Now you must bear in mind, although I may not speak of them again, that
we were constantly meeting with Indians. Hardly a day passed that we
did not come upon a village, meet a party of hunters, or receive visits
from groups of two, three, or four who came to beg.
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Strange though it may seem, we became accustomed to the savages as one
does to seeing a dog or a cat around the house, and gave little or no
attention to them save when they made themselves disagreeable.
One other thing I will speak about now. Mosquitoes and tiny flies,
which seemed as fierce as tigers, were with us all the time by day as
well as by night.
When we first left Independence, it was difficult for me to sleep at
night because of these insects, and during the day I spent the greater
portion of my time striving to keep them off my hands or face. As the
journey progressed it seemed as if they became less poisonous; but I
suppose my body had become accustomed to the wounds, and I gave little
heed to them except when the weather was exceedingly warm.
[Illustration]
Until we came among the foothills, which is to say, after we left Fort
Bridger, we found game in abundance. What had been sport to Eben became
now a real labor, and he sought for fresh meat only when urged to do so
by his father or some of us girls.
There were days when our men brought in no game because they were
unable to come across any; but we were in a country abounding with
deer, elks, buffaloes, and even bears, and so did not suffer for food.