Left
alone, he would have fallen helplessly to the earth. It was as terrible
a journey as ever mortal man performed. How far he traveled, he knew
not. During the last six miles his path was marked by blood-stains from
his swollen feet.
By making abridgments from valuable manuscript contributed by George W.
Tucker, of Calistoga, this narrative may be appropriately continued. Mr.
Tucker's father and relatives had reached Johnson's Ranch on the
twenty-fifth of October, 1846. They had been with the Donner Party until
Fort Bridger was reached, and then took the Fort Hall road. Their
journey had been full of dangers and difficulties, and reaching
Johnson's Ranch, the first settlement on the west side of the Sierra,
they determined to remain during the winter.
One evening, about the last of January, Mr. Tucker says a man was seen
coming down Bear River, accompanied by an Indian. His haggard, forlorn
look showed he was in great distress. When he reached us, he said he was
of the Donner Party. He told briefly how the train had been caught in
the snow east of the mountains, and was unable to get back or forward.
He told how the fifteen had started, and that six beside himself were
still alive. That the six were back in the mountains, almost starved. R.
P. Tucker and three other men started at once with provisions, the
Indian acting as guide.
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