CA 973 Duribar v.4 DuJ A history of travel in America. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ILL HIST. SURVEY RULES 1. Books may be kept two weeks and may be renewed once for the same period, except 7 day books and magazines. 2. A fine of two cents a day will be charged on each book which is not returned according to the above rule. No book will be issued to any person incurring such a fine until it has been paid. 3. All injuries to books, beyond reasonable wear, and all losses shall be made good to the satisfaction of the Librarian. 4. Each borrower is held responsible for all books drawn on this card and for all fines ac- cruing on the same. \ DEMCO 1750 00167 9995 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA A History of Travel in America Being an Outline of the Development in Modes of Travel from Archa\ Vehicles of Colonial Times to the Completion of the First Trans- continental Railroad : the Influence of the Indians on the Free Movement and Territorial Unity of the White Race : the Part Played by Travel Methods in the Economic Conquest of the Continent: and those Related Human Experiences, Changing Social Conditions and Governmental Atti- tudes which Accompanied the Growth of a National Travel System BY SEYMOUR DUNBAR With two maps, twelve colored plates and four hundred illustrations VOLUME IV INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT 1915 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE CORNWALL PRESS, INC. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA THE OVERRUNNING OF THE WEST LAST PHASE OF A TASK COMMENCED MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES BEFORE AN OUTBURST OF HUMAN ENERGY AND AMBITION -OUR TWO VIEWS OF THE MIGRATIONS THEIR WORLD IMPORTANCE BOONE'S INFLUENCE STILL ACTIVE VALUE OF THE MISSOURI RIVER AS AN EARLY ROUTE INTO THE WEST ITS PIONEER CRAFT FIRST STEAMBOATS AUDUBON AND THE WHISKY CAP- TAIN SIRE'S INSPIRATION THE general invasion and overrunning of the immense region west of the Mississippi River by English speaking Americans may be said to have taken place with- in a period of about twenty years, between 1829 and 1850. No hard-and-fast date, to be sure, can be set for the com- mencement of the movement. Various things of impor- tance in relation to it and numerous journeys through the country involved had already occurred before 1829, and they will necessarily be mentioned in this and succeeding chapters. But in the year named there took place an event that radically altered the conditions under which travel into considerable parts of the far West might be undertaken by those who wished to go there. That circumstance was the establishment of steam navigation on the Missouri 1125 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA River. The introduction of steamboats on the extensive stream seems to constitute, in a rough way, a dividing line between the previous era and that which came afterward. Their subsequent operation infrequent as it was for a time created a new and important link between the settled country and established periodic travel of the East, and the little known expanses to the westward. Caucasian civilization thereafter could and did reach out toward the Rocky Mountains without the compulsion of employ- ing physical toil previously necessary in the process. The contrast between the short interval here named and all that preceded it is amazing. More than two centuries had been required by the dominant people in their march from New England and Virginia to the Mississippi. During that lapse of time they had crept across and intrenched themselves in about one-third of the continental width and in considerably less than one-third of the continental area now embraced within the nation's limits. But even in that progress they had failed to absorb all the region between the Atlantic Ocean and the river, for, as has been seen, there still existed large ter- ritories east of the Mississippi into which they had no right to penetrate except by permission or passport, and across which, both in the North and the South, they could only lawfully travel by virtue of consent or highways ob- tained through treaty. So far, and with such incomplete- ness of eventual result, had the white Americans ad- vanced. Then, within a period of about twenty years- beginning with the simultaneous introduction of railways in the East and of steam navigation on the Missouri they added to their domain and settled a quarter of a mil- lion square miles of territory known as the Oregon 1126 so* I VO H-> -3 O -.3S ft g' -^ Q. ETcrq g ^ cr3 S' w 3 * n. c re o O "1 Q. M n' 3 2.2 a.^ P 3 5- I*B*a 3" Lo- s- o E < 3 i-i .0. ^ . I- 1 o s " ^5T =-^ 02. '- .. I'Ss A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Country of the Northwest; took about six hundred thou- sand square miles of western and southwestern territory from Mexico; 1 established themselves along a thousand miles of the Pacific coast; and overran the whole of the intervening region between the Pacific and the Missis- sippi in an unparallelled series of overland migrations which had their origin in deep-seated impulses affecting the people as a mass. By the close of 1850 the extraor- dinary outburst requiring so few words for its definition but which was so profound in its effect upon the world was complete and irrevocable. The things that followed, including the continuation of the overland movement then in progress, were consequences of what had already hap- pened. Not far from two million square miles of territory were penetrated and occupied as a direct or indirect result of the overland hegiras that took place in America between 1840 and 1850. Both the travel movement in question and the earth's area affected by it were, in respect of size, the most extensive and largest involved in any similar phenomenon within a like interval of recorded human history. It is also possible that the economic and political history of the world has been, and is destined to be, more deeply influenced by these overland travel-surges that happened in America and are soon to engage our atten- tion, than by any other similar movements which have taken place elsewhere. 2 They constituted the final effort whereby existing civilization girdled the earth with its 1 Though no pride attaches either to this act or the manner of its doing. 2 The one similar known movement comparable to that which took place in America is, of course, the early overrunning of a part of Europe by hordes from the eastward. Ocean and bordering countries in world affairs; the political expansion of the United States; the increase of immigration hither from all other lands; a swifter industrial and economic development of the nation; its evolution as a world power; the creation of the Panama Canal; and the far-reaching effects of those several things on the affairs of mankind. 1128 ITINERARIES described, in, Gafrt.Marcy's PRAIRIE TRAVELLER, Edited- by CaptRJS Ravenstein's map showing the system of overland roads between the Mississippi the period between 1843 and 1868. Roads are indicated by parallel lines and numbere The territory thus penetrated is the largest continental area similarly overrun and movement by caravan. ^fe^VUra^e""" : * V&3 ^fhej^eT^ ver and the Pacific Ocean, over which moved the migrations to the far West during accordance with Marcy's list of routes as arranged by Burton, rmanently occupied by a civilized people during one short and uninterrupted travel A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA daily influence. By their means was completed a long process whose place and time of beginning cannot now be defined, but as we stand on the Pacific shore and look still farther westward we behold the cradle out of which an infant race clambered to begin its wanderings. The chain of land dominion is complete, and to us was left the forging of the last link. The globe can be circled in less than forty days; every nation knows within a few hours what has happened to the other members of the earth family; the affairs of one have become the acknowledged concern of all, to be discussed and treated in a community way; a Parliament is coming whose presiding officer shall say: "Germany speaks"; "Nippon speaks"; "Swit- zerland speaks"; "Brazil speaks." And the nations will listen, and vote as their names are called. The American men and women who set forth with their horses and oxen and wagons said they were starting to California or Oregon, and so they were. But beside them strode consequences which were going further still. And so as we read the story of their journeys; as we hear them tell of their toil through the desert sands; of eating the bodies of the dead who fell; of burning off their whiskers with hot grease at the camp-fire; of their concerts; of the mirage that taunted them; of hopes and struggles of every sort, we of this later day follow their narratives with a vision that does not stop at sight of yellow gold or the rolling tide of the Columbia. We behold them in two characters. In one sense we see them as men and women like ourselves, engaged in a long and hard journey undertaken for personal reasons of one kind or another, and hopeful of improving their condition. In the other and broader sense we do not look upon them as individuals, but as a strange and colossal spectacle mov- 1129 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA ing in response to a world impulse which summoned them to play a mighty part in the deeds of men and then left them ignorant of what they had done, just as most of us are ignorant of what we are collectively doing to-day. Our retrospective understanding still maintains its su- premacy. The westward overland movement from the Missis- sippi valley and eastern states was characterized by two phases. The first of these embraced nearly all of the interval previously mentioned, during which time the white men who advanced for considerable distances beyond the Mississippi without intention of return were comparatively few in number, and were animated principally by individual considerations or restlessness. Their westward journeying was not the result of any deep or widespread influence affecting the population as a whole. They may be likened to the far-flung spray of a ponderous wave that has been halted in its advance. The second phase of the movement was altogether different in character. It covered the two years of 1849 and 1850, and was the consequence of events and conditions affecting the entire people. It resembled the first onrush of a huge wave which has broken through a barrier, making way for the irresistible flood behind. Those two aspects of the westward advance had one quality in common. Nearly all movement during both of them was a matter of individual exertion or clan ef- fort. In such features the invasion and permanent oc- cupation of the West, during the decisive years of that phenomenon, closely resembled the migrations through : out the Atlantic coast region in the latter part of the seventeenth century and the first part of the eighteenth century, during which time new districts were occupied 1130 3 H 3 s;- o C- te r~ (J<3 Q.TJ " If I O er 3D o o m C/5 O.C 3 3- A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA and nsw settlements were always made by means of the company-travel then necessary. But by 1851 the tide of overland travel across the plains had already become so large, and showed such certainty of still greater increase, that a new element was soon after introduced into the situation. Commercial management turned its interested gaze toward the hundreds of thousands who were strug- gling over the plains and mountains; lines of communica- tion were projected on the basis of business enterprises; and the conveyance of passengers and information across the newly-occupied region in that manner was eventually brought about. All except a small part of the human tide still swept on for a dozen years as before, but in- dividual initiative in providing means for the long journey, and personal effort in accomplishing the pil- grimage, no longer remained necessary. Organized methods grappled with the problem in ever increasing mastery until it was finally conquered. But though the permanent penetration of the far West by men who journeyed there without intention of im- mediate return was accomplished substantially in the manner here outlined, there were nevertheless a few still earlier historical incidents so intimately connected with the region that they require to be here recalled. Three principal events of the sort were the explorationary trips of Lewis and Clark, of Zebulon Pike, and of Stephen H. Long. 1 At the time those three extensive expeditions were made, through country then unknown, the information acquired by means of them was of no value to the mass of the people in connection with any effort to occupy the territory explored. In later years, however, the journeys 1 Still another was embraced by the early history of the Oregon country, which will be separately considered. 1132 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA of those men were destined to bear rich fruit. They were among the first English speaking pathfinders, and the knowledge brought back by them served as a guide to the advance guard of the host which started to follow their almost forgotten footsteps. Captains Lewis and Clark, of the United States army, in the years 1804-5-6, travelled up the Missouri River to its head waters, thence across the Rocky Moun- tains and down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and finally made their way back to civilization. 1 Major Pike, also of the Federal army, journeyed from St. Louis to the head waters of the Platte, Arkansas and Rio Grande, and back again through the Southwest and northern Mexico, in 1805-6-7. Major Long, who like his predecessors was an army officer, made a trip from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Moun- tains and return in the years 1819 and 1820. His ex- pedition moved for some distance up the Missouri River by means of a little steamboat called the Western Engineer, which was built for the purpose at Pittsburgh, and was the first steam craft west of the Mississippi. The boat was seventy-five feet long, thirteen feet wide, 1 President Jefferson did not as is commonly stated send Lewis and Clark to explore the region because it had been bought from France by the United States. His recommendation of the journey was made to Congress in a message dated January 18, 1803, and Congress had acted favorably and even appropriated money for the expedition before anyone in America knew we had bought the Louisiana Territory, or that we could buy it, or that our representatives in France had thought of such a thing. Jefferson had desired such an exploration since 1783. A detailed account of the genesis of the trip, and of Jefferson's ideas on the subject, may be found in Schafer's "A History of the Pacific Northwest" (pp. 53-68), although that authority, in discussing related national conditions of 1800, says (p. 61) that "the steamboat . . . was yet to be, invented." The results of Lewis and Clark's work were first made available in printed form in the "Message from the President of the United States, Communicating Discoveries made in Exploring the Missouri, Red River and Washita, by Captains Lewis and Clark, Doctor Sibley and Mr. Dunbar; with a Statistical Account of the Countries Adjacent, Read in Congress February 19, 1806. New York, 1806." The Lewis and Clark narrative was reprinted in Pittsburgh in 1807 as the "Journal of Lewis and Clark," and was also reprinted in London during the same year under the title "Travels in the Interior Parts of America, etc., etc." It was also reprinted in Philadelphia under the title "History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the Sources of the Missouri, Thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the River Columbia co the Pacific Ocean. Per- formed During the Years 1804-5-6." Still another London reprint appeared in 1809 under the title "The Travels of Captains Lewis and Clark from St. Louis, by Way of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to the Pacific Ocean. Performed in the Years 1804, 1805, and 1806, by Order of the Government of the United States, etc., etc." 1133 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA 335. A large Indian canoe of the Missouri such as was used, on various occa- sions, by government expeditions toward the upper reaches of the river and its tributaries. Friendly natives sometimes navigated the boats. and drew nineteen inches of water. For the purpose of mystifying and impressing the native peoples among whom it might pass, the bow of Long's steamboat was fashioned in imitation of the neck and head of a serpent from whose open mouth issued clouds of smoke. The propelling machinery was purposely hid from sight by a superstructure, as was the paddle-wheel at the stern, which violently agitated the water like the tail of some strange aquatic monster. The speed of the boat was about three miles an hour. It is needless to say that the effect produced among the Indians by the apparition was extreme. These three notable journeys, though important be- cause of the knowledge obtained for the government by them, were not an integral part of the permanent westward advance of the people. 1134 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA The first drop of human spray thrown across the Mis- sissippi by the advancing population wave was, in fact, the redoubtable explorer of Kentucky Daniel Boone himself. It has often been said that man is a gregarious animal, and as a principle there can be no dispute with that conclusion. But the strange figure who now appears again for a brief instant in the story was one of the most noteworthy exceptions to the rule of whom history makes mention. Boone was not gregarious. Central Kentucky had become too crowded for him before the year 1800, and about the beginning of the century he took the radical step of leaving his own land altogether and settling in the foreign country beyond the great river. There he remained until his death in 1820, at the age of eighty-six. After his death a quoted expression of his long, unavail- ing quest for solitude was printed in the following words I 1 "I first removed to the woods of Kentucky. I fought and repelled the savages, and hoped for repose. Game was abundant and our path was prosperous, but soon 1 was molested by interlopers from every quarter. Again I retreated to the region of the Mississippi ; but again these speculators and settlers followed me. Once more I withdrew to the licks of Missouri and here at length I hoped to find rest. But I was still pursued for I had not been two years at the licks before a damned Yankee came and settled down within a hundred miles of me." 2 In removing beyond the Mississippi, and later to a spot now embraced by central Missouri, Boone did not long remain an exile from his native land. Although the man himself thereafter remained stationary, the United States moved after him. On his arrival the King of Spain 3 through the Lieutenant Governor of that country appointed him to command of the district where he had taken up his abode and gave him eight 1 In the "Farmers and Mechanics Journal" (Vincennes, Indiana) of June 12, 1823. 2 The editor of the "Farmers and Mechanics Journal," in publishing Boone's statement, said that he printed it because of its interest, despite the fact that it was "incompatible with the dignity of history." 3 Charles IV. 1135 thousand five hundred acres of land on the Missouri River. France soon afterward came into ownership of the region, and in 1803 it passed into the possession of the United States through the purchase of the Louisiana Ter- ritory from Napoleon, bringing Boone once more under the jurisdiction of the country he had quitted, and creating those conditions which inspired the objurgated Yankees to follow him. By 1804 Boone and two of his sons Nathan and Daniel were engaged in making salt at some salt springs that came to be known as "Boone's Lick." 1 They were then the only permanently settled white men who had established their abode west of the immediate vicinity of the Missis- sippi River. Their industrial product was obtained by boiling the saline spring water in kettles, and the salt thus obtained was periodically conveyed down the Missouri River in a curious species of craft designed for the pur- pose, 2 and sold to the inhabitants of the little French vil- lage called St. Louis. Within two or three years- -as mentioned by the elder Boone in his indignant protest another group of people from the East arrived and built cabins in the vicinity. A settlement called Franklin gradually came into existence, and with the presence of a growing population about one hundred and fifty miles west of the Mississippi the need of a road from the river to the interior soon became manifest. Such a pathway was begun about 1815, and the two younger Boones were leading spirits in the enterprise. The road was at first merely a wilderness path similar to countless hundreds of other forest highways, with log-canoe ferries stationed at the deeper streams which intersected its course. The trace 1 A natural salt deposit in the West was called a "lick" because wild animals came to such a spot to obtain the mineral. 2 To be later described. 1136 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA extended from the town of St. Charles 1 westwardly to Franklin, and for many years was known as "Boone's Lick Road." Over it marched much of the early migration west of the Mississippi. 2 The influx into the Missouri region over Boone's Lick Road was largely instrumental in bringing about the crea- tion of the state of Missouri in 1821. Nor did the im- portance of the thoroughfare end at that time. During the years immediately thereafter it followed the movement of permanent white population from Franklin still farther west to Lexington, Bluffton and Liberty. And by about the year 1830 it constituted a road entirely across the state from east to west. 3 It will be remembered that in 1825 Congress had passed an act "authorizing the President of the United States to cause a road to be marked out from the western frontier of Missouri to the confines of New Mexico," after obtaining the consent "of the intervening tribes of Indians, by treaty, to the marking of said road, and to the unmolested use thereof by the citizens of the United States." The road to the Southwest, obtained at that time and in the manner described, soon came into existence as a still further extension of the Boone's Lick Road across Missouri. 4 It is hence seen that the influence of Daniel Boone on the westward advance of his fellow-Americans did not cease in revolutionary times with the penetration 1 On the Missouri River a short distance northwest of St. Louis. " Although already of consequence as a wilderness highway, Boone's Lick Road was not indicated by John Melish on his "Map of the United States," which was published in Philadelphia in June of 1820. The fifty-sheet map in question, which was the most important cartographical delineation of the United States issued up to that time, shows two or three short roads in southeastern Missouri in the territory extending from Madrid to the town of Kaskaskia, in Illinois. The Melish map of 1820 displays the town of Franklin as the westernmost white settlement of any consequence at that time, and also bears the inscription, "Boon's Salt Works," a short distance to the westward of the loca- tion of Franklin. The map was issued during the year of Boone's death. 3 The westward extension of Boone's Lick Road from Franklin to the three towns above named is shown on Mitchell's "Map of the United States," issued in 1833. 4 The 1835 edition of "Mitchell's Map of the United States" shows the newly created town of Independence, in Missouri, and the Santa Fe trail extending onward from that point. 1137 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA of Kentucky. His retirement into the wilds beyond the Mississippi had a close relation to the creation of the first state west of that river, and brought about the making of the first white man's road across Missouri and its farther extension for hundreds of miles into the Southwest to the >E: or CROSSING RIVERS BY THE PLAYHEAD AND orntR INDIANS. 336. A peculiar variety of ferry boat devised by natives of the far West and used by parties moving overland when they wanted to cross un- fordable streams. It was a big air cushion made of buffalo hides. After serving their purpose such boats were deflated and again loaded on a pack-horse. From a sketch by the artist Carl Sohon. ancient Spanish city of Santa Fe. Boone's direct influence, therefore, in connection with westward white movement and the conquest of the continent, extended from North Carolina to the Rocky Mountains. Those who first penetrated into Missouri followed his footsteps and later traversed the road marked out by his sons. If they were marching still farther into the Southwest, it was by Boone's Lick Road that they finally reached the Santa Fe trail. 1138 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA The last journey made by Boone was back toward the East, though it was not undertaken by any volition of his own; for he was dead. He had been buried near the spot where his last days were spent, but a number of years after his death, and as the result of official negotiations between the two states, Missouri gave him back to Kentucky, and a commission representing that common- wealth travelled up the Missouri River to the little town of Marthasville and returned with the remains of the pioneer. The trip of Kentucky's representatives was made by steamboat 1 and it was on such a vehicle far removed in its character from those with which he had in life been familiar that Boone went back eastward on his last journey to Kentucky. 2 The Missouri River, whose lower course for a hundred and fifty miles above its mouth had been the scene of the first trans-Mississippi invasion undertaken by the whites, constituted the principal road by which early ac- cess to the far West was attained. The active employment of that stream as a travel path during the years of western penetration from 1804 until the creation of the first trans- continental railway, was another instance of pioneer resort to water routes of travel wherever possible. Even when progress was not made in water craft on the bosom of the river itself as was to be the case in the later days of big wagon caravans the moving men kept as close as possible, for many hundreds of miles, to the river and to its tributaries. Some of the man-power boats employed on the Missouri prior to the appearance of the steamboat on its waters merit brief description. They differed to a 1 The name of the boat was the "Kansas." 2 It is an odd coincidence that Fitch, the derided pioneer of the modern era, went out to Kentucky in bitterness of heart to seek solitude at almost the precise time when Boone, the pioneer of wilderness travel, left Kentucky for the same purpose. 1139 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA considerable extent from those vessels used on the streams of the East and on the Ohio for similar purposes during the preceding one hundred and fifty years. The awk- ward and almost unmanageable ark, for instance, was en- tirely unsuited to Missouri River navigation, and never appeared on that stream. Neither did any type of the enclosed flatboat such as was variously known farther to the eastward as the Ohio boat, the Kentucky boat or the Mississippi boat. The canoe, as usual, was the most common of all craft employed by pioneer travellers on the river. It was never made of bark, but always from the trunk of a tree, and it was most commonly constructed from a cottonwood log. The selection of the cottonwood as the raw material for a Missouri River canoe was due to three factors. It was ex- ceedingly common, of large size, and of a texture which permitted its easy transformation into the desired form. A cottonwood canoe was of any size up to about thirty-five feet in length and four feet in width. The most familiar size was a length of about twenty feet combined with a beam of three feet. A desirable log was reduced to canoe form by manual labor with broad-ax and adz, and the hull had a thickness of some three or four inches along the bottom of the boat. The sides were left about two inches thick, but the entire interior of the log was not re- moved. Solid bulkheads of the natural wood were left untouched at intervals of five or six feet, thus giving an added element of strength to the completed vessel and preventing any perilous shift of cargo. The building of a large canoe of this type would occupy two men for at least a week. Sometimes a Missouri River log canoe was equipped with a low mast and small sail, but the ordinary propulsion was effected by paddles. Craft of this sort 1140 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA were often navigated all the way from the Missis- sippi River to the Rocky Mountains and back again. The ordinary crew consisted of two men at the paddles and one steersman. It was in small canoes of this general description that the Boones took their salt to St. Louis. They packed it between the natural bulkheads and covered it with skins above to protect it from water. Two other popular western pioneer commodities often transported on the Missouri and other interior rivers in the same way were bear's oil and honey. The distance that could be covered by a log canoe moving up stream on the Mis- souri varied from fifteen to thirty or forty miles a day, according to the force of the current, the course of the wind and other natural conditions. The pirogue as that name was applied on the Mis- souri was a boat whose hull consisted of two log canoes about six feet apart, which were fastened together and covered with a rough wooden flooring. The propulsion of a pirogue up stream was much heavier work than the similar operation of a canoe, although a rather large sail could be used on such a boat, provided the wind was favorable, without any danger of an upset. The keel-boat of the Missouri was quite similar to the identically named vessel already described, which was a familiar craft on the Ohio and other rivers still farther east. In fact, keel-boats were very rarely built on the Missouri, but were constructed at Louisville, Cincinnati or Pittsburgh, and navigated to the scene of their desired use. Missouri River keel-boats were from fifty to seventy- five feet in length and from twelve to twenty feet wide. Governmental explorers and military commanders, and all pretentious private up-river enterprises, before the days of the steamboat, used such vessels. The keel-boat of 1141 337. The expedition commanded bv Long, and some subsequent exploring and military parties sent up the Missouri by the government, were in part transported on small steamboats. The fire-canoes of the white men made a profound impression on Indians who beheld them for the first time. the West was equipped with several means for expediting its progress. In the first place it had a mast and sail. It also carried long sweeps or oars for use in rowing, and a set of poles to be employed upon occasion in the im- memorial work of poles in American river navigation. And finally it carried a heavy rope often more than a thousand feet long, one end of which was fastened high up on its mast. The other end of the cable extended to the shore, where it was grasped by a considerable number of men who pulled the boat ahead. It can easily be ap- preciated that under unfavorable conditions, or on -a stretch of river where walking facilities were poor, that the up-stream progress of a keel-boat was very slow in- deed, and that it entailed severe exertions on the part of the men who were compelled to clamber along the shore 1142 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA and drag the burden at the other end of the line. The most expeditious long-distance trip recorded of the Mis- souri keel-boat was one made by a navigator named Manuel Lisa in 1811. On the occasion referred to his vessel traversed about eleven hundred miles in sixty-one days, thus attaining an average speed of eighteen mihs a day. The bull-boat of the Missouri and other western rivers was a type of craft unknown except on those streams. It resembled an enormous shallow oval basket, and in size it was ordinarily about twenty-five feet long and twelve or fifteen feet wide. Its sides stood two or three feet above the surface of the stream on which it was navigated, and when full laden it never drew more than a foot of water. The framework of the bull-boat con- sisted of long and pliable poles, some of which extended along the greater dimension of the craft, with the others lying at right angles to the first and securely fastened to them. All the poles were bent upward at the edge or circumference of the framework and secured in that posi- tion, thus producing the basket-like shape of the fabric. The frame was covered with dressed buffalo hides 1 which had been sewed together with sinews from the same animals and then soaked. After being placed on the poles in their soaked condition the hides soon shrank to a considerable degree and thus formed a very tight covering. The seams between the hides used in making a bull-boat were made water-tight by a mixture of melted buffalo fat and earth or ashes, and the final result was a craft of extreme lightness which floated on the water almost like a bubble. A large contrivance of this sort 1 For this purpose the skins of bull buffaloes were used exclusively; hence the name "bull-boat." 1143 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA could carry a burden of three tons in a stream whose depth did not exceed ten inches, and its propulsion by poles was a comparatively easy matter. The two principal objections to the bull-boat were the ease with which it was penetrated or reduced to a leaky condition by rubbing along a snag or rock, and its helplessness on a stretch of river wherein the water was too deep for the poles to be used. In a situation of that sort it was at the mercy of wind and current. Bull-boats were the favorite vehicles for down-stream transportation of furs. The Missouri River substitute for the various types of flatboats used on the Ohio and the Mississippi was a peculiar vessel called the "mackinaw." The principal resemblance of the mackinaw to the Ohio flatboat lay in the fact that it was suitable only for down-stream navigation, and that its career as a boat was limited to one voyage. The mackinaw was a flat-bottomed af- fair, but instead of being rectangular in shape it was el- liptical, and usually about four times as long as it was wide. A large boat of the sort was fifty or sixty feet long. From the edge of the raft-like structure which consti- tuted the bottom of the mackinaw rose a gunwale several feet high, so that the hold of a large specimen was four or five feet deep. The oarsmen sat on benches near the forw r ard end of the craft, and a seat eight or ten feet up in the air, reached by a ladder, was provided for the helmsman in the stern. From his elevated throne of authority the steersman kept watch for trouble ahead, manipulated his rudder and shouted his orders to the crew in the bow. The central section of the mackinaw was used for cargo purposes, and was separated from the rest of the boat, both fore and aft, by strong water-tight parti- tions. The cargo hold was also elevated a foot or two 1144 I A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA above the actual bottom of the hull, so that an invasion of water might not damage whatever goods were stored there. The freight frequently rose high above the sides of the boat, and in all weathers was protected by a huge tarpaulin of skins made after the fashion in which the covering for a bull-boat was put together. Four men besides the steersman usually constituted the crew of a mackinaw. They worked from earliest dawn to night- fall, and sometimes moved more than a hundred miles a day, though the average speed of a mackinaw was four or five miles an hour. After such a boat reached St. Louis it was sold as lumber for a few dollars. The first steamboat which appeared on the Missouri that curious vessel used by Long in his expedition of 1819 got as far up the river as the present city of Council Bluffs, but it was not until ten years afterward that a regular steam packet made its appearance on the stream. In 1829 a steamboat began to ply between St. Louis and Fort Leavenworth, and three years afterward, in 1832, similar craft built and operated by the American Fur Company began to undertake the long voyage to the distant reaches of the upper river. One or two boats made the extensive trip each year. The first of these was the Yellowstone, a side-wheel steamer one hundred and thirty feet long, nineteen feet wide and drawing about five feet of water. She succeeded in passing the mouth of the Niobrara River, 1 near which she was stopped by low water. After some delay she went on, and at last reached the present location of Pierre, in South Dakota, which marked the limit of her first voyage. In the fol- lowing summer the same boat reached Fort Union, near the mouth of Yellowstone River. One of the passengers 1 Northern Nebraska. 1146 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA on the Yellowstone during her voyage of 1832 was the American artist George Catlin. 1 A second boat the Assiniboine accompanied the Yellowstone on the voy- age of 1833, and both reached Fort Union. As a matter of fact that Assiniboine went some distance farther, was caught by low water as a penalty of her rashness, and was compelled to remain amid the snow and ice of that distant country until the following spring. 2 The most comprehensive account of early steamboat travel on the Missouri River is that embraced in the memoirs of Joseph La Barge, a pioneer boatman, navigator and Indian trader. 3 The historian of La Barge's adventures has said: 4 "No craft on our Western waters, if upon any waters of the globe, displayed more majesty and beauty, or filled the mind with more in- teresting reflections, than these picturesque vessels of the early days in the boundless prairies of the West. The very surroundings lent a peculiar attraction to the scene. In every direction the broad and tree- less plains extended without water enough anywhere in sight even to suggest a boat. Winding through these plains was a deep valley several miles broad, with a ribbon of verdure running through it along the sinuous course of the river. Everything was still as wild and unsettled as before the advent of the white man, and there was little or nothing to suggest the civilization of the outside world. In the midst of this virgin wildness a noble steamboat appears, its handsome form stand- ing high above the water in fine outline against the verdure of the shore; its lofty chimneys pouring forth clouds of smoke in the atmos- phere unused to such intrusion, and its progress against the impetuous current exhibiting an extraordinary display of power. Altogether it formed one of the most notable scenes ever witnessed upon the waters of America. Naturally enough the wild Indian viewed with feelings of awe this great 'fire canoe,' whose power to 'walk on the water' had 1 Whose drawings constitute an important part of existing pictorial records showing the conditions and native inhabitants of the region as they were at that time. - Among the passengers of 1833 was Maximilian, Prince of Wied, then on a journey of sight-seeing and exploration in this continent. As the result of his trip up the Missouri he afterward published a textual account of his adventures, accompanied by a separate folio atlas containing a collection of the largest, finest and most important engravings in revelation of early travel conditions in the region penetrated by him that were ever produced. 3 Whose life and adventures constitute the basis of Chittenden's "History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River," to which work the present author is indebted for a number of incidents relating to the subject. * Chittenden, p. 110. 1147 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA THE INDIAN CAMP 339. A large camp of Indians, adjoining the halting place of the troops pictured in the foregoing. Showing tepees and the ordinary sort of native canoe. Dusseldorf series, drawn by Lewis. subdued the intractable current to its own will. It is said to have been the advent of the steamboat w T hich finally turned the scale of the In- dians' favor toward the Americans as against the British." The experience of Long's boat, which halted at Council Bluffs, and of the Yellowstone and Assiniboine, which with their draught of five feet were stopped by low water, resulted in the altered construction of later Mis- souri River steamboats. They were afterward made with flat bottoms, so that a vessel two hundred feet long and thirty feet in width could be navigated successfully in two and a half feet of water. Later boats were also equipped with stern-wheels instead of side-wheels. One very unusual feature of a flat-bottomed Missouri River 1148 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA steamboat found its expression in the hold. The craft was there equipped with a little railway and tram-cars, which ran all around the circumference of the freight quarters for the purpose of lending greater facility to the handling of bulky articles. Although doubtless not so in- tended in the first place, those little railways of Missouri River packets sometimes played a peculiar part later to be mentioned in the commerce of the river, in social con- ditions along its course, and in the history of the extensive country through which the steamers found their long and winding course. Steamboat navigation on the Missouri was even more difficult than on the Ohio, the Mississippi, or any other stream whereon steam had superseded the primitive craft of earlier years. Besides being filled with snags and sand- bars, and being extraordinarily tortuous in its windings, the big river of the West was consistently erratic re- garding its course through any given locality. Owing to the soil of the region, and to its freshets and other seasonal conditions, the bed of the stream was constantly shifting its position throughout nearly the whole of the twenty-six hundred miles with which its navigators were required by their business to be unremittingly familiar. The stream would often find itself flowing through a tract of country that lay miles away from the bed it had oc- cupied during the preceding week. The almost hope- less task of maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of the river and its whims was once suggested by a western news- paper, 1 which said: "Of all the variable things in creation the most uncertain are the action of a jury, the state of a woman's mind, and the condition of the Missouri River." 1 The "Sioux City Register," of March 2S, 1SG8. 1149 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA If a steamboat was unfortunate enough to reach a spot where the river was at that moment in the process of alter- ing its course the vessel found itself in real danger, for whirlpools and other violent agitations of the water were caused by the changing of the current. An incident of the sort has been thus described: "The whirl of the water was so swift that the center of the eddy was nearly twelve feet below its circumference. The boat was trying to pull itself by with a line when it was caught by the eddy, swung out in the stream, whirled violently around and careened over until the river flowed right across the lower deck. Wood and all other movable material were swept off, and two men were drowned. Only the mate's presence of mind in slacking off the line saved the boat." 1 The scenes marking the commencement of the long voyage up the Missouri during the early years of its navigation were thus told by La Barge: "The departuue from port [St. Louis] was always attended with more or less carousing and revelry, particularly in the keelboat and early steamboat days, when a trip up the river might mean years of absence. The kind of farewell that captured the fancy of the average voyageur was a general debauch, w r hich often disqualified him from being ready when the hour of departure arrived. Sometimes these delinquents who failed to appear hied themselves across the country to St. Charles and joined the boat there. ... As the boat swung out into the stream a running salute of musketry was kept up by the mountaineers and others until it was out of hearing. The roll was then called, and the engages were given their parcels of clothing. Next began the work of putting the boat deck in order for the trip. The bales of goods, which were strewn about in disorderly heaps, were care- fully stowed away, and before night the boat was reduced to the ap- pearance which it would wear during the remainder of the trip. . . . "The passengers composed an even more heterogeneous mixture than the cargo itself. There were, first, the regular boat crew, num- bering from thirty to forty. Very likely there were several Indians returning home from St. Louis or even from Washington. Then there were recruits for the various trading companies, consisting of hunters, trappers, voyageurs and mountaineers, and possibly a company of sol- diers for some military service. Nearly always there were passengers distinguished for wealth or scientific attainment, who were making the 1 Chittenden, pp. 122-3. The steamboat involved was the "Miner," and the scene of her misadventure was near Sioux City, Iowa. 1150 340. A party of Yankton Sioux watching a steamboat ascending the Missouri. Published in Stuttgart from a sketch made by the German artist and tra- veller, Frederick Kurz, in 1851. A regular annual steam packet service had been established to the upper river in 1832. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA journey for pleasure or research. Government exploring parties gen- erally traveled by boat to the initial point of their expeditions. In all there were from one hundred to two hundred people on board, with sufficient variety to insure vivacity and interest, however monotonous the journey might otherwise be. "While the officers and crew were kept alert and active the live- long day in getting their boat up the troublesome stream, the passengers whiled away their time as best they could. Games of all practicable sorts were indulged in. It was a common pastime to stand on the forecastle or boiler deck and shoot at geese and ducks on the river. Now and then the sight of deer and other animals enlivened the mo- ment, and occasionally the appearance of Indians on the bank caused a flutter of excitement. To relieve the tedium of the voyage it was a common thing, when there was no danger from the Indians, to land at the beginning of extensive bends and ramble across the country to the other side, rejoining the boat when it came along. "Among the important events of every voyage were the arrivals at the various trading posts. To the occupants of these remote stations, buried in the depths of the wilderness, shut out for months from any glimpse of the world outside, the coming of the annual boat was an event of even greater interest than to the passengers themselves. 1 Gen- erally the persons in charge of the post, with some of the employees, would drop down the river two or three days' ride and meet the boat. When she drew near the post, salutes would be exchanged, the colors displayed, and the passengers would throng the deck to greet the crowds which lined the bank. The exigencies of navigation never left much time for celebration and conviviality. The exchange of cargo was car- ried on with the utmost dispatch, and the moment the business was completed the boat proceeded on her way. These are some of the typical features of steamboat life as it used to exist on the Missouri River." 2 Two of the principal problems attending the long trip of a pioneer Missouri River steamboat were the question of securing fuel to keep the boat in motion, and the feed- ing of the one or two hundred people on board. Enormous quantities of wood were required for the furnaces, and its procurement was not always an easy matter. The cottonwood trees which grew in profusion along the shores furnished the principal source of supply, 1 The "remote stations" and their inhabitants who were "shut out for months from hite iphabitants of the region now ?nd Sotttjf rDakota. any glimpse of the. worjd outside" svepe the pioneej w.hitg included in westerr. lo'wa, eastern -Kebraska, and I>"erth'?rt( 2 Chittenden, pi>: 123-1*2.; , t ' A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA but green cottonwood made poor fuel, and its combustion usually had to be stimulated by the use of resin. A big drift log, either on the shore or in the stream itself, was always a prize to the engineer. After a few years certain points of fuel supply called "wood yards" were estab- lished, but as the Indians owned the country they often objected to the free use of its products, and refused to let the white travellers cut wood without cost. In some localities they themselves supplied fuel to the boats on a business basis. In order to circumvent the natives and to reduce the danger attendant upon their opposition Cap- tain La Barge on one occasion equipped one of his steam- boats with a saw-mill, and in addition carried with him on deck a yoke of oxen. When he had need of more wood he swung out a heavy landing stage, drove the oxen ashore, hastily dragged a number of logs aboard by their aid and then sawed the trees in his mill as he kept on his way up the river. The food furnished to passengers on the canoes, keel- boats, pirogues and other craft of the river before steam- boats appeared, and even for a short time after the ap- pearance of the mechanical vessels, was of monotonous simplicity. It consisted almost entirely of fat pork, beans, corn and coffee, with the occasional addition of flapjacks. Fare of this description had sufficed for the trappers and other hardy men who were the first to move regularly back and forth along the river. But as soon as scientists and other men of more diversified tastes and experience ap- peared in St. Louis and sought accommodations on boats about to start up stream, their presence was reflected in the larders of the craft on which they were about to embark. The prospect of subsisting for many months on salt pork did not appeal to them, and in order to satisfy their de- 1153 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA mand for fresh meat the steamboats employed on the river added new members to their regular crews in the shape of hunters, whose only duty it was to kill game for the table. The steamboat hunter was never required to perform physical labor of any sort. The vessel tied up for the night as soon as darkness fell, and about midnight the hunter was put ashore. 1 From that hour until the middle of the forenoon it was his duty, if possible, to kill enough deer, antelope, bears, bison or ducks to satisfy the com- pany so largely dependent on his rifle. He scoured the country ahead of the boat which was not due to start until about four o'clock in the morning and whenever he shot any desired animal he hung it up in some conspicuous tree close to a bank of the river. When the boat finally started a sentry was placed on the upper deck whose sole responsibility was to keep a sharp lookout for suspended provender. So, from sunrise until nine or ten o'clock, the sentry in question might occasionally be heard to shout: "Buffalo quarter on the starboard bow"; "Deer on the starboard bow" ; "Bunch of ducks on the port bow" ; and so on, as the case might be. And whenever he spied any food thus left by the hunter a skiff would be put off from the boat and the trophies quickly brought aboard to be delivered into the hands of the cook. Finally the hunter himself would be observed and sent for, and he then had nothing more to do until the next night. Allusion has been made to the little railways with which some of the Missouri River steamboats were equipped. The Omega, which was one of ths boats that went up the river in 1843, had such a tramway in her hold, and one of her passengers was Audubon, the naturalist. The principal event of the trip that year was a little 1 Or else paddled away himself, in a small canoe. 1154 CT" CJ 3 3-3 ^ z -- - -. W H O < 3" Z 1 O Q. y 3 I |S| n ^3' o 3-^crq o We . " <' SL" 3 ^5 ?* S3 n> a> -L A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA drama wherein the leading parts were played by the tram- way and the distinguished traveller just named. 1 The customary severe Federal laws forbidding the importation of liquor into the countries owned by the Indians were then on the statute books, but were, as ever, disregarded by those white men who traded in such places. It was into lands still owned by Indians that the Omega was running, and she had on board a consider- able quantity of the unlawful commodity. The American Fur Company, which owned the vessel and was trying to smuggle the liquor to its trading posts up the river, had to get the contraband material past two places where river cargoes were subjected to Federal inspection. The salient features then characterizing the use of whisky in connec- tion with the Indian trade of the West were thus explained by La Barge to Chittenden :" "Liquor was the one article above all others that the traders con- sidered indispensable to their business, and they never failed to smuggle it through in some way or other. In the earlier years there was only one place at which the cargoes going up the river were inspected, and that was Fort Leavenworth. Later, when an Indian agency was estab- lished at Bellevue that place also became a point of detention. At that particular time it [Bellevue] was the bete noire of the American Fur Company traders. The military authorities at Fort Leavenworth, from long experience in the country and intimate knowledge of conditions prevailing there, exercised their office as inspectors with reasonable judg- ment and discretion. They understood very well that the small com- peting traders would smuggle liquor past them in spite of all they could do, and that to deprive the only responsible company on the river of its means of maintaining itself was simply to debauch the trade with the Indians to a reckless and demoralizing rivalry among a horde of irre- sponsible traders. They were, therefore, very lenient in their inspec- tions, and the company rarely had any difficulty in getting past them. "Not so, however, with some of the newly-appointed Indian agents. 