Transcript

Title: Horace K. Whitney journals, 1843; 1846-1847 Journal, 1847 March-July

Call Number: MS 1616

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Ms

1616

fd 2

V 5

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Diary {ket "Diary" overwrites some other word} of
  H K Whitney
  loaned me by Oct.
  E W. P

   20    

   18 3/4

   17 1/4

      3   

    59
                                                                                                                                                                             [Page 3 of 124]

    Thursday the 11th.  -- Warm spring
weather -- Geo. Billings came down
from the herd to-day- I went for
father to Bro. Clayton's to see 
about a wagon that he and father
are jointly getting repaired to
send with the pioneers-  Bro.
C. thinks of sending one man,
viz: - Thomas Corbett  - and father
expects Orson and myself to go
for him - that is, to go on and
assist in putting in a spring
crop, till the ground &c. that the
families, when the come on, may
have something to move to -
Porter intends going with the pioneers
also Luke Johnson, who came up
to-day from below, 6 miles from the
Point - Went by father's request, and
engaged a pair of boots of Bro Wash-
burn, to be made next week - Forgot

[Page 4 of 124]

to mention that last evening I again
went with father into the store to
make a purchase of some articles -

Shape     Friday  and Saturday, 12th. & 13th. 
Fine days, but nothing worthy of notice
occurred   

       Sunday  the 14th. - Good weather -
By father's request, went and copied
an important document, which took
me the greater part of the day & night

Shape           Monday the 15th. - Pleasant and
warm - The pioneers of the 2d. Division
met this morning at the Council House -
they met to arrange themselves in cos.
of Tens, &c.

       Tuesday the 16th -    Fair weather -
Busy preparing to go with the pioneers
West. by invitation {with a number of the Band} to see a noted
flute player, McCary, by name -
He professes to be a Choctaw Indian.
Geo. Billings came down from the Herd
he is also going with the pioneers. -

[Page 5 of 124]

    Wednesday the 17th. - Beautiful weather.
My boots were finished to-day - went also
and got a coat made and done
several things, preparatory to the journey.
Bro. H. Egan returned to-day from the
country. - Bro. Clayton, to-day,
surrendered a quantity of church property
into father's hands at the store -
Got several things to-day of father
at the store - Bro. Corbett laid in his
supplies, and brought the wagon to
father's yard, that we might lay
in ours also - went to a meeting
of the Band again at {Wm crossed out} {James} Clayton's
this evening - they met to make some
arrangements about a concert to be
held at the Council House to morrow evening.

      Thursday the 18th. - Fine day -
nothing of importance to-day - the
concert came off this evening at the
Council House - I attended a short

[Page 6 of 124]

time, and left about 11 o'clock -
not feeling very well - Bro. Clayton
in consequence of illness, also, did
not attend - There is a disease, called
by the folks here, the  "black-leg ", getting
quite prevalent in the camp - It
commences {"by" crossed out} with a sharp pain in
the arches, swells, and finally the
leg gets almost black, and in
many cases it proves fatal -
There been {part of the previous word overwrote} a great many died, with-
in the last month - It is caused,
in a great measure, by the want of
vegetable food - and having to eat
salt food -

      Friday the 19th. - Fair day -
Wrote for Bishop Miller, a document
addressed to the President and Quorum
of the Twelve, stating the advantages
there would be in our taking a
south-westerly course, in pursuit of
a location for the Saints. -

[Page 7 of 124]

viz: - the mildness of the climate,
the chance that we would have in raising
cotton, corn, sugar-cane, &c. &c. -

    Saturday the 20th - Beautiful weather,
though Somewhat windy - my rifle was
fixed to day by Bro. Pettit, but on examination
was not well done - doing all we can, my-
self and Orson, to get ready to go with
the Pioneers, as Monday next is named
as the intended day for starting -

    Sunday the 21st. - This morning,
a large number of assembled at the Stand
at the sound of a bell, to hear Brigham
give instruction, which was good -
Bro. Kimball called his {private} family together
this evening, and blessed them to the
number of thirty-six - my wife and
myself did not attened, not feeling well
An epistle from Heber C Kimball was
read to his family, containing advice to Wm.
and Daniel (who are to remain here.) con-
cerning bringing up the different families
and children under Bro. K's. charge.

[Page 8 of 124]

      Monday the 22d. - On rising this
morning, discovered that it had snowed con-
siderably during the night - A different ar-
rangement was entered into by the Council to-
day, pertaining to our removal west - it is
now the intention to leave all the families
here {except those who can fit themselves out} for another season,                                                           go on to the mountains and put in a fall                                                                                                           crop, and then some of them return for
their families, so as to bring them up by the
ensuing Spring -

        Tuesday the 23d. - Pleasant overhead, but
muddy under foot - my wife's health quite poor,
yet, - she is afflicted at present with a severe
cough, having taken a hard cold - It was in
contemplation, yesterday and to-day, having a public
meeting at the Stand, but the weather having been
so damp, it was given up - The new arrange-
ments with regard to our removal, will probably
protract our departure, somewhat -

       Wednesday the 24th. - Tolerable fair
weather - nothing of importance to-day -
Brigham Bro. K and father took a ride in
the carriage, for the purpose of loaning some money

[Page 9 of 124]

to make up the deficit in the soldier's                                                                                          money, &c. &c. -

         Thursday the 25th. - Good weather - Meeting
held to day at the Stand - the Mill, which
was commenced some time ago, is now about
finished, or nearly so, so that they are about
ready to grind wheat, corn, &c. -

         Friday the 26th. - Every one, as usual,
making ready to go with the Pioneers, though it
is very uncertain when we shall start. -

      Saturday the 27th. - Warm day, and sultry -                                                                                     J. Redding and myself went about 5 miles {up the river} on
the other side hunting - got nothing except a prairie
chicken, the weather being too fair to shoot geese, duck.
Luke Johnson came up, again, today from below
on Brigham's horse.

          Sunday the 28th. - Quite windy, but still a
very warm day - Meeting held at the Stand,
today - afflicted with a severe cold on my
lungs, also, in my head - my wife tolerably
well to-day - Bro. K's family, {&} father's, all well,
and enjoying good health. -

        Monday the 29th - Fair weather - a number
of the brethren that are going to remain behind,
started for the "Old Fort", ten miles above here.

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for the purpose of putting in a crop up there 
A number of families are also preparing to remove
to that place - A concert was held this evening at the
Council House by the Choctaw Indian, Wm. Chubby, alias                                             McKary, who performed on the flute, saucepan, &c. -

           Tuesday the 30th. - Warm day - it is supposed,
that we will start to-morrow, or next day -- Bro. Kimball
has six waggons fitted out - ready loaded to start
Bro. Corbett, Orson and myself flying round to-day,
to get ready to start. - about ready to grind at the
mill - The names of those going in Bro. K's.
wagons are as follow: - Howard Egan, Heber
P. Kimball -- Wm. King,                  Cloward - Hosea
Cushing, Robert Byard -George Billings, Edson
Whipple - Philo Johnson, Carlos Murray - O. P.
Rockwell, Jackson Redding. -

      Wednesday the 31st. - Fine day - nothing of
importance to-day. -

       Thursday, Friday, & Saturday, 1st., 2d., &
3d. of April - nothing doing except helping of
the Pioneers - the boys commenced fencing, in front of
the houses to-day - Bro. Clayton has concluded not
to send Bro. Corbett, consequently, Orson and myself
have to "go it alone" - It is the intention

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to start most of teams on Monday, who are
to go up the "Elk Horn" river, and there wait
till all shall come up.- Brigham and Brother
K. will not start on Monday, as there is to be a
conference here to commence {ldt word crossed out} [on] Tuesday the 6th inst.

        Sunday the 4th - Fine day- A meeting of
part of father's and Bro. K's. families was called
together at Sarah Ann's room- Present-Heber
C. Kimball, N.K. Whitney, Wm. Kimball, H.
K. Whitney, O.K. Whitney-Vilate Kimball,
Sister Moore, Sarah Ann, Helen M., Mary
Kimball, and mother- eleven persons in all-
We all clothed ourselves, except Orson and
Helen- and father opened the meeting by prayer
we all then stood up in a ring, offered of the
signs of the Priesthood, Bro. K. being mouth-
after sitting some time, listening to good in-
struction from Bro. K. and father, we stood up
again in a ring, father being mouth, and also
offered up the signs of the Priesthood.- Bro. K.
expressed his feelings at length, about cir=
cumstances in his family- He said, "that he just
felt."(and he arose as he spoke and picked
up a stick by the stove) "like knocking

[Page 12 of 124]

the brains out of a person who attemped
to come into his family, and sow discord
among them- that he was aware that persons
were in his own family, would arise and try to
promote discenion, and strive {to} alienate their minds
from him in his absence, but," said he, "persons
that do this, will be cursed, and go to hell,
don't you think so, Bro. Whitney?" father replied
"yes."-- He further observed, "that there was not
that person living in the world, in whom he placed more
confidence, than he did in Bro. Whitney, and that there
was no person living {in the world} who would have so much
influence in his (Bro. K's.)absence, as Bro. Whitney-
and he recommended him to them as a worth, good,
and exemplary man, to counsel them in his absence.
He told his wife Vilate, that if any person should
presume to come into his house and speak against
him or any member of his family while he was gone,
to arise and command them to leave the house in
the name of Heber C. Kimball - Many other things
were said, and {much} good instruction given by our
fathers, and meeting was adjourned till evening
Bro. K. cautioned us not to mention {the} matters to
any one, but {to} meet as silently as possible

[Page 13 of 124]

Agreeably to adjournment, we met this evening,
and conversed till about 9 o'clock-- {ldt crossed out words}
{ldt crossed out word} after we had clothed ourselves, we stood
up in a ring, and offered up the signs of the Priest-
hood, Bro. K. being mouth - afterward, Bro. K. and
father alternately blessed each member of his family,
and the meeting dismissed about 11 o'clock. after
having enjoyed one of the happiest, (and apparently the
buisest)  periods in my existence.

        Monday the 5th.- Rained considerably last
night, accompan'd  by thunder and lightening-quite
wet under feet this morning-cleared off fair this
afternoon-first rain of the season-4 of the 6
wagons belonging to Bro. K. started out this afternoon
and went three miles, as far as haystacks-
the number of boys who remain of Bro. K's. family{s}
are as follow: - viz - Wm. Kimball, George Rhodes,
James Smithers, Jacob Frazier, Peter Hansen and
Daniel Davis.- Father, Jacob Wetherbee and myself
loaded my wagon this afternoon - {ldt crossed out word} meeting
held again this evening at Sarah Ann's room - wife
and myself did not attend - only those who were
not there last evening.

    Tuesday the 6th. - fair day-

[Page 14 of 124]

nothing of particular importance to-day-
except the usual preparations for leaving
Conference held this forenoon at the Stand.

   Wednesday the 7th - Warm day - made the
last grand packing arrangements to-day.-

      Thursday the 8th. - Started with my
wagon. {about 11 A.M.} myself and Orson, and went three miles
to the haystacks, where the rest of the boys
were - Bro. and Sister Kimball went with us.
Brigham and his camp {were} 3 or 4 miles from here
ahead. - Porter came up on horseback, and informed
us that P.P. Pratt had just arrived from England, &
that John Taylor and O. Hyde were soon expected.
Left my wagon, and went back home to spend
the night in the carriage, with Bro. K, Sister K,.
Father and Egan, leaving my wagon in charge of
Orson and John. - Orson, soon however came
back on horseback, and also spent the night.

    Friday the 9th. - Fair weather for trav=
elling - Before starting yesterday, Father Lott
behind Orson and myself, and given us many
good promises, of health, and safety - that
we should return to our friends again, &c., &c.
Bro. K. Father, Brigham, and Dr. Richards

[Page 15 of 124]

started this morning, and went {on} in Bro. K's
carriage. - Orson drove the team, and I rode Bro.
Brigham's horse as far as his camp. where we
arrived about noon - 7 miles from home - went
on 3 miles further and camped by the side of a beautiful
spring, having mad 10 miles {to-night} to-day. - Ozra or gard ???

    Saturday the 10th. - Laiz day as usual.
Father did not at first intend going on
with us, but finally concluded to go to the
"Horn" by Brigham's and Helen's request-
travelled about 15 miles to-day, and camped
on the prairie, near a ravine, where we could get
water, about 6 miles from the "Horn,"-

      Sunday the 11th. - Fair day - travelled on
and arrived at the "Horn" about 2 P.M., and
crossid the river on a raft, drawn on the op=
posite side by cattle with the capistan 
of ropes on either side - Bro. Bullock,
Dr. Richard's clerk, took down the number of
wagons, as they crossed, which amounted to
seventy-two - went about a mile after cross=
ing, down the stream, and encamped for
the night - the wagons formed in a line,
our horses being hitched to stakes, and fed

[Page 16 of 124]

on cotton-wood trees, besides their allowance
of corn - Bro. K told the brethren this morning,
that he hoped that they would not go hunting
or fishing, for if they did so, they should
not be prospered, as this was a day set
apart for the serving of the Lord not for
trivial amusements. - stood on guard to night {the last watch}

    Monday the 12th. - Fair day - Brigham,
Bro. K, father, Porter, Bro. Benson, O. Pratt
G.H. Smith, Dr. Richards, and a number of
others went back to Winter Quarters, - before
starting, it was agreed by the council, that
the remainder of us left behind, should
travel on about 12 miles to the Platte river,
in order to get across an extensive bottom
that intervened, lest it should rain, and
make it bad going - accordingly we trav-
elled on and encamped on the banks of the
Platte. {the} sun {being} about 2 hours high. formed
our wagons in a kind of semi-cirlce under
Stephen Markham's supervion, who has the
cannon in charge - Orson stood guard to-night
the first watch. Bro. M. called the people
together this evening and told them it was

[Page 17 of 124]

the wish of the "Twelve", that some ones
should go ahead and look out {ldt crossed out words}
for a good track to follow - Father Case,
J. Redden, and two others were appointed to
go, or volunteered. - Father thought of return
ing when the rest of the brethren do, in two
or three days. - they want to have him go ahead
with them to the mountains. - but his present busi
ness will hardly admit of that. - Little John
came with him as far as the "Horn", and went back
with the rest of them to-day. -

    Tuesday the 13th. - Fair weather - Busied my=
self in arranging any journal, which had got
somewhat behind {hand???} - Father Case, J. Redden, and the
two others appointed, went out, returned and reported
this evening that they had rode for 20 or 30 miles,
and found a low marsy country in general.

       Wednesday the 14th. - Warm as usual - We are
still lying here inactive, except the taking care of our
horses & cattl, as the Twelve have not yet got back,

Thursday the 15th. - Still fair weather - The "Twelve"
arrived this afternoon having been gone 4 days - with
them came Father, C.L. Whitney, Bro. Little,
(who has just arrived from the east,) {&} Wm. Clayton,
(who is gong on with us,) - father and Lyman will

[Page 18 of 124]

return to-morrow, and we also intend to start
on our journey. - Bro. Little brought several valuable
presents, sent by him, from Colonel Kane to Brigham
Heber, Porter, Father John Smith, and some others -
among other things he send {fishing tackle} {ldt words crossed out} to Don
C. Whitney, my little brother - Father and Lyman
brought Orson and myself 2 letters {(dated Saturday 10 inst.)} on being written
to me by {my} wife. the other from mother, addressed to
her two sons, Pioneers - Orson wrote a letter back
this evening to Maria - and I one to my wife, which
however {I} did not finish this evening, but intend to
early in the morning.-
       Friday the 16th.  - This day gloomy, windy and
cold forgot to mention that Ellen Sanders came back
with Bro. K. when he returned -about 8
o'clock the camp was called together and organizd.
2 captains of 100's, viz: - Stephen Markham
and A.P. Rockwood were appointed, also 5 capts.
of 50's, and 14 capatains of 10's. - There are 143
men and boys on the list of the pioneer company,
2 women, and Lorenzo Young's 2 children, 73
wagons - O.P. Rockwell, has gone back to camp
with Bro. J.C. Little -Bishop Whitney, Lyman
Whitney, Wm. Kimball and J.B. Nobles {ldt crossed out word}
then return from here to Winter Quarters-

[Page 19 of 124]

The following is a list of all the names of                                                                                                this pioneer company. viz: -                                                                                                    1 Wilford Woodruff {1st Ten} {ldt begin 1st column}
2 John S. Fowler
3 Jacob Burnham
4 Orson Pratt
5 Joseph Egbert
6 John M. Freeman
7 Marcus B. Thorpe
8 George A. Smith
9 George Wardle 9 
10 Thomas Grover {2 Ten}                                                                                                                                      11 Ezra T. Benson
12 Barnabas L. Adams
13 Roswell Stevens
14 Amasa Lyman
15 Sterling Driggs
16 Albert Carrington
17 Thomas Bullock
18 George Brown
19 Willard Richards
20 John C. Little {11}                                                                                                                        21 Phineas H. Young {3 Ten}
22 John Y. Green {ldt end 1st column}
23 Thomas Tanner {ldt begin 2nd column}
24 Brigham Young
25 Addison Everett
26 Truman O. Angell
27 Lorenzo Young
28 Bryant Stringham
29 Albert P. Rockwood
30 Joseph S. Schofield {10}
31 Luke Johnson {4th Ten}
32 John Holman
33 Edmund Ellsworth
34 Alvarus Hanks
35 George R. Grant
36 Mellen Atwood
37 Samuel Fox
38 Tunis Rapplyee
39 Harvey Pierce
40 William Dykes
41 Jacob Weilar {11}
42 Stephen H. Goddard {5 Ten}
43 Tarlton Lewis
44 Henry G. Sherwood {ldt end 2nd column

[Page 20 of 124]

45 Zebedee Coltrin {ldt begin 1st column}
46 Sylvester H. Earl
47 John Dixon
48 Samuel H. Marble
49 George Scholes
50 William Henry
51 William A. Empey {10} 
52 Charles Shumway {6th Ten}
53 Andrew Shumway
54 Thomas Woolsey
55 Chancey Loveland
56 Erastus Snow
57 James Craig
58 William Wordsworth
59 William Vance
60 Simeon Howd
61 Seely Owen {10}
62 James Case
63 Artemas Johnson
64 William A. Smoot
65 Franklin B. Dewey
66 William Carter
67 Franklin G. Losee {ldt end of 1st column}
68 Burr Frost {ldt begin 2nd column}
69 Datus Ensign
70 Franklin B. Stewart
71 Monroe Frenk
72 Eric Glines
73 Ozro Eastman {12}
74 Seth Taft
75 Horace Thornton
76 Stephen Kelsey
77 John S. Eldredge
78 Charles D. Burnham
79 Almon M. Williams
80 Rufus Allen
81 Robert T. Thomas
82 James W. Stewart
83 Elijah Newman
84 Levi N. Kendall
85 Francis Boggs
86 David Grant {13}                                                                                                                                                     87 Heber C. Kimball {9th Ten}
88 Howard Egan
89 William A. King
90 Thomas Cloward {ldt end 2nd column}

[Page 21 of 124]

91 Hosea Cushing {ldt begin 1st column}
92 Robert Byard
93 George Billings
94 Edson Whipple
95 Philo Johnson
96 Carlos Murray {10}
97 Appleton M. Harmon {10 Ten}
98 William Clayton
99 Horace K. Whitney
100 Orson K. Whitney
101 Orin Porter Rockwell
102 Nathaniel Thomas Brown
103 Jackson Redden
104 John Pack
105 Francis M. Pomroy
106 Aaron Farr
107 Nathaniel Fairbanks {11}
108 John S. Higbee {11 Ten}
109 John Wheeler
110 Solomon Chamberlain
111 Conrad Klineman
{ldt number covered, 112} Joseph Rooker
{ldt number covered, 113} Perry Fitzgerald {ldt end of 1st column}
114 John H. Tippets {ldt begin 2nd column}
115 James Davenport
116 Henson Walker
117 Benjamin Rolfe {10}
118 Norton Jacobs {12th Ten}
119 Charles A. Harper
120 George Woodward
121 Stephen Markham
122 Lewis Barney
123 George Mills
124 Andrew Gibbons
125 Joseph Hancock
126 John W. Norton {9} 
127 Shadrach Roundy {13th Ten}
128 Hans C. Hanson
129 Levi Jackman
130 Lyman Curtis
131 John Brown
132 Mathew Ivory
133 David Powell
134 Hark Lay {ldt inserted between Lay and Crosby: Blacks}
135 Oscar Crosby {9}                                                                                                                                                                      {ldt crossed out number} {ldt end 2nd column}

[Page 22 of 124]

Text Box136 Joseph Mathews {ldt begin coloumn}
137 Gilbard Summe
138 John Gleason
139 Charles Burke
140 Alexander P. Chessley
141 Rodney Badger
142 Norman Taylor
143 Green Flake (Black) {ldt end column} 
The names of the females in the camp are
Ellens Sanders, Harriet Young,{wife of Lorenzo Young} and Clari{a}ssa 
Young. - the names of the children are
Sabisky {Sobiski} {Sobieski} Young {Lorenzo son} & Perry Decker, {Clariss' brother} making a total
of 148 souls in the pioneer company-
The following are the names of the captains of
50's as appointed at this organization, viz:
Addison Everett, Tarleton Lewis, James Case,
John Pack & Shadrach Roundy. - The capts.                                                                                 of 10's are as follow, viz: - Wilford Woodruff,
Thomas Grover, Phinehas H. Young, Luke Johnson
Stephen H. Goddard, Charles Shumway, Jame {ldt James}
Case, Seth Taft, Heber C. Kimball, Apple {ldt damage to page, Appleton}
M. Harmon, John S. Higbee, Norton Jac {ldt damage to page, Jacobs}
Shadrach Roundy, Joseph Matthews

[Page 23 of 124]

Stephen Markham was appointed captain of
the Guard, and ordered to select out of the camp
50 men for guard, in whom he could plan con=                                                                                fidence, who are to be as a standing guard, to
attend to the wagons each night, 12 of them to
stand at a time, and to have 2 sets each night,
that is, 12 each watch, to stand half the
night. - In cases when the horses and cattle are
tied at some distance from the wagons at night,
an extra guard is to be detailed. the standing
guard not being permitted to leave the immediate
neighborhood of the camp - About 2 P.M. the
camp started, proceeded about 3 miles and en-
campled {in a line} 600 yds from timber, when there is
plenty of cotton-wood, and some rushes - The
country in the vicinity of the "Elk-Horn" is one
of the most beautiful I ever saw - The bluffs
on the east are nicely rolling, and beautifully
lined with timber and some very nice cedar
groves - The "Horn" is a beautiful stream, abot
150 feet wide, and 4 deep, and some few
fish are to be found therein

[Page 24 of 124]

Saturday the 17th. - Cold this morning - wind
northwest - at 9 o'clock we started on our
journey, wind blowing very high, which made
it quite disagreeable as it was a sandy
road - we have travelled a little north of west.
yesterday and to-day went 7 miles and en-
camped near a beautiful grove of cotton-wood
this evening a trader from the Pawnee village
encamped near us - he had one wagon loaded
with buffalo robes - at sunset the bugle
sounded for the people to come together - Pres't
Young said it was necessary to have a military
organization before we left this place - It was moved
and carried that the 2 divisions be formed in
to one regiment under Colonel Markham -
there {ket "was" crossed out} were also 2 Majors appointed, viz: - John
Pack and Shadrach Roundy - Bro. Tanner was
appointed to the command of the Guard - each
capt. {is} to command his own [men] 10, in case of an
attack from the Indians - Bro. K. has taken
Wm. Clayton into his mess - he writes his journal
for him - Ellis Eames went back in con-
sequence of sickness, as he said, but I

[Page 25 of 124]

think he is weak in the faith - Orson and
myself enjoy toleralty good health -

    Sunday the 18th. - This morning high winds
from the south and very cold - To-day being set
apart by the Lord for his people to rest, we do not in-
tend to travel - 3 wagons loaded with furs passed
this morning; also 4 or 5 pack-mules passed a short time
afterward, going to the settlements - Bro. K. wrote a
letter {this morning} to his wife by Ellis Eames - It was so cold
to-day, that it was thought wisdom not to call the
brethren together to meeting - The "Twelve" retired into
the woods to counsel together - about sunset
Pres't Young called the captains together and gave
them the following instruction: - "At 8 o'clock
and 30 minutes the bugle will sound, and all
should retire to their wagons and bow before the Lord
and offer up thanks to Him, before going to bed.
and that all fires should be extinguished at that
time - Also, the bugle will sound at 5 in the
morning, when all should arise and offer up their
thanks to the Lord. and at 7 o'clock be ready to
start, also at the same sound or signal of the
bugle - All the spare hands should walk on the
off side of their respective wagons, with

[Page 26 of 124]

their rifles loaded - The weather cold thro' the day.

