| Show A AN EXCITING PLEASURE TRIP although the lioner jubilee has come AK gone and the scenes and incidents it amorates am orated will remain but demor ke with those who experienced la 6 trials and hardships of the mea to found a commonwealth in the taft ten american desert there are remi nee nees s not directly connected with the catts atts occurring in those early times but to our present development th recital of is 3 5 interesting to those ato ho have had similar experiences the fa lowing narrative of a pleas 1 ate trip I 1 once made may attract FL a crual glance from some of your readers ra one of my letters I 1 referred to ranis fork station as being raida by the indians during the difficulties th them in 1862 the next morning atter after that occurred eleven of us had col feted acted there and mounted on mules and U armed with pistols rifles and am ution Wt ion from fort bridger we set out f fler the com command comand and of james EB RB romley pursuit of the indians and as there s iome wounded men and three fam sweetwater country it down on the 68 our chief object to search these 1 ople odle in advance of the indians and det feat ony any design they might have as to these comparatively ay defenseless people 8 first day out we made big sandy 1 e fifty five miles following the ini lans trail and crosing it several times VO arrived tt the station in the even law andl and d liscome ring a small fire off a few h wee to taso southeast we recognized it 44 fire and being anxious a signal L the safety of the families and funded roen men below bromley called for to go to springs that ht and sst warn the people and inform coming to their as taira were I 1 that we ia tance tS nce and ben clark who had been f government scout am among ong the r se volunteered volunteer a pol pd to go it is over ux 1 big sandy to the IV arty I 1 miles from fifty five miles aga with the and he made a hundred come rl d already es during the day and portion of the he was gone we looped r oled the station on the ends and of wood and in a supply i ter S got and barricaded barricades barrica ded the doors pre and laid down to voted siege i a for att ins ret rest the agent with the two at the station standing stable which was also aln W sd holed in the and barricaded barricades barrica ded and just at the next morning the and called out the door aftin came to S boys boys get your guns they are w Us I 1 we rouse roused d up gathered our and rushed out the wand nd pistols feor and about a mile away we saw tv cow indians riding up in sin 4 but bromley had exposed our file fad bior for the moment they saw us 1 council neil for a moment ey yarded ft cled in cou M 4 were off at the top of the their ir horses bd and it was useless to follow animals were a lot of to as our aahl mules that ahat had been worn out in w ser bervice irice while they were mounted 04 some of the best horses that we had S 04 the tony ony express and which they Sir but observing that the in la course seemed to be shaped isas ds pacific springs we immedi at ta L saddled up and took the road 5 that point leaving two men at claary tg cla gandy ady to look after the stock and 6 had been gone but a few hours an ift the indians returned and har the men for two days but the th ft alternately standing guard on top 1 I the station and changing their W and disguising themselves as ch as they could when relieving th other and when watering the a 01 k at the well deceived the indians qa ato itebe a abe number of men at the vad and by this ruse influenced the to jL abandon bandon their intended ati 1 and withdraw ab va reached pacific springs of the day we left sandy ss j and after the wounded men mentioned had been pulled over the south pass on hand sleds we started on our return up the road leaving the springs with two coaches two bob sleds the four wounded men three women and five children we left the springs at 4 in the morning and at sundown had made but five miles as after sunrise the beaten snow remaining in the road became so soft that it was impossible to get through or over it and we had to pull out onto the hills and ridges where the ground was thawed and the coaches would sink in to the hubs we were almost entirely without provisions of any kind as there had been no coaches running for quite a while and the provisions at the station had been consumed in the interval and the first night out many of us had nothing to eat what little food there was being reserved for the wounded men and women and children three of us stood guard all night and the next morning early we pulled out for dry sandy taking to the hills and ridges as we had done the day before and early in the evening we reached the station having been two full days in making eighteen miles and at this station some of us secured a biscuit and cup of coffee the first we had had to eat in two days and as the eleven of us that had left hams fork were without bedding and there being but barely room in the station for the wounded men woman and children and delicate of our party we had to seek shelter out doors and I 1 stowed myself away in the remains of the haystack working my way down feet foremost until under cover and in this position slept until morning when we started for green river arriving there late in the afternoon having left the sleds at dry sandy and at green river we had a biscuit and cup of coffee it being but the second time for some of us in three days early the next morning a few of us that were sleeping near the river were awakened by the roar and swish of the water and discovering that it was rapidly rising we warned the guard and awakened the camp when we harnessed up and crossed the river