BANCROFT LIBRARY 
 
RAMBLES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 EOCKY MOUNTAINS, 
 
RAMBLES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS 
 
 WITH A VISIT TO THE 
 
 GOLD FIELDS OF COLORADO. 
 
 BY 
 
 MAUKICE O'CONNOR IOERIS, 
 
 LATE DEPUTY POSTMASTER-GENERAL OP JAMAICA. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 60, CORNHILL. 
 1864. 
 
\Thc right of Translation is reserved.] 
 
! // 
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 IN offering to the Public these extracts from a journal 
 kept for the perusal of a few friends, and meant to 
 supplement private letters, I feel that an apology is 
 due for many insertions and omissions, which, under 
 different circumstances, would have been as inadmis- 
 sible as inexcusable. The region, however, through 
 which my rambles have led me possesses so much of 
 interest and importance in an age which may in some 
 respects though Janus' shrine yawns so terribly 
 open be described as a golden one, and which to us 
 " Britishers" is pre-eminently so, that I trust the 
 many imperfections of these " Recollections " will be 
 pardoned, in consideration of their introduction to a 
 territory which to the great mass of readers in Eng- 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 land is as imperfectly known as Timbuctoo or the 
 country of the " Fanns." 
 
 As an instance of the small amount of geographical 
 knowledge of Colorado possessed by even tolerably 
 well-informed persons, I may mention that a very 
 eminent banking firm of the metropolis addressed a 
 letter to me while there superscribed thus : 
 
 Denver, Nova Scotia ; 
 
 while a distinguished barrister, my learned friend 
 and correspondent, would persist in locating Denver 
 in the State of Kansas. And, indeed, considering 
 the little light shed on this quarter of the globe by 
 the maps in ordinary use, and the wonderful and 
 almost portentous growth of this remote region, to 
 which the ocean has washed no foreigners, as in 
 Australia and California, this Cimmerian darkness is 
 not surprising. A spot of this earth, however, which 
 boasts how truly I have no exact means of ascer- 
 taining of having added twenty-five millions of 
 dollars' worth in bullion during the past year to 
 the national wealth of the Federal States, under 
 circumstances little favourable to development, and 
 with most inadequate resources of labour and capital, 
 
PBEFACE. vii 
 
 cannot long remain ignored; more especially when, 
 in addition to its auriferous wealth, Nature has en- 
 dowed it with a store of minerals comprising almost 
 every species known, in great affluence, and a climate 
 favourable to their exploration, with a soil which, 
 properly cultivated, is capable of great results. 
 
 I therefore hope that in the hurried descriptions 
 of things seen obiter, I may at least claim the merit, 
 si qua est ea gloria, of drawing attention to a sub- 
 ject of some general interest hitherto unexplored ; 
 while, in explanation of any and all major and 
 minor errors of style a grammar, history, or phy- 
 siology, let me confess that my faculties for writing 
 are sensibly affected by the genius loci, and espe- 
 cially by the means and appliances for the purpose 
 within reach, and that these pages had to be 
 transcribed for the most part in the uncongenial 
 atmosphere of a prophet's chamber-like bed-room in 
 Denver, nearly as large as a ship's cabin, but too 
 small for such a superfluity as a table, and where a 
 washing-stand of small proportions, like Goldsmith's 
 chest of drawers, was forced for the nonce a double 
 debt to pay: under which untoward circumstances 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 my sheets were prepared for the post, with a haste 
 very unworthy of the suhject ; the result of which, in 
 the language of rebuked officials writing to their 
 senior pundits of "the" department, "I acknow- 
 ledge and regret." 
 
RAMBLES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Westward the course of empire holds its sway. 
 
 To the West ! to the West ! to the land of the Free ! 
 Where the mighty Missouri rolls on to the sea, &c. 
 
 BOTH words and air had somehow for a long time 
 been associated in my mind with America, and 
 seemed to be incorporated with the very essence and 
 idea of that great country ; and yet, like the national 
 anthem, which boasts that the "Star-spangled banner 
 in triumph shall wave on the home of the free and 
 the land of the brave," (or, as a sarcastic friend of 
 mine parodied the latter line into the " Home of the 
 free and the land of the slave,") who will be bold 
 enough to assert that these inspiring words have not 
 
 1 
 
2 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 utterly lost their significance : indeed, to those who 
 knew and appreciated their real meaning in times 
 gone by, they can only serve now to embitter 
 memory. The poet's crown of sorrow is, " The 
 rememhering happier things." 
 
 But I am not going to enter into a diagnosis of 
 the social and political maladies of this vast country, 
 sick with civil strife, or indulge in Jeremiads for 
 the present condition of affairs, or vaticinations of 
 gloom which political charlatans on hoth sides of 
 the Atlantic are daily pouring forth. The facts are 
 melancholy enough, God knows, without forestalling 
 the woes to come, or discounting future miseries at 
 compound interest. And methinks the feelings of 
 every Englishman should be more in unison with 
 those of the heart-sore king when he exclaimed 
 
 Oil, my poor country, sick with civil broils 
 If that my care could not contain thy riot, 
 What wilt thou do now riot is thy care ? 
 
 For, separated as they are by the " unsociable 
 ocean " as Horace, born before the Cunard era, 
 declared it to be and by the rivalries and jealousies 
 naturally incident to two great competing powers, 
 and even still more by the traditions and legacies of 
 the revolutionary wars, who can say that England and 
 America are not more inseparably linked together by 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 3 
 
 ties which, extending far back into the past, and 
 increasing daily with the march of civilization, em- 
 brace a future as distant as the mind can grasp, than 
 any other two nations in this universe. Ties of 
 blood, language, literature, commerce, and by the 
 less material, though not less puissant, bond of 
 spiritual communion. 
 
 To the West, then, I " concluded," as our cousins 
 express such a determination, to proceed ; and being 
 in the empire city of New York, the only " embarras 
 du choix " was the selection of the best route. No 
 less than three main lines contend for the traveller's 
 patronage, each offering some special attraction ; and 
 as they vary but little in time and accommodations, 
 one is puzzled to which terminus or depot (pro- 
 nounced usually as a nigger lad learning geography 
 might, the chief river of Italy De-Po,) one should 
 go. My difficulties were, however, relieved by finding 
 a friend who had selected the Erie line, and as I was 
 already familiar with the best portions of what one 
 may call the " Northern route " via Albany, Detroit, 
 &c., and of the "Pennsylvania Central," I gladly 
 hailed the chance of an extremely pleasant compagnon 
 de voyage. We left Jersey City, the Birkenhead of 
 New York, about five o'clock p. M., on the Tuesday, 
 and travelling incessantly night and day, reached 
 
 12 
 
4 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 St. Louis, the metropolis (not capital) of the great 
 state of Missouri, about two o'clock A.M. on the 
 Friday morning, a few hours behind time. 
 
 In America a tourist may draw conclusions from 
 railway travelling, which in England would be very 
 erroneous ; for in the former the railway is the pioneer 
 of all progress. Civilization and settlements follow 
 it, and seem to cling close to it for protection. 
 Towns and villages grow round it, and to show their 
 gratitude, welcome it daily through their best streets, 
 as they used to welcome the daily stage in the old 
 country, in the merry days of the road. And, in- 
 deed, in most parts of the recently settled districts, 
 civilization is bounded by the railway margin more 
 or less wide ; whereas in the older civilization of 
 Europe, and England specially, railways had to skirt 
 towns and villages, and to hide their heads in such 
 neighbourhoods, either by tunnels or embankments, 
 completely obscuring the view ; or else they emerged 
 from a town on a line with the chimney pots, and 
 through the dirtiest of slums regarded even then as 
 rather a nuisance : so that in reality, between the 
 pace made by the engine, usually rather double 
 the American average and the obstacles to sight 
 presented by embankments, fences, &c., one does 
 not get_a good idea of the country travelled through 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 5 
 
 in England, much less of what lies beyond the 
 horizon of your carriage. In America the sample 
 seen from your . cars may be considered a fair 
 one. 
 
 I confess I was much disappointed in the aspect of 
 Nature, for most of the distance between Jersey City 
 and Erie, on the shore of the great lake of that name, 
 the land seemed barren and unimproved to a degree, 
 capable of but little, and that little not accomplished ; 
 the farming was bad and backward, with stumps of 
 several feet in height dotting the fields everywhere, 
 and, were it not for the fine water-power afforded by 
 numerous streams, and the facilities for lumbering, 
 all this district seemed to present no allurements 
 to the settler. Once in Ohio, however, the scene 
 changes. Eich fields of large dimensions, and mathe- 
 matically square, generally clear of stumps, and 
 enclosed with solid posts and rails, and shaded by 
 fine timber, meet the eye on each side of the track, 
 and an air of comfort and wealth pervades every- 
 thing. Great rivers, such as the Wabash, the Ohio, 
 and the Miami, seem to glide along lazily as if they 
 wished to linger amid the luxuriance they have 
 helped to create; while the "Old Kentucky shore " 
 seems a perfect paradise of high farming and agricul- 
 tural wealth, looking from the opposite side of the 
 
6 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 Ohio, like one vast park stretching away for miles in 
 beautiful undulations. 
 
 Spite of the slight solace afforded by the " sleeping 
 cars," in which, by paying an extra dollar, or if you 
 choose to take an upper shelf, half that sum, you 
 secure something very like a berth in a steamer, 
 with all the apparatus for passing the night com- 
 fortably, the journey was beginning to feel very 
 tedious, and I was not by any means sorry when 
 the "cars " reached the eastern bank of the Missis- 
 sippi, and the passengers transferred to an omnibus, 
 and thence to a ferry steamer, were conveyed to their 
 several destinations in the comparatively old city of 
 St. Louis. 
 
 I had been told that this city suffered greatly 
 from the war, but I must say that in my pro- 
 tracted stay there I saw no sign whatever of stag- 
 nation in business, or paralysis of any branch of 
 trade. On the contrary, the hotels were so full 
 that beds had to be bespoken some time in advance, 
 while on the levee, a sort of terrace slanting down to 
 the river's edge, commerce seemed as stirring and 
 active as I have ever seen it. It is a curious sight 
 for a stranger to view for the first time a large fleet 
 of these huge river steamers, with their vast walking 
 beams and stories rising one over the other, ranged 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 7 
 
 in a double line along the levee for considerably more 
 than a mile, their lofty funnels, yclept " smoke- 
 stacks," vandyked at the top, rising some thirty feet 
 into the air, and not, as in ocean-going steamers, 
 placed one after the other, but side by side, like a 
 tree with two stems. True, many of these boats 
 were in the Government service, and were chartered 
 for the use of the troops in the Mississippi depart- 
 ment, and "for Vicksburg" was somewhat osten- 
 tatiously paraded on some of their sides ; still there 
 were a great number engaged in their usual legi- 
 timate commerce up the Mississippi and Missouri 
 rivers, and thence to the Ohio and other rivers. 
 
 Like almost every city (not absolutely of mushroom 
 growth), St. Louis has its old quartier, where the 
 streets rejoice in names of their own, and the new 
 one, where numbers are substituted for names ; an 
 arrangement very convenient, no doubt, for the 
 traveller, but extremely unromantic, methinks, and 
 unfair to the inhabitants. It always struck me, when 
 in New York, as a most levelling and mechanical 
 arrangement of bricks and mortar, and half the 
 grandeur of the fifth avenue seemed to me to evapo- 
 rate from its want of a more pleasing association of 
 ideas. However, the streets in St. Louis are well laid 
 out, and broad, and, as the land rises to a con- 
 
8 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 siclerable elevation from the river, the drainage is 
 admirable. Locomotion is aided by the street tram- 
 ways, which convey the passenger any number of 
 miles for the small sum of five cents, and withal 
 smoothly enough, though very slowly. 
 
 There is no public building worth looking at, save 
 the city hall, which has a fine dome, from which a 
 very fine view of the city and its entourage is gained ; 
 but all have great pretensions to a respectable medio- 
 crity, which in this country is something. Most 
 denominations of religion have their temples, but the 
 old faith of the first settlers seems to have taken 
 deeper root than any of the others, if one may judge 
 by the churches, convents, and schools which it has 
 erected. 
 
 There is also a park, "the Lafayette," which is 
 nicely situated in the upper regions of the city, and 
 where pic-nics are usually held ; but the trees, like 
 those in the " Central " in New York, are quite 
 young, and the grounds want care. I should not 
 omit the " Mercantile Library," of which I was kindly 
 given the run, which contains a gallery of rather 
 indifferent pictures and a few pieces of sculpture, 
 of which three, by the celebrated Miss Hosmer of 
 steeple-chase renown in Home, struck me as good : 
 a " Beatrice Cenci," an " (Enone," and a " Puck." It 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 9 
 
 was a pleasant reading-room, and the " proprieties " 
 were so strictly enforced, that a visit from the secre- 
 tary in propria, was the consequence of not removing 
 your hat on entering the room. Don't it seem strange 
 that our republican cousins should he such sticklers 
 and martinets for their own code of etiquette, while 
 they affect to hold so many of our conventionalities 
 in contempt ? 
 
 I should not omit mentioning among the puhlic 
 buildings, one which does and does not come under 
 that category, the "Lindell Hotel," which has just 
 been completed, though not yet opened to the puhlic. 
 It is a large square building, faced with yellow free- 
 stone, slightly ornamented ; the sitting rooms have a 
 stone-pillared gallery attached to them, an immense 
 resource in summer, and altogether the accom- 
 modations are as perfect as I have ever seen, even 
 in this land of hotels, when a man's smartness is 
 gauged by his ability to work such an institution 
 profitably. "Yes, sirree ! Smith's a right smart sort 
 o'chap, but he can't keep a ho-tel." I was proud to 
 reflect that the architect of this huge and shapely 
 pile, the largest on the Continent, was an English- 
 man ! 
 
 While I was in St. Louis, the anniversary of 
 " Camp Jackson," or the deliverance of Missouri 
 
10 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 from something to their minds far worse than either 
 Popery or wooden shoes, was celebrated by the Fede- 
 ralist party; which seemed to contain a very large 
 proportion of the German, or, as called here, the 
 Dutch element. It seems that at the outbreak of 
 the war, the entire executive of the State of Missouri 
 was "tinctured" with southern "proclivities," and 
 had even gone so far as to invite Arkansas, a neigh- 
 bouring State, to send troops to aid them in then- 
 projects. However, they did not consider the pear 
 sufficiently ripe at the moment, and determined to 
 temporize and make further arrangements before 
 completing the "coup d'etat." Meanwhile, a con- 
 vention of the people, which had been summoned 
 for some other purpose, hearing through their dele- 
 gates of these projects, proceeded forthwith to depose 
 the Secesh administration, and replaced it tempo- 
 rarily by a Republican cabinet. Volunteers were 
 raised and armed, and an attack was made upon 
 the rebels, who had encamped at Camp Jackson, 
 near the city, which ended in the rout and expul- 
 sion of the latter. 
 
 There can be no doubt that these vigorous 
 measures, which savoured rather of our quon- 
 dam seizure of the Danish fleet, kept Missouri 
 from openly seceding ; and, as the Germans were 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 11 
 
 mainly instrumental in achieving this success, 
 they are not by any means inclined to hide 
 their light under a bushel, but swagger about con- 
 siderably on the strength of being on the winning 
 side this time. 
 
 St. Louis is the great out-fitting place for the far 
 west, and the depot for its produce. My friend who 
 had now completed his preparations for spending a 
 couple of months on the prairies, hunting buffalo, 
 &c., and had made every arrangement for a comfort- 
 able commissariat, with tents, waggon, ambulance, 
 spare ponies, and the hundred and one wants of 
 camp existence here, took his departure, having been 
 joined by his party from the east ; and as I expected 
 letters of importance, I had to remain per force in 
 St. Louis, " varying, however, the monotony of the 
 proceedings," as Mr. Cox remarks, by excursions in 
 the vicinity in quest of snipe and duck : which I 
 found, strange to say, very abundant, though April's 
 moon's had nearly waned ! 
 
 If it be true that a " watched pot never boils," I 
 am sure a similar proposition anent letters is far 
 more so, and of more general application. Talk 
 of calling spirits from the vasty deep ! I am sure 
 it were an easier process than eliciting answers in 
 time from some correspondents ! So having ex- 
 
12 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 liausted my patience by waiting in vain, I deter- 
 mined to leave St. Louis at any rate; and as I 
 heard I could, by pushing on to St. Joseph by rail, 
 catch a steamer bound to the head waters of the 
 Missouri, which had left only a few days in ad- 
 vance, I started off, intending to go up the river 
 as far as the steamer could penetrate, namely, to 
 Fort Benton, then cross over to Bannack City, visit 
 the newly-discovered gold-diggings there, and return 
 thence via Salt Lake, either to the eastern States by 
 land, or via California and the Isthmus ; from this 
 I find a daily scratching of something in my pocket- 
 book, which I may as well transfer to this page. 
 
 May ~L9th. Left St. Louis by the North Missouri 
 line at 2 A.M., having taken the precaution of obtain- 
 ing a certificate from our excellent consul that I was 
 a " Britisher," and that I only intended to turn the 
 gun and rifle I carried against ferte nature ; a cer- 
 tificate which had to be countersigned by the provost- 
 marshal of that district. At Warrenton we stopped 
 for an indifferent breakfast, and some apprehen- 
 sion having been entertained of guerillas (invariably 
 termed " gorillas") we found the line swarming with 
 " Lincoln's minions " fine rough-looking fellows, as 
 different from my experience of Eastern volunteers 
 as could be conceived. 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 13 
 
 At Macon City, which, to my eye, consisted of 
 very few houses, and those mostly labelled " Hotel," 
 we had to wait for " connection," or, as we should 
 say, for the arrival of the branch line from Han- 
 nibal. In the meantime, I improved the occasion 
 by conversing with a farmer of the neighbourhood, 
 who was clad in the home-made Butternut cloth, 
 very common in the West ; so called from its colour, 
 which is something darker than a stone ginger-beer 
 bottle, and lighter than mahogany. I soon dis- 
 covered he had " proclivities," and he asked me 
 a great many questions about England. One of 
 his interrogatories I must record. " Do you think 
 folks here look natural?" By this he meant, Do 
 they seem to you like your own people ? 
 
 Soon after leaving Macon, we came on the genuine 
 prairies, vast rolling plains covered with grass, in 
 which farms were every now and then dotted about, 
 fenced in by rails disposed zigzag fashion, and 
 apparently producing good crops of wheat, oats, and 
 Indian corn. These lands were beautifully wooded 
 in places, and seemed full of prairie chickens, 
 which kept rising as the train moved on. Some 
 Illinois young ladies, who were paying a first visit 
 to some friends near St. Joe, were much struck by 
 the absence of school-houses and churches ; this 
 
14 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 seemed to shock them very much, as they are 
 such a prominent feature eastwards. 
 
 Some bits of these prairies reminded one of the 
 Curragh of Kildare, as seen from the Southern and 
 Western line, only there was more wood-land near, 
 and no gorse. Arrived at St. Joe, I was spirited 
 away hy the persuasive eloquence of an Irish com- 
 missionaire to the " Patee House," a large hrick 
 building, some half mile at least from the town, and 
 built in anticipation of the spread of building in that 
 direction. This caravanseiy I reached about 12 
 o'clock P.M., and proceeded to a bedroom of ample 
 dimensions ; but, horror ! I discovered the sheets 
 were not by any means innocent of dirt : however, 
 this is a trifle in the far West, so I had to pocket 
 the insult to my feelings, and, after all, slept very 
 well. 
 
 20/i. Made remonstrances about bed-clothes, 
 and obtained what I wanted. Found, on inquiry, 
 that the river was so low that the steamer I expected 
 so long had not arrived as yet, and very probably 
 might not be able to get up so high. Here was a 
 regular break-up of all my plans ; but as there was 
 nothing for it but to wait patiently, I made up my 
 mind to extract as much honey from St. Joe as it 
 would yield. I had left a valuable watch in St. Louis 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 15 
 
 in the hands of a watchmaker, and thinking a watch 
 good company, and having regard to the uncertainty 
 of events in this State, I telegraphed for it, at the 
 heavy price of a dollar and some cents ; this brought 
 me near the post-office and book store. I found 
 nothing in the latter hut elementary treatises and 
 some novels, mostly reprints of English authors ; 
 bought Godolphin and the Oxonians, by Bulwer, 
 who, I was informed by the vendor, was a good 
 author. Well, it is something to be repandu even 
 in St. Joe ! 
 
 21s. I have christened this place KowoTroAte, 
 the City of Dust, for surely no Derby or Ascot road 
 knew such dust as the wind is raising everywhere. 
 The entire soil of this district, and I may say of the 
 entire West, so far as I have seen, is composed of 
 rich loam and sand ; sometimes one predominates, 
 sometimes the other ; and after a long spell of dry 
 weather it will be easily understood how a sirocco of 
 dust can be raised by sudden gusts. 
 
 Went to see a large encampment of Winnebago 
 Indians, who had been deported from Minnesota, 
 and were to be assigned some fresh lands in 
 Dacotah territory. It will be recollected that last 
 year the Sioux Indians massacred a number of 
 settlers in Minnesota, for which some thirty-six or 
 
16 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 thirty-nine were hung ; but these people were the 
 foes of the Sioux, had no part or lot in their crime, 
 yet a parental government were banishing them, 
 simply as a measure of precaution, for fear of a 
 collision between them and the whites, if they re- 
 mained. Verily the red man has had hard measure 
 nieted out to him by his Uncle Sam ! 
 
 When I was last in Washington, I went on a 
 Sunday afternoon to the principal Episcopal Church, 
 and, to my surprise, found the front seats occupied 
 by sundry Indian chiefs, very respectably attired, 
 who had come to Washington to see the President 
 on business. Among the officiating clergy was an 
 Indian, who, at the conclusion of the prayers, made a 
 few very sensible remarks about his brethren, whom 
 he then addressed in their own language. Then the 
 two other clergymen delivered themselves of an ora- 
 tion a-piece, in which the main topic was the fright- 
 ful injustice and oppression to which their red 
 brother had been subjected by the Government ; but 
 they saw no hope of redress no power to restrain the 
 encroachment of the pioneers ! Truly, if St. Paul's 
 idea of the powers that be is a correct picture 
 of what a Government should be, the executive of 
 the United States falls very far short of the standard ! 
 The fact is, it is the popular will to hunt out the 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 17 
 
 Indians, and the Government cannot, if it would, 
 say No. 
 
 These Winnehagos appeared to me very peaceful 
 and orderly; there were some very fine athletic 
 men among them, and a few tolerable-looking 
 squaws ; but dirt was king among them all, and 
 asserted his supremacy, though the river was flow- 
 ing within a few paces of them. There were a 
 good many half-breeds among them, not unlike the 
 mulattoes of the West Indies; but these seemed to 
 have no higher instincts than their red relations, 
 and were, to all intents and purposes, Indian. The 
 fashionable game was a sort of les graces, only, instead 
 of a hoop, a hollow ball was caught on the point of 
 a stick, and then thrown back again. They had mat 
 lodges instead of the usual skins. They were very 
 strictly guarded, to prevent the introduction of the 
 fatal fire-water, which fairly drives an Indian mad, 
 and for which he would barter, perhaps, his soul. In 
 the centre of their encampment, hung three fresh 
 scalps which they had recently taken from the Sioux. 
 It was amusing to watch the care they bestowed on 
 these trophies; combing out the long locks with a 
 solicitude and care which was probably never bestowed 
 on them when their owners were " in the quick." 
 
 May 22?zd. Soft rain during the night has laid 
 
 2 
 
18 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 tlie dust and cooled the intensely hot atmosphere. 
 At breakfast I was waited on by a long scarecrow of 
 a lad, and when I sent down a bit of what looked 
 like fried leather, but which was called a beefsteak, 
 he brought it up again, remarking, " If you don't 
 like it, you may leave it." I called the head waiter, 
 who was an Irishman evidently far above his busi- 
 ness, and he informed me he was powerless, as even 
 the boys had arms of one kind or another; but 
 he nevertheless got me a better steak. 
 
 After breakfast, I watched an Irishman digging a 
 foundation for his house, and as far as he pene- 
 trated, the soil was the richest black loam ! Heavy 
 rain in the evening, and lo ! the city of dust becomes 
 one of mud, black and soft, as I found to my cost ; 
 for going at night to inquire for my watch, which 
 had not come, I got off the road, and found myself 
 in much the same kind of country as that to which 
 Tony Lumpkin introduced his London friends. 
 There is gas in St. Joe, but it is not as yet used 
 for lighting the streets ! In my wrath I re-chris- 
 tened the city nrjXoTroAtc* or Mud Town. 
 
 While returning to the " Patee House " I heard 
 strains of music, and saw a large building lighted 
 up, and turned in to see the " divarshion," but 
 found it was only an attempt at a ball, in which 
 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 19 
 
 the maids of the hotel were the principal attraction. 
 I " vamoosed " at once, and all but fell into the 
 arms of a drunken soldier, who wanted to be very 
 affectionate, and when I attempted to extricate myself 
 from his hug, declared he would shoot me. He did 
 not fire, however, but I have no doubt a very slight 
 provocation, and a little light, might have induced 
 him to do so. One captain and four civilians have 
 been shot in brawls this week ; all the troops carry 
 revolvers, and the Colorado " boys," now in town, 
 are said to be right " smart on the trigger." 
 
 23nZ. Finding that there is but slight prospect of 
 the Robert Campbell steamer getting up the river 
 in its present condition, I made up my mind to 
 strike Westward, ho ! and negotiated with a teamster 
 who is going to Denver City, Colorado, to transport 
 self and the slight impedimenta necessary for the 
 apparently moderate sum of thirty dollars, which is to 
 include provision viatica all the way ; and considering 
 that the distance is as near as possible 700 miles, and 
 the time consumed en route is seldom less than 
 twenty-five days, the moderation of the charge will, I 
 think, be pretty self-evident. He has one four-mule 
 team ready for the road, and a start is promised this 
 evening, or to-morrow at daybreak. Accordingly, to 
 be in readiness, I moved to the " Commercial Hotel," 
 
 2~2 
 
20 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 a sort of " Belle Sauvage " for the western teams, as 
 it faces an enormous stable, or barn, as they call it 
 here, full of mules, waggons, and the other parapher- 
 nalia for the road. , 
 
 I learnt to-day a fact which I ought to have been 
 aware of before, but was not, and that is that every 
 man in the United States has to pay a poll-tax of 
 one dollar and a half yearly for the maintenance of 
 streets and roads, or commute it into two days' work 
 on the roads. Judging from what I have seen of 
 streets and roads, I cannot help thinking this large 
 fund must be singularly misappropriated or jobbed ! 
 
 The mule team is started at last, with our pro- 
 visions and two passengers, and the driver ordered to 
 go slowly, so as to enable us to catch him. But we 
 never did. 
 
 Got up early, but found no sign of starting as yet. 
 On inquiry I found that more passengers had come in, 
 and insisted upon going in " this crowd," as any party 
 is yclept in this part of the country. Feeling sure 
 that, under the circumstances, no start could be 
 effected for a few hours, I set out to have a look at 
 the convent, a large brick building, which crowned 
 the heights overlooking the town : for St. Joe is 
 built on a slight bend of the Missouri, and the land 
 rises into a semicircle of pretty high bluffs just above 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 21 
 
 it. Of course I saw nothing at the convent but the 
 exterior walls, and the place might have been tenant- 
 less for all I could see; but close by was a beautiful 
 garden, paled in, though quite scaleable by any 
 enterprising youth, and the palings were not so close 
 but that the scene of Pyramus and Thisbe might have 
 been enacted easily enough. 
 
 After taking a round of the bluffs, and surveying 
 the beautiful rich country, with its farms and wood- 
 lands stretching away as far as the eye can see, I 
 bethought me of church, and went into a modest 
 temple which might be dedicated to Presbyterian, 
 Baptist, or Methodist forms of worship. The sermon 
 struck me as very forcible and good, and if the pro- 
 nunciation was peculiar to English ears, the selection 
 of words was extremely good. 
 
 By the way, I am not quite sure that the Ameri- 
 cans have not got a great deal to say in favour of 
 their pronunciation of some words, which I am 
 inclined to think approximates considerably to the 
 old English standard. I may instance the word 
 " wound," which they pronounce as spelt; while 
 we as if it were spelt " woond," making it rhyme 
 with "tuned" they with "sound;" then "deaf," 
 which they render " deef," and "gaping," which 
 they pronounce full, as all but Englishmen render 
 
22 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the Latin a (and as most of our Shaksperian readers 
 render that word, which occurs several times in his 
 plays), and so on ad infinitum. At any rate, if the 
 Americans murder the Queen's English in their own 
 way, as Punch wittily dreaded they would when 
 a collision in the Trent affair was imminent, I 
 am sure we do so equally in ours ; and certainly 
 the letter "h" has a "better time of it" with 
 them than with us : indeed, on the whole, I think 
 that, man for man and woman for woman, the 
 Americans speak better English than ourselves ; 
 though I believe our highest standard to be above 
 theirs. They may, at any rate, claim to have pro- 
 duced in Lindley Murray the Quintillian of English 
 grammar, and in Webster and Worcester the best 
 lexicographers. 
 
 After the sermon a prayer extempore was made 
 by a young assistant, which moved him to tears, and 
 had the most spasmodic effect on a female member of 
 the congregation, who went into hysterics forthwith, 
 but was "let be " by her surroundings. After the 
 prayer a hymn was sung by the pastor of the flock, 
 and while singing he walked about shaking hands 
 with most of the congregation in the forepart of the 
 building. The effect was very curious, but it had a 
 most tranquillizing influence on the troubled spirit 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 23 
 
 of the Niobe of this occasion. After these prelec- 
 tions, I turned towards the " Commercial," and 
 discovered that the start was postponed till Monday, 
 finally. 
 
 I have not said a word anent St. Joe, which, being 
 the second city in the State of Missouri, deserves it. 
 It is only a few years old, and yet it numbers about 
 9,000 inhabitants, boasts two vast hotels, and many 
 minor ones : the American idea being everywhere to 
 live in such establishments, and to dispense with all 
 domestic bothers. Being on the Missouri, it has the 
 advantage of the trade up and down that mighty 
 conduit, and is thus connected by water with 
 almost the entire continent for several thousand 
 miles ; while the North Missouri and Hannibal 
 and St. Joe lines, of which it is the terminus, 
 gives it the command of eastern and southern Mis- 
 souri, Illinois, &c. ; then it has a short line of its 
 own to Atcheson, from which point the great Over- 
 land Stage Company starts for California. 
 
 It was a very flourishing place before the war, 
 and was fast rising into importance, but has been 
 under a blight ever since. Just now it is as com- 
 pletely under military occupation as any conquered 
 city need be : military law and police are in force, 
 and the dominant faction as completely lords it over 
 
24 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the beaten one as in the small Grecian States of 
 which Thucydides has left us such an iinperishahle 
 record. To hold certain opinions is to be an enemy, 
 even though such opinions be carefully veiled; evi- 
 dence is being continually hunted up to prove a 
 " secession bias," and then woe to the unlucky 
 holder of such unprofitable tenets ! All his stock, 
 at any rate, is considered fair game for confiscation. 
 Having these lessons before their eyes, many of the 
 farmers in the vicinity have sold off every horse and 
 niule they possess, save perhaps one valueless animal 
 for daily drudgery. 
 
 This state of things has given rise to bands of 
 partisans, who sweep across the country, taking all 
 they can, under the titles of "Guerillas," "Bush- 
 wackers," and " Jay -hawkers," and who, under pre- 
 tence of taking sides with either party, commit 
 frightful murders, and thus pay back old grudges 
 and take vengeance for wrongs of long standing. 
 Of course it would be unjust to blame either 
 Federals or Confederates entirely for such a state 
 of affairs. It is the natural result of a war such 
 as desolates the continent just now, when carried 
 into a State which is in the main friendly to the 
 South, and which, as a slave State, believes its in- 
 terests to be inseparable from theirs. I believe the 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 25 
 
 Federal troops are doing their best to repress these 
 marauders ; but local knowledge, and the vast dis- 
 tances, give the latter a great advantage. It is one of 
 the most melancholy considerations incident to this 
 war, that in the border States, such as Missouri, even 
 if peace were proclaimed to-morrow, the lex talionia 
 would probably for some time supplant the jus civile, 
 and assassination would be very rife. Under these 
 circumstances, it is not to be wondered at that land 
 has greatly diminished in value, and that the peace- 
 ably disposed who are, indeed, the great majority 
 are doing their best to realize their estates, and 
 migrate further West. 
 
 This is not the privation to an American it would 
 be to the citizen of any other country. These settlers 
 have probably held their present tenures but for a 
 short period; and though one would conceive that 
 the fact of having redeemed a farm from the sur- 
 rounding wilderness would endear it greatly to the 
 settler, such is not generally the case, or at least not 
 so much so but that a good per-centage will tempt 
 him to sell at any time. He is above such a prejudice 
 as having an inordinate weening for any one spot or 
 earth, which he holds to be only worthy of a cat, 01 
 such an old fogy as Naboth the Jezreelite. Man never 
 is, but only to be blessed. The West, with all its 
 
26 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 untold wealth, lies before him, and so his nomad 
 instincts prevail : he packs his worldly goods into 
 waggons, takes his flocks and his herds, and his 
 slaves, if he has any, with him, and thus goes pro- 
 specting for some new " location." 
 
 I should be very unwilling to credit the stories of 
 peculation and corruption which one hears of in all 
 departments, were it not for the revelations that the 
 Van Wyck Committee and other sources, in some 
 instances the public prints, have made ; but, in any 
 case, I must say, like Herodotus, of these things : 
 "I have heard, but have never seen them." It is 
 said apropos of the confiscations of stock we have 
 heard of, that it was not at all unusual, when a con- 
 tractor wanted to get a large number of animals, that 
 his first step would be to establish friendly relations 
 with the officers in command of the troops in the 
 neighbourhood ; then a raid would be concerted on 
 the stock of the "traitors," and a large haul made, 
 and thus the contractor would be enabled to fulfil 
 his engagement with his dear Uncle on the most 
 reasonable terms : the zeal of the officers not being 
 of course forgotten. 
 
 These little ebullitions have no doubt had the 
 effect of banishing many a "traitor" from Missouri ; 
 but there can be no doubt that there is an enormous 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 27 
 
 number of Southern sympathisers within its borders 
 " galvanized " traitors, as they call them ; and if any 
 success of Bragg's were to bring Price again with a 
 strong force into Missouri, I have no doubt he would 
 find a strong following. The Federals, indeed, are 
 walking over embers, "suppositos cineri doloso," 
 which may blaze out into a frightful conflagration ! 
 
 28i/i. No signs of a start yet ; soon, I discovered 
 the hitch there were too many passengers for one 
 waggon, and too much luggage. Under these cir- 
 cumstances, I confess to an act of extreme weakness 
 and confidence, namely, lending our teamster 
 110 dollars towards a second waggon and pair 
 of mules or ponies ; as I heard he was a man of 
 some substance and much probity, and, at any 
 rate, the ponies and waggons were always available 
 property in the far West.* Consequently, I was 
 allowed a voice in the selection of our means of 
 locomotion, and so picked out a second-hand spring- 
 waggon, something like a break, which had, of 
 course, the usual awnings ; and we hit on a pair 
 of stout ponies, which, I suppose, weighed about 
 sixteen cwt. 
 
 It is strange how in America horses are more esti- 
 mated by their weight than by their shapes and action 
 * The principal was repaid in full on arriving at Denver. 
 
28 .RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 as with us ; still, it can't be denied that weight is a 
 very essential element in slow draft. It is also 
 curious to hear in the West, when one man describes 
 another, how invariably he guesses at his weight in 
 pounds. And now, this difficulty solved, for collect- 
 ing the passengers, and packing the freight ! I 
 should mention that our other waggon was an ordi- 
 nary one, not on springs, with the usual awnings, 
 and the other pair of ponies were an extremely hand- 
 some round pair of little nags about 13*2, lighter 
 than our last pair, and said to be capable of dragging 
 St. Joe after them, if required ; or, at any rate, a very 
 fair load. 
 
 At last we got under weigh in very rough-and- 
 ready style. The spring waggon with four children 
 and three women, and the " boss " driving, with its 
 compliment of trunks and boxes, which formed 
 the seats, and a tent lashed on behind leading 
 the van ; we following in No. 2, five in number, 
 but the luggage piled up fore and aft in such a way 
 that there was nothing but a small well of some 
 two and a half feet by three to sit in, perched on 
 anything we could get, our legs dangling outwards 
 between the front and hind wheels. This was the 
 provision for three able-bodied men, two, of course, 
 sitting on ihe driver's perch ; but we were consoled 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 29 
 
 by the thought that this was merely a temporary 
 arrangement, as we were to catch the team sent on 
 in a day or so, and would have more room : under 
 this expectation, we laid in the smallest possible 
 quantity of supplies, as the advanced guard carried 
 everything. 
 
 Thus, we proceeded to the ferry steamer, which 
 brought us into Kansas on the opposite side of the 
 Missouri. Here our troubles began ! The smaller 
 pair of ponies of good reputation led the way ; but, 
 unfortunately, the land rose rather abruptly, and 
 much traffic had loosened the sand, so the wheels of 
 the chariot drove very heavily indeed : at last we 
 stuck, and had it not been for the extraordinary stout- 
 ness of the last bought pair, who dragged both loads 
 at each recurring difficult}*, our waggons might be 
 now in Kansas, as unfortunately we had no tackling 
 for yoking all four to each waggon at hills and other 
 difficulties. The first few miles was through forest, 
 with clearings every here and there, and then we 
 emerged into more open grass-land, with woods all 
 round, till we came to the little village of Wathena ; 
 not remarkable for anything but the euphony of its 
 name, which it shares with nearly all those of similar 
 (Indian) derivation. Here we heard tales of murders, 
 which made me long to get beyond such an Aceldama 
 
30 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 as the Missouri and Kansas borders have been for 
 years. 
 
 Having made seven painful miles, and come near 
 a farm - house, we unyoked, and erected our tent : 
 a wall tent, so-called because it is more like a house 
 than the round or " Sibley" tent as it is called here, 
 and only requires the support of three sticks, two 
 placed upright and one horizontally. The tent was, 
 of course, assigned to the ladies of the party ; the 
 men had to sleep " al fresco," or if they preferred 
 it under the waggon. Milk was procured from the 
 neighbouring farm, and with the aid of some crackers 
 did for supper. 
 
 26th. Some of our party had brought a large stock 
 of bedding. I had not ; trusting to our teamster's 
 declaration that he had an ample supply of blankets, 
 &c. ; so that I found that the damp of the ground 
 below, and the " inclementia coeli " above, whatever 
 that might be, would have to be endured with very 
 little protection. This was, at any rate, conducive to 
 early rising, and this morning we were astir before 
 either sun or larks : if there were such birds on this 
 part of the continent. The ladies got a little law for 
 their toilets, while we took down the inevitable stove, 
 tied to the back of our waggon, and found dry wood 
 to light it withal. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 31 
 
 The stove is quite an American's institution, un- 
 known or scarcely known to us ; it does his cooking, 
 warming, baking, and is the one indispensable piece 
 of furniture in a house of moderate means ; ours 
 was very light, had an oven for our bread, and a 
 place to fry, and a place to boil in. 
 
 Now begin preparations for breakfast, which may be 
 taken as a sample of most meals ; first, then, quant, 
 suff. of flour is taken out and duly compounded with 
 soda and cream of tartar to make rolls for the party, 
 which they term " biscuit " a great misnomer, as 
 they never are done enough I think; then quant, 
 suff. of either ham or bacon is sliced off and fried : 
 the latter goes by the name of " Billy Russell," on 
 the plains. Coffee is browned first, then ground, 
 then made the true art of having good coffee. 
 Eggs and milk may be added, but they form no 
 staple. Yoila le dejeuner ! Dinner at twelve is 
 generally a biscuit (roll), a bit of fried pig in some 
 shape, and a glass of cold water with anything 
 your private fancy may suggest as a " stick." And 
 supper, breakfast repeated, with hot rolls and butter, 
 and in addition such small condiments as dried 
 peaches, apples, or blackberries, stewed with some 
 rice, all of which I thought extremely good. 
 
