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[Illustration: FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS.]
THE PRAIRIE TRAVELER.
A HAND-BOOK FOR OVERLAND EXPEDITIONS.
WITH MAPS, ILLUSTRATIONS, AND ITINERARIES OF THE
PRINCIPAL ROUTES BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE PACIFIC.
By
RANDOLPH B. MARCY,
CAPTAIN U. S. ARMY.
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1859.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
the Southern District of New York.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The different Routes to California and Oregon. Their respective
Advantages. Organization of Companies. Elections of Captains.
Wagons and Teams. Relative Merits of Mules and Oxen. Stores
and Provisions. How packed. Desiccated and canned Vegetables.
Pemmican. Antiscorbutics. Cold Flour. Substitutes in case of
Necessity. Amount of Supplies. Clothing. Camp Equipage. Arms. 15
CHAPTER II.
Marching. Treatment of Animals. Water. Different methods of
finding and purifying it. Journadas. Methods of crossing them.
Advance and Rear Guards. Selection of Camp. Sanitary Considerations.
Dr. Jackson's Report. Picket Guards. Stampedes. How to prevent
them. Corraling Wagons. 44
CHAPTER III.
Repairing broken Wagons. Fording Rivers. Quicksand. Wagon Boats.
Bull Boats. Crossing Packs. Swimming Animals. Marching with loose
Horses. Herding Mules. Best Methods of Marching. Herding and
guarding Animals. Descending Mountains. Storms. Northers. 71
CHAPTER IV.
Packing. Saddles. Mexican Method. Madrina, or Bell-mare.
Attachment of the Mule illustrated. Best Method of Packing.
Hoppling Animals. Selecting Horses and Mules. Grama and bunch
Grass. European Saddles. California Saddle. Saddle Wounds.
Alkali. Flies. Colic. Rattlesnake Bites. Cures for the Bite. 98
CHAPTER V.
Bivouacs. Tente d'Abri. Gutta-percha Knapsack Tent. Comanche
Lodge. Sibley Tent. Camp Furniture. Litters. Rapid Traveling.
Fuel. Making Fires. Fires on the Prairies. Jerking Meat. Making
Lariats. Making Caches. Disposition of Fire-arms. Colt's
Revolvers. Gun Accidents. Trailing. Indian Sagacity. 132
CHAPTER VI.
Guides and Hunters. Delawares and Shawnees. Khebirs. Black
Beaver. Anecdotes. Domestic Troubles. Lodges. Similarity of
Prairie Tribes to the Arabs. Method of making War. Tracking and
pursuing Indians. Method of attacking them. Telegraphing by
Smokes. 183
CHAPTER VII.
Hunting. Its Benefits to the Soldier. Buffalo. Deer. Antelope.
Bear. Big-horn, or Mountain Sheep. Their Habits, and Hints upon
the best Methods of hunting them. 230
ITINERARIES. 253
APPENDIX. 335
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
Map of Overland routes _at end of volume._
Fort Smith, Arkansas _Frontispiece._
Swimming a Horse 78
Diagram for Measurements 81
Crossing a Stream 87
Grimsley's Pack-saddle 99
California Saddle 119
Half-faced Camp 134
Conical Bivouac 135
Tent Knapsack 137
Comanche Lodge 140
Sibley Tent 143
Camp Chairs 145
Camp Table--Field Cot 146
Field Cot--Camp Bureau 148
Mess-chest 149
Horse-litter 151
Hand-litter 154
The Grizzly 167
Horse-tracks 178
Keep away! 209
Calling up Antelopes 245
The Needles 254
Chimney Rock 269
Devil's Gate 271
Well in the Desert 292
Map of the Pike's Peak Gold Region 296
Sangre de Cristo Pass 300
San Francisco Mountain 309
Canon on Bill Williams's Fork 312
Artillery Peak 313
PREFACE.
A quarter of a century's experience in frontier life, a great portion
of which has been occupied in exploring the interior of our continent,
and in long marches where I have been thrown exclusively upon my own
resources, far beyond the bounds of the populated districts, and where
the traveler must vary his expedients to surmount the numerous
obstacles which the nature of the country continually reproduces, has
shown me under what great disadvantages the "_voyageur_" labors for
want of a timely initiation into those minor details of prairie-craft,
which, however apparently unimportant in the abstract, are sure, upon
the plains, to turn the balance of success for or against an
enterprise.
This information is so varied, and is derived from so many different
sources, that I still find every new expedition adds substantially to
my practical knowledge, and am satisfied that a good Prairie Manual
will be for the young traveler an addition to his equipment of
inappreciable value.
With such a book in his hand, he will be able, in difficult circumstances,
to avail himself of the matured experience of veteran travelers, and
thereby avoid many otherwise unforeseen disasters; while, during the
ordinary routine of marching, he will greatly augment the sum of his
comforts, avoid many serious losses, and enjoy a comparative exemption
from doubts and anxieties. He will feel himself a master spirit in the
wilderness he traverses, and not the victim of every _new_ combination
of circumstances which nature affords or fate allots, as if to try his
skill and prowess.