1 The story about to be told is contained in Chittenden's "History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River." La Barge was pilot of the "Omega" during the voyage, and his log book of the trip was used by Chittenden, to whom La Barge personally narrated the circumstances. Audubon's journal of his trip also furnishes some testimony regarding the matters here discussed. 2 "History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River," pp. 142-3. 1156 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA It was about this time that the Indian Department tried the experiment of assigning clergymen to the agencies an example of good intentions but bad judgment. These new agents showed more zeal than discre- tion in their work, and although they put the traders to a great deal of trouble, it is doubtful if they lessened by a single drop the amount of liquor carried into the country." 1 When the Omega reached Bellevue the Indian agent was absent. Captain Sire, 2 delighted with his good luck, hastily despatched his business and continued up the river for several miles in his anxiety to escape inspection before tying up for the night at nine o'clock. But in the morning, just as the boat was getting under way again, rifle shots were fired across her bow and an army officer came on board with information that his captain would later arrive to inspect the vessel. Audubon then entered the action of the frontier play. 3 He promptly set forth across the country, reached the army camp before the military officer had started to in- spect the boat, and talked to the captain for about two hours. In the meantime Captain Sire and his crew had been busy. They loaded all the contraband whisky on the tram-cars which stood on the rails in the dark hold, and pushed them to that part of the boat farthest removed from the hatchway through which it was planned the captain should enter on his work of inspection. No ac- cident spoiled the arrangements. La Barge said: "When Captain B - arrived in Audubon's company, he was received most hospitably and treated to a luncheon in which was included, as a matter of course, a generous 1 This statement by a man who was himself a prominent cog in the machinery of Indian trade, indicates that the system previously practised by white men in dealing with Indians east of the Mississippi had been transplanted to the West as soon as the Indians had been removed from their former eastern possessions. From La Barge's narrative it seems presumable that the Caucasian introduction of liquor into Indian relations had attained an importance even greater than before, for he describes liquor as "one article above all others that the [western] traders considered indispensable to their business." 2 Commander of the boat. 3 Audubon himself had a permit from the government allowing him to carry a quantity of liquor for the use of his party, and encountered no personal difficulty in the matter. To use his own words, he was "immediately settled comfortably." 1157 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA portion from the provided store embraced in Audubon's 'credentials.' By this time the young captain was in most excellent temper and was quite disposed to forego the inspection altogether." 1 Captain Sire said: "I insisted, as it were, that he make the strictest possible search, but on the condition that he would do the same with other traders." 2 Then the steamboat captain escorted his official guest down through the hatchway, and the inspection began under the illumination of a candle accommodatingly held by a member of the crew. Nothing suspicious was found. As the governmental officer and his escort slowly ap- proached the farther end of the boat the cavalcade of in- criminating tram-cars on the other side of the cargo was gently and noiselessly pushed in the opposite direction, and thus the procession completed the circumnavigation of the hold. The boat and her freight emerged virtuous from the ordeal, mutual assurances of esteem were ex- changed between the scientist, the army officer and the steamboat captain, and the craft glided on her way up the river in peace. The annual voyage of 1844 was made by the Nim- rod, which was also navigated by the same captain and pilot. The Nimrod had an experience somewhat similar to that just described, and the incident was told by La Barge as follows: "In passing the Indian agency at Bellevue this year it was necessary to indulge in some more sharp practice to get the annual cargo of alco- hol past that point. The new Indian agent at Bellevue was an ex- Methodist minister of the name of Joseph Miller as zealous in his new role of liquor inspector as he had ever been in the regular practice 1 "History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri," p. 146. 2 Sire's rec9rd of the matter was set down in his log under date of May 10th. The original transcription was in French, as follows: "Je force en quelque sorte 1'officier a faire un recherche aussi stricte que possible, mais a la condition qu'il en sera de meme avec les autres traiteurs." 1158 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA of his profession. It was his boast that no liquor could pass his agency. He rummaged every boat from stem to stern, broke open the packages, overturned the piles of merchandise, and with a long, slender, pointed rod pierced the bales of blankets and clothing, lest kegs of alcohol might be rolled up within. The persistent clergyman put the experienced agents of the company to their wit's end, and it was with great diffi- culty that they succeeded in eluding his scrutiny." 1 Captain Sire's solution of the perplexing problem on this occasion was an inspiration of genius. When he reached Bellevue he simply put the whisky ashore under the agent's nose, packed in barrels of flour. Paying no attention whatever to the freight already disembarked, the agent made his usual minute examination of the Nim- rod and her cargo. He found nothing at all, which circumstance he could not understand, for he felt certain that the boat was trying to smuggle liquor as usual. After he had gone to bed the barrels of flour were put on board again, and the boat resumed her voyage. Thus did the big steam canoes of the white men slowly creep farther and still farther westward into the immense and little known spaces which were then the last strong- hold of the native races. In such manner were the new mechanical travel vehicles of the Caucasians employed in the work which had for its purpose the subjugation of the Indians and acquirement of their remaining ter- ritories. After the Assiniboine attained a point beyond the mouth of the Yellowstone in 1834 a period of nineteen years elapsed before her feat was surpassed by another steamboat. In 1853 a vessel named El Paso out- distanced the Assiniboine's record by about one hundred and twenty-five miles and passed the mouth of Milk River. Finally, in 1860, the Chippe n O. r s ETa o c o {? .- f> H A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA a further Caucasian advance. When word came of the three race encounters which had taken place in the upper Missouri valley in 1823, a western paper of the last de- scribed type made the following comment- on the troubles and their possible causes: 1 "Perhaps we do not exactly understand the conditions of the Indians, but it appears to us that the land yet unceded must be regarded as their own, and if so, we should suppose that a party of white persons cannot have any more right to enter upon it for the purpose of catching and killing the wild beasts of the forest than the Indians would have to enter our settlements and carry off whatever they pleased. The deer, buffalo and beaver are as needful to the subsistence and comfort of the Indians as horses, cattle and swine are to us; and it would appear that they may as lawfully prevent the destruction of their means of living as we ourselves can rightfully do." <*" Ashley abandoned his scheme in 1826, and one of the men to whom he sold his fur business was Jedediah S. Smith. Smith succeeded in making an overland trip from the Rocky Mountains to California immediately after- ward, reaching the Mexican town of San Diego in October. Two years thereafter he successfully undertook another extensive overland journey from California north- ward to the Columbia River, but all except himself and three companions were killed by natives. His march from the Rocky Mountains to California was the first attempted or accomplished by a white American, and his later jour- ney from California to the Oregon country was likewise the first overland trip between those two regions. He re- turned in safety to the United States in 1829, and in 1830 continued his exploits by organizing 2 the first train of loaded wagons from Missouri to the Rockies. The path of this vehicular trip lay along the courses of the Mis- souri, Platte and Sweetwater Rivers. Smith's wagons 1 "Farmers and Mechanics Journal," of Vincennes, Indiana, Sept. 11, 1823. 2 In conjunction with Sublette and Jackson, his partners in the purchase of Ashley's company. 1194 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA could, indeed, have crossed the mountains by a route now known as the South Pass. 1 The three principal factors which had so far been influential in directing some measure of public attention to the Oregon country had been growth of traffic and the recent introduction of steamboats on the Missouri River, the activities of fur traders, and the Congressional debate started by Floyd. Three other influences were now to ap- pear and lend their aid in still further centering popular thought on the same matter. The acute stage reached by the race conflict both in the South and North during the years immediately following 1830; the social advancement manifested by several of the southern native nations while still east of the Mississippi; the defiance of the Federal government by Georgia in the case of the Cherokees; and several other allied phases of the same broad subject, all tended to inspire curiosity or concern regarding those red men who had always lived west of the Mississippi, as well as solicitude for the native nations who were migrating thither. This speculation relative to the Indian tribes of the far West was still further augmented by an incident happening at the same time, which closely touched the affairs of those distant peoples. In 1831 or 1832, 2 one of the red tribes'' 5 living in the eastward portion of the Oregon country sent a delega- tion consisting of four of its prominent men to St. Louis in order to ask, as they phrased it, for "the white man's book of heaven." While in the town they were entertained by 1 Schafer (pp. 141-2) credits the discovery of South Pass to the Ashley party. He says: "The discovery of this natural highway, so important in the history of the entire Pacific coast, must be credited to Ashley's trappers, some of whom first made use of it in 1823." Possibly the conclusion here quoted is open to discussion, since Melish's 50-sheet map of 1S20 shows a pass, together with a travel-line through it, at long. 111 west from Greenwich, lat. 43 50' north, and the route so delineated is inscribed "Southern Pass." If Melish, in 1820, was seeking to define the near-by South Pass, then its discovery and first use must have antedated the Ashley expedition by several years. 2 Schafer's "History of the Pacific Northwest," p. 147, says the date is in doubt. 3 The Nez Perces. 1195 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA SISSSS' Y1KXV OF KANSAS CITV - Ai THK UNION J>EI-OT. 351. Kansas City in later years, after it had been reached by the railways. General Clark, who, with Lewis, had visited their coun- try a quarter of a century before. Two of the Indians died in St. Louis and still another on the long return ex- pedition, so that of the four who had started out on a quest of nearly four thousand miles in the hope of improving the affairs of their people, only one reached his home again. The facts attending this unusual plea slowly gained wide publicity. It may safely be presumed that the Nez Perces, in asking for the white man's book of heaven, made reference in a general way to a desire for those up- lifting influences and better conditions material as well as moral which had attended the work of unselfish mis- sionaries among the red race, and which had produced a noticeably beneficial effect on the principal Indian nations of the South. Of such things the Nez Perces must have heard encouraging reports, else they would not have taken 1196 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA the action they did take. Assuredly they did not send a delegation to the remote Caucasian country in search of disease, liquor, the vices of white society, avarice and the sword. This was the first occasion on which natives who lived near the Pacific coast had so signally expressed a desire for association with white men of any sort, or for more extensive acquaintance with white practises. Up to the time mentioned such knowledge of the western native races as was possessed by the white people east of the Mississippi was scanty in amount, and had been obtained mainly from two sources of radically different character. One of those two sources lay in the casual impressions gathered by such explorers as Lewis, Clark, Pike and Long, who had travelled extensively through the western part of the continent, but whose knowledge of and acquaintance with the Indians of any given locality necessarily had been restricted to such observations as they might make in a few days, weeks or months. Impressions so obtained could scarcely be depended on with safety in any desire to penetrate deeply into the fundamentals of native character. Red men were slow to reveal them- selves unreservedly to strangers. To one who came among them unaccompanied by any suspicion of ulterior motives their influential men showed a dignified courtesy and hospitality, but beyond that they did not go until a later time. But to such white men as had dwelt long among them in proved friendliness they exposed their thoughts and inward lives without hesitation. In the nature of things, few testimonies of the latter sort were available to the mass of the white people of the United States. One of them has heretofore been cited, 1 and others were later 1 Reference is here made to the description of Sioux character and society which was published in the "Indiana Centinel" of May 20, 1819, and which is reproduced in Chapter XXVIII. 1197 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA 352. On some stretches of the prairies, and in certain seasons of the year, light wagons were rigged to be driven by the wind. The device was of very limited use, however, and could not be adopted when loads had to be moved. to be offered by men who had possessed somewhat similar opportunity for matured verdicts. 1 There was apparent contradiction between a few available early statements affirming the good qualities of the western Indians and those more recent reports which showed that the distant tribes were sometimes hostile to white visitors. All these tales whether favorable or unfavorable to the red men of the West stimulated an interest in them, and, about the year 1833, led up to a period of missionary and educational activity which had the welfare of the natives of the far West as its incentive. One result of the conditions described was the departure of a little group of missionaries for the Oregon country and the establish- ment by them, in 1834, of an American colony and mis- sion on the Willamette River. During the following year a missionary named Samuel Parker, accompanied by 1 Two other statements regarding the character of the western Indians before they had been brought into close contact with white society have also been quoted in Chapter XXVIII. 1198 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA a young physician named Marcus Whitman, set forth from the town of Liberty in western Missouri, and travelled overland to the Columbia River, in whose vicinity he spent some time. On his return home, in 1837, he published the results of his observation in a book 1 which still further directed public attention to the coun- try described and of which several editions were sold during the next few years. Whitman in the meantime had come back to the At- lantic coast more than a year in advance of Parker, and in 1836 he started from Liberty again with four more mis- sionaries and teachers, two of whom were women. 2 The party travelled by pack-train, in company with some traders, but Whitman also took with him a wagon which he succeeded in piloting to a point beyond any hitherto reached by an overland wheeled vehicle. He drove the wagon to Fort Boise on Lewis River, a spot on the western border of the present state of Idaho, several hundred miles beyond the last trace of any previously travelled road then existing. Whitman's second trip was also of interest in another particular relating to the annals of American travel. The two women in his party, who rode in the wagon most of the way, were the first English speaking white women to cross the North American continent. By the year 1837 American missionary settlements were in existence on the Willamette, the Walla Walla and the Clearwater Rivers of the Oregon country, separated from one another in some instances by hundreds of miles, and located within the limits of the present states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The missionary 1 "An Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains." 2 One being his wife. The other was the wife of H. H. Spalding, another member of the party. 1199 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA settlement on the Clearwater River was in the country of the Nez Perces at a spot called by them Waiilatpu. 1 The second circumstance of this period tending to stimulate eastern interest in the Pacific coast and the Columbia River country had its origin in President Jack- son's ambition to buy a part of California in order that the United States might get possession of San Fran- cisco Bay, whose value had been reported by American naval vessels. 2 In 1835 Jackson sent a governmental agent, W. A. Slacum, to the West, under instructions to visit all English speaking settlements in the neighborhood of the Columbia River, to make a census of all races, and to discover the opinions of those distant settlers on the subject of United States rights in the Oregon country. This was the first visit of a United States governmental official to Oregon. Slacum's report was laid before Con- gress late in 1837. It revived legislative interest in the matters under consideration, and that interest did not thereafter lapse until the United States had finally secured ownership of the great western river and the near-by ex- tensive bay known as Puget Sound. Slacum was especially insistent that the United States should not accept the Columbia River as its northern boundary in the region inspected, in compliance with the desire of Great Britain *ince the signing of the joint treaty of occupation nearly twenty years before. The third of the three influences at that time tending to direct public attention to the out-of-the-way wilderness of the Northwest was the organization in New England, in 1838, of a body called the "Oregon Provisional Emigra- 1 It was at Waiilatpu that Whitman, his wife and twelve other whites were massacred in 1847 by the Cayuse. "The relations existing between Texas and Mexico also contributed to the desirability of gaining as much knowledge as poss.ble regarding conditions along the Pacific coast. 1200 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA PRAIRIE ON FIRE. PRAiRfE 353. A fire sweeping across the prairie. The white men were often careless about extinguishing their camp-fires, and wide stretches of country were sometimes burned over as a result. Every event of that sort reduced the supply of growing fodder on which the live stock of the caravans was com- pelled to subsist, and many horses, mules and cattle succumbed in con- sequence. By Henry Lewis. tion Society." The purpose of the association was to as- semble a party of several hundred American families and move them overland to the Oregon country, where, in ad- dition to creating a typical American white community they might also give to the Indians an education both secular and religious in character, and otherwise so train them as to make them fitted in Caucasian estimation for citizenship in a politically organized community. It sent representatives through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri to come into contact with the 1201 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA people and secure enlistments for such a party as it de- sired to bring together. The society failed to attain a con- crete realization of its plan, but out of its work there nevertheless grew certain later results. The seed sown by the New England society in the states of the Mississippi valley was slowly germinating. By the year 1840 the prospects offered by the Oregon coun- try as a desirable location for American activities was a common subject of village argument throughout the middle states. Various accounts of the fertility of the soil and other advantages of the far Northwest were arriving and percolating through the population. Here and there a town meeting was held to discuss the Oregon Question and the relation of the United States to it. Petitions were addressed to the government recommending that diplo- matic or legislative action be taken to definitely establish the rights of the United States in the territory considered. There was, it is well to say, nothing in any degree ap- proaching the universal excitement and mania which de- veloped a few years afterward in connection with another phase of affairs on the Pacific coast, but enough in- dividuals were gradually brought to such a point of interest that by 1 842 it became obvious that a movement of some considerable dimensions toward Oregon was about to take place. The visible ingredients which had helped to create this state of mind have been outlined. But there was yet another, and not less important one. It was the stirring of that self-same, deep pioneer instinct which for more than two hundred years had ever filled its possessors with a vague restlessness and an uncontrollable desire to move into other and newer localities. This time the instinct in question fanned into the flame of action by the means 1202 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA 354. Method of taking a prairie schooner over a western river too deep to be forded. The ferry boats were occasionally owned by men who had seen the sure profits of the ferry business, and had halted to engage in it. Two dollars was a standard fee for wagon ferriage. At seasons of high water hundreds of vehicles were frequently assembled along the shore of a stream, awaiting the transfer. here narrated-- resulted in what is known as the "Great Oregon Migration." During the winter of 1842-3 a bill was pending before Congress whose terms provided for the establishment of territorial government in the Oregon country, and for the granting of land to settlers there. The measure was adopted by the Senate in February, and that action was perhaps the final or immediate influence which led to the overland journey about to be described. 1 The "Great Migration" to Oregon in the spring of 1843, as eventually constituted, was made up of various small parties of men, women and children whose homes at that time were in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The exodus resembled those numerous and extensive migrations which took place in the Atlantic 1 The proposed law was afterward rejected by the lower house of Congress. 1203 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA coast colonies during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, while the white population move- ment still extended in a north-and-south direction. It was, in fact, a comparatively modern return to the most primitive of all methods of American travel, and once again displayed that periodic recourse to former processes which had marked the whole story of national advance. It was another example of the chronological overlapping of travel periods. When the "Great Migration" of 1843 was organized there was an unbroken stretch of country from the Mississippi valley eastward to the Atlantic which was equipped with stage-coaches, canals and rail- roads. But none of those more modern agencies could be called into use for the journey about to be taken, and so the people who had determined to set forth into the West were compelled to do as their forefathers had done during the migrations from New England, New York and Pennsylvania down into the Virginias and the Carolinas. The organization of each local group which finally became a component part of the migration was substan- tially similar to that of the others, and it is only needful to outline the incidents attending the formation of one or two parties. Iowa was a territory especially interested in the project, and for that reason the preparations made by some citizens of Iowa City and Bloomington are selected for description here. Those people of Iowa City who had decided to perform the journey assembled early in March, organized a company called the Oregon Migra- tion Association, elected officers and adopted the follow- ing rules and regulations: "It shall be the duty of the trustees to inquire into the character of all applicants who wish to join the company, and reject all intern- 1204 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA perate and immoral characters. They shall also open books to receive subscriptions of stock, consisting of shares of fifty dollars each, to be paid in cash, materials or labor, as will best suit the subscribers, for the purpose of building a grist and saw mill for the company, also a schooner or sloop, if funds sufficient can be raised. "That as soon as the company shall number twenty male members between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, they shall hold an election and elect one captain and five subordinate officers, whose duty it shall be to drill and command the company. After the above officers are elected the company shall meet once a month for the purpose of drilling said company. "That before the company commences their inarch they shall elect a council of twelve persons who shall assemble in council with the officers of the company, who shall deliberate on and decide all matters pertain- ing to the company during their march. "That there shall be hunting parties chosen who shall hunt for the company alternately while on their march. "That each family and single person shall furnish a sufficient quan- tity of provisions and means of conveyance for those while on their march. "That the male members of the company between the ages of eight- een and forty-five shall be disciplined, armed and equipt to act on the defensive if necessary." 1 The members of the party met a few days afterward and established a system of government through four trustees and twelve councilmen to be elected by the male members of the society. The trustees and council were given power to impeach, try and remove the president or any other civil officer, and to "hear, try and determine all complaints against any member of the society for dishonest, immoral or improper conduct, and to dismiss any member from the Society who shall wilfully disobey or violate" any provisions of the by-laws. The ex- ecutive authority of the intending marchers was vested in a president and two vice-presidents. The military au- thority was given into the hands of a captain, who had five subordinate officers. Every able-bodied male member of the band, while travelling, was made liable to discipline 1 "Iowa Capital Reporter," Iowa City, March 11, 1843. 1205 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA and military duty, excepting only the civil officers while actually on a march. But the civil authorities were also to be armed in order that they might protect the baggage train and the non-fighting membership in case of neces- sity. Every male member of the organization above the age of seventeen was given a vote. 1 Another group of Iowa emigrants met at Bloomington on March 19 and adopted these resolutions: "That the company here forming start from this place on the 10th day of May next, en their Journey to Oregon. "That the route taken by the company shall be from here to Iowa City, from thence to Council Bluffs, and from thence to the most suit- able point on the road from Independence to Oregon, from thence by way of the Independence road to Oregon. "That the company leave or pass through Iowa City on the 12th day of May next, and invite other companies to join. "That each and every individual as an outfit provide himself with 100 Ibs. flour, 30 Ibs. bacon, 1 peck salt, 3 Ibs. powder in horns or canteens, 12 Ibs. lead or shot, and one good tent cloth to cover six persons. Every man well armed and equipped with gun, tomahawk, knife, etc." 2 All members intending to move by wagon were ad- vised to use oxen or mules, rather than horses, and each unmarried man was urged to provide himself with a mule or pony. During these days of preparation the newspapers also contained numerous communications giving advice to the travellers who were about to undertake the crossing of the continent. One such letter read: "I have made every inquiry of those who have visited that region of country, and have read all, perhaps, that has been written of the character of the country, and have come to the conclusion that the dis- tance from Burlington to the Council Bluffs is 350 miles from the Bluffs west, on the north side of Big Platt River, by way of the Paw r nee villages, to the foot of the Rocky Mountains at the old pass, where Cap- tain Bonneville passed with his loaded wagons, is 500 miles and no 1 "Iowa Capital Reporter," Iowa City, March 23, 1843. 2 "Iowa Standard," Iowa City, March 30, 1843. 1206 stream to cross except the Loupe fork of Platt. The pass to which I allude is in about latitude 41 30' north. From thence take a west course, or nearly so, to the Wallamet River. The distance is about 500 miles, making in all about 1300 or 1400 miles travel. . . . "My plan for outfit, etc., is as follows: With oxen and mules you will travel with a caravan of say 100 persons, 15 miles per day, which, if you lose no time, you will accomplish the journey in 100. days, but make reasonable allowance for accident and delay, and say 150 days. "100 men should be armed and equipped with a good rifle gun of large bore, carrying not less than 60 bullets to the pound; 4 pounds 355. A wagon train on the march. It rolled over the hills for week after week, at an average rate of twelve or fifteen miles a day. of powder, 12 of lead (flint locks are to Tie preferred) ; caps and flints in proportion and good knife and a small tomahawk. . . Percus- sion guns should have with them a spare tube in case of accident of one bursting; also canteens. "As to provisions necessary for the journey, say 150 pounds of side bacon, 1 barrel of flour, a half bushel of beans, 10 pounds of rice, 20 pounds of coffee, 20 pounds of sugar, one year's stock of coarse and durable cloth, 2 blankets, and to every five men a tent. . . To every five men there should be a wagon and team sufficient to transport two thousand pounds, hauled by three or four yoke of oxen ; they should be shod and spare shoes and nails taken along, and a water keg to contain 1207 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA at least ten gallons to each wagon. . . also in addition, each man ought to have a good poney or a mule to ride, (if he is able,) and that should be well equipped for packing and riding, a Spanish saddle and a picket line to tie your horse when feeding. . . "It will be necessary in such a company that they should be com- pletely organized like a company of regular soldiers; and 1 would advise that they agree (after choosing their officers) that they, while on their march thither, shall subject themselves to be governed by the rules and articles of war of the United States, so far as they shall apply to that service. I would recommend that to 100 men they elect one Captain, who should carry a spy glass, four Sergeants and four Corporals and there ought to be a bugle to give the signals, and if one cannot be had, there should be a drum and fife. Guides and buffalo hunters will be required who will have to be paid a reasonable sum, as it will not do for every one to go hunting and shooting at pleasure. . . . "Companies ought not to be less than fifty efficient fighting men, but 100 would be better; there are some Indians who are rather hos- tile, and they might attack a small party for plunder. "One who intends to emigrate." 1 All this discussion, organization, equipment, drilling, advice and preparation was in connection with a project to travel from the Mississippi valley to the Pacific coast at a period embraced within the lifetime of hundreds of thousands of Americans who are still living, and within the memory of many of them. The existence of Boone's Lick Road, and its previous prominence for some twenty years as the main overland highway leading to the most advanced white settlements, naturally resulted in its use by the Oregon emigrants dur- ing the spring of 1843. Over it, for two months, straggled numerous bands of horsemen and many wagon trains, all moving toward the little town of Independence on the western border of Missouri. By the middle of May nearly a thousand people had gathered at the spot, and they then met in a body to perfect a general organization. Besides the thousand people the company also contained a hundred and twenty wagons of all sorts, and about five 1 "Iowa Capital Reporter," March 25, 1843. 1208 thousand cattle, horses and other varieties of live stock. The pilgrims were divided for marching purposes into two groups. Each contained sixty wagons, and the fore- most was composed of those whose owners were un- encumbered with slow moving cattle. The second section, in addition to containing an equal number of wagons, also included the farm animals. Each division was under the command of a captain and his assistants, and in the form here outlined the "Great Migration" set forth on May 22, to traverse the two thousand miles which lay between it and its destination. It so happened that the captain of the second division was a man named Jesse Applegate, destined thereafter to become a prominent figure of the far country to which he was leading so many of his countrymen. And in addition to his other qualities Applegate possessed fortunately for our present desire ability to describe the events in which he took part. He afterward wrote this description of the daily methods employed by the members of his camp during the overland trip: 1 "It is four o'clock A. M. ; the sentinels on duty have discharged their rifles the signal that the hours of sleep are over and every wagon and tent is pouring forth its night tenants, and slow kindling smokes begin largely to rise and float away in the morning air. Sixty men start from the corral, spreading as they make through the vast herd of cattle and horses that make a semicircle around the encamp- ment, the most distant perhaps two miles away. "The herders pass the extreme verge and carefully examine for trails beyond, to see that none of the animals have strayed or been stolen during the night. This morning no trails lead beyond the outside ani- mals in sight, and by five o'clock the herders begin to contract the great moving circle, and the well-trained animals move slowly towards camp, clipping here and there a thistle or a tempting bunch of grass on the way. In about an hour five thousand animals are close up to the encampment, and the teamsters are busy selecting their teams and driving them inside 1 In 1876, when he gave an account of the migration before the Oregon Pioneer Association. Applegate's narrative was printed by the Oregon Historical Society in its "Quarterly" of December, 1900. 1209 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA 356. Month after month the wagons crawled through the lonely valleys. the corral to be yoked. The corral is a circle one hundred yards deep, formed with wagons connected strongly with each other; the wagon in the rear being connected with the wagon in front by its tongue and ox chains. It is a strong barrier that the most vicious ox cannot break, and in case of attack from the Sioux would be no contemptible intrench- ment. "From six to seven o'clock is a busy time; breakfast is to be eaten, the tents struck, the wagons loaded and the teams yoked and brought up in readiness to be attached to their respective wagons. All know when, at seven o'clock, the signal to march sounds, that those not ready to take their places in the line of march must fall into the dusty rear for the day. There are sixty wagons. They have been divided into fifteen divisions or platoons of four wagons each, and each platoon is entitled to lead in its turn. The leading platoon to-day will be the rear one to-morrow, and will bring up the rear unless some teamster through indolence or negligence has lost his place in the line, and is condemned to that uncomfortable pest. It is within ten minutes of seven ; the corral but now a strong barricade is everywhere broken, the teams being attached to the wagons. The w r omen and children have taken their places in them. The pilot (a borderer who has passed his life on the verge of civilization and has been chosen to his post of leader from his knowledge of the savage and his experience in travel through roadless wastes) stands ready, in the midst of his pioneers and aids, to mount and lead the way. Ten or fifteen young men, not to-day on duty, form another cluster. They are ready to start on a buffalo hunt, are well mounted and well armed, as they need to be, for the unfriendly 1210 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Sioux have driven the buffalo out of the Platte, 1 and the hunters must ride fifteen or twenty miles to find them. The cow drivers are hasten- ing, as they get ready, to the rear of their charge, to collect and prepare them for the day's march. "It is on the stroke of seven; the rush to and fro, the cracking of whips, the loud command to oxen, and what seemed to be the inex- tricable confusion of the last ten minutes has ceased. Fortunately every one has been found and every teamster is at his post. The clear notes of a trumpet sound in the front; the pilot and his guards mount their horses; the leading divisions of the wagons move out of the encamp- ment, and take up the line of march ; the rest fall into their places with the precision of clockwork, until the spot so lately full of life sinks back into that solitude that seems to reign over the broad plain and rushing river as the caravan draws its lazy length towards the distant El Dorado. , . . "The pilot, by measuring the ground and timing the speed of the horses, has determined the rate of each, so as to enable him to select the nooning place as nearly as the requisite grass and water can be had at the end of five hours' travel of the wagons. To-day, the ground being favorable, little time has been lost in preparing the road, so that he and his pioneers are at the nooning place an hour in advance of the wagons, which time is spent in preparing convenient watering places for the animals, and digging little wells near the bank of the Platte. As the teams are not unyoked, but simply turned loose from the wagons, a corral is not formed at noon, but the wagons are drawn up in col- umns, four abreast, the leading wagon of each platoon on the left, the platoons being formed with that in view. This brings friends together at noon as well as at night. "To-day an extra session of the council is being held, to settle a dispute that does not admit of delay, between a proprietor and a young man who has undertaken to do a man's service on the journey for bed and board. Many such cases exist, and much interest is taken in the manner in which this high court, from which there is no appeal, will define the rights of each party in such engagements. The council was a high court in the most exalted sense. It was a senate composed of the ablest and most respected fathers of the emigration. It exercised both legislative and judicial powers, and its laws and decisions proved equal, and worthy of the high trust reposed in it. ... "It is now one o'clock, the bugle has sounded and the caravan has resumed its westward journey. It is in the same order, but the even- ing is far less animated than the morning march. A drowsiness has 1 This widely adopted effort of the western Indians toward the conservation of their natural resources, under such circumstances, was considered by the whites as an unfriendly act. It was. The native western Indians, just like white men, naturally tried to make the penetration of their home by an invading force as difficult as possible, instead of making it easier by supplying food to the invaders. But the white men did not appreciate the philosophy of such an effort when it was applied in opposition to themselves. 1211 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA fallen apparently on man and beast ; teamsters drop asleep on their perches, and even when walking by their teams ; and the words of com- mand are now addressed to the slowly creeping oxen in the soft tenor of women or the piping treble of children, while the snores of the team- sters make a droning accompaniment. . . . "The sun is now getting low in the west, and at length the pains- taking pilot is standing ready to conduct the train in the circle which he has previously measured and marked out, which is to form the invari- able fortification for the night. The leading wagons follow him so nearly around the circle that but a wagon length separates them. Each wagon follows in its track, the rear closing on the front, until its tongue and ox chains will perfectly reach from one to the other ; and so accu- rate the measure and perfect the practice, that the hindmost wagon of the train always precisely closes the gateway. As each wagon is brought into position it is dropped from its team (the teams being inside the circle), the team is unyoked, and the yoke and chains are used to connect the wagon strongly with that in its front. Within ten minutes from the time the leading wagon halted, the barricade is formed, the teams unyoked and driven out to pasture. Every one is busy prepar- ing fires. ... to cook the evening meal, pitching tents and otherwise preparing for the night." The marching company of 1843 was the first consider- able body of organized travellers who crossed the Ameri- can continent in an overland trip with the purpose of establishing homes on the Pacific coast, and the route it followed that of the South Pass was ever afterward to be an important factor in the development of the West. Discussion has long prevailed with regard to the discovery of the way through the mountains, with regard to certain incidents connected with the migration of 1843, and about the part played by one of its members 1 in the early history and political destiny of the Oregon country. Controversy concerning the last mentioned side of the subject has recently been brought to a definite end, but it is desirable that some attention be given to those matters associated with the pathway of the first overland pilgrims, their experiences, and the effect of their memorable journey. 1 Marcus Whitman. CHAPTER LII THE SOUTH PASS ROUTE TO THE FAR WEST A TRAPPER WHO WAS ALSO A STATESMAN EARLY RECORDS AND HISTORY OF THE PASS WHITMAN JOINS THE MIGRA- TION OF 1843 COMMENT OF AMERICA AND ENG- LAND ON THE OVERLAND MOVEMENT ITS IMPOS- SIBILITY DEMONSTRATED IN PRINT WHILE IT IS BEING PERFORMED THE OREGON SETTLERS FORM A GOVERNMENT WHITMAN AND HIS COMPANIONS KILLED THE RESULT DISCOVERY OF JOHNSON AND WINTER'S LOST BOOK THEIR ACCOUNT OF THE BLOOD COUNCIL AT WAIILATPU THE TWO TRAVEL- LERS DESCRIBE THE RACE CONSEQUENCES OF WHITE MOVEMENT INTO THE NORTHWEST AND RECORD THEIR VISION OF THE FUTURE THE path followed by the "Great Migration" of 1843 was afterward generally known as the Oregon trail. 1 It extended along the banks of the Platte and its northern branch which had been surveyed during the preceding year by Lieutenant Fremont went through the South Pass, and thence followed the valleys of Green River and Bear River to Fort Hall, 2 on Lewis River. From that point the overland travellers continued in smaller parties to the valley of the Willamette, which they reached in October, after a journey of more than two 1 Until the extensive movement to California began in 1849. It was then, and there- after, followed to the neighborhood of the Great Salt Lake by hundreds of thousands of gold hunters, and came to be popularly called the California trail. 2 Then an important station of the Hudson's Bay Company. 1213 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA UAHR PEAK FHOM MOUTH OF HAKE PEAK CHHF.K. 357. A wagon train in the Black Hills, Wyoming Territory. From a photo- graph taken by Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Dodge, U. S. A. thousand miles accomplished in a period of some five months. In spite of the difficulties and privations neces- sarily attending such a movement, only seven members of the migration succumbed to accident or sickness on the way. It will be borne in mind that Ashley's Fur Company had trouble with the Indians in 1823, but that its opera- tions were carried on by others after his return, and that one or more of his employees had used the South Pass in 1823. General Jackson had begun to gather information in relation to the far West as soon as he entered the Presidency, and one of the sources to which his ad- ministration turned in seeking reliable knowledge regard- ing the subject was the fur company originally organized by Ashley, and at that time being carried on by Jedediah Smith, David Jackson and William Sublette. 1214 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA From those men and some of their trappers the Federal government received, during 1830 and the early days of 1831, various letters descriptive of the Rocky Mountain region. This informatory material was submitted to Congress by President Jackson on June 24, 1831, ac- companied by a brief message. 1 One of the communications then sent by Jackson to Congress contained mention of the mountain gap now known as South Pass, and of its practicability as a route from the eastern to the western side of the mountains. The letter was undated, but its use by President Jackson on a known date removes any material loss in that regard. It was written by Joshua Pilcher, one of the employees of the fur company, and in discussing the mountains as a pos- sible obstacle to overland movement Pilcher pointed out that "Most erroneous ideas prevail upon this head. The Rocky Moun- tains are deemed by many to be impassable, and to present a barrier which will arrest the westward march of the American population. A man must know but little of the American people who supposes they can be stopped by anything in the shape of mountains, deserts, seas or rivers, and he can know nothing at all of the mountains in question to sup- pose that they are impassable. . . . Wagons and carriages may cross them in a state of nature without difficulty and with little delay on the day's journey. Some parts are very high, but the gradual rise of the country in the vast slope from the Mississippi to the foot of the moun- tains makes a considerable elevation without perceptible increase, and then the gaps or depressions let you through almost upon a level. This is particularly the case opposite the head of the Platte where I crossed in 1827. ... It is, in fact, one of the best passes, and presents the best overland route from the valley of the Mississippi to the mouth of the Columbia." Another of the letters from the fur company was written at St. Louis on October 29, 1830, and was ad- dressed to Secretary of War Eaton. It said that the com- pany, in the spring and summer of 1830, had taken ten 1 "Sen. Ex. Doc. 39, 21st Cong. 2d Sess." 1215 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA five-mule wagons and two other smaller wagons from St. Louis to the mountains, along the course of the Platte River. It further stated: "Here the wagons could easily have crossed the mountains, it being what is called the Southern Pass, 1 had it been desirable for them to do so." On this trip the wagons moved at a rate of fifteen to twenty miles a day, and reached St. Louis again in October, having been gone six months. These definite statements about South Pass having been made, their reliability was soon put to the test. Dur- ing the year 1832 Captain Bonneville who had ob- tained leave of absence from the army to carry on a fur enterprise penetrated to the locality with a train of twenty loaded wagons which he successfully took through South Pass to the valley of the Green River on its western side. Three years afterward, in 1835, the missionary Samuel Parker passed through the same district, and in his later printed account of his travels he went even beyond Pilcher's assertion regarding the gap, and affirmed that the spot offered no obstacles to the building of a steam railway. 2 Marcus Whitman the young doctor went with Parker on his trip through South Pass in 1835, and even if he had been ignorant both of Pilcher's letter and Bonne- ville's previous wagon trip, 3 he could scarcely have gone through the pass in company with a man who was so far- seeing as to discuss its future utilization by a railroad, without an appreciation, on his own part, that no further 1 The same phraseology used by Melish on his map of 1820. 2 The text of Parker's observations of 1835 concerning South Pass as a railway route to the western side of the continent is hereafter reproduced in connection with the history of the first trans-continental railroad. ;! It was then considered necessary by any prospective overland traveller to posess himself of all possible information about the country he intended to traverse. 1216 .'r. IN KKUBKDS. 358. Taking a wagon through Coldspring Canon, Wyoming Territory. The gorge varies from about 200 feet to 50 feet in width, and the perpendicular walls are from 300 feet to 600 feet high. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA proof of the value of the pass in connection with an over- land population movement to the westward was necessary. For about thirty years, and until recently, it has been contended that Whitman's second trip through the pass- in 1836, on which occasion he took a wheeled vehicle to Fort Boise was a turning point in the history of the Northwest because it demonstrated the existence of a practicable wagon route over which the head waters of the Columbia River could be reached from the head waters of the Missouri. The recorded history of the South Pass route from 1820 to the year 1835, as herein given, indicates that the relationship between the pass and the region west of it had already been substantially fixed, and that Whitman's trip of 1836, while interesting and important in so far as it did extend vehicular travel to the westward, was not in itself a big event in the westward movement. But in addition to these considera- tions there has lately been made public a letter written by Whitman himself at the time, in which he discussed the matter here under review. The communication was written in October of 1835, spoke of the trip with Parker, and said: "If Colonel Dodge could go to the Pacific and transport cannon as he did last year, we could cross the mountains with a wagon." 1 In other words, anybody could cross the mountains with a wagon, as Pilcher had affirmed as early as June of 1831, and as Bonneville had demonstrated. Whitman was also a member of the "Great Migra- tion" of 1843. For several years he had lived and worked 1 The Whitman letter containing this statement was found by William L. Marshall and incorporated by him in his "Acquisition of Oregon and the Long Suppressed Evidence about Marcus Whitman," Vol. 1, p. 76. Marshall's book (published in 1912) contains a very elaborate analysis of his subject. He points out that Whitman's wagon of 1836 suffered a broken axle while six days east of Fort Hall and also east of the point reached by Bonneville's twenty loaded wagons and that westward from the scene of the broken axle, Whitman's wagon proceeded as a two-wheeled vehicle to Fort Boise. 1218 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA in the isolated stations established by him and his mis- sionary companions on the upper Columbia in 1836. But while the American settlements on the Willamette were flourishing those farther in the interior languished, and finally the missionary board in New England decided to discontinue its support of them. When Whitman heard of this intention, late in 1842, he at once set out for the Atlantic coast, which he reached in safety after the danger and labor of a winter journey. He arrived in New York still clad in his frontier costume of fur cap and leather clothes, paid a visit to Horace Greeley who called him "the roughest man we have seen this many a Say" 1 and then pushed swiftly on to Boston where his report and pleading resulted in a revocation of the order that had brought him across the continent. 