April.
GOLD-BOUGHT,
Keep sileut, heart, thiu must not win
Another for thy mate ;
Though guilty of no blackened sin,
Nor bowed by shameful weight,
Yet, speak not, dare not tell
That thoughts of Love within thee dwell,
Such thoughts are not for thee.
Keep Bilent, then, nor dare to name
A word of lo?e, for Fate decrees
That wealth alone must light the flame.
If so, alas thy word should freeie,
Ere it should spoken, be.
Keep silent check, check that thrill,
Press back the bursting sigh,
And smother all such thoughts that fill
I'ky cuamoers, itiougb thou die.
Yes, still the throb endure the stings
Bid Love depart on speedy wings -Tu
sin if thou hwt loved.
Though true thoughts fire the longing breast,
And plead with voices low,
Yet list not to this sweet behest,
Such joys thou shouldst not know,
Nor by such thoughts be moved.
Breathe not a word in tender tone,
Although thou loveat well
Though every pulse may wring a groan
From out thy deepest cell.
Yet speak not, for but glittering gold,
The key to purest thoughts must hold,
'Tib Uiub that Fate decrees.
Then check, check the heartfelt sigh,
No matter though the heart should burnt,
Or dreams so pure in sorrow die,
No matter though thy life is cursed
No, no, thiuk not of these.
Thus all (if hopes, my heart, are dead,
No pet of wealth art thou,
No flowery way is round thee spread,
'Tib only fit for theo to bow
Beneath this stern mistfortuno's load,
And wander on thy weary road,
Unloved, unloving and alone.
Oh, that the river who bids thee throb,
Yet sear-leaves round thee spread,
Who does thee of thy treasures rob,
And leaves thee thrilling although dead
Would turn thee back to stone.
NOTES AND REMINISCENCES.
LAYING Ol'T AND ESTABLISH. NC. THE OLD IM
MIGRANT ROAD INTO AND TWtOUQH SOUTH
ERN OREGON IN THE YEAR 1846.
BY I.IMiSAY APPLROATR.
1
Continued.) From Black Hock to Humboldt
MfMftMM,
In pursuance of the plan decided
on at Black Rock, on the morning of
July 14th, we separated into two par
ties; eight men starting out in a south
erly direction and seven men, including
myself, towards the east. The country
before us appeared very much like the
dry bed of a lake. Scarcely B spear of
vegetation could be seen, and the whole
country was white with alkali. After
traveling about fifteen miles we began
to discover dim rabbit trails running in
the same direction in which we were
traveling. As we advanced the trails
became more plain, and there were
others constantly coming in, nil point
ing in the general direction towards a
ledge of granite boulders which we
could see before us. Approaching the
ledge, which was the tirst granite we
had seen since leaving Rogue River
vallev, we could ICC a green mound
where all the trails seemed to centre,
and on examining the place closely we
found a small hole in the top of the
mound, in which a little puddle of water
stood within a few inches of the sur
face. This was a happy discovery for
we were already suffering considerably
for want of water and our horses were
well nigh exhausted. The day had
been an exceedingly hot one and the
heat reflected from the shining beds of
alkali, had been very oppressive. The
alkali water at Black Rock had only
given us temporary relief our thirst
was now really more intense from hav
ing used it. Unpacking our horses,
we staked them in the bunch grass
about the granite ledge, and began dig
ging down after the little vein of water
which formed the puddle in the rabbit
hole. The water seemed to be confined
to a tough clay or muck which came
near the surface in the centre of the
mound, thus preventing it from Will
THE WEST SHORE.
ing away in the sand. Digging down
in this clay we made a basin large
enough to hold several gallons and In
dark we had quite a supply of good
pure water. We then began issuing it
to our horses, a little at a time, and by
morning men and horses were consid
erably refreshed. Great numbers' of
rabbits came around us and we killed
all we wanted of them. This is the
place always since known as the Rab
bit Hole Springs.
Looking eastward, on the morning
of July 15th, from the elevated table
land upon which wc then were we
saw vast clouds of smoke, completely
shutting out the distant landscape.
The wind blowing almost constantly
from the southwest, kept the smoke
blown away so that we could get a tol
erably good view towards the south.
Our wish was to continue our course
eastward, but the country, as far as we
could sec in that diiection.beinga barren
plain, we concluded to follow the gran
ite ledge, which extended in a south
easterly direction from the spring, be
lieving the chances of finding water
would be better by following that route.