I have waited for several years, with the confident expectation that
some one more competent than myself would assume the task, and give the
public the desired information; but it seems that no one has taken
sufficient interest in the subject to disseminate the benefits of his
experience in this way. Our frontier-men, although brave in council and
action, and possessing an intelligence that quickens in the face of
danger, are apt to feel shy of the pen. They shun the atmosphere of the
student's closet; their sphere is in the free and open wilderness. It
is not to be wondered at, therefore, that to our veteran borderer the
field of literature should remain a "_terra incognita_." It is our
army that unites the chasm between the culture of civilization in the
aspect of science, art, and social refinement, and the powerful
simplicity of nature. On leaving the Military Academy, a majority of
our officers are attached to the line of the army, and forthwith
assigned to duty upon our remote and extended frontier, where the
restless and warlike habits of the nomadic tribes render the soldier's
life almost as unsettled as that of the savages themselves.
A regiment is stationed to-day on the borders of tropical Mexico;
to-morrow, the war-whoop, borne on a gale from the northwest, compels
its presence in the frozen latitudes of Puget's Sound. The very limited
numerical strength of our army, scattered as it is over a vast area of
territory, necessitates constant changes of stations, long and toilsome
marches, a promptitude of action, and a tireless energy and
self-reliance, that can only be acquired through an intimate
acquaintance with the sphere in which we act and move.
The education of our officers at the Military Academy is doubtless well
adapted to the art of civilized warfare, but can not familiarize them
with the diversified details of border service; and they often, at the
outset of their military career, find themselves compelled to improvise
new expedients to meet novel emergences.
The life of the wilderness is an _art_ as well as that of the city
or court, and every art subjects its votaries to discipline in
preparing them for a successful career in its pursuit. The Military
Art, as enlarged to meet all the requirements of border service, the
savage in his wiles or the elements in their caprices, embraces many
other special arts which have hitherto been almost ignored, and results
which experience and calculation should have guaranteed have been
improvidently staked upon favorable chances.
The main object at which I have aimed in the following pages has been
to explain and illustrate, as clearly and succinctly as possible, the
best methods of performing the duties devolving upon the prairie
traveler, so as to meet their contingencies under all circumstances,
and thereby to endeavor to establish a more uniform system of marching
and campaigning in the Indian country.
I have also furnished itineraries of most of the principal routes that
have been traveled across the plains, taken from the best and most
reliable authorities; and I have given some information concerning the
habits of the Indians and wild animals that frequent the prairies, with
the secrets of the hunter's and warrior's strategy, which I have
endeavored to impress more forcibly upon the reader by introducing
illustrative anecdote.
I take great pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to several
officers of the Topographical Engineers and of other corps of the army
for the valuable information I have obtained from their official
reports regarding the different routes embraced in the itineraries, and
to these gentlemen I beg leave very respectfully to dedicate my book.
THE PRAIRIE TRAVELER.
CHAPTER I.
The different Routes to California and Oregon. Their respective
Advantages. Organization of Companies. Elections of Captains.
Wagons and Teams. Relative Merits of Mules and Oxen. Stores
and Provisions. How packed. Desiccated and canned Vegetables.
Pemmican. Antiscorbutics. Cold Flour. Substitutes in case of
Necessity. Amount of Supplies. Clothing. Camp Equipage. Arms.
ROUTES TO CALIFORNIA AND OREGON.
Emigrants or others desiring to make the overland journey to the
Pacific should bear in mind that there are several different routes
which may be traveled with wagons, each having its advocates in persons
directly or indirectly interested in attracting the tide of emigration
and travel over them.
Information concerning these routes coming from strangers living or
owning property near them, from agents of steam-boats or railways, or
from other persons connected with transportation companies, should be
received with great caution, and never without corroborating evidence
from disinterested sources.
There is no doubt that each one of these roads has its advantages and
disadvantages, but a judicious selection must depend chiefly upon the
following considerations, namely, the locality from whence the
individual is to take his departure, the season of the year when he
desires to commence his journey, the character of his means of
transportation, and the point upon the Pacific coast that he wishes to
reach.
Persons living in the Northeastern States can, with about equal
facility and dispatch, reach the eastern terminus of any one of the
routes they may select by means of public transport. And, as animals
are much cheaper upon the frontier than in the Eastern States, they
should purchase their teams at or near the point where the overland
journey is to commence.
Those living in the Northwestern States, having their own teams, and
wishing to go to any point north of San Francisco, will of course make
choice of the route which takes its departure from the Missouri River.
Those who live in the middle Western States, having their own means of
transportation, and going to any point upon the Pacific coast, should
take one of the middle routes.
Others, who reside in the extreme Southwest, and whose destination is
south of San Francisco, should travel the southern road running through
Texas, which is the only one practicable for comfortable winter travel.
The grass upon a great portion of this route is green during the entire
winter, and snow seldom covers it. This road leaves the Gulf coast at
_Powder-horn_, on Matagorda Bay, which point is difficult of access by
land from the north, but may be reached by steamers from New Orleans
five times a week.
