Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-07-29
0Nortester Daily Spp.
GREELEYs OVERLAND JOURNEY.
FROM DENVER TO LARAMIE.
Fort LARAMIE. June q. II


crossing Cache la Poudre near its mouth,
where, like nearly all these streams, it is
broader and shallower than where it issues
from the Rocky Mountains. My guide had
expected to take this route till the last mo-
ment, when he learned that the South Platte
was entirely too high to be forded near St.
Vraiu's Fort, or anywhere else, and that there
now no ferry boat for two hundred miles
below Denver, so he had no choice but to take
the upper mountain route. So we crossed the
Platte directly at Denver, and Clear Creek
some three or four miles below the road to
Gregorys Diggings, by bad, difficult ford,
embellished by some half dozen deep, ugly
"sloughs" in the bottom on either side the
creek being so high that the bottom was flood
ed in part and very miry. We pushed on ten
miles further, and camped for the night oppo-
cite "Boulder City," log hamlet of some thir-
ty Indications, covering the entrance to "Boul-
der DlgglnS, twelve miles westward i'll the
mountains. Here we found four wagons, two
of them with horse teams, each conveying the
luggage of four or five men who, having taken
look at the gold region, had decided to push
on tor California, mainly, l believe through
what is known as the ''Cherokee trail" which
forms the shortest route from Denver to Salt
Lake. was strongly temped at Denver to
JON one OF these parties and go through this
pass-lad L stood firmly on both feet, l think
should have done it, saving distance, but los
ing time. We all camped for the night beside
small brook, the ripping of whose waters
over its pebbly bed fell soothingly on the drow-
sy ear | had the wagon to myself for A bed
chamber, while my three companions spread
their buffalo-skin and blankets on the grass
and had the vault of heaven for their ceiling
ne night was cool and breezy our mules
were plcketed on the grass at a shortdistance
our supper of fried pork and pilotb bread had
not surfeited us; and we slept quietly till the
hrst dawn OF day, when our mules were quick
ly harnessed, and we left our fellow campers
still torpid, pushing on fifteen miles and cross
ing two deep, swift, steep-banked creeks (St |
Vrain's Fork and branch of Thompson's
Greek, before stopping for feed and breakfast
After two hours rest, we harnessed up and
made twenty miles more before stopping at
the crossing of the other fork of Thompson's
Creek, for dinner Here we found caravan
moving from Missouri to California, which re-
minded me of the days of Abraham and Lot
1t comprised six or seven heavy wagons main
ly drawn by oxen, with light travelling car
rage and pair of horses conveying the
patrarchs family, some two or three hundred
head OF cows, steers, and young cattle, with !
three or four young men on horseback driving
and keeping the herd Girls were milking. |
women cooking or washing, children playing
In short here was the material for very fair |
settlement, or quite an imposing Kanzas City. |
we very soon overlook and passed them. |
There are scores of such caravans now on the |
various roads to California many of which |
Will see very hard times ere they reach Carson
Valley, and some still harder before they get |
fairly across the Sierra Nevada Many OF
them are behind time the feed-for much of
the way scanty at best-has been deyoured by |
the cattle ahead of them, the drought forbids
the growth of more until September, in which
tn fall tl,o
IA Nevada. And it will not tend to rouse
their Tagging spirits to meet-similar caravans
of people who, having tried California to their
full satisfaction, are moving back to Missouri
again. Was there ever another such vagrant,
restless discontented people, pretending to DO
civilized as ours
Pushing on steadily, over a reasonable
level country, though crossed by many deep
and steepbanled dry gulles, and perhaps one
petty living stream, we stood at P. NJ. on the
south bank of Cache -Poudre 20 miles from
Denver, and by far the most formidable stream
between the South Platte and the Laramie.
Our conductor as brave as mountaneer
need be, but he was wary as well, and had SO
many people drowned in fording such streams,
especially the Green River branch of the Col
orado, that he chose to feel his way carefully.
So he waited and observed for an hour or
more, meantime sending word to an old French
mouutaineer friend from Utah, who has pitch
ed his tent here that his hep was wanted
There had been ferry boat at this crossing
till two nights before, when it went down
stream, and had not since been heard of. A
horseman we met some miles below assured
us that there was no crossing but this we
found a mistake-two mounted on strong
horses crossing safely before our eyes, and two
heavy laden ox-wagons succeeded them in
doing the same, save that one of them stuck
i'll the stream, and the oxen had to be taken
of and driven out, being unable to pull it,
while themselves half buried in the swift cur
rent. But these crossings were made from
the other side where the entrance was better
and the current rather favored the pas
sage; the oX-wagons were held to the
bottom by the weight of their loads, while
ours was light and likely to be swept
down stream. AT length, our French friend
appeared, mounted on a powerful horse, with
an Indian attendant on another such. He adj
vised us to stay where we were for the night,
promising to come in the morning with
heavy ox-team and help us over. As this,
however, involved loss of ten miles on our
next days drive, our conductor resolved to
make an attempt now. SO the Frenchman on
his strong horse took one of our lead-mues by
the halter and the Indian took the other, and
we went in, barely escaping an upset from
going down the steep bank obiquey, and thus
throwing one side of our wagon much above
the other; but we rlghted IN moment and
went through--the water being at least three
feet deep for about hundred yards, the bottom
broken by large boulders and the current very
strong We camped so fairly over, lit
fire and having obtained a quarter of ante
lope from our French friend proceeded to pre-
pare and discuss a most satisfactory supper.
Table of course there was none, and we had
unluckily lost our fork but we had still two
knives sufficiency of tin cups and plates,
with an abundance of pork and pilot-bread, and
an old bag for table-cloth which had evidently
seen hard service, and had gathered more dirt
and blood in the course of it than a table cloth
actually needs But the antelope ham was
fresh, fat and tender; and it must have weigh
ed less by three pounds when that supper was
ended than when its preparation was COM
menced.
BY the way there was discussion at sup
per between my three companions-all noun
taineers of ripe experience-as to the relative
merits of certain meats for the benefit Of future
travellers through this wild region. Buffalo
found to be a general tavorite, though my own
experience Of il makes it n tough, dry wooden
fiber, only to be eaten under great provocation
Infer that it is poorer in spring than at other
seasons, and that have not been fortunate in
cooks. Bear was surprised to learn, is not
generally liked by mountaineers-my compan-
ions had eaten every species, and were not
pleased with any. The black tailed deer of
the mountains is general favorite so is the
mountain hen, or grouse; 80 is the antelope OF
course the elk and mountain sheep less de-
cidedly so. None of our party liked horse, or
knew any way of cooking it that would make
it really paatable, though of course 1t has to be