| OCR Text |
Show 92 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF to you has grown with my growth and strengthened with n1y strength. We have decided on the day for our indissoluble union. But, Eliza, I am yet young; my means of supporting you as I could wish are inadequate. I have just received a very tempting offer from General Ashley." .. , " What to do, James ?" " He offers me one thousand dollars to carry dispatches to the mountains, which admits of my immediate return." " And are you going?" "That is what I have come to inform you, Eliza. Understand my motive-it is solely to obtain the means to enable us to start the fairer in life." "I care not for money, James," she said, bursting in to a flood of tears. . My heart sought relief fr"om its overcharged feeling In the same way. I left her amid her sobs, promising to make a speedy return, and that we would part no more till death should separate us. 'rhe general had furnished us with two good saddlehorses each, and one stout mule to carry our bedding. We mounted, and, leaving St. Louis, were soon some miles on our journey. We proceeded up the Missouri River, left the last white settlement, and issued out into the wilderness. We proceeded with the utmost caution; always halting before dark, we built a fire and ate our supper; then moving on farther to a secure camping-place, we lit no fire, to avoid attracting the Indians to us. _On arriving at the forks of the Platte, we held a counc1l, and resolved to follow up the north branch to its source, thence cross over to Green River, thus striking it much higher up than we had ever been on that stream before. We proceeded accordingly- JAMES P. BECKWOUR'l'H. 93 crossed Green River, and held our course to the head of Salt River. Here we found a party belonging to the general's company. Winter was now beginning to set in, and it was time for the whole company to go into winter quarters. As nearly as I can recollect, this was the end of October, 1823. A place of rendezvous had been previously agreed upon, and as it was certain that the various parties would soon assemble, I concluded to proceed to the rendezvous, and wait the arrival of Sublet, for the delivery of my dispatches, rather than undertake a search for hin1 in the mountain wilderness. I and my companions, therefore, continued with the party until we reached the rendezvous. The parties, one after the other, came slowly in, and Sublet's was the last to arrive. It was now too late for me to return, and I had no alternative but to wait until spring. Our present rendezvous was in Cache Valley, but Sublet gave orders for all to remove to Salt Lake, which was but a few n1iles distant, and then go into winter quarters. We accordingly moved to the mouth of" Weaver's Fork," and established ourselves there. When all were collected together for the winter, our community numbered from six to seven hundred souls (from two to three hundred consisting of women and children), all strong and healthy as bears, and all having experienced very good success. Sh<?rtly after we had become well settled down, we had the misfortune to lose about eighty horses, stolen one dark, stormy night by the P 'ttn-naks, a tribe in- . habitlng the head-waters of the Columbia River. On missing them the next day, we formed a party of about forty men, and followed their trail on foot-the ground was covered with snow at the time. I volunteered .. |
