ALONG THE PLATTE TO FORT LARAMIE. 67 



part of the journey, when our tasks had been comparatively 

 light, the train would have mirthful scenes occasionally. 

 Those were the times when we made short drives; when our 

 diet was composed of something else besides a monotony of 

 bread and pork, and pork and bread ; and when, on account of 

 the danger of the men deserting with their " outfits," the train 

 officials were less exacting. But now it was different. Slowly 

 and wearily we walked along by the side of our teams, which 

 were as morose and desponding as their drivers. No sounds 

 are heard as we move over the dreary w^aste but the dull grat- 

 ing of the wheels, as they grind through the yielding sand, and 

 the sharp crack of the whips, as the teamsters urge on the pant- 

 ing oxen. The miserable animals, exhausted by incessant 

 labor and little to eat, move lifelessly along wdth heads bowed 

 low, casting their tear-filled eyes imploringly for the mercy 

 they seldom got, and sometimes, completely worn out, th^ 

 drop in their tracks, to swell the numbers of reeking carcasses 

 and bleached skeletons which line the road. The hearts of all 

 are gladdened at sight of the forming corral, and the oxen 

 quicken their pace when they see it. We unloosen them and 

 they are soon scattering over the sun-burned prairie, seeking 

 to allay their hunger, while we go at our camp duties, getting 

 our wood and water and otherwise preparing for supper. Si- 

 lently and mechanically we go through our task, a feeling of 

 weariness and sadness, not to say peevishness, pervading all. 

 Our campfires, which of old were the scenes of mirthful horse- 

 play, songs and stories, now see nothing but groups of grimy, 

 care-worn men. 



At that time how far distant seemed the Golden State toward 

 which I was traveling ! I hardly thought that fate would ever 

 carry me to that glittering bourne ! 



Besides our returning trains we met, occasionally, other 

 bodies; once, a party of renegade Mormons. When our troops 

 reached Utah and the rebels surrendered, all men and women 



