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Show - ~ ... The climate was warm, and the balmy green grass covered the lovely valley , birds sang in the bloo~ing tree-tops as if in welcome to those jaded, tattered wanderers and touched their hearts , with an unspeakable _joy and thanksgiving, and like Columbus of old, they must have knelt, in prayer, acknowledging the kind care and guidance of Him who doeth all th'ngs wello The contract with the government having been fulfilled the Battalion looked forward to their release from duty and their return to their .families at Winter Quarters. They were without money and clothing, both of which were necessary for further travel. Just at this ti~e a Mr . Sutter was erecting a saw-mill at a place called Sutter's Fort in the vicinity of San Diego, where the Battalion was mustered out of service. Here Abraham and Newman secured work at very good wageso It was here th .lt gold ,· as discovered in the mill race vhJ_ch later precipitated the startling gold rush o~ 1849 • . ith the money earned at the saw-mill, Abraham, his brotherin- law, Newman Buckley, a frjend and comrade, of Battalion fame, bought horses , saddles and soDe provisions preparatory to returning to the East . The date of their departure is not definitely kno·Nn, but the stupendous task of scaling the towering Sierras from the West , and their descent of the Easter1 slopes was finally accomplished, and they arrived safely in Salt Lake Valley, late in the autumn of 1847. Here they tarried for a few days to re~t and then set out upon the perilous journey to ~inter ~ uarters where their loved ones anxiously awaited them . ~Jhen one considers the extre~e risk of a venture like that in the face of approaching ~~nter, piling its drifts of snow over the Nind-swept plains and trackless wastes, the danger of being lost in a blizzard, or marooned on the icy rivers, with no assurance of relief or shelter, and a dNindling food su~ply, it v.r o u 1 d s e em that these men ··; t: r e uncjll y ventures J ::-:e and were courting death itselfQ Then, too, the wild game on ~hich they depended for food became very ~carce as th2y advanced. , t ·times it seemed that the end of their existence had come and that the cold, forbidding arms of ~other earth would hold them captive and cover their lifeless bodies with a shroud of falling snow flakes, there to rest beyond all hope of discovery, subject to the destructive hand of nature in all her varied T-oocs. In order to avert this impending fate they were forced to kill and eat one of th~ir mules and later an old coyote, a ~aucy black crow,_ and finally a savory skunk nade a special repast for several days. the pangs of hunger must, however, be appeased, even when the feelings rebel. |
