The Great Salt Lake Trail

Chapter Ii. the Old Trappers. Captain Ezekiel Williams' Expedition

to the Platte Valley in 1807—Character of the Old Trapper—The Outfit of his Men—Crosses the River—Immense Herds of Buffalo—Death of their Favourite Hound—A Lost Trapper—A Prairie Burial—A Wolf-chase after a Buffalo—An Indian Lochinvar—The Crow Indians—Their Country —Rose, the Scapegoat Refugee—The Lost Trappers—A Battle with the Savages.

Chapter Iii. Jim Beckwourth. General W. H. Ashley's Trapping

Expedition—Jim Beckwourth's Story—Two Axe—Kill Fourteen Hundred Buffaloes—The Surround—Expedition is divided—Boats are built— Green River Suck—Indians murder Le Brache—Beckwourth meets Castenga.

Chapter Iv. Captain Sublette's Expedition. Captain William

Sublette's Expedition in 1832—They meet Nathaniel J. Wyeth's Party— Arrive at Green River Valley—Attacked by Indians—Antoine Godin shoots a Blackfoot Chief—Fight between Whites, Flatheads, and Blackfeet—An Indian Heroine—Major Stephen H. Long's Scientific Expedition in 1820—Captain Bonneville's Expedition in 1832— Lieutenant John C. Fremont's Expedition in 1842 to the Wind River Mountains.

Chapter V. Trading-Posts and Their Stories. Trading-Posts of the

Great Fur Companies—Fort Vasquez—Fort Laramie—Fort Platte—Fort Bridger—Incidents at Fort Platte—A Drunken Spree—Death and Burial of Susu-Ceicha—Insult to Big Eagle—Bull Tail's Effort to sell his Daughter for a Barrel of Whiskey—A Rare Instance of a Trader's Honour.

Chapter Vi. the Mormons. the Most Desolate of Deserts Made to

blossom as the Rose—The Mormon Hegira—Pilgrim's Outfit—Curious Guide-posts—The Hand-cart Expedition—Sufferings and Hardships during the Exodus—An Impending War—General Harney's Expedition—Mormon Tactics—Destroy the Supplies—Privations of the United States army —President backs down—Salt Lake City—Brigham Young's Vision— The Temple.

Chapter Vii. Mountain Meadows Massacre. Mountain Meadows Massacre—

Indians attack the Wagons—Lee offers Protection—Ambushed by Lee— Lee flies to the Mountains—Mormon Church acquitted—Execution of John D. Lee—Temporary Toll-bridges—Indian Raids on Cattle Ranches— Stuttering Brown—Graves along the Trail.

Chapter Viii. the Pony Express. the Problem of the Mails Between

Atlantic and Pacific—The World-famed Pony Express—Necessity for it —Its Originator—The Firm of Majors, Russell, & Waddell—The Route— Organization—Its Paraphernalia—Daring Riders—J. G. Kelley's Story— Colonel Cody's Story—Incidents and Stories—Old Whipsaw and Little Cayuse, the Pawnee—Slade, the Desperado—The Lynching of Slade— Establishment of the Telegraph.

Chapter Ix. the Stage Route to the Pacific. Discovery of Gold Near

Pike's Peak—Exodus from Missouri—The Creation of the Overland Stage Route to the Pacific Coast—Messrs. Russell and Jones' Failure— Russell, Majors, & Waddell's Successful Establishment of a New Line— Hockaday and Liggett's “One-horse” Affair—Advent of the First Stage-coach into Denver—Financial Embarrassment—Ben Holliday— Description of the Outfit of the Route—Incidents and Adventures.

Chapter X. Scenery on the Trail. Scenery and Historical Localities

on the Route of the Old Trail—Loup Fork—De Smet's Account of a Waterspout—Wood River—Brady's Island—Ash Hollow—Johnson's Creek— Scott's Bluff—Independence Rock and its Legend—Chimney Rock— Crazy Woman's Creek—Laramie Plains—Legends and Traditions about the Great Salt Lake—Early Surveys.

