THE JOURNAL OF LUCENA PARSONS

 

June 13 [1850]. Last evening Mr Hyde from Kanesville came down & organized us in a company of 50 wagons under the command of Captain Foote & this morning we are repairing as fast as possible to the ferry. We are crossing at Martins ferry 2 miles above Bethlehem. There is as much as both ferries can doe as there are some 700 teams yet to cross. They go in companies of 100 & are divided into companies of 50 & 10 & have captains over each division. All armed with rifles & muskits. Wether very hot.

June 14. To day our company of 50 waggons all got across the river & we are encampt a half mile from it. We shall probably get started in a short time. I had the pleasure of giving the chief of the Otoe tribe a loaf of bread, for which he was very thankful. He is a very fine looking man. He is called by his people the Buffalo chief. This aft we had a shower & it is still very warm.

June 15. The women are washing & baking to start Monday. It takes a great deal of fixing to get started where there is so much order observed. Each captain looks to his own division.

June 16. To day it is very hot & sultry & there are some complaining of the headache. I have the sick head ache to day. This afternoon we had preaching in front of the camp. There was an Indian chief visited my tent to day. I gave him some dinner & he gave me a knife. This is rare for them to give any thing away.

June 17. We started about noon. We were delayed in wating for some muskits which our captain went back to Kanesville & got. These were distributed among those that were destitute of them. We travelled only 3 miles & encampt on Three Mile creek. We are in 2 companies of 50 waggons. Our chief captains name is Wall, & the captain of our 10 is named Maughn. Very fine men.

June 18. This morning we started about 7 oclock & travelled only about 4 miles. We were detained by crossing slews. They are very frequent so far. The company being so large it takes some hours to get over. We passt the road this morning that comes in to this 6 miles from the Bethlehem ferry. Saw severall teams on the road. Very warm to day.

June 19. This morning we had a powerfull rain. It commenced to rain just as we all had breakfast ready. We were obliged to layover till near noon. This afternoon we passt the grave of a man that died the 15th of the dreaded cholera. His name is Warren. We travelled 8 miles & encampt on a small creek. Fine camping ground.

June 20. This morning we were hindered by the first 50. Did not get started till late. Travelled over a beautifull country. Passt 6 graves all made within 5 days & all died of the cholera. We met some waggons on the back trace. They had lost some of their friends with the cholera. This afternoon passt 2 more graves, they seem to be of the same company as the 6 who died. Encampt to night on the Weaving Water creek. Went 18 miles to day. Very warm wether.

June 21. We have been obliged to stop this morning to bury 2 of our company, the first to die with cholera. One man by the name of Brown & a small child. We have severall more sick in the company. We have made 15 miles to day & have been in sight of the Platte river. We encampt to night on the banks of Salt creek. Our company came up with another child dead. They buried it at twilight on the bank of the stream. The wether very hot.

June 22. This morning we have buried 3 more children who had the cholera, they all belonged to one family. We went about one mile then crosst Salt Creek. While crossing it commenced raining very hard & we had to wate some time. It was noon before we started. Travelled very late. The worst time we have had since we left the Missouri. Severall sick. The wether damp & everything wet with very little fire in camp.

June 23. Last night visited a very sick boy, son of the first man that died. This morning started early. Passt some beautifull country. All it wants to make it delightfull is a little of the arts of civilization. It has rained nearly all day. Encampt at 3 oclock on what I call Mud creek from the nature of the stream, having made 18 miles. The boy that was sick died about noon to day on the way coming. These are hard times for us but harder for the sick. Nothing for their relief at all it seems. Still it rains. Very hot.

June 24. Last evening there was 3 more died out of the same family. One was a young lady & there was another child. The 3 are buried together 2 Spoffords & one Brown. Staid here all day & some of the company did up there washing. It rained by spells all day. Had a meeting in the afternoon to consider whether it is best to travel in such larg company or not. We are to remain as we are a short time longer & then split if the sickness still continues. Passt 5 graves to day of people who had died in another company.

June 25. We were again detained some 2 hours this morning by the first 50 of our company. We have campt near each other for the last 2 days. The roads are very muddy as it rains every day. This morning the mother of the 5 children that have died was taken sick & died at evening. We had a fine place to camp, it pleases so well I call it Pleasant point & the creek Chrystal creek in memory of my native home. We made 8 miles to day through rain & mud. We had a dredfull time. It rained hard & some went to bed without their supper.

June 26. The wether was cool & fine this morning. Started early & travelled over a fine country. Passt Black Oak grove in the forenoon. On the left of it passt 6 graves & it seems very melancholy to pass so many new graves. The sick in our company are getting better. Met 5 government waggons, they are from Fort Carny [Kearny] & are after lumber. We have not seen an Indian since the first night after we started from the river. Roads very crooked. Campt on the prairie without wood or water.

June 27. Started in good season this morning & travelled about 15 miles. Campt on the great Platte bottom on a small stream. The timber we find here is oak, elm, & bay. With such a fine rich soil to grow on I should think it might grow higher. It is only found on streams or small rills which we often find are running from lime rocks. It is very small & scrubby. Met 2 teams from Salt Lake. They said they met the first emigrants at the mountain pass.

June 28. We have staid here all day for the purpose of having a general wash as wood & water are plenty here. The water is hard & we have found it so most of the time. We have some very sick in camp to day & one woman, Mrs. Crandall, was immersed twice to day. It seemed to do her good. The wether is very hot. Rained last night. Some 13 teams from Woodruffs company passt here this forenoon but the rest are behind, all well too.

June 29. We had the hardest thunder storm last night I have witnessed in some years. Started on this morning & soon came to a very bad road, low marshy land. A little before we stopt at noon there was a woman by the name of Beal died. She was buried on the banks of the Clearwater, a fine stream about 10 miles from where we came on the bottoms.' They immersed 3 in this stream for the cholera. Travelled 14 miles & slept on a high spot on the marsh for the night. Met the Salt Lake mail, they said they met 8000 teams when they got to Fort Laramee. Since that they have not kept count. Wether very warm.

June 30. We started this morning & had fine roads some of the way & the rest part very bad. Some hard slews. Travelled 14 miles. We stoped at night on the Platte river, the bottoms are from 8 to 10 miles wide. The river is about ½ mile wide here & runs rapid, the water very rily. I find plenty of wild flowers here, roses in abundance. Mrs. Crandalls daughter died to day. She is of the family who have buried so many. She was buried this evening besides 4 others on the bank of the river. They were some who had died of another company. Wether fine & cool.

July 1 [Monday]. Started early, travelled over a flat low strip of land with the river on the right & high bluffs on the left. The ground is covered with beautifull flowers, it looks like flower gardens. Travelled some 7 miles & came to an Indian town. It contained some 200 wigwams. They are made under ground, laid up with sticks & covered with earth. Some of them are larg & show ingenuity. The inmates have all deserted them & gone on a hunt. There are immense beds of sun flowers in this reagion, they look like ours at home. Passt 8 graves to day. The roads have been good, the wether fine & cool. Made 16 mile.

July 2. We started early & travelled over hills & dales all day. Reached the foot of Grand Island at noon. Here we stopt & buried a girl, daughter of Capt. Coon. She died before reaching this point. Here is a fine camping ground as wood & water are plenty & they are very scurce in some places. Travelled 18 miles in all & encampt near Table point as I shall call it from the nature of the bluffs running near the river. Passt 2 graves. Wether cool & fine.

July 3. Started in good season & travelled 15 miles. First rate roads & fine wether but some appearance of rain in the eve. Stopt at noon as our captain had left a chain behind. We stopt an hour & did not come up with our company that night. We campt without wood & one mile from water but good grass. Passt 6 graves, they most all died between 15 & 28 of June. There seems to be some division in our company. Some of them are so slow & some go too fast. Some sick.

July 4. Started early, travelled about 10 miles. Here we overtook our company & found the Captains ox was gone. We had to stop again & wate for them to go back & look for it. We went to washing as we had a fine chance, plenty of soft water from a slew. The wether very hot. The boys that went back did not get back to night. We were in hearing of cannon at oald Fort Carny & it seemed like home. We are all on the river bank & in sight of each other.

July 5. This morning the boys returned without finding the ox & Captain Maughn with some others have gone to look for it, they dont like to go on without it & the wether is so hot it is impossible to go far in a day. This afternoon saw 2 waggons on the return. They had been as far as Fort Larimee & were sick & their company went on. This afternoon the men got back without finding the ox. The Indians may have it, we hear they are watching us daily but they are seldom seen. We saw some elk & some deer but game scurce.

July 6. Started early this morning & travelled about 18 miles over a very poor country, grass light & dry. Passt 9 graves 5 of them were children. Stopt at noon on a slew. No good water. To night we are in sight of Fort Carny. We are all well & our 10 have been so far.

