Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/106



with others,  some  bound  for  Oregon  and  some  for Cahfornia, the  Donner  party  had  a  prosperous  jour- ney from the  Missouri,  and  passed  the  great  divide in good  health  and  spirits. The longer  half  of  the journey was  accomplished;  the  cattle  were  in  good condition, and  provisions  abundant ;  it  was  yet  mid- summer, ample time  thought  they  to  escape  the snows of  th§  frowning  Sierra. So, buoyant  with  an- ticipations of a  speedy  and  prosperous  termination  of their  travels,  they  arrived  at  Fort  Bridger,  one  hun- dred miles east  of  Salt  Lake,  on  the  25th  of  July. It was  their  intention  to  have  continued  in  the  Oregon trail as  far  as  Fort  Hall,  or  beyond,  before  turning southward toward  California,  but  they  were  induced to deviate  from  the  usual  route  by  L.  W.  Hastings,  who assured them  that  he  had  found  a  way  shorter  and better than  the  old  one,  a  cut-off  it  was  called,  the name referrino-  to  the  route  and  not  the  travellers. Nor did  Mr  Hastings  wilfully  misrepresent  matters as many  charged  him  with  doing,  for  his  route  was essentially the  same  as  that  taken  by  the  emigration of 1849,  and  by  the  overland  stage  and  railway.

A. J.  Grayson,  the  eminent  ornithologist  of  Mexico and California,  led  a  party  of  pioneers  in  this  emigra- tion. He was  accompanied  by  his  young,  devoted wife, and  out  of  solicitude  for  her  welfare,  or  other cause, he  escaped  two  great  dangers  of  the  journey as by  intuition. In a  letter  from  San  Franciseo written February  2'2,  1847,  speaking  of  Hastings  and his route  which  was  represented  to  be  better  and  250 miles shorter  than  the  old  way,  Mr  Graysen  fays : " This  news  created  some  excitement  among  the  emi- grants; some  were  for  going  the  new  route  without reflecting,  whilst  the  more  prudent  were  for  going  by the  old  trail  via  Fort  Hall.  I  for  one  consulted  Cap- tain Walker,  who  happened  to  be  at  Fort  Bridger and  well  acquainted  with  both  routes,  and  also  a  man whom  I  could  believe ;  so  I  took  his  advice  and  went by  the  old  trail,  together  with  a  respectable  portion