FROM ST. LOUIS TO ST. JOSEPH
At length it was decided that myself with the outfit should be shiped on
board a steamer & sent to St. Joseph,[14] accordingly I was conveyed on
board the Martha Jewett[15] which was loading with freight for that, &
intermediate points, while the men with the team would proceed by land.
The cabin of this well furnished & beautiful steamer was filled with
passengers two thirds of whom were for California.
[April 22--9th day] Started up the river about 2, o'clock this
afternoon, the company being all strangers to me I felt quite lonesome,
thought much about "those I left behind me."
[April 23--10th day] A man fell overboard this morning, he was a deck
passenger going to California, broke two of his ribs, he is not expected
to live, he has no family as I could learn. there are about 200
passengers on board for California.
[April 24--11th day] The man died last night, carried him on to
Boonville[16] & buried him, I did not learn his name. We got on rather
slowly for the boat is very heavily laden, there is some 100 head of
cattle horses & mules on board, a good many among whom were those
gentlemen with whom we had intended to travel having shipped their teems
& waggons besides their other freight, & the river is quite low.
[April 25--12th day] Sunday quite sad although there were some 40 ladies
on board, I have been reading the various guides of the rout to
California, they have not improved my ideas of the _pleasure_ of the
trip, no very flattering accounts I assure you, but hope we may find it
better, not worse.
[April 26--13th day] The country along the Mississouri [_sic_] most of
the way, is quite broken, & hilly, many of the towns are small &
uninteresting, but there are some, though not large which do a great
deal of business. The scenery is quite monotonous.
[April 27--14th day] Passed the wreck of the steamer Luda,[17] which was
blown up a short time since, it was a sad sight; for nearly 200 hundred
lives were lost by that fatal accident, & the most of them I was told
were for California. Men were at work digging from the hulk (which was
nearly all that was left, so great was the explosion) such articles as
were of value, or to ascertain if there were any dead bodies, to give
them burial. I suppose they had found many for they had a line on which
was hung promiscuously men, women, & children's clothes, it made ones
heart ache to look uppon such a sight, but what must be the feelings of
those who should recognize amidst those wet & muddy articles, some well
known garment, of relative or friend, whose body in death lies sleeping
beneath the turbulent waters & sands, of the Mississouri [_sic_]. Passed
the town of Kanzas,[18] here was some 60 waggons of the Sante Fee
traders. Saw several indians here, one squaw on a beautiful white pony.
This is a pretty place, we also passed Ft. Levenworth[19] which is
pleasantly situated on an elevated plain, which affords a fine view,
this as its name indicates is a military station. Saw several of the
black war dogs[20] standing around there, but I guess they have very
little to bark at now.
[April 28--15th day[21]] Arived at St. Josep[h] this evening, the banks
of the river & all around the town were white with waggons, & tents;
while the people came running down to the wharf by hundreds, a great
many came on board for their families, or to look for some expected
friend; they would come to the cabin door, & with an anxious looks
survey all within, but if the ones they sought were there, it was but
for a moment, before the eye of affection would recognize, the wife her
husband, the daughter her father, the father by his whole family all
rushing up to him to see who should be first caressed. They soon all
left the boat excepting a few I was one as it was now dark, & it was
reported that the tavern were all full.
[April 29--16th day] I left the boat this morning with a family with
whom I had formed an agreeable acquaintance, who were going to
California, & they having accertained that it was impossible to get
boarding in town, concluded to cross the river, & pitch their tent, &
having a good sheet iron cooking stove & they would board themselves; &
as their teems were coming by land & not expected for several days I was
invited to go over with them which I accordingly did. We proceeded to
the ferry, but could not cross for 2 hours for the crowd of teams which
were in before us; while waiting there, some 200 indians of the
Pawtawattimees & Winewbagoes[22] came down the street, affording me one
of the strangest sights I ever saw. They were verry dark complected,
quite black, half clothed, & some few were ornamented; they had some 30
or 40 ponies which were laden as I should judge by the variety; with
every thing that they possessed; for there were fastened on the top of
the enormous loads which they carried, dogs, puppies, paupooses,
chickens, & those who were unable to walk by reason of age or infirmity.