2 Then, hearing of the preparations for the "Great Migration," he hastened back to western Missouri and joined it. He had already made two trips over the route and through South Pass, and in consequence his advice and knowledge were of much help to the thousand people of the company. The story of this overland march would remain in- complete if it did not show the attitude assumed by the outside world toward those who took part in the move- ment, toward the possibility of such a journey as they had undertaken, and toward the national significance con- tained in such a migration. More than twenty years had passed since Floyd introduced before Congress the sub- ject of settling the Oregon country with American emigrants, and no action had as yet been taken by that body. Even the future ownership of the region was a 1 New York "Tribune," March 29, 1843. 2 The "\Yhitman Saved Oregon" story, during its life, was based principally on the contention that Whitman's trip to the United States in the winter of 1842-3 was for the purpose of arousing the Federal government to the importance of the Oregon country, and that he had much to do with originating the migration in whose company he returned to the West. 1219 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA UOESE-LITTEB. 359. Whenever a man was hurt, or became too ill to go on, his companions or neighbors on the road put him in a wagon or else contrived a horse- litter in which to carry him. A litter was made of a buffalo skin or heavy blanket, and attached to two poles that were upheld by horses. matter of uncertainty. A considerable part of the eastern population held the same opinion on the subject as did the Federal senator 1 who called on his colleagues to imagine, if they could, a state from which senators and representa- tives would require a year to travel to Washington and return home again. At the very moment when the "Great Migration" was midway between its starting point and its destination the following utterance made its appearance in England re- garding the impossibility of such an event: "However the political questions between England and America, as to the ownership of Oregon, may be decided, Oregon will never be colonized overland from the United States. . . . "The world must assume a new face before the American wagons may trace a road to the Columbia as they have done to the Ohio." 2 A contemporary English work on the Oregon region, 1 Senator McDuffie, of South Carolina. 2 Edinburgh "Review," July 1, 1843. 1220 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA which was published in London in 1844, but before news of the success of the migration reached that country, con- tained the following passages: "Though several parties have penetrated into the Oregon territory from the United States, through the marshes and over the towering heights of the Rocky Mountains, yet it may be safely asserted, from the concurrent testimony of traders, trappers, and settlers, who have them- selves passed those mighty barriers, that the difficulties are so numerous and formidable, and the time necessary for the passage so long, that there is no secure, expeditious, or continuous track, which can ever be used as a highway, so as to afford facilities for an influx of emigrants overland. "Several routes have been tried of late, and each differs only from the other in the privations which the passengers undergo. None but the wild and fearless fur trapper can clamber over those precipices, and tread those deserts with security, and even these are quitting them as haunts, and using them only as unavoidable tracks. It is true, there have been published more favorable accounts within the last year or two, by parties who have made the journey safely, and who encourage others to make a similar experiment. But these accounts are in such a spirit of bravado, and accompanied with expressions of thankfulness of parties for their own success, that they are indirect evidence of the difficulty and danger of the undertaking, and of the utter hopelessness of such a route for general purposes." 1 American authorities no less distinguished made similar declarations. In speaking of those who had joined the migration of 1843 Horace Gresly said: "For what do they brave the desert, the wilderness, the savage, the snowy precipices of the Rocky Mountains, the weary summer march, the storm-drenched bivouac and the gnawings of famine? . . . This migration of more than a thousand persons in one body to Oregon wears an aspect of insanity." 2 There was to come a time when Greeley spoke in another vein. He was not one of the few men of his generation who saw these events with the inward vision of a prophet, and beheld the results that were to follow from them. But by and by, when the hardest of the 1 Dunn's "History of the Oregon Territory, Etc." London, 1844: pp. 345-6. 2 Xew York "Tribune," July 22, 1843. 1221 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA pioneer work was finished, he himself went out to the Pacific coast in the footsteps of the men whose reason he had challenged, and looked with his physical eyes on the things they had accomplished. And born of his later journey was that utterance of his which will live longer than any other words he spoke. For he said, "Go West, young man." But by that time the "young man" was already in the West. As it had been in the past, so it was once again. An obscure trapper named Pilcher had proved himself to be the statesman, and the nameless thousands had justi- fied the wisdom of his estimate. They had completed their work, leaving only its ratification to be brought about by stage-coach and locomotive. Then it was that the mighty ones arose in the majesty of their abounding fame and advised the performance of what had already been done. The party of Oregon emigrants which started from western Missouri in 1844 was even larger than that of 1843 and numbered about fourteen hundred souls. It was delayed on the way by inclement weather and encountered numerous hardships. In 1845 almost three thousand people similarly departed for the Northwest, although they did not move in one compact body as had been the case during the two preceding summers. They travelled in groups containing from fifty to one hundred and fifty wagons each. Some of these parties of 184.5 combined at a point westward of Fort Boise, and unwisely sought to reach their destination by an untried route. They wandered in the wilderness for forty days, suffering much from hunger and thirst, and about seventy-five of the six or eight hundred involved perished. 1 1 According to Schafer, in his "History of the Pacific Northwest," p. 210. 1222 E.S-3. ~~* 2 O" 2. S f " 5 -=r **| . 2. O T? 3 o- n n ^ 3? n S, _ I A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA By this time there were some six thousand Americans in the northwestern country, and a few of them had penetrated north of the Columbia River and settled in the Puget Sound district. 1 They already had a typical American government, although located more than two thousand miles from the nearest similar community that lay within close reach of the Federal power. Their first political organization had been effected in 1843, while the "Great Migration" was still on its march, a code of laws having been adopted by the people on July 5 of that year. 2 The declaration of the settlers began: "We, the people of Oregon Territory, for purposes of mutual pro- tection, and to secure peace and prosperity among ourselves, agree to adopt the following laws and regulations until such time as the United States of America extend their jurisdiction over us." In taking this step the few hundred emigrants who so acted followed the example of the little Wautaga republic which was set up amid the forests of eastern Tennessee just before the first invasion of the Kentucky country by the hill people of the Carolinas and Virginia. Each of those groups of pioneers was temporarily lost in a wilderness, was out of touch with any source of higher authority, and wholly dependent upon itself for the crea- tion of such regulations as would constitute an organic basis of society. The arrival of the companies of 1844 and 1845 brought about a number of changes in the political organization of the northwestern pioneers, and the simultaneous action of the Hudson's Bay Company in placing itself under the jurisdiction of the provisional government established by 1 This was in opposition to the desire and adyice of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company, but the local officers of that powerful body did not go beyond the point of verbal remonstrance. They had treated American arrivals on the Columbia with consideration and had even given much needed aid to some of them. 2 Known as the First Organic Law; quoted in full in Strong and Schafer's "Govern- ment of the American People," Oregon edition, Boston, 1901; Appendix. 1224 o 5'- S 0.0. , 3 D. 3 3" e. =,'-0 3- t " A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA the Americans resulted in making British interests in the disputed country subsidiary to those of the United States. The political destiny of the Oregon region was definitely settled by treaty with England during the following year, and the American Republic found itself in undisputed possession of the Pacific coast up to the forty-ninth paral- lel of north latitude. By means of the events here recited this country had come into possession of a province con- taining more than two hundred and fifty thousand square miles of territory, later to be erected into the common- wealths of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. 1 But although in possession of the country from the standpoint of international law the United States still failed to exercise its authority, and did not bring about that closer union which would have been made possible through the organization of a territorial government by Congress. And again the cause of the delay in recogniz- ing an accomplished fact was to be found in jealousy. When the Oregon pioneers established their first in- dependent government they included in their constitution a provision that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime, should exist in the region occupied and controlled by them. This decision on their part aroused the opposition of those far distant American commonwealths in which human slavery still existed, and the attitude of those states in the Federal Senate blocked the way to territorial government for the Northwest. Not until the occurrence of a tragedy which swept aside the elements of selfishness and appealed to profounder human impulses was it possible to consummate the work thus far carried forward. Marcus Whitman, his wife 1 Thirteen thousand square miles of the original "Oregon'" are also embraced in the northwestern part of the present state of Wyoming, and twenty-eight thousand square miles are in Montana^ 1226 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA and twelve other white men and women of the Oregon- missions met death in terrible form at the hands of the Indians on November 29, 1847. The causes leading to the native outbreak were multiple in number, rather complex in character, and of several years' growth. 1 But perhaps the immediate in- centive to dreadful violence was a belief, entertained by the Indians, that the white physician was poisoning them. Immigrants from the East had brought msasles to Whit- man's settlement at Waiilatpu, and- that familiar malady of civilization attacked the Indians and spread among them with virulence. Whitman, being a physician, ministered to both races with impartiality and to the ut- most of his strength. Most of the whites who were at- tacked recovered quickly, but the natives persistently suc- cumbed. The disease was one of those unfortunate gifts bestowed by the Caucasians on the red race with which the Indians were not previously acquainted, and of whose effects they strongly disapproved. When they beheld the consistent recovery of the whites and the death of their own people, it seemed in their eyes that the white doctor was unfair, and was saving the afflicted of his own race in preference to theirs. This attitude of mind even de- veloped into a suspicion that the white man was poisoning the natives who were ill. They decided to carry out a long considered policy 2 by killing him, and did so, in- cluding in their supposed vengeance a number of his presumed co-conspirators. In addition to those who were 1 Many of the natives resented the presence and increase of white men among them, far back as 1842 they had been irritated by the effort of an Indian agent who tried CJ lldU Ui:cil lllliaiCU IJV II1C C11U1 I Ul |UI Xliuidll dgClll WHO 11 1CU ian laws upon them; injudicious talk of white men, in 1842 and 2 Soon to be discussed in these pages. 1227 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA - - Suelnigte Ztauftn unieti >-i 3 - 3 o S- " 3 o "" OS'S S re 3 > 2,-a 1-1 a. 3 5' Hi O Z. O O n "* 5' -. O ' 9 I '. ui S. | 5T=:" ^ IT " 3 J- S-H A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA standable. The church had its foundation in the state- ment of a young man named Joseph Smith to the effect that under guidance of a vision he had found, buried in the earth, a quantity of metallic tablets im- printed with strange characters which he had been given power to translate, and which he said proved to be the text of a religious book, or "bible," that had been de- posited many centuries before in the place where he had discovered the plates. 1 He issued his translation in printed form in 1830, calling himself the proprietor of the work, and on it as a basis aided by a few associates- established a new church and assumed the functions of priest and prophet. The speedy removal of Smith and his followers to the town of Kirtland, Ohio, in January of 1831, was principally due to the fact that the New York rural neighborhood where he had been known gave small attention to his new role in the community, and as a conse- quence the progress of the church was unsatisfactory. Its growth in Ohio was much more rapid. In those days the population of the western country was peculiarly susceptible to all influences of the sort, and within a few years the Latter Day Saints constituted a considerable and growing community whose membership was industrious and land-acquiring. The cause probably contributing in largest extent to its collapse in Ohio was the failure of a financial plan of its leaders, who issued paper money which they were unable to redeem in specie on demand. Smith ultimately left Ohio in 1 3'38 because of the resulting disfavor and went to western Missouri, where, at the town of Independence, Mormons had also organized a settlement in 1831. There the bulk of the Ohio church 1 The "Book of Mormon," or Mormon Bible. As published by Smith it contained various chapters that were literal transcriptions of the King James Bible. The writing on the tablets, Smith said, was "refer med Egyptian." 1240 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA soon followed him. But the rapid acquisition of land by the Mormons in Missouri, their growth in numbers, their manifestation of a clan spirit, and a fear on the part of surrounding settlers that they would soon dominate the region if permitted to remain, resulted in an outbreak of 365. Ruins of the Mormon Temple at Nauvoo in 1853. Engraved from a sketch by the English artist, Frederick Piercy. Published in London by the Mormon Church in 1855, in company with Piercy's drawings of the Oregon trail and Mormon migrations. virtual warfare against them. Much of their property was burned or otherwise destroyed, many members of the church were maltreated, Governor Boggs issued a proclamation saying they must be exterminated or driven forth, and in the winter of 1838-39 they were evicted from the state. The last settlement made by the Mormons east of the Mississippi following the events just narrated -was in 1241 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA a then insignificant village called Commerce, situated on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River in the state of Illinois, opposite the southeastern corner of the territory of Iowa. The town of Commerce contained perhaps three or four hundred people when the Mormons chose it be- cause of its favorable natural location. By April of 1840 it had grown to be a town of two hundred and fifty houses., and its name was changed by the government to Nauvoo. Under the Mormon influence Nauvoo expanded so rapid- ly both in size and prosperity that by the year 1845 it had become the most important place in Illinois. It was bigger than Chicago or any other town, contained various growing industries, and was surrounded by an agricul- tural region that yielded good crops to the Mormon farm- ers. During the preceding three years its inhabitants had gradually become involved in the acrimonious political struggles of the time, as a result of efforts made both by Whigs and Democrats to secure the favor of its numerical- ly influential population at elections. It also appears probable that jealousy of Mormon prosperity was grow- ing in the minds of the surrounding white population, and it is certain that the neighbors of the Latter Day Saints objected to Nauvoo's reputation as a repository of stolen goods. 1 As a result of these and allied conditions a state of actual war against the Mormons developed in 1845, and by the autumn of that year it became apparent to the 1 During the period tinder review an extensive adjacent district of Illinois was in- volved in a controversy regarding its land titles, and as a consequence lawless squatters had gathered on the affected territory. Horse thieves, counterfeiters and miscreants of all sorts swarmed through the near-by country. Many of them, discovering the habit of the Mormons to "stand together," had joined the Church of Latter Day Saints, ostensi- bly as a result of conversion, but in reality to secure the endorsement and aid of the Mormons in case they were accused of crime. That Xauvoo contained a population element of the sort, and that thieves brought their plunder there, was recognized by the church authorities in their official and printed statements. The surrounding victims of thievery came to look on the Mormon town as a menace, which at least in the respect suggested it was. And, besides, Illinois had granted to Nauvoo such extreme powers of self-government as to make the city almost independent of the rest of the state, and it was practically impossible to secure the punishment of the criminal element at the hands of its courts. 1242 o w TO S 3 3 B-C < 3 governing men of the church that they could no longer maintain their position. They therefore announced an in- tention to vacate the city, and their declaration to that ef- fect resulted in a partial though not complete cessation of hostilities. Having come to this decision the people worked with desperate energy through the winter of 1845-6 in preparation for their impending departure. The results of their exertions during the winter months were afterwards thus described: "In the meantime, the Mormons made the most enormous efforts for removal; all the houses in Nauvoo, not even excepting the temple, having been converted into workshops, so that before spring more than 12,000 wagons were in readiness for removing their families and effects. By the middle of May about 16,000 Mormons had crossed the Missis- sippi on their march to California, leaving about a thousand of their number behind in Nauvoo, such as, having no money, or property which they could convert into money, were without the means of removing." 1 The actual evacuation of the city was not a matter of a few hours, but began in February and was kept up for a number of months. Each daily cavalcade consisted of those families which were finally ready for the journey. The inhabitants of the town it covered an area of several square miles and was surrounded by farms and orchards had been selling their houses and lands since the autumn before and converting the proceeds into such things as were necessary for the coming march. Every household, if possible, provided itself with a big canvas- covered wagon, three or four yoke of oxen, a cow or two for milking, several cattle to be used as food, a number of sheep, a tent, farm tools, seeds, firearms, extra clothing, half a dozen barrels of flour and as much other portable food as might be obtained or carried. But this standard of equipment, if it may be so called, could not be followed 1 Gerhard's "Illinois as It Is," p. 119. Gerhard's and also Ford's "History of Illinois" contain accounts of the lawlessness preceding and accompanying the Mormon evacuation of Nauvoo. 1243 by all the people of Nauvoo. They had to dispose of their property for whatever it would command at forced sale. Even the most well-to-do were none too amply fortified against the experience about to befall them, and the poor though aided as much as possible were indeed in sorry state to begin an overland trip across half a continent. Some families had only the two-wheeled cart, drawn by a single animal, and a few had no vehicles at all. Two dominant characteristics of the Mormons at this time deserve mention in order that their demeanor on their pilgrimage, and the attitude later to be displayed by them toward the nation whose bounds they left, may be better understood. They were, in the first place, a brave and resolute community undismayed by adversity and re- peated disaster to their fortunes. And they were also filled with feelings of hostility and bitterness toward other Americans in general, as a consequence of the almost constant physical attacks to which they had been sub- jected in Missouri and Illinois for about ten years, in spite of their appeals to the Federal and state govern- ments. These assaults had recently culminated in the destruction of much property on the outskirts of Nauvoo and in the murder of Joseph Smith then mayor of the town and his brother Hyrum. The two men, when killed, were confined in a jail at Carthage under the protection of state militia and the Governor's assurance of their safety. Those composing the vanguard of the migration, after crossing the Mississippi in flatboats and skiffs, established a camp in Iowa and waited for the arrival of others before setting forth on the first stage of their expedition. The Mormons had asked Iowa for permission to march through its extent to Council Bluffs, a distance of about 1244 366. On the Oregon trail. A group of Mormon wagons and a herd of live stock crossing the Missouri River at the Council Bluffs ferry. The trees are cottonwoods, chief reliance of the river traffic and overland caravans for canoes and fuel. From a drawing made by Piercy in 1853. 400 miles, and the territory had granted the request. Later in February the Mississippi became frozen, and many families crossed on the ice. Storms, snow, and a temperature of twenty degrees below zero distinguished the first encampment west of the river, and thus an initia- tion of suffering greeted the pilgrims at the outset of their movement. About two thousand men, women and chil- dren, and several thousand cattle and other farm animals assembled on Iowa soil before the end of the month, and the head of the long west-bound column was at last set in motion. One of the leading men of the Latter Day Saints afterward thus referred to the commencement of the pilgrimage: "On the first of March, the ground covered with snow, we broke encampment about noon, and soon nearly four hundred wagons were moving to we knew not where." The astonishing assertion with which the above state- ment concludes was literally true. The Mormons did not know where they were going. They had no specific destination in view. They only knew they had failed to live in peace with their neighbors in the LTnited States, and had to find a home elsewhere or disintegrate as a religious and economic body. So they turned their faces toward the West, hoping that somewhere in what was then north- ern Mexico, beyond the Rocky Mountains, they could discover a retreat where they might again live in their own fashion, free of the nation, flag and people at which they were angered. Those fifteen thousand human beings sold the city they had built and set forth into a virtually unknown country as avowed wanderers. Their head men told them that when they reached their future home they 1246 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA would immediately and intuitively know that the hegira had come to an end. And so it eventually happened. But, as in the case of Daniel Boone, the Mormons were in one matter doomed to disappointment. For hardly had the advance guard of the Saints reached the distant valley of the Great Salt Lake when it and all the surrounding ter- ritory passed into possession of the country from which they had desired to escape. During the spring and summer of 1846 additional fragments of Nauvoo's population crossed the river and added themselves to the stream of emigrants that was slowly creeping westward over the Iowa prairies. A semi-military discipline was put into effect among the marchers. Companies were formed, each containing about fifty wagons, and the vehicles were assembled at night. Sentries were posted, and the live stock was en- trusted to the care of guards. Each group of ten men was under control of a leader called a "captain of ten," and similar officers, of correspondingly higher rank, had charge of fifty men and of a hundred men. Inclement weather followed the caravan until May. The ground had to be cleared of snow and ice before tents could be set up. There were no roads which might be followed by the wagons. After a heavy rain or snow the country was impassable for the baggage of such a host, and under those conditions long halts had to be made. Sometimes, at night, the wet clothing and bedding of the moving people would be frozen solid. Progress under such circumstances was very slow. The live stock suffered from exertion, exposure and lack of food, and began to die. A further glimpse at this part of the migration is afforded through the medium of a diary kept by 1247 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Orson Pratt, a prominent figure among the Mormons, which under the date of April 9, said: 1 "With great exertion a part of the camp were enabled to get about six miles, while others were stuck fast in the deep mud. . . We were obliged to cut brush and limbs of trees, and throw them upon the ground in our tents, to keep our beds from sinking in the mud. Our animals were turned loose to look out for themselves; the bark and limbs of trees were their principal food." In mid-April the leading detachment found it neces- sary to make a protracted halt for purposes of recupera- tion. A camp called "Garden Grove" was therefore established about a hundred and fifty miles west of Nau- voo, log houses were put up, wells were dug, land was ploughed, and seed was planted that crops might spring up for the benefit of those who were still to come. Again, in May, a similar camp named "Mount Pisgah" was created still farther west, and there several thousand acres were sown to grain and vegetables that later wayfarers might garner. The whole course of the Mormon march across Iowa was dotted with like localities of temporary sojourn, and the American pioneer spirit was constantly manifested from the commencement of the exodus until its comple- tion. Whenever a stop was made in Iowa many of those not wanted in the building of the camp women as well as men sold their services to adjacent permanent settlers and took their wages in much prized provisions for man and beast more needy than themselves. Still other men went on ahead to build rude roads and bridges. Flat- boats were also put together as a means of getting the wagons across the larger streams. Skiffs for the women and children were carried by the Saints on specially made 1 Printed in the "Millennial Star," Vol. XI, p. 370. The "Millennial Star," a news paper published by the Latter Day Saints, was first issued in Liverpool, England, in 1840. 1248 3 2* O 3 ^ > T3 O s- 3 6J ^ 1-1 O M* BJ 3 .. en Qtq 3 n> s r 1 o o o c D. 3 n > 3 n O 3- O- O fl >< D.CL A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA boat-wagons until the Mississippi was reached. Nor was toil the only portion of these wanderers during the early days of their journey. They had their gayer hours as well. Partly because of the foresight of their leaders, and in perhaps still greater part due to the spirit of the people themselves, the nomads persistently clung to some of the amusements of that more civilized life which they had temporarily abandoned. No sooner had a camp been made whether for a long stay or for but a single night and its necessary work been done, than suitable spaces were cleared, a concert was given, the young folks danced and sang, and the older generation fell to gossip or con- sultation. It is safe to say that whatever else was aban- doned at Nauvoo, no musical instrument of any variety was left behind when the city was deserted. All accompanied their owners, and they were daily tooted, scraped and twanged either in festal frolic, religious service, or dirge, from Illinois to the Salt Lake. The Mormons, while in their city, had maintained a really excellent band equip- ped with admirable instruments, and its organization was continued throughout the long expedition. The head of the column reached the Mississippi River at Council Bluffs in June, and the bulk of the party which had set forth on March 1 attained the same point in July. It had been more than four months in traversing the four hundred miles. But let it not be understood that all the thousands involved in this movement travelled together, or in any order resembling one column. While the van- guard of the hegira had been traversing Iowa, and halting from time to time, still others had constantly been issuing from Nauvoo as they completed their prepara- tions. By the month of August, then, there existed a line of exiled Mormon population which extended almost en- 1250 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA tirely across Iowa territory. Some were encamped on the Mississippi and creating there a settlement in which to pass the approaching winter; others were sojourning in the several log-hut and agricultural camps already mentioned, where they proposed to spend the coming cold season; and still others were creaking over the prairies in their wagons, amid clouds of dust raised by the feet of their oxen and farm stock. Thus far the exodus had been more or less in touch with outlying settlers, and save in the circumstances of its origin had not been productive of features that were inconsistent with the migration of so large a population group under unfavor- able conditions. There had been births, sickness, deaths, hunger, labor and laughter. The best equipped and earliest starters of fifteen thousand human beings and their herds had traversed four hundred miles, there pausing to prepare for a farther advance during the following year, and to permit those in the rear to catch up with them if possible. Then began an interval of suffering and trouble that involved the entire host in greater or less degree, its effects extending from Nauvoo to the farthest westward outposts. And, unfortunately, the most connected and detailed con- temporary narrative of subsequent events relating to the pilgrimage has been injured with respect to its value as a dependable source of information by the later atti- tude of the man who wrote it. War with Mexico began while the Mormons were passing through Iowa. The Federal government, de- sirous of adding to its army, and knowing that Nauvoo had contained a large body of well-trained militia called the Nauvoo Legion, sent a representative to overtake the Saints and discover whether a battalion might not be ob- 1252 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA tained by means of volunteer Mormon enlistments. 1 He was accompanied by an American named Thomas Kane, brother to the Arctic explorer Elisha Kane, and a man of travel experience, education and ability. Kane paused to inspect deserted Nauvoo, caught up with the main body of exiles at the Missouri, took a decided liking to them, was admired by them in return, remained with them during their tribulations in the winter of 1846-7, and ac- companied them on their farther westward advance. After his return to the East he appeared before the Pennsylvania Historical Society on March 26, 1850, and delivered an address descriptive of the Mormon migration, of which he himself had been a part. 2 Kane's narrative was the first definite and extensive statement on the subject to be obtained by the East; it was approved or left substantially uncontradicted by non-Mormon in- vestigators able to estimate its accuracy during the years immediately following in so far as it dealt with the events of the migration and has since, of necessity, re- mained an important source for inquirers into the sub- ject. Among those who later commented on Kane's story, after opportunity to estimate its value, was Lieutenant Gunnison, of the United States Army, who in 1852 spoke of its author as "Their [the Mormons'] great and eloquent defender, whose his- torical oration on these dark periods of their fortunes does equal honor to his charitable heart and intelligence a sketch, however, of the epic kind, replete with poetical ornament and fervor." 3 In after years, and especially during the serious clashes of authority which occurred between the Federal govern- ment and the Latter Day Saints in the administrations of 1 The "Mormon Battalion" of the Mexican War was so obtained. 2 Kane's address was immediately published under the title "The Mormons," and con- stitutes an octavo pamphlet of 84 pages. 3 In "The Mormons, etc.," p. 133. Gunnison's history was published in 1852, after its author had spent a year or more amid the people and scenes he discusses. 1253 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Presidents Fillmore and Buchanan, Kane performed political services in behalf of the Mormons whose nature can scarcely be reconciled with any reasonable hypothesis save that he was, at those times, a secret Mormon agent. 1 To what extent if at all he occupied a similar position when he delivered his address before the learned society of Pennsylvania is not now known. He apparently did try to create or to strengthen an impression that the in- defensible attacks of which the Saints were victims had their origin in prejudice based on religious grounds, and he also assuredly strove to portray their fortitude and other good qualities in a manner well designed to win the public sympathy. Yet the last named endeavor was superfluous, because the undertaking that had been car- ried to success by the inhabitants of Nauvoo could not be recognized as other than a remarkable feat performed by a determined, courageous people. So much must necessarily be said of Kane and his nar- rative if as is designed use is to be made of the re- cital. And it may be further suggested that those parts of his story relating to experiences of travel do not fall so readily under the suspicion of undue bias as those other sections more concerned with human motives and pur- poses. What he saw at Nauvoo, in Iowa, and beyond, was also seen by so many others that it was scarcely safe for him, even if he had wished, unduly to distort the truth re- garding those matters. His account of the march itself is inherently credible; is corroborated in substance by various other early sources of information; 2 and, had Kane not afterward occupied the position he did in Mormon 1 A review of Kane's activities during the periods mentioned may be found in Linn's "The Stery of the Mormons." - Lieutenant Gunnison; Illinois and Iowa contemporary newspapers; the diaries and statements of others who made the journey; the reports made to Governor Ford, of Illinois, by his representative, Brayman, published in the Warsaw (Illinois) "Signal" of December 24. 1845; Ferris's "Utah and the Mormons." 1254 5. a. ' 2.3 "2 3 o* 2 < c o " n 3 3 a w ca sr ,j 3 a- o 3 S fB g i-f 2." ' 3 >-i N* sll 3 0. O l ? C 3 T3 5! PL. ft U 't &. t/l -.8 H". - -a 01 P. 05 Jifc A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA affairs it is doubtful if his story would have been seriously questioned. Despite the continued evacuation of Nauvoo through- out the spring and summer of 1846, which process at last left only some seven hundred poverty-stricken inhabitants within its limits, the surrounding anti-Mormon popula- tion was dissatisfied with the slowness of the movement and early in the autumn attacked the town in force, as- saulting it with musketry and a cannon. As a result of that affair the remaining Mormons, although unprepared, agreed to remove at once. So, "in the midst of the sickly season they were hurried in the boats and thrown upon the Iowa shore, without shelter or provisions; in conse- quence whereof, great numbers of them miserably perished." 1 Nauvoo was empty of Mormons at last. It was at this time that Kane appeared on the scene, and his first view of the town was afterward thus de- scribed: "I was descending the last hillside upon my journey, when a land- scape in delightful contrast broke upon my view. Half encircled by a bend of the river, a beautiful city lay glittering in the fresh morning sun ; its bright new dwellings, set in cool, green gardens, ranging up around a stately dome-shaped hill, which was crowned by a noble marble edifice whose tapering spire was radiant with white and gold. The city appeared to cover several miles; beyond it, in the background, there rolled off a fair country, chequered by the careful lines of fruitful husbandry. Unmistakable marks of industry, enterprise and educated wealth, everywhere, made the scene one of singular and most striking beauty. "It was a natural impulse to visit this inviting region. I procured a skiff, and, rowing across the river, landed at the chief wharf of the city. No one met me there. I looked, and saw no one. I could hear no one move; though the quiet everywhere was such that I heard the flies buzz and the water-ripples break against the shallow of the beach. I walked through the solitary streets. The town lay as in a dream, under some deadening spell of loneliness from which I almost feared to wake it. For plainly it had not slept long. There was no grass 1 Gerhard's "Illinois as It Is," p. 122. 1256 growing up in the paved ways. Rains had not entirely washed away the prints of dusty footsteps. "Yet I went about unchecked. I went into empty workshops, rope- walks and smithies. The spinner's wheel was idle; the carpenter had gone from his workbench and shavings, his unfinished sash and casing. . . . The blacksmith's shop was cold; but his coal heap and ladling pool and crooked water-horn were all there, as if he had just gone off for a holiday. . . I could have supposed the people hidden in the houses, but the doors were unfastened ; and when at last I timidly entered them I found dead ashes white upon the hearth, and had to tread a tiptoe as if walking down the aisle of a country church, to avoid rousing ir- reverent echoes from the naked floors. . . Fields upon fields of heavy- headed, yellow grain lay rotting ungathered upon the ground. No one was at hand to take in their rich harvest. As far as the eye could reach they stretched away they sleeping, too, in the hazy air of autumn." 1 After having explored the city, and talked concerning recent events with an armed party of the anti-Mormons encountered by him, Kane retreated across the Mississippi and discovered the lately evicted rear-guard of the town's inhabitants. Of them he said: "Here, among the dock and rushes, sheltered only by the darkness, without roof between them and the sky, I came upon a crowd of several hundred human creatures, whom my movements roused from uneasy slumber upon the ground. "Passing these on my way to the light, I found it came from a tallow candle in a paper-funnel shade, such as is used by street venders of apples and peanuts, and which, flaring and guttering away in the bleak air of? the water, shown flickeringly on the emaciated features of a man in the last stage of a bilious remittent fever. "They had done their best for him. Over his head was something like a tent, made of a sheet or two, and he rested on a but partially ripped-open old straw mattress, with a hair sofa-cushion under his head for a pillow. His gaping jaw and glazing eye told how short a time he would monopolize these luxuries; though a seemingly bewildered and excited person, who might have been his wife, seemed to find hope in occasionally forcing him to swallow awkwardly measured sips of the tepid river water from a burned and battered, bitter-smelling tin coffeepot. Those who knew better had furnished the apothecary he needed a toothless old bald-head, whose manner had the repulsive dull- ness of a familiar with death scenes. He, so long as I remained, mum- bled in his patient's ear a monotonous and melancholy prayer, between 1 Kane's "The Mormons." 1257 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA the pauses of which I heard the hiccup and sobbing of two little girls who were sitting on a piece of driftwood outside. . . "Cowed and cramped by cold and sunburn, alternating as each weary day and night dragged on, they were, almost all of them, the crippled victims of disease. They were there because they had no homes, nor hospital, nor poorhouse, nor friends to offer them any. They could not satisfy the feeble cravings of their sick: they had not bread to quiet the fractious hunger cries of their children. Mothers and babes, daugh- ters and grandparents, all of them alike, were bivouacked in tatters, wanting even covering to comfort those whom the sick shiver of fever was searching to the marrow." This final group of refugees, which had crossed the river on September 18, included all the infirm of the city whom it had previously been considered unwise to move. While its members lay on the western bank of the river their situation was deplorable, and their principal article of food was ground corn, adulterated with the bark of trees similarly treated. But tidings of their plight had been hurried westward to the main column, and in Octo- ber they were rescued by a relief train of wagons sent back for that purpose and conveyed to the log-cabin camps ahead. Kane's description of such a settlement reads: "A square was marked out; and the wagons as they arrived took their positions along its four sides in double rows, so as to leave a roomy street or passageway between them. The tents were disposed also in rows, at intervals between the wagons. The cattle were folded in high-fenced yards outside. The quadrangle inside was left vacant for the sake of ventilation, and the streets, covered in with leafy arbor work and kept scrupulously clean, formed a shaded cloister walk. This was a place of exercise for slowly recovering invalids, the day-home of the infants, and the evening promenade of all. "From the first formation of the camp, all its inhabitants were con- stantly and laboriously occupied. Many of them were highly educated mechanics, and seemed only to need a day's anticipated rest to engage them at the forge, loom, or turning-lathe, upon some needed chore of work. . . I have seen a cobbler, after the halt of his party on the march, hunting along the river bank for a lap-stone, in the twilight, that he might finish a famous boot-sole by the campfire; and I have had a 1258 5*2. 2 I n> rj a >-H 2 " erg -. D sr p J* 7Q to P- n n. O. -1> 3 3 . 3" er 3 W ft- ^;- O . rt - CL C n ^ A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA piece of cloth the wool of which was sheared, and dyed, and spun, and woven during a progress of over three hundred miles. 1 . . . "Inside the camp the chief labors were assigned to the women. From the moment when, after the halt, the lines had been laid, the spring wells dug out, and the ovens and fireplaces built, though the men still assumed to set the guards and enforce the regulations of police, the Empire of the Tented Town was with the better sex. . . And they were a nation of wonderful managers. They could hardly be called housewives in etymological strictness, but it was plain that they had once been such, and most distinguished ones. Their art availed them in their changed affairs. With almost their entire culinary material lim- ited to the milk of their cows, some store of meal or flour, and a very few condiments, they brought their thousand and one receipts into play with a success that outdid for their families the miracle of the Hebrew widow's cruse. They learned to make butter on the march, by the dashing of the wagon, and so nicely to calculate the working of barm in the jolting heats that as soon after the halt as an oven could be dug in the hillside and heated, their well-kneaded loaf was ready for baking, and produced good leavened bread for supper." 2 One other feature of the march through Iowa, as mentioned by Kane, deserves repetition. He thus referred to the frequent burials on the prairie: "The general hopefulness of human including Mormon nature, was well illustrated by the fact that the most provident were found unfurnished with undertaker's articles; so that bereaved affection was driven to the most melancholy makeshifts. "The best expedient generally was to cut down a log of some eight or nine feet long, and, slitting it longitudinally, strip off its dark bark in two half cylinders. These, placed around the body of the deceased and bound firmly together with withes made of the alburnum, formed a rough sort of tubular coffin, which surviving relatives and friends, with a little show of black crape, could follow with its enclosure to the hole or bit of ditch dug to receive it in the wet ground of the prairie. They grieved to lower it down so poorly clad, and in such an unheeded grave. It was hard was it right thus hurriedly to plunge it in one of the undistinguishable waves of the great land sea, and leave it behind them there, in the cold north rain, abandoned, to be forgotten? ... So, when they had filled up "the grave, and over it played the Miserere prayer, and tried to sing a hopeful psalm, their last office was to seek out landmarks, or call in the surveyor to help them determine the bear- ings of valley bends, headlands, or forks and angles of constant streams, 1 Kane, pp. 35-36. 2 Kane, pp. 45-46. 1260 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA by which its position should in the future be remembered and recog- nized." 1 The major part of the suffering endured by the Mormons befell them in their camps on the Missouri River bottom lands, near Council Bluffs, during the autumn of 1846 and the ensuing winter. There a majority of the moving host slowly assembled in August and September, and since all realized the impossibility of penetrating the mountain region while it was in the clutch of ice and snow, and while they were without adequate food, they made ready as best they might to wait until the following spring. A trading post of the American Fur Company was near by, and on the Iowa side of the river was a large settlement of Potawatomi Indians who had been placed there by the government a few years before. The western bank of the Missouri 2 was similarly occupied by the Omahas. Both tribes of red men received the unexpected concourse of white pilgrims in friendly spirit, and met the Mormon leaders in formal councils to arrange the relations that should exist between the two races while the travellers from the East remained in that vicinity. Big Elk, chief of the Omahas, announced that the Mormons might use what Indian timber they needed for their huts and fuel, and offered his men as guards for the herds of live stock. The whites, in return, agreed to aid the Omahas with their teams. Pied Riche, the principal chief of the Potawatomi, made the following address at the meeting between his nation and the Saints: "The Pottawatamie came, sad and tired, into this unhealthy Mis- souri Bottom not many years back, when he was taken from his beautiful country beyond the Mississippi, which had abundant game and timber 1 Kane, pp. 13-14. 2 In the neighborhood of the present town of Florence, Nebraska. 1261 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA 371. A caravan from Missouri on the Santa Fe trail, arriving in sight of the town from which the road took its name. The successful ending of an overland trip excited much boisterous enthusiasm. and clear water everywhere. Now you are driven away the same, from your lodges and lands there, and the graves of your people. So we have both suffered. We must help one another, and the Great Spirit will help us both. You are now free to cut and use all the wood you may wish. You can make all )'our improvements, and live on any part of our actual land not occupied by us. Because one suffers, and does not deserve it, is no reason he shall suffer always: I say. We may live to see all right yet. However, if we do not our children will." 1 It was a singular situation. There lay two tribes; one red, one white, both despoiled and driven from their homes into the wilderness. There they met and mingled for a time; the white men and women, to the number of thousands, becoming guests of the red people and the beneficiaries of their bounty. The Potaw r atomi showed no trace of the rancor which might without unreason have been exhibited by them toward members of a race which 1 Kane, p. 59. The attitude of the natives is also established by other means than Kane's narrative. 1262 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA had treated them so ill. But they too knew what trouble was, and the principles of their philosophy did not permit them to refuse help to a homeless man who needed help, even though he wore an alien skin. So by the machina- tions of the fates it happened that the Caucasian occupa- tion of the West, and the later resultant extension of Federal power amid the last territorial possessions of the American natives were materially aided through whole- sale charity bestowed on wandering white men by their red adversaries. History that sardonic old hen had hatched another egg. The conditions under which the main company of Mormons were compelled to live in the Missouri bottoms from August of 1846 to July of 1847 brought distress and illness upon them. Many had already been weakened by hardship and insufficient food throughout a period of several months, for the transition from their orderly life and abundance in Nauvoo to the status of under-fed nomads was an abrupt one. Malaria spread; the ill- nesses due to breaking virgin soil appeared ; and symptoms similar to those of scurvy, caused no doubt by lack of a sufficient variety of food there being little vegetable provender at hand likewise developed. The people also were poorly sheltered. Log cabins were the best dwell- ings obtainable, and thousands of the multitude were compelled to live or tried to live in tents or shelters made of sod, or of tree branches and plastered mud. Some even dug holes in the hillsides and for a time existed in caves of their own making. The principal diet of many was cornmeal. An unknown number died, both along the banks of the Missouri and back in the camps scattered through Iowa. Even those who did not succumb were weakened and re- 1263 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA duced. Kane thus described the situation of the peoph during this worst phase of their experience: "The Mormons were scourged severely. The exceeding mortality among some of them was no doubt in the main attributable to the low state to which their systems had been brought by long-continued endur- ance of want and hardship. . . They let their cows go unmilked. They wanted for voices to raise the Psalm of Sundays. The few who were able to keep their feet went about among the tents and wagons with food and water, like nurses through the wards of an infirmary. Here at one time the digging got behind hand : burials were slow ; and you might see women sit in the open tents keeping the flies off their dead children. . . I recollect overhearing a lamentation over some dear baby, that its mother no doubt thought the destroying angel should have been specially instructed to spare. I wish, too, for my own sake, I could forget how imperfectly one day I mourned the decease of a poor saint, who by clamor rendered his vicinity troublesome. He no doubt endured great pain, for he groaned shockingly until death came to his relief. He interfered with my own hard-gained slumbers, 1 and I was glad when death did relieve him. . . I happen to recall, as I write, that I had some knowledge somewhere of one of our new-comers for whom the nightmare revived and repeated, without intermission, the torment of his trying journey. As he lay, feeding life with long-drawn breaths, he muttered : 'Where's next water ? Team give out ! Hot, hot God, it's hot; stop the wagon stop the wagon stop the wagon!' . . . In a half-dreamy way I remember, or I think I remember, a crowd of phantoms like these." 2 One of the most ornate and comfortable dwellings characterizing this gloomy epoch of the hegira was that of Lorenzo Snow, a prominent figure in the church. As described by him 3 it was a log affair about thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide, with a roof of logs covered with dirt. The floor consisted of the earth, on which straw was scattered. Sheets covered the inner walls. The chimney was of sod. The lamps were hollow turnips, filled with oil or grease, from which protruded wicks. Yet in such habitations as these, or in the tents, brush shelters, wagons, sod hovels or caves, those who were able 1 Kane himself being at that time in the grip of the disease for a month. It was before the winter set in. 2 Kane, pp. 50-52. 3 In his "Biography." 