20 LIFE SKETCHES OF A JAYHAWKER 



teams could pull no further, many had already died, so the wagons were 

 abandoned and pack saddles made on the oxen. 



On Christmas day, 1849, we were all busy making pack saddles, and 

 cooking the scanty supply of flour into little biscuits, or crackers, as they 

 were perfectly hard. We were divided into twos, from eight men to two 

 men mess, and each one had his share allotted to him. We had a half dozen 

 of the little crackers, about three or four spoonfuls of rice, and about as 

 much dried apples, and this ended the bill of fare, which must last until 

 we reached settlements. 



California seemed a long way off. We did not know where we were, 

 but I know we were much further off than we realized. The proposition 

 now became a single one, for we just had to subsist on the oxen, and they 

 had become so poor there was little or no nourishment in their flesh, as 

 they were dying then from starvation. 



As soon as an ox fell he was butchered, everything saved, especially 

 the blood. We did not know where we were and we realized that the strict- 

 est economy must prevail. We even boiled the hide and it became partially 

 tender. When we left Salt Lake we had two teams of four yoke of oxen 

 to each, and only eight men, with what we considered ample provisions. 

 Captain Hunt had told us of the distance to Los Angeles, and if we had re- 

 mained with him we would have had abundance. When we killed an ox 

 we cut the meat into strips, and dried it over a fire, during the night, so it 

 would be ready to pack next day. We found little patches of grease wood, 

 the only thing that grew in the desert, and this was of a very scrubby 

 variety at best. It grew not more than two feet high, of the size of a 

 finger, still, by searching diligently we could secure enough to answer our 

 needs in camp. 



Here is where Rev. J. W. Brier and family came up to us and wanted 

 to travel with us. At first we objected, as we didn't want to be encum- 

 bered with any women, but we hadn't the heart to refuse. So they joined 

 the "Jay Hawkers", and the little woman proved to be as plucky and brave 

 as any woman that ever crossed the plains, either before or since. They 

 had three small boys, about six or eight years old. When the smallest got 

 too tired tramping he was placed on the back of an ox for a change. 



I will state here that the only survivor of the family is now living at 

 Lodi, California, the mother dying last May in her hundredth year. There 

 were others who came to our camp, one was a company of Georgians, about 

 fifteen of them. The next day we saw snow on the mountains in the dis- 

 tance, and we know if we could reach the pass through the mountains we 

 would find water, so we started straight for it. But the Georgians hugged 

 the foot of the mountain, in hopes of finding water in the canyon. They 

 found no water, but did find a silver mine, of almost pure silver. I saw a 

 piece they melted and made a gun-sight of. 



Since writing the above J. W. Brier, Jr., has died, leaving only three of 

 us left out of the original number of "Jay Hawkers" of thirty-nine. 



Thousand and thousands of dollars have been spent trying to find the 

 gun-sight lead. Governor Lore of Nevada fitted out several expeditions to 

 try to find it, but it never has been located. I was offered all kinds of 

 money in California to go back and hunt for it, but I never had the least 

 inclination to accept 