 Breakfast over, bedding has to be packed, tent taken 
 
RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 down, horses fed and harnessed ; so we consider it 
 reasonably good time if we can be under weigh by a 
 few minutes after six. Here we come to fresh grief 
 again ; one of our crack little team won't face a small 
 hill. This time we have to temporize, as a heavily- 
 laden waggon is easily upset on a hill ; but soon our 
 "vetturino" got a chance at the little delinquent, 
 and the position of master and servant once well 
 established, there was no more trouble the rest of the 
 journey. Soon we emerged from the "timber open- 
 ings," and got a full view of the real rolling green 
 prairies of .which every one has read and heard so 
 much. And truly it is a grand sight, that vast undu- 
 lating expanse of green grass, unbroken throughout 
 the wide horizon, save at distant intervals by a fringe 
 of trees forming the margin to some creek, or by a 
 rare farm-house standing out alone in the wild 
 wilderness of grass. An Englishman will recall the 
 hills of Surrey, or the wolds of Yorkshire ; but neither 
 gives any idea of this wide sea of verdure with its 
 clear sky and fresh breezes. I cannot remember my 
 first impressions of the sea, but I should imagine they 
 were somewhat similar. For miles, as you travel 
 along, you don't see the vestige of a stone or even 
 gravel. The soil is a rich alluvium, and of course very 
 easily tilled ; the farmers here universally allow one 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 33 
 
 man to forty acres of tillage a fair estimate to our 
 notions ! The road, if you can call a natural high- 
 way by such a name, was just like an avenue in a 
 park (where the main track went) minus the gravel 
 and edging ; by the sides where it was not so 
 frequented by waggons, it was much like the road 
 to the Grand Stand at Ascot, in a fine summer. 
 
 A few miles brought us to the village of Troy, 
 where we arrived simultaneously with the mail, and 
 this latter brought tidings of the capture of Vicksburg. 
 Talking with some of the agricultural pundits who 
 clustered round the post-office, I ventured with 
 great temerity to think the news was not true. 
 Instantly I saw my mistake What? doubt the 
 triumph of the cause of right, and that when 
 announced in black and white! Our "boss" told 
 me after we had left the village that I had incurred 
 much suspicion by my unguarded remark; that I 
 was looked upon as "tinctured," and that the con- 
 sequences might have been serious, had he not poured 
 oil on their outraged passions by informing them I 
 was a foreigner, and, of course, ergo, incapable of 
 forming a right judgment of things in this country. 
 
 As we went along, an extremely gentlemanlike old 
 man standing at the door of his log hut offered us 
 some milk, which we gladly accepted ; but I regret 
 
 3 
 
34 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 to say one of the party rather inconsiderately threw 
 away the surplus on the black ground before the 
 cottage, where it would probably be noticed, and 
 might wound the old man's feelings. True, the man 
 might have said, like the Calabrian pressing pears on 
 his guest, 
 
 Hsec porcis hodie comedenda relinquis ; 
 
 but the manner of his making the offer was extremely 
 pleasant and courteous, and are we not told that the 
 gift of a cup of cold water has its merit ? I forgot 
 to mention that the little village of Troy, whose 
 houses you might count on one hand, had still its 
 printing-office and its paper. In the evening we saw 
 a good number of prairie chickens, or grouse of this 
 country, and am ashamed to say, sacrificed some for 
 supper. They were generally wild. It is strange 
 that these birds should leave the wild plains for the 
 neighbourhood of settlements where they can get corn 
 " pan em et circenses " in preference to liberty and 
 a poor larder. 
 
 In the evening we camped near a farm-house, 
 the well being, I think, the inducement : I know I 
 got a tub of ice-cold water from it at night. Every 
 sort of crop and vegetable seems to thrive in this 
 part of Kansas : I noticed even fields of sweet pota- 
 toes. Isn't it strange that this root when trans- 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 35 
 
 planted north, should in a year or so turn into the 
 common potato ? This looks as if it were the original 
 of our great European staple. 
 
 27th. Kose very early with a view of getting 
 chickens for the pot, but found them far too wild. 
 I suppose Shelley never saw the "sanguine sun 
 rise with his meteor eyes" on the prairie, save in 
 spirit, after the manner of poets ; hut his descrip- 
 tion is very life-like." I confess myself to have 
 had Charles Lamb's constitutional aversion to 
 early rising, and to have left such pleasures to 
 larks and housemaids, and therefore know very 
 little of the sun's phenomena at that hour; so 
 in my ignorance I was surprised that the orb of 
 day should present an elliptical instead of a rotund 
 appearance : like the pictures of cherubs blowing a 
 trumpet frantically, his cheeks seemed unnaturally 
 distended. I suppose the solution is as simple as 
 may be, but I " don't see it." 
 
 At about one o'clock we made the village of 
 Kennekuk a little larger than Troy and going 
 on a little further, came to a shady glen, where 
 we dined on dried beef and pickles, having first 
 written and posted any letters we wanted at the 
 village post-office. I may remark that I saw stone 
 cropping out here, for the first time on the prairie. 
 
 32 
 
36 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 The farms here are almost invariably of one size, 
 namely, 160 acres, that being the number which 
 each man is allowed by law to buy, or to settle, with- 
 out buying, by a five years' residence. The object of 
 these laws was to prevent land speculators rushing in 
 and absorbing whole tracts, to the detriment of poorer 
 men ; but like most sumptuary laws, they break down 
 in operation, and a simple deed of mortgage evades 
 their provisions. 
 
 A few miles further we enter upon what are called 
 the " Kickapoo reservations," or land allotted by 
 government to this tribe. The line^ have fallen to 
 them, I must say, in pleasant places, as timber, the 
 great desideratum of the prairies, is rife on their 
 lands ; and their farms seemed very good, and well 
 fenced. We camped for the night in Grasshopper 
 Creek, or rather, in the wood by it, where we found 
 the mosquitoes very attentive, and a wild cat seemed 
 to be challenging any of the party to " whip " ever so 
 small a part of his weight in a single one. 
 
 28i/i. Morning chilly and raw, but I think 
 these sensations arose more from want of suffi- 
 cient blankets than anything else. Beached little 
 Neniaho by dinner time. This is an extremely 
 pretty creek, very well wooded. Oak seems to be 
 the great timber of this continent, and the 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 37 
 
 varieties seem almost endless. There is the live 
 oak of Florida and Texas, said to he the hest 
 in the world for ship-huilding the red oak, 
 the black oak, the white oak, and water oak. 
 
 We passed one or two very nice-looking farms to-day, 
 and the owners seemed to think well of their prospects 
 this year. Wheat was in the ear, and seemed not to 
 want much more than a fortnight for ripening. 
 Potatoes, we were told, were a good crop if they got 
 rain enough. Driving along to-day we saw several 
 porphyry rocks cropping out, and the land seemed 
 to contain a larger admixture of sand. Towards 
 evening we came up with a large government team of 
 twenty-five waggons, each having five yoke of oxen to 
 it, bound for Salt Lake City. Our twenty-seventh 
 mile brought us to Seneca, a very neat little village 
 on the Great Nemaho, and here we camped, having 
 only secured one chicken for supper. 
 
 29^/i. The night was damp, and the dew in the 
 morning was heavy enough to remind one of Virgil's 
 exquisite description of the Mantuan vales, where 
 
 Quantum carpent armenta diei, 
 Exigua tantum gelidus ros nocte reponet. 
 
 The village of Ashpoint we make by about 9 '30, 
 and we strike the Little Vermilion stream by 
 dinner time. There was a ranche here, but the lady 
 
38 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 occupant, on our asking for milk, informed us " her 
 cow did not come home o' nights." There is a station 
 here of the overland stage line, and I had a bit of a 
 talk with the driver, who was a pleasant fellow 
 enough; he had to look after his team of four horses, 
 and drive his twelve miles into the bargain, and for 
 this he received twenty dollars per month with board. 
 He assured me that the facilities for what they call 
 " jumping the pole," or picking up waifs and strays 
 of passengers on their own account were extremely 
 limited here, as one can well conceive : in fact they 
 did not find him in whiskey money. At Salt Lake he 
 told me the drivers drove longer distances, or rather 
 repeated the same distance over oftener, but did not 
 have to look after the nags ; they were paid at the 
 rate of fifty dollars a month, with board no bad 
 allowance in hard times. 
 
 This overland mail is a wonderful institution, 
 and I doubt whether, even in Russia, it can be 
 paralleled. It originated in 1860, replacing the 
 " pony express," which was just set on foot to 
 save the great delay of sending letters from the 
 eastern states and Europe to California via the 
 Isthmus. The time now occupied by this line in 
 crossing the entire continent is from seventeen to 
 eighteen days during eight months of the year, and 
 
KOOKY MOUNTAINS. 39 
 
 twenty-one or twenty-two during the remaining four. 
 By taking a " through ticket " from end to end you 
 are entitled to the privilege of stopping a reasonable 
 time at the intermediate stations ; thus the tedium 
 of this long route can be much relieved, and some 
 pleasant excursions, in quest either of large game or 
 scenery, can be undertaken. The charge for the entire 
 distance is 150 dollars, and fair meals for which 
 there is ample time, not apportioned on the Crewe and 
 Swindon principle are obtained at prices varying 
 from 50 to 75 cents, or 2s. to 3s. of our money ; but 
 the allowance of luggage is miserably small, only 
 25 Ibs., beyond which a charge of, I think, 40 cents 
 a pound, is made. This is barely compatible with 
 cleanliness, certainly not with comfort. 
 
 The coach is a large " convaniency," holding from 
 six to nine passengers inside and one outside on 
 the box. It is longer than our mails, but not so 
 high ; it is hung on leather springs, and pitches on 
 the hills like a ship. The luggage is, strange to say, 
 all fastened on to a sort of stage behind, covered by 
 an apron. There is no guard to protect either mails 
 or treasure ; but then every passenger is expected to 
 carry arms here. This line from Atcheson to Salt 
 Lake is owned and horsed by a single proprietor, 
 and I must say some teams of his mules could not 
 
40 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 be surpassed for quality and condition. The Govern- 
 ment pays the line a subsidy of a million dollars per 
 annum. 
 
 As we were walking along, our driver was attracted 
 by the rattle of a snake; on killing it, we found 
 it was nine years old, as it had nine joints to its 
 rattle. As every one has not seen this appendage, I 
 may state that it is firmly fastened on to the tail by 
 ligatures, though it pulls out without any great effort 
 when the reptile is dead. Each joint looks something 
 like a pearl, or rather two small pearls joined toge- 
 ther ; as, besides each joint being perfectly distinct, 
 there is a division running lengthways from the first 
 joint to the last ; each joint is just a size larger 
 than the one below it, so the rattle tapers down to 
 a very fine point. In each cell there appears to be 
 a kind of hard secretion, which is set in motion by 
 the tail, and this, striking against the thin bone of the 
 joint, produces a noise which faintly imitates a child's 
 rattle, but which is very distinctly heard when close 
 or stay, I think a better idea will be conveyed by 
 shaking the dry pod of a pea near your ear. Travel- 
 lers do not seem in great alarm at this snake, as, 
 if you see it, you can always avoid it, or kill it ; nor 
 do I think it would ever attack, unless alarmed or in 
 self-defence. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 41 
 
 The specific for its bite that seems to obtain 
 most credit is an enormous dose of whiskey, in fact, 
 as much as the stomach of the patient will bear; 
 on the other hand, I once met a man on whose 
 veracity I think I may rely, who assured me he cured 
 a bite by the simple pig remedy of a mud bath, and 
 after that a long soak in spring-water. "Apropos 
 de cochons," it is said the hog is a sworn foe to all 
 snakes, and eats them greedily; and I have heard 
 in Michigan of pigs turned into swamps actually 
 fattening on the " Missa Sauga " snake, which is ac- 
 counted fully as deadly as the rattlesnake. I must 
 here put in Herodotus' saving clause, " but this I 
 have never myself seen." 
 
 By the evening we made Big Vermilion, a creek 
 beautifully wooded, and with an undergrowth of 
 gooseberries, strawberries and wild grape vines which 
 to English eyes seems astonishing. Indeed, the vine 
 seems quite as much at home in America as it is 
 in any portion of Europe, though I cannot say I 
 have yet tasted any wine on this continent which I 
 much fancied ; the " Catawba," which is so much 
 vaunted, seemed to me rough and harsh, and I 
 could not help thinking the California specimens 
 which I tasted mawkish. Though it be a very 
 heretical opinion, I must confess that a glass of wild 
 
42 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 grape wine which I purchased for a few cents in a 
 country district of Missouri, seemed to me far better 
 than any of the high-priced liquors. But then 
 wine-making is in its infancy here, and when they 
 have had as much practice in this branch of art as 
 they have had at cider, no doubt they will succeed 
 as well. 
 
 30/2. An early start brought us past the Ver- 
 milions and Smith Station. Near this, I first met 
 that very singular little animal, which goes by the 
 name of the " gopher." It is something between a 
 weasel and a prairie dog, but smaller than either, and 
 with a beautifully spotted skin like a panther's ; it 
 runs very swiftly through the prairie grass, in which 
 it has holes, and looks at you in the most knowing 
 way when once under the shadow of its own roof- 
 tree : these holes are, however, not deep, and you 
 can catch master gopher by flooding them. I shall 
 not easily forget the sharp bite I received from one, 
 while trying not to hurt it by holding it as one 
 would a rat or ferret, by the skin of the neck ; the 
 little brute had a coil of muscles in his spine which I 
 envied, and could make nothing of whatever. If the 
 wolf be a sad thing for the fold, in Virgil's * estima- 
 tion, the gopher is equally so to the corn-field ; as I 
 
 * Triste lupus stabulis. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 43 
 
 am told that when the young maize is just sprouting, 
 he will root up a whole row to get the tender 
 esculent to pleasure his dainty maw, so that the 
 gopher may fairly take rank with the curculio and 
 other pests which " invade " the husbandman. 
 
 Passing along, we saw a very pretty duel fought in 
 the air between the "king-priest," a bird something 
 like the well-known mocking bird, and a largeish 
 hawk, in which the latter was discomfited and fled 
 away. We constantly meet the " whiporwill," so 
 called from the noise he makes ; it is a small hawk 
 which seems to me almost identical with what was 
 called in the West Indies the mosquito hawk. By 
 noon there was some change in the soil and the 
 scenery ; the prairie grew less rolling and more hum- 
 mocky, and the water-courses seemed to form deeper 
 indentations in the sandy soil ; ledges of limestone 
 appeared in the higher hummocks, and there was 
 more of a mineral character, I thought, in the 
 appearance of nature : on the road I picked up a bit 
 of ironstone which was very heavy. 
 
 Soon we reached Maryville, when our eyes were 
 greeted with real stone houses, and some of them 
 rather neatly built; indeed the village was very 
 neat, and there seemed one or two very fair stores : 
 of course, there was the usual saloon, with its bar 
 
44 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 and billiard-room. The thermometer here indicated 
 82 in the shade. Land about here can be gene- 
 rally bought for about two dollars an acre, if not 
 fenced or otherwise improved. I was told the home- 
 stead law, which provides that a residence of five 
 years entitles the citizen to his farm of 160 acres, 
 had been suspended till after the war, as the volunteers 
 had to get their grants first. These grants of land 
 were, however, generally sold for a mere song ; as 
 was the case in the Mexican war. 
 
 Passing through Maryville, we came to the Big 
 Blue, a very respectable river, which we forded, and 
 dined under the shadow of the trees near it. 
 Before dinner I took a plunge into the stream, and 
 thought the moment propitious for doing a little 
 washing ; but alas ! while it was bleaching, during 
 dinner, the linen disappeared, and I can only sup- 
 pose that a California team which camped by us, 
 is the better for my loss. Thence we drove to Cotton 
 Wood, some twelve miles, and camped; making 
 twenty-seven miles this day. 
 
 31st. Set out walking to-day, and hardly got into 
 the waggon till we reached Eock Spring, at about 
 6 P.M., twenty-two miles distant. The soil seemed 
 much poorer, the sand predominating, and conse- 
 quently we had more dust. On the road I met a very 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 45 
 
 large spider, shaped something like the tarantula, and 
 looking like a large hairy gooseberry crawling along. 
 This I found was occasioned by its having a multitude 
 of its young endorsed upon it. The plains here 
 appeared covered with what I think is wild serastrium, 
 whose pale French grey colour I like so much in a 
 garden. The number of waggons here seemed to 
 increase greatly, looking, with their white covers, for 
 all the world like convoys of ships crowding into port ; 
 specially when seen climbing up a slope at some 
 distance. 
 
 June 1st. A slight shower of rain lays the dust 
 very pleasantly, and makes the going better. By 
 noon we make the Big Sandy, a well wooded stream, 
 and a ranche being handy, we paid it a visit, and 
 found the lady of the house very communicative. 
 Hearing we came from Missouri, she seemed asto- 
 nished we had escaped the tax levied upon emigrants 
 from that state, namely, thirty dollars a man, and 
 one cent per pound on all the goods you carry with 
 you. This vexatious imposition is levied, I believe, 
 with a view of hitting those who set off westwards to 
 escape the coming draft or conscription. 
 
 Here we met a man who had lost five head of horse 
 kind, and was going to the Otto and Pawnee Indians, 
 camped near Maryville, to endeavour to get some 
 
46 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 tidings of them. We were rather amused to hear 
 the stories of the sassiness of the Indians, since the 
 outbreak of the war; of their throwing themselves 
 in their red blankets on the road, and scaring the 
 oxen-teams out of their wits, and such like tales. 
 
 The country to-day appeared poorer stone cropped 
 out in places, and the gullies were deeper ; however, 
 the plains were enamelled with a beautiful kind of 
 wild flox, of the richest ruby colour, and the prairie 
 rose, a sort of dwarf dog rose, was wasting its sweet- 
 ness in all directions. It seems so strange that we 
 meet no bees or wasps as we move along; having 
 heard so much of " bee-lines " and wild honey, one 
 is prepared to see any amount of them in the prairie. 
 We make Little Sandy Eiver by about 4 P.M., and 
 camp close to its woody sides. Rabbits seem to 
 abound here; so, in spite of the season, we kill a 
 number for supper, and find them very good indeed. 
 
 In this part of the prairies, cotton wood is almost 
 the only timber of any size to be met with. It is a 
 species of poplar, and derives its name from its seed, 
 which contains a sort of fluffy stuff something like 
 cotton. In this respect it is like its namesake in the 
 West Indies, which attains such gigantic proportions, 
 and forms such a prominent object in many of the 
 most lovely landscapes of that lovely land. It is an 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 47 
 
 extremely soft bad wood, but growing as it does to a 
 good size, it suits the purposes of the ranchemen, 
 who do not aim much at stability or permanence in 
 their erections. 
 
 In building their log-ranches they do not attempt 
 to saw this timber, and sometimes barely square 
 it with the axe; morticing the logs together in 
 a very rough way, and filling in the interstices 
 with dirt, rarely whitewashed. A large square 
 is then enclosed with a stockade of the same timber, 
 which is called a corrall; a stable is erected in 
 the same rough and ready fashion as the house, and 
 then the establishment is complete. For discomfort 
 and untidiness it would be hard to parallel them 
 even in the neglected portions of the Emerald 
 Island ; but then a house in this climate is almost 
 save for shade and occasional shelter le superflu, 
 not le necessaire ; and the absence of mud is a very 
 broad distinction in favour of the former. 
 
 It must not be supposed that these ranches 
 imply farming on any scale whatever; they are 
 simply business stations to meet the wants of 
 the emigrants and travellers westward, and there- 
 fore each mainly consists of one room, which 
 serves for store, grog-shop, and bed-room by 
 night. In the smaller ones, and they are far 
 
48 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the most numerous, the stock in hand may be 
 set down as consisting of much pork and ham, a few 
 pounds of coffee, salt, pepper, vinegar, pearl-ash, 
 soda, flour, butter, eggs, corn, dried apples, peaches 
 in tins, and oysters also, with a Falstaffian propor- 
 tion of a vile compound of whiskey and I know not 
 what, which is popularly known as " bust head," or 
 " forty rod," because the unfortunate imbiber is 
 seriously affected in either brain or legs, or even in 
 both, before he has gone that distance. 
 
 Winter is the harvest for these ranches, for 
 then they have to feed the passing stock on corn 
 and hay, which they retail at the most enormous 
 prices : corn, for instance, which, in the Western 
 States, was selling last year at 20 cents a bushel, 
 is retailed here at two and three dollars, while for 
 hay they ask two, three, and even five cents per Ib. 
 But one of their great sources of wealth lay in 
 "trading" oxen. For this purpose they begin 
 with a few of their own, and when a man passes 
 with a foot-sore ox which can go no further, they 
 sell the traveller a fresh one at their own rate, 
 while a dollar or two is considered the " rule 
 of the road " for the jaded ox : or rather was, 
 for competition is beginning to mar this golden 
 age. Under these circumstances it will not be 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 49 
 
 surprising that thes*e rancheros make their "pile" 
 pretty quickly. 
 
 2nd. The night was positively cold and the 
 dew was very scant, so starting early, we made 
 Thompson's Station, where we found a well sunk 
 to the depth of 105 feet. To dig a well is about the 
 first thing a man has to do here, and I must say the 
 people are very civil in allowing every passer-by to 
 use their wells most freely. After this, we passed 
 over a large section of perfectly flat prairie, covered 
 with weeds, among which I noticed, for the first 
 time, Scotland's emblem ; it looks, however, a very 
 harmless plant here, and might, I think, be pro- 
 voked with great impunity. There were also quantities 
 of mimosas, and though they looked exactly like 
 the sensitive mimosa, these had not the shrinking 
 peculiarity. The Little Blue, a very pretty stream, 
 fringed with a thick growth of cotton-trees, oak, 
 scrub, walnut, and sumach, now lay before us for 
 some distance, and on its banks we camped. 
 
 3rd. Started in good time and made Jessie 
 E wing's ranche by an early hour. Here we saw a 
 young antelope which had been recently caught, and 
 which was a great pet. We also bought some buffalo 
 meat from some hunters, who had met a great 
 number on the Republican Fork ; these men were 
 
 4 
 
50 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 very anxious about some of their companions who 
 had been carried away too far by the excitement, 
 and had not been heard of for a good many hours. 
 If men and horses behave only tolerably well and 
 prudently, there is very little danger in buffalo- 
 hunting, but when men and horses are new to the 
 work there is some risk in getting carried away by 
 the herd, and so crushed to death. There is 
 also some danger of starvation if you get beyond 
 your bearings in the prairie, with nothing to guide 
 you but the sun by day, and the stars by night. 
 The great amusement at this season of the year 
 consists in catching the calves, by throwing the 
 larriette or lasso over them. 
 
 The scenery to-day was lovely, the Little Blue, 
 with its belt of timber, being always in sight; 
 and by dinner-time we struck it again, and 
 found the buffalo steaks admirable, though defi- 
 cient in fat. Shortly after dinner, as two or three 
 of the passengers were trying to scramble into our 
 den in the waggon, my foot caught in some 
 larriette ropes which were hanging by the side, and 
 before I could extricate it the hind wheel was right 
 over it at the ancle. On taking off my boot I dis- 
 covered that no bone was broken, thank God, though 
 the bruise was, as they say here, " some consider- 
 
KOOKY MOUNTAINS. 51 
 
 able." By the evening we struck the Little Blue 
 again and camped ; it was a wet and stormy night, 
 and having to sit in the waggon all night, with my 
 foot cocked up, I experienced that araXaiTrwpia TT)Q 
 aypvirviciQ, the wretchedness of sleeplessness which 
 the historian tells us was one of the worst features 
 in the Plague of Athens. At dinner-time we had 
 caught some chub and a funny little fish, called 
 the " horndace," from sundry little horny excres- 
 cences growing out of its head, which we found 
 excellent. 
 
 4th. In the morning we had the satisfaction of 
 discovering that our ponies, which were only lar- 
 rietted together (that is to say, one rope passed 
 round each of their necks), and -not picketed, as 
 they should have been in such a night, had strayed ; 
 nor did we recover them till 10 o'clock A.M. The 
 roads were, strange to say, -perfectly dry, after the 
 rain, and we made Elm Creek by dinner-time ; 
 the creek was, however, as they phrase it here, 
 "played out" as we might say, " used up." 
 Some of the grass on the prairie to-day looked to 
 me precisely like the African " guinea-grass," which 
 grows so luxuriantly in the West Indies, and espe- 
 cially in Jamaica. I also discovered some which cor- 
 responded to the " Bahama," which is so affected 
 
 42 
 
52 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 in the latter island for the dressed ground near 
 houses. 
 
 Passing a newly-made grave, only marked by a 
 slight tumulus of earth, we made " Thirty-two mile 
 Creek," and camped. 
 
 5th. Finding my leg inflamed, I devised a sort of 
 sling, hy hanging a shot-belt from one of the awning 
 supports, which answered fairly. Passing by the 
 bluffs of the Platte, we met a quantity of prairie 
 dogs, which our passengers vainly attempted to shoot, 
 as they never would show more than a few inches 
 above their holes; the number of waggons, and no 
 doubt the fact of serving often as targets, has made 
 these little animals very wary. 
 
 I do not know if the prairie dog has been ever 
 acclimated in Europe yet, or is to be found in our 
 menageries ; but I should not think it were difficult 
 to do so, as there is always more or less cold 
 weather on these plains; and I should think they 
 would be very useful in banishing rats. In appear- 
 ance they are very like the guinea-pig, only infinitely 
 livelier and more active, and their colour varies from 
 a very light to a darkish shade of brown, apparently 
 with age. In places where they are bolder it is 
 most amusing to watch their gambols, and it is really 
 very interesting to observe an old paterfamilias stand 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 53 
 
 at the door of his chateau and bark angrily at you, 
 his tail heating time in the most energetic style to 
 each hark ; the sound of which is something like the 
 call of a guinea hen, or rather between that and a 
 maternal turkey calling her brood. Owls, dogs, and 
 rattlesnakes, are said to keep house together ; I can 
 answer for having seen the two former constantly 
 together, but I have only met one or two rattlesnakes 
 near the dog towns. 
 
 At dinner we heard of a battle between the 
 Sioux and Pawnees, in which the latter had the 
 best of it ; indeed, the latter are very hard to beat, 
 for to their native craft, they have superadded the 
 practice of scientific warfare, and understand all 
 about " rifle-pits," and are famous ifiarksmen : 
 as an American volunteer, who knew them well, 
 said, "If we fight the Pawnees it is man to man, 
 and our main advantage would be the revolver, which 
 they do not yet possess." 
 
 By the evening we struck a branch of the Platte 
 (about as wide as the Thames at Henley), at a 
 place called Sobiski, or Junction, from the fact of 
 the converging roads from St. Joe, Nebraska, 
 and Omaha meeting at this point. Here we 
 camped. 
 
 6th. In the morning we found, on comparing 
 
54 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 notes, that most of us might have said, like Clarence 
 after his first night in the Tower, 
 
 Oh, I have passed a miserable night ! 
 
 as most bore visible tokens of the activity and zeal of 
 the mosquitoes. As we drove on, we met large herds 
 of cattle bound for Denver, or California. After a few 
 miles we reached Fort Kearney, which is, however, 
 only a barrack for a small number of soldiers ; the 
 parade-ground looked pretty neat, with a few field- 
 pieces about, but the stables, as we passed, looked 
 filthy and unkempt. It is a pity that, as a rule, the 
 Americans are too " go-a-head " a nation to insist 
 upon scrupulous neatness in all their public buildings 
 and institutions. I recollect having the same idea 
 forced upon me at West Point, which, as a show- 
 place and lovely in point of situation, ought to be 
 more soigne, methinks. Here we saw the wooden 
 spire of a tiny church the first I had seen for days. 
 The Government are strict in preventing travellers 
 from camping within two miles of the Fort, to 
 preserve the forage for the cavalry horses. Here, 
 too, we meet the telegraph to California for the first 
 time. 
 
 Two miles further brings us to Kearney City, 
 popularly known as Dobee Town, a miserable col- 
 lection of adobed houses; which, however, did a 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 55 
 
 good business with the travellers, and I believe a 
 frontage in Dobee Town commands a good number 
 of dollars. An Irishman from Kanturk, whom I 
 encountered there, informed me a miserable-looking 
 store of this mud fabrication was good for 2,000 
 dollars. I certainly should be glad to leave the 
 present incumbent " master of the situation." My 
 sole purchase was a sheet of vile note-paper, for 
 which I paid three cents its weight I should think 
 in silver, if not gold. Wood, we learnt, was so dear 
 that twelve and fourteen dollars are paid for a cord of 
 green cotton-wood. 
 
 A short drive brought us to the Platte, which 
 is here a mile and a half wide, but shallow, 
 and full of islands ; all efforts to navigate it, even 
 in the shallowest of boats, have proved abortive 
 hitherto. By the evening we made a ranche 
 at Seventeen Mile Point, and camped in a storm of 
 rain, thunder, and lightning, which was so near 
 that there seemed scarce any interval between the 
 flash and the clap of thunder. I passed rather a 
 wretched night in the waggon and got chilled ; the 
 rest found a shelter in a house. 
 
 7th. Our ponies had again strayed, and we did 
 not recover them till nine o'clock. From this time our 
 way lay right along the valley of the Platte and on 
 
56 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the southern side, the horizon being bounded by a 
 line of low sandy bluffs. The road here was very 
 swampy after the rain of last night, and strewn on 
 both sides were the " reliquiae " of innumerable 
 animals that had been killed, or had succumbed on 
 this long road, so that we only managed to paddle 
 through seventeen miles; we then camped between 
 two ranches, kept by a Frenchman and an English- 
 man respectively. I found many of the ox and other 
 teams make a point of reposing on the Sunday 
 some no doubt from a wish to observe the command- 
 ment, but most, I think, because they feel its practical 
 benefit, and are thus enabled in the long run to make 
 better time than the Sunday travellers. 
 
 8th. After a wet night we find the ponies again 
 " conspicuous by their absence," and did not recover 
 them for some time. The ranches here begin to show 
 signs of the proximity of Indians, by their buffalo 
 robes and peltry for sale. The Cheyenne Indians 
 are, we learn, reckoned the best tanners of buffalo 
 robes ; an art in which the Indians maintain a mono- 
 poly of superiority the only true kind. Here, too, 
 we met with a Mormon predicator mounted on a 
 mule; but he did not long remain mounted, as 
 on a difference of opinion arising, the moke gave 
 the polygamist a cropper : thus "spreading the truth," 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 57 
 
 as some one aptly remarked and the only way to 
 spread such truth as his. 
 
 Crossing a bend of Plum Creek, we found three 
 feet of water running fast in a place which had heen 
 dry two hours previously. However, we contrived 
 hy fastening all four ponies somehow to each waggon, 
 to get over safely ; hut we had rather a squeak for it. 
 By four o'clock, after travelling roads of the con- 
 sistency of Welsh rarehit, and tiring the ponies con- 
 siderably, we made Pat Mullalley's ranche, where 
 there were a number of waggons assembled: the 
 horses all secured by picketing or hobbling, for 
 fear of Indians, whose lodges were near. Here we 
 camped, and more rain fell. However, it ceased 
 towards night, and with the aid of a roaring fire and 
 a mighty brew of " egg nogg " we contrived to be 
 pretty comfortable. 
 
 I forgot to mention, the day we were at Plum 
 Creek, that the paymaster of the troops passed by ; 
 not that that was a singular circumstance, but the 
 method of his progress struck me as characteristic 
 of the country. First came the paymaster, in an 
 ambulance drawn by four mules, and at a short 
 distance his orderly, I presume. I think this pair 
 refreshed and went on. After an interval, four 
 troopers came galloping up anyhow to the ranche, 
 
58 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the paymaster being a long way in advance ; but 
 were they going to pass the ranche without a visit ? 
 Forbid it the genius of true freedom ! so they 
 pulled up deliberately. How much " bust-head " they 
 consumed in the ranche I cannot say, not seeing 
 it, neither c.an I say when they caught up the pay- 
 master ; but I could not help thinking it was fortu- 
 nate for Uncle Sam that the Indians did not set any 
 great value on either Mr. Lincoln's or Mr. Chase's 
 portrait in the shape of a " greenback." 
 
 9th. This morning proved very fine after the 
 rain. Thinking the hog a very sensible animal and 
 a good plain doctor, I imitated him by giving my 
 leg a long mud-bath, and I think with good effect. 
 As we went on, one of our party shot a blue-winged 
 teal, a bird unknown to us, I think. The tameness 
 of the ducks here was, I must say, shocking to me. 
 
 Plunging through mud-holes, sedge, and slush 
 (the Platte valley wants draining sadly in places), 
 we came to Miller's ranche, where we dined. This 
 house, like most about here, bore as its emblem 
 a pair of stag or elk's horns fastened over the door ; 
 I could not help thinking what a fertile theme for 
 jests and quips this would have been to any of the 
 wits in Shakspeare's day. At this ranche I was 
 amused by an Iowa lad, who was nominally working 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 59 
 
 at a bit of a trench which a labourer in England 
 would probably have got through in a couple of 
 hours at furthest. The lad told me he was to 
 receive 25 dollars per month from the ranchero, with 
 board, and that the job he was at was the toughest 
 he saw before him ; after that he " guessed " there 
 was nothing to do, save a little cooking morning and 
 evening, and " coralling " the cows. His wages were 
 to be raised if he would stay for the hay harvest. 
 In Iowa he averaged from 30 cents to 50 cents per 
 diem, save in harvest, when wages were better. 
 
 By seven we made Dan Smith's ranche and camp. 
 Here we saw an Indian grave, which I thought very 
 curious. It was not more than a hundred yards from 
 the road, and consisted of a hurdle placed on four 
 uprights, about eight feet high ; on this the body, 
 sewed up in a linen cloth, was laid, and there it 
 seems it was left. We passed several others after- 
 wards, only varying in the material enclosing the 
 corpse ; generally, I think, it was a red blanket. 
 I could not see that any suitable provision was 
 made for these Indians hunting in the future they 
 anticipate, as there was no sign of bow, spear, or 
 rifle. When a chief dies, they say his effects are 
 interred with him, and his war-horse slain, to carry 
 him well in those elysian hunting-fields. As a rule, 
 
60 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 we were told the Sioux preferred taking their dead 
 with them, and hurying them in their cemetery at 
 Ashpoint, some distance up the Platte ; where, I was 
 informed, some very strange scenes are enacted. 
 Some of their dead are buried upright, with the faces 
 appearing. 
 
 10if/i. This morning was very fine, though cold ; 
 at least, it hore promise of a fine warm day, which 
 was fully realized. By ten we make Gillman's 
 ranche, where there is a large stable and corrall. 
 Cedar here supplants the cotton-wood, as it is found 
 in plenty in the Canons, or ravines between the 
 bluffs. As we burnt it at night, I could not help 
 recalling Virgil's 
 
 Urit odoratum noctuma in lumina cedrum. 
 
 Soon after this we passed a lot of Indians on the 
 march. Their equipage was amusing: first a lot 
 of skins or robes are tied round the pony ; then 
 to these a number of long sticks, which I think 
 must be their tent-poles, are fastened, so as to leave 
 free room for the action of the ponies' hind legs ; 
 across these poles a sort of shield or hurdle is 
 strapped, and on this the " papooses " or babies, and 
 occasionally a squaw, sit in state. Thence to Joe 
 Bower's ranche then McDonald's, at Cotton-wood 
 Springs and by the evening we make Cotton-wood 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 61 
 
 post-office, where we camp ; and, the night looking 
 dubious, we gladly secure a corner in the stable. 
 
 The Platte valley about here was so level that 
 all the cricketers of the world could have played 
 without interfering with each other. From the 
 appearance of the line of sand-bluffs flanking the 
 stream on either side, I concluded that the whole 
 of this valley had at one time been more or less 
 the river's bed, till at length the present channel a 
 very broad one was adopted. 
 
 IWi.The morning being fine, and my ancle deci- 
 dedly better, I hobbled on in advance of our party ; 
 not knowing that they would have to go to the bluffs 
 to cut cedar, to last for fuel for several days, there 
 being no wood on our route for miles after leaving 
 this place. After reaching a ranche some four or 
 five miles distant, where a Frenchwoman informed 
 me she had seen nothing of our waggons, I got 
 alarmed at the position, as I heard there was another 
 track by which they might have slipped by ; so, weary 
 as I was, I was forced to push on at the best pace 
 for a cripple, and shoeless on one foot. 
 
 I had not gone far before I met two athletic-look- 
 ing Indians, riding unusually fine-spirited ponies. 
 I saluted them with the usual "how,'* or "how 
 d'ye do ? " and received my " how " in return. By 
 
62 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 this time they had got me between their ponies, and 
 gave me to understand that they wanted tobacco. 
 I had none, and showed them my coat-pockets 
 empty. Then one of them seeing a gold ring on 
 my finger wanted to grab it, but this I would not 
 allow, though I had not even a stick in my hand ; 
 then my coat w r hich I carried on my arm caught 
 their fancy ; but I would not let them pull it away. 
 I kept backing, and they pushing against me, till 
 at last one signified to me that he would have my 
 ring, and was proceeding to draw his bow in a 
 menacing manner. I laughed, and affected not to 
 understand him; and so, after much pantomime, I 
 was suffered to go : and, let me confess it, felt released 
 from considerable alarm, for a party of soldiers had 
 just been sent to overawe these Indians, who were 
 incensed with the Government for not being paid in 
 gold, according to treaty, but paper ; and there were 
 3,000 of them encamped close by. 
 
 At last, thoroughly weary, I reached Jack Morrow's 
 capital ranche, and found the waggons had not yet 
 come up. As usual in the better ranches, there was 
 a good supply of ice here. While waiting for our 
 party in the great room of the ranche, I could not 
 help feeling intensely amused at the manners and 
 customs of the labourers at these establishments. A 
 
KOOKY MOUNTAINS. 63 
 
 man would go out they were doing some building 
 work for some twenty or thirty minutes, then he 
 would come to the bar, take a " smile " of whiskey, 
 followed by a gulp of water (the usual style of mixing 
 grog in America), then he would cast his eye over a 
 paper, and resume his labours ; and so on, da capo. 
 
 The "prickly pear" begins to be seen pretty 
 freely in this neighbourhood. It is said to be very 
 good when cooked properly, but I imagine it is 
 something after the fashion of the " limestone " 
 broth in Lover's amusing anecdote. 
 
 After dinner, for which we had antelope venison, 
 extremely good, we made Spring ranche, and camped 
 by " Fremont's slue;" " slue" meaning, in Western 
 parlance, a small pond or dyke, generally rather 
 shallow. It occurred to me that in this region of 
 rattlesnakes we who slept " sub Jove " might find 
 them in unpleasant proximity some morning, but the 
 old hands assured us a buffalo robe was a charm 
 against them. Certain it is, no accidents do occur in 
 this way, and every one almost uses a robe in camp- 
 ing on the ground. 
 
 12i/i. The morning was cool, and we got under 
 weigh by 6.45 A.M. Here I began to feel the effects 
 of those wet nights in the waggon, in a pain in my 
 side, which was ominously like a little touch of 
 
C4 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 pleurisy. However, proceed we must, and the fine- 
 ness of the climate gave me confidence. Near Bob 
 Williams' ranclie we found the flora enriched by 
 multitudes of sun-flowers, smaller than ours, how- 
 ever. Here, too, were a number of Indian lodges, 
 generally beautifully made of white skin : often the 
 summer buffalo's, when the coat is shed. One of the 
 squaws was decked in a Paisley shawl ! 
 
 Quse regio in terris nostri non plena laboris ! 
 