    Monday the 19th. - Fair weather this morning calm &
pleasant - at 5 AM. the bugle sounded for all to
rise and pray - and at 7 o'clock the camp was in
motion with orders to travel in two rows or double
file - We passed over a beautiful level prairie, in
sight of the river Platte - our course to day is
mostly in a western direction - We passed a num-
ber of beautiful lakes on our route, between us and
the river - the brethren shot a number of ducks as
we passsed along - at 1 o'clock and 30 minutes we
stopt to feed near a bend in the River, after
travelling 15 miles - while there, O. P. Rockwell, J.
Redden, J C Little & Thomas Brown arrived from
Winter Quarters and brought a number of letters for some
of the brethren. - among them were 1 for Orson {and myself from mother}, and 2 for
me from my wife dated Saturday the 17th - at half
past 2 we started on our journey and went 6 miles
and encamped in a circle, in order to have our horses
and cattle in the center to secure them from the
Indians, the guard being placed on the outside of the
wagons - this evening quite cloudy - wind fresh
from the south - Bro. John Higbee and several
others went down the river 2 miles with the

[Page 27 of 124]

boat and sein to seek a place to fish - af-
ter being absent 2 hours, returned - they only caught
2 fish of any account - Bro. Egan sat with me
this evening in my wagon writing, Orson having gone
out with the fishermen. -

  Tuesday the 20th. Tolerably fair weather this morning -
Blew very hard during last night - the wind in the
south-west this morning - arose this morning as usual,
at 5 o'clock, at the appointed signal - {started at 7 o'clock and 15 min.} and travelled
along the Platte on pretty much the same kind of
land or extensive bottom as we {did yesterday} {ket "have the last 2 days" crossed out}
the soil being sandy - travelled in single file {ket "to" crossed out}
to-day - went 6 miles and crossesd a small stream
called "Shell Creek 1 1/2 or 2 miles from its mouth -
it runs S. E., and empties into the Platte River - went
4 miles further, and stopt at noon to feed on the edge
of a ravine or slough, where there was plenty of {clear} water -
for ourselves and teams - Bro. Markham, John Higbee,
Luke Johnson and others went ahead of us this morning
to seek a fishing place, taking 4 wagons, (including the
"Revenue Cutter", by which name the leather boat is known
in the camp - Started about 1 P. M., travelled on, and
encamped again on the banks of the Platte River
about 4 P. M. oppisite an island, which
abounded in cotton woods, of which we all cut

[Page 28 of 124]

a plentiful supply for our horses to eat during
the night; - having made about 18 miles to-day - The
River Platte is much larger than I had thought, varying
from 1/2 to 1 mile in width {but is not navigable, it being of but little depth} - Soon after our arrival here
this afternoon, the fishermen, who went ahead this morning,
came into camp - they had been about a mile & a half
above here, fishing in a lake of some extent, and had caught
upwards of 200 fish, (mostly Carp), which were distributed,
this evening, among the brethren - Our course of travelling
to-day, has been a little north of west - While on the
route to-day, before we crossed "Shell Creek" bridge
a number of the brethren went to the right about
1 1/2 miles, to see a village or settlement of "prairie 
dogs". When they returned, I saw Bro. {J Matthews} {ket one word crossed out} pass
every wagon with one attached to his saddle - Porter
and others went {also} in pursuit of 3 deer to-day, but
could not get near enough for a shot at them.

   Wednesday the 21st. - Orson and myself arose
punctually at the sound of the bugle this morning
at 5, and returned thanks to the Lord - the wind
blowing strong from the east - rather cloudy, and
has the appearance of rain - most of the ox teams
started at 7 o'clock - and some of the horse
teams, soon after - We belong to Appleton Har-

[Page 29 of 124]

mon's company of 10, and are included in John Pack's co.
of 50 - our wagon travels next to Bro. Pack's - we  started
about 10 minutes before 8 o'clock - (some part of the time to-
day, we travelled in single file and some part in double file)
after going 4 or 5 miles we met a "dozen or so" of the Loup Band
of Pawnee Indians, and among them was their chief, whose
name is "Siskatuk" - he rode a mule; the rest were on foot.
They came forward, and shook hands with us, as we passed. -
Went about 2 miles further when the tine to one of Bro. K's. wagons
came off, and our line of wagons halted, while it was being
repaired, which occupied about 15 minutes - We then proceeded till
we came parallel to the trading house of Mr. Sarpee, on the
south side of the Loup Fork, (a stream which empties into the
Platte about 6 miles below,) leaving it to our left about 1/2 mile
There is {ket "at this time" crossed out} a temporary encampment of the Loup Band of
Pawnees, near the trading house - we went on about a mile
and stopt at 1 P.M., arranging our wagons in a semi-circle, front-
ing, and near to a slough, about 1/2 a mile to the northwest of
the Loup Fork, having, as Father Case said, travelled 12 miles. There
was a guard placed on the outside of the wagons to prevent the horses
and cattle from getting out of the enclosure, as a large number of
Indians had {ket one word crossed out} come from over the river, and went looking about
the camp - Pres't. Young distributed food among them, given by the
brethren for that purpose; also some salt, lead, &c.; notwithstand-
ing, they considered that we had not given them enough - Brother
Shumway told them, (through an interpreter, a yound Indian,) that
we were not like the other "Pale Faces", rich, but that we were
poor, and had been driven from among other white people because
{ket one word crossed out} of {ket one word crossed out} our religion, and that we believed in the "Great Spirit" {like} unto
themselves - he told them if we had more we would cheerfully
give it. Cheffelan, the "Grand Pawnee" chief was there, also
"Siskatuk", the chief of the Loups - The former is quite an aged
man, and to him were all the presents given by President Young
he being the main chief over the whole nation - they appeared to
be fearful that we would kill or drive away their buffalo, as we
passed through the country, though Bro. Shumway told them we
would not - their chiefs brought a letter from Mr. Sarpee, at
the trading house, recommending them {(the chief)} as good men; and certi-
fying {ket one word crossed out} to their good behavior to the white people - it was
addressed to President Young. We all started again about half
past 2 P.M. - soon after it commenced raining, and continued about
2 hours pretty hard - the wind did not blow very hard, till the
rain ceased - towards evening it veered round to the north and it
became quite cool - travelled 8 miles further and encamped on the
banks of the "Loup Fork", near the water's edge, about 6 o'clock P.M.
Soon after our arrival the brethren were called together by Colonel
Markham, who stated that, in consequence of the Indians being
dissatisfied with us, he wished to call out a guad of 50

[Page 30 of 124]

men to guard the camp during the night - Pres't Young moved that
100 men should be called out, one half standing one half  the
night, and the other half, the other half the night, - Colonel Markham
then called upon all those who would volunteer, to step out one
side, which was done, and they were soon arranged in companies
of 10s, with a captain of each - Orson and myself are to stand
the latter part of the night, J. Redden being my captain - It
appears considerably like rain again to night, - the heavens black
and lowering - 1 company of 10s was detailed for a picket guard.

       Thursday the 22d. - Orson and myself arose at 1 A.M. and he
went on {ket "the" crossed out} picquet guard {I was stationed close to the camp.} - Strong north {East} wind and quite cold.
felt rather "dumpish" this morning, both of us - Brigham & Heber both
stood guard the 1st part of the night - Started this morning at 10
minutes to 8, and travelled over the most interesting part of the
country I have yet seen {on the route} - On our right, about 1/2 a mile distant
was a gentle, and continued elevation of ground, while close
to our left, the "Looking Glass" creek, (appropriately named
on account of the transparency of its waters,) flowed gracefully
by. - It was at the mouth of this creek that we encamped last
night - we went on 1 1/2 mile, and forded it, tho' the water
came pretty well {near} up to the wagon bed - travelled on with-
out any particular incidents till we arrived about 12 M., at
another {ket one word crossed out} {stream} called "beaver Creek", where we formed {our wagons} in the
usual manner, and {we} stopt to feed our horses & cattle - It is much
warmer now than it was this morning, altho' the wind is yet quite
strong from the north-east - Beaver Creek runs about south
from this place, tho' I do not know how far it is to the mouth
I deferred to my usual authority, Father Case, {ket "who" crossed out} told me
we had travelled about 10 miles this forenoon. about half past
2 P.M., we started again on our journey - before crossing Bea-
ver Creek, we put a couple of blocks under our wagon bed that
the water might not run in - most of the other wagons did
the same, as it {ket part of one word crossed out} is quite deep - there is a very steep descent
on both sides, and after we had got over, we had to
pull up the hill with a rope, besides the assistance of the
horses, as it was very muddy as well as steep - we
went on and travelled over a beautiful contry till we ar-
rived at the {ket old Pawnee village, crossed out and below written:missionary station 6 miles before the village} which was deserted last                                                                                   fall by the Pawnees, in consequence of  the Sioux making                                                            an {ket "arrangement" crossed out} irruption among them, and burning a
great share of their buildings, in fact there are but few
now standing, {they spared the} {ket except crossed out} then {ket Old crossed out} Missionaries' house - we ar-
rived here, about 1/4 to 6 o'clock P.M., and found most
every convenience for encamping, that heart could desire.
We found a large quantity of corn-stalks, and quite a
large haystack, from which we took a quantity for our
cattle and horses - The {ket "village" crossed out} {station} is beautifully situated on a

[Page 31 of 124]

small eminence, bounded on the south by the Loup Fork,
which is about 1 mile distant, and on the north east and
west, by a range of hills or bluffs, from the height of which
a person can command a view of the whole adjoining country,
up and down the river for miles - There is also a beautiful
murmuring riverlet, {called Plum creek}, which flows by on the north side of the {ket one word crossed out}
{ket one word crossed out} {station}, between it and the bluffs, affording as good water for
drinking as I ever have seen in the country - The white people
sent here by Government, have enclosed quite a large tract of
land, with a good fence, which is now standing - they
being obliged to leave, when the Indians did, Missionaries &c.
all from the appearance of things they left in a hurry, as there
are various implements of husbandry scattered around, viz: -
Ploughs, harrows, {ket one word crossed out}, carts, hayracks, &c. - We formed our
wagons in two lines, each opposite the other -- {ket one word crossed out} {Amasa}, Heber, J
Pack, Bro. Shumway, {&} Porter {ket three words crossed out} preceded us to this
place on horseback, to look out a location for the night. -
We came about 7 miles this afternoon, having made 17 miles to-
day - Our course to-day has been very near west - The
people were called together soon after our arrival to have
some instruction from Pres't. Young - He told them he
did not want any of them to take any thing away from
here, except what they brought with them, not a farthing's
worth, excepting fuel, feed for their horses & cattle, &c. -
He then spoke about a guard being appointed tonight -
he said there should, at the least calculation {be} 20 men on
watch at a time (making 40 in both watches) - he also
warned the brethren about putting all their horses and cattle
into {the} yards, where they could be better guarded, than to be
scattered indiscriminately, one in one place, and another in
another - He further said that if we had an attack from
Indians, it would be from the Sioux, not the Pawnees,
for the latter knew that the former were in the country
and were watching them - that the Sioux when they came
to make an attack, always came down a little ravine
that lies north-east of us - he moreover told them it
was necessary that the cannon should be got out, and
that they should practice the gunnery or cannonading
business a little, (that is, without firing,) which those
appointed to that business did for some time this evening.
The farmer's buildings where they lived are across the creek about
1/4 a mile, - then the Sioux also burned a number of build-
ings, including a blacksmith shop - our wagon is nearly
opposite the Missionaries' building - near this place we
shall probably ford the "Loup Fork", and some of the brethren
are going in the morning in search of a suitable fording
place - It has been quite warm and sultry, the latter part of
           the day.

[Page 32 of 124]

Friday the 23d. - arose this morning at the usual hour
Brigham, Heber, W. Woodruff, Bro. Benson, Amasa Lyman,
Luke Johnson, A. P. Rockwood, James Case, J. Redden,
O. P. Rockwell, Joseph Matthews, and one or two others rode
out this morning on horseback, in search of a suitable ford-
ing place on the Loup Fork - The rest of the brethren remain
here in camp, except a picquet guard who stand some distance
up the ravine spoken of above as being the place through which
the Sioux would most naturally come to make an attack -
The weather remarkably warm and sultry - Orson and myself
unloaded our wagon and re-arranged the things therein {&} filled
our bed tick with hay from the stack - Orson also made
a seat of boards which he found here to put in the fore part of the
wagon to ride - the brethren in the camp mostly busy washing,
repairing their wagons, &c. - The brethren {who} went out in search of a
fording place returned at half past 10 and the people were called
together to learn the result - The orders were for every team to
take 2 or 3 or 4 rails {(in order to make a raft)}, into their wagons and instantly pro-
ceed on the journey - and for every 10 to travel together, horses
and ox-teams - Pres't. Young told the people if they wanted any
iron {&c.} to purchase it of father Case, as he had not been paid {up}
by the Government for the services he had rendered there as a
farmer, while he lived here - We started at 1/2 past 1 PM.
travelled about 2 miles and crossed a small creek, name
unknown, - soon after we descended a small bluff, and
came on to the 1 st shelf of the River bottoms - here
to our right {on the hill} we saw the vestiges of an old Pawnee vil-
lage, burned down by the Sioux, some 4 years ago - we
travelled 2 miles further, and came to the place selected for
the ford, or ferrying place - Bro. Tarleton Lewis had been sent
ahead to dig down the bank to the river, and to make prepara-
tions for building the raft, - however, there was nothing done to-
day about the raft - I, with some others, assisted Bro. Pack,
to take his wagon over, with part of his things. - this was
done by means of a rope attached to the wagon tongue, and
pulled him across, with the assistance of horses - Bro. W.
Woodruff and O. Pratt also got across with their carriages
with some difficulty, the bed of the river being quicksand -
one or two other wagons crossed also, I believe - the remainder of
us went up the hill, a little distance {ket one word crossed out} beyond the ford -
and encamped on the banks of the river, about 1/2 a mile
east of the Pawnee village, which was also burned by
the Sioux last fall, while the former were out hunting
A meeting was held this evening, and Thomas Wolsey was
appointed to see to the building of 2 rafts, one for each
division, to-morrow morning - On either hand so we came
along to-day, we discovered places where there had been patches
of corn raised by the Indians - made 4 miles to-day,

[Page 33 of 124]

travelling a little south of west - a number of the brethren bought
wagon tin, and other iron in different shapes {of father Case}, some of which
they found at the blacksmith shop and some concealed {ket one word crossed out}
{ket one word crossed out} under ground by the whites, that the Indians might not
find it - do not feel very well to-night, in consequence of having {waded}
so much in the water this afternoon to help people over - there is a
very strong current, here, and in fact, almost irresistable. -

Shape     Saturday the 24th. - Very warm day, and but little air
stirring - The brethren commenced crossing the river this forenoon
in different ways, some putting their effects in {the} leather boat
and taking their empty wagons over the river with their horses
and cattle attached -- The horses and cattle were driven back
and forth loose in order to establish a firm track, as it
was discovered that the sand packed together and formed a
more substantial foundation by travelling frequently over it
Stakes were planted at invervals across the stream as a guide
for the crossing - Before going over, Orson & Myself went and took a
view of the ruins of the Pawnee village which was an interesting
sight indeed, and gave me singular feelings. - The village is sit-
utated on the northern bank of, {ket one word crossed out} and immediately fronting the
river - it is irregularly formed, or laid out, {is 1/4 a mile in extent} and comprises up-
wards of 200 lodges, a great share of which have been burnt
down by the Sioux, as already mentioned above - We visited 2
or 3 of those which were standing, and were much struck with
the ingenuity manifested in their formation - The largest one
that we visited is about 45 feet in diameter - Around the inside
are 16 posts, which uphold the fabric, also 8 large ones in the
center, and a man can stand upright in any part of the
room - across the roof are laid transversaly cotton-wood or
willow poles, all verging towards the center - to these straw
is bound with withes, and on the top of this a layer of dirt
a hole being left in the center of the roof through which the
smoke can escape, and the fire being in the center of the
lodge, perpendicular with it - around the inside {the circle} is {ket two words crossed out}
a bench, formed by digging about 2 feet into the ground and is
about 2 feet in diameter Here the braves are accustomed
to sit during their councils or deliberations, with their faces
all turned towards the center - Immediately opposite the entrance
is a seat, large enough to contain one man connected with, and
projecting from the said bench - this is the seat of the chief, and
leaves him in advance of his warriors. also about 2 feet -
The entrance to the lodge is from 8 to 10 feet in length, and
wide enough to admit 4 men abreast - The village is
fortified partially , there being an {ket there are two words above "an"; the first is not deciperable and the second is "of"; it is not clear where these words belong} embankment {of} about 4 feet in
height, on two sides, with a ditch on the outside of that -                          During our visit, we discovered a number of relics portraying
the manners and customs {of the Indians} among which was a number of
buffalo skulls, on the heads of each of which were drawn

[Page 34 of 124]

3 or 4 lines, {perpendiculary} done with a kind of red paint, besides other devices
of different kinds - We also noticed a large number of holes,
some of which were open - they were about 10 feet in depth &
are used for stowing away provisions, &c. These are called "cachets" The orifice is about 2 feet across, and at the bottom the con-
cave is 15 feet {in} diameter. In these we saw {ket "different" is crossed out} vast
quantities of corn which they {have} here stowed away for future use.
Back of the village about a mile on the bluff, is quite a large grain-
yard, which, however, I did not visit for want of time -- We el-
evated our load by putting 3 or 4 nails lengthwise across the box,
and putting our loading on the top thereof - we crossed the river with-
out accident, and reached the opposite shore about 1/2 past 1 P.M.
Aaron Farr assisting us over by putting his horses forward of ours,
and we doing the same by him - All the camp got over by
about 2 o'clock - all the rest of the wagons went on, Aaron Farr
and ourselves remained on the shore, to rearrange our loads, and
allow the bottom of {ket one word crossed out} our wagon box to dry, before we reloaded.
We then went on west about 4 miles up the "Loup Fork", &
found the brethren encamped on the banks thereof in a line, and
fronting a small pond, about 1/4 of a mile from timber - We
got here sun about 1/2 hour high - This morning one of President
Young's horses was discovered to have been choked to death during the
{last} night in consequence of having been hitched to a stake near a deep
pit into which he fell, and was unable to extricate himself -

     Sunday the 25th. - Fair weather; the wind blowing from the
west tolerably fresh - Spent the day chiefly in watching my horses,
which I turned out this morning to graze, the feed being very good here,
as grass has taken a fresh start since the last rain - meeting
held about 6 P.M. near Brigham's wagon - did not attend, H. Farr
and myself being out on the prairie watching the horses - {ket "This" crossed out}
{ket "evening after dark" crossed out} Some arrangements were made about the guard
they being enjoined to watch closely the horses and cattle that they
do not break loose - It was also suggested by Pres't. Young,
that each 10 form a mess of itself, and eat together thereby
saving a great deal of food, that would otherwise be wasted
Another meeting was called this evening in order to make choice
of hunters to hunt buffaloes, &c., when we should arrive where
there was game - There were 7 horsemen chosen, also 9 footmen,
exclusive of 8 of the "Twelve", who were also allowed the privilege
of hunting, when they saw proper - Thomas Wolsey was appointed
captain, he having had considerable experience in hunting buffalo
This morning a number of the brethren discovered through a
spy-glass, on the opposite side of the river what had the ap-
pearance of 3 {white} antelopes grazing - an extra guard was detailed
to night to watch in the place of the regular guard, in order
to give them time to rest, as every man of them has had
to stand guard every other night - the watch consisted of
12 men to-night, 6 being on at a time - Orson stood the

[Page 35 of 124]

1st watch, together with 5 others, including J Redding, who
was captain or foreman of the 1st watch. -

   Monday the 26th. - This morning was awakened at daybreak
by the bugle sounding an alarm for the people to gather to-
gether - It appears that 2 of the guard surprised 2 Indians in
the act of coming into the camp - they were crawling stealthily
along on their hands and knees when they fired at them: im-
mediately 4 more, making 6 in all jumped to their feet and
run as fast as they could for the timber - after sunrise, the
impressions of several moccasin tracks were plainly to be
seen in the sand on the shore of the river - {ket two words crossed out}
The men were all rallied, and a guard kept up till day-
light - Bro. Wolsey, and others, from the shape of the track,
judged it to have been caused by the moccasin of a Sioux.
Fine breeze from the west, this morning - Just after sunrise,
the bugle again sounded, for every 10 to meet {ket "again" crossed out} together in
a family capacity, and have prayers - Bro. J. Pack officiated
for our 10 this morning - Started this morning at 8 o'clock
travlling over a flat and rather wet bottom for about 3 miles,
when we ascended a gentle hill, which brought us on to the
2nd shelf , or table, as it is sometimes called,) of the river bottoms 
The land is much dryer than on the shelf below. -- we went
8 miles, and stopt to feed and water about 1/4 to 12 M. near
a pond of water, 1/2 a mile from the river - nearly opposite to
us, on the other side, were discovered the traces of what had once
been an Indian village, apparently, having been deserted some
time since - near the site of {the} village were some objects
which had the appearance of being graves - started again at
1/2 past 1 P.M., travelled about 6 miles over a beautiful rolling
prairie, without the occurence of any particular incident, and
encamped, sun about an hour high, in a semi-circle on the
banks of a small {ket "creek" crossed out} {stream called Grand Creek}, on the open prairie, there being no
timber in sight, except a few willows standing on the brink
of the stream, which we used for fuel - Our couse to day
has been a little south of west - we are about 1 1/2 mile from
the river, and have made about 14 miles to-day - about sun-
set, 2 horses, belonging to Dr. Richards & J. C. Little, were
discovered to have strayed away from the camp, and
notwithstanding 10 or 12 men went out in pursuit, &
were gone till 11 o'clock at night, they could not be found.
Among those who went were Brigham, Heber, Amasa, Egan
T. Benson, O. P. Rockwell, Joseph Matthews, & 5 or 6
others -- Porter & others discovered some signs of buffalo to-day.