There are stores at Powder-horn and Indianola where the traveler can
obtain most of the articles necessary for his journey, but I would
recommend him to supply himself before leaving New Orleans with every
thing he requires with the exception of animals, which he will find
cheaper in Texas.
This road has received a large amount of travel since 1849, is well
tracked and defined, and, excepting about twenty miles of "_hog
wallow prairie_" near Powder-horn, it is an excellent road for
carriages and wagons. It passes through a settled country for 250
miles, and within this section supplies can be had at reasonable rates.
At Victoria and San Antonio many fine stores will be found, well
supplied with large stocks of goods, embracing all the articles the
traveler will require.
The next route to the north is that over which the semi-weekly mail to
California passes, and which, for a great portion of the way to New
Mexico, I traveled and recommended in 1849. This road leaves the
Arkansas River at Fort Smith, to which point steamers run during the
seasons of high water in the winter and spring.
Supplies of all descriptions necessary for the overland journey may be
procured at Fort Smith, or at Van Buren on the opposite side of the
Arkansas. Horses and cattle are cheap here. The road, on leaving Fort
Smith, passes through the Choctaw and Chickasaw country for 180 miles,
then crosses Red River by ferry-boat at Preston, and runs through the
border settlements of northern Texas for 150 miles, within which
distances supplies may be procured at moderate prices.
This road is accessible to persons desiring to make the entire journey
with their own transportation from Tennessee or Mississippi, by
crossing the Mississippi River at Memphis or Helena, passing Little
Rock, and thence through Washington County, intersecting the road at
Preston. It may also be reached by taking steamers up Red River to
Shreveport or Jefferson, from either of which places there are roads
running through a populated country, and intersecting the Fort Smith
road near Preston.
This road also unites with the San Antonio road at El Paso, and from
that point they pass together over the mountains to Fort Yuma and to
San Francisco in California.
Another road leaves Fort Smith and runs up the south side of the
Canadian River to Santa Fe and Albuquerque in New Mexico.
This route is set down upon most of the maps of the present day as
having been discovered and explored by various persons, but my own name
seems to have been carefully excluded from the list. Whether this
omission has been intentional or not, I leave for the authors to
determine. I shall merely remark that I had the command and entire
direction of an expedition which in 1849 discovered, explored, located,
and marked out this identical wagon road from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to
Santa Fe, New Mexico, and that this road, for the greater portion of
the distance, is the same that has been since recommended for a Pacific
railway.
This road, near Albuquerque, unites with Captain Whipple's and
Lieutenant Beall's roads to California.
Another road, which takes its departure from Fort Smith and passes
through the Cherokee country, is called the "Cherokee Trail." It
crosses Grand River at Fort Gibson, and runs a little north of west to
the Verdigris River, thence up the valley of this stream on the north
side for 80 miles, when it crosses the river, and, taking a northwest
course, strikes the Arkansas River near old Fort Mann, on the Santa Fe
trace; thence it passes near the base of Pike's Peak, and follows down
Cherry Creek from its source to its confluence with the South Platte,
and from thence over the mountains into Utah, and on to California
_via_ Fort Bridger and Salt Lake City.
For persons who desire to go from the Southern States to the gold
diggings in the vicinity of Cherry Creek, this route is shorter by
some 300 miles than that from Fort Smith _via_ Fort Leavenworth. It
is said to be an excellent road, and well supplied with the requisites
for encamping. It has been traveled by large parties of California
emigrants for several years, and is well tracked and defined.
The grass upon all the roads leaving Fort Smith is sufficiently
advanced to afford sustenance to animals by the first of April, and
from this time until winter sets in it is abundant. The next route on
the north leaves the Missouri River at Westport, Leavenworth City,
Atcheson, or from other towns above, between either of which points and
St. Louis steamers ply during the entire summer season.
The necessary outfit of supplies can always be procured at any of the
starting-points on the Missouri River at moderate rates.
This is the great emigrant route from Missouri to California and
Oregon, over which so many thousands have traveled within the past few
years. The track is broad, well worn, and can not be mistaken. It has
received the major part of the Mormon emigration, and was traversed by
the army in its march to Utah in 1857.
At the point where this road crosses the South Platte River, Lieutenant
Bryan's road branches off to the left, leading through Bridger's Pass,
and thence to Fort Bridger. The Fort Kearney route to the gold region
near Pike's Peak also leaves the emigrant road at this place and runs
up the South Platte.
From Fort Bridger there are two roads that may be traveled with wagons
in the direction of California; one passing Salt Lake City, and the
other running down Bear River to Soda Springs, intersecting the Salt
Lake City road at the _City of Rocks_. Near Soda Springs the Oregon
road turns to the right, passing Fort Hall, and thence down Snake River
to Fort Wallah-Wallah. Unless travelers have business in Salt Lake
Valley, I would advise them to take the Bear River route, as it is much
shorter, and better in every respect. The road, on leaving the Missouri
River, passes for 150 miles through a settled country where grain can
be purchased cheap, and there are several stores in this section where
most of the articles required by travelers can be obtained.
