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Show 142 AI'PENDlX. should be taken; such a ~J flour, middlings of bJcon, because they are free from bones, rice, suga r, coff-.!e, s~lt, pepper, &c. The quantity of flour for each individual, should not b~ les:' than two hn ucl rell pounds, unless the company be etllirely made up of p::~ c k - m e n, who intend to make the journey in as sho rt u time a~ practicable. Where a company carries their pwvisions, pa ckelt on mules, t!Jey can ge nera lly rnalce the trip ab(lut a month sooner, than those who go with wagons can, and therefore the quan tity of provisio11s shoultl b, propo rtionately recl ucul; one hunclretl and fi ft:r pounds of flour will b ·~ an ab undant supply for a pactunan. Other art ic les of prov i!:iion sltoulcl he taken in the same proportion with the fl JtH, excepting meat, wl1 ich should be something less. The quantity of mea t shou ld be such, t ll ~.lt it could be m<:de to last convenientlv, five months. There is scarcely e\·er 1:1 year, in "vhi ch emigrant.s will ;10t be able to kill som . game b ~~ t \Yeen the po int wh c r ~ th ev first come to the Platte Ri\·er nncl the snrnmi t of theRoclty Mou n tai n ~ , ·and by t~king suffi· cit:!n l meat with th em from the Slates to do, by s ti nting them ~e lves a little, they may Clt pect to o btain enough from the Buffd lo to com plete an a bun· dJnt supply, but beyond this th ~y should not trust t0 the fortune of the hun ter. From the moment in w!1ich emi,';r:-mts leave the ' Vestern settlements, th.ey shouid be! exc e ed i n~l y carefu l of every morse l that may be usecl With pro p ri~ ty for the support of life. Persons who have been always accustom:;r: to the ove rflowing abuntlJnce of fooLl so bountifully bestoW· ed by ProvttlP-nce upon our country, arc very apt to be a little careless in thi: puticutar. They are almost snre to ac.:qu ire habits of wastefuless, wbtch, tl:oug~ th ey be of little <:omequcnce in a land of plenty, if they be not latd astde on tPe prairie, m:1y cun~e the tnn•eler to ]ooli back repentingly, u?on the numerous lit tles w!~ ieh . have been daily thrown away, and whtch, had they been sa\-ed, wot1ltl have prevented the want con~equ e nt upon such nPgl ect. Atoms make Mountains· and a little da~ly waste, in .the course of fi ve or six months, will am'ount to some· thtng very constderable in th~ eyes of a htmgry man, when he is sur· rounded by a desert country where no food ean be ( btained. It wil.l be necessary, of course, for families to ha,·e wa~,ons, ancllittle comparnes of three or fo ur yoll ng men, wi ll generally fin ci it more com· fort~ble a?rl convenient to tra,-el in that m<mne r. Every t hing can be ca~n ed \<nth fur more ease and less expqsu re, t han on the backs of mules; ~etther are the things carried so liable to accid ent. After the provisIOns, the means of conveyance, wagon s, t ea m ~, &c., are of the next im-por tance. '\Vatrons sho ld b 1 ) · b . • u e se cc tec wllh the grea test care; those should be taken whtch are ma(\c out o[ the best material well put togeth. cr, ancl properly proportion ed. The irons on the whe~ls should be :s ttght as possible, without brealdng or straining the wood; and the . hole wagon should only be heavy enou,:1h to bare the required load. It 18 necessary to have the tire3 tight 0n the \Theeb, on account of the bot"' A APE!\ niX. 143 ~ust and sancl thro u!;,h which they ha,·e to go, and which is very liable to loosen them from the wood. . It will alsu be w_el l_for those who wish to be providecl against eYery ·circumstance that Is I table to t (,me in the \vay, to construct the bt:>ds of their wagons in such a man:H~ r thut th ey can be corked and com·erted into boats. It ma tt ers not about the shape; and as tl1ey ·will be used e,·ery cJny as wagon bf:'cls, ancl pe: rhaps net•er as boa ts, they had better rr tain. the shape of the form t'r .. The c o~e ri ng of the wagon siiOuld. be of strong and very cl<.~se maten al, or putntecl so as to rend er it irnpervious to the heavy rains, which aie likely to be en counte red on the waters of the Kanzas, tlrl<l on the Platte. The l<in<l of teams tal{en upon this road, is also a matter to which the emigrant should pay very gr ~at att ention. In an outfi t, it is one of the things second in importance: after the provi sions, probably the first: for if a team fails, it wi tl be ,·e ry di flicult to replace it. The emigrant is entirely d e p t~nd a nt on his team ; because if it be not sound, healthy and strong, it will not be able to keep pnce •,;drh those that are, and he will, in consequence, be forc ed to some disarhantageous extremity, to avoid falling behind. It will be wi~ e to proride against such accidental circum~ tunces, by talt1 ng along extra animals. Taking every thtng into consideration, oxen are preferable to any other animals, for teams. It i~ tme they cannot end ure the heat, the want of s:JfficH~ nt foocl , and other harcb hips incident to the journey, qnite so well as mules; neither can they tra\' rl with the same speed: but with mod~rate traveling, ancl prvpper cure9 tfwy \Yill make the trip, and may be kept in good tra,·elillg co1Hlit io n. They are the kinLl of :earns g~-' neralty used. an1l are not likely to be swlen by the lnllian ~ ; and, in acUi~ion, th ry are more serviceable to a furm Pr im proving in a new countr)·, and, in Oregon, they are morr. vul uabl e, in proportion to the cost in the Sratrs, than either mul es or horses. All animab that urP expected to do sen· ice on the road, should be of mat ure age. A mule should not. be less than five years old, and a ·horse no t le~s than s .,·en. Oxen should also be rath· er light, and not ,-rry large; beca uae this kind are found to tra,-eJ better than others that are rlifferent. If horses ore taken with the expectation of having them to do constant service, the Indian horses had better be ob· tained, if possible; for there are but very fe\\· horses that have been raised in the United States, 1hat will not fail to reach the settlements in Oregon or California, if constant Eervice is required of them. The greatest attention should be paid to all animals that are taken on : this journey: they should never be made to perform any work that is not absolutely necessary, and they sl10old always huve water and grass whet'1 they require it. if it can possibly be obtained. It will be well to stop once in every few weeks, where a good pasture is found, in order to rest the teams. Neither wagons nor teams ~honld be overloaded, for it is bad tor either to fail1 on the prairie. And there is another thing in connec· |