. Ox-team days on the Oregon Trail /by Ezra Meeker ; revised and edited by Howard R. Driggs. lo stam-pede. The tents were emptied of their inmates, the weakparts of the corral guarded, the frightened cattle lookedafter,and every one in the camp was on the alert to watchwhat was coming. In the darkness of the night we could see first the formsof the leaders, and then such dense masses that we couldnot distinguish one buffalo from the other. How long theywere in passing we forgot to note; it seemed like an daylight came the few stragglers yet to be seen fellunder the unerring aim of the
. Ox-team days on the Oregon Trail /by Ezra Meeker ; revised and edited by Howard R. Driggs. lo stam-pede. The tents were emptied of their inmates, the weakparts of the corral guarded, the frightened cattle lookedafter,and every one in the camp was on the alert to watchwhat was coming. In the darkness of the night we could see first the formsof the leaders, and then such dense masses that we couldnot distinguish one buffalo from the other. How long theywere in passing we forgot to note; it seemed like an daylight came the few stragglers yet to be seen fellunder the unerring aim of the frontiersmans rifle. 48 Ox^Team Days on the Oregon Trail We were lucky, but our neighbors in camp did not escape loss. Some were detained for days, gathering up theirscattered stock, while others were unable to fmd theirteams. Some of the animals never were recovered. When not on the road, the buffalo were shy, difficultto approach, and hard to bag, even with the long-rangerifles of the pioneers. But for over a thousand miles alongthe trail, a goodly supply of fresh meat was ^—-^ja^gif>^r\«^=^ The prairie wagon used as a boat. CHAPTER EIGHT TRAILING THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN LAND As the column of wagons passed up the Platte in what isnow western Nebraska, there was some relief from thedust. The throng was visibly thinned out; some hadpushed on beyond the congested district, while others hadlagged beliind. The dead, too, had left room upon the road. When we reached the higher lands of Wyoming, ourtraveling became still more pleasant. The nights werecooler, and we had cleaier, purer water. As we graduallyascended the Sweetwater, Ufe grew more tolerable anddiscomfort less acute. We were now nearing the crest of the continent. Theclimb was so gradual, however, as to be hardly summit of the Rocky Mountains, through the SouthPass, presents a wide, open, undulating country. ThePass offers, therefore, an easy gateway to the West. Passing Pacific Springs at
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectoverlan, bookyear1922
