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The following story is rather fascinating not only to just us "Matlocks" but just for the pure enjoyment of history as told in the first person. I do not hold the copyright to this and I am not sure who does. If anyone knows whom I need to talk to I would like to be put into contact with them so that I may post proper credit where it is due. Now without further ado lets go back to the thrilling days of yesteryear.

Shawn Matlock

The following links will take you to two related stories and a few photographs. They are on a site related to this one in the search for the Matlocks. The site also has tons of census records on the Matlock family.

John Edwin C Matlock- Son of James Ransom Matlock

Alvin Arven Matlock- Son of John Edwin Matlock

 

 

THE MATLOCK FAMILY

CROSSING THE PLAINS

FROM

MISSOURI TO WASHINGTON TERRITORY

1874 — 1875

Written by:

Barbara Jane Matlock McRae

 

 

THE MATLOCK FAMILY

Preston Hale and Kerlista Ann Larrick Matlock

 

John Henry Matlock

Thomas Buckingham Matlock

Barbara Jane Matlock

James Preston Matlock

Robert Edwin Lee Matlock

Sarah Elizabeth Matlock

Manley Ransom Matlock

William Alfred Matlock

George Albert Matlock

Mary Effa Matlock

Margaret Kerlista Matlock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

The following story was written over a period of time by Barbara Jane Matlock McRae. She was 81 years old when she finished it on her son’s typewriter. She had never had typing lessons and little formal education. I decided to leave the typing, punctuation and spelling errors as they are so as not to change her meaning and to preserve unspoiled the charm of her reporting. I received the original copy of this story from her daughter, Jessie NcRae Melvin, in March of 1968. The original is in Jessie’s possession.

To my knowledge, Barbara was the only one of the 10 children, of Preston Hale Natlock and his wife Kerlista Ann Larrick Matlock to have put in writing the story of their trek across the plains from Missouri to the Palouse country in Washington Territory in 1874 — 1875.

Gloria Bradley Matlock

 

PART 1

 

 

A true story of my trip across the plains in an emigrant wagon in 1874 and

1875.

In the spring and summer of 1874 and 75 my father began to make preparation to leave our old home in misouri: to go west his intentions were to go to washing terrytory: he fitted out too big mule teams and new wagon (There were two wagons, one for the family and one for the household goods): he thoght to start in the fall and travil toward the west for four or five weeks and stop for the winter: we would be that far on our road toward washington terrytory: on september 24 in 1874 we started: my father and mother and ten children, seven boyes and three girls, it seems to me when I look back it was some under taking with such a large family to cross that indian infested country, I was the oldest girl I was nearly sixteen.

I had too brothers (John and Thomas) older than I the rest were all younger: (James, Robert, Sarah, Manley and William and George the twins)we youngsters were all excited about it none of us had ever camped out a night in our lives; except my self I went with my father one time when I was about twelve years old to the town of saint Jaims, Mo. about twenty miles we went with ox team it took us four days to make the trip we took a load of grain to the rail road station; that was the onley time I or any of us ever saw a rail road train except my father he had been to saint louis several times; we camped out on the trip to saint james: the first night out when we started west there were some confusion among the young children they began to cry and wanted to go home so they could go to bed; we finely got the big tent up and our beds made and got our eavening meal evry thing looked beter to the youngsters:

Our old home was down in the south west part of misourei near the gasconade river you might say in the back woods none of children had ever been ten miles from home in our lives except my self when I went to james town with father; On that six weeks trip into Iowa we children saw lots of exciting things: the north part of misouri through Salean(4) county: is a very beautiful level country with strips of timber from one mile to too and three miles wide; large farms and farm building; we passed several farms that had been blown and twested to peases the past summer with terable cyclones; the fall of 74 jesse james and the youngers (Younger Brothers) were steeling and robing all through that part of the country; several towns had been held up and banks robed just before we passed through; some of the farmers told my father that it was not safe travling through the country with such desperadoes running at large they might rob us and steel our teams; but what could we do we had to take our chances; so we traveled a long and camped where night over took us at the side of the road or in the timber by the side of a little stream of water; a couple

of times when we were campted in the timber too or three cowboyish fellows with wide hats and great spurs on their high heeled boots would ride into camp and talk to my father for a while and then ride away with a wave of there big hats and gingling of big spurs! they never molested us; our mules were tied to the wagon evry night; one night they got despertly freightened and almost tore the wagon to peases, father and the boys quieted them but could see nothing; we all thought those fellows were despert looking; when we got out in washington teritory we got use to such characters; and so we traveled on with out being molested; one of our mules was always alert and watchful when we were in camp, we youngsters had been raised way down in misouri in the back woods where all kinds of wild fruit and nuts grow in abundence such as wild grape and big jucy black berrys dewberries and the most luscious strawberries and pawpaws and wild pesimons hyckrynuts of all kinds both large and small haselnuts walnuts and butter nuts pecons buroak acorns; which ripened in the fall of the year; us being on the road traveling we missed all of those luxarys; in the wooded country where we lived it abounds. in all kinds of game; deer wild turkey and timber squirle lots of possoms and coons and rabbits and red timber fox and large gray and black wolves; my father missed all of that kind of sport as he was a great hunter; when we got to Boonville; Mo. there were so many Negrows swarming around we thought we were seeing all the Negrows in the world we camped that night near a Negrow church at the out edge of Boonville; on the bank of the Misouri river they were holding church servis in a small church of all the praying and shouting and singing any one ever heard and to make things worse there was a Negrow cabbin near by and the ocupants got into a general quarl and fight; the small children made for our big tent and staid their; early next morning we broke camp and crossed the Misouri River at Boonville; the country is some hilly and some timber; the sun shown warm and bright and the autum color of the red and gold and hase in the air of the fall of the year made evry thing look beautiful; the railroad ran round a steep grade of the out edge of the town we were on a hill above the steep winding grade watering the teams and a freight train was puling the grade loaded very heavy it was puffing and pulling and throwing up great rings of black smoke through the timber; we children both older and younger ones had never saw nor heard such a nois neither had our mother; we all got so excited and curious to know what it was we couldent see it; my father got real peaved at us he said he dident think we were so ignorent; that it was a freight train pulling a steep grade with a heavy load; my mother told him we had never in our lives heard a freight train pull a steep grade before nor had she; then the next exciting was beautiful white ladys out for a walk with great big black Negrow men servants walking in the rear caring their lovely white babies all in pink and blew and white; it made such a contrast with the black of the Negrow; I dont think baby carrages were much in voge in those days.