July 7. Got started about 8 this morning, we have some lame oxen. Travelled 7 miles & reached Fort Carny at 11 oclock. It is a pleasant place on the river. They have 450 soldiers there now, cultivate some land & have fine gardens. There are some 8 houses built of wood, they get their timber from as far as the Missouri river. Overtook 25 government waggons bound for Larimee loaded with provisions. They have 125 yoke of oxen & carry 60 hundred pounds to a waggon. Passt 5 graves, one of them an Indian grave. He was buried in a sitting posture. The tribe here is the Pawneese. Travelled 9 miles this afternoon making 16 miles to day. Wether dry & cool.

July 8. The same thing over & over again, nothing new. There seems to be a sameness in the make of the country. It is generally level with high bluffs on the left & the river on the right. Travelled 16 miles & passt 6 graves. Campt to night with a ten of Footes. They are sick.

July 9. Our cattle still lame & we are not able to go far in a day. Came to Plum creek at noon. Here we found our company were some 3 miles ahead. They had buried a boy of Lovells. He fell from the waggon & broke his leg & died soon after. This is the second child that has broke a leg and died soon after. Footes company of 50 is camped on Plum creek. They have buried 7 & have some more very sick. Passt them & went on. The lame cattle travelled 10 miles. Passt 7 graves. Fine wether & roads good.

July 10. Travelled 16 miles to day over a dry country. Passt 13 graves. Found water at noon for the teams. Came near the river this afternoon then struck off on the bottoms. Stoped at night without any wood or water some 2 miles from the river. Rain this morning.

July 11. Started early this morning in the hope of overtaking our company. We travelled about 18 miles over fine looking country. Passt a good camping place in the afternoon but too early to stop. We finally had to camp without wood but we found some buffalo chips which answer very well to boil tea & coffee. We see some elk, buffalow, deer & antelope. Passt 18 graves to day, there seems to have a great many died in June & mostly of cholera. Footes company camped near us to night. We had the most musketoes we have had. They were very very troublesome.

July 12. Last night had a hard storm, very warm this morning. We started out before Footes company & travelled slow on account of sick cattle. We were looking for a place to wate when a little boy of Captain Maughns, 3 years of age, fell from the waggon. The 2 wheels run over his stomach & he died in about an hour. While stoping the other company passt us. This is the first death in our 10. Saw three buffalow feeding on the bottoms. While stoping we found 30 head of sheep some one had left. We brought them on. Travelled 10 miles, found water by diging. Good wood one mile off. The cattle some better. Passt 6 graves. The wether cool & pleasant.

July 13. Started early this morning & overtook the company that passt us yesterday. We have travelled over a pleasant country to day, plenty of timber in sight all the time. Came to Cotton wood creek at 11 oclock. Passt on 3 miles to Ash creek & camped to wash & bake. Here is the best of grass & plenty of ash timber & river water which is soft. Passt 12 graves to day. We expected to have met Captain Wall here but they have gone on. Wether is cool & the health of the emigrants seems to be better. Went IO mile to day.

July 14. We are obliged to wash & bake to last us about a week as there is no wood for 100 miles ahead. Formerly the emigrants have found flood wood here but there is none this year on acct of the high water this spring. The rain has also injured the buffalow chips. We have a beautifull place here, a fine spring of water & the place where we are is surrounded with trees of oak & ash. There was preaching this afternoon & severall baptized in the branch of the river.

July 15. We are again permitted to renew our journey. We are now in the buffalow reagion as they are seen by the thousands. They have the finest place in the world to live in. The country here is high bluffs & deep ravines in which there is plenty of cedar for them in winter. As far as the eye can reach these bluffs rise one above the other. Travelled 12 miles. Passt 13 graves. Came up with our company in the eve. Glad to see them & they so. They had killed 3 buffalow. There are larg amounts of prickly pears & mushrooms here, these look like the ones in the east.

July 16. We took our places this morning in our company & it seems like home again. We passt 3 graves. Travelled 18 miles over a very sandy country, the road is white sand. Met 3 teams from Fort Laramie. We have seen hundreds of buffalow to day. They seem to care very little about us, they will hardly move for the firing of a gun. There is also plenty of deer, elk, Antelope & wolves of the largest kind. Campt at night on one of the prettiest places imaginable & with plenty of wood. We are on the river bank. Wether fine and cool. Generally camp now in good health.

July 17. Still we are journeying on & in good spirits. We have some fine times with all our troubles. We have made 18 miles to day over a very dry country. There seems to be plenty of saleratus, salt & larg beds of prickly pear & some smart weed1 on this these bottoms. We have found fine camping places & plenty of fuel so far. Passt 19 graves, most of them from Missouri, they died in June & all are young men between 20 & 30 years of age. Wether still pleasant.

July 18. This morning the wether is hot, too hot to go far. We only made about 12 miles. Stoped some 2 or 3 hours in the hotest part of the day. The sheep seem nearly done over with the heat. We have passt some 12 graves & I am told there is a burying ground near here of 300 graves. If so it must be a general camping ground for near these I find the most graves. I see some painfull sights where the wolves have taken up the dead & torn their garments in pieces & in some instances the skulls & jaw bones are strewed over the ground. Feed very poor what we find is on the river in low places. Wether dry as yet.

July 19. Started early & pushed on as fast as possible to reach the ford which we learned from a company of men on the back track was 8 miles ahead. Those men had 4 waggons. They had had some trouble & were going back to Missouri. Reached the ford & found 30 waggons on the ground to cross. There was 80 with ours. We had good luck & all got over in half a day & all camped together at night. The feed very poor, not much to be seen but white sand hills. I find dry soda on the bank that I can scrape up. This is the south fork of the Platte. The river is shallow & I mile wide.

July 20. We found this morning that most of our cattle were gone. They left in search of grass as there is none here. The man that went to look for them returned about 10 oc1ock with a part of them. A party of horsemen went in search of the others & some of us went to washing as we could not leave here to day. About noon Capt Footes company came up. They all crosst sefely over & campt with us. In the eve the men came back having found all the cattle. Late in the eve we had some rain.

July 21. We again are pursuing our teadious journey. For the first 3 miles it was up hill then we came to a ridge. This extended to Ash hollow & when we came to it we found ourselves on the top of a high hill, precipices & deep ravines. In these ravines & on either side of the bluffs are trees growing in crevises, ash & red cedar. It is the most romantic place we have seen yet. The hollow is some 3 miles long when it widens as it nears the river. In it I found wild grapes, cherries, gooseberries, & pepper mint herbs & good springs of water. Passt some 6 graves. Wether fine.

July 22. Here we stopt to wash & bake & take on wood to last us over the sand hills which are ahead. We are now in a very different looking country from the one we have been in. We are now again on the main stream of the Platte & it is very pleasant in many places. We are now in the Sous [Sioux] & Sian [Cheyenne] country. There are none of them on the road this year. There are 20 graves in & around this hollow. The fork empties in near here.

July 23. We have started again this morn. In good spirits & hoping to get through to Larimee in 12 days. Left a company of 50 waggons on the ground to repair a waggon. Passt some fine sights to day among the hills. The water has washed them in all forms. Some resemble pulpits & others look like haystacks. All look fine. Travelled 18 miles. Passt 12 graves, one a man of 84 years old. We meet teams most every day, some on the back track, others for the government.

July 24. Wether very hot & dry & we can not hurry much. Passt the Castle rocks this morning, so named by their appearance. We are travelling near the river all this week. In some places the food is very poor. It looks as though there had been either a freeze or a burn. We passt 13 graves, the graves on this side of Ash hollow have not been disturbed. We cross many dry streams, some of them 8 & 10 rods wide. Made 13 miles. All well.

July 25. We have been travelling in 2 tens, that is we have 21 waggons, since we left Ash hollow. We find that small companies get along better where there is a scurcity of grass. There is no wood. This afternoon we passt the ancient bluff ruins on the north side of the river. They look like castles & fortifications gone to decay. We are some miles off but we could see them very plain. They are infested with rattlesnakes I am told. Passt 14 graves. Travelled 22 miles. Crosst a fine creek & camped on the river. Good grass.

July 26. Wether is very hot & dry but we travel at a good rate. To day came in view of a splendid looking sight, like a stone castle. Did not go near it as we learned it was 5 miles off the road. It is 300 feet high & composed of pipe clay. Passt 13 graves. Travelled 20 miles with beautifull country before us. Game not plenty. I find wild locust & worm wood in abundance. Grass very good at the camping places on the river banks.

July 27. Did not start till late on acct appearance of rain. Went I mile, it rained, we stoped till afternoon. Started again. Fine cool travelling. Came opposite Chimney Rock which has been sight since yesterday. It has been seen 30 miles off on a clear day. Three of us went to it. I was struck with amazement at the grandeur of the scene. It is large at the base & then runs up some 300 feet, the last 100 feet is nearly square & in the form of a chimney in the top of a round tower. We found thousands of names engraven in every place up & down its sides. There are similar hills in the vicinity. Some look like churches with spires & others like houses. In front is a small lake. Travelled 10 miles. We campt on the river bank.

