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Emigration To California--horrid!

Emigration To California--horrid! image
Parent Issue
Day
14
Month
August
Year
1847
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The Western Expositor, (lndependence, Mo.) of Wednesday week, contains a letter v ritten hy Peter Quivvey, of Jackson county, who went out last year with a company of emigiants tq California. This letter is dated onlha 24th of March last, at Lovver Puebla. The writer airived at the first settiement in California on the 14t!i of October, afier a very long and tiresome journey. A party of emigrant who went out, or starled, with Col. Russell, suifered almast incredible hardships in the mountains last winter, having been prevented fiom crossing thetn by the snow. This company was composed of twenty-lhreo wagons, and left Indinn Creek on the iSth of May, 1840. About a month previous to the dute of the letter, five women and two men arrived at Capt. Jjhnson's, the first iiouse of tha California seltlements, entirchj naked, and their feet frostdfjttcn . Tliey stated tliat their company had arrived t Truckey's Lake, on the eattside of the mountains, and found the snow so deep that theycouldnot travel. Fearing slarvatijn, sixteen of the strongest (eleven males and fivo femaies) afreed to start fur the settlements on fuot. Afler wandering about a number of d.iys bewildered, their provisiuns gave out. - Long hunger made it necessary to cast lots to see who should be sacrificed to make food fortlie rest, but at this time the weaker began to die, which rendered the taking of life unnecessary. As they died, the company went into camji and made meat of the dead bodies of thoir companions. Nine of the men died, and scven were eaten ! One of the men was carried to Johnaon's, on the back of an Indiiin. F rom this statement it would seem that the women endured the hardshi;;s better than ilie men, as none of tliem died. The company left beliinJ mimbered sixty souls, len of thetn men and the others women and children. They were in camp about one liundred miles from Johnson's. Tliis writcr says tlmt General Kenriicy was ihen governor and cornmaiKler-inchief of Upper and Lovver California. -

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News