The smoke, as wc afterwards learned,
was caused by the burning of peat beds
along the Humboldt river, the stream
wc were now wishing to find, though
we had no correct idea of the distance
we would have to travel in order to
reach it, nor of the difficulties to be en
countered. Pursuing our way along
the ridge, searching everywhere care
fully for water, at about u o'clock a.
M we observed the rabbit trails all
leading in the same direction, and fol
lowing the course indicated, wc found
a basin in the side of n rock large
enough to hold a tew gallons of water.
Into this basin the water oozed from a
crevice in the rock, very slowly, so that
when the basin was emptied it was a
long time filling. There was no way
of improving this spring, for whenever
the basin was full and the water run
ning over, it would waste in the loose
gravel and sand, and wc did not get a
sufficiency of it for ourselves and horses
until late at night. Appearances indi
cated that it was a great resort for In
dians, though there did not seem to be
any in the vicinity while we were there.
During the afternoon and evening,
great numbers of little birds came for
water, and were so tame that we could
almost put our hands on them.
On the morning of July t6th, we
proceeded along the ridge for four or
five miles and came to quite a large
spring, but so strongly impregnated
with alkali that we could only use it in
making coffee. Here we retted an hour
or so while our horses grazed. This
I morning wc passed over a country
I abounding in quartz. At this spring
I our granite ridge terminated, and be-
fore us was a vast desert plain, without
I a spear of vegetation, and covered with
' an alkaline eflloresunce which glittered
! beneath the scorching rays of the sun.
, The heat was intense as we rode slowly
out to the eastward upon the great
I plain. After w e had traveled a few
miles, wc ubscrved w hat was supposed
to be a lake, even fancying that we
' could see the waves upon its surface,
1 but after riding in that direction aw hile,
we discovered that it was only one of
those optical illusions so often experi
enced on the desert. Next, wc sav
: what we supposed to be a clump of
I willows to the eastward and rode ill
that direction with all possible dispatch,
but, on nearing the place, we discov
I crcd, to our intense disappointment,
; that it was only a pile of black volcanic
1 rocks, fifteen or twenty feet high. The
sun was now getting quite low, and
the heat was somewhat abating, yet it
1 remained quite hot as wc rode a few
I miles to the eastward on the desert.
As night closed in upon us w e selected
our camping place in a little sag where
there wercsomc strong sage bushes
growing. To these we tied our horses
securely, for, as there was not a blade
of grass and thev were suffering for
water, we knew they would leave us,
should they break away from their
fastenings. The only camp duty wc
had to perform that night was to spread
our blankets down upon the loose sand.
hen we stretched ourselves unnn
them, with tittle hope of rest, for our
thirst had by that time become intense;
wnrp, no doubt, from reason of our
having drank the strong alkali water
the morning. Our reflections that night
w ere gloomy in the extreme. Even if
we could have heard the cry of a night
bird or the familiar note of a coyote, it
would have given ns encouragement,
for it would have indicated the pres
ence of water somewhere in the vicin
ity; but not a sound was heard during
the live long night except our own
voices and the restless tramp of the half
famished horses.
As wc started out on the morning of
July 17th to the eastward we could sec
only a short distance on account of the
dense cloudl of smoke w hich enveloped
the country. We spent much of the
day in searching in various places for
water and at about . o'clock in the af
ternoon we came to some ledges of
rock. They afforded a shelter from
the scorching rays of the sun, and we
halted to rest for a while, as some of
the party were now so exhausted that
they could scarcely ride. From the
top of the rocks we could discern a
small greenish spot on the desert, five
or six miles distant, and, hoping to find
water there, we decided to ride towards
it nt once. Robert Smith was now suf
fering severely from a pain in the head,
and, as he was not able to ride, we were
compelled to leave him under the rocks,
with the understanding that he would
follow us as soon as he felt able to ride.
After going four or five miles, wc be
held a horseman approaching us. This
soon proved to be John Jones, one of
the party who left us at Black Rock on
the morning of the 14th. lie had
found water at the place we were mak
ing for, and, in searching for the rest
of his party, had accidentally fallen in
with us. We of course made a "stam
pede" for the water. On our arrival
there two of the parly, filling a large
horn with water, started on their return
with it to Smith. They met him on
the way, hanging on to the horn of his
saddle, while his horse was following
our trail. By the time they returned
the other party also arrived, so that, at
about 6 i. m., wc found ourselves all
together again. The other party had
fared almost as badly as we had, not
having had any water since to o'clock
in the forenoon of the day before.
