CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
The trip across the mountains was very hard.
The mountain tops were steep.
There was no road.
The ground was made of sharp rocks.
The horses slipped and fell down.
The men's feet were cut and black and blue.
It rained many days and snowed nights.
They had no houses.
Before they could start on each day, they had to melt the snow off their
goods.
The men grew stiff from the wet and the cold.
The only way they could get warm was to keep on walking.
They had little food.
They had only a little corn when they started across the mountains.
This was soon gone.
There were no animals, no fish, and no roots on the way.
They had to kill their horses.
They had only horsemeat to eat.
The soldiers grew sick.
Some could hardly stand.
But they did not want to turn back.
They knew the Indians could find the way down to the Columbia River.
Then they could get to the Pacific Ocean without the Indians.
So they went on.
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