History of the Donner Party: A Tragedy of the SierraMcGlashan, C. F. (Charles Fayette)
History
History of the Donner Party: A Tragedy of the Sierra
McGlashan, C. F. (Charles Fayette)
Donner Party; Overland journeys to the Pacific
Samuel Shoemaker came from Springfield, Ohio, Charles T. Stanton from
Chicago, Illinois, Luke Halloran from St. Joseph, Missouri, Mr. Hardcoop
from Antwerp, in Belgium, Antoine from New Mexico. John Baptiste was a
Spaniard, who joined the train near the Santa Fe trail, and Lewis and
Salvador were two Indians, who were sent out from California by Captain
Sutter.
The Breens joined the company at Independence, Missouri, and the Graves
family overtook the train one hundred miles west of Fort Bridger. Each
family, prior to its consolidation with the train, had its individual
incidents. William Trimble, who was traveling with the Graves family,
was slain by the Pawnee Indians about fifty miles east of Scott's Bluff.
Trimble left a wife and two or three children. The wife and some of her
relatives were so disheartened by this sad bereavement, and by the fact
that many of their cattle were stolen by the Indians, that they gave up
the journey to California, and turned back to the homes whence they had
started.
An amusing incident is related in the Healdsburg (Cal.) Flag, by Mr. W.
C. Graves, of Calistoga, which occurred soon after his party left St.
Joseph, Missouri. It was on the fourth night out, and Mr. Graves and
four or five others were detailed to stand guard. The constant terror
of the emigrants in those days was Indians. Both the Pawnees, the Sioux,
and the Snakes were warlike and powerful, and were jealous, revengeful,
and merciless toward the whites. That night a fire somehow started in
the prairie grass about half a mile from camp. The west wind, blowing
fierce and strong, carried the flames in great surging gusts through the
tall prairie grass. A resin weed grows in bunches in this part of the
country, generally attaining the height of four or five feet. The night
being very dark, these weeds could be seen standing between the fire and
the guards. As the flames swayed past the weeds, the impression was very
naturally produced upon the mind of a timid beholder that the weeds were
moving in the opposite direction. This optical illusion caused some of
the guards to believe that the Indians had set fire to the grass, and
were moving in immense numbers between them and the fire with intent to
surround them, stampede the cattle, and massacre the entire party. The
watcher next to Mr. Graves discovered the enemy, and rushed breathlessly
to his comrade to impart the intelligence. Scarcely had Mr. Graves
quieted him before it was evident that a general alarm had been spread
in the camp. Two other guards had seen the Indians, and the aroused
camp, armed to the teeth, marched out to give battle to the imaginary
foe. It was a rich joke, and it was some time before those who were
scared heard the last of the resin Indians.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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