11th. Got an early start this morning. We had a very cold night, quite
cold enough for December, but have had a very warm day.--Passed the
Junction of the Salt Lake and Ft. Hall roads this morning;--saw some
wagons coming that road, the men said they had been seven days coming
from Salt Lake; that it was about 170 miles, and that they had some bad
streams to cross, one of them (the Webber) 19 times.--Passed a new
grave at noon. We saw the team to which the person belonged who died,
go along while we were baiting; he was then alive;--when we came up two
hours afterwards, he was buried. He was from Missouri, and had been
left sick on the road by his comrades. The team that had him in charge
had picked him up and brought him along over 1000 miles and attended
him until he died. Humanity sickens at such selfishness as that
manifested by his comrades. They were three in number--he owned one
fourth of the craft in common with them, but becoming sick, the brutes
left him to the mercy of Indians, wolves, or such strangers as chance
might throw in his way. The scoundrels should serve 10 years in the
penitentiary if they ever get back to Missouri. We find many sick on
the road now, and some deaths, but three-fourths of all that are sick
are from Missouri. I do not know why it is, but such appears to be the
fact.
This afternoon we had a long bad hill to descend, when we reached Goose
Creek, and traveled up a few miles and camped for the night.--We have
had an abundance of grass and water to-day. A singular looking gigantic
bluff of rocks lies directly opposite from us, which we call the
castle, and it looks like an ancient castle, with its mossy battlements
and sturdy towers. I saw some of the most beautiful specimens of white
marble to-day that it hast been my fortune to examine. There was a
quarry of it filling a mountain. It was as pure as alabaster, and
probably has not a rival in the world. Horse shoe nails sold to-day for
25 cents a piece.