Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/391



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Whitman's advice prevailed, and a large number of the wagons with a portion of the stock, did reach Walhi Walla and The Dalles, from which points they were taken to the Willamette the following year. Had we followed Grant's ad- vice and abandoned the cattle and wagons at Fort Hall, much suffering must have ensued, as a sufficient number of horses to carry the women and children of the party could not have been obtained, besides wagons, and cattle were in- dispensable to men expecting to live by farming in a country destitute of such articles.

"At Fort Hall we fell in with some Cayuse and Nez Perce Indians re- turning from the buffalo country, and as it was necessary for Dr. Whitman to precede us to Walla Walla, he recommended to us a guide in the person of an old Cayuse Indian called "Sticcus. " He was a faithful old fellow, perfectly familiar with all the trails and topography of the country from Fort Hall to The Dalles, and although not speaking a word of English, and no one in our party a word of Cayuse, he succeeded by pantomime in taking us over the roughest wagon route I ever saw. ' '

THE CARAVAN STARTS

There is no account of the work of the Pioneers so satisfactory as that of those who took part in it, the actual witnesses of the movement. Jesse Apple- gate, affectionately styled "Uncle Jesse," has written an account of the Immi- grant Train of 1843, of which he was a member, that is remarkable for its force and brevity. And from that account is taken the following extract :

"The migrating body numbered over one thousimd souls, with about V20 wagons, drawn by six ox teams averaging about six yokes (12 oxen) to the team, and sevei'al thousand loose horses and cattle. The emigrants first organized and attempted to travel in one body, but it was soon found that no progress could be made with a body so cumbrous, and as yet so avei"se to all discipline. At the crossing of the Big Blue River (in Kansas) the train divided into two columns, traveling within supporting distance of each other, in case of an attack by In- dians. * * *

"It is four o'clock A. M., the sentinels on duty have discharged their rifles — the signal that the houi-s of sleep are over — and every wagon and tent is pour- ing forth its night tenants, and slow-kindling smokes begin largely to rise and float away in the morning air. Sixty men start from the corral, spreading as the.y make through the vast herd of cattle antl horses, that form a semicircle around the encampment, the most distant perhaps two miles away.

"The herdei's pass to the extreme verge and carefully examine for trails be- yond, to see that none of the animals have strayed or been stolen during the night. This morning no trails led beyond the outside animals in sight, and by 5 o'clock the herders begin to contract the great moving circle, and the well- trained animals move slowly towards camp, clipping here and there a thistle or a tempting bunch of grass on the way. In about an hour five thousand ani- mals are close up to the encampment, and the teamsters are busy selecting their teams and driving them inside the corral to be yoked. The corral is a circle one hundred yards deep, formed with wagons connected strongly with each other; the wagon in the rear being connected with the wagon in front by