loneerkozi.et1ion; - ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University

36 THE OCCASIONAL ADDRESS.
there; and in the second place, they can't raise cOrn, and whar they can't raise
corn they can't raise hogs, and whar they can't raise hogs they can't have bacon,
and I'm going back to old Missouri whar I can have corn bread, bacon
and honey." -
In going from Pacific Springs to Bear river, half the company went by Fort
Bridges, and half by the desert, but the half that went by the cut off had the
Worst of it. Three days travel before we got to the Soda Springs, we passed
the grave of Elias Brown, who died June 17th, 1847, of Mountain Fever, father
of J. Henry Brown, our efficient Secretary, the first grave of the company that
left us on Little Blue that we had seen, and the only one we did see.
At the Soda Springs all the sick were healed; and on the JIrst day of August
we camped on Snake river. At what was called Bluff camp, a few miles below
the great falls of Snake river, part of the cattle swam across Snake river,
and in the morning the Captain and Hi. Simpkins swam over and tried to make
them swim back, but all their efforts were in vain. The boys finding it impossible
to force them into the water called for help, Judge Grim, J. Whitney and
Wallace Foster swam over and helped them. John Whitney caught hold of an
ox's tail and was ferried back, and the others swam back. The Captain and
Simpkins had been in the hot sun under the bluff so long trying to make the
cattle take water, that they were perfectly sunburnt, and the next night they
were two as sick men as I ever saw. They both shed their skin like snakes.
At Salmon Falls we laid in such a supply of salmon that we had to throw
away two-thirds of it before we traveled far. We crossed Snake river at the
Three Islands. We rested our teams one day before crossing, and on that day
we lost a fine young man by the name of Elijah Weeks. He and others went
into the river to bathe, and, although an excellent swimmer, was cuaght in a
whirlpool and drawn in and did not come out while we stayed, but came Out
and was picked up by a company who knew him and was buried three days
after we left.
After leaving the river and traveling about six miles, we struck a bee line for
the Hot Springs, and about half way between where we left the road and the
Springs, we camped at what we called Palmer's encampment, on Palmer's cutoff,
at a fine spring and as fine grass and clover as I ever saw. We had three
horses stolen at that camp, and the boys said it was because I did not fire the
cannon that night.
We saw a notice on a tree one day's travel this side of Barrel creek, informing
us that a man had been shot at that camp a day or two before, and -for all
emigrants to be on the lookout for the red devils. I fired the "Young Demo.
crat" twice that night, loaded to the muzzle. We saw no Indians that night.