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tell a  tale  more  thrilling  and  more  fascinating  than any of  ancient  pilgrimage,  trailed  over  plains  and  rug- ged hills of  desolation,  often  with  a  miserable  road, or with  no  road  at  all ;  and  exposed  to  tornadoes  fierce enough to  demolish  a  caravan,  followed  by  ravenous wolves and  croaking  ravens,  harrassed  by  savages, keepijig watch  by  night,  and  sweating  and  swearing by day ;  suffering  from  scurvy  and  fever  engendered by salt  unwholesome  food,  and  from  cholera  brought up the  river  from  New  Orleans,  and  which  clung  to them  until  dissipated  by  the  sharp  air  of  the  elevated regions 500  miles  distant. Over the  boundless  prairies they straggled,  up  in  to  the  rarified  air  that  stifled  men and beasts,  down  into  waterless,  sandy  sinks ;  across sage brush  plains  efflorescent  with  alkali,  over  salty- white flats  caked  hard  as  stone,  through  blinding  dust, and into  heaps  of  sand-like  drifted  ashy  earth  where the animals  sank  to  their  bellies ;  resting  by  cooling springs, or  thirsting  beside  fetid  and  acrid  waters; winding along  the  banks  of  sluggish  water-courses, fording brackish  brooks,  swimming  ice-cold  rivers,  ex- posed now to  the  unbroken  rays  of  a  withering  sun, and now  to  chilliing  hail-storms,  hurricanes,  and  suffo- cating sand-blasts; sometimes  miring  in  mud,  some- times choked in  impalpable  dust  which  saturated  hair and clothes,  filled  eyes  and  nostrils,  and  made  these emigrant trains  look  like  caravans  emerging  from  an ash  storm  on  the  plains  of  Sodom.

But what  were  these  temporal  miseries  beside  the eternal reward  that  awaited  them  beyond  the  Sierra, which, from  its  eastern  slope,  so  grimly  frowned  on those  who  came  so  far  to  tamper  with  its  treasures? Blessed faith  1  thouo;h  material  and  transient  in  its promised joys,  it  was  none  the  less  immortal  What though credence  be  but  a  fata  morgana,  happiness  a phantom,  and  flattering  hope  be  fed  by  night  on  dreams and by  day  on  mirage ;  what  though  imaginary  shapes take on  reality,  and  thouglit  spends  itself  in  midnight apparitions and  fantastic  aerial  visions,  faith  and  hope