July 28. We currelled last night opposite the most splendid scenery we have met with on our travels. They are sand hills intermixt with rock or a hard substance resembling rock that rise & tower over the other like splendid mansions with numerous chimneys rising to a great hight. They are called Scotts Bluffs & extend from Chimney Rock to Pony creek, a distance of 30 miles. It rained this morn & we did not start till noon. Went 12 miles, passt 7 graves, campt in a pretty place on the river. No wood but good grass. Wether pleasant & cool this eve.

July 29. Started early this morn & travelled over beautifull country. No grass or water till we came to Trading point. When within 6 miles of the point met 3 mew! teams from Fort Larimee. They told us it was 50 miles to the Fort. It seems like home again to meet so many on the road. We did not look for it in this wild country. I found the skull of a man by the roadside. I took it on & buried it at the point. There is a blacksmiths shop here for the accomodation of emigrants kept by a french man.2 Here are a number of stick huts & I am told they keep a good assortment of dry goods. We could find no grass till we went severall miles. Here the whole 50 waggons met & campt. The rattlesnakes are very thick here. Good water. Wether fine & cool.

July 30. Started late this morning on acct of trading camp where cattle & horses are traded. The men have squaws for their wives & when our men were there the women were making mince pies with choke cherries & buffalow meat. Travelled 12 miles & campt on Pony creek. No wood. Saw plenty of Indians to day, they camp with the traders. They seem very harmless, do not beg but want to swap their mocasins for some bread. They say nothing about whiskey. Grass is light & dry except where we camp, there it is good. Passt 5 graves. Soon after we campt had a hard wind & some rain. Part of the company went on. All well.

July 31. Fine morning. Did not start early on acct of lame cattle. Some of them get gravel in their hoofs & others have sore necks. Roads are very rough in some parts. Came to another trading post this afternoon. They have a house made of bricks dried in the sun. They are the couler of clay. Passt 13 graves. Travelled 18 miles & campt on the river. We carry wood with us from one wooding place to another & by using economy we have plenty. The river water is very rily but it will settle.

August 1 [Thursday]. Travelled 15 miles. This brought us to Fort Larimee which we were glad to see as here we crosst the Larimee fork of the Platte. The main river is also near. The Fort is built an the Larimee fork some 1½ miles fram the river. We had not trouble in fording it the water being low, though there have been 5 men drowned here this spring in crossing their teams. They were carried down by the current which is very swift even now. We passt a camp of Indians to day that have the small pox. They have it very bad & many of them have died. We saw one squaw dead under a blanket & her papoose wailing round her sick.

August 2. This morn went to the Fort to get some blacksmithing done but could not they have So much work. This is a very pretty place to look at, it is So clean. The Fort is commanded by a Major Anderson,3 he is a fine man. There are 250 soldiers & some 12 families. They have a saw mill, one publick house, one store. They hold goods high & work is also high. They offer for carpenter work 60 a month & find them, & a woman to cook 20 a month. Flour is 18 per hundred & whiskey 8 per gallan in the emigrants store. They are now building severall fine frame buildings. They say there have 75 thousand pass here this season & some days there were 1500 here. There was some sickness among them & some deaths. There are hundreds of waggons left here which can be bought for a few dollars each from the soldiers. Started about 10 & went 9 miles. Passt 6 graves. Roads very sandy, one bad hill to come down. Campt on river wih rest of the company. Wether dry & very dusty.

August 3. We stoped to let the teams rest here to day & the men went to work & burnt coal to doe their own blacksmithing. They have a bellows & anvill & are now busy preparing to shoe the cattle as their hoofs are wearing out with driving over the gravelly roads. The women are baking, washing, cleaning, & repacking waggons as they do when we stop. We have plenty of good grass & water & are in sight of the Black hills which we expect to begin to ascend soon after leaving here. Had a wind & sprinkling of rain this afternoon & heard distant thunder.

August 4. In front of our camping ground is a high & beautifull rock with many names carved on the front side. I find none but strangers. though I have searched for familiar ones. The soldiers are hawling long logs by here. They find timber in the mountains. We are in sight of Larimee peak, a high black hill. Wether very dry & hot.

August 5. Still we are here. The cattle have good feed & the men are shoeing them & setting waggon tyres & getting things ready for a hard road which we expect for the next 100 miles. There has not an Indian been round here though they are plenty round Larimee. They all have fine ponies & larg horses. They will not sell them for money but will trade them for coffee, sugar, or blankets. There is no wild fruit on this road except choke cherries & black currants. These are plenty & doe well to make pie of. Wether very hot.

August 6. Started his morn & concluded to take the river road in preferance to the Black hills on acct of grass which we hear is not plenty on the hills. In 4½ miles we came to a warm spring, next passt a lime kiln & then crosst Bitter creek, little water in it. At noon we crosst Dry Timber creek, good water. Went 16 miles & passt 6 graves. The road has been up & down hill all day. Campt on a small stream. Poor grass. We now find plenty of wild sage. Wether very hot & roads dusty.

August 7. Started early & have travelled over beautifull country on acct the Black hills. We are among them & I like them much. They rise very abrupt & cover the whole country. The reason of their dark appearance is their being covered with low pines. There are larg beds of bachelor buttons, marygolds & china oysters [asters] all along this road. They are the same appearance as the tame ones in our eastern gardens. Passt 2 graves. We are now geting into a healthier climate. It seems a pity to see the amount of property that is left on this road, waggons & cattle & various things. Travelled 18 mile. Wether fine. We have good clear spring water & plenty of wood & good grass to night.

August 8. We have travelled some 45 miles without seeing the river. Came to it again at noon. Here are beautifull hills. I went to the highest & found beauty stones of all coulers, some white, some clear as glass. Went on. It rained a little & we stoped in a fine spot of grass. The road runs in a valley some miles. Here the sage grows some 4 feet high, the stocks 4 or 5 inches through. In the last few days we have seen the heads of larg buffalows killed by the company before us. We also see many Elk horns by the road side. Went 12 miles. Campt on a dry creek. Some springs, good water & no grass. Wether pleasant.

August 9. Started early to find feed for the cattle. This article is getting scurce in many places. Went 16 miles over a hilly country, saw no graves. Here are many dry creeks on the banks of which are the finest kind of choke cherries, they are black & sweet. There is another kind of berry sour as currents, they are the bulb berries & are plenty on the banks of these creeks whether with or without water. Came to the La Bonte & campt on it.

August 10. We found a company campt here & got plenty of buffalow meat from them as they had killed 2 larg ones. Started early this morn & travelled 190 miles over hills & hollows. Some of the rocks looked as though they had lately been piled up in a careless manner. Passt 3 small creeks, mostly dry & came to the La Prela [Prele]. We campt on its banks & had good water.

August 11. Started early, went 4½ miles & came to Box Elder creek. Near here Capt Maughn lost an ox, it droped down in its yoke & died. This creek runs rapid, very bad to cross. Not much grass here. Went on again 4½ mile & came to Fourche Boise. Here found 2 companies campt. Went up the river 2 miles & found good grass, wood & water. Passt 5 graves. This river is 30 feet wide & 2 deep. Here the cherries & the black currants are plenty. Here the men saw a larg bear since we got here. Rained this afternoon.

August 12. This is a fine cool morning & many of the women are washing & baking as usual when we layover. Some of the men went on a hunt but returned without seeing any game. They went down in the tall canions of the mountains & found tall pine trees, some 200 feet high. There are now severall hundred waggons within 30 miles of each other. Feed very poor. We had a powerfull rain this eve. Camp all well. Many bever dams across this river. Have seen some bever.

August 13. This morning we packed up to start but concluded to stop here another day to doctor lame oxen. A company of us went up the river some 2 miles & found the finest kind of black & yellow currants in abundance. We spent the day very pleasant in rambling over hills & vallies. At the south mountains reared their black heads & on the north the river glided noiselesly along bringing gladness to man & beast for on its banks they were fed & in the stream they quenched their thirst. We returned at eve laden with plenty of the good things of nature, thankfull to the river of all the good things of this wild country & I find comfort though in this wilderness.

August 14. Started early & travelled 4 miles to the North fork of the Platte. The river is clear & rapid with a fine growth of timber on the bank. We came to Deer creek in 5 miles more. Plenty of fish & grass here. Passt 2 graves. Went 15 miles. Wether pleasant. There have some 10 head of cattle died in our company caused by eating too many choke cherry leaves & the cherries.

August 15. Started late this morn on acct of the slothfullness of some of the company we are with. Left them & came on alone, 8 waggons of us. We feel there is no time to be lost. Came to Muddy creek, then on 5 miles to Crooked Muddy. Went 5 miles more, crosst a dry creek, came to the river & found Capt Wall there. Stopt & staid all night. The whole 100 waggons & another 50 waggons campt near here. It is a fine place. In the evening they all met & had a ball. The grass is the best we have seen since we crosst the north fork.

August 16. Staid here to day as Capt Wall thought it best to stop & recruit our teams. We staid but were not contented. Passt the day in washing & baking. In a whole company of 150 waggons I have no heard of any sickness except a little diarrheea. We do not see any Indians & we are mostly out of the buffalow reagion. Some of the co went on a hunt but killed nothing.