1264 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA gathered in social conclave while not ministering to the sick or burying the dead, and cheered their own spirits by songs, simple games, stories, jokes or religious services. So the weary winter passed, and eventually, in April of 1847, welcome activity came once more. A pioneer corps of one hundred and forty-three picked men, taking with them seventy-three wagons and a little field-piece on wheels, was sent out in advance to choose a farther route for the main body and to discover, if possible, a new home. The daily routine of this advance guard was simple. Its members were awakened by bugle at five o'clock. They prayed, ate, and were under way by seven. They marched all day, ate when they could no longer march, prayed again at half-past eight and were asleep by nine, in wagons drawn up in a circle with the live stock inside and guards on duty. At Grand Island, on the Platte River, they halted briefly to consider whether they should adhere to the trail on the south side of the river used by Oregon emigrants, or, as a matter of pride, blaze a new path along the north bank of that stream. Pioneer pride won the debate, and the new road, so created, came to be known as the "Mor- mon Trail." 1 Poor forage was found, and the draught animals were kept going by feeding them part of the corn and wheat intended for the men. Guide posts were set up at intervals of ten miles, and written messages for the guidance of the ones to follow were fastened to them. On June IS they met a party of ten white men and from them learned "that the Utah country was beautiful." 2 South Pass was reached on June 26, and Green River was crossed by rafts on June 30. At that time many of the party were 1 Afterward followed by the Union Pacific Railway. 2 From a Ms. "History of Brigham Young." Quoted by H. H. Bancroft in "History of Utah," p. 257. 1266 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA ill with fever, and had been without bread for six weeks. Thence they pushed on through the rough country until July 14, when forty-four men, with 23 wagons, hurried still faster ahead. On July 19, after very hard work in making a road through a canon, two of the party ascended a hill and from it looked down somewhat as the search- ers for Kentucke had done about three-quarters of a century before into a promised land. They beheld the valley of the Great Salt Lake. One of the two men was Erastus Snow, and in after years 1 he described the moment in these words : "The thicket down the narrows, at the mouth of the canon, was so dense that one could not penetrate through it. I crawled for some dis- tance on my hands and knees through this thicket, until I was compelled to return, admonished to by the rattle of a snake which lay coiled up under my nose, having almost put my hand on him ; but as he gave me the friendly warning, I thanked him, and retreated. We raised on to a high point south of the narrows, where we got a view of the Great Salt Lake and this valley, and each of us, without saying a word to the other, instinctively, as if by inspiration, raised our hats from our heads, and then, swinging our hats, shouted. . . We could see the canes down in the valley, on what is now called Mill Creek, which looked like inviting grain, and thitherward we directed our course." Next day they were sowing seed. In the meantime a large body of the Saints, in obe- dience to instructions, had started from the Missouri on July 4 without waiting to learn the result of the pioneers' explorations. It was composed of about one thousand five hundred souls, with hundreds of wagons and a con- siderable amount of farm stock, and gained the Salt Lake valley late in September. The leaders of the migra- tion, having found a new home, returned with the news to the camp on the Missouri, reaching there on the last day of October. The winter of 1847-8 was passed by the Mormons on the Missouri with much less hardship than 1 In his "Address to the Pioneers," 1880. 1267 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA had distinguished the first cold season and in June of 1848 another extensive company set forth for Utah, arriving in September. Two years and a half had elapsed since the pilgrimage began in March of 1846. By the year 1853 the former population of Nauvoo or that part of it still living was virtually reassembled in the Utah valley. No sooner had the 1848 company attained its destina- tion than its members, and the other Mormons already in Salt Lake City, heard of the discovery of gold in Cali- fornia. When that strange news came the head men of the Church of Latter Day Saints issued the following proclamation: "The true use of gold is for paving streets, covering houses, and making culinary dishes; and, when the Saints shall have preached the gospel, raised grain, and built up cities enough, the Lord will open up the way for a supply of gold to the perfect satisfaction of His People. Until then, let them not be over-anxious, for the treasures of the earth are in the Lord's storehouse, and He will open the doors thereof when and where He pleases." So the Mormons remained at home to raise grain and build up cities. In his Philadelphia lecture of 1850 Kane said of them, in conclusion: "They mean to seek no other resting-place. . . They have at last come to their Promised Land, and, 'behold, it is a good land and large, and flowing with milk and honey': and here again for them, as at Nauvoo, the forge smokes and the anvil rings, and whirring wheels go round ; again has returned the merry sport of childhood, and the even- ing quiet of old age, and again dear house-pet flowers bloom in garden plots round happy homes. "It is these homes, in the heart of our American Alps . . . that hold out their welcome to the passing traveller. Some of you have probably seen in the St. Louis papers the repeated votes of thanks to them of companies of emigrants to California. These are often reduced to great straits after passing Fort Laramie, and turn aside to seek the Salt Lake Colony in pitiable plights of fatigue and destitution. The road, after leaving the Oregon trace, is one of increasing difficulty, 1 and when the last mountain has been crossed, passes along the bottom 1 An interesting description of this part of the overland road will be found in ex- tracts from the diary constituting James Abbey's "California: A Trip Across the Plains in 1850," embraced in chapter LV. 1268 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA of a deep canon, whose scenery is of an almost terrific gloom. . . . At every turn the overhanging cliffs threaten to break down upon the little torrent river that has worn its way at their base. Indeed, the narrow ravine is so serrated by this stream that the road crosses it from one side to the other, something like forty times in the last five miles. At the end of the ravine the emigrant comes abruptly out of the dark pass into the lighted valley on an even bench or terrace of its upper tableland. No wonder if he loses his self-control here. A ravishing panoramic landscape opens out before him, blue, and green, and gold, and pearl ; a great sea with hilly islands, rivers, a lake, and broad sheets of grassy plain, all set as in a silver-chased cup, within mountains whose peaks of perpetual snow are burnished by a dazzling sun. It is less these, however, than the foreground of old-country farms, with their stacks and thatchings and stock, and the central city, smoking from its chimneys and swarming with working inhabitants, that tries the men of fatigue- broken nerves. The 'Californeys' scream; they sing; they give three cheers and do not count them ; a few have prayed ; more swear ; some fall on their faces and cry outright." * Thus ended, in a success greater than could reasonably have been anticipated, the Mormon migration. Though the Mormons of Utah, as Kane said in 1850, did for a time greet other overland travellers with hospitality, there came a day when they threatened to close the region and trails controlled by them to all such transcontinental movement. And the deplorable crime of the Mountain Meadow, of which overland travellers were the victims, took its place beside Gnadenhutten and other equal cruel- ties of eastern commonwealths in the category of acts for which Americans of these days can make no reparation. Yet, after all, no nation however splendid has been free of such wrongdoing. The process of eradicating cruelty from ourselves has been a long one, and still goes on. If it is sometimes necessary, in looking backward, to dwell for a moment on things we would rather forget, there is recompense in the discovery that we are progressing. 1 Kane, pp. 75-76. CHAPTER LIV THE CRY OF "GOLD" ITS EFFECT CONDITIONS IN CALI- FORNIA DURING 1846 THE LAST GREAT RUSH OF THE PEOPLE BEGINS DARK SIDE OF OVERLAND TRAVEL ILLUSTRATED BY THE ADVENTURES OF THE DONNER PARTY IT IS TRAPPED IN THE MOUNTAINS BY SNOW EFFORTS TO ESCAPE MARCH OF THE "FIFTEEN" HUMAN FLESH AS FOOD LIFE IN THE BURIED CABINS A CHRISTMAS FEAST HALF THE EMIGRANTS ULTIMATELY RESCUED THE INDIAN GUIDES LATE in the summer of the year 1848 there spread through the country east of the Mississippi a strange and almost incredible tale from beyond the distant moun- tains that border the Pacific Ocean. It said gold had been found there; gold in quantities beyond computation. As men listened to the first versions of the persistent story, a change came over them. A new restlessness began to pervade the whole population. The eyes of the peoph shifted from their every-day affairs and were directed toward the vast, forbidding territory that stretched for two thousand miles between them and the rumored El Dorado. They gazed toward the unknown expanse just as a runner concentrates his vision on a tremendous obstacle that must be leaped. And such, indeed, it was. The successive surges of white pioneers had brought them at last to the farther 1270 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA side of the Mississippi River, where many settlements were springing up. During a period of about two hun- dred and twenty years the white race had advanced, as a compact body, some fifteen hundred miles into the in- terior of the continent, always bringing with them a power that knew no backward turning. Missouri and Iowa had become the frontier. But at that point the Caucasians had apparently paused, save for the comparatively small movements along the Missouri and toward Oregon and Utah. The bulwark of natives which lay just ahead of them, and popular ideas concerning the nature of the country extending to the Rocky Mountains and beyond, were acting somewhat as a brake to farther advance in bulk. A driblet of caravans such as the one whose ex- periences are about to be described had, it is true, been departing toward California for the last two years, but those expeditions had not been inspired by influences which affected the whole population. Nor until the tale of gold wrought its overwhelming effect was there much probability that the white men would, for several generations, make serious inroads on the immense country between their western outposts and the shores of the Pacific. According to general opinion the distances to be overcome were too great, the lands of the plains were sterile in comparison with those of the East, and the endless tumult of mountains was a barrier impossible of profitable conquest. Those beliefs and the orderly and reasonable processes of mankind, as such processes appeared to be unfolding in America, were swept away by one word within the space of a few weeks. "Gold!" came the cry. In it w r as contained the essence of all things craved, and mountains crumbled away. Though the distance and hardships 1271 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA still remained, they were seen but dimly. In one sense the west-bound emigrants moved as in a trance. To them the difficulties of the pilgrimage were phantasmagoria. Nothing was real but the mythical land that lay at the end of their wandering. The newspapers published during the last half of the year 1848 reflect a curious state of widespread emotional excitement. They printed all obtainable stories of the extraordinary mineral discovery, and at the same time apparently strove to allay the furore they created. Many periodicals made efforts to simulate calmness and so- briety, and some belittled the news even after its sub- stantial accuracy had besn established. One eastern paper 1 quoted the words of the San Francisco alcalde, who had said: "The streams are paved with gold the mountains swell in their golden girdle it sparkles in the sands of the valley it glitters in the coronets of the steep cliffs." And then the editor commented on the ut- terance as follows: "The author may have thought there was poetry in this, but he knew, as well as we do, that there was no truth in it." Finally, to cap the climax, the editor said there might be some truth in it, after all. The nation believed, and so began a unique rush of thousands of miles undertaken by millions of Ameri- cans, which was possible only under the combination of conditions that brought it about. Those conditions were a goal of fabulous riches, the shock of its un- expected announcement, and a national hystsria affect- ting a nervous, restless people who had passed through eight successive generations of continuous pio- neer exertion, conquest and excitement. The movement beginning on a large scale in 1849 was a final manifesta- 1 The "Literary American," of New York; December 30, 1848. 1272 POCKET GUIDE TO .CALIFORNIA; A SEA AND LAND ROUTE BOOK, CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF THE EL DORADO; ITS GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION , PEOPLE, CLIMATE, SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES, AND MINERAL WEALTH ; WITH A CHAPTER ON GOLD FORMATIONS; ALSO THE CONGRESSIONAL MAP, ASD THE VARIOUS ROUTES AND DISTANCES T8 THE GOLD REGIONS, TO WHICH IS ADDED THE Gold-Huater's Memorandum and Pocket Directory. BY J. E. SHERWOOD. Westward the course of-Emjiire takes its way." BERKKI.KV. KEW YORK: J. E. SHERWOOD, PUBLISHER AND PROPRIETOR. FOR SALE BY H. LONG & BROTHER, 46 ANN' STREET: BERFORD & CO., ASTOR HOUSE; AND THE PRLVCtt'AL BOOKSELLERS THROUGHOUT THE UNION. CALIFORNIA : BLKFORJJ & CO., AM) ('. W. HOLDEN,SAN FKANCISCO. 373. Title page of a guide book such as was bought by those who sought in- formation regarding the overland journey to California in 1849. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA tion of a quality that ran in the blood of the country. In the extent to which it affected the population; in the de- meanor of the emigrants, their stolid frenzy, quiet stub- bornness, and persistence in the face of obstacles avoided by normal men, the last westward march across the con- tinent presented in. some aspects the appearance of an action due to hypnotic influence. Nor was this phase of the phenomenon confined to the actions of those who made the journey. There was not a community, how- ever small, which did not contribute to the multitude of departing adventurers,, and it is very possible that every stay-at-home was united either by blood relationship or personal acquaintance to one or more of the west-bound army. Those who remained in the East were, as a con- sequence, affected by the movement to a degree no less intense though in a different way than the gold seek- ers themselves, and displayed their relation to it through an attitude equally pronounced. All eastern thought and action were for a time ruled by the new situation in the West, and a number of years elapsed before the public slowly returned to a normal attitude in harmony with altered conditions. The efforts of the men and women who took part in the final rush to the Pacific coast, and their experiences while on the way, constitute a drama in keeping with the theater that witnessed it. If the stage designed for the spectacle was vast and elemental, so were the human emo- tions there exhibited. If the scenery amid which the theme progressed was at once gloomy, tremendous, in- spiring, beautiful and foreboding, so also were the man- qualities of the countless figures in the tragedy. For it was a tragedy, as all acts of the multitude always are when born in the frenzy of inflexible determination. 1274 3 . A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA It so happens that the strangest events in the record of migrations from the Mississippi valley to California took place in 1846 and 1847, at the very outset of the move- ment and more than a year before gold was discovered. Those circumstances were embodied in the fate which overtook a wagon train of a hundred emigrants and re- sulted in the loss of forty-two of its members after trials seldom parallelled in the record of heroism and privation. The party was organized by George and Jacob Donner in Sangamon county, Illinois, and started from Spring- field in April of 1846. It contained men, women and children from Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Ten- nessee. But before turning to another phase of overland travel in a story of the Donner party's adventures it is desirable to summarize the conditions existing in California during the year of their occurrence. In the spring of 1846 the population of California, exclusive of Indians, was about ten thousand, of whom some eight thousand were native Mexicans and the other two thousand foreigners, in part from the United States and lately arrived. Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, of the United States Army Topographical Corps, was in the country at the head of a small exploring expedition. Fre- mont was at first received by the Mexican commander 1 of the territory in a friendly manner, but either because of the probability of war between the two countries or alarm over the number, character and demeanor of immigrants from the United States, the Mexican general suddenly changed his attitude and tried to expel all Americans from his military jurisdiction. The undesired settlers united to resist expulsion, took General Castro. 1276 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Dp. Store {ia cat by the banner i.ako Party, IMS. Foi full iiUon E iPrwa juiiotograj* by Thos. Houseworth & Co., Sao Francisco. 375. Scene of the tragedy at Donner Lake in 1846-1847. The Donner party, while on the trip across the continent by wagon train, was trapped in the mountains by the winter storms. Hastily built cabins were soon covered by snow to the depth of 15 or 20 feet. When the men ascended from the buried huts to get firewood, and plied their axes at the lowest visible parts of the tree trunks, they left stumps as here indicated by a photograph taken in later years. Forty-two of the ninety died after weeks of starvation, and, in some cases, the eating of flesh from those who succumbed. The others were saved by relief expeditions sent from California. forcible possession of the town of Sonoma, organized a convention there, and named William B. Ide as their leader. Ide, on June 18, issued a proclamation calling on the immigrants from the United States to rise and pro- claim their own sovereignty. On July 4, 1846, the Amer- icans issued a so-called declaration of independence at Sonoma, elected Fremont as Governor of the country, and unfurled a banner known as the Bear Flag. 1 Commo- dore Sloat, of the American navy, hoisted the United States national ensign over Monterey at about the same time, and immediately thereafter the settlers from the 1 It was a white banner with a red border and a grizzly bear in the center of the field. 1277 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA East, together with Fremont and his men, offered their services to Commodore Stockton who had succeeded Sloat and the irregular and independent proceedings of Sonoma were submerged in the more formal warfare with Mexico which followed. From that time California remained in control of American forces, and eventually passed under the political sway of the United States. 1 While these events unknown to the people of the East were transpiring on the Pacific coast, the small drift to California was already beginning, and the de- cidedly larger and more important exodus to the Oregon country was in full swing. The Donner party followed in the wake of the Oregon caravan of 1846, and some weeks behind it. Independ- ence, Missouri, was reached in May, and the Donners were there joined by a few individual emigrants such as always attached their vehicles to a large expedition for the sake of more safety. From that town the jump-off or real overland journey began, and when the party finally left Independence for California its two hundred wagons and thousand head of live stock stretched in a line two miles long over the prairie. Each canvas-covered prairie schooner was drawn, according to its size and load, by two, three or four pairs of oxen, yoked two abreast in the usual way, or by mules. Nothing that threatened disaster or differed radically from the experiences of numerous similar groups of emi- grants took place during the first three months. There 1 For an account of the first days of American control in California, together with a ory of the Bear Flag Party, see: "Biographical Sketch of the Life of William B. Ide," by Simeon Ide; "Scraps of history of the Bear Flag Party, see: "Biographical Sketch of the Life of William B. Ide," by Simeon California History Never Before Published," by Simeon Ide; "A Sketch of the Life of Com. Robert F. Stockton"; "Message from the President of the United States Transmitting Information on the Subject of California and New Mexico" (being Executive document No. 17 of the 31st Congress, 1st session; Jan. 21, 1850); and Fremont's reports. Simeon Ide's two little books (practically two editions of the same work) both contain William Ide's letter to Senator Wambaugh, giving his version of the Bear Flag cam- paign. 1278 5^ u TO H 3- o sr T3 5 5* S'd ~ t 3 a ^ ' a I 3 s> ^ - > a 3 a a " > ^i IL A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA were the usual quarrels between individuals, and Indians stole some cattle and caused occasional petty annoyance. Perhaps the most significant feature marking the first half of the journey was the development of a tendency on the part of the travellers to split into clannish groups. This resulted, to some extent, in a breakdown of that spirit of unity and common dependence so valuable to a little community engaged in a pilgrimage like theirs, iso- lated in an unknown wilderness and dependent on their own exertions for a successful termination of the enter- prise. But though a day was to come when the instant cooperation of all the members of the party might pos- sibly have saved it, yet the tendency mentioned one quite natural in the assemblage of a group made up of families from different localities and common to most such ex- peditions was not a cause of the final catastrophe. Things went fairly well until the party reached the neighborhood just east of Great Salt Lake, where the broken nature of the mountain system and the presenta- tion of alternative routes for farther progress resulted in a division of the caravan. The lake had to be passed by a detour either to the north or to the south. Thirteen mem- bers of the party took the northern line of march, by a trail leading from Fort Bridger northwest toward Fort Hall, and thence southwestward again. They reached their journey's end in California without serious troubb. The other eighty-seven, with whose fate we have now to deal, chose to move on by a supposedly practical route around the south shore of the lake. This was called "Hasting's Cut-off," and was reported to be shorter by three hundred miles than the northern path. For some days the party continued through the rough country and then fell into difficulties. Either they got off the trail 1280 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA if, indeed, wagons had often passed that way before or else had been misinformed. At any rate they found themselves in a position of exceeding difficulty. Some- times they were compelled to lower their wagons bodily over precipices by means of ropes, and at other times had to use all the oxen of the caravan in pulling the prairie schooners, one at a time, over bad places that stalled them. All this not only demanded extreme toil, but took up much time and depleted the emigrants' stock of provi- sions. Twenty-eight days were consumed in moving twenty-one miles. In those circumstances lay their dan- ger. Every California-bound caravan shaped its speed and plans to make certain the passage of the dreaded Sierra Nevada Mountains before early winter set in on that rugged and difficult range. The summer was now almost gone, the Donner party was still far distant from the Sierras, and its provender was dwindling fast. By the end of October the snows would come on the moun- tains. Still the travellers pressed forward as best they could, and sent one of their number ahead for help. On October 19 he returned to the wagons again, accompanied by two Indians and driving five mules loaded with provi- sions furnished by Captain Sutter, whose estate lay in the Sacramento valley of California. From the 19th to the 23d the party remained in camp near the present site of Reno, Nevada, meanwhile sending two other men for- ward for additional food. Once more they resumed the march, and in the high altitudes near Prosser creek, 1 found six inches of snow. The weary animals attached to the wagons were urged on and upward at all possible speed, but it was too late. At the top of the mountains the 1 About three miles from Trucked 1282 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA marchers encountered from two to five feet of snow, and could go no farther. They were prisoners. The day was October 28. Then was the time when agreement in council and common action in one supreme effort might have brought deliverance. The train had halted at Truckee Lake- called Donner Lake since the events here described and was scattered over the neighborhood for several miles, each family or group living in or near its wagons. For several days the different sections of the caravan acted in- dependently in various endeavors to proceed, but without success. Finally the uselessness of such isolated attempts was acknowledged, and all the emigrants were at last brought together for one determined struggle. Wagons were abandoned, since the folly of trying to move them through twenty or thirty miles of snow-covered moun- tains was obvious. A pack-train was formed, and in that shape the expedition started on its last march as an organ- ized body. The effort failed. Men, women, children, oxen and mules floundered through the snow until the hopelessness of the action was plain, 1 and then gave it up and got back to the camps as best they could. On their return the people held a council in which it was decided to kill the animals, prepare their carcasses for food and try once more on foot. This decision was never carried into effect. While they slept that night in their hastily built shelters a great snow came, and all knew what it meant. Most of the oxen and mules were covered up and never found. As soon as the downfall was ended some of the men cut poles and probed in the drifts for the buried animals, by which 1 They got as far as the precipice where the tracks of the Central Pacific Railway now meet the wagon road. 1284 " n 3 13 method a few of the frozen beasts were fortunately dis- covered. Other men set about the building of log cabins and the collection of wood for fuel. Storm followed storm; the little cabins were soon hidden from sight; and in a short time the emigrants were living beneath the snow. There was no outward sign of a human habitation in the dreary waste save an occasional hole, and icy steps that led downward. On days when the weather permitted them to do so the men came up from below, chopped down trees, cut them into pieces and dropped them into the cabins for firewood. They could only hew off such parts of the trunks as projected above the snow. When the scene was visited in after days, and measurements taken, it was found that many of the stumps thus left standing were from fifteen to twenty-two feet high. Under a sky-ava- lanche of that depth the members of the slowly lessening band fought for existence. Sometimes they visited one another. The meat obtained from frozen animals found by probing in the drifts lasted about six weeks. After that the people boiled ox hides into a sort of paste and lived on it. Their drink was melted snow. When the ox hides were gone they boiled the bones. There were many children some very young in the party. One of the emigrants kept a record of these and other things, and some of the circumstances he wrote down may be included in this narrative. Others may not be. Here are occasional entries from the diary of Patrick Breen: 1 Dec. 17. Pleasant; William Murphy returned from the mountain party last evening; Baylis Williams died night before last; Milton and Noah started for Donner's eight days ago ; not returned yet ; think they are lost in the snow. 1 His diary was published in full in the "Nashville Whig" of September 4, 1847. 1286 Dec. 20. Clear and pleasant. Mrs. Reed here; no account from Milton yet. Charles Burger started for Donner's ; turned back ; unable to proceed ; tough times, but not discouraged. Our hope is in God. Amen. Dec. 21. Milton got back last night from Donner's camp. Sad news; Jacob Donner, Samuel Shoemaker, Rhinehart, and Smith are dead ; the rest of them in a low situation ; snowed all night, with a strong southwest wind. Dec. 25. Began to snow yesterday, snowed all night, and snows yet rapidly; extremely difficult to find wood; uttered our prayers to God this Christmas morning; the prospect is appalling, but we trust in Him. Jan. 1, 1847. . . . Dug up a hide from under the snow yesterday ; have not commenced on it yet. Jan. 15. Clear again to-day. Mrs. Murphy blind, Landrum not able to get wood ; has but one axe between him and Keseberg. It looks like another storm. . . . Jan. 17. Eliza Williams came here this morning; Landrum crazy last night; provisions scarce; hides our main subsistence. May the Almighty send us help. Feb. 8. Fine, clear morning. Spitzer died last night, and we will bury him in the snow; Mrs. Eddy died on the night of the seventh. Feb. 15. Morning cloudy until nine o'clock, then cleared off warm. Mrs. . . . refused to give Mrs. . . . any hides. Put Sutler's pack hides in her shanty, and would not let her have them. Feb. 26. Hungry times in camp ; . . . Mrs. Murphy said here yesterday that she thought she would commence on Milton and eat him. I do not think she has done so yet; it is distressing. In the meantime, and on November 12, an unsuccess- ful effort to get over the mountains for help had been made by a small group of the emigrants. They got back to the camp alive. During the following month it was seen that all must perish if aid did not reach them. Many had already succumbed. So, in the middle of December, another party started out. It was composed of ten men and five women, and its members decided either to carry news of the situation to those who could bring relief, or else die in the endeavor. They knew there was no chance for them if their plan was not successful, and saw they might as well meet the end in one spot as another. Those 1287 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA who set out on December 16th to make their way through the mountains, over snow from ten to fifty feet deep, are known in western history as The Fifteen. Four miles were put behind thsm on the first day; six on the second; five on the third. The members of the Fifteen did not speak as they went forward. Some were made blind by the glare of the white wilderness, and these were led by the others. Such apology for food as the party had at starting was soon gone. It lasted for three days. At night they lay on the snow. The first to fall out of the group was a man who did not rise to his feet one morning when the others were ready to start. One of the women approached him and asked if he was coming. "Yes," he answered, "I am coming soon." On the fourth day another of the men found in his clothing a fragment of frozen bear meat hidden there by his wife, wrapped in a scrap of paper on which were the words, "Your own dear Eleanor." She and her children at the camp were without food. A storm began, and the little band sat down and waited. Somebody suggested that one of them die for the others, and they agreed. All drew lots even the women. Patrick Dolan got the fatal slip, but the others could not decide who should kill him. so they rose up and staggered on. The snow turned to sleet. By great exer- tion they made fire, but it fell in and disappeared, and when they leaned over the hole through which it had fallen they heard, far below, the rush of a torrent. The storm became a tornado. At midnight the first one died a man. Another, dying, pleaded with his wife, daugh- ters and companions to eat him and thus save their own lives for the sake of those at the lake. Then he died. All lay down, covered themselves with their blankets, and 1288 A MINER. 380. At the mines. Realization of the hope that had sustained the pilgrims in their marches. Sketch of a miner by the English artist, Armstrong, printed by the Placer Times and Transcript, of Sacramento, on January 1, 1852. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA were soon hidden by the falling snow. Dolan went crazy, escaped from shelter, was pursued, caught, fled again and again, was recaptured, and finally he died. Then morning came. It was Christmas Day. They had been away from the camp for nine days, without food for four days, and without fire for two and a half days. The matches were wet, but a woman took off one of her inner garments and by sparks from a flint they again got fire, roasted human flesh, ate it, and lived. In this spot the party remained until December 29th. Those who survived divided into groups so that no family need eat its own dead. The heart of a boy was thrust through with a stick and broiled over the coals, and his sister beheld it. She endured it because she was fighting for her own life in order to save the lives of her own baby, mother, brothers and sisters back at the camp beside the lake. Unless she and the ones with her lived, those others and fifty more would die. Accompanying the Fifteen, yet not included in its membership, were the two Indians who had come with the relief train from Sutter. They were the guides of the whites. No one else knew the country. The Indians would not eat. They went apart, built a fire of their own under a tree and sat there, not even watching. Finally the Fifteen now become Eleven ate their moccasins, and then the strings of their snow-shoes. Soon after this the Indians saw glances that made them fly in the dark- ness. For four days more the Eleven wandered, and then another died. His wife gave the body that the others might still keep up the fight. On the morning of January 7, while stumbling ahead, the human skeletons found bloody tracks in the snow, and 1290 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA after a time came again upon the Indians. The two red men, still living but unable to move, were lying where they had last fallen. With their eyes they followed the halting progress of those who approached them. There were Seven in the group two men and five women. Slowly the whites went past, and then, in turn, staggered and fell. One of the two white men had with him a wife who had saved his life by cutting flesh from a dead man's body and feeding it to him. She, in turn, was starving. Lying near by was another woman whose husband he had killed by accident months before. Three other figures on the snow were women who had left children at the lake. The white man got up, and went back toward the dying Indians. The others heard two shots. By and by the Seven went on once more, and in a few days they found other tracks tracks that led to a little Indian camp. They had won the fight. So frightful was the appearance of the survivors that the Indian chil- dren fled in terror, and the squaws wailed. The Indians fed them with all the food they themselves possessed, which was bread made from pounded acorns. For seven days more the red natives guided the little group, and then, even in sight of the Sacramento valley, the emi- grants fell down again. They could go no farther. So the Indians, themselves weak, lifted one white man and carried him over the last fifteen miles that he might tell his story, and got him to a ranch. Thirty- two days had elapsed since the start from Donner Lake, forty miles away. The other six emigrants were brought in, a courier crossed the flooded Bear River on two logs to take the news to Sutler's Fort, and the organization of a relief expedition was instantly begun. 1291 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA It is needless to recite some of the details at the camp during the march of the Fifteen. The glue made from hides gave out, and so did the bones of the animals. The children in one cabin cut up a piece of carpet, singed it in a fire and ate it. On Christmas Eve a few of the chil- dren got together in one of the buried cabins and told stories to one another of the Christmases of other days. They had a party, filling cups with snow that they sipped with spoons, pretending it was custard. They sang songs and played "hide-the-handkerchief." One mother had saved a few beans and grains of rice, and had hid them, long before, for Christmas Day, to- gether with a piece of bacon two inches square. Of these she made a thin soup, and when her children smelled the strange aroma they slowly rose, as in a dream, and crept toward the stove. Then their mother took the cover from the boiling pot and let them look. As a bean or grain of rice would pop up for an instant the children, watching, made inarticulate cries and clutched at one another. At last those who still lived became too weak to chop down any more trees. Occasionally they climbed up from the huts to behold the daylight, and look about them. One evening it was February 19, 1847 two women had thus ascended from one of the buried cabins. The daughter of one was dying. As they stood there they heard a distant shout a sound that could not come from the lips of one who was starving. Others down below heard it also, for the cry carried far in the still air of the solitude, and soon there appeared at the tops of the tunnels a few faces over which the skin was very tightly drawn, and from which bright eyes peered strangely. Help had come at last. A small party, after tremendous effort, had reached the camp 1292 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA --- -~ . . ;--_ A CALIFORNIA CABIN. ; 381. Home of a party of California miners. But it is doubtful if firearms were kept so far out of reach, unless the one attached to the roof constituted a reserve. from the Sacramento valley. When the rescuers were asked if the Fifteen were safe, they lied. Four expeditions in all were sent by the settlers already in California to aid the wagon train trapped in the moun- tains, and by their help forty-five of the emigrants were finally saved. Twenty-three started over the mountains with the first relief party, which in turn was overwhelmed by a storm and almost succumbed. Had it not been met by the second expedition all its members, together with the men, women and children in its care must have perished. Some who went in charge of the first relief did die. Of these one was a man too weak to keep on, and who was left sitting beside a fire, smoking his pipe. He waved the 1293 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA others a good-by as they started on again without him. He was a brave man, and more than that. For as he sat there, alone, his near approach to the inevitable gave him a strange, exaltsd power in his weakness, and he wrote a few lines that were found, long afterward, beside his frozen body. They read : Ah, after many roving years How sweet it is to come Back to the dwelling place of youth, Our first and dearest home ; To turn away our wearied eyes From proud, ambitious towers And wander in those summer fields, The scene of boyhood's hours. Ah, I am changed since last I gazed Upon that tranquil scene, And sat beneath the old witch-elm That shades the village green, And watched my boat upon the brook It was a regal galley And sighed not for a joy on earth Beyond the happy valley. So was a poet born, and lived for an hour, and died. One Californian in the third relief, a man of herculean strength 1 took charge of seven of the starved emigrants, and often carried two of them on his back at once. It has been seen that one of the leaders of the wagon o train Jacob Donner perished at the camp in December. The fate of George Donner, and of George's wife, Tam- sen, 2 remains to be told. As each rescue party reached the buried cabins a choice had to be hastily made regarding those who were to be carried out. In this way numerous families were divided. Parents sent their children to safety first, whenever possible. When the third group of 1 John Stark. His father was a Virginia man who had made the trip through the wilderness to Kentucky in Boone's time. The son inherited his father's spirit and qualities. 2 Tamsen Donner was a woman of exceptional qualities, abilities and education. 1294 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Californians had fought their way to the lake, about the middle of March, George Donner, as he himself knew, was slowly dying and could not be moved. The couple had two children. Donner told his wife to leave him and accompany them, since she also would face certain death if she remained. The hour came for the departure of the rescuers and those who were to go with them. Tamsen Donner took her children to the appointed spot. There she bade them good-by, turned, and started again toward the distant cabin where her husband lay. They watched her for a long time, but she never looked back. To do that was the one thing beyond her strength. Many days after- ward, when the purpose for which she had remained had been fulfilled, Tamsen Donner started over the mountains, L a-J AJctct rtTcmcnr in. (gait Jvrancigco. 382. The Fremont Hotel in San Francisco. From a sketch by Frederick Kurz in 1851. 1295 all alone and without any food. "I must see my children," she said. She went seven miles before lying down for the last time. The story of the Donner party, 1 in its main details, shows but one aspect of an overland trip. It presents the extreme of hardship and suffering, both physical and mental. No other similar caravan, so far as known, had a like ordeal while trying to cross the western part of the country in the days when wagon trains were the reliance of the people during the long journey. That feature of its experience wherein it differs so woefully from all others the eating of human flesh while in extremity has given to the Donner expedition a separate place in the history of those days. The act in question has since been the basis of many discussions regarding the moral standard of the expedition's members. Every man can read the cir- cumstances and decide the point for himself, though no man, by any exercise of the imagination, can put himself in the position of the Fifteen. Only one among those who were saved was ever looked upon with any aversion. 2 The Americans already in California of all others best able to appreciate the facts received the rescued emigrants with hospitality and delight, and did all for them that could be done. These things happened in an attempt to cross America in 1846 and 1847. And yet, however freely we may con- cede to the white men and women a moral right to live under the conditions that surrounded them, by the only means they had, there persists a mental picture of the two 1 For many years, and until quite recently, the history of this band of emigrants and especially of certain phases of its suffering have been distorted. A careful recital of the organization, adventures and fate of the expedition is available in "A His- tory of the Donner Party," by C. F. McGlashan, Sacramento, 1877. McGlashan's work, based on statements of the remaining survivors, and on other authentic materials, tells the whole story. It is doubtless the most elaborate history of any individual overland expedition that has been prepared. 2 And in that case perhaps unjustly. See McGlashan's "History." 1296 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Indian guides who went and sat under a tree. It is a strange circumstance that the white travellers who spanned the red man's continent at greater cost of suffer- ing than any others, should have been guided at last by members of the vanquished race, and that they could only complete their journey through strength given to them by dead and living Indians. CHAPTER LV THE SUFFERING OF THE DONNER PARTY NOT TYPICAL OF CARAVAN TRAVEL TO CALIFORNIA THE ROAD BE- COMES CROWDED -A LATER NARRATIVE, SHOWING THE EXPERIENCES OF THE MARCHERS FROM 1849 ONWARD DIARY OF JAMES ABBEY HE AND HIS COMPANIONS CROSS THE CONTINENT IN FOUR MONTHS AND SIXTEEN DAYS STAGE-COACHES AP- PEAR THEY START ONCE A MONTH FROM IN- DEPENDENCE AND SALT LAKE CITY ACTION OF CONGRESS IN 1857 ITS RESULT THE OVERLAND MAIL FINAL CONDITIONS BEFORE THE COMING OF THE RAILWAY NO such tribulations as those experienced by the Don- ner party could befall an overland caravan in 1849 or afterward. By that time every practicable path leading across the plains and over the mountains was thronged with human beings, horses, mules, cattle and wagons. The scenes along the way often resembled those incident to a road in the neighborhood of a large city. Sometimes hundreds of vehicles and thousands of animals were in view at one time and the procession of creaking wagons, foot-travellers and horsemen con- tinued without interruption from dawn to nightfall. All strove to press ahead as swiftly as possible, yet all, when occasion required, were ready to lend aid to those in any sort of trivial embarrassment or serious trouble. 1298 There were innumerable circumstances wherein help was needed, and it was always forthcoming. In truth, those in the rear who gave their aid to others in an emer- gency were also frequently helping themselves, for if the mishap befell at a ferry, or in a gorge, or on a steep hill or mountain, those behind were likewise halted until the blockade was relieved. Nor were any of the moving throng permitted to want for food or any other attention so long as provender and sympathy were within reach. Those canvas-covered wagons, and the camps at night, were the scenes of births, christenings, marriages, sickness and deaths. Almost every aspect of pioneer life came again into view during the long journey, and every day was a day of toil. Any present-day description of the scenes attending the long overland march which was made by hundreds of thousands 1 between 1849 and 1868, must necessarily fall short of the reality, nor should it be attempted. No man who had not himself passed through the experience could adequately tell it. Generalities are not enough to bring us face to face with the significant details of which it was composed, and without which no vivid and truthful pic- ture of it can be obtained. So, just as we turned to the journal of William Calk for an invaluable story of the Wilderness Road to Kentucke, we have need again for a similar narrative which may bring to us a real under- standing of the tribulations of the march to California. There are a number of such records, and among them there is one that perhaps stands forth preeminent for its value to these pages. It was written day by day, and 1 In addition there were probably a million or more whose destinations and future homes lay at points east of the Rocky Mountains. 1299 SAN FRANCISCO IN NOVeM8ER,184. SAN FRANC'SCO ! NOVEMBER i8AB. 383. Two views of San Francisco. The topmost is engraved from a sketch done by the artist, J. C. Ward, in November of 1848. The other is the reproduction of a sketch made by Bayard Taylor a year afterward. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA never suffered the later misfortune of being made into a pretentious book through the blighting process of re- writing. It was written in 1850, during the first surges of the human flood, when the road was choked with eager pilgrims. And finally, it was written by a buoyant, opti- mistic youth who gloated in work and who admitted he had found what he sought. Here begins the diary of James Abbey, 1 opulent in all those qualities for which, to-day, we often seek in vain. He departed from the town of New Albany, in Indiana, on April 3 of 1849, and left his jumping-off place on April 14th. Thence he proceeds: April 14th. After we had got all our cattle off the boat, and packed our goods in the wagon, we succeeded in getting over the river at St. Joseph last night, at 10 o'clock, in the Indian nation, where we camped on a dry sand bar. April 18th. The fatigues of a rainy night are over. I am seated again to note incidents as they pass. I endeavored to cook breakfast, but with wet wood and a horrid toothache I can assure you it is anything but a pleasant job. The boys are all seated round our camp-fire, patiently waiting for a hot cup of coffee. . . . Our camp consists of some 100 wagons. . . . After eating a hearty supper all hands volunteered and hauled up a big pile of logs for our camp-fire, around which all seated themselves to hear some music. Billy Reissinger was elected leader of the band. Our music consisted of cornet, ophicleide, trumpet, fiddle, guitar and a flute. They played "Home, Sweet Home" and "Life on the Ocean Wave." April 21st. Cold rainy day, with a hard wind. ... I thought of home, my mother, sister and friends. Oh ! how gloomy my thoughts ran. April 26th. . . . All turned out by 4 o'clock and had breakfast, by five ready for a start. . . . We arrived at a small creek some eight miles from our morning's camp, when we found the banks steep and muddy, and where the ford had been filled up with brush to keep the cattle from sinking into the mud. . . . Duncan was the next to cross, so he drove into it and sunk into the mud up to his axles. There being about 80 wagons waiting to cross, all hands went to work to help 1 "California. A Trip Across the Plains, in the Spring of 1850, Being a Daily Record of Incidents of the Trip Over the Plains, the Desert, and the Mountains, Sketches of the Country, Distances from Camp to Camp, etc., and containing Valuable Information to Emigrants, etc., etc." By James Abbey. New Albany, Ind. : 1850. 1301 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA out, some digging, some bringing saplings, some prying, etc., and, with the aid of eight extra yoke of cattle, finally fetched him out. After mending the road we all got over safe and sound. . . . Killed eight big rattlesnakes. . . . Made 20 miles to-day. April 27th. . . . At 8 o'clock we passed eight or ten graves of last year's emigrants. . April 30th. . . . The day is cold and the wind is blowing so hard that it is almost impossible to stand up, but the boys say we are bound for California and it will never do to stop for wind, so we toddled on. Travelled to-day 15 miles over a good road. May 4th. We met two mule teams from Fort Laramie, who report no grass this side of the Platte, and the emigrants ahead of us had set fire to all of last year's growth. . . . While grazing our stock at noon I counted 200 horse teams, 80 mule teams, and 60 ox teams pass by here. May 9th. . . . The road this morning is very good. A train of horse teams is passing us, a mile or more in length. May 13th. Eleven o'clock passed by Fort Kearney. ... It is said that three thousand two hundred wagons had passed the fort before us, and three hundred more are now in the vicinity. We are now surrounded by several large trains in full view . . . cooked our supper with dry grass. May 16th. . . . We find many articles strewed along the road, such as log chains, ox yokes, horse collars, cooking stoves, etc., which the emigrants have been compelled to throw away to lighten their wagons. . compelled, for want of wood, to cook our suppers with buffalo chips. Made 17 miles to-day. May 17th. We had a meeting to organize our companies and to elect a captain. Mr. R. R. Stevens, of Louisville, was duly elected. It is a fine selection. . . . Our train consists of seven wagons. May 18th. We travelled some ten miles, came to a spring of pure cold water, which to a thirsty and weary traveller in this region nothing can be more luxurious, after travelling all day under the burning hot sun, with throats parched with heat and dust. May 19th. . . . We are still blessed with good health, mam- moth appetites and getting on as finely as we could desire. After breakfast I took a stroll some four miles from our camp. I had rambled some distance from the roadside and came to a new-made grave. It was some poor fellow, and from appearances had not been made long. The wolves had been trying to dig it up. . May 20th. We started very early this morning, and before the sun had risen had left some 300 wagons behind us. ... While at dinner to-day I went out and counted about 120 wagons in a quarter of a mile square; they were principally horse teams. 1302 OVERLAND TO TEXAS! ^ . _ THE SAN ANfONIO AHD SAN DIEGO MAIL LINE Which has been in successful operation since July, 185G. are ticketing PAS- SENGERS through to San Antonio, Texas, and also to all intermediate Stations. Passengers and Express Matter forwarded in NEW COACHES, drawn by six mules over the entire length of our Line, excepting from San Diego to Port Yuma, a distance of 180 miles, which we cross on mule back. Passengers GUARANTEED in their tickets to ride in Coaches, excepting the 180 miles, as above stated. Passengers are ticketed from San Diego to PORT YUMA, EL PASO, MARICOPA WELLS, FORT BLISS, TUCSON, FORT DAVIS, LA MESILLA, FORT LANCASTER FORT FILLMOKE, FORT HUDSON and SAN ANTONIO. The Coaches of our Line leave semi-monthly from each end, on the 9th and 20th of each month, at 6 o'clock, A. if. An armed escort travels through the Indian country, with each Mail Train for the protection of the Mails and Passengers. Passengers are provided with Provisions during the trip, except where the Coach stops at Public Houses along the Line, at which each Passenger will pay for his own Meal. Each Passenger is allowed thirty pounds of Personal .Baggage, exclusive of blankets and arms. Passengers from San Francisco can take the C. S. N. Co.'s splendid Steamer SENATOR, Capt. Tom Seeley, which leaves San Francisco on the 3d and ISth of each Mouth, and con- nects with our Line. Passengers going to San Antonio can take a Daily Line of Four-Horse Coaches to Indianola, from which place there is a Semi-Weekly Line of splendid Mail Steamers to New Orleans. FAKE on this Line aa follows, including Rations: San Diego to Fort Yuma. . .