The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1851-01-30
CALIFORNIA LET TER.


n The absence cf news Of more geaefal iniessai
We make tho following extract from 'hp substance
Of letter contained in The last HoNkeye:
VI have seen letter from De. Elack Of this
place, which gives a graphic description q 70.
suifetings Of his company ~ crossing the Psssnt
&c. &c. terleaving Fort lafeniir they found
that family Of FIVE persons, who hal prevailed
upou them to take them in were ges,iag short o.
provisions. On examination they found that the,
h,d only enouxhto last theaEthlee days Torre-
vent them from starvation Dr. R's company wa,
Obliged 10 share y ith them, and Inns shortening
their own allowance, they were obliged 10 shap.
their course 10 Sslt Like. There they could %.
tain BAT twenty days PROVISIONS, owing 70 'h'
scarcity occ asonelby the ~inigtants who mad Pre-
coded Them. Thsy siar,esi with this, hoping 10
purchase on the road, MOI doing the, they We're
reduced 10 quarter rasions, not g-t ing ~ much y.
twenty -four houss. would be enough Tor onr
meal. Their horses began 10 fail aud they had to
foot it almost all the time. When they arrived
al the desert, the Doctor says s'we weie entirely
oui Of eatablea and almost starved, and s-veht,
miles togo, withou, The probability Of getting any
thing There were fve Of ns IN company. we
beans, rice and hard bread, that they would sell.
We gave four dollars Tor quart Of bean', the
same Tor Is much rice and filty cents pieee for
hard crackers. This We cooked and started q
q o'clock al night, 10 travel IS miles over bal
ren and sandy desert, with four toleTably gooi
hotses, and four others that had almost given ont
We travelled in company all night. Next morn
ing, took the poor horses and went ahead 10 get
10 the river, ing over = heavy sand, with
bistcred feet, nothing 10 est, since our bean sup
per the night before aud no wafer TO drink, with
broiling suh over my head, and Tour poor weakly
horses TO drive. This was the hardest thing on
The road. When got within Ave miles Of the
river, thought could not 60 any further, and
worse than all, there wcreth,ee men lying beside
the road pershing 18th hunger, thirst and fatigue.
This appalled, me. While | stopped 10 speak
with them, there fortnna.el, came along . man
with = jug containing about gallon Of water and
= few biscuit. He was doing this 10 make mon
ey. lie asked FIVE dollars for his Jug Of wafer
and dollar , piece for his biscuit bought Two
biscuits and the water, ana took drink myself
and gave the helpless ones on the road; but, alas
two were too Tar gone for human assistance -
The other survived. AT this time Z team came
along, and being somewhat refreshed, ! left the
men in the care OF The ,eamsters, and trndgins a.
long, arrived at the river almost dead, and ell
NV horses reeiing in their tracks. Here found
plenty OF good water, grass and something to eat
for myself-but at whata price! lgase two dol
lars for q pancake the size OF one you would
make in our frying pan. When knight arrived
At the river he laid down under tree end deciar-
ed he would not 90 any further, that he was ready
10 die, and that he thought God never intended
he should suffer so much.
The whole company was discourage q, and they had
to be, for out OF kind OF aud
had only sixteen dollars among five Of told the
only had TO perseyere and get along. Paris and my
self nov we're all that lc 10 DO Any tkinS The
rest gave up in despair, and said that might DO
With them what saw as--sha. they were half dsaa
--And xoald rather die than mot. There shout
800 teams within Ave miles Of At that They
all lvi01 nv their "a tAn Park
70 take care efth~ md horses - lille weuld try
and ssrsiss the wind.s soos found several with
-. .,s .naa..msa, s1S ons .no nae
He paid sstwenty desrs and ! mads thirty more,
which, when put toRsihcr made sixty.six deIlsrs.
then prevailed upon the company to mako anesher
starts and BY industry, and short ale ance,
reached the settlements In tho aiRes. Though half
twenty dollars more ON the road. NAen { left home
! weighed l65 lbs; when arrived Ia. the mines, 1
weighed l,5 lbs.