One of the puppies thus confined kept yelping, probably from hunger, an
old indian perhaps tired of hearing it, or thinking that it disturbed
us, steped up & shot it in the head with a blunt arrow & killed it, and
then threw it in the river. They were in a hurry to cross over and
crowded down to the waters edge, the ferrymen would not take but a few
of them at a time for there was not room for the waggons, one old skuaw
was as mad as a wet hen, she scolded a perfect storm, one of the men who
stood by understood her, & interpreted to us what she said, & it served
to amuse us not a little. Our turn now come we crossed over to the wild
and unhabited (except by indians) Territory of Nebraska. We soon had our
tent up got some dinner, the indians came round the tent, some begging,
some having a few articles to trade, and as they concluded a bargain or
"swop" as they call it, they shake hands with all around and say, good,
good, & then depart.
[April 30--17th day] Last night I slept but little, the indians had
encamped not far from us, & they kept up a constant singing, or howling
for it was the most doleful noise I ever heard, & they were passing
around the tent, & some would pull open the door & peep in, I knew they
had liquor, for I had seen several of them drunk, I was fearful what
they might do, the strangeness of the scene & the wildness of the place,
made me conjure up in my mind all the indian massacres of which I had
ever read or heard, but the Major[23] & his family slept soundly, for he
had been through before consequently he heeded them not, nor did I say a
word, but was glad when day broke; my fears were dispelled with the
darkness. Seated outside the tent I was amused watching the indians
shoot with their bows & arrows for 5 or 10 cts that some men would put
up for the purpose of seeing them shoot, or looking at them ride on
their ponies in a manner that none but indians can; it is a novel sight
to see them, their faces painted, or tattooed, wraped in their red
blankets with a kind of cap on their heads, & stuck in the top were from
one to a dozen long feathers of various colors, & by a word to their
ponies, for I seldom see them use a whip, they scamper away with the
speed of the wind.
[May 1--18th day] Teams crossing the river all the while, but there is
not half ferry boats enough here, great delay is the consequence,
besides the pushing, & crowding, to see who shall get across first.
There is every description of teams & waggons; from a hand cart &
wheel-barrow, to a fine six horse carriage & buggie; but more than two
thirds are oxen & waggons similar to our own; & by the looks of their
loads they do not intend to starve. Most of the horses, mules & cattle,
are the best the states afford; they are indeed beautiful, but I fear
some of them will share the fate of the "gallant grey" of Snowdouns
Knight.[24] [May 2--19th day] It being a very pleasant day we walked out
toward the indian encampment, we saw a little way to our left a painted
post, which the Major said denoted that an indian was buried there; we
turned aside, found there were two graves on[e] of quite recent date, &
recolecting that I had seen a coffin put on the ferryboat that day I
came over I supposed this to be the same, deposited here, & that the
noise I heard them making the following night, was the funeral dirge.
There was one old grey headed indian here, but on approach, he wraped
his blanket around him, & without speaking, or seeming to take notice of
us, walked off into the thickets, & disappeared. I looked after him as
he turned away, & felt as if I was an intruder. There was an air of
greatness about him, his tall and erect figure, & noble features; he had
doubtless sat arround the council fires of his tribe when they were
many, before the white man had reduced their numbers to a mere handful,
& perhaps this one now laid low, might have been the last belonging to
him; no doubt but he could "a tale unfold," of the events of bygone
years. But we proceeded onward & found that they had nearly all packed
up and gone, some of the squaws were mounted on their little ponies 2 on
each, seated on opposite sides, so as to ballance. We turned to the
tent, heard that the Majors teems had arrived in town, & would be over
in the morning. [May 3--20th day] A place having been found at a private
house where I could be accommodated for a few days, I recrossed the
river, went to the house where I was to stay, until the team came which
I most anxiously wished for, as the numbers which passed over dayly,
seemed to me so great that we should be behind, for there are a like
number crossing at several other points at the same time.
