Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-01-20
THE PLAINS ACROSS.
In the Good Old Days Of
FOrty-Nine.
THE COLE HUNTERS DIARY
Second Batch of J. N. HixsOn's Notes
Made in q Trip Across the
Continent in '49.

Continent in '49.
The HERALD of last Monday contained
the first installment of diary made by
j. M. Hixson, now Of this city, while
crossing the continent in 1849. Follow.
ing is the second chapter of the story
It begins on Thursday, May Sd, al
Camp on the Big Blue, half a mile
above the crossing:
After an early breakfast, we were on
the road by 7 o'clock, travelling over O
rolling prairie, the wind from the south
east, with light drizzling rain up to 10
O'Clock, when it commenced to rain hard
making it necessary to get out gum
blankets, gum capes, hat coverings, etc.
The gum blanket was the great thing for
the plains. The heavy lining of Canton
flannel made it warm, and when the
head was stuck through the slit in the
center it fitted snug to the shoulders, and
came down over the legs when riding,
and came nearer protecting one in every
way than anything else. They were fine
to spread the gum side down on the wet
ground when in camp. By noon it waE
pouring down, 30 we went into camp
early. In the afternoon it broke away
for while, and we amused ourselves by
fishing and shooting at target. We had
some good guns, carrying heavy balls.
My brother from Kentucky had our
fathers target rife. Many a quarter OF
beef and Christmas turkey had been
added to the Hixson larder from the
chnnfir1n M otahou hxy hot l..
fore we came to Missouri in 1889. Dur.
ing fathers stay in Missouri he was cele.
brated for bringing down the deer
whether running or standing, with thai
gun. All his companions in deer hunt
carried double barrel guns, one barrel
rife and one shot, or both barrels fo,
shot, but father always stuck to
his old gun, and no other
consideration would ever have
induced him TO part with that gun, than
the one, that it mighs be the means, in
the hands of good marksman, of saw
ing o son from the Indians. Major
Lane, who was professional Indian
fighter, having lived for years in Texas
long before Santa Ana was driven out of
there, had a good double-barrel shot
gun. Paley Carpenter, who was through
the Mexican war, had good gun, and
some others had guns of more or less
renown. But I had the boss gun of all
1t was an old-time rife, thirty-tw balls
to the pound, and the further one il
from the target the more certain to hit
SO if l had to shoot at Indians 1 tried tt
get as far away as possible before firing
On Friday, May 4th. at 9 O'Clock a.
m. we we're still in camp, and it con
tinued to rain, With .EEe -=ind 1fom the
north. 1t was very cold. Our rubber
tent was so heavy that it broke down
the pole and all we could do was to wrap
up in our blankets and lie in the wagons
and listen to the beating rain and the
mourning mules. The poor creatures
had to take the storm and there was but
little grass, and that 30 tender that il
did them but little good. As we could
made no fire all we had to eat was
some pinole stirred in cold water.
Pinole is parched corn, ground and
mixed with sugar. 1t is very nutritious
and no doubt in dry weather is very fine
on tramp, where one cannot carry
camp equipage, but / must say it il
rather thin for this kind of weather.
SATURDAY, MAY 9TH, CAMP NO. 4.
We here re-encamped on high ridge
without wood or water, save what came
from above of the latter, which was still
bountiful. We pulled out of Camp 8, q,
Q o'clock, in hopes of finding grass fo,
our mules. We had very bad road
through the bottom. We struck the
high prairie at the boundary line, which
we crossed about 10 O'Clock. We struck
out on vast plains, and truly it was a
plain as far as the eye could see, with an
occasional line of brush that indicated
some muddy stream in the distance.
The land was fairly good and thought
doubtless would be settled up some day,
but 1 felt pity for the man who had to
live in this beastly climate for it seemed to
me much worse than in the timbered
part of Clay county, Missouri. We
travelled eighteen miles and finding
some grass we csmped without any
wood to make fire, or water to drink.
We had to content ourselves with few
crackers.
Camp No. 5 we pitched OF
Sunday, May 9th. We were en-.
camped on Bull creek, having
travelled twenty miles over fearful
muddy roads. We were in no very good
humor, as we had no coffee for breakfast
and but little of anything to eat during
the day. We had fair camping place,
and we made good use of the bountifui
supply of wood in making big fire to
dry our wet clothes and in cooking good
supper.
1t had been our intention to 90 the
Santa Fe route, but when we got to the
Lone Tree and there was no one in
sight, before or behind us, we hello
a council and discussed the matter, and
there being but eight of Us we came te
the conclusion that it might be better TO,
US TO 60 with the crowd. We had
been travelling across the untrod prairie
to strike the main road for the past two
days, being thirty-five miles in the In
dian country; and everything beins
desolate, and wolves howling around, We
thought it best to camp early and reload
our guns. It was still raining at timaa