{"id":112,"date":"2011-04-12T18:57:41","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T18:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/wordpress\/?p=112"},"modified":"2015-05-17T01:26:26","modified_gmt":"2015-05-17T01:26:26","slug":"an-overlander%e2%80%99s-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/an-overlander%e2%80%99s-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"An Overlander\u2019s Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adapted from original diary by unknown traveller, with original spelling<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fort Garry June 1862.
\nAll on foot as usual at an early hour
\nstruck tents and pulled up our stakes
\nand started up the Assiniboin River
\nin a Western direction.
\nThere was many an eye filled with the tear
\nthat flowed from a full heart
\nas that was the last of civilization
\nuntil we should cross the mountains
\nand that was 1300 miles before us.
\nWe passed some splendid farms
\nreminding me of the Valley of old Chateaguay
\nthe many happy hours that I spent there \u2013
\nthe strongest event that ever I experienced
\nin my short existence \u2013
\nand to view those 160 men, together
\nwith 120 oxen and carts all passing along
\nto a distination in the Far North west
\nwhere the Red men goes prowling about all hours
\nwaiting when an innocent white may fall into their power
\nto shed his blood and feast upon his fleish \u2013
\nwell might the waysiders say! \u2013
\nraving and mad were those travelers.
\nBut we felt proud to know
\nthat we were the first on the way
\nto push our way over the mountains
\nto the far famed gold regeon called Cariboo.
\nAs the day was hot
\nwhen we arrived at Sturgeon creek
\nwe pitched our tents and camped for the night.<\/p>\n

All hands up and on duty in good season
\nwe struck off to our right onto the plains
\nleaving the river to our left
\nand many a strange scean during the day
\noxen running off with their drivers
\nnever failing to rid themselves
\nof their entire tackling some breaking carts
\nsome Harness and some one thing and some another
\nas many as 6 & *8 in one of those rearing tearing fits
\nonce we passed heards of cattle
\nand the more impudent boys took the liberty
\nof drawing 3 or 4 quarts of milk from some of the cows.
\nAt 6 PM we arrived at Old Fort on White Horse Plain.<\/p>\n

We passed a number of small lakes
\nthey were all Alklie water
\nand consequently could not be used
\nat 6 PM arrived at Long Lake
\n& as that was the first time for any of us
\nto ever experienced any great want of water
\nwe knew the good of it when we got it.<\/p>\n

Held a Mass Meeting to try and get Organized
\nthe meeting was called to order
\nMr. McMicking in the chair and sat upon a water cask
\nMr. Wallace Sec-Tres sat upon the ground.<\/p>\n

At 9 AM we came to Portage Fort on the Assiniboin
\nthat was the end of the settlement westward
\nthe end of Oak timbered land
\nwe layed in a stock of wheel fellows,
\nspoaks, and exaltrees.<\/p>\n

At 7 AM we struck into the long wood
\nvery low and wet all the way
\nmud to the wheel hubs
\nthis was the first of muck and mire
\nfor the Counter hopers & fun for the Clod hoppers
\nas soon as the Tents up
\nsome 4 or 5 of us made ourselves usefall
\nintroducing ourselves into the mistries
\nof that part of domestic life which the fair sex
\ncharge with having destroyed their
\nsweet and lovely tempers ie. washing.<\/p>\n

All hands slept late & breakfasted at 9 AM
\nevery one very still and quiet.<\/p>\n

Shoal Lake. This was living
\nwith all kinds of fresh water fish
\n& the country around of the very best quality.
\nAfter supper some went fishing, some shooting,
\nothers playing different Kinds of Brass Instruments
\nclaranetts, fluits, violins, and a concsrteenia
\nsome were gathered together singing
\nas merrily, & pleasant as though we had been
\nin some grand concert hall, of the first fashion
\nof modern times in an Eastern City.<\/p>\n

At 5 PM arrived at Rappid River
\nafter fording it we pitched our tents
\nthat valley is as beautiful as any
\nthat I have ever laid eyes upon, the surface
\nsmothe as any carpet, thickly covered
\nwith wild roses & wild peas just in full bloome.
\n\u201cWhere the wild rose, and pea, in abundance
\ndoes bud and blossom, & fade away\u2026\u201d
\nHave arrived at the country where the Blackfeet
\nand Cree Indians were at war with each other
\ntheir custom is to fight by stratagem and tretchary
\nwe did not know what moment we might be surprised
\nsupposing us to be their enemies
\nor wanting their supplies.<\/p>\n

At Fort Ellice we split off from the main body
\nthe reason being the delay of certain parties
\nwho knew nothing cart & cattle
\nor anything else
\nsave standing and looking at others working
\nwhich will be of no benefit to a man
\nwhen his ox and cart is stuck fast in mud.<\/p>\n

At 3 PM observed some red deer off to our left
\n& shortly after we saw two Indians on horseback
\n& shortly after saw a number of Indians on foot
\n& as the guide was gone
\n& no one to speak Indian we pushed on
\nas fast as we could.
\nBy this time it had become a noted fact
\nthat those who were at the head of the train
\nhad a decided advantage over those who were at the rear
\nbecause when the first half of the train had passed over a mud hole
\nit was almost impossible for the remainder to get through
\n& as those who were not ready on the minute lost their place
\nit caused many a good laugh to see a whole battillion
\nrunning with cups of tea and pan cakes in their hands
\neating as they went along setting the whole company
\nin such a fit of laughter that half lost their places
\n& then came a general consternation \u2013
\nsome running with a tent some with a pail full of dishes.<\/p>\n

Sunday.
\nAll hands sleept late and got bracfast at 10 AM.
\nThe more sober minded retired
\nto read their Bible and meditate on their lives
\nas well as other things
\nand here
\nlet me make a statement which seemed strange to us all –
\nnotwithstanding we had been two months from home
\ntravelling over a lonely, wild & desolate country
\nyet it seemed we were but a day\u2019s travel from home
\n& all that we had left behind
\n& nothing but a sharp recollection
\nof what we had passed through
\ncould make us feel and realize our true position
\nplaced as we were in the wilds of Western British America
\nexiled as we were from home & all that was dear,
\nas well as from all the arts
\n& all the sciences of the day
\nwith nothing left for us to admire
\nbut the vast open plains around us
\nour minds had nothing left to feast upon
\nbut hope and imagination.
\nAt 5 PM we got dinner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adapted from original diary by unknown traveller, with original spelling https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-content\/audio\/AnOverlandersJournalVx3.mp3   Fort Garry June 1862. All on foot as usual at an early hour struck tents and pulled up our stakes and started up the Assiniboin River in a Western direction. There was many an eye filled with the tear that flowed from a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-youngcanada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1867,"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions\/1867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oderickson.com\/ode\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}