And we place it here as perhaps the only memento those who knew him in
the States may ever receive of him. How he died, we of course cannot
surmise, but there he sleeps among the rocks of the West as soundly as
if chiseled marble was built above his bones.
On returning to Rock Independence, a point about nine hundred miles from
the settlements, we were astonished at finding that the Oregonians had
reached and passed it only four days behind us. We had confidently
supposed them four weeks in our rear, and their rapid progress augurs
well for the success of their enterprise. On the rock we found printed:
“THE OREGON CO.
arrived
July 26, 1843.”
At Fort Laramie we were told that they were still well provisioned when
passing there, and could even afford to trade away flour, coffee, etc.,
for necessaries of other kinds. But it was droll to hear how the Sioux
stared at the great caravans. Some of them on seeing the great number of
wagons, and particularly white women and children, for the first time,
began to think of coming down here, having seen, as they supposed, “the
whole white village” move up the mountains.