August 17. Started this morning for the upper Platte ferry & ford, it being some 9 miles to it. Came to a green spot of grass at noon & let the teams eat. It commenced raining & thundered hard. It cleared up & we went on again. Crosst the ford without any difficulty & went down the river some 3 miles. Rained before we got to the camping ground. We have had lightning every night for 2 weeks without rain. One of the co lost an ox to night.

August 18. Started late on acct of rain, went 9 miles over a new & hilly road & came to the Mineral creek which comes from a mineral spring up on the oald road. We are on the river to find wood, grass & water as there is none on the bluffs road at this time of year. Campt on river, it still rains & the wether is very cold, the wind in the north. On the opposite bank are high mountains that look red. There is supposed to be Iron ore & coal beds in abundance in this region. Saw 10 Californians on the return. One of them came to our camp. The news very good from there.

August 19. Still detained here on acct of rain. It rained incessantly all last night & this morning. It looks very gloomy. When it stops for a few moments the mountains seem to smoke. There are campt near us the 10 Californians. They have been there one year, made a fortune & glad to get back home. They say some 200 miles this side of there they found men without food eating their horses & mewls. One young man rather than eat his horse plunged in the river & drowned himself. There are also with the Californians men from Fort Larimee in search of deserters this season. Still rains & as cold as winter.

August 20. It cleared up & we started about 10 oclock. Found very bad roads the first 6 miles. We then came to the oald road again & found this better. Went 2 mile & came to the Rocky avenue where there are high rocks on both sides of the road. It is beautifull. In 2 miles came to a mineral springs & swamps. These are very poisonous & many have lost nearly all their teams by letting them drink the water & eat the grass. In 4 miles more found good water & surrounded with willow. Went 4 miles more & campt on a slew. Some grass, no wood, but wild sage which is a good substitute for wood. Some water here. Passt I grave to day. Wether pleasant but cold. We have seen many dead oxen & some horses to day.

August 21. This morn found our cattle all gone. The men went back & found them on Willow creek. Started late, only travelled 6 miles. Came to Greese wood creek. On the bank is a kind of a shrub something like cedar or low hemlock & the whole covered with thorns. This is the greese wood. Campt in a pleasant place, no wood, poor grass, but plenty of sage & good water. Passt 1 grave & many carcasses.

August 22. We have been in sight of the Sweet Water mountains since Tuesday. This morn 2 of the men went on a hunt & returned about 10 having killed a fine buffalow. We were detained till afternoon to secure the meat. Started, left the main road & followed the creek down for grass. Came to Sweet Water river, campt on it & jerked our meat. Passt 2 graves. We have had 2 nights of snow & frost.

August 23. Started early & are now to the Saleratus ponds. The ground is covered with a thin coat like frost for miles around on both sides of the river. We went to severall ponds & found the late rains had injured the saleratus, having covered it with water. The men had to go in & cut it up with spades in some of the ponds. These lumps look like ice & when it is dry on the banks it looks like snow banks. In a dry time it can be obtained very easy & very nice it is, one half the strength of the common saleratus. Went 6 miles & came to Independence rock. This rock in shape looks at a distance like a steamboat. There are many names on it both painted & chiselled, many done on July 4, 1850, this year. It is very larg & high composed of gray granite. The river is within 4 'rods of it. Went on 5 miles & passt 5 graves. Campt on the river. Wether cold & pleasant.

August 24. We are stoping to day to have a hunt. The grass not very good & dry cedar to burn by going up in the canion for it. Two miles back passt the Devils gate. This is where the river passes through perpendicular rocks 400 feet high forming a gateway from one valley to another. These mountains look very singular, they seem to set up edgewise & are all cracked apart. They are hard granite. Two grisly bears were seen on top of these hills. There have been many killed by the emigrants, some of them weighing from 7 to 15 hundred pounds. There are no buffalow here. The reason of the river being called the Sweet Water is on acct of the saleratus in it. We are now among the Sweet Water mountains. Clear & pleasant in the middle of the day but cold at night.

August 25. Started late & travelled 9 miles. Struck the river & campt for the night. Good grass. It is a desolate looking country, not much vegetation but greese wood & sage. The valley of the river is some 10 or 12 miles wide bounded on each side by high mountains. The game is sage hens & ducks, deer, elk, antelope & hare. The flies & bugs look different from what they did in the east. No Indians on the road since we crosst the north fork of the Platte. We have been in the Crow Indian territory. This side of the creek there are no berries. There are larg flocks of crows, they have good living this year there being so many carcasses. Wether cool this evening.

August 26. Started early, went 19 miles. Crosst the river twice. Saw 6 graves. Crosst Sage creek & on the bank saw the grave of a young man dug up & his body nearly eat up by wolves. Campt on the river, a fine place & good grass.

August 27. Started early & have some lame cattle which hinders some but we are able to go from 10 to 12 miles. Rained a little & very cold. Passt 2 graves. Forded the Sweet Water 4 times to day. Came to it at night & campt. Very poor feed it being an oald camping ground. The road to day passt through some very romantick places. Cold rain this evening.

August 28. Left early, came to Ice springs at 10 & here let the teams feed. These springs are on a low swampy spot on the right of the road. Ice may be found here at all times by diging 2 feet. There is lime & alkali in abundance here & many cattle have died suddenly by drinking this water. There are 2 alkali lakes near here & more springs. Road very heavy to day, steep bluffs to ascend & descend. We forded the river & campt. Passt I grave in a very pretty spot. Many waggons in sight of us. Plenty of willow & some grass, clear water. Travelled 15 miles to day.

August 29. Travelled 8 miles to day over fine country. Forded the river once. The road wound through beautifull vallies & the river moved noiselessly along in its solitude with here & there a grove of willow on its banks. There seems to be plenty of fish in its waters. There are many difficulties to encounter on this road such as sickness, death & a great loss of property. Since we left Fort Larimee we daily pass much abandoned property such as waggons, horses, oxen, cows, chains of the best kind, & stoves, all destroyed. Camped on the river. Found some currants. Wether cold but pleasant.

August 30. To day travelled 17 miles & soon after we started we crosst the river. The reason of fording so often is to avoid the high bluffs. On the top of the highest hill we ascended saw 2 beautiful lakes with plenty of ducks in them. Next came to Quaking Aspen creek & in 2 miles more came to a fine poplar grove on a side hill on the left side of the road. Next came the Sweet Water, crosst it & went on 2 miles to Willow creek, a fine stream. Camped on its banks, plenty of grass, wood & clear water. Passt 2 graves & some beautifull locations, it being a fine country. Wether pleasant. Roads hilly & gravelly.

August 31. After leaving Willow creek we rose a long hill & then had a beautifull road. Went 4½ miles, crosst one branch of the Sweet Water. Went 7 miles more & passt the Twin mounds, 2 pretty mounds near the road. Came to the Sweet Water but did not cross it. We leave the river here & from here to the south pass the road is broad & fine as any turnpike. See snow in the mts & the hollows. Came to Pacific springs & campt. Passt 7 graves to day. We went 17½ miles.

September 1 [Sunday]. Started early & went up the Pacific creek 2 miles. It being Sunday & our teams tired we layover to rest. The south fork forms a divide between the Atlantic & Pacific Waters, the streams on the east side of the pass run nearly east & on the west side they run s w. This pass, as it is called, is nothing uncommon in appearance. Its altitude is 7085 feet. Here we find alkali on the surface, plenty of it. Poor water, some grass, no wood. Met a company of American soldiers from Oregon on their way to Fort Leavenworth. They all had Spanish mewls. Wether pleasant.

Sept 2. Did not start till 2. The boys went on a hunt & killed several hares & sage hens. The hens are good at this season, late in the fall they taste of sage. There are no buffalow this side of the pass but deer & antelope in abundance. In 2 miles we left the oald road & turned to the left. This is a new road made about 10 days ago to find food & shun the gravelly road. Went 10 mile, crosst the Dry Sandy river. Water in holes brackish & not good. Camped on a low spot, no wood, not much grass. Roads sandy & wind swept.

Sept 4. Started again this morn ourselves & teams much fatigued with travelling so late. Went 8 miles over heavy roads & reached Big Sandy. These rivers are rightly named for look which way you will they are sandy. Reached here at noon. This is a fine stream about 7 rods wide. Water clear & very good. Some willow & grass. Here we found severall companies of merchants taking goods to Salt Lake.. They have 40 waggons, severall loads of them stoves. Yesterday the mail going from Fort Bridger to Larimee overtook us. There is a great deal of travel from one fort to another. We are now in the Snake territory of the Indians.

Sept 5. Our company left us this morn & went on. We stopt to wate for a cow as many on this journey are obliged to do or lose many of their cattle. At noon there came up 3 waggons & stopt for the night. Wolves very thick here.

Sept 6. Those wagons went on this morning & left us alone again. Rather lonely for one waggon to stop in this dreary place. Saw no one all day, the emigration mostly going up on the oald road some 3 miles above here. A short distance from here on the river is a natural lime kiln, plenty of lime rock. Wether warm & pleasant.