 

PART 2

 

 

The next town we came to was Lexington Misouri; hear we crossed Misouri river back to the other side; we dident have much excitment from there till we got

to kansas city; we had been on the road about three weeks we camped on a high place at the out edge of the city with no timber near our camp. my father thought he would ship through to Salt Lake from Kansas city and we could reach washington terrytory that same fall of 1874; he tried to charter a car and use one end of it for the too teams and the other end for the family and wagons and plunder; the boys and he could take care of the teams but the rail road oficials wouldent do that; they would let the family go on the regular pasenger train; and would take the teams wagons and plunder in a regular freight car but wouldent let any one go with them to take care of them but father thought too much of his team he was afraid to chance them with strangers one of them was a vicious animal with strangers; rail road officials were not verry acomodating in those days; we campted at kansas city three days on the second day the wind started to blow; I have never seen such a hard wind and dust till you couldent see it blew our tent down and all got then into the covered wagon; but was afraid the wind would blow them over we had to do with a cold lunch that night; the big boys whose bed was under the tent weighted it down with big stones and crawled under the rest of the family went to bed in the wagons but dident know but what we would be blown away; it was cold too; we put blankets on the mules and they were tied to the back of the wagons I will say it was a terable experience for new beginers at camping; the next morning the wind had ceased blowing so hard; it took us all fore noon to get the dust out of things and cook something to eat; it was no small job to cook in a camp of that kind for twelve people the children were all well trained and knew their places by noon of the third day we bid good by to kansas city; we crossed the Misouri river on a large bridg one first large bridges we waited for a long train to come a cross when we pulled on that was exciting for us youngsters. We struck the misouri river valey and followed a long narrow dusty road I supose it is a highway now but in those days paved roads and highways werent thought of:

Sometimes we were the river and some times were far from it: there were large farmes a long the valley that had large corn fields and wheat fields that had been harvested and gardens and orchards: Picking apples were in progress.

 

PART 3

 

 

Negrow boys picking apples would throw big red apples at the boys when we were passing we could buy a bushel of apples for ten cents all kinds of vegetables were cheep one eavening father bought some sweet potatoes which we were all very fond of one of them weighted seven punds it just made the family one meal it was the largest sweet potato any of us had ever seen. In that country farms were not verry close together: when we were there it was geting late in the fall the autum leaves were turning to red and gold and the beautiful sunset of lavender and blue in a purple hase or gray on the water of the misouri river made apictur I can never forget: it was about 20 of october and the nights were geting cold and frosty and the days shorter: father thought we beter begin to look for a place for the winter but the roads were fairly good and not hard finished as they are now but just good dusty dirt

road; on the second day of november we arived in council bluff Iowa and campd at the out skirts of the city by a little stream of water: The next morning November the 3rd — 1874 every thing was covered with snow so my father and mother left us younsters in camp and took one of the teams and went to hunt a house for the winter they came back about noon had rented a small house and a good barn for the mules they bought second hand furniture enough to do and we moved in and as they say now days just campd for the winter: the weather was geting colder and father bought hay and corn for the mules: we had a good well of water which furnished plenty for the family and the mules: though strange as it may sound the weather got cold that we were frozen though it was 25 feet deep; there was a leanto at the side of the house and dad bought a half a beef dressed and five or six dressed hogs for our winters meat he had them put in the leanto and intended to make bacon of them finely they froze hard beef and all and staid froze all winter when we would to cook some of the meat we would just cut it off with a sharp ax or saw it off with meat saw when spring came it thawed and we had used the beef and my father made bacon out of the hams and side the shoulders had all been used we had most enough left to do the rest of our journey with an ocational fresh meat and game my father and brothers got out on the plains the next summer while travling. while at council bluff the too older boys (John and Thomas) and a younger one (James) younger than i was who was just 15 years old and a stout husky boy all got a job of cutting cord wood for a man that had a lot of timber, he gave the boys all they wanted of the dead down so we had plenty dry good wood to keep us warm, this timber man gave the boys 150 cents a cord for cutting each boy cut a cord a day the 13 year old boy cut his cord as easy as the older boys did, he shuld by all means have been in school if it had been in those days as it is now he would have been compeled to go to school I should have been in school too as I had never atended school much in my younger days. I been a sickly youngster and couldent attend school and where we lived in misouri we had a very poor school facilities and poor teachers only had a bout three month a year of school the younger children went to school and did real well. my mother wasent very strong and with such a large family and so much cooking and dishwashing and washing and irning and sewing by hand and so many children to take care of and keep clean I had to stay home and help my mother the neighbor hood we moved into were all mormons not the kind with more than one wife they all belonged to a mormon church, one of our near neighbors his name was quinby was a mormon but had left the faith a few years befor he had been persuaded by repasntive of a postels as they call themselves to go to salt lake under Brigham young preaching and religion were representive of apostus made them believe all they had to do was to get to salt lake that their fortunes would be made this man had been quite prosperous but he sold every thing at a sacrifice and went to salt lake he and his wife had not been their long till they saw their mistake; Brigham young taxed them so heavey that it was taking every thing that they had, and to cap it all brigham ordered him to take too more wifes he said that was the climax for him he said he dident want too more wifes he had one good wife and that was enough.

their representive or in other words they called them selves apostels or saints go out among the mormons and tell them what they have to do he said one of these fellows came and told him if he dident obey brigham young that he would surfer the consequences in other words any one who disobeyed would be put to death so he and his wife pland to run away which was very risky because if they had caought them they would surely put them to death as they had many others. so he said they had a too whealed cart so they packed it full of beding and clothing and food all they could cary and one dark cloudy night they sliped a way and left evry thing elce they dident have much to leave that Brigham had taken and sold most evry thing they had for some kind of tax (tithe). he pulled the cart and they walked as far as they could that night and when it began to get deylight they went way off the road in the brush and slept all day. and at night they would travel again of course they couldent travel very far in one night he said when his wife would get tired she would get up on the cart and he would pull it a long with her and what little plunder they had they traveled that way till they got so far from salt lake that they were not a fraid to travil in daylight they travled from salt lake back to their old home in Iowa. once way out on the plaines their food gave out and they dident have a thing to eat they camped near some freighters with ox teams who were hauling provisions for the government for the indins they told these freighters their story and told them they dident have a thing to eat so the freighters stocked them up from there wagons enough to do till they got to a settlement. he said no one knows what went on at salt lake in the early days of mormonism.

well back to my own family three of younsters started to school soon after we got setled the others were too young to go to school the weather graduly got colder until it got 40 below zero the misouri river froze over and trafic went a cross on the ice betwene council bluff and omaha all winter we had been accustomed to cold weather where we lived in Misouri but not as cold as Iowa. the boys kept busy cutting cord wood. my father decided to haul brick from the brick yard for a company so he had sharp shoes put on the four mules got his wagons in trim and the day before he was to start work he hitched a span of the mules to a wagon and as the habit was in those days he put one of our old hicrybotom chairs in the wagon.

 

 

 

name of Bensing he had a wife and too small children she had never been out of a city in her life and never camped out and of course it was all new to her a new experience for her. (The rest of this paragraph was crossed out, but I’ve decided to copy it: GBM) the other mans name was tolbert he had a wife and four children the oldest a bout eight years old they had been to california and had travled all over the middle west for his wifes helth she was a quere little woman she never talked a bout any thing but her ailments she never did any thing her husband did evry thing a bout the camp and was a prince of a man in fact the best natured man I ever saw it is a pity there isent more born like he was they are fiew and far betwene. they came clear across the plains with us and parted from us on top of the blue montains we turned off to go to walla walla wash. and they went on down the trail to milton oregon. he had a brother there we never saw them again. but our children got leters from there children they went back to california. the next summer they did nothing but travil around she imagined they had to for her health.