Many persons who have had much experience in prairie traveling prefer
leaving the Missouri River in March or April, and feeding grain to
their animals until the new grass appears. The roads become muddy and
heavy after the spring rains set in, and by starting out early the
worst part of the road will be passed over before the ground becomes
wet and soft. This plan, however, should never be attempted unless the
animals are well supplied with grain, and kept in good condition. They
will eat the old grass in the spring, but it does not, in this climate,
as in Utah and New Mexico, afford them sufficient sustenance.
The grass, after the 1st of May, is good and abundant upon this road as
far as the South Pass, from whence there is a section of about 50 miles
where it is scarce; there is also a scarcity upon the desert beyond the
sink of the Humboldt. As large numbers of cattle pass over the road
annually, they soon consume all the grass in these barren localities,
and such as pass late in the season are likely to suffer greatly, and
oftentimes perish from starvation. When I came over the road in August,
1858, I seldom found myself out of sight of dead cattle for 500 miles
along the road, and this was an unusually favorable year for grass, and
before the main body of animals had passed for that season.
Upon the head of the Sweetwater River, and west of the South Pass,
alkaline springs are met with, which are exceedingly poisonous to
cattle and horses. They can readily be detected by the yellowish-red
color of the grass growing around them. Animals should never be allowed
to graze near them or to drink the water.
ORGANIZATION OF COMPANIES.
After a particular route has been selected to make the journey across
the plains, and the requisite number have arrived at the eastern
terminus, their first business should be to organize themselves into a
company and elect a commander. The company should be of sufficient
magnitude to herd and guard animals, and for protection against
Indians.
From 50 to 70 men, properly armed and equipped, will be enough for
these purposes, and any greater number only makes the movements of the
party more cumbersome and tardy.
In the selection of a captain, good judgment, integrity of purpose, and
practical experience are the essential requisites, and these are
indispensable to the harmony and consolidation of the association. His
duty should be to direct the order of march, the time of starting and
halting, to select the camps, detail and give orders to guards, and,
indeed, to control and superintend all the movements of the company.
An obligation should then be drawn up and signed by all the members of
the association, wherein each one should bind himself to abide in all
cases by the orders and decisions of the captain, and to aid him by
every means in his power in the execution of his duties; and they
should also obligate themselves to aid each other, so as to make the
individual interest of each member the common concern of the whole
company. To insure this, a fund should be raised for the purchase of
extra animals to supply the places of those which may give out or die
on the road; and if the wagon or team of a particular member should
fail and have to be abandoned, the company should obligate themselves
to transport his luggage, and the captain should see that he has his
share of transportation equal with any other member. Thus it will be
made the interest of every member of the company to watch over and
protect the property of others as well as his own.
In case of failure on the part of any one to comply with the
obligations imposed by the articles of agreement after they have been
duly executed, the company should of course have the power to punish
the delinquent member, and, if necessary, to exclude him from all the
benefits of the association.
On such a journey as this, there is much to interest and amuse one who
is fond of picturesque scenery, and of wild life in its most primitive
aspect, yet no one should attempt it without anticipating many rough
knocks and much hard labor; every man must expect to do his share of
duty faithfully and without a murmur.
On long and arduous expeditions men are apt to become irritable and
ill-natured, and oftentimes fancy they have more labor imposed upon
them than their comrades, and that the person who directs the march is
partial toward his favorites, etc. That man who exercises the greatest
forbearance under such circumstances, who is cheerful, slow to take up
quarrels, and endeavors to reconcile difficulties among his companions,
is deserving of all praise, and will, without doubt, contribute largely
to the success and comfort of an expedition.
The advantages of an association such as I have mentioned are
manifestly numerous. The animals can be herded together and guarded by
the different members of the company in rotation, thereby securing to
all the opportunities of sleep and rest. Besides, this is the only way
to resist depredations of the Indians, and to prevent their stampeding
and driving off animals; and much more efficiency is secured in every
respect, especially in crossing streams, repairing roads, etc., etc.
Unless a systematic organization be adopted, it is impossible for a
party of any magnitude to travel in company for any great length of
time, and for all the members to agree upon the same arrangements in
marching, camping, etc. I have several times observed, where this has
been attempted, that discords and dissensions sooner or later arose
which invariably resulted in breaking up and separating the company.
When a captain has once been chosen, he should be sustained in all his
decisions unless he commit some manifest outrage, when a majority of
the company can always remove him, and put a more competent man in his
place. Sometimes men may be selected who, upon trial, do not come up to
the anticipations of those who have placed them in power, and other men
will exhibit, during the course of the march, more capacity. Under
these circumstances it will not be unwise to make a change, the first
election having been distinctly provisional.
WAGONS AND TEAMS.
A company having been organized, its first interest is to procure a
proper outfit of transportation and supplies for the contemplated
journey.
Wagons should be of the simplest possible construction--strong, light,
and made of well-seasoned timber, especially the wheels, as the
atmosphere, in the elevated and arid region over which they have to
pass, is so exceedingly dry during the summer months that, unless the
wood-work is thoroughly seasoned, they will require constant repairs to
prevent them from falling to pieces.
Wheels made of the bois-d'arc, or Osage orange-wood, are the best for
the plains, as they shrink but little, and seldom want repairing. As,
however, this wood is not easily procured in the Northern States, white
oak answers a very good purpose if well seasoned.
