The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1859-06-23

Love is bartered but for love-
From Pixies Peak .--Terrible Suffering Of
Emigrants.--Horrors Of the smoky Hill
Route. So
From the Rocky Mountain News. May IthlT
Every day we met men arriving from
the States by the above route most of
them in All almost famishing condition.
A few days ago man arrived at Rus
sellville, and reported that his compan-
ions-nine in number-had given up
and laid down upon the prairie some
miles distant. A relief party was sent
out, who found one of the number dead
from actual starvation, and two others
SO far gone that they died soon after
reaching the settlement. .
A few days later party of thirteen
reached here who had followed the
Smoky Hill as far as practicable, and
then struck across the divide to the
Platte, by which route they reached
here nearly starved, having been obli-
ged te kill their pack horse and subsist
for days upon his flesh.
Three days ago nine men reached
Fort St. Vrain, whilst we were there,
mere tottering skeletons. They stated
that they had not tasted bread for more
than ten days, partyof which time they
had lived on the flesh of dead OK,
which they found upon the prairie but
partly devoured by the wolves, and for
four days they had nothing but roots.
They stated that they Travelled more
than one hundred miles without finding
water, and must have perished of thirst
but for some snow squalls that occur
red.
All these men tell the same story;
that they were induced to take the
Smoky Hill route by representations of
certain parties in Eastern Kansas, who
employed runners on the steamboats, to
mislead emigrants by their representa-
tions, and by distributing circulars and
cards, purrorting to be guides over
this route, representing it as good
plain road, with good camps, and two
hundred and fifty miles shorter than
any other route. They are thus induced
to start out with short supply of pro-
visions, and learn, when too late, that
Ill the above statements are false that
there is no road at all, and but little
wood or water; that Instead of being
$50 miles it is full 500, and 600 of it
without any trail or track of any kind. f,
Great destitution prevails all along the
| tier part of the route. Emigrants
are wandering over the plains in all di.
lrections, discouraged and bewildered.
Some are striking for the Arkansas,
some for the Platte, and others still
searching for what does not exist--the
Smoky Hill road. Men leave their
trains to search for aroad, and are never
seen more others lie down and die
and become food for wolves. ,gs
One man tells us that he knows of
seventeen men who have thus perished
or disappeared /; another says the re-
mains of one hundred may be seen
along the track they have followed.
We hope the reports are greatly ex-
agerated, and that time will show that
the missing are not lost, but we greatly
fear the worst, and give the reports
precisely as they we're given to u.s.
4 This much is certain-the portruding
eyes, the sunken sheeks, the trembling
knees and cracked voices of many of
those we have seen do not lie. Since
+ writing the above we have seen two
f,otmen who have just arrived via the
Smoky Hill route. They appear to have
suffered severely from hunger and
thirst. They report having passed some