. Ox-team days on the Oregon Trail /by Ezra Meeker ; revised and edited by Howard R. Driggs. court of law. Lawlessness was notcommon on the Plains. It was less common, indeed, thanin the communities from which the great body of theemigrants had been drawn, for punishment was swift andcertain. 32 Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail The greater body of the emigrants formed themselvesinto large companies and elected captains. These com-binations soon began to dissolve and re-form, only todissolve again, with a steady accompaniment of conten-tions. I Avould not enter into any organized company,but ne
. Ox-team days on the Oregon Trail /by Ezra Meeker ; revised and edited by Howard R. Driggs. court of law. Lawlessness was notcommon on the Plains. It was less common, indeed, thanin the communities from which the great body of theemigrants had been drawn, for punishment was swift andcertain. 32 Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail The greater body of the emigrants formed themselvesinto large companies and elected captains. These com-binations soon began to dissolve and re-form, only todissolve again, with a steady accompaniment of conten-tions. I Avould not enter into any organized company,but neither could I travel alone. By tacit agreement ourparty and the McAuleys travelled together, the outfitconsisting of four wagons and thirteen persons — ninemen, three women, and the baby. Yet although wekept apart as a separate unit, we were all the while inone great train, never out of sight and hearing of fact, at times the road would be so full of wagonsthat all could not travel in one track, and this factaccounts for the double roadbeds seen in so manyplaces on the Giving chase to the buffaloes. CHAPTER FIVE THE WESTWARD RUSH We crossed the Missouri on the seventeenth and eighteenthof May, The next day we made a short drive, and campedwithin hearing of the shrill steamboat whistle thatresounded far over the prairie. The whistle announced the arrival of a steamer. Thismeant that a dozen or more wagons could be carried acrossthe river at a time, and that a dozen or more trips couldbe made during the day, with as many more at night. Verysoon we were overtaken by this throng of wagons. Theygave us some troubles, and much discomfort. The rush for the West was then at its height. The planof action was to push ahead and make as big a days driveas possible; hence it is not to be wondered at that nearlyall the thousand wagons that crossed the river after wedid soon passed us, Now, fellers, jist let em rush on. If we keep cool,well overcatch em afore long, said Mc
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectoverlan, bookyear1922
