Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-07-01
00lortesttr 1ailp Spp.
From the n. Y. Tribune.
GREELEYS OVERLAND JOURNEY.
THE KANSAS GOLD DIGGINGs.
IN THE Rocky MouSrA1Ns.
- II ~ n T -FE'It y tINS,
,Gregory's Diggings, June 8, 1859.

wagon drawn by four mules CROSSING Nv n
rope ferry the south fork of the Platte directly
This fork is a swift, clear, cold stream. some
thirty rods wide, fordable except when SHOWS
are melting in the mountains. Many gold
seekers wagons were waiting to cross, and
more were momently arriving, so that the fer
ryman, at least, must be making his pile out of
the diggings Henceforwald, our way lay
northwest for fifteen miles across a rolling and
well grassed prairie, on which one or two farms
had been commenced, while two or three per-
sons have just established branches that is,
have built each his corral, in which cattle are
herded at night while allowed to run at large
on the prairie during the day; 81 so per month
is the usual price for herding in this way, and
the cattle are said to do very well. The miners
leave or send back their cattle to herd ON these
prairies, while they prosecute their operations
in the mountains, where feed is generally scarce
Reaching Clear Creek, properly Vesquer's
Fork)-a cold, swift, rocky bottomed stream,
which energies justabove deep narrow canon
from the Rocky Mountains-we left our wag-
ons, saddled the mules, and forded the creek
and it was all our mules could do to stem the
impetuous current, assembled gentle grassy
slope to the foot of the Rocky Mountains
which had for an hour seemed almost within a
stones throw on our left. Now they were to
be faced directly, and the prospect was really
serious. The hill on which we were to make
our first essay in climbing rose to hight of
900 feet in little more than a mile, the as
cent for most of the distance being more than
one foot in three l never before saw teams
forced up such precipice; yet there were
wagons with ten or twelve hundred weight of
mining TOOLS provisions, &C., being dragged
by four to eight yoke of oXen-up tifrTt GRITTY
breeze, with four or five men lifting at the
wheels of each. The average time consumed
in the ascent is an hour and half. Our mules
unused to such work. were visibly appalled, by
it, at first, they resisted every effort to force
them up, even by zigzags. My companions
all walked, but l was lame and had to ride to
my mules intense disgust. He was stubborn,
but strong, and in time bore me safely to the
summit.
New as this rugged road is-it was first trav-
ersed five weeks ago today-death had travel
ed it before me. A young man, shot dead
while carelessly drawing a rifle from his wag-
on, lies buried by the roadside on this noun
tain. | have heard of so many accidents of
this nature-not less than dozen gold-seekers
having been shot in this manner during the
last two months-that l marvel at the care
lessness with which firearms are everywhere
handled on this side of the Missouri Had no
single emigrant across the Plains this season
armed himself the number of them alive at
this moment would have been greater than tbs.
We travelled some two miles along the crest
of this mountain, then descended, by pitch
equally sharp with the ascent but shorter, to
ravne, in which we rested our weary animals
and dined. That dinner-of cold ham, bread
and cheese-was one Of the best relished of
any ever shared Re-saddling, we climbed
another precipice little less steep-and so up
and down for ten miles, when we descended
into the narrow valley of little bra lch of
Clear Creek, and thenceforward had ten miles
of relatively smooth going, crossing from one
valley to another over hills of moderate eleva-
tiGn and easy ascent.
a wilderness OF mountains ANS rose an around round
us so'ue hlsngr, souie LOVE- puV Seielai!y
very steeP' WIN ssr & ', ior e,ie
Sat,,, ;iolr scattarod traes mn fbair s;des
and ON tba;r tons. hut tbav arc generally finn
In,.o9 nd n,a;ply ,~;t,, yolIo,y n;no s9ma If
80 M r,arn Il II sn,a and annar
~ H. ,n,5G Hon on tbe momtaina tS;s
~. od snra,,l hila IN +ba
49,, an I'D sbar10iy b+ NOT ,nro
~ o. - do,,,o+d, JTnr;ooos L.,,o 80
tii''il ~ - IT, ,tt;+ ~
s. ,.o,,plrad a, A.
Piii t1 y "a, ~ A. s,s,,,,,it ,i,ne
lii'tG.' s',ai, ~ 20
III L se III HE, f.
:',i ~; Ia,ino aise i ,oynrt
II, .,o Avn, - % t',T tL Ill
80 ,, 81 os,,o,, r,h;nh saans hnt mora dol
Il; al fIa
nao. speei IN " o,etos o,,onrs on tha ,,oro
raoiLrs; anu iitias a. do ~oosobarrv bushes
Il, ~ ,';Hos Rrools Of thn unrest water
~ n, and sinn in avarv rav;na snr;ncs
IiJ IN ;,l,,,1ori 80 80 re.
~ III IL 1T +a;GnJ ~, ~ ,,,,ta;n
aIoo,, n. rIartifl oxoont 1hero disturhnd NV
.',S ~ ,ra,,s ,r,o,
ac LIZ ~ nat" sran and nrtrt
' ',t;I 80 c., ao An : now, bon,r yor.
III ILL., oa,,ad ond ~ ont;roI fir tbo haffer
W. LII = s,na,t Sbo,ror Win tbnnder and
l;,h+Ni,,1F dnri,,1 40 oftarnoon which com
FL -, hait fa,,, '',i,,,,tos notbar sncb
~S +hot bolit Of tba
e'iis iIon toId ,oo tbn+ +bornI
a,n ~ e,oa.oIl,, rithbeId
',i',,l:'ei % - - - .
dV tiiiS v ~ e"
Nlsit peii uPGn 10 "lii9 w slA Va -: ~ ~
nlies from lhe ulSsilSs' anu We ~ 'iie
edge oil the pines on the prov Oh seilue ac'
chVlty, Win prospect Vi grass as wen 'S
wafer lor our weary hungry pea sS uo"n Ilie
slope south OF us. WINE hau lalleIl 10 MS
Knees IN the iast Warehouse we h1u PasScu'
very nearly throwing me over 4eI lie"o hau
she zone IL, am nov sure hau HoI ,le
sttehgth lelt 10 rlse anu reaiiouh'' anu iiaruiy
10 walk the IenhalhiuS nan mt As was,
l had 10 De iIleu tehueIiy rom my sauule' anu
laid on a Diahket, WIN TWO more ABOVE me,
"here iay whiie tne .ife was Duii'' SupPel
prepared, ana iouge OF ury poles anu green
pine boughs hastily put up l was 100 urea 10
eat, Dut the bright leaplhg name rom tle ury
pines heaped on our IRE gradually overcome
the shlverng' whleh was ABOUT tne ohiy sign
OF vitality showed wien nrst laiu Gowll' anu
1 az lehgtn resumed ,ie perPenulcu it1, " al
enort, anu LOOK my pace Ill our oooIh, WneIe
steep OUT Htluuy Vislteu me uutlnS tndt prlSIt
short summer night But tnls le1t me more
time TO rub my chalea ana Sti1eneu illilos' 50
that when breakfast was called IN inc morn
ing, was ready appetlte mcluuea, anu pre-
pared TO dlspel the apprenenSlOns OF lhose VINO