The Democratic pioneer. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1845-1853, 1849-01-26
From the Louisville Courier.
California Emigration.

q"'r'es In reference to the outfit, jou rney
and rou,e to California by land. Il would
be quite impossible for us to devote sufi
cient time TO answer these letters. and
taerefofe we have applied to Mr. Edwin
fr ant, the author of What 1 sap IN Cal
Jor"ia &c. IA book, by the way, which
affords all the information on the subject
OF the journey By the land ronte, that can
he given, and which every emigrant aud
traveller TO the Pacific, by land or oy sea
should possess,l to answer these questions
for us:-
Firsi- TIE route. Which route via
Independence or ST. Joseph, Mo-, to
Forl Laramie, South Pass Fort Hall, the
Sink of Mar,'s River. &C., &C., the old
route. Let no emigran,. carrying his
family with him, devIate from il, or imag
inc TO himself that he can fnd better
road. Tins ROAD is The Best tina, has ye,
been discovered, and to the bay OF San
Francisc and the Gold Region il is much
the shortest. The Indians, moreover. on
this rou'e, have up TO the present time,
been SO friendly as to commit no acts Of
hostility on the emigrants. The trail is
plain aud good where there are no physi-
cal obstructiuns. and the emigrant by ta-
king this roate; will certainly reach his
destination in good season aud without
disaster. From our Information We " ould
I lv aA al osrli IN,
,ake this trail, without deviation, il they
Would avoid the fatal calamities which
almost invariably have attended those
who have undertaken to explore ne"
rUu'es.
Secoad-- Wagon and Y'edm VIVA, RiHd
Of wagon aud team is preferable!
.4nsaer. The ligh,est wagon that can
be constructed Of suli cient strength to
carry 500 pounds weight, is the vehicle
m, 81 desirable. No wagon should be
l"aded over this Weight, OF il il is, it wall
be certain to stall in The muddy sIonghs
and CROSSINGS OH the Praries in the frat
part Of the jodr,iey. Tins wagon can b.,
hauled by or 4 Jokes ofoxen or g mules.
Oxen are usually employed by the emf
G ants for hauling their wagons. They
travel about l5 miles per day, and all
things considered, are perhaps equal tn
mules Tor this eisce, althudgh they cah-
no, travel SO fast. They are, however,
less expensive, and there is not SO much
dArger of their strayi0g off aud beng
stolen by the Indians. ,..
Pack mules can only be employed by
parties of men. 1t ~odid be very diff
Gilt to tran6Port party OF women and
ehilaseh OH pack mules, with the pro
visions, clo,hing and other baggage nee
cessary to their comfort. A party of nien
however. with pack mules can make The
journey in less time by one mouth than
il Can be done in wag gons-carrying with
them, however; nothing more than their
| PFovi,ons, clothing and Ammunition.
For parties of men g,ing out, il woiild
be well to haul tleir wagons, provisions
&c to Fort Laramie or Fort Hall, b,
mules, carr, ing Win thein pack.saddIes
! and adforYases, or large sdadIe bags, adap-
ted to the pack saddle, with ropes for
packing, DC, when il ihey saw proper,
lhey colIa dispose bf their wag ms for In
dian pohies anu pack into California,
gaining, PERHAPS two or three weeks
tiRf.
Third. What provisions are necces-
sary TO a man!
:4nSDer. The provisions actually nec-
cessary per man, are as follows: l50 lbs
Of -four, ID los of coffee, 30 lbs OF siigar.
Added TO these the ifain Items; there
should be small Quantity of rice, 80 or
IS lbs of cra6Eers, dried peaches, &c
and keg of lard, with salt pepper &C..
aud such other luxuries Of light weight as
the person ut-6tting chooses to purchase.
He will think of them befure he starts.
Fourth. What aims and ammunition
are necessary ..
Ahst5er. Every man should be pruvi-
ded With a good rifle, and if convenien.
with pair Of pistols, five lbs. of powder
and teh lbs: of lead. A revolving belt
pistol may he found useful.
With the wagon there should be car
ried such carpenters tools as a hand saw
anger gmblet; ciisel, shaving knife, &C.,
an axe, hammer shd Ratchet. This las,
weapon every man Should have in his belt,
with hbntet's OF Bowie knife.
Fifth. Wha, is lie length Of the jour
ne,!
.4usi5ef. From Independence to the i
first settlement in California, which is I
near the gold region, il is about 1850
miles-to San Francisco, 2 .s9j miles
Sir.h. What are the facts in regard
10 the statements respecting the gold 4
niuesi