Transcript

in the fall of 1858 I Succedid seling my place to one Jacob Crater for Something between 3 an 4 hundred delors [dollars.] aboute this Time 1858 we hade a son bornde on teh [the] 12 of September and died on the 12 of March 1859[.] this Caste Still more gloom over us Sow [so] on the 18 of March 1859 we Startide for Salte [Salt] Lake City with a good wagon and teeme and good autefite [outfit] in general for Clothing and provisions and aboute 300 delors [dollars] in golde to helpe ourselves with going on threw Misouria [Missouri] wit[h]oute anny anusual evente excepte one of the moste terificte [terrific] Storms thate I ever behe[l]de on lande or Sea which took place exactly on the Same Campegrounds that Zions Campe Camped on[,] on fishing river near the olde Babtiste [Baptist] hewed logs Me[e]ting hoal [hall] S[t]ill Stood[.] at thate time I rite of thate Stood thear when Joseph and Zions Campe was thear when the Mabers [mobbers] of Misouria was going to kill them but the Lorde did not saw [so] disring [desiring] ite[.] the Rain falling and razing [raising] the River[.] Saw Saide by men who was thear 30 feete saw thate the mob Couilde [could] note [not] gete to them

on the Nite in 1859 when we Camped on the Same Spote we Certainly hade the moste tubulente Storm thate I the [w]riter ever Saw blowing down our new tente and trees in every direction aroun us[.] our family then only 4 of us[.] My Wife took up our youngeste Boy and I the ardeste [oldest] and by the Sujestion [suggestion] of my Wife we Startide for the olde Babtiste Metings haus [house] pasing threw the faling limbe to the haus perhaps aboute 75 yarde geting thear in Safety and glade and thankfull to mete many of our fellow travelors whoe hade taken refuge in like maner as ourselves in thate Babtiste Church thow [though] note [not] members of thate Secte.

Next morning Storm over[.] ate a late [h]our[.] aboute 10 wagons of us whoo was traveling in company with a Starte[d] for the Nexte Stre [streem], big Fishing Rive[r]—and beholde when we arive at thate Streem we found that ite was up saw [so] hy [high] thate we Coulde note foarde it[.] Saw we hade to onloade our wagons and boate our things across in a Sciff [skiff] and ford our wagons across by raf[t]es[.] Saw we all gote across and finide up and went on Some distance[,] the Same day after we Crossed thete Fishing River[.] from this we traviled on withoute any rimarkibel events tell reachinge Weston on the Misouria River and thean Crossede the River on a good Steen [steam] ferry boate and traviled oute Several Miles beand [beyond] Foarte [Fort] Levensworth [Leavenworth] and Camped for a few days to reste and to lay in Some Surplies [supplies] at Levene City to Compeate [complete] our outefite for the plains

from theence oute threw [through] Kanzes [Kansas] untell we reached the Ninihaw [Nemaha] Streem[.] I thate[thought] one of my teams had the shinny, Saw[so] I Startide oute amongste the Pikes Peake Miners and soon founde a yoake of Oxen and boughte them for $40 and traveled on with the train thate I hade Started with from Pleasante Hill Ill[inois,] traveling on withoute withoute anny remakibel [remarkable] events excepte having one eavening juste after darke a Stampeede of all our Stock excepte whate was horsettide. Shaking the Earth ate our Carellse [corrals] the[y] pased by it thear being aboute 150 or 200 heads Catel [cattle] and horses[.] our men mounting Horses and runing amongste them for a few miles[.] Soon Stoped them note [not] loosing one animel Hors or Cow

from this place we travelld on withoute any remakibel [remarkable] tell we reached South Plat[t]e River[.] thear we Stopede for a Bufilow hunt geting one Buffilow and the many Shote the reter [writer] of this having his horse gete lost from him and he having quite a walke to Campe

Nexte morning we Started on our journey traveling till we Crossed South Pl[at]te in the Eavening and befour darke we had aterabel [a terrible] Storm to S[t]rike us ri[gh]te on the banke of the River[,] the winds blowing Saw harde and my wagon being lite I jumped oute juste in time to Save ite from going over by larieting it note having mutch more than lite to the ground than my hate [hat] blew into the river and went off[.] Securing my wagon I gote backe into my wagon well Satisfied thete I had Saved my Family and Self from being blown over[.] from this pinte [point] I had to go to forte Larime [Laramie] befour I Coulde Gete me any hate [hat.] thear I met with the Honerabel [Honorable] Horis [Horace] Greely whoo was on his way to California having come by Danver [Denver] and going on by the way of Salte [Salt] Lake

from Larimie [Laramie] we reached Sante [Salt] Lake City on the 3 day of September 1859