who gave me about 30 lbs. of beef. Beef was worth 20 to 25 cts pr pound. Here one of my cows gave out and I left her with him to doctor, and to bring down with his, but I have since heard that she was dead— In crossing the Blue Mountains I lost the other in the thick timber and falling snow. I have heard since that a man had found 9 or ten head there and I am in hopes she is among them. The second night we staid on the Umatilla, the Indians stole one of Kinsmans steers, so I was left with only s head of cattle, these brought me to the Dalles, where I was obliged to sell out every thing to get money to get through with. My team was so reduced at Ft. Boysse that I was under the necessity of leaving one wagon. I got my large one carried over the river for the little one, my other brot $ 10 only, because the tire was so very thin on the wheels, and I only got $25 pr head for my cattle.
We fell in company with a Mr Brown, from Iowa about 35 miles the other side of the Grand Ronde who helped us a conciderable, by letting us have flour and he loaned me $25, had it not been for this and the people in this and other places in the vally, we should have starved to death. As it was we got so redused that some could but just walk, but Mr. Whitcome[1] of Milwaukie gave me about 10 lbs of flour, and then we got about 20 lbs more 10 miles the other side of the Dalles, which lasted us, until we had the means of buying.
When we arived at the Dalles we were worn out, tiered out, starved out, and amost ready to give out. But the reason why we fell short of provisions I will tell you some other time, there was hundreds that was in a much worse condition than we were. When we came to the Dalles, Ann & Franklin were quite unwell, and we were obliged to take an open boat to the Cascades, we were out one night which made them still worse, and when we left the falls for this place she was not really able to walk to the boat . . . I have said nothing of our company. When we
- ↑ Lot Whitcomb, one of the founders of Milwaukie, in 1847, died there March 31, 1857; Scott, History of the Oregon Country, II, 282. Ezra Meeker, in his Ventures and Adventures, (p. 66), quotes from a pioneer diary of the period: "Here we met Mr. Lot Whitcomb, direct from Oregon ... He has provisions, but none to sell, but gives to all he finds in want, and who are unable to buy."