Chapter Xi. Indian Tribes on the Trail. the Indian Tribes of the

Salt Lake Trail—The Otoes—I-e-tan—Blue-Eyes shot by I-e-tan— The Pawnees—Their Tribal Mark—Legends and Traditions—Human Sacrifices—Folk-lore.

Chapter Xii. Sioux and Their Traditions. the Sioux Nation—Cause of

their Hatred for the Whites—A Chief of the Brûlé Sioux tells a Story —The Scarred-Arms—Story of the Six Sioux and the Mysterious Woman— The Place of the Death Song—Wa-shu-pa and Ogallalla—Indian Fight at Ash Hollow—Indian Tradition of a Flood.

Chapter Xiii. the Crows. the Crows—Council At Fort Philip Kearny

in July, 1866—A-ra-poo-ash—Jim Beckwourth in a Fight between Crows and Blackfeet—Beckwourth and the Great Medicine Kettle—The Missionary and the Crows—The Legend of the Blind Men—The Pis-kun.

Chapter Xiv. Folk-Lore of Blackfeet. Folk-Lore of Blackfeet—

The Lost Children—The Wolf-Man—The Utes—Massacre of Major Thornburgh's Command on the White River—The Great Chief Ouray— Piutes—Their Theories of the Heavens—The Big Medicine Springs— Closed Hand—Man afraid of his Horses—No Knife—Sitting Bull— Spotted Tail.

Chapter Xv. Sioux War of 1863. Sioux War of 1863—Spotted Tail—

George P. Belden's Account—Sergeants Hiles and Rolla—Belden and Nelson have an Adventure—Belden maps the Country—Guarding Ben Holliday's Coaches—An Involuntary Highwayman—Capturing Sioux at Gilman's Ranch—Morrow's Ranch—Bentz and Wise—Attack on the Ambulance —Peace Commission—Massacre of Colonel Fetterman's Command at Fort Phil Kearny.

Chapter Xvi. Buffalo Bill's Adventures. Buffalo Bill's Adventures

on the Salt Lake Trail—In Charge of a Herd of Beef Cattle—Kills an Indian—With Lew Simpson—Held up—Attacked at Cedar Bluffs—A Brush with Sioux—The Print of a Woman's Shoe—Capture a Village—Buffalo Bill shoots Tall Bull.

Chapter Xvii. Massacre of Custer's Command. Buffalo Bill's

Adventures continued—Hunting at Fort McPherson—Indians steal his Favourite Pony—The Chase—Scouting under General Duncan—Pawnee Sentries—A Deserted Squaw—A Joke on McCarthy—Scouting for Captain Meinhold—Texas Jack—Buckskin Joe—Sitting Bull and the Indian War of 1876—Massacre of Custer and his Command—Buffalo Bill takes the First Scalp for Custer—Yellow Hand, Son of Cut Nose—Carries Despatches for Terry—Good-by to the General.

Chapter Xviii. in a Trapper's Bivouac. Around the Camp-Fire in a

Trapper's Bivouac—Telling Stories of the Old Trail—Old Hatcher's Trip to the Infernal Regions—Colonel Cody's Story of California Joe —A Practical Joke.

Chapter Xix. Kit Carson on the Yellowstone. More Stories of the Trail

—Frazier and the Bear—An Indian Elopement—The Ogallallas and the Brûlés—Chaf-fa-ly-a—Kit Carson on the Yellowstone—Battle with the Blackfeet—Carson, Bridger, and Baker on the Platte—Jim Cockrell— Peg Leg Smith.

Chapter Xx. Building the Union Pacific Railroad. the Story of the

Building of the Union Pacific Railroad—Extract from General Sherman's Memoirs—General Dodge's Description of the Country when he first saw it—Explorations for a Route—Conference with President Lincoln— Location of the Military Post of D. A. Russell and the Town of Cheyenne —Driving the Last Spike.

FOOTNOTES.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION.

CHAPTER I.. Exploring Expeditions.

EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS.