$40 San Diego to El Paso $125 " " San Antonio. 200 " Tucson 80 Intermediate Stations beyond Fort Yuma, 15 cents per mile. {^"Passengers can obtain all necessary outfits in San Diego. fS~For further information, and for the purchase of Tickets, apply at the Office of the Company in this City, or to Corner Sacramento and Montgomery Sts. (Freeman & Co.'s Express Office,) Sjljtf ?IBjl!f43i!3\3(!)o R. E. DOYLE, )p ROPRIETORe SAX DIEGO, Oct. l, 1858. G. H. GIDDIXGS. f * 384. By stage-.coach to California. Each passenger was allowed 30 pounds of baggage besides his blankets and firearms. A hundred and eighty miles of the stage-coach trip was performed on muleback. Armed escort with every vehicle. Ticket, $200. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA May 23rd. Saw to-day large droves of buffaloes on the opposite side of the river. . . . Not a cloud to be seen in the heavens, nor a shrub or tree on the plains over which we have travelled to-day. May 24th. . . . We travelled some three hours when we arrived at the head of Ash Hollow. We descended into it down a steep preci- pice, some seventy-five feet, where our wagons had to be let down with ropes. May 29th. . . . Our oxen as well as ourselves suffer much from the effects of buffalo gnats, which are very numerous in this country. May 31st. I was put on guard last night, from 12 till 4, and had orders by our captain to turn all hands out by 2 o'clock to make an early start. By 3 o'clock we were on our way rejoicing, and before the sun had risen we had left some 80 teams in our rear. . . . Passed many wagons abandoned and destroyed. To-day's travel, 22 miles. You must excuse all errors, as I write seated upon a bucket, with a board on my knees, a candle in a lantern, with the wind blowing and extremely cold. June 4th. Two months from home, sweet home, and all safe in camp, in fine health and spirits. . . . After partaking of a hearty break- fast we take our station in an ox train some three miles in length. . . . Still in view of the snow-capped peak of Laramie, which looks within five miles of you, but is in reality fifty. . . . Cooking our supper with sage brush. June 6th. . . . At 7 we stopped for breakfast on the banks of the Platte, about twenty-five miles from the upper ferry, where we learn there are nine hundred wagons waiting to cross. June 7th. . . . At 10 a.m. we reached the ferry and found about two hundred wagons ahead of us. ... We waited till even- ing before it came to our turn. . . . There are three boats constantly running, which take nothing but the wagons, leaving the animals to swim the river. The fare for ferrying a wagon is four dollars. June 8th. . . . . The soil and water of the country through which we are now travelling are impregnated with alkali, salt and sul- phur, rendering water dangerous and unfit for use. I saw to-day sixteen skeletons of cattle that had died last year from drinking this alka- line water, all within two steps of one another. June llth. Troubled all last night with the jaw ache and this morning find my face swollen as big as a peck measure, but still able to do duty at breakfast. ... It is astonishing how ox teams can travel. Their feet have been very sore, but travelling in the hot sand has greatly improved them. June 12th. We were up and on our way by 5 o'clock. At 10 we arrived at the second crossing of the Sweet Water River, and, finding it too high to ford, we took our provisions out of our wagon and stretching a rope across the river we ferried our things across in 1304 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA a little less than no time. . . . After travelling about a mile up the bank of the river we came to another crossing, where we again had to ferry. Here we were compelled to carry all our things by hand a quarter of a mile over a cliff of rocks and through a pass barely large enough for one person to rub through. We took the running gears of our wagon all apart, and ferried them up the river on our bed [wagon bed] by means of a long rope stretching some distance up the river. . All of us pretty well tired out. . . . Travelled some five miles by moonlight to make up for lost time. June 13th. At 5 in the evening we came to the fifth crossing of Sweet Water, which we forded without difficulty, the water being up to our axles. June 14th. In a couple of hours we again struck the Sweet Water. . . . After having hitched up and travelling for about an hour we once more struck the Sweet Water, which seemed to haunt us as an evil genius. On leaving the river we travel over miserable, rough, rocky roads, very dangerous to wagons. June 15th. . . . We are now in about two miles of the summit of the dividing ridge between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It being a beautiful night, we concluded to go through the pass by moonlight. June 17th. Shoved out this morning at 5 o'clock, amid a violent snowstorm, travelled on till 10 o'clock, when we reached the forks of the two roads the one to the right taking you to Sublete's Cutoff or Fort Hall, and that to the left to the Great Salt Lake. . . . We struck off on the Salt Lake road. From the appearance of the two roads, I should suppose that nine-tenths of the wagons had taken the Cutoff. June 18th. . . . The mirage has deceived us several times to- day. While worn with travel and thirsting for water, there might be seen, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, and then in front, representations of large rivers, lakes and streams of pure water; but as we would advance in the direction whence they would appear they would recede or fade away, leaving nothing to view but the barren desert. June 21st. The sun rose beautifully this morning, and we were off by 6 o'clock. An hour's journeying brought us to another tributary of Green River called Ham's fork, which we forded, the beds of our wagons having to be raised six inches on account of the depth of the water. We all got over safely, however. June 22nd. We travelled sixteen miles to-day under a broiling sun and over a dusty road without finding a drop of water for our cattle. June 23rd. . . . For six hours we travelled over rough, rocky roads, and through narrow passes in the mountains, extremely dangerous for wagons. June 24th. . . . We reached Bear River and struck the ford 1305 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA but finding the water too deep and rising fast we unpacked our wagons and ferried with the beds. . . . The water is clear and cold, and foaming and dashing over a bed of rough rocks, which makes it dan- gerous to the cattle in crossing. . . . The country through which we had been travelling the twenty-four hours before reaching Bear River presented a most woe-begone appearance. . . . To-day we only made 12 miles. June 25th. . . . Many persons are passing us on pack mules and horses. I have also seen a great number on foot with their packs on their backs. But in my opinion ox teams are the best. . Richey & Co.'s wagon upset and spilt out their "plunder," but doing no other damage. June 26th. . . . 3 o'clock brought us to the summit of a high ridge, the ascent to which is most beautiful. As we leave this summit the tug of war commences. We travel down sides of mountains which present the most gloomy aspect upon which a human being ever gazed. The road is an awful one, and many of the boys think we are in full view of the elephant [meaning the climax of difficulty]. Here the pass is so narrow and deep that the rays of the sun never penetrate to the bottom. The scene is one of grandeur, but, at the same time, one of solemnity and loneliness. June 27th. We have travelled six hours this forenoon over a road still more rugged than that of yesterday, and are still in a deep, narrow pass of the mountains. -. . . This creek we are compelled to cross thirteen different times. The road here is difficult almost beyond con- ception . . . we encamped for the night in a deep ravine . the road being so thickly covered with dust that you cannot see the forward cattle more than half the time. June 28th. . . . We travelled six hours down a narrow ravine which leads to the valley of the Salt Lake over the most miserable road ever travelled by civilized man. June 29th. Left camp at 6 o'clock, and in an hour reached the Great City of the Salt Lake. . . . The houses of the city are principally built of logs. Some few, however, which serve as the dwell- ings of the aristocracy are built of sun-dried brick, covered with mud, and one story high. . . . Butter here is worth 75 cents pound ; milk, 50 cents gallon ; meat, 75 cents pound. A wagon such as can be purchased at home for $120 is here worth five hundred, and other articles in proportion. June 30th. It has been truly said that man was made to mourn, but still there are some bright spots in the pathway of human life. This morning, from some cause, I hardly know what, I felt happier than usual. . . . Whether it was such a feeling as this, or one of thank- fulness that we had got thus far on our journey safely after so many hard- ships and difficulties, I know not, but certain it is my spirits were much 1306 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA more buoyant this morning than their wont since the commencement of this hazardous journey. July 1st. . . . We all resumed our journey this morning with bright hopes for the future. June [July] 2nd. . . . At 10 o'clock we reached the ferry of Weber River, and found about twenty wagons ahead of us. It was one o'clock before we got over the river, the ferriage being four dollars. July 4th. The day never to be forgotten. . . . We had con- sulted together the previous evening, and resolved to celebrate the day as customary at home, so far as we had the ability to do so. ... At about 8 o'clock a procession was formed, which marched around a delightful grove of box elder, where a salute was fired. Upon returning to camp, the Declaration of Independence was read by our messmate, Frost, of Ky. . . . Toasts suitable to the occasion were drank, a salute of firearms accompanying each sentiment. Patriotic and senti- mental songs were sung, and on the whole I have no doubt the Glorious Fourth was celebrated with as much spirit and zeal in this far-distant valley as in our own state. . July 7th. . . . Our New Albany friends, Thomas S. Kunkle and Christopher Fox, took breakfast with us this morning. They had left their teams at the Salt Lake and were packing through on horse- back. They look well, are in fine spirits, and expect to go through in thirty days. July 8th. The weather last night having been too cold for mos- quitoes, w r e all slept soundly till four o'clock, when we aroused from our grassy couches, partook of our hasty meals with a most hearty good will, and resumed our journey. . . . July 9th. . . . We were brought up at the brow of a steep road on the spurs of the mountain, presenting a most dismal prospect for the passage of a wagon. We took all the cattle out of our wagon ex- cept three yoke, and, putting ropes across each side of the bed, all hands got on the upper side of the mountain [road] and held on like good fellows to prevent the wagon from upsetting in the creek, and in half an hour had all scaled the walls of the precipice without an accident. July 10th. . . . I can fix no definite idea of the number of teams and persons which have travelled this road. We can see trains of wagons for a number of miles in advance of us. ... We have any amount of company. Our position is in about the center of the train of emigrants, all apparently getting on finely. About nine o'clock this morning we arrived at a creek with steep banks, where we found a number of emigrants digging a grave for a young man. . . . We made twenty miles to-day, over mountainous roads, being in danger of sliding down to the bottom of the innumerable hills at every step of our progress. July llth. . . . In the course of the day we passed seven dead 1308 -1 jq ife -I < M O ft) ui 5^ o- O V! If! IgO 2. c 01 2 o a 3 " SI 0.0 -3- ... Q. horses, four mules, and three oxen, a fact which speaks plainly enough of the nature of the country through which we are passing. July 12th. I was aroused at two o'clock this morning to prepare breakfast. . . . The dust is so deep as to cover our boot-tops, and rises in such clouds as to prevent the driver from seeing his teams. At six o'clock we encamped for the night on the banks of a sloughy creek; here we found tolerable water after skimming the surface of frog slime to the depth of three inches. July 13th. The morning was disagreeably cold, the water in our buckets having frozen during the night to the thickness of a dime. . . . This has been the most fatiguing morning's march we have yet experi- enced. The road dusty and the sun pouring down upon us with such intense heat as to cause the perspiration to roll off my face in large drops. This contrast in the night and day the one with the tempera- ture of the frigid and the other of the torrid zone, and being exposed to both with scarcely any protection makes it very trying on the constitution. July 14. . . . The mountains on our left are still covered with snow. We passed the grave of a poor fellow by the name of Robin- son, from Rushville, 111., who had just died of bilious fever. We also encountered on the way twenty dead horses, four mules and two oxen. To-day we made twenty miles. July 16th. . . . Used the last of our stock of sugar at breakfast. . . . Since travelling through this valley I have counted more than a hundred corpses of horses and mules which have mired and died in these swamps. Numerous Indians were seen prowling about to-day for the purpose of stealing. A train of horse and mule teams in ad- vance of us had twelve horses and ten mules stolen from them in one night. The Indians caught the man who was on guard, gagged him stripped him stark naked, and wounded him in several places with arrows. Another poor fellow, on a previous night, was shot in the back of the head, and died in less than twenty-four hours. . . . We have to keep strict guard at night. Twenty miles more of our long journey has been accomplished to-day. July 17th. Last night we put our shooting irons in good order tor the Indians if they should feel disposed to trouble us. Before retiring to rest we fired a grand salute to show the redskins that we w r ere about in case of necessity. . . . July 18th. The morning was clear and very cold, our blankets being covered with frost. . . . Pushed on through the canon and over one of the roughest roads we have traveled since leaving home. . . . July 19th. . . . For the past few days grass has been very thin, and my opinion is that in less than two weeks from the present time it will be dried up. In which case, what will be the fate of the large crowd behind us? 1310 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA PECOS RIVER, 387. A Texas ferry. Ropes were used, as on many of the Oregon trail ferries. The hardest part of such work, especially in crossing a stream like the Pecos, lay in pulling the wagon up the steep bank. July 21st. . . . This is an awful looking place; no grass; nothing growing but wild sage and a few small patches of prickly pear. Dis- tance to-day eighteen miles over a sandy plain. July 22nd. . . . Travelled twelve miles after night and found water but no grass. This is a gloomy looking place. We hope to be through in twenty days more. Made to-day eighteen miles. July 24th. . . . The prospect before us begins to look brown. No grass this side of the Sink, and what may be left by the emigrants in advance of us is parched up by the sun ; so we are fearful that we shall not get our teams through. We have no fears for ourselves, as we are within 250 miles of the Gold Region, and could make that on foot; still we are in hopes of not being driven to that necessity. . . . The road has been awful ascending and descending high sand bluffs, sinking in some places two feet deep. . . . Distance sixteen miles. July 23rd. . . . The boys complain that they are nearly worn out, having been compelled to swim the river last night to cut grass for the cattle, and then having to carry it on their backs for three- quarters of a mile through swamps and water up to their waists. But we are blessed with good health, are no ways dispirited, and the best of feeling prevails between all the members of our mess. ... In the course of the afternoon we counted twenty dead cattle, forty horses, and sixteen mules ; also some fifty wagons that had been destroyed or burnt by emigrants intending to pack through. 1311 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA July 24th. At ten o'clock last night we got safely through the sixteen-mile desert . . . but finding no grass, we tied our cattle to the wagons. July 27th. We were on the road by sunrise this morning, but had proceeded only a few miles when, hearing that a grassless and waterless barren of some sixteen miles was ahead, we turned our cattle out to graze. . . . There is said to be a large meadow, abundantly supplied with grass, some twenty miles in advance of us. July 29th. . . . We filled our kegs with water, being the only drinkable water we shall get till we have crossed a desert of sixty- five miles in advance. At one o'clock we reached the meadow of which I spoke . . . having traveled thirty-six miles without coming across a spear of grass. . . . We have concluded to remain here for several days. ... In our day's travel I have counted near a hundred dead horses, thirty mules, and sixty oxen ; also about twenty wagons that emigrants have been compelled to leave. The horses strewed along the road had given out, and, with those which had been spared, the emigrants had concluded to pack their way through. July 30th. All busy to-day making hay, and have now some six hundred pounds lying by our wagon, intended for use while crossing the desert. Had we not had the good fortune of coming across this grass our cattle would have been in poor plight for travelling. The labor of cutting it, however, is very great, and we have, besides, to carry it one mile on our backs and to wade through water three feet deep. August 1st. . . . The commencement of the sixty-five-mile desert. A drive of three hours brought us to another slough, where we took in our supply of water, and found two hundred wagons doing the same. Here we rested our cattle till the cool of the evening, when we took our place in a train about five miles in length. We soon struck a heavy, sandy road, and in the space of one mile I counted forty-six wagons that had been deserted, the horses not being able to drag them through. At one o'clock in the morning we brought to and halted till daylight. August 2nd. Started out by four o'clock this morning; at six stopped to cook our breakfast and lighten our wagons by throwing away the heavier portion of our clothing and such other articles as we can best spare. We pushed on to-day with as much speed as pos- sible, determined, if possible, to get through the desert, but our cattle gave such evident signs of exhaustion that we were compelled to stop. Being completely out of water, myself, Rowley, and Woodfill bought two gallons from a trader (who had brought it along on speculation), for which we paid the very reasonable price of one dollar per gallon. The desert through which we are passing is strewed with dead cattle, mules, and horses. I counted in a distance of fifteen miles 350 dead 1312 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Overland California Sta^e Coach. 388. A small, light, overland stage-wagon with a capacity for seven passengers, such as was used by some lines before 1858. Several companies engaged in the business, with varying degrees of success or failure, between 1851 and the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. The first route, extending through Salt Lake City, was found to be 'too far north. On two or three occasions a coach on that road was halted by snow in the autumn and detained until the following year before it could complete its trip. horses, 280 oxen, and 120 mules; 1 and hundreds of others are left behind, being unable to keep up. Such is travelling through the desert. ... A tan-yard or slaughterhouse is a flower garden in comparison. A train from Missouri have, to-day, shot twenty oxen. Vast amounts of valuable property have been abandoned and thrown away in this desert leather trunks, clothing, wagons, etc., to the value of at least a hundred thousand dollars, in about twenty miles. I have counted in the last ten miles 362 wagons, which in the States cost about $120 each. The cause of so many wagons being abandoned is to endeavor to save the animals and reach the end of the journey as soon as possible by packing through ; the loss of personal goods is a matter of small importance comparatively. August 3rd. We are now encamped in the desert, and a sweet place it is, too. . . . Our companion, Smith, returned from the river at one o'clock with five gallons of water a most acceptable present. August 4th. . . . We remained in camp till six o'clock, P. M., when, having procured a light wagon, 2 we pushed out. August 5th. . . . Here we met several traders from Sacramento City, who had been out twelve days with provisions to sell to the 1 An average of a dead animal for every 106 feet of the road. 3 No doubt selected from the large stock displayed along the road. 1313 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA emigrants. Flour is held at $1.50 per pound; sugar, $1.25 per pound; bacon-sides, $1.00 per pound, etc., etc. August 6th. This morning four of our companions started on ahead of the teams to pick out a suitable place at the mines for working. To- day we crossed a desert fourteen miles wide. August 8th. . . . We have now crossed the last desert. . . . Our only dread now is the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This night we encamped with some 200 wagons on Carson River, much worn down by night travelling. August 9th. . . . Ascended a mountain over a rough, rocky road. The snow-capped mountains are in view in every direction, and some of the boys say there is no way of escaping them, but I guess there is a way. August 10th. . . . Myself, Genung, and Woodfill remained be- hind with one of our oxen, which was sick. We watched the faithful animal and ministered to him all the remedies in our possession, but he died. It seemed like parting with an old friend. He had shared with us all the vicissitudes of this toilsome journey. . . . The loftiest mountains we have yet seen are now in full view ; we suppose them to be the Sierra Nevada. ... In the afternoon we came to a place called the Mormon Station, a perfect skinning post for emigrants. They have provisions of all kinds: Flour, $1.50 per pound; sugar, $1.75; bacon, $1.75. August llth. . . . . The road which we are travelling defies all description. Of all the rough roads I have ever seen or even imagined, this beats them. Rocks from the size of a flour barrel to that of a meeting-house are strewed all along the road, and these we are com- pelled to clamber and squeeze our way through as best we can. The boys say they never saw a road a hundredth part as bad as this. . . . The mountains close in upon us on every side, and raise their lofty peaks high toward Heaven, which are covered with snow, glistening strangely in the sun. August 12th. Our cattle this morning look rough and fagged down by yesterday's jaunt. . . . We hitched seven yoke of oxen to our wagon. . . . This summit is covered with snow to the depth of eight feet, and the air is very cold. . . . Distance to-day twelve miles, over awful roads. August 13th. On consultation last night it was determined to throw one of our wagons away and double team. . . . Commenced ascending the second summit of the mountain; travelled about half a mile, in which distance we had gone up about a hundred feet, when the cattle gave out and refused to stir an inch. This was a pretty predicament; a number of teams were below, waiting for us to go ahead before they could move. Everything was thrown into confusion. Some were for packing the oxen ; some for making a cart ; some for 1314 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA OVERLAND MAIL COMPANY On and after the first day of December, 1858, the Coaches of THE OVER- LAND MAIL COMPANY will leave the 'Office, CORNER of WASHINGTON and KEARNY STS. (PLAZA,) as follows: THROUGH MAIL, MONDAY AND FRIDAY, at 12 o'clock, M. Fort Yuma and Intermediate Stations, MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY, At 12 o'clock, MERIDIAN, instead of 12 o'clock, Midnight, as heretofore. PROM SAN FRANCISCO TO FORT SMITH, ARKAN- SAS, OR TO TERMINUS OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD, ^ ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ! -w LOUIS MeLANE, Agent Overland Mail Co. 389. The Overland Mail. Most important stage-coach line to California. Its vehicles ran twice a week in each direction and carried passengers be- tween Arkansas and San Francisco for $100. Date, 1858. The line con- tinued in operation for ten years more, until the advancing railway sup- planted it. one thing and some for another. It was finally concluded to pack our oxen with w y hat little provisions and clothing we had and throw the wagon away. We went to work arranging things for packing; at twelve o'clock, having everything ready, rolled out. . . . We had travelled about an hour when our oxen became much wearied and badly frightened ; one young fellow that had our cooking utensils aboard, such as dishes, knives and forks, cups, tin-pans, etc., etc., ran off down the mountain with his pack hanging to him, throwing everything helter- skelter in every direction. We finally overhauled him and gathered up what scattered fragments we could find, changing his pack to an older and more docile animal. At every tree we would pass, however, the packs of some of the cattle would be dropping off; such \vas our first experiment in "packing." About sunset ... we stopped for the night, having made six miles; tall travelling, that. August 14th. . . . About eight miles distant from our last en- 1315 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA campment, over rough, rocky roads, and through banks of snow four- teen feet deep. . . . August 15th. . . . We recommenced our descent of the mountain, which in many places was very difficult. . . . Beautiful flowers, myrtles, etc., are frequently to be seen, exhibiting all the freshness of May. . . . We are now fifty miles from the gold diggings. . . . Distance to-day fifteen miles. August 16th. It appears to me that the miles in the mountains are twice as long as those in the valley. . . . Made twelve miles. August 17th. Last night was quite cold, and all the cover we had saved when our cattle refused to further pull our wagon, was not suffi- cient to keep us warm. . . . August 18th. . . . Drove on till about ten o'clock, when our cattle appeared so nearly exhausted that we stopped and cut do\vn the limbs of some oak trees to feed them. For ourselves we had cher- ries, plums, raspberries, gooseberries, and filberts, which the boys gath- ered while in camp here. . . . August 19th. This morning we started at six o'clock, and in two hours struck the gold valley. . . . Travelled till ten o'clock, and, finding some grass and water in the valley, we unyoked our cattle and let them graze, while I prepared something for ourselves to eat ; of which we were in great need. Here we cooked the last provisions we had on the route. We have been greatly blessed and favored by a kind Providence throughout this long and toilsome journey. Many have fallen by accident and disease, while we have been permitted to progress thus far smoothly and quietly, in fine spirits, and enjoying good health. At six o'clock we arrived in the city of Weaversville. . . .Its popula- tion is about one thousand ; the dwellings are principally log cabins and shanties. Found the boys who had preceded us [the four who had started ahead on August 6th] all well, but in low spirits provisions high, gold scarce, etc. August 20th. This forenoon was occupied in deliberation, and it was concluded to have a division of the mess; consequently we had an auction of a portion of our goods. I bought a sharp-pointed shovel for $13.00 and a pick for $4.50. The mess was then dissolved in "Friendship, Love, and Truth." August 23rd. . . . The most I have made in one day in digging here is four dollars, 1 and I have done some tall digging. August 24th. Our hole having given out, we rambled about for miles in search of a location, but every spot of ground appeared to be dug up or was occupied by miners. August 26th. . . . We washed out about fifty buckets of dirt, and got about a half ounce of gold, wet feet, and aching bones. 1 The current market value of four soft-boiled eggs, or a gallon of molasses, or a seidlitz powder. Sugar was only 50 cents a pound in Weaversville, however, and bacon 75 cents a pound. Flour was cheap: 20 cents a pound. 1316 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA August 27th. Our hole having again given out, we prospected about several hours, and at length found a place which bid fair to yield tolerably well. So we set to work, and labored as hard as any poor fellow ever did, carrying our dirt about four hundred yards, over rocks, to the creek. It did not yield as well as we expected, and to our surprise soon gave out. Got half an ounce. THE OVEKLANiJ -MAIL &T.VKX1SG FUulI SAN nuiiVJ.SCo li.ii: THE KAST. {Vxou A PBOTOOKATB.] 390. A coach of the line advertised in the preceding illustration, as it appeared when about to leave San Francisco. Concord type of vehicle. Date, 1858. August 28th. . . . Moved our camp five miles further down the creek. . . . Worked till the sun got so hot that we were compelled to take to our tent. August 29th. The hard work yesterday caused me to pass a rest- less night. . . . By eight o'clock got down to a sufficient depth for washing; so we each shouldered a bag of dirt and started for the creek; and if carrying great bags of earth on one's back all day, in the hot sun and over rocks and deep ledges, is not hard work, then I am no judge of what hard work is. August 30th. . . . Our day's labor yielded about nine dollars. August 31st. . . . The proceeds of our day's labors amounted to nine dollars and some cents. 1317 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA September 1st. Rowley is discouraged and thinks mining a poor business. My thoughts to-day [it was a Sunday] are more than a thousand miles distant they are of home, mother, sister, and friends. . . . September 2nd. The result of my labor to-day is six dollars. September 3rd. The day's labor resulted in wet feet, aching bones, and the enormous yield of $5.60. September 4th. Passed the day in throwing up dirt in the ravine. September 5th. . . . $6.10. September 6th. . . . $5.70. September 7th. . . . Made some three dollars. September 8th. Spent the day in writing letters home. . . . My- self and Rowley go up to Sacramento City to-morrow to see if we cannot muster a letter or newspaper, neither of which we have seen for six months past. Abbey's trip was a typical example of the overland journey as such an expedition was seen by a majority of the emigrants during the early years of wagon train progress to the Pacific. The western movement had already become so large, when he made the march just described, that stage-coach travel from western Missouri to Salt Lake City had already been established, and simi- lar facilities between Salt Lake City and Sacramento came into existence soon afterward. The first stage-coach service was begun between In- dependence and Salt Lake City in the summer of 1850, and was made possible by the action of the government in awarding a contract for the carriage of the mail be- tween those places. A coach left Independence every month except in winter and at first traversed the twelve hundred miles in two or three weeks. Later, when stage stations and relays of live stock had been established along the road, the time consumed by the trip was mate- rially reduced and a schedule of arriving and departing vehicles was established. The service between Salt Lake and Sacramento also consisted of a monthly coach, but 1318 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA its progress was very erratic. There was little use made of the transcontinental stages by the public during the first years of their precarious and irregular existence, but in 1857 Congress passed a bill authorizing the establish- ment of an overland California mail line, and as a result of that action there came into being the Overland Mail, whose Concord coaches moved between St. Louis and San Francisco on a roundabout route more than 2,700 miles long, in the short space of twenty-five days. This enterprise, which was annually paid several hun- dred thousand dollars by the government for the trans- portation of letters, at once became a popular line of transcontinental travel and continued to hold that position until the completion of the first railway to the Pacific coast. At the hey-day of its career and prosperity the Overland Mail required for its use about a hundred coaches, seven or eight hundred drivers and other em- ployees, and fifteen hundred horses and mules. The cost of a journey from the Mississippi to the Pacific in one of its vehicles was one hundred dollars. After the establishment of the Overland Mail, and several other stage lines, no advance in methods of progress through the West was possible until the arrival of the iron rails. CHAPTER LVI 'IHE IDEA OF A RAILROAD TO THE PACIFIC ONE FINAL TASK NECESSARY IN THE LONG STRUGGLE FOR CON- TINENTAL CONQUEST BIRTH OF THE SCHEME - ITS EARLY ADVOCATES PARKER'S WORDS ASA WHITNEY APPEARS HIS PROPOSAL AND THE WIDE- SPREAD SUPPORT IT RECEIVED THE IDEAS OF CON- GRESS WHY WHITNEY'S PLAN COULD NOT SUCCEED ITS RELATION TO THE OREGON MIGRATIONS EFFECT OF THE EVENTS OF 1848 THE RAILWAY CONVENTIONS A CONTEST FOR ADVANTAGE - EASTERN JEALOUSIES DELAY THE PROJECT FOR A DOZEN YEARS ONE last undertaking was still required in the long task of continental conquest after the establishment of stage-coach travel to California, and it consisted in building a still farther westward extension of the ex- isting railway system that should supplant the primitive methods by which the Pacific coast was then reached from the Mississippi valley. Perhaps the first clear and definite printed proposal for the construction of a railway that should connect the interior valley with the Pacific Ocean was made almost at the outset of America's railroad history. In a weekly newspaper called the Emigrant, published in the little town of Ann Arbor, in the territory of Michigan, on 1320 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA February 6 of 1832, appeared an article from which the following is an extract: "The distance between New York and the Oregon is about three thousand miles, from New York we could pursue the most convenient route to the vicinity of Lake Erie, thence along the south shore of this lake and of Lake Michigan, cross the Mississippi between forty-one and forty-two of north latitude, cross the Missouri about the mouth of the Platte, and thence on by the most convenient route to the Rocky Moun- tains, near the source of the last named river, thence to the Oregon, by the valley of the south branch of that stream, called the southern branch of Lewis' River. We hope the United States will not object to con- ducting this national project. . . . But if the United States would not do this . . . Congress would not, we presume, object to the or- ganization of a company and a grant of three millions of acres for this purpose." 1 It will be noticed that this early proposal for a trans- continental iron road was published contemporaneously with the first outbreak of the railway fever in Michigan Territory, during the same year in which the territorial legislative council granted its first charter for a railroad designed to extend east and west through southern Michigan. Possibly the unknown author of the printed proposal found his inspiration in the local project then under consideration, which seems to have been included as a part of his much more ambitious vision. The article in the Michigan newspaper attracted some attention in the East, and soon after its appearance a Massachusetts paper 2 published a letter written by Doctor Samuel Bancroft Barlow of the town of Granville, Massachusetts, in which he said: "An able writer in the Emigrant ... in a series of numbers of which it has fallen to my lot to see only the first, is endeavoring to draw the attention of the public to the scheme of uniting New York 1 The quotation from the "Emigrant," as here given, is taken from Davis's history, "The Union Pacific Railway," pp. 13-14. The original copy of the "Emigrant," in which Davis found the article, is contained in the collections of the Washtenaw County Pioneer Association, at Ann Arbor, Michigan. - The "Intelligencer," of Westfield. 1321 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA and the mouth of the Columbia River by railroad." Barlow's article then went on to say: "I have a method to propose by which this work can be accomplished by our general government at the expense of the Union. . . . Let preliminary measures be taken for three years to come, such as making examinations, surveys, lines, estimates, etc., etc., at the end of which time, the public debt being paid, the national treasury overflowing (I presume also that the present duties and taxes, indeed every source of revenue, be continued at their present rates), then let the work proceed with all possible and prudent speed and vigor to a speedy and perfect completion, and let six, eight, ten, twelve or fifteen millions of dollars of the public money be appropriated to defray the expense an- nually until it is finished." 1 The next mention of the scheme 2 was that made by Samuel Parker, whose transcontinental trip between Buf- falo and Oregon was made in the year 1835. His west- ward progress after leaving St. Louis was by way of the Missouri and Platte Rivers, the Black Hills, and across the high plains and the Rocky Mountains to the head waters of the Columbia River, which he thence followed. Parker began his journey on March 14, and on August 1 The "Intelligencer" article is quoted in Smalley's "History of the Southern Pacific Railway," pp. 52-56. Smalley is inclined to give precedence to Barlow as the originator of the idea of a trans-continental road. He says: "Perhaps there were earlier advocates of a Pacific railway than Doctor Barlow, but if so, the author of this volume has not been able to identify them, and therefore accords to him the first place." But with this conclusion Davis does not agree. Davis says ("The Union Pacific Railway," p. 15): "In the face of Doctor Barlow's own acknowledgment, however, it is difficult to find a justification of Mr. Smalley's statement. To this unwarranted conclusion by Mr. Smalley, attention was also called by General Granville M. Dodge in a valuable paper on Transcontinental Railways, read by him before the Society of the Army of the Tennessee at its Twenty-first Annual Reunion at Toledo, Ohio, September 15, 1888." Davis has established the date of the "Emigrant" article, and Smalley, in discussing (p. 52) the date of Doctor Barlow's letter, says: "Evidently the [Barlow] article was written as early as 1834 and perhaps in 1833, and the articles in a Michigan paper to which it refers are supposed to nave been called out by others previously written by him." Unless similar proposals of still earlier date are hereafter discovered, the weight of evidence points to the author of the "Emigrant" editorial as the first man who definitely and publicly advocated the joining of the oceans by rail. Although the writer of the "Emigrant" article is unknown, Davis says: "It should probably be accredited to Judge S. W. Dexter, the publisher and one of the editors of the paper." (p. 13.) 2 Thus far brought to light. 1322 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA JN PACIFIC RAIL R, SURVEY OF,8',;-t MOUTH OF CANON OF SOUTH PLATTE. 391. The first railway across the continent. A fcene during the preliminary work of the surveyors. Drawn by F. M. Case, one of the civil engineers in charge. 10 having then reached the farther side of the Rocky Mountains he made the following observations in the daily written record of his trip: "The passage through these mountains is in a valley, so gradual in the ascent and descent that I should not have known we were approach- ing them, had it not been that as we advanced the atmosphere gradually became cooler, and at length we saw the perpetual snows upon our right hand and upon our left, elevated many thousand feet above us. ... This valley was not discovered until some years since ... It varies in width from two to fifteen miles ; and following its course, the distance through the mountains is about one hundred miles, or four days journey. Though there are some elevations and depressions in this valley, yet com- paratively speaking it is level ; and the summit where the waters divide, which flow into the Atlantic and Pacific, is about six thousand feet above the level of the ocean. There would not be any difficulty in the way of constructing a railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. There is no greater difficulty, in the whole distance, than has already been over- come in passing the Green mountains, between Boston and Albany ; and probably the time may not be far distant, when trips will be made across 1323 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA the continent, as they have been made to the Niagara Falls to see nature's wonders." 1 The few men who had discussed the possibility or desirability of a transcontinental railway before Parker wrote the observations here given had considered the matter in an academic fashion, and from viewpoints far to the eastward. The importance of Parker's statement, therefore, lies in the fact that it was made by him after he had personally traversed the route which he described, and had discovered out of his own experience that the project of which he spoke was apparently a practical one. Others who advocated a transcontinental line dur- ing the fourth decade were John Plumbe, of Dubuque, Iowa, who in 1836 proposed the building of a road from Lake Michigan to Oregon ; 2 Louis Gaylord Clarke, who wrote 3 of a similar enterprise during the same year, and Hartwell Carver, of Rochester, New York, who in 1837 advocated 4 a railroad which should have its western terminus on the Columbia River. Lalburn Boggs, an early Governor of Missouri, prepared an article on the subject in 1843, 5 and an editorial contained in Hunt's Merchants' Magazine for January, 1845, predicted that "those persons are now living who will see a railroad con- necting New York with the Pacific, and a steam com- munication from Oregon to China." By this time similar arguments and suggestions had become rather frequent, although no inspired prophet or other personality with sufficient power to concentrate 1 Parker's "Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains." Text quoted from pp. 76-77 of the fifth edition, 1846. 2 A public meeting in promotion of Plumbe's project took place at Dubuque in March of 1838. 3 In the "Knickerbocker Magazine." 4 In the New York "Courier and Enquirer" (according to Davis, p. 17). H. H. Ban- croft, in his "History of California" (Vol. VII, pp. 498-499), credits Carver with similar writings during the year 1832, but Bancroft's contention respecting Carver is rejected by Smalley (p. 52) and by Davis (p. 17). 5 See Bancroft's "History of California," Vol. VII, p. 500, note. 1324 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA public attention on the subject had as yet arisen. Two features characteristic of nearly all the early plans for an iron road to the Pacific are noticeable; namely, that the undertaking should be governmental in character, and that its western terminus be in the Oregon region. At this point in the development of the idea the in- spired prophet arose in the person of a New York mer- chant named Asa Whitney. Whitney was a man of fore- sight and wide travel throughout the world, and during two years spent in China between 1842 and 1844 he had elaborated a plan for building the highway that had been discussed in the manner indicated during the previous decade. He returned to America in 1844, and in the eight years immediately thereafter he expended his whole fortune and devoted all his time and energy to a ceaseless campaign having for its purpose the creation of a rail- road from the interior valley to the Pacific coast. To him, more than to any other one man is due the credit for bringing the idea before the mass of his fellow country- men. While his particular project was not realized in concrete form, and while for reasons that will later ap- pear it could not be so realized, Whitney's work was nevertheless of extreme importance. His first proposal to Congress in behalf of the plan he had formulated was made to the Senate on January 28, 184S. 1 The argument addressed by him to Congress read in part: "Your memorialist begs respectfully to represent to your honorable body, that, by rivers, railroads, and canals, all the States east and north of the Potomac connect directly with the waters of the great lakes. "That there is a chain of railroads in projection, and being built, from New York to the southern shore of Lake Michigan, which will produce commercial, political, and national results and benefits, which 1 Its official publication is contained in "Senate Doc. 69; 28th Congress, 2d Session," from which the extracts here given are quoted. 1325 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA ' i VIEW OF OMAHA LOOKING DOWN FARNUM STREET. 392. Omaha, the eastern terminus of the first transcontinental iron road, was chosen because of its geographical location and because it was in a ter- ritory. Nebraska was not yet a state. Some members of Congress ques- tioned the power of the government to build, or aid in building, a high- way lying partly within state lines, but they gave no opposition to similar work in a territory. Thus Omaha became the first modern gate to the far West. must be seen and felt through all our vast Confederacy. Your memorialist would further represent to your honorable body that he has devoted much time and attention to the subject of a railroad from Lake Michigan, through the Rocky mountains to the Pacific ocean, and that he finds such a route practicable, the results from which would be incalculable, far be- yond the imagination of man to estimate. To the interior of our vast and widely spread country it would be as the heart is to the human body. It would, when completed, cross all the mighty rivers and streams, which wend their way to the ocean through our vast and rich valleys from Ore- gon to Maine, a distance of more than three thousand miles. The incal- culable importance of such a chain of roads will readily be seen and ap- preciated by your honorable body. "Such easy and rapid communication would bring all our immensely wide spread population together as one vast city, the moral and social effects of which must harmonize all together as one family, with but one interest the general good of all. Whitney then went on to outline his plan for meeting the expense of the work, which he estimated at about $65,- 1326 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA 000,000. He asked Congress to give to him a tract of land sixty miles in width and extending from Lake Michigan to the Pacific. This land he proposed to sell at low prices to city dwellers, thereby to some extent relieving city congestion and poverty, using the proceeds in necessary construction processes. The road, when finished, was to belong to the nation, and any net profits resulting from its operation were to be devoted to public education. The final paragraphs of the proposal dealt with the future relations between the United States and Oregon, reading: "Your memorialist believes that the time is not far distant when Ore- gon will become a State of such magnitude and importance as to compel the establishment of a separate Government a separate nation, which will have cities, ports, and harbors, all free, inviting all the nations of the earth to a free trade with them ; when they will control and monopolize the valuable fisheries of the Pacific ; control the coast trade of Mexico and South America, of the Sandwich Islands, Japan, and all China, and [that the separate nation of Oregon and her cities will] be our most dangerous and successful rivals in the commerce of the world. "But your memorialist believes that this road will unite them to us, enabling them to receive the protecting care of our Government, sharing in its blessings, benefits, and prosperity, and imparting to us our share of the great benefits from their local position, enterprise and industry." The features of Whitney's proposal that made it ap- peal so strongly to the public are obvious. In the first place it provided for the long-discussed and important work, and furthermore outlined a plan by which the road might seemingly be carried to completion with- out becoming a direct financial burden on the country. It suggested a colonization of the West, and the creation of the railway by means of that colonization. Whitney's proposition was essentially an unselfish one. He asked for no part of the operating revenues of the undertaking, and for no financial benefit from land sales except in the im- probable contingency that the proceeds of such sales ex- ceeded the sum necessary for the faithful completion of 1327 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA the whole idea under the supervision of the govern ment. The colonization and land-sale phases of the scheme although they formed its basis were,, indeed, its fundamental weakness. Under the same rapidity at which public lands were then being sold in more thickly settled and desirable portions of the public domain it would have required almost a century to have obtained a sum suf- ficiently large to build the road according to Whitney's notion. The national legislature took no action on the first memorial, 1 and during the same year of 1845 Whitney himself undertook an exploring expedition over that part of his projected route east of the Rocky Mountains. On his return to the domain of civilization, late in the year, he began a widespread campaign in advocacy of his proposal which soon produced astonishing results. By correspondence with mercantile bodies in many cities, by articles printed in newspapers and magazines, and by addresses in all parts of the country east of the Mis- sissippi, he succeeded in bringing the idea of a Pacific railroad before the whole people. He also kept his plan constantly before Congress through the medium of ad- ditional memorials, and by the year 1850 no less than fourteen states 2 had endorsed the scheme in legislative resolutions addressed to the Federal government. Innu- merable cities and towns also took similar action as a re- sult of public meetings. The political developments of the period contributed materially in fixing public attention upon the subject. Texas was annexed in 1845; a settlement of the Oregon question was effected in 1846, and in the same year news 1 It was presented during the final weeks of an expiring Congress. 2 Kentucky, Indiana, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont. 1328 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA reached the East that the American pioneers in Oregon had organized a provisional government. In fact all the interest displayed by the people in Oregon affairs up to that time, and the migrations thence, had a connection with Whitney's railroad plan which requires no comment here. Congress showed itself to be favorably predisposed to such an undertaking. The members of the Federal legis- lature were in general agreement regarding the desirabil- ity of a steam road to the Pacific, and were principally concerned with the wisest economic method of its creation and its proposed route. The attitude of Congress toward the principle involved was indicated by a report on the subject made to the Senate in 1846 by the Committee on Public Lands. The document in question contained the following passages I 1 "[The Committee report] that they have bestowed upon this propo- sition that consideration its importance demands, and which, but a few years since ... a committee of this body would have been excused for treating as a visionary speculation. . . . "The proposition is a startling one and of vast importance to our country and to the world. . . . "Preliminary to the consideration of the proposition referred to the Committee, and before one of such vast magnitude and importance should be entertained, it is indispensably necessary that the way should be seen perfectly clear, and that no constitutional difficulty would be likely to present itself at the commencement of the undertaking, or obstruct its after progress. "Fortunately, the task of showing the absence of difficulty on this point is a very easy one. The most scrupulous, in according to Congress power to construct roads and canals, have not doubted the propriety of ex- ercising this power upon territory beyond the jurisdiction of a State sov- ereignty, as the constitution declares that 'the Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the territory or other property belonging to the United States.' . . . The sovereignty of the United States extends over the entire route con- templated for this road, and it only remains to extinguish the Indian title 1 "Senate Doc. No. 466, 29th Congress, 1st Session; July 31, 1846," pp. 1-26. This : as the result of consideration ot memorials submitted by Whitney, and report was made by citizens endorsing the Whitney proposals. 