The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-03-20
A Novel of the American Spirit
Copyright by Merrill Co.

history OF that great westbound move
| ment is well known. The story of a yet
never has been wrtten-that OF Helen
| Won Ritz, from Oregon to the cast. The
| price of that journey was an empire
It's cost-ah. let me not yet speak of
| that.
Although Meek and ! agreed that he
should push east at the best possible
speed; II was well enough understood
that / should give him no more than n
! day or so start. | did not purpose TO al
low so risky journey as this 10 be un-
dertaken by any woman in SO small
party, and made no doubt that I would
| overtake them AT least at Fort Hall. per-
| haps 800 miles east of the Missions. or
| at farthest at Fort. Bridger some 700
| miles from the starting point in Oregon.
The young wife oil one Of the mis-
| sioraries was glad enough TO take pas
/ sage thus for the cast; and there was
| the silent Thrclka Those two could
offer company even. did not the little
Indian maid, adopted By the baroness,
serve TO interest her Their equipment
| and supplies were as good as any pur-
chasable. What could he done, we now
had done.
Yet. after all Helena Won Ritz had
after we parted that evening at the Mis-
sion. was absent for couple Of days
with hunting party. and on my return
discovered that she was, gone. with no
more than brief farewell 10 those left
behind Meek was anxious as herself to
he off: but he left word for me to fol-
low on al once.
II may be supposed that I myself now
hurried in my plans. ] was able 10 make
up small party OF four men, about half
the number Meek took with him; and
could find remaining, not wholly TO my
liking. but good enough, 1 fancled. TO
overtake a party headed by woman
Bnt one thing after another cost us time
and we did not average twenty miles
a day. I felt half desperate as l re-
Elected on what this might mean. AS
early fall was approaching. / could ex-
pect. in view OF my own lost time, TO en-
counter the annual wagon train two or
three hundred miles farthest westward
than the object Of my pursuit naturally
my party met the wagons at Il point well
to the west OF Fort Hall.
II was early In the morning we met
them coming west-that long. weary,
dust covered. creeping caravan, n mile
long, slow serpent, crawling westward
across the desert. In time came UP
train of 1Si5. and its leader and myself
threw up our hands in the salutation of
the wilderness
The captain stood at the head of the
front team. hts hand resting on the
yoke as he leaned against the bowed
neck OF one of the oxen. The men and
women were thin almost as the beasts
which dragged the wagons These lat
ter stood with lolling tongues even thus
early In the day, for water hereabout
was scarce and bitter 10 the taste. SO
at first almost In silence. we made the
salutations OF the desert So. presently
we exchanged the news OF east and
west.
There is today no news OF the quality
which we then communicated. They knew
nothing OF Oregon. | knew nothing OF
the cast. y national election had been
! held. regarding which ] knew not even
the names of the candidates OF either
party not 10 mention the results. All /
could do was to guess and TO point to
the inscription on the white top OF the
foremost wagon; 'Fifty-four Forty or
fight!'
''Is Polk eIected2" 1 asked the captain
He nodded. 'Iie shore is" said he,
We're comm out TO take Oregon, What's
the news?'
My own grim news was that Oregon
hands with a hundred men on that our
hands claspcd In stern and silent grip,
Then. after a time, I urged other qmes--
tions foremost In my own mind. Had
they seen a small party eastbound?
Yes, | had answer. They had passed
this light outfit east of Bridgers post.
There was one chance in hundred they
| might get over the South Pass that fall,
for they were travelling light and fast,
| with good animals. and old Joe Meek
was sure he would make IT through. The
women? ell. one was preachers wife,
another an old gypsy, and another the
| most beautiful woman ever seen on the
| trail or anywhere else,
Then they began to question me regard
| ing Oregon. How the land? Would
| IL raise wheat and corn and hogs? How
WAS the weather? Was there much game?
| Would it take much labor To clear a
| farm?
or course 1t came to politics. Yes.
Texas had been annexed. somehow, not
| by regular vote OF the senate. There
| was some hitch about that My leader
reckoned there WAS no regular treaty.
| II had just been done by Joint resolution
| OF the house--done by Tyler and CAL
| houn. just In time 10 take the feather
| out Of old Iolk's cap The treaty of an
| nexa tion-why. yes II was ratified by con-
gress, and everything signed up March
| third. just day before Polk's in
auGural! Polk was on tho warpath ac-
| cording to my gaunt leader. There was
| going TO be war sure as shooting un-
| less got all OF Oregon,
/ "Do you see that wItin' on my wagon