Smith has two strings to his bow. He means
to get a big claim, and he's been long enough
prospecting in California to know stuff that pays,
when he sees it; and then he'll import machinery,
and get up a regular grand quartz-crushin',
steam-power washin', company. And these
emigrants, who'll soon have spent their last dime in
provisions, will be glad enough to work for the
new company, and as they know me, and as I
know them, we'll soon come to terms, and there's
labour ready to hand.'

"'Ignotus is a queer given name, ain't it?' he
said on another occasion; 'the minister to Salem
poorhouse, he invented it for me, I guess. I was
picked up in the streets of Salem, wrapped in an
old shawl, the ugliest baby in the Union, I've
heard tell. Not knowing what to call me, they
wrote me Smith, and as it was just then that
the chap tried to shoot the old King of the
French, Fieschi was tacked to me, as well as
Ignotus. Well, I growed. I've tried most callings.
I'm a real doctor of Augusta College,
and here's my diploma to prove it. I'm young
enough yet, and I mean to be President afore
I die.'

''The start at last took place, and a motley
throng it was that poured out of the streets
of Lecompton and struck into the renowned
'Oregon trail.' It had not been necessary for
the doctor to provide means of conveyance for
all the passengers. The farmers, as I have
said, drove their own waggons, which formed
carriages by day and tents by night for the
accommodation of their families. But the
Europeans, and many of the New Englanders, were
of course destitute of such vehicles, and for
them Dr. Smith had provided transport. Several
waggons had been purchased or built, and these
were crammed with women and children, with
clothes, food, cooking utensils, bedding, and
necessaries of various kinds. These waggons
were variously horsed. Some were dragged
by broad-footed strong-limbed steeds from the
North; others were drawn by mules; one or
two were set in motion by the exertions of a
string of Indian ponies, piebald or brindled for
the most part, and looking almost rat-like in
their diminutiveness when compared with the
big-boned importations from Kentucky. It was
an understood thing that the able-bodied men
were to walk, and to assist in the management
of the teams; but those who could afford to pay
for such a luxury as a pony were duly provided,
the doctor having made an advantageous barter
for some half-tamed animals brought in by an
Indian half-breed, and I was one of this band
of the privileged.

"Let me try to explain how the staff of the
expedition was composed. First of all, there
was Dr. I. F. Smith, physician in ordinary,
contractor, and manager of the community. Then
there were two satellites of the doctor's, whom
he called his 'mates' by word of mouth, but
who in the prospectus had been euphemised
into 'assistant deputies'—Hiram Hall and Ben
Tubber. There was a cook, a French creole, a gay
laughing fellow, who played the fiddle, and who
was the life and soul of the caravan when a halt
was called; there were the cook's boy, a mulatto
lad and runaway slave, and seven or eight
teamsters. Besides these we had for guides and
hunters the Indian half-breed who had sold the
ponies, two savage kinsmen of his who
accompanied him, and a promise of two or three
more, who were to meet us at Yellowstone
Rock, out on the prairies of the Platte. So far,
so good.

"There were plenty of weapons belonging to the
party; but we were far from trusting to our own
valour in case of assault. Another caravan was to
set out nearly at the same time, from anotherpoint
on the frontier, bound for Oregon, and escorted
by dragoons. We were to join this caravan, and
travel under the protection of its soldiers, so far
as our roads lay together; and when they
diverged, the doctor assured us that the most
dangerous part of the journey would be over;
further, that the United States officer in
command would not refuse to detach a party to
guard us to the British borders.

"We set off confidently, gay with hopes
of the bright fortunes in store for us in the
far North-West. As we passed out of
Lecompton, some of the idlers gave us a cheer
in answer to the hurrahs of the Irish, the
'hoch hochs' of the Germans, and the shrill
clamour of the women. But I noticed that
one or two bearded old trappers, rough men
of the wilderness, clad in greasy skins, and as
grim and rude as bears masquerading in human
shape, eyed us with a sort of scornful pity, and
shook their grizzled heads as they watched the
train of waggons rattle merrily by.

"The first part of the long journey gave us little
to complain of. Our progress, to be sure, was
tediously slow, but for this we were prepared;
food was plentiful, and there was no danger,
and but little fatigue. We were soon across the
frontier, and out of the territory of the United
States, but we found the plains of the Platte
well watered, abounding in grass for our cattle,
and brushwood to make our fires when we
camped, and free from hostile savages. For the
latter, indeed, we had little reason to care much,
for we had met and joined the other caravan at
Marysville, beyond Fort Leavenworth, and we
were under the protection of a strong detachment
of dragoons, hardened to the rugged warfare
of the borders. Our principal trouble was
in fording the numerous feeders of the Platte
river, on which occasion the waggons were apt to
stick in the slimy blue mud, until a number of
men, waist deep in slush and water, literally put
their shoulders to the wheels, and heaved the
huge machine up the yielding bank. One
or two of the children sickened of ague,
and one was bitten by a snake; but Dr.
Smith showed genuine skill in attending the
sufferers, and set them right by prompt and
vigorous measures, thereby winning more good
will and admiration from every woman in the
party.

"The doctor's satellites were by no means
as popular as the doctor. Hiram Hall and