Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-09-23
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VQNy

AMES B. MITCHELL has lived in the
Bitter o valley for 90 years,
q since he was a lad Of ID. The story
OF his journey across the plains in
1854 reads like a romance of the first
order. Here 1t is as told by him and
compiled by his wife, Kate Golf Mitchell
herself an early conner to the valley set
Element at Corvallis:
"On May IA. 1864, / remember the
day was warn n spring had come and
the farmers had planted corn; the grass
was up and growing we'll, back in Bour-
bon county, Kansas. Sc we decided to
start with our stock across the plains.
We had six wagons n 80 head OF stock.
These wagons were the ordinary farm
type and were called thimbleskein. They
were similar to the ones made today and
had covers OF heavy canvas. They were
drawn by oxen.
THE dress of both women and men
were OF the fashions of the day. The
men wore homemade suits. heavy boots
n big hats, and the women wore calico
dresses with hoop skirts inc big hats
also. Each family was outfitted with
flour, cornmeal. lard, bacon, beans, rice
n dried fruit and everything one would
need for travelling q long distance.
No Rifles in Outfit
Our equipment for defense was very
short. as it was in time of the Civil war
o14a tAO AA1liIAlt yin 1Ot pCiklllb
much to be sold. They even took away
some that we had already procured. We
had not rifles, Just Colt revolvers, in
our outfit, n there were times along
the trail when as many as a hundred
wagons would be travelling with us. We
tried to make is miles a day. but as we
had to be on the lookout for water and
grass, sometimes we travelled only 10
miles. Some was always e n ahead
to find a camping place.
The second day out we were joined
by several wagons. about rs in all. About
half the outfit had started for Oregon
the others to Arizona. We travelled
together until we reached a little village
in Kansas called Cottonwood. That place
is now the city OF Emporia. There we
divided, part going over the old Santa
Fe trail and the rest taking the Cali
fornia trail. travelling by Fort Riley.
At Camping Places
When we arrived at a camping place
We would form the wagons in a half
circle. like a half moon putting chains
across the front and chains with Jokes
across the backs. so that we could corral
the oxen inside to keep them from
straying. Leaving Fort Riley we started
up the Republican river, going for a
hundred miles, and there started across
the Blues on what was then called The
Old Fox Trail This Is the same trail
ny tAlC INV ARAAAoAo
Wagon outfit.
I'VE struck Fort Kearney. Neb., on the
seventh day Of June, and there we had
to leave a part OF our train. three or
four OF the wagons, on account OF a
woman coming down with smallpox.
This was Mrs. Holbrook, who, wanting
some milk for her children, when we
were back on the Republican river, had
gone into a cabin to buy some. Return
Ing. she said that negroes lived there n
there some one was sick. She developed
smallpox and all her family had 1t. 1t
caused her to go blind. Though the
women OF our party cared for her on the
trip, 0 mi Of them contracted the dis
ease.
Nearly SO years later I met a son Of
this woman, born after the end of the
trail was reached in Oregon. He told me
how his mother had recounted the story
of the trip to him and now she cherished
as her last vision one sight Of the long
wagon train stretching away into the
beyond.
ney Rock. We didn't try to celebrate,
Just rested. Chimney Rock was a round
pyramid several hundred feet from the
level. Then there was a shoulder where
the chimney ran up rs feet. formed Of
clay and rock. On this chimney were
cut the names OF people who had passed
as early as 1886. Davy Crockett's name
was cut there with that date. With
boyish pride I cut my own name below
1T. There was a grave at the foot of
the rock, that of a man who had climbed
too high and lost his life in the conse-
quent fall. 1 do not know his name.
Massacred by Indians
After two days travel, we came to
Scott's bluff, and then several days later
to Fort Laramie. Leaving there we en-
tered the Black Hills at Chaparel creek,
and there we saw a notice on O tree to
the effect that a party who had travelled
with us for several days had been massa-
cred by Indians. In this party were a
Mr.. and Mrs. Mcknight and their boy;
Kelley and his wife n little girl, all
from lola, Kan. They had left us at Fort
Kearney n were two days ahead Of
III party. The Indians had travelled
with them for several miles, pretending
friendship, saying they wanted food.
While the women were getting them
something to eat and the men caring
for the teams. the Indians attacked the