42

others who ventured to cross the ‘“‘vast

desert,’? which stretched its unknown
breadth between him and the land of his
desires. Brave, cool and wary as the sav-
age, with his unerring rifle on his arm, he
was more than a match for any red devil he
might encounter. Patient under adversity,
fertile in resources, he was an tnvaluable
aid at all times; a true friend, and bitter
foe. This type of people is fast passing
away.

The change wrought within the last
few years has robbed the plains of its
most at.ractive feature, to those who are
far away from the scene—the emigrant
train. Once, the south bank of the Platte
was one broad thoroughfare, whereon the
long trains of the emigrants, with their
white-covered wagons, could be seen
stretching away for many miles in an almost
unbroken chain. Now, on the north side of
the same river, in almost full view of the
“old emigrant 10ad,” the cars are bearing
the freight and passengers rapidly west-
ward, while the oxen that used to toil so
wearily along this route, have been trans-
formed into “western veal’? to tickle the
palates of those passengers, or else, like
Tiny Tim, they have been compelled to
“move on” to some new fields of labor.

To give some idea of the great amount
of freighting done on these plains we pre-
sent a few figures, which were taken from
the books of freighting firms in Atchison,
Kansas. In 1865, this place was the prin-
cipal point on the Missouri River, from
which freight was forwarded to the Great
West, including Colorado, Utah, Montana,
&c. There were loaded at this place,
4,480 wagons, drawn by 7,310 mules, and
29,720 oxen. To control and drive these
trains, an army of 5,610 men was em-
ployed. The freight taken by these trains
amounted to 27,000 tons. Add to these
authenticated accounts, the estimated busi-
ness of the other shipping points, and the
amount is somewhat astounding. Compe-
tent authority estimated the amount of
freights shipped during that season from
Kansas City, Leavenworth, St. Joe, Omaha
and Plattsmouth, as being fully equal, if not
more than was shipped from Atchison,
with a corresponding number of men,
wagons, mules and oxen. Assuming these
estimates to be correct, we have this result:
During 1865, there were employed in this
business, 8,960 wagons, 14,620 mules, 59,-
440 cattle, and 11,220 men, who moved to
its destination, 54,000 tons of freight. To

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CROFUTT’S NEW OVERLAND TOURIST

 

accomplish this, the enormous sum of $7,-
289,300 was invested in teams and wagons,
alone.

But to return to the river, and leave facts
and figures for something more interesting.
“But,” says the reader, “Ain’t the Platte
River a fact?’ Not much, for at times,
after you pass above Julesburg, there is
more fancy than fact in the streams. In
1863, teamsters were obliged to excavate
pits in the sand of the river-bed before they
could find water enough to water their
stock. Again, although the main stream
looks like a mighty river, broad and ma-
jestic, it is as deceiving as the “make up”
of a fashionable woman of to-day. Many
places it looks broad and deep; try it, and
you will find that your feet touch the
treacherous sand ere your instep is under
water; another place, the water appears to
be rippling along over a smooth bottom,
close to the surface; try that, and in you
go, over your head in water, thick with
yellowish sand. You don’t like the Platte
when you examine it in this manner. The
channel is continually shifting, caused by
the vast quantities of sand which are con-
tinually floating downits muddy tide. The
sand is very treacherous, too, and woe to
the unlucky wight who attempts to cross
this stream before he has become acquaint-
ed with the fords. Indeed, he ought to be
introduced tothe river and all its branches
before he undertakes the perilous task. In
crossing the river in early times, should
the wagons come to a stop, down they sank
in the yielding quicksand, until they were
so firmly imbedded that it required more
than double the original force to pull them
out; and often they must be unloaded, to
prevent the united teams from pulling
them to pieces, while trying to lift the load
and wagon from the sandy bed. The
stream is generally very shallow during
the fall and winter; in many places no
more than six or eight inches in depth,
over the whole width of the stream. Nu-
merous small islands, and some quite
large, are seen while passing along, which
will be noticed in their proper place.

The Platte River has not done much for
navigation, neither will it, yet it drains the
waters of a vast scope of country, thereby
rendering the immense valleys fertile;
many thousand acres of which, during the
past few years, have been taken up and
successfully cultivated.

The average width of the river, from
where it empties into the Missouri to the