  Tuesday the 27th. - Warm, south wind this morning - at
8 o'clock AM., we again commenced our journey - Before
starting this morning, O. P. Rockwell, Thomas Brown,
Joseph Matthews, & John Eldridge, again went out in
pursuit of the lost horses - we travelled for some distance

[Page 36 of 124]

over a prairie covered with dry grass, but at length emerged on
to ground which had been burned over, and was covered with
[green] grass, affording quite a contrast to that left behind - went
about 12 miles, and stopt at 2 P.M., on the prairie, in a
kind of hollow or flat bottom, surrounded by a gentle rise                               of ground - there was no water here, but the brethren dug 2
or 3 holes in the ground, which, however, did not furnish but
very little for our horses & cattle - there was no timber in sight.
The camp was again in motion about 1/2 past 3 P.M., Just as
we started, John Brown, one of the appointed hunters, Killed
an antelope - travelled 4 miles & encamped at 1/2 past 5 P.M,
in a semi-circle, on the banks of a small {stream called by Brigham Patience creek} {ket "creek" crossed out}, which
supplied us with clear and pure water, though there was no
timber of any kind; notwithstanding we managed to {ket one word crossed out}
cook enough for supper by a small fire which we made from
a little underbrush which we found in the vicinity - Brother
Wolsey has been out hunting to-day, and saw 8 deer some dis-
tance from him, but did not go in pursuit, fearing that
the Indians might cut off his retreat to the camp - Just
before we arrived here, Brigham, Amasa, Col. Markham, and 1 or 2
others, rode back to hurry up the ox-teams - Just after we en-
camped, we had quite a gale of wind, accompanied by thunder
and lightning, and some little rain, which, however, did not last
long - Our course to-day, (according to Professor Pratt,) has been
a little east of south, having travelled about 16 miles - This
evening a horse belonging to Col. Markham, was Shot by the
accidental discharge of a gun - the circumstance was this:
One of the brethren, John Brown, went into the wagon to get
his coat, (not knowing that the gun was there,) and while pull-
ing it out it caught the lock of the gun, and went off pass-
ing through the wagon cover the bullet took effect in the fore
leg of the horse, breaking the bone literally to pieces, and ren-
dering him entirely unfit for future use - this is the 4th horse
that has been lost & killed since Saturday last - Bro. Barney
narrowly escaped being shot at the same time, the ball pass-
ing within one foot of him, as he was going between the wag-
ons - O. P. Rockwell, Thomas Brown, Joseph Matthews, and
John Eldridge returned this evening - they had been back
within 1 1/2 miles of the place where we encamped on Sunday
last - here, as they were riding along, they discovered something
crawling along in the grass at a distance. - supposing it
{ket "was" was crossed out} {to be} a wolf, Porter was about to elevate his piece at it
when the Indian, (for such it was,) arose to his feet, with
a number of others, making 15 in all who had been hi-
ding in the grass - they manifested an intention to take
their horses, pretending to wish to shake hands, asking
for tobacco, &c. - but the "boys", when they showed too
much familiarity, kept them at a respectful dis-

[Page 37 of 124]

tance, telling them to "Pukachu" &c. - One of them came
up to Bro. Matthews, and put out one hand to shake hands
with him, while in the other he held a little behind him, a
bow & arrow already strung for use - Thomas Brown, noticing
this, and also that he kept his eye on the bridle bit of the
horse, rode up to him, and in a very stern manner, told
him "to leave", which he did, going off a little distance - The
Indians, seeing their determination of character, did not
offer to molest them, till they had got some distance,
when they fired 6 shots at them, which happily took no
effect, altho' "the bullets", as Bro. Matthews said, "whistled                          pretty close around their heads" - They convinced themselves
that these Indians had the horses of which they were in pursuit
as they found the place where the horses had been taken; from
the fact that they could see the tracks, and also the traces of
a rope drawn over the ground, that was attached to the
neck of one of the horses - as they fired at them they con-
tinued to retreat gradually towards a dense thicket, and
here, in the opinion of the boys, were the horses concealed.
They recognized two or three of the Indains, as being among those
whom we saw when we stopt at noon on Wednesday last near
Sarpee's trading house, thus leaving no doubt but that they were
Pawnees, & not Sioux - The sky to-night, cloudless and serene
notwithstanding the threatening appearance of the weather at sunset.

    Wednesday the 28th. - Cool, north, wind, and somewhat
cloudy, this morning - we did not start as early as usual,
this morning, some of the teams being pretty well tired out from
yesterday's travel - We crossed the creek {ket "about" crossed out} on which we
encamped about 9 o'clock, after first digging down the banks
and after waiting {1 hour} for the remainder of the teams {ket "1 hour" crossed out} to cross
we started on our journey at 10 A.M., travelled nearly in a S.
direction about 11 miles and stopt to feed about 1/4 past 2
P.M., about 100 yards from the Main Branch of the Platte
River - opposite is an island, beyond which flows the Main
channel {ket "of" crossed out} about the time we started this morning, Brigham
Heber, W. Woodruff, Amasa, & O. P. Rockwell, Thomas Brown                  Joseph Matthews, Thomas Wolsey, John Higbee, Phineas Young,
& Roswell Stevens, (hunters,) went ahead on horseback - at
half past 3 P.M., the camp was again in motion - travelled 4
miles further & reached our place of encampment for the night
at 6 P.M., - We did not encamp immediately, having to wait
for the ox-teams to come up, which were a mile or two back.
{ket one word crossed out} {J.} Brown shot a wolf to day; the only game killed
opposite our camping ground to-night. close is an island, the
main channel flowing beyond a small part of the stream
running this side, as it was when we stopt this noon -
the island is well timbered with cotton wood and about 100
yds. in front of us - after a while the ox teams came up

[Page 38 of 124]

and we all formed our wagons in a circle, about 1/2 past
6 P.M., having made 15 miles to-day. - Our course this after-
noon has been near west - The last 2 or 3 days, as we passed
along, we have discovered numerous buffalo skulls lying on
the prairie - Just as we {ket correction made to word making it unreadable} this evening, the staple in
the center of our neck-yoke broke in two. There being a flaw                             in the iron - Bro. J. Higher discovered the skull of a man
in a partially decayed condition about a 1/2 a mile back -
stood on guard to-night the last watch, from 12 o'clock till daylight.

    Thursday the 29th. - This morning the sun rose bright &
clear - Started this morning at sunrise, before breakfast,
without feeding our horses & cattle, in order to get ahead                                a short distance, where the grass is more luxuriant - went 2 1/2
miles, and stopt at 1/2 past 6 in the road, without forming
into any particular order - here we got breakfast, having taken
wood along for that purpose; also baited our horses, &c.
The place is about 1/2 a mile from the river -- saw an antelope,
as we started this morning -- at 10 minutes past 8, were again
in motion - travelled 3 or 4 miles & crossed a stream called
"Wood Creek" - travelled on over a prairie covered with dry grass,
and stopt at 1 P.M. to feed, near a pond of water, 1/2 a
mile from the river, having come 10 miles - here we again found
green grass for our teams - Started again at 3 P.M., and
travelled alternately over green and dry grass, (the road
being very dusty, and a strong wind from the south which
made it very disagreeable - went about 8 miles and encamped
at sunset near the River, in a circle opposite Grand Island.
This island we saw yesterday for the first time, where we
stopt at noon to feed - It is said to be 75 or 80 miles
in length - as near as we could judge we travelled near a
south-west course to-day - Fresh buffalo tracks were dis-
covered a little way back of here by some of the hunters.
There are plenty of rushes here in the timber - made 18
miles to-day - This evening quite cool. the wind being in the
north - rather cloudy, and misty overhead -

      Friday the 30th - Clear & cold, the wind being in the
north - The wagons in our 10 started at 20 minutes to
8 AM. - went a short distance, and waited 3/4 of an
hour until the remainder of the teams got under weigh.
Travelled over rather an uneven prairie a little south of west
and stopt at 12 M., on the banks of a clear and beautiful
stream, with a gravel bottom. 1/2 a mile from the
river - Some few deer were seen by the hunters today.
The grass here is of the highest and most luxuriant
growth we have yet seen - There have been 3 fresh
buffalo tracks seen to-day by the hunters. - a
number of them are out in pursuit of game - Trav-
elled rather slowly this forenoon, as we accommodate

[Page 39 of 124]

ted ourselves to the pace of the ox-teams, making about
8 miles - at 20 minutes to 2 P.M., we were again in mo-
tion - went 8 miles and encamped on the open prairie, a
mile from the river, and still further from timber, which was
on Grand Island {opposite} - Bro. Pack, J. Redden & myself walked
to the banks of the river for wood, but could find only 2 or 3
little sticks - Pres't Young gave the boys the liberty of
dancing a little this evening, as it was very cold, the
wind being in the north - reached this place about 6 P.M.
& encamped in a circle, having made 16 miles to-day. The
last of the 1st bag of corn for the horses was used this evening.
The wind blew very strong from the north all night.

Saturday the 1st of May - Cold morning; the wind still
in the north - Col. Markham not {being} very well; the command devolved
upon Major John Pack - We were ordered to go in succession
this morning every 10 by itself, with its captain at its head.
Started at 1/2 past 5, went 6 miles and stopt to feed on
the bank of the river, at 10 minutes past 8 A.M.. Some-
time before we arrived here, we saw through a spy-glass 3
buffalo grazing on the top of the bluff to our right some 5
or 6 miles - a {ket six words crossed out} - 2 or 3 foot-
men went out in pursuit, also 3 horsemen, viz: -- Porter,
Thomas Brown, & Luke Johnson -- Just before we arrived
here, saw a large herd some distance in advance of us, also
about 5 or 6 miles to our right - Bro. O. Pratt counted
74 by the aid of his spy-glass - They are now quite vis-
ible from our present stopping-place - The thermometer last night
stood at 41 degrees - Our course this forenoon has been due west
Here, although we found but little wood, we managed to get
breakfast - it is about 50 yds across the channel to Grand
Island at this place. - travelled about 4 miles and crossed a
slough or pond, which puts up from the River about 12 o'clock M.
Soon after Porter, T. Brown, & Luke Johnson returned - they had
wounded, as they supposed mortally, 2 buffaloes, which however
managed to get away from them - about 1 o'clock P.M., we de-
scried, at the distance of 5 or 6 miles, to our right on the
side of the hill, or bluff, 2 or 3 herds of buffaloes grazing:
an immediate halt was made, a band of 10 or 12 horsemen
(hunters) speedily collected, and made arrangements for the chase
They soon got ready and started - Bro. Heber soon followed.
The wagons travelled along slowly, being in full view of the chase
The horsemen took a circuitous route, in order to head the
herd, but were prevented from doing so immediately by an un-
forseen occurence - An antelope passing by near us, was shot
at by one of the brethren, (a footman) but the shot did not take
effect - Directly the animal made towards the bluff, seeing
which, two dogs went off in full chase - The 3 went right
among the buffaloes, which alarmed at the appearance of the dogs

[Page 40 of 124]

began {ket interlineal insertion appears to be crossed out} to move off - Soon after the horsemen made their ap-
pearance upon the brow of the hill - Now commenenced a scene which
defies all description - Every spy-glass that could be found
in the camp was put into immediate requisition, and the
scene became one of intense interest to us {all} as spectators -
as soon as the buffaloes discovered the approach of the hunters,
they increased their speed (which before had been slow,) to a
full gallop, and passing along the side of the hill were fol-
lowed by the hunters in quick and hot pursuit {leaving a cloud of dust in their rear.} - Most of {the hunters} {ket one word crossed out}
by riding in among them, succeeded in getting a fair shot al-
though they did not all prove fatal, a number of the herd ma-
king their escape that were shot through the body - Bro. Heber
rode in among them, made a shot at one and brought him down -
His horse partly alarmed at the discharge of the gun, and partly
at the sight of the animals, suddenly started, and came very
near throwing him - Porter rode up to one, (by the way of experiment) &
shot him full in the forehead, but without making the least
impression the hide of the skull-piece being an inch thick be-
sides being covered with a large mass of coarse matted hair {as we discovered after the animals were brought in}
The chase ceased about 4 P.M., and the hunters came up to
us about 5 P.M., The fruits of the day's work were as follow: -
1 bull, 3 cows, & 6 calves - making 10 buffaloes, - some of the
hunters not yet returned, who went out on foot this morning
5 wagons were immediately {ket three words crossed out} unloaded & sent out to
bring in the game - we moved on, and encamped at half past
6 P.M., near a pond or slough 1/2 a mile from the River, with
which it communicates in times of high water - {made 18 miles today.} we arranged our
wagons, as usual, in a semi-circle form - this place is about
a mile above the head of Grand Island, which is plain to be
seen from here - there is a little scattering timber here, growing on
the banks of the pond, but there is {ket "but" crossed out} very little grass, as it
has been grazed very closely by the buffaloes, and prairie-dogs; we
passed through a town or village of the latter, commencing about
5 miles back, and {ket interlineal insertion appears to be crossed out} as far as we can yet see ahead it con-
tinues - The brethren of the camp are this evening somewhat con-
cerned about Bro. Joseph Hancock - He went out to the bluffs
this morning before breakfast, and has not yet returned - a little
after dark the wagons sent out after the game returned - and
the meat distributed, 1/4 of an animal being given to each 10 -

   Sunday the 2d. - clear and cold - the wind yet in the north {severe past last night.}
During last night {ket "the" crossed out} a buffalo calf was shot in the leg by
one of the guard, and caught by a negro in the camp - it had
probably smelt & followed up the wagons that went out after
the game - It was killed this morning - We were all very glad
to see Bro. Hancock make his appearance this morning, as
we had about given him up, thinking that he had been taken
by the Sioux Indians, {ket "which" crossed out} {who} were supposed to be not a great
way off - He had killed a "buffalo cow, (a small piece of

[Page 41 of 124]

which he brought in with him,) and had sat up all night
to guard it- He saw 3 wolves, (one of which he shot,) which
attracted by the smelling of the meat, came up near his find
Thus, 12 buffaloes were killed {ldt crossed out words} by the hands of inex=
perienced hunters, and it seemed as if the Lord assisted us
by his Almighty hand for there was a number of brethren
who were entirely destitute of meat, &c.-- The remainder of the
meat, this morning, was divided into 14 parcels, one to each 10.
The brethren are principally engaged in cutting halters out of buf=
falo hides, drying or curing their meat, or guarding the cattle
& horses, which are suffered to run loose, one being selected out,
of each 10 for that purpose {ldt crossed out words}
{ldt crossed out words}
{ldt crossed out words}- Brigham, Heber, Amasa,
Bro. Benson, Luke Johnson, O.P. Rockwell, H. Egan,
J. Matthews, John Brown, Phineas Young & Lorenzo Young
started about 1 P.M., in quest of a more suitable
camping-ground, where the grass is more pleny for our
stock - they returned in about 2 {ldt crossed out word} hours, having found
a place - we all started at 1/4 past 4 P.M. - travelled
about 2 miles, & encamped at 5 minutes past 5 P.M. on
the banks of a slough, or pond (which puts up from
the River,) about 400 yds. from the same - Before we
started one or two of the brethren went out with Bro.
Hancock after the buffalo he killed and left behind-
they found it, but it was so mangled by the wolves
that they only got part of it - The air quite chilly
this evening & not much wind stirring - 2 antelope were
killed by the brethren, while they were out after the buffalo.
We found the grass here some what more plenty than
{at} the place we left - it is called buffalo grass being a
mixture of dry & green, & the cattle eat it quite gree
dily - Our wagons are formed, as usual, in a semi=
circle - we brought a little wood along with us, as there
is no timber of any kind about the place - The river at this
point is nearly 2 miles wide. - 

     Monday the 3d. - Somewhat cloudy this morning -
the wind in the south-west - we have noticed for
a day or two back, large fires ahead of us, and sup=
pose it to caused by the Indians. - This morning,
at 1/2 past 9 o'clock, a band of 20 {ldt crossed out words} hunters went
out on foot in pursuit of buffaloes. - It is the intention
to remain in our present encampment to-day - to give
the hunters a chance to kill what game they can-
15 men also started up the river to find out a good
track {ldt crossed out word} for us to pursue when we shall start
again - They started about 10 oclock A.M., and returned
at 2 P.M. - They had been about 12 miles - Bro. Wm.

[Page 42 of 124]

Empy, as they were travelling along, saw a number of antelope
and pursued them - he was about a mile in advance of the re=
mainder of the brethren, when, ascending a hill, he saw in the
valley beneath, bewteen 2 & 300 Indians - He judged from
their appearance & situation, that they are aware of the vicinity of
our camp, and are there awaiting our approach - The others saw
the Indians afterwards - in all probability, they are Sioux - they
{have} set fire to the prairie in almost every direction - Bro. Benson
and E. Snow were at the head of the expedition - as soon as they
came in, orders were given to have all the horses brought in, &
for 20 horsemen to go in pursuit of the hunters, in order to
have them return immediately, peradventure, we might need
their assistance if we should be attacked - a few drops of rain
fell this afternoon - Orson went as one of the horsemen after
the hunters - they started about 3 P.M. - there were 23 in all.
Some of the hunters got in at 1/2 past 4 P.M. - and the last of
them not until dark - They had separated, and hunted in par=
ties, so that only a part of them saw the men who were
sent out after them - The latter came in about sunset.-
The hunting party brought in 3 antelope. the others 2 buf=
falo calves, one of which Orson & John Y. Green killed.-

     Tuesday the 4th. - Warm & pleasant. the wind being in the south-
west - The brethren of the camp were called together this morning
for the purpose of hearing some instruction from Pres't. Young.
It was in substance as follows: - What each member of this
camp should seek for the others' interests as much as if
they belonged to the same family, and this is the way we
have all got to feel, & it is the way the whole world have
got to feel, who are saved in the kingdom of God.-
That in case that the right or left wing of our camp
should be attacked, all the people would huddle to
that particular point, & leave the other parts unguarded, not
understanding the regulations of the camp; therefore every
10, in case of an alarm should gather immediately around
its own captain - That the captain of each 10 should drill                            his company as often as circumstances & opportunity would
permit. - By request of Pres't. Young the rules & regulations
adopted some time ago, were siad by Bro. Bullock, the clerk
of the camp, & a vote take to ascetain if the brethren would
conform to, and abide by the same, which was unanimous
in the affirmatiove. - Col. Markham called for 10 volunteering
to consistute and an additon to the guard, which was
soon made up, making 60 men in all. - We started
about 9 A.M. went a little way & stopt to organize
the companies in the order of travelling for the day-
We started again at 11 A.M., 5 wagons, constituting
each 10, travelling abreast - went about 2 miles, & met a
tracker from Fort Laramie - he had come over the river to

[Page 43 of 124]

see us, having 8 of his companions on the other side - we
all stopt our wagons in the road, and almost {ldt crossed out word} {all the} men in
the camp wrote letters back to their friends to send by the
trader, who gave his name as Charles Barkman -
Orson wrote a few lines to "A.M.W.", which he enclosed
in a letter I wrote to my wife - They were bound to Weston,
{ldt crossed out word} a place near Ft. Leavenworth, & from there this
trader promised to forward the letters to Mr. Sarpee at the
Point, who would in turn forward them to our friends
at Winter Quarters. - I wrote in a great hurry, as the {ldt crossed out word}
trader was very impatient to depart & rejoin his comrades.
The brethren gave him near a bag-full of bread, &c. - & he
sold Bro. Phil Johnson a buffalo robe for 1 1/2 lbs. copper.
When he went back over the river, Bro. Pack, T. Wolsey, &
John Brown accompanied him on horseback to see the capt.
of the company about the transfer of the letters, & also
to make some enquiries about the road - after a detention
of about 1/2 {ldt crossed out word} hour, {forming in a circle} we went on & stopt to feed about 4
P.M. - Then Col. Markham called the companies together to
drill them, which occupied about 1/2 hour - While here Bro.
Pack, Wolsey, & Brown returned & made report of what they
had seen & heard - They (the traders,) advised us to cross
the river here, as there was plenty of grass for our cattle
& innunerable herds of buffalo that side, whereas this side
the river, we would find the prairie all burnt in every
direction, besides, when we get to Fort John we would
be obliged to ferry over the "North Fork" of the Platte River.
A vote was taken whether we should travel this side
or not, which passed in the affirmative, as it was judged
best to make a track of our own, for the brethren
coming on hereafter to follow. - We started again, sun
about an hour high, travel {on single files} till a little after sunset, we
encamped on a running stream, about 1/4 mile from the
river - Bro. K. named it Buffalo creek, from the fact of his
seeing a large herd of buffalo about a mile ahead, just as we
arrived at this place - we have formed our wagons in a semi-
circle on a plot of dry grass about 5 acreas, the rest of                                    the prairies being burnt for miles all around - In fact
to-day we have passed over nothing but burnt prairies {ldt crossed out words}
The wind to day has been chiefly from the south - our
course has been near south west, having come 9 miles
Forgot to mention that the cannon was fired last evening &
this morning, to apprise the Indians that we were prepared
for them, if they should meditate an attack upon us. -

     Wednesday the 5th. - Clear day - strong wind from the south
west - we started this morning about 10 minutes before
7. crossed the creek on which we encamped, & trav-
elled over a flat, marshy bottom, which had been

[Page 44 of 124] 

burnt entirely over, except here & there small patches of
dry grass - about half past 11 we halted to feed, near a kind
of marsh, which furnished us with water for our horses &
cattle, having come 9 miles - after remaining here 1 1/2
hours, we moved on. - We were considerably annoyed
with dust & ashes to-day, as we passed along, the ground
having been recently burned over - Travelled about 5 1/2
miles further, & came to fire - it being immediately in
front of us on our route, & the wind blowing very
strong, it was thought best to go no further; so we
retraced our steps about 1/2 a mile, & encamped in a
circle on the bank of the river, opposite an island, on
which we found a few scattering cotton-wood trees.
It is only 2 or 3 rods across to the island, so we took                                                   our horses over to give them browse - The river at this
place is near 2 miles in width - On the opposite side
is a high range of bluffs, not far from the river, which
appears to be covered with green grass - a large herd of
buffalo was seen there this evening. - We reached
this place & encamped about 5 P.M. - Just before we
arrived, John Brown, Luke Johnson, Amasa Lyman,
& Jack Redden each killed a buffalo calf - Joseph
Matthews killed a buffalo cow - Bro. K., Porter, and
John Higbee, pursued a calf, which they took alive
& brought into camp, uninjured, except being a little
lame in one leg - It was killed this evening.
4 horsemen, & 3 men in the Revenue Cutter started
to bring in the game, which amounted to 6 calves
& 1 cow, including the one captured alive - We
have pursued a due west course to-day, having
come 14 miles {ldt crossed out word}-- The men brought in the game about
sunset - The captains of 10s were called {ldt crossed out word} upon
this evening to {go &} get their share of the meat.-

     Thursday the 6th. - Clear weather {fresh breeze from the south west} the sun arose cloudless                                                                                         & beautiful - we had quite a shower of rain during last
night, which seemed quite providental for us, as it
extinguished the fire {on the prairie} which when we retired to bed,
was brightly burning - We started this morning about
1/2 past 5 oclock, before breakfast, in order to get to a place
where we could find grass for our stock - We went 2 miles
and halted, having come about 1/2 mile beyond the place
were the {ldt crossed out words} prairie was burning last night,
before the rain fell - As we passed along, we saw 3
herds of buffaloes to the right about 3 miles - we also
saw a number of antelope on our route this morning.-
Soon after we saw the antelope, the dogs frightened
a horse [that] {ldt crossed out word} had been laying in the grass, which im=
mediately bounded off at full speed - this is the first

[Page 45 of 124]

one I ever saw, & Pres't Young said it was the first one
he had ever seen in this country - Bro. Roswell Stevens
shot an antelope as he was running, just as we arrived.
We are about 1/4 a mile from the river - we brought our
wood along with us, as there is none near this place - here and got
breakfast  - Moved on again at 1/4 to 9 A.M., went 2 miles
& saw the largest herd of buffaloes we have yet seen on our
route - they were only 3/4 of a mile to the right of us-
here we also saw the first drove of elk, on the journey.-
Porter shot at one of the latter before the wagons came up,
but missed him- Jack Redden shot an antelope as 2
were passing within 15 or 20 rods of our wagons - being headed
& driven towards us from the River by Luke Johnson - they
were going as fast as they could run, one a little behind
the other, - the former was killed instantly, being shot through
near the back-bone - the latter escaped, notwithstanding
several shots were fired at him - halted to feed at 1/4 to 12,
having come 6 miles. - we are now 1/4 of a mile from the River.
Just before we arrived, Luke Johnson caught a small buffalo
calf alive - By the advice of Pres't Young it was set free
This noon Col. Markham called the members of {the} 6th 10 of the
Night Guard together, in order for them to choose a captain
& be {ldt crossed out word} organized, ready to go on duty to-night - trave-
elled near a west course this foremoon - We were in motion
again, about 1 1/2 P.M., saw numerous herds of buffalo on both
sides of the river, & in fact, we were in sight of them all
day. travelled on, at pretty good speed, without much
stopping, and encamped on the banks of the river, opposite
an island, in a circle, about 6 1/2 P.M., - the river here &
all the way we have come to-day, is interspersed with nu=
merous groups of islands, of different sizes - we have                                     made 15 miles to-day. {ldt crossed out words} - Just before
we arrived, 4 buffaloes, whcih had been down to the river to
drink, came directly across our path, 20 or 30 rods ahead
of the formost wagon - still a little further on, we came                                   across one lying down in a ravine, which was so poor it
could not run - it was a cow - we left it uninjured, as
also, all others that we saw to-day, as the orders are,
not to slay any more till permssion is given by the au
thorities of the church - Bro.K., with some others has
been ahead on horseback, & reports that the grass is grazed
close to the ground by the buffalo, thus affording but little
chance for our cattle, &c. - This evening we can scarcely
turn our eyes in any direction on either side of the river,
but that we can see herds of buffalo, & ahead of us a
mile or so the plain is perfectly black with them.
The sun set clear in the west this evening, & it has
every appearance of being fair weather - not much air stirring