1329 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA to such portion of the territory as may be required for the site of the road and its appendages, and to be disposed of to obtain means for its con- struction. "Thus far concerns the construction of roads beyond the jurisdiction of the States, but can Congress constitutionally exercise the power to make them within the States? It has been answered that, with the consent of the States on whose soil the roads are to be made, there can be no diffi- culty, provided the means be at the disposal of Congress. This principle was early admitted. 1 ... A national road having thus been au- thorized and partially constructed, by the exercise of this power, from the Atlantic ocean to the seat of Government of Missouri, and within the jurisdiction of several States, it will not be expected that this committee should consider it necessary to argue the existence of still more ample powers to authorize the construction of a road through the public terri- tory, 2 and beyond the jurisdiction of any existing State, to the shores of the Pacific ocean. . . ." And in conclusion the committee recognized a prevail- ing fear that the Oregon country might organize itself into a separate nation if not joined to the United States by better means of travel. On that phase of the subject the report said: "A well-grounded apprehension seems to exist, that, unless some means like the one proposed, of rapid communication with that region, be devised and completed, that country, soon to become a State of vast proportions and of immense political importance, by reason of its position, its own wants, unattended to by this Government, will be compelled to establish a separate government a separate nation with its cities, ports and har- bors . . . and become our most dangerous rival in the commerce of the world. In the opinion of the committee, this road will bind these two great geographical sections indissolubly together, to their mutual advantage, and be the cement of a union, which time will but render more durable. . . ." 1 It has been seen, in the discussion of the National Road, that more than this was early admitted. Federal power to appropriate money for building a National Road through states, and across state boundaries, was asserted without asking or obtaining the consent of nates affected. 2 The contradiction between these statements of a Congressional committee in 1846, and the actual situation as it then existed and afterwards prevailed for twenty-two years, will be observed by reference to the chapter devoted to the natives of the West and their relation to the development of white travel in those reg.ons. The red peoples native to the West were still self-governing, and their ownership of soil was also undisputed. A few tribes in that part of the continent had in treaties previously acknowledged themselves to be under the protection of the United States, but no native nation of the West gave up its independence and acknowledged the jurisdiction of the United States until 1849, when the Navajos took those steps in a formal treaty. Despite the Congressional utterance here cited, the United States paid millions of dollars to western Indians during the following twenty years in return for permission to travel overland toward the Pacific and to build a railroad in that direction. 1330 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA The 29th Congress to the Senate of which the fore- going report was submitted took no definite action. It was not convinced that Whitney's plan was the wisest one which could be formulated. Agitation in its behalf con- tinued during the next two years, nevertheless, and the S the Palisade*. C. P. B. R. (See pace l;?3.i 393. Laying the track. A construction train on the Central Pacific division of the work, which was built from the Pacific coast eastward. The train carried ties and rails, and slowly advanced above them as they were put in place. states and cities continued to record their endorsement of the project. During the 30th Congress a Senate com- mittee again submitted a favorable report, 1 but by the close of the year 1848 there scarce remained possibility that the Whitney idea might receive the sanction of a law in its behalf. Although public thought was crystallizing into realization that a railway to the far West would become a certainty in the not distant future, new and unexpected conditions were swiftly altering popular judg- *July 7, 1848. 1331 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA ment concerning the matter of its location. It was be- coming apparent that a railroad toward Oregon, extend- ing along the northern edge of the country, would not be the best solution of the problem. Recent events had changed the entire aspect of the question. During preceding years all discussion of a rail- road to the Pacific had been based on the belief that such a road must inevitably extend to Oregon, since the nation then owned no territory on the Pacific coast south of the present boundary of Oregon. But by the treaty of peace negotiated with Mexico the United States had come into possession of an immense region in the western part of the continent now occupied by the states of Arizona, Cali- fornia, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. 1 All this territory belonged to Mexico when the proposal for a railway to Oregon was first made. The people saw that its transfer to the United States extended the national possessions so far to the south- ward on the Pacific coast that a railroad to Oregon if but one transcontinental road was to be built would not serve the purposes for which such a route was intended. The acquirement of the new region also removed possibility that Oregon might later be erected into a separate sover- eignty. Nor would a road to the West along the proposed Whitney line have been of much value as an aid to the penetration and development of the new lands taken from Mexico. Still another circumstance intimately connected with the territorial aggrandizement of the nation ; an event even more powerful in finally determining the path of the country's first transcontinental road, had taken place 1 Although Texas, of course, had previously arrived in the United States over the pathway of her own revolution and independence. 1332 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA though without the knowledge of the people of the East a few days before the treaty of peace. On January 24, 1848, Marshall had found rich deposits of gold on the American River, in California. He told Sutter of the discovery, and the two men tried to keep the secret for their own advantage, but knowledge of it gradually spread through the neighborhood. During the follow- ing spring the news from California crept northward into Oregon, and by the late summer even the middle and Atlantic states were filled with rumors of a new El Dorado. The rumors were soon substantiated by definite reports whose immediate consequences were the mania in the East and the migrations growing from it. The acquirement of nearly a million square miles of ad- ditional territory toward the West and Southwest, coupled with the discovery of gold and the resultant overland rush by hundreds of thousands of people, made it apparent to the whole country that a Pacific railway had become a pressing necessity. Such was the situation by 1850, and yet twelve years of economic and political jealousies were to elapse before the government finally gave its authorization to an enterprise whose need had so long been recognized. Before the ter- ritorial expansion and gold discovery of 1848 it had been taken for granted that the western terminus of any future ocean-joining railway line would be the Oregon region, and in the early days of debate over the Whitney idea no serious controversy had developed regarding the loca- tion of the eastern terminus of the road. But the two re- markable events of 1848 wrought a great change with regard to both those matters. It was promptly seen that the long coveted bay of San Francisco centrally located on the newly-acquired Pacific coast boundary of the na- 1333 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA tion was the logical western end of any transcontinental railway which might be created by governmental initia- tive or aid. And the obvious future importance of such a road gave the location of its eastern terminus a conse- 394. The similar process as it was carried forward on the Union Pacific road from east to west. The two construction trains gradually approached one another for more than three years and seven months, until on the morning of May 10, 1869, the gap between them had been reduced to about one hundred feet. quence which that matter had not previously possessed. Nearly all the states and important cities east of the Mis- sissippi at once developed an extreme interest in the loca- tion of the eastern end of the proposed line and began a struggle to secure the benefits which would flow from the possession of that strategic point. No less than four conventions assembled during 1849 to consider the subject of a transcontinental road. The meetings were held in Chicago, Boston, St. Louis and Memphis. Still another council of the same sort took 1334 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA place in Philadelphia in April of 1850. These gatherings showed the newly-awakened popular interest in the east- ern terminus of the enterprise they had met to advocate. During the years of Whitney's agitation in behalf of a road to the Oregon country that plan had received much support in New England, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. It had then seemed likely that the railways already existing in those states, together with the similar roads extending westward along Lake Erie and through Michigan, would make Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore the logical eastern outlets of a Pacific road built in accordance with the Whitney suggestions, and the endorsement given to that enthusiast by the eastern cities here named was largely due to the opinion in question. Chicago and other lake towns were also energetic ad- vocates of the Oregon route prior to 1850, and for the same reason. But the radical alteration in the political map of the far western regions was immediately reflected east of the Mississippi, and the series of railway conventions was due in large measure to sectional jealousies and regional am- bitions having their source in a desire to obtain the eastern end of the contemplated iron highway. St. Louis and all the upper Mississippi valley came forward with an argument in favor of a route considerably to the south- ward of Whitney's proposed line; Mississippi, South Carolina and Charleston entered the field in behalf of a route south of that favored by St. Louis; Memphis, backed by Tennessee and Arkansas, urged the building of a road extending westward from Independence in Missouri, with branches from that town to Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago. Even Texas entered the lists, and Sam Houston then a Federal senator from the state introduced a bill 1335 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA providing that a railroad to the Pacific coast might be constructed by a Texas railway company. 1 The St. Louis convention was probably the most im- portant of the various gatherings which assembled to promote better communication facilities with the far West. It met on October 15, 1849, and was attended by several hundred delegates, who represented no less than fifteen states. 2 Acrimonious debates characterized the gathering, which finally adopted the following resolutions offered by Richard W. Thompson, of Indiana. 3 "Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention it is the duty of the General Government to provide, at an early period, for the construc- tion of a Central National Railroad from the Valley of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. "Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, a Grand Trunk Railroad, with branches to St. Louis, Memphis and Chicago, would be such a central and national one. "Resolved, That a committee be appointed to communicate to the Convention to be held at Memphis the foregoing resolutions, and to request the concurrence of said Convention therein." The Thompson resolutions were adopted by an almost unanimous vote, and the convention duly memoralized Congress in accordance therewith. From that time active agitation in favor of the route previously advocated by Whitney was no longer visible, although various bills in his behalf were presented to Congress until as late a date as 1852. 4 1 The Galvestqn and Red River Railway Company. - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryjand, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. 3 "Proceedings of the National Railroad Convention, which assembled in the City of St. Louis, on the Fifteenth of October, 1849. Etc., etc." St. Louis: 1850, pp. 35-36. 4 "Whitney's entire fortune is said to have been spent in an attempt to realize his dream of a Pacific Railway, and the 'Prince of Projectors' to have kept a dairy and sold milk in Washington for a livelihood in his declining years." Davis's "The Union Pacific Railway," p. 33. CHAPTER LVII ANOTHER CAUSE THAT HELD BACK THE FIRST TRANS- CONTINENTAL RAILWAY NORTH AND SOUTH COULD NOT AGREE ON ITS LOCATION THE REASON - SENATOR IVERSON'S SPEECH A LAW is FINALLY PASSED THE QUESTION OF TRACK- WIDTH ARISES - THE CONFUSION OF EXISTING GAUGES LINCOLN'S DECISION CONGRESS REFUSES TO ACCEPT IT ACTUAL WORK BEGINS HOW IT WAS PERFORMED - A HISTORIC SCENE UP IN THE MOUNTAINS THE PEOPLE LISTEN IN THE STREETS THE OCEANS JOINED THE political jealousies that contributed for twelve years to the delay in building a Pacific railway were intimately connected with those differences between the North and South which eventually resulted in civil war. Each of the two sections was striving to gain a pre- ponderant power in shaping the political destiny of the country, and between them stood a small group of men who were trying by means of compromises to avert an appeal to arms. The relationship borne to this condition by the need of a modern transportation route through the recently obtained West is easily to be seen. The acquisi- tion of much territory from Mexico, the constantly in- creasing overland migrations to the westward, and the visible necessity of creating new commonwealths in that region during the near future, made the geographical 1337 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA location of a Pacific railroad a matter of unusual im- portance. The North was already resolved that slavery should not be established in new states admitted to the Union, and the South was equally insistent that its economic system should be perpetuated to the westward in at least a sufficient number of new states to maintain its relative importance in governmental affairs. The natural result of those divergent purposes was a deadlock, and although each side was willing to see the construction of such a transcontinental road as would benefit its own position, neither could muster sufficient strength to gain its object prior to the military conflict. The contending regions did, however, agree on one thing essential to the contemplated highway. Congress passed a law in 1853 providing for an elaborate survey of the whole country between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean, in order to determine through what region a rail- road could most easily be built. 1 It was made by civil engineers of the War Department, and the summary of the work laid before Congress by Jefferson Davis, the Secretary of War, showed the sectional feeling then so closely related to the subject under consideration. The War Secretary said : "The route of the 32nd parallel is of those surveyed the most practicable and economical for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean." 2 During the following years there was always a con- gressional majority favorable to the proposed railway in principle, but the acute sectional differences of the time 1 The result of the survey is contained in eleven elaborate volumes constituting a comprehensive report not only on the geography of the western country, but also on the Indian life and the natural history of the West. 2 Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 78, 33rd Congress, 2d Session. "The surveys made under Secre- tary Davis's authority were critically discussed in DeBpw's Review for December, 1856 (Vol. 21, p. 555), and even by that representative periodical of Southern industry the con- clusions of the Secretary were not endorsed." Davis's "The Union Pacific Railway," p. 60, note. 1338 3 5- II c r _ p g S 3 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA made it impossible to concentrate that majority on any definite proposition. In 1856 the Democratic party and the new-born Republican party endorsed the plan in their national platforms, and President Buchanan, in his in- augural address, advocated the building of a Pacific road by governmental action or aid. 1 The fundamental reason underlying the inability of Congress to agree on any specific proposal for the road has been well stated by the principal historian of the undertaking. 2 He said: "Statesmen had tried to persuade themselves that a Pacific railway, as a national project, was a possibility, had tried to persuade themselves that there was a nation, but all the time, in the undertow of thought and feeling, there was too keen an appreciation of a want of unity and nationality." An open avowal of the condition just defined, and of the relationship borne by the proposal to the existing political situation, was finally made by a candid southern senator 3 in the following words : "If one road is provided for and the route is left open to be selected by the company who shall undertake it, a northern route will be adopted . . . pouring all its vast travel and freight . . . into the northern states and cities of the Union. . . I believe that the time will come when the slave states will be compelled, in vindication of their rights, interests and honor, to separate from the free states, and erect an inde- pendent Confederacy; and I am not sure, Sir, that the time is not near at hand when that event will occur. . . It is because I believe that separation is not far distant; because the signs of the times point too plainly to the early triumph of the Abolitionists, and their complete possession and control of every department of the Federal Government; and because I firmly believe that when such an event occurs the Union will be dissolved, that I am unwilling to vote as much land and as much money as this bill proposes to build a road to the Pacific, which, in my judgment, will be created outside of a southern Confederacy, and will belong exclusively to the North. The public lands now held by the United States, as well as the public treasury, are the joint property of 1 But Buchanan, like nearly all other public men of that period, weakly chose to advocate the enterprise as a useful military work rather than as a great, vital under taking whose value lay in its economical and social relationship to the country. 2 Davis, in "The Union Pacific Railway," p. 82. 3 Iverson of Georgia, on January 6, 1859. 1340 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA all the states and the people of this Union. They belong to the South as well as to the North; we are entitled, in the Union, to our just and equal share, and if the Union is divided, then we are no less entitled to a fair proportion of the common fund. What I demand, therefore, is that the South shall be put upon an equality with the North, whether the Union lasts or not; that in appropriating the public lands and money, the joint property of all, in connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by railroad, the South shall have an equal chance to secure the road within her borders, to inure to her benefit whilst the Union lasts, and to belong to her when, if ever, that Union is dissolved." The outbreak of the Civil War witnessed the disap- pearance from the national legislature of the principal op- ponents of a transcontinental route built by governmental aid, and on July 4, of 1862, President Lincoln signed a bill providing for the commencement of the long-discussed thoroughfare. 1 But the capitalists of the country de- clined to cooperate with the government under the law of 1862, and in 1864 2 it was materially amended 3 and con- struction work began soon afterward. The importance and significance of the decision to build the first transcontinental railroad by Federal aid and under Federal charter has long been recognized, and its relationship to the chain of events considered in these pages is obvious. The enactments through which the decision was expressed were written in obedience to popu- lar will; they were virtually ordered by the people. The laws also constituted an important manifestation of a slowly reviving opinion on the part of the people that certain things affecting their common interests could best be done by their collective power and effort, exerted through the machinery of the general government. The public seemed to be returning to a belief that in dealing 1 The act provided that the work should be performed by two corporations known as the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California. 2 By the act of July 2nd. 3 A discussion of the legislation of 1862 and 1864, together with a financial and cor- porate history of the road, is contained in Davis's monograph previously named. 1341 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA with social problems of nation-wide scope the Federal administration was in closer touch with the population, and better able to serve human needs with beneficial re- sults, than were the numerous separate and often an- tagonistic state governments. The states had always been more or less inclined to inject local considerations, based on state boundary lines, into the discussion or pro- posed solution of economic questions whose nature made such efforts impractical. Whenever such an attempt was made to solve a country-wide economic problem by state statutes rarely uniform in their provisions the result was either a halting of human progress or the creation of undesirable conditions which persisted until the com- monwealth reversed its attitude or until the national government intervened. 1 The Federal laws creating the first transcontinental railway were, to put it briefly, a partial return by the nation to that position assumed between 1802 and 1824, when Congress ordained and built the National Road. It has been said of the two more modern measures: "The significance of the Pacific railway legislation is that it marks the high-water level of the flood of national power; it is part of the drift . . . that was left at the highest point on the shore, when the flood of nationality receded." 2 Exception, it seems, may fairly be taken to this characterization of the laws of 1862 and 1864. The acts under which the National Road was extended into 1 A characteristic case of the sort was the action of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey toward the use of steam and steamboats as agencies of travel and trans- portation. And while such an early demeanor toward an economic matter must neces- sarily be called a "state" attitude, since it was expressed by form of law and by accredited officials, yet when such an attitude is traced to its origin, its source can often be found with reasonable certainty in the selfish desires of a small group of locally influential men whose political power or personal fortunes were maintained or enhanced by the "state" pronouncement which they were able to dictate. Such groups gave sup- port to one another on various well-known historical occasions when the interests of some special group were in danger, and perhaps that process went on more often than surviving evidence can indicate. * Davis, p. 133. 1342 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA .*..> 396. An occasional experience of travellers on the first Pacific railroad after it was finished. They still had to get out and help, in one way or another, as they had done in the days of the keel-boat, Flying Mac/line and stage-coach. Indiana, Illinois and Missouri provided for its building, by the general government, through states and across state boundaries under willingness of the commonwealths so penetrated by it. It was a national work, 1 undertaken for purposes identical with those which inspired the first rail- way across the continent. Both were highways of move- ment, designed to bring separated parts of the population into closer social and economic relations. The first was brought into being in a manner already described, and paid for by direct appropriations of government funds. The later enterprise was built by a less direct exercise of national authority, through corporate instrumentalities created by the nation for the purpose, and to which the government delegated powers which it had in the previ- ous instance used in its own person. 2 Consequently it appears that the earlier case, rather than the later one, marked the high-water level of national power as that 1 The first Pacific railroad has also been so defined by the Federal Supreme Court. See "The United States vs. The Union Pacific Railroad Company," 91 U. S. R. 79. 2 Such as the "ight, given the corporations, to carry the railroad through the states of Nebraska, Kansas and California, and across their boundaries. 1343 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA strength was formerly used in carrying out similar undertakings. The employment, by the Federal government, of those attributes of sovereignty necessarily displayed by it in the direct construction of the National Road resulted in fears or jealousies that found voice in "state" protests, and the enterprise was eventually made over to the several states through which it passed. The people, in other words, for a time employed their general government as the ma- chinery by which they created and maintained an inter- state public utility. Then considerations based to some extent on partisan politics were introduced into the sub- ject, and that method of doing such work was abandoned practically at its beginning. No doubt the shift was also due, in some degree not now measurable, to a popular feeling that such procedure involved danger because of inexperience and a national lack of the engineering and administrative ability requisite for the best guidance of like undertakings. Perhaps the members of the electorate doubted their own ability to choose efficient and honest servants from among themselves as the heads of publicly owned utilities. There had arisen a popular fallacy that was already working serious harm to national character and progress, and which was destined to exert an iden- tical influence for many years thereafter. The error in question was embodied in a political saying which ran : "To the victors belong the spoils." The assertion itself is true enough; the fallacy lay in a perverted meaning given to it by the politicians of that day and applied to the result of an election. The electors of a real democracy are al- ways the victors in a discussion and plebiscite conducted to regulate their affairs, for its result expresses their com- mon judgment on the questions at issue. And the spoils 1344 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA which belong to them are the creation of conditions in accordance with the principles they have endorsed. But during the epoch in question "victors" meant only a part of the people, and those whose opinions had not been in accord with the result were "enemies." The "spoils" were not principles and improved conditions of society, but political office, to be bestowed exclusively on favored members of the "victorious" party with little or no con- sideration of their fitness for such enormous responsibility. Through the rise and widespread acceptance of this strange doctrine so illustrative of the prevalent economic morality of the period practically the whole purpose of government as an instrument designed by humanity for bettering its affairs was overthrown in the republic. Those excellencies of American character and condition which survived the era most acutely affected by the fal- lacy, endured in spite of rather than by the aid of the governmental system. It was during this epoch that several states built and operated travel and traffic routes of various kinds whose existence was due, in part, to demands of party politics, and whose administrations as utilities were largely politi- cal in their nature. The failure of those that did fail was no doubt caused in some degree by faulty construction based on inadequate engineering skill, and partly by the destructive influence of the political idea just mentioned. During the same time, also, the corporation first became prominent in the business affairs of the country. It was an unfortunate age for the virtual birth and childhood of a commercial method so important, since the corporation was compelled to grow up in association with various political, business and economic ideas unfavorable to the strict maintenance of its own integrity. But the corpora- 1345 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA tion grew apace, and was soon the principal factor under state authorization by which public utilities, including transportation routes, were built and operated. From that time until recent years the constantly growing corpora- tion has naturally striven, with more than a modicum of success, to foster the early popular fear that the people themselves through their government and chosen servants could not successfully create and honestly ad- minister those huge undertakings so necessary to modern society. It does not, however, necessarily follow that whatever inability was displayed by the people and their governmental machinery from sixty to ninety years ago because of contemporary conditions and beliefs heretofore described would be manifest to-day or in the future, should the people again decide to use their state or Federal governments as instruments for economic purposes. What- ever of failure or success they might now or hereafter at- tain in such enterprises would be determined by their education, experiences, desires and practises. 1 The first transcontinental railroad was built by two corporations which were created by Congress with that object in view, and to them were loaned the credit and resources of the nation. The people, in that particular case, delegated their strength instead of using their powers in direct application to the work in hand and thus acquir- ing ownership of the finished product. After the government had decided for the building of a road to the Pacific under a plan based on the use of national resources there still remained one essential detail of the project that demanded action by Federal authority 1 The recent building of the Panama Canal by the United States, under the imme- diate direction of Federal engineers, suggests the present capacity of the national machinery in undertaking enterprises demanding a large degree of constructive, executive and administrative ability. Since the foregoing text was written the government has also decided to build, equip, own and operate a railroad in Alaska. 1346 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA before any construction work was possible. The gauge of the railway had to be fixed, and the effort to decide on a track-width resulted in a political and sectional dispute similar to those which had so often occurred during the preliminary discussions of the previous years. 1 597. Method of protecting trains from avalanches in the Sierra Nevada Moun- tains. Many miles of snow sheds had to be built. The number of different gauges used by the railways of the country had so multiplied that during the seventh decade at least a dozen and probably more track- widths were employed in various sections, nearly every one of which was represented by several hundred or several thousand miles of line. 2 Many of the New Eng- land roads still adhered to the gauge of four feet eight and a half inches, and the series of roads through central New 1 "Even the gauge of the track could not be determined without hours of debate, persistent lobbying, and a full measure of political chicanery." Davis, p. 113. 2 A list of representative railroads in all parts of the country, showing the divergencies of gauge at the time, is contained in an appendix. 1347 York State previously assembled under one corporate control together with connecting lines reaching west- ward along the shore of Lake Erie and through Michigan, were built in similar fashion. So were nearly all the roads in the neighborhood of Chicago and those extending west- ward to and through the state of Iowa. There were also various isolated roads in other parts of the country which had adopted the gauge here mentioned. In some parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in nearly all of Ohio, and in portions of Indiana and Il- linois, a track-width of four fest and ten inches was in use. All the railways of the South were five feet wide, and that gauge had likewise been adopted in California by a state enactment. The Erie road in New York; the Atlantic and Great Western through New York, Penn- sylvania and Ohio ; the Ohio and Mississippi road through Ohio, Indiana and Illionis were all six feet wide, as were various other lines in New Jersey and elsewhere. Many of the roads in the Southwest and in Missouri were built with a gauge of five feet and a half. 1 All sorts of other and apparently inexplicable gauges 2 existed throughout the whole eastern region, making any approach to an ef- fective national railway system an impossibility while such a condition continued. Up to and including the decade in question the multiplication of railways in America had not resulted in a simplification of the gauge problem, as might have been expected or as assuredly would have been the case had the railroad building of the 1 This group included the Missouri Pacific, extending westward from St. Louis, and a possible important factor in the transcontinental route to be created. 2 Such as 4 feet 9 l /2 inches; 4 feet 5y 2 inches; 4 feet 7 inches; 5 feet 4 inches; 4 feet 8 inches; 4 feet 9/4 inches and 4 feet 3 inches. In addition to all the diffe-ent American gauges, an English parliamentary commission had recommended the establish- ment of a standard track-width of five feet and three inches, and Canada was building her railways with a gauge of five and a half feet. It is thus apparent that one of the most serious questions relating to the physical structure of railways was still a matter of dis- pute and widely divergent practise more than thirty years after the commencement of the railway epoch. 1348 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA country been directed by a continental policy but on the contrary the widespread divergencies in track-width had produced a confusion that was depriving the railroad system of the country of a large part perhaps half of its potential value. Some strong influence was imperative- ly needed to rectify the conditions described, and the creation of the transcontinental road was destined to become that influence. Under the act of 1862 the President of the United States was authorized to fix the gauge of the Pacific road. When President Lincoln was informed of the responsi- bility placed upon him he said he would be pleased to comply with the law if he only knew what the best gauge was. Severe political pressure was brought to bear upon him in behalf of several of the gauges then in use. Mis- souri urged five and a half feet, Chicago and New York advocated four feet eight and a half inches, California demanded five feet, and so serious did the fight become that Lincoln actually called a cabinet meeting to con- sider the question. Finally he settled on the California gauge of five feet, and issued a proclamation in accordance with his decision. But the President's ruling so urgently sought before he gave it was not accepted. The quarrel was transferred to Congress, and at last, after eight months of contention, that body in March of 1863 passed a law naming four feet eight and a half inches as the gauge for the Pacific Railroad. It is very likely that this action, more than any other one event in railroad history, was the determining factor in establishing the prevailing and so-called standard rail- road gauge. All the roads of the country not built in ac- cordance with that decision saw the necessity of track alteration if they were to participate directly in trans- 1349 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA continental traffic and enjoy its benefits. The necessary physical transformation began almost at once, and con- tinued until the declared governmental standard became universal. Work on the enterprise was begun at both its ends. 398. A transcontinental train cheered in its passage by the workmen who had built the road. From a sketch by the artist Joseph Becker. The Central Pacific began to built eastward from Sacra- mento in 1864, and fifty-six miles of track had been laid down by the beginning of 1866. The Union Pacific began to build westward from Omaha, and by January, 1866, had completed its first forty miles of track. From that time on progress was rapid, although the actual builders labored under unusual difficulties. Those men who were advancing westward from Omaha were compelled to haul 1350 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA all their building and commissary supplies overland from Iowa, and the track layers who were marching toward the East had to bring much of their material to the scene of their work across the Isthmus of Panama or around Cape Horn. 1 A description of the scenes and methods at- tending the advance of the railway was published in pamphlet form by the Union Pacific road in the summer of 1868, and read thus: 2 "There is nothing connected with the Union Pacific Railroad that is not wonderful. The possibility of constructing such a road at some future day has long loomed up as one of the events of a grander future which all believed was to come for the land. . . What the country has dreamed about for many years is becoming a reality much faster than the people know. One year ago but forty miles were finished. To-night three additional miles of rail will mark the track of the day's advance. . . "The train, which was made up for the excursionists, consisted of cars as elegant as any that can be found east of the Missouri. It was very difficult to look at them and realize that before night they would be roaring along over plains from which hostile Indians, deer and ante- lope have not yet been driven. 3 . . . The surface is almost perfectly flat, though its regular ascent toward the west, of about ten feet to the mile, gives ample drainage. The soil is very rich, and the mind fal- ters in its attempt to estimate the future of such a valley, or its immense capabilities. The grain fields of Europe are mere garden patches beside the green oceans which roll from Colorado to Indiana. . . The hills behind sink into the plain until the horizon there is perfect. Those on either side grow fainter, till through the heated air they take on the appearance of low islands seen across many miles of water. "Much of the land at the mouth of the valley is under cultivation, arid the deep black of the freshly turned loam, the dark green of the wheat, the lighter grass, the deeper shades, and the brown of that which the fires of the autumn spared, make the wide expanse a mosaic which nature alone could color, and the prairies only find room to display. Further on, huge plows, drawn by eight oxen, labored slowly along, 1 The bulk of the labor necessary in the building of the Central Pacific portion of the line was performed by Chinese coolies. Most of the work on the Union Pacific was done by Irish immigrants. 2 From the "Union Pacific Railroad Company . . . Progress of Their Road," etc., etc., pp. 8-12. The description here quoted was written by a correspondent of the "Cincin- nati Gazette," who inspected the progress of the undertaking in June of 1868. The corre- spondent's letter to his newspaper was incorporated by the railroad in its pamphlet, which was issued a few weeks later. 3 Popular opinion that Indians were interlbpers with which America had become infested, along with other species of desirable and undesirable fauna, was then so deeply implanted as to forbid expectation of change. 1351 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA each furrow being an added ripple to the tide which is sweeping up over all these rich regions a tide whose ebb the youngest will never know. "The common mileposts seem to measure insignificant distances upon the wide plains. Only each five miles are noted on this road, and when one has passed between two of these, the step taken hardly appears like an advance. But there is one point marked in a manner to suggest the distance which has been overcome, and the gigantic character of the work. At a point in the plain, which otherwise seems as indeterminate as the position of a floating log at sea, a wide, arched sign, between two strong-set posts, bears this inscription: '100th meridian.' . . . "Within twenty miles of the end of the track a few of the party rode on the cow-catcher. It seemed marvelous to drive on at twenty miles an hour over rails that had only been down for ten days. . . Three hundred and twenty-five miles out, a construction train of eighty cars stood on a side track. It was loaded with iron, ties, spikes, and chains, in exactly such proportions as were needed. It looked the very embodiment of system, and was one key to the rapidity with which the work progresses. A little farther on stood a similar train, and next we stopped in rear of the one where the tracklayers resided. "The road had been a constant wonder from the start. . . But all we saw was commonplace and natural beside the scene that awaited us where the track was being laid. If the rest had excited amazement, this new wonder took all the attributes of magic. Fictions of the East must be rewritten to match the realities of this West. . . "The plain fact will reveal the magnitude of the work. The graders go first. There are 2,000 of them. Their advance is near the Black Hills, and their work is done to Julesburgh. Of the tie-getters and woodchoppers there are 1,500. Their axes are resounding in the BlacV Hills, over Laramie Plains, and in the passes of the Rocky Mountains. They have 100,000 ties in these hills awaiting safeguards [soldiers] for trains to haul them. Then follow the tie-layers, carefully performing their share of the work. "Now go back twenty miles on the road, and look at the immense construction trains, loaded with ties and rails, and all things needed for the work. It is like the grand reserve of an army. Six miles back are other trains of like character. These are the second line. Next, near the terminus, and following it hour by hour, are the boarding cars and a construction train, which answer to the actual battle line. The one is the camp ; the other is the ammunition used in the fight. The boarding cars are each eighty feet long. Some are fitted with berths; two are dining halls; one is a kitchen, store room and office. "The boarding cars go in advance. They are pushed to the extremity of the track; a construction train then runs up, unloads its material and starts back to bring another from the second line. . . The trucks, each 1352 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA drawn by two horses, ply between the track-layers and their supplies. One of these trucks takes on a load of rails, about forty, with the proper proportion of spikes and chairs, making a load, when the horses are started off on a full gallop for the track-layers. On each side of these trucks are rollers to facilitate running off the iron. "The rails within reach, parties of five men stand on either side. One in the rear throws a rail upon the rollers, three in advance seize it and run out with it to the proper distance. The chairs have, mean- time, been set under the last rails placed. The two men in the rear, with a single swing, force the end of the rail into the chair, and the chief of the squad calls out 'Down,' in a tone that equals the 'Forward' to an army. Every thirty seconds there came that brave 'Down,' 'Down,' on either side the track. They were the pendulum beats of a mighty era. . . "If it is asked, 'How does the work get on?' again let the facts answer. On the 9th of May, 1866, but forty miles of road were com- pleted. In a hundred and eighty-two working days thereafter, two hundred and forty-five additional miles were laid. . . From one o'clock till four in the afternoon, a mile and two hundred feet were added to this while the party was looking on." The Central Pacific Company laid down 689 miles of track eastward from Sacramento, and the Union Pacific corporation built 1,086 miles westward from Omaha. The people of all the states watched the progress of the under- taking with constantly increasing interest, and their en- thusiasm and expectancy steadily grew as the two groups of builders gradually drew closer together. Early in the spring of 1869 it became apparent that the work would very soon be finished, and that the two sections of track would be connected amid the Rocky Mountains of Utah. By the first week in May only a few miles of the road re- mained uncompleted, and it was possible to select the precise spot where the lines of rails would meet, and the day on which the ceremonies attending that event might occur. A location known as Promontory Point was chosen as the meeting place, and the tenth of May was designated as the date. Finally the morning of the appointed day arrived, 1353 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA and between the rails that stretched to the Atlantic Ocean and those which extended to the Pacific there remained a gap of about one hundred feet. All the ties were in place save at the center of the gap, where the space de- signed for one wooden cross-piece still remained unoc- 399. The mingling of the people. Drawn by the artist Thomas Hogan. cupied. Then, simultaneously, the Orientals from the West and the Caucasians from the East advanced toward each other, placing the missing links of steel. At their heels followed the spectators, edging forward step by step. Some six hundred people composed the throng, which included white Americans, Irish workmen, Chinese in blue blouses, negroes, and Mexicans in tall sombreros. There was also a little group of Indians. The last tie a piece of laurel-wood from California was put in posi- tion, and the last two rails were laid. One was fastened 1354 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA down with its full complement of ten iron spikes and the other w 7 ith seven. Then Nevada presented a spike of silver which was driven home, and Arizona gave her like offering made of iron, silver and gold. But one more spike remained the "last spike" of gold and it was to be given by Cali- fornia. All the country knew what was to happen that day in the western mountains. During twenty years the people had debated the possibility of spanning the continent by an iron highway, and for five more years they had watched the progress of the work. The task was almost done. It was no longer a matter of decades or years, but of hours half an hour five minutes one minute. Unnumbered multitudes had everywhere gathered to await the ap- pointed signal, for it had been arranged that the blows of the sledge on the last spike should be communicated afar by electricity, and that the impulse so sent should ring countless bells in distant cities. So, on that May morning, the streets of San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, New Orleans, Omaha, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Sacramento and every other center of importance throughout the country were filled with silent, waiting throngs. The six hundred spectators up in the mountains crowded more closely together, and the two engines crept nearer to each other. The men who were to wield the silver sledge took their places beside the rail. A caution sped over the wires saying: "To everybody. Keep quiet. When the last spike is driven at Promontory Point we will say 'Done.' Don't break the circuit, but watch for the signals of the blows of the hammer." Several other 1355 brusque communications followed at intervals of a minute or so. The first of them said: "Almost ready. Hats off. Prayer is being offered." Then this came from Promontory Point into the wait- ing world: "We have got done praying. The spike is about to bs presented." And finally: "All ready now." Down to the people in the streets came the sound of bells, slow and measured, and they knew the meaning of the cadence. To each note of the brazen clangor they responded with a fierce and exultant shout that was cut off abruptly so they might not dim the message for which they listened. It told them that the task begun nearly two centuries and a half before was finished. There was to be no more loneliness; no more sections. The oceans were joined, and all who dwelt between them might at last be neighbors and friends in a real sense. Never again could distance or isolation be decisive factors in the life, social conditions, culture or opportunities of the people. All might mingle with one another, get really acquainted, discover mutual needs, and work in better harmony for the common advancement. Such was the realization that swept over the multitudes as they lifted up their rhythmic shouts in answer to the bells. It was as though they were chanting the last, triumphant words in a long epic of human endeavor. And if those of future times should seek for a day on which the country at last became a nation, and for an event by virtue of which its inhabitants became one people, it may be that they will not select the verdict of some political campaign or battle-field but choose, instead, the hour when two engines one from the East and the other from the West met at Promontorv. / 1356 o Q- So CHAPTER LVIII SUMMARY OF PRESENT CONDITIONS THE opening of a modern travel highway across the continent marked the end of a work that began when English speaking white men landed on the shores of Virginia and Massachusetts. With its completion a destiny was realized, and the spirit in which the people saw the event showed that they divined its significance. The event itself, coming while the memory of the tremendous civil conflict remained undimmed, offered the first opportunity, since that struggle, to reveal a longing for real national solidarity. The contrast between the new economic conquest and the recent war was a happy omen. One had been born of sectional differences, errors and misunderstanding whose origins reached far back into history. As a consequence of its outbreak the young nation had hung on the brink of dissolution, and its continuance spelled for a period the destruction of ties created by more than two hundred years of association in earlier times of need and trouble. The new conquest, on the other hand, was a common ef- fort for the good of all. Its steady progress had been marked, not by disruption, devastation and sorrow, but by visions of closer intercourse, kindlier feeling and in- creased prosperity. Through it the desert places were to be made populous and fruitful. Its purpose was not to sever but to unite. By its aid all the communities of the land, however distant, were to become neighbors, and 1357 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA every city was to acquire a new relation to all the others and have its own larger duty to perform. There could be no more sections in the old and jealous sense, for in new days to come the mingling of the people was to bring upon them a fuller realization of their essential brother- hood. That was the prophecy borne by the ringing of bells and thunder of cannon loaded 'with powder only, and by the shrill exultant shout which sped from one ocean to the other within a moment of time. The in- habitants of America already aspired to an enduring unity, and their aspiration was transmuted into fact in the hour when comprehension of the one way to attain it swept over them. Since that day the people have progressed somewhat in the path on which they then entered. At times they have strayed from it because of carelessness, and some- times they have been beguiled from the safe road by the lure of ease or selfish gain, for the right way is hard, and must be cleared for every advance. But they have always come back to the new path, and to-day, more than ever before, there is appreciation that real union and the highest degree of general welfare is best sought by an intermingling of all the people, by their unselfish recogni- tion of mutual needs and responsibilities, and courage to meet the obligations which time, new conditions and close associations have placed upon them. Without that free and constant intercourse of the population brought about as a direct result of improved methods in continental travel and communication, the great invisible components of enduring nationality could hardly have been called into being. A region so immense, whose geographical and industrial conditions afford such contrasts and whose sectional needs and methods are so 1358 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA diverse, presents