 Passing by Baker's very neat ranche, and D' Or say 
 Station, we camped by the Platte, having made 
 about twenty-five miles. The fashion of the wells 
 here, which are shallower, reminds me of the old 
 style of Bible pictures. An upright, across which 
 works, on a pivot, a long pole, with the bucket tied 
 on to it ; thus forming a powerful leverage by which 
 water is very easily raised. Another feature in some 
 of these ranches, is the stocks in which the patient ox 
 is slung for shoeing, with the leg tied " a la Earey; " 
 for without shoes, soft and stoneless as the roads are, 
 the ox is apt to get foot-sore, specially in winter : but 
 it is an expensive process here, as eight shoes are 
 required for the double hoof. 
 
 13ft. At dawn we saw some " silver-footed ante- 
 lope," at which I took a four-hundred yard shot, 
 not being able to stalk them; but, apparently, hit 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 65 
 
 nothing. The sand here was very trying to the 
 eyes, and those who had prudently armed themselves 
 with " goggles " here donned them, and found their 
 advantage. Camping by the Platte we had the 
 advantage of a delicious hathe in its rapid current. 
 
 14/z. In the morning we could see no trace of 
 dew whatever, which was a great contrast to Kansas. 
 By the way, I forgot to record that we had now been 
 some days in the territory of Nebraska. It was 
 curious of a still morning to listen to the sound of 
 the bells, carried by at least one animal in each of 
 the herds which were toiling westwards. The bell 
 used is rather a large oblong shape of copper, and 
 makes a much pleasanter sound than the pert tinkle 
 of our sheep-bells. It seems to have a- curious effect 
 upon all animals, from the tiny bee upwards. 
 
 From Fort Kearney we had travelled generally in 
 a line with the California Telegraph, whose cedar 
 poles every now and then seemed fined down to a 
 dangerous degree by belated travellers short of wood. 
 Our party, who were eminently loyal, attributed this 
 to " secesh " a convenient cat now a days ; but I 
 could not help observing that if mischief to Uncle 
 Sam's property was intended, the wires would have 
 suffered. 
 
 Passing " Lone Tree " and " Diamond Spring," 
 
 5 
 
66 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 we come to " Star Kanche " or " California Cross- 
 ing," where was an excellent store belonging to 
 a Mr. Beauvais, a man who has accumulated a large 
 fortune in the Indian trade. The ranche was kept 
 by a half-caste young man of pleasant manners and 
 appearance, who gave us a little music. I think I 
 heard that Mr. Beauvais, like many of the trappers 
 and rancheros here, had wandered down from the 
 neighbourhood of Montreal. Prices here ranged very 
 high. Corn was 2 dolls. 80 cents per bushel, and 
 sugar, from 12 cents at St. Joe, had mounted up 
 to 40 cents. Passing " Buck Eye " ranche, we killed 
 a rattlesnake of considerable antiquity, and camped 
 again by the Platte, which here abounded in islands 
 full of osiers. These islands are peopled by beaver 
 and otter, which in winter are trapped at good profit ; 
 skins here somehow being actually dearer than in 
 the States. Badger, too, are pretty numerous here- 
 abouts, and I was assured made good pork. 
 
 15th. Our route lay this morning through a 
 sandy desert, the bottoms alone near the Platte 
 showing any verdure. We met a very large herd 
 of cattle of all sizes coming to the El Dorado from 
 the distant fields of Iowa. Here one of our most 
 staid ponies got a sudden fright, and our driver 
 tumbling by the pole had a narrow escape, but 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 67 
 
 actually wasn't hurt. Walking on in advance, I 
 knocked a rattlesnake on the head, and took eight 
 rattles from him : on this occasion, the rattles alone 
 warned me of his proximity. 
 
 At Julesburg, the road branches off to California, 
 and we here bid good-by to the telegraph. Here I 
 met a man who gave me a most wonderful account 
 of the Beece river silver mines in Nevada. He 
 said, he considered he had made his fortune in a 
 single year, and was sending for his family. Leaving 
 Julesburg, we passed over a series of sandy bluffs, 
 very straining for the ponies. Attempts have been 
 made to patch these sand spots with loam from the 
 bottoms, as in rain an amalgam is thus formed. 
 Walking on, we met a rattlesnake, and chased him 
 into a hole, out of which I pulled him, and threw 
 him in the air ; which enraged him so much that he 
 bit himself to death : he had not got his rattles 
 yet, a distinction between these reptiles and babies. 
 Passing " Ackley's ranche," a better mud-house, we 
 camped. I took the opportunity of walking across 
 the Platte, which here is from a quarter to half a 
 mile in width, and rapid in parts ; it gives the idea, 
 with its shifting currents and sand-spots, of a tide 
 receding from a broad strand. 
 
 16th. So dry is the air that some clothes I left 
 
 52 
 
68 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 to dry late last night, are all but fit to wear this 
 morning. It is a comfort, if one is " afflicted in 
 the feet" in these plains, that there is no "gamin" 
 to torment you with an inquiry for " your poor feet." 
 The valley widens here as we move along, and the 
 bluffs on the south side of the river assume an 
 appearance reminding me of the Wicklow hills on 
 the Kildare side of Dublin; the north side, which 
 is not so much travelled over, seems rich in grass. 
 More sandy bluffs had to be passed, and, as we 
 got to the top of one, there was a very pretty view 
 of the Platte, which extended into a basin and was 
 studded with green islets, quite as pretty, I thought, 
 in their small way, as the " thousand islands " in 
 the St. Lawrence, which I never quite appreciated. 
 Passing the toll-gate, or rather portcullis made of 
 a pole which is raised for free passage by paying a 
 dollar and a half for each waggon going, and half a 
 dollar returning we came, without further adventure 
 than killing a watersnake mottled beautifully like 
 a panther, to Spring Hill Station, which bore evi- 
 dence of the saw-mills near Denver. We then 
 camped at Lillian Springs, where the heaven was 
 illuminated with lightning more fantastic than any 
 fireworks ; but there was no rain. At this ranche 
 I felt convinced, by a fence I saw, that an English- 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 69 
 
 man or Irishman had been at work, so I went in, 
 and found it tenanted by a North of Ireland man ; 
 he had left a good farm in Illinois on account of 
 the war, which he disapproved of, and, as he con- 
 sidered talking a thirsty process, he insisted on my 
 joining him in some whiskey, modified by a cordial 
 much approved of, I believe, called the "Good 
 Samaritan." I had my fears as to the results, but 
 they proved groundless. 
 
 17th. Some of our party last night heard " the 
 wolf's long howl on Colorado's shore," to parody 
 Campbell's line. In this trip we have only met the 
 prairie wolf, a mean, skulking-looking thing, without 
 the pace or dash of the fox, though like it ; but 
 the grey wolf is quite " another guess sort of 
 crittur :" large and lank he is, capable of great 
 mischief; but the enormous number of dead cattle 
 along the road, keep him too well fed to be dan- 
 gerous. A ranche man told me he poisoned with 
 strychnine thirty-nine one night, besides foxes : the 
 latter are very small, and would, I'm sure, give a 
 very poor account of themselves in a five-minute 
 scurry with any scratch pack of fox-hounds. 
 
 Soon after starting we met a lot of waggons from 
 Missouri, and a very large herd of cattle, among which 
 were some nice-looking Durhams. The "boss "of 
 
70 BAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the team (man, not ox) told us he had been caught a 
 few days back in a severe hailstorm, and lost three 
 cows, some of the best, too, by lightning. I ad- 
 mired the " sang froid" with which he recounted 
 his losses, saying he was only too thankful he had 
 escaped so well himself. He had a very fine Here- 
 ford ox, foot-sore, about which he was anxious, as 
 he said it weighed some 1,500 Ibs. It is surprising 
 how well some of these herds look, considering they 
 travel twenty miles a day on an average. Cows 
 seem very cheap in this part of the country; good 
 ones only selling at twenty-five dollars, or five 
 pounds. Some of the people in his party had 
 caught a very large "cat-fish," baiting with a frog, 
 while we only bagged small fry, fishing with meat, 
 or a grasshopper. 
 
 Storms on these plains are not uncommon even 
 in May, and are extremely violent ; in winter num- 
 bers of cattle succumb under their violence, when 
 hay and shelter cannot be found for a long dis- 
 tance. It is not long since one eminent firm lost 
 nearly three hundred in this way. " Denison's 
 ranche " we made by 9 A.M., then toiling over more 
 sand, where wild sage and wormwood was the sole 
 vegetation, passed " Valley Station," and camped 
 some three miles beyond it. "We killed a jack 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 71 
 
 rabbit, or prairie hare, en route, but could not use 
 him, as his long ears had been assailed by nasty 
 parasites " collecta sorde dolentes." 
 
 18th. In the morning I hobbled on over some 
 more arid plains to Moore and Kelly's ranche ; there 
 we learnt by a Denver paper that the thermometer 
 there indicates 105 ; and I hardly think it can be 
 less here. This state of things leads one to appre- 
 ciate Isaiah's beautiful simile of the shadow of a 
 Great Kock in a weary land. 
 
 There were several Indian lodges here, and 
 we got the men to shoot at a mark with their bows 
 and arrows ; their practice was not wonderful, and I 
 think Mr. Ford would have made them open their 
 eyes rather wide. The bows, which were small, were 
 made like the ancient Oriental pattern, curving in 
 towards the centre, and consisted of a piece of 
 hickory beautifully wrapped round with buffalo fibre, 
 so as almost to look like a solid piece of timber. 
 One of the lads was handsome, and might have sat 
 for a study of an Italian organ-boy. Nearly all the 
 Indians have faultless teeth, a great contrast to 
 their white supplanters. It is said that many of the 
 F. F. V.'s, as the Yankees call the aristocracy of 
 Virginia (first families of Virginia), have a cross 
 of Indian blood in their veins ; and for antiquity, 
 
72 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 what can beat it, save the Hebrew, to which it is said 
 to be cognate ? 
 
 Passing Beaver Creek, we camped about 7 P.M. 
 I find the emigration has made pasture on the 
 banks of the Platte very scarce, reminding one of 
 the rivers drunk up by Darius' army : " Epotaque 
 flumina Medo prandente." 
 
 Our camping ground and its vicinity was covered 
 with alkali, which is extremely common in these 
 latitudes, and gives names to places. " Some like 
 soda," as one of the party observed. 
 
 1.9th. The morning was cool, and we got an 
 unusually early start ; my ancle felt stronger, and my 
 side much the better for this dry clear air, which 
 gives an inexpressible feeling of lightness and 
 buoyancy. Bathing in a creek by the way, I got 
 passed by the waggons (which, like time and tide, 
 wait for no man), and had to walk nine miles before 
 I could catch them far too much for my lame 
 ancle. At dinner-time I stalked a fine herd of 
 antelope, but lost my shot through good-naturedly 
 waiting for a passenger. There was a great deal of 
 mirage on the plains to-day a sort of smoky haze, 
 from which the Smoky Fork river is called. In 
 some lights it looks like a lake in the far distance. 
 Proceeding to Junction Station, so called from the 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 73 
 
 uniting of the North and South Forks of the Platte, 
 the sand looked so heavy that we concluded to 
 camp. 
 
 20J/&. Our fires were lit hefore 4 A.M., and we 
 were under weigh by 5.85, crossing more sandy and 
 arid plains, till we carne to Bijou Creek ; a dry water- 
 course now, but evidencing its being occasionally a 
 home for water, by the poplars which grew in 
 numbers about it. A young bull-dog had followed 
 us from Junction, and it was amusing to watch him 
 hunting an antelope ; the antelope, in turn, chasing 
 him back to the waggons when he was quite ex- 
 hausted, but still keeping out of range. Leaving this 
 creek and the ranche, which was a composite build- 
 ing between a " doby " and a stockade in the Grecian 
 style, we came to a deserted ranche, where we got 
 some wood. We camped soon after in the plain, with 
 scant prospect of fodder for our ponies, save the corn 
 we carried. I should have stated that we had left 
 the line of the Platte at Junction, and were going 
 to Denver by a short cut, known as the " Cut Off," 
 because saving fifteen miles ; but it is not popular, 
 owing to bad pasturage. 
 
 21s. There being no water for our cuisine, we 
 started at 4 A.M., and made Living Springs, a tidy 
 ranche of pine and shingle, by about 9 o'clock ; 
 
74 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 meeting any amount of game of all sorts, quite tame, 
 on the road. Had they an instinct of Sunday ? At 
 any rate I refused, point blank, to fire at them, as I 
 think created things should be exempted from every 
 species of persecution from man on this day. 
 
 Soon after we got a grand view of the Eocky Sierra, 
 partially capped with snow, with Pike's Peak and 
 Long's Peak on either side, standing like sentinels 
 keeping an everlasting watch. They did not tower 
 so far over their surrounding brethren as I expected, 
 considering they are among the high points of the 
 world ; but I suppose we were nearly a hundred 
 miles, if not more, from either. 
 
 At Living Springs a labourer seeing me reading a 
 novel or book of some kind, begged me to trade with 
 him, and I utterly confounded him, by making him a 
 present of my "travelling library." The Americans 
 are wonderful devourers of reading of all sorts ; and 
 their high standard of general intelligence and educa- 
 tion enables them to obtain a fair insight into any 
 subject, and to talk well about it. I have often been 
 surprised by the language of men in most subordinate 
 positions, well chosen, terse, and expressive ; and it 
 is this general diffusion of knowledge which appears 
 to me so incompatible with the low standard of the 
 press generally, compared with our own ! But then 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 75 
 
 ours is, I think we must confess, exclusively written 
 for what we should style the intelligent class ; theirs 
 for the mass, which devours the daily papers with an 
 avidity I never saw equalled : and truly they cannot 
 be said to be " too pure and good for human nature's 
 daily food." 
 
 The quantity of dead cows strewed along the 
 road was amazing ; and if phosphate of bone become 
 popular, these plains can supply any demand. After 
 breakfast, one of our hind wheels got into a rut, and 
 the tire being lose, it nearly turned inside out. No 
 smithy was within miles, but most fortunately two of 
 our passengers had commanded whalers, and were 
 rich in expedients; so we put in false spokes, and 
 lashed a cross piece athwart the wheel, till, I 
 believe, it was firmer than its fellow. Passing 
 Kiowa ranche, a two-story building, we came to 
 Box Alder ranche, and camped : the night was 
 very cold indeed. 
 
 22rccZ. We were under weigh by 4.20 A.M., and 
 came to " Cold Creek," shooting a prairie dog 
 by the way, as here we found them very bold 
 indeed; then we got to the toll-gate, on the 
 portcullis plan, and here we breakfasted : and for 
 as much as the next stage was to bring us to 
 Denver, the ladies of our party made themselves 
 
76 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 very smart, and emerged soon in very different 
 " form " from their chrysalis travelling state. 
 
 I would gladly have said a few words about the 
 party who formed " our crowd," did not space 
 oppose it ; but one of our lady travellers was so 
 interesting, and made herself so agreeable, and came 
 out, moreover, under such romantic circumstances, 
 that I must say one word about her. Born in New 
 York State, her family settled in Texas, and her lover 
 migrated to Denver, to practise law there ; which it 
 appears he did very successfully. To wed him she 
 undertook this long pilgrimage. Fortunately there 
 was no hitch, as her " legal friend" drove up near 
 this place, and took her in his carriage home ; and 
 next day they were man and wife : so easily is the 
 knot tied here. 
 
 At the toll-gate we found three prairie dogs in a 
 kind of cage in the form of a house, with a revolving 
 cylinder of zinc, attached to it ; they seemed rather 
 a happy family, .and eat corn. 
 
 A few more miles over rolling arid prairies brought 
 us once more in sight of the wooded fringe of the 
 Platte, and in a short time, lo ! Denver disclosed 
 itself, nestling in a snug corner of the Platte valley, 
 which is here narrow enough, and separated from 
 the great mountain wall by a plain of about twelve 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 77 
 
 miles. With its bright new paint, and new brick 
 buildings, the town looked very picturesque, and 
 I was much impressed by the smartness of the 
 inhabitants ; for we received numerous invitations 
 from "touters" mounted on horseback, to patronize 
 their different establishments. The "necropolis" 
 of this town lies to the left as you enter, and is very 
 neatly kept. 
 
 A few minutes more deposited me at the Tremont 
 House, a capital hotel, where I was fortunate 
 enough to secure a bed and room to myself; as I 
 discovered by the evening, when " shakes-down " 
 anywhere were the order of the night. In the 
 younger days of Denver, before hotels had attained 
 even their present development, a bed was deemed 
 quite a luxury; men generally brought a robe and 
 blanket with them, and only wanted a spot to place 
 them in. Now, after nearly a week's experience, I 
 can testify to the great comfort of this establishment, 
 and to its excellent cuisine. It is true, that it is 
 conducted on the most republican principles of social 
 equality; the only qualifications required for ad- 
 mission to its hospitalities being Caucasian descent, 
 for I do not think the President of Hayti himself 
 the greatest man of the proscribed race I can at 
 this moment recall would be admitted to its fellow- 
 
78 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 ship, and sufficient luggage to make the proprietor 
 tolerably safe for a few days. But this, after all, it 
 shares in common with most tables d'hote, whether 
 on land or sea. 
 
 It was rather an amusing study to observe the dif- 
 ferent classes who here assemble. Conspicuous by 
 their uniforms are the Colorado volunteer officers, 
 who, in some numbers, seem to live in this house ; 
 then bankers and gold-dust brokers, speculators 
 from the east, mechanics about to engage in opera- 
 tions in the mining districts, merchants and their 
 clerks, tradespeople, and every now and then some 
 " rough and tumble " looking miners, who have 
 come down hither to spend a little money and see 
 the world : and, I must say, all classes behave with 
 a decorum and self-respect, which, in England, we 
 should hardly expect to find universal. Indeed, 
 having heard much of the primitive manners and 
 customs of the far West, it is disappointing to find 
 merely a variation of the civilized world located here. 
 One feels inclined to think that, now-a-days, what 
 Byron said of a small privileged class, is true of a 
 far larger one, 
 
 Society is now one polish'd horde 
 
 Form'd of two mighty tribes, the bores and bor'd. 
 
 As far as Denver is concerned, this arises from the 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 79 
 
 fact of every man in the territory having been an 
 " advena," not born in it ; for this territory of 
 Colorado is still, if we count by years, in its very 
 babyhood but a Hercules in swaddling-clothes ; 
 and to pursue the analogy, it has already strangled 
 the serpents which menaced its cradle, in the shape 
 of the Indians, whose domain it was ; and who now 
 beg, where a few years ago, they were lords para- 
 mount. The very county in which this young city of 
 Denver has raised its head is called " Arapahoe 
 Co," from the Indian nation of that name, which, 
 however, is generally diminutived into " Kapahoe." 
 
 I do not think that one Englishman in a thousand 
 is aware of the existence of this vast tract of land ; 
 which, from present appearances, bids fair to become, 
 in a very few years, one of the richest jewels in 
 the crown of whatever dominion shall then claim 
 its allegiance and fealty. Nor, should he search 
 for it in any old map, will he be able to find its 
 " local habitation," or even name ; for the latter it 
 only assumed three years since. " Colorado ! " he 
 will be sure to associate it with the " Colorados 
 Claros," of which if a man of good taste he will 
 have such a lively appreciation ; and may probably 
 conceive it to be a near neighbour to that glorious 
 valley which blesses the world with its Cabanas, 
 
80 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 Xapoleones, Regalias, &c. It is but a few short 
 years since geographers described it as the great 
 American desert a Sahara, " domibus negata," 
 and about twenty since Kit Carson and the present 
 General Fremont explored some portions of it ; with 
 a view, not to settlement, but to establish a com- 
 munication between the eastern and western portions 
 of the United States. 
 
 Yet in this town, which numbers some five thou- 
 sand inhabitants, and where you can get Wilkie 
 Collins's last romantic puzzle, meringues a la creme, 
 and see the Colleen Bawn rescued from her abyss 
 of blue tarlatan, you might four years ago have 
 counted the shanties on your five fingers, and, pro- 
 bably, bought them for a very few dollars. Indeed, 
 it was not till the year 1859, that Denver assumed 
 anything at all resembling the proportions of a 
 town, and only last year the best part of it was 
 burnt down ; but it has already risen from its ashes 
 in renewed splendour, and the civic authorities are 
 reversing the old revolutionary cry of " Guerre aux 
 chateaux, paix aux chaurnieres," for they are arrest- 
 ing the progress of wooden buildings and shanties, 
 and insist that Denver rich shall dwell in brick or 
 stone mansions. 
 
 Carriage across the plains being so expensive, 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 81 
 
 every effort is naturally made to make the place as 
 independent and self-supporting as possible, and 
 nature has assisted this endeavour to a great 
 extent, by furnishing in the neighbourhood almost 
 everything necessary for civilized man. Thus, fur- 
 naces are being established for smelting the iron ore, 
 which is found in large quantities and very pure ; 
 coal is procured close to the surface without any 
 labour ; and though the land cannot yet compete with 
 California or Salt Lake in its yield of cereals, its 
 capacities are very superior to most of the eastern 
 states, and to European soil generally, even in this 
 respect ; while for raising vegetables, it is, perhaps, 
 unequalled ; potatoes, cabbages, and beets attaining 
 proportions here, which I am almost afraid to record, 
 for fear of being suspected of exaggeration. Mindful 
 of the old Joe Miller, of the huge cabbage and huge 
 iron pot, I will be silent about that plant, but will 
 content myself by saying, that the yield of potatoes 
 may be averaged at two hundred bushels per acre, 
 without any manuring and scarcely any tillage, while 
 single tubers of several pounds weight are not un- 
 common. Indeed, here and in Kansas, I was con- 
 tinually reminded of Douglas Jerrold's Ion mot about 
 Australian soil " tickle it with a hoe, and it laughs 
 with a harvest." 
 
 6 
 
82 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 The average of Indian com has been about forty 
 bushels per acre; wheat has been generally about 
 that standard, and oats above it, while beans and 
 peas give a very good return. However, farming is 
 in its first stage as yet, and the requirements of the 
 peculiar soil and climate are scarcely studied: cer- 
 tainly, as yet, they are by no means understood. 
 For the history of farming here is simply this : at 
 first, every new comer hies to the mines, and prospects 
 for claims, if an early arrival ; if a late one, either 
 buys one or assists in working an already developed 
 " lead." As he is rarely even a small capitalist, his 
 resources begin to fail ; in most cases the yield of 
 his " gulch diggings" or " quartz mining" does not 
 support him ; his only resource then is to " prospect " 
 for a likely ranche, and as numberless streams pour 
 down from the Kocky Mountains, he selects a spot, 
 builds a log-house and fences as much of the 160 
 acres custom allows him as he thinks he can till : 
 and so he works on ; but nearly always with the 
 intention of resuming mining operations so soon as 
 he can raise sufficient capital, either by continuing 
 cultivation or selling his " claim " to some later 
 adventurer than himself. 
 
 But it is as a stock-raising country that this dis- 
 trict merits most consideration. Poor as the grasses 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 83 
 
 look, and sandy as the plains show, representing 
 save in the bottom lands close by the creeks or 
 streams running from the mountains all the shades 
 of brown paper, they contain the most marvellous 
 fattening properties for all sorts of cattle and horses ; 
 the distances performed by the latter when merely 
 fed on this grass and the condition they keep 
 is almost incredible ; while cattle turned out poor 
 in autumn become fat by spring, and manage to get 
 on very well, even in snowy weather, without any hay. 
 Sheep have hardly been introduced in sufficient 
 numbers to justify any conclusion being drawn about 
 the profits to be derived from them as an article of 
 commerce ; but, looking at the high price wool is 
 likely to command for some time, and to the enor- 
 mous profit derived from sheep-farms in New Mexico, 
 which is very similarly circumstanced to Colorado, 
 I have no doubt that a flock of sheep, if properly 
 watched and duly protected from wolves, by " coral- 
 ling " at night, would yield a farmer a fortune in a 
 very few years. 
 
 Owing to a slight remaining weakness in my 
 bruised leg, I have not been able, as yet, to visit the 
 mining districts, or penetrate far into the mountains. 
 One excursion, however, in which I carried a rod and 
 line and baited with the grasshoppers I found on 
 
 62 
 
84 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 my path, fully repaid me for the climbing and toil 
 it entailed, not only by a basket of very fine trout 
 caught with great ease, but by the infinite variety 
 of scenery which it afforded to the view. On one 
 side of the sierra there were grassy slopes and beauti- 
 ful woody glades, while the other side resembled the 
 wildest scenes in Dalecarlia, which the last Exhibition 
 has so familiarized to us ; every now and then, 
 by the margin of the mountain torrent, one had to 
 struggle through masses of wild hops, seringas, 
 clematis, vines, hazels, gooseberries, wild -currants, 
 and cherry-bushes ; with mahonias, and a few ferns 
 a little higher up the side, and quantities of lupines, 
 hair-bells, and China primroses. Then the fra- 
 grance of the pine-wood is the most subtilely deli- 
 cate I know, and would, I am convinced, become 
 infinitely more popular than Frangipanni or wild 
 violets, could Messrs. Piesse et Lubin only catch 
 its fragrance as it flies ; and as they have generally 
 succeeded in arresting the volatile essences and giving 
 them for use to the community, I commend this task 
 to them. 
 
 Though I have not yet visited the gold mines, I 
 have been to some pains to obtain reliable informa- 
 tion with regard to their yield, or the expectations of 
 it. Hitherto it may be said that the adventurers who 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 85 
 
 came out during the last five years have done every 
 thing one sees in the shape of improvement ; and, 
 as they brought out barely any capital, it follows that 
 the civilization before one is derived from the gold 
 yield : in addition, it is estimated that twenty millions 
 of dollars, prior to this year, have been sent on to the 
 States during that period no small yield, considering 
 the quartz-mills have only been lately introduced, and 
 that the methods of extracting the precious metal 
 are still very imperfect. However, now that capital 
 is slowly beginning to pour in, there is no doubt 
 that great results may be anticipated during the next 
 five years; for it is admitted that, cord for cord 
 a measure of 128 cubic feet, generally applied to 
 wood measurement the quartz in Colorado is far 
 richer than in California : and I believe the quality 
 of the gold is also considered superior. To show the 
 unsatisfactory nature of the processes used for ex- 
 tracting the precious metals hitherto, I may mention 
 that some recent experiments on a new principle 
 made on " the tailings " have shown them to be 
 capable of yielding much more than the original ore. 
 The high price of labour which varies from five 
 and six to two and a half dollars per diem militates 
 of course greatly against the full development of the 
 mining capabilities of this auriferous region ; but 
 
86 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 though the wages be high, there is no scarcity of 
 "hands." The attractions of the gold-fields, com- 
 bined with the wish to escape " anywhere, any- 
 where " from a fratricidal war, have caused an 
 enormous " stampede " of working men from the 
 Western States especially ; and, though this number 
 has been much thinned by corresponding movements 
 to even remoter gold-fields in Washington and Ore- 
 gon, there is still a large supply available : though, as 
 usual, the employers, looking to the high wages they 
 have to give, consider it far below their wants and 
 wishes. Tradesmen here can generally average from 
 four to six dollars a day, and assistants, who in 
 England would hardly aspire to earning anything, 
 can often command as much as two and three dollars 
 a day, with board. A gunsmith, with whom I had 
 some conversation, assured me he would be too glad 
 to give English lads, who had been accustomed to 
 work at his trade, as much as three dollars a day 
 with board and lodgings; and I may mention that 
 the lads who wait at table in this hotel get from 
 thirty to forty dollars per month, while the cook 
 who finds, however, his two assistant boys gets as 
 much as 150 dollars per month. 
 
 From what I had always heard of the "rowdy 
 proclivities " of dwellers in gold regions, I expected 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 87 
 
 that Denver would have proved no exception, con- 
 sidering its origin and its remoteness from the soi- 
 disant regions of civilization; but I confess that 
 since my arrival though that period embraces the 
 great American carnival, the 4th of July I have 
 seen nothing approaching to turbulence or disturb- 
 ance of any land : indeed, I have not seen a drunken 
 man yet, which is saying a great deal for a country 
 where " smiling" is the general rule, and where the 
 means of intoxication are so ready and so cheap ; 
 in fine, I think the famous despatch may be paro- 
 died into " Order reigns in Denver City." In 
 the earlier days of the town, no doubt, there were 
 many scenes of violence and homicide enacted, and 
 horse-stealing, the great crime of the West, was 
 very rife; but when the evil became intolerable, 
 " vigilance committees " arose, and dealt so sternly 
 and summarily with the criminals, that the slower 
 process of law is now amply sufficient for the re- 
 quirements of society, and vindicates the majesty 
 of justice whenever such majesty is supposed to be 
 outraged. 
 
 Like all mining countries, where fortune is made 
 a goddess and given a place in the hierarchy of 
 the sky, gambling goes on to a most unlimited 
 extent, and counts its votaries by the hundreds. 
 
83 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 The worship, it is true, is not conducted in very 
 stately temples, nor are the hierophants very dis- 
 tinguished for gifts and graces; but then, like the 
 " portal of black Dis " (" nocte dieque patet atri janua 
 Ditis "), fortune is accessible at all hours of day and 
 night to " noble sportsmen," and may be wooed 
 at monte, faro, rouge et noir, and a game which 
 resembles " blind hookey," but which is known here 
 as " blind buck." The only meretricious or adven- 
 titious excitements I ever saw in the salons de jeu, 
 were a couple of musicians, on a dai's at the extreme 
 end, playing to very inattentive ears. I have been 
 told that the " upper ten " for an aristocracy forms 
 even here eschew these popular resorts, and worship 
 with closed doors ; but to their esoteric mysteries I 
 have not yet been admitted. 
 
 I have little doubt that when the Pacific Railway, 
 already begun, has brought the Rocky Mountains 
 within the limits, or nearly so, of a long vacation 
 tour, Denver and its entourage will become so essen- 
 tially a part of the grand tour which tradition and 
 fashion have combined to render obligatory on the 
 Englishman, that I must not omit a few words about 
 climate, which is so essential a condition not only to 
 life, but especially to travellers' life. 
 
 When I first arrived, I was greatly struck by the 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 89 
 
 different appearances of the faces here from the 
 eastern visages I had just left. There, -dyspepsia 
 or the effects of fever and ague, or consumption, 
 were too plainly written to be ignored by any passer- 
 by, on a very large per-centage of the population ; 
 here I see nothing but health visible, and with it 
 that enjoyment of every-day humdrum life which 
 is, probably, as infallible a sign as any other of the 
 " mens sana in corpore sano " which, perhaps, we 
 prize so highly on account of its rarity. 
 
 During this month the heat is, no doubt, exces- 
 sive, the thermometer standing sometimes as high 
 as 100 in the shade ; but still it is a very bear- 
 able heat, and the nights and mornings are delicious. 
 The winters are extremely short and pleasant ; a fall 
 of ten or twelve days snow, during which the sun is 
 generally warm at mid-day, constituting the cold sea- 
 son. Then, in the height of summer the "tierra 
 caliente" can be exchanged in a few hours for the 
 pleasanter regions of the " tierra templada," or even 
 for the snows and frost of the Range which towers 
 continually over its lower tiers of subject hills ; and in 
 the entire district the general absence of dampness 
 and rain gives a buoyancy and feeling of zest and 
 exhilaration which is rarely met in European lati- 
 tudes. 
 
90 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 The inducements to travel to these regions are 
 so numerous and varied, that I shall mention a 
 few of them very cursorily. The Doctor Syntax 
 school can here find the heautiful and picturesque in 
 the amplest and wildest profusion ; while the lover 
 of the grand and majestic in nature, can here see 
 his wildest dream realized. To the sportsman these 
 mountains offer unlimited resources, and a climate 
 where, during winter and summer, he may " camp 
 out," needing nothing but the skins of wild animals, 
 and, perhaps, a blanket or two for protection ; while 
 the range of large game is unequalled, except, per- 
 haps, in Africa and India. There is nearly every variety 
 of the deer tribe, from the elk to the antelope ; also 
 mountain sheep, mountain lions, a large species of 
 puma, wolves, bears, and, if he chooses to descend to 
 the plains, buffalo-hunting : which, however, to me 
 has little more attraction than hunting the "calf" 
 in merry England. The fisherman will find the trout 
 in the upper waters of the rivers, which find their 
 sources among these everlasting hills, very large 
 and very accessible, and a large variety of other 
 fish which to him will probably be entirely new ; 
 while to the scientific traveller, the flora and the 
 " crust " of the earth will present an endless and 
 ever-interesting study. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 91 
 
 I have already spoken of the advantages these 
 regions offer to the farmer and artisan, and will 
 only add, that I believe the small capitalist of a few 
 hundreds, or fewer thousands of pounds, can here 
 find most profitable and comparatively safe invest- 
 ments for his means ; as the resources of the country 
 are being daily developed, and enterprise is un- 
 bounded, only waiting for its lever capital. 
 
 I will only add that, should these few lines about 
 a very interesting country, induce any one to follow 
 my traces, I will recommend the " party " (which 
 word is now accepted as signifying many or one) 
 neither to travel by the stage-coach, nor do as I did, 
 but to purchase his own conveyance at any of the 
 outfitting places in Kansas or Missouri ; and in the 
 enhanced value of his teams westwards he will find 
 his expenses almost covered. 
 
92 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Talking of the Alps, the Apennines, the Pyreneean, and the Po. 
 
 To persons about to cross the plains, and visit the 
 Colorado portion of the Rocky Mountain slopes, I 
 will volunteer the following advice, drawn from a not 
 very agreeable experience. 
 
 Don't fancy that because this is an age of capitals, 
 and because Paris is France, Denver represents the 
 agremens, or gives an adequate idea of the territory of 
 which it is the metropolis though, " more Ameri- 
 cano," not the political capital (well may Yankee 
 politicians as a rule shun the publicity of a large 
 city). And, more especially if the season be that of 
 the summer solstice, avoid making a sojourn there of 
 more than a very few days consecutively ; for I verily 
 believe that Sirius has had it under his special guar- 
 dianship and protection in this year of grace. I 
 can most conscientiously aver, after a tropical expe- 
 rience of several years, that I never was in a human 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 9B 
 
 bakery so fiercely heated as this Palmyra of the desert ; 
 and never no, not even in the sandy streets of King- 
 ston, Jamaica, or the sun-smitten terraces of Montego 
 Bay knew I heat so pervasive, so almost omnipresent 
 and omnipotent as here. Indeed, I would suggest to 
 some enterprising and more humane Teutons than 
 their brethren in Strasburg, that a colony of northern 
 geese might be developed into " foie gras " on the 
 banks of the Platte far more naturally, argal, far 
 better than by any artificial caloric ; and as miners 
 (the word may also be spelt with an o), like sailors, 
 reck little the expense when appetite is in question, 
 I think a bright field for enterprise, hitherto unex- 
 plored and untrodden, lies open to the bold caterer 
 to popular gastronomy. 
 
 It was my fate to discover, after waiting patiently 
 for letters, that my budget had been mis-sent to some 
 place in Nebraska ; and not wishing to lose them by 
 haying them forwarded to some point further west, I 
 determined to abide patiently till the long course of 
 posts the "Parcae" of modern life should bring 
 them to their original destination. In the meantime 
 I managed to pick up an attack of fever and ague, by 
 bathing in the cold waters of the Platte during the 
 heat of the day ; which I was informed (after the evil 
 was done, of course) was the very acme of impru- 
 
94 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 dence, as all similar ablutions should be either 
 postponed to the Greek kalends (a suggestion intoler- 
 able to the bold Briton, whose cleanliness is popularly 
 supposed to move "paripassu" with his devotion), 
 or else be performed at a very early hour of the morn- 
 ing, before the sun has got quite " fixed up " for the 
 day, or Aurora has left the saffron couch of Tithonus.* 
 And yet, in spite of these stings and arrows of out- 
 rageous fortune or, dropping the Ercle's vein, unto- 
 ward circumstances I can't find it in my heart to 
 malign this port and happy haven to many a traveller 
 over the American steppes, and which I hailed with 
 such pleasure after a month's trajet over that vast 
 land-ocean ; nor will I shake off the dust of my feet 
 unkindly now that I am in the purer region of the 
 Sierra, and some six or seven thousand feet above it, 
 and upwards of eleven thousand from the sea's level : 
 nay, I will rather accept the plea put in by the inha- 
 bitants who for the most part, architects of their 
 own fortunes, and architects of Denver likewise, are 
 extremely proud of their own creation that this year 
 is, for heat and drought, exceptional ; that the sur- 
 rounding plains, which now represent in hue the 
 various qualities of sugar to be seen sampled in a 
 broker's office, from the clayed Havanna to the dark 
 
 * Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile. 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 95 
 
 produce of Guiana, are sometimes comparatively green 
 at this season, and clothed with succulent herbage ; 
 and that the oldest inhabitant (of four years' standing) 
 never did experience such heat, and such dust. 
 
 Let me rather incline to the belief that I visited 
 Denver at the most unfavourable time, when the 
 prairie-flower was not in her best looks or most 
 agreeable temper (there is a city, too, on the banks 
 of the Thames, generally voted unsavoury in August) 
 for cities and flowers are, as our neighbours, d' 'outre 
 manche, say, " journaliers ; " and sure " even in the 
 loveliest climes light breezes will ruffle the flowers 
 sometimes." Indeed I am quite ready to credit, 
 what every expert declares, that the winters and late 
 autumns are here unrivalled " world-beaters," as a 
 friend of mine said the other day : for a Yankee 
 thinks it a small thing to beat a neighbour or a rival ; 
 and as, according to his creed, America in 1812 boldly 
 went to war with France and England, and challenged 
 the world, " non sine gloria," so in comparisons, 
 creation alone will satisfy the circle of his criticism. 
 
 " Est ubi plus tepeant hiemes ? " "Where, though 
 fires late and . early are welcomed, an overcoat is a 
 superfluity as a rule, and very often a linen ephod 
 is a sufficient protection from the " inclementia 
 coeli." Indeed, spite of detention, my recollections 
 
96 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 of Denver are pleasant enough in many respects. 
 Though I cannot recall any vision of very fair women, 
 the better part of creation, if sparsely, was not un- 
 worthily represented; and at the churches, if the 
 inward adornment was symbolized by the neatness 
 and good taste of the bonnets and dresses, the pastors 
 may well be proud of their polyglot flocks Dutch, 
 French, Irish, Poles, &c. 
 
 Apropos of churches, how is it that in almost every 
 part of America that I have visited, the musical por- 
 tion of the service is conducted with an amount of 
 good taste and care which I confess I have found 
 much to seek in out-of-the-way places in England, 
 and in corresponding spots in the Emerald Isle 
 is altogether wanting? It cannot be for lack of 
 materials, for I believe that, owing to the general 
 prevalence of lung complaints in America, the voices 
 of a given number of men and women would be found 
 to contain more harmonious quality in the Old Coun- 
 try than here, if speaking be any test. But without 
 pretending to assign a cause for the result, or sug- 
 gesting that the voluntary system has anything to do 
 with it, I merely state the fact, that in this respect I 
 think our cousins have set us an example worthy of 
 all imitation ; and I may add that in the Episcopal 
 and Catholic churches which I visited in Denver, 
 
KOOKY MOUNTAINS. 97 
 
 I found the magnificent services of both rituals per- 
 formed in a manner which surprised me, considering 
 the locality, and the fact that the Anglo-Saxon un- 
 like the Spaniard is generally supposed to care first 
 for his mill and factory before his thoughts diverge to 
 church extension. 
 
 Indeed, I must say that all over the States, so 
 far as my wanderings have led me, I have found 
 almost invariably the greatest attention paid to what 
 may be termed the " sensational element," such as 
 music and floral decoration; which, if condemned 
 by the severe Iconoclastic school, appears to my un- 
 sophisticated reason a beautiful dedication of good 
 gifts to the Giver of all blessings : at any rate it has 
 the virtue of withdrawing the attention from the 
 general poverty and meanness of the temples here, in 
 an architectural point of view. I shall not easily 
 forget the glorious and jubilant profusion of violets 
 and camelias which adorned a church in New York 
 that I attended on Easter Sunday, recalling as they 
 did the idea of the Queen's apparel, as sung by 
 the projector of the most glorious temple ever pro- 
 bably raised by piety to the service of the King of 
 Heaven. 
 
