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Show TO THE NORTH PLATTE. 39 . the organization and concert of action which characterized the great California committee in the early part of the his tory of that State. The conduct of some of the " vigilanters," as they are called, has been so represented to me, that I would about as lief meet in an unfrequented place, an old grizzly, or two or three hostile Sioux, as one of these protectors (?) of the peace of the territory. Considering all things, I congratulated myself upon not being ordered to a post in that country, preferring to take the chances of a more congenial state of things at a more distant station. The prices charged for such articles as could be purchased of the sutler at Halleck, or at the ranches in the vicinity, were enormously high. The canned fruits and vegetables for which I paid $ 3 and $ 4 a dozen in Leavenworth, $ 2 a can was here the lowest price, and flour, for which an officer would be charged 5 cents a pound by the Commissary, was sold to the emigrant by the sutler in an adjoining building at 60 cents, while shot for which I paid 15 cents a pound in St. Louis, here commanded 75 cents ; and this enormous advance is charged, when the highest rate of freight from the Missouri River is 12 cents per pound. I was glad to find that my larder required no further replenishing than the Commissary could supply. At Fort Halleck our column was still further reduced by turning over to that garrison two other companies, and there we parted with another of our Surgeons, Dr. Avery, leaving but one, of about a dozen that left Leavenworth, to continue the journey. But there was little need for doc tors. It is astonishing how healthy men keep when on a march. We did not leave a single sick man at any post between Leavenworth and Salt Lake City. A two days' march from Halleck brought us to the ferry of the North Platte. As we descended into the valley the roadside was literally covered with wild flowers, varied in kind and color to an extent we had not before observed. They were of varieties different from any cultivated flowers |