a very serious problem to the power of social coherence and to a desire for social advancement. It is quite likely that the political fabric of nationality would have become unwieldy and difficult of advanta- geous preservation had it not been enormously reinforced, throughout its whole extent, by a communication system which has created the saving sense of neighborliness to which reference has been made. Considered as a political structure the union is venerable of years, but as a people welded into one organism through the instrumentality of common purposes, desires and hopes, the nation is young indeed. These are still the days of its childhood. It is even now coming into a first realization of its own strength, and does not yet know how to use it. But if the mistakes and strange experiences of youth are not for- gotten they will be of profit in the future, and wisdom will eventually invoke and guide the giant's power. During the months immediately following the com- pletion of the first transcontinental railroad a number of eastern cities showed their understanding of its meaning by sending delegations of their citizens on visits of neighbor- ly friendship to San Francisco. Among the Atlantic com- munities which so acted was Boston, and in May of 1870 a hundred people from that city travelled to the Pacific coast in six days, 1 borne thence without change of cars. The journey then undertaken was at that time the longest yet made on any continent over continuous lines of rails. Those who took it were carried between the two oceans in less than half the interval Mistress Knight had required in going from Boston to New York. They moved across the country without effort of their own, in apartments 1 Including halts in Chicago and elsewhere. Another delegation, composed of repre- sentatives of the civic and mercantile bodies of Cincinnati, also made a similar trip. 1359 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA made beautiful by tapestries and carved woods. The sun- light did not come to them through paper coated with bear's grease, but through windows of plate glass. Their food was kept in refrigerators; they ate, with implements of silver, from fragile dishes that stood on rare mahogany. At night they did not lie down on warped puncheons, but in comfortable beds. They had a barber shop, baths, a music room, two libraries. They even had a printing establishment and a daily four-page newspaper that was written, put into type, printed and published every morn- ing 1 in a section of their moving hotel. And in the eighth issue of their newspaper its editor mentioned the charm- ing view they had enjoyed one evening, as they descended the mountains and looked down on a little sheet of water called Donner Lake. "It nestles," he said, "at the base of the mountain, and we gazed with pleasure on its clear, crystal surface, tinted with cerulean blue reflected from the cloudless vault of Heaven." Then the night fell, the brief glimpse at the beautiful lake was forgotten, and the travellers strolled in to dinner. Afterward, as was usual, they gathered for an hour or two with their books and their music. Forty-four years have passed since America was crossed in six days by the Boston excursionists. The in- terval in question has been a period of extraordinary ad- vancement in those matters pertaining to the subject here considered, but for perhaps half of that time or until about 1890 it was not distinguished by the general adoption of any new or revolutionary methods of locomo- tion. Until recent years, rather, the period that has elapsed since the joining of the oceans has been charac- 1 The first daily newspaper ever so created. It was called the "Trans-Continental." A complete file consists of twelve numbers, for it was also printed during the return trip of the party, on the same train, in June. 1360 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA erized mainly by the extension or improvement of those transportation methods which were then in active use. All the energy of the country. was for some time devoted to a utilization and refinement of devices already known. Every nook and corner of the country had to be penetrated by the railways before the nation had at its disposal all the service they as at present constituted could render. And, in addition, the railway as an engineering and mechanical implement had to be perfected. Only in name and elementary principles is the railroad of 1914 identical with the railway of 1870. The adoption of the air brake, block system, better roadbeds, the auto- matic coupler and enormously increased motive power, together with the introduction of heavy cars and a multitude of human conveniences has transformed the passenger-carrying service of our steel highways. Ac- cidents are no longer looked upon as "acts of God," or un- avoidable. Practically every occurrence of that sort is to- day considered by the people, the authorities, and by the railways themselves, as proof of prior human carelessness either in the construction process, administrative regula- tion, inspection or operation of the road on which it takes place. The existing attitude toward accidents is a sane one. Its adoption by the Federal government and by the present railway administrators of the country would doubtless have wrought a decrease in the calamities which for so many years have been a blot on the railroad system of the country had not the system as a whole been com- pelled to labor under a severe handicap imposed on it by lack of foresight, greed, and financial wrong. The American people are no longer designedly unfair except to themselves. Their habit is to be patient in the endurance of many kinds of imposition. They submit to 1361 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA counterfeit domination for periods longer than those dur- ing which other peoples tolerate similar unnecessary con- ditions; hoping each time, apparently, that the cause of irritation will be voluntarily removed by those responsible. When the situation becomes unbearable there arises a murmur of remonstrance the significance of which, despite many precedents, is rarely grasped by the ones toward whom it is directed. The will of this people when determination to alter an existing economic condi- tion has been reached is not at once expressed in the phraseology of excitement or command, but in words of suggestion and entreaty. Opponents of a slowly formed popular judgment who disregard that apparent appeal and wait for further verbal outcry before giving compli- ance, await in vain. The next step of the public is quiet action. Threats are the weapons of the weak, and have no useful place in the relations between a people and those to whom the details of its well-being are entrusted. No man whose duties affect for good or evil the welfare of his fellow citizens; no institution whose conduct is similarly potent, is worthy of responsibility and power if amenable to threats and fear alone. Selfish standards have been cast aside and we are on the up-grade again. Our future motor of action is to be a sense of fairness geared to practicality. The schemer whether personal or corporate who seeks unfair advantage through de- vious ways will be stripped of his authority, while he who gives himself with open record and right purpose to any work whose legitimate functions contribute to the general good, will receive the trust of his fellow men. It has been said there is no indication that the railways of the country would willingly revert to those days of their history so marred by unfair discrimination against in- 1362 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA dividuals, cities and sections. Indeed, there are indica- tions 1 that they rejoice, with the public, at their emancipa- tion from such practises and regret that they were not able to bring the period of corruption to an end without as- sistance. But some of them are still confronted by another opportunity, equally large, wherein to display a newly acquired moral strength and thereby gain, in greater degree, the public confidence which is not yet wholly theirs. They can further improve their position by with- drawing from participation in political affairs and questionable financial transactions, and by confining them- selves to the complex and increasingly important problem of transporting the people and commodities of the nation the task for which they were primarily designed. It is probable that the quality of service which can be given by American railways, as far as speed and luxury of travel are concerned, has reached the limit of excel- lence permitted by their present physical constitution. The brief age of steam is approaching its end, and the long age of electricity is near at hand. As a matter of fact the ability of electrical engineers to alter the condi- tions of travel and transportation is already somewhat in advance of opportunites presented for its exercise. For some years they have been prepared to build and operate electrically propelled trains at a speed of perhaps a hundred miles an hour 2 if there were roadbeds capable of bearing the shock represented by such a velocity. The existing American roadbeds were designed only to up- hold steam travel at the rate of forty or fifty miles an hour, with about sixty miles as the limit of safety for regular 1 Despite frequent revelation of discriminations and other improper acts practised by roads that are still burdened by evil administration. 2 In the well-known German experiments a speed of about one hundred and thirty miles an hour was attained by electrical vehicles on a railed track for a short distance. 1363 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA traffic on the best constructed tracks. 1 Even those speeds are much in excess of the average schedules for passenger service throughout the country, and it is not desirable that we acquire travel facilities swifter than those at present available until suitable roadbeds are established for the hundred-miles-an-hour electrical trains. The fact that we could even now move over the country at such a velocity, and yet do not do so, furnishes another instance of the "progress backward" method of evolution in land trans- portation. The hundred-miles-an-hour motor and vehicle are waiting, but the road for them is not yet built. Nor will it be constructed for a considerable period to come. Instead of a further search for speed, another and more important need confronts the nation. The recent perfection and widespread adoption of mechanical vehicles designed for use on land highways after ex- perimentation lasting about a century has made it neces- sary to rebuild a large proportion of all existing American land roads in order that the whole economic value of the revolutionary improvement may be made available. To this task the country is already turning, perhaps with a haste that may breed unnecessary waste and error. But enough experience has already been gained to show that permanent, scientifically constructed and hard-surfaced highways are essential for the purpose in view, and that public funds from whatever treasury supplied are wasted if devoted to the maintenance of existing dirt roads or others not created in accord with the modern practise of road laying. The work to be done is not one of repair or of improvement, but of original building by 1 The recent American tendency has been to decrease the speed of express trains, rather than to increase it. 1364 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA engineers from foundation upward. Its cost will be vast, and its benefits are destined to be still greater. One factor of present-day American life that for some time has been exercising an influence in restraining both the speed and frequency of human movement is the omnipresence of the telegraph and telephone. Those de- vices have in some degree made physical travel unneces- sary. Instead of going in person to conduct negotiations or to make visits we send our words or voices only, and keep our bodies at home. In the days of 1870 if an emergency called an eastern man to the Middle West he went in person, and was three or four days on the road. To-day, in similar case, he remains seated at his desk and in two minutes is talking with the other man in St. Louis, Chicago, Council Bluffs, Little Rock, Minneapolis or Denver. That also is travel, though of a species not imagined by the men who pushed pole-boats, guided pack- trains through the wilderness and drifted down the rivers on their arks. They could be in only one place at a time, and had hard work to get there. To-day we can be at both ends of a long pilgrimage in the same instant. When they were separated in the woods their halloos might carry for half a mile. We whisper and laugh at one another across distances that meant journeys of months to them. They fought their way on foot through forests and deserts and mountains. We can fly through the air from ocean to ocean and gaze down on the cities they founded. 1 Their log cabins are gone, and we sit amid wires, push-buttons and tubes by which we summon light, heat, water, food, drink, absent friends, messenger boys, motor-cars and music, as our fancy wills. 1 Rodgers, an American aviator, flew from the Atlantic to the Pacific across the United States, in 1911. His actual flying time he made many stops was about three days and ten hours, and his average speed while flying was about fifty-one and a half miles an hour. He was the first human who crossed a continent through the air. 1365 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA The recent accomplishment of human flight 1 is a feat so tremendous that even as we see the thing performed it still seems a figment of the fancy; an absurd hallucina- tion. When the little speck has disappeared we look down and observe the tracks made by the apparatus while it still clung to earth. Then the tracks stop. The ton of ma- chinery that was lately there has vanished. It is some- where above, rushing forward at eighty or a hundred miles an hour in a place where there are no tracks, yet guided amid the clouds by human intellect. A certain apparent popular indifference to man-flight which is already visible the seemingly matter-of-fact ac- ceptance of such a deed is perhaps not so real as it ap- pears. The human race has been so mentally benumbed by its own performances that this last wonder is not yet grasped and may never be. The limit of our comprehen- sion had been reached before it came. We have entered, as was said in the beginning, upon an era wherein the impos- sible has become commonplace, and the average man, in instinctive self-protection of his sanity, no longer gives deep consideration to those conditions with which he is surrounded or to the powers harnessed by genius for his benefit. The average mind already shrinks from effort to assimilate what eyes behold and hands use, and so, here- after, we must accept much of what is done for us with- out understanding, content to let a few work in regions not for us, while we casually employ what they bestow. Those who hereafter become benefactors of the race through invention and discovery in the fields of physical and mechanical science are destined to find their large reward within their own thoughts. 1 By the Americans, Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright. There are now (19141 nearly eight thousand men in the world who can fly. 1366 Copyright, 1910, by the Pictorial News Company. 400. The old Indian trail of 1675 across New Jersey as it appeared on the morning of June 13, 1910. Hamilton, the aviator, on his flight from New York City to Philadelphia, overhauling a railroad train running at 50 miles an hour. First trip of an aeroplane made in accordance with a pre- viously announced schedulo. A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Our only measure of a man's greatness whatever his task may be lies in our limited ability to appreciate what he has done and to comprehend the value of his work. If our understanding cannot grasp what he has accomplished, or follow him over the unfamiliar road along which he has moved to his victory, then our measure fails. We take what he gives and are pleased, or we cast it aside, but we do not see the man as he is. Thus it has always been, and much more often will it be so in the future. It is not because we are thoughtless, or ungrateful. It is because we have so many other things to think about, and to do. It is perhaps not unfair to say that the mass of men constituting the last pioneer generations of America are in some respects more remote from us through the broadening of our knowledge horizon and our increased power to do things than they were from the men of the Glacial Epoch. So overwhelming has been man's ac- cumulation of understanding and collective strength dur- ing the last three generations that, in respect of mastery over material conditions, we are giants in comparison with them. Yet in one regard their work was more splendid than ours has since been, for they despite their relative ignorance and incapacity advanced in the span of one lifetime from forest trails and flatboats to turnpikes, canals and railroads; whereas w r e, with our indescribably greater powers, have until now made no widespread im- provement in our highways, have forgotten the rivers, have neglected many of the canals they created, 1 and have misused the railroads they introduced. But we are awakening, and soon we, too, shall be at our task with an awesome strength. It is needful. 1 The extensive improvement of the Erie Canal, now in progress, is a noteworthy exception. 1368 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA The pioneers have gone. Boone, Fitch, Evans, Tecum- seh, Watson, Schultz, Clinton, Cuming, Shreve, Dear- born, Stevens, Strickland, Baldwin, Bruen, Pilcher, Roosevelt, Parker, Berry, Crockett, Floyd, La Barge, Smith, Bunting, Applegate, Whitney, Donner, Abbey all the dreamers and the workers and wanderers have played their parts and disappeared. We are the custodi- ans of their prodigious legacies, and we, in our turn, must pass them on made better or worse by our use and stewardship. In one respect we have failed to progress in like degree with the pioneers, and so our chiefest contribution to the swelling inheritance of the nation has not yet been made. We have not heretofore accompanied our new strength with a corresponding advance in those invisible standards by which it should be guided. The inward development has lagged behind, and so we live amid devices fashioned by us and theoretically subject to our direction, by whose better employment we might lift ourselves to a higher plane of common happiness and comfort, yet do not fully utilize them. We are not the masters of our environ- ment and implements to the extent that the pioneers were. The complex economic machinery we have created has to some degree imperceptibly slipped from our common control into the hands of a few who have misapplied it and stolen its usefulness for their own enrichment. We have been wounded by the splendid tools that we ourselves have slowly fashioned for our own improvement. Not until we alter that condition, and regulate their future use by impulses and methods correspondingly fine will we reap the full benefits of the centuries and toil spent in their making. The concrete machinery of our social organization 1369 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA of which the existing transportation system is a part is in principle competent for its task. So if it fails, or is ineffective, then the cause of its inefficiency must be sought in us and the methods of our manipulation, and not in it. We have been careless, have suffered spoliation in conse- quence, and are destined to pay still more. For some un- fortunate effects of our laxity have probably penetrated too deeply into all our affairs to make their eradication possible without injuring the innocent more than the guilty. Those who have filched treasure from their brothers sit secure among their spoils, beyond reach of retribution save the verdict of self-contemplation and the calm judgment of their fellow men. Perhaps that will be sufficient. As an atonement for the neglect of our affairs it now devolves on us to find within ourselves whatever degree of self-restraint may be required by present conditions, and, through the manifestation of statesmanship by all men, hereafter prove ourselves worthy to control our natural and created riches. To one who has followed the story of progress and historical development that has been outlined in these pages must come the question: What do the approach- ing years contain? It is idle to speculate; rash to predict. Once more it is fitting to say that only those who are in- deed great can see the future with certainty, and if there are any such amongst us they are silent. Perhaps they shrink from the laughter sure to greet their words if they did speak. Very likely we too would say of such a one: "Poor fellow; what a pity he is crazy." Human nature has in some particulars remained about the same. We prefer to prophesy a thing the day after we see it per- formed. 1370 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA As we sit at meat in moving hotels which travel fifty miles an hour and look out upon the panorama that drops so swiftly away, or as we hear a strange sound above and gaze up into the sky we behold visions of the coming days that are not put into speech. We are afraid to whisper them. They may be dreams, or may not be. We prefer to wait and see. But of one thing we are sure, and can say it without fear. The preliminary work has been done. It has been a long, hard march from 1620 to 1914, but some of the results have been worth while. Almost every pos- sible mistake has already been made, and so it only re- mains to correct their present effects wherever we can and avoid repetition of them hereafte*. The present genera- tion need not strike a pose on a pedestal of vainglory and mesmerize itself into a belief that ultimate perfection has been approximately reached. Such a thought would con- tain a prolific germ of error, nor is it likely to be enter- tained. As we look back into the past we begin to see that the features of those times most important to us, and which have most deeply impressed their influence on these years, were not the wars waged by men but the influences and moral attributes whether for good or evil which im- pelled them to do what they did in the more ordinary af- fairs of life. Within and among ourselves we behold the complex result of former conflicting standards of belief and action. We see much to be regretted, and to be altered before we can reach the plane to which we aspire. May it not be well for us and for those who are to follow if we, as a people, henceforward study our past national life with more thought for the relationships which have always ex- isted between our standards of conduct and our permanent and best material welfare. 1371 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA As we bustle back and forth we do not seek to build merely for an hour or a generation. There is also an ever present duty that can only be seen by standing in imagina- tion among the unborn hosts and gazing back to now. Our lives are likewise to be told, and when they are recorded it will give us more worthy rank if it can be said of us, not that we were the first men to fly through the air, but that we were the first to recognize the highest value of history as a teacher and to prove it by our own deeds. The wearying, slow, preparatory work has been per- formed. Behind us is an interesting record that, even with its tragedy and blunders, is an inspiration to the genius of men. Persistent effort is always an inspiration, even though its results are small. Much has been done, and various things remain to be undone. A new era is be- ginning whose chief characteristics in every field of en- deavor are to be a finer wisdom, a smaller selfishness, and a more sincere thought for the comfort, safety, happiness and welfare of all the people. In the attainment of those things there lies a triumph worth more to the nation than that which will proceed from the discovery and use of forces and utilities yet unimagined. This epilogue is only the prologue of another, prouder and still more wonderful history that is surely destined to be written on some far day of the future. Our air-ships are the symbols of a new aspiration. Henceforth the travels of mankind are not to be across mountain and forest; but upward, through realms they have beheld but dimly from below. APPENDICES CONTENTS OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A A STATISTICAL HISTORY OF NINETY-FIVE EARLY AMERICAN RAILWAYS IN TABULAR FORM THEIR DATES OF CHARTER, DATES OF FIRST USE AND INDIVIDUAL LENGTHS THE TOTAL RAILROAD MILEAGE IN EACH OF ELEVEN STATES AT ANNUAL INTERVALS COST OF THAT MILEAGE AND EQUIPMENT AT CORRESPONDING PERIODS THE YEARLY RECEIPTS OF THAT MILEAGE AS DERIVED FROM PAS- SENGER TRAFFIC AND FREIGHT TRAFFIC THE SYSTEM SUSTAINED DURING ITS FIRST TWENTY YEARS BY INCOME OBTAINED FROM HUMAN TRAVEL OTHER GENERAL AND PARTICULAR CONCLU- SIONS DERIVED FROM THE FIGURES APPENDIX B TOTAL CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT COSTS OF THE SAME NINETY- FIVE EARLY ROADS COMPARED WITH THEIR TOTAL LIABILITIES OR CAPITAL FOR IDENTICAL YEARS THE FIGURES PRACTICALLY COR- RESPOND DURING THE FIRST THIRTY YEARS OF AMERICAN RAILWAY HISTORY CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS AND THE REASONS THEREFOR NET EARNINGS COMPARED WITH THE COSTS AND CAPITAL THE MILEAGE AS COMPARED WITH THE COST OF ITS CONSTRUCTION AND THE CAPITAL INVOLVED APPENDIX C A LIST SHOWING THE CONFUSION OF GAUGES IN ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY UNTIL AS LATE A DATE AS 1866 TWELVE DIFFERENT TRACK-WIDTHS IN USE THEY RANGED FROM 4 FEET 3 INCHES TO 6 FEET THIRTY RAILWAYS, FROM MAINE TO MISSOURI AND TEXAS, CITED AS EXAMPLES APPENDIX D GARFIELD'S ADDRESS ON THE RAILWAY PROBLEM, DELIVERED BEFORE HUDSON COLLEGE IN 1873 RELATION OF THE PROBLEM TO THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLIC WHAT THE LOCOMOTIVE IS LIKELY TO DO TO SOCIETY HIS OPINION OF THE RESULT THAT MIGHT FOLLOW IF THE MECHANICAL MACHINE WAS COMBINED WITH THE LEGAL MACHINE KNOWN AS A CORPORATION RELATION OF THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE TO THE QUESTION POSSIBLE SOLU- TIONS SUGGESTED SERIOUSNESS OF THE SUBJECT CONFIDENCE IN THE ULTIMATE DECISION OF THE PEOPLE 1375 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA APPENDIX E A LIST OF THE FIFTY-THREE PRINCIPAL CANALS IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1850, AT THE CLOSE OF THE EARLY CANAL-BUILDING EPOCH THEIR INDIVIDUAL LENGTHS AND TOTAL MILEAGE THE CITIES JOINED BY THEM SEVENTEEN STATES, FROM MAINE IN THE EAST TO LOUISIANA IN THE SOUTH AND ILLINOIS IN THE WEST, POSSESSED SUCH FACILITIES OF COMMUNICATION APPENDIX F SEWARD'S ADDRESS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE AUBURN AND OWASCO CANAL IN 1835 INTERSECTIONAL JEALOUSIES INTERFERE WITH THE CREATION OF BETTER COMMUNICATION FACILITIES PRE- TEXTS AND RESULTS OF THE FEELING USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS ADVOCATED FOR ADVANCING LARGE ENTERPRISES WEALTH NOT THE HIGHEST GOAL OF THE PEOPLE MORAL, POLITICAL AND INDUSTRIAL EVIL CLOSELY ASSOCIATED DANGERS INHERENT IN A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT METHODS OF AVOIDING THEM SOUND EDUCATION, UNDERSTANDING AND POPULAR RIGHTEOUSNESS MUST KEEP PACE WITH MATERIAL PROSPERITY WEALTH WITHOUT WISDOM IS FATAL APPENDIX G FIGURES SHOWING THE EXTENT, METHOD OF ACQUIREMENT, COST AND USE OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN 1826, AFTER HALF A CENTURY OF NATIONAL EXISTENCE 214,000,000 ACRES OF LAND BOUGHT FROM THE NATIVES AT A COST OF ABOUT $3,400,000 AVERAGE COST OF SUCH LAND ABOUT THREE CENTS AN ACRE GOVERN- MENTAL SALES OF LAND TO WHITE MEN HAD AMOUNTED TO LESS THAN 20,000,000 ACRES RECEIPTS FROM THOSE SALES, $40,000,- 000 NUMBER OF INDIANS THEN IN ORGANIZED STATES AND TERRITORIES WITH AMOUNT OF LAND CLAIMED BY THEM 750,000,000 ACRES IN THE WEST STILL REMAINED LARGELY UNDFR NATIVE OWNERSHIP OTHER ALLIED RECORDS APPENDIX H STATEMENTS MADE BY CAUCASIAN HISTORIANS BETWEEN 1643 AND 1847 REGARDING THE CHARACTER, DESIRES, CAPACITY AND ATTI- TUDE OF THE EASTERN AMERICAN NATIVES, THE ATTITUDE OF THE WHITES TOWARD THEM, AND THE PURPOSES, METHODS AND RESULTS OF THE WHITE POLICY APPENDIX I A CAUCASIAN ESTIMATE OF THE CHARACTER OF TECUMSEH, CONTAINED IN A LETTER PUBLISHED BY AN INDIANA NEWSPAPER IN 1820 1376 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA APPENDIX J AN INDIAN STATE DOCUMENT OF 1828 MESSAGE OF THE DUAL EXEC- UTIVES OF THE CHEROKEE NATION TO THE CHEROKEE GENERAL COUNCIL EXAMPLE OF THE MOST ADVANCED PROGRESS MADE BY INDIANS UNDER THEIR OWN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT AND INDEPENDENCE THE CLAIMS OF GEORGIA ANALYZED AND AN- SWERED VIEWS OF AN INDIAN REPUBLIC ON THE SUBJECTS OF THE FRANCHISE, MORALITY, THE JUDICIARY, COURT PROCEDURE, A FREE PRESS, FINANCE, EDUCATION, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER MATTERS OF GENERAL PUBLIC INTEREST APPENDIX K THE WESTWARD MIGRATIONS OF 1849 A STATEMENT, IN THE FORM OF A CATECHISM, GIVING INFORMATION TO AN INTENDING EMI- GRANT CONCERNING THE EQUIPMENT THEN NECESSARY IN TRAV- ELLING FROM THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TO CALIFORNIA ADVICE ABOUT HIS WAGONS, HIS LIVE STOCK, HIS PROVISIONS, HIS WEAPONS AND THE ROUTE TO BE FOLLOWED APPENDIX L A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL OVERLAND TRAVEL ROUTES BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND THE PACIFIC COAST, AS USED BY CARAVAN TRAVEL FROM ABOUT 1849 TO 1868 APPENDIX M THE UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT DIARY OF A MAN WHO TRAVELLED TO CALIFORNIA IN 1849 LIFE ON AND NEAR THE SANTA FE TRAIL INTIMATE REVELATIONS REGARDING THE DAILY AFFAIRS OF AN OVERLAND CARAVAN MEETINGS WITH TRANSPLANTED RED MEN AND NATIVE WESTERN INDIANS FUN AT THE EXPENSE OF NEW YORK EMIGRANTS BAD FEELING CROPS OUT AND FIGHTS OCCUR DIGGING CAVES TO ESCAPE HAILSTORMS ARRIVAL AT SANTA FE LOST IN THE MOUNTAINS CARRYING A WOUNDED MAN ON A LITTER SUFFERING FOR WANT OF WATER GOLD AT LAST APPENDIX A A list of ninety-five of the early railways of the United States, to- gether with certain information relating to their organization, first use by the public, length, cost, and source of income is here given. In order that the value of such records might be extracted from them it was necessary to group the facts in tabular form, in the shape of statistics. For that reason they could not well be introduced into the body of these volumes. Yet the apparently prosaic figures of the following tables reveal several phases of the early railroad history of the country with a clearness not to be obtained in any other way. The aggregate length of the ninety-five roads considered is three thou- sand nine hundred and thirteen miles. But two of them the Baltimore and Ohio and the Erie were enterprises born of broad vision. They were the only instances in which early American railways on the verge of construction were conceived and planned, from the first, as important arteries of general commerce designed to connect separated sections of the country. The average length of the ninety-five roads, including the Baltimore and Ohio and the Erie, was forty-one and one-fifth miles. Without those two railways the average length of the remaining ninety-three was less than thirty-four miles. In other words the first railroads of the country, as actually planned and constructed, were merely neighborhood conveniences built to join localities, towns or cities that lay close to one another often only a short distance apart. In thirty-two of these cases the places connected were separated by a distance of less than twenty miles. The building of a railroad was sometimes the result of local pride. One town would decide to con- struct such a highway because a rival town had begun a like task. There was at first no cooperation among those who undertook the work. A railroad would begin somewhere, run a few miles and end somewhere else, with no prior plan or purpose to have it connect with a similar construction. Finally, after a number of small and disconnected rail- ways had appeared in some region, the several links that would hitch them all together were laid down. And even then it often hap- pened that the links were of different widths, or gauges, which of course 1379 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA made uninterrupted conveyance of people or goods an impossibility. It was eleven years after the introduction of railways in New York before the important chain of neighboring cities between Albany and Buffalo were finally connected by several iron roads that had all been built as separate pieces of work. As has previously been said, both the early dreamers and the gen- eral public had considered the new subject of railways chiefly in terms of speed and human convenience. But the men with money, by whose cooperation only could railroad building be begun, refused to invest their funds for the purpose of facilitating public travel. Their habit of mind was to consider the making, movement and sale of commodities, and it was in connection with those purposes that they at last consented to give their support to the revolutionary transportation method. The records indicate they were in error, and that their action in investing money for the building of short railways between near-by towns in the belief that such highways would be profitable as carriers of goods was an exhibition of poor business judgment. But the investments were saved, in their early and critical stage, by the general desire for human travel to which so little attention had been given. From the very first days of their operation the main reliance of the new railroads lay in passenger traffic, and the records indicate that an overwhelming pre- ponderance of railway income was for years obtained from that source. The facts show, as was said in the text, that America's railways were children of the spirit of conquest and the demand for wider, swifter movement, even though the financial nurses who coddled them were blind to their parentage. Although the general situation as here stated is apparent from the appended tables, there were certain instances wherein the conditions under discussion were especially noticeable and easily traced, and one in Pennsylvania in which unique local conditions brought about a temporary exception to the prevailing rule. In Maryland, for instance, it will be seen that a little road of thirty miles in length, called the Washington Branch Railway, came into use in 1835. Its opening was the only new element of the year in the Maryland railroad situation. During the first twelve months following its use the freight receipts of all the iron highways of the state increased by about $8,400 and the annual income from human travel jumped $139,000. A similar in- cident is to be found in the Massachusetts conditions of 1840. The Western Railroad had begun business the year before, and while the freight income of all the Massachusetts railways showed a gain of about $51,000 for the year, the money derived from transporting pas- sengers increased by some $148,000. Again, in New York, there was a striking example of the same state of affairs due to the opening of 89 miles of new road in 1835. The following twelvemonth showed a gain in New York's aggregate passenger income of more than $200,000, 1380 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA while freight brought only $8,000 more to the coffers of the railways than had been similarly derived during the previous year. The first ten railways in the Pennsylvania list were built mainly for the transportation of iron and coal. But with the opening of the first general road in the state the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown in 1832, the effect of passenger traffic became at once apparent, and within six years the income derived by such roads from human travel exceeded the sums they received for carrying goods. In 1843, however, the freight income of Pennsylvania's railways again passed the mark set by receipts derived from passengers and that long established condition will, in Pennsylvania, no doubt prevail indefinitely because of well-known conditions peculiar to it or to any common- wealth in which is produced a large quantity of commodities necessary to modern social conditions. Certain communities and states have in course of time become chief points of origin for things all men must have, and the railways leading from them derive their principal revenue from the transporting of those goods. Our first railroads were no exception to the general rule which governed the creation and adoption of each new method of movement. They were devices whoce primary value lay in the increased facilities afforded by them for the personal use and comfort of the people in moving from place to place. Only after they were expanded did they assume a high importance as agencies for the transportation of material wealth. On railways, as on the preceding horses, sleds, boats and wagons, the American was a traveller before he was an extensive shipper of goods. Under each state heading, in the appended tables, is a list of the early roads of that state, together with the dates of their charters, of their first use by the public (often before the lines were completed) and of their lengths as originally planned. In the chronological table under each state heading, the mileage and cost set down in connection with each year is the total mileage and total cost of all the railways of the state at the date mentioned. The passenger receipts and freight receipts are exclusively for the years named not the accumulated totals of all previous years. , It should be stated that the figures here used in showing the cost, the passenger receipts and freight receipts of the early American rail- ways are taken from the important and exceedingly scarce "History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America," by Henry V. Poor, published in New York City in 1860. The author knows of no other equally authoritative, elaborate and early compilation of the sort. Poor's "History," considered as an assemblage of financial statistics relat- ing to the railroads of the country in their formative period, and as a bibliography of early American railway law, is a product of care, thor- 1381 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA oughness and labor. The other statements and dates here used are gathered from various contemporary records and publications dealing with the subject. The tables follow: MAINE: Chartered. First use. Length. Bangor, Oldtown and Milford 1833 1836 11 Portland, Saco and Portsmouth 1837 1842 *Maine, New Hampshire and Mass. . . . 1836 \% Calais and Baring 1837 1851 6 * Later consolidated, by legislative acts, with Boston and Maine and Portland, Saco and Portsmouth. Passenger Freight Year. Mileage. Cost. Receipts. Receipts. 1837 11 $354,000 $11,040 $10,105 1838 11 354,000 11,596 9,955 1839 11 354,000 9,461 10,201 1840 11 354,000 10,220 6,104 1843 62 1,426,730 35,894 9,204 1845 62 1,615,286 116,113 26,938 1850 112 3,070,854. 249,994 93,747 1851 284 8,404,778 365,746 190,288 1852 328 11,201,819 423,469 252,952 NEW HAMPSHIRE: Chartered. First use. Length. *Nashua and Lowell 1835 1838 6V 4 ^Eastern 1836 1840 *Boston and Maine 1835 1840 Concord Railroad Co 1835 1842 *These were also early Massachusetts roads. The Concord road was the first New Hampshire railway entirely within the state limits. Passenger Freight Year. Mileage. Cost. Receipts. Receipts. 1842-3 34^ $725,000 $48,035 $21,808 1843-4 34y 2 742,500 72,799 65,421 1844-5 34/2 750,000 90,545 90,099 1845-6 34^ 800,000 109,971 115,469 1846-7 103J4 2,499,967 137,758 160,747 1847-8 151 5,244,500 238,907 199,602 VERMONT: Chartered. First use. Length. Vermont Central 1843 1848 119 Connecticut and Passumpic River 1835 1848 110 Rutland and Burlington 1843 1849 l\9 l / 2 Western Vermont 1845 1851 54' Vermont Valley 1848 1851 1382 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Year. Mileage. Cost. 1849 40 $800,000 1850 24034 8,430,960 1851 378/3 15,753,227 MASSACHUSETTS: Chartered. Boston and Lowell 1830 Boston and Providence 1831 Boston and Worcester 1831 Berkshire Railroad Co 1837 Boston and Maine 1833 Charlestown Branch Railroad 1836 Eastern Railroad Co 1836 Nashua and Lowell 1836 *Old Colony Railroad 1838 Taunton Branch Railroad 1835 Western Railroad Co 1833 West Stockbridge Railroad 1831 *Between New Bedford and Taunton, to which its name was changed in 1839. Not to be confounded with the "Old Colony" road chartered in 1844. Passenger Receipts. Freight Receipts. $25,110 133,997 $32,211 123,889 362,675 483,097 First use. Length. 1834 1834 1834 1842 2634 43 / 44^ 21 1836 3534 1839 1838 7# 44 1838 1840 14/ 20 1836 11 1839 1838 11734 Y'ear. Mileage. Cost. Passenger Receipts. Freight Receipts. 1835 113/ $3,972,795 $224,874 $62,225 1836 12734 4,495,570 369,601 129,334 1837 12734 5,029,370 464,603 218,280 1838 176 6,818,956 522,926 260,753 1839 225*4 8,968,419 695,967 337,657 1840 318 11,775,595 844,045 388,572 1842 434/ 19,066,671 1,273,257 721,074 1844 485/ 21,135,726 1,586,468 1,017,983 1846 681 '4 27,614,871 2,239,792 1,591,777 1848 947/3 43,859,313 3,181,659 2,463,711 1850 -1 ,125 51,644,808 3,616,516 2,692,425 RHODE ISLAND: Chartered. First use. Length. New York, Providence and Boston. . . 1832 1837 50 Providence and \Vorcester 1844 1847 431/2 Providence, \Varren and Bristol 1846 1855 \3y 1383 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Vear. Mileage. Cost. 1844 50 $1,950,000 1845 50 1,919,740 1846 50 1,902,140 1847 50 1,899,300 1848 50 1,886,650 1850 50 2,045,946 1852 50 1,893,000 1855 63y 2 2,363,860 These figures deal only Providence and Worcester enterprise. Passenger Freight Receipts. Receipts. $102,138 $39,762 78,569 37,586 86,049 41,796 129,128 57,056 117,908 56,469 116,276 64.495 134,410 63,802 167,692 108,878 with the first road named in this list. The railway was more properly a Massachusetts CONNECTICUT: Chartered. First use. Length. Hartford and New Haven 1833 1838 Boston, Norwich and New London ... 1832 1840 59 Housatonic Railroad 1836 1841 74 New Haven and Northampton 1846 1848 46 Year. 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1852 1855 Mileage. 18 102>4 102^4 176/4 176J4 176)4 201*4 201*4 201*4 201*4 288*4 408 '/, 452^ 649 * An estimate. Cost. $ 729,606 2,628,592 3,023,373 4,340,985 4,380,215 4,708,206 5,268,591 5,422,888 5,928,418 6,942,652 8,834,070 13,720,451 16,962,696 23,993,028 Probably somewhat Passenger Receipts. *$20,000 118,889 154,334 189,343 190,856 255,654 286,201 323,909 404,415 443,604 502,849 1,023,068 1,299,927 1,809,194 under the actual Freight Receipts. *$1 0,000 53,754 82,594 130,419 159,105 193,788 237,665 290,750 369,229 425,006 470,685 624 ; 786 774,763 1,058,792 figures. NEW YORK: Chartered. First use. Length. Mohawk and Hudson 1826 1831 17 Saratoga and Schenectady 1831 1832 21^ *New York and Harlem 1831 1832 6*4 Buffalo and Black Rock 1833 1834 iy 4 1384 Chartered. First use. Length. Ithaca and Owego 1828 1834 2sy 4 Rensselaer and Saratoga 1832 1835 Brooklyn and Jamaica 1832 1836 11 4 Utica and Schenectady 1833 1836 78 Buffalo and Niagara Falls 1834 1837 22 Lewiston Railroad 1836 1837 6*4 New York and Erie 1832 1841 446 Long Island Railroad 1834 1837 84 Tonawanda Railroad 1832 1837 43^ Auburn and Syracuse 1834 1838 26 Hudson and Berkshire 1828 1838 31 ^2 Syracuse and Utica 1836 1838 53 Auburn and Rochester 1836 1840 78 Blossburg and Corning 1839 1841 14^4 Albany and West Stockbridge 1836 1841 38^4 **Attica and Buffalo 1836 1842 32 Schenectady and Troy 1836 1842 20^ * Afterward slowly extended, as stated in the text. ** The last link in a completed 1 ine of railways from Albany to Buffalo. Passenger Freight Year. Mileage. Cost. Receipts. Receipts. 1832 17 $795,303 $52,059 $ 1833 39}4 1,328,725 94,319 8,708 1834 73y 4 1,680,977 129,070 13,733 1835 99^4 2,682.429 175,305 38,987 1836 188^4 5,000,831 381,256 46,185 1837 259y 2 6,145,210 585,927 38,529 1838 278 7,200,462 623,197 43,696 1839 367J4 9,075,719 976,743 60,877 1840 394^ 9,578,965 986,891 59,873 1841 414^ 9,701,218 1,021,836 107,252 1842 573y 2 16,833,624 1,282,870 156,042 1845 722 21,269,126 1,575,241 301,593 1848 855^ 33,252,324 2,553,633 915,313 1850 1,452^4 63,631,538 3,749,674 1,518,998 NEW JERSEY: Chartered. First use. Length. Camden and Amboy 1830 1832 61% New Jersey Railroad 1832 1834 3324 Patcrson and Hudson 1832 1834 14 Morris and Essex 1835 1837 52^ Camden and Woodbury 1836 1839 9 Elizabeth and Somerville 1839 1839 25 1385 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Passenger Freight Year. Mileage. Cost. Receipts. Receipts. 1833 5\y 2 $1,374,327 $307,021 $129,513 1834 6l/ 4 2,337,630 351,955 157,838 1835 S9*/ 2 , 3,613,917 502,319 236,623 1836 109 4,275,327 637,998 259,117 1837 13ZJ4 5,122,301 624,137 279,132 1838 137^4 5,397,619 650,822 273,855 1839 194)4 6,160,857 661,317 272,197 1840 I94y 4 6,367,819 672,780 298,715 1845 197 '4 7,731,212 892,305 375,097 1848 247^4 8,582,920 1,298,715 551,397 1850 254*/ 2 11,192,817 1,484,284 656,318 PENNSYLVANIA: Chartered. First use. Length. Lehigh Coal and Navigation 1827 9 Carbondale and Honesdale 1829 \6*/ 2 Mill Creek and Mine Hill 1828 1829 4 Schuylkill Valley 1828 1830 9/ 4 Union Canal Co. Railroad 1830 3>4 Mine Hill and Schuylkill 1828 1831 Mount Carbon Railroad 1829 1831 Lykens Valley Railroad 1830 1833 Room Run Railroad 1833 5 Little Schuylkill Railroad 1826 1832 28 Phila., Germantown and Norristown. . 1831 1832 17 Philadelphia and Trenton 1832 1833 28^4 Philadelphia and Columbia Public work 1834 81 Alleghany Portage Railroad. .. .Public work 1834 41 West Chester Railroad 1831 1832 9 Beaver Meadow Railroad 1830 1836 20^ Portsmouth, Mt. Joy and Lancaster. . . 1832 1836 36 Cumberland Valley 1831 1837 52 Strasburg Railroad 1832 1837 4% Phila., Wilmington and Balto 1831-2 1837 98 Franklin Railroad 1832 1838 York and Maryland 1832 1838 22 Philadelphia and Reading 1833 1838 95 Williamsport and Elmira 1832 1839 25 Lehigh and Susquehanna 1837 1840 Lorberry Creek Railroad 1831 1 840 5 Tioga Railroad 1828 1840 Wrightsville, York and Gettysburg... 1835 1840 13 1386 Passenger Freight Year. Mileage. Cost. Receipts. Receipts. 1830 9 $188,251 $22,317 1831 28% 479,319 39,387 1832 49 1,197,318 61,342 1833 54 1,513,249 $22,606 101,727 1834 90y 2 2,941,708 51,709 113,514 1835 216^4 7,760,798 140,219 276,247 1836 228 8,391,527 205,109 392,967 1837 365 12,956,019 461,696 483,125 1838 377>4 13,399,303 623,896 531,722 1839 383% 13,928,196 738,938 617,940 1840 474JX 18,452,642 850,410 777,895 1842 474V 2 21,861,905 799,516 768,716 1843 474^ 22,476,905 806,744 881,314 1845 502% 26,478,108 983,176 1,619,895 1849 52iy 2 35,159,788 1,361,863 2,881,698 The table does not include figures relating to such roads as were built and exclusively used for the movement of coal and iron. DELAWARE : Chartered. First use. Length. Newcastle and Frenchtown 1829 1832 16 T /4 \Vilmington and Susquehanna 1832 1837 4 <->/^. 34 Passenger Freight Year. Mileage. Cost. Receipts. Receipts. *1850 16% $908,927 $135,129 $1,976 *1851 16% 908,927 135,231 1,913 *1852 I6y 4 908,927 89,978 1,899 *These figures are for the Newcastle and Frenchtown Railway only. Earlier statistics for the first two Delaware roads are not available. MARYLAND: Chartered. First use. Length. Baltimore and Ohio 1827 1830 379 Baltimore and Susquehanna 1828 1831 36 Delaware and Maryland 1832 1837 22 Washington Branch Railroad 1833 1835 30 Baltimore and Port Deposit 1834 1837 36 Annapolis and Elkridge 1837 1840 20% 1387 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Passenger Freight Year. Mileage. Cost. Receipts. Receipts. 1830 14 $1,178,165 $14,711 $ 1831 61 2,079,107 27,250 4,155 1832 69 2,279,841 67,910 69,027 1833 89 3,188,725 93,233 121,147 1834 101 3,619,222 104,182 131,255 1835 101 3,911,251 113,540 189,828 1836 131 5,761,196 253,126 198,186 1837 131 6,105,299 275,625 235,676 1838 131 6,251,333 326,694 288,539 1839 my 2 8,113,794 430,182 283,260 1840 my 2 8,722,917 431,940 334,349 1843 296 12,212,911 420,345 395,385 1845 296 12,534,410 546,010 494,530 1846 296 12,617.100 601,293 643,683 1848 296 13,890,479 667,487 958,379 The figures relating to the Delaware and Maryland Railway and to the Baltimore and Port Deposit road, are not included in this table. They were chiefly Pennsylvania enterprises and the statistics dealing with them are embraced in the records of Pennsylvania. APPENDIX B The following tables relating to the ninety-five railways listed in Appendix A are designed to throw some light on the relationship be- tween the physical growth, capitalization, actual construction cost and net earnings of the American railroad system during the first thirty years of its existence. The figures used are also extracted from Poor's "History." A study of the numerical statements here given shows a number of interesting conditions. The "total cost," as set forth for each year sum- marized, embraces the total cost of both construction and equipment for all railways in the state under consideration up to the year named. The "total capital" or "total liabilities" similarly represents the entire capi- tal or liabilities of all the roads of the state up to the year in question. It will be observed that, as a general rule, the debts and construction ex- penditures of early American railways were substantially equal. In other words, their physical valuations, or costs of reproduction, were about equal to their liabilities. They had about a dollar's worth of tangible physical property for every dollar of indebtedness. The total capital or liabilities of all the railroads in the eleven states here reviewed was, in 1859, $506,486,841. At the same date the amount which had been ex- pended in building and equipping those same roads was $484,991,861. More than 95.7 per cent, of the liabilities of those early roads was repre- sented and balanced by physical property. This favorable showing, moreover, was made in spite of the fact that in Pennsylvania and New York the aggregate liabilities of the railways in those states then exceeded their cost by about $23,000,000. In those two commonwealths, at the time, capital stock for some new enterprises had been issued, as usual, in advance of actual construction. If New York and Pennsylvania be omitted from the tabulation it will be found that in six of the nine remaining states New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland the physical cost of the railways exceeded their liabilities in 1859, and if the figures for all nine states be combined it will be seen that $213,724,163 had been ex- pended in railway construction and equipment, whereas the aggregate railroad liabilities or capital of the same nine states amounted to only $211,613,127. It often happened, of necessity, that the railroad liabilities in some states exceeded the total amount expended for construction up to the same year, since building could not commence until the roads were au- 1389 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA thorized to borrow in order to undertake projected work. Perhaps the most noticeable instance of this sort is to be found in the Maryland con- ditions between 1835 and 1850. Between those years the tangible prop- erty of the new Maryland roads lagged behind their liabilities by mil- lions of dollars, but by 1855 additional construction had almost bal- anced the account, and in 1859 the amount expended in the creation of physical property had passed the debt figures. The inclusion of figures showing net earnings for each year named, and of others indicating the total mileage existing in each year named, will enable the student to calculate average costs per mile of equipped railway and the average percentage of net earnings. The tables follow: MAINE; Total Year. Mileage. Liabilities. 1837 11 $354,000 1840 11 354,000 1845 62 1,650,000 1850 112 7,300,000 1855 386 15,605,000 1859 511 19,066,000 Total Cost. $354,000 354,000 1,615,286 3,070,854 14,141,629 18,382,207 Net Earnings. $5,848 2,436 86,049 211,059 575,018 586,082 NEW HAMPSHIRE: Total Year. Mileage. Liabilities. 1842-3 34^ $725,000 1845-6 34^ 800,000 1850-1 415 14,939,457 1855-6 547 18,192,932 1858-9 547 17,302,650 Total Net Cost. Earnings. $725,000 $43,728 800,000 93,424 14,635,915 583,441 17,910,093 709,465 17,626,653 714,539 VERMONT: Total Total Net Year. Mileage. Liabilities. Cost. Earnings. 1849 1850 1855 1859 40 240^4 487^ 5H# $800,000 10,498,140 23,282,615 23,429,004 $800,000 8,430,960 21,762,849 23,133,231 $33,560 144,594 305,679 451,471 1390 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA MASSACHUSETTS Total Total Year. Mileage. Liabilities. Cost. 1835 U3# $3,972,795 $3,972,795 1840 318 11,727,299 11,775.595 1845 570J4 23,314,074 23,704,998 1850 1125 52,993,324 51,644,808 1855 1348^ 63,531,113 61,835,726 1859 1393J4 61,230,417 62,527,333 RHODE ISLAND: Total Total Year. Mileage. Liabilities. Cost. 1844 50 $1,950,000 $1,950,000 1850 50 2,045,946 2,045,946 1855 63^ 2,336,800 2,363,860 1859 63^ 2,254,892 2,258,567 CONNECTICUT: Total Total Year. Mileage. Capital. Cost. 1839 18 $729,606 $729,606 1845 201^4 5,771,720 5,268,591 1850 408^ 13,922,006 13,720,451 1855 649 24,451,223 23,993,028 1859 664*/ 2 24,757,052 24,747,869 NEW YORK: Total Total Year. Mileage. Capital. Cost. 1832 17 $795,303 $795,303 1835 99% 2,682,249 2,682,429 1840 394^ 9,620,252 9,578,965 1845 722 21,413,500 21,269,126 1850 1452^ 60,035,622 63,631,538 1855 2631^ 145,835,217 129,147,518 1859 2643^ 143,770,938 131,538,580 1391 Net Earnings. $141,943 560,313 1,707,436 3,382.242 3,436,695 4,218,177 Net Earnings. $43,314 95,313 107,922 121,155 Net Earnings. $20,433 300,345 831,165 1,265,247 1,281,888 Net Earnings. $20,152 70,058 586,944 1,002,702 3,057,773 8,487,689 7,356,672 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA NEW JERSEY: Total Total Net Year. Mileage. Capital. Cost. Earnings. 