100 A CALIFORNIA TRAMP. 



their visual organs, at least when he compared them to those 

 of the mythological " Queen of Heaven." I have before 

 alluded to the pathos expressed in their eyes, which under 

 suffering was almost human and was given vent in tears; a 

 weakness the rough teamster sometimes contracted : for I have 

 seen big, bearded fellows crying over a dead ox, as "dying in 

 the harness," they loosened him from the team and placed his 

 3"oke-fellow in some weakling's place. 



Our oxen were too many in number and transient in owner- 

 ship to merit names, except in certain cases. My wheelers 

 were " Dodge " and Samson. The propensity of the first to 

 obey the summons " Whoa !" was such that at the least intima- 

 tion of it he would surge back and stop the whole team ; some- 

 times splitting his yoke, and once, going into a gully, nearly 

 getting killed. For this cause I was forced to give the com- 

 mand in subdued tones, and yet so the rest would hear. 

 "Samson," so named from his strength, broke down from 

 over-willingness, and at Fort Kearney was substituted by a 

 bovine giant, which I called Goliath. These names sounded 

 strange to my un-Biblical companions, who listened to them in- 

 quiringly, and who were satisfied with " Texas," " Nig," " Roan " 

 and other color-giving names; though "Tom and Jerry," from 

 the name of a favorite tipple, was sometimes given to a yoke. 



At Camp Floyd, named after the then Secretary of War, 

 there were thirty-five hundred troops living in four hundred 

 adobe houses. There were also commissary houses and cavalry 

 stables, making a large, well laid-out town. We commenced 

 unloading at two o'clock, and by four had finished. We then 

 took the wagons outside the camp where, among acres of 

 others, we left them to rot down piecemeal. The oxen, except 

 two teams we kept to haul our provisions and eff"ects to Salt 

 Lake, were given in charge of Mormon herders. But two of 

 my own were left of the twelve I started. One was the near 

 wheeler named " Dodge," from his habit of dropping back as 



