Contents ▼▲
Front Matter A Change of Homes "Joe Bowers" The Reasons for Moving Mother's Anxiety How we were to Travel Our Movable Home Leaving Ashley Eben Jordan On the Road Eben's Predictions What about California The First Encampment Night in Camp The Town of Independence Kansas Indians Looking into the Future A Stormy Day A Lack of Fuel Making Camp in a Storm A Thunderstorm Another Company of Pikers The Stock Stray Away An Indian Village I Weary with Traveling Eben's Boasts Suffering with Thirst In Search of Water Quenching Our Thirst Making Butter A Kansas Ferry At Soldier Creek Bread Making Prairie Peas Eben as a Hunter A Herd of Buffaloes Excitement in the Camp A Feast of Buffalo Meat Curing the Meat A Wash Day Uncomfortable Traveling Ellen's Advice Indians and Mosquitoes Prairie Dogs Colonel Russell's Mishap Chimney Rock At Fort Laramie Cooking in a Fireplace Trappers, Hunters, Indians On the Trail Once More Independence Rock Arrival at Fort Bridger Toward California At Bear River The Coming of Winter Utah Indians A Dangerous Trail Sunflower Seeds and Antelope A Forest Fire The Great Salt Lake Eben as a Fisherman Grasshopper Jam A Deserted Village The Great Salt Desert A Dangerous Journey Bread and Coffee Making Breaking Camp at Midnight Approaching the Salt Desert A Plain of Salt Like A Sea of Frozen Milk Salt Dust A Bitter Disappointment Coffee instead of Water A Spring of Sweet Water The Oasis Searching for Water The Beautiful Valley Snake Indians A Scarcity of Food Springs of Hot Water In the Land of Plenty The Truckee River The Sacramento Valley The Mission of San Jose Our Home in California

Martha of California - James Otis




Sunflower Seeds and Antelope Stew

Without knowing it at the moment of halting, we made camp near two Indian lodges, where lived ten or twelve of the Utah tribe; having gained so favorable an impression of those savages when some of the members had visited our camp, Ellen and I, with Eben Jordan, went among them, finding that they had set themselves up for traders, counting upon the settlers bound for the land of California, as customers. The women showed us a store of powder made from sun-flower seeds, which had been parched and then pulverized; this they offered in exchange for food, or for ammunition. Ellen gave a loaf of corn bread for perhaps a quart of the stuff, and found it most agreeable to the taste.

[Illustration] from Martha of California by James Otis

That evening one of the men brought in a fat antelope, and mother made our portion into as savory a stew as I had eaten since we left Pike County. After that delicious meal and with the pleasing knowledge that we had come in safety over so terrible a road, I slept that night as soundly as I should have slept in my own bed at home.

It was decided that we would remain in that place, which mother called the Happy Valley, for a day, in order to give the cattle a long rest before, they did more mountain climbing, and the housewives took advantage of the opportunity to wash clothing, bake bread, and do up such small chores as were necessary.

Consequently all the young people were busily engaged keeping the fires going, churning, or performing such other tasks as were required, so that we gave little heed to what was going on around us until, when the forenoon was about half spent, Eben Jordan excitedly called our attention to a huge column of smoke which was rising from the mountains to the westward.