As early as a hundred and thirty-five years ago, shortly after England had acquired the Canadas, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had been an officer in the British provincial army, conceived the idea of fitting out an expedition to cross the continent between the forty-third and forty-sixth degrees of north latitude. His intention was to measure the breadth of North America at its widest part, and to find some place on the Pacific coast where his government might establish a military post to facilitate the discovery of a “northwest passage,” or a line of communication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

In 1774 he was joined in his proposed scheme by Mr. Richard Whitworth, a member of the British Parliament, and a man of great wealth. Their plan was to form a company of fifty or sixty men, and with them to travel up one of the forks of the Missouri River, explore the mountains, and find the source of the Oregon. They intended to sail down that stream to its mouth, erect a fort, and build vessels to enable them to continue their discoveries by sea.

Their plan was sanctioned by the English government, but the breaking out of the American Revolution defeated the bold project. This was the first attempt to explore the wilds of the interior of the continent.

Thirty years later Sir Alexander Mackenzie crossed the continent on a line which nearly marks the fifty-third degree of north latitude. Some time afterwards, when that gentleman published the memoirs of his expedition, he suggested the policy of opening intercourse between the two oceans. By this means, he argued, the entire command of the fur trade of North America might be obtained from latitude forty-eight north, to the pole, excepting in that territory held by Russia. He also prophesied that the relatively few American adventurers who had been enjoying a monopoly in trapping along the Northwest Coast would instantly disappear before a well-regulated trade.

The government of the United States was attracted by the report of the English nobleman, and the expedition of Lewis and Clarke was fitted out. They accomplished in part what had been projected by Carver and Whitworth. They learned something of the character of the region heretofore regarded as a veritable terra incognita.

On the 14th of May, 1804, the expedition of Lewis and Clarke left St. Louis, following the course of the Missouri River, and returning by the same route two years later. There were earlier explorations, far to the south, but none of them reached as high up as the Platte. Lewis and Clarke themselves merely viewed its mouth.

In 1810 a Mr. Hunt, who was employed by the Northwest Fur Company, and Mr. Donald M'Kenzie, with a number of trappers under their charge, were to make a journey to the interior of the continent, but, hampered by the opposition of the Missouri Fur Company, they were compelled to abandon the enterprise, and it was not until the beginning of 1812 that their historic journey was commenced.

On the 17th of January, while their boats landed at one of the old villages established by the original French colonists of the region then known as the Province of Louisiana, they met the celebrated Daniel Boone, who was then in his eighty-fifth year, and the next morning they were visited by John Coulter, who had been with Lewis and Clarke on their memorable expedition eight years previously. Since the return of Lewis and Clarke's expedition, Coulter had made a wonderful journey on his own account. He floated down the whole length of the Missouri River in a small canoe, accomplishing the passage of three thousand miles in a month.

On the 8th of April Hunt's party came in sight of Fort Osage, where they remained for three days, and were delightfully entertained by the officers of the garrison. On the 10th they again embarked and ascended the Missouri. On the 28th the party landed at the mouth of the Platte and ate their breakfast on one of the islands there. After passing the mouth of the river Platte, they camped on its banks a short distance above Papillion Creek. On the 10th of May they reached the village of the Omahas, camped in its immediate neighbourhood, and on the 15th of the same month they started for the interior of the continent. Their route lay far north of a line drawn parallel to the Platte Valley, but they entered it after travelling through the Black Hills, somewhere near the headwaters of the river from which the beautiful valley takes its name. After untold hardships and sufferings the party arrived at Astoria on the following February, having travelled a distance of thirty-five hundred miles. They had taken a circuitous route, for Astoria is only eighteen hundred miles, in a direct line, from St. Louis.

The first authentic account of an expedition through the valley of the Platte was that of Mr. Robert Stuart, in the employ of John Jacob Astor. He was detailed to carry despatches from the mouth of the Columbia to New York, informing Mr. Astor of the condition of his venture on the remote shores of the Pacific. The mission entrusted to Mr. Stuart was filled with perils, and he was selected for the dangerous duty on account of his nerve and strength. He was a young man, and although he had never crossed the Rocky Mountains, he had already given proofs, on other perilous expeditions, of his competence for the new duty. His companions were Ben Jones and John Day, both Kentuckians, two Canadians, and some others who had become tired of the wild life, and had determined to go back to civilization.

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