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Show 120 JOURNEY FROM OREGON, year; among which, was the election of 1\tlt·. Polk to the Presi· dency. In a few days after we had met the Emigratior-, several of our party, anxious to travel fastet· 1 han was deemed prudent by 1 he majo1 ·ity, and unwilling to yield theit· cwn opinions, separating ft·om the company, pt·oceeded ahead. It is strange, that men so su!'l'oun· ded, on every hand, with dungPJ', and at the same tin.P- perfectly cntBeious of theit· situation, shoulJ allow little trivial differenc((s of opinion, to separate them; exposing theit· lives on account of a mere whim, which, at most, does uot profess any benefit, worthy of consideration. But it is so here. If a company is strong and united, thet·e is no sect11:ity that it will long continue so; if it is weak to-day, it is no reason that it w\11 not be weaker to-mor· row. vVe lound the Emigt·ation scattered nenr five hundred miles, and the numbet· of persons composing it, were about three thousand. They were in fine spirits, aud high hopes, and fu1· ahead of either of the Emigmtions who had gone pt·eviously. We found Buffalo on Sweet Watet·, where we were able, by hulting a few days, to recruit ou~ stnck of pt'ovisions. On the 21st, we rnet a M 1'. Sublet. hrothe t• to the ce le bra ted moun: taineer, William Sublet, who informed us, that there was a large party of Sioux, somewhen~ below, in the vicinity of the North Fork, and neat· the trail; and that eight of them, a few dHys beforP bad pursued one of theit· hunters, within a short dis ta nce of theit· cump, He gave, as his opinion, that it would be impossible fin· us to pass them without theit· seeing us, and that if they saw us, they would take out· horses, and perhup::; our hail', unless we could beat then~ in a fight. vVe were only seventeen men, and to compiete t~e consolation, there were, pt·obably, about eighty lodges of Sioux; with which thet·e would be about seven hundred warriOrs. We had no alternative, but to ,pl'Oceed with caution. We sorne· times tl'Uveled in the night, and :.Jiways smothered our camp fin~s befm·e it gt·ew dark; prevented all unnecessary fil-ing of guns, made mn· encampments as secluded as possible, nnQ kept the s~.rict· est watch, both day and night. Und~t· such cireumstauces, it was easy to make an Indian spy out of a rock, or a chnrgina war party, out of a whil'lwind. We saw theit· tntil, but P1·8vidc~ n~e, our cau· tinn~ Ot' theit· ab.ience, pt·eventet.l us from seeing them, and them from seeing us. We arri veu at Fort Lauramie, without molestation or diffi.c ulty, WITH SOME: OF ITS INCIDENTS. 121 on the 27th of July. Here we were doomed to suffer another very great diminution in our numbers. The mnjority of our little company, having become tired of long traveling, determined to dispose or their an.imals, and enjoy u few days of repose, in a place where they would be confident of security, and free from the toil and anxiety attendant upon our pel'ilous way. Their intention was to go across to Fort St. Peters, on the M [ssouri Rivet·, in connection with the American Fut Company's wagons which wet·e to start in a short time, with Buffalo robes, for tbat place. The Trading Companies here, had undertnkeo to send their robes down the Platte River in bouts, but the River falling, left the broad channel almost without water, and their scows dry upon the sand. They were therefore compell€d to persue some other course. The Amer· ican Fur Company were hauling bac:k the loading of their boats to Fort Laurimie, whence they would take it, in sorne manner, acl'Oss the country to Fort St. Peters, and thence, in batteaux, down the Missouri Rivet· to St. Louis. The othPJ' Company would take their's by land, directly to Independence. From Fort St. Peters, our companions were promised a passage on board th~ Fur Company's boats, to whatever point on the Missouri they wished. They arrived in the States, as we afterwards learned, in safety, but later, by about a month, than we who came directly by land. Our little company, now dwindled down to seven persons, had yet to travel between seven and eight hundred miles, according to our estimate of the distance, through an Jndinn country: yet tha reflection that we had passed over the most dangerous pat·t of ot~r way unharmed, gave us confidence to believe that the same protec~ ting ·Providence would guide us on and guard us as before. The Sioux and Shians, who, next to the Black Feet, are the ter· ror of the mountains, and the tribes which had been the cause of our greatest dread, were now not so much to be feared. They arc most likely to attack companies beyond Fort Laurimie, and especially those coming;from the West, because they sny, they. have been ~rading with the Snakes, their enemies. Although Jt was posstble that we might see them between Fort La.urirnie and the forks or the Platte, yet, in this part of their country, we knew they were much less to be dreaded : And in add·ition to this, they ~vere begin· ning to have a much better idea of the strength of the white~. Formerly they had consi.dcred that they w~re w.eal,, anu that thetr numbers were very small. vVhen the Em1grat10n of 18~3·. passed through their countr-y, the·y told the traders at Fort Launrme, that 16 |