The Long Haul West: Life on the Oregon Trail By ... - Lourdes College

with the Indians would be typical of every encounter the party would have. During the evening
hours, a small band of Indians rode up to the camp. When the emigrants heard them coming
toward the camp everyone became quite terrified. However, the Indians meant no trouble; they
had only come by to beg some food off of the settlers. <strong>The</strong> emigrants out of fear of consequence
fed the Indians. Regardless of the hostility of the natives, the party awoke early in the morning,
ate a quick breakfast and was back on the trail making distance between themselves and the
Indians. 26
A month would go on with no mentionable disturbances for the Boatman-Scott party.
That was until they came to Sand Hill Plain. This area was mostly flat with small mounds all
around. <strong>The</strong> feed for the animals was still plentiful and there was an adequate amount of water
nearby. <strong>The</strong>re was also still a good supply of fuel for building fires. On the down side, this is
where they also encountered their first mosquitoes. <strong>The</strong> mosquitoes came in thick clouds. <strong>The</strong>y
were so dense that “one had to close their mouth to keep from having it filled.” 27
<strong>The</strong> Boatman-Scott party travelled for two or three days. Mary Ann Boatman
remembered how odd it was that they had not seen an Indian for this amount of time. Another
peculiar thing about the Sand Hill Plain was that there was a very foul odor. <strong>The</strong>y would soon
discover the reason for both the lack of Indians and the foul odor. 28 <strong>The</strong> lack of Indians was not
specific to Mary Ann’s account. James Clyman in 1844 also shared the same Phenomenon. “<strong>The</strong>
emigrants did not see any Indians on one long stretch of the trail: from the point at which the
trains reached the Platte at Grande Island to the vicinity of Ft. Laramie.” 29
On May 31, someone scouting ahead found a suitable place to camp for the day. All was
well here and they had camp set up by four in the afternoon. While they were camped there, a
herd of elk came by them. Every man in camp likely shot at the elk but none were brought down.
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