Sept 7. We went after berries & black currants which are very plenty on the banks of this & nearly all the streams in this reagion. These currants grow as larg as the Inglish cherries at home in the east & are as black as the cherry when ripe. They are sweet & make very good pies. Came home & found the cattle gone. We were in a fine fix so far from help.

Sept 8. The men started at daylight in search of them & found them near where we had left the cow some miles back. They found some one had taken her on so they came back & made preparation to start very early in the morning as there is no use stoping any longer.

Sept 9. Started early, went 8 miles, came to a bend in Big Sandy, did not cross it but left it on the left hand. In 6 miles came to the Green river, the most beautifull stream I ever saw. The water is very green & runs very swift over a smoothe bottom covered with pebbles. Plenty of tall timber on the banks. Crosst over without any trouble, went 5 mile up the stream & campt. Made 19 miles. Passt 3 graves.

Sept 10. With the morning we toiled on again. Travelled 15 miles without wood or water, nothing but dry sandy hills. In the eve came to Black Forks. Camped alone. This stream is some 4 rods wide, clear water & swift current. Plenty of willow & grass. Made 18 miles to day. Wether cold.

Sept 11. Started early & in 3 miles came to Hams Fork, a fine stream & staid here till noon. Made 5½ miles & came to Black Forks a second time. Here we camped in a pretty place with hills on the right & left, all of them green as coperas.

Sept 12. Started on again & in 1½ miles crosst Black Forks. After this we found a rough road for 10 miles & no water. Crosst Black Forks the 3 time but found no place to camp. Went 2 miles & came to Black Forks for the 4 time & campt. It being an oald camping ground we found poor grass. Wether pleasant. Made 15 miles.

Sept 13. Again we were on our way at an early hour. Found some rough roads & a very cold day. By hurrying all day we reached the stream that runs through Bridger & campt 2 miles down the stream. Saw some 200 Indians on horse back riding at full speed. It commenced raining before we reached a camping place. Made 14 mile to day.

Sept 14. This morning we had some rain which hindered us till noon. On the way to Fort Bridger passt 1 grave & crosst 3 rushing creeks. It cleared up but the wether is very cool. We travelled 8½ miles & campt on a small creek this side of Fort Bridger. The Fort is composed of 4 log houses & a small enclosure for horses. I think it is a beautifull spot. There are many Indian huts in sight & the land is very rich.

Sept 15. Left Bridger at noon. Went 6 miles & passt a good spring on the right side of the road. There is some timber here & a little grass, but the country here is hilly & rough. We camped at the foot of a hill on a small creek. Wether clear & cold. Travelled 8 miles.

Sept 16. Started this morning & soon began to decend to lower land by a steep & teadious rout. We then came to Muddy fork, here is some bunch grass & plenty of willow. There is now a fine pleasant valley before us & on the left some beautifull white mountains interspersed with green. I left a flag on the highest one. On the left of the road at the foot of the hill is a coperas4 spring. We then climbed a high hill, 7315 feet, & half way down this we camped. Good feed but water scurce. Made 10 mile. Wether pleasant.

Sept 17. Started on early & met the U S mail. Here are lots of service berry bushes on the hills. We next passt down a narrow ravine & for nearly 5 miles the road winds among high mounains till we arrive a Sulphur creek at the bottom of the mountain. On the left is a sulphur spring & a little above it is a bed of stone coal. At the foot of the bluffs after we crosst the creek we found a fine spring of good water. One mile south is an oil or tar spring covering severall rods. Here are many curious places. We left this beautifull spot, went 1½ miles, crosst here & stoped. Current very strong. Travelled 14 miles.

Sept 18. After leaving Bear river we crosst a small ridge, then we travelled down a nice narrow bottom where is plenty of grass & severall fine springs of water & many small snakes. At the bottom of this valley are some very singular rocks. It appears sublime to me to see these rocks towering one above the other & lifting their majestick heads here in this solitary spot. Oh, beautifull is the hand of nature. I hate to leave these beauties but must on. Camped between 2 high hills. Made 11 miles to day. Wether cool & pleasant.

Sept 19. On our way yesterday we passt the Cache Cave in the hills on the right of the road & not far from it. The mouth is a fine arch some 10 feet in sight & 20 in width. Many a weary traveller has there left their names. It is not very roomy but is pretty inside, the walls being white & smoothe. We crosst Echo creek often while travelling down this canion. Campt one mile from the water & travelled 16 miles to day.

Sept 20. This morning crosst the Red fork of the Weber. I imagine this river takes its name from its coming down among these red hills, for they are all as red as new burned brick. This river is good to cross. Plenty of timber on both sides. As we strike the river there are 2 roads. One is Pratts new pass, but we kept the oald road which turns to the right & passes up a high ridge & then down to Canion creek. Passt down this & began to ascend the highest mountain. Camped half way up. Made 18 miles.

Sept 21. Started early & had a very steep mountain to climb. We then began to decend & passt down the canion that leads into the valley of Salt Lake. While going down this canion we crosst a small creek many times & passt many teams loaded with merchandise that were stalled for this is the worst road we have found yet We reached the mouth of the canion about 4 oclock & came to the city of Salt Lake in the evening, it being 5 miles from the canion mouth. Travelled 12 miles. Pleasant wether. All camped. Very tired.

Sept 22. We had a good feast to day, Sunday, on potatoes & green corn & other vegetables & we think we never saw as good before having so long been without. The wether is very hot & dry. Most of the Californians emigrants with us went on to day. We shall stop here till spring. Our cattle are tired & so are we & by stoping we shall all rest.

Sept 23. This morning Capt. Maughn started for Tooele Valley, about 35 miles west of the city & south of the head of Salt Lake. They say they are making settlements there this season to make room for the Mormon emigration. They are also making settlements north & south. What was formerly supposed to be little Salt Lake proves to be a saleratus bed or some thing of the kind.

Sept 24. We left the city this morning & started for Gardners Mills which is about 15 miles up the Jordan. Here my men found employment for a while. [Gap in the diary from September 25, 1850, through January 28, 1851.]

Jan 29 1851 [Wednesday]. We stopt some 6 weeks in Gardners mills. About the last of October there was a company starting for Williams ranch. We thought we would go with them for by this time we began to learn some thing of the Mormons & thought there was as much comfort on the road for us as living among a set of pirats. We went to the city for the purpose of getting ready to go with them but there came up a snow storm which lasted 2 days. We then gave up the Idea of going & concluded to try & tough it out till spring. We hired a room as good as a common hog pen east & paid 5 dollars per month.

I will now give a description of the situation of the city of Salt Lake. It is located within 3 miles of the mts which enclose the east side of the valley, within 3 miles of the Utah outlet & 22 miles from the great Salt Lake. This valley extends from Bear river north to Utah lake mouth, a distance of 120 miles. The Salt Lake extends from a point a little south west of the city to about 80 miles north, forming the N W boundary of the valley. The valley is surrounded on the west, south & east by high mts. There is a stream of good water comes from the mts east of the city. At the upper part it divides in 2 branches both of which pass through the city to the Utah outlet.

The valley is from 30 to 75 or 80 miles wide. The soil is good in many parts of this country & is well adapted to the raising of wheat but too frosty for corn & beans. On the whole the valley is a good place to live in were it not for the Indians & wolves. They are very troublesome. Cattle & sheep have to be herded here the year round to protect them from the wolves & the California Lion. There is a great deal of wind & dust here in the fall but very little rain. Consequently they have to irrigate their crops about 3 times a year. This is attended with a deal of trouble for they have to ditch for miles. Their wood is getting scurce. What they have comes from the many canions & it is very difficult to get in these in the winter on acct of snow which falls so deep there. There is a great deal of cold wether & frost even in summer & in my heart I wish them no better for a meaner set lives not on this earth than those very people calling themselves Latter day saints. And I am bold to say that an honest person can not live 6 months with them without saying the same. I know many instances where they have cheated men out of a whole winters work merely because they did not belong to their church.

Who could belong to such an unprincipled sect as these Mormons. They live like the brute creation more than like white folks. I know many men who have mothers & their daughters for these so called spiritual wives let the number be what it may. Oald Brigham Young for one. Archibald Gardner for another & Capt Brown for another & many more I could mention but it is too mean to write. These demons marry some girls at 10 years of age. For instance a man will take a mother & her daughters & marry them all at one time & perhaps he has persuaded her to leave a husband with whome she has always lived happy, or be damned. She believes it for perhaps he is one of the heads of the church & in this way many respectable families have been ruined. This I know to be true. What will become of these men the Lord only knows. I have had the opportunity of knowing many of the women that are called spiritual wives & among them all I never saw one that seemed the least bit happy, but on the other hand they are a poor heart broken & deluded lot & are made slaves to the will of these hellish beings who call themselves men. All the preaching & teaching that is heard in this valley is obedience to rulers, & womens rights are trampled under foot. They have not as much liberty as common slaves in the south.