[Page 46 of 124]

The river at this place, inclines to the north-west, & our
course this afternoon, has been about west, northwest - at noon
to-day, whilst we halted to feed, Pres't Young lost his new
spy-glass, which came from England - he thinks he lost it
out of his pocket, while himself & Heber C. were out
driving in some of the cattle, that were following off a
herd of buffalo - The river is about a mile in width here-

      Friday the 7th. - The air this morning, keen & cold, the wind
being in the north-west - It was concluded not to start
early this morning, as a number of the teams are pretty
near exhausted with yesterday's travel - Saw an object
moving across the river this morning, which, on examination
with a spy-glass proved to be an elk. - The brethren were
called together this morning to hear some instruction from
Pres't Young: he stated, that he wished that some of the
brethren, who had spare horses would raise one or two to
draw the cannon - that he supposed when they left Winter
Quarters, that it was furnished with a team; but behold,
when they had got out here, a long way from home, the men,
who had given the horses for that purpose, wished to take
them away for their own use - that his own horses were
completely tired out in drawing it, & he thought it no
more than right that others should step forward & assist--
that he wanted a man to drive the team, who would
not permit 8 or 10 men & boys to ride on the cannon, that
being the case, he thought two horses could easily draw it.
Bro Roswell Stevens furnished one for the day, {ldt crossed out words}
{ldt crossed out words} to put along
side of one they already had. - Pres't Young slightly reproved
Bro. Erastus Snow, (who had charge of the cow herd yes-
terday,) for neglect of duty - the latter retorted, in no very meas-
ured terms, when the President proved by a number of indi-
viduals, that he was absent from, when he should have
been present with, the herd - Not withstanding, Erastus
continued to excuse himself; but Pres't Young rebuked him very
sharply, telling him that if he had been only a year or
two in the church, he would be excusable; but, as he had
been for a number of years therein, he ought to know better
than to give way to a rebellious spirit; for he had seen a number of men go to the Devil from the same cause like
unto Warren Parrish & Sylvester Smith, who apostatized at
Kirtland, several years ago - a vote was taken, that
all those who believed Bro. Snow was in the way of his
duty yesterday, should say "Yes" - contrary. "No"-
It was unanimous in the negative, - Pres't Young advised
that, in travelling, every captain should remain with his
company of 10 or, if he left, to appoint a man to act in
his place - that it was his mind that no {more} game should be

[Page 47 of 124]

killed, either antelope, buffalo, or any thing else, "for,"
said he, "my opionion is, that if we do slay when we do
not need, we will need when we cannot slay". - He
further said, that men & boys should not, out of mere bra
vadoe, venture near a herd of buffalo, for some time or
other they would get injured or nearly killed by them,
& then they would begin to take the hint, & wish they had
obeyed counsel, & kept away - I stood guard this morning
on the outside of the camp, to prevent the horses & cattle
from straying away. - We started on our journey, about
11 A.M., travelled in a north-west direction, about 7 miles
& encamped {at 3 P.M.} in a circle on the bank of the river opposite an
island - here we found the grass quite plenty, compared with
that of the place we left to-day - Thomas Brown & Porter went
back this morning to our noon stopping place {of} yesterday in seach
of Pres't Young's spy-glass; they returned this evening having been successfull - As usual, we saw numerous herds of
buffalo to-day on our route - A large number of them coming
from the river whither they had been to drink, crossed our track
this afternoon, not far ahead of the formost wagon - a
young calf, belonging to the number, got tired & laid down in the
grass - Bro. Pomeroy caught it, but let it go again. - They do
not seem to be much frightened at our appearance, as they will
allow us to come within a few rods of them without running
away - In fine, they are getting to be quite troublesome, as our
cattle, smelling them at some distance will follow them off-
The weather continued cold through the day - a few drops
of rain fell this afternoon, after we had arrived at this place.
This evening the companies were all called out for drill exer=
cise, & were inspected by Col. Rockwood, the aide-de-camp
of the Lieut. Gen., as the latter was not present.-

     Saturday the 8th. - Fine, clear day, the sun shining
brightly in the heavens - I stood on guard an hour this
morning, in Orson's place, to prevent the cattle & horses
from straying off - Started at 9 o'clock A.M., trav-
elled along in sight of the Platte River, over rather an
uneven, barren country - seeing on our route, as usual,
numberous herds of buffalo on both sides the River - stopt
at 1 P.M., on the banks thereof to feed & water, leaving
our wagons in the road, as they were arranged in the
order of travelling - the weather this forenoon quite warm &
sultry, there being but little air stirring - Porter shot a
buffalo {ldt crossed out word} heifer just before we stopt - a few minutes
after we arrived here, a number of buffalo came quite
near to our wagons - Amasa Lyman made a shot at
one of them, but it did not take effect - we came                                                      about 7 miles this forenoon - The grass is grazed

[Page 48 of 124]

close to the ground over which we have travelled to day,
& infact it resembled a barn or cow-yard more than
any thing else - Started again at 1/2 past 4, having
been detained here longer than we expected on account of
2 horses straying away among the herd of buffalo - the
brethren who went out in pursuit, had to follow them
2 or 3 miles at full speed, before they could recover them
travelled 4 1/2 miles, & encamped at 6 P.M., in a semi-
circle, on the banks of the river having pursued a N.W.
course most of the day - Bro. Clayton ascertained the
distance we had travelled to-day by counting the revolu-
tions of the hind-wheel of the wagon in which he rode-
this he done by means of driving a nail into one of the                                     spokes, which would strike a saw that projected from
the wagon bed at every revolution of the wheel which he
first ascetained to be 14 feet & 8 inches in circumference.
The plain or bottom, over which we have hitherto been trav-
elling, terminates abruptly in a hight range of bluffs,
about a 1/4 of a mile in advance of our camping-place,                                             & these we have to ascend, before procceding further-
as, according to what Bro. K. says, who has been ahead,
they slope immediately to the water's edge - The ground
{1 1/2 miles ahead} here, like that cover which we have travelled to-day is
nearly void of grass - there being no wood in the
vicinity, we were obliged to use buffalo excrement                                      instead as fuel - slight, cool breeze from the south-east.
2 buffalo calves killed this afternoon - one of them was
shot by Thomas Brown, the other was caught by F.
Pomeroy - nothing else of importance to-day.- 

   Sunday the 9th. - Strong wind from the south-east.
Started at 10 minutes {to} {ldt crossed out word} 8 A.M. travelled over a [rugged] {ldt crossed out word},
sandy road, along under the bluffs, which come near
to the water - went 3 1/2 miles & encamped in a semi-circle
at 10 minutes past 10 A.M. - I took my horses to the island
opposite, & cut down cotton-wood trees for them as the
ground here is also barren of grass - Orson & myself
partially unloaded our wagon, to shake the clothes, &c.
as {ldt crossed out word} {everything} very dusty, & also to get at our clean
clothes, as we have not changed for 2 weeks or more-
The bluffs here are perfect masses of sand, and
have the appearance of having been thrown, or heaped up
by the wind, being of different, & irregular forms & sizes-
a meeting was held this afternoon. - Bro. Amasa Ly-
man, Wilford Woodruff, Ezra T. Benson, {ldt crossed out word} O. Pratt
& Erastus Snow spoke at some length - The latter
made an apology for being so hasty & impetuous in
his expressions on Friday morning last - I did not
attend meeting, having other business - taking care of the horses                                                  &C.                                               

[Page 49 of 124]                                                                        

Pres't. Young, Heber, W. Woodruff, Amasa Lyman,
E.T. Benson, Porter, & a number of others went ahead on
horseback some distance this afternoon to look out a
track, view the face of the country, &c. - They returned
about sunset, & reported it to be pretty much as it
has been for a few days back. - that is quite barren.
This evening Bro. Wm. Clayton planted a guide-post in
the ground, 1/4 of a mile in advance of our camping {ldt crossed out word}
place, which announced the distance from thence to
Winter Quarters, to be 300 miles according to his reck=
oning - by mine it is 297 miles - the wind having veered
round to the north it is quite cool this evening.

      Monday the 10th. - Somewhat cloudy this morning,
though it cleared off towards noon, & became quite warm.
Started at 9 A.M., went about 2 miles & crossed a
small creek, {called by Bro. K. Skunk creek} which flows with considerable rapidity.
Travelled till 12 m., over a sandy, wet bottom, & stopt
to feed, near a kind of marsh, about 1/4 mile from
the River, having come {ldt crossed out word} a few rods {over} {ldt crossed out word} 6 miles-
The grass here is coarse, rank, & dry - Porter & Thomas
Brown went out in pursuit of a wild horse this fore-
noon, & have not yet returned - Bro. Joseph Hancock
killed a fine buffalo heifer just before we arrived at the
creek above mentioned - This morning, before starting,
the Twelve, (or a portion of the,) planted a guide post in
the ground, at the camping-place - on our side of the board
was written the following inscription -"Look in this-
316 miles from Winter Quarters - Camp of Pioneers,
bound Westward - May 10, 1847." - On the other                                                   side was written- "Look in this, & you will find
a letter" - We started again at 2 o'clock P.M.. - "O.P.R."
& Thomas Brown soon after overtook us - they had been
unsuccessful in their pursuit of the wild horse-
they followed him to the bluffs, after ascending which,
they lost sight of him - it is supposed to be one lost
by some band of emigrants, going westward - passed
over pretty much the same kind of ground we did this
forenoon. - travelled {3 3/4} miles & encamped in a semi-
circle on the banks of the river, opposite an island,
which affords abundance of cotton-wood - the grass here                                    has taken quite a start, as it has probably not been
visited by the buffalo for a week or more - Bro. P.
Young & J. Hancock shot a deer near here this evening-
We made {9 3/4} {ldt crossed out word} miles to-day. Bro. Amasa Lyman shot
a hare to-day - We have seen but few buffalo to-day, &
consequently have hopes that the grass will be better after
we get a little farther along - We think that the vast
herds of buffalo, we have been accustomed to see daily

[Page 50 of 124]

for some time back, are gradually retiring to the eastward
On the island opposite I discovered a number of small
pine trees or shrubs - Capt. A. Harmon is busily engaged
in constructing an apparatus by which we can ascer-
tain the number of miles we travel each day - It is to 
be formed by means of {a wheel with 60} cogs {a screw} &c., & is to be attached to
the side of the wagon in which Wm. Clayton rides, com-
municating with the hind wheel of the same - travelled near
a North-west course to-day - The sky this evening serene and
cloudless - there being a slight breeze from the south-east
The place we left this morning, (according to Prof. Pratt,)
is in {ldt crossed out words} latitude north 41 degrees.

       Tuesday the 11th. - Fine, clear morning, the wind being in
the south-east. - I took my horses this morning to a marsh
in the rear of the camp about 1/2 mile, on the margin of
which the grass is quite green & luxuriant. - A number of
the brethren went about 1/4 of a mile, & dug into a
hole, near which one of the bretren had shot at a wolf
this morning: after digging about 15 minutes, they found
4 young wolves, which they brought alive into the camp-
they afterwards killed them. - We are now, from all accounts
not far from the Junction of the North & South Forks of
the Platte River. - The bluffs ahead, on both sides of the river,
judging from their appearance at a distance, make a gradual
curve, & approach each other from the north & south. - At 1/2
past 9 A.M., we recommenced our journey - I saw no buf=
falo to-day, although there were numerous vestiages of their
having been here within a week or two - we travelled in a
north-west direction, as usual, over a sandy, wet bottom
halting on our route {a few minutes} on the banks of the river to water our horses
& cattle, & encamped at 3 P.M., in a circle, about 1/2 a mile be=
yond a small running stream {which we forded,} & about the same distance
from the river, on the banks of which is the nearest timber.
Soon after we arrived, I went back to the creek, to try my luck
at fishing, & returned in about an hour without any success,
as there were but few fish in the stream, and those very small.
Bro. James Davenport, the blacksmith in our Division, put
up his forge this afternoon, near my wagon, in order to {make} {ldt crossed out words}
{ldt crossed out word} some repairs for the brethren. - Orson mended one of our
wagon-bows, which was broken the other day - the air is quite
chilly, the wind being still strong from the south-east - made
8 1/2 miles to day. - The grass here is quite fresh & good, compared
with what it has been where we have lately travelled, & we have
hopes that we will find it still better, as we progess on our
journey - I do not know of any game having been killed to-
day, except a hare that was shot by Bro. Roswell Stevens
this afternoon, near this place, just before we arrived.-

{ket pages are out of order; for the next page go to page 103}

{ket pages are out of order; the preceding page for this page is page 104}

[Page 51 of 124]

dusty and disagreeable, as the wind has continued strong
from the south-east throughout the day  - made 12
miles to-day  - The grass is tolerably good here, especial-
ly near the brink of the bayou above mentioned - Thomas
Brown & Joseph Matthews killed a find buffalo heifer this
afternoon - I have seen no buffalo to-day on the route, & in
fact no live game of any kind. - This evening we are
about 15 miles above the Junction of the 2 Forks. -

   Thursday the 13th. - Cold, gloomy morning, the wind being
in the north-east & the sky overcast with dark heavy
clouds - We started this morning at 9 A.M., travelled along
the river on a sandy bottom (our course being near west)
& stopt to feed, a few rods from the river, near the edge of
a ravine, where the grass was very good - having come
4 miles in 2 hours as we halted at 11 A.M. - I neglected
to mention that 1/2 a mile from last night's place of en-
campment, betweeen that & the bluffs to our right, was an
old deserted Indian encampment - it had the appearance
of their having been here some part of the winter, as well
as the Spring - here they had dressed their buffalo skins,
&c. - a number of the brethren found some very good
moccasons, which they had here cast off & substituted
new ones - from the formation of them we have no doubt
but that it was a Sioux encampment - Bro. Barney Ad-
ams found a buffalo skin that had been partly dressed.-
We were again in motion at 1/2 past 12 M., - very
dusty, disagreeable travelling - at 4 P.M., we reached the
banks of a stream about 30 yds. wide, which running
along under the bluffs in a western direction, makes near
here, an abrupt deviation from its course, & {ket two words crossed out}
runs to the south, emptying into the river about 350 yds.
hence - This we forded after being detained some time on
its banks & encamped at 5 P.M. between it & the river,
having made 6 3/4 miles this afternoon & 10 3/4 during the
day - There we found the grass greener & fresher, than we
have before seen it since we came into the buffalo country
In advance of our camping place to night about a mile is a
high range of bluffs that seem, as well as I can judge at
that distance, to come near the waters' edge - These extend
unbroken, far to the right, in the direction from which
we came to-day - Saw a number of buffalo this afternoon
grazing along the side of the bluff, as we passed along.
Porter, Thos. Brown, & a number of others went out in pursuit.
They returned this evening about the time we encamped - they                       did not kill any of them, as, when they got to them, they
found they were so poor {ket "in flesh" crossed out} that this flesh would
scarcely be fit for use - There is no wood near here -
a number of the brethren brought some with them - those

[Page 52 of 124]

who did not, were obliged to resort to the only resources                                        for fuel, viz: -- "buffalo chips" - The weather has contin-
ued cold & gloomy throughout the day, the wind being yet
strong from the north-east - we have pursued near a
due west course during the whole day. -

     Friday the 14th. - Dark & cloudy - wind in the N. E. -
has considerably the appearance of rain - about 9 A.M.,
it commenced raining, & continued, at intervals, till
about 2 P.M., - This morning early, 11 buffalo were
seen to come down to the river to drink - Bro. John
Higbee made 2 shots at them, but secured none.
About 1/2 past 10 A.M., we started on our journey
soon after which the rain that had ceased a little
while before, poured down with redoubled vigor -
Bros. Brigham, Heber, & some others, as usual, preceded us
on horseback, to look out the route - after travelling 1
mile, we came to a point where the bluffs projected boldly
over the water's edge - These we went round, bearing
gradually to the south of west - after proceeding 6 1/4
miles, we stopt to feed at 20 minutes to 2 P.M. just
as we emerged from a valley with {ket one word crossed out} bluffs on ei-
ther side, & again came in sight of the river - about
a 1 1/2 mile distant - Here we found the grass quite good.
Started again about 3 P.M. - travelled along under the
bluffs, over an uneven, rugged sandy soil, which was
quite hard on our cattle & horses, as the wagon wheels
would sink quite deep into the sand - went about
2 1/4 miles & encamped in the form of the letter "S" about 4 P.M.
there have been 2 buffalo bulls killed to-day - one of
them was shot by Amasa Lyman & Thos. Brown, the
other by Luke Johnson & Eric Glines & Porter - the
latter made the first shot - {ket the remainder of the line, about five words, crossed out}
Neither of them were brought into the camp - the Rev-
enue Cutter started at dusk after one of them 1/2
mile from here, but it being so dark, the men {ket one word crossed out}
concluded to leave the wagon & return to the camp
on foot, on account of the difficulty of travelling through
the sand heaps at night - There were also 3 antelopes
& 1 badger killed to-day, which were brought into the camp.
Thos. Brown, Phinehes Young, & J. Higbee each killed an
antelope, & the latter killed the badger - this evening
we are near 1/2 a mile from the River, which is the most                          water - there is no wood, therefor we are obliged as usual
to burn buffalo chips. - The stream, near the camping place
we left this morning, is the largest tributary of the {ket "Platt" crossed out}
{ket "River" crossed out} North Fork, we have yet seen on our route -
Pres-t. Young named it "North Bluff Fork" -- An alarm

[Page 53 of 124]

was raised by the guard during the night, that there were
Indians in the vicinity of our camp, - a number of the
brethren, myself included, arose & fastened our horses
{to stakes} at the back of the wagons - it proved to be a false
alarm - The weather this evening, still cold & gloomy -
Made 8 3/4 miles to-day - It is reported this evening
by Brigham, Heber, & those who went ahead, that in
a little way from here it is very difficult travlling
on account of the sand banks, which are very deep.

   Saturday the 15th. - Cold {&} stormy - The wind in the
north - Started on our journey at 9 A.M., went about
1/2 a mile, & began to ascend the bluffs - after wind-
ing around among them, alternately ascending and descending
large hills or banks of sand which had here been
drifted by the wind we at length again emerged on
to the bottom about 1/4 of a mile from the river - Here we
stopt to feed at 20 minutes to 11 A.M., having come 2 1/2
miles - Here we found the grass greener & higher than
any place we have yet {seen} - in fact, as we advance, the
better we find it -- It has rained almost incessantly
from the time of our starting till the present. - The
sand through which we travelled this forenoon, is so
very deep, that {even} in descending a hill it was hard
work for the horses to draw the wagons, in some places
the wheels {ket one word crossed out} sinking nearly to the axle-tree. - I saw
Brigham & Heber {this morning} start ahead on foot, before the foremost
wagons, probably to look out the track - at 1/2 past 12 M.
we were again in motion - this afternoon travelled
altogether on the bottom, seeing a number of buffalo on the
bluffs to our right - we had no rain during the re-
mainder of the day, but the weather continued cold &
gloomy, & the north-west blasts howled & swept by us,
more resembling a cold day in winter than one in the
genial month of May - we went about 4 1/2 miles & en-
camped on the bottom in a circle, 1/4 of a mile from the River.
All the wood we could find, we picked upon the bank of
the River, as we passed along - We found plenty of grass
at this place - We have this afternoon pursued a west course
having come 7 miles - The brethren have dug 2 {or 3} wells here
which are quite convenient, saving us the necessity otherwise
of going to the river - a number of the hunters went out
hunting this afternoon - Porter among the rest; who shot a
buffalo, returning to the camp about 10 o'clock at night, {ket "leaving" crossed out"}
the game {with} which the Revenue Cutter {ket remainder of line crossed out}
{ket one word crossed out} brought in -

Sunday the 16th. - Rather cold this morning, the wind
still being in the north. Brigham, Heber, & some others

[Page 54 of 124]

went ahead this morning on horseback to look out
a good track for us to pursue, when we shall start
again - they returned about {1/2 past} 12 {ket "P." crossed out} M. with the report
that about 3 miles ahead, the bluffs terminated abruptly
at the bank of the river, & that we would {ket one word crossed out} be ob-
liged to go around them some 4 miles, before we could
again come to the River bottoms - This afternoon we no-
ticed to the north of the camp {about 1 mile} on the side of the bluffs,
3 buffalo bulls grazing - Bro. Eric Glines made 4 shots
at one of them, all of which hit him - he moved off pretty
fast after the 4th. shot, but soon his head began to
droop, his knees to totter, & then he fell at length upon
the ground - Bro. Wm. Clayton & myself, when we saw
him fall, went up & took a view of him - he was a
very large one - Bro. Luke Johnson & Thomas Grover with
the assistance of some others skinned him - [& took out the entriles] One of the breth-
ren took his brains, which are very good for dressing hides -
While Bro. Clayton & myself were out a meeting was held
at the camp-ground - Bro. Heber, Dr. Richards, Cols. Mark-
ham & Rockwood, I understood were the speakers - The
substance of this instruction given was that if the people
expected to be blessed & prospered, they must obey the
counsel given to them through the servants of God, &
also, that every man should attend meeting at the sound of
the horn - Bro. Heber observed that he would rather the breth-
ren would not hunt on Sundays, unless in case of ne-
cessity, but he did not feel disposed to find fault with
them - The rules & regulations of the camp accepted April
16th. were read & the meeting dismissed - Bro. E.
Glines also killed a female antelope {to-day}, which on {being} opened
{ket one word crossed out} was discovered to contain 2 young ones nearly grown.
Bro. Appleton Harmon finished the piece of mechanism {spoken of above}
to day, by adding one wheel to the apparatus - this he has
been to work at, by odd spells, for some time back - we
are now able to ascertain the distance of each days' travel by referrring
to our "Rodometer" only once at the close of the day, which
previous to this we have been obliged to notice it at the
end of each mile - Porter wounded severly 2 buffalo {this afternoon}, one
of which he shot in the shoulder & broke the bone thereof
so that he was obliged to limp away on 3 legs - The lat-
ter part of to-day's transactions I am now writing by the
light of a candle, presented to me this evening by Bishop
Edson Whipple - It is made of tallow taken out of a buf-
falo shot by Luke Johnson & Eric Glines day before
yeserday - It sends a very clear & beautiful light, &
is not at all inferior to our beef tallow candles in bril-
liancy - This evening it is quite cold & unpleasant -
as the nights usually are -

[Page 55 of 124]