 

PART 4

 

 

 

On the 8th day of may 1875 we loaded our wagons and started from council bluf iowa to cross the plains to washingtin terrytory we dident know but what we would be scalped by the indians but we were all brave enough to try I forgot to mention that we sold the pony and saddle way back in misouri we children certainley felt bad to part with him he was such a gentle nice dark prety pony father thought we beter let him go it would be extra expense to try to keep him and take him across the plains when we left him and started on he looked after us whinneyd as much as to say goodby the youngsters all cried, we were all ready start bright and early may the 8th 1875 our furniture had all been sold we dident have much I and my sister had slept all winter on a big feather bed on the floor, the three famlies all lined out with my father in the lead we stoped on council bluff side of the misouri river and got our dinner our little black and tan dog was with us but when we drove on the ferry boat he was a fraid was always a fraid of fery boats and bridges the boys al ways would pick him up as he was small dog and carry him but they forgot him so we left him we dident miss him for a while then we dident know what became of him until long afterwards our neighbor children at council bluf wrote our children that he came back to our old home and cried and they took him in and gave him a home as long as he lived we felt bad to think we lost our only dog we passed through omaha and on out about 12 mile and camt for the night. the next morning we were astir early as we had made a start for the far western county it was quit warm and cloudy in the fore noon and about noon we drove by a little stream and campted for the noon hour. and terirific thunder storm came up i dont think i ever saw the rain poor like it did that day it poored through our wagon covers like they were sives we just nearly drowne after the storm ceast my father went to a store in the little town and i beleave the name of it was cresent city nebrasky he bought black oilcloth and put over the

 

 

tops of both wagons and sewed it fast with corse thread after our too wagons were marked clear a cross the plains and it surely kept out the rain and answered as a shade from the glaring sun of the plat river country. we four wagons traveled a lone for several hundred miles their was nothing to brak the manotiny onley when the union pacific train would pass going one way or the other. some times the wagon trail would lead off from the rail road and some times we could travil for miles and miles a long the side of the rail road track their were no habitation onley an ocation ranchers cabin some batchlor. and once in a while an doba house that had been built in earlerier times for a pony express riders station it would be ocupied some times by a family who was keeping som cows and they would sell milk and butter and cream to the emigrants who was very glad to get it some times we could get fresh buffalo or dear or fresh beef after we had been traveling for too or three weeks. late one eavening we drove off the trail down in a kind of a bacin in the ground were probly 10 acres there was a bubling spring of clear water with a small stream runing down a little revene it made an ideal campingplace. late in the eavening when the sun was going down behind the clouds of read and gold with a purple hase behind a man came to the rim of the bacin and called down and ask if there were room for any more campers father called up to tell him there were plenty of room so a bout twenty five wagons drove down and formed in circle kind of a corel. as they had been in the habit of doing in fear of an atact by the indians this bacin of a place where we were campt would have been one of the best places in the world to be attacted down in this bacin place the indians could have swarmed over the hill and killed the whole of us. that night we had exciting eperienc. after these wagons got into camp it was prety late they hobbled or staked there horses a round camp and up on the hill a bove the camp they built several camp fires cook their eavening meal we had ours and was all to bed early we were prety tired travling slow that way gets prety tiresom. it seemed too of the women at one camp and too men at another camp did not go to bed when the others did it seemed the women did not know the men were up and the men did not know the women were up one of the men went up on the hill a mong the horses the women dident know he went and they saw him on top of the hill silueted againsted the sky as their was a pale moon they got freightend and instead of calling some of their own men they being strangers to us they run to my fathers wagon and told him there was a man up on the hill among the horses. father jumpted out of bed sliped on his cloth grabed his gunn woke the big boys told them to get up and get their guns some one was a mong the campers horses he told the too women to wake up their men he started up the hill to where the man was standing looking a round a mong the horses he got with in ten feet of the man without him knowing and told him to put his hand up which he did quickly he ask him what he was doing and what he wanted he said nothing that he belong in the camp and just thout he would take a look a mong the horses and see if they were all right, our mules were tied to our wagons. were always tied to the wagons at night and fed grain when we could get grain we usualy hauled quite a lot of grain for them my father told this man if he had not put up his hand he surely would have shot him that he thought he was a horse thief picking out a horse or an indian scouting a round to stampeed the horses and atact the camp the whole camp was aroused and excited no one could figure out why those women and men were at seperate camps at eleven o clock at night.

 

 

PART 5

 

 

The next morning after the excitement of the night before the men all got together and decided to travil together and camp together and take turns and stand guard evry night now that we were on the war path they aponted my father captain or maniger of the emigrant train. their were other emigrants joined us a long the way at diferent camping places till there nearly a hundred wagons in the train. evry night too men would stand guard till midnight and too more would get up and stand guard till daylight. evry night my father would have the wagons drove in a circle and all camp fiers would be built inside the circle, there were plenty of green grass for the horses but they were not aloud to get far from camp. we traviled a long the plat river in the hot sun and dust in a slow moving train of emigrants wagons it was very monotnous. we could see in the far distance large citys steeples and spires and tall buildings reaching toward the sky and lakes with ships and boats floating on the surfus but to our suprise it was all a mirage. we could hardly beleave our eyes when we could see it no more gave was plenty deer and antilope many buffalo we onley saw one herd and they were wild no one could get a shot at them in early times in 69 — 70 and up to 74 there were thousads of buffalo but hunters and sportmans and indians had slaughtered them by the thousand. and when the kansas pacific rail road was under construction as far as fort sherdon (Ft. Sheridan, Wyoming) Bill Cody Buffalo Bill as he was known on acount of killing the most Buffalo in a contest with one Bill Comstock. Buffalo Bill had a contract with the rail road company with to hunt meat for the crew of 12 hundred working men dureing the year and a half that he suplied them with fresh meat he killed four thousand too hundred and eighty Buffalo no wonder the Buffalo disapeard from the plains and the wild indian went on the war path to see all this game disapear when the rail road reached sheridan it was desided to build no farther at that time so Bill Cody went to scouting a gain as the indians had become troublsom again. Buffalo Bill was one of the best poney express riders and indian scout and stage driver in trouble some times and union army scout that the pioner dayes of the plains ever known.

