The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-20

on this spot. All you who will stand by mo
and my orders walk. over there where tho
wagon master is standing; and you who refuse
tic tho a~uestion VINO shall rule"
lie had scarcely finished before the men with
leaving Van Wrinkle staining alone Van
Wrinkle burst out into tears and begged TO DO
had no time to bury dogs. walked away, and
the train was soon in motion. Van Wrinkle
Yves EXCHANGED for another man of a train
which was met n few days later.
Mutinies woro not uncommon on tho plains
ami sometimes q freighter. would he lett alone
NIT TO tho d~ictation Of his men. NO matter
what their demands might bc. Instead of
cards and noisy demonstrations about tho
cnmnflres, tho men OF Mnjors's trains sang
hymns and rcnd the scriptures. and often
Majors lei in prayers. Sundays were regular
~ observed, and tho teams and men had the
When the Government decided to send Gen.
Albert Sidney Johnston with an, army of 5000
soldiers out to Utah t. compel the MormOns TO
obey. the courts and Territorial Government.
the husiness Of transporting Government sup.
army halted in the fall Of 1857 at Fort Brld-
ger 10 await the arrival of %supplics before pro
CcedinR forward. The DELAY Of the Govern.
ment In getting the supplies up the river to
Fort L6avenworth. and the difficulty Of NOV
Ing DlS,I ta" i INN e 9 qu GOn of rrsiEht across rios, Tho
over. He sent Capt. Marcy with O detach-
mcnt of men and pack mules across the Rocky
Mountains in the winter season 10 Fort Mas
sachuactsEs; in the San Luis VALLEY. for sup.
deep SHOWS until their limited supply of pro
visions was exhausted. The mules starved to
death, and the soldiers had to snhsist upon
starved mule meat for weeks. Their suffer-
ings ,wer" terrible. and when they finally stray:
glcd into the valley many. were barefooted and
,ome IL time they would have pcrishcd.
Three Of the trains with supplies from Fort
By bs1 the EMGFoSTfm~Sm m.e tS Sep mon w Here ' seGt tGnGGf
the oxen driven OF into Utah. and the goods
burned. Early in 1858 the freigl,te,s had
end Of that year they had $500 wagons and
10000 oxen moving about l0.o0o.oo0 pounds
of freight into Utah for, The subsistence o. the
army. To assemble such n number of great
wagons. to purchase and drive to the frontier
Under pDGE diseipline the several thousand men
employed demanded experience and executive
ability OF the highest order. Majors had the
needed qualifications. while his partners had
the energy and skill necessary TO handle the
business end Of the contracts.
When the Government stores had been all
safely landed In Utah the freightcrs sold
some of the wagons and, oxen to emiSrants
wagons 70 were ens't store1 a nn,I fh the ge %f1IinMinc q ye sne
when they were sold at auction for about SO
apiece to the Moriuons. who b oke them up for
the hard wood material they contained, and
used the heavy tires in the manufacture of
nails, The o-en ,;ere driven over TO Nevada
TO be kept over winter. and then taken on into
California to be fattened for the market. but
n sno " storm of great severity overlook them,
and out OF tho 10000 head only 700 survived.
The army returned to tho States in 1860. and
the Government stores were sold to the Nor
mons at auction ut absurdly low prices. The
military occupation of ttah was a profitable
matter for the Mormons.
That was the climax Of overland freighting
On the plains. Majors and his partners cleared
81. DOC. 900 in two years out OF the business.
and lest much of it afterward by the Pony
Express AID a daily stage line from Fort
LeavonwOrth to Denver. Majors continued
the business until tho railroads pushed across
the plains. Freighters then confined their
labo-s TO distributing supplies from. railway
stations into the mining regions of Idaho. Mon
tana, and Wyoming. Now there nrc no long
wagon routes. for the railroads reach every
place of any importance throughout the entire
mountain region. and the bull teams with the
bullwhackers have passed away. One of the
features Of the carnival procession last :all in
Denver was the appearance of a bull teal and
a freighter's outfit. an example OF n once fam
liar sight in the streets Of Denver.