Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1924-10-17
MRS. REYNOLDS CROSSED PLAINS
TN HISTORIC COVERED WAGON
PUTNAM WOMAN ANXIOUS TO SEE FILM DRAMA, TO
COMPARE HER EXPERIENCES WITH THOSE
PICTURED on SCREEN
Trip Across Country Took -Four Neutrality-suspicious. Warpatf
Cause Scare Twee.-Hazardous Journey Over Desert

alarmed by reports Of warlike aetivi-
ties Of the redskins. And then pre-
cautions were taken against a sur
prise attack al night On these nights
the wagons were grouped or Cor
rallied SO as 20 form a great circle,
With hsf ---. a.sr ard estii. .e.nereS:
within the circle and the people were
grouped In the very center Of the cir
Gle. On these nights there wasn't
much sleep for anyone, for everyone
was keyed up and nervous. Guards
were posted and scouts were sent out
But on neither occasion did anything
happen. On these nights. 1t seemed,
Mrs. Reynolds says, that the baying
Of the coyotes, which came as near as
they dared. was more alarming and
creepy" than on other nights.
Cross Wyoming Desert
Crossing the desert in Wyoming
was one Of the interesting experiences
encountered by Mrs. Reynolds. Great
preparations were made for the haz-
ardous journey and the caravan rest
ed a day before attempting the ad-
venture. Food enough to last forty
eight hours was cooked. The train
moved along day and night while
passing through the dessert The trip
was made without mishap of any kind.
Upon reaching water at the other end
Of the desert. cattle and other animals
of the caravan nearly went wild, Mrs.
Reynolds recalled, for they had had
nothing TO drink for more than forty
eight hours. 1t was all the men could
do 10 control the animals and prevent
them from drinking too much when al
lowed into the shallow and muddy
brook
Another of the thrilling experiences
that fell To the lot Of Mrs. Reynolds on
this trip-one of thousands of like
character that made American his
tory-was the crossing of the noun
tains. Here the road was wide
enough only to accommodate the mail
stage. At places. a few inches sep
arated the covered wagons from a
drop over the mouutainside. However,
all of the wagons, cattle and humans
passed over the mountains without
mishap and everyone breathed more
freely when the last of the mountain
read was covered,
On Road Four Months
II was not until the latter part Of
September. 1864. that the covered
wagon train arrived on California
soil. Many Of the families, with their
belongings, had left the train by this
time, some leaving before starting
over the mountains, TO settle where
their fancy chosc, or going on 10 a
specific location
Mrs. Reynolds and her family.
therefore, were on the road for four
months before they ended their jour
ney in Healdsburg. Cal. which was
about forty miles from San Francis
co. IL took four months to travel
across the barren plains the way Mrs.
Reynolds made the trip. The stage
made the journey in twelve days, and
as a further comparison, the trains
covered the ground. when the rails had
been laid as far west as California, in
six days.
Mrs. Reynolds father leased farm
al Healdsburg and went 70 filling the
soil He became restless nearly tive
years later and yearned To 20 back
east, and he went, taking his family
with him. This time, however, they
travelled by train, for the railroad had
been extended 70 the far west.
Marries In California
Mrs. Reynolds. however, did not re-
turn with them, for in the brief time
she had resided In California she had
married. She was 1Hly fifteen at
that. However, in the fall of 1869
she and her husband and their three
children came east and for time
stayed with her parents In Illinois.
where they had settled again. Some
I 0 ii
the home of his parents in Rhode Is
land. and Mrs Reynolds and the chill
dren went along.
Mrs. Reynolds has six children liv-
f ing. They are: Mrs. Nancy Ellen
Pratt OF Hartford; Sterling F. Rey-
nolds of Putnam; Mrs. Bertha Case.
who lives In California; Samuel Rey-
uolds, manager of the Putnam Foun-
/ dry q Machine Co; William Reynolds
of Hartford, and George Reynolds of
Torrington.
The far California al
ways held a big place in Mrs. Rey-
nolds heart because she liked the
country from the moment she arrived
there. and every moment she remained
Z her affection grew. In 1907 she re-
turned there for two years visit and
+ had one Of the pleasantest times of
/ her eventful life.
Though but child when she cross
ed the country, her experiences made
an indelible impression on her mind.
/ The details of the trip are remem-
hered as If they occurred bat yester-
day, and her recital of them, when she
can be induced to talk about them. are
of fascinating interest. IL is not 20
be wondered az, therefore, that she is
SO keen about seeing The Covered
Wagon when il Is screened next week
AT the Bradley Theatre.
ST. Phillips Church Notes