Spring wagons made in Concord, New Hampshire, are used to transport
passengers and the mails upon some of the routes across the plains, and
they are said, by those who have used them, to be much superior to any
others. They are made of the close-grained oak that grows in a high
northern latitude, and well seasoned.
The pole of the wagon should have a joint where it enters the hounds,
to prevent the weight from coming upon it and breaking the hounds in
passing short and abrupt holes in the road.
The perch or coupling-pole should be shifting or movable, as, in the
event of the loss of a wheel, an axle, or other accident rendering it
necessary to abandon the wagon, a temporary cart may be constructed out
of the remaining portion. The tires should be examined just before
commencing the journey, and, if not perfectly snug, reset.
One of the chief causes of accidents to carriages upon the plains
arises from the nuts coming off from the numerous bolts that secure the
running gearing. To prevent this, the ends of all the bolts should be
riveted; it is seldom necessary to take them off, and when this is
required the ends of the bolts may easily be filed away.
Wagons with six mules should never, on a long journey over the
prairies, be loaded with over 2000 pounds, unless grain is transported,
when an additional thousand pounds may be taken, provided it is fed out
daily to the team. When grass constitutes the only forage, 2000 pounds
is deemed a sufficient load. I regard our government wagons as
unnecessarily heavy for six mules. There is sufficient material in them
to sustain a burden of 4000 pounds, but they are seldom loaded with
more than half that weight. Every wagon should be furnished with
substantial bows and double osnaburg covers, to protect its contents
from the sun and weather.
There has been much discussion regarding the relative merits of mules
and oxen for prairie traveling, and the question is yet far from being
settled. Upon good firm roads, in a populated country, where grain can
be procured, I should unquestionably give the preference to mules, as
they travel faster, and endure the heat of summer much better than
oxen; and if the journey be not over 1000 miles, and the grass
abundant, even without grain, I think mules would be preferable. But
when the march is to extend 1500 or 2000 miles, or over a rough sandy
or muddy road, I believe young oxen will endure better than mules; they
will, if properly managed, keep in better condition, and perform the
journey in an equally brief space of time. Besides, they are much more
economical, a team of six mules costing six hundred dollars, while an
eight-ox team only costs upon the frontier about two hundred dollars.
Oxen are much less liable to be stampeded and driven off by Indians,
and can be pursued and overtaken by horsemen; and, finally, they can,
if necessary, be used for beef.
In Africa oxen are used as saddle animals, and it is said that they
perform good service in this way. This will probably be regarded by our
people as a very undignified and singular method of locomotion, but, in
the absence of any other means of transportation upon a long journey, a
saddle-ox might be found serviceable.
Andersson, in his work on Southwestern Africa, says: "A short strong
stick, of peculiar shape, is forced through the cartilage of the nose
of the ox, and to either end of this stick is attached (in bridle
fashion) a tough leathern thong. From the extreme tenderness of the
nose he is now more easily managed." "Hans presented me with an ox
called 'Spring,' which I afterward rode upward of two thousand miles.
On the day of our departure he mounted us all on oxen, and a curious
sight it was to see some of the men take their seats who had never
before ridden on ox-back. It is impossible to guide an ox as one would
guide a horse, for in the attempt to do so you would instantly jerk the
stick out of his nose, which at once deprives you of every control over
the beast; but by pulling _both_ sides of the bridle at the same time,
and toward the side you wish him to take, he is easily managed.[1] Your
seat is not less awkward and difficult; for the skin of the ox, unlike
that of the horse, is loose, and, notwithstanding your saddle may be
tightly girthed, you keep rocking to and fro like a child in a cradle.
A few days, however, enables a person to acquire a certain steadiness,
and long habit will do the rest."
[1] A ring instead of the stick put through the cartilage of the
nose would obviate this difficulty.--AUTHOR.
"Ox traveling, when once a man becomes accustomed to it, is not so
disagreeable as might be expected, particularly if one succeeds in
obtaining a tractable animal. On emergencies, an ox can be made to
proceed at a tolerable quick pace; for, though his walk is only about
three miles an hour at an average, he may be made to perform double
that distance in the same time. Mr. Galton once accomplished 24 miles
in four hours, and that, too, through heavy sand!"
Cows will be found very useful upon long journeys when the rate of
travel is slow, as they furnish milk, and in emergencies they may be
worked in wagons. I once saw a small cow yoked beside a large ox, and
driven about six hundred miles attached to a loaded wagon, and she
performed her part equally well with the ox. It has been by no means an
unusual thing for emigrant travelers to work cows in their teams.
The inhabitants of Pembina, on Red River, work a single ox harnessed in
shafts like a horse, and they transport a thousand pounds in a rude
cart made entirely of wood, without a particle of iron. One man drives
and takes the entire charge of eight or ten of these teams upon long
journeys. This is certainly a very economical method of transportation.
STORES AND PROVISIONS.
Supplies for a march should be put up in the most secure, compact, and
portable shape.
