I, therefore, decided to stop at Laramie with my aunt and wait for a chance to go forward to California or return home.
The gold fever had now left me, and I became perfectly reckless, having respect neither for God nor man.
Matters continued so until we reached Laramie, when we halted for a few days.
All this time nothing was mentioned of my uncle and aunt's separation, as a reconciliation had been effected.
Previous to this we had fallen in with a man by the name of James Spicer, from Hamburg, who had three wagons and one hundred and seventy-five head of loose cattle. He had his wife with him but no children of his own, though he had brought with him an orphan boy. Spicer came to me while at Laramie, and said, "You don't want to go to Utah, do you?"
I replied that I did not.
He then said that he was not going there, and that he had noticed how I had been misused on the trip, but, as he was a small man compared with my uncle, he did not deem it wisdom to interfere; but if I wished to leave my uncle and go with him he would lay over until my relatives went forward if he had to remain all winter.
He stated that he had a man he wanted to get rid of, who could accompany my uncle in my place.
I agreed to this arrangement.
Two days later my uncle came to me and said, "Abe! let us get up the cattle; we can't wait any longer for Spicer. Frank Gilbert and company, belonging to Gilbert, Gerrish and Co., of Salt Lake City, are just ahead, and we can overhaul them."