Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-07-28
THE PLAINS ACROSS.
"REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNEY
IN 1852.
An OId.Timer Tells AbOut Some OF
the Incidents That BefelI the
Emigrant Two Score Years Ago.

hC iOiio"iHS ulSit, as we COulu llOt
reach camp, we stopped where we
found good grass We had neither
heard nor seen any one, but we had
decided to camp. Lyons who was
about sixteen feet from our wagon
said to us that if we were going to
stop there, he would leave lis COW
with us, as she had given out, and it
was six miles ahead to camp; that he
would be back i'll the morning and
drive her on. We felt as if there could
be no danger, SO near to company.
So after supper we tied up our team
and went to bed feeling safe. AS it
began to dawn, a low buzzing sound
awoke me. AS it sounded like Indi-
ans l reached for my gun. The move
ment made creaking of the wagon
Lyons inquired if we were all killed
or if We were alive, 1 answered al
am" The rest soon gave the same
reply. l asked why, and what had
brought him there so early. He said
he had felt uneasy about us; that the
Indians were anything but friendly at
the river; that there was large body
of them there; that they had killed his
COW, right there, within sixteen feet of
our wagon, and stripped all the meat
off its bones, that their coming was
fortunate for us. He insisted on our
hitching up and moving into camp
before breakfast. This we did. Thus
after having been separated for five
hundred miles or more, we were again
united. A union for day, as the re-
suit proved. AS we had been making
dry camps and long drives for some
time, we decided to restore day. Plans
were laid to stick together the rest of
the way. This was the more neces-
sary as We were now entering the most
dangerous part of the whole journey,
the fishing grounds Of the dreaded
Humboldt Indians. We had not
been in camp an hour, when we saw n
band of thirty young warriors drawn
up in line on the opposite bank COM
pletely armed with bows, arrows and
knives. They appeared to be young,
active and anxious for fight. With
their sign, language they told us they
would kill us and let the buzzards
pick our bones. So closely did they
initiate tire motion of the carrion
gormand, that while a large river
rolled between US their pantOminic
performance was really amusing, but
when they slid into the water, like
semi-aquatic animals, and came direct
for us. the feeling of levity vanished
and each drew out his gun and quietly
prepared for defense. On our side we
could muster ten guns and an old
fashioned pepper.box revolver, which
WAS all the more terrifically formida-
BILE drive, at the distance OF fifteen or
twenty feet; it accidentally might hit,
though it was never known to do so,
and if it did it was barely possible that
it might produce an abrasion of the
skin. Probably from mortal dread
OF this formidable weapon, or possibly
for some other reason, the Indians
betook themselves to the sage.brush
as soon as they landed, though how
they managed to conceal themselves
so quickly no one could tell. Like
partridges they were gone. About as
quickly they were forgotten. The
women went to their wash tubs and
half the men went out with the cattle
to Craze. Halt the men went out in
the forenoon. At noon the guard was
changed, leaving in both cases the
terrible pepper-box in camp, as a sure
protection in case of a sudden attack.
The ones going out were delayed not
to exceed ten minutes by those that
were coming in, all admitted that it
could not have been a full half hour
from the time that Lyons saw his
cows till We found them, yet two had
been killed and the meat clearly
stripped from the bones. I gathered
up the balance of the cattle and drove
them to more open pasture grounds,
because at that place the sage was
from four to six feet high. The next
morning we moved down to the ford,
six miles. There we parleyed till three
O'Clock P. NJ. Some were determined
to cross and 60 down on the north
side, to avoid the Humboldt Indians.
l preferred to take the south side and
save twenty-four dollars ferriage
wagon, to get back again. Argument
was exhausted on both sides, and still
our teams were standing in the hot
sun. became impatient, took up my
whip and drove off alone. We drove
about three miles and camped, sup
posing that we were to have another
two hundred miles to ourselves, but in
the morning we we're agreeably sur
prised to hear that three wagons were
coming to join us. We could then
muster seven guns and that same old
rusty peppsr-box revolver, and for
hand-to-hand fight, three axes, three
butcher knives, a cross-cut saw, and
several frying pans. We of course felt
as if we were capable of making re-
spectacle defence against any unarmed
force of Diggers Bunacks and Sho-
shones, that might have the audacity
to molest us. Accordingly we moved
on with light, if not merry, hearts.
At noon, finding very pretty bottom,
interpersed with streaks of willow, and
open spaces of grass and wild currants,
just such a place as invites one TO
needless security and repose, we turned