Bacon should be packed in strong sacks of a hundred pounds to each; or,
in very hot climates, put in boxes and surrounded with bran, which in a
great measure prevents the fat from melting away.
If pork be used, in order to avoid transporting about forty per cent.
of useless weight, it should be taken out of the barrels and packed
like the bacon; then so placed in the bottom of the wagons as to keep
it cool. The pork, if well cured, will keep several months in this way,
but bacon is preferable.
Flour should be packed in stout double canvas sacks well sewed, a
hundred pounds in each sack.
Butter may be preserved by boiling it thoroughly, and skimming off the
scum as it rises to the top until it is quite clear like oil. It is
then placed in tin canisters and soldered up. This mode of preserving
butter has been adopted in the hot climate of southern Texas, and it is
found to keep sweet for a great length of time, and its flavor is but
little impaired by the process.
Sugar may be well secured in India-rubber or gutta-percha sacks, or so
placed in the wagon as not to risk getting wet.
Desiccated or dried vegetables are almost equal to the fresh, and are
put up in such a compact and portable form as easily to be transported
over the plains. They have been extensively used in the Crimean war,
and by our own army in Utah, and have been very generally approved.
They are prepared by cutting the fresh vegetables into thin slices and
subjecting them to a very powerful press, which removes the juice and
leaves a solid cake, which, after having been thoroughly dried in an
oven, becomes almost as hard as a rock. A small piece of this, about
half the size of a man's hand, when boiled, swells up so as to fill a
vegetable dish, and is sufficient for four men. It is believed that the
antiscorbutic properties of vegetables are not impaired by desiccation,
and they will keep for years if not exposed to dampness. Canned
vegetables are very good for campaigning, but are not so portable as
when put up in the other form. The desiccated vegetables used in our
army have been prepared by Chollet and Co., 46 Rue Richer, Paris. There
is an agency for them in New York. I regard these compressed vegetables
as the best preparation for prairie traveling that has yet been
discovered. A single ration weighs, before being boiled, only an ounce,
and a cubic yard contains 16,000 rations. In making up their outfit for
the plains, men are very prone to overload their teams with a great
variety of useless articles. It is a good rule to carry nothing more
than is absolutely necessary for use upon the journey. One can not
expect, with the limited allowance of transportation that emigrants
usually have, to indulge in luxuries upon such expeditions, and
articles for use in California can be purchased there at less cost than
that of overland transport.
The allowance of provisions for men in marching should be much greater
than when they take no exercise. The army ration I have always found
insufficient for soldiers who perform hard service, yet it is ample for
them when in quarters.
The following table shows the amount of subsistence consumed per day by
each man of Dr. Rae's party, in his spring journey to the Arctic
regions of North America in 1854:
Pemmican 1.25 lbs.
Biscuit 0.25 "
Edward's preserved potatoes 0.10 "
Flour 0.33 "
Tea 0.03 "
Sugar 0.14 "
Grease or alcohol, for cooking 0.25 "
----
2.35 lbs.
This allowance of a little over two pounds of the most nutritious food
was found barely sufficient to subsist the men in that cold climate.
The pemmican, which constitutes almost the entire diet of the Fur
Company's men in the Northwest, is prepared as follows: The buffalo
meat is cut into thin flakes, and hung up to dry in the sun or before a
slow fire; it is then pounded between two stones and reduced to a
powder; this powder is placed in a bag of the animal's hide, with the
hair on the outside; melted grease is then poured into it, and the bag
sewn up. It can be eaten raw, and many prefer it so. Mixed with a
little flour and boiled, it is a very wholesome and exceedingly
nutritious food, and will keep fresh for a long time.
I would advise all persons who travel for any considerable time through
a country where they can procure no vegetables to carry with them some
antiscorbutics, and if they can not transport desiccated or canned
vegetables, citric acid answers a good purpose, and is very portable.
When mixed with sugar and water, with a few drops of the essence of
lemon, it is difficult to distinguish it from lemonade. Wild onions are
excellent as antiscorbutics; also wild grapes and greens. An infusion
of hemlock leaves is also said to be an antidote to scurvy.
The most portable and simple preparation of subsistence that I know of,
and which is used extensively by the Mexicans and Indians, is called
"_cold flour_." It is made by parching corn, and pounding it in a
mortar to the consistency of coarse meal; a little sugar and cinnamon
added makes it quite palatable. When the traveler becomes hungry or
thirsty, a little of the flour is mixed with water and drunk. It is an
excellent article for a traveler who desires to go the greatest length
of time upon the smallest amount of transportation. It is said that
half a bushel is sufficient to subsist a man thirty days.
