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Show 74 THE CALIFORNIA AND OREGON TRAIL. .. 1 he and his horse suddenly appeared, h distance of a mi e, . 'll t 0 . t tl e sky on the sunnrnt of a hi ; and h r ly defmcd agaws 1 . . s u P h't biect rose slowly 1nto v1cw. close behind, a huge w 1 e o J • • ?.' 'vVhat is that blockhead brin~ing With him now . A moment dt.s pe ll ed th e nystery. Slowly and solemnly, one I . [': , 1 trains of oxen and four emigrant behind the other, lour ong . . , d . the crest of the dechvity and gi a vely wagons rolle over . h.l R rode in state In the van. It seems, descended, w l e . that dun.n g t he pi.O cess of shoein(J' the horse, the srnothered drs- b . ... the emiarants suddenly broke into open rupture. ~enswns among b . . Some m. sr.s te d on pus hi'noa forward ' some on remarnlng where they were, an d sO me on goinoa back. Kearsley' their captain, threw up his command in disgust. ' And now' boys,' sa~d he, ''if any of you are for going ahead, just you come along Wlth me. Four wagons, with ten men, one woman and one small chi:d, made up the force of the 'go-ahead' faction, and R-- .. ' w1th his usual proclivity toward mischief, invited them to JOln our party. Fear of the Indians- for I can conceive of no other motive- must have induced him to court so burdensome an alliance. As may well be conceived, these repeated instances of high-handed dealing sufficiently exaspirated us. In this case, indeed, the men who joined us were all that could be desired; rude indeed in manners, but frank, manly and intelligent. To tell them we could not travel with them was of course out of the question. I merely reminded Kearsley that if .his oxen could nClt keep up with our mules he must expect to be left behind, as we could not consent to be farther delayed on the journey ; but he immediately replied, that his oxen 'should keep up; and if they couldn't, why he allowed he'd find out .how to make 'em!' Hav.ing also availed myself of what THE PLATTE AND THE DESERT. 75 satisfaction could be derived from giving R-- to understand my opinion of his conduct, I returned to our own side of the camp. On the next day, as it chanced, our English companions broke the axle-tree of their wagon, and down came the whole cumbrous machine lumbering into the bed of a brook ! Here was a day's work cut out for us. Meanwhile, our emigrant associates kept on their way, and so vigorously did they urge forward their powerful oxen, that, with the broken axle-tree and other calarnities, it was full a week before we overtook them ; when at length we discovered them, one afternoon, crawling quietly along the sandy brink of the Platte. But meanwhile various incidents occurred to ourselves. It was probable that at this stage of our journey the Pawnees would attempt to rob us. We began therefore to stand guard in turn, dividing the night into three watches, and appointing two men for each. Delorier and I held guard together. We did not march with military precision to and fro before the tents : our discipline was by no means so stringent and rigid. We wrapped ourselves in our blankets, and sat down by t.he fire ; and Delorier, combining his culinary functions with his duties as sentinel, employed himself in boiling the head of an antelope for our morning's repast. Yet we were models of vigilance in comparison with some of the party; for the ordinary practice of the guard was to establish himself in the most comfortable posture he could ; lay his rifle on the ground, and enveloping his nose in his blanket, 1neditate on his mistress, or whatever subject best pleased him. This is all well enough when among Indians, who do not habitually proceed further in their hostility than robbing travellers of their horses and mules, though, indeed, a Pawnee's forb arance is not always to be |