West-Jersey pioneer., 1878-07-18
A DISMAL PARTY.

This morning, says a Pittsburg paper of
and forlorn parties that ever struck this city
meandered in Second avenue, and stopped
to rest and consult near Everson, McCrum
& Co.'s rolling mill. The party consisted
of man, his wife, two boys and one little
girl, all members of his family, and negro
of about middle age. Seven weeks ago the
family left Newark to emigrate to Missouri.
The head of the family purchased second
hand wagon and horse.
In the former he carried everything that
would be absolutely essential on the trip,
such as cooking utensils, bedding, &C., and
these articles, with the horse and wagon,
comprised everything that he owned in the
shape of worldly goods. The progress of
the party from Newark to the Allegheny
mountains was necessarily slow and labori-
GUS, and long before reaching Harrisburg
the family were worn out by insufficient
food and by travelling in the manner in
which they did.
At Harrisburg the negro mentioned was
also seized with an idea of emigrating to
Missouri. and without due deliberation he
Joined the family, and the whole party came
crawling westward at snail's pace. Some
distance west of Harrisburg the crowning
misfortune happened to the party. Bat
tered and stove up by hauling load in all
sorts of weather without the aid of enough
to eat, the horse one day laid down and
died, and for time the members of the
party were at their wits end to know what
to do. 1t was a desperate case.
There was no money to purchase another
horse. The wagon contained what most
people would consider old junk, but the
contents were valuable to the emigrants,
being everything they owned in the world.
1t was finally determined that the Journey
thenceforth should be pursued on foot, and
that the father and his two small boys and
the negro should propel the vehicle as best
they could. This they did, day in and day
out, obtaining their food by begging. This
morning tho party hove in sight on Second
avenue, and it is scarcely possible to imag-
inc a more wretched or unique turnout.
Looking upon it, the beholder did not know
whether to laugh or cry.
In the shafts of the wagon was the negro,
barefooted and hitched up in the harness of
the dead horse, and pulling for all he was
worth Attached to the singletree was a
rope, by which one of the boys helped the
negro to pull the wagon. The father and
his other son were behind pushing, and his
wife and the little girl brought up the rear.
The entire party, with the exception of one
of the boys, were barefooted, and their gen.
eral appearance was one of abject poverty
and misery.
When they arrived at Everson, McCrum
& Co.'s mill the negro extricated himself
from the harness, sat down on a curbstone
and swore he would pull the wagon no longer
The father held conference with his
wife, who appeared to be the most intelli-
gent one in the party, as to what was best
to De done under the circumstances. He
wanted to come to the mayors office to in
quire as to where he could get work for a
time. She, however, suggested that work
could be secured quicker by going to Wash
ington county, as it was near harvest time
Her idea was considered the BEST and they
endeavored to prevail upon the negro to
hitch himself up again and make another
stager at it, but in vain. Finally the fam
lily concluded to pursue their journey alone,
and they made a united effort to propel the
wagon forward. They found, however,
that they could not bulge the vehicle, and,
after they had strained and tugged while
at it, the negro's heart relented, and he
once mere took his position between the
shafts, and when last seen he was pulling
the wagon slowly and laboriously in the
direction of Washington county.