 

PART 6

 

 

One eavening just after we drove into camp a booted and spured cowboyish looking fellow road up to our camp he had a new modle rifel and too large six shooters buckled a round his waist had on wooly shaps he ask my father if he could stay in camp that night and get his supper and breakfast and sleep in our big tent with the boys he had a roll or blankets tied to the back of his saddle he looked tired his horse was very tired father told him he could so he handed his rifle and both pistoles to father and unsaddled his horse which was a fine one and was covered with sweat rubbed

 

him down and took his lass roap the kind all cow boys carry at the front of their saddle in those dayes and staked him out he sat down till supper was ready we always thougt he was Buffalo Bill on a scouting trip he had long dark curly hair with black mustach and a wide cow boy hat after seeing Buffalo Bill in 1908 in Walla Walla Washington at his wild west show I was more convinst it was him of course he looked much older then but he still had his long curly hair down on his shoulders and a long mustach but was quite gray still had a wide cow boy hat, the night he staid with us in a camp way out on the plains as we thought it was him the other emigrants what was campted with us their were a bout sixty wagons in all some of the men were so freightened of this cow boy that had nothin to hich up and drive on they were angry at my father for taking him in but father said if he intended to do us harm he wouldent have turned over his guns to him and as we were in the indian country at that time and was liable to an atact most any night he was rather glad to have such a man in camp. some of the men thought he was some kind of a spy. my mother gave him some beding and with his own blanket he slept in the big wagon where my three brothers slept. father took his gunns in his wagon for the night. one man especialy was freightend he could hardly tauk he said he would rob and kill us all. the stranger notist that some of the emigrants were freightend he told my father they dident need to be a fraid of him that wouldent molest or harm any one that he was a friend of the emigrants that he was on an important mision and was tired and sleepy from his long hard ride, the next morning after he had his breakfast he sadled his horse father gave him his gunns he thanked my father and mother courtely for their kindness waved his hand and road a way I am sure he was Buffalo Bill of whome I may speak of later in my story.

 

PART 7

 

 

The emigrant train moved slowly on toward Cheyanne which we were nearing my father told all the emigrants that were in our train that when we would arive at Cheyanne wioming that we would stop for three days and rest the teams that they was geting tired of steady traveling we had onley stoped one day since we had left Omaha he told them he had a friend and his wife in Cheyanne that he wished to visit, that he had writen to him several months a go we were coming and he was expecting him. well we finely arived in Cheyanne and found a nice camping place at the edge of the town by a small stream of water the first day we spent in washing and cleaning up. the second day my father and mother dressed in their best and left me in charge of the younger children took my baby sister who was a bout too years old and went to spend the day with this friend whome they had not seen for several years after they left camp some of the emigrants got restles and wanted to move on I told that my father wouldent move on that he wanted his teams rest well as the family they all talked a mong their selves back and forth finely they all decided to move on at noon they all pulled out left our too wagons a loan when my father and mother returned to camp that eavening they were

 

some surprised, we staid our three days and our mules got their needed rest and the family too and father and mother had a nice visit with their friends whos name was Mc knoppf he had been living in Cheyanne for five or six years when our time was up for us to move on mr Mc knoppf decided he would go with us for a couple or three days travel and perhaps he and father could get some big game but they dident have any luck on the morning of the fourth day he left us to walk a cross the country a bout eight miles to the union pacific rail road to go back home that was the last time we ever saw him he intended to come out to washington terrytory in a fiew years but a bout three years after we came a cross the plains he and too other men went out a bout eighty miles from Cheyanne on a hunting trip one eavening just as they had piched their tent for the night they were surounded by a bout twenty renegade indians the three fought the indians they had no chance too of the men were shot and the third man a Mr. Oliver when he saw his companions shot down he took a big chance he rann out under the indians fire and got one of their horses that was staked near their camp and jumped on and road for his life without saddle or bridle to fort walice (Wallace, SD) and told his story and a troup of soldiers went out the next morning they found the camp the wagons and evry thing the Indians dident want was burnt and Mr. Mc knoppf and his companion were scalped and their bodys striped and mutulated they took the other horse and the gunns and amunition the soldiers could find no trace of them they were just other victms of indian tragdy of early days on the plains.

 

 

PART 8

 

 

Back to my story of our famly traveling a lone through the black hills in the most dangerous part of the trip the souxs was on the war path. it had its origin like most of its 1876 predcesors and sussesors in an act of injustus on the part of the united states government and a violation of treaty right in 1868 a treaty had been made with the souxs by wich the black hill country was reserved for their exclusiv use no setling of white men to be alowed in 1874 gold was discovered and the usual gold fever was followed by a rush of whites into the Indian country. the souxs naturly resented the intrusion, and instead of atemting to placate them to the end that the treaty might be revised. The governrnent sent general Custer into the blackhills with instructions to intimediate (I believe she meant intimidate after reading on in the paragraph.) the Indians into submision but Custer was too wise. too familier with Indian nature, to adher to instruction to the letter under cover of a flag of truce a council was aranged at this gathering coffee sugar and bacon was distributed a mong the Indians and a long with there comotities Custer handed around some advice this was to effect that it would be to the advantage of the soux if they permited the miners to ocupy the gold country the coffee sugar and bacon were accepted thankfully by 10. but no nation tribe or individual since the world began has ever welcomed advice it was thrown a way on low. in august 1875 Custer

 

city was laid out, in too weeks its population number six hundred General Crook drove out the inhabitanc and as he marched triumply out of one of the villages the people marched in a gain at the other end, the result of this bad faith was inevetable evry where a mong the Indians the soux raigned in arms stronger as it might seem the government policy condesended was to stock the Indins with rifels and amunition. and provide him with first class reason for useing them a gainst the whites, during the year 1875 they received several thousand stands of armes and more than a million rounds of amunition and for three years before that they had been regularly suplied with wepons from the government the soux uprising of 1876 was expensiv for the government one does not have to go far to find the explanation the incident of Custers fight and fall are too well known that it is not nesesary to repeat them hear.

 

 

PART 9

 

 

It was very dangerous for my father and mother and all that big family of children to travel through that Indian infested country just a loan the road were just mear trails and our trail did not lead through the mineing regeion we onley passed through a spur of the blackhill. when I look back now and think how easy we could have all been slaughtered by a roving band of indians it almost makes me shuder yet. but it seamed that most of the souxs interested in custers council and lots of other tribs were gathering in the big horn country (Wyoming) in 1875. we were sure one eavening that Indians were not far from our camp late one eavening we drove off the wagin trail down in a steep revene to camp for the night. the four mules were turned loose a round camp to get some green grass before dark or before they were tied up for the night. we were all busy a round camp and all at once old beck was one of our bigest mules raised her head and gave a loud snort and came running to camp being onley a fiew hundred yards a way and all the others came after her and all of them began to whistle and snort you could hear them for a mile being in a canion it echoed so loud and they kept it up for fifteen or twenty minutes we expected to be surounded by Indians. you never heard such snorting and whistling as those four mules did my father said he guesed if their were Indians a round they would hear those mules they would think it was some kind of a new explosion and would freighten them Indians a way old beck was always like that when she would see or get a sent of Indians she would stick her head up and begin to snort and whistle even after we got out in washington terrytory as long as she lived she hated Indians. nothing hapened that night where we campted in the blackhills. the next morning we broke camp and drove out of the canion back to the trail, when we got back to the wagon trail we could see signs of where the Indians had been tracks of their poneys and where they had draged their tentpoles on the trail. we traveled several days a loan over a rough mountain country and when we got to fort larime we

 

 

found all our company of emigrants that had left us at cheyanne they were waiting for us to come they were all pleased to see us and said they couldent travil any further without us they found fault with each other, one would blame the other even the too men who left council bluffs with us apoligised and said they were sorry they left us and wouldent do it a gain, when we arived at fort larime we camped and their were a camp of men of a bout 60 camped near us they dident say where they were going but from their own conversation we found out they were going to the black hill mines some of their teams were oxen that they hauled their camp out fit and cooks, they had regular military training, some of there teams were horses, and they would travel on with the emigrants and find a camp and the ox team would come on later they were well armed with needle gums (A breech-loading small arm, exploding the cartridge by a blow from a spring needle: used by the Prussians in the wars of 1866 and 1870) and had loades of amunition they traviled and campted a long at the side of us for several miles. my father thought as long as they traveled with us we were beter protected from the Indians. we came to north plat river (North Platte River) a very deep mudy stream, with towering mountains close by some timber a long the river the color of the rocks on the mountainpeaks in black and red and brown with blewish hase hanging over, and the siluett of the mountain a gainst the blew sky with the white of the duds and the green of the timber and glistening of the river bending in the distanc made a beautiful picture.

