OREGON BOUND 1853 141
night rather, they are so in our warmest weather but in a few minutes they become cool, and there is nothing in the ap- pearance or taste of the milk showing a disturbance of its natural condition. We all use it freely, and I believe per- fectly safely. Everybody has fruit, too, and I believe that has much to do with their immunity from disease. No emi- grant should come on this road without plenty of dried sour apples and cows giving milk. Their value is incalculable. It is remarkable that all are excessively fond of corn meal in every form in which it is cooked. Every one expresses satis- faction or regret as they happen to have it or not. The "corn starch" substitute is a failure, because it requires eggs to make it good. We think the milk, fruit and meal save us from the diseased anxiety for potatoes and vinegar, as it does from the necessity of using too much salt meat. We have also fresh meat now and then, which helps along our living very much. The swine has no representative on these plains so we get no new pork but the antelope and buffalo furnish us an excellent article of fresh beef. From a young buffalo killed by some neighbors the other day, we had steak we called fully equal to any we ever had in Watertown, though Watertown, in that respect, be not a whit behind the very chiefest of cities. The hard bread manufactured at St. Louis or Kanesville, and obtained at the latter place by emigrants, is bad always very bad. I believe nobody eats it except when unavoidable. We find we need but very little of such food, and it is about as well to go without as to use that. It is sometimes, though very seldom, needed, and I would advise emigrants to take very little of it. Flour is the staple ; it is always the most convenient and the best form of material for bread, except, perhaps, one day in fifteen, when hard bread is needed. Rice seems to be less relished on the road than at home I presume because we have not eggs to cook with it. The emigrant will find that anything usually cooked with eggs, is of little use on the road.
