The Press., 1894-01-25
THE RED WING.
[Copyright, 1895, by American Press Associa-
 tioa.l
 CIT PIER
By DAN DE QUILLE.
 rr,r, xxrnr,ryryUr> I,,IIrl, NT EkMTTV

[Copyright, 1885, by American Press Assocla-
 tios.
 CHAPTER 1.
 THE WRECKED ENIIGRANT FAMILY.
 One scorching hot day in October, 1860, left the little town of Dayton on the Carson river for Carson City, now the capital of the state of Nevada. It was as hot as i'll midsummer. The road was at that time dreary one to travel. It was the regular Old Emigrant road the road leading from the sink of the Humboldt across the great Humboldt desert to the Carson river, thence over the Sierra Nevada mountains by way of the Placerville route to California. 1 was on foot and had before me tramp of over 12 miles with not a human hab- itation in sight. My road lay through sterile waste of alkali lands that spread away on almost dead level in all di- rections to distant ranges of barren and rocky hills.
 Wearily toiled through the sand and alkali dust-the same sand and dust through which had toiled during that summer and every summer since 1S49 long emigrant trains from the states east of the Missouri river. At the time of which 1 am speaking thousands of emigrant wagons were still rolling ln across the 'plains" every summer, and for some years later-until railroad was built across the continent-they continued to pour in across the moun- tains and deserts. But as 1 tramped along l saw neither trains nor single 1.,fn in hn emigrants to be abroad. Most of those on the plains that year had reached and crossed the Sierras in September. Even the traders at the posts out near the deserts had folded their tents and re- turned to California. considering their trade over for the season.
 Though no wagons were in sight on the road, signs of the great stream of emigration were to be seen on all sides. The trail along which had moved the great annual procession was well mark ed. The carcasses of hundreds and thou sands of cattle, horses and mules strew- ed the ground for several hundred yards on each side of the road. Some of these carcasses were those of animals that had died only the week or the month before perhaps, while others were those of animals that had there fallen and died as early as 1S49 or 1850. Here on these alkali plains dead animals be- come mummies. They do not decay as in other places, but dry up.
 It was about on that portion of the road over which l was travelling that such animals as had received deadly doses of alkai on the Humboldt, the Twenty-fv Mile and other great des- erts succumbed and fell to rise no more. The early settlers made miles of fences, both in town and country, out of the skins of the mummifed animals that strewed this road, for at that time there was no lumber in the country. Twist ed thongs made of the skins were stretched between posts as we now see wire fences made in many places. In this way both town lots and ranches were inclosed.
 As l was plodding along 1 had sev- eral times caught glimpses through the flickering heat waves that lowered over the alkali whitened plain of an object that looked like a small tent pitched in the midst of the -bro1ling desert. At last was able to make out that the white object was small covered wag- on, standing directly in the road
 Finally, as approached. could see several persons seated on the roadside near the wagon, a small two horse af- fair. Then saw that one of the horses was down, while his mate stood by with dropping head.
 ''Here is trouble," said 1. "Evi- dently d sick horse.
 When l pulled up alongside the ship wrecked family, not one of them said a word. They were the most woebegone and forlorn party had ever seen on the plains. They hardly raised their heads to look at me. All seemed utterly de- jected-given over to some inconsolabIe grief
 A nasty survey of the scene before me showed small and light two horse wagon, looking very shaky about the wheels, broken about the box and sur mounted with cover stretched ever bows of very unequal height. The cov- CT was of homespun linen, was patched in places with pieces of butternut col ored jeans and had painted on one side in great sprawling letters the defiant warwhoop "Caleforny or Bust" A large water cask was slung underneath the wagon, and a red feed trough, near ly gnawed in two, hung behind.
 In front of the rickety wagon stood an old bald faced horse, still attached to the vehicle by the trace chains and his end of the neckyoke. Poor old fel- low! Such another angular, harness galled, sunken eyed, melancholy beast had not seen in many day.
 Near by his mate lay dead-' aka lied He seemed to have dropped down in his tracks and died-died with no greater struggle than to throw his head and neck out across the footpath running by the side of the wagon track.
 On 8 fragment of rock near the dead horse sat ,nan-a man about 45 years of age-looking as though hope had ut terly forsaken his breast. His feet, in- cased in alkali reddened and torn bro- SURR0I1NDED BY MYSTERY