Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/612

Rh There is no question as to the hardship endured both by explorers and emigrants. The natives along the Humboldt annoyed the small straggling companies, of which Thornton's was one. They concealed themselves behind rocks and shot their poisoned arrows at men and animals, and often stole cattle from the herds while grazing. In return for these depredations, a Humboldt Indian was shot in the camp of the emigrants. One of the foremost companies had a skirmish with a band of Indians who were lying in ambush among some willows, in which two white men were wounded, one of whom died, and a number of the attacking party were killed. A greater degree of caution might have avoided these encounters; but it was not possible for the guides to be with every train, or to compel the wagons to keep together in numbers sufficient to intimidate the savages.

Notwithstanding the length of the road, which should have warned the travellers not to lose time, a week was wasted in unnecessary delay before commencing the crossing of the Cascade Mountains. The spur of this chain up which the road was first located