out of sight in a few minutes. An hour later some of
the men came back to see what kept them. There they were--dead and
scalped--the horses gone, and wagons on fire. The Indians had taken all
the freight they could use, piled wood under the wagons, and set it on
fire. We saw quantities of white beans scattered over the ground, also
the irons from the wagons.
We are within sight of Elk Mountain and seemingly quite near it. Sim
and Hillhouse picked a nice lot of gooseberries while stopping at noon.
I have been sitting in the wagon, picking off stems all afternoon;
they also brought a bucket of snow. It is really refreshing, and such
a novelty to have a snow-ball to eat in July. The gooseberries are
quite plentiful around here. Cash and I went with Hillhouse and Sim
to pick some this evening, but a shower drove us to camp; the boys
stayed and picked as long as they could see. If we had time, we could
gather gooseberries enough to supply the train for a month. They are
very fine and large; they are certainly an acceptable addition to our
bill-of-fare, where a sameness of diet is unavoidable. I shall always
consider them a fine fruit hereafter.
About an hour after we drove into corral the McMahan train came, and
their corral is quite near. We are so glad they are here; we feel safe
when they are near.
* * * * *
Monday, July 17.
Such a cold, rainy, dismal day as this has been. It has rained without
stopping from early morn until now, and it is almost sundown. This is
the first all-day rain we have had this Summer. It has rained all night
several times, but that is not so bad.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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