244 START FOR ELK MOUNTAIN. 



him come into Sheyenne under a strong escort, without which 

 I am sure he would have been lynched. The soldiers had very 

 hard work to save him as it was a huge crowd surrounding 

 them from the entrance to the town to the station, who were 

 only kept off by the fixed bayonets which the soldiers used 

 freely. 



We only remained a day or two to complete our outfit, and 

 then set off along the proposed line of railway towards "Elk 



Mountain." F drove the waggon, while I rode one horse 



and led the other, as we had not cared to engage any man we 

 had seen in Sheyenne. We. had. a small tent; but as there 

 was no wood from the town to the mountains, and as we had 

 no poles, we did not put it up, but slept in the waggon, which 

 was very risky, as the Sheyeimes and Sioux were often in the 

 neighbourhood, and had run a man into a town a few days 

 before. 



We had bought a log of cedar as firewood, about six feet 

 long and six inches square, for which we gave three shillings, 

 and which we made last us for four or five days ; as our meat 

 was cooked, and we had only to boil coffee, using crackers for 

 bread. At the end of that time we reached a small settlement 

 called Willow Springs, which had sprung up to supply the 

 woodchoppers who had gone into the mountains to cut cord- 

 wood for the railway with whiskey and provisions. As 

 engines in the west always used wood in those days, an 

 immense supply was needed, and these men made it pay well, 

 cutting three cords a day, and getting ten shillings a cord. 

 The only drawback was the high price of provisions, every- 

 thing being seven or eight times its price on the Missouri 

 lliver 



