Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-02-06
Col. Cookies March 10 Join the Utah Ar
my-TerrihN SisfferinrS.

: =
tant General of the Utah army of his march
from the Missouri to the valley of the Salt
lake, is full of curious interest He started
81 command Of six companies I'd Dragons,
from Fort Leaye1worth on 18th September
and his journal ends with his arrival at Fort
Bridger on the 10th Of Nov mber. He
says:
1.-The regiment had been hastily recalled
from service ia the field, and allowed three
or four days only by my then commanding
officer to prepare for march Of eleven hHn-
dred miles, over an uninhabited and noun
tain Wilderness In that time the six COM
panies of the regimeni Who gene to compose
the expedition were re-organizcd5 10
transfers necessarily made from and to other
companies; horses to be condem ned and
many to be obtained; the companies paid,
and about fifty assertions occurred; tie
commanders of four of them changed
Il marched them On the 18th. Then it
was TO be proved that three or four more
days were to be lost in waiting for tAe
Quartermaster Department to supply the
absolutely necessary transportation. On
the 18th, 107 mules were furnished, which
the same day had arrived from march of,
perhaps, 900 miles to and from Bridger's
Pass above enc hundred Of the others were
nearly worthless from want and age, and
requiring several hours to harness a team.
On the morning of the 10Th, twenty seven
feamsters were wanting, and men were furn-
ished utterly ignorant Of the business and
without outfits
Half allowance, or six pounds a day of
AM fi,n larr.
stem of transportation three or four aun-
dresses with their childrea, Eere with each
company"
The regular journal of each days march
is given, how it raiEed and how the mules
died, and the men complained. On Qcto-
Der 9th he arrived at Fort Kearney on the
18th crossed the South Platte-the Their
mometer was at 13, and the river full of
ice
It was discretionary vith ca Cooke TO
winter at Fert i4aranis OF to post on to Salt
Lake. He preferred the latter course. On
November 4th his command was at Sweet
Water Pass. IL the Rocky MOUNTAINS next
day they gained DEVILS Gate
"'On the 9Th we fornd the ground once
snore white, and the snow falling, but very
4
mile hill the north wind and drifting snow
lscanle severe the air seemed turned to
frozen fog nothing could be seen we were
struggling in a freezing cloud. The lofty
wall at Three Crossings was happy re-
lief, lsSt the g@i'ie, who had Lately passed
there, was relentless in proaouncing that
there was no grass; the idea of finding aud
feeding upon grass in that w;ntry stor,a
upon tue deep snow, was hard to entertain,
but as he protaised grass and other shelter
two miles further, We marched on, crossing
Awice more the rocky stream, half CHECKED
.&Ith snow and ice finally he led US behind
"a great granite rock, but all tee small for
Che shelEcg, orig part Of tie regiment
could hu,lale there, III the deep snov while,
stile long night through, the storm continued,
't'l:ind, drove tie falling apd drifting snow
Thus exposed, for the hope Of grass, tise
:n'or animals were driven With great devo-
zion by the men onee nao.e across the stream
and three quarters ef mile 5eyuad. to the
base Of granite ridge bat which almost
faced the storm; there the furnished mules,
cry ng pieouGly: did not seek to eat, bat
desperately gathered in a mass, and some
siprs: s. escaping tie guard, went back to
Che ford, where the lofty preopice frat gave
,ls SO pleasant relief and shelter.
''TAe morains lig.t hal nothing cheer
ing to reveal, the air still illed with driven
tsnow-the animals seen came driven in and
mingled in confusion with men. went crynch-
ing the snoW in the :cenigcd and WRECKED
camp, tranl,lag al things in their way.
( was not time to dwell Oh the fact that
from that mountain desert there was 20 re-
treat, nor any shelter near, but time for
action. But for six hours the frost or frozen
.soy fell thickly Ike snow, ana again we
marched on as IN cloud.
The deep snow drifts impeded us much.
and in crossing Sweet Water the ice broke
IN the middle. Marching ten miles only, I
got a better camp, ard Eeraed the horses
On the hills; it was different road, where
a few days before the bodies Of three frozen
.,ncn were fusHd.
On the 9Th the thermouetcr stood at 10
below the freezing point. The snow was
deep: twcntythree mules gave out, end
i've wagons were abandoned.
Nine tro9per hesxa9 eere left freezing
and dying OH tie read, ard q number Of
@SoiulCio dl1O iilu kCSI- .tIecG Di0OGu
1t was desperately Geld night; the Their
,nonetoss -:sere broken, but by comparison
,nust have marked 25o below zero 4 bot
lie of sherry wine froze in trtnk. -HaH-
ing lost about fifty mules in thirty six hours
she morning of the 1lth, on the report Of
she Qpagter-master, felt bound to leave a
wagon ii The bushes filled with seventy fonr
extra saddles and brides and some sabres
Next day the corn gave out, the mules
sarcre dying Of hunger.
They gnawed and destroyed four wagon
tongues, a number Of wagon covers, ate
their ropes, and getting loose, ate the sage
suai collected at the tents. Some of these
they attacked. Nine died.
The fast growing company of dismount-
ed men were marched together as a separ
ate command by day: the morning Of the
twelfth number of them were frost bitten
from not being in motion, although stand
5,..c BY .G:es.
sS;f1lt day eight mules we're E5arcEed to
Big-Sandy where the guide found grass,
and fuel with it; 80 roed that the 18th was
made day cf rest; the animals were all
herded at the grass. Fifty horses had been
lost since leaving Laramie"