    Monday the 17th. - Cold weather this morning, the wind
being in the north-west - This morning, near Pres't. Young's
wagon a small stake was planted in the ground, with
a board placed breadthwise, on one side of which was
written the following with red chalk: - "North Fork
Letter box, May 16, 1847. 7 1/2 A.M." - On the other
side -- "C. C. Rich & Company, Pioneers." - Bro. Wm.
Clayton also placed one near my wagon, with the fol-
lowing inscription: - "From Winter Quarters, 356 3/4 miles,
May 16, 1847. - From the junction of the Forks of Platte River
41 miles. - N. B. - The last 70 miles have been measured
& it is our intention to measure the whole route as far
as we go - and as often as circumstances will allow,
we shall put up a board with the distance on." -
At 25 minutes past 8 A.M. we started - proceeded about
1 1/2 miles over the bottom & came to a small rivulet, which
runs down from the bluffs & empties into the river a short
distance hence - There we began gradually to ascend the bluffs,
travelling along the brink of the stream a short distance to the
north, & then crossing it - after travelling in a winding cir-
cuitious manner over a a rugged, deep sandy road, we at length
gradually attained the summit of the bluffs, which we here de-
scended abruptly, & once more emerged on to the bottoms, after having
come 4 miles - We then passed along under the edge of the bluffs
which are quite broken with here & there a valley intervening
Passed over 4 small clear rivulets, which apparently having
their sources from springs, flow from the bluffs through the
valleys above mentioned & at length find a termination at the
river about 1/2 a mile hence - We proceeded {2 3/4 miles} over {ket overwritten word not decipherable} wet
quicksand bottom, & stopt to feed {at 20 min. to 12} near several little marshes
or sloughs having made 6 3/4 miles - The ground here is one
entire quicksand marsh between us & the river - one of Pres't.
Young's horses got into the mire, from which he was ex-
tricated with some difficulty by the assistance of a rope -
started again at 2 P.M., went 1/2 mile & crossed a creek
which also runs from the bluffs into the river proceeded a
mile & crossed another creek -- still 1 1/2 mile further &
crossed another - all making their way from the bluffs
to the river; - On the other side the river, opposite this
latter stream, the bluffs come boldly to the water's edge -
From this plain we gradually wended our way, from the
river towards the bulffs - after having come 10 3/4 miles since
morning, we stopt at 4 P.M. to wait for the Revenue Cutter
which is back some distance, bringing up 2 buffalo & an
antelope killed this forenoon - one of the former by John Brown
the other by Luke Johnson & Joseph Hancock - the antelope was
shot by Amasa Lyman. - The Revenue Cutter soon arrived
with its freight, which it deposited here, & went back a

[Page 56 of 124

mile after another buffalo that Porter had killed. - We were
detained here about 1 hour & started on again at 5 P.M. with-
out waiting for the boat - we now bore gradually towards the
River about 2 miles & encamped in a circle about 1/2 a mile
from the same at 6 P.M. - There we found the grass usually
good, but no wood or water - The latter difficulty we soon
remedied by digging into the ground about 4 feet, & found
plenty of the sparkling liquid - Some of us had brought
along a quantity of cedar wood, which we found on the bank
of the river yesterday opposite our last camping place, so
that we managed to cook our suppers without much
trouble - Saw quite a number of buffalo, antelope, and other
small game on our route to-day - we travelled near a west
course {ket "to-day" crossed out} having come 12 3/4 miles. - Opposite our present
place of encampment, on the other side the river, is a bold rugged
shore, the bluffs for some distance up & down the river pro-
jecting over the water's edge. - Throughout this afternoon the
weather has been clear & pleasant without much wind. -

    Tuesday the 18th. - This morning the sun rose cloudless and
beautiful - fair prospect of a warm day. - The captains of
10s. were called together this morning at Pres't. Young's wagon,
to receive some instruction. - It was in substance as
follows: - That when we are already in possession of
plenty of game, we should not kill it needlessly, for it
is a sin in the sight of the Lord to waste flesh. -
That if the horsemen, (hunters,) would go ahead & assist
in seeking out roads, &c., they would be of much more
utility to the camp, than in pursuing every antelope or hare
that crosssed their path. - That there were men among us in
responsible stations, who cared no more for the interests of
this camp than the horses which they rode. - That the spirit of
the hunters, as now manifested, would lead them to kill all
the game within a thousand miles as inconsiderately as the
butcher would apply the knife to the throat of a bullock. -                              Pres't. Young, after some other remarks pertaining to our
duty, dismissed the captains, telling them that they must
teach their men by their good example; for the latter would
do well enough, if the former would only set them the proper
pattern. - Soon after meeting, at 1/4 past 8 A.M., we recom-
menced our journey, Brigham, Heber, & others preceding us on horse-
back - We travelled over a dry sandy road along the banks
of the river for 3 1/4 miles & crossed a creek of considerable
width, near its mouth - this also comes directly from the
bluffs at the north on our right - On the other side the river,
(which is about 1/2 a mile in width at this place,) opposite the
mouth of the creek, we noticed a high range of rocky cliffs,
which advance to the water's edge, & extend up & down the river
for more than 2 miles - On the sides of these, growing in the

[Page 57 of 124]

sandy crevices of the rocks, are immense numbers of small cedar
trees or shrubs. - We proceeded about the same distance, &
stopt to bait at 10 minutes past 11 A.M, - near the river,
which here makes a considerable curve to the north-west, -
which has been our general course in this forenoon - having come
6 1/2 miles. - Soon after we arrived, the sky, which before had
been quite serene, became overcast with clouds, & a few drops
of rain fell accompanied by thunder & lightning. - We again
started at 1 P.M., travelled over the bottom along the river, as
usual, about 3 1/2 miles, & came to a creek which we crossed
near its mouth - proceeded 3/4 of a mile further & crossed an-
other, which runs in a winding direction into the river 1/2 a
mile hence - went a little way farther, & stopt at 2 P.M., to
wait for some of the teams, which are quite a distance behind -
Here we were detained about 1/2 an hour, when we went on &
encamped in a circle at 1/2 past 5 P.M., having come 9 1/4
miles this afternoon, & 15 3/4 miles during the day - We are
encamped this evening on a small creek, the banks of which
we were obliged to dig down before we forded it being about
{ket one word crossed out} a {little distance} {ket one word crossed out} from the river - It rained a little at intervals,
during the afternoon, & this evening it is cold & cloudy,
the wind, which has been from the south west this after
noon, having veered round to the north - we have pur-
sued near a west course this afternoon - I learned this
evening from Bro. Wm. Clayton that the 1st streams we
crossed this morning, opposite the cedar bluffs above men-
tioned, (which are thus called in Capt. Fremont's journal)
was named by Pres't Young, "Rattlesnake Creek." -
from the circumstances of one of those reptiles attempt-
ing to bite Bro. Wolsey near there, which he afterwards
shot. - It is in contemplation by Brigham, Heber, Dr.
Richards, O. Pratt, & others to form a map of the route we
are now travelling, therefore they wish Bro. Clayton &
others keeping journals to be very exact in noting the
relative distances between creeks, bluffs, &c. - A meeting
of the brethren of the camp was called this evening by
Col. Markham, in order to give them some instruction
relative to their various duties. - It was voted & carried
that at the sound of the horn {in the morning} 4 or 5 men, at the discre-
tion of the captain, should go out of each 10 to hunt up
cattle & horses. - Col. Markham said that a great many of
the brethren were so selfish that they would not go out
of their way 10 rods to drive to camp their brother's
cattle or horses, when they could as well do it as not;
thus saving him a great deal of needless labor & travel
It was proposed by Pres't. Young, voted & carried - that
if any man should stop his team in the road, with-
out due cause, thereby detaining the whole camp from

[Page 58 of 124]

proceeding, he {with his team} should be obliged to travel in the rear of
the hindermost wagon the whole day -- Pres't Young also said
that every captain, in travelling should remain with his 10,
or if he was obliged to leave, to be gone 5, 10, or 20 minutes,
or go 20 rods from the wagons, to appoint one to act in his
stead during his absence, who should, in all cases, be
as implicitly obeyed as if he were the captain himself. -
Col. Rockwood observed, that he thought it very ungenteal
for a man to stop his team when crossing a stream {to water them -}
thereby hindering the whole camp, & usurping priviliges
that could not be granted to all. - Pres't. Young pro-
posed that to-morrow morning, we should start on before
breakfast, & travel till we came to a good baiting place
as there is but very little grass where we are now encamped -
which proposition was seconded & carried unanimously -
& this meeting was dismissed. - It is now {ket "about" crossed out} 10
o'clock at night, & I am about to close my book {to retire to rest} after
"summing up" the occurrences of the past day just as it
has commenced a slow drizzly rain, the wind having again
changed from the north to the south. -

    Wednesday the 19th. - Gloomy, cloudy morning, with but
little air stirring. - We started at 5 minutes past 5 AM. -
proceeded 2 3/4 miles & crossed a creek which issuing from
the bluffs, runs into the river 1/4 of a mile hence, forming in
its course through the bottom, a number of ponds or sloughs -
after going on near a 1/4 of a mile, we crossed another - we
proceeded 1/4 of a mile further & stopt to bait & get break-
fast, near the river at 20 minutes past 6 A.M. - having
come 3 1/4 miles - The majority of the wagons have stopt
about a 1/2 a mile back - Soon after we stopt, Heber rode
by on his way back to his wagon - he had been ahead alone
to look out a road over or around the bluffs, which, ahead
a short distance, seem to come to the water's edge - On
the opposite side the river just before we arrived at this place
we again noticed a number of cedar trees growing out of
the bank - We found the grass here but little better than
that we left this morning - it rained a little, soon after
our arrival - Started again at 20 minutes to 9 A.M.,
proceeded 1 1/4 miles, & came to a mountain stream run-
ning from a valley between the bluffs into the river -
after crossing this, we came to the foot of the bluffs, which
we began to ascend - after reaching the summit, we moved
on, winding through a narrow depth, with lofty pyramids {of sand}
towering far above us on either side. - It was with great
{ket one word crossed out} difficulty that our horses came through, the sand being
so deep, that a number of them were stalled in the
passage - at length, we began gradually to descend, {ket one word crossed out}
                                        & reached the bottom again, having

[Page 59 of 124]

come 3/4 of a mile over the bluffs, not a great way from
the foot of which we crossed another small creek, &
stopt to bait at 1/2 past 10 A.M., after going a short
distance beyond it, having come 6 miles. - It yet
continues to rain, & bids fair to last throughout the day.
Started again at 10 minutes to 3 P.M., proceeded 2 miles &
encamped at 4 P.M., in a semi-circle, fronting the river,
having come a west course, making 8 miles to-day -
It rained, with little intermission, till evening. -

ShapeShape    Thursday the 20th. - Cold, cloudy morning, the wind
being in the north-west - {started at 8 A. M.,} proceeded 3/4 of a mile, & crossed
a creek running in a winding direction from the bluffs                                          into the river near here - after travelling 7 miles over
a rather wet bottom, caused by the recent rain & stopt
to feed on the banks of the river at 11 A.M. - On the other
side the river is a high range of bluffs (with vast quan-
tities of cedar trees growing on their sides,) extending for
miles up & down the river. - Immediately opposite us is
an opening in the bluffs, {of 50 rods in width} comprising a vast area of ground
extending back some 4 miles from the river, the extremity
of which, as also the 2 sides, being bounded by a lofty
range of hills - at this place the "Oregon trail" strikes
the North Fork -- winding along through the valley from the
south it comes to the river, when it makes an abrupt
turn to the {ket one word crossed out} {west}, & passes along under the bluffs near the
water's edge - This place is named in Capt. Fremont's journal
"Ash Hollow". {*as there is quite a grove of ash trees growing there -} I ascertained the above intelligence from
John Brown, who with 3 others, viz: - O. Pratt, Amasa
Lyman & Luke Johnson went over in the boat & visited
the spot - The former had been there previous to this train,
while emigrating to the west with a band of brethren last
summer - They brought over with them a branch of the
choke cherry tree, which they found growing; also
a specimen of rock which is something the nature of
soapstone. - We again started at 2 P.M., went 3 1/4
miles & crossed quite a large tributary of the "North
Fork, running from the bluffs at the north into the
river, near where we forded - it is about 6 rods in width {it is named Castle Creek}
We went on 4 3/4 miles further, & encamped at 1/2 past 5
P.M. - in a kind of circle, near to, & opposite a small creek
about 1/4 of a mile from the river. - Here we found the grass
quite good - we picked up plenty of cedar wood for fuel
as we passed along the river banks - we have come 8
miles this afternoon & 15 3/4 during the day - This eve-
ning the weather is still cold & gloomy, the wind
being yet in the north-west. & the sky overcast
with clouds. * This place is 140 miles from Ft. Laramie.

[Page 60 of 124

   Friday the 21st. - Fine, clear morning, the sun shining brightly
above us. - this morning Bro. Wm. Clayton placed a guide post
near my wagon, announcing the following, written with red chalk:
"From Winter Quarters 409 miles - From the junction of
North & South Forks 93 1/4 miles - Cedar Bluffs (south side
the River) 36 1/2 - Ash Hollow (south side the River) 8 -
Camp of Pioneers, May 21. 1847. - According to Fremont,
this place is 132 miles from Fort Laramie. - Wm. Clayton.
N. B. - The Bluffs opposite are named 'Castle Bluffs'." -
According to my computation, we are 406 miles from Winter
Quarters, being 3 miles less than Bro. Clayton's, as in the first
part of our journey, we all depended upon conjecture as to
the distance. - We started at 25 minutes to 8 A.M., & travelled
over a wet bottom in sight of & not a great way from the river
beyond which, as usual, extending to the west as far as the eye
could reach, is a lofty range of broken, rocky cliffs, with room
sufficient between them & the river for quite a wide path, which
is the "Oregon Trail", mentioned above - we proceeded 7 3/4 miles
& stopt to bait at 1/2 past 11 A.M., about 1/2 a mile from the river
Here the grass was quite green & luxuriant, having taken a fresh
start since the recent rains, which have evidently visted
this place in great abundance, as almost every little hollow
in the ground is full of water. - Porter {&} Luke Johnson, as we passed
along this forenoon, discovered through a spy glass on the opposite
side the river, an object which had the appearance of being
a horse - Bro. Clayton also looked at it & supposed it to
be one - This noon, a short time after our arrival, Brigham & Heber
pursued 5 wolves, 1 old one, & 4 young ones - Heber killed 2 of the
latter, 1 with the end of his whip-stock, the other with a bone,
Brigham holding him by the tail the while - the remaining 3
made their escape, taking refuge in their hole - At 1/2 past
2 P.M. we were again in motion - travelled in a N. W.
direction over the bottom 4 3/4 miles & ascended a small
bluff or rise of ground over which we passed 1/4 of a mile
& there once more descended to the bottom - went 2 3/4
miles further, & encamped in a circle {1/2 a mile from the river} at 1/2 past 5 P.M.,
making 7 3/4 this afternoon, & 15 1/2 miles to day - Just
before we arrived at this place, 1 {ket 2 overwritten by 1} Indians {a squaw} (probably
Sioux,) rode within 2 or 300 yards of our wagons -
they came from the direction of the bluffs at the north -
a number of the brethren rode out to them on the
prairie -they remained here till we were encamped.
& then rode off in the direction whence they came - a
man was detailed out of each 10. to go out with a gun
and guard the cattle & horses, in obedience to orders is-
sued by Col. Markham, soon after our arrival. -
Bro. Wm. Clayton came very near treading upon a

[Page 61 of 124]

rattlesnake this afternoon, that lay in the path - one of
the brethren took it on a stick & threw it some distance
from the road, that it might not injure the cattle -
there was one killed yesterday, which I neglected to
mention. - Bro. Heber yesterday saw a very large wolf,
the skin of which, he said he had no doubt, if he
had in the eastern country, he could sell for 10 dollars.
Our general couse to-day has been a little north of west. -
This evening, Orson & myself used the last of our first bag
of flour - During our travel this afternoon, one of the brethren
picked up a large bone in a state of petrifaction -
It was generally believed to belong to some animal of
the mammoth species. - Latitude this noon 41 deg. 24 m. 5 s.

     Saturday the 22d. - Pleasant morning, & warm wind from
the south. - We started at 8 A.M. & travelled near a W.
course, occasionally winding alternately to the bluffs &
river, & came to a stream {called Crab Creek,} about 2 rods in width, with
a quicksand bottom, running from the bluffs at the
north south into the river; this we forded near its
mouth, after coming 5 1/2 miles this morning - Just
after we crossed this creek, we saw a strange dog.
a little way from the road, which we suppose
belongs to the Indians - We proceeded 1 3/4 miles,
& stopt to bait at 1/2 past 11 A.M., 1/2 a mile
from the river, having made 7 1/4 miles. - Nearly
opposite us, on the other side the river, growing on the
summit of the bluffs, is quite a large number of
trees, interspersed here & there, extending a number of
miles up the river. - We found the grass here tolerably
good, being a mixture of dry & green - While we were
here, Porter rode in on horseback & said that from the
summit of a bluff to our right could be seen in the
distance, on the other side of the river, a towering precipice
called "Chimney Rock" - Bro. Clayton took his spy-glass
& went to take a view of it. We started again at 20
minutes to 2 P.M., went 4 1/2 miles over an uneven
bottom, & began to wind around the Bluffs grad-
ually ascending at the same time through a hollow,                                         which the summits of still higher sand cliffs towered
far above our heads - {on other side} after travelling about 2 1/4 miles
we again came to the bottom - While passing along
through this place, we noticed numerous sand beds
which apparently marked the former progress of {ket "a" crosssed out} mighty
rushing torrents descending from the hills above to
the river below - these vary from 3 to 6 rods in width
a number of bones of different animals {in a state of pitufaction} were picked
up this afternoon by the brethren - after reaching the

[Page 62 of 124]

bottom we found the grass quite good, while pre-
vious to this the ground over which we had travelled {this afternoon,}
was a dreary, barren waste - we proceeded & en-
camped in a circle, near the river, at 1/4 to 6 P.M. -
having come 8 1/4 this afternoon, & 15 1/2 miles during the
day, & 83 1/4 miles during the past week - Just as
we arrived at this place it began to rain accompa-
nied by considerable wind, which however did not
last a great while - Our course has been near west,
this afternoon - Wind this evening in the N. E. -
a young gray eagle was taken from its nest in a
cedar tree near the summit of one of the bluffs, Just
before we arrived at this place - George R. Grant
caught it - it measured 46 inches, with its wings
extended, from one extremity to the other. - This evening
soon after our arrival, Bros. Wm. Clayton, John Pack &
myself took a walk to view a high range of broken, de-
tached bluffs that lie to the north-east of us about a mile -
The first one we visited, we had considerable difficulty in
ascending, having to assist each other in reaching the summit
which we at length attained nearly out of breath - From
this point we could command a view of the whole country,
for many miles up & down the river - In the distance to the
south -west, we could distinctly see some 20 miles dis-
tant. Chimney Rock, towering far above the surrounding hills
& valleys - Beneath us {in front} (from the summit to the base of the
cliffs {being} about 60 feet,) the bottom gradually sloped to the
waters edge about 1 mile distant - The scene to us was
truly one of magnificience & grandeur & almost baffles de-
scription - The clay of which {the cliff} {ket "it" crossed out} was formed had become
almost as hard as adamant on the top owing to the cli-
mate, winds, {ket one word crossed out} {the ravages} rains, & old Father Time, while on the sides
hung {lovely} large fragments that had detached themselves from the
crags above, & fallen partly down, & some entirely to the
base - We noticed also large clefts in one of which an
eagle, or some other large bird of prey, had {built} its nest -
at the rear of us were numerous hills & valleys of different
sizes & forms - The whole scene was one of romantic
solitude, & inspired me with singular feelings, & reminded
me forcibly of the descriptions I had read in my boyish
days, of the fortified castles & watch towers of the older
time - We had an opportunity of viewing it to the greatest
advantage, as the setting sun, throwing its lengthening rays
upon hill, dale, mound & river, made the sight inexpress-
ibly grand & solemn - after remaining here a few minutes
we descended at the west end, (the same place where we got
up,) & went to another bluff, 1/4 a mile distant with a valley

[Page 63 of 124]

intervening - This we ascended also the the western side, with
considerable difficulty, & found it still more remarkable than
the other, being still 30 feet higher, making 90 feet from the
summit to the base, & about 200 feet above the level of
the river - The top is somewhat oval in spots, in others rather flat,
& is sufficiently large to admit of 30 persons to sit & dine
with ease. - We observed some very singular plants & shrubs
growing there, that we had never before seen - at the eastern
extremity is quite a large cedar tree, near a foot in diameter -
We plucked some of the former, & also a branch of the latter,
which we brought with us to the camp - We also noticed
the vestiges of horses, which had been here not very long since,
probably owing to some of the Indians having visited the spot
on horseback, which is accessible on the eastern side, by pursuing
a winding direction - after being absent about an hour,
we returned to the camp a little after sunset, having been
much interested {ket one word crossed out} & well paid for our trouble in exploring the {spot}
which was named by Pres't. Young,  "Bluff Ruins." -                                                                                       

Sunday the 23d. - Tolerably pleasant, with a warm
breeze from the south - This morning, Brigham, Heber,
& others went to take a view of the bluffs. & the sur-
rounding scenery. - Bro. Nathaneil Fairbanks, while
on his return from the spot, was bitten on the leg
by a rattlesnake - He managed to walk to the
camp, about a mile, without assistance or remedy.
Bro. Luke Johnson administered to him a dose
of Sobelia, which soon caused him to vomit -
Tobbacco was also applied to the spot bitten, as hands
were laid on him by a {ket one or two words crossed out} number of the brethren,
when he seemed to be much relieved - This was the
first case of the kind I had ever seen. - Bro. F.
told me that he had not been bitten more than 3 minutes
before he felt a pricking sensation in his mouth &
hands. & a kind of numbness (or torpidity) pervading
his whole system - a meeting was held near Pres't.
Young's wagon, commencing at 11 o'clock {A.M.,} {ket rest of the line crossed out}
The horses were all previously brought in & staked in
the circle, & outside near the wagons - Pres't. Young
opened the meeting by prayer, & Bro. Erastus Snow
arose & spoke at some length of the great works we
might accomplish by perserving with faith and
fortitude that which we had sat out to do -
Pres't. Young arose & said that Bro. Snow had
spoken to give him a chance to rest, as he was quite
tired with his trip to the Bluffs - He then proceeded
to give us various instructions with regard to our
duties; said that he was satisfied with the conduct

[Page 64 of 124]

of this camp, but still there was a chance for im-
provement, & he hoped that the brethren would not in-
dulge in profane language, but on the contray, keep
the name of the Lord sacred, & bow before him in
prayer, morning & evening. - Many other things he
said, of interest to us all, & the meeting, after
some others of the brethren had spoken, was dismissed
about 2 P.M. - about 5 P.M. - it began to blow
very hard from the north, & the sky, which had for
some time begun to be overcast with clouds, had con-
siderably the appearance of rain - it commenced to rain
very hard. just before dark, & continued till 1/2 past 9 P.M.
The wind blew a perfect hurricane from the north-west
nearly all night - Bro. Fairbanks is a little better this evening

    Monday the 24th. - Cloudy & cold, the wind still
strong from the north-west - This morning Dr. Richards
put up a small post with a board attached, on one side
of which was written. - "Ancient Bluffs Ruins Post
Office, Pioneers, May 22, 23, 24, 1847." - On the other side -
"456 3/4 miles from Winter Quarters." - On one edge was
written, "Letter Box", on the other, "W. R.",  &   "G. B. C." -
We started at 1/2 past 8 A.M., travelled a N. W. course
over a bottom somewhat wet in places owing to the late
rains, & stopt at 1/4 to 1 P.M., near the river to bait,
having come 10 miles. - On the other side the river, some
miles above, is a large mass of rock, oval in form, sit-
uated on an elevated range of small hills - it has a
solitary appearance indeed, standing some distance from
any peak as high as itself - On the top is a small
object, resembling in form, the cupola of a church steeple.
A short distance to the left of this mass is another, con-
siderably inferior in size, & of an entirely different
appearance, resembling somewhat, in my ideas, an Egyp-
tian pyramid - From this place is also visible in the
distance, Chimney Rock. There were 2 Indians in camp
this noon, though I did not see them - At 3 P. M., we
again started; proceeded 5 1/4 miles & came opposite to
the lone mass of rock, first mentioned above - Just
before this one of my horses, (the mare,) "gave out", & we
stopt to rest - Bro. Pack, Hancock with their wagons &
Captain Tanner with the cannon also stopt - I went ahead
some distance on foot, to get the remainder of the wag-
ons to halt, as we had for some time noticed a party
of Indians travelling up the river on the opposite shore
The camp moved 1 1/4 mile further, & encamped in a circle
1/2 a mile from the River, at 6 P.M. having made 6 1/2
miles this afternoon, & 16 1/2 during the day. - Orson
pursued near a W. course this afternoon. 

