Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-05-24

my return discovered that she was
gone, with no more than brief farewell
to those left behind! Meek was anX-
ious as herself to be off: but he left
word for me to follow on at once.
1t may be supposed that l myself
now hurried in my plans. l was able
to make up small party Of four men,
about half the number Meek took with
him. and l threw together such equip
ment as l could find remaining, not
wholly to my liking, but good enough
/ fancied. to overtake a party headed
by woman. But one thing after an
other cost us time, and we did not
| average twenty miles a day. | felt
half desperate, as | reflected on what
this might mean. AS early fall was
| approaching, l could expect in view
of my own lost time, to encounter the
annual wagon train two or three hum
dred miles farther westward than the
| object of my pursuit naturally would
have done. AS matter of fact my
party met the wagons at point well
to the west or Fort HAL.
1t was early in the morning we met
them coming west-that long, weary,
dust covered, creeping caravan, a mile
long, slow serpent, crawling westward
across the desert In time l came up
| to the head of the tremendous wagon
train of 1S45. and its leader and myself
threw up our hands i'm the salutation Of
the wilderness.
The captain stood at the head Of the
front team, his 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
at first almost in silence, we made the
salutations of the desert. So, present
ly. we exchanged the news Of east and
west.
There is today no news of the quail
ity which We then communicated. They
knew nothing of oregon. l knew moth
ing of the east A national election had
been held, regarding which l knew not
even the names of the candidates Of
either party, not to mention the re-
suit All l could do was to guess and
to point to the inscription on the white
top of the foremost wagon: Fifty
four Forty or Fight"
rs Polk elected" l asked the cap
tain of the train.
He nodded. He shore is said he.
Were comm out TO take Oregon.
What's the news?"
My own grim news was that Oregon
was ours and must be ours. / shook
hands with hundred men on that our
hands clasped in stern and silent grip.
Then, after a time, l urged other ques-
tiOns foremost in my own mind. Had
they seen a small party east-bound?
Yes. l mad answer. They had pass
ed this light outfit east of BridSer's
post There was one chance in hun
dred 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
il through. The women? Well, one
was a preachers wife, another an old
Gipsy, and another the most beautiful
woman ever seen on the trail or any
where else.
Then they began to question me re-
garding Oregon. How was the land?
Would it raise wheat and corn and
hogs? How was the weather? Was
there much game? Would it take much
labor To clear farm?
OF course it 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.
1t had just been done by joint resolu-
ton of the houSe-done by Tyler and
Calhoun. just in time to take the feath-
er out Of old Polk's cap! The treaty of
lanneXatiOn-why, yes, ii was ratified
by congress. and everything signed up
March third, just one day before POlk's
inaugural, Polk was on the warpath,
according to my gaunt leader. There
was going to be war as sure as shoot
ing. unless we got all of Oregon.
do you see that writin' on my wag-
on top?" asked the captain. "Fifty-four
| Forty or Fight. That's u.s."
And so they went on to tell us how
| this cry was spreading, south and west
and over the north as well; although
the Wings did not dare cry it quite so
loudly.
And so at last we parted, each the
better for the information gained, each
to resume what would today seem
practically an endless journey. Our
farewells We're as careless, as confident,
as had been our meetings. Thousands
of miles of unsettled country lay east
and west Of us, and all around US, our
empire. not then won.
made the journey across the south
Pass. the snow being now beaten down
on the trails more than usual by the
west bound animals and vehicles. Of
all these now coming on, none would
get farther west than Fort Hall that
year. Our own party, although over
| the Rockies, had yet the Plains to
cross. | was glad enough when we
staggered into old Fort Laramie in
the midst of a binding snuw-sturm.
Winter had caught Us fair and full |
had lost the race.
Here. then. | must winter. Yet |
| learned that Joe Meek had outfttcd ut
| l.arami" almost month earlier. with
new animals; had bought a littl" grain,
and, under escort of a cavalry troop
| which had come west with the wagon
train, had started east In time, per-
haps, to make 1t through to the Mis-
souri,. In a race Of one thousand miles,
the baroness had already beaten me al
most by month! Further word was,
of course. now unubtainable. for n"
trains or wagons would come west $"
late, and there were then no stages