Transcript

Transcript for William K. Sloan, "Autobiography of William K. Sloan," Annals of Wyoming, July 1926, Vol. 4 No. 1, 242-47

We broke camp on July 24th, in a heavy rain with mud axle deep and were three days making the first sixteen miles on the east side of the Missouri River to a point called "winter quarters" (New Florence) where we ferried our wagons and swam our cattle over the river—occupying two days. The train consisted of nineteen wagons and twenty-three men. The ferry boat was a scow made from hewed puncheons and handled with oars. We now bade a final adieu to the last vestige of civilization, a little log hut occupied by the ferrymen. Owing to the heavy rains the streams were all up and necessarily had to ferry the Papillon and Elk Horn river, paying therefore $3.50 and $5.00 for each wagon. I had been roughing now so long that I became more reconciled to my condition, and could relish "flapjacks" beans and coffee as well as any of the men, but could not then or now stomach side bacon (or sow belly) as some of the boys called it. After leaving the Elk Horn the country was one vast prairie with low bluffs to the right of us, the monotony occasionally broken by the sight of a few cottonwoods and underbrush skirting the banks of the little streams we crossed, the country was covered with a luxuriant growth of grass.

Arriving at the south fork of the Platte River we again had to ferry. This and the ferries at Elk Horn and Papillon were owned by William Martin a saloon man at Council Bluff. Nothing of interest took place until we came to Wood River, a tributary of the Platte, usually a small stream but owing to heavy rains was now over its banks and a raging torrent when we reached it. To make matters worse there was no bridge or ferry, the only two things to be done was either to wait for the stream to fall or build a pontoon bridge, the latter was decided upon and it was a laborious undertaking. We had to go a mile or more up stream to procure timber with which to construct it. The timber, cotton-wood logs, cut and floated down the stream to place of construction, there were only five of us in the party who could swim consequently nearly all of the work fell on us—here I will say in regard to our crew, there never was a poorer lot of ox drivers (except three or four) got together to take a train over the plains. They were a mixture of English, Scotch and Welch factory hands direct from the old country, who never saw an ox (only dead or at a fair) in their lives and further more seemed to take no interest in the progress of the train or making the least effort to learn to drive a team not realizing the fact that delays are dangerous and being caught in a snow storm in the mountains isn't fun; which some of them found out afterwards. Our pontoon was finally completed and crossed in safety then we met the first Indians; while crossing the Wood River a few stragglers were watching our crossing, but Stewart said they were Pawnees and friendly, nothing more was thought of their presence at the time except natural curiosity to look at and scrutinize the first wild Indians the majority of us had ever seen. Our curiosity was soon to be turned into dismal forebodings of what would be in store for us.

After getting our teams yoked up and fairly on the road again, little bands of Indians would come up from behind small knoles on the prairie, the numbers increasing until several hundred were travelling with us some on foot, the majority on their ponies and a great many could be seen coming from towards the Platte River; Stewart being really the only experienced man with Indians began to show some signs of alarm and with good cause as it proved shortly afterwards that the Indians some five or six hundred in number all bucks who had been traveling with us the past few miles were waiting for their chiefs to come. I was driving next to the head team in the train the Chiefs coming up asked for the "Captain" he was pointed out.

They interviewed the "Captain Stewart" at once, and retired some fifty yards from the train to have what I learned since was a "Medicine talk," he, (Stewart) being able to speak a little Indian and the Indians a little English.

