Howdy, Acknowledging adages, "Haste makes waste" and "Better late than never", I return to the initial chapters of 49er Reuben Cole SHAW's journal. I do so partly/partially because I finally found the name of the guide he called GENERAL:-)) It's March-May, 1849 as we read: "Applicants for membership in our company[The Mount Washington Mining Company of MA] were subjected to rigid examination by the surgeon and many rejected on account of physical disability; yet it is a noteworthy fact that those who seemed the most robust and, to all appearances, best able to battle with the hardships of the journey, were the first to succumb to disease and death. "Joseph THING, an old-time hunter and trapper of the mountains, who, in his wanderings, had crossed the plains many times along the usual route of the trappers, was engaged as GUIDE for our company. His amicable disposition, his experience in mountain life, and his knowledge of Indian character and of the dialect of many of the tribes made him a valuable acquisition to our numbers. "By advice of our guide we determined to cross the plains with saddle- horses and pack-mules, for by this method we could more readily ford rivers, select camping places in isolated grassy spots, navigate among rocks and through canyons, climb and wind around steep mountain sides and through timber where it would be quite impossible for wagoners to make their way, while with a less elaborate outfit we expected to make better time than by any other mode of travel.... "Our company was composed of men from many different walks in life, among them lawyers, doctors, preachers, teachers, students, merchants, clerks, and mechanics. The larger number of them were in the prime of their manhood, though several students from institutions of learning were but little past their majority. "While we formed the only company which left Boston by the overland route, many other organized companies purchased and fitted out ships and took their chances on an ocean voyage of about fifteen thousand miles around Cape Horn(From Reuben Cole Shaw's Across the Plains in'49). I guess it is better to refer to someone as "The General" - rather than "Thing":-)))), Bob Norris in Dallas <BNorris166aol.com>