"Grey, Zane - The U.P. Trail" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grey Zane)

the ridge to leap upon his mustang and ride wildly down the slope.




3

Bill Horn, leader of that caravan, had a large amount of gold which
he was taking back East. No one in his party, except a girl, knew
that he had the fortune.

Horn had gone West at the beginning of the gold strikes, but it was
not until '53 that any success attended his labors. Later he struck
it rich, and in 1865, as soon as the snow melted on the mountain
passes, he got together a party of men and several women and left
Sacramento. He was a burly miner, bearded and uncouth, of rough
speech and taciturn nature, and absolutely fearless.

At Ogden, Utah, he had been advised not to attempt to cross the
Wyoming hills with so small a party, for the Sioux Indians had gone
on the war-path.

Horn was leading his own caravan and finding for himself the trail
that wound slowly eastward. He did not have a scout or hunter with
him. Eastward-traveling caravans were wont to be small and poorly
outfitted, for only the homesick, the failures, the wanderers, and
the lawless turned their faces from the Golden State. At the start
Horn had eleven men, three women, and the girl. On the way he had
killed one of the men; and another, together with his wife, had
yielded to persuasion of friends at Ogden and had left the party. So
when Horn halted for camp one afternoon in a beautiful valley in the
Wyoming hills there were only nine men with him.

On a long journey through wild country strangers grow close together
or far apart. Bill Horn did not think much of the men who had
accepted the chance he offered them, and daily he grew more aloof.
They were not a responsible crowd, and the best he could get out of
them was the driving of oxen and camp chores indifferently done. He
had to kill the meat and find the water and keep the watch. Upon
entering the Wyoming hills region Horn showed a restlessness and
hurry and anxiety. This in no wise affected the others. They
continued to be aimless and careless as men who had little to look
forward to.

This beautiful valley offered everything desirable for a camp site
except natural cover or protection in case of attack. But Horn had
to take the risk. The oxen were tired, the wagons had to be greased,
and it was needful to kill meat. Here was an abundance of grass, a
clear brook, wood for camp-fires, and sign of game on all sides.