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Show • ' / A TRIP ACROSS THE PLAIN'S, ter. He! ween these two extremes there is e·very variety of climate. Next morning (Sunday 23d,) discovering indi?ations of' marshy road ahead, we conc·}uded to mal£a uthis the last day with the wagons," and begin packing. Accordingly the wagoos wel"e converted into pack-saddles as soon a~ poss-ible, extra baggage thrown away, and by noon we were again "en route." During the afternoon we trnvelJed along the eastern sh~re of PiLt Lake, and encamped opposite the southern extremity of it. Distance this afte\·noon eighteen 1nilcs. Next da:y about noon we reached Pitt river. eighteen miles further. 'ren milts further we forded it, and encamped four miles fur·ther. \Vo were dctai ned in the afternoon by a case of poi·son .. ing. Mr. Daniel Rudy, of Stark county, 0., eat rathet· plentifully of n 1·oot, whic·h in taste and appearance re sernbles the fat of hogs. 'fhis proved a very violent ernetic·, nnd might produce death in certain cases. Some· were quite ellftcd, when the root "'as discovered; remarking that they could "now have fat to cook with the greens,"-but the result of tho first expcrin1ent crushed their brllliant expectations. Next day we travelled about thirty mil ~s, fording the river several times. Road considerably marshy. We avoided this by tJ·av-elling on the neighboring bluffs. During the day we noticed several Indian signal fires, but did not anticipate an attack from them. A few hours undeceived us. Next morning, some time before day light, a party of Djgger Indi· ans, killed, wounded and d!·ove off, more than half of the stock belonging to the company, without maki:ng any nttack upon ourse}ves. · We had not been apprehending any trouble from these tribes, and had no one on watch. This carelessness, together with our being nearly without arms, rendered it a very easy matter to accomplish the robbery. A few retnained at camp in order to pack the baggage, or part of it, on what horses and mules remained, while the balance went in search of any that might ae found in tho · vicinity. We were to meet about th1·ee miles further. About one mile from camp ' AND LIFE IN CALIFORNIA. 33 we found the body of "Spot," a splendid mare belonging to the messrs. Hoovers' of Dalton. She had borne, well, the fatigues of the journey. and had rcnde:ed us signal service the evening before, while crossing the stream. The I ndi• ans hnd carried away part of the carcase, and sotne of our company took a part of that which was left~ About ten o,...., clock, A. l\1., we met at the place before designated, and held a "cou neil of war." It was detennined that our only gun should, if possible, be brought into shooting order-a service which it had ceased to perform for some time previously. A similar decree was passed upon what pistols we had. It wns also de~ermined that R. F. Cahitl and W m . .M'Connell shonld take ho1·ses, and go ahead to the nearest settlements, and return with some provisions, while we in the meantirne should hurry along as fast us possible. They accordingly set out w!th about one pound of provi ~io n s. consisting of boiled corn, scraps of hard bread, and dried , apples, mixed t ogether. We travelled about six miles further, and stopped for dinner. Bill of fare boiled corn and lwrse beef I (We had reserved some corn and oats to feed the stock while crossing the desert; but as it was not required, we began boiling it for our own use.) While dinzng Cahill und M'Connel re turned, informing us, that they had overtaken an Oregon train which was a few miles ahead, and from which we might get some provisions. We learned that we were yet about two hundred miles ft·om the settlements. We at once started forward regardless of road or rocks, and overtook the Oregonians about 5 o'clock, P. M. At our request they prepared some supper, for which we paid them one dollar pe1· n1an! Taking their pt·ices as a standard, · I suppose we eat tht·ee or four dollars worth. We paid them one dollar per pound for flour and bacon and fifty cents fo1' shorts, and could' not got a sufficient supply at these rates. We thought these rates vel'y high, and as sorne of them required some medical nttention, our fees wer·e made to correspond to a certain extent with tlleirs, an arrangement which seemed to grind some of them considerably. At this place we crossed Pitt River for the last time. OB this river there is. a rock of pure cn1·bonate of magnesia, about one hundred feet in height~enough to supply th~ |