MORMON BATTALION MUSTERED OUT OF SERVICE—ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MEMBERS ORGANIZE TO RETURN EAST TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS—START ON THE JOURNEY—DIFFICULTIES OF THE ROUTE—DEALING WITH WILD HORSES AND CATTLE—STAMPEDE OF A PACK ANIMAL—CHASE INTO AN INDIAN CAMP—LOST ALL NIGHT IN A SWAMP—SUFFERING ON THE DESERT FOR LACK OF WATER—ARRIVE NEAR SUTTER'S FORT—ON THE SITE OF SACRAMENTO—PARTY DECIDE TO REMAIN OVER FOR THE YEAR, AND OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT—MEET CAPT. J. A. SUTTER AND JAMES W. MARSHALL—PROPOSITION TO CAPT. SUTTER—ENGAGED TO WORK ON A SAWMILL—PROCEEDINGS AT THE MILLSITE—MILL STARTED UP—THE WRITER ENGAGED TO DIRECT INDIANS LABORING AT THE TAIL RACE—CONVERSATION WITH MR. MARSHALL—MARSHALL TALKS ABOUT FINDING GOLD—HE AND THE WRITER MAKE A SEARCH FOR GOLD, BUT FINDING NONE, DEFER THE INVESTIGATION TILL NEXT MORNING—MARSHALL'S FAITH IN HIS BEING SUCCESSFUL IN DISCOVERING THE PRECIOUS METAL.
ON the 16th of July, 1847, the close of the Mormon Battalion's term of enlistment, we were called into line, and an officer passed along as in ordinary inspection. Then, without further ceremony, he said. "You are discharged." I do not think one-half of the command heard him, he spoke so low. Some of us thought he may have felt ashamed because of his conduct toward us on our march to Santa Fe. He was the little bigot, Lieutenant A. J. Smith.
Thus we bade adieu to United States military authority and returned to the ranks of civil life. One hundred and fifty of us organized ourselves into hundreds, fifties and tens, and were soon on our way to meet our friends somewhere, as we supposed, in the Rocky Mountains east; and still we did not know just where. We sought information as best we could, and the most that we could learn was that by following under the base of the Sierra Nevada range six hundred miles we would come to Sutter's Fort, where we could obtain further information as to the best route to where we supposed we would find our friends.
It was about the 20th of July when the first company moved out on the intended journey; and in three or four days the remaining hundred followed. We passed Gen. Pico's ranch about twenty miles northward, and from there crossed over a mountain so high and steep that it made our heads swim, and it was with difficulty that we could sit on our horses. In places, it was impossible for us to dismount, for lack of room. Two mules lost their footing and fell twenty-five or thirty feet before they could regain a foothold, and it was very hard work to get them back on the trail. We traveled some eighteen or twenty miles from Pico's ranch to Francisco ranch, where we joined the fifty who had preceded the main body, and were waiting for us to come up.
A meeting was held, at which it was decided to purchase forty or fifty beef cattle, which was done at not to exceed four dollars per head. The course of our journey from this time was northward. The country where we were traveling was a wilderness of hill and dale, deep gorges, and brush, so that the first two days we lost ten or fifteen head of beef cattle. It was decided to make sure of the remainder by slaughtering and jerking or curing the beef, and next morning there came a battle with the cattle, which had become wild and ferocious, plunging at the men on horseback everywhere, so we had to shoot them down as best we could. After stopping two or three days to jerk the beef, we proceeded on our journey.
Many of our horses were bronchos, or wild, when we purchased them, and gave us much trouble. The packs would get loose and turn under the animals, which would run and kick, scattering things as they went. One day Alexander Stephens, William Garner and I had a horse stampede with its burden. I gave pursuit, and as I had no thought of anything but capturing the animal, I chased it about three miles, right into an Indian camp. The Indians must have seen me coming and fled. Their fires were burning, pots boiling, and camp equipage laid around. From appearances there must have been fifteen to twenty families; their tracks were thick and fresh. The runaway horse seems to have been so excited that, like its pursuer, it ran in among the camp before observing the danger; then it turned and I secured it with a lasso. At that moment I recognized the peril of my own position, in the possibility of being ambushed by Indians. It may be needless to state that I got out of that place in a hurry; although I had lost sight of the camp and was confused for a little time till I found my trail.
Upon returning, I met my two comrades, who had had all they could do to take care of the other pack animals, and were very anxious about me. It was getting late in the day, and the company had passed out of sight. We followed as fast as we could, but darkness overtook us and we soon found ourselves wandering in the bullrushes and marshes of the east end of Tulare Lake. Turn which way we would we could not find any trail out. At last we found a spot more solid than the surroundings; we halted and felt around in the darkness; every way we went it was mud and water. The night was so dark that we could not see each other or the horses, and finally we tied the animals together so we could hold them, took off the pack, and waited around till daylight. I do not think either of us slept fifteen minutes that night. We had nothing to make a fire with, and if we had, it would not have been wise to have attracted savage Indians with one. Early in the morning we prepared to seek a way out, and to our surprise, discovered close by a bullrush boat which an aged Indian was pushing through the rushes. The boat had been made by twisting and braiding the rushes together, and reminded us of what the prophet says about embassadors going forth in vessels of bullrushes. We could not learn from whence the Indian came or whither he was going, nor yet his errand. We bade him good day, and soon found the trail of our company. After going three or four miles, we met some of our men who had been sent in search of us; they had passed the night in great anxiety concerning our safety. Thankfully we reached the camp to have a bite of food and proceed on our journey, grateful that we yet had our hair on the top of our heads, where the darkey says; "the wool ought to grow."
Our journey took us over cold mountain streams, some of which we forded, carrying our baggage on our heads and making from three to five trips each way; others we built rafts for, by tying dry logs together with our lash-ropes, piling them with baggage, a............