1833 51X2 $1,374,327 $1,374,327 $181,050 1835 89^ 3,654,527 3,613,917 407,891 1840 194^4 6,442,524 6,367,819 461,237 1845 197J4 7,260,959 7,731,212 698,708 1850 254^ 10,702,786 11,192,817 887,191 1855 450^ 21,452,708 21,627,340 1,625,597 1859 502^4 26,574,803 27,398,853 2,594,367 PENNSYLVANIA: Total Total Net Year. Mileage. Capital. Cost. Earnings. 1830 9 $186,042 $188,251 $13,145 1835 216^ 8,361,374 7,760,798 70,698 1840 474^ 19,898,357 18,452,642 365,826 1845 502^4 30,271,685 26,478,108 1,221,227 1850 746>/ 4 44,289,334 42,689,204 2,506,922 1855 1580 104,999,506 97,725,285 7,290,067 1859 2349# 151,102,776 139,729,118 7,782,382 DELAWARE: Total Total Net Year. Mileage. Capital. Cost. Earnings. 1850 16M $1,042,548 $908,927 $18,564 1855 16J4 999,404 853,405 28,278 1859 16M 749,171 723,551 387 MARYLAND: Total Total Net Year. Mileage. Capital. Cost. Earnings. 1830 14 $1,356,619 $1,178,165 $2,726 1835 101 8,260,239 3,911,251 116,881 1840 178^ 15,253,028 8,722,917 280,853 1845 296 17,492,270 12,534,410 509,276 1850 296 20,697,843 14,397,256 980,119 1855 523 31,099,561 30,124,572 1,977,644 1859 572y 2 34,779,070 35,228,071 2,470,594 1392 APPENDIX C It is stated in the text that no less than twelve different railway gauges were in use in the United States until as late a date as 1866. In the following table are cited thirty railroads, located from Maine to Missouri and Texas, indicating the condition named. The figures given are taken from "Ashcroft's Railway Directory for 1867." Length Road. State. in Miles. Gauge. Albany & Susquehanna R.R N. Y. 103 6 feet Alabama & Florida R.R Ala. 114 5 feet Atlantic & Great Western R.R N. Y., Pa., O. 507 6 feet Belvidere & Delaware RR N. J., Pa. 67 4 feet 10 inches Bellefontaine R.R 0., Ind. 202 4 feet 10 inches Central Ohio R.R 0. 137 4 feet 10 inches Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton R.R... 0. 60 4 feet 10 inches 6 feet(used4r'ls.) Cumberland Valley R.R Pa., Md. 74 4 feet 8 inches Delaware & Hudson RR Pa. 32 4 feet 3 inches Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R.R. Pa.,N.Y.,NJ. 251 6 feet Erie R.R N. Y. 460 6 feet Galveston, Houston & Henderson R.R. Tex. 50 5 feet 6 inches Hackensack & New York R.R N. J. 13 6 feet Houston & Texas Central R.R Tex. 80 5 feet 6 inches Illinois Central R.R 111. 365 4 feet 8J/2 inches Kentucky Central R.R Ky. 99 5 feet Lackawanna & Bloomsburg R.R Pa. 80 4 feet y/2 inches 6 feet (used 3 r'ls.) Lake Erie & Louisville R.R O., Ind. 175 4 feet 9*4 inches Maine Central R.R Me. 110 5 feet 6 inches Portsmouth Branch R.R 0. 56 5 feet 4 inches North Missouri R.R Mo. 170 5 feet 6 inches Northern Railroad of New Jersey.... N. Y., N. J. 35 6 feet Ohio and Mississippi R.R O., Ind., 111. 340 6 feet Pacific and Missouri River R.R Mo., Kan. 283 5 feet 6 inches Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago R.R. Pa.,O.,Ind.,Ills. , 468 4 feet 10 inches Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark R.R. . O. 117 4 feet 9^ inches Sycamore & Cortland R.R 111. 4^ 4 feet 8 inches Tyrone & Clearfield R.R Pa. 23 ^ 4 feet S l /t inches Virginia & Tennessee R.R Va., Tenn. 204 5 feet Wilton R.R N. H. 15 4 feet 7 inches APPENDIX D On July 2, 1873, James A. Garfield delivered before .the student body of Hudson College an address on "The Future of the Republic: Its Dangers and Hopes." A considerable part of the speech dealt with the railway problem and the economic relationship between the railroad and the corporation. Garfield's speech was printed in pamphlet form, and a portion of it relating to the subject matter of these volumes is here reproduced. The quoted parts of the utterance will be found [pages 15 to 33] in a pamphlet bearing the title of the address, and published in Cleveland in 1873. The speaker said: "There is another class of dangers, unlike any we have yet con- sidered dangers engendered by civilization itself, and made formidable by the very forces which man is employing as the most effective means of bettering his condition and advancing civilization. I select the rail- way problem as an example of this class. I can do but little more than to state the question, and call your attention to its daily increasing magnitude. "We are so involved in the events and movements of society that we do not stop to realize what is undeniably true that during the last forty years all modern societies have entered upon a period of change, more marked, more pervading, more radical than any that has occurred during the last three hundred years. . . The changes now taking place have been wrought and are being wrought, mainly, almost wholly, by a single mechanical contrivance, the steam locomotive. . . . "I have noticed briefly what society has done for the locomotive, and what it has done for society. Let us now inquire what it is doing and is likely to do to society. "The national constitution and the constitutions of most of the States were formed before the locomotive existed; and of course no special provisions were made for its control. Are our institutions strong enough to stand the shock and strain of this new force? A government made for the kingdom of Lilliput might fail to handle the forces of Brobdignag. . . "It cannot have escaped your attention that all the forces of society, new and old, are now acting with unusual vigor in all departments of life. . . May it not be true that the new forces are also over-weighting the strength of our social and political institutions? The editor of 'The Nation' declares the simple truth when in a recent issue he says: ' 'The locomotive is coming in contact with the framework of our institutions. In this country of simple government, the most power- ful centralizing force which civilization has yet produced must, within the next score years, assume its relations to that political machinery which is to control and regulate it.' 1394 "The railway problem would have been much easier of solution if its difficulties had been understood in the beginning. But we have waited until the child has become a giant. We attempted to mount a columbiad on a carriage whose strength was only sufficient to stand the recoil of a twelve-pound shot. "The danger to be apprehended does not arise from the railroad, merely, but from its combination with a piece of legal machinery known as the private corporation. . . "Under the name of private corporations, organizations have grown up, not for the perpetuation of great charity, like a college or hospital, nor to enable a company of citizens more conveniently to carry on a private industry ; but a class of corporations unknown to the early law writers has arisen ; and to them have been committed the vast powers of the railroad and the telegraph, the great instruments by which modern communities live, move and have their being. "Since the dawn of history the great thoroughfares have belonged to the people have been known as the king's highways or the public highways, and have been open to the free use of all on payment of a small, uniform tax or toll to keep them in repair. But now the most perfect, and by far the most important roads known to mankind, are owned and managed as private property, by a comparatively small number of private citizens. "In all its uses the railroad is the most public of all our roads; and in all the objects to which its work relates, the railway corporation is as public as any organization can be. But, in the start, it was labeled a private cprporation ; and so far as its legal status is concerned it is now grouped with eleemosynary institutions and private charities, and enjoys similar immunities and exemptions. It remains to be seen how long the community will suffer itself to be the victim of an abstract definition. "It will be readily conceded that a corporation is strictly and really private when it is authorized to carry on such a business as a private citizen may carry on. But when the State has delegated to a corpora- tion the sovereign right of eminent domain, the right to take from the private citizen, without his consent, a portion of his real estate; to build its structure across farm, garden and lawn; into and through, over or under, the blocks, squares, streets, churches and dwellings of incorporated cities and towns; across navigable rivers, and over and along public highways, it requires a stretch of the common imagination and much refinement and subtlety of the law to maintain the old fiction that such an organization is not a public corporation. "In the famous Dartmouth College Case of 1819 it was decided, by the Supreme Court of the United States, that the charter of Dart- mouth College is a contract between the State and the Corporation, which the legislature cannot alter without the consent of the corpora- 1395 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA tion; and that any such alteration is void, being in conflict with that clause of the constitution of the United States which forbids a State to make any law impairing the obligation of contracts. "This decision has stood for more than half a century as a monu- ment of judicial learning and the great safeguard of vested rights. But chief justice Marshall pronounced this opinion ten years before the steam railway was born; and it is clear he did not contemplate the class of corporations that have since come into being. But, year by year, the doctrine of that case has been extended to the whole class of private corporations, including Railroad and Telegraph Companies. But few of the States, in their early charters to railroads, reserved any effectual control of the operations of the corporations they created. In many instances, like that of the Illinois Central charter, the right to amend was not reserved. In most States each legislature has nar- rowed and abridged the powers of its successors, and enlarged the powers of the corporations; and these by the strong grip of the law, and in the name of private property and vested rights, hold fast all they have received. By these means not only the corporations but the .vast railroad and telegraph systems have virtually passed from the control of the State. It is painfully evident from the experience of the last few years, that the efforts of the States to regulate their rail- roads have amounted to but little more than feeble annoyance. In many cases the corporations have treated such efforts as impertinent intermeddling, and have brushed away legislative restrictions as easily as Gulliver broke the cords with which the Lilliputians attempted to bind him. "In these contests the corporations have become conscious of their strength, and have entered upon the work of controlling the States. Already they have captured several of the oldest and strongest of them ; and these discrowned sovereigns now follow in chains the tri- umphal chariot of their conquerors. And this does not imply that merely the officers and representatives of States have been subjected to the railways, but that the corporations have grasped the sources and fountains of power, and control the choice of both officers and repre- sentatives. "The private corporation has another great advantage over the mu- nicipal corporation. The jurisdiction of the latter is confined to its own territory ; but by the recent constructions and devices of the law a private corporation, though it has no soul, no conscience, and can commit no crime, yet it is a citizen of the State that creates it, and can make and execute contracts with individuals and corporations of other States. "Thus the *way has been opened to those vast consolidations which have placed the control of the whole system in the hands of a few, and have developed the Charlemagnes and the Caesars of our internal commerce. 1396 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA "In addition to these external conquests, the great managers have in many cases grasped the private property of the corporations them- selves; and the stocks which represent the investment have become mere counters in the great gambling houses of Wall street, where the daily ebb and flow of the stock market sweeps and tosses the business and trade of the Continent. "If these corporations were in reality private corporations, trans- acting only private business, the community might perhaps stand by in wonder and amazement at their achievements; but a great and vital public interest is involved in the system, an interest which affects the social and political organization in a thousand ways. Prominent among these is the public necessity for means of transportation. . . "In view of the facts already set forth the question returns: What is likely to be the effect of railway and other similar combinations upon our community and our political institutions? Is it true, as asserted by the British writer quoted above, 1 that the State must soon recapture and control the railroads or be captured and subjugated by them? Or do the phenomena we are witnessing indicate that general breaking up of the social and political order of modern nations, so confidently predicted by a class of philosophers whose opinions have hitherto made but little impression on the public mind? . . . "The consolidation of our great industrial and commercial com- panies, the power they wield and the relations they sustain to the State and to the industry of the people do not fall far short of Fourier's definition of Commercial or Industrial Feudalism. The modern barons, more powerful than their military prototypes, own our greatest highways and levy tribute at will upon all our vast industries. And, as the old Feudalism was finally controlled and subordinated only by the combined efforts of the kings and the people of the free cities and towns, so our modern Feudalism can be subordinated to the public good only by the great body of the people, acting through their govern- ments by wise and just laws. "My theme does not include, nor w r ill this occasion permit, the dis- cussion of methods by which this great work of adjustment may be accomplished. But I refuse to believe that the genius and energy that have developed these new and tremendous forces will fail to make them not the masters but the faithful servants of society. It will be a dis- grace to our age and to us if we do not discover some method by which the public functions of these organizations may be brought into full subordination to the public, and that too without violence, and with- out unjust interference with the rights of private individuals. It will be unworthy of our age and of us, if we make the discussion of this sub- ject a mere warfare against men. For in these great industrial enter- prises have been and still are engaged, some of the noblest and worthi- 1 Reference is made to an article in the "London Quarterly Review" of April, 1873, quoted by Garfield in his address. 1397 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA est men of our time. It is the system its tendencies and its dangers which society itself has produced, that we are now to confront. And these industries must not be crippled, but promoted. The evils com- plained of are mainly of our own making. States and communities have willingly and thoughtlessly conferred these great powers upon railways; and they must seek to rectify their own errors without injury to the industries they have encouraged. "Already methods are being suggested. Massachusetts is discussing the proposal to purchase and operate a portion of her railroad system, and thus bring the rest into competition with the State as the repre- sentative of the people. It is claimed that the success of this plan has been proved by the experience of Belgium. "Another proposition is that the State purchase the roads and open them like other highways to the free use of the public, subject to such regulations and toll as the safety of transportation and the maintenance of the system may require. This, it is claimed, would remove the stocks and bonds from the gambling operations of the markets, and place the levying of the transportation tax in the hands of the State, and under the control of those who pay. "Others, again, insist that the system has overgrown the limits and the powers of the separate States, and must be taken in hand by the national government under that provision of the national constitution which empowers Congress 'to regulate commerce among the several States.' When it is objected that this would be a great and dangerous step towards political centralization which many think has already been pushed too far it is responded that as the railway is the greatest centralizing force of modern times, nothing but a kindred force can control it; and it is better to rule it than to be ruled by it. Other solu- tions have been proposed ; but these are sufficient to show how strongly the current of public thought is setting towards the subject. Indica- tions are not wanting that the discussion will be attended by passion, and by a full exhibition of that low political cunning which plays with the passions and prejudices of men, and measures success by results and not by the character of the means employed. I have ventured to criti- cise the judicial application of the Dartmouth College case; and I ven- ture the further opinion that some features of that decision, as applied to the railway and similar corporations, must give way under the new elements which time has added to the problem. But this must be done, not by denouncing judges who faithfully administer the law, but by such prudent changes in the law, and perhaps in our constitutions, as will guide the courts in future adjudications. "It depends upon the wisdom, the culture, the self-control of our people, to determine how wisely and how well this question shall be settled. But that it will be solved, and solved in the interest of liberty and justice, I do not doubt. . . ." 1398 APPENDIX E A list of the principal canals in the United States in 1850. From "Disturnell's American and European Railway and Steamship Guide, etc., etc., New York, 1851." Pages 7-8. Name. State. From To Mile Cumberland & Oxford.. . Maine Portland Long Pond 50] Middlesex . Mass. Boston Lowell 27 Champlain . \. Y. Junction Erie Whitehall 64 Erie " Albany Buffalo 364 Chenango " Utica Binghamton 97 Black River tt Rome Boonville 35 Cayuga & Seneca " Montezuma Geneva 21 Obwego " Syracuse Oswego 38 Oneida Lake " Erie Canal Oneida Lake 6 Chemung " Jefferson Elmira 23 Feeder do u Horseheads Corning 16 Crooked Lake H Dresden Penn Yan 8 Genesee Valley U Rochester Olean 108 Dansville Branch " Near Mt. Morris Dansville 11 Delaware & Hudson... . N.Y.&Pa. Rondout, N. Y. Honesdale, Pa. 109 Morris . New Jersey Jersey City Easton, Pa. 102 Delaware & Raritan... u New Brunswick Bordentown 43 Feeder do " Trenton Saxtonsville 23 Pennsylvania Canal Central Division . Penn. Columbia Hollydaysburg 173 Western do " Johnstown Pittsburgh 104 Susquehanna do u Duncan's Island Northumberland 40 North Branch " Northumberland Farrandsville 75 West Branch It Northumberland Lock Haven 72 Delaware Division... n Bristol- Easton 60 Beaver H Beaver Erie 136 Franklin " Franklin Meadville 45 Schuylkill Nav " Philadelphia Port Carbon 108 Lehigh do U Easton Stoddartsville 84 Union tl Reading Middletown 82 Susquehanna ,Pa. & Md. Wrightsville, Pa. Havre de Grace 45 Chesapeake & Delaware. .Del. &Md. Delaware City Back Creek, Md. 14 Chesapeake & Ohio . Md. & Va. Alexandria, Va. Cumberland, Md. 191 James River .Virginia Richmond Lynchburg 146 Dismal Swamp " Deep Creek Joyce's Creek 23 1399 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Name. State. Weldon N. Carolina Santee S. Carolina Savannah Georgia Brunswick " Muscle Shoals Alabama Huntsville Barataria Louisiana Orleans Louisville Kentucky Ohio and Erie Chio Walhonding " Hocking .*. . " Miami " Extension do " Warren " Muskingum Nav " Whitewater Indiana Wabash & Erie O. & Ind. Illinois & Michigan Illinois From To Miles. Weldon Blakeley 12 Charleston Santee River 22 Savannah Alatamaha River 16 Brunswick Alatamaha River 12 Tennessee River Florence 36 Huntsville Triana 16 New Orleans Bayou Terre Bonne 21 New Orleans L. Pontchartrain 6 Louisville Portland 2 T /2 Cleveland Portsmouth 309 Roscoe Rochester 25 Carroll Athens 56 Cincinnati Dayton 65 Dayton Junction 115 Lebanon Middletown 19 Dresden Marietta 91 Laurensburg Cambridge 68 Mahattan, O. Evsnsville, Ind. 467 Chicago Peru 100 Total miles 4,002 APPENDIX F An extract from the "Address delivered by Wm. H. Seward, at the commencement of the Auburn and Owasco Canal, October 14, 1835, with the proceedings of the celebration. Auburn, 1835." l "It is moreover necessary to cherish a liberal spirit in regard to public improvements in other parts of the state and of the country. And such a spirit is no less enlightened and just, than it is expedient for us to indulge it. I regret to say that on this subject there has been, in my judgment, much error prevailing among us and throughout the state. The eastern counties, while they have found the value of their land enhanced nearly twofold, and their towns increased in nearly the same proportion, by means of the great increase of commerce effected by the construction of the Erie Canal, have not yet altogether sur- mounted the jealousy with which they regarded the accomplishment of that great work. Finding that they are not, as they at first anticipated they would be, oppressed with taxation to defray the cost of its con- struction, many of their citizens now deem it just to impose on the canal the expense of the support of the government, at the hazard of driving into other channels that very trade which makes it productive and in- vites their cupidity. The denial of the applications, at the last session of the legislature, for charters for constructing railroads from Utica to Syracuse, and from Auburn to Rochester, was a part of the same policy, and proceeded upon the grounds that railroads, parallel to the Erie Canal, would have the effect, by diminishing the canal tolls, to reduce the revenue of the state. . . . So, also, a portion of our citizens have been opposed to the construction of the New York and Erie Railroad, through the southern counties, owing to the apprehen- sion that it would depreciate the property in the northern counties; and in retaliation, 'the sequestered counties,' as those are called which are on the route of the southern railroad, unite with the eastern counties to prevent the improvements required by us. "Plausible pretexts are never wanting to cover the real odiousness of these sectional jealousies; and these may generally be resolved into a great and anxious concern for the safety of the state treasury. Now in my humble opinion, the state can no more wisely conduct its affairs than by contributing to the internal improvement of the territory within its limits a large proportion of its revenues and credits. . . . Where individual enterprise and capital are sufficient to accomplish a desirable 1 The text as here given varies in unimportant particulars from that later included in "The Works of William H. Seward, as edited by George K. Baker"; vol. iii, pages 128 to 134. 1401 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA work, they ought to be at once called into exercise. Where they are incompetent, the state ought in justice and sound policy to contribute. And yet the very opposite of this is the doctrine maintained by many of our statesmen, who hold that the state ought to embark only in those improvements which will be immediately productive. But as such works will be met by citizens with private funds, it follows according to this principle that the state ought never to make any improvements. With such men there is an everlasting apprehension of an eternal public Jebt and eternal taxation. And yet if all the internal improvements required to cross this state in every direction, at such intervals as to leave not a single sequestered county or town within its limits, were to be made at once, the debt which would be created would not impair the public credit or retard the public prosperity a single year. The expenses of a single year of war would exceed the whole sum of such cost. Every year after their construction would show the resources of the state so much increased that a nominal tax would be sufficient to establish a sinking fund amj>le for the redemption of the debt within one generation if indeed it were just that one generation should bear the entire expense of improvements destined to become more and more productive while the government shall exist. To compare such appro- priations to the heavy national debts incurred by monarchical govern- ments in desolating and exterminating wars, is as unsound in politics as to assimilate in agriculture the effects of invigorating rains to the sterility produced by the burning sun. "The popular error on this subject unquestionably arises from an inability to understand the extent of the resources of this great country. It is forgotten that besides the lands we cultivate there is a territory of almost inconceivable dimensions lying on our borders, with an annual increase of strong and willing hands to reclaim and bring it into a pro- ductive condition. It is forgotten that every five or six years brings a new state into this confederacy, with its fresh and fertile soil yielding most luxuriant burthens, while the older states are all the time in- creasing in wealth and prosperity. It is forgotten that this is a govern- ment made for the reign of peace and humanity. It is forgotten that we have not, and with the favor of God never will have, any aris- tocracy, pensioners and placemen in Church or State to consume the substance of the people. It is forgotten that we are daily demonstra- ting by our experience the new and gratifying theory that national pov- erty, as well as individual destitution, are not the decree of a harsh and offended deity, but the fault of men. . . . It is time, fellow citizens, that we explode these prejudices and rise to the sublime con- viction that Providence has spread around us an immense territory to improve to cultivate it and make it the abode of peace, of science, and of liberty. When we shall have impressed this truth, and become im- bued with its influence, we shall rejoice in every work which will im- 1402 prove the condition of any portion of the people, and which will add to the prosperity of any part of the country. "Splendid as will be the results of the work we this day commence, and bright as are the visions of national prosperity dawning upon us, it ought to be borne in mind that those results and those prospects are not, and ought not to be, the chief end of our exertions. While it is true that individual wealth and national prosperity tend to increase and to multiply domestic enjoyments, and elevate and refine the social con- dition, it is equally true that the perpetuity of this Union under its exist- ing form of government is, and ought to be, the object of the most per- severing and watchful solicitude on the part of every American citizen. And it is as certainly true that neither the happiness of our people, nor the stability of our government, depends on the length and number of our canals and railroads or the individual or collective wealth of our citizens. On the other hand, wealth and prosperity have always served as elements which introduce vice, luxury and corruption into republics. And luxury, vice and coiruption have subverted every republic which lias preceded us, that had force enough in its uncorrupted state to resist foreign invasion. So closely are moral good and moral evil, political good and political evil, associated in this probationary state. But in addition to the other eminent blessings by which we are distinguished, our lot has been cast in an age and situation when we can change this tendency of wealth and prosperity and convert them into agents for the preservation and maintenance of the liberty we enjoy. We are under a fearful responsibility to posterity and to the friends of free govern- ment throughout the world that the institutions established here, dearer to them than all the wealth of the ancient East and the modern West, shall not be subverted through our fault. "That responsibility can be discharged, faithfully, successfully, tri- umphantly, by the education of the people. This great work it is prac- ticable for us to accomplish. . . . There is only one obstacle to the work and that is, the prevailing belief that it is already accom- plished. Our orators and some of our statesmen point boastingly to the catalogues which show that almost every citizen can read and write, and thereupon unhesitatingly pronounce us the wisest and most en- lightened of all the nations of the earth. We lay this flattering unction to our souls and rest content. But it is a dangerous, it is a universal God grant it does not prove a fatal delusion. That the most of the American people have been instructed to read and write and that they make profitable use of these precious acquirements, I am as proud to declare as any citizen. But does the acquirement of reading and writ- ing constitute knowledge? No, fellow citizens, they are only the means of acquiring it; and without some higher cultivation of the mind, the ability to read and write has a tendency almost as strong to acquire and disseminate error as truth. It prepares us to become the support of 1403 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA demagogues, and the slaves of popular passion, caprice and excitement. Something more is wanted. . . . But let it be always remembered that to elevate the standard of general education, and to extend its benefits, is the most important duty of the age in which we live. Better would it be for our successors that the waters of Erie and Hudson had pursued their ancient passage to the ocean strangers to each other, as they were before the towering intellect of Clinton compelled them to be united ; better for them would it be that the Atlantic cities were a forest, and the valley of the Mississippi had remained an inhospitable prairie, than that we should transmit to them, with the mighty im- provements of this age, a subtle poison which should undermine then- social condition. We must make our improvements in the minds of the people keep progress with those of our territory, if we would preserve those institutions without which all the wealth and prosperity we can secure will only invite more rigorous and avaricious oppression. . . . "Perhaps at some distant day the curious searcher of antiquities may find, in the ruins which sooner or later must cover this work, like all other human inventions, the corner-stone we are now to deposit in the earth, and studiously decipher the inscription it bears, as a memorial of a people whose career will have terminated, and over whose memory oblivion will have begun to draw her dark mantle. Then, when all the notoriety given to the proceedings of this day by an ephemeral press shall have passed away, we shall be judged not by the improvements we make in our lakes or our rivers, our mountains or our valleys, nor yet by the wealth we accumulated or the monuments we reared but we shall be judged by the indelible impression we shall have left upon the moral condition of our country. So far as our influence may go in forming the character of the age in which we live, let not the discovery of these works recall the memory of a people who acquired wealth with- out wisdom, and enjoyed the luxury that it brought, reckless of their responsibility to posterity and mankind. APPENDIX G The following tables, giving information concerning the publ-'c lands of the United States in 1826, and concerning the relationship of the Indians to those lands, are quoted from "Laws of the United States. Resolutions of Congress Under the Confederation, Treaties, Proclama- tions, Spanish Regulations and Other Documents Respecting the Public Lands. Compiled 1 in Obedience to a Resolution of the House of Rep- resentatives of the United States, Etc. Washington, 1828." "Synopsis of the public lands within the boundaries of the several States and Territories of the United States": TABLE I Quantity of land purchased by the United States 258,377,667 Quantity of land not yet ceded by the Indians 55,947,453 Acres 314,325,120 Quantity of public land surveyed to Jan. 1, 1826 138,988,244 Quantity of public land sold to same date 19,239,412 Amount paid by purchasers of public lands at the several land offices to Jan. 1, 1826 $31,345,968.73 Amount due from purchasers on same date 7,955,831 .03 $39,301,799.76 Add sales to the Ohio Company, to John Cleves Symmes and asso- ciates. Also, sales at New York and Pittsburg prior to the opening of the land offices 1,050,080.43 $40,351,880.19 Quantity of land sold at the United States land offices. Sales to John Cleves Symmes and associates; sales to the Ohio Company; and sales at New York and Pittsburg Acres 19,239,412 Amount of the one thirty-sixth part of the public lands appro- priated to support schools, and special donations for colleges.... 7,708,066 Quantity of land appropriated for military bounties, private claims and donations 21,156,889 Quantity of land remaining unsold on Jan. 1, 1826 210,273,300 Making the total quantity of land purchased by the United States to Jan. 1, 1826 Acres 258,377,667 Extent of land lying within the limits of the United States, but not embraced in the boundaries of States and Territories Acres 750,000,000 1 By Matthew St. Clair Clarke, Clerk of the House of Representatives. 1405 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA TABLE II Total expenditures on account of public lands: Purchase of Louisiana $15,000,000 Paid State of Georgia and Yazoo script 6,200,000 Paid on account of Indian cessions, to Jan. 1, 1826 3,392,494 Paid for surveying 138,988,224 acres of public lands 2,164,368 Expenses incidental to sale of 19,239,412 acres of public lands 1,154,951 $27,911,813 Due on account of the Florida loan 5,000,000 $32,911,813 The public lands, excluding Louisiana and Florida purchase money, cost, per acre, less than 5 cents Including Louisiana and Florida, about 12^ " Indian lands alone, cost, per acre 3-147/1,000 " TABLE III From a statement politely furnished by the General Land Office it appears that the United States have acquired lands from the Indians as follows : In Ohio 24,854,888 acres In Indiana 16,243,685 " In Illinois 29,384,744 " In Louisiana 2,492,000 " In Alabama 19,586,560 " In Mississippi 12,475,23 1 " In Missouri 36,169,383 " In Michigan Territory 17,561,470 " In Arkansas Territory and West 55,451,904 " Total 214,219,865 Exclusive of the lands acquired, under various treaties with the Creeks and Cherokees, for the States of Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. 1406 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA TABLE IV Number of Indians. Maine Massachusetts . Rhode Island. . Connecticut . . . New York Virginia South Carolina 956 750 420 400 5,143 47 450 Quantity of Land Claimed. 92,260 acres Ohio 2,350 Michigan Territory 28,316 Indiana \ n ( 679 Illinois J Georgia "1 Alabama I e , , e Tennessee f 53 ' 625 Mississippi J Florida Territory 5,000 Louisiana 1,313 Missouri Il8,917 / Arkansas Territory J 3,000 4,300 246,675 27,000 144,000 409,501 7,057,920 10,104,000 5,314,560 9,537,920 7,272,576 1,055,680 15,705,000 4,032,640 2,782,726 13,612,560 129,366 77,402,318 acres ["Table I" on page 1052 of work quoted; "Table II" on page 1062; "Tables III and IV" on page 1067.] Note by S. D. An apparent contradiction will be observed in these gov- ernmental statements concerning the lands, in organized states and territories, which had not yet been ceded by the Indians. Table I gives the amount as 55,947,453 acres, and Table IV names the quantity so claimed as 77,402,318 acres. A large proportion of the additional 750,000,000 acres mentioned in the last paragraph of Table 1 was afterward bought from the Indians by the white government, although native ownership of the areas in question is not directly asserted in the official report here quoted. Up to the year 1826, as shown by the tables, the United States had acquired 214,219,865 acres from the Indians at a total cost of $3,392,494, the average price paid to the red men per acre being stated as 3.147 cents. For the 19,239,412 acres of these lands already sold by the government it had received $40,351,880.19. Another apparent discrepancy is contained in the figures relating to the cost of lands already obtained from the natives. If the average price had been 3.147 cents per acre, the cost of the 214,219,865 acres would have been about $6,735,000, instead of the smaller sum specified in Table II. Perhaps the $3,392,494 "paid on account of Indian cessions to Jan. 1, 1826," represented only partial payment on the purchases, leaving the remainder still due. If we were compelled to accept without qualification the statement that 214,219,865 acres had already been acquired from the Indians in 1826 as recited in Table III and if we were likewise forced to accept without qualification the figures of Table II wherein it is said that "Indian lands, alone, cost 3 147/1000 cents an acre" then the 214,000,000 acres had been acquired at an average expense of about 1.580 cents an acre. APPENDIX H Reference was made in Chapter V of the text to statements by early white chroniclers concerning the character of the Indians and their relations with the Caucasian race. The following discussions of the subject, written at various times between 1643 and 1847, by American historians or contemporary commentators, are examples of the state- ments referred to: I From Roger Williams' "A Key into the Language of America: London, 1643." Text as here quoted taken from the reprint contained in volume one of the "Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society. Providence, 1827." "If any stranger come in, they presently give him to eate of what they have; many a time, and at all times of the night (as I have fallen in travell upon their houses) when nothing hath been ready, have themselves and their wives, risen to prepare me some refreshing. It is a strange truth, that a man shall generally finde more free entertain- ment and refreshing amongst these Barbarians, than amongst thousands that call themselves Christians." [pp. 36-37.] "In Summer-time I have knowne them lye abroad often themselves, to make roome for Strangers, English, or others." [p. 38.] "There are no beggars amongst them, nor fatherlesse children un- provided for." [p. 45.] "The poore amongst them will say, they want nothing." [p. 53.] "I have heard of many English lost, and have oft been lost my selfe, and my selfe and others have often been found, and succoured by the Indians." [p. 73.] "I have heard them say to an Englishman (who being hindred, broke a promise to them) you know God, will you lie Englishman." [p. 116.] "I could never discerne that excesse of scandalous sins amongst them, which Europe aboundeth with. Drunkennesse and gluttony, generally they know not what sinnes they be ; and although they have not so much to restraine them (both in respect of knowledge of God and lawes of Men) as the English have, yet a man shall never heare of such crimes amongst them of robberies, murthers, adulteries, &c., as amongst the English." [p. 121.] II From Benjamin Trumbull's "A Complete History of Connecticut, etc., 1818." 1408 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA "The Indians, at their [the Englishmen's] first settlement, performed many acts of kindness towards them. They instructed them in the man- ner of planting and dressing the Indian corn. They carried them upon their backs, through rivers and waters; and, as occasion required, served them instead of boats and bridges. They gave them much useful in- formation respecting the country, and when the English or their children were lost in the woods, and were in danger of perishing with hunger, or cold, they conducted them to their wigwams, fed them, and restored them to their families and parents. By selling them corn, when pinched with famine, they relieved their distresses and prevented their perishing in a strange land and uncultivated wilderness." [p. 57.] "In this distressful situation a committee was sent to an Indian settle- ment called Pocomtock, since Deerfield, where they purchased such quan- tities, that the Indians came down to Windsor and Hartford, with fifty canoes at one time, laden with Indian corn." [pp. 94-95.] Ill From Jedediah Morse's "A Report to the Secretary of War of the United States on Indian Affairs, Comprising a Narrative of a Tour Performed in the Summer of 1820, Under a Commission from the President of the United States, for the Purpose of Ascertaining, for the Use of the Government, the Actual State of the Indian Tribes in Our Country, Etc., Etc. New Haven, 1822." "... We should scarcely have supposed, that any man, acquainted with history, or making any pretensions to candor, would be found among the objectors to attempts to civilize our Indians, and thus to save them from perishing. Yet, painful as is the fact, objections have been made to the present course of procedure with Indians, and from men too, whose standing and office in society are such, as it would be deemed disrespectful to pass unnoticed. 'The project,' it has been said, 'is visionary and impracticable. Indians can never be tamed; they are incapable of receiving, or of enjoying, the blessings proposed to be offered to them.' Some, I will hope, for the honor of our country, that the number is small, have proceeded farther, and said: 'Indians are not worth saving. They are perishing let them perish. The sooner they are gone, the better. . .' "It is too late to say that Indians cannot be civilized. The facts referred to, beyond all question, prove the contrary. The evidence of actual experiment in every case, is paramount to all objections founded in mere theory, or, as in the present case, in naked and unsupported assertions. . . To look down upon them, therefore, as an inferior race, as untameable, and to profit by their ignorance and weakness ; to take their property from them for a small part of its real value, and in other ways to oppress them; is undoubtedly wrong. . . To remove these Indians far away from their present homes . . . into a wilderness, 1409 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA among strangers possibly hostile, to live as their new neighbors live, by hunting, a state to which they have not lately been accustomed, and which is incompatible with civilization, can hardly be reconciled with the professed views and objects of the Government in civilizing them. This would not be deemed by the world a wise course, nor one which would very probably lead to the desired end." [pp. 81-83.] "There is evidently a great and important revolution in the state of our Indian population already commenced, and now rapidly going forward, affecting immediately the tribes among us and on our borders, and which will ultimately and speedily be felt by those at the remotest distance. . . . Honor, justice, humanity, all that makes man respectable in the sight of God and men, imperiously require us to go forward, in full faith, till this work, so auspiciously commenced, shall be accom- plished. This new state of things requires corresponding measures on the part of the government, to whom we look to take the lead in carrying on this revolution, which, if rightly directed and conducted, will save the Indians from ruin, and raise them to respectability and happiness, and reflect high and lasting honor on the Administration which shall accomplish it. ... "Another evil equally destructive of the Indians, and equally neces- sary to be provided against by proper laws and regulations, is, intercourse with unprincipled white people. Indians complain, and justly too, that their morals are corrupted by bad white men. This is well known to be the fact, and the cause of incalculable injury to the Indians, as well as of national disgrace." [pp. 84-85.] "The Table wliich accompanies this Report, compiled from official documents, shows, that more than two hundred millions of acres of some of the best lands in our country, have been purchased, after our manner, and at our own prices, of the Indian tribes. Of these lands, previously to October, 1819, there had been sold by the government about eighteen and a half millions of acres, for more than forty-four millions of dollars. The remainder of these lands, if sold at the same rate, and the sums paid to the Indians for them deducted, would yield to the government a net profit of more than five hundred millions of dollars! ..." [p. 94.] "The character of the Cherokees for courage, fidelity, hospitality, and cleanliness, stands high. They are generally of a fine figure, as to their persons, polite in their manners, and fond of learning and im- provement in the arts. ..." [p. 153.] "The attempts of the Cherokees to institute civil government for themselves, adapted to their improved condition, succeed quite as well as could be expected. Their incipient jurisprudence appears to secure the respect of the people. The distribution of the legislative, judicial, and executive powers of government, is made with considerable skill and judgment. ... [p. 180.] 1410 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA "The Choctaws have strong tendencies towards a civilized state. They are friendly to travellers, for whose accommodation they have established a number of public inns, which for neatness and accommo- dations, actually excel many among the whites. . . Within a few years they have made great advances in agriculture, and other arts of civilized life. They raise corn and different kinds of pulse, melons, and cotton. In one year they spun and wove ten thousand yards. . . The Choctaws raise a great many cattle. They have laid aside hunting, as a business, though they sometimes engage in it for amusement. ..." [pp. 182-183.] "The Chickasaws have always been warm friends of the United States, and are distinguished for their hospitality. Some of the chiefs are half breed, men of sense, possess numerous negro slaves, and an- nually sell several hundred cattle and hogs. The nation resides in eight towns, and like their neighbors, are considerably advanced in civilization. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- sions, have in contemplation the speedy establishment of a mission among these Indians, preparations for w r hich are already made. This is done at the earnest solicitation of the nation." Morse included in his report a synopsis of the civil and criminal code of the Cherokees. The following Indian laws, indicating the so- cial condition and practises of that nation, are cited by him: [pp. 172- 176.] There shall be one Judge and one Marshal in each district, 1 and one Circuit Judge, who shall have jurisdiction over two districts, to associate with the district judges in determining all causes agreeable to the laws of the nation. The head of each family shall pay a poll tax of fifty cents per annum into the national treasury, and each single man under the age of sixty years shall also pay fifty cents per annum. Single white men are admitted to be employed as clerks in any of the stores that shall be established in the nation by natives, on condition that the employer obtains a permit and becomes responsible for the good behavior of such clerks. Any person who shall bring into the nation, without permission from the National Committee and Council, a white family, and rent land to the same, proof being satisfactorily shown before any of the Judges in the District Councils, for every offense shall forfeit the sum of five hundred dollars and receive one hundred stripes on the bare back. Parents who permit their children to play truant from schools or seminaries shall be compelled thereafter to pay all expenses incurred by their children while in the schools. The nation shall procure at the public expense a set of tools for every apprentice who shall have faithfully served his time and learned a trade. 1 The nation was divided, in 1820, into eight judicial and administrative districts. 1411 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA Schoolmasters, blacksmiths, millers, saltpeter and gunpowder manu- facturers, ferrymen, turnpike keepers and unmarried mechanics are privileged to reside in the nation on condition that their employers procure permits for their residence and become responsible for their good conduct and behavior. Such persons are subject to expulsion for misdemeanor. They may, while resident in the nation, improve and cultivate twelve acres of ground for their own benefit. 1 Retail storekeepers shall obtain licenses for vending merchandise, said licenses costing twenty dollars per annum. None but citizens of the nation shall be allowed to establish perma- nent stores. No person not a citizen of the nation shall be allowed to bring into the nation any spirituous liquors, on pain of their confiscation. Any white man who takes a Cherokee woman to wife shall be married to her by a minister of the Gospel or other authorized official, after procuring a marriage license from the National Clerk. The property of a Cherokee woman so married to a white man shall not be subject to the disposal of her husband contrary to her consent. There shall be companies of light horse or mounted constabulary in each district, to suppress crime, take those who transgress the law, and protect property and fatherless children. No private feuds or vengeance shall be allowed. Murder shall be punished by death. IV From Edwin James's introductory chapter to "A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner, Etc., Etc. New York, 1830." [James was also editor of Major Long's account of his Expe- dition to the West.] "... Have we in our collective character, as a people, any dis- position to interpose the least check to the downward career of the Indians? The last inquiry will be unhesitatingly answered in the nega- tive, by all who are acquainted with the established policy of our gov- ernment in our intercourse with them. The determination evinced by a great part of the people, and their representatives, to extinguish the Indian title to all lands on this side the Mississippi to push the remnants of these tribes into regions already filled to the utmost extent their means of subsistence will allow manifests, more clearly than vol- umes of idle and empty professions, our intentions toward them. The vain mockery of treaties, in which it is understood, that the negotiation, and the reciprocity, and the benefits, are all on one side; the feeble and misdirected efforts we make for their civilization and instruction, should not, and do not, deceive us into the belief that we have either a regard 1 This and the following six laws were enacted in 1819. 1412 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA for their rights, where they happen to come in competition with our in- terests, or a sincere desire to promote the cause of moral instruction among them. . . More than two hundred years have passed, during all which time it has been believed that systematic and thorough exer- tions were making to promote the civilization and conversion of the Indians. The entire failure of all these attempts ought to convince us, not that the Indians are irreclaimable, but that we ourselves, while we have built up with one hand, have pulled down with the other. Our professions have been loud, our philanthropic exertions may have been great, but our selfish regard to our own interest and convenience has been greater, and to this we ought to attribute the steady decline, the rapid deterioration of the Indians. . . We ought not to forget that injustice and oppression have been most active among the causes which have brought them down to their present deplorable state. . . "That there exists, in the moral or physical constitution of the Indians, any insuperable obstacle to their civilization, no one will now seriously assert. . . The first labor of the philanthropist, who would exert himself in this cause, should be to allay or suppress that exter- minating spirit so common among us, which, kept alive by the exertions of unprincipled land jobbers, and worthless squatters, is now incessantly calling for the removal of the Indians west of the Mississippi. . . Is it absolutely necessary, that while w r e invite to our shores, and to a partici- pation in all the advantages of our boasted institutions, the dissatisfied and the needy of all foreign countries, not stopping to inquire whether their own crimes, or the influence of an oppressive government, may have made the change desirable for them, we should, at the same time, persist in the determination to root out the last remnants of a race who were the original proprietors of the soil, many of whom are better qualified to become useful citizens of our republic, than those foreigners we are so eager to naturalize? . . . It is believed by many, that national as well as individual crimes, are sure to be visited, sooner or later, by just and merited punishments." [pp. 14-20.] From Benjamin Drake's "The Great Indian Chief of the West: or, Life and Adventures of Black Hawk: 1848." "... Fraud, oppression and violence, have characterized our inter- course with the Indians, and it is in vain to hope for any amelioration of their savage condition, so long as an intercourse of this kind is per- mitted. . . It is to this intercourse that the Indian wars, which have so frequently caused the blood of the white and the red man to flow in torrents, upon our frontier, are mainly to be attributed. . . If kind- ness, good faith and honesty of dealing, had marked our social, political and commercial intercourse with the Indians, few, if sny of these bloody wars would have occurred ; and these people, instead of being 1413 A HISTORY OF TRAVEL IN AMERICA debased by our intercourse with them, would have been improved and elevated in the scale of civilization. . . "If the laws enacted by Congress for the protection and civilization of the aborigines of this country, had been regularly and rigidly enforced, and a more impartial interpretation of the treaties made with them, had been observed, their condition would have been far better than it now is