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Show {23] 114 · . 1 fter he hlld ]eft u~, we found that he had tcoa rgriievde ohf1i ~a fpooocwl~u. earn ~l'O arn and bullet pouch btdonging to one of the mt-n. ·k all day as the snow was tleep. When we vVe had hare~ WOI • 'sand beds of streams that unite with the to cross t•Je ravwe 1 '(' d t th C!ltne f 1 tb t all the snow had c n tt o e eastern ATkan!'as,. we ount ~r ed to asct:lHI. These drift s were from bank, wh1ch we were 0 . 1 fi g<Jt-pth· the mules sunk to their bellies 1 six feet or more 1n 1 ' k . ,.e 0 I stru• ag 1e t 1· t l~ roug h w ith great difficulty; the wago'In' s SlJn unttdl ant r- , t 1 the ~rrface of the snow; su • we c:ro~se h: ''bed" re~ ec on , ' . h. f' f' t eir ~ althouah thf'y were sometimes t ~rty or ort~ ~et twh.Hcsi.er ; palnatc l ~ms, th e• f ac.e= >of these difficulties we made a march .o f tlur-tet- Wn hmenil ews.e enr:amp"a d ' we were again obliged I to suff fer .f or the. .u n-ble neuli ence of persons who pn•cedet !1~, or tne pralrl.es, P. ardo.nla 41 for m1 es aroun d ,g had been ]aid waste by fire~... }t ortu·n ate·l y, the Ice 1 1 'vas I· n SUl:· h a s tate thar t we cou• ld cross to tku eI op..1p o•s ite• ~He,. an( hto • 1 1 • but we were obl1ged to wnr taro, m covermg t e ~he 1 ~ ~ 01 s 'i so as to make a pttth for our mules. We found plenty lC~ wit 11 sanlth' e i ·lands It had been brought there by the rivt'r. of wool on :s • I . h h t J 30 _ y ~sterda y the road was so COYt'ret w 1t snow t a we awneurae roy bl'1 g· e cl to guide 'our course by the river; b· uht , this mdn'rtnfi - · again found the road. It was, howevrr, Wit. great 1 · ~:f; \~~at we rnanagP.d to keep .in it. Although the ~un shone, and tll esyn ow· tha•"u' eJ very murh ' st·d l our pro·g res· s WCIS rldlicul'It . It wre-uired the greatest perseverance to accomplish elf'v~n mt es. e e<ln campe J 1' n a bottom of tall swamp nc rras!';. htre w·e found so· me oldh "a.~ ons,. we were o b I i '<=Y' e tl to burn 1 hem , •f or the n v e r was m s uc a state that we could not cross upon the tee. . One of my men tolu me of a method of ca tchm~ buffalo that r. do not recollect to have ever heard; he says that the Rtcarees mllk~ pd.es of buffalo dung so as to look like me.n, and arrange these pt~es. In two lines whic:h, gradually approachtng, .lead to a ~en. Havmg driven the buffaloes between these two hnes, the antrnals r.un on, without daring to cro~s thtse lines, and ar~ c.aught. . . January 31.-We have another day of bnll1ant s~wslnne; mdeed, it secUled hot. The snow began to nu·it away rapidly. . After a march of five miles, we met Mr. Sublette who w~s travelling with impoJtant 1ettl'rs to Santa Fe. Soon afterwards, we met a train of six wagons belonging to M csHs. lluilard & J:i ook, of Missouri. It had been to the crossing of the Arkansas to nnse some "caches" which some of the proprietors of this train had been obliged 'to make early in the fall. We now received news of the conquPst of Monterey, an1l we also .heard that our forces were being ·concentrated at Tampico, prepara· tory to marching -upon tlJe city of Mexico. Shortly after passing these people, we eneounte~ed so.me wolves f o ll ow i n g t heir t r a i l. ~ o i n t e n t we r e t h e :V o l v e s . 1 n t he II' en: P I 0 Y ~ .mE'nt that they came qurte close to us, holdmg their h(•acls near t~ _ ground as. th~y seen ted. the tracks of the men, when o~e of my pa~ ~. levelled h1s ntle and k1lled the foremost. These ammals have e 115 [ 23] come vrry .Iarin!!; one of. our muJps came into camp this morning with its fort!-lt·g b<idiy bitten by them, and covered with clots of blood. Atter a march of twelve miles we encamped nPar the fort which those ml·n who Wl'rt:' attndced last fall by the Pawnees had built to protet.:t tht'ms~:•l\'es while tht>y sent to Bent's Fort for assistance~ F.:b·ruary 1.-Ttte sun s~one forth with warmth, and the melt~d snow made tbe ground quite m.uddy. After pror.~eding five miles we pa.~t' d the '"Arkansas cro~s1ng." We marched all day without :-;~e111g Hny good places to f:'ncamp. At length our mul~s became so woru out that we coul~ s~arce go any further, nor was the prospect of findtng wood on thts stde of the river any better in advanre of us. Oue of the mrn had . just killed a fine buffalo; I sent out a mule to bnn!! in the meat, and we encamped. The river was iu such a stare that no one c.:~uld cro~s without wading a goou portion of the way, although the 1ce was In tnC1ny places six inches ·.n thi cknPss. T11e wind had bet'n tair all day; it suddenly changed to the north, aitd bt:gan to blow with great violence, while dark clouds seemt'd in an IIJStC!nt to cover the sky. I now saw it would be an e\·entful night for us. Our fires were blown out by the trt'mt>ndous violence of the wind, anr! we were forced to get into our bt'ds and there abide the fury of the storm. F.:br'Ua ·ry 2 -All night the storm raged with a fury as awful as that of the "tormentes'' of Mt. Blanc. The particles of snow bt-at with wild rage against my tent, while the frail '-tructure quivered, and the poles that supported it creaked amd groaned so muth that it was impo~sible for me to sleep. Such was the force of the wind, thl-lt it rlrove the snow through the canvass walls of my tent, anti I found my bed anti papers covered with it. During the uight I heard one of the men, who had got his feet wet in attempting to cross the river, imploring some of his companions to lt"t him get into the . wagon witR them. The night was terribly cold~ and 1 feared that all of our animals would be frozen to death before morning. At length morning carne, but when I looked out the snow was drifting along in dense clouds of hard icy p<:trticles, that flew along with the vt:docity of lightning. As the sun bega.n tt~ appear the storm ceased, and it was most fortunate for ~s that tt d1d ce;:se. I now forced my way out of the tent, wh1ch was ba~ked with snow. When l looked around, a scene of utter deso- 1atton prest:'nted itself; most of my men had lain down on the ground to slt>ep, but now not one of them could be seen. I called a'oud; th~y heard me not, being covered be.neath the ~eep ~now. 1 now went to the wagon~; in one I found P1lka and Lamg; In the other, two or three men one of whom hau b.een very ill ever, since leavin~ Bent's Fort. n'e came rushing towards m(l half <.listracteff, his shtrt covered with snow his head bare, and crouchmg at my feet, he implored me to take' him to a house. "O, Lieuteuan,t, take .rne to a houst>! I shall freeze to c.lea:th! I'm fretzing! I'm frteztng!" .His arms were drawn up and stdft!ned, his bo~y ~lmost paralyzed w,nh cold·. I took the poor fellow and put h1m u1 wy , |