 While thus digressing on the subject of taste in 
 matters ecclesiastic, I may add that, me judice, in 
 
 7 
 
98 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the mammon of unrighteousness also, our cousins 
 have in some notable respects shot ahead of us. I 
 allude particularly to shops and their decorations : 
 not to mention the stores of New York, some of 
 which, such as Stuart's, Ball and Black's, and 
 Brooks', names taken au hasard as they recur to 
 me, are for proportion, organization, and internal 
 decoration unapproached by anything in London ; 
 though I have no doubt their contents would be easily 
 surpassed by those of many corresponding houses of 
 far less pretensions there. But even in Denver one 
 or two of the stores, the value of whose stock was 
 probably intrinsically small, displayed a neatness and 
 good taste in their arrangements which we might in 
 vain look for in larger towns in England ; a result to 
 be attributed, I suppose, to the great French element 
 in this continent, and to the admiration there exists 
 for everything French, which has continued a 
 national sentiment ever since the days of Lafayette 
 and Kochambeau. 
 
 In summing up judicially the case of Travellers 
 v. Denver, I must not forget one favourable consi- 
 deration ; namely, its universally diffused prosperity, 
 I saw there no signs of poverty ; and I believe every 
 man, woman, and child enjoys there all that is 
 externally necessary for life and happiness, unless 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 99 
 
 a higher civilization has raised any one above the 
 level of the ordinary sources of gratification : and 
 such a class will probably not be found within its 
 precincts for many a year. This circumstance ought 
 to go far for a favourable verdict among Europeans, 
 at any rate. This general absence of the insignia and 
 livery of poverty and mendicity is certainly very strik- 
 ing to any one who knew Ireland before the famine ; 
 nay, to those who have travelled much in that country 
 even recently ; and it exists, generally speaking, all 
 over America, so far as I have gone. But the pro- 
 sperity of this little half-way station to the Pacific 
 (really third-way only), is eminently remarkable. 
 
 I have sometimes thought that much of that 
 inordinate spirit of self-laudation and bounce which 
 Europeans so commonly complain of as peculiarly 
 the " type Americaine," may be traced to the want 
 arising from never, or comparatively seldom, having 
 those sobering, humiliating, and yet elevating and 
 purifying feelings which contact and intercourse with 
 poverty and misery will call forth in natures not 
 wholly devoid of sympathy thoroughly exercised. 
 And this remark if true about men, will apply far 
 more to the case of women. 
 
 Then, surely in Denver, if anywhere, the dignity 
 of labour is vindicated ; for there, in the cool of the 
 
 72 
 
100 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 evening, after supper, outside the crack hotel and a 
 miracle it is considering " the where " will .you see 
 the high dignitaries of state (known hy the vulgar 
 sobriquet of "big hugs") " from the Governor down 
 to the clerk, not of the Crown, hut whatever corre- 
 sponds to it and even to the waiter lad who an hour 
 or two ago ministered to your wants all sitting 
 down peaceably together, smoking and chatting with- 
 out any embarras of condescension on one side, or 
 mauvaise honte on the other, but seemingly, if not 
 absolutely on a level, yet very nearly so. 
 
 A little attempt is made at social distinction by 
 the volunteer officers off duty ; but the feeling is 
 generally too strong against it, and no sin is ac- 
 counted more heinous than that of "putting on 
 style " by an officer : I should be sorry to be the 
 captain with such a reputation who led his company 
 into action ! 
 
 And yet there is a shibboleth, a test which no art 
 can evade, and a crucial test that must be endured 
 before this society, seemingly so radical in its 
 equality can be entered ; and that test is " race," nay 
 rather " skin." The sitter must be Caucasian de 
 rigueur, and woe be, even here, to the fairest of Ham's 
 
 * 
 
 descendants who should venture rashly to intrude 
 himself between the wind and their nobility. Thus, 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 101 
 
 for instance, the cook of the hotel, whose wages 
 are quite equal if not superior to the average of the 
 minor and medium livings in England, would no 
 more dream of sitting down where those waiter lads 
 are nicotising the atmosphere, than he would in the 
 presence of Jeff Davis himself; though he must 
 know full well that the Neiv York Tribune, his friend 
 Horace Greeley's organ, has an extensive circulation 
 in Denver, and that some of the inhabitants are 
 afflicted with what is popularly known as " nigger-on 
 the-hrainism :" for politics and social science are 
 two different things. The Yankees allow the pro- 
 position, but deny the corollary ; so the ban remains, 
 strong as ever : and it applies as well to the so-called 
 inferior races, such as the new and old Mexicans of 
 the lower caste (popularly known at least the 
 former as "greasers"), a dusky compound of Cas- 
 tilian and Indian blood. 
 
 The only prospect I can see for the removal of 
 such a stigma, seems to lie in the power of money ; 
 for the nigger out here will doubtless in some cases 
 accumulate wealth in time ; and this lever greater 
 than any ever wielded by Archimedes will, I think, 
 effect far more than any victory gained by coloured 
 arms, should such a result ever follow from the 
 arming of the sable race now progressing so fast 
 
102 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 throughout the North. For, let us not forget, that 
 in the war for independence, the blacks fought well 
 and truly for the liberty of their masters; and 
 American history has not Blinked this fact, though 
 the record of the requital of such service will be a 
 harder task for the historian to compile ! 
 
 While telling one's souvenirs of dry dusty Denver, 
 a paraphrase of the " dear dirty Dublin " alliteration, 
 familiar to all who ever sojourned in that city let 
 me not forget the military element which enters so 
 largely into the composition of the body social. 
 Colorado has, I think, furnished some 3,000 volun- 
 teers out of her population, now scant though so 
 rapidly increasing, of whom a considerable number 
 are quartered at the newly erected barracks, close 
 to Denver, called Camp Weld ; the remainder occupy 
 frontier posts, such as Forts Garland, Laramie, 
 and Lyons, to overawe the Indians, and afford 
 a modicum of protection to the settlers moving back- 
 wards and forwards over these enormous plains. 
 Though these troops have not taken any part in the 
 more historic scenes of the rebellion or civil war, 
 as I should more properly call it some of them 
 have done as " tall " fighting as any in the war 
 hitherto ; though, for want of proper trumpeters, 
 their fame, like that of other Agamemnons and 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 103 
 
 Cromwells guiltless of their country's blood, lias 
 been hidden under the ungrateful bushel of oblivion. 
 Be it mine to let in a flame of light for a momentary 
 space ! 
 
 It seems that, in 1862, the Texan Hangers 
 of whose fame as marksmen, riders, and frontier 
 men, the European world is not ignorant took it 
 into their heads to besiege Fort Union, between 
 Denver and Santa Fe, then thinly garrisoned ; with 
 a view of securing the arms and munitions of war 
 then so much desiderated by the Confederacy, and 
 also of occupying it as a post of vantage ground, 
 which would give them a key to New Mexico and 
 Colorado, and enable them to cut off the enormous 
 waggon traffic which exists between these places and 
 the Eastern cities. No sooner, however, did the 
 Colorado " boys " hear of this, than they hurried by 
 forced marches to attack the invading force; and 
 after a few sharp skirmishes and a sort of battle at 
 Valverde and Pigeon Kanche, when for the num- 
 bers, I believe, the losses were heavy they com- 
 pelled the Texans to make a most disastrous 
 retreat across the mountains, abandoning their 
 waggon trains, and losing a great number of their 
 force in the retreat, from cold and want in the moun- 
 tain passes. Since then the "Lone Star" State, 
 
104 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 mindful of this heavy blow and great discourage- 
 ment, has directed her energies to other quarters, 
 and has amply redeemed at Galveston the laurels 
 lost in this raid. 
 
 The Colorado volunteers are very proud of their 
 achievements on this occasion, and boast themselves 
 about the "toughest cusses"* in the "Western 
 army ; which, in turn, vaunts its superiority, and, 
 I think, not altogether without reason, over the 
 eastern Federal troops : who, however, have recently 
 when moved west, showed good fighting qualities, 
 when well handled. Witness the last campaign in 
 Tennessee ! They are a very rough-looking and 
 undisciplined body, but like Joey B , are, doubt- 
 less, rough and tough, and ready too, and, if well 
 drilled and officered, would, I ana sure, be a formid- 
 able force to encounter ; but in their present organi- 
 zation they do not look very different from guerillas 
 (" des brigands," as a French traveller I encountered 
 in Nebraska called them), save in a certain uni- 
 formity of arms and attire. This, however, has its 
 limits for officers and men : some affect the kepe or 
 French cap, others the sombrero, peculiarly charac- 
 teristic of western Americans, and which looks in 
 
 * " Cuss," an eminently American word, answering more or less 
 to our " chap," though a little more prononce. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 105 
 
 many cases as if it had been imported from the 
 regions of private life ; only it is adorned by the 
 crossed sabres, the cavalry badge of the United 
 States. They are, I think, the best mounted cavalry 
 I have seen in the Federal service. 
 
 I fear I have often broken the tenth command- 
 ment in part when looking at some of Uncle Sam's 
 troop-horses ; which, though far too light for our 
 notions, combined more blood and bone than is gene- 
 rally seen in America : though but little groomed 
 and attended to (well fed they certainly are), they 
 display wonderful condition, the result, I think, of 
 the dry climate, which is eminently favourable to the 
 horse, and the extraordinary nutriment contained in 
 the grasses of this country. Certain it is that horses 
 and men both look a thousand times more like service' 
 than the caricatures I gazed at with astonishment 
 lately in Washington and Virginia. 
 
 The circumstance of these regiments being so well 
 mounted is owing, in a great measure, to the un- 
 happy state of the land. For " suspects," " sym- 
 pathizers," " copperheads," " dough faces," and 
 such citizens in the border States, feeling that their 
 horse property is extremely insecure, and daily liable 
 to levy, confiscation, and the tender mercies of those 
 who differ from them in their views political, have 
 
106 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 brought them in numbers out here ; and thus a 
 much better class of animal than usual is secured for 
 " the service." Add to this, that a large part of the 
 horses to be seen in these latitudes have been " jay- 
 hawked " at some period, and brought out here 
 for fear of recognition. And it is not to be sup- 
 posed that the horse- lifters would select inferior 
 stock. 
 
 Before leaving Denver, I should not omit to men- 
 tion that, unlike most towns of its size indeed, I 
 think in this respect it stands unique it boasts a 
 Mint and Assay Office. Hitherto this has been the 
 result of private enterprise, which, in America, at any 
 rate, is so far ahead of their Government ; but latterly 
 the United States Mint has made some progress 
 that is to say, a wooden shanty has been selected, 
 over which is hung a portentous sign, telling you (at 
 least by symbols) that the United States will here 
 some day issue their own coin : indeed, a Govern- 
 ment official, who will preside over it some day 
 unless removed, as is more than probable, in the next 
 general election takes his pleasure in Denver. 
 
 The history of this Mint, and the manner in which 
 an appropriation of a great many thousand dollars, 
 to establish this institution, melted away like a snow- 
 wreath, without more visible result than that which 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 107 
 
 I have stated save the invisible one of lining the 
 pockets of committees, who sat on it till the great 
 golden egg got fairly addled is merely one of the 
 numerous examples of the manner in which public 
 money is dissipated in this country. Against this no 
 voice is raised ; as in the first place, who among the 
 " wire-pullers " is pure enough to cast the first 
 stone ? and in the next, four years soon revolve, and 
 then why, the "outs " may expect their "innings." 
 
 Apropos of this subject, I shall not easily forget the 
 impression made on my mind when I first visited the 
 continent, by the cool, matter-of-course tone which 
 every one assumed in talking over the sums which 
 the public rumour so often a libeller and slanderer 
 said General Butler and members of his family 
 (notably his brother) had made, by means which we 
 should consider simply infamous in any executive 
 officer in our service. " It was only Uncle Sam, and 
 he can afford it ! " " Nunky pays for all ! " "Every 
 one else does the same," might be heard bandied 
 about, or words to that effect, in the various circles ; 
 and few seemed anxious to ascertain if the aspersions 
 were really well-founded, or, if true, to characterize 
 such conduct by its just title of infamy. 
 
 Towards the close of July I turned my back on the 
 " opes strepitumque " of Denver for, fortunately for 
 
108 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the denizens, the pall of smoke so familiar to us as 
 the drapery of a large town is wanting, though coal is 
 plentiful in the territory. Taking a few necessaries, 
 rolled up in a waterproof lashed to the back of my 
 Mexican saddle, and carrying my rifle and fishing-rod 
 in my hand, I started with the intention of reach- 
 ing that night Central City, which lies embosomed 
 among the peaks of the Sierra in a westerly direc- 
 tion some forty miles off. It was late in the after- 
 noon when I left the Tremont House, and " le pre- 
 mier pas " wasn't at all of good omen ; for, wishing 
 to cool my horse's legs, I passed the wooden bridge 
 and rode him into the Platte, which here, though not 
 deep, is very rapid ; somehow the noble steed got 
 frightened at the swift current, crossed his forelegs in 
 trying to turn back to land, and in a minute more I 
 found myself in the stream, .and my gun and rod 
 somewhere at the bottom. However, I fished them out 
 somehow, re-mounted, and though the buckskin one 
 wears here when travelling, galoshed over your shoot- 
 ing-jacket and trousers, is rather an enemy to water, 
 I found the drying process much quicker than I could 
 have anticipated ; so little moisture is there in the 
 warm surrounding atmosphere. In fact, I was evapo- 
 rated by the time I had ridden twelve miles. 
 
 A few miles' ride brings you to Clear Creek, a 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 109 
 
 mountain stream which flows down from the Kange, 
 and once really deserved its nomenclature ; now it is 
 muddier and more turbid than the Thames at Black- 
 friars, owing to its extensive use in the mining district. 
 These streams form a sort of oasis every few miles in 
 the arid plains, for on their hanks, generally running 
 east and west, settlements and ranches cluster thickly; 
 and irrigation heing generally adopted, a wide 
 margin of emerald green, dotted with trees, is seen 
 meandering from the mountain side far as the eye can 
 range, down the plains. Fourteen or fifteen miles 
 brings you to Golden City a wooden town, raised by 
 speculators, who fancied that because it lay right at 
 the foot of the mountain pass, it would arrest a great 
 portion of the trade going and returning ; but they 
 reckoned after the fashion of Horace's rustic, for the 
 human stream flows on faster and in deeper volume 
 each year, but stays not for them, and consequently 
 it remains comparatively a " Deserted Village," though 
 the political capital of the territory. 
 
 A little further on, the hills open into a canon, or 
 pass, called the Golden Gate, through which you 
 must pass to the El Dorado of this country. Here 
 you leave the spurs of the mountains, which slope 
 very gently down to the plains, and you gradually 
 get into the solemn scenery of pines, spruce, and 
 
110 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 huge bald rocks, through which the road winds with 
 such gentle gradient that sometimes you are scarcely 
 conscious of ascending. Indeed, nothing has struck 
 me as more wonderful than that, in a continuous 
 ascent of some 11,000 feet from the Missouri level, 
 one encounters no worse obstacles in the shape of 
 hills than one would in an ordinary drive in parts of 
 Wales and England ; so beautifully has nature laid 
 down that grandest highway of nations which will 
 soon unite the Eastern and Western hemispheres 
 by its iron bands the great " vinculum " of modern 
 days, the railway. For who can doubt that when 
 
 Hi motus animorum atque hoec certamina tanta 
 compressa quiescunt, 
 
 one of the first works engaged in will be the Pacific 
 railway ? if, indeed, one railway be deemed sufficient 
 for the growing and continually expanding wants of 
 commerce. There seemed a great deal of traffic on 
 the road, and mule and ox teams were continually 
 passed; but, in spite of that, numbers of rabbits 
 kept emerging from the brush, and afforded good 
 practice for the revolver, which forms part of a 
 traveller's equipment in these mountains. 
 
 There are ranches all along the road, where you 
 can get entertainment for man and beast, though at 
 stiff rates ; hay being retailed by the pound and corn 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. Ill 
 
 likewise : but, considering the difficulties in making 
 commissariat arrangements, I do not think the charges 
 exorbitant. For instance, at the ' ' Michigan Kanche, ' * 
 some twenty-five or twenty-seven miles from Denver, 
 I got some supper for self and a feed for my horse 
 for one dollar ; and fortunately in America there are 
 no poll-tax arrangements for servants to he paid, 
 under the penalty of contemptuous looks and a 
 few sarcastic observations uttered " sotto voce," as 
 with us. 
 
 From this point for a few miles the ride was wild 
 and eldritch in its character ; no travellers or teams 
 were met with, and the overhanging pine and spruce 
 fir intensified the darkness of night, while the fitful 
 moonbeams revealed strange shapes at intervals 
 among the boulder rocks and withered pine branches, 
 reminding one sometimes of Gustave Dore's etchings 
 of "the wandering Jew." At last lights began to 
 gleam in the distance, and the noise of the stamps 
 of the quartz-mills, and the rushing of water in 
 sluices, broke on the ear. Soon you find yourself 
 riding through the village of "Black Hawk," which 
 contains some quartz -mills of good renown, and close 
 to which are the celebrated "bobtails" and "Gre- 
 gory" lodes here invariably termed " leads;" then, 
 in another mile, riding through the intermediate 
 
112 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 village of " Mountain City," you find yourself in 
 " Central City," the capital of this Western Ophir, 
 where I had no difficulty in finding a berth, for my 
 horse, but had to draw two human coverts, in the 
 shape of hotels, blank ere I could get a billet for 
 myself. 
 
 I have now been here for some days endeavouring 
 to master the arcana by which 
 
 Effodiuntur opes, irritamenta malornm, 
 
 and in exploring the various sources from which 
 the gold is obtained ; the result of which I propose 
 to sum up in the following few pages. But first I 
 must premise that I am totally ignorant of the 
 sciences of geology and mineralogy, and, therefore, 
 can only undertake to use the popular and untechnical 
 language for the various objects which came under 
 my observation ; preferring this to cramming up a 
 series of technical terms miner's cant and jargon 
 and in all probability displaying my own ignorance by 
 their inappropriate use. 
 
 The three towns of Black Hawk, Mountain Cit t y, 
 and Central are situated on a ravine or " gulch " 
 down which a small mountain rivulet pours, with 
 much noise and brawling ; but with, this year at 
 least, a very slender volume of water the lack of 
 which element militates greatly against all surface 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 113 
 
 mining. Hills rise very abruptly on both sides of 
 this ravine ; once clothed with pine, but now dotted 
 with the stumps of their former tenants, and bearing 
 only a plentiful crop of the artemisia, or wild sage, 
 which is characteristic of the entire western district. 
 
 Following the main street in Central, and pro- 
 ceeding further up the hill, you come to the town 
 of Nevada, which almost crowns the mountain, and 
 looks down upon the gulch at some distance below. 
 Taking these towns as a centre, and describing a 
 circle of a little more than half a mile, you embrace 
 the best part of the auriferous region that has as yet 
 been developed ; with perhaps the exception of the 
 Russell Gulch, which no doubt contains rich lodes, 
 but which has as yet contributed less than its neigh- 
 bouring gold-fields to the aggregate of mineral wealth 
 in the territory. 
 
 Taking the gulch first, it presents the appear- 
 ance of a mountain torrent, which has suddenly 
 swelled up and brought with it an enormous collec- 
 tion of stones and debris, depositing them on both 
 sides of its normal bed, into which it has as quickly 
 relapsed, retaining only the complexion of the moun- 
 tain clays which have defiled its purity. On coming 
 nearer, you will observe a number of sluices placed 
 along its channel, and parties of three or four working 
 
 8 
 
114 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 at intervals of some hundred feet from each other. 
 One of the men is standing by the sluice below the 
 others, throwing away the stones which the water 
 brings down, with a sort of long fork, or what they 
 call in Ireland a " grape," while his confreres dig up 
 the dirt in the neighbourhood of the sluice and throw 
 it in, stones and all. This is the whole process of 
 gulch, or surface mining, which has been very profit- 
 able; but it is now admitted to be nearly "played 
 out " in other words, the field is nearly exhausted. 
 
 Then comes the work of examining the sluices for 
 the result of your week's operations, and taking out 
 the coarse gold ; which catches in the grooves and in- 
 equalities of the " riffles " a sort of rack of thin pine 
 laths inserted as a species of false bottom in the sluice 
 while the finer particles of gold adhere to the quick- 
 silver laid in the sluice to catch them, and which, 
 when retorted, yields the desired gold. Thus it will 
 :e seen that this species of mining is a simple opera- 
 tion ;. and, given a " claim," or locus standi, no 
 further capital is required for embarking in it than a 
 few simple tools, a few boards, and a small amount 
 of quicksilver. 
 
 However, it has its drawbacks, like everything 
 else. A claim of 100 feet is easily exhausted ; and 
 though it may contain good paying material, and 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 115 
 
 a few nuggets (which, however, run very poor 
 and small here), it may prove unequal to the ex- 
 pense of the labour. Add to this that it can only 
 be worked in summer as both water and mercury 
 get frozen in winter and that it depends entirely on 
 a good supply of water ; which in a year of drought 
 such as this is retailed by the " Ditch Company " at 
 the rate of 75 cents, or 3s., per inch per day. The 
 gulch miners, however, whom I have questioned, 
 seemed satisfied with their labours, and said they 
 were making good, wages which means some five, 
 six, or eight dollars a day : no bad pay, considering 
 that the work is not heavy here, and far healthier 
 than in the shafts ; and hence hands at gulch mining 
 seldom get much more than two dollars a day, while 
 the lode miners get from that amount up to four or 
 five. 
 
 This latter species of mining is the speciality the 
 great industry of the place and by its success or 
 failure Colorado will rise or fall. But failure seems 
 at present a contingency of the remotest character, 
 and to be dreaded about as much as the conflagration 
 of the Platte, or the evaporation of the Mississippi ; 
 for even last year, with capital of the most limited 
 amount, and very imperfect resources in science and 
 machinery, twenty millions of dollars were, I am 
 
 82 
 
116 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 assured, extracted from the gold-fields of Colorado : 
 this year, more capital having been injected from 
 the East, and more confidence being generally felt in 
 the prospects, a much larger harvest is confidently 
 anticipated. All round the hills are evidences of 
 lodes in every stage of progression. Looking up from 
 the town, these scratchings catch the eye in every 
 direction, presenting the appearance of a cordon of 
 rifle-pits hastily dug for the defence of the villages : 
 these are lodes which have been discovered, but whose 
 working and development is either abandoned for 
 want of means, or other good cause. 
 
 Then, all around, are shafts which are being vigo- 
 rously worked with various appliances. Some have 
 steam lifting power, others a horse " whim," while 
 others in poorer hands have only the rude construc- 
 tion of wells. As a rule owing to the fact of the 
 claims being limited to one hundred feet, (though 
 any number of one hundred feet claims may be legally 
 owned by an individual,) and that the owners are 
 generally men of small means the modus operandi 
 has hitherto been the sinking of a perpendicular 
 shaft, and thus following the lode downwards, 
 instead of cutting it by means of lateral " adits " or 
 tunnels : a more expensive method in the first in- 
 stance, but far more satisfactory in its results, as the 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 117 
 
 water is thus more easily drained off, and the ore 
 more easily conveyed to the surface by tramways 
 from the shaft. 
 
 The history of a " lode " (within a few years I 
 mean, for who could hope to guess even at its 
 real history in the long past with any accu- 
 racy?) is this : The gold-seeker goes out " pros- 
 pecting," and comes to a " crevice," where the 
 "blossom" or burnt quartz rock cropping out, and 
 the appearance of a sort of wall round it, inspires 
 him with strong and justifiable hopes of success ; a 
 little labour with pick and shovel extracts enough 
 of the rock to make an experiment, and if he 
 finds, on pulverizing the stone and detritus, enough 
 promise to warrant his sinking a shaft, his first step 
 is to record his claim ; which he can do by payment 
 of fifty cents, or two shillings, to the recorder of the 
 county or district. He then commences operations on 
 it ; otherwise, were he to leave it un visited for some 
 time, he would probably find it "jumped : " in other 
 words, seized by some adventurer like himself; for 
 mining law or custom now recognized by the tribu- 
 nals of the country declare, that if a man does not 
 develope his claim by at least some preliminary 
 digging or improvement, he must give way to some 
 one else who will do so. This admirable regulation 
 
118 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 was made in early days to prevent monopoly by the 
 greedy, and to give all a chance.* 
 
 As a rule it has heen found here that lodes which 
 pay near the surface improve with depth ; though it 
 does not follow that some which scarcely pay at first, 
 will not pay well further down. But, granting that 
 the lode pays well for some time, at length, in 
 almost every instance, a period comes when the lode 
 disappears from sight; this is called here, "being 
 in cap," or in other words, the "key rock" is reached. 
 And here commences the real struggle between man 
 and gold ; for the cap may be very thick, and very 
 tough, and no one knows when it will be penetrated 
 and the lode refound ; and during all this time no 
 " pay " is extracted, so that if the proprietor's means 
 are slender, he generally fails ; but if he has any 
 capital left after the contest, he gets a new and better 
 start, this obstacle once overcome. 
 
 It is rather amusing to hear the conversations on 
 the subject of this bete noire. " How are you getting 
 on at Nevada, friend?" " Oh, worse luck, we're all 
 'in cap ' there this week." This seems rather unin- 
 
 * I believe these early laws have since been modified by the 
 Legislature of Colorado, and mining property put on the same footing 
 as real estate. There are no alienage regulations, and property may 
 be held by the inhabitants of any portion of the globe. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 119 
 
 telligible to the uninitiated, but here it tells a 
 lamentable tale of failures, blighted hopes, and the 
 last dollar spent in vain ; therefore, naturally, "cap " 
 is a personage out here. 
 
 I am not going to invite you to descend a shaft 
 with me, either in a bucket or down those very steep 
 ladders sometimes made of a single pole with rungs 
 stuck through it, such as you see in a bear's den 
 in the Zoological Gardens as the journey is not 
 interesting or clean ; and generally the terminus 
 is extremely narrow, affording room for not more 
 than three or four men, who are busy blasting away 
 at the rock, generally too hard for a pick : for here, 
 following the law of nature which proclaims that 
 
 Nothing in this world is single ; 
 
 All things by a law divine 
 
 In one another's being mingle 
 
 gold is generally found in chemical or mechanical 
 combination with iron, copper, silver, and lead, as 
 well as sulphur ; and I believe that if proper appli- 
 ances were forthcoming, the baser metals would in 
 many cases pay for the working of the shaft and mill, 
 and leave the gold net profit. 
 
 The rocks being sent up to the top in buckets, 
 there follows the task of separating the " wall rock " 
 from the paying material, easily known by the glitter 
 
120 B AMBLES IN THE 
 
 of the pyrites upon it ; then it is carted off in ox- 
 waggons to the crushing-mill to be pulverized, having 
 been first broken into small lumps. Many claims 
 have their own mill attached to them, by which 
 much expense in cartage and crushing, varying from 
 35 to 75 dollars per cord of 128 cubic feet, is saved to 
 the mine. 
 
 These crushing-mills are for the most part worked 
 by steam-power, though a few have lucidly secured 
 the more economical agency of water. When in 
 operation they look something like the machines 
 used for driving piles, though on a smaller scale ; 
 for a wheel turns a shaft, attached to which are a 
 number of iron crooks, which in turn have a num- 
 ber of long iron drivers or hammers appended to 
 them ; these are lowered and raised, and thus crush 
 the stone on an iron die or stamp, inserted in a metal 
 carp : a little water being introduced slowly through a 
 pipe, to facilitate, I suppose, the pulping process, and 
 to carry out the "dust" on to tables of copper or 
 mixed metal, which have been previously coated over 
 with quicksilver. When these tables are cleaned, 
 as they are by scraping them with a piece of india- 
 rubber, an amalgam is obtained of gold and quick- 
 silver, which only requires the retort to obtain the 
 grand desideratum. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 121 
 
 I should not forget to mention that below these 
 sloping tables are placed certain blankets, through 
 which the water percolates : this is done to catch 
 the gold, which is mixed with such a metal as lead, 
 with which quicksilver will not amalgamate. The 
 sand or dust which remains after the gold has been 
 caught by the quicksilver is not thrown away, but 
 after a time may be again passed through the mill ; 
 with such success that some " tailings " have yielded 
 more gold than the original rock showing how ex- 
 tremely defective was the primary process. 
 
 The mining mind is just now full of another 
 method, which promises brilliant results; and though 
 I cannot explain the details, I may state that its object 
 is to desulphurize the quartz, or extract from it, by 
 burning, the sulphur with which it is often so heavily 
 charged. 
 
 The first question that naturally suggests itself to 
 the practical mind is, of course, "Do these mines 
 pay ? Have fortunes been realized ? or are these 
 miners merely adding their number to the long train 
 of those who, ever since the days of Cortez and 
 Pizarro, of Gilbert and Kaleigh, haunted by the 
 splendid golden vision, have followed the shadow to 
 the neglect of the real substance, which in less bril- 
 liant guise lay unused before their eyes ? " 
 
122 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 To the two former questions, I think an un- 
 hesitating affirmative reply can be given, while an 
 equally unqualified negative awaits the latter inter- 
 rogatory. 
 
 That these mines do pay is, I think, evidenced by 
 the very existence of the territory of these towns 
 and buildings which are rising in every direction, and 
 which are already beginning to discard their primitive 
 wood, and assume proportions of stone and brick : 
 " si monumentum quseris, circumspice." 
 
 When it is recollected that the class of people who 
 came here in 1859, and have been arriving ever since, 
 were, with hardly an exception, poor adventurers 
 (some so poor that they had to make the passage 
 across the plains on foot, carrying their little stock of 
 worldly goods in hand-carts), with few chattels beyond 
 the waggon and the cattle which conveyed them from 
 the States, and without "credit" to draw on ; and 
 that so dear were provisions, and so far beyond their 
 reach, that a large portion of these bold spirits sup- 
 ported life, and even realized some small capital, by 
 the produce of their rifles, and by trapping, which 
 they followed in the winter, devoting the summer 
 months to surface mining ; and when, further, it is 
 recollected that only the hardier and more sanguine 
 remained, while a large proportion of the fainter- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 128 
 
 hearted returned to the States, declaring that the 
 land was no Canaan, but a howling wilderness, it 
 will, I think, be readily admitted that these mines 
 have been a great success : and this in spite of great 
 obstacles. 
 
 For besides the scarcity of capital and the want 
 of labour in the earlier stages, and the discredit 
 thrown upon the opening prospects of these gold- 
 fields by. those who went away in disgust, much 
 injury has been done by the " stampedes " caused 
 by the tidings of discoveries in new and still more 
 distant regions. Some of these reports turned out 
 eventually to be the merest "Bogus;" but they 
 had the eifect of withdrawing capital and labour from 
 these settlements, and also of unsettling the popular 
 mind for a long time. And, besides, nothing per- 
 haps was more wanted than real mining knowledge ; 
 for those who undertook to mine here brought little 
 or no science to bear on a work which requires 
 necessarily a very large amount : hence, as might 
 be imagined, much time, labour, and even gold has 
 been wasted in unnecessary experiments, and in 
 groping painfully after better methods. True, a few 
 old Californians came over, attracted by the ring of 
 the metal ; but the country was so different, that 
 their experience though of course of some value 
 
124 RAMBLES IX THE 
 
 did not add so much as might have been expected to 
 the general stock. 
 
 Now, however, that the stamp of great success 
 is set on these mines, science will be brought to 
 bear upon them. Already there has been of 
 late a large influx of Cornish miners the free 
 lances of the profession who have come from 
 Lake Superior, where they were employed in copper 
 mining ; and they may be expected at any rate to 
 improve the practice, if not the theory, of the mining 
 here. And those to whom I have spoken complain 
 much of the rude way in which many of the shafts 
 have been constructed, and the great risk which is 
 consequently run in working them. Indeed, I am 
 sorry to say the percentage of loss of life and acci- 
 dents here is very great. 
 
 To the second query I would answer, that four 
 years is a very short time to realize anything like a 
 fortune, or even a competency, when no capital, or 
 scarcely any, is employed. Yet it is a fact, that 
 though here no rich nuggets have suddenly raised 
 the lucky finder from poverty to comparative afflu- 
 ence, still, fortunes have been made ; not colossal 
 it is true, but amounting to a moderate independence. 
 Some have been frittered away at the gambling-table 
 and in other sinks for money which ever abound 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 125 
 
 where gold is found, while others acquired with 
 difficulty are being gradually dissipated in foolish 
 undertakings ; hut a few have heen retained, and are 
 heing turned to profitable uses. But I think the 
 fact of any fortunes being thus acquired must appeal- 
 passing strange, to any one coming from a highly- 
 civilized and over-crowded country, where all the 
 avenues to riches are closed, save to capital and 
 very superior intelligence ; for there, undertake what 
 you will, you will find it impossible to succeed, save 
 through the well-worn grooves in which genius is 
 compelled to move. 
 
 True it is, that the greater part of the success 
 here must be attributed to good luck ; for let a man 
 be ever so good a miner, and ever so prudent 
 in husbanding his resources and putting them 
 to the best advantage, following a lode is sheer 
 venture, and if the " cap" prove stronger than the 
 miner's purse, farewell to hopes of fortune in that 
 direction. 
 
 It is often remarked, that taking the entire number 
 at work in mining, it will be found that even a low 
 average of wages has not been realized by all. This 
 may be true in many places, but I think not here. 
 But, even if it were a fact in Colorado, it could 
 be easily accounted for, and brings no discredit on 
 
126 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the mineral wealth of the country. For there is no 
 doubt two classes of men will, as a rule, succeed 
 here. 
 
 First, miners who can labour steadily, and have 
 sufficient stamina to work continuously in a lode, 
 can save from three to five and even six hundred 
 dollars a year, after paying expenses. This, how- 
 ever, is not given to all men, as besides the accidents 
 I have alluded to, the work in the shaft is very 
 trying to some constitutions partly, perhaps, owing 
 to the quantity of arsenic found there, and partly 
 to the great dampness of many and many men 
 cannot work more than three weeks in the month, 
 if so much; not on account of the hardness of the 
 work for it is not very straining but its great 
 unhealthiness. Such men, if very steady and pru- 
 dent, will in a few years accumulate a small 
 independence. For money doubles itself very quickly 
 here, the rate of interest having been, not long 
 ago, twenty-five per cent, per month ; and that not 
 without security.* But the danger is that, in an 
 intoxicating atmosphere such as this, they will be 
 dazzled by the prospect of a rapid fortune to be 
 made by mining on their own account, and the luxury 
 of being, in their turn, each a " Bos ; " and, of 
 * Even now 10 dollars per 100 dollars a month is the usual rate. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 127 
 
 course, the chances of success in this new line are 
 barely even. 
 
 The second class consists of business men who 
 have some idea of mechanics and steam, and who 
 possess a moderate capital of from five to twenty 
 thousand dollars. Such men are almost sure to 
 succeed here ; but that is not saying much, as such 
 men would be almost sure of getting on well in any 
 part of the States, with even far smaller means. 
 
 There is a capital which many adventurers bring 
 here which is worth more than its commercial esti- 
 mate, and that is the determination to succeed if 
 enterprise and daring can effect it. The great 
 indifference to failure which is a great characteristic 
 of this country, and which in the case of dealings 
 with others is often pushed too far ; but, above all, 
 the great adaptability to any employment which dis- 
 tinguishes most Americans. 
 
 We in England, accustomed to the minute sub- 
 division of labour, are very content with excellence 
 in one single branch, looking no farther; the 
 American, however, as a rule, is content with a 
 far lower standard in any one thing, but he ranges 
 over an infinite number. It is quite a common 
 thing to find a man out here who has begun life 
 at home on the farm, then turned sailor (often 
 
128 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 whaler) for a few years, perhaps then gone into 
 some business on his own account, and is now 
 here a bit of a miner, carpenter, blacksmith, wheel- 
 wright, or very possibly in charge of a steam-engine. 
 Their versatility is unbounded ; their confidence 
 beats Lord John's, as illustrated by Sydney Smith ; 
 and I sometimes think that some of the features of 
 Juvenal's Greek apply to the American of this 
 century 
 
 Medicus, magus : omnia novit. 
 Grceculus esuriens in coelum, jusseris, ibit. 
 
 Many of the men here have failed in the Eastern 
 states, and had their energies wonderfully quickened 
 by the process, and by the fixed resolve to redeem 
 their fortunes ; most of them out here, too, have 
 evidently been well educated ; as will appear if you 
 look at the autographs in an hotel book, where every 
 arrival inscribes his name ; for these contrast very 
 favourably with a similar number taken, au hasard, 
 in an eastern city. 
 
 Of these mountain cities (we should call them by a 
 far humbler title in Europe) I have hitherto said but 
 little ; on the principle that the Spanish fleet in the 
 ballad could not be seen " because 'twas not in 
 sight : " and really there is but little to say, even of 
 " Central," the greatest among them all. Mr. Trol- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 129 
 
 lope, the great XoyoTroioc of the day, said, if I mis- 
 take not, that New York contained little or nothing 
 to see. How would he have dismissed these aggre- 
 gations of log-houses, and shanties, interspersed with 
 a few fair buildings of better stamp ? But I think 
 his fastidiousness led him into error about New 
 York, and I am sure that, even in Central, a Dickens 
 would be able to see much, and describe more. My 
 , powers of observation, however, being of the most 
 limited scope, I will only make a few general obser- 
 vations on these 
 
 Prseruptis oppida saxis. 
 
 Of their situation, following up the course of a 
 mountain stream, I have already spoken, and I think 
 it would be very picturesque were it not for the bare- 
 ness of the surrounding mountains, which have been 
 denuded of their shade and ornament ; but the views 
 in the neighbourhood are fine, though monotonous. 
 On one side stretch "the plains" eastward; while 
 westward, and "excelsior," is the snowy range, 
 distant but a few miles, while north and south ex- 
 tend endless mountains clothed in the everlasting 
 sombre green of the pine forest. The climate is 
 delicious, perhaps a few degrees too hot for an 
 Englishman's notions during some hours of the day ; 
 but the evenings and nights are unsurpassed, and 
 
 9 
 
130 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the air is so highly oxygenated, so buoyant, that you 
 really require some acclimatization to walk up the 
 steep paths, without frequent halts to survey the 
 scenery and catch your breath. 
 
 Then the atmosphere is so pure that your vision 
 soars far further than in the foggy curtain to which 
 our eyes are too well accustomed, and this extension 
 of the faculty of sight is in itself a positive pleasure ! 
 
 At " Black Hawk " a very neat little wooden church 
 meets the eye, with its gilt spire at the top a symbol, 
 I suppose, of the wealth it surveys, part of which has 
 been so well directed. There are various other places 
 of worship in these towns, but, so far as I have 
 seen, they consist merely of the apostolical vTrepwa, 
 the lower story being devoted to secular purposes. 
 Strange to say, one sect of Christianity makes this 
 meeting in an upper room, if not absolutely a part of 
 their faith, at least of their practice ; and yet it is 
 hardly reasonable to suppose that the early Christians 
 congregated upstairs, save for purposes of secrecy or 
 faute de mieux : and after the lapse of Eutyches, I 
 should think the custom would, where practicable, 
 have been abandoned. 
 
 I was, I confess, much struck by what I witnessed 
 apropos des eglises, on my first arrival in Central. 
 On Friday evening I repaired to the " Montana," 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 131 
 
 or Mountain Theatre, a rough-hewn building of pine 
 with a parquette and gallery capable of accom- 
 modating a large number. There I saw Hamlet 
 performed, and though the ghost was not very 
 spiritual, Gertrude not very queenly, and the courtiers 
 not very courtier-like, yet the play was, on the whole, 
 very well put on the stage ; even the Prince of Den- 
 mark, if unlike Fechter's impersonation, was, I 
 thought, really very well rendered. 
 