The train was ordered to halt until the conference was over, the result being Steward could not comply with their demands for provisions, they stated first; that buffalo were plenty towards the west and the Pawnees had gone on their annual hunt but were driven back by their enemies the Sioux after having a fight with serious loss in killed and wounded and driven from their hunting ground; second they were hungry and our cattle were eating their grass and traveling through their country. Orders were given by Stewart to move on, no sooner had we fairly started than the whole band of Indians raised the "War-Hoop" riding backwards and forwards the whole length of the train at full speed, leveling their guns, bows and arrows and lances at the drivers, occasionally pricking the oxen with their lances, until finally they succeeded in stampeding the whole train, upsetting a number of wagons, breaking out the tongues and doing other serious damage; resistance was useless against such numbers so called another "Talk" with the Chiefs and were permitted to go on by giving them fourteen sacks of flour (1,400 pounds) one hundred pounds of sugar; one hundred pounds of coffee a quantity of powder and lead and some shirts for the Chiefs; the loss of the flour was very serious as it left us barely enough to last us until we reached Fort Laramie nearly six hundred miles east of our destination, and little prospect of getting a fresh supply at any point on the road.

On the above compromise we were again permitted to proceed, this raid on us was perpetrated within plain sight of Fort Kearney a four company post, the flag of which we could see distinctly about eight miles distant; we attempted repeatedly to get messengers through to the fort, but all were intercepted and brought back by the Indians to our camp, with threats that if we sent any more they would be killed. The entire band of Indians numbered about twenty-five hundred and were camped on the north bank of the Platte River, between us and the Fort. We were all greatly relieved when we lost sight of the last of that band of Indians. It being the first experience the most of us had had with redskins, you can well believe we were much frightened and excited, and I for one was alarmed lest some one of our party might shoot an Indian through excitement. If such a thing had occurred, a general Massacre of the whole party would have been the result, the Indians were ripe for such an act and the least provocation on our part would have precipitated it.

About sixty miles west of Fort Kearney we encountered the first buffalo, at first a few scattering ones, increasing in numbers as we advanced for one hundred or more miles, at one time extending over the vast plain on both sides of the river as far as the eye could see, here we had our first fun and fresh meat since leaving the Missouri River, except occasionally a prairie dog or prairie chicken. We killed quite a number of buffalo, "sun-drying or jerking" the meat that was not immediately used; by doing so it helped out our short supply of flour.

Nothing worthy of mention occurred after leaving the buffalo until within about one hundred miles of Fort Laramie when in passing over a series of sandy bluffs a distance of some ten or twelve miles the country seemed to be alive with rattlesnakes. I think we must have killed two or three hundred that day along side of the road. Stewart said that back in the hills off the road they were more numerous, I saw enough without further investigation. We drove until after midnight, to get beyond their range for fear of losing cattle. Arriving at Laramie we remained there two days shoeing some cattle and repairing wagons, were disappointed in not getting a sufficient quantity of supplies, the commissary claimed to be short themselves, having had to furnish others who were ahead of us, more than was expected. We had to be content with two barrels of mushy pickled pork three sacks of flour and one sack of beans even with this supply added to our previous short rations made the prospect rather gloomy. I will state that at Laramie on account of the proficiency I had acquired in ox-driving and handling a team I was promoted to be assistant wagon master the position was purely honorary however, my wages were the same (my board), still it was a satisfaction to me to know my services were appreciated and to be "a Boss" for the first time in my life was something to be proud of.

We rolled out from Fort Laramie on the 8th day of September entering the Black Hills on the south side of the north fork of the Platte, heretofore we had been traveling on the north side.

From now on the roads were hard and gravelly and grass very short and scarce which told seriously on our cattle delaying often to shoe lame oxen and set wagon tire, which on account of the dry atmosphere would become loose; a hundred and twenty miles west from Laramie we again crossed the north fork of the Platte but on a bridge the only one we had seen since starting, this bridge was built by a Canadian Frenchman named John Richard the winter and spring preceding, and certainly was a good investment, the bridge cost not over $5,000.00 dollars and his receipts that season were over $40,000.00 from the bridge alone. There were quite a number of mountaineers located about the place and all very thirsty, from some of the men they ascertained that we had a five gallon keg of whiskey aboard the train, they must have it, price was no object. Stewart finally agreed to let them have it, in consideration of our crossing the bridge free, which was equivalent to $125.00 dollars for the whiskey; Richard and his party however made it back easily,we had several head of oxen too lame to travel farther, and it was necessary for us either to leave them on the road or sell them which we did to Richard at $2.50 per head, paying him $100.00 per head for fresh and fat ones to take their place. As Stewart had refused to turn over the whiskey until we were ready to leave with our train we probably avoided some difficulty as I heard afterwards the whole party got on a glorious spree.