Brigham Young has some 70 women it is said. Heber C Kimball has 50, Doctor Richards 13, Parley Pratt 30 or 40, John Taylor 8, Capt Brown 8, & in fact all the men who have but one are looking out for more. If when they have got them they would use them well it would be better but far from it. They fight & quarrel & the women leave one man & go to another. When a woman wishes to leave she goes to Brigham & gets a divorce & marries another & this is the way things are going all the time.

[Gap in diary.]

Feb 18 [Tuesday]. We have finally started again for California after spending a long dreary winter among the Saints. The road runs north to Bear river. Three miles from the city we came to a hot spring that boils up out of a larg rock. The water is hot enough to boil eggs in 5 minutes. The road runs near Salt Lake. We saw many ducks. Travelled 8 miles & camped.

Feb. 19. Last night it snowed a little & this morning the wether was cold & dreary. At noon passt a settlement called Sessions, a very pretty farming country, high mts on the right & Salt Lake barrons on the left. There is but one waggon & 4 of us, my Coz, D. Wilcox,5 our friend H Bentz,6 my husband & myself. Travelled 12 miles & camped alone. Wether cool.

Feb 20. Started on slowly our cattle being weak. Feed poor & roads very rough & muddy. We begin to find better feed the further north we go. There has been more snow south than north this winter. Camped at Nolins to night. Travelled 8 miles. Very cold.

Feb. 21. Started early, the wether more pleasant. We reached the Weber river at evening & we are now 40 miles from the city. Here the Californians meet to organize & go on as soon as spring opens.

[Gap in diary.]

March 31. We stoped here 6 weeks to recruit our cattle & get more teams to go on with. While here we took in a man & his wife by the name of McCoy.7 They are fine folks. We now have 2 waggons & 5 yoke of cattle & think we can go on if nothing happens.

April 1 [Tuesday]. This morning we packed & started. Crosst the Weber. Browns fort is situated near the Weber river on the north side. We next pass Ogden fort, this is built on the Ogden river. Stoped here all night. Travelled 6 miles. Cold.

April 2. One of our cows went back to Weber so we layover here for a day.

April 3. Started on this morning with a company bound for California. Travelled some 8 miles. It rained & we camped.

April 4. This morning started on & reached Box Elder river. On the way we passt severall hot & salt springs. From Weber to Box Elder is 20 miles. Here we stop untill a sufficient company comes up.

April 9. To day there has come up a company of 22 waggons. We at once organized & chose a captain by the name of Davis.8

April 10. Started this morning for Bear river. Fine roads & the wether pleasant. We had a pleasant view of the surrounding mountains & the Salt Lake. Stoped at noon at a larg spring. Made 12 miles to day. It is good to be on our way at last.

April 11. Reached Bear river at noon & prepared to cross over as soon as possible as the river is on the rise. It is rily & rapid & some 3 feet deep. Crosst over with little trouble. Found the other companies had all gone on some 8 or 10 days. We found a paper warning Californians that the Indians had been troublesome. Made 8 miles. No wood here but willow & grass poor.

April 12. We have decided to stop here to day in hope of more companies coming. We have but 54 men & we think this is a small number as we have heard that the Indians are getting very bad on this road, on acct of small companies going on late last fall. They took one company of 13 men,' killed them all, & carried the women off on the Yellow Stone river & tried to sell them at Fort Hall.9

April 13. No companies appearing we started on. Had to go 10 miles up the Molad [Malad] river to cross as it is a bad stream. Not wide but deep, in some places 6 feet. Met with a company of men from Fort Hall going to Salt Lake to buy provisions. Reached the Molad & camped. Sage & grass are plenty here & there are plenty of sardines in this creek. The men caught many & they are fine. Wether good.

April 14. Went down the west side of the stream to the oald road & passt on 2 miles further. Found a small rivulet coming from the mountains & good grass. We are now heading the Salt Lake. There is still snow to be found in the ravines. Travelled 12 miles to day.

April 15. Started early & went on to the Blue springs. Stoped at noon. Plenty of grass but no water. In the afternoon saw an Indian on a white horse watching at the left of the road. Later saw 2 antelopes. One of the men killed one. The Captain divided it among the company. Made 12 miles. Wether warm.

April 16. Travelled over a dry sage plain. No feed or water till we reached Hansells spring, a distance of 12 miles. This water is better being fresh, but feed is rather light. Saw more Indians to day. This evening is rainy & windy & some thunder.

April 17. Rained this morning. We travelled slowly as the going was not very good. Came to Deep creek, crosst it, the crossing not good because of high banks. Followed it down 6 miles towards the sink. We found good feed & sage for fuel. Rained a little again this afternoon. We saw Indians at a distance. Here we lay over to wash & bake. The company all well. Made 12 miles. Wether cool morning & evening.

April 18. Stayed here all day & did up washing & baking & unpacked our waggons & aired our flour & other things. This necessary to be done often on this journey or the flour is injured by heating. The wether is rather unsettled.

April 19. Left Deep creek this morn, went on 10 miles & came to Pilot springs. There are 2 lone springs in a desert place. We saw 7 Indians on ponies. They wanted powder from us but we did not give them any. Went 2 miles to camp but found no water so had to go back to the springs & pitch for the night. It rained hard.

April 20. Started late, went 3 miles & came to a spring of good water on the left of the road. We then turned to the right & had a long hill to ascend. In 3 miles came to Oregon creek & stoped for dinner. Went on again 9 miles & came to Caplus creek. Found good grass & wood & water. Passt 2 graves to day. It appears the Indians have been very troublesome to the company before us. We found a dog belonging to the Indians. Made 15 miles to day. Some rain & cold wether.

April 21. Started early & turned to the right round a mountain road. Came to the Decassure river at noon & campt for the night as the grass is good. It rained nearly all afternoon. At the right hand of our camp, on the opposite side of the stream is a cave in the rock. I did not go to it because of the wether. Made 7 miles.

April 22. Some of the company crosst the stream this morning while others preferred going round the foot of the high mountain. Both ways are bad as the river has to be crosst twice & a bad crossing. The mountain road is rocky & riddling. At noon one of the company broke a waggon. We stoped near the City [of] rocks [or Cathedral Rocks]. Some rain, wether cold. We made 5 miles.

April 23. Last eve went to the City rocks. They are at the junction of the California & Salt Lake roads.10 They are white & about 300 ft high running up to a peak. They are composed of a substance resembling salts & are in a state of decomposition. A few more years & then will be leveled with the ground. They look at a distance like a ruined city. Left here this morning & found a rough hilly road. We are now climbing Goose creek mts. Came to the east bank of Goose creek & camped. Saw the bones of a man dug up to day.

April 24. Followed down Goose creek all day. Very pleasant. We stopt at noon in a nice bottom. Went on a few miles, found a good place & camped for the night. Feed good, plenty of water, & willow for fuel. Some very bad roads to day, some miry & bad hills to go over to save crossing Goose river. Made 15 miles. Wether pleasant.

April 25. Left Goose creek about one mile back & came to a small creek in the afternoon. Camped as the feed is middling good. This eve the company voted to layover here one day. This afternoon saw an Indian who had been killed by the emigrants before because he had killed a mewl. We see writing on bones every day stating the deeds of the Indians. Made 12 miles to day.

April 26. This morning early there were Indians discovered near our cattle. The men ran out with guns & they passt on. We were all busy at washing & baking. About noon a company of 7 Indians rode up & in plain sight drove off 4 head of our cattle. Our men pursued them & the Indians shot back at them. As 2 of the cattle did not run fast enough to suit the savages they shot them & went on. One was a fat cow. The owner later dressed it & sold the beef. Our men followed the Indians till night but without success. They fled to the mountains. Some rain this afternoon. Wether warmer.

April 27. Started on to day much chagrined to think we were obliged to let these savages go unpunished. We found a rocky road all day as it followed up a canion creek, in many places high mts on both sides of the road. These were covered with dark cedars making a capital place for Indians to run off & secrete themselves & their plunder. Came to Rock spring which rises among rocks. Wether warmer. Made 12 miles.

April 28. It is 4 miles from Rock spring to Mountain spring. the water good but grass poor. We then went 2 mile over hills & came to an alkali spring which is very bad for cattle. We have been travelling on a bottom this afternoon where the Indians not long ago made an attack on IO men & killed 2. Camped on an alkali creek. No feed. Made 14 mile.

April 29. Started early & in 6 miles came to a small creek of good water & some good grass. Here we stoped some 3 hours to let the cattle eat as they were hungry not having had much for 2 days. We have passt 15 graves since we started but none made this year. Those killed by the Indians are buried off the road. We crosst Warm creek this afternoon, then 8 miles to a spring on the mountain side where we camped. Made 16 miles.

April 30. Went on this morn through a canion some 3 miles. We expected to see Indians as it is a good place for them to hide among the cedars. At noon came to a very pretty bottom, good grass but no water. Passt 2 graves. Came to the best creek of water yet found, the head waters of St Marys river, the river runs S W. Camped. We have 16 men on guard every night. Made 12 mile. Wether pleasant.