 

 

PART 10

 

 

We campted at north plat for near a week there were no way to cross onley by a little ferry boat runn by some half bread Indians and french the ferry boat was onley a small afair just large enough to barely carry one wagon at a time without the team had to push the wagon on the boat by hand it cost four dollars a wagon to cross we were their almost a week before all the emigrants were across, these men we were traveling with swam there horses and oxen and onley had there wagons and equipment ferred across some of their horses and oxen almost drowned the stream was swift and deep they washed down a long ways and the landing were steep arid they couldent get out the men had to throw a roap a round their necks and pull and pull them out.

we younsters with a lot of others was restles so we decided we would climb one of the mountains we started out one morning; we told our parents we was going for a walk, we climed up and up when we got we thought on top their was an other one just as high we climed that one and when we got on top as we thought a gain their was an other one seemingly just as high it was in the after noon so we decided we had climed enough for one day we beter try and get down so we started and missed the way we went up we traveled all after noon trying to find our way down we had one auful time we slid down crivises in

 

 

the rock and steep montain side we thought we would never find our way. there were snow peaks all around us we came across some sand stone grate flat ones and each of us scrached our name in a sand stone while we rested there.

we came to a kind of a shelf of a cliff where some one or Indians had been shooting a gainst the wall of rocks we found flatened bulets we felt uneasy and a fraid we started on and had a hard time to find a place to slide down we helped each other down over the rocks and brush when we got a bout half down we could see the camp miles a way in the distence we finely got to the botom of the mountain a scratched torn tired bunch had to walk a bout three miles to camp ariving their a bout dark almost famished for food and water our parents were geting very ancious a bout us there were a bout twelve of us we all staid together on the mountain trip.

 

PART 11

 

 

Those too half bread Indians coined money at north plat with that dinky boat we all got a cross without accident. and lined out a gain through a rough sage brush country in that part of the trip we came to a place where their were some springs of fine cold water there were a row of several log cabbins with a stout corrells with horses round, and lots of cow boy looking men with long hair and big mustach that was the make up men wore in those days they rode out among the emigrants horses and looked them over we could never figurer them out unless they were a bunch of horse thieves, four of our men stood guard that night we thought they dident try to do us harm that night was because of the croud of men that campted with us. we were all glad when we pulled out left next morning, those men dident travel very much farther with us. we came to a trail turning off from the one we were traveling, and they bid us good by and turned off they said they were going where no white men had ever been or lived.

we traveled on through a baren alkali country where water and feed was scarce when we would come to a place where the water was good we had containers to carry water for our selves and for the mules, lots of times there were no water we had to make a dry camp just use as little water as posible we traveled for days in that alkaly country there were in places these mud springs I beleave they call them musjegs (A muskeg: A rocky basin filled by successive deposits of unstable material, as leaves, muck and moss incapable of sustaining much weight: hence a swamp) you couldent see any thing diferent from the rest of the ground. much but if an animal stepd in on them they would sink clear down over there backs up to their head and it would be a hard struggle for them to keep their head out of the slime and mud the more the animal would strugle the deeper they would go.

One eavening we campted near rock spring and never notce one of these places

 

 

near the camp the boys turned the mules out to grase for a spell and one of our mules rann into one of those places and be gand to strugle and flounder to get out and the more she floundered the deeper she went till she was all under but her head the boys tried shoveling in dry dirt around her but it did no good. she was a bout ten feet from the shore so they got a good stout rope and threw a noose over her head and hitched the other team to the roap and draged her out by the neck they were a fraid it would kill her but it never hurt her as soon as the roap began to tighten a round her neck she began to try to help herself, their was a deep rocky stream to cross at this place an old pole bridge had been built in early times but father thought it not safe so we forded the stream it was hard to do the boulders were so large.

 

PART 12

 

 

There were large mountains covered with snow: one eavening when we canpted the boys took a bucket and started up to a snow bank to get some snow they walked and walked and climed graduly and got no nearer: then they turned back to camp they had walked about three miles, of course traveling over these mountains were gradual till we got near the top and turned down then it was very rough and steep and sliding I remember one place the men had to tie roaps to the upper side of the wagons and hold them to keep them from turning over or sliding off, the trail: when we got on top the rocky mountain and campted it was cold and snowed on us it was the 4th of july 1875: looking down through the purple hase to the timber line and rocks below and diferent color schemes of the timber in red and yellow and gold and a blewish duds that hung over the snow peaks in the distance not soon to be forgoten: on our way down the mountain we would come to little streams of ice cold water perhaps a little medow where we could camp for the night:

father always had his fishing tacle ready and would cast in his hook and nearly always would get a string of specled trout for our eavening meal: we wound our way down over a rough rocky trail and struck a wide alkali flat country: we were traveling toward green river we huried all we could my baby sister was sick we wanted to get to green river we thought their might be a docter there but the baby got better before we got their: that alkly country was terable we couldent drink the water or cook very good with it either:

when we got to green river we were begining to think we were geting out of the danger of Indians atact: but we pushed on toward the west till we cane to the forks of the road one going to california the other going to Oregon and washington and Idaho: hear we made a halt and bid all our friends good by: we travled on toward salt Lake over a rough country when we arived at Ogden Utah we turned off and came through the bear lake valley country: some of the emigrants going on to salt lake: the bear lake valey country at that time was settled with mormons mostly: who seamed to be quite prospers some timber in that country and all of them had log houses and all men had five or six wives they had farms and stock all had cows: and we could buy milk and butter and fresh vegetables and eggs the first we had all sumer:

 

PART 13

 

 