 This was one surprise; but the next was far 
 greater, when, on the following Sunday, I was 
 invited to hear the Bishop of the diocese (I think) 
 preach in the same building, and administer the 
 rite of confirmation to the candidates who might 
 present themselves. And so at three o'clock it 
 came to pass that the parson told the sexton, and 
 the sexton tolled the bell outside the theatre, and at 
 half-past the service began the curtain being raised. 
 There, sitting in the conventional sofa of the stage, 
 was my Lord Bishop, magnificent in his robes, and 
 with him, of course, an assistant priest. A table 
 placed on the stage, close to the footlights, repre- 
 sented the altar ; while near the orchestral seats, a 
 harmonium was placed for the choir, who sat round 
 it, and rendered the musical portion of the service 
 a large one too extremely well. 
 
 92 
 
132 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 I may here observe that the American Episcopal 
 Church have, methinks, shown great good taste in 
 the way they have modified their liturgical service ; 
 which is almost identical with ours, except in a few 
 particulars demanded by their different institutions, 
 and by the change of the archaisms into modern 
 phraseology. 'Thus, for instance, in the Lord's 
 prayer, " which " is rendered " who," as more 
 pleasing to modern ears ;. and in the liturgy 
 " wealth " is translated into the more intelligible 
 word " prosperity." 
 
 The theatre was, I was glad to see, pretty well 
 filled, and I do not think I ever heard a more 
 temperate and charitable defence of the formulas of 
 the Church or I should say the Episcopal branch 
 of it established in England and America than I 
 heard in the sermon preached by Bishop Talbot, 
 from the text, " What mean ye by this service ? " 
 Might not this good example be more generally 
 followed in these days, when the want of church 
 room is universally deplored, and the means of erect- 
 ing new buildings are not immediately forthcoming ? 
 
 From ecclesiastical heights to gastronomical reflec- 
 tions is a great descent (though I think there is a 
 connection, and no distant one either, between the 
 church and good living, singular and plural), but I 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 133 
 
 must, in taking leave of Central, say a word about its 
 larder. 
 
 Whence the fat beeves come from, or how the 
 cattle about here keep in flesh, is a very marvel to 
 me ; for I see no grass, save a blade every now and 
 then : but in this bite there is a magic power of 
 fattening, they say ; and certain 'tis, cattle fatten on 
 these mountains, even in winter, without hay or other 
 food. Then the supply of their splendid salmon trout 
 is very good ; and in the winter and fall, deer, elk, 
 and antelope are very abundant, and a cinnamon bear 
 may be seen sometimes dependent from a butcher's 
 hooks, so that the miner is at least very well fed. 
 
 Game was very plentiful all round here a few years 
 ago, and I was assured that mountain lions and wild 
 sheep the animals described by travellers as jump- 
 ing down precipices when pursued by wolves or other 
 deadly foes, and alighting safely on their huge horns, 
 which, however, is denied by the hunters of the 
 neighbourhood as Munchausenish had been seen 
 across the street not so long since; now, to para- 
 phrase the well-known lines of an Oxford prize 
 poem 
 
 Scared by busy man from his own hills, 
 The lion fled the loud resounding mills. 
 
 And a good long distance has to be travelled over ere 
 the ferae of the mountains may be encountered. 
 
134 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 As for the ladies of Central and its entourage 
 pardon me for introducing them in this remote 
 portion of my jottings, after notice has been taken 
 of so many objects in the animal, vegetable, and 
 mineral kingdoms : the fact is, I considered the 
 subject too serious for my notes, and intended to 
 have passed them with only the silent homage a 
 true man ever accords them in his heart, though pen 
 and voice may not be loud or eloquent. Yet they 
 are the real ornament of Central ; and is it not as a 
 tribute to them that all these jewellery and finery 
 shops are maintained ? Is it not owing to their 
 influence that these rough places of the earth have 
 been made to feel the power of refinement and civili- 
 zation, and that the miner, instead of degenerating 
 into a gnome or troglodyte, becomes a good citizen, 
 imbued with all the charities of life ? 
 
 This happy state of things has not, I believe, been 
 of very long standing ; as, for the first few years, the 
 place was scarcely fit for the presence of women; 
 but now they are pouring in fast from the States : 
 these " diggings," like our Indian possessions, 
 being an admirable market for many who have not 
 succeeded eastwards in drawing prizes. And as they 
 ride along the mountain slopes of an evening " en 
 Amazone," with the most coquettish habits you 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS,, 135 
 
 ever saw, decked with all sorts of pretty little gold 
 (or brass) buttons like an hussar's jacket, you might 
 " disremember," as the Irishman said, very easily 
 that you were on the Rocky Mountains, and might 
 fancy yourself transplanted to the neighbourhood of 
 Innspruck, or some other spot in those mountains of 
 old civilization. 
 
 There is another large mining district in this 
 locality, about a hundred miles south, in the vicinity 
 of the South Park, called " Buckskin Joe " district ; 
 but though the lodes there promise even fairer 
 returns than those in this neighbourhood, they 
 belong principally to even poorer men than the 
 "claims" hereabouts, and consequently have not 
 been so far developed ; but they are well worth a 
 visit, I am told, if only on account of the surpassing 
 loveliness of the scenery about there. Indeed, no 
 traveller should think of leaving this country without 
 visiting the three Parks, which are to be found 
 within a compass of about one hundred and fifty 
 miles, and which form a most peculiar feature of 
 the Kocky Sierra. They are known by the names, 
 of North, Middle, and South, and are huge basins 
 in the heart of the mountains, whence issue some 
 of the large rivers which water this part of the 
 continent; the vegetation in them is abundant, and 
 
136 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 they are peopled by almost every species of wild 
 animal. Should time permit, I trust to visit them 
 all during the fall months, and, unless the reader 
 be tired of travelling through this country, I will 
 he happy to communicate my experiences of wild 
 mountain life in my next. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 137 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 On sylvan scenes intent. 
 
 THE America of 1863 or rather, to speak according 
 to facts, the Federal possessions on that continent 
 may be classed under four main categories or divi- 
 sions, to wit : Battle-fields, spittle-fields, gold-fields, 
 and game-fields. The nomenclature will no doubt be 
 much cavilled at, but can any one deny that this clas- 
 sification is at once comprehensive and specific ? dis- 
 tinguishing in some notable respects the genera and 
 species of the districts in question : as was required 
 in my juvenile days by that wise pundit, Mr. Aldrich, 
 the Lindley Murray of logic ; unless, indeed, my 
 memory has played me a scurvy trick after her 
 frequent fashion, now that Consul Plancus has given 
 plage to the majestic Kaiser of the Tuileries. 
 
 Of the battle-fields I had seen enough far more 
 than enough in the desolated homesteads and the 
 levelled woodlands of Virginia, lovely and pictu- 
 
138 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 resque even aniid all the surrounding ruin, and 
 though reeking with the hecatombs of the invaders 
 and the invaded slain on her hundred Aceldamas ! 
 
 The spittle-fields comprise those " centres of civi- 
 lization," the eastern and western cities, /urjrpoTroAac 
 Kai TropKOTToXcic, where mammon and shoddy are 
 worshipped day and night with a fervour worthy of 
 the worshippers even of the great Diana of the 
 Ephesians ; and which, save in their heing more 
 purely commercial, and in some instances of grander 
 proportions than their European rivals, present but 
 few salient points for notice or comment. As com- 
 pared with the capitals of Europe, one is reminded 
 of Hood's line about Amsterdam or Eotterdam, I 
 forget which 
 
 A sort of vulgar Venice reminds me where I am. 
 
 But while thus daring to sneer my sneer at these 
 vast developments of unparalleled enterprise and 
 energy, in an aesthetic point of view, let me never 
 forget the eclectic few, the dmes d'elite, to be met in 
 some, nay in many of these human hives ; but like 
 all nature's treasures, such spirits have to be sought 
 for diligently, and seldom come under the notice of 
 the casual tourist or cursory observer, unless specially 
 favoured. 
 
 To some of the gold-fields of the Kocky Moun- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 139 
 
 tains situated in Colorado, I have already partially 
 introduced those who have patiently accompanied rny 
 wandering steps across the green prairies of Kansas, 
 and the sandy Saharas of Nebraska. It remains then 
 only to give a few glimpses of those great game- 
 fields on which civilization has not yet, more Mr. 
 President Lincoln, set her encroaching foot, where 
 the Caucasian race is comparatively unknown, and 
 the Indian still reigns supreme over the subject 
 creation, in vast Trapcioacroi or parks far away in the 
 heart of these Andes of a northern hemisphere. 
 
 Three such great natural plateaus lie within com- 
 paratively easy distance of Denver city, and are named 
 respectively, South, Middle, and North Parks, from 
 their relative positions. Of these, the first has lost 
 its charm of wildness from the fact of some rich 
 gulches having been early discovered in its vicinity, 
 and it has thus become settled and already semi- 
 civilized ; but the middle and north were still almost 
 virgin soil, and therefore promised a better harvest. 
 
 Having settled "the where," remained the solution 
 of "the how;" perhaps the more difficult portion of 
 the problem, for the outskirts of the middle park are 
 a good two days' journey from Central City, and a 
 snowy range or Sierra Nevada, only to be surmounted 
 in a few places, has to be crossed, ere the Goshen of 
 
140 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 your anticipations can be reached, or even seen : and 
 once there, you are as completely isolated from everj 7 - 
 thing that man as a shopping or purchasing animal 
 may want, as if you were chained to a rock in mid- 
 ocean like Miss Andromeda, or on a mountain like 
 Mr. Prometheus. True, a company of the brave 
 Colorado volunteers had been sent to a point in the 
 Middle Park to repel an invasion of Indians, or to 
 overawe them, and I had been offered the hospitality 
 of their camp; but this I concluded to be a poor 
 way of exploring a new country, though presenting 
 temptations to a votary of mere comfort " comfort 
 scorned of Yankees," so often and I gladly em- 
 braced the offer of being allowed to accompany a 
 party of four who were going to hunt and trap 
 professionally, so to speak, and who proposed being 
 absent for a few weeks. 
 
 Accordingly a day for our departure was fixed, and 
 having some time to spare, I set out for Empire City, 
 which lies at the foot of the snowy range, and which 
 is the usual portal of the Middle Park; but as we 
 had arranged to go by another pass in a totally diffe- 
 rent direction from Central, I was anxious to see that 
 portion of the mountains, of which I had heard very 
 favourable reports, both for scenery and minerals. 
 
 Eiding then in a south-westerly direction, I 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 141 
 
 passed over the bleak surrounding hills, now shorn 
 of almost every vestige of a tree, and so full of 
 prospecting holes that they looked as if rival armies 
 had been disputing every inch of them, and had been 
 incessantly occupied in throwing up these small earth- 
 works ; the streams looked as if some mountain had 
 been suddenly let loose on their beds, and every 
 vestige of soil being swept away, had left them 
 merely an accumulation of stones in great piles so 
 thoroughly had they been searched by the miner. I 
 then came to a " divide " in the hills, now timbered, 
 and following a canon, commenced a long descent 
 between sheer walls of rock and timber, very pictu- 
 resque in spots, which continues for about a mile. 
 As you near the bottom of the canon, indications of 
 mining energy are not wanting, and shoots of pine 
 boards convey the quartz at a fearful rate some hun- 
 dreds of feet from the lodes on to platforms, from 
 whence it is carted off to the crushing mills. 
 
 At last, as you approach the end of the ravine, the 
 lovely valley of Idahoe, or "the gem of the moun- 
 tains," as the Indians have well named it, breaks 
 upon you with a beauty which man the ravager has 
 been unable to efface, in spite of his wooden shanties 
 erected in the fairest portion of the greensward, and 
 the various appliances for bar-mining which mar the 
 
142 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 smooth margin of the stream running through it, 
 making its crystal lymph as foul as bilge-water : for 
 here rich " bar-diggings," have been discovered along 
 the banks of the river, and have in a few instances 
 paid handsomely this year. Bar-mining is not 
 unlike gulch mining, except in being far more 
 laborious ; owing to the size of the boulders, which 
 in vast numbers the river has brought down in its 
 freshets, and to the fact that the river water must 
 be kept continually pumped out of the holes made 
 by the miners, a process effected by an ingenious 
 machine called here an " hydraulic." 
 
 The only natural curiosity I saw at Idahoe are 
 some hot " soda springs," which an enterprising 
 doctor, or an individual so called, for where the 
 majority of the folks you meet are "judges" and 
 " majors," 'twere hard if medicine had not its pro- 
 fessors and votaries too with honorary titles ; after all 
 as sensible as many of those distinctions granted by 
 our universities to eminence in spheres as unscientific 
 and unliterary as can be imagined ! had recently 
 purchased, and hoped to advertise into a fashionable 
 resort for the rheumatically afflicted, whose name is, 
 I fear, legion here, owing to the wet nature of the 
 mining operations. Following up the stream, which 
 now narrows into almost a gorge, now expands into a 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 143 
 
 rich vale, you come to " Spanish Bars," and soon 
 afterwards to " Empire City ; " a title which must have 
 heen given more in the spirit of prophecy than from 
 any existing applicability, for the only sign of a city 
 existed in about a dozen mean log-huts and a few 
 brace of frame houses. 
 
 I was told that the town was growing in the direc- 
 tion of some "patch diggins " towards the spurs of 
 the mountains, but my curiosity was not strong 
 enough to induce a visit. Having a day to spare, I 
 put up at a log shanty, which represented the " Cla- 
 rendon " of the place, and where a modicum of hay 
 in sacking was given you for a shake-down. I fished 
 the stream upwards, above its mining pollutions ; but 
 I confess with indifferent success, the fish being small 
 and shy. Next morning, having paid my bill which 
 " Boniface " must have made out in the prophetic 
 vein also, as the log-house and single bedroom for 
 many occupants swelled in the bill to palatial dimen- 
 sions (would I could have paid it by a similar draft 
 on iny expectations !), I discovered that my horse was 
 dead lame ; so, as Central City was eighteen miles 
 distant, and our start for the parks was imminent, I 
 had no alternative but to " trade " off my halting 
 steed for a sound pony. This I effected without 
 incurring the heavy loss I might have anticipated; 
 
144 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 considering that I was at the mercy of the man with 
 whom I dealt, and that nearly all the western men 
 are brought up, ab ovo, in an atmosphere of " horse- 
 trading," and are as much addicted to, and as keen 
 thereat, as the Irish squireen of the "West is at his 
 favourite pastime of "knocking" a process, I need 
 not explain to any one who has ever attended an ordi- 
 nary at either of the horse-fairs of Banagher or Bal- 
 linasloe. 
 
 Indeed, I may here say that such horse " copers 
 and chanters" as the western men I never met. 
 Much they certainly do know about the noble 
 animal, and much they affect to know which I think 
 lies beyond their ken. For instance, they make no 
 difficulty in telling horses' ages, after that grand 
 climacteric of eight years has been passed ! The 
 result of my trade was a very smart little mare, not 
 altogether unlike my juvenile recollections of the 
 famous " Brunette," and as I purchased her from a 
 man of the name of Fisher, I christened her " Kate 
 Fisher," from the celebrated mare whose untimely 
 end moved even the great Thunderer to forge a bolt 
 against steeple-chasing, as conducted in Limerick a 
 brutum fulmen, as it proved. This little affair being- 
 arranged, I rode back to Central, leaving with regret 
 the lovely valley of " South Clear Creek," encom- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 145 
 
 passed with its pine-clad mountains, and overlooked 
 by the bleak range where the snow is perennial. 
 
 The next day, or next but one, was a Sunday ; but 
 notwithstanding this, I regret to say, all things being 
 more or less prepared, the ponies engaged rapidly in 
 accomplishing the feat of eating their heads off a 
 process not hard to achieve when hay is 2cZ. or 3d. 
 per lb., and corn Id. or 3d. it was resolved to make 
 a start in the evening, and camp out in the woods. 
 I therefore hastily made up my saddle-bags, and 
 bought the few necessaries required, such as flour, 
 bacon, &c. ; to which the sanctity of the day was no 
 obstacle, almost every shop being open for business 
 on Sundays equally with week-days : a custom which 
 I found to obtain very generally throughout the entire 
 West ; and indeed in Central City the infection had 
 been caught by the bankers and dealers in gold-dust, 
 and great " oneyers " who should have set a better 
 example to the minnows of trade. 
 
 What a contrast to the conduct of the Jews, who 
 almost universally keep their own Sabbath in addi- 
 tion to the Gentile feast ! Verily it is a popular fallacy 
 to say the Jews are more greedy for gain than any 
 other nation. The truth is, money-making has been 
 their trade from immemorial ages. They have ac- 
 quired, as was natural, much ease and facility in their 
 
 10 
 
146 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 several branches of commerce, and a number of 
 envious, disappointed, and distanced competitors 
 raised the cry that their success was the result of 
 avarice and rapacity, instead of attributing it to its 
 real source. For my own part, I have generally found 
 enlightened Jews the pioneers in all measures of 
 enlightened philanthropy, and measuring their libe- 
 rality by no Christian standard. 
 
 All' things being thus ready, we rendezvoused at 
 the pomes' stable to pack the outfit on the backs of 
 these our travelling companions ; about which I feel 
 bound to say a word " in limine," as they formed 
 a most important element in the cortege. First 
 came " Bill," a large bay pony, of Indian origin, 
 standing on rather tall legs, but so symmetrical and 
 strong otherwise, that no judge of " points " * could 
 fail to give him credit for great activity and endur- 
 ance at the first glance ; qualities which he developed 
 afterwards in a most extraordinary degree, proving 
 about the best pony I ever saw for his work. His 
 attractions, however, ended here, as his ears were 
 cropped, a portion of his under lip was " razeed," 
 and one of his eyes was a " quaker," or, in other 
 words, " blind," having been injured by a former 
 
 * Point in a horse cannot be defined, as in Euclid, as " without 
 parts." 
 

 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 147 
 
 owner in a rage, at his refusal to draw : for " Bill " 
 had his whims and penchants, and, when once he 
 objected to do a thing, force or coaxing was thrown 
 away. He was the pillar of our state on this occasion, 
 being the flour-bearer, and having nearly 300 Ibs. of 
 that commodity, beside a few other " small deer " on 
 his Atlantean back. 
 
 Next came " Jack," a cream-coloured cobby little 
 horse, very strong and rather showy, having a 
 fine "rein" and round large quarters, but withal 
 very lazy; he was said to be a "flat-head" pony, 
 from the Indian tribe of that name, and, on the 
 whole, he proved a useful, but not very interesting 
 member of our comity. Then comes " Jenny/ 
 a young Mexican mule, rather small, and with 
 wonderfully spindle shanks ending in little Chinese 
 feet, which sunk hopelessly in every bog we came to, 
 I cannot praise her very highly, but perhaps had the 
 expletives she provoked by her mulishness been 
 uttered in Castilian, or " Grseser " " patois," she 
 would have understood our meaning better than 
 when conveyed to her long ears 
 
 In the oaths of British commerce and the accents of Cockaigne. 
 
 She was the bearer of our "batterie de cuisine," &c., 
 together with the beaver traps, and made as much 
 noise as she went along as a whole sleigh team, 
 
 102 
 
148 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 having no hesitation in impinging our pots and 
 kettles against rocks and trees as they came handy 
 to her. Of "Kate Fisher" I have already spoken, 
 and will only add that, though no paragon, she 
 proved a serviceable animal, though not a good shoot- 
 ing pony ; she packed any amount of game, and gave 
 herself no fine lady airs, as she might have done, 
 being of American descent, while the others were 
 only Indian. 
 
 Having thus disposed of the quadrupeds, let me 
 say a word anent the bipeds : first, premising that 
 filled with adventurers of all castes and classes, as 
 all western countries in America are, especially if the 
 region be auriferous a new element had been added to 
 the already very mixed and heterogeneous population 
 of Colorado, by the internecine war between North 
 and South, as it progressed in its demoniacal career ; 
 owing to the influx of " Southern sympathizers," to 
 use the word in vogue in the North, and of some 
 who had already borne arms for the Confederacy in 
 the border States of Arkansas and Missouri, and who 
 having been either discharged or disbanded, pre- 
 ferred a temporary " sejour " in a comparatively 
 neutral territory to returning to their northern or 
 eastern homes, and renewing their quarrels with 
 their neighbours and their own families. Added to 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 149 
 
 whom were many who, though not strictly partisans 
 of the South, were thoroughly opposed to the policy 
 of the administration, and would, I helieve, had they 
 heen placed in such a dilemma, rather have joined 
 the Southern cause than heen forced into serving 
 in the Federal lines. 
 
 To such men and in the horder States, such 
 as Missouri and Iowa they were numerous these 
 "high latitudes," removed from the atmosphere of 
 war and politics, offered an asylum very similar to 
 that afforded to our proscribed ancestors and theirs 
 too, perhaps, " quien sahe ? " by the " Low Coun- 
 tries," with this difference; that, in this case, free 
 scope was given to the energies of the new settlers, 
 and every avenue of wealth and power was here freely 
 open to their endeavours. Indeed, as a matter of 
 fact, Colorado was filled with men who found home 
 inconvenient during the war, and who were only wait- 
 ing for a general peace to return to their native 
 States ; some the richer for their emigration, but 
 the majority much the reverse. 
 
 My "compagnons de chasse," on this occasion, 
 might all be classed, with one exception, in this 
 category, and were putting in their time here in 
 various pursuits till peace should shine once more 
 on the horizon. First, let me introduce "William" 
 
150 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 (patronymics had better be suppressed) to your 
 notice. Under thirty, slightly made, and very hand- 
 some, with hands as small as a woman's, he was a 
 native of Kentucky ; had, when a mere lad, followed 
 an uncle into Texas, and part of the way to Old 
 Mexico, then at war with the United States : a war 
 which, if examined, will hardly present as many ex- 
 tenuating and justificatory pleas as the present French 
 invasion so loudly denounced by all Americans. 
 After that, being of a mechanical turn, he learnt 
 gunsmithing, and having realized some capital in 
 trade, embarked in some general business in a 
 frontier western State ; he prospered greatly till the 
 crash of 1857, which swept like a tornado over the 
 whole of this continent, utterly ruined him. The 
 second year of the war found him farming in Iowa, 
 whence he found it prudent to migrate further west ; 
 for politics ran high in his neighbourhood, his 
 intimate friend had been hanged almost before his 
 eyes, for refusing to divulge the names of certain 
 neighbours who belonged to an anti-Lincoln Society, 
 called " Knights of the Golden Circle," and he had 
 been menaced himself with pains and penalties if he 
 remained. So here he was occasionally working 
 at his old trade, but generally following the more 
 congenial occupation of hunting and trapping for a 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 151 
 
 livelihood. He was an exceedingly pleasant fellow, 
 a little lazy constitutionally, and slightly given to 
 romancing, but a good hunter when roused to it, 
 well informed, and naturally well-bred and enter- 
 taining. 
 
 Next comes Miles (a good name for a soldier surely), 
 fresh from Price's army, where he fought with such 
 distinction in the Lexington and Springfield affairs, 
 that he was offered a commission on the field, and 
 was actually presented by his colonel and captain with 
 a charger for his distinguished services. His family 
 being Federals, he, when invalided, struck out for 
 Colorado, and here mined, hunted, and earned his 
 living as best he could. He was quite a lad, but full 
 of talent, being a good histrionic, with a vocation 
 for nigger minstrelsy and the " bones ; " he com- 
 posed and sung very fair "rebel" songs, which he 
 chanted most lustily in the Kocky Mountain soli- 
 tudes, being debarred from such illicit pleasures 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Next comes "Andy," a stalwart Saxon-looking 
 young fellow, the tower of strength of our party; 
 as he was a first-rate hunter and woodsman of some 
 experience, and was besides one of those useful 
 people of whom you generally find one at least on 
 every Irish estate by the name of the "handy 
 
152 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 man : " our friend Andy was certainly a " handy 
 Andy," for he could do a little of almost every kind 
 of mechanical work, and being good-natured withal, 
 his services were often put into requisition. He 
 reminded me much of the Saxon pioneer, or frontier 
 man, in Crawford's fine group in the Capitol at 
 Washington, who appears warding off a band of 
 armed Indians from a defenceless family of women 
 and children about to be tomahawked and scalped, 
 calm and intrepid in the consciousness of his own 
 courage and power, w r hile 
 
 The clear soul in his earnest eyes 
 Looks thro' and thro' all plaited lies. 
 
 He had left his comfortable farm in Iowa for opinion's 
 sake solely, and was sighing anxiously for home and 
 peace wife and children far away. 
 
 My dramatis personse winds up with an American- 
 Dutchman yclept " John," whose chief hobby was 
 " prospecting " for mines, in which he had some skill 
 and experience : a poorish hunter, he represented 
 the genius of order and regularity in our party, and 
 was thus installed " President of the home depart- 
 ment," and general superintendent of the cuisine 
 and larder. We were rather a formidable -looking 
 quintette, each hunter's costume consisting by 
 rights of a rifle, a large cowhorn powder-flask, a 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 153 
 
 bullet and patch pouch, one or two couteaux de 
 cliasse, and a tomahawk, to cut up large game, blaze- 
 wood on the road for the benefit of posterity and 
 successors, and make itself generally useful in cutting 
 firewood, &c. about camp. 
 
 Apropos of costume, I must not forget William's 
 overalls of elk-skin, which he and Andy had tanned 
 and manufactured on a previous hunt, driven thereto 
 by necessity. They certainly were the most useful 
 " continuations " I ever saw ; for whenever string 
 (which is a great item in packing, and must be of 
 the strongest material) was wanted, we used to turn 
 to him and get him to cut a shred off the legs of 
 said overalls, till the latter were soon reduced to 
 the proportions of knickerbockers. 
 
 At last we really did get off, in the gloaming 
 of the evening of the 16th of August. After 
 walking some six or seven miles, during which time 
 we only missed our wood-trail once, we struck a 
 stream called " Peck gulch," and camped for the 
 night, as there was some grass for the ponies there. 
 Next morning we rose early, and dispersing through 
 the pines, killed enough grey squirrels and rabbits 
 for breakfast. I confess I had misgivings about 
 eating squirrels for the first time, but am glad I 
 overcame my ignorant prejudices, as I found them 
 
154 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 excellent much better indeed than rabbits. A few 
 miles brought us to twelve-mile diggings, now "played 
 out," with the miners' log-shanties all deserted. 
 
 A little further progress in an easterly direction 
 brought us to " Mammoth City," consisting of a 
 saw-mill a quartz ditto dismantled, and a log-hut 
 or two. A Boston Company had commenced opera- 
 tions here on a large and expensive scale, but with- 
 out any regard to the first principles of mining, or 
 even common every-day economy ; the consequence 
 was failure absolute, and everything saleable was 
 being carried off, to leave the pines to their primaeval 
 loneliness. There we dined, and in the afternoon, 
 as the weather looked rainy, we sheltered ourselves 
 in a log-cabin a few t miles further on, on the spurs 
 of the range, which we proposed to cross in the 
 morning. 
 
 Our precaution of stopping proved unnecessary, as 
 the afternoon held up very fine. However, on the 
 whole it was better to cross the range early than late 
 in the afternoon, and so next morning, after losing our 
 trail several times, we at last found ourselves climb- 
 ing the range in earnest, and soon looking down on 
 the pine-clad steeps below us, from an elevation 
 where nothing but dwarf and gnarled cedars flourished. 
 Our upward path through the timber was literally 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 155 
 
 enamelled with the brightest wild-flowers ; of which 
 being an ignorant admirer, I can say but little, save 
 that they were very lovely and gay: in speaking of 
 these gems of creation I must content myself with 
 very vague generalities, as Horace, when singing of 
 the patrician flower-gardens round Rome, bunched 
 the whole contents of the parterre into a simple 
 " copia narium." * As we emerged from the timber, 
 we found evidences of mining attempts in the pros- 
 pect holes, and " rasters," a sort of clumsy Mexican 
 machine for grinding quartz ; but everything of the 
 sort had been abandoned. Looking down on the 
 pines below, we were much struck at the enormous 
 extent of the burnt timber, which bears a very con- 
 siderable proportion to the green, and forms quite a 
 feature in the landscape, the bare grey poles of the 
 former looking wan and ghost-like, till the eye gets 
 accustomed to them. 
 
 Presently, after about an hour's very tortuous 
 walking, over ground covered with very short grass 
 and little white and blue flowers of most tiny pro- 
 portions, the "eager and the nipping air" assured 
 us we were nearing the top of the pass. This was 
 strewn with rocks, over which our ponies walked with 
 
 * Omnis copia narium spargent oliyetis odorem fertilibus domino 
 priori. 
 
156 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 a coolness and aplomb that greatly surprised me, 
 considering the consequences of a false step and the 
 yawning little crevasses between them. Hereabouts 
 we got our first view of the Middle Park, which 
 appeared from hence a confused mass of pine-forest, 
 mountains, and gorges, with bits of open country 
 through them, stretching far as the eye could scan. 
 
 After another hour's walk along this rocky ledge or 
 back-bone of a good breadth, however we came to 
 a sort of natural rocky staircase, commonly used, I 
 fancy, by the deer and elk in their annual migrations 
 eastwards and westwards ; down this our ponies crept 
 with marvellous surefootedness for about a mile, 
 when we got on to a lower ledge, and thus by easy 
 descent in an hour or so we struck the timber on the 
 other side of the range. Having surmounted the 
 difficulties of what is called from the outline of the 
 mountain "the Hog-backed Pass," in a short time we 
 found ourselves in a deliciously green valley, from the 
 centre of which flowed a small stream of pellucid 
 water, which, insignificant as it looked, plied its 
 watery task till it found a home in the far Pacific : for 
 the waters of the Middle Park, unlike those of the 
 north, empty themselves into the tributaries of that 
 ocean. In this valley we dined, and descending the 
 spurs of the range, along the same stream, we made 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 157 
 
 some six or seven miles more before we camped for 
 the night. We killed en route, some pine grouse, 
 a very fine bird, not unlike our own, only larger, 
 together with a woodchuck, or ground-hog a curi- 
 ous compound between a badger and a hedgehog, 
 said to be good to eat ; but with one accord we 
 declined trying. The stones in the hills seemed to 
 abound with a very curious little animal like a 
 guinea-pig, called, from its peculiarity, here " a dog 
 without a tail." 
 
 In the morning we found it had frozen hard, and 
 was bitterly cold. A few miles brought us to the 
 Fraser, a good-sized river, but reduced this year, in 
 consequence of the small snow-fall, to shallow pro- 
 portions ; and as it looked likely to hold trout, I 
 stayed behind our party, and was rewarded by catch- 
 ing two very large fish. I had some trouble in 
 following the track of our party, and was much afraid 
 I had missed it, till after some "tall walking" I 
 found my friends camped by a small mountain brook, 
 engaged in netting, with a very novel kind of seine 
 (willows twisted in the form of the letter V), a deep 
 hole in a stream, out of which they took more than two 
 dozen small trout. Leaving this brook, and proceed- 
 ing over some small hills in an easterly direction, we 
 struck the Fraser once more, and camped on its banks. 
 
158 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 Some of the land we walked over to-day seemed 
 very available for tillage, though now cropped only 
 with the sage-plant, looking much like the lavender- 
 bushes which we see in old gardens, only far larger 
 and more woody, and gnarled. Besides this great 
 staple, we passed a good deal of columbo root, ele- 
 campane, and a sort of bitter bush, something like a 
 gooseberry -tree, which William called wild quinine. 
 In the groves, which are dotted about here and there 
 as no landscape gardener could group them, the 
 undergrowth consisted principally of the juniper 
 cedar, with its berries in all stages of maturity, from 
 green to purple ; the latter tasting not unlike raisins. 
 
 20i/i. The night and morning were again very cold, 
 as indeed they continued to be during the excursion ; 
 but the sun soon became very hot, almost overpower- 
 ingly so. Crossing the Fraser again, we struck the 
 Grand River in a few miles. I suspect this name is 
 a corruption of Eio Grande, a common name for 
 rivers in countries of Spanish origin : certainly it is 
 better than one which I recollect well in Jamaica, 
 and which struck me always as a great sin against 
 euphony "Agua Alta" disguised into "Wagwater!" 
 It is a fine stream, about the size of the Thames 
 at Godstow, but far more rapid, and seemed a 
 favourite haunt for wild ducks and geese. I 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 159 
 
 much regretted then, and on many a subsequent 
 occasion, that I had not brought a shot-gun with 
 me, instead of the Sharp rifle : this I carried 
 specially for bears, as it loaded so very fast, in addi- 
 tion to a three-barrelled aifair, of local make, for deer 
 and antelope. We here met for the first time the 
 "sage-hen," a grouse, but of noble proportions, and 
 I think heavier than most pheasants. It lives almost 
 entirely on the sage-plant, and if the crop, &c., be 
 removed directly after shooting, it is an admirable 
 bird for the table ; if not, the whole flesh becomes 
 impregnated with the flavour of the sage un pen 
 trop fort ! 
 
 Our course to-day was over arid rolling plains, with 
 the vegetation so burnt up that I was reminded of 
 that forcible line in the " Georgics:" 
 
 At cum exustus ager morientibus sestuat herbis. 
 Most of it might, however, be irrigated with apparent 
 ease. In the valleys of the streams or creeks things 
 wore a greener aspect, and where we camped for the 
 night, by Beaver Creek, the grass was abundant. 
 Here we set ourselves to search for game " sign " or 
 spoor ; though we found traces of both elk and 
 beaver, unluckily others had been before us, and con- 
 sequently a change of plans of " base," to use the 
 jargon of Federal generalship became necessary ; so, 
 
160 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 on the morrow, William and Miles set out to discover 
 a practicable track to the North Park, which is sepa- 
 rated from the Middle by a lower or spur range. 
 
 Meanwhile Andy, John, and myself proceeded to 
 explore Still-water Lake, through which the Grand 
 Eiver flows. We found it at last, after a toilsome 
 progress through burnt timber, where your powers of 
 equilibration are continually called into play, and 
 where good knee action is indispensable. It is a 
 beautiful sheet of water, about two miles long, em- 
 bosomed among the pine-bearing hills, and appa- 
 rently of great depth. Its sides, as far as we 
 went, were covered with raspberries, which grew 
 on dwarf bushes, and were quite equal to most 
 garden fruit in England ; but, unlike those in the 
 States, these were red, while the former are, I am 
 told, generally black. There were also some black 
 gooseberries, but very poor in size. The white and 
 black currant and raspberry are the best small fruit 
 of this region, and grow wild equal to our garden 
 varieties ; while here the red currant is a miserable 
 specimen. 
 
 Andy shot a very fine beaver in the lake, which we for- 
 tunately got and skinned. Generally speaking, when 
 shot they sink at once to the bottom, and if in deep 
 water are very hard to secure. Returning in the even- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 161 
 
 ing, I caught some very fine trout in the Grand Eiver, 
 and lost one or two monsters from rotten tackling. 
 In the evening John and Andy posted themselves at 
 an alkali spring, where the elk tracks appeared fresh ; 
 but though they saw some elk in the shadowy dis- 
 tance, the light was not sufficiently good to warrant a 
 shot. I returned to camp with the trout. We had a 
 slight shower this evening in itself no very notice- 
 able circumstance, but I chronicle the weather because, 
 in the first place, meteorology is a sort of privileged 
 ground to an Englishman, forming, as no doubt it 
 does, both in circles polite and impolite, a great staple 
 of his daily conversation, as well as entering largely 
 into his hopes and fears, his plans and arrangements 
 of all sorts ; and in the next, because I wish by a 
 daily record to give a fair idea of the climate of these 
 "high latitudes." 
 
 %Znd. Finding the flies purchased in this country 
 so badly tied, and the gut to which they were ap- 
 pended so brittle and rotten, that no dependence 
 could be placed on them for large fish, such as 
 are caught in the Grand varying as they did from 
 three-quarters of a pound to about three, many four, 
 pounds (though we had brought no scales) we spent 
 the morning in making what we hoped the "trutta " 
 would consider natural flies, but which appeared to me 
 
 11 
 
162 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 a very poor presentment of any known winged thing. 
 Still, hoping that the principle of "omne ignotum 
 pro mirifico " extended to the genus fish as well as 
 to the genus man, we adopted them boldly, and 
 the result was satisfactory, spite of a severe storm 
 of hail and rain. As I was returning to camp late 
 in the evening, I was fairly pursued by owls, who, I 
 thought, tried to swoop down to the fish, which I was 
 carrying on a stick. Arrived at camp, we found the 
 rain had soaked the buffalo robes which formed our 
 bedding ; but with the aid of a good fire we managed 
 to get through the night pretty comfortably. 
 
 I haven't said a word hitherto about the grey 
 parrots, or meat birds, which haunt the woods 
 here ; and yet, as Cicero said of literary tastes 
 and studies being ever present with their votaries, 
 "pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur," 
 so these curious little grey birds, something between 
 a parrot and a jackdaw, were sure to be present 
 wherever we camped, and to " assist " at every 
 meal ; almost voting themselves of the party, spite 
 of our occasionally knocking over an intruder with 
 anything that came handy. In the morning they 
 would sometimes scream in a most eerie and un- 
 earthly manner, frightening the ponies, till they got 
 used to the dissonance ; but what amused me most 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 163 
 
 was to watch one of these birds when about to com- 
 mit a barefaced robbery, and when perched for the 
 purpose on some bough close to the attraction. If 
 you caught his eye, or he yours, he would instantly 
 begin to look unconcerned, and I am sure, had he 
 been able to talk in our language, he would at once 
 have commenced a conversation upon any other topic 
 than the one great one uppermost in his mind. The 
 conscious guilt, dissimulation, and fear, formed a 
 most imcomparable melange. 
 
 23rd. Andy and I went to the Grand after break- 
 fast, and in an hour or two caught twenty-two large 
 trout, in one of which I found a water-mole. Indeed, I 
 think the trout as greedy a fish as any, though 
 certainly shyer than most ; and I may mention that, 
 in these waters, when other baits fail, a trout's eye is 
 considered very telling. Bringing home the fish to 
 camp a load nearly as great as we could carry we 
 found our exploring party had returned with a good 
 store of small game. They pronounced the track to 
 the North Park feasible, and amused us with an 
 account of their long chase after bison, which they 
 found on one of the bald mountains between the 
 parks ; two of which they wounded, but did not get 
 from want of dogs. These animals are only a moun- 
 tain species of the buffalo on the plains, smaller and 
 
 113 
 
164 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 more active, and with more shaggy coats. The day 
 was lovely in the extreme, and so it may be assumed 
 were all that succeeded, unless special mention to the 
 contrary he recorded. 
 
 24^/t. We breakfasted very early, intending to 
 " make tracks " for the North Park ; hut alas ! the 
 ponies had wandered off towards the alkali spring, or 
 " salt lick," and were not found till the afternoon, 
 during which interval we suffered some anxiety, fancy- 
 ing a party of Indians had come and carried them off, 
 first putting hits of blanket on their feet to avoid 
 traces. Starting late, we camped some six miles off, 
 in a north-easterly direction, at the foot of a high 
 peak, on whose sides I found yellow ochre and the 
 burnt quartz, or " blossom rock " which is such an 
 indicator of gold. 
 
 The soil here evidently varied from that we had 
 left, as poplars and balm of Gilead trees were found 
 every now and then in abundance. 
 
 25th. Getting under weigh by seven o'clock, we 
 pursued our course through much broken and burnt 
 timber, which makes travelling very tedious, espe- 
 cially with pack animals, as you have to go zig- 
 zagging round the fallen timber in all directions ; 
 but at last we emerged into lovely pinewoods, 
 carpeted with huckleberry plants, and breaking 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 165 
 
 every now and then into beautiful glades, full of 
 springs. In one of these glades we camped for the 
 night, and found some Hack-tailed deer in the neigh- 
 bourhood, but failed to shoot any. These latter are 
 sometimes called " black deer," from their blue- 
 black colour, and are very wild and shy ; whereas the 
 white-tailed deer are comparatively bold and fearless 
 of men, venturing often into the neighbourhood of 
 settlements. 
 