Shortly before eraching Richard's bridge we overtook and passed a Mormon train consisting of about seventy-five wagons and three or four hundred Mormon emigrants, which had left Council Bluffs some two weeks in advance of us. On leaving North Platte nothing worthy of note transpired except our cattle daily becoming poorer and weaker and progress necessarily slower and rations shorter; we reached the South Pass and went over it without being aware of it the most of us expecting to go through a deep gorge or divide, instead of which, it proved to be an open plain with an almost imperceptiable incline and decline over the summit of the Rockies, no high ranges nearer than twenty or thirty miles and those to the north.

The nights for the week preceding were decidedly cold; from necessity (want of water) we were forced to camp almost on the summit of the divide between the waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific at Pacific Springs the waters of which flow westward. That night we had a snow storm September 26th, in which we lost several head of cattle perishing from cold and hunger.

The outlook was very gloomy indeed, cattle dying, and our supply of food very short. At this time Stewart decided upon sending a messenger through to Salt Lake to order a load or two of provisions to meet us. Before our man started however a mountaineer overtook us on horseback with a pack animal destined for Salt Lake and the message was intrusted to him. At the crossing of Green River we had used the last of our flour, our beans had disappeared a week before, our only food for the next ten days was rusty pork, dried apples, sugar and coffee; when within five or six miles of Fort Bridger we met the wagon sent to us with supplies, which by the way was entirely inadequate for our needs the team expected to meet us with fifty miles of Salt Lake instead of which we were one hundred twenty-five miles distant; the supplies consisted of a few sacks of potatoes, one side of beef and a few sacks of flour; on meeting the wagon the train was stopped instantly—a grand rush was made for the potatoes, and half of them were eaten raw in less than thirty minutes. I am confident I ate four pounds skins and all. For several days previous there had been considerable discontent among the men and Stewart and myself were apprehensive lest the men should abandon the train, after filling up however they felt better disposed and performed their duties more cheerfully.

That same day we camped at Fort Bridger; it was not a military fort but simply a string of log houses built in the shape of a quadrangle with a gate on one side opening into the square, the doors and windows or rather openings were on the inside. The place at the time was occupied by a number of mountaineers the majority of whom had lately come from their trading stations along the immigrant road, to spend their winter at the Fort, drinking and gambling. Among the principal ones were old Jim Bridger, Jack Robinson, Vasques and Marrianna; I first met the notorious Bill Hickman and Porter Rockwell there. From Fort Bridger on to Salt Lake Valley the roads were terrible, rain and snow nearly every day and freezing at nights, grass very scarce, cattle perishing daily from fatigue and hunger; but our long journey was fast coming to a close and all thoughts were concentrated on our mecca. When we reached the summit of what was called the big mountain twenty miles from Salt Lake City we had the first view of the valley of the Great Salt Lake. Columbus on the discovery of land could not have experienced greater delight than we did at the sight of the lake, and cheer after cheer went out from twenty-three happy and stalwart throats, made so by yelling "Whoa Ha and Gee," for eighty-five days at contrary oxen.

From this point it required three days more, instead of going to Salt Lake City direct we diverged from the mouth of Immigration Canyon and went South to Stewarts farm on Big Cottonwood where the train was to be unloaded and the goods sold; the reason for going there was that there were only two or three stores in Salt Lake City and all occupied that is, by the porprietors and clerks. There merchandise had been all sold or nearly so some time before, and so Stewart rented a vacant school house close to his farm residence for a store room; we reached our destination on Friday evening October 20th.