Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/141

Rh to take their proper places in the line of march must fall into the dusty rear for the day.

"There are one hundred and twenty wagons. They have been divided into thirty divisions or platoons of four wagons each, and each platoon is entitled to lead in its turn. The leading platoon will be the rear one tomorrow, and will bring up the rear unless some teamster, through indolence and negligence, has lost his place in the line. It is within ten minutes of seven; the corral, until now a strong barricade, is opened, the teams being attached to the wagons. The women and children have taken their places in them. The pilot, an old trapper and hunter, stands ready to mount and lead the way. Ten or fifteen young men, not on duty for the day, form a cluster ready to start on a buffalo hunt, well armed, and if need be ready for a brush with the unfriendly Sioux. The hunters must ride fifteen or twenty miles to reach buffalo, shoot and cut up half a dozen for fresh beef for the whole train the next day. The cow drivers are rounding up the cows at the rear of the train for the day's drive.

"It is on the clock strike of seven; the rush is to and fro; the whips crack, the loud commands to the oxen, the wagons creak and move, and the train is again on its slow and toilsome journey, as if every thing was moved by clock work. The loose horses follow next the wagons, guided by boys, but know that when noon comes they can graze on the grass. Following the horses come the cattle, lazy, selfish, unsocial, grabbing at every bunch of grass, straying from the trail, blocking the passageway, the strong thrusting out of the weaker ones, and seemingly never getting enough to eat. Some of the teamsters ride the front of their wagon, others walk alongside of the teams, and all of them incessantly whoop and goad the lazy ox who seems to know that no good thing was ever accomplished in a minute."

Such was the life of the pioneers on the trail. No such a picture of human life was ever at any time in any part of the earth exhibited before. Abraham, the father of the faithful, as he four thousand years ago moved his people out upon their annual stock grazing excursions to the plains of Mesopotamia, with his flocks of Angora goats, fat-tailed sheep, asses and camels, numerous wives, and dark eyed maidens, doubtless could have put up a good show; but the Missourians would have "had to be shown" before they would have yielded the colors.

But it was not all fun, or hard work or excitement. There were serious phases, and sad, pathetic scenes. The caravan made and enforced its own laws; and without such proper regulations the train would have been stranded in hopeless anarchy. There was the selected council of experienced and responsible men, which was a court to all intents and purposes, and before it was brought every offender to be tried by the common law of decency and even handed justice. This council exercised both legislative and judicial powers. If an offence was found to be without an applicable rule or punishment, a law was forthwith enacted to meet all such cases. The council held its sessions when the train was not moving—Sundays and rest days. It considered the caravan as a whole in the aspect of a state or commonwealth, and as such it had first consideration. The common welfare being cared for, the council would then, as a court, take up and decide disputes between individual members of the train, hearing both the aggrieved complainant and the offender, and by counsel when desired, and then deciding every case upon its merits. See what a training school here in the heart of the wilderness, as the lumbering caravan dragged its slow length across plains, mountains and deserts. Some of the improvised judges became distinguished legislators and statesmen in Oregon, and young men who appeared before that pioneer court arose to judicial honors in the states they helped to build in the Columbia river valley. Burnett, distinguished in Oregon, became governor of California. Nesmith was a judge, congressman, and U. S. senator from Oregon. Applegate was a legislator and helped make the constitution