 26/. The ice was thick in our water-buckets 
 this morning, but spite of the cold, we made an early 
 start, and after toiling through eight miles, more or 
 less, of broken timber, we came to a stream which we 
 surmised ran into the waters of the North Platte. 
 Finding beaver sign in plenty, we determined to 
 camp here for the present, and set some traps; in the 
 evening we got a fawn and also a beaver. John, who 
 went out by himself, did not return to camp, so we 
 fired minute-guns to indicate our position, as if at 
 sea, but still he came not; so I took his place as 
 breadmaker and cook, considering that man is not 
 only defined to be a " featherless biped," " bipes 
 implumis," but also a " cooking animal ; " and I am 
 glad to say that the result was a considerable success. 
 It is true the bread I baked would have created an 
 emeute among the Jeameses and Angelinas of an 
 
166 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 English servants' hall, and in the nursery it would 
 have probably been voted highly deleterious stuff; 
 but we all ate it with much gusto, and I confess 
 to some pride in the work of my hands on the occa- 
 sion like Touchstone's wife, "a poor thing, but 
 mine own." 
 
 Zlth. John re-appears with the noon-day sun ; he 
 had fortunately carried matches in his pouch, and having 
 his hunting-knife or whittle, had made himself a fire 
 to sleep by, but for food he had depended on the 
 juniper berries. In the afternoon, thinking we should 
 probably spend some time in the neighbourhood, we 
 built a shanty, roofing it with alternate layers of 
 spruce and pine boughs, which gave a rather pretty 
 result ; and as it had several varieties of game hang- 
 ing round the entrance, I pleased myself by fancying 
 some resemblance between it and Landseer's well- 
 known picture of " Bolton Abbey in the Olden 
 Time." To-day two beavers were caught in our traps. 
 
 28/j. I set out to-day towards some mountains west- 
 wards, which seemed likely to hold elk, bison, and per- 
 haps a stray bear or two. The morning was intensely 
 cold, but long ere noon, Hamlet's wish was realized, 
 and the solid flesh was " larding the lean earth " of 
 the mountains. However, after walking about fifteen 
 or sixteen hours, and meeting no large game, I had 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 167 
 
 to make up my mind to " camp out," supperless; but 
 en revanche, I built a fire big enough for a suttee or 
 an auto-da-fe, and passed a comfortable night enough, 
 spite of the cold. I got back to the shanty by about 
 7 a.m. (29^), where I found Andy had killed an elk, 
 and brought in part of it, so the ponies were des- 
 patched to bring in portions of the elk, while the 
 remainder was to be jerked or " boncaned " on the 
 spot where shot. Let me here record that my first 
 impression of elk potage was most favourable. 
 
 30th. To-day we caught no beaver in our traps, 
 but found one or two legs gnawed off by these intrepid 
 animals in their efforts to regain their freedom. (I 
 learnt subsequently that our system of trapping was 
 radically defective, as the traps should be so set as to 
 drown the beaver at once, and not allow him ever to 
 get on the bank, for if he does the alarm is given 
 to the entire commonwealth.) This gave me a disgust 
 to trapping, especially when a close acquaintance with 
 the habits of beavers, and the sight of their extra- 
 ordinary achievements in building and colonizing, 
 revealed their wonderful instincts and faculties. 
 
 Down this stream, for instance, a succession of 
 dams had been constructed for ever so many miles, 
 in fact far as I could see : indeed these enterprising 
 amphibia covered with their works and dwellings a 
 
168 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 space of many thousand acres. Here, where willows 
 abounded, the dams were made after the fashion of 
 huge fascines, plastered over with layers of mud, and 
 always placed at precisely the right angle to with- 
 stand the force of the current ; but whatever the 
 material, be it stones, mud, or brushwood, the beaver 
 makes the best use of it, and I have seen very 
 respectable masonry of their construction. The power 
 of their tails is enormous, and it is with them that they 
 carry logs, large stones, and mud, to give the weight 
 and solidity essential to finish their works. The tail 
 is said to be a delicacy, but I made no experiment 
 myself, having no leader. Their gnawing powers too 
 are well-known, and I have seen in this beaver town 
 many a mountain willow and aspen tree of fully a 
 foot in diameter, cut down by them as neatly as if 
 hewed by an expert axeman. Their houses are round, 
 built of willows, and covered with heavy logs to 
 prevent the wind from carrying off the mud and clay 
 with which they are roofed. 
 
 Trappers say that Mrs. Beaver mere occupies the 
 mansion with her family of kittens, yearlings and 
 two-year olds, while Mr. Beaver pere is given what 
 policemen call " the key of the street," and has 
 to find himself a "pied a terre," or rather "a 
 1'eau," under the banks of the streams, as best IIG 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 169 
 
 can. This doctrine, however, of '" separate main- 
 tenance," I must repudiate on the part of the 
 beaver family as inconsistent with the proofs one 
 everywhere sees of their orderly and well-regulated 
 existences ; which might, I think, point a whole- 
 some moral to the sluggard and spendthrift almost 
 as well as the "inopi metuens formica senectae" 
 of Solomon and Virgil. It is said they have multi- 
 plied considerably since silk hats came into fashion, 
 for whereas their fur used to command ten dollars 
 per pound in the market, a whole skin can now 
 be purchased for about two dollars in the undressed 
 state. They are wonderfully cunning animals, when- 
 ever they have been once trapped, and I cannot 
 help thinking they hand down traditions of their 
 experiences in this line, from generation to gene- 
 ration. 
 
 31st. In this colony the beaver were evidently 
 on the look-out, and so we determined to prospect 
 for better fields for hunting and trapping ; with 
 that view William and Miles took the ponies 
 and set off into the North Park to explore, while 
 I set out in quest of elk and bear. The latter 
 animals have generally frequented the North Park 
 in considerable numbers, as here they found abun- 
 dant feeding among the huckleberries; but this 
 
170 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 dry year that crop lias almost entirely failed, 
 and to that circumstance, I suppose, I owe it that I 
 failed to get a shot at either grisly or cinnamon bear, 
 during the expedition : though I saw signs of them 
 in various directions, and fancied I could smell them ; 
 but the want of dogs was fatal. However, when their 
 coverts embrace thousands of square miles, it is a 
 mere chance finding Mr. Bruin at home, without the 
 aid of the " odora canurn vis." 
 
 The huckleberry is the great undergrowth of the 
 pine-woods hereabouts, and its fruit, varying from the 
 hue of a red currant to that of a ripe black grape, is 
 very pretty, and also good ; but I found the trouble of 
 picking them this year was too great " materiem 
 superabat opus " decidedly. I think they might be 
 introduced into our coverts with great advantage, and 
 have no doubt pheasants would appreciate them, 
 while for rabbits and hares they would make very 
 good "lying." Coming home, I killed the largest 
 skunk I think I ever saw. 
 
 Sept. 1. John and Andy were engaged during this 
 time jerking the elk to make it more portable ; and as 
 this process may not be familiar to every Englishman, 
 I will endeavour to give an idea of it. A number of 
 aspen forks are cut down and planted firmly in the 
 ground, in some sunny spot, and on top of these, 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 171 
 
 some six feet from the ground, are laid a lot of willow 
 or aspen poles, so as to form a framework. Then 
 the meat is cut into pieces of about a quarter of a 
 pound, which are' skewered on small willow wands 
 and placed on the frame ; under them a slight fire 
 of willows is kept burning, to give the meat the 
 flavour of the wood, and so keep off the flies, which 
 are almost a plague here. 
 
 To-day we got a fresh supply of deer and antelope ; 
 William bringing in the latter from the Park. I was 
 not a little surprised and pleased to-day at seeing a 
 number of sparrows among the willow-bushes " Que 
 faisaient ils dans cette galere," I wonder ? They were 
 not so fat or saucy-looking as their Johnny Bull 
 cousins, but otherwise had their characteristics. 
 
 In climbing up these hills I learnt to appreciate 
 the peasant's excellent counsel to " excelsior " 
 
 Beware the pine-tree's withered branch ; 
 for when fallen pines bridge over deep ravines and 
 gullies, the breaking of a rotten limb may cause a 
 similar catastrophe to yourself, or even loss of life ; 
 and one may add, in these mountains, beware the 
 withered tree likewise, for some of these burnt trees, 
 if you lean your weight on them, will crash down, 
 and you must be careful to be on the right side of 
 the falling pole, or else beware the consequences ! 
 
172 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 3rd. Preparatory to a move into the North Park, we 
 shifted our camp ahout a mile and a half lower down 
 the stream, to see if the beaver there were less on 
 the defensive than higher up; taking up our quar- 
 ters under a huge spruce-tree, which we found almost 
 rain-proof, the evening being showery. I shot a 
 beaver in a dam this evening, and plunged into the 
 deep water after him, but he foiled me. The rain 
 here was snow in the mountains pardon the bull 
 as we saw by their white mantles. 
 
 4th. -Andy and William set off this morning into 
 the Park to kill antelope, while I started in the direction 
 of " the range," to see if elk had been driven down 
 lower by the snow there ; but the morning was so 
 cold, I could scarcely hold my rifle. On my return, 
 I pulled down about a foot of the dam where I shot 
 the beaver yesterday, with great labour, so well and 
 faithfully had it been constructed ! 
 
 5th. On my visiting it this morning, I found the 
 hole I had made beautifully repaired, so I abandoned 
 my hope of getting the beaver by drainage. Andy and 
 William return, having killed four antelope, with one 
 of which the ravens had taken liberties ; during their 
 expedition they had left a fire burning at their camp, 
 and on returning had found a general conflagration, 
 which consumed inter alia Andy's coat a serious 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 173 
 
 loss, when fig-leaves, in the shape of skins, could be 
 the only substitute ! 
 
 6th. A general resolution was adopted to-day to 
 move into the North Park, on whose outskirts we were 
 encamped, so, to lighten the load, we partly " grained " 
 and "fleshed" the elk skin ; we made a very good 
 "graining" block, by cutting down a smooth aspen 
 tree and placing it on a low fork, the graining knife 
 being a square bar of steel with two handles, which 
 is rubbed along the hide, and takes off the hair and 
 glutinous particles. All round our camp, and indeed 
 generally through the hills, the " killikinnick " plant, 
 which the Indians mix freely with their tobacco, grew 
 in abundance. It is very like the box, only that it 
 does not attain anything near the same size, and 
 bears a lovely little berry, the precise hue of the best 
 pink coral. I think it would thrive in some of our 
 woodlands, in the dry uplands. 
 
 7th. Carrying out our resolution, we "packed," 
 and made an early start, proceeding in a north-westerly 
 direction. After a few miles we got fairly in the 
 North Park, which has a far more legitimate title 
 to the name than the " Middle," as it is a large oval 
 plain, comparatively speaking ; for though the land 
 rises in places to a considerable height, the view 
 from north to south, and east to west, is hardly 
 
174 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 ever much obstructed. I can only give a vague 
 guess at its length or breath, but think I am within 
 bounds when I put down the former at about eighty 
 miles, and the latter at thirty. Its waters flow east- 
 wards; and here that mighty river, the Platte, at 
 least its northern fork, takes its origin. 
 
 After we had made about twelve miles, we 
 perceived a tent pitched, and some ponies round 
 it; and a visit proved it to be occupied by no 
 less personages than the Indian agent for the 
 Ute nation, accompanied by Mr. Lincoln's private 
 secretary. They were in quest of the "Ute tribe," 
 and had just got into the Park, and were going 
 back again next day. They had a large suite 
 with them, but were so indifferently armed that 
 " magnas inter opes inopes" they had no venison, 
 and were glad of a supply from us. They had 
 just disturbed a bear among the willows, where 
 they were encamped; but, I suppose mistrust- 
 ing their guns, had not even given him a parting 
 salute. 
 
 Proceeding some eight or ten miles further still 
 in a north-westerly direction over a clear prairie, for 
 the most part covered with sage brush, and cross- 
 ing a creek or two, we encamped on the edge of a 
 small stream, among hills covered with aspen and 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 175 
 
 cedar, and but little pine-wood. Herds of antelope 
 were seen in all directions, but generally from a mile 
 to two miles distant, and evidently very shy ; for this 
 North Park is a great hunting-ground of the Indians, 
 as well as a battle-field, last year having witnessed an 
 engagement between the Utes and Eapahoe nations. 
 The Indian method of hunting makes the wild 
 animals wilder still ; for besides shooting them in 
 passes, and watching for them at springs and streams, 
 they are able by their great numbers to drive them in 
 herds through ravines and defiles ; whereas white men 
 never hunt in large parties, but generally singly, and 
 consequently scare the game far less. I never tried 
 the plan of hoisting a red flag or even a pocket- 
 handkerchief, and then lying " perdu " till the ante- 
 lope, attracted like bulls to the strange sight, came 
 circling round for, like most deer, they are as 
 curious and inquisitive as a turkey* but it is said 
 to be a very effective mode of " pot-hunting." 
 
 8th. To-day we had the satisfaction of finding that 
 several hundred pounds of the meat jerked with so 
 much care had been spoilt by flies, which are almost 
 Egyptian here in numbers ; this was the more pro- 
 voking as we had carried it so far. In the evening 
 
 * Those who have studied this bird will know what an inquisitive 
 
176 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 it rained heavily and continuously, almost reducing 
 us to the condition with which Mr. Mantilini con- 
 tinually menaced his " cara sposa." 
 
 9th. The stream we were camped on being joined 
 by one or two tributaries, swelled a mile or two lower 
 down to important dimensions, and was apparently 
 much "used" by beaver, and to-day we secured a 
 very large fellow. Some hail fell, but though so near 
 "the range," the stones were not nearly so large as 
 I saw them on the plains in the summer, where I 
 picked up some fully as large as a musket-ball. 
 Building a shanty of aspen wood, roofed with willow, 
 occupied this day. 
 
 Wth. Proceeding to examine the beaver traps this 
 morning, without a single gun or rifle in the party, we 
 were stared at deliberately by a large mountain lion 
 on the other side of the stream a few hundred yards 
 off only. He was in no hurry to vamoose, and cer- 
 tainly looked on us as the intruders. This animal 
 has little affinity to the lion proper, but it is akin to 
 the jaguar or panther called " painter " in parts of 
 the States ; it is of great size and power, and, 
 if " cornered," would be a formidable foe. 
 
 In the evening I killed a splendid buck antelope, 
 but had to leave him covered up with boughs, as it 
 was some distance to camp. I had misgivings 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 177 
 
 that in the morning I should find that the wolves or 
 bears had been feasting on him ; but on proceeding 
 in the morning (llth), with a pony, to bring him into 
 camp, I found him unscathed. 
 
 12th. Visiting the traps this morning I only set 
 mine occasionally I found a musk-rat caught in one ; 
 he was a huge fellow, and the far appeared to me so 
 much better than what I had been accustomed to see 
 that I preserved it, intending to dedicate it to making 
 a pair of cuffs for some nameless somebody's pretty 
 wrists. But alas ! " 1'homme propose, mais la femme 
 n'en disposa pas," for the voracious ravens round our 
 camp, who in our absence held high festival there, 
 snatched off this little argosy, as well as a companion 
 to it. The larger beaver-skins were so firmly pegged 
 into the ground that they tried in vain to appropriate 
 them ; though I fancy there was a general conspiracy 
 against our rights of property among the fowls of the 
 air, for numbers of magpies, who are always at the 
 bottom of villanies, might now be seen daily round 
 our shanty. 
 
 13/i. William and Miles, who had been out some 
 days, returning with several antelope and beaver which 
 they had shot, the labour of dressing the hides com- 
 menced. As for the beaver- skins, they were simply 
 stretched in a sunny spot, and secured in the ground 
 
 12 
 
178 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 by sharp pegs. Deer and antelope skins have first 
 to be fleshed and grained on a block, then, when 
 free from all glutinous matter, hair, and grain, they 
 are either steeped in oil for several hours (our oil we 
 extracted from the beaver, which, I should say, 
 would be very good indeed for leather and harness), 
 and then given a bath of soapsuds a process which 
 has to be repeated several times, at considerable 
 intervals. Then they are " pulled out " by hand, and 
 rubbed soft and dry ; or else they are immersed in a 
 solution of brains and tepid water, a process repeated, 
 like the oil-dressing, several times, after which 
 they are pulled and rubbed dry by hand. The 
 root of the " Spanish dagger " (" Yucca gloriosa," 
 I think), which is very saponaceous, is often used 
 by hunters in addition to soap, or even as a substitute 
 for it ; but here we were too high for that, by, I fancy, 
 several thousand feet. Provident hunters made their 
 own soap in the woods, having the materials, wood 
 ashes and deer fat, in endless profusion at hand. 
 
 This evening William returned late to camp, and 
 passing through some willow-bushes near which 
 " Bill" was larrietted, the latter got frightened, pro- 
 bably from being approached on the blind side, and 
 kicked his namesake resolutely ; the poor fellow got 
 further entangled in the larriette, and reached camp 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 179 
 
 sorely bruised, and with his shoulder out of joint. We 
 had all heard or read of the true theory of putting the 
 shoulder into place again, hut knew not the practice, 
 and, I fear, caused poor William a world of needless 
 torture in our vain efforts to get the joint into its 
 socket again. Fortunately, we had in camp a little 
 alcohol, which we used to mix with sassafras bark 
 (supposed to be a great attraction to beaver), and 
 administering a little of this did some good in induc- 
 ing sleep; but other opiates or palliatives we had none. 
 So in the morning (14:th) it was determined that 
 William, attended by Miles, should push on to the 
 Middle Park, and endeavour to reach the place where 
 the company of soldiers had been sent, as it was 
 hoped and expected a surgeon might be found there ; 
 and, if the company hadn't left their encampment, 
 this was much nearer, and more feasible, than a 
 return to Central City. So, putting the invalid on 
 the pony "Jack," as the easiest in his paces, we 
 wished them " God speed," not expecting to see 
 them for many a day ; when, what was our surprise a 
 few hours afterwards, to see William and Miles 
 returning ; the former, comparatively speaking, all 
 right again, having had his shoulder jerked into place 
 by a stumble of Jack " the Bone-setter's " in crossing 
 some broken ground. 
 
 122 
 
180 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 1.5th. This afternoon, spite of slight showers and 
 clouds of menace, I baked me some hread, and rode 
 out, intending to have a long antelope chase ; soon, 
 however, it grew dark and overcast, and I was fain 
 to take refuge in some timber on a hill- side. Here I 
 built a huge fire, and, sheltered under my large 
 buffalo robe, bore up as well as I could against the 
 torrents of rain which soon soaked through ; and to 
 add to the agreeable sensations engendered by these 
 circumstances, the wolves in the neighbourhood 
 made a perfect " sabbat " of howling, to assure me 
 they knew all about my whereabouts. By-the-by, 
 how poor the word " howl " is in comparison with 
 the Latin expression "ululatus," or even the French 
 " hurlernent," any one who has been serenaded by a 
 pack of wolves can testify. 
 
 16th. By morning, snow had succeeded to rain, and 
 not wishing to prolong my stay in the neighbourhood, 
 I saddled " Kate Fisher," and proceeded towards 
 camp, but was tempted to get off "en route," as I 
 saw some antelopes within easy range, and neglected 
 to tie the mare's larriette to a sage-bush. Of course 
 powder and caps refused to do their duty after the 
 soaking of the previous night, though I had endea- 
 voured to keep my rifle as dry as was possible, and 
 a minute afterwards I had the pleasure of seeing 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 181 
 
 Kate, weary of waiting in the snow, proceeding " sola " 
 to camp, some miles distant, at a long leisurely 
 trot, increased, however, whenever I attempted to 
 near her. This was bearable, and perhaps even a 
 not unpleasant dispensation on such a morning ; but 
 presently the buffalo robe, heavy with the rain-fall, 
 dropped off the saddle, and to "pack" this all the 
 way to camp was no laughing matter to me ; though, 
 no doubt, a capital joke to her. When I got to camp, 
 all the bile within me stirred by the rebellion and 
 treason of my horse, I had the consolation which 
 the bad part of one feels in the discomfort of 
 others on certain occasions to find that the willow 
 roof of our shanty had proved no defence against 
 the heavy rain, and that everything was soaking 
 and pulpy. 
 
 The day, however, soon cleared, and we got 
 some antelope before the evening ; but, as flour and 
 salt were nearly exhausted, there was a general reso- 
 lution to return soon to the eastern side of the range ; 
 a determination to which the rain had conduced in 
 no small degree, together with the porous qualities 
 of our willow bower; which, in our eyes, was no 
 longer " a thing of beauty," and certainly not "a 
 joy for ever." 
 
 18th. This morning we found our spring partially 
 
182 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 frozen, but the day being lovely, as usual, I set out for 
 a hunt on Kate ; but confound the cunning jade ! 
 the successful trick she played me yesterday, which I 
 magnanimously condoned, or visited with the gentlest 
 of corrections, stimulated her to fresh efforts in that 
 line, and off she bolted again as I was stalking an 
 antelope ; and, though I searched in all directions, 
 I could not make out her whereabouts, but returned 
 on foot to camp in the evening, having killed a doe 
 antelope, which I had been obliged to leave in 
 " statu quo," having forgotten to take a knife with 
 me. Coming back I got entangled among the 
 beaver-dams, and could not find the crossing of the 
 stream, so had to plunge into the icy cold water and 
 wade across. I found the camp empty, every one 
 being out hunting. 
 
 18th. In the morning, after cooking and breakfast 
 were despatched, I set out again to hunt for Kate, whom 
 I found, without much labour ; night, and her saddle 
 and bridle bad sleeping and feeding companions 
 having superinduced a more sober and reflective if a 
 sadder frame of mind. Eeturning with my prize to 
 camp, where I had left an affiche stating the loss 
 of the mare whether stolen or strayed and re- 
 questing any of the party who might return before 
 me, to assist in searching for her, I was startled to 
 
KOOKY MOUNTAINS. 183 
 
 find that Miles had come there during my absence, 
 and reversing my " poster," had requested a similar 
 investigation to be set on foot for Jack, whom he 
 had lost from his camping-ground some miles off; 
 he was, however, found in our camp at night the 
 instinct of these ponies in knowledge of country 
 being quite wonderful ; and, besides, I fancied 
 Jack had a platonic tendresse for Kate, for they 
 used to brouse sentimentally together in the moon- 
 light nights ! 
 
 William and John return in the evening with a 
 supply of duck and antelope, and a few specimens of 
 the " sucker " fish they had shot ; the latter struck 
 me as being a good edition of the tench. 
 
 19th. Andy, on his return, gave us an account of 
 some " Kapahoe " * Indians he met, who were scouting 
 for the "Utes,"| their enemies. They were very 
 friendly to him ; indeed I cannot help thinking the 
 Indians are far more sinned against than sinning, 
 and that many murders which have been committed 
 by them on American citizens have been, for the most 
 part, but another instance of "the wild justice of 
 revenge" seeking victims anywhere, in compensa- 
 
 * Properly " Arapahoe." 
 
 f The North Park is, I believe, debatable territory, claimed by 
 both nations. 
 
184 K AMBLES IN THE 
 
 tion for long catalogues of oppression, treachery, 
 and fraud. Unfortunately, the blow often falls 
 upon the innocent ; the Indian "lex talionis " not 
 discriminating between individuals, but requiring 
 life for life, irrespective of persons. 
 
 It is the fashion to abhor Indians, and General 
 Harney, I ani told, extirpated them root and 
 branch, killing families indiscriminately, when he 
 was merely sent by the United States Government to 
 protect the emigration across the plains in itself an 
 aggression in the eyes of Indians. He is universally 
 lauded as a hero in the west ; though the authorities 
 at Washington, if I recollect right, punished his 
 conduct on the occasion. 
 
 The " Mormons" who, " on dit," have ever kept 
 good faith scrupulously with the Indians are beloved 
 by them, and the latter would, I am sure, be a 
 ready instrument in their hands, should any troubles 
 arise between the saints and gentiles : which the influx 
 of miners and prospectors is very likely to accelerate. 
 And though we, as a nation, have no right to boast, 
 yet it is notorious that Indians have far more faith in 
 English honour than in the American article. 
 
 To go no further than our own party: had the 
 Indians confiscated our goods and chattels, we 
 should have had no just ground for complaint, 
 
KOOKY MOUNTAINS. 185 
 
 for we were knowingly and notoriously trespassing 
 on their favourite hunting-grounds their own "par 
 droit de conquete, de chasse, et de naissance," 
 and they would have been, according to their code, 
 quite as much justified in taking the law into 
 their own hands, as an English squire would 
 be in prosecuting a poacher. Yet sure I am that if 
 a small party of Indians had attempted to "lift" 
 our horses, or make prize of our guns or traps, the 
 Americans of the party would have at once con- 
 sidered this a declaration of war, even " al cuchillo;" 
 then I must perforce have taken my stand with them, 
 if only for dear love of life. Hinc illae lachrymse ! 
 and from causes, such as this imaginary one, arise 
 those fearful frontier feuds, the unjust origin of 
 which on the part of the whites is often forgotten, 
 or conveniently ignored. 
 
 Indeed, the whole history of this vast territory is 
 nothing but a chronicle of utter defiance and invasion 
 of Indian rights; the Government every now and 
 then making feeble efforts to do justice, and offering 
 compensations, liberal perhaps in their eyes, but 
 odious to the Indian mind, which is ever rankling 
 with the keen sense of wrongs he can only attempt 
 to revenge in his fitful and impuissant way. 
 
 . In the morning I found myself rather the 
 
186 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 worse for my cold plunge when more or less heated, and 
 in the ahsence of a medicine chest, went in quest of the 
 halsam fir, whose gum is the hunter's specific for all 
 the ills that flesh is heir to. Colds and coughs, and 
 even internal complaints, it is said to cure by a heal- 
 ing magic all its own ; while I can testify that for 
 cuts and bruises, when mixed with deer's fat, it forms 
 an admirable salve. 
 
 20th. Flour running very short, we were put on 
 siege allowance. All things considered, it was re- 
 solved to start for the east on Tuesday next; so, as 
 William wanted to take some fresh antelope hams 
 into Central City, he went out and shot two in a few 
 hours' time. 
 
 21s*. Wishing to have a farewell shot at the ante- 
 lope, whom I had rather neglected in my vain pursuits 
 after the bear, I started off on Kate, but failed to 
 stalk any, and missed my shots off her back; though 
 game this morning was very plentiful, only they were 
 in large herds, and in open country. 
 
 My boots were now worn to such an extent that, 
 having in view the long back track, it was not pru- 
 dent to take liberties with them. I had attempted 
 to build on the foundation of the worn soles, with 
 leather cut from the flap of my saddle; but the 
 expedient was only of temporary avail. Nothing 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 187 
 
 but real " iron-clads " will sustain even a brief cam- 
 paign among those mountains; and mine, though 
 built by a very talented French artist, in New York, 
 with a " solidite vraiment Anglaise," being simply 
 leather, and unplated, were quite unequal to the con- 
 test with the rocks in the hills, and the brush of the 
 plains. Even when riding, the boot becomrnes uch 
 worn by the sage-bush; and for that reason let me 
 recommend the traveller to have a leather guard 
 placed in front of the wooden stirrup it will perhaps 
 save him a pair of boots and some inconvenience : 
 I think the Spaniards call the contrivance " tapa- 
 deros." 
 
 %Znd. According to resolve, we started in a north- 
 westerly direction ; as it was proposed mine being the 
 dissenting voice to explore a new route, which some 
 body had heard somebody declare to be shorter and 
 better than the route by which we came : and besides, 
 we were promised the advantage of a worn Indian 
 trail. After proceeding some ten miles, we found 
 ourselves quite at fault ; but following what looked 
 from the configuration of the country to be the line 
 of trail through some low hills, we had at last the 
 satisfaction of seeing before us at an interval of about 
 a mile or more, two tall peaks, which really bore 
 some resemblance to gigantic rabbit ears, and gave 
 
188 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the pass the name of the " Kabhit's Ears." An 
 easy descent soon brought us into one of what I may 
 call the side pockets of the Middle Park ; and as the 
 evening was advanced, we camped in a pleasant grove, 
 felicitating ourselves on the prospect of a pleasant 
 and short journey homewards. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the beauty of the colouring 
 of the low hills we passed " en chemin " to-day ; 
 under foot the leaves were many-hued but a bright 
 scarlet predominated then the currant and wild- 
 cherry bushes wore an orange scarlet livery ; while 
 willows and aspens bore every conceivable tint of 
 yellow, orange and brown, with an admixture of pale 
 green ; and then in the high background were the 
 dark unvarying hues of the green pine, forming a 
 frame for the picture. 
 
 23r<2. "Winding along the narrow valley of a stream, 
 we had some difficulty in getting through fresh and 
 deserted beaver dams. There were bare sandy bluffs 
 on either side for some time, but at last the valley 
 widened, and we came on a large herd of antelopes 
 feeding ; Andy, who walked about a quarter of a 
 mile in front to guide the cortege, and act as a 
 picket (for a discipline almost military is necessary 
 in an expedition through these plains, and men and 
 horses soon fall into it), shot one, a fine buck. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 189 
 
 The whole of this part of the country is full of 
 alkali springs, and in camping this evening (24/t), 
 I allowed Kate to lick up the soda freely, having an 
 idea that horses were the best judge of their own 
 dietary ; hut in the morning I found my mistake, as 
 she was evidently unwell, generally amiss, and drawn 
 up, with her coat staring badly. However, we 
 proceeded, along a most barren and uninteresting 
 country, winding round high sandy bluffs, and re- 
 turning anon to the gorge of the stream, which soon 
 expanded into a small river. 
 
 Kate lagging behind, I rather inconsiderately urged 
 her on by a blow or two, when she took it into her 
 head to try a short cut to make up for lost ground, 
 and plunged into a deep part of the stream, where 
 the beaver had made a long dam; and getting ex- 
 hausted, from swimming with her pack on, and in 
 her vain efforts to climb the steep banks, I had to 
 jump in and extricate her. Of course, everything was 
 saturated with water, and ammunition and cartridges 
 fared very badly. 
 
 At last we had the satisfaction of striking " the 
 Grand," which here is much larger than when we 
 first made its acquaintance, having been increased by 
 the Eraser and its tributaries, and, I think, some 
 other small streams. It was almost literally covered 
 
190 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 with wild-fowl of all kinds, including wild-geese. 
 Following the valley of "the Grand" for a mile or 
 more, we camped in good grass, among magnificent 
 willow-trees, and built a huge fire. 
 
 25th. We were still quite ignorant where we were 
 in reference to the hot springs, which we were trying 
 to strike, hut we followed "the Grand" for some 
 distance, and then fording it, found a trail leading in 
 a north-easterly direction, which we followed. On 
 arriving at the summit of a wooded elevation, lo ! 
 far below us could be seen the gleam of a white tent, 
 with ponies feeding near it; proceeding further we 
 came on a waggon track, which we followed for a 
 mile or two, and then camped : Miles and I went in a 
 procession of two, to see who were the proprietors of 
 tent and ponies, hoping to buy or beg a few pounds 
 of flour, and to learn the locality of the hot springs. 
 
 Here I found what stuff Bill was made of. All 
 day he had been packing a heavy load in the hot sun, 
 yet no sooner did I get on his back, and feel him 
 with my knees, than he started off with grand long 
 strides, making no sort of mistake through that 
 broken land, and thinking no more of his gallop at 
 the end than I would of a mile walk, and with wind 
 so clear that a lighted candle might have been put 
 near his nostrils. Yet he was only a pony, probably 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 191 
 
 not much over fourteen hands two inches, and I was 
 riding him nearly thirteen stone ; and he certainly 
 had eaten no corn of any sort for a long time. How 
 was he bred ? and what is breeding ? 
 
 The party who were encamped had come from 
 Empire City, for the purpose of cutting hay in the 
 Eraser Valley, near the foot of the range ; they pro- 
 posed to pack the hay over the pass on donkies, and 
 had at least the " bosses " wandered here for plea- 
 sure and bathing, accompanied by their wives. To 
 our surprise we learnt from them that we were close 
 to the springs not more than two hundred yards 
 off and that the company of soldiers had departed 
 long ago. When the soldiers set out, it was said 
 the object was to build a fort in the Park, to overawe 
 predatory Indians ; but certain malevolent individuals 
 hinted that the Indian bugbear was conveniently in- 
 vented to prevent the bold volunteers from having to 
 go eastwards and take part in this desolating war. 
 
 Our new acquaintances could not give us any flour 
 to take away, being badly supplied themselves, but 
 kindly asked us to tea, and baked us a loaf to take to 
 our absent friends at camp. 
 
 26ft. In the morning, being now comparatively at 
 home, John and William determined to push on to 
 Central, with " Bill " laden with jerked meat, &c., 
 
192 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 which they wanted to convert into cash ; while Miles, 
 Andy, and self proposed to stay a few days longer, and 
 fish the Grand near our old quarters ; so wishing them 
 " by-by," we started with some venison to the 
 ladies' bower, proposing to breakfast with them, and 
 then visit the hot springs. 
 
 These latter alone are well worth a visit to the 
 Park, nor would I have missed seeing them on any 
 account. Following a stream which runs into the 
 Grand Kiver, here flowing through a fine gorge 
 between high hills, a few yards bring you to a table - 
 rock, from which pours down into a well-worn basin 
 a heavy jet of water, with a fall of about twelve feet. 
 Approaching this basin, which is encrusted all round 
 with a sulphureous deposit, you find the water so hot 
 you can hardly bear it at first, but after a few minutes 
 spent, tant soit pen unpleasantly in acclimatizing 
 yourself, you will find it the most delicious warm 
 douche you ever took. I confess I could hardly tear 
 myself away from it, and never felt so invigorated by 
 anything in my life ; it reminded me of the fountain of 
 youth and health which formed such a feature in the 
 wild dreams of the early Spanish adventurers on this 
 continent, not to speak of those of our own great 
 Raleigh. Yet these dreams did great things for the 
 world, even in their " dissipation ; " for the pursuit 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 193 
 
 of the chimera led to the finding of the substance. 
 And who can estimate the blessings we, sober-minded 
 votaries of the actual and practical, owe to the heated 
 imaginations and wild distempered fancies of the 
 fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ? 
 
 I had been obliged to dose Kate this morning with 
 a largish allowance of liquefied bacon fat, this being 
 an antidote to the alkali she had swallowed, which 
 had reduced her terribly, and might, if neglected, have 
 killed her. In addition, her withers were galled by 
 packing my load badly, so I gave her a bath, much 
 against her will at first ; but once in, she seemed to 
 relish it greatly, and I thought it did her a world of 
 good. 
 
 Climbing to the top of the table rock, we found 
 four large wells, by which the warm stream was fed ; 
 these are said to have each different medicinal qualities, 
 but I failed to discover much variety in the taste of 
 the waters, and I doubt their ever having been scien- 
 tifically analyzed. A hunter had discovered these 
 springs some time ago, and consequently, by squatter 
 law, was entitled to them. He sold his claim not 
 long ago to an enterprising man or rather the enter- 
 prising man of the territory, Mr. Kussell, for the sum 
 I think of 1,000 dollars, about 204L English. That 
 gentleman has already commenced a waggon-road 
 
 13 
 
194 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 from Empire City over the range, of which some six 
 miles are finished, and though the work languishes 
 from want of funds, it is said Eastern " greenbacks " 
 will come to his aid soon ; more especially when it is 
 generally known that a road carried through the Park 
 will be a much shorter route to Salt Lake and the 
 Pacific than via the Cheyenne pass. 
 
 Should it ever be my fortune to revisit these whilom 
 haunts of Indian savagery, I shall expect to see these 
 " hot springs " as fashionable in their way as Spa and 
 Homburg, and I am pretty sure gambling will be 
 carried on with as much avidity ; for surely may they 
 say with Juvenal, of this country, 
 
 Noste 
 Nos facimus fortuna^Deam, coeloque locamus. 
 
 In the afternoon we made some nine or ten miles 
 through a lovely country ; but owing to carelessness 
 in extinguishing fire, many miles square had recently 
 been burnt, and trees and shrubs were even yet 
 smouldering in places. 
 
 %ltli. Moving to an old camping-ground on Eraser 
 Kiver in the morning, we had the pleasure of meeting 
 two hunters who had unfortunately lost their powder 
 early in their trip, and were consequently as anxious 
 to see meat once more as we were to taste flour, so we 
 had no difficulty in making a good exchange. They 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 195 
 
 had been prospecting for a great bed of virgin copper, 
 which one of them had found a year or two ago, but 
 never could regain the spot. In the afternoon I 
 fished down the Fraser, but caught only one fish, a 
 fine trout weighing, I think, over 3 Ibs. ; other rise, 
 strange to say, I had not, and Andy and Miles were 
 not even as successful as myself. 
 
 Our friends the hunters must have left a fire in 
 their camp unextinguished, for presently, as I was 
 fishing down stream, I heard a sound as of distant 
 artillery, and saw a black pall of smoke advancing 
 rapidly towards the river, while behind it a thick wall 
 of red lurid flame came surging along; reminding 
 me by what mental link I am unable to say 
 of those vast hosts of Attila which swept the Roman 
 Empire with a besom of fire. Fortunately the wind 
 blew the fiery column away from our camp, and 
 besides, the broad Fraser intervened ; but as the fire 
 crept along one bank of the stream, willows disappeared 
 before it, crackling like dried weeds. In the evening 
 it had gained a wooded hill near us, and the effect of 
 the flames was very grand, obscuring the nearly full 
 moon, which was climbing the sky behind that hill. 
 
 %8th. We moved on to the Grand to-day to fish, but 
 the season for the gentle art was evidently on the wane ; 
 nevertheless I caught five splendid trout. Andy was 
 
 132 
 
196 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 unlucky, but Miles got two fine fish. These trout are 
 evidently salmon-trout, " salmo ferox," having quite 
 that flavour, and the colour of the salmon besides. 
 
 Having to return some distance along the river, I 
 found the miserable condition of my boots very annoy- 
 ing ; indeed, as Sheridan said of the man who was 
 being conveyed by porters in a bottomless sedan-chair, 
 " Save for the dignity of the thing," I might almost 
 as well have walked " nus pieds : " and yet there was 
 a good deal in that " almost," and I must not be un- 
 grateful to the old coaches. 
 
 Apropos of stories, every one knows the old " Joe 
 Miller " of the gentleman at Bath, who inquired for 
 a well-known beau there (perchance the " Nash " 
 himself), and was informed by his valet that he had 
 been " dying" * for several hours, to his infinite con- 
 sternation. Well, a similar shock was given me 
 before I started : on my inquiring for a man I knew 
 at Central, and being told he was "burying," I con- 
 cluded sudden calamity or pestilence had been busy 
 with his household, and tried to compose my coun- 
 tenance to befit so sad and solemn an occasion ;f but 
 was pleasantly relieved by ascertaining that the word 
 
 * At Lexington, Kentucky, I read the sign of a dyer with this 
 facetia on it: "I live to die, and die to live." 
 f Vultu. ad mcestitiam composite. TACITUS : Annales. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 197 
 
 here referred to picking currants and raspberries in 
 the woods a very popular institution, like "nutting" 
 among us. 
 
 29/i. Snow fell in the morning, and the weather 
 was biting cold; but in utter defiance of all pisca- 
 torial convenance, as well as our experience of the 
 last few days, we icould fish. The result of the three 
 rods was nil ; indeed, I think I only hooked a single 
 fish. Snow fell pretty thick during the night, but 
 the cold had sensibly decreased. 
 
 30th. The morning rose fair as could be, but snow 
 lay everywhere when we started for the range ; though 
 by the time we made the second crossing of Fraser 
 Kiver, it had almost disappeared, save on the range 
 above us. Following the track by which we had 
 entered the Park in August, we made some six or 
 seven miles beyond Fraser, and camped very near the 
 commencement of the range proper, where timber 
 ceases. We did not propose to venture over the Hog- 
 back again, but to go round by an easier pass, over 
 which waggons had actually been dragged by cattle 
 a road longer, it is true, but much safer ; and once 
 the range surmounted, there would be a good road, 
 we knew, via Gold-dirt City to Central. 
 
