Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/42

32 AMOS WILLIAM HARTMAN sold to the Mormons for $10 apiece. The oxen were some- times driven to California and marketed. In the winter of 1859 the company attempted to winter 3,500 head in Ruby Valley in the present state of Nevada, with the result that a heavy snow covered the grass and only about 200 of the 3,500 survived. In 1857 the Indians ran off a herd of about 1,000 head of cattle belonging to the com- pany near Fort Kearney. 45 In the fall of 1858, on October 4 and 5, before the main body of the federal troops had arrived at Fort Bridger, a small party of Mormons under Major Lot Smith burned two unprotected supply trains, of about twenty-six wagons each, on Green River and a third one on the Big Sandy. Among other provisions, over forty-six tons of bacon, eighty-three tons of flour and four tons of coffee were destroyed. 46 Such were some of the larger aspects of the business. Prior to 1858 all supplies for the army posts along the trail were loaded at Fort Leavenworth. In 1858 an additional base was established at Nebraska City. 47 About twenty-six wagons usually formed a train. The comple- ment of men consisted of a driver for each wagon, a wagon-master, assistant wagon-master and a couple of extra hands. The demand for cattle became so great that unbroken ones had to be used to a great extent. A driver thus described the first attempt at driving a train of unbroken cattle which had finally been yoked up and was beginning to break corral. "It was life work for us to keep our wagons right side up. Twenly-six teams of nearly all wild cattle going in every direction— three hundred and twelve head of crazy steers pitching and bellowing and trying to get loose or get away from the wagon, and teamsters working for dear life to head them and keep from upsetting or breaking their wagons; 45 Ibid. , pp. 143-145. 46 Linn, op. cit., pp. 489-490. 47 Majors, op. cit., p. 77 .