Distinctly Montana Magazine

30 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 - 2 0 2 6 lantern I have hung out to let those who are out guarding know where the camp is. The wind is blowing a perfect hurricane and every gust threatens to take off the wagon covers. The occupants of the tent find it more than they can do to keep it upright. The situation is quite alarming. The lightning at every flash seems to envelop us in a sheet of white flame and the rain pours in torrents. Everyone on the train had specific jobs for which they were re- sponsible. Some cared for the livestock, others gathered wood and tended to the children. On June 21, 1863, Lucia took a mo- ment to give an "account of everyday pioneering life" and out- lined some of her own duties: June 21— The first thing in the morning of course is breakfast and as Aunt Mary and Cousin Hattie are busy with the children that duty mostly falls upon me with Amarette's help. I usu- ally find the fire built in the little stove standing at the back end of the wagons and as there is only one course at breakfast it does not take long to prepare it—coffee, ham, or bacon, biscuit, or griddle cakes or both, gravy and plenty of milk. Before setting the table it has to be made each time by taking the boards from the front end of the wagon and placing one end under the back part of the corner of the mess box which is sloping, and let- ting it rest on the front side of the box make it nearly level. Three of these boards form quite a table on which we put a tablecloth, tin plates and cups, knives, forks, spoons, etc. . . . The milk is strained into a large tin-can and hung under the wagon. Our wagons are so arranged that the things can be put back from the front during the day and chairs can be set in or we can sit or lie down on the bed at the back of the wagon. The wagon covers have been a good protection from the sun this far. We make a stop of an hour or two at noon and then try to get into camp in time to get supper and do up the work, get the cows milked and the tent pitched before dark. On July 3 Lucia and the other party members crossed the Platte River, and it was on the other side of the river where they had their first encounter with Native Americans. Heard the startling news that only five miles below us there were fifteen hundred Sioux Indians. They had come out to fight the Pawnees so we did not fear them much. We should be perfectly powerless if they had attacked us, but they did not, and in fact we see no signs of Indians nor have we but once since we left Omaha. By July 16, 1863, the wagon train Lucia was a part of reached Chimney Rock, the most famous landmark on the Oregon, Cali- fornia, and Mormon Trails. Nearly half a million westbound em- igrants and other travelers saw the monument en route to the West Coast. Many of those emigrants drew sketches of Chimney Rock as they passed. Lucia was content to write about the stone formation in her journal:

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