 Oct. 1st. We had some slight trouble in finding 
 our way over the range, as the snow lay a foot deep in 
 
198 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 places, and the wind revelled without one check on the 
 top, blowing about the dry snow like dust ; but, once 
 in the timber on the other side, we came to a good 
 road, and soon struck the Boulder stream, emerging 
 ere long into a fine valley, where a cattle ranche had 
 lately been established, under, I should think, very 
 good auspices, for the valley seemed very grassy, and 
 a beautiful stream flowed right through its entire 
 extent. 
 
 A small railed-in enclosure here marks the spot 
 where a hunter and trapper had succumbed to small- 
 pox, as he was returning laden with peltry. He had 
 caught the disease from the Indians, among whom it 
 appears in a virulent form, and had died here (pro- 
 bably from neglect in a great measure) almost within 
 sight of his goal ; a plain board headstone, to use an 
 Irishism, with a lead pencil inscription, which the 
 dryness of the climate preserved intact, told the sad 
 story. 
 
 A few miles further brought us to the mining town 
 of Gold-dirt, which once promised great things, but 
 is now all but deserted. However, there is one very 
 flourishing mine there still, in which the Governor of 
 the territory has, I believe, a large interest. Here 
 we met a very warm and friendly reception from an 
 uncle of Andy's, who had, like his nephew, forsaken 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 199 
 
 a comfortable farm in Iowa, and sought his fortunes 
 out here till "the troubles" were over. I had for- 
 tunately preserved, by freezing at night, three very 
 large trout, which astonished these good folks not 
 a little, as they had never seen anything of the sort 
 before. 
 
 2nd. Next day we made our way to Central City, 
 which is only some eight or nine miles distant, passing 
 through several villages, which showed evident signs 
 of the chequered fortunes of mining life. 
 
 And here ends this episode in my visit to these 
 western countries very uneventful, it is true, but in- 
 teresting to me, as every new phase of life would be, 
 and I hope not wholly the reverse to those who have 
 accompanied me in spirit. The country we travelled 
 over possesses this additional circumstance of attrac- 
 tion, that in the probable course of human events 
 there is little reason to doubt that ere long these wild 
 haunts of the bear, the bison, the elk, and the ante- 
 lope, will be ringing with the sounds of civilization, 
 and man the contriver (TrtpiQpaSrjs avrjp) will replace 
 man the hunter, as the latter is now elbowing out 
 the Indian, so long lord paramount of these wilder- 
 nesses. 
 
 Since writing these pages I have been struck by 
 the recollection of an old school custom, which rises 
 
200 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 to my memory as vividly as if I had but lately 
 emerged from those golden days. "We of the sixth 
 form used to be allotted, after the Rugby fashion, 
 separate rooms, ostensibly to foster the more arduous 
 cultivation of the Muses who, like modern girls, are 
 supposed to respond best to ardent vows in bowers 
 secluded from the profane world ; but though I will 
 not say that the liberal arts suffered by our dignified 
 privacy, I do know that whist, conviviality, and 
 general good-fellowship were much promoted by 
 the arrangement of " studies." On Saturday night, 
 one of our number invariably gave a supper-party to 
 his form, after which singing songs was the order of 
 the evening ; and though many ditties had great runs, 
 none, I think, was so popular as one which, after 
 a preamble that " some loved to roam o'er the dark 
 sea's foam," and do several other equally irrational 
 things, declared the singer's and the whole chorus's 
 choice was " a life in the woods ! " 
 
 Now, I cannot help wondering if any of our warblers 
 have ever carried out in life the vows they then made 
 in song ; but I must suppose not, as such a chance 
 falls to few Englishmen, unless their fortunes (or the 
 want of them) carry them to America or Canada ; yet 
 in this western country the thing is so easy, and 
 withal so healthful, and inexpensive, and fascinating, 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 201 
 
 that I hope I may he successful in persuading some 
 to try it, as I can assure those who do, that it will 
 fully repay them in increased health and energy, and 
 in the satisfaction of having made one step out of the 
 ordinary groove of tourists in a land where cockneys 
 and their ways are utterly unknown. 
 
 On returning to Central City I found that an im- 
 mense excitement had arisen ahout the Bannack City 
 mines, situated several hundreds of miles north of 
 this place, and heyond Salt Lake City ; from this small 
 town alone it was calculated that 500 ahle-hodied 
 men had " stampeded " thither, and from other 
 parts of the country there had been a similar exodus. 
 Notwithstanding this drain, however, the signs of 
 progress were visible everywhere : new mills were 
 rising fast ; brick buildings of good proportions were 
 elbowing out the old wooden and log fabrics ; 
 Denver had connected herself with the California 
 telegraph, and Central, not to be behindhand, had 
 linked itself to Denver ; and the Mint in the latter 
 place (of which I spoke in some respects unjustly) 
 had actually started into life : the Stars and Stripes 
 waved over a decent edifice of brick, which was actu- 
 ally commencing, or about to commence, business ; 
 its chief being a Mr. Lane, own brother to the famous 
 or notorious " Jim Lane " of Kansas, senator, 
 
202 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 partisan, statesman, warrior, and 1 leave friends 
 
 and foes to fill up the hiatus as they please. 
 
 Volunteering, too, was going on at a great rate, 
 and various stimulants, besides large bounties, were 
 freely administered in the form of placards, to rouse 
 the public appetite for the Colorado cavalry service. 
 One of these affiches struck me as so original that I 
 copy it verbatim : 
 
 "Old Top, are you on it? Come in out of the 
 Draft ! Enlist in the Cavalry ! Charge round on a 
 brave horse, and show the world that you are no 
 sardine ! The 1st Colorado Cavalry, alias ' Pet 
 Lambs,' alias ' Drathers/ cannot be beat in this or 
 any other country. They have been tried, and fill 
 the bill to a ' T.' Why will you waste your sweetness 
 on the desert air, sweating your life away by daily 
 labour, when your country needs you, and will give 
 you your regular old advance pay and bounty, to say 
 nothing about the good clothes and square meals : 
 regular old hotel fare you will get ! You will be 
 mustered out in one year with the regiment, and get 
 the same bounty as if you served three years ! Come 
 up to the office, and see us. Take a United States 
 smoke, and get acquainted with the boys ! " 
 
 Having been informed at the Denver P. 0. that a 
 business letter which I expected had not arrived 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 203 
 
 (though it turned out to have been lying in the office 
 all the time), I had no alternative hut to write to my 
 agents in New York, and await an answer with as 
 much patience as I could muster ; but as I did not 
 fancy a long stay in Denver, I rode back to Central 
 on a perfect little hunting pony I had purchased, and 
 persuaded Andy and Miles to recross the range, and 
 spend a few weeks more in the Park. 
 
 As we got to "Boulder Kanche" the weather, 
 lovely up to this time, looked, as the nigger in the 
 minstrelsy says, very " omnibus," and flocks of 
 brants, and tiny " snow-birds," sure heralds of a 
 storm, warned us back : but in vain. We thought 
 we had immunity from heavy snow till Christmas at 
 least, as the Indian summer was bound to last till 
 then, according to the reckoning of all weather-wise 
 people ; but by the time we reached Stillwater Lake, 
 there was considerable snow on the ground, and it 
 was still falling fast at intervals ; the weather in- 
 tensely cold: in fine, there we were snowed up, 
 apparently, for the winter, with small prospect of 
 trapping beaver, as the ice was half a foot thick on 
 the Grand, and there were at least two feet of snow, 
 after a few days, on the ground. 
 
 Fortunately, there was a magnificent herd of 
 elk upwards of a hundred, I think round the 
 
204 BAMBLES IN THE 
 
 hills near the lake, and we each of us killed one, 
 so there was no fear of starvation ; but in hunt- 
 ing, I had the misfortune to freeze one of my feet 
 hadly, and not feeling it at the time, had neg- 
 lected to thaw it out in cold water, and thus 
 became completely " hors de combat." I fully 
 resolved that, so soon as the prospect brightened ever 
 so little, I would make a run for it, at all hazards ; 
 and accordingly, having got rid of most of my im- 
 pedimenta, though burdened with two elk hides, the 
 " opima spolia " at least, one of them of the finest 
 animal I ever saw, the lord and ruler over that large 
 herd of between one and two hundred, and a magni- 
 ficent head and antlers I intended to bring home as 
 specimens, I set out with my ponies (who had sub- 
 sisted for the last ten days on a miserable pittance of 
 frozen grass, procured by pawing off the superincum- 
 bent snow) for Fraser Kiver, hoping there to find 
 some of the hay-making party, who had a log-cabin 
 there ; but though the distance was not much over 
 fifteen miles, it took me a great part of three days to 
 accomplish it, and then the ponies were rather ex- 
 hausted by their efforts. 
 
 I shall not easily forget my feelings of relief and 
 thankfulness when I saw the blue smoke curling 
 upwards from the log-hut of the hay-makers, assuring 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 205 
 
 me that, at any rate, I should find warmth and 
 shelter, and prohably assistance in crossing the range ; 
 and hesides there was a large stack of hay for the 
 ponies, and shelter for them, too, on its lee side. 
 
 Had this party left the park, as I much feared they 
 would, driven off hy the premature severity of the 
 season, my situation would have been unpleasant in 
 the extreme ; for if the passes had not been travelled 
 over since snow began to fall, the depth would pro- 
 bably have rendered crossing a service of considerable 
 danger, and my ponies, in their half-starved state, 
 were not equal to any great efforts, nor could I give 
 them much assistance. 
 
 True, I carried a good supply of meat with me, and 
 a little bread, but my stock of the latter was getting 
 very small, and I had no cooking utensils. However, 
 now, thank God, all apprehensions on these grounds 
 were removed. 
 
 Entering the log-hut, I found two of the hay- 
 makers still there ; but the principal "bos," or 
 chief of the party, whom I had met but a few weeks 
 before in the highest health and spirits at the hot- 
 springs, had missed his way close to this log shanty 
 in a heavy snow-fall, and though every search was 
 made, his corpse could not be found: for that he 
 perished from the effects of the cold was incontestable. 
 
206 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 After waiting three days here, a slight thaw set in, 
 and as the " trail " by Empire City had been kept 
 open more or less, I found no great difficulty in 
 making that village in one day, with the aid of a 
 guide, though the distance was about twenty-five 
 miles. Arrived there, my ponies were my first care, 
 and I had the mortification to find that hay had 
 mounted, in consequence of the cold "snap," and 
 the blockade of the roads, to the enormous price of 
 eightpence per pound, and was so scarce at that 
 figure, that I failed in securing a mouthful for my 
 unfortunate nags, though I got them a handful or 
 two of maize at proportionate rates. 
 
 The weather ever since has been lovely and genial, 
 and on the eastern slopes the snows have melted 
 away ; and were it not for my frozen foot, I would be 
 glad to spend another few weeks in that grand 
 Middle Park, and see how Andy and Miles, who had 
 voted themselves a " fur-company," were progressing 
 in their efforts to collect wolf and fox skins, and 
 mink and martin, of which there were several in the 
 neighbourhood of our camp. 
 
 I hope it will not be deemed superfluous, if I add 
 a few lines on the subject of public sentiment in 
 Colorado with reference to Europe. 
 
 It may be deemed a matter of but slight moment 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 207 
 
 what people think on these subjects at a distance of 
 upwards of five thousand miles, but if it be true that 
 spite of the desolating wars which now ravage 
 so large a portion of the universe, and the dark war- 
 clouds which lower over the remainder the world is 
 being more and more swayed by the dominion of 
 thought and moral power, the opinion of a very 
 intelligent and advanced community such as that 
 which occupies Colorado and its neighbouring terri- 
 tories, cannot fail to carry with it something of 
 interest, and something also of weight, even if un- 
 acknowledged. 
 
 On my first arrival here I felt that I almost 
 belonged to a hostile, rather than an allied and a 
 friendly, power. The Federal party were openly 
 crying out for war with England, and retaliation 
 and privateering were among the milder measures 
 advocated. Every blow inflicted by the Alabama 
 and Florida on American commerce was appraised 
 at its fullest value, and compound interest, with 
 a handsome bonus besides, was to be demanded 
 from " perfidious Albion." 
 
 It is true, the Southern party was more friendly 
 disposed; but its attitude was more one of anxious 
 hope mixed with much apprehension as to the policy 
 of foreign powers, than of confidence or expectation ; 
 
208 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 and this party, though strong here, would not, of 
 course be very outspoken under the existing pressure 
 of armed force, espionage, and provost-marshals at 
 every turn. Four months have, however, produced 
 quite a revolution in public opinion, which is almost 
 as mobile as the Athenian of old. Earl Russell's 
 speech at Blair-Athol is warmly applauded, and has 
 thrown any amount of oil on the troubled waters of 
 popular indignation ; while the attitude of our 
 Government, and the changed tone of part of our 
 press, have worked wonders in soothing the vanity of 
 the ruffled public mind. 
 
 I think Lord Palmerston would find here a fail- 
 share of support against any candidate for the premier- 
 ship that is likely to arise among the narrow lists of 
 "possibles;" though, of course, no one conversant with 
 American sentiment, can doubt for a moment that 
 Bright and Cobden are the men whom Northerners 
 would fain see at the head of England's councils. 
 
 But the effervescence which lately boiled up so 
 fiercely against England, is now turned against 
 France, and that with far more earnestness and 
 meaning. I have no doubt that, were the war to 
 close soon, a small army of filibusters would be 
 raised here, in behalf of what is deemed the popu- 
 lar party in Mexico, and with the determination 
 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 209 
 
 of driving the French into the sea ; it may be that 
 companies of individuals will attempt some mad de- 
 monstration of the sort, even before that much-wished- 
 for epoch arrives : indeed, I have heard some indis- 
 tinct rumours and mutterings of the kind already. 
 
 It is astonishing how deeply that sop to the 
 gigantic vanity of the Americans, the Monroe theory, 
 has penetrated all minds ; and there can be no doubt 
 that, in spite of the enormous inducements for people 
 to remain at their peaceable callings and avocations 
 in this country, armed men would rise as from the 
 fabled dragon's teeth, from the very ground, and from 
 under the ground, in vindication of that very doubt- 
 ful, and, as it appears to me, irrational doctrine. 
 
 There is, I think, no particular love for Mexicans 
 in the sentiment; except that nations, like individuals, 
 are perhaps disposed to feel a patronizing affection for 
 those whom they have well "whipped," and that, as 
 in younger life, masters will make it a point of honour 
 to fight for the fags whom they themselves bully. 
 But it is the notion of interference and meddling, as 
 they deem it, which they are in no mood to brook ; 
 and, though patient and forbearing under what they 
 consider a national insult, it is 
 
 The vigil long 
 Of him who treasures up a wrong. 
 
 14 
 
210 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Sed revocare gradus superasque evadere ad auras, 
 Hie labor, hoc opus est. VIRGIL. 
 
 No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, 
 No comfortable feel in any member: 
 No shine, no shade, no butterflies, no bees, 
 No fruits, no flowers, no birds, no leaves. No-vember. 
 
 HOOD. 
 
 HAVING said all I know about Colorado and its 
 cities in esse and posse, I suppose the natural course 
 would be to write " Finis," after the fashion of 
 the school literature of my day a word which was 
 generally hailed with more delight than any other 
 in the volume ; as I find that I must perforce 
 retrace my steps, instead of extending my driftings 
 into New Mexico and from thence via California 
 to Old Mexico, returning to England by the West 
 India Royal Mail Company's route from Vera Cruz, 
 or Tampico, a fair vision of travel which I had pic- 
 tured to myself, with anticipations of pleasant excite- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 211 
 
 ment from the /era and/m indigenous to this line 
 of country, and of obstacles all surmounted success- 
 fully with the ease and aplomb with which "raspers " 
 and " yawners " are sailed over, under the genial 
 influences of a wood fire, and a magnum of '34 claret, 
 earned by hard work in the shape of a good day's 
 sport with hounds, or in covert, when, if ever it be 
 granted to sing in chorus with Tom Moore, the Pote 
 of Ireland, but now, I believe, more especially and 
 locally of "Westmoreland Street, Dublin 
 
 If there be an Elysium on earth it is this it is this ! 
 For pardon the digression is there not there the 
 positive happiness of a good dinner done justice to, 
 the memory of which, like that of a good deed, is so 
 delightful a retrospect ? and sure Paley, no mean 
 authority, " non sordidus auctor," places the nerves 
 of felicity in the gastronomic region ! Is there not, 
 rising in the scale of the beatitudes, " The sober 
 certainty of waking bliss" in that postprandial forty 
 minutes which innovators denounce as "barbarous," 
 because not " continental," and because their luke- 
 warm spirits could never rise to the delights of the 
 occasion ? Beyond, are there not the more chastened 
 pleasures of the drawing-room, to which you gain 
 access by no " Al Shiraz " bridge, but through an 
 easy portiere, and where 
 
 142 
 
212 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 Rear'd by each grace, but still to be 
 Man's household Anyadomene, 
 
 woman sheds her fascinations, increasing and in- 
 tensifying in their magnetism with the circling hours, 
 like the odours of the night-blooming Cereus. And 
 if this be not enough to fill your cup of happiness, 
 is there not, even after that planetary influence has 
 been withdrawn from your horizon, the half-hour of 
 half-hours in the smoking-room with the few " times 
 d'elite," when, with nerves in harmony with all ex- 
 ternal things, hope and memory speak only in pleasant 
 tones, and the world appears for the time, as we are 
 told in the good book 'twas originally created a very 
 good one ? 
 
 May this long ramble be forgiven me, in con- 
 sideration that I write in a land where such hearty 
 pleasures exist not, and that, as dancing music some- 
 times fairly gets into the heels of some charming 
 terpsichorean, the very mention of the subject inci- 
 dentally has positively run away with my pen. Having 
 then to return to the east via " the River," as the 
 Missouri is invariably styled west of its banks 
 much as the Egyptians talk of the Nile, or as the 
 Chaldaeans did of the Euphrates it has occurred 
 to me that, having dwelt somewhat tediously on the 
 trip to Colorado, I might improve the occasion by 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 213 
 
 saying a few words about my experiences on the road 
 home, in the hope that my discomforts may prove 
 pilots to any future mariner on these stormy land-seas. 
 When I escaped from the snows of the Middle 
 Park in the lightest of travelling order, having "been 
 obliged to abandon even " ce superflu ci necessaire," I 
 had requested my friends at the haymakers' shanty to 
 pack a magnificent fifteen-point elk-head with the 
 hide, which I was most anxious to preserve as a 
 hunting trophy from the Kocky Mountains, on donkeys, 
 over the passes of " the range," and in consideration 
 of this future service and past hospitality, had pre- 
 sented them with a very fair guerdon. They promised 
 to send them to Denver within a fortnight a period 
 which I deemed only sufficient to cure my frost-bite, 
 which looked rather serious, to enable me to sell my 
 ponies, and make all other arrangements for departure. 
 Besides, I was assured by the weather-wise and old 
 denizens of the country, that such a cold snap as we 
 had just experienced was as exceptional as the visita- 
 tion of a comet ; and I therefore looked forward 
 rather confidently to a warm, sunshiny journey across 
 the plains, with vegetation improved by the snowy 
 shroud in which it had lain perdu so long, and the 
 roads in their normal condition of hard excellence, 
 once the effects of the thaw had subsided. 
 
214 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 To strengthen these delusive hopes and antici- 
 pations, I had not been two days in mine inn at 
 Denver, ere the weather became genial and balmy 
 as in our warmest days of May or early June. 
 True, the ground was covered with snow nearly a 
 foot in depth, but it was fast yielding to the hot 
 rays, and the labourer might literally have obeyed 
 the Virgilian precept, 
 
 Nudus ara, sere nudus, 
 
 had he been so minded, and the "code costumier" 
 permitted such an innovation. The ravens here 
 almost as numerous as crows were uttering guttural 
 jubilations to be interpreted by none save Teutons ; 
 and all the animal creation was rejoicing in the 
 change from "frigidum sine" comfort to "calidum 
 cum," when lo ! as unexpected as unwelcome, another 
 cold snap, almost equal in intensity to the former, 
 came on, and with it more snow, though not in any 
 great quantity or volume. I had turned out my 
 quadrupeds on a ranche near town, as to keep them 
 at livery at the rate of 7s. 6d. per diem apiece 
 far exceeded my financial resources, especially when 
 nearly all the grooming they got had to be performed 
 "in propria," and not by deputy; and on my visit- 
 ing them the second day of the cold weather, I found 
 poor " Kate Fisher," who had suffered greatly from 
 
KOOKY MOUNTAINS. 215 
 
 cold and starvation in the park previously, nearly a 
 subject for the kennel she must have hecome so 
 quite in a short time if left there; while my other 
 pony, whose early life had probably been spent 
 among the Indians, was also in rather a dilapidated 
 condition, though he bore the chilly influences 
 better than his companion. Their state resolved 
 my determination. I had entertained an idea of 
 purchasing a light conveyance of some kind, and 
 driving back this pair (though no more matches 
 than Smike's shoe and boot were " a pair") a course 
 now impossible for some time, without morally in- 
 curring all the pains and penalties of Dick Martin's 
 act. To keep them in a stable at existing rates till 
 condition could be built up, was not to be seriously 
 considered, so I sold them right off at a figure which 
 transcended my previous experiences of " alarming 
 sacrifices " in horseflesh ; and as the overland stage 
 company could not promise a seat for some time, I 
 took a passage in a team proceeding to Omaha next 
 day, determining to wait no longer for the advent of 
 my promised antlers, and " opima spolia." 
 
 I knew something of my compagnons de voyage, 
 and we made up our minds to urge our vetturino 
 to make the quickest tracks he could eastwards, as 
 we argued that every mile by which we increased 
 
216 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 our distance from the Bocky Mountains, would bring 
 us into a better climate, and make travelling more 
 tolerable. L'homme propose ! instead of diminish- 
 ing, the cold and snow seemed to follow us in greater 
 force over the dreary plains, which looked Arctic in 
 their frozen wretchedness. Following the Platte 
 river, instead of taking the "cut off" road, as in 
 summer, and making but short journeys owing to 
 the extreme cold, we passed the old Indian trading 
 posts which marked the first settlement of this 
 territory by the hardy trapper and hunter, and 
 whose names, such as " St. Vrain, Cache la Poudre," 
 and " Vasquez," told of their foreign origin. These 
 mud, or adobe buildings have been called " forts," 
 and retain their nomenclature ; though apparently- 
 strong only against the attack of Indian arrows. 
 They are now ranches for the accommodation of the 
 "pilgrims" going and coming, and I think "Fort 
 a lice " would be a more appropriate designation 
 for them, as I am convinced their borders are not 
 free from those invaders. 
 
 This dreary monotony of slow travelling, and 
 miserable accommodation at night, in which all 
 our efforts were necessary to save ourselves from 
 freezing, varied only by a running accompaniment 
 of lean and hungry Cassius-like wolves, who kept 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 217 
 
 at a distance barely respectful, continued for some 
 five or six days, when we encountered a " tour- 
 mente " of snow, which was not only extremely 
 disagreeable but withal dangerous. At the time 
 we saw it coming we were some miles from any 
 ranche, and the danger to be dreaded was that we 
 might miss the track, unmarked and undistin- 
 guished in any way save by the proximity of the 
 poles of the telegraph (that great Memnonian harp 
 of the 19th century), which rose not far from the 
 road all the way from the Missouri river. I shall 
 never, I think, forget the way in which the wind, 
 careering with unchecked violence on those vast 
 plains, lifted up huge clouds of the frozen snow, 
 like so much dust, and buffeted us with it till men 
 and horses were well nigh blinded by the fury of the 
 assault. 
 
 An old mountaineer and myself had to take 
 charge of the waggon, as the "Bos" and the rest 
 were fairly knocked out of time by the storm and 
 cold, and had subsided into blankets and buffalo 
 robes. And indeed, had not the horses, by a mar- 
 vellous instinct, persevered in following the road, and 
 faced the storm in an undaunted manner, I can 
 hardly say what the results might have been ; for 
 latterly the telegraph poles our sun, moon, and 
 
218 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 stars were undistinguishable, and to have wandered 
 out of our course would, I think, have proved fatal 
 to some at least of the party ere the storm had sub- 
 sided. At last, however, the gallant pair, worthy of a 
 mural crown, for saving so many " citizens," brought 
 up at a small ranche, which, but for their sagacity, 
 we might easily have passed unnoticed. Here we 
 found a number of storm-stayed unfortunates, con- 
 demned for their rashness in crossing the prairies in 
 such weather to learn something of the amenities of 
 a middle passage, or an " emigrant hold," ere the 
 government had taken the care of these poor victims 
 to shipmasters' greed properly in hand. 
 
 Fancy fifty or sixty rough specimens of humanity 
 crowded into a small room, heated by one or more 
 stoves, on which all are trying to cook their rations 
 of the unclean animal, bake their bread, or " biscuits " 
 (as the Americans call the hot rolls which they so 
 much affect at every meal, to the manifest injury of 
 the digestive machinery), and to boil the coffee with 
 which the rudis indigestaque moles is washed down. 
 At the end of the room is a small bar where the 
 ranchero stands, at the receipt of custom, dispensing 
 liquid poison liberally in return for shin-plasters and 
 "currency;" the effect of which is soon manifested 
 by the most damnable iteration of awful blasphemies 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 219 
 
 uttered by thick tongues, and more especially the 
 constant repetition of that most sacred name which, 
 to English ears, is most offensive, even where cal- 
 loused more or less hy use. Snow brought in by 
 every incomer melting in the hot and stifling atmo- 
 sphere, together with copious expectorations, had 
 reduced the mud floor to an unpleasant consistency ; 
 yet here you must make your bed and woo nature's 
 sweet restorer, unless you have been lucky enough to 
 pick out a sheltered spot in the large shed which 
 serves for a stable, and have a sufficiency of robes 
 and blankets to mock the cold ! This description 
 gives an idea, though an undercoloured and inade- 
 quate one, of the agrdmens of our trajet per waggon 
 across Nebraska for some seven or eight days more ; 
 though in some ranches the features of the case were 
 worse, in others better, according as the dimensions 
 were ample or contracted. At the stage stations, 
 however, comfortable meals were procurable for the 
 not very high sum of 3s.; and in one or two of 
 the ranches better night accommodation was pro- 
 curable, if you were early in the field, and willing 
 to pay for " luxuries." 
 
 Nor, indeed, was the case of the crowded overland 
 stage company's coaches much better; as the roads 
 prevented rapid locomotion, and the drivers, follow- 
 
220 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 ing the example set by nearly all classes of employe's 
 throughout the States, were preparing for a general 
 strike, and were indulging in what was called here a 
 "tear," which, translated into American, means 
 that they were very "tight," in plain English, they 
 were drinking harder than usual, and were reckless 
 of consequences; under these circumstances, the 
 mails were delayed most unconscionably ; the drivers, 
 unless handsomely bribed by the passengers, " laying 
 over " on the score of weather and danger ! 
 
 Thus, though the cold moderated considerably, 
 matters stood till we got within some twenty-five 
 miles of Fort Kearney, and as I gained a glimpse of 
 Buffalo in the distance by climbing on to the roof of 
 a dobee ranche, I determined to relieve myself from 
 the unpleasant congregation of " bull-whackers " and 
 the very mixed multitude in which we had got intri- 
 cated by the storm ; so when the teamster sounded 
 his note of preparation in the early morning, with 
 the usual formula of " All aboard for Omaha, or 
 the Kiver ! " I took out my property and wished 
 him Ion voyage : to our mutual satisfaction, no doubt, 
 as he had pocketed the fare for the entire distance 
 (no American "parts" without strong pressure), and 
 the loss of some two hundred and odd pounds of live 
 and dead weight is no small consideration, when the 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 221 
 
 snow is deep and the way is long ; and I was sick 
 ad nauseam of the conveyance. 
 
 I have but little to say anent buffalo -hunting, as, 
 though I tried the brutes on four different occasions, 
 wasting much energy and caloric on them, the result 
 except in the amusement I derived from contem- 
 plating their huge ungainly forms was nil. The last 
 time I made my essay with a regular semi-profes- 
 sional hunter ; but he was even less fortunate in his 
 stalks than myself, as I always got a few long shots, 
 some of which ricochetted and thudded against their 
 shaggy armour, but perfectly harmlessly, as the range 
 varied from five to eight hundred yards. The fact 
 was, time and place were both unfavourable in the 
 extreme. The cunning beasties had carefully with- 
 drawn from the bluffs and broken ground, when a 
 little dexterity and knowledge of stalking would have 
 brought a hunter within seventy or eighty yards of 
 their whereabouts ; at which distance a buffalo ought 
 to be brought to " attention " very readily by one or 
 two shots, when, with a breech-loading rifle or a 
 revolver, you can soon finish the work. Hunting 
 them afoot on the open prairie, where there are no 
 favouring gullies or ravines, is said to be dangerous, 
 as a wounded bull can make a fast and furious 
 rush, and no ordinary runner can avoid their charge 
 
222 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 save by a well-directed shot or two at close quarters ; 
 and for that some nerve, and luck too, is wanted. 
 
 In the present case, there they were in droves of 
 twenties and upwards, dotting the level plateau 
 covered with frozen snow from two to three feet 
 deep, far as the eye could extend. Generally speak- 
 ing, they commenced skedaddling like wild-geese in 
 long single file, ere one could get within half a mile 
 of them, looking for all the world like small elephants 
 as they cantered away into the far distance, with their 
 short tails stuck up in the air like quarrelsome 
 terriers ; then so soon as one drove started, a regular 
 stampede ensued, and you had to turn your attention 
 to some new lot of black specks in a totally different 
 direction, to be probably served in the same fashion 
 da capo. 
 
 Towards sundown, however, you had a better 
 chance of getting within range, and once, by dint of 
 much genuflexion and serpenting on the frozen snow, 
 I got within about 150 yards of a small herd of six, 
 who saw me most distinctly in my approaches ; but 
 as I salaamed and kotooed in the most abject manner 
 whenever the watchful taurus turned to stare at me 
 in his vulgar bovine way, I suppose they thought I 
 was something too insignificant for notice, and so 
 suffered me to draw near. When quite satisfied as 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 223 
 
 to range, and with arrangements for rapid firing as 
 to cartridges, &c. completed, lo ! the cap (not Eley's) 
 refused to perform its functions, and the chance 
 never returned. 
 
 The stalker has this immense advantage over the 
 buffalo, if to windward of him, that the latter, if ap- 
 proached sideways, has to make a regular turn of his 
 neck to see his pursuer, owing to the quantity of 
 shaggy hair with which his neck is covered ; and I 
 am convinced from what I observed that this 
 position is so unpleasant, that nothing short of a 
 sense of what he owes to his personal dignity and 
 safe keeping would induce Mr. Buffalo to prolong 
 his stare, giving him, as it must, something akin to 
 our crick in the neck. 
 
 The legitimate way of hunting buffalo, now univer- 
 sally practised by white and red men alike, is on 
 horseback, and with a revolver, or any other weapon 
 you fancy ; but the former is far the handiest, and 
 most deadly at the short range you thus secure. 
 
 Your horse, pony, or mustang, however, should be 
 a " hunter " (though not in the sense in which a 
 Symmons or a Potter would understand the term), 
 should have a decided taste for the sport, and an 
 entente tres cordiale with yourself, or both may 
 come to considerable grief. I could have got a very 
 
224 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 good mount, but the snow was too deep and con- 
 creted to think of riding hard. My host, the ran- 
 chero, a very pleasant person, who to much experience 
 on this continent added a large stock acquired in the 
 East India Company's service, and whose wife Dutch 
 like himself was a very bijou of the domestic 
 virtues and a real helpmate to her husband, such as 
 is rarely met in these latitudes, wanted me to wait 
 patiently in his " dobee " till the snows melted, 
 when he promised me a " big hunt " on the Repub- 
 lican, a stream which runs here some sixteen or 
 eighteen miles south of the Platte, and where game 
 of all kinds, including deer and wild turkeys, abound ; 
 but the great uncertainty of the prospect balanced 
 the reversionary advantages to accrue from a stay, and 
 after wasting two days and a half in futile efforts to 
 circumvent " messires les buffes," I got a conveyance 
 to take me to Fort Kearney, there to await the chance 
 of a seat in the coach. 
 
 While on the subject of " sport," I may mention 
 that all along the plains here in winter there is good 
 wolf-coursing ; a chasse not to be altogether despised 
 in its place, though the pace is far from good, and 
 the " obstacles " absolutely none : unless it be, per- 
 haps, some natural ditch in the prairie, or small 
 " slue," over which your horse, if worth his feed, 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 225 
 
 will stride. They hunt them with any number of 
 dogs, from two couple upwards, curs of the lowest 
 degree, but with a dash of pluck and speed withal, 
 and five or six wolves may be killed easily in a day. 
 The small prairie wolf gives the best run ; the larger, 
 or buffalo wolf, being a poor runner, maugre my Lord 
 Byron's glorification of the " long gallop : " but his 
 teeth are formidable. The dogs seize their prey by 
 the hind leg, and pin him, while you despatch him 
 with club or revolver; taking care of the "pelt," 
 which has a marketable value of from one to two 
 and a half dollars. The skins make beautiful robes, 
 when properly dressed and trimmed with the tails 
 " au naturel," and look very well on a neatly- turned 
 out sleigh. 
 
 The islands on the Platte hereabouts are large and 
 well timbered, and sometimes abound with deer. I 
 found good hare-shooting on one above here, and 
 prairie chickens, which are following the settlements, 
 may be sometimes shot on them. 
 
 I would not wish to imply by my unsuccess in 
 this short buffalo campaign, that there is any diffi- 
 culty in getting sport enough for any appetite, no 
 matter how gluttonous. It is true, that every year 
 as the wave of emigration sets westward in increas- 
 ing volume, buffaloes will recede further and further 
 
 15 
 
226 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 from the vicinity of the thoroughfares ; but it is pro- 
 bable that many a year must glide by ere their vast 
 hordes will have disappeared from their favourite 
 haunts on the Kepublican and Arkansas rivers, and 
 the vast intervening country now appropriated to 
 Indians, and long likely to remain in their undis- 
 puted possession. 
 
 Here, or hereabouts, the hunter may find them at 
 almost all seasons of the year migrating either north- 
 ward or southward ; walking literally in the steps of 
 their ancestors as faithfully as any ancient Egyptian, 
 undeterred by the traditionary terrors of the Co- 
 manche arrow, or the deadlier revolver of his pale- 
 faced enemy, more cruel in this than his red brother : 
 for whereas to the red man, the buffalo is not only 
 meat, drink, and shelter, but also the source whence 
 he supplies himself with all the artificial wants that 
 the tide of civilization, reaching even to his borders, 
 has made imperative, by the sale of the robes squaw- 
 tanned ; the white man kills him too often in mere 
 wantonness, only using the tongue and hump steak, 
 if even that, leaving all the valuable carcass and hide 
 to the wolves and ravens. Indeed, nothing exas- 
 perates an Indian more than this profligate waste of 
 game ; and I am sure many unfortunate hunters and 
 travellers have paid forfeit for the wholesale destruc- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 227 
 
 tion of buffalo, not many years since, by a well- 
 known English sportsman, who made a long hunting 
 pilgrimage through the Northern Rocky Mountain 
 region. 
 
 For my own part, I do not think buffalo -hunting 
 would afford me any very great sport either on foot or 
 horseback, and I have already mentally classed it as 
 hardly on a par with calf-hunting in our own sweet 
 isles of the West ; but there is no doubt it does prove 
 to some intensely exciting, and even in summer a 
 good deal of amusement is obtained by larrietting the 
 calves from horseback, or catching the little monsters 
 in your arms no easy matter as they go to the 
 water to drink. Many are thus secured yearly ; and 
 in the Western States 'tis no very uncommon sight 
 to see a buffalo or two along with a herd of cows. I 
 confess I should strongly object to any intermixture of 
 the blood of the hirsute monster in any herd of mine, 
 as likely to undo all the good effects of years of care 
 and patience, in improving quality of flesh and sym- 
 metry of outline ; and I should think the experiments 
 we have already tried with the Brahmin bulls ought 
 to satisfy any sceptical barker back to nature of the 
 impolicy of such a monstrous alliance of beauty and 
 the beast. 
 
 All sport requires in its essence some element of 
 
 15-2 
 
228 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 difficulty or danger to give it zest and savour; and 
 buffalo -hunting combines both, no doubt, to a certain 
 extent, but in a limited degree. The " chasse a 
 pied " is obviously the most perilous ; but ordinary 
 care, good arms, and a tolerable stock of nerve, are 
 an " ses triplex " which the buffalo seldom can 
 pierce, and, as hunters usually go in pairs, the risk 
 becomes small by this division. It is true, one 
 occasionally hears of man and horse getting gored 
 in the conflict, " si rixa ilia est, ubi tu feris ego 
 vapulo tantum ! " 
 
 But I doubt much whether the bull paddocks of 
 merry England might not, if carefully explored, 
 afford an almost equal percentage of danger and 
 accidents, while to class the " chasse aux buffes " 
 with pig-sticking in India, or fox-hunting in " the 
 shires," is simply a chimera of a distempered imagi- 
 nation. As a proof of this remark, I will mention 
 that among the great " lions in the way " are the 
 prairie-wolf and fox-holes in which your horse may 
 put his foot when galloping, to the great detri- 
 ment of man and beast; but these holes, if larger 
 than our rabbit-holes, are more easily avoided by a 
 prudent nag with a leg to spare : certainly they are 
 not nearly so numerous, and I think even " the 
 Briggs " himself would not be deterred by such a 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 229 
 
 consideration from rushing to the front if the talis- 
 manic " tally-ho " had once gone forth, or the cheery 
 horn had sounded in his ear. 
 
 But if the . perils of buffalo-hunting are small in 
 comparison with those incident to other wild sports, 
 such as pig-sticking and elephant- shooting, there are 
 certain contingencies to be guarded against in this 
 chasse, the neglect of which may lead to considerable 
 inconvenience and discomfort, amounting in some 
 instances to positive danger. Not the least formid- 
 able among these is the risk of being led away by 
 your sport to regions in the prairie, where, save to 
 the very practised eye, there is no guide or landmark 
 whatever, and where every step you take may be lead- 
 ing you further and further away from your camp. 
 Could the history of these plains be written, it would 
 be found to abound in narratives of human suffering, 
 privation, and death, from the "terrible torture of 
 thirst," and hunger too, full as appalling as the 
 records of any sea, however " inhospitum." It was 
 in the great stampede to California in 1847 and 1848 
 that these horrors culminated ; in those years many 
 a family of enterprising pilgrims succumbed in their 
 efforts to reach the Eldorado through this middle 
 passage, while instances of cannibalism are but too 
 well authenticated. 
 
230 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 The road to the Pacific was then comparatively as 
 little known as the north-western passage ; and it is 
 averred let me hope for the sake of humanity un- 
 truly that the little light existing on the subject was 
 turned into darkness by a " smart " Eastern firm, 
 which actually published a carte de pays, leading the 
 travellers by a route straight indeed as an air-line, 
 but where the means of subsistence were absolutely 
 wanting ; and as in those days of feverish excitement 
 and gold delirium few questions were asked, and the 
 means of contradiction and refutation were scant, the 
 consequences of this awful misrepresentation became 
 deplorable. 
 
 As, however, hunting camps are generally pitched 
 near some large river, such as the Arkansas or Platte, 
 or their tributaries, the inconvenience is generally 
 limited to compulsory abstinence for a longer or 
 shorter space of time, as the case may be, if the 
 weather be fine, as it usually is ; but if the plains be 
 covered with snow, and the thermometer have reached 
 a low temperature, the situation is far more serious. 
 
