22 May 1845: We Meet Some Travelers

This morning we met some travelers who were coming back from Oregon. There were six wagons, camped out along the Little Blue. They said that another company of nearly forty wagons was only two days ahead of us. Uncle Luke said he thought someone should ride ahead and try to make arrangements to join their company, but Papa said “No! We can do it ourselves.”

Uncle Luke grumbled. I think he is not too happy with Papa. Widow McCoy agreed with Papa. She said that she was afraid that the price would be too dear, and she had little money left to squander.

Papa asked the travelers if they had come across any “hostiles.” I think he was talking about the Indians. The travelers said that everyone they met was friendly, and that they had no problems to speak of. This was heartening news for Mama.

When we set up camp this afternoon, Papa and Mr. Pembrook hung up some pans on a tree, with a string tied to them. When I asked Mr. Pembrook about it, he said that if someone were to sneak into our camp at night, they will trip on the string, and the pans will bang together and warn us. 

We traveled 9 miles today.