ALONG THE PLATTE TO FORT LARAMIE. 57 



the great California trail. Luckily for us the river was now 

 at a low ebb, as it generally is at this time of year. In spite 

 of the small portion of daylight that was left us, the wagon- 

 master resolved to attempt to ford the river before morning, 

 and doubling teams, five of the lead wagons plunged down 

 the steep shore into the river. But it was impossible to move 

 them but a short distance over the yielding quicksandy bot- 

 tom, with so weak a force as we had attached to them, and 

 after floundering about in the river until after night, we gave 

 up the attempt for that day, and bringing the exhausted oxen 

 ashore, we turned the whole herd loose, and left the wagons 

 until the morning, when the final start was to be made. Sun- 

 rise saw us all up and busily engaged in fortifying the inner 

 man with liberal allowances of pork, bread and coffee, our 

 standing, unvaried bill of fare, in anticipation of the heavy 

 day's work before us. After breakfast the herd was hurried 

 into the corral, when out of the one hundred and fifty- six 

 yokes, we selected eighty of the strongest. These were divided 

 into teams of twenty yokes each, our intention being to take 

 four wagons over at a time, and five or six men were alloted 

 to each team, to tug at the wheels and belabor the unwilling 

 oxen. The long, snake-like columns were at last hitched to 

 their respective wagons, and stood in readiness on the bluff 

 overlooking the broad river, which lay spread out before us, 

 sparkling under the rays of a bright sun. The wagons, which 

 had remained in the river all night, were now deeply 

 sunken in the quicksand, looking like spots upon the surface 

 of the water, and as if it would be impossible to awaken them 

 from their soft beds into consciousness on the opposite shore ; 

 and all things betokened a day replete with toil and hardship. 

 The signal being given, our teams began tumbling down the 

 bank and striking out into the river, each taking a different 

 cpurse, and soon the excitement commenced. The oxen, 

 frightened by the broad, glittering expanse of water spreading 

 4 