In this valley we saw our first frendly Indins: after passing through this fertil country we caine to Idaho and Boise city and campted their for a month the teams were fagged (tired) and tired we thought to get them in a pasture which we did and my father and older brothers worked in harvest for a man by the name of gray: my mother helped Mrs. Gray to cook for the harvesters: I kept camp and the children: Mr. Grays farm was just at the edg of Boise City at that time Mr. Gray had a large farm: Our camp near Boise City on Mr. Grays farm under some large trees in a nice green medow: just our family and one other that had left council Bluf with us: after harvest was over we started on for Walla Walla Washington we folled the old Oregon trail out of Boise valley through Weiser Idaho: in those days in Boise Valley the farmers raised wonderful vegetables and were so generaous with them:

we traveled on through Grand round valley Oregon passed through union town and lagrand (La Grand, Oregon) and on over the blew Mountains (Blue Mountains) to Walla Walla: my parents thought we must be geting near our destination: we campted out three or four miles before we got to Walla Walla in Alane on the farm of mr Laster I have passed the place where we campted many times since: we stoped in Walla Walla and laid in a supply of food and clothing at Dusenberrys and Schabachers store Walla Walla at that time was not very large just dust and cobble stones in the street it was a rough town in those days where miners and gamblers gathered to spend the winter in farrow games and gambling fighting shooting and killing and drinking, it had been a worse town a few years previous, they had a viglanders comity and a good many desparate characters had been taken out and hanged. I was shown a big pine tree several years later that I was tale that several men had been hung from its branches: we found out some way that were onley a little over hundred miles from what was called the palouse country in washington or the palouse river where my uncle lived. He had come out west five years before we came he had come in 1865: he sold his team some where in Iowa and crossed to Salt lake on the UP rail road and then he bought an other team at salt lake and came the rest of the way by wagons as there were no rail roads to come any farther than salt Lake or Ogdon: Walla Walla was called fort Walla Walla there was a fort there and soldiers stationed there in case of uprising of the indians: of which their were thousands of them roming the country, the few settlers could go to the fort for protection in case of an up riseing:

we got our suplies and a mong them father bought several large water melons the first we had seen all summer: and we started on the last lap of our journey: the roads were bad dusty and full of chuck holes: the farmers had been hauling wheat to Walla Walla for shipment down the columbia to Umatilla where they unloaded it and hauled below the rapids and loaded on boats for portland to be shiped by sea going vesels for markets of the world: a few years later than this writing: old dr baker as he was known: built a narrow gage rail road from Walla Walla to Walula so farmers could ship their grain that

 

far by rail which proved very sucesful in those days: that country was nothing but a wilderness it was just a wagon trails to haul freight and grain men would take a load of grain down to umatilla and bring back a load of freight for Walla Walla my husband hauled freight from umatilla to Walla Walla with a six horse team for years that was before I ever met him: at this time the government was building the cascade locks which when finished filled a long felt need.

It is so different now with the beautiful high ways one can hardly beleave it is the same place I just made a trip from Portland to spokan by way of Walla Walla and Pasco: as i road a long at 50 miles an hour i thought how diferent it is now from 1875.

 

PART 14

 

 

After leaving Walla Walla on our last lap of our journey we campted a fiew miles for the night: we couldent travel very fast though we had good stought mules teams the next day we traveled on to ward our destination; we got near what was called centeral ferry that crossed snake river and camped again there was a little old fashioned ferry there: a man was runing it that was new at the buisness: he almost swamped the boat: with us all on board if it had not been for the assistence of my father we would have brake loose and we would have all been drowned: it took us too days from centeral ferry to the palous river: we traveled a long through that rattle snake flat country dident see a single person or any thing but bunch grass and cattle and horses feeding on it just as fat as could be the bunch grass waist high in those days:

and waved in the wind like a wheat field.

there were not a single settler through there just a trail through the grass with an ocation sound of a whistle or a cur lew that sounded verry lonesom:

there are no curlows left any more: we managed without any direction to strike the right trail a cross union flat on to rebble flat (I can't find them on the map but believe the names were commomly used by the settlers) of course we dident know the names of those flats but learned afterwards: now there is a fine highway on the same old trail that my father and family traveled over in 1875: with mule teams: finely after we left rebble flat we came in sight of the rocky clifs of the Palouse river we followed a canion down a couple of Indian trails till we came to the Palouse river we were terably surprised we expected to see a much larger stream, we stoped and debated wheather to cross the river and climb a steap hill on the other side but we finely decided to cross the river on the old rickty bridg that was there and follow the trail down the crooked stream: which was low at this time of the year so we could forg it. we went a bout six miles and came to my uncles place they were very much surprised to see us they had heard from us four month before that we were starting a cross the plains but as mail traveled slow in those days they had heard no farther from us. we staid a bout a week at my uncles then we went back up the river where we furst came to that old bridge and my mother decided it was just the

 

place she wanted: there was a large log house a man had taken a home stead and built the house he lived there for a time and got tired of it and threw it up and left it my father took it and filed a home stead on it: this man that built the log house and lived there had put in a large garden all kinds of vegetables a large potato patch my uncle had bought the garden for us which we were very thankful for: it was a nice place it had a little spring branch runing down the canion in front of the house with green trees and the palouse river below the house:

I remember the day we moved in to the house it was August the 25 1875: we moved in the log house with our camping out fit the sun shown bright and clear with the shadows on top of the high cliffs back of the house with the green trees on the cliffs and a long the river as it wound its crooked way through the hase down under the high clifs of red and brown and black rocks made a picture for an artist.

its been 70 years since that day: the pictur is still in my memory: just a bove the house was a cold spring of water my father built us a cellar house over this spring it was alwaise a cool place to keep our milk and butter and the water was ice cold drinking water in this log house there hapend to be a big cook stove and a home made lirge dineing table that had been left there was a large fire place: and my dady made us some home made bed steads out of some scraps of lumber that was their he made us some stools to sit on and with the too ole hicry chairs we brought a cross the plains we got along verry well: the first too years we were their for lights we used pich pine splinters stuck in the fire and slush lamps and tallow candles my mother molded the candles in an old fashion candle mold: our father and mother had to make too trips a year down to Walla Walla to get suplies for the family all the rest of the settlers did the same we bought in large quanties enough to do six month Walla Walla was the nearest place we could get suplies, their wasent much work to do in that country at that time onley herding sheep or riding on the range after cattle and horses, we were prety lonesom the first winter their and a little home sick, there wasent many young people there at that time, there was a good many dances a round the sparcely settled country, that was all the place we had to go to we generally went horse back or in a four horse wagon with plenty of hay in it for the mules to eat on dureing the night, as we danced all night we dident think any thing of going ten or twelve miles to a dance and would dance till daylight, there seemed to be plenty of violins in the country and a good many old fashioned players, one old fellow I remember would play for nearly all the dances and would play all night long and never seemed to tire, for several years after we went there dances was all the amusement we had.

and as the country began to settle up more young people came in: I remember the third year one time early in the spring my oldest brother (James) started to work on his home stead, he had a log cabbin, and I went out to cook for him while he was at work, one fore noon a young man came by and told us of a dance at pine city it was, 18 or 20 miles from the home stead, of course we wanted to go, we dident have any horses but large work mules, down on valley

