All being in readiness the morning of the fourth day in this camp I, accompanied by two other men started on horseback, one man going along to bring the horses back, and the other to accompany me across the mountains.  We rode to within ten miles of the summit of the mountains.  Here the snow was nearly two and a half inches deep.  Our horses were unable to get anything to eat except the branches of quaking asp trees that we cut and carried to them.  The next morning we saddled our horses, one of my companions started back again, and we mounted our snow shoes and started to climb the mountain, this being my second attempt to travel on snow shoes.  I was somewhat awkward at this new undertaking, and you can rest assured that I was tired when I reached the summit of the mountains, which took the greater part of the day.  Each had a pair of blankets and enough provisions strapped on his back for the trip.

After reaching the summit of the mountain and starting down on the other side we found it much easier traveling.  We worked hard all day and made what we thought to be twelve miles, camping that night in the fir timber.  It was a cold, disagreeable night, with our one pair of blankets each, we consoled ourselves that it was much pleasanter than to have been here afoot and alone, and no blankets at all.  The second day’s travel after crossing the summit of this mountain we met a freight train on its return to Salt Lake City.  This train was owned by a man named Goddard.  It had been across the mountains with a load of freight and was returning, like our train on the opposite side and was unable to proceed farther, having to return to the low lands for the purpose of wintering the stock.  We abandoned our snow shoes and procured conveyance to Virginia City.  Messrs. Boon and Bivian were glad to know that their train was safe from the hands of the hostiles, but they said they would lose ten thousand dollars by not getting it across the mountains that fall.  These men having a room at the rear of their store where they slept and did their cooking, kindly proposed that I should stop and winter with them, which hospitable offer I accepted.

At this time a stage ran from here to Bannock and from Bannock to Boise and from Boise to Salt Lake City, and the news was coming in every day of both stage and train robberies along this line, and it actually got so bad that it was not at all safe for a man to step outside of his own door after dark, if it was known that he had any money.  These robbers were known in those days as “road agents.”

CHAPTER XXVII.

Organization of A vigilance committee.—­End of the notorious Slade—­one hundred dollars for A “Crow-bait” Horse.—­Flour A dollar A pound.

About this time what was known as a vigilance committee was organized at Virginia City, and other points along the stage line, for protection against desperadoes.  During the winter I was not out much, and all the news I could get was from persons who came to the store to trade.