Persons undergoing severe labor, and driven to great extremities for
food, will derive sustenance from various sources that would never
occur to them under ordinary circumstances. In passing over the Rocky
Mountains during the winter of 1857-8, our supplies of provisions were
entirely consumed eighteen days before reaching the first settlements
in New Mexico, and we were obliged to resort to a variety of expedients
to supply the deficiency. Our poor mules were fast failing and dropping
down from exhaustion in the deep snows, and our only dependence for the
means of sustaining life was upon these starved animals as they became
unserviceable and could go no farther. We had no salt, sugar, coffee,
or tobacco, which, at a time when men are performing the severest labor
that the human system is capable of enduring, was a great privation. In
this destitute condition we found a substitute for tobacco in the bark
of the red willow, which grows upon many of the mountain streams in
that vicinity. The outer bark is first removed with a knife, after
which the inner bark is scraped up into ridges around the sticks, and
held in the fire until it is thoroughly roasted, when it is taken off
the stick, pulverized in the hand, and is ready for smoking. It has the
narcotic properties of the tobacco, and is quite agreeable to the taste
and smell. The sumach leaf is also used by the Indians in the same way,
and has a similar taste to the willow bark. A decoction of the dried
wild or horse mint, which we found abundant under the snow, was quite
palatable, and answered instead of coffee. It dries up in that climate,
but does not lose its flavor. We suffered greatly for the want of salt;
but, by burning the outside of our mule steaks, and sprinkling a little
gunpowder upon them, it did not require a very extensive stretch of the
imagination to fancy the presence of both salt and pepper. We tried the
meat of horse, colt, and mules, all of which were in a starved
condition, and of course not very tender, juicy, or nutritious. We
consumed the enormous amount of from five to six pounds of this meat
per man daily, but continued to grow weak and thin, until, at the
expiration of twelve days, we were able to perform but little labor,
and were continually craving for fat meat.
The allowance of provisions for each grown person, to make the journey
from the Missouri River to California, should suffice for 110 days. The
following is deemed requisite, viz.: 150 lbs. of flour, or its
equivalent in hard bread; 25 lbs. of bacon or pork, and enough fresh
beef to be driven on the hoof to make up the meat component of the
ration; 15 lbs. of coffee, and 25 lbs. of sugar; also a quantity of
saleratus or yeast powders for making bread, and salt and pepper.
These are the chief articles of subsistence necessary for the trip, and
they should be used with economy, reserving a good portion for the
western half of the journey. Heretofore many of the California
emigrants have improvidently exhausted their stocks of provisions
before reaching their journey's end, and have, in many cases, been
obliged to pay the most exorbitant prices in making up the deficiency.
It is true that if persons choose to pass through Salt Lake City, and
the Mormons _happen_ to be in an amiable mood, supplies may sometimes
be procured from them; but those who have visited them well know how
little reliance is to be placed upon their hospitality or spirit of
accommodation.
I once traveled with a party of New Yorkers _en route_ for California.
They were perfectly ignorant of every thing relating to this kind of
campaigning, and had overloaded their wagons with almost every thing
except the very articles most important and necessary; the consequence
was, that they exhausted their teams, and were obliged to throw away
the greater part of their loading. They soon learned that Champagne,
East India sweetmeats, olives, etc., etc., were not the most useful
articles for a prairie tour.
CLOTHING.
A suitable dress for prairie traveling is of great import to health and
comfort. Cotton or linen fabrics do not sufficiently protect the body
against the direct rays of the sun at midday, nor against rains or
sudden changes of temperature. Wool, being a non-conductor, is the best
material for this mode of locomotion, and should always be adopted for
the plains. The coat should be short and stout, the shirt of red or
blue flannel, such as can be found in almost all the shops on the
frontier: this, in warm weather, answers for an outside garment. The
pants should be of thick and soft woolen material, and it is well to
have them re-enforced on the inside, where they come in contact with
the saddle, with soft buckskin, which makes them more durable and
comfortable.
Woolen socks and stout boots, coming up well at the knees, and made
large, so as to admit the pants, will be found the best for horsemen,
and they guard against rattlesnake bites.
In traveling through deep snow during very cold weather in winter,
moccasins are preferable to boots or shoes, as being more pliable, and
allowing a freer circulation of the blood. In crossing the Rocky
Mountains in the winter, the weather being intensely cold, I wore two
pairs of woolen socks, and a square piece of thick blanket sufficient
to cover the feet and ankles, over which were drawn a pair of thick
buckskin moccasins, and the whole enveloped in a pair of buffalo-skin
boots with the hair inside, made open in the front and tied with
buckskin strings. At the same time I wore a pair of elkskin pants,
which most effectually prevented the air from penetrating to the skin,
and made an excellent defense against brush and thorns.
My men, who were dressed in the regulation clothing, wore out their
pants and shoes before we reached the summit of the mountains, and many
of them had their feet badly frozen in consequence. They mended their
shoes with pieces of leather cut from the saddle-skirts as long as they
lasted, and, when this material was gone, they covered the entire shoe
with green beeve or mule hide, drawn together and sewed upon the top,
with the hair inside, which protected the upper as well as the sole
leather. The sewing was done with an awl and buckskin strings. These
simple expedients contributed greatly to the comfort of the party; and,
indeed, I am by no means sure that they did not, in our straitened
condition, without the transportation necessary for carrying disabled
men, save the lives of some of them. Without the awl and buckskins we
should have been unable to have repaired the shoes. They should never
be forgotten in making up the outfit for a prairie expedition.