May 1. [Thursday]. This was a fine May morning, not a cloud to be seen. Came to some wells at noon, good water. Soon after we started we discovered there were 2 Indians following us so we watched them. The men drove them off to the mountains. Camped early to repair a broken waggon. Crosst a small creek. Poor grass with much saleratus in it. There are high mts on the left covered with snow. Made 16 miles. The wether good.

May 2. Started down stream again. Found much saleratus & some very miry ground. Came to the main stream of St Marys river in the afternoon. Water high. We went one mile below to find a crossing. We made 10 miles. Wether warm.

May 3. This morning we repaired to the river & made 3 ferries to cross with waggon beds & boxes. Carried the things over by hand, then fastened ropes to each waggon & towed them over. Drove the cattle over loose. Had good luck, no accident. Dried & packed the waggons & went on 7 miles. Camped near the river. Passt the grave of a man killed by Indians. Pleasant wether.

May 4. Started as soon as it was daylight to find feed. Went 2 mile & stoped & cooked breakfast & fed the cattle. This is a beautiful place. Here we saw a bone stating that Indians had run off 27 mewls & horses. passt 8 graves. Crosst a stream, very gravelly bottom & not deep. Made 16 miles.

May 5. Pleasant morning & fine roads. Saw 8 Indians armed with rifles on the hills. All on horse back. They took off to the hills. We stoped a few minutes at noon on the bank of the river which is larg & deep at this place & very rily. Wind & dust bad all afternoon. We have some sick oxen. The company all well. Camped & the men shot severall wild geese. Made 18 miles. The willows are beginning to leaf out, the banks are covered with these trees.

May 6. Went on a few miles & came to a canion. Here the road leaves the river again & runs among a chain of hills all day. Came to the river bottom & camped. Wether cold, a west wind. Good feed, clear water, & sage for fuel. Made 20 miles. It is 86 miles from this crossing on St Marys river.

May 8. After going some 8 miles the road left the river & went among more hills. We saw a notice where Brays11 company had passt along this road the 30 of April. Found no water till near night then we got to some good springs in the canion. Camped here as it was late. Some of our company very much afraid of the Indians. It has been dusty to day & rough roads. Made 15 miles.

May 9. Had high hills to cross this morn but came to the river in 6 miles. Near here one waggon upset but no damage done. At noon we came to a road that crosses the river. We kept the right hand road over the hills again. In the aft we had some rain & snow. It was very cold & windy. Came to a good spot of grass & camped near it, one mile from the river. Made 20 miles.

May 10. This morn was snowey & rainy & very cold. Started about 10 & came to Stony point, the prettiest place I have yet seen. Many rose bushes on the bank, also high willows. We are now 128 miles by the guide from the crossing of the Marys river to Stony point. We have travelled all day on a sandy plain, plenty of greese wood. Came to the river & then camped. Made 14 mile. Some warmer.

May 11. Rained a little this morn, then cleared up & we started at 9. Passt 3 graves of men killed last season by Indians. The mts on both sides of the river are covered with snow. The bottom is from 15 to 20 miles wide here. We are travelling near the river & crosst one bad slew. Stopt on the river at noon, good grass. We then travelled N W over a saleratus plain, no grass. We turned off our way to camp & found middling food. Made 20 miles. Wether better.

May 12. This morning the company voted to lay over here for to day. Some were dissatisfied & hiched up to go on & could get but 4 waggons to go with them. They gave it up & took their places again in the company. The blame was laid to the Captain. The company came together & chose a new one, a Mr Lewis.12 All well suited. Stopt here all day. We have some sick cattle owing to alkali. It is very plenty here. Feed poor & wether cold.

May 13. This morning at 3 oclock 2 Indians came creeping up to the mouth of the currell. They were quickly seen by a guard & followed a short distance but they disappeared in the tall sage. All the camp got up but no more was seen of the Indians. We started on at 8 & had fine roads. Crosst a larg saleratus bed; then went round a bend in the river. We found good grass. Made 20 miles. Wether cold but more pleasant.

May 14. Started as usual at 8 oclock & travelled N W to head a mountain. Just before we stopt at noon there were 2 men came up with us from a train behind of 14 waggons. In their company they have 35 men & only 2 women: All are well. In our company we have 21 waggons & 77 persons & 140 head of cattle & 17 horses. Crosst on the larg saleratus bed, following a ridge around a slew. Came to the river & camped. The company behind came & camped near us. Made 18 miles. Warmer.

May 15. Started early & found a good road part of the way this forenoon. Stoped at noon & the back company rolled up as we were about to start on again. We found some of our friends among them from Salt Lake City. Mr Comstock13 brought us a letter from the east, the mail got in to Salt Lake after we left. All well at home. The other company will lay over here to day We went on & in the afternoon found heavy roads with deep sand. We are near the river. Came to a good spot & camped. Made 15 miles. We are over half way down the river. Saw 2 graves.

May 16. Started early. We still find sandy roads winding among the hills. Sometimes it seems as though we were coming to the end of the road. Stoped at noon & 3 waggons remained to come on with the company behind. Found better roads this afternoon. The valley is some 30. miles wide. Came to the river crossing. Here there is a sage plain. Made 18 miles. Some rain & not very good grass.

May 17. Started about 8 & at 11 came to a fine spot of grass. We stoped 2 hours & then started again. Passt 5 graves & many dead oxen & horses that died last year. At 4 we passt some good feed but did not stop. Nothing but sage & sand as far as the eye can reach. At 8 we turned down to the river. It was dark when we came to camp & we had a steep bank to decend. Found some grass. Had a hard drive to day but made 25 miles. Some appearance of rain.

May 18. Some rain last night in the valley but snow on the mountains. Cold this morn. Elected Captain Davis again this morn as we have been 2 days without a captain & things go bad when we have none. All things being settled we moved on at 9 & had a long sand hill to go up. We then made the oald road. Saw more dead animals & destroyed property this forenoon. More than we have seen before. Found another long sage plain with many sandy bluffs to cross. Came to the river & camped early. Made IO miles. Rained a little.

May 19. It rained all night. Cleared up & we started at 10. Our road layover sand till noon. A little before noon we met a company of factors, 8 in number, from California with the U S mail. We went on & at eve came to the big meadows on the spread of the Humboldt river. We found plenty of grass to day but not first rate. Made 18 miles. The wether pleasant.

May 20. This morning we moved down about 5 miles to make hay for the desert. Rained a little to day. Here we find hundreds of dead animals & lots of stoves & all kinds of iron works where the emigrants lightened their waggons to take on grass & water. Made 5 miles. We are now some 40 miles from the desert & there will not be much feed till we get over it. Here we have to take on water also as the water below is impure. Plenty of rushes & good grass here. We baked our bread & made the best preparation we could for crossing the far famed & dreaded desert.

May 21. We moved this morn towards the Sink of the river. There seems to be plenty of grass some miles down the spread. We left it & went to the right & drove through some high bushes. We saw 5 Indians. We then came on a saleratus bottom. Not a spring of green for some miles, nothing but sand & alkali. Late in the afternoon came to where the river forms a lake. There is not a spear of grass on it & the water is brackish. Went down a few miles further & came to the last slew. Found some grass. The water is good at this time of the year but very little greese wood. Camped. Made about 18 miles.

May 22. We did intend to go on the desert this afternoon as we are but 2 miles from it, but a man 'lost a cow & this morning went back to look for it. We moved on 2 miles & camped on the Sink, the most beautifull spot on the rout. We are on a high ridge lying between the lake & the Sink. The surrounding waters & high sandy mts look splendid, and then around the Sink is a beautifull green. Far back on the road we came the level ground is as white as a new scoured floor, the sun is shining out in all its splendour to cheer this solitary spot. In the summer they say there is but little water here & no grass at all. At this place lies a poor dead squaw & her child killed by some one.

May 23. This morn we crosst the last slew & went some 2 miles & camped. Here are plenty of wild oats, the cattle like this feed first rate. Stoped till 3 oclock & then stared on the desert. In 12 miles we crosst little mounds as thick as they could stand. From these we came to a saleratus bottom which was very smoothe. In 2 miles we passt many many carcasses of oxen & horses. I counted over 100 of them. After we got over the saleratus bed we stoped & eat supper & milked the cows. We then went on again till 3 in the morning. We then stoped till it was daylight. Fine cool morning.

May 24. This morning at 9 we reached the Carson river. This is a fine swift stream, good water but no grass where we strike it. The last 10 miles of the desert is very sandy. It is 40 miles long & it is estimated that 2400 cattle & horses have died on it. The last part of this desert rout is covered with the reck of waggons & other property of all kinds. There are some fine carriages standing in good order for rolling on. We all got over without losing an animal. Went up the river 3 miles & found some grass & camped. The men & cattle are glad of rest. We saw 6 graves, 2 at one end & 4 at the other end of the desert.

May 25. Some sick cattle this morning. The Captain thought it best to move on 3 miles. We did so & found a nice green & camped. Some did up a little washing, the water is so soft. The feed is middling. We had a high wind in the afternoon & evening & the wether cool. The company behind rolled up & passt us. They had good luck crossing the desert. One mile from where we left the desert we met a company of packers coming from California. They started the 10th from Sacramento.

