. . . when I had been about 5 days in Winter quarters I had larned that there was much sickness in the place and A Desease called the Blackleg which took the people very suddenly and sent them into eternity in A very short time[.] I had had so much sickness for the two years past that I had become allmost afraid to ere [hear] it spoken of so I concluded as the Companies had not yet started out from the Elk Horn where thay whare Organizing that if I could by any means pass without exananation [examination] I whould try my fortune by rooling into the Vallays of the Mountains of Israll [Israel,] alltho but illey prepered for such an undertaking as I had but about three hundred lbs of flour and 2 Bushels of Sheled Corn which was all in the shape of Breadstufs that I was able to muster and there whare 5 of us in famaly[.] now the greatest dificulty that Presented itself was my being able to pass with out being examaned[.] but the Lord directed me through for it was his will that I should go so I endevoured to keep myself posted up on the time of starting and on the day the Companies whare to break Camp I rooled up to the place just after thay had through inspecting each famalys fitout[.] just as I arived on the Oposite bank of the River an old friend of mine came up and called over to me and asked me if I was going along and said thay just lacked one waggon in thare ten and asked me if I whould not like to travil with them[.] I said I whould very much so he turned in and helped me ferry over and told the Captain of the ten that I was an old acquintence of his and that we had Crossed the Sea togather and that I wished to join thair Company and he whould like to have me[.] he said thay had just got through examaning thair waggons[.] he guessed it whould not matter about mine for thay out right away so I was Just in Town as the saing is[.] Loranzo [Lorenzo] Snow one of the Twelve Apostals was the Captain of the Company of one hundrad waggons Called the Pissgay [Pisgah] Company[.] thay whare chiefly poor Saints who had not been able to get as far as winter quarters to winter but had traviled as far as thay could and then stoped and formed A Camp which thay Called Mount Pissgay [Pisgah.] thay whare generly very poorly fitted out and whare put first on the road so that thay might have the better Chance to kill all the Game thay could[.] So I was fortunate in happening into this Company on this account and as I had two good milking Cows which furnished us the milk we wanted[.] we where very light on Breadstuf[.] I was perticulerly fond of milk myself and most of the time allmost intirly fixed upon it so much so that for weeks togather I whould not use more then my three fingers of Bread dayly and A small quantaty of Buffalow and other meat dried[.] being loaded light we traviled quick and frequently had to stop 3 or 4 days at A time while the Other Companys came up Chiefly at rivers where we whould hunt out fords and get across and be ready to help the other Companies over which was generly A pritty long whet [wet] job as there where in all about one thousand waggons[.] when we arived at Green River we had to lay up ten days waiting for Presedent Yo[u]ng to Come up as he wished to go first into Salt Lake Vallay[.] here I had becomn intirly [entirely] barefoot having started from Ioway [Iowa] with one old part wore pare of Boots having half souled them sometime before I started and traviled neer 13 hundrad miles in them waeding all the Streams and some of them many times over in them and for the last two hundrad miles had had to wind them round my feet with strips of Buffalow skin[.] will [while] waiting here I went round the Camp and beged some old Boot tops and scraps of harness lether and bits of any kind that I Could get holed [hold] of then took my axe and cut A Cottonwood stick and made A last and went to work and made me A pare of Shoes which I wore for A year[.] we landed in the Vallay on the 20th of September 1848