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Show CHAPTER III. THE JOURNEY TO UTAH. IT was an era of change and fierce excitement. Omaha was in her speculative period. Daily hundreds of adventurous fortune- seekers set out for the mountains, and daily the refluent tide landed half as many of the returning a very few fortunate beyond their hopes, many about as well oft as when they started, and quite as many utterly bankrupt. Such a country could not but develop strange characters ; a man either failed, lost hope, and sank into a " floater," or developed an amazing capacity for lighting on his feet at every fall. There, for instance, was my friend Will Wylie, who had seen the el-ephant in its entirety, from trunk to tail. He went out in 1862, and " struck it rich " on his first vent-ure in the mines of Montana; started with teams and wagons to California, and on the way was robbed of every ounce of his " dust" by the then swarming " road agents." They kindly left him his stock, with which he got through to California, and thence made a highly successful trip to Arizona. There he turned his means into a freighting company, and beguiled the lonesome hours of his long drives over mountains and deserts by calculating his certain wealth and early return to the States. When near Fort Whipple, and not three hours ride from a well- manned United States post, the Apaches attacked his train, stampeded all his stock but the mule he rode, and burnt all his property they could not carry oif. By the light of his blazing wagons he fled, with an arrow sticking in his cheek ; his frightened animal ran till it dropped dead, but fortunately not till it had carried him into the quadrangle of the fort. He was picked up in-sensible, and in six weeks was out again with the loss of one eye. He-turning to Montana, he joined the Vigilantes, and had the pleasure ( 45) HIS L. AST CHANCE. |