[Page 65 of 124]

drove up with our wagon, soon after the rest of the wag-
ons were arranged in a circle. - The Indians when they
saw us encamping, halted a few minutes on the opposite
banks of the river, as if in consultation, & then one
by one began to cross the river in single file - after all
getting over, (the number being 35, men, women, & children,)
they went up the river a piece and halted - Pres't. Young
commissioned Col. Rockwood & Father Sherwood to go
& see them, to converse with them where they were
& find out if they had any thing they wished to
exchange in trade -The two soon returned, accompa-
nied by 2 chiefs, & 2 other Indians - they had a U.S.
flag with them - they went through the exercise of
cannonading in their presence, which pleased them
very much - A number of others soon after came into
the camp - The horses were all laryated out, & a guard
placed to watch them till 10 o'clock, as a number
of them had given out on account of to-day's travel.
The Indians are encamped with 1/4 of a mile of us, &
the old chief with his squaw are to remain near our
camp, in a tent provided for them - There was
considerable provision of different kinds given to them
by the brethren, as that was what they seemed most
to stand in need of - I have heard of no trades af-
fected with them, except one, & that was John Higbee's
exchanging horses with one of them - Orson is on guard
this evening, watching the horses, as we have ours laryated
out with the rest. - Tolerable cool air this evening. -

    Tuesday the 25th. - Beautiful morning; the sun rose
bright & clear - fair prospect of a warm day {though a severe frost last night -} - we
started at 10 minutes past 8 A.M., - about the same
time the Indains, who had been round the camp during
the morning, recrossed the river - there were some very
fine looking men & women among them, & they were
all apparently arrayed in their best garments; as if
for a visit - a number of the brethren made trades                                           with them. exchanging meal for buffalo robes, &c. -
One of them followed us a little way, & exchanged
his horse for a mule with Col. Markham - We passed
over a small ridge & came to the bottom near the
river, where we stopt to feed at 1/2 past 9 A.M., -
having come 2 1/2 miles - We found the grass here quite
good - the reason of our halting so early, as a number of
horses were almost spent with yesterday's travel -
at 11 A.M. we were again in motion - travelled over
a flat, wet bottom, very little elevated above the banks
of the river - went 4 3/4 miles & again halted to bait

[Page 66 of 124]

at 1/2 past 1 P.M. near a slough or marsh about 1/2
a mile from the river - on the opposite side the river
is a high broken range of bluffs, & apparently not more
than 4 miles distant {to the S. W.} we can distinguish Chimney Rock,
which appears from here similar to a church steeple - this
is encompassed on all sides by bluffs & crags of different
sizes & {ket "appearances" crosssed out} {forms,} presenting {ket "an" crossed out} a beautiful & grand
appearance - we have pursued near a W. course, having
come 7 1/4 miles - few minutes after we had halted Porter
rode up with an antelope before him on his horse, which
he had killed the forenoon - We moved on again at 3
P.M., travelled {W. 4 3/4 miles} over an uneven, wet soil, & encamped in a
circle at 10 minutes to 6 P.M., 1 1/2 or 2 miles from the river
having come 12 miles to-day - Here the ground was quite
wet & marshy, as it is almost as low as the river itself,
although the grass is very good in places - The weather
throughout the day has been warm & sultry, - The
brethren dug a number of wells each about 4 feet deep.
soon after our arrival at this place. - Bro. Fairbanks
is slowly recovering, though his leg is yet considerably
swollen - The Indian dog, spoken of as being first seen
on Saturday morning, still continues to follow the camp,
& is getting quite domesticated as I saw him lying near
the wagons this evening - Latitude this noon, 41° - 41 m. - 46 s.

      Wednesday the 26th. - Pleasant morning, & cool breeze from
the north-west - We continued our journey at 8 A.M.
travelling W. N. W. as usual, over a low, wet sandy bottom
& stopt at 12 M. to bait, about 1 mile from the river
having come 7 1/4 miles - Here we found a beautiful
plot of green grass, {the discovery of} which we hailed with considerable
satisfaction - Bro. O. Pratt took an observation last
evening to ascertain the distance between our camp
& Chimney Rock - He also took one this forenoon, when we
got opposite to the north of it; though I believe, as yet
he has made the calculation of {the distance for} neither - We are now
able to take a more conspicuous view of Chimney Rock
than we were yesterday - It is situated on a small em-
enince, gradually sloping to the water's edge - It is formed
of clay, {&} not of rock as I supposed, & the base or foundation,
on which stands the object appearing like a Church steeple
spoken of above, considerably resembles {ket one word crossed out} in shape
a volcano - The bluffs & crags in the background are
much loftier than itself - We again started at 25 m.
past 2 P.M., proceeded about the same direction we
did this forenoon, over a wet bottom abounding with green
grass - travelled 5 miles & encamped {at 5 P.M.,} on the banks of
the river, opposite a high broken range of bluffs

[Page 67 of 124]

& crags of different shapes & sizes, resembling in majestic
grandeur those we have lately passed - Latitude this noon, -
41 deg., 45 min. 58 sec. - I learned this evening that Professor
O. Pratt, in his trig{o}nometrical observation at 12 M. as-
certained the distance from Chimney Rock, from the nearest
point at which we passed it {to the north} to be 3 miles - the al-
titude of the same 260 feet - The sky this evening is
somewhat overcast with clouds, the wind being about W.
There were 4 antelope killed to-day by the following
hunters: - John Brown, 1 - Joseph Hancock 1 - Porter - 2 -
By request of Bro. Heber, I took a walk with him this
evening out on the prairie near half a mile - Here we
knelt down, & each prayed alternately for our friends
& relations, whom we have left behind in Winter Quarters,
& also for one another, & the Saints at large - after
an absence of about 1/2 hour we returned to the camp.
Bro. Heber has been all day riding in advance of the camp
searching out roads &c. - He attempted to find one over
the bluffs, {in} which he said had he succeeded, we would
have been 3 miles ahead of our present camping place
as that route would be much nearer than the one we pursued,
had it been practicable - It rained a little at sunset. -

                                 

The above is a representation of Chimney Rock.
as described above, {the summit of which was} distinctly seen by {us} at the distance
of 42 miles as we were approaching it from the east.

     Thursday the 27th. - Warm & pleasant - We started
at 8 A.M., & proceeded over a level bottom in {a} W. N. W.
direction, & stopt at 1/4 to 12 M., {on the banks of the river} having made 8 miles.
The ground over which we have travelled this forenoon, ab-
ounded in green grass. - Porter killed 2 antelope this
forenoon {Amasa 1.} which were brought into camp soon after
our arrival - To the W. S. W. of our present stopping place
there is another {ket another "is another" crossed out} high range of broken detached
bluffs, at the extreme right of which is a large, high
mass of crags, thrown together as if by some convulsion
of nature, resembling in form the old battlemented
castles we read of, of the olden time. - We were again
in motion at 2 P.M., took the same course we did

[Page 68 of 124]

this forenoon, travelling over a tolerably dry bottom.
& passed the craggy precipice referred to above, which
coming boldly to the water's edge, rears its lofty summit
near 300 feet above the same - The top & sides thereof
abound in numerous cedar trees & shrubs - We
encamped to the N. W. of it some 2 or 3 miles, on
the banks of the river, forming in a circle as usual -
at 1/4 to 5 P.M., having come 5 3/4 miles this afternoon &
13 3/4 during the day - There we found the grass plenty
& luxuriant, as it has been on the ground over which
we have travelled to-day. - At this place the river makes
an abrupt turn in its course, to the north, so that our
camp, this evening, is situated in a bend of the same.
An antelope was shot this afternoon by John W. Norton,
which, on opening, was discovered to contain 2 young ones.
The sky this evening is considerably overcast with clouds,
which have every appearance of rain, the wind being N. E.
The last bluff spoken of is the termination at the
river of a range of them called "Scott's Bluffs". -
Latitude at this point, 41° - 50 M. - 52 s. - I learned
this evening that at the place where we encamped
last night, the width of the river is 792 yds,
as ascertained by an observation of Professor O. Pratt.
Rained a little this evening about dusk. -

[Page 69 of 124]

     Friday the 28th. - cloudy & misty this morning,
with a slight, drizzly rain. - The brethren were called
together soon after breakfast & a vote taken whether
we should immediately proceed on our journey, or
wait till the rain should cease - the former alternative
was adopted. - We started at 11 A.M., although it
had not cleared off, proceeded 1 mile & came to the
mouth of a small clear rivulet {in some places 2 rods in width} with a gravel
bottom, flowing from the N.N.W., which course we
pursued about 4 miles & came to the source of it
which is a spring - Brigham, Heber, & some others
including myself walked for some distance al-
ong its banks. - we observed numerous schools of
fish in it of different kinds - there is a number
of beaver dams across it, & also houses that these
animals have built on its brink. - We also noticed
the vestiges of camp fires, probably made by Indians
We had been gradually nearing the bluffs; we now how-
ever, commenced travelling towards the river, going a little
south of west, over a bottom, covered with alternate
patches of green & dry grass. - We encamped on the
banks of the river, in a circle at 1/4 to 5 P.M., having
come 11 1/2 miles to-day - The grass here is not at good
as usual - The weather cold & cloudy this evening, the
wind being in the N. E. -

   Saturday the 29th. - The clouds dark & lowring with
a drizzly rain, similar to that of yesterday morning. -
The horn was blown about 1/2 past 10 A.M. for the
brethren to get up their cattle, & horses, as it had some
what the appearance of clearing off fair - Some of
them had wandered a considerable distance, so that as
much as an hour elapsed before they could be bro't
to the camp, & put before the wagons - after which the
brethren in the camp were called together, & Pres't Young
arose and first told the captains of 10s. to call their
respective companies around them, which was done,
& Thomas Bullock, the clerk proceeded to call the roll. -
and found 2 absent, who had gone out hunting this morning.
viz. - Joseph Hancock & Andrew Gibbons. - The President
then said, - "I will take this for my text: I shall revolt
at the idea of going with this company any further with
the spirit that they now possess. From this I shall make
my discourse." - He then proceeded to say that the practice
some of the members of this camp had indulged in for
a few days past, would ultimately lead them to ruin
& death, vis: - {ket "card" crossed out} playing at cards, dominoes, checkers,
dancing, levity, &c. That these recreations were no

[Page 70 of 124]

harm within & of themselves, if the people just knew
when to stop & break off immediately, & when they
retired to their beds, not forget to bow before the
Lord & thank him for the privilege of dancing -
That by & by, they would get to playing at cards,
one would accuse the other of cheating, & then the
next thing would be a knock down, & from there
would draw weapons on each other, & shed blood -
Such, he said, were the inevitable consequences of
such a course, if not checked in the bud. - That
the Devil knew better than to go so far as to make
a man deny the Priesthood in this camp, but
was content to make him commit these lesser of-
fences that would make him forget God, & finally
lead to that result. - He then called for a division
of the camp, that is, for the Quorums of the Twelve,
High Priests, Seventies, elders & members, to form in
a body by themselves - He then exhorted them sep-
arately to the observance of their duties, & called upon
them all to covenant to desist from trivial & bad
practices, & to serve faithfully the Lord with their
whole hearts, which they did unanimously by
raising their right hands. - He then moved that
to-morrow be a day devoted to fasting & prayer 
to be conducted by the Bishops, as himself with
his brethren the Twelve & some others wished to
retire apart by themselves. - after he had ended,
Heber, Bros. O. Pratt, W. Woodruff, & Col. Markham
each spoke a few minutes in confirmation of
what had been said, & the meeting was dismissed.
There were present of the Quorum of the Twelve 8 -
High Priests 18 - Seventies 78 - elders 8 --besides
the members. The meeting lasted near 2 hours. -
We started at 1/2 past 11 P.M. - travelled in a S.S.W.
direction over rather an uneven bottom, & encamped
in a circle at 1/2 past 5 P.M., on the banks of a
small creek, running parallel with the river.
about 1/4 of a mile from the same - having come
8 1/2 miles to-day. - Just before we arrived here,
we noticed a number of cotton-wood trees growing
on an island opposite, being the first timber
we have seen for a long time - Here we found
the grass tolerably good. - It commenced raining
about 1/2 past 4 P.M., & continued near 2 hours.

        To-night the clouds are dark and lowering, &
have the appearance of more rain. - We have
come 74 1/2 miles during the past week & are
511 1/2 miles from Winter Quarters this evening

[Page 71 of 124]

     Sunday the 30th. - Cloudy morning, though not very
cold.- Agreeably to the arrangements of yesterday, a fast
& prayer meeting was held this forenoon. commencing
at 1/2 past 8 A.M., & lasting till 1/2 past 10 A.M.- The
time was chiefly occupied in confessions & prayer.-
The meeting was held under the supervision of
the Bishops, the Twelve not being present.- After
this, the horses were all drove in to camp & fast-
ened some inside, other outside the circle, & the
brethren again repaired to meeting, which com-
menced at 20 minutes past 12 m.- A number
of the brethren arose & addressed the congregation,
relating their past experiences, confessing their sins, &c.
after which the sacrament was administered &
the meeting dissmissed at 1/2 past 1 P.M., as it be-
gan, about this time to rain.- The Twelve were not
present this afternoon, having retired, with some
others, by themselves to counsel. - The rain did not
last long, for it soon cleared off fair, with a fine breeze
from the N.W., & continued so the remainder of the day.
On the opposite side the river, are a number of small
hillocks, situated on the sides & summits of the
bluffs, which, the sun throwing his glancing rays
athwart them, appear from here like buildings
composing a large village. - It again rained a
little this evening about dark.

     Monday the 31st. - Fine, clear morning, with a slight
breeze from the west. - quite a heavy frost last night.-
We continued our journey this morning at 1/2 past 8 &
travelled along near the bluffs, (which are principally com-
posed of huge sandbanks,) in a {ldt crossed out word} N.W. direction, over
an uneven, rugged, sandy road, in some places almost
entirely destitute of vegetation, noticing during our
route numerous cotton-wood trees growing on the oppo-
site side the river. - After going about 8 miles, we
changed our course to a little south of west towards
the river, & halted to bait at 1/2 past 12 M., about 1 mile
from the same on the edge, of the upper shelf or table
of the bottoms (the lower one, having been recently burned
over, affording plenty of green grass,) having come 9 1/2 miles.
We again started at 3 P.M., proceeded near the same
course we did this forenoon, over a deep, sandy bottom
which made it very hard pulling for our horses and
cattle: we travelled 7 1/4 miles, & encamped in 2 lines
at 1/4 to 7 P.M., on a creek, in some places 2 rods in width,
which runs {from the hills above} in a S.E. direction into the river, from
which we are about a mile distant. - This stream

[Page 72 of 124]

Shapehas a sandy bottom, & high banks on either side for
some distnce. - We passed by a number of green & dry
cottonwood trees this afternoon, being the first we have
seen this side of the river for some time since. - John
Higbee killed a deer (buck) this afternoon. - The place
where we are now encamped is almost a barren sandy
desert, with here & there a few scant tufts of grass, thus
affording a very poor chance for horses & cattle, which
were mostly laryated or turned out loose during the night.
Latitude this noon. - 42  - 04 min. -30 sec. - The dist-
tance we have travelled to day is 16 3/4 miles. -

    Tuesday the 1st of June.- Beautiful morning, the sun
rose cloudless & beautiful. - We started this morning at 9
still travelling over a desert, sandy road, & pursuing a
W.N.W. course - we stopt at 11 A.M., near the river to
bait, having come 4 1/2 miles. - There is a little ravine here
into which we turned our horses, as the grass in it was
quite green & luxuriant.-- We again started at 1 P.M.
travelling over nearly the same kind of ground, inter-
spersed here & there with shrubs, & encamped {in a semi-circle} at 1/4
past 6 P.M., on the banks of the river, opposite Fort
Laramie - {having come 12 miles -} This is situated in an extensive valley
apparently 1 1/2 mile from the river, environed on all sides {except that next to the river}
by a lofty range of bluffs, which in the distance can be                                         seen to the {ldt unreadable symbol above line} west, the dusky outlines of the "Black Hill",
towering far above the surrounding scenery. - Not having
visited the Fort, I am not able at this time to give a
description of it, but Porter who went over & returned
this evening says that it is built {in an oblong shape} of dirt & surrounded
by a road, being connected therewith on the inside - there
are here at this time 18 men composing the inhabitants,
mostly Frenchmen - On the opposite bank of the river
is a square or oblong built edifice, formed of dirt, for
what purpose I know not, though some think it was in-
tended for {ldt unreadable word} yard to keep horses in - at this place the
river is divided into 2 branches, one running each side
the fort in an eastern direction - the one running on the                                  south side is called the Laramie Fork of the Platte-
Just as we arrived here, 2 brethren came from the Fort
to visit us - they had come here from Pueblo 2 weeks
since - they had been (3 families of them,) 15 days on the
journey, having come with ox teams, a distance of 257 miles
{ldt crossed out sentance}
{ldt crossed out words} - the brethren also in-
formed us that some travellers who arrived here about a
week ago from "Sweet Water", said that the snow
in that region was 2 feet deep 12 days since, & on

[Page 73 of 124]

the mountains in places 15 feet deep - they had come
through in 6 days, being obliged to leave thier wagons behind,
& come ahead on horses, the road being entirely blocked
up and rendered impracti{ca}ble by the snow {at that place}. - They fur-
ther told us that the soldiers brethren at Pueblo, who
went there as invalids, had mostly recovered from their
sickness, & were intending to stat from there the 1st
of June to come to this place, join our body, & proceed
on the journey with us to the west. - The {ldt crossed out words}
brethren spoken of above, an Robt. Crow, & his son-
in-law whos name I did not learn - they had man-
aged to winter their cattle on dry grass at Pueblo.
although they had plenty of corn stalks, which they
had on their hands this spring, the former being in
good condition at the time. - about 3 weeks ago, a
band of Crow Indians, came to the Fort, & took
all the horses away belonging to the inhabitants - this
was done in the day-time immediately before the
eyes of the guard they had on watch at the time, who
of course could not resist them, they being so numerous.
These excursions they are in the habit of making every
Spring. - This tribe, I am informed, altho a raiding tribe,
generaly inhabit the country adjacent Sweet Water. -
Pres't Young called the captains of 10s together this
evening to impart to them the nature of the business
to-morrow, which was, that 2 men should be selected
out of each 10, to act as a standing guard, to watch
the cattle, &c. while we remain here - that every
wagon should be overhauled, & things that were su-
perfluous taken out of them, such as old iron,
ploughs, &c. as he thought that 10 of the latter would
be a sufficient number for the whole company, also
some wagons {the Travler & some others} are to be left behind. - He himself
is going over the river to-morrow to make arrangements
about getting a flat boat for us to cross with, as they
have one here - Some of the brethren are intending to-
commence burning a coal pit to-morrow. - I stood on
guard to-night the last watch, from 12 o'clcok till day-
light, in Bro. Fairbank's place, who has not yet en-
tirely recovered, altho' {he is} gradually gaining his health - {at} the place
where we are now encamped, are a number of large ash
trees growing on the banks of the river. - about midway
up one of these, we noticed this evening the body or corpse
of an Indian infant, closely enveloped in a buffalo robe,
placed between two large boughs on branches, & lashed
firmly to the same with thongs of raw-hide-
This, I am informed is the mode of burial, peculiar
to some tribes. the body being thus secured from {the attack of} wild beasts.

[Page 74 of 124]

We found {ldt crossed out word} {wood} in abundance at this place, as it is
growing on all sides - A band of {Crow} Indians are daily expec-
ted here who are coming in with peltry, furs, &c. - By my
computation, the distance between us & Winter Quarters
is 540 1/4 miles.-

     Wednesday the 2d. - Pleasant morning, & bids fair
to be a warm day. - The Twelve & some others went
over the river this morning to make arrangements to
procure the ferry boat. - Thomas Brown, Orson &                                                         F. Pomeroy went out of our 10 to guard cattle
this forenoon, & I alone this afternoon, Orson having
gone over to the Fort. - 'While out I noticed an ash
tree containing {ldt ink smear} body of another Indian infant. This
being enveloped in a buffalo robe, rested on a piece
of bark lashed there to which was placed breadthwise
two large boughs, about midway of the tree. - John
Higbee & some others have been fishing to-day in the
Laramie Fork. - After drawing the sein a number of
times, they caught 60 or 70 fish of different kinds, viz:-
carp, catfish, salmon, suckers, &c. - About noon the
Twelve returned bring the flat boat with them, a
number of the brethren towing it to the mouth of
the Laramie Fork, thence up the river opposite our
encampment. - We were obliged to pay them $15 for the
use of it. - Bro. Wm. Clayton, {ldt crossed out word} has been over to the
Fort, informed me that he saw 30 or 40 Indians there. -
these were mostly connected by blood & marriage with the
man who has principal charge of affairs there, whose name
is Bordeaux - I also learned that from that place can
be seen snow on the Lacoma Peak of the Black Hills
which lie to the S.W. - This evening it is tolerably cool.
The time to-day has been principally occupied by the
brethren in washing, repairing of wagons, &c.

