"
"But I am changed since last I gazed
Upon that tranquil scene,
And sat beneath the old witch elm
That shades the village green;
And watched my boat upon the brook
It was a regal galley
And sighed not for a joy on earth,
Beyond the happy valley."
"I wish I could once more recall
That bright and blissful joy,
And summon to my weary heart -
The feelings of a boy.
But now on scenes of past delight
I look, and feel no pleasure,
As misers on the bed of death
Gaze coldly on their treasure."
When Captain Tucker's relief party were going to Donner Lake, they left
a portion of their provisions in Summit Valley, tied up in a tree. They
had found these provisions difficult to carry, and besides, it was best
to have something provided for their return, in case the famished
emigrants ate all they carried over the summit. It was indeed true that
all was eaten which they carried over. All the scanty allowances were,
one after another, consumed. When the relief party, and those they were
rescuing, reached the place where the provisions had been cached, they
were in great need of the reserve store which they expected to find. To
their horror and dismay, they found that wild animals had gnawed the
ropes by which the cache had been suspended, and had destroyed every
vestige of these provisions! Death stared them in the face, and the
strongest men trembled at the prospect.
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