 

three or four miles were a bunch of stray horses we could tell by sadle marks some of them had been road so my brother took one of the work mules and a laso rope and went and caught up too of Indian ponys we saddled them by putting blinds on them till we could get in the saddle, women and girls road side saddles in those days we had a good one we had brought a cross the plains with us I was a good rider in those days, we road those too wild poneys that 18 miles to the dance, and danced all night, and beleave me our poneys were some what tamer next morning on our return but we had a fine time! the year of 1876 that will be rememberd by all was the year of the jeneral Custer masicer by the Indians in the big horn bacin in montanna. my father rented a farm on union flat that belonged to an old bachlor he had a bout 200 acrs plowed and ready for seeding it was a bout 15 miles from our place on the palouse river my father and mother and the three big boys went over there to work, the place. I was left at home with the five small children (These children are: Sarah, Manley, William, George and Mary) to take care of our garden and milk 12 cows and make butter I and the oldest boy did it he was then about 12 years old (This would be Robert) and I was 18 years old, in june 1877 while the crop was growing on the rented place, the three boys got a job for a spell with some sheep men, my father and mother had to make a trip to Walla Walla as our suplies were runing low: we had herd rumers of Indians going on the war path all such news had to be carried through the country on horse back, we onley got mail too or three times a year in those days, I was left at home with those five children with no near neighbors, colfax at that time had begun to build up some but was no place to go to from an Indian uprising it is surounded by the rocky clifs, all the Indians would have to do would be to suround it and roll rocks down in the narrow streets of the town, one morning while I was busy a round the house, an excited man dashed up to the door with no saddle, his horse all covered with sweat and yealed at me to hich up our team, we had a pair small pony horses and a wagon and get to colfax at once that the Indians were coming, I wasent verry much excited I called all the children together I toled them that it wasent safe for us to go to colfax, that they had no fort their and if the Indians came they would suround the town, and would kill evry body, and we had heard by some carrier that their were several cases of maliglent dipthera there and I was a fraid to take the children up their, and I thought we would be just as well at home that we could hide some food out, and take some beding and cloth out and hide it in brush and clifs and if the Indians came in the night we could make a break and get into the brush and if they burned our house we could do for a fiew days on what we had hiden, we thought we could live in the small caves in the rocks, we never thought of the rattle snakes that live in the rocks too we spent one whole day hiding thing out, This same man that had giving us the warning that the Indians were coming had warned all the rest of the fiew settlers, and of course they got excited, and made for Colfax, ocationly some one would go by driving his team as fast as he could with his family and would call to us we beter get ready and go too I would tell them I was not going they would call back and tell me I was crazy, I will never forget how brave my little brothers and sister was especialy the little six year old twins if the Indians came what they would do.

that first night I was a little shaky and a fraid to go to bed, I put the

 

children all to bed, with a promice, that I would sit up and watch I and the dogs would keep watch for the Indians that as soon as I would hear a disturbence a mong the dogs that I would call them and they would get up and all of us would get out the back door and git in the thick brush, it might have been done, but now when I think of it what a time I would have had, trying to get those five sleepy children out of the house with the front yard full of blood thirsty Indians on the war path, I sat up all night in the front door with out any lights the big dogs were by all the time, no Indians came in that country in those days we could hear a sound so far I imagined several times as I sat their on watch that I could hear the hoof beat of horses, evry thing was peaceful a round that day, and that night we all took chances and went to bed, though I got up several times. a bout noon of the second day our father and mother drove in home from Walla Walla we were sure a pleased bunch of youngsters they brought the news to us that a troup of soldiers had been sent up to the camers praried country and a bove Lewiston where the Indians had been kiling white setlers and burning their homes, a little girl and her mother and two other women had been surounded in a house by a bout twenty buck Indians, they a bused the women till they all died then they cut the little girls tongue off and burned evry thing.

 

PART 15

 

 

After the Indian excitement in july, our harvest came on we had a good crop on this rented place they had no machienery to harvest with they cradled the wheat and bound it by hand and shocked it, there was a man that brought an old horse power thrashing machine from down about Walla Walla and my dad got him to thrash for him it was such an old machine and with delays on acount of rain and break downs they finely got the wheat and flax thrashed; then they had to haul it by teams down to almost on snake river and ship it down the river as that was the onley way it could be got to market: on the 8 of october 1877 my baby sister was born making eleven children in our family my mothers health was never good after that; and she onley lived three years and a half: in july: of 1878 another Indian excitment broke out Indians were on the war path the nezperses (Nez Perces) and hangman creek Indians: and old joseph (Chief Joseph) of the Willowa country: general nelson Miles was sent after them he succeeded in 1879 in capturing old joseph and his whole tribe, they were sent to the cherry key nation (Possibly the Cherokee Nation ?) and was never aloud to return bad as he wanted to come back to his belovid country; he was a cuning mean old Indian; after his death in later years there were a rough stone monument built at Willowa lake in memory of old joseph: during the spring and summer of 1878 the excitment was so great that the settlers decided the familys had beter be sent to fort Walla Walla for protection so my father fixed up too teams and we had a couple of jentle indian poneys we road and the family started for fort Walla Walla.

with several other familys; my father staid at home to take care of the

 

garden and pigs and chickens and keep the stock out of the grain field we turned the ten or twelve cows and calvs out on the range to gether; my father found a place way up on the cliff back of the house in a shelter from sight and took his bed up there and would sleep in this kind of a cave during the month of july and August that we were gone dureing this time troups had been sent after the Indians: the soldiers had to have suplies sent to them so the government rented pack trains of 150 mules in a train to carry suplies to the soldiers over the rough mountain trails: I remember a man by the name of Decker: who owned a big mine in cootney (Kootenai, Idaho) and owned 150 mules he rented them to the Government for several months: dureing the Indian upriseing the fiew setlers thought if they could get a cross snake river on the Walla Walla side that if the Indians did brake out that they could surely make it to fort Walla Walla: we went a cross the snake river at central ferry there were too other ferrys so that some of the settlers crossed at one and some at the other some of the stock men gathered up their horses and took them a cross snake river in those days range was good evry where some took large bands of sheep: one man that my brother was herding for started down a cross that rattle snake flat country in the hot sun and dust and their drinking water they were caring in their cantenes gave out the old man became verry thirsty: so that he was almost famished my brother saw his condition and he got on his poney and started on a head to try to find water we went several miles and then he came to a place where some willows grew and he found an old well he cut a hole in each side of his hat brim and tied his lass rope to it and tied his knife to it to sink it he let it down the first hat full he drew up a dead hawk: he tried a gain and got a hat full of water:

he satisfied his own thirst: he said he never tasted such good water: he drew up an other hat full and got on his poney and went back to meet the old man when he found him his tongue and mouth was so dry and swelen so he could not speak he drank so much: the old man got verry sick for a while: he told my brother he saved his life: they dident take the sheep a cross the river they campted on a spring branch and herded them in the hills: our family and several others never got to fort Walla Walla we got as far as the toocanion (Tucannon, Washington) on the touchet in Walla Walla and camped there till the excitment was over:

horse back riders came through evry fiew days and reported: we had to go to dayton to get suplies: I and my brother would ride over to dayton nearly evry week: my oldest brother (John) was herding sheep way down on the palouse river right among the palouse Indians who was a friendly tribe and as much afraid at the upriseing as the whites: we were a way near too month and was all glad to get back home, with the men harvested the crop and began to get evry thing ready for the long winter, my father and oldest brother made the trip to Walla Walla buy suplies for winter.