     Thursday the 3d. - Some what cloudy this morning
with a strong wind from the N.E. - The brethren com-
menced ferrying at sunrise this morning. - about 1/2
past 8 A.M.. Bishop Whipple, F. Pomeroy & myself went
over the river & took a view of Ft. John. as also of
the ruins of Ft. Platte, of which I shall give a nimute
discription hereafter. While there, we saw & conversed
with 1 of 3 men who had come in last night from
St. Joseph, Mo. He told us that there were 2000 wag-
ons, belonging to emigrants. between him & that place on
their route to Oregon, 14 of which would probably be in
to-day, as they travelled in separate companies of
100, 50, & as few as 11 wagons in number. Yester-
day Professor Pratt by an observation with the

[Page 75 of 124]
                                                                                                                                     quadrant, ascertained the river here to be 108 yds. in width
& Laramie Fork at Ft. John 46 yds. wide, both
streams running with great rapidity. Amasa Ly-
man, Roswell Stevens, Thomas Wolsey & John H. Tibbits
started for Pueblo this morning - they are going in order
to conduct the soldier brethren to us at the place where
we shall stop to hunt a week or 2, probably some where                                    we shall stop to hunt a week or 2, probably some where
in the vicinity of Sweet Water. - Porter, Thomas Brown,
Joseph Matthews & John Brown crossed the river &
went ahead on horseback to seek a good road.-
About 1 P.M. it commensed raining very hard, accompa-
nied by considerable hail, also thunder & lightening.
This detained the operators at the Ferry about 1 hour, when
the rain ceased, although the weather yet has quite a
threatening appearance. Thomas Grover has the superin-
tendence of the ferryiage of the 2d Division. - & John G.                                 Higbee that of the 2nd Division. - My wagon & horses were                                                      
ferried over about sunset, being the last wagon in the
10. & ferryage was suspended till morning. 17 wagons
yet remaining on the other side. - It again commenced
raining just before I crossed the river, & yet continues,
it being {now} about 9 o'clock in the evening. We are formed in
a circle on the banks of the river, near the ruins of Ft.
Platte, in which most of the brethren put their horses
to-night. - Porter & those sent ahead, returned this
evening, having been some 8 or 10 miles up the river.
& reported the route to be generally even & practicable.
Latitude at Ft. John, 42° - 12 m. - 130s. - I will will now
proceed to give a description of Ft. Platte & Ft. John, which
I have hitherto omitted for want of time - The former is in
a state of ruins, & is stuated on the banks of the N.
Fork, about a mile from the latter {Fort}. - The walls are composed
of lumps of clay, apparently dried in the sun & are about
8 inches thick, & from 12 to 20 inches long, laid up like unto
brick - the height of the walls is about 10 feet - they measured
on the outside east & west 144 feet; north & south, 132 feet.
On the east, west, & south, running from the main walls to
the center, are 16 rooms, each opening to the interior. - 15 of these
are 15 1/2 by 16 feet inside, with window holes resembling
post holes. - On the north side of them is a large room called by
the French, "Corell", a place for keeping their horses & cattle, the
size of which is 98 by 47 feet - The thickness of these walls
is 30 inches, which is covered with lime or something of the
like nature. - The entrance is on the south & north-east corner,
the Old Oregon road running 1 rod from the south-west corner
towards the North Fork. - We next visited Ft. John - this is
beautifully situated on a small eminence on the banks of
the Laramie Fork, about 1 1/2 mile from its junction with the

[Page 76 of 124]

North Fork, & commands an extensive view of the whole
adjacent country - we were very kindly recieved by Mr.
Bordeaux the proprietor, who conucted us through the in-
terior of the Fort, & gave us some information relative to the
same. - The construction of this is similar to that of
Ft. Platte, as far as the general outlines are concerned.
The number of men employed here is 38, although only
18 are here at present. - The length and breadth on the
outside is 168 by 116 feet. - On either side east & west,
are 5 rooms, & 3 each on the north & south sides, making
16 rooms in all, including 10 dwelling rooms on the east &
west, & 1 on the north side. - Of the 3 rooms on the south
side 2 are occupied as store rooms. the remaining
as a blacksmith shop - The place where the horses &
cattle are kept is on the eastern side, & is quite similar
to that of Ft. Platte. - Mr. Bordeaux informed us that
Ft. John was built about 7 years since, some time pre-
vious to the creation of Fr. Platte, which, he with others,
had purchased of another comany - The country in this
vicinity is subject to long droughts, as he informed me {till}
quite lately there had been no rain for near 2 years. -

   Friday the 4th. - Pleasant, & cool morning owing to the
rain last night. - Wind in the West. - The last of the wagons
got over the river this morning about 8 o'clock. The Twelve
with a number of others, went up to the Fort, to bid adieu
to the inhabitants, & to pay for the use of the boat - they re-
turned at 20 minutes past 11 A.M., - A number of Indians
& squaws from the Fort, paid a visit to our camp this
morning. - We continued our journey at 12 m; (the 2d
Division going ahead, & our 10 being foremost,) & travelled a
north-west course about 2 1/2 miles, & then began to take a
west course, passing along between the bluffs & the river.
We halted to bait at 25 minutes past 1 P.M., having come
3 miles - at this place the grass was the most luxuri-
ant that we have seen it for a long time - here to our
right a short distance, the river running in a serpentine
direction, glides gracefully by, while immediately to our
left are large crags & masses of rock, as it were, suspend-
ed over our heads - on the sides of these are numerous cedar
trees, as also plenty of ash trees growing in the vicinity.-
We again started at 25 minutes to 3 P.M., - travelling over
a deep, rugged, sandy road. we gradually ascended the bluffs;
after going about 8 miles in near the same direction,
we came to a place where the road led down a long &
steep desent to the bottom below, which, after reaching,
& procceding 1/4 of a mile, we encamped in a circle at 1/2
past 5 P.M., having come 8 1/4 miles to-day. - Just as we
arrived we had quite a thunder shower, which however,

[Page 77 of 124]

did not last above 1/2 an hour. - We are encamped within
a short distance of the river, on the margin of which the grass
is quite green & high - there is also pleny of wood in the
vicinity, chiefly white ash, - a man by the name of Myers
who has lived in this country 9 years, started from Ft.
John, (or Laramie, as it is sometimes called.) with us this morn-
ing, intending to prosecute the journey in our company-
He has 2 wives, (squaws,) at Pueblo, also a number of chil-
dren. - he has been hesitating between 2 decisions, whether
to return to Pueblo, or proceed with us, & finally determ-
ing to pursue the former course, he had travelled about
an hour on the route, this morning, when, suddenly chang-
ing his mind, he returned his steps to our camp, just as
we had got ready to start. - He is at present travelling
with the family of Bro. Robert Crow. The names of the
other families who came with Bro. Crow from Pueblo, in-
clusive his own, as also other individuals travelling with
him, are as follow: - Robert Crow, Elizabeth Crow--
Benjamin B. Crow, Harriet Crow, Elizabeth Jane Crow,
John McHenry Crow, Walter H. Crow - George W.
Therlkill, Matilda Jane Therlkill, Milton Howard
Therkill, James Wm. Therlkill - Wm. Parker Crow,
Ira Vinda Euxene Crow, Iraminda Almarene Crow, Ar-
chibald Little, James Chesney, Lewis B. Myers. - The
foregoing names, are arranged in a company by them-
selves, & belong to the 2nd Division, thus forming the                                      15th 10 belonging to the camp of Israel. - They have
with them the following wagons & stock: - 5 wagons,
1 cart, 11 horses, 12 yoke oxen, 22 cows, 7 calves, 3 bulls.
I neglected to mention that Porter this morning exhanged
a horse at the fort for 2 cows with their calves, & 1 two
year old heifer - Thomas Brown also at the same time
exchanged a horse for a pony.-

      Saturday the 5th. - Rather cloudy this morning, though
tolerably warm. - It is the intention hereafter to put up
guide boards at the end of each 10 miles we travel.-
at 20 minutes past 8 A.M., we continued our journey;
after travelling north of west over an uneven, sandy bot-
tom, about 4 miles, we ascended a high bluff, & went
1/2 a mile over a cragged, rockey road, when we again de-
scended a steep & narrow declivity, & came to the bottom
below which, however is consiterably elevated above the
river. - The summit & sides of this bluff abound in numer-
ous pine trees. A number of them growing in the clefts of
the rocks. Leaving the river, we now began to pursue a due
west course through extensive valleys & narrow defiles, with
lofty banks on either side, observing a number of sandbeds,

[Page 78 of 124]

which apparently marked the former course of mighty
rushing torrents, descending from the mountains. - Near 1
of these, (a small rivulet issuing from a spring close
by, & running over a portion of it at this time,) we halted
to bait at 20 minutes to 12 M., having come 6 1/2 miles. -
Our halting place this noon is in a beautiful valley, en-
compassed on all sides by cragged precipices & small
hills, & apparently, "shut out from all the world beside."                                     The spring spoken of above, is called by Captain Fre-
mont "Warm Springs", & is in Lat. - 42° - 15 min. - 6 s. - Rained
at little intervals this forenoon. - While here, there were
3 men came to us on mules - these belong to a band of
emigrants, who, with 11 wagons are in the viccinity, & have
taken a different {& main} road from the Ft., than ourselves, &
consequently, are ahead of us. - We again started at 1/4
to 2 P.M., went a short distance, & came to the place
where the road made by these emigrants, intersects
our own - after going about 3/4 of a mile, we again turned
to the north west, & soon began to ascend another long,
steep, & stony declivity, after which we emerged on to a
beautiful, rolling prairie. - Seems we could discover the
emigrants, travlling ahead of us some distance - we
could also plainly discern snow on the Laramie
Peak of the Black Hills, as well as vaporous clouds
shrouding a portion its sides & summit - After having
come 7 miles, we again descended a steep, sandy hill,
at the foot of which is a sand-bed - this we travelled
over some distance. - About 3 miles beyond this we
came to the place where the emigrants had encamped
for the night - Passing them we proceeded 1/2 a mile
further, &, crossing a small stream, which apparenty
has its source in springs, we encamped on the banks
thereof in a circle, at 1/2 past 6 P.M., having come 17
miles do-day, & 53 during the week; being this evening
25 1/4 miles distant from Fort John, & 565 1/2 from
Winter Quarters - Our place of encampment this evening,
is also in a extensive valley, surrounded by high
hills. - We have not seen the river, since we left it this
morning. - It is my opinion that the "Black Hills" are
so named from the fact of their tops & sides abounding
in pine trees & shrubs, which, seen at a distance,
have, in appearance, a dark color.-

      Sunday the 6th. - Tolerably pleasant this morning
though the sky is somewhat obscured by clouds.-
It rained considerably during the past night. About
8 o'clock, the emigrants, spoken of above, passed our camp.
A prayer meeting was held this forenoon, commencing

[Page 79 of 124]

at 1/2 past 8 A.M., & ending at 1/2 past 10 A.M. - Being
busily engaged in writing, I did not attend - the meeting
was adjourned for one hour. - Orson is engaged this forenoon
in washing some of our clothes. - The brethren again came
together, pursuant to adjournment, at 1/2 past 11 A.M., &
the meeing was opened by singing, & prayer by Elder E.
Benson, after which, Elder O. Pratt arose & said, that
as it has the appearance of rain, the President thought
best that the meeting be adjourned, or dismissed; "ac-
cordingly", said he, "consider yourselves dismissed with
the blessings of Heaven." - Soon after 21 wagons, belong-
ing to emigrants, passed our encampment, in addition
to the 11 that went ahead this morning, making 32 wag-
ons in all. - The shower did not last more than 1/2 an
hour, when it again cleared off pleasant, though quite
warm. - it is the intention to proceed 5 or 6 miles this
afternoon, as we learn that, otherwise, we shall be
obliged to travel over 20 miles to-morrow, before we can
come to a convenient camping place, on account of the
scarcity of water. - We accordingly started at 1/2 past 2
P.M., - we travelled 3 3/4 miles over an uneven, sandy road,
somewhat wet in places from the recent rains, & halted
about 3/4 of an hour, while some of the brethren went
ahead to find a suitable camping place for the night.
After going about 1/4 of a mile further, we passed the
encampment of the last company of the emigrants, where,
after proceeding a mile, we encamped in a circle, at 5
P.M., on the banks of a small stream, having, this afternoon,
come 5 miles. Our course has been, most of the time, a
little south of west, through a beatuiful, picturesque
country, abounding in rich, woodland scenery, princip-
pally consisting of contton-wood & willow. We are sit-
uated this evening, in a small valley, encompassed by
a gentle elevation of ground, on which are growing in
abundance green grass & wild sage. - The latter plant we
have noticed for a day or two on our route. - To the south
west of us a short distance, on the banks of the creek
above mentioned, is quite a dense forest of trees, con-
sisting also principally of cottn-wood. - Porter informed
us that while out this afternoon on horseback, he saw
6 or 7 elk. He also wounded a deer, & has gone out with
others, this evening, expecting to get it with the assistance
of dogs - after a while he returned, not having been
successful in the pursuit - The first body of emigrants
consisting of 11 wagons are encamped 1/4 of a mile
ahead of us. Two of them were at our camp this
evening, & conversed with Pres't Young, & a number

[Page 80 of 124]
                                                                                                                                                           of the brethren for some time. One of them, who
name is Burroughs, is an old acquaintance of
Luke Johnson, & was formerly from Shalersville,
Ohio. He said that they had a pilot with them,
whose name is Gabriel Freedom, who is well
acquainted with the route. Bro. Burr Frost did
considerable blacksmithing for the last company
of 21 wagons, who are encamped back about a mile.

     Monday the 7th. - Fine morning - I arose at sunrise, &                                                                        stood guard, watching cattle in Orson's place.-
We started at 1/4 past 7 A.M. the emigrants proceeding
us a short distance. We pursued a N.N.W. course 5
miles, over an uneven, sandy road, & came to a steep
descent, which we were obiged to dig down, before
going further - we proceeded 2 3/4 miles & halted to
bait at 1/4 to 11 A.M., near a place where small springs
issued from the ground. - We found the grass here
quite scant. - We saw the dead body of an antelope
by the roadside, killed by the emigrants who are in
advance of us. - While here 13 more emigrant
wagons passed us, Making 45 in all ahead, all
of which have 3, 4, & 5 yoke of oxen attached to
them. - For here the snow is plain to be seen of Lar-
amie Peak, which lies some distance to the south-west
of us, we being now as near it as our route will
probably bring us  - We again started at 1 P.M.; going
a short distance we ascended a hill, & came to a beautiful
rolling prairie, almost literally covered with pine trees
of different sizes, though the ground is quite stony, as
we noticed huge fragments of rock on either side as
we passed along. We also discovered on our route 2
dead bodies of an antelope & a red-tailed deer, supended
to a tree. We took them along with us. I learned that
Porter killed the antelope, & Lewis B. Myers the deer.-
Our course this afternoon has also been North of
West; &, with little exception, over a rough, hilly,
rocky country. Descending a steep hill, we at length
encamped in a circle at 4 P.M., having come 5 1/4 miles
this afteroon, & 13 during the day. Our situation this
evening, is a beautiful valley (practically surrounded by
high hills,) near a beautiful murmering rivulet, with
a large forest of trees & shrubbery, growing on its
banks. The grass here is the highest & most lux-
uriant we have seen since we left Winter Quarters.
About 2 rods from my wagon, is a very large, clear,
& cold spring, affording as good water as I ever
drank; & to say all in one word, the place seems

[Page 81 of 124]

to me a perfect paradise. - The 2d. company of emigrants
I am informed are encamped about a mile ahead of us.
It rained a little soon after our arrival - at the same
time Orson went out on guard to watch horses & cattle.
I learned that one or two more deer were killed this after-
noon, but did not ascertain by whom. The stream on
which we are encamped to night, is called by
Fremont in his journal. "Horseshoe Creek". - It
rained a little during the fore part of the night.
Orson stood on guard the latter part from 12
till daylight.

    Tuesday the 8th. - Pleasant morning. We started
at 25 minutes past 7 A.M., - I, with a number of
others, went ahead with pick-axes, spades, {&} hoes
to make the "rough places smooth", & remove ob-
structions in the road. which leads over a rocky
mountainous country. We walked 4 3/4 miles,
& crossed a creek where 2 companies of the em-
igrants encamped last night. Here we stopt
at 1/2 past 10 A.M., & waited till the teams
came up. We found John Higbee here, who
had exchanged his Indian horse with one of
them for a cow & heifer. We walked 2 miles
further ahead of the teams, & came to another creek,
on the banks of which we halted to bait at
1/4 to 12 M., having come 6 3/4 miles. One of the
daughters of Bro. Robert Crow had one of her
limbs considerably injured, by accidentally fall-
ing out of the wagon, & one of the wheels run-
ning over it. This noon I feel quite fatigued with
my walk & labor on the road. I understood
there was a number of buffaloes seen this forenoon.
Lewis B. Myers killed an antelope this morning.
We started at 10 minutes past 1 P.M. proceeding,
as usual, over a rocky hilly country, alternately
ascending & descending high hills without the
occurrence of any particular incident, & finally
came to another stream about 2 rods wide -
quite deep & rapid, - On its banks & adjacent,
is another large forest, similar to the one where we
encamped last night. Here we encamped in a
circle at 10 minutes to 6 P.M., having mad 8 3/4
miles this afternoon, & 15 1/2 during the day. Our
course, generally thro' the day has been N.N.W. - The
weather, which this forenoon was quite pleasant, be-
came very cold this afternoon, (the wind being in the
north,) so that a fire feels, this evening, quite comfortable.

[Page 82 of 124]

Porter killed a deer this afternoon. John W. Norton
also killed an antelope. - This evening 5 moutaineers
came to our camp on horseback - they are on their way
from Fort Bridger to Fort John, & are encamped this eve-
ning about 1 1/4 of a mile from here.

       Wednesday the 9th. - Pleasant morning, though quite
cool weather. We started at sunrise, went 1 1/4 mile & stopt
to bait on the same creek. Here we found the mountaineers
encamped. They have 2 squaws with them. They had
also one or two carts loaded with buffalo skins & other
peltry of different kinds. Some of the brethren are intend-
ing to send letters back by them. These men were well
acquainted with Lewis B. Myers, (who travels with Bro.
Crow's family.) & told him that on the crossing the Platte
River 3 or 4 days journey before us, they had made a
leather boat, which they hung up in a tree & that we
might use it for ferrying; therefore, it was thought
expedient to send some men ahead & secure it. -
before the emigrants should reach the river; - accord-
ingly, 19 wagons started from here this morning,
{ket corrected/overwritten word not legible} that purpose, being under the supervision of Capt.
Tarleton Lewis. The remainder of us started at
25 minutes past 7 A.M., - we had not gone far
before we were overtaken by another band of moun-
taineers, 4 in number. - These had with them a dozen
or more ponies & mules, the most of which {ket another "which" crossed out}
had packs on their backs. after going 2 1/4 miles
we crossed another creek. Just before you arrive at
this, the earth assumes a reddish appearance, which
continues a number of miles. We halted to bait at
20 minutes to 1 P.M. near a sand-bed where
had formerly been a stream, having come 11 1/4 miles,
over, as usual, a rough, hilly country. We again
started at 1/4 past 2 P.M. proceeding a N.W. course
as indeed we have the whole day, I finally encamped
in a semi-circle, at 1/4 past 6 P.M., on the banks of
a stream about 2 rods in width, running with
considerable rapidity. Just as we arrived, we could
see in the distance ahead, ascending a hill, the wagons
sent ahead this morning - The mountaineers also passed
us & pursued their journey to the west - these came
from the Arkansas River, & are on their return to the
mountains. We have travelled 19 1/4 miles to day,
being the longest {ascertained} days' {Journey} {ket "travel" crossed out} we have accomplished
since we left Winter Quarters.

    Thursday the 10th. - Beautiful morning. the weather
being quite warm & pleasant. -- Bro. Heber told me

[Page 83 of 124]

that he thought that in about 5 weeks we would
reach the place of our destination, viz: - the Salt
Lakes, we being now near 300 miles from Ft. Bridger
which is about 100 miles from the former place, where,
he said, there was only one inhabitant or settler,
vis: - a farmer who settled there last fall  this
information he obtained, I suppose, of the mountaineers.
He also informed me that yesterday he saw a natural
curiosity, viz: - a toad, having both the tail & horns.
We started at 20 minutes to 8 A.M. & pursuing still
a N.W. course, after going, as usual, over a rough, hilly
country. 4 1/2 miles we crossedd a small rivulet. We
proceeded about 2 miles & crossed another, where after
travelling 2 1/4 miles further we halted at 20 minutes
past 11 A.M., on the banks of another stream {called North Buffalo Fork,}, having
come 8 3/4 miles. At this place the grass was tolerably good
We again started at 1/4 to 2 P.M., - proceeded 4 1/4 miles
& again came to the river. after descending a long steep
hill - we went 4 3/4 miles further on the bottom,
in a western direction, & encamped in a circle at
1/4 past 6 P.M., in a beautiful grove of cotton wood trees,
having come 17 3/4 miles to-day. Near here is a beau-
tiful stream, about 3 rods in width, which, running
with great rapidity, empties into the river a short
distance hence. It is called Deer Creek. By an
observation {made} this evening from the fixed star "Arcteras"                                       its latitude was ascertained to be 42° 52' 50". - about
a mile above, Bro. Carrington & others discovered, this
evening, an extensive mine of bituminous  (pitch)
coal, a specimen of which I procured of him -
this is different in its nature from the anthracite  
(stone) coal. Latitude this noon at North Buffalo
Fork 42° 51' 5". I understood from J. Hancock,
{ket this entire line crossed out}
{ket one word crossed out} that {portion of} the stream on which we encamped
last night, (called by the French "A' la Prele" runs
thro' a natural tunnel of rock arched over for
about 20 rods, the space being large enough to ad-
mit a man to walk through it. - I caught 3
fish this evening of very good size 1 catfish &
2 suckers, & in fact Deer Creek abounds in
fish of different kinds. There were 4 antelope killed
to day by different individuals.

     Friday the 11th. - Bright & beautiful - I stood on
guard this morning in front of my wagon to pre-
vent the horses from recrossing the creek. We con-
tinued our journey at 1/4 to 8 A.M., & travelled in

[Page 84 of 124]

a western direction along the river, most of the
time on a level, sandy bottom, occassionally ascending
a small elevation of ground, & halted to bait at 12 M.
a short distance from the river, having come 9 1/4 miles.
During most of our route this forenoon, we have noticed
a considerable number of cotton wood trees, interspersed
here & there, growing on both sides the river - near
a cluster of these we have stopt this noon. There
have been 4 antelope killed this forenoon - 3 by Ed.
Ellsworth, F. Pomeroy, & J. Hancock. the other by whom
I did not ascertain. We again started at 10 min-
utes past 2 P.M.; still pursuing a west course along
the river, we crossed 2 small streams on our route,
when, after travelling alternately over the hills & bottoms,
we turned to the right of the road some distances &
encamped at 6 P.M. on the banks of the river near a
small grove of cotton wood, having come 7 3/4 this P.M.
& 17 miles during the day. - about a mile above us
part of 2 companies of emigrants are encamped - these
are now crossing the river by means of a boat they
brought along, assisted by a raft they have here con-
structed. The majority of them, however, I learned from
2 of their number this evening, had gone up the river on
this side, probably intending to cross when we do. I
learned this evening that there were 3 more antelope killed
& brought into {camp} this evening, 2 of which were killed by
Henson Walker, making 7 in all - there were a number
killed not brought in - Latitude at our stopping place
this noon, 42° 51' 47". After our arrival I stood
on guard in Orson's place, watching cattle.

          Saturday the 12th. - Fine morning with a cool breeze
from the west. Some of the brethren, this morning, tried to
find a fording place near here, but were unsuccessful.
All the extra men in the camp went ahead to make
a bridge over a creek. - Bro. J. Hancock, while on guard
this morning, shot an antelope. - We started at 1/4 past
8 A.M., & following the course of the river a little south
of west 3 miles, we crossed a creek over a bridge built
by the brethren who went in advance, among whom was
Orson. At this place we saw an antelope that had
been wounded in the leg by some of the hunters, &
moved slowly & with considerable difficulty. Bro. T. Grover
fired a shot at him, which did not take effect, however,
the animal soon fell exhausted, & he cut his throat. -
We proceeded 1 1/4 miles & crossed another small stream,
after which, going 3 miles, we halted to bait at 1/2 past
11 A.M., about 1/4 of a mile from the river, having come

[Page 85 of 124]

7 1/4 miles. Here the grass was quite scant. We noticed con-
siderable snow on the bleak, high hills to our left as we
passed along this forenoon. - As before proceeding further
we have to cross a deep ravine, the men were called
upon to go with spades & dig it down. While here, Bro.
Alexander P. Chessley rode up on horseback. He came from
our wagons that went ahead on Wednesday last. He
said that they were about 3 miles above here, as also
a number of the emigrants. They had undertaken to ferry
over the river 22 wagons for the latter, for $1.50 each, which
amounts to $33, they being paid in flour at $2.50 per
hundred, {also meal & bacon.} When he left they had taken them all over
except 3 wagons - this they done by means of the "Revenue
Cutter," & 2 logs that they had hewn out, the wheels on each
side a wagon being placed in the cavity. He reported
that the hunters had killed 3 buffaloes, & Porter, J. Brown,
& Lewis B. Myers one black bear {& 3 cubs}, beside a large number
of antelope that had been killed. He also reported the
river to be quite rapid & deep, & but little grass where
they were encamped. Soon after his arrival, Heber,
Bro. Benson, O. Pratt, Col. Rockwood & a number of others
(including himself.) went to search a suitable fording
place near here. - They soon returned unsuccessful, &
we again started at 25 minutes to 2 P.M., & proceeded a
little south of west over an uneven, sandy soil 3 1/4 miles
& crossed a narrow deep stream, after which we went
3/4 of a mile & encamped in a semicircle on the banks of
the river at 1/2 past 4 P.M., having come 11 1/4 miles to-day,
98 3/4 miles during the week, being this evening 124 miles
from Ft. John, & 664 1/4 miles from Winter Quarters. Our 19
wagons are encamped about 1/2 a mile above the men being
yet engaged in ferrying over the emigrants. - I have heard of
only 4 antelope being killed to-day in the 2d Division. The
grass here is quite plenty & good. - The nearest timber is
about 1/2 a mile below us on the bank of the river. This
evening 6 horsemen, (emigrants,) encamped about 1/2 a
mile below us. I saw 2 of their number, who informed
me that they belonged to another company of 24 wagons
which are back about 10 miles. This evening the brethren
are considerably alarmed about Bro. Tunis Rappleyee,
who, soon after our arrival, on a wagon, sat out to go
up to the bluffs opposite (about 5 miles distant) to procure
a snowball & bring it to the camp by 8 o'clock. A num-
ber of men were rallied to go in pursuit of him, & the
horn was sounded several times, as also guns fired at
intervals for his benefit. About 11 he returned. he suc-
ceeded in getting the snowball, but could not bring it to
camp, as it dissolved before he arrived. -

[Page 86 of 124]

Sunday the 13th. - Pleasant morning, though the weather
throughout the day was quite warm & sultry. The emigrants
started from the other side of the river about 9 A.M. -
About 1/2 past 9 A.M., a meeting was {ket one word crossed out} commenced
& held till noon - a number of the brethren spoke &
prayed, & last of all, Brigham, Heber, & O. Pratt ad-
dressed successinly the the congregaition. President Young
spoke principally of the liberty & light of the gospel.
That very few knew what the phrase meant. That
we should always try to do that which would result
in the most good, & that {ket rest of line crossed out}
{ket one letter crossed out} a man could not know that, unless by revelation from
Heaven. That it is enough for us to know what is nec-
essary to be done to-day to be of the most utility, without
thinking of the course necessary to be pursued for the same
purpose to-morrow or next day. Heber spoke of the
necessity of our cultivating union one with another, &
banishing all selfishness from our hearts, that we may
become acceptable servants in the sight of the Lord. -
Elder O. Pratt's speech principally related to the utility
& necessity of the improvement & cultivation of the time &
talents God has given us showing that a contrary
course would result in the depravity of our morals.
After the meeting was dismissed, all the officers in
the camp met together at Pres't. Young's wagon to counsel
upon matters relative to our crossing the river to-morrow.
It was proposed by the President, that a quantity of poles
should be procured this afternoon, that with their assistance
4 wagons might be lashed together abreast & drawn
across the river without danger of being overturnd. ac-
cordingly 3 or 4 wagons immediately started off in pursuit
of them. (poles.) Bro. Heber, with the aid of the Revenue
Cutter swam over a number of his oxen this afternoon.
Col. Rockwood, the Commissary, also this afternoon,
distributed equially among the brethren in the camp,
the provisions got of the Gentiles in payment for ferryage,
which were to each person as follow, viz: -- Flour 5 1/2
lbs., meal 2 lbs. & a small slice of bacon. The 1st Di-
vision are intending to take the freight of the wagons
over in the Revenue Cutter, the 2 Division by means
of a raft built this afternoon for that purpose.