We also experienced great inconvenience and pain by the reflection of
the sun's rays from the snow upon our eyes, and some of the party
became nearly snow-blind. Green or blue glasses, inclosed in a wire
net-work, are an effectual protection to the eyes; but, in the absence
of these, the skin around the eyes and upon the nose should be
blackened with wet powder or charcoal, which will afford great relief.
In the summer season shoes are much better for footmen than boots, as
they are lighter, and do not cramp the ankles; the soles should be
broad, so as to allow a square, firm tread, without distorting or
pinching the feet.
The following list of articles is deemed a sufficient outfit for one
man upon a three months' expedition, viz.:
2 blue or red flannel overshirts, open in front, with buttons.
2 woolen undershirts.
2 pairs thick cotton drawers.
4 pairs woolen socks.
2 pairs cotton socks.
4 colored silk handkerchiefs.
2 pairs stout shoes, for footmen.
1 pair boots, for horsemen.
1 pair shoes, for horsemen.
3 towels.
1 gutta percha poncho.
1 broad-brimmed hat of soft felt.
1 comb and brush.
2 tooth-brushes.
1 pound Castile soap.
3 pounds bar soap for washing clothes.
1 belt-knife and small whetstone.
Stout linen thread, large needles, a bit of beeswax, a few
buttons, paper of pins, and a thimble, all contained in
a small buckskin or stout cloth bag.
The foregoing articles, with the coat and overcoat, complete the
wardrobe.
CAMP EQUIPAGE.
The bedding for each person should consist of two blankets, a
comforter, and a pillow, and a gutta percha or painted canvas cloth to
spread beneath the bed upon the ground, and to contain it when rolled
up for transportation.
Every mess of six or eight persons will require a wrought-iron camp
kettle, large enough for boiling meat and making soup; a coffee-pot and
cups of heavy tin, with the handles riveted on; tin plates, frying and
bake pans of wrought iron, the latter for baking bread and roasting
coffee. Also a mess pan of heavy tin or wrought iron for mixing bread
and other culinary purposes; knives, forks, and spoons; an extra camp
kettle; tin or gutta percha bucket for water--wood, being liable to
shrink and fall to pieces, is not deemed suitable; an axe, hatchet, and
spade will also be needed, with a mallet for driving picket-pins.
Matches should be carried in bottles and corked tight, so as to exclude
the moisture.
A little blue mass, quinine, opium, and some cathartic medicine, put up
in doses for adults, will suffice for the medicine-chest.
Each ox wagon should be provided with a covered tar-bucket, filled with
a mixture of tar or resin and grease, two bows extra, six S's, and six
open links for repairing chains. Every set of six wagons should have a
tongue, coupling pole, king-bolt, and pair of hounds extra.
Every set of six mule wagons should be furnished with five pairs of
hames, two double trees, four whipple-trees, and two pairs of lead bars
extra.
Two lariats will be needed for every horse and mule, as one generally
wears out before reaching the end of a long journey. They will be found
useful in crossing deep streams, and in letting wagons down steep hills
and mountains; also in repairing broken wagons. Lariats made of hemp
are the best.
One of the most indispensable articles to the outfit of the prairie
traveler is buckskin. For repairing harness, saddles, bridles, and
numerous other purposes of daily necessity, the awl and buckskin will
be found in constant requisition.
ARMS.
Every man who goes into the Indian country should be armed with a rifle
and revolver, and he should never, either in camp or out of it, lose
sight of them. When not on the march, they should be placed in such a
position that they can be seized at an instant's warning; and when
moving about outside the camp, the revolver should invariably be worn
in the belt, as the person does not know at what moment he may have use
for it.
A great diversity of opinion obtains regarding the kind of rifle that
is the most efficient and best adapted to Indian warfare, and the
question is perhaps as yet very far from being settled to the
satisfaction of all. A large majority of men prefer the breech-loading
arm, but there are those who still adhere tenaciously to the
old-fashioned muzzle-loading rifle as preferable to any of the modern
inventions. Among these may be mentioned the border hunters and
mountaineers, who can not be persuaded to use any other than the
Hawkins rifle, for the reason that they know nothing about the merits
of any others. My own experience has forced me to the conclusion that
the breech-loading arm possesses great advantages over the
muzzle-loading, for the reason that it can be charged and fired with
much greater rapidity.
Colt's revolving pistol is very generally admitted, both in Europe and
America, to be the most efficient arm of its kind known at the present
day. As the same principles are involved in the fabrication of his
breech-loading rifle as are found in the pistol, the conviction to me
is irresistible that, if one arm is worthy of consideration, the other
is equally so. For my own part, I look upon Colt's new patent rifle as
a most excellent arm for border service. It gives six shots in more
rapid succession than any other rifle I know of, and these, if properly
expended, are oftentimes sufficient to decide a contest; moreover, it
is the most reliable and certain weapon to fire that I have ever used,
and I can not resist the force of my conviction that, if I were alone
upon the prairies, and expected an attack from a body of Indians, I am
not acquainted with any arm I would as soon have in my hands as this.
The army and navy revolvers have both been used in our army, but the
officers are not united in opinion in regard to their relative merits.
I prefer the large army size, for reasons which will be given
hereafter.