From New Orleans to San Fransisco in '49 [pp. 189-205]

Fovm New Orleanis to San Francisco iv'49.
tie brother most of the way, but was
to let him walk where the trail was in
good condition. All being ready, we
began our weary march over the regular trail traveled by mule-teams from
Gorgona to Panama.
Although this trail had been used by
the Indians for generations in making
their journey from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, it was still so rough that it
could be traversed only on mule-back
or on foot, and in the wet season it
was not an easy matter to go over it
in any way. Though this was the
most expensive route by which to reach
the Golden West, as it was the shortest
it was the most traveled, and was
necessarily, during the rainy season, in
an execrable condition.
Along this narrow, rough, and muddy
trail we picked our way as best we
could. The guide took the lead and the
rest followed, generally in Indian file.
It rained a great deal of the time, and
we were soon soaking wet. Our wet
skirts impeded our progress so much
that whenever it stopped raining mother would wring the water out of them
and out of our sunbonnets. Our shoes
were thin and rather low, and got so full
of mud and water that they chafed and
hurt our feet. We soon passed the
maples that were laden with our baggage.
Although we made but slow progress,
we got along faster than the baggage
trains, several of which we passed. Often
one or more of the poor, over-laden mules
would be stuck fast in the mire, and the
drivers would be cruelly beating them
or prodding them with iron prods. The
mules that carried passengers traveled
faster, as they were not so heavily burdened; still, many of these would also
get mired. We passed a number of carcasses of mules that had fallen in their
tracks while being hurried on by cruel
travelers. The trail was so narrow that
when we met empty trains returning to
Gorgona it was with difficulty that we
could pass them.
About noon we arrived at a native
hut, where our guide said that we should
have to get our dinner. It had been im possible to bring food with us while
making this trip, so mother ordered din ner. While it was being prepared I in spected the habitation and its surroundings. The hut was built of poles, covered with palm leaves, and enclosed with
the same on three sides, and left open
on the fourth. There was a ground floor
and a loft. The loft was the common
sleeping-room for the entire household,
and for any native travelers that happened along. The ascent to it was made
by means of a log with notches cut in it
for steps. I did not see the furniture of
the loft, but supposed it consisted chiefly
of cowhides, as they seemed to be used
for so many purposes. The furniture
of the ground floor consisted of one or
two earthen pots, numerous calabashes,
a cowhide, a few horn spoons, a knife,
and some small blocks for stools. The
pots were small, and made with round
bottoms. They were of unglazed ware,
and looked like our common terra cotta
flower pots.
Dinner was announced. It was served
in the little earthen pot, which was
placed in the center of the cowhide, and
each of us was given a horn spoon with
which to eat. It consisted of two quarts
of rice cooked with jerked beef, which
was supposed to be sufficient for mother,
six children, and the guide. As we were
all expected to eat from the same pot,
we were in a quandary as to how to manage it. But mother solved the problem.
She called for a calabash, and dishing
out a liberal portion, gave it to the
guide. We then sat around and ate the
remainder. We were still hungry, but
as it had taken an hour to prepare this
potfull we could not wait for them to
cook any more. So mother paid our
hostess two dollars for our entertainment, and we started on our way.
Towards nightfall we came to another
hut like the one we had visited at noon.