The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-02-11

or hearing beside his starving com.
rades, with no gaeen thing to gladden.
the eye even to the horizon line.
Another forty years and the word
desert will be forever bIotted from the
maps of the country. But the story
of the Jayhawkers will be handed
down to generation and generation of
the survivors as one of the most ter
rible experiences men may pass
through and live. The story of the
four months trip may be briefly out
lined, leaving the Imagination to fill
in something of the terrors of the
march. 1t is substantially as told by
Mr.. Colton.
In 1849 Illinois was a frontier
state. Iowa and Missouri were get
ting few settlers. All west was plain.
Like an electric shock the whole
country thrilled with the news of the
discovery of gold ia California and
with it began the most romantic pages
in American history. La the early
spring of the year among the thou
sands of parties organizing TO invade
the land of treasure was one at Gales
burg, ILL.,. made up largely of young
men of that vicinity. Wagons, cat.
tie, ponies, saddles-all necessary for
the long tri p across the western plains,
were gotten together, and no better
equipped train ever started for the
gold f1eids- The party left oalosLu'e
April 5. They were well provisioned
and we'll armed, and trimming over
with confidence. Their prairie
ssschooners" made formidable show
ing upon the fresh green of the prai-
ries and they were as well prepared
for brush with the Indians as 10
enjoy the peaceful scenes of an unln-
habited country. A picture Of Mr..
Cotton taken at the time shows the
true frontier youth in search OF adj
venture and is a type of the entire
party. 1t Is reproduced from q
dsguerroeotype taken in lS49.
The party crossed the Missouri at
the point where Omaha now Is, the
crossing being made on log raft,
which landed just above where Farm
nam street touches the river. There
was no Omaha then. Nothing was
there, says Mr.. Cotton, except few
Indian squaws, who sat summing them
selves upon the bank, watching the
party with suIlen interest. Then the
forty wagons In the tarin started upon
the long march across the rolling
prairies to the mountains, the trail
being nearly the same as the route
now traversed by the Union Pacific
railway, Several times the Indians
; stampeded the cattle of the party
causing serious delay, so that Salt
Lake City was not reached until the
middle of August. a month later than
: had been expected, and a rest wa
imperative, as the weather was in
tensely..ho,. From Salt.Lake there wer'
two routes to the coast-one passini
8 far north by what is known as tn
Sublette cut of, the other by the oil
d Spanish trail. which crossed tn
Wasatch mountains near little Sal
q Lake, $50 miles south, and was tn
v pack mule line of commerce betwee
q Santa Fe and Los Angeles.
i The year before the now famou
n Bonner party had taken the northern
?, route and nearly all had persisted
3 It was the shorter of the two tral
Of and among many of the gold seeker
is there was disposition to risk an,
thing rather ..than 60 by the Ion
southern route. This could not
=. attempted in any event before tv
!" months on account of the dry, b
ay weather south. The party picked Z
ne all the information they could fro
on On such mountaineers as Kit Carso
ow Peg Leg Smith, Jim sBridger al
d. others whose fame is world wide.
ou was finally decided to take the sout
MT, ern route and Captain Hunt OF t
b. Mormon battalion in the Mexican W
=" was paid 81. 200 to pilot train OF i
!. wagons, embracing about 29O persc
to Los Angeles. The Illinois pal
sI had amalgamsted with others at .
a Lake and all were eager to save eve
p minute of time that wss possible. l
e party left the Utah valley on Octo'
f f 4, with Captain Baxter of Michle
iu' in command and DR.. Mccormack
) Iowa City, Ia, as lieutenant.
oil THE PARTY DIVIDED.
ing The way to Little Salt Lake
red undulating, long low spurs rum
our out from the Wssatch mounts
less with streams and fertile valleys
ex- tween. About fifty miles south
sell the lake the party camped at Pll
esrt where the old Spanish trail turned
nost IN the left and trail known as v