May 26. Started at 7. Left the river in 3 miles & turned to the right & went over some stony bluffs, the river in sight some of the way. Found a bad road it being over stony ridges & many hills. We came to the river at noon & camped for the night. The cattle must rest. The grass middling & the banks covered with lofty cotton wood trees. Snakes very thick on this river. Made 12 miles. Passt 2 graves.

May 27. Left a big part of our company behind, some 7 waggons of us starting at 7. Went on a few miles & found good grass in a very pretty place. We had a heavy sand road all day. Went over a flat bottom some 10 miles down the river. We then rose a bluff, turned to the left round a mountain & came down to the river again. Camped. Good grass, wether warm but windy & dusty. Plenty of cotton wood. Made 26 miles.

May 28. Our company passt us last night. We started on this morn & went 5 miles to the river. Here we left it for a short distance & went over a high stony bluff. Came down on the bottom & found a company of gold diggers in these hills. They have been here a week & are making 3 to 5 dollars a day. We all camped here. Made 6 miles. A windy afternoon.

May 29. There are now 3 companies stoped here to prospect for gold. All ready some 200 have packed over from California to prospect. The men from our company all went to work this morning in a canion fronting to the East. Most of them returned without finding any gold. Water is scurce but gold is more so yet. We find we can not cross over the Sere Nevado [Sierra Nevada] mountains till June. We heard that San Francisco nearly burned down this spring, also that times are good there in California. Very high winds this afternoon. We are 25 miles from Carson valley.

May 30. I had a great desire to see the gold diggings so I went out this morning, with my men folks & the rest. The diggings are in a rough rocky canion on the west side of the Carson river. We went up the canion some 3 miles & passt many at work washing gold. They take a pan nearly full of sand & stones & shake it & in the meantime pore off the. water & the stones till they get it all pored off but the gold, this sinks below. I washed a little & got a little gold. Wether pleasant.

May 31. This morning the gold fever raged so high that I went again to dig with the rest but got very little gold. Some are doing well in their mines. One man found a lump worth 19 dollars to day. This encouraged others to try their luck. Some make 5 dollars, others more, & some less. Came home tired to night. Still in good spirits. Very windy afternoons here.

June 1 [Sunday]. There are many packers here from California in these mines. They are called the Chalk hill mines.14 Some are out there working to day but others are resting in their tents & waggons. It is a very poor place to spend a Sabbath. Nothing to see but the river & red mountains towering high above the clouds. At first these were very pleasant to look upon but a repetition of these sights becomes tiresome. The wether pleasant.

June 2. We again went to the canion to find that bewitching ore that is called gold. We had better luck in finding it to day, my husband & I making 16 dollars in fine dust. I have 2 cows which give a fine mess of milk & milk is 15 to 25 cents per quart & butter from 50 to 75 cents per pound. I sell both & this brings in some money, too. We are all anxious to make all we can after so long & so hard a journey. The company is well.

June 3. This morning there was a general turn out to the mines. Some go up the canion as far as 4 or 5 miles while others go up one or 2 miles. In fact it is alive with diggers from the mouth up. There are some 3 companies of French from California here digging with the rest. Some of the young men from our company have started over the Sere Nevado. They were impatient to get over to where gold is more plentifull. We made 10 dollars to day.

June 4. This morning severall of our company rolled on to Carson valley, 25 miles from here. There is plenty of grass there & clover. The greater part of the emigration this spring are recruiting their teams there. We went to the canion again & did very well, made some 8 dollars to day. It is very hard work to dig & wash sand. The water is failing fast. In July the water is all gone from this place.

June 5. This morning Reese, a merchant from Salt Lake City, came up. He had some 16 waggons, mostly loaded with flour, to supply Carson valley. He stoped near our camp. We went to the canion as usual & made about 8 dollars again. This is better than doing nothing as some say we can not cross the mountain pass till July 15. This is a long time to waste. The wether pleasant.

June 6. This morning Reese rolled on to Carson valley & more of our company with him. We went to the diggings & I found a lump of gold worth 5 dollars & 4 in fine gold. The two of us made some 14 dollars to day. But we are beginning to be tired of working in the water & the mud & we think of going on soon. The diggings seem to continue to hold out good in some places. It rained this afternoon.

June 7. I did not feel well to day & therefore did but little. This evening there came a man from Carson valley & said there was a company going to try & dig through the snow & the prospect was we could cross the Sere Nevado in a few days. We therefore made up our minds to go to the valley & recruit our teams & cut hay to last us over. There are 60 miles to go without grass at this season, on acct of snow. The wether pleasant.

June 8. [Sunday]. This is a warm sultry morning & I hardly know how to spend the day. There is no place of worship to go to & no new thing to read, so I spend part of the day in bed & the rest in thinking of home. When awake or asleep I am dreaming of same. The evening I visited the other company & found some of them preparing to leave in the morning.

June 9. This morning we bought us a larg milch cow with the gold we had made here. We paid 55 dollars for her. Then we yoked up & 6 waggons of us rolled on for Carson valley. We found a very rough rocky road for 10 miles. We then crosst Chalk hill, which is white but not high. Went a few miles further & came to the river & camped. Made 12 miles. It rained & thundered a little.

June 10. Started on again & reached Carson valley in the afternoon. “,\;Ve had a very heavy sandy road over a sage plain till we came to the river again. There are many high mountains covered with snow around this valley & these are covered with the tallest of pine & firs. In some places they run down to the valley. These mountains are of a whitish surface creased here & there with a canion creek coming into the valley. We made 10 miles to day. Wether cool but pleasant.

June 11. We have a fine camping ground with plenty of tall grass which the cattle are eagerly trying to dispatch. They eat a while & then lie down to rest. This morning some of our company went to the station 4 miles away to find what the news is of crossing the pass. While they were there the company returned that had been to make a road & reported the going impossible for 3 weeks at least. They said they nearly froze & that it snowed incessantly. A Mr States15 is at our camp to get signers to a petition to Congress for redress of wrongs done to the emigrants by the Mormons in Salt Lake last winter. It was unanimously signed by all the company.

June 12. Wether warm & some rain in the afternoon. Mr. Coffin went to the station & picked out a camping place for the company.

June 14. Some of our company are trading their cattle for mewls & preparing to pack over. Wether pleasant but windy.

June 15. This morning some of our company started over, among them my Coz, D Wilcox. They go by way of the George Town cut off when they have crossed the mts. There are packers coming over from California often. Some bring groceries & liquors to sell to the emigrants. They say times are good there this spring.

June 16. Severall waggons left here this morning but we could not find. .

 

[End of the Diary]

 

1 Smartweed would have been any plant whose leaves give off a sharp, stinging material that causes irritation upon touch.

2 The “french man” was Antoine Robidoux, a well-known trapper. J. S. Holliday, The World Rushed In (New York, 1981), p. 166.

3 Fort Laramie was commanded at the time by Major Winslow F. Sanderson of the Regiment of Mounted Rifles. Robert A. Murray, Fort Laramie (Fort Collins, Colo., 1974), p. 75.

4 One would think that a copperas spring would contain dissolved copper salts. As a matter of fact, the light green dissolved salt is ferrous iron sulphate.

5 There is no other identification of “Coz” (Cousin?). than this one as “D. Wilcox.”

6 So far unidentified.

7 The McCoys are unidentified. It is difficult to identify those who have common surnames without knowing the given name or some other fact.

8 There are Davises galore. This one is not identified.

9 There were many wild Indian tales prevalent along the trail. John D. Unruh, Jr., quotes Madison Moorman, an overlander, as using the term “Madame Rumor” to describe the tales. Most of them were not true, or only partly so. The Plains Across (Urbana, Ill., 1979), p. 175 ff.

10 The route they followed from Salt Lake City to join the California Trail was known variously as the Salt Lake Road or Cutoff, or sometimes as the Deep Creek Cutoff. George R. Stewart, The California Trail (New York, 1962), p. 205.

11 John Grandin Bray traveled from Missouri to California and became a prominent businessman and banker in several locales. Daughters of the Revolution of California, Genealogical Records of the Families of California Pioneers (San Francisco, 1938), typewritten, copy at the Calif. State Lby., Sacramento, VI, p. 935.

12 Unidentified.

13 Could this have been Henry Thomas Paige Comstock, who later discovered the Comsock Lode not far west from where they were at the time of this meeting? George D. Lyman, The Saga of the Comstock Lode (New York, 1949).

14 Later the workings associated with Chalk Mountains or Bluffs would produce wealth from auriferous gravels using the hydraulic method, Erwin G. and Elizabeth K. Gudde. California Gold Camps (Berkeley. 1975). p. 66.

15 There were several persons named States who settled in the San Francisco Bay Area and were mentioned in the Alta California newspaper of San Francisco. William N. States' death was announced in typical brief fashion by the Alta in its Jan. 15. 1875 issue.