Although a Oodsend to us, this water
was almost as bad as one could imag
ine. It was in the bed of a little alkali
lake, thickly studded with reeds. There
were about four inches of strong alkali
water resting upon a bed of thin mud,
and it was so warm and nauseating that
it was imj)Ossiblc for some of the party
to retain a stomach-full very long at a
time. It was a grand relief to our poor
horses to have an abundance of water
and grass once more, and, tired as thev
were, they worked busily all night Upon
the reeds and granscs about the little
lake. Much exhauster!, we retired
early, and arose con-idcrably refreshed
the next morning.
On the morning of July 18, our
course was nearly southeast along the
edge of a vast Mel pJain to our right.
Immense columns of smoke were still
rising in front of lit, and at about ten
or eleven o'clock wc came to plaits
where peat bogs were on fire. Thcc
115
I fires extended for miles along the val
ley of the Humboldt iiver,for wc were
now in the near vicinity of that stream,
I ami at noon hail the great satisfaction
of encamping upon its banks. Wo
iwunu inn siuggin stream about thirty
feet wide, anil the water strongly
alkaline and of a milky hue. Along
its banks were clumps of willows, af
fording us an abundance of fuel, and as
there was plenty of giass for our horses,
our camp was a good one. Since leav
ing Rabbit Hole Springs we had trav
eled much too far toulh of our course
to satisty us, and our desire was now to
travel up the Humboldl until we should
reach a point nearly east of Black
Rock, and endeavor to find a route
for the road more directly on our old
course.
On July 19, we traveled perhaps
twenty miles in a northeasterly direc
tion along the river bottom, and en
camped. The next day, July 30, wc
pursued our way along the river, on a
good, easy route, making about the
same distance as the day before. Oil
the J 1st wc continued our march up
the river and at noon came to a point
where the river bottom widened out
into quite an extensive meadow district.
From this point we could see what ap
peared to be a low pass through the
ridge on the w est, through w hich wns
a channel of a tributary of the Hum
boldt, now dry. Here we decided to
encamp and send out a party to exam
ine the country towards Black Ki ck.
We had nothing in which to carry
water but a large powder horn, so we
thought it best not to risk bending out
too large a party. On the morning of
the aid of July, Levi Scott and Win,
Parker left us, and, following the dry
channel of the stream for about fifteen
miles, they came to a beautiful spring
of pure water. Here they passed the
night, and the next day, July 13d, they
ascended by a very gradual route to the
table lands to the westward, and within
about fifteen miles of their camp of the
previous night, they entered quite a
grassy district from which they could
plainly sec Black Kock. Exploring
the country about them carefully they
found the Rabbit Hole Sprlnga. The
line of our road was now complete
We had lUCCeedcd in finding a route
across the desert and on to the Oregon
settlements, with camping placet nt
suitable distances, mid, since wc knew
the source of the Humboldt river wan
near Tort Hall, we felt that our enter
prise was already a ' iicccsk, and that
immigrants would be able to reach Or
egon late in the season with tar leu
danger of being MOWtd in than on the
California route down the Humboldt
and over the Sierra Ncvadas. The e
quel proved that we were correct In
this opinion, for this same fall (he Don
net party, in endeavoring to crov the
Sierras, were mowed in, sullen d the
most indescribable honors, and about
half of them perished.
The Humboldt Meadows affording
us a splendid camping place, we con
cluded to remain there and recruit our
jaded animals for a few days before
pursuing our journey farther.
(To be umtniutd )
The Aaaotln Flat is situated 0:1 the
cast side of a spur of the Blue moun
tain along Snake liver. It is about
fifteen miles in width and perhaps
thirty in length. Tor stm k it pi 1 haps
is the best location, at present, in all
J the upper country. The winters, from
1 sonic strange cause, are very mild, and
1 1 tic grass is the lust I have seen in any
I place. The soil is rich and water, is
I comparatively plentiful. AH that will
keep it from W-ing a splendid fanning
district is ttiat there are roCU too near
the surface. There is much good land
there to be tak'M, and it M III Be fat nied
in vpite of rocki.