Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 7.pdf/73

Rh wastes, uninhabited save by the wild beast and savage—filled, perhaps, with thousands of unknown difficulties and dangers, hardships and privations,—rushed at once, in mingled confusion, upon the mind, and impressed upon our feelings a full sense of the loneliness of our situation and the rapidly increasing space that was separating us from all communion with the civilized world.

The morning had been fair, and we were moving slowly along through the middle of one of the wide prairies, without noticing the cloud which had been gathering in the North, until its thunders awoke us from our dreaming. The breeze, which before had scarcely stirred the grass upon the plain, grown into a gale, now soared over the hills. The rain soon followed, pouring in torrents. Our mules, wheeling with their heads from the storm, refused to proceed. We were therefore compelled quietly to endure it, and wait upon the pleasure of our long eared masters. Fortunately, it lasted for but little more than an hour; but this was sufficient for us to become completely drenched with the rain and chilled with the cold. But in a short time the cloud passed over, and the rays of the sun having dried our garments and tempered the atmosphere to its previous mildness, made every thing appear more cheerful than before.

This we regarded as a sort of introduction to the next six months. As the sun approached the horizon, we turned aside and halted, on the bank of a small creek, and made preparations to pass the night. We turned our animals loose to graze, having first fastened strong cords, about ten yards in length, about their necks, that we might not have difficulty in catching them. After they had run loose some time one end of the cord was fastened to a stake, to prevent their rambling away, through the night, and the rope was sufficiently long to give them room to feed plentifully. Having pitched our tent and