[May 4 to 7--21st to 24th days] Began to look for the team, but manny
said, it would take at least 18 or 20 days to come from St. louis here,
looked quite hard to-day.
[May 8--25th day] This morning I went out walked up a hill which
overlooks the town & river, never saw such a bustle, there was a large
drove of cattle filling the streets for some distance, which they were
crossing to the other side as fast as possible, with their little boats,
where there should have been at least 2 good large steam ferry boats, &
I should think that they could afford to build them, or charter them
from some other ports, this I know & all others who have experienced it,
that it is a great vexation to keep ones team standing for a day or two
in the street, & watch your chance to get ferried over, for the press is
so great that they will slip in before you if they can. I saw several
teams approaching the town, & I suppose I saw ours, for they came in
about that time, but I did not see the grey pony (which I afterwards
learned they had sold her back getting sore) nor the blue steer which
had died concluded it was not them, returned to the house, & thought if
it was them they would soon be in, but as it proved the letter which I
had deposited in the P. O., informing them of my wherebouts, was nailed
upon the door, & had been covered over by others of more recent date, I
had also left word with the commission merchant to whom the goods were
shiped that I was going over the river to stay several days prehaps
[_sic_] until they came; if not I would leave a line there, or in the P.
O. Loyd got this word, & not finding any line in the office, immediately
crossed the river & searched for me for several miles out on the road.
[May 9--26th day] Sunday I sat at the window observing every team &
every person, for I thought surely they would come to day, while they at
the same time were looking as hard for me. Loyd having got no tidi[ngs]
of me over the river; went to every church in the town, & looked if I
was there, but not seeing me, he went to the P. O. once more, & tearing
off some score of letters he found the desired information, & in a few
moments he was at the door; & "the lost was found," all was soon
explained, we eat our dinner, which was to be out last at a table for
some time. We went down, crossed over the river, after having procured
several articles to complete our outfit, found our team already on the
opposite bank ready to start, our other team from Calhoun Co.[25] was
in waiting to accompany us, they had fallen in company with our folk &
George[26] being acquainted with them, & as we had never heard from Mr.
Besser we were glad of their company, but there was no woman with them,
but 5 men one waggon 4 yoke of splendid cattle, they were merry fellows
and as we came up they joked us not a little about our looking for each
other at the same time. & congratulated us upon our success.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] On the Missouri River, from St. Louis to St. Joseph.
[15] The "Martha Jewett," of which W. C. Jewett was master, began her
trips on the Missouri River in 1852. She was "one of the finest and most
popular boats on the river in her day."
[16] Boonville, the county seat of Cooper Co., Mo.
[17] The "Saluda," a side-wheel steamer with double engine and two
boilers, having a capacity of 233 tons, was built in 1846. She exploded
at Lexington, Mo., on the morning of April 9, 1852, only eighteen days
prior to the above observation of Mrs. Frizzell.--_Chappell. History of
the Missouri River, 1906, p. 52, 74._
[18] Kansas City.
[19] Fort Leavenworth, two miles north of the city of Leavenworth, Kan.,
situate on Rattlesnake Hills, was first occupied as a cantonment in
1827, and became a regular fort of the U. S. government about 1832.
[20] Cannon.--_Original note_.
[21] Mrs. Frizzell made an error at this point, numbering the day as the
"18th", instead of 15th, which led to a misnumbering throughout. It has
been corrected here.
[22] Potawatomi and Winnebago.
[23] An original note names him "Major Stemmons, of Rockport, Mo." This
is evidently an error for _Slemmons_, a family-name that is yet found in
Atchison County.
[24] An allusion to the Knight of Snowdoun in Scott's _The Lady of the
Lake_.
[25] Calhoun Co., Ill.
[26] One of her sons.