and even then it was all the teams could do to ford it the water running over the lead animals backs and another hours delay would have left us on the east bank of the river unable to cross it and with a lot of w women omen and children and wounded men and nothing for ourselves or animals to eat the nearest provisions twenty five miles away with the river between us and that and two hundred miles of abandoned road behind us but we were fortunate in crossing in safety and arriving at grangers brangers Gr angers station we astonished him by the quantities of beef bread and potatoes we caused to disappear and his astonishment was mixed with pleasure as he saw in this another figure in his quarterly vouchers but we could not stay here so late in the afternoon we hitched up and started for bridger taking the west side of blacks fork as our route and we had gone but a few miles when we came to what we took to be the muddy it was swollen and overflowed the greasewood gree sewood flats through which it ran the teams would mire down before they could get to the channel and even if we could pull through the submerged flats it was considerable too much risk to attempt to cross with the women and children and wounded men and it was deter i mined to send the animals to bridger and have some caulked caulker wagon boxes and provisions sent down to enable the outfit to cross the stream and mr bromley called for volunteers to per form this service but it was evidently viewed as a forlorn hope as none volunteered ered and this was the eighth day of privation and hardship the elevena elevee from hamms fork had experienced but when nine names were called none declined we drove the animals up un stream to high ground and forced them in and teeing our clothes to our saddles and catching our riding animals by the tails swam across with them and by this time we were in a heavy hall hail storm but elated with the idea that we would soon be at the fort we urged the animals to a faster gait and after going some two miles we came to the muddy the stream that we had crossed being an old bed or gulch swollen and overflowed from the main stream and it still hailing and ther the mules being cold we had difficulty in getting them into the water the second time and we drove them up ul stream to where a butte ended abruptly on the bank before we could get them into the stream by this time it was barkand had began to snow and when we had got across and put on our clothes the band of mules had ds appeared and we divided up to hunt them some going down the stream some going east towards blacks fork some south towards bridger while I 1 struck up stream and after riding several miles the snow had collected so I 1 could seer see their tracks had they come that way and I 1 didiot know if I 1 was on the lower muddy north of elliots elliote Elli stati station orb or where I 1 was but I 1 knew that IC I was atas lost and had a suspicion that none of the rest of the boys had any advantage of me and under these circumstances cum curn stances I 1 called a halt and put a resolution to myself that I 1 had lost no mules which was carried unanimously I 1 then turned to the east knowing thatis that if I 1 rode far enough I 1 would come to the road or to blacks fork either of which would enable me to find my way to bridger and after awhile I 1 came to the road and when I 1 reached it having in mind that when I 1 left the muddy the south was to my right I 1 turned in that direction and being mighty glad to get out of the wilderness I 1 gave vent to my elation at the top of my voice and was answered by the refrain I wah iwah you goin ephraim Ephr alm and a came galloping gallo up to me an although this descendant of ham was as black as gross darkness he was an old handon the overland andt and of the kind to have with one under such circumstances and as we proceeded we were joined by two more of the party and about 3 in the morning when we supposed we were in the near vicinity of bridger baldger we were astonished at coming to a stream which from its swollen and raging appearance barred our further progress and we concluded that we were indeed lost I 1 was familiar with the country but this stream was not in my geography so I 1 dismounted tied my mule to a scrub mahogany and waited for daylight and when it came there was bridger butte and here was an overflowed ravine and low ridge between us and the fort and although the stream was from the melting snows it rushed down with a headlong current that made it dangerous to attempt to cross it but we plunged irb in and one of our party joe hurley to in raising the opposite bank his mule fell over with him but he scrambled out oia and although this was the third ducking that he had received during the storm he felt no bad effects from it and in a few minutes we were in the fort gave our instructions botha to the proper per persons sons and all but one of the party of nine that started with the mules got in the same day as we and he was two days and nights rambling around the country before he found the fort the storm had driven them the mules east across blacks fork and they had made ther way to church buttes st station tion where they eat up and destroyed a lot of grain there be ing no one there to look after it the caul caulker bulked ked wagon boxes and provisions reached the party stranded in the mud and they were enabled to cross the streams in safety and reaching the fort reposed for a season under the protection of uncle samuel whose power and dignity was maintained at that post by a superannuated ordnance sergeant and two soldiers to support him on dress parade WM P APPERLY salt lake city august 13 1897 |