every Christmas after 1877, my father and mother had given a big dance and supper. we had the larges house with more room than any one a round in that part of the country people would come for miles to the dances, in the spring and summer the circute riders would come and hold meeting at our house some times for a week they usualy came a bout once a month in the summer time, people coming in the country or traveling through or some times stock men, and oftimes miners going back and forth to the cootney mines and to montania they

 

all travled horse back with pack horses in the fall of the year the rich miners would come down be fore winter would set in to bring their contenises full of goldust they usualy went to victoria to spend the winter and come back in the spring soon as they could get through the mountains they always made it to our place to stay over night staying places were fiew and far between in those days. after leaving our place going to ward Walla Walla the next place 42 miles that was a long ways. with a team or horseback with pack horses, the palouse Indians were always a friendly tribe I remember one good old man who was a mishenary a mong them, they called him father eels (Dr. Cushing Eels) he was the founder of whitman college in later years, one of his sons was one of the circut riders that often preached at our house, there was one other, also that preached at our house, his name was Mark Baley they often came together. that country was setling quiet fast cow boys were plentful I remember one sunday mark bailey and young mr eels were holding servis at our house.

 

PART 16

 

 

When a bunch of cow boys road up and wanted lunch and as we run a wayside in, my father and mother and I went out to prepare the meal, there was one desperado by the name of Hank Vaughn he decided he was going in the living where the servises were, and shoot up the place and make the preacher dance a gig, but my father locked the door and tolded him he dident want any disturbence for him to eat meal and be on his way, he finely gave in and as they road a way fiering six shooters in the air, spokane post was being built at this time, and lots of suplies were being taken in by the Government with government teams, soldiers were being stationed there, and some one had taken a ranch where Spokane is and laid out some town lots for sale, at that time the whole of spokane prarie was open to settlers, my father was sorry in later years that he dident go to where Spokane now stands and take a claim, betwene the years of 1877 and 1880, the country had changed quite a lot and began to settle up a town had started at Spokane and Cheeney (Cheney) and sprague, was building suplies were packed into Cheeney and sprague with mule pack train I stood in the cabbin door one day and counted 250 mules pass by on the old Indian trail, packed with such loads they could hardly walk the goods were for Cheeny and sprague, some of them were loaded with too barrels of sugar in those days sugar came in barrels all was brown sugar there was no such a thing as white sugar in those days. it was a sight to see so many mules packed with barrels and boxes.

The rail road were being built from the east toward the west by this time, betwene 1879 and 1885 a rail road had been built from the east to Pendleton in oregon and branch line had been extended to spokane then spokane began to boom, betwene 1878 and 1888 renegade horse thievs and cattle thievs over run the country. they drifted in from every where cow boys and buck arews aplenty, on sundays they would gather up a bunch of wild horses and all hands

 

would show their skill at riding, cattle buyers came into the country to buy beef cattle to drive east, and cow boys a plenty would be on hand for the round up, after josephs band of Indians was captured and sent out of the country things became quieter in Indian upriseing, in 1879 General Sherman came through with his escort of soldiers from the east on a trip of Inspection he went through above Lewiston through the Camos (Kamiah ?) prarie Country over the Low Low (LoLo Pass) trails to montania and came back by Cordelane Post and down through Spokane Prarie and Spokane Falls and followed the Old Indian trail through the country to our place on the Palouse river, he called a halt when he got there of a bout too hours rest, as traveling over the rough trails were tiresom, he came in the House and Visited with my Father and mother, My mother served coffee which he seemed to enjoy Verry much His BodyGard stood atention At each side of the door all the time he was there he was a Fine old Gentleman, When he went to leave he shoke hands with all the family, and bid us good bye and said how much he had enjoyed the visit even though my father had been a southern soulger, we thought we had a big treat to get to see and visit with General Sherman when we first went out to washington in 1875 there were no schools colfax then a small town had a little school house and the whole of whitman county was all in one destrict so there were so many of us youngsters and others that needed schooling the neighbors got to gether and decided to build a school house so they cut the destrick in to and we had the rest of the county in our destrict: they built a small school house and hired a teacher he was an old bachlor from main (Maine) and used opium he would sit in the school house and smoke opium in his pipe but he taought a verry good school for three month of the year they had to have a permit to teach.

our next school teacher was a neighbor from the willamit valley who had been sick with rumatism all winter he wasent a verry well educated man they thought he would do so they hired him for the next three month: after that teachers came in from the east and there were plenty of teachers: well as their is nothing more to say onley that all that big family is gone but four of us is left my twin brothers and my youngest sister and my self (George & William the twins, Margaret and Barbara) I am the oldest except too brothers were older than I and i am now 81 years old and have writen all this manuscript a lone:

 

I am including the following story here because although it is unsigned I believe it to have been written by Barbara Jane. My reasons for believing this is because it was included in some old letters and papers that Jessie NcRae Melvin sent me from her mother’s old trunk. The punctuation, spelling and typing errors are identical to those in Barbara’s story of the trek across the plains. Reason enough to conclude that it was indeed written by her.

Gloria Bradley Matlock

 

 

while living on the stock ranch up in washington I had a greate many experiences, in those days there were no roads out in the hills on the prarie. just stock trails and Indian trails. Along the river the ranchers had built fences around the botom land so they could raise hay and gardens the river made so many bends that when going the dim wagon road we had to cross the river so many times it took us through their fields so we had to open gates and let down bars.

One warm day in August I was riding my pony up the river I came to some bars that had been let down to about too feet from the ground. I had trained my pony to jump low fences small streams and narrow dithes I road up to the bars and the pony began to shy he stood up on his hind feet I thought to jump but of a sudent he whirled and rann back with me as fast as he could and gave aloud snort. I tried to rein him back but he was too freightened he was all in a tremble. I got down off him and turned the reins over his head and left him stand and went back to investigate.

when I got up near enough to see there was agreat big rattlesnake just under the bars all coiled up with his big black diamond spots glitning in the sun his head up in regular position for a strike his eyes shineing like too black jet beads and his tongue darting in and out like streaks of lightning his rattles were singing in a loud tone it was plain enough he was on the strike. I backed off almost a fraid to tacle him but I found a stout stick and gathered an arm full of stones just the right sise to throw good of which triere were plenty I aproached about ten from him he still had his head in the air and it was plain he dident intend to runn. I could throw stones prtty straight in those days the first one I throwed hit him low on the neck which seamed to infurieate him more the next the second throw I missed the third throw I hit him on the side of the head which seamed dase him alittle the fourth throw I hit him square on the head and knocked him over he writhed his body and tried to rise but I threw rocks so fast and furious I dident give him a chance to get up then I grabed my stick and beat his head on a big flat rock till he was dead, he was at least four feet lond and big a round as my arm he had seventeen rattles and a button I pulled from his tail I think he was the largest rattlesnake I ever rann a cross and I have seen many of them my pony wouldent go near the spot I had to go a round about way to finish my journey.