 The first evening I went out in quest of buffalo I 
 was very nearly caught in this trap for the unwary. 
 Following a bull, which I fondly imagined I had dis- 
 abled from active service, I was only compelled to 
 desist by the waning of the daylight, which the 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 231 
 
 snowy surface of the ground prolonged a few minutes 
 in my favour. Guide or landmark there was none ; 
 but as I knew I had heen walking nearly due south, 
 it remained to head north, for before reaching the 
 Platte the wheel-tracks of the road must be crossed ; 
 and as there were ranches along it at intervals of 
 eight or ten miles, there were no grounds for fear. I 
 had, however, gone further than I had imagined, and 
 kept on thinking I must be on a wrong course ; but 
 fortunately reason prevented me from changing my 
 direction, as the weight of the probabilities inclined 
 that way : and it proved very fortunate that I did so, 
 as a twelve hours' tramp for a weary man the only 
 safeguard against freezing to death would have been 
 rather too serious a struggle with the powers of sleep 
 and numbness to be lightly contemplated. 
 
 Having gone on thus for some time, I commenced 
 firing my rifle, till I had exhausted my very last 
 cartridge, but elicited no signal in response that I 
 could hear, though straining hard to catch an answer. 
 After some moments I heard a loud noise in a 
 westerly direction, which, though not like the sound 
 of fire-arms, I could not attribute to any other cause. 
 I have since ascertained it must have been occasioned 
 by the cracking of the thick ice in the Platte. I 
 was on the point of turning my steps in the direction 
 
232 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 of the sound ; but happily I was still cool enough in 
 mind to reflect and resist the impulse, and after a few 
 minutes more of suspense, perseverance was rewarded 
 by striking the wheel-tracks in the road, made by the 
 snow very evident, then after another short interval 
 my ranche was gained, where I learnt that guns of 
 distress had been fired, though I had not heard them. 
 
 Failing to get a seat in the overland mail to 
 Aitchison, and the prospect of obtaining one be- 
 coming very indistinct, I had to accept the alternative 
 of a drive to Omaha instead ; to make my way thence 
 by coach across the State of Iowa as far as St. Joseph, 
 whence the Hannibal and St. Joe Bail way led you 
 either to Chicago, via Quincey Illinois, or to St. 
 Louis by the North Missouri line. There was also 
 another route open via Grinnell to Kock Island, and 
 thence to Chicago ; but as I had some business in St. 
 Louis, I was fain to adopt the former. 
 
 The road from Kearney to Omaha lies almost 
 entirely along the Platte, and as its margin is here 
 well wooded, the dreariness of an endless prairie view 
 is pleasantly relieved. Settlements, too, are met with 
 far more frequently than on the western side of Kear- 
 ney ; and though " Dobee " is still king, and rules 
 with undivided sway, Dirt is not so evidently his 
 Prime Minister : in a few little marks of woman's 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 233 
 
 handiwork, such as white dimity curtains at the win- 
 dows, one sees the touch of a more humanizing 
 nature, linking these outposts to the civilized world 
 and making them kin. Farming, too, seemed to be 
 conducted very generally, and almost every ranche 
 had some land in corn or other crop around it. 
 
 Omaha ought, I believe, to be reached in thirty-six 
 hours ; but we were considerably longer on the road, 
 owing to its heavy condition, and the overcrowding, 
 almost to a suffocating point, of the vehicle : built 
 to accommodate six inside, it was supposed to have 
 an elastic internal capacity of its own, to which no 
 regular rule or limit seemed to be applied ; neverthe- 
 less, having in mind the more aggravated inferno of 
 the stage between Council Bluffs and Savanna, I must 
 not be too hard on this line, which, on the whole, did 
 its work very fairly. 
 
 Omaha, it must be recollected, is the metropolis 
 of Nebraska territory, and though now compara- 
 tively insignificant in point of size and numbers, 
 bids fair, from its position and commercial advan- 
 tages, to attain considerable importance : the last 
 place of any size on the Missouri, save " Sioux 
 city," it draws the trade of the river to it, while as an 
 outfitting point for the western country it offers great 
 advantages to freighters. But it is as the terminus 
 
234 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 of the Pacific Eailroad that Omaha " hails in her heart 
 the triumph yet to come," and begins to reckon the 
 wealth which, as the entrepot for the river trade, and 
 the connecting link between the Eastern and Western 
 States, must flow into her coffers. It is said that this 
 great line is positively to run from Omaha to Denver, 
 along the Platte valley ; and the town had just been 
 illuminated in honour of this great event, forming, as 
 it probably will, an epoch in her history. The streets, 
 like those of most young American "cities," are 
 ambitiously wide, even to dreariness, and like those 
 of Washington, were painfully ignorant of the arts of 
 the pavior and macadamizer ; the consequence was 
 that, a hard frost supervening on heavy mud, they 
 presented the appearance of chronic " plough," and 
 seemed likely to remain in that state till spring. 
 
 A steam ferry-boat (now, however, frozen in) takes 
 passengers over to Council Bluffs, in Iowa, a town 
 deriving its name from the bluffs, which rise some 
 five or six miles from the eastern bank of the river, 
 pointing out the old course of this great river in 
 clear characters. It is about the same in size, and, I 
 should think, in numbers as Omaha ; and here you 
 take the coach for Savanna, a town connected by rail 
 with St. Joe. Of that trajet I fear to speak, lest 
 my memories of discomforts and hardships should 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 235 
 
 actually run away with my pen ; I will only say that 
 in much travelling experience over roads of most 
 kinds, I never met worse " going," or a line much 
 worse regulated. On two occasions the drivers who 
 ought to have " worked" us along, were so hope- 
 lessly and helplessly pantegruelistic, that their place 
 had to be taken by others, and the coach so over- 
 flowed that the passengers had to .charter a waggon, 
 at their own expense, to get over a part of the road 
 till a second coach could be procured ! 
 
 The country through which we passed was for 
 the most part undulating and well wooded. The 
 farms seemed comfortable, and Linden and Grlyn- 
 wood appeared really above average specimens of 
 American towns of similar importance; but of the 
 road I cannot speak highly, and one bridge over 
 which we were desired by the driver to walk, appeared 
 to me to be a perfect pass of peril, so completely had 
 the supporting framework wandered from the per- 
 pendicular. 
 
 Arrived at St. Joe, after spending twelve weary 
 hours in the " cars," we were informed that the road 
 was so blocked up by recent snow that progress was 
 impossible. And thus we were detained four or five 
 days in this very uninteresting and uninviting " city," 
 in which I had already had so wearying a stay, while 
 
236 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 waiting in vain for the "up river" boat last May. 
 During this detention there were only two instances 
 of " killing : " two soldiers giving each other the 
 " happy despatch " with knives ; and as the number 
 was five in my former sojourn, I naturally formed 
 a rather fearful opinion of the homicidal tendencies 
 of the place. 
 
 A compulsory stay in a frontier town of even such 
 proportions as St. Joe, leaves but few reminiscences 
 of a pleasurable nature, to a European traveller at 
 any rate. It is true that in the huge hotel of the 
 place you will find, only on a much lower scale, all 
 the comforts and plenty which you will have pro- 
 vided for you in one of the magnificent palaces 
 which stud New York, and most of the principal 
 large cities on this continent. A barber with con- 
 siderable dexterity in manipulation will do his 
 spiriting very gently on any portion of your " os 
 sublime," to which you may direct his ministering 
 fingers. Cunning cock-tails, or " rooster narratives," 
 are gained by a descent of very few steps. Billiards 
 and the dailies of many a town, with a limited supply 
 of popular novels, are equally accessible; and, I 
 believe, a promenade of a very mild old gentlemanly 
 distance, will procure you all that civilized man is 
 supposed to want, from baby-linen to a shroud, 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 237 
 
 close by, if not actually in, the building where you 
 live, move, and have your being. 
 
 Yet, in spite of this very extensive programme, 
 which apparently leaves so little to desiderate, I 
 know few more wearying places than such caravan- 
 serais ; few where nervous sensitive temperaments 
 are more continually blesses. And the cause lies 
 not in any incivility on the part of employes who, 
 if coloured citizens of African descent, or unbleached 
 Americans, generally set an example to their white 
 confreres worthy of all imitation; nor yet in the 
 accommodations, which are spacious and handsome, 
 if bordering sometimes on the tawdry and the vulgar 
 but in the impossibility of escaping from the mul- 
 titudinous guests, and enjoying anything approaching 
 to quiet and repose. 
 
 Go where you will, you will find the same type of 
 heavy, well-fed, uninteresting and unsociable beings, 
 oppressive alike in their silence and their speech, 
 dressed mostly in the same style, deviating but 
 slightly from that of a respectable but second-rate 
 undertaker : for black is an emblem of social worth 
 in some estimations. Their personal ornamenta- 
 tion consists generally of a blaze of diamonds set in 
 deep blue enamel, inserted midway in the snowy 
 bosom of a spotless shirt (or dickey) ; and, if the taste 
 
238 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 be rather florid than severely " American-classic," of 
 a ring of the same precious stone or stones. The 
 plethora of so much unanimated broad-cloth sitting, 
 lounging, loafing, drinking, and expectorating all 
 around, becomes positively nightmarish, and I con- 
 fess that, inhospitable as the weather was, and deep 
 as the half- trodden snow lay on the paves, I turned to 
 them to get rid of the worthy occupants of the public 
 rooms, and found a pleasant contrast in the tinkling 
 of the many-belled sleighs which were running merrily 
 through the streets, reminding one of the musical 
 lines of Edgar Poe on the subject. Individually I 
 am sure that many of these gentlemen were not only 
 commercially estimable, but shining lights likewise 
 in the more contracted social circle ; collectively, 
 however, to me they were simply oppressive, and I 
 would be sorry to have to repeat my sojourn at the 
 Pacific Hotel. 
 
 Most of these men were pig-jobbers I use the 
 word respectfully, for pig-jobbing has capitals such 
 as Chicago and Cincinnati, and many another fine 
 town in its interest and, like myself, had been 
 detained malgrd ; but, besides loss of time and 
 detention, they were suffering heavily in the nightly 
 losses of multitudes of fine fat hogs, from the great 
 severity of the season ; and yet these depletions of 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 239 
 
 the pocket seemed to have no visible effect on their 
 armour of self-complacent stoicism ! Had they 
 heen loud in their denunciations of anything, or any- 
 body, I could have felt an interest in their position, 
 perhaps have sympathized with them ; but this wall of 
 phlegmatic impassibility was not, I felt, to be sur- 
 mounted by any ladder within my reach, and as they 
 scarcely communed with each other, I could not hope 
 that any overtures I could make would be effective, 
 since even the insinuating influences of " Bourbon " 
 and " old rye " had failed to penetrate a joint in their 
 harness. 
 
 True, there was the military element; but as 
 the latter was drawn from much the same sources, 
 and had grown up with much the same habits of 
 thought and action, it diversified the scene but 
 little, save in the matter of uniform : this was a 
 slight relief at any rate. But here as everywhere on 
 this continent, so far as I have seen the volunteer 
 officer is not as in Europe a speciality the repre- 
 sentative of a class distinct from the mass of men in 
 bearing, air, and general deportment ; but, like a groom 
 impressed on a sudden emergency to do footman's 
 work, his livery sits ill on his unset frame, and 
 betrays the " Pekin " at every turn : though, to their 
 credit, I must say they do not affect the swagger so 
 
240 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 common to " plungers," and even " red and black " 
 soldiers on our side of the water ; as might have 
 been expected in men raised often from obscurity to 
 positions of importance and much pecuniary value, 
 and which, indeed, many of these men might assume 
 on the strength of the service they, or their regiments 
 at any rate, have seen, if still young in years. 
 
 However, as comparisons between volunteers in St. 
 Joe and European officers are perfectly irrelevant to the 
 Rocky Mountains and the ways thither, and as much 
 has been already pertinently remarked by travellers on 
 these and other cognate subjects, I will no longer 
 dwell on such topics, and as I have maugre much 
 detention, and more perturbation of spirit from the 
 laryngial chorus sung incessantly by the expecto- 
 rants in the cars, whose name is not legion, but 
 " omnes " (the directors should provide one small 
 car for non-chewers, or at least furnish the others 
 with scuppers and swabs) not only penetrated as far 
 east as Chicago, but returned again to St. Louis, 
 to await the arrival of my baggage ; for the detention of 
 which the snow and storms are said to be responsible 
 (I would I could fix them with it) ; I will no longer 
 request the patient reader (if such I have been fortu- 
 nate or unfortunate enough to find) to accompany me 
 further eastwards, but will pass on to a few practical 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 241 
 
 observations, which may be of service to any of my 
 countrymen whom adventure, the love of travel, or a 
 speculative and enterprising disposition, may tempt 
 to explore the remote confines of " the Great West "- 
 the proud title by which the states north-west of 
 Virginia, who once owned most of them, are gene- 
 rally hailed by their eastern sisterhood. 
 
 16 
 
242 RAMBLES EST THE 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 On ne s'embarque point sans son biscuit. French Proverb. 
 
 FEW are fortunate enough, or wise enough, to finish 
 any enterprise or expedition, the nature of which is 
 not quite understood at the start, without feeling 
 that were they to begin afresh there would he much 
 of alteration and amendment attempted in the second 
 effort to carry out their views ; and my experience as 
 to this tour has fully verified this somewhat trite and 
 platitude-like remark. Looking hack on my trip to 
 the Mountains the Kocky Sierra being the only 
 possible candidate here for the definite article I 
 cannot regret my method of locomotion, though only 
 a humble waggon, nor the companions with whom I 
 made the passage; as the former is decidedly the 
 best suited for seeing the country comfortably, though 
 somewhat tedious, and apt to remind one of the 
 " Tarda EleusinaB matris volventia plaustra," while 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 243 
 
 the latter proved full of geniality and good-fellow- 
 ship. 
 
 But, as the second contingency was a happy acci- 
 dent, and did not repeat itself when wanted on another 
 occasion, I would suggest that the first step for 
 travellers over " the Plains " is to secure, first, one 
 or more pleasant companions ; next, a waggon and 
 team of mules or horses, as fancy may' dictate : the 
 former I think decidedly preferable, as if chosen 
 with tolerahle care, and some regard to action they 
 will prove hetter servants on the plains, me judice, 
 than horses of the same calihre, generally out-walk- 
 ing them a cardinal point ; and if required to trot 
 with a load, feeling it less than the latter ; hesides, 
 they are more marketable, and, if kept in reasonable 
 flesh, will sell for a figure little under or over your 
 purchase-money, after they have served your pur- 
 pose. Indeed, both horses and mules, but espe- 
 cially the latter, if sold at the Kocky Mountains, will 
 generally realize a profit sufficient to cover a large 
 share of the item " contingencies." 
 
 This want will be readily supplied at any town on 
 the frontier, such as " Aitchison," " Leaven worth," 
 " Omaha," or " Platfcsmouth," and as a waggon and 
 team are articles of daily merchandise, but little 
 fluctuation occurs in their price. Indeed, there is 
 
 162 
 
244 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 this remarkable difference between buying quad- 
 rupeds in England and America, and especially in 
 these Western States, that whereas in England, 
 fancy, and certain peculiarities in the animal, make 
 an enormous difference in the scale of valuation, in 
 America, as a rule, such specialities are seldom con- 
 sidered much in appraising the price. The traveller 
 may, therefore, proceed to purchase his animals with 
 tolerable confidence, if he knows what he wants him- 
 self when he sees it, and has some slight experience 
 of draught animals ; nor need he feel painfully con- 
 scious or apprehensive that there is a screw loose 
 somewhere which he can only discover when hard 
 work begins to tell its tale, or extra pressure reveals 
 eccentricities of temper, or a soft place unsuspected 
 before. 
 
 As every one has his own ideas or affects to have, 
 which comes to much the same thing respect- 
 ing horseflesh, in which I include muleflesh like- 
 wise, I will not attempt to give any hints on this 
 subject; contenting myself with remarking that age 
 is honourable in mules if fresh in limbs and con- 
 stitution though not in horses, and that I have 
 generally found small, junky mules of good substance, 
 and standing on short legs, far more enduring than 
 their larger and longer-limbed brethren. The selec- 
 
KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 245 
 
 tion of a waggon will depend so entirely on the weight 
 to be carried, that I can only recommend the buyer 
 invariably to go to the best maker in the place, take 
 his advice in the matter, and not be tempted to close 
 with any specious second-hand bargains, however 
 tempting; as a break-down en route is not only 
 vexatious, but very expensive and disagreeable. 
 
 I am assuming the case of a party of at least two, 
 though a larger number is certainly preferable, if less 
 manageable ; but if the dual be preferred it will be 
 found expedient to retain the services of some com- 
 petent person who has been often over the line to be 
 travelled, knows the proper stations, where water and 
 grass are plenty and where scant, and who- adds to 
 such knowledge a limited skill in such cookery as the 
 plains require. Such men are easily picked up on the 
 border, as the life has great charms for these restless 
 western spirits ; and a small per-centage beyond the 
 current wages say twenty-five dollars per month, 
 which, with exchange at 1*52 dollars, is not high for 
 America ought to secure a good " waggon-master,'* 
 as he will probably style himself. 
 
 I must, however, warn my imaginary tourists that 
 this man will have to be treated not only as their 
 guide, but, to a certain extent, as their philosopher 
 and friend ; for though he accepts their honorarium, 
 
246 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 the teamster would not for a moment submit to 
 be put on the footing of a servant, as we under- 
 stand the term. Indeed I must say, from my expe- 
 rience in the West, that if you start by respect- 
 ing and treating as equals the men with whom you 
 come in contact, your own social position will be all 
 the more fully recognized, and full credit will be 
 given for any adventitious superiorities you may 
 possess in rank, fortune, or education. If, however, 
 more service be required than this, I would recom- 
 mend my friends to bring a reliable man from 
 England with them an expensive and somewhat 
 hazardous experiment; or, better still, to hire a 
 negro cook and driver, with which class the country 
 now swarms : many of whom, if closely interrogated 
 as to antecedents, will tell you that they did not run 
 away from their masters, but did " some mighty tall 
 walking." 
 
 The stores of comestibles that will be required for 
 the trip are all purchaseable at the point of departure, 
 at rates very little, if at all, higher than if you 
 brought them yourself from Chicago or St. Louis, 
 and equally good ; as the market is steady, owing to 
 the constant demand : I mean your flour, bacon, 
 coffee, sugar, dried apples, peaches, and other fruits 
 and berries, which ought, " de rigueur," to be included 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 247 
 
 in any outfit. But, if not a teetotaller, be sure to 
 lay in your supplies of a potable character at 
 St. Louis ; if, indeed, you do not bring them with 
 you from the East, where price and quality will be 
 a point in your favour generally. The quantity 
 necessary to take will be told you with tolerable 
 accuracy at the place where you make your pur- 
 chases ; but, as in riding over the flat, or across 
 country, it is well to have a few pounds " in hand " 
 for such casual contingencies as meeting Indians, or 
 accidental delays ; for, though you can buy neces- 
 saries at the ranches, it is far better and more 
 economical to be independent of them. 
 
 Buffalo-robes, india-rubber blankets, et toute cette 
 boutique, can be got whenever you outfit ; but as air- 
 beds and pillows are great luxuries, and pack easily, 
 they had better be brought with you from New York. 
 
 On the subject of arms and ammunition I will be 
 reticent, as those who would undertake such a trip 
 will be sure to know far more than I can tell them 
 on this head ; but I feel bound to caution others 
 where I broke down myself; and, in the first place, 
 would strongly recommend shot-guns to be brought. 
 Western men are so accustomed to the rifle from 
 boyhood, that in many cases they know no other 
 arm ; but it is needless to say how poor a substitute for 
 
248 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 a shot-gun a rifle proves, even in good hands, where 
 small game is abundant, as it is in many parts of 
 the plains and mountains : besides, I much ques- 
 tion whether at short range a Purdey or Moore would 
 not give as good an account of an antelope or deer, 
 with the aid of an Eley's cartridge, as an ordinary 
 rifle. But whatever guns you bring, be sure to take 
 them with you from the old country, as well as 
 a liberal supply of ammunition : excepting powder, 
 which you will get of the best quality as you go 
 . along ; and fail not to recollect every implement 
 necessary for your shooting irons, as I found every- 
 thing of that sort extremely dear and bad in the 
 mountains, and I lost much game, I'm sure, from 
 the indifferent " equipage " I procured in Denver 
 at a ruinous price. 
 
 I have not said a word anent saddlery, though 
 it is no unimportant item in an outfit: in this 
 case, I would advise the tourist to buy whatever he 
 wants in St. Louis, and not to bring his gear from 
 England with him. The Californian or Mexican 
 saddle is peculiarly fitted for the work for which it 
 is meant, including packing game, and carrying your 
 shooting and camp necessaries, and has the rare 
 advantage of standing any amount of knocking about 
 almost with impunity. After half an hour's riding- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 249 
 
 the body adapts itself to its uncouth-looking seat 
 and strange wooden stirrups ; and by-and-by one 
 begins to think it actually comfortable. The M'Clel- 
 lan modification of this saddle is very useful to the 
 hunter : though in these troubled times a special 
 permit for such a saddle is required from the provost- 
 marshal of the district, otherwise it would probably 
 be seized as Government property ; but before start- 
 ing, a document from this functionary authorizing 
 you to carry arms generally, is indispensable, and 
 can readily be procured. 
 
 Mentioning saddles before horses or ponies seems 
 like putting cart before horse, but I omitted the 
 shooting-pads, when so busy about the mules just 
 now. In this case I would buy slowly, picking up an 
 animal as I went along when the occasion offered, 
 and a fair trial was possible. Indian ponies, when 
 corn-fed and cared for, make excellent hardy animals 
 for your purpose, and are generally very docile and 
 handy for shooting. They can be bought generally 
 from the ranchemen, who have probably got them at 
 nominal figures from the Indians in the way 
 of barter : and should you meet with a tribe of 
 Indians, a good "truck" can often be made with 
 them for a comparatively small supply of sugar and 
 flour. 
 
250 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 Some little manoeuvring is, however, very ne- 
 cessary in trading with the Indians for horseflesh, 
 as they are generally no mean judges, and are not 
 one whit hehind the pale-faced dealers in their efforts 
 to palm off their Leahs for Rachels ; keeping their 
 best out of sight first, as my good friends, the 
 dealers " d'outre mer " will try to stick a " Flat- 
 catcher " into you, before they will order anything 
 of real " quality " to be stripped. 
 
 Having given these few, and I hope not imper- 
 tinent hints on the subject of preliminary prepara- 
 tions, I will add a word about that most important 
 consideration, " cost." This, though generally fore- 
 most in most people's minds in their estimates of 
 projects of either business or pleasure, is euphuis- 
 tically kept studiously in the background, like the 
 postscript of a young lady's letter in the days when 
 the young " Mees Anglaise " was not quite so well 
 posted as she is now generally supposed to be, and 
 actually is, in this decade of the century. 
 
 A waggon, with its full apparatus of covers, boxes, 
 &c., costs from 100 to 120 dollars ; harness for a 
 pair of mules or horses about 30 or 40 dollars ; while 
 horses considerably raised in price by the exigencies 
 of the Federal "War-Office, and the unprecedented 
 number of remounts necessitated by mismanage- 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 251 
 
 ment can be bought from 120 to 150 dollars 
 apiece : mules of good quality being somewhat 
 higher. 
 
 A tent will be considered a necessary by some, and 
 not by others, and I confess I hold rather to the 
 latter opinion ; natheless, in wet weather, it has its 
 advantages, and gives more room than the bed of a 
 waggon for a dormitory: but as wet days are quite 
 exceptional in the travelling season, and shelter is 
 generally procurable at no very remote distance, I 
 would feel much inclined to dispense with it as an 
 encumbrance, where economy of space is so essential. 
 This is an article which could be procured much 
 cheaper in England than America, and, if insisted 
 on, should be brought thence. 
 
 It will be perceived that I have made my estimate 
 upon the supposition that money is an object ; but if 
 the visitors to the Plains belong to the class to whom, 
 in the language of the advertisements, " money is not 
 so much an object as a comfortable home," I can 
 assure them that the artificers in St. Louis have 
 resources enough, at very short notice, to minister 
 to their requirements with admirably-made spring 
 " ambulances," contrived to serve for a bed at night 
 as well as a chariot by day ; and also with other 
 appliances for " doing " the Plains in an easy, com- 
 
252 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 fortable fashion. As, however, this style of locomo- 
 tion requires what a Mr. Partington of my acquaint- 
 ance calls a " revenue " of servants, and as a certain 
 pomp and flourish of trumpets is implied by thus 
 invading the desert " en milor Anglais," which never 
 fail to enhance prices, I have not considered the 
 subject in this light; but will content myself with 
 observing that even thus, a longer tour can be made 
 at cheaper rates than is possible in any country I 
 have ever heard or read of (Africa affords no fair 
 parallel), as your " stock in trade," if sold in a 
 more westerly market than it was bought in, will 
 generally realize a good profit, and even, if brought 
 back to its point of departure, will fetch a very fair 
 second-hand price ; and the expense of living on the 
 Plains will prove the merest bagatelle. 
 
 The selection of a route or tour, when once pre- 
 liminary arrangements are completed, is so entirely 
 a matter for private judgment and controlling circum- 
 stances, that nothing can be said pertinently in the 
 way of suggestion, hint, or recommendation. 
 
 Once a party is supplied with the necessary means 
 of locomotion and subsistence, and a guide in the 
 shape of some one of experience to direct proceed- 
 ings, all the points of the compass, save those 
 belonging to the Orient, are open to them ; and 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 253 
 
 their charter is not limited to a single port. Game 
 is abundant in almost every direction ; though, of 
 course, local circumstances, only to he learned on the 
 spot, will make animals affect particular districts at 
 particular times and seasons. But, as a rule, it will 
 be found that after getting out to a distance of 
 between two and three hundred miles from the 
 frontier, large game will show in considerable force, 
 and good hunting will be gained by deviating a very 
 few miles from the track of waggons and the emigra- 
 tion ; while prairie chickens will be found in great 
 numbers all along the settlements following the wake 
 of corn : ducks, plover, and rabbits, will assist in 
 making a variation in your bag, and better still, 
 where shooting must be "pot-hunting" in your 
 cuisine. 
 
 The journey overland to San Francisco via Salt 
 Lake, is only a matter of time, as during the open 
 weather there is not a single difficulty to overcome ; 
 and with fair management, and a few " lay overs " 
 on Sundays, and other "jours de fete," the animals 
 ought to look in quite as good working trim as when 
 they started, so easy is the grading of the road, 
 and so bountiful is the prairie generally in its stores 
 of sustenance for all herbivorous creatures ! 
 
 Between Denver and Salt Lake there is a fair chance 
 
254 EAMBLES IN THE 
 
 of meeting cinnamon or grisly bear in the pineries, 
 and I confess I have almost enough of the Nimrod 
 element in my composition to be willing to go all 
 the way there for a fair fight in the open with one 
 of the latter monsters, whose strength, size, and 
 ferocity forms a large share of every hunter's budget. 
 " He laughs at scars that never felt a wound," is, I 
 know, as true an aphorism now-a-days as it was in 
 Borneo's ; but this wise saw notwithstanding, I must 
 still enter my protest of incredulity about the great 
 danger of a passage at arms with the grey bruin, if 
 the hunter be only really well armed, and the ground 
 and surroundings be not too unfavourable. For, in the 
 first place, out of a number of hunters whom I have 
 met, I have not found or heard of more than one or 
 two, at least in these parts, who had suffered in the 
 flesh from such a battle : (one of these men had a 
 most ghastly witness of the puissance of a bear's 
 fore-arm in the loss of nearly one side of his face,) 
 and I have seldom, if ever, heard of " Ursa major" 
 or " minor " commencing an attack voluntarily on the 
 hunter. Wounded or brought to bay, they would, of 
 course, be very formidable; but I think the chief 
 source of danger has consisted in the small bores of 
 the rifles used hitherto by the hunters, which exas- 
 perate without effectually stopping or maiming, as an 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 255 
 
 ounce ball from a Paton rifle is sure to do ; and as a 
 muzzle-loading rifle takes some time in the best of 
 hands to prepare for action, the situation of the 
 hunter, whether "tree'd" or on " terra firma," may 
 become very parlous indeed. In the Sierra Nevada, 
 where the grislies attain their grandest proportions, 
 I am told the hunters prefer a double shot gun of 
 great calibre, reserving their second charge for very 
 close quarters. 
 
 Besides this prospect of game, there is some fish- 
 ing to be had in the Platte waters ; though " cat-fish" 
 sometimes of very large size will be the staple here. 
 But as soon as the Rocky Mountain spurs are reached 
 first-rate trout-fishing may be obtained in almost every 
 stream the travellers pass, if not polluted by mining 
 operations, which banish trout as effectually as flax 
 culture does in the North of Ireland. I found splen- 
 did sport in " the Grand " which flows through the 
 middle park to the distant Pacific, though my success 
 in catching large fish was not at all equal to that of 
 many others I heard of; my largest fish not exceed- 
 ing four pounds, while trout of seven and eight are 
 no phenomena. 
 
 Were I again to find myself in that part of the 
 country, I should not fail to try the upper waters of 
 the " Rio Grande," which rise in some high land 
 
256 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 south of Denver, and flow on to the Gulf of Mexico, 
 as the trout-fishing there is said to be unsurpassable ! 
 Trust not, however, to the resources of the country 
 for tackling, as I did, but bring everything, even a 
 spare top or two, with you from home, as hardwood 
 sells in the mountains for almost its weight in silver : 
 I have to this day a lively recollection of having 
 to disburse seven shillings for a most unartistic 
 hickory top-joint, and glad to get it "at that." 
 Flies, too, are very dear, fetching from one shilling 
 to one shilling and eightpence apiece for the better 
 sort. 
 
 But if this entire country is eminently interesting 
 to the tourist who likes to see the varying phases 
 of untrammelled nature, ere man with his pitchfork 
 has tried to expel her,* or divert her into particular 
 channels and grooves, how much more so must it be 
 to that large class whose hearts are bigger than their 
 means, and who crave for a field where sordid toil 
 may be sweetened by the zest of excitement, and 
 where, if there are many blanks, there are also prizes 
 within reach. 
 
 I do not mean to say that, from what I have seen 
 of Colorado, I would recommend it as a good field for 
 a miner, or for an inexperienced man who wished 
 * Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret. 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 257 
 
 to commence mining on his own account with but 
 little capital, save his own labour ! That stage of 
 Colorado's development has passed, as most of the 
 " proved " gulches have been well searched already ; 
 and the chief interest now lies in the lodes discovered 
 in all directions, which nearly all pay well, but re- 
 quire some, in many instances much, capital to work 
 effectually. Further to the north, however, in the 
 territory of Idaho, discoveries of the richest gulches 
 have been made within the last two years, and num- 
 bers who went there nearly as poor as Sir Walter 
 Scott's ideal happy Irishman (see his " Song of the 
 Shirt ") have returned with fair fortunes : indeed so 
 flattering have been the accounts, that an enormous 
 " stampede " will probably take place in that direc- 
 tion in the early spring. BftDCTOft Library 
 
 In the south-western part of New Mexico the 
 dreams of the old Spaniards seem to be on the 
 point of realization in the wonderful wealth of 
 the " dry diggings " in Arizona, as reported by 
 men, such as clergymen located there, whose autho- 
 rity ought to be considered reliable. A considerable 
 emigration will probably set in there also next 
 spring, but not so large as towards the northern 
 mines ; for, in Arizona, the golden apples are watch- 
 fully guarded by dragons, in the shape of a civilized 
 
 17 
 
258 KAMBLES IN THE 
 
 but fierce tribe of Indians, yclept "Navajos," whom 
 tradition declares to be descended in part from 
 a Dutch colony who tried to settle near the gulf, 
 but were hunted into the interior by the jealous 
 Spaniards, to fall into the hands of the Indians, who 
 are supposed to have killed the men and appropriated 
 the female element for squaws. Certain it is that 
 this tribe is rich in flocks and herds and agricultural 
 products, while in the manufacture of blankets they 
 may be said to have distanced competition ; a Na- 
 vajo blanket commanding sometimes as high a price 
 as one hundred dollars, from its wearing qualities, 
 and being impervious to water. The New Mexicans 
 use them commonly instead of a bucket to draw water 
 from a well ! 
 
 This tribe, which has, I believe, gained quite a 
 moral ascendency over its degenerate neighbours in 
 New Mexico, has always resisted foreign or white en- 
 croachments as jealously as the Prince of Satsuma 
 himself ; and though the United States have planted 
 outposts in their territories for the protection of white 
 men, there is still much risk from mining there, save 
 in parties large enough to overawe the natives ! 
 
 I have already, I think, mentioned meeting Eng- 
 lish miners in Colorado; but for one Englishman 
 there are ten Irish at least, and the ear catches 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 259 
 
 strangely enough, amid the Teutonic and other in- 
 flections of harsh voices, nearly all the notes with 
 which it has been familiar in the diapason of brogue- 
 dom. One of these Milesians and, as he has done 
 much good in developing the country, and giving 
 employment, let me name "Pat Casey" who cer- 
 tainly was not born great, and would probably have 
 had some trouble in achieving it, has, nevertheless, 
 had the greatness of fortune thrust upon him, in 
 spite of a series of blunders enough to swamp any 
 enterprise ! 
 
 Any one who has visited these regions will cease to 
 wonder at the exodus from Ireland which still goes 
 on, in spite of the wars and rumours of wars on this 
 continent. For, on the whole, labour in the mines 
 if injurious to health, and even in some cases dan- 
 gerous cannot be fairly said to be hard, while the 
 wages are extremely good ; the position of the 
 labourer is almost as good as that of the capitalist 
 or " big bug " in the social hierarchy, and the 
 creature comforts he enjoys transcend the wildest 
 hopes he ever formed in his own green isle. 
 
 In travelling I have frequently had occasion to stop 
 at the only inn or boarding-house of the locality, 
 where all, labourers and "bosses," eat together; 
 indeed, save in a few places where "style is put 
 
260 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 on," this is the invariable rule observed. As break- 
 fast is a fair sample meal, I may give an idea of what 
 I generally found on the table. Coffee but very 
 innocent of that precious berry will be the liquid, 
 with good fair sugar, and generally an accompani- 
 ment of milk. Then relays of soda rolls, hot from 
 the oven, will alternate with pancakes or buckwheat 
 cakes, eaten with butter or molasses, or maple sugar 
 syrup, or that of the " sorghum " cane, now so exten- 
 sively used westwards. There will generally be more 
 than one kind of hot meat, though it may consist 
 only in variations of pork ; and lastly, sweetmeats of 
 some land will flank the matutinal board, whether in 
 the shape of stewed apples, or peaches, or "pies," 
 whose pastry requires a miner's powers of digestion, 
 not to speak of such small "deer" as cakes and 
 gingerbread in profusion. 
 
 But besides mining, there are numberless avenues 
 open to tradesmen and artificers in these young com- 
 munities, and the maxim which is so true in elder 
 civilizations, that " a little knowledge is a dangerous 
 thing," fails here altogether in its applicability. To 
 the farmer, too, this great West offers enormous 
 temptations: I mean to the man whose capital is 
 probably far too small to embark successfully in farm- 
 ing in Great Britain, but who can command a few 
 
ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 261 
 
 hundreds or even as much as a thousand pounds. 
 Such a man may find any number of "semi-im- 
 proved'* farms, partially fenced, and with wooden 
 houses and offices on them, at his disposal for a small 
 price, varying from SOL to 200L, with a right of 
 grazing over thousands of acres of good prairie-land, 
 where his horned stock and sheep will increase and 
 multiply his capital invested in them in a marvellous 
 way ; for green crops here are as unknown as un- 
 necessary, and hay, which the prairie yields freely, is 
 all the " wintering " required for your animals. 
 
 It is certainly true that on these outlying farms 
 cereals cannot he grown with any great profit, owing 
 to the distance from a good market ; hut this does not 
 apply to stock, for which buyers will always be glad 
 to come, while the wool-clip can easily be stored from 
 year to year till a tempting market offers itself. Land, 
 indeed, in the far West can be got by simply staking 
 out a plot of 160 acres, then recording your "claim," 
 and making the few improvements required by law to 
 prevent its being "jumped" in your absence. But 
 the remarks I made had reference to farms already 
 either purchased from the United States Government 
 at the fixed price of five shillings per acre, or from 
 the holders of land-warrants, or acquired under the 
 homestead law, which makes a continuous residence 
 
262 RAMBLES IN THE 
 
 of five years a good title to a holding of 160 acres ; 
 and such farms the owners ever anxious to go 
 further West would be generally found willing to 
 part with much under their value, if they estimated 
 their own labour at current rates. 
 
 The alienage laws of the Western States framed 
 with a view of offering the most enormous induce- 
 ments to foreigners to come and people their rich 
 deserts, and develop their resources have been the 
 means of presenting a very curious anomaly in these 
 troublous times : aliens who have been living for 
 years in these border States, now come forward en 
 masse to claim exemption from all military service, 
 as citizens of other countries, and bound by other 
 allegiance; and unless their claims have been vitiated 
 by voting, or other overt acts of United States citizen- 
 ship, the Federal Government is bound to recognize 
 their validity ; if, indeed, existing laws and contracts, 
 and the constitution of sovereign states be allowed to 
 weigh against the more popular theories of centrali- 
 zation and military necessity. 
 
 In this the Western States departed widely from 
 the more sectarian and narrow views of their Eastern 
 sisters, which as a rule allowed none but citizens to 
 hold real estate within them ; but then the neces- 
 sities of the former were more imperious, and con- 
 
EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 263 
 
 sequently the liberality of their bids for popu- 
 lation had to rise in proportion: indeed, I think 
 the concession was rather extorted " ex necessitate 
 rei" than dictated by a generous comprehensive 
 policy. For the American proper is anywhere and 
 everywhere proud of his descent, and from that 
 height looks down on the foreigner, be he Dutch 
 or Irish, as his hewer of wood and drawer of water ; 
 and if Mackintosh's much-quoted saying about 
 popular and national songs be true, I may, perhaps, 
 be pardoned for illustrating my text by the following 
 verse, which expresses very coarsely a state of senti- 
 ment I fear not uncommon : 
 
 If I were the President of the United States 
 
 I'd frame my laws according ; 
 The niggers I'd sell ; the Dutch I'd send to h 11, 
 
 And the Irish to the other side of Jordan. 
 
 With regard to the time required to reach the Rocky 
 Mountains from England, I may remark that the 
 postmarks on letters better guide than any tell-tale 
 itineraries, or splendidly mendacious railway tabl|s 
 spoke, if I mistake not, of a term of twenty-one days 
 to and fro. And as no extraordinary efforts are made 
 to expedite the mails on this side of the Atlantic, I 
 have no doubt a tourist, if so minded, and of suffi- 
 ciently iron constitution, could make a neck and neck 
 
264 THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 
 
 race with a letter to Denver, or even to San Fran- 
 cisco. But as this idea is more American than 
 English, I will allow six weeks for reaching Denver, 
 by which time most cities intervening, and objects of 
 interest and curiosity can be seen ; then, if the traveller 
 be energetic, he can gain a very good idea of Colorado 
 by a stay of six weeks, and return to England in 
 another five weeks, including a few days for a buffalo 
 hunt in the neighbourhood of Fort Kearney; thus 
 accomplishing the entire tour in about four months, 
 while the entire cost, if no accidents occur, ought to 
 be within 200Z. 
 
 To enjoy the expedition, however, to the fullest 
 extent, the method I have pointed out should be 
 adopted, in its main features at any rate ; and I will 
 venture to prophesy that if any flaneur in London 
 who is weary of the perfumed airs of Bond Street, 
 and has lost his taste for moors and stubbles, will 
 cross the plains, and pay the Rocky Mountains a 
 visit, he will return with a keener zest for the plea- 
 sures of civilized life, and with his " mens sana in 
 corpore sano " all the fresher for what he has seen 
 and experienced. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 London: SMITH, ELDER AND Co., Little Green Arbour Court, Old Bailey, E.G.