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Page: of 436
MAY 1849
to keep a pretty full account of our travels.
I have already seen enough to convince me that it will take Charlie
two years to cross the plains. Not a flower does he see but I must hold
his horse while he gets down and plucks it. I think . will study botany a
little while on the plains, just enough to prevent my appearing a perfect
ignoramus on the subject, if nothing more.
Then he changed the subject to talk of things at home—home was a
favorite topic of conversation around Independence, taking a backseat
only to gold and Indians. He offered advice to Cornelia, now teaching at
the Rensselaerville Academy:
How long are you going to act in the capacity of teacher? Perhaps you
recollect that I used to advise you to teach, and now let me advise you
not to teach too long. Remember, also, that teaching, if followed as a
profession, invariably spoils the temper and most commonly renders
the subject the most despicable of all human species.
Take my advice, therefore, dear Cornelia; and quit teaching before
long. Don’t for anything become a peevish old maid of a school teacher.
. . If . remember right, it was one year ago tonight that I took such a
glorious ride down the Champlain canal and railroad after being admitted [to the bar]. A year is gone. How quickly has it flown and what
changes has it brought, and who can anticipate what will occur during
the next!
On May 9, a Wednesday, Niles and Charley left the Caldwell farm
and rode out to the Pioneer Camp. The company was not ready to start,
so they spent most of the day watching the preparations. Charley described the scene to Mary:
Oh, if our eastern friends could but see our camp ground, they would
no longer wonder at our anxiety to journey across the plains. On a high
roll of the prairies, with the Santa Fe road on the left and boundless
green at the right, our white tents array themselves, scattered here and
there as the taste of the occupants may have directed them.
Near us a crystal spring pours its limpid waters forth, and with a
warm sun, I can assure you it is a great luxury. The prairie is dotted with
flowers, and most all the pink verbena, the same we cultivate at home.
Wild peas of different colors, star grass, and a great many new subjects
to operate on when the time comes.
It was raining outside the tent and Charley was seated on a trunk,
using a saddle for a writing desk. Nearby, Niles was standing beside a
183