    Monday the 14th. - Tolerably warm day with considerable
wind. This morning very early the ferryage of the
wagons & goods commenced - a number of wagons
were drawn across the river with a rope (the cur-
rent setting towards the opposite shore). some
2, 3, & 4 abreast. a number of them were overset,

[Page 87 of 124]

rolling over a number of times, before reaching the
shore, but mine, which was lashed together with 3
others, was brought over safely this morning. some {ket one word crossed out}
{ket one word crossed out} {took} their wagons over on rafts, also their goods.
I was stationed with Col. Markham & 2 or 3 others
to assist in pulling over the wagons as fast as the
ropes were attached to them; though part of the time
I was engaged in driving cattle attached to the raft -
which we had to tow up stream some distance.
This afternoon we had a very heavy hail & rain
storm, accompanied by a considerable wind. Bro.
J. Higbee & myself happened to be up the river
at the time, towing the raft, & we were obliged to
seek the shelter of the nearest bushes, as we
were some distance from the wagons. About
sunset, I brought over my freight in the Revenue
Cutter, which after taking out, I put it again into
the wagon, together with some of Bro. Luke Johnson's
things, whose wagon is on the other side the river.
My horses I had not yet got over, therefore I
procured another span, & took my wagon back 1/4
of a mile from the river to an {elevated ground covered with} a lot of green grass,
trees & bushes, where about 2 dozen of wagons
had already preceded me - This was done in
consequence of the river's rising so rapidly, as
we were somewhat fearful that the shore around
be inundated with water during the night. -
As my wagon was full of goods, after eating some
supper given us by the brethren, Bro. Luke Johnson
& myself {ket "laid out in the open" crossed out} laid down before
the fire in the open air, covering ourselves with
buffalo robes. After a while, Orson, who had
been over the river, came back & slept with us.
I have done the hardest day's work to-day I
even recollect to have done in my life. & this
evening I feel quite worn out with cold & fatigue.
I learned there were 24 wagons brought over to day.
Bro. Heber has been quite busy to-day in oversee-
ing the ferryage: I also noticed him assisting in
taking over the raft. 4 Frenchmen or traders
came up on horseback, soon after I brought over my
things, & at their request were ferried over to the other
side the river in the boat, & went down to a camp
of the emigrants 4 miles below here.

     Tuesday the 15th. - Somewhat cloudy, with a strong
west wind. I felt quite unwell this morning,
owing to {being in the water &} the hard labor of yesterday, therefore,

[Page 88 of 124]

I did not assist in ferrying to-day, but busied
myself in taking the things out of the wagon
& laying them on the ground to air & dry. The wind
was so very strong down the stream that they
could not ferry with the usual rapidity, but
by night they had got over, as I understood 20
wagons, - which were all brought over on rafts. Bro.
Robert Crow lost a horse that he was attempting
to swim across the river. in consequence of {ket "the" crossed out} his
{ket "laryette" crossed out} {feet} getting entangled in a laryette that was
on his neck at the time. There was quite a large
rattlesnake killed near him this afternoon, in the
body of which, on examination, was found a
large mouse or mole that he had swallowed. -
I heard Bro. Benson say this evening that there
was a Missourian, belonging to the last company of
emigrants, lately come up on horseback, who informed
the brethren that he saw, as he as passing along
above the head of Grand Island, a large col-
lection of wagons travelling along on the North
side of the Platte River - these, we suppos to
be the 2d. company of Pioneers that were to leave
Winter Quarters about the middle of May last.
There is a rumor, (how true I know not,) -
that there are, at this time, 1000 wagons of
emigrants, (Gentiles,) on the road between here
& Ft. John or Laramie, consequently, it is the
intention to leave some of the brethren here to ferry
them over, & for this purpose, Col. Rockwood went
round, & notified the officers of the camp that
there must be 20 men, (10 out of each Division)
start early to-morrow morning, take some pro-
visions with them, also the necessary implements,
such {as} axes, broad-axes, & adz, & go where they could
find suitable timber, & build 2 canoes. -
Orson went over the river, to take care of the
horses & did not return to night.

            Wednesday the 16th. - Somewhat cloudy, with
a        strong wind from the west. The men
spoken of above went down the river
about 3 miles this morning & returned this eve-
ning with the 2 canoes - a {ket raft crossed out} {boat} is to be formed
of these by putting them a certain distance
apart; & then placing puncheons across them.
I learned this evening that 3 companies of emigrants
have come up on the other side the river &
are a little way down the river -- {The occupants of} 10 or

[Page 89 of 124]

12 of their wagons, who are opposite us wish
to be ferried over this evening, & they offer, if we
will do it {to night} to pay us .50 cts. extra on a wagon,
more than we got of the others, which would
amount to $2.00 each - but this, I believe was
not done, as the brethren were mostly tired
out with to-days' work. I do not know
the number of wagons brought over to-day,
but understand there were but few, as the wind
blowing very strong down stream, rendered it
impossible to do so with much rapidity. -
There is a company of about 21 wagons of emi-
grants, down the river about 3 miles near
where our brethren were at work to-day - these
have managed to cross the river on a raft
built by themselves, as we learned from 3 of
their number, who visited our camp this
afternoon - It is the intention to ferry over the
emigrants to-morrow, as also the remainder
of our own wagons - the cattle are to be
swam over - Orson returned from the other
side the river towards evening bringing over
the horses with him, by swimming them.

    Thursday the 17th. - Pleasant morning though
somewhat windy. I stood on guard the whole
day, watching the cattle. All of our wagons were
got over about noon, & we all moved up the
river about 1/2 a mile & formed in a circle on
its banks. There were also, I believe, 5 or 6
wagons of the emigrants ferried over this afternoon.
J. Redding & myself, while out on guard this
afternoon, saw a rattlesnake, which he shot.
I understand this evening from Bro. Heber,
it is the intention to pursue our journey to-morrow.
after having occupied 4 days in crossing the river.
The air is quite chilly this evening, the wind having
veered around from the west to the north. It is
also quite cloudy, having the appearance of rain.

      Friday the 18th. - Pleasant morning, though
somewhat cool, the wind being in the north-west.
There are 3 companies of emigrants to be ferried over.
We are now engaged in rafting over the 2d. company.
the business {having been} {ket "being" crossed out} kept up during the whole night
It is the intention for all to remain here till we
shall have commenced bringing over the 3d company,
that we may thereby draw the pay for the whole:
leaving 10 men to complete the work, whose

[Page 90 of 124]

names are as follow: - Thomas Grover, John S.
Higbee, Benjamin F. Stewart, James Davenport,
William Empy, Luke Johnson, Appleton Harmon,
Francis M. Pomeroy Edmund Ellsworth. {ket one word crossed out}
{ket one word crossed out} The {vessel} {ket "raft" crossed out} which was constructed by
means of the 2 canoes was finished & launched
about 1 P.M. - It is called the "Twins of the
Black Hills" - & with it we are able to transport
wagons & goods with much greater rapidity across
the river than we have hitherto done. We all got
up our hases & cattle at 11 A.M. to see if there were
any missing & found there was not - Most of the
brethren are engaged in ferrying over the emigrants,
a number of whom are quite sick - they have
lost 2 of their number since they left Ft. John.
I went fishing awhile this afternoon, but caught
nothing, the river being too high - I believe it
is not the intention to leave this place to-day as
contemplated yesterday. - The weather through
the day continued quite warm & sultry. Those
who are to remain behind were called together this
evening to receive some instruction from Pres't. Young,
relative to their duties - I did not attend in time
to hear it, but arrived just as Bro. Bullock was
reading to them a document containing rules for
their guidance & conduct, in which they were
exhorted to take care of their healths, & not expose
themselves to the cold & wet, as they had now a
good boat to use  That they should build
themselves a small house on a gentle eminence
on the other side the river, both to live in, & to
secure them & their effects from the Indians,
in case a war-party should come this way.
That they should attend strictly to their duty
of ferrying over the emigrants, & not be around
hunting, &c. but implicitly obey the instructions
given them by their captain or foreman, Thos. Grover.
That in case that general emigration should
cease, they were to return to Ft. John & there
remain till their families came up in the next
company that is expected on soon, & then come
on with them to our place of destination. {ket one word crossed out}
{ket entire line crossed out}
{ket most of the line crossed out} In con-
clusion, Pres't. Young remarked to them, that if
they would obey this counsel given above, they
should all be blessed, "for", said he, "I 

[Page 91 of 124]

promise yout that in the name of the Lord" . -
A number of the emigrant wagons that were
ferried over during last night & to-day have gone
ahead - an Irishman, Archibald Little by name,
who has hitherto been travelling with Bro. Robert
Crow's family, went off with them being hired at
$20 per month to go & drive team, &c. - Bro. E.
Glines remained also behind though rather against
counsel to wait for his family. There have been
3 antelope killed to-day - 2 by Joseph Hancock, 1 by
Lewis B. Myers.

   Saturday the 19th. - Pleasant morning, though rather
cool. We started this morning at 10 minutes past 8,
1 mile above the place where we encamped the other side
the river, on Saturday the 12th inst. We proceeded
in a western direction, (leaving the Black Hills &
river to our left.) over a sandy, hilly country
without the occurrence of any particular incident,
& stopt to bait at 1 P.M., in a small valley. -
where the grass was tolerably good, though there
was no water, having come 11 1/4 miles - after re-
maining here near an hour, we again started at
2 P.M. - proceeded 3/4 of a mile, & came to a quite
an extensive sheet of pure water, which is called
the "Cold Springs", & issues from springs in the
ground beneath - There we stopt a few minutes
to water our horses & cattle - we then proceeded
a little south of west over somewhat similar
ground to that of this forenoon, (except, indeed, in
some places were noticed huge masses of rock ly-
ing beside the road,) & encamped a little after
sunset in a circle, in an extensive valley, en-
closed by lofty hlls, near a small rivulet which
winds through it, apparently having its source in
springs not far off - This, although quite transpa-
rent, we found had an extremely insipid brackish
taste, but we were obliged to make use of it for
want of better. - There was but little grass here &
in fact, scarcely any vegetation, except the "Wild
Sage", which I have before spoken of, as being quite
plentiful in this part of the country - neither
was there wood of any kind, therefore we were
obliged to resort to the only alternative - "Buffalo                                  Chips " instead as fuel - Lewis B. Myers killed
to-day 3 antelope, 1 deer & 1 buffalo bull, though
the latter was in such poor condition that he
did not bring him in - Porter also killed a

[Page 92 of 124]

buffalo this afternoon about 2 miles from here -
He & Benjamin Rolfe have gone out this evening with
a team to bring it to camp. We have travelled 21 1/2
miles to-day, being the longest, ascertained distance
we have made per day, since we left home - & are
this evening 146 1/2 miles from Ft. John, & 686 3/4
miles from Winter Quarters. I was chosen last
evening as one of the night guard, to stand in the
place of Francis M. Pomeroy, one of those selected
to remain at the ferry - Our tour comes on every 3d.
night under Capt. Jacobs. John Pack is to suc-
ceed Appleton Harmon, the former captain of our 10.
he being also one of those who tarried at the river.

     Sunday the 20th. - Clear, cold morning - Porter re-
turned with the slaughtered buffalo at 1 A.M. I
arose a little before sunrise, & we started at 6
A.M., & proceeding a west course, over, as usual,
an uneven, sandy soil, we at length halted to
bait & get breakfast at 20 minutes past 7 A.M.
on an extensive undulating plain, near a pure
& murmuring rivulet - sweet to the taste, & quite
dissimilar to the one we left this morning, hav-
ing come 3 3/4 miles. Here we found the grass
quite luxuriant. We were obliged to use the
roots of wild sage for fuel by which to cook
our breakfast, which here grows rank & ab-
undant. We all feel considerably concerned
about Andrew J. Gibbons, who left us yesterday
noon at the Cold Springs in search of game, &
has not since been heard of. John W. Norton
went back on horseback in pursuit, & found him
with a company of emigrants not far back. We
again started at 10 minutes past 10 A.M., -
went 9 miles & again stopt to bait at 3 P.M.
near a small, clear stream, which abounds in
fish of various kinds & sizes. - We continued
our journey at 5 P.M. & passing over a hilly,
sandy country, the features which were ra-
ther uninteresting, we crossed a deep, narrow,
& rapid stream running in a serpentine di-
rection, after having come about 5 miles - We
then proceeded 1 3/4 mile, & turned to the left 1/2
a mile {from the road} & encamped in a circle a little after
sunset, on the brow of a gentle eminence, in
front of & about 100 yds. from the same creek
we last crossed - On the margin of this,
we found the grass very good - We have

[Page 93 of 124]

made 20 miles to-day. Andrew J Gibbons
came into camp on foot this evening, soon after
our arrival. {ket "No game killed to-day." crossed out} He had
come from Willow Springs, 10 1/4 miles back, since 3 P.M.
He informed us that a company of emigrants have en-
camped there for the night. I permitted my horses to
run loose to-night, as they have had, comparatively, a
poor chance to feed since we left the river. W. Woodruff
& J. Brown, who left us at the springs above named,
& went ahead to hunt, &c., did not return to-night.
The cannon was fired at 12 o-clock, so that in case
they had lost their way, they might know from the report
the direction to the camp.

      Monday the 21st. - Bright & beautiful morning, though
as the day advanced, the weather became quite warm &
sultry. We started this morning about 1/2 past 8 A.M.,
& continuing near a west course. we travelled over a deep
sandy, & comparatively level road, occassionally passing
over rough, knobby places, & came to the banks of "Sweet
Water". at 1/4 past 12 M., - Here we halted to bait, having
come 7 1/2 miles - This stream is quite deep & rapid, &
at this place is about 5 rods in width, running in
a serpentine direction through the valley, environed by
stupendous & lofty hills. Directly in front of us, ap-
parently about 1 1/2 mile distant is a lengthy, high mass
of rock. somewhat oval in form. It is situated on
the east side of the river, about midway of the plain
& has quite an isolated appearance, standing, as it does
some distance from the hills by which it is surrounded.
This is called by Fremont & others, "Independence Rock."                                    & is named in the former's journal as being 650 yds. in
length, & 45 yards high. In the summit are numerous
large fissures, or clefts between the rocks. also hollow
cavities forming natural reservoirs, in which there was
considerable water. The road winds between it & the
river, there being but the space of 2 or 3 rods between
each - At the extremity next the river, on the side of
the rock, are inscribed in different colors, with paint,
&c. numerous names & dates, done by Oregon em-
igrants, who have passed here at different periods.
{ket "There" crossed out} A number of these names are inscribed near
the summit, others at different distances below.-
To this place I had come ahead on foot & made the
above observations. during our halt this noon,
it being 1 1/4 mile distant from our stopping place,
I felt quite fatigud after having ascended & trav-
elled over it. which occupied about 1 hour, & I then

[Page 94 of 124]

sat down to wait for the teams to come up. -
It rained a little while I was here. Near here are
a number of ponds or lakes. the shores of which
are covered with a substance or mineral, somewhat
the nature of alkali - a number of the brethren
have collected {large}quantities of it, which makes a good
substitute for salaratus. There was a woman
buried near here lately by the emigrants. The camp
was again in motion at 3 P.M. - we went about
a mile beyond the rock. & forded the river without
accident, although the water came considerably
above the bed of my wagon. On this side the river
we also noticed a huge, solitary rock, scarcely
less singular in its appearance than the one I had
just visited, though ranging in form, resembling
somewhat a sugar loaf. I neglected to mention
that at Independence Rock Bro. Clayton put up a
guide board, which announced the distance to Ft.
John to be 175 1/4 miles. We now proceeded over
a level, sandy country a little s. of w., & encamped {sun 1/2 hour high}
in a semi circle fronting the river, beyond which
a short distance is a lofty range of rock mass in
bluffs, standing in bold relief against the
evening sky, while on this side, between us & the
river is a beautiful plot of green grass, {ket one word crossed out}
to behind as to the left a gentle elevation of ground,
about 1/4 of a mile down the stream is a narrow pass
through which the rushing torrent runs. the noise
of which can he heard at considerable distance
On either side of this is a pockey, perpendicular
descent of some 200 feet. formed by crags
piled on crags, presenting to the eye at one a
scene of romantic interest & grandeur. We
have made 15 1/4 miles to-day - There have been 2
antelope killed to-day, one by Porter the other by
Henson Walker. The chasm or pass between the
rocks above named is called "Devil's Gate" - Latitude
at Independence Rock, 42° 30' 16" -

   Tuesday the 22d. - Fine morning, & fair prospect of a
warm day. - I stood on guard last night the last watch.
We started about 1/2 past 7 A.M., & following the
course of the river over a sandy, dusty road.
we stopt to bait at 12 M. on the {ket one word crossed out} banks
of the same, having come 10 miles. Opposite
us on the other side is a high range of broken
rocky bluffs while a little to the right is
a wide area of ground between them, ex-

[Page 95 of 124]

tending as far as the eye can reach, releived by
a single object. viz: - an oblong mass of rock which
stands at a considerable distance from any thing
similar to itself - Otherwise than this the features
of the country around have a uniform aspect,
with this variation that, occasionally may be seen
one rocky peak towering far above its fellows. -
The grass here on the margin of the river is very
good - The weather is very warm & sultry. we
crossed 3 small creeks this forenoon - 10 emigrant wagons
passed us soon after our arrival at this place - 2 horse-
men who were in the company informed us that a
young man, one of their number, was lately drowned
at the ferry on North Fork, in attempting to swim
his horse across the river. We started again at
2 P.M. & travelling s. of w. alternately over sandy
bluffs & bottoms, we forded 2 small streams,
near their confluence with the River, & finally en-
camped a little after sunset on the banks of the
same, having come 20 3/4 miles - The features of the
country through which we have travelled this afternoon,
are similar to those of this forenoon, as we observed
all the way to our night across the river & occa-
sionally also to our left, lofty, rocky, & broken ranges
of mountains. About 3 miles back from here
we passed another isolated mass of rock, sim-
ilar in form, though inferior in size to "Inde-
pendence Rock". & in fact we begin to be sensible
that we are fast approaching the far-famed
Rocky Mountains, which extend from the northern
to the southern limits of the United States
Territory & Mexico - at this place the grass
is plentiful & luxuriant; although we have
no fuel except the wild sage root, which
here grows higher than any I have before seen.
I know of but 2 antelopes having been brought
into camp to-night, killed by Joseph Hancock
& Lewis Barney - We passed the 10 emigrant
wagons also about 3 miles back, when they
have encamped for the night. It is the intention
to get as early a start to-morrow morning
as possible, on account of the wish of the Twelve
to get ahead of the emigrants. Latitude at noon,
42° 28' 25" -

  Wednesday the 23d. - Warm & sultry,. We started
at 7 A.M., & travelled a west course {some distance from the river} over, as usual,
a deep, sandy road. noticing on our right as

[Page 96 of 124]

usual, a high unbroken chain of mountains.
{ket two words crossed out} After going about 1 1/2 mile, we crossed a
small creek. when proceeding 7 miles, we halted to
bait at 20 minutes past 11 A.M. in a beautiful
valley, abounding with green grass, opening upon a
pass {ket five words crossed out} rocky cliffs
elevating their towering forms on either side - At
this place we again came to the river, which flows
within a few rods of our halting place. We again
atarted at 1 P.M. - went 1/2 a mile, & turned to the
left leaving the river & the defile or pass spoken
of above to our right - thence we pursued a west
course over an excessively sandy road which was very
hard travelling for our horses - The features of the
country remain about the same - high rocky moun-
tains on our right, while 5 or 6 miles to our left
are lofty hills covered in places with snow. - af-
ter going about 8 miles we descended a gentle
elevation & again came to the river, along which
we travelled 1/2 a mile further & encamped on its
banks in a semi circle at 6 P.M. having come
17 miles to-day. In advance of us at a great
distance can be seen the outlines of mountains,
loftier than any we have yet seen, - the setting
sun throwing its glaring rays athwart their
summits, reveal them to our eyes covered with
snow. There is a company of 10 emigrant wagons
encamped this evening about a mile in advance
of us - these left the ferry a day or two previous
too our starting thence - Orson went on guard to
watch the horses & cattle soon after our arrival.
The weather, which this forenoon was quite warm
& sultry, is now somewhat cold, the wind
having veered round to the north - Opposite
our camping place this evening {on the other side the river} is another of those
isolated massive {irregular} {ket "rocky" crossed out} piles of rock, thrown
together in huge fragments, as if by some con-
vulsion of nature - It is situated at the entrance
& near the center of a wide area of ground, forming
a pass with lofty crags & precipices towering
about it on either side. another lot of emigrants
are encamped about a mile back - Joseph Han-
cock & Lewis Barney killed 2 antelope to-day -

    Thursday the 24th.  - Somewhat cloudy & cool
this morning. We started at 6 A.M. - turning
to the left, & leaving the river to our right we pursued
a west course over a somewhat uneven, sandy

[Page 97 of 124]

road 5 or 6 miles, & came to springs which issue from
the ground, & have a sulphurous taste - in them
we found the ice quite thick - we also noticed a
number of salaratus beds, occupied with water-
Here, too, we overtook a company of {ket "wagons" crossed out} {emigrants} con-
sisting of 10 wagons, & passed them, after trav-
elling behind them some distance - after proceed-
ing a little further on, we overtook another small
company of them - behind these we travelled some
8 or 10 miles, & descending quite a steep, sandy hill,
we again came to the river, having made 17 3/4 miles
to-day - Here we encamped at 1/4 past 3 P.M. in a
semicircle in an extensive valley or plain surrounded
by high & sandy hills - The grass here was tolerably
good, & there was also considerable brushwood growing
on the banks of the river, which we used as fuel -
At this place we have again to ford the river - The
emigrants, whom we have travelled with the latter part
of the day passed our camp & went ahead - also those
whom we left behind came up soon after our arrival
& went ahead a short distance & encamped for the
night on the other side the river - another company soon
after came up & encamped back a short distrance. There
were 4 antelope killed to-day by J. Hancock, Charles
Burk, Henson Walker, & Lewis B Myers - This evening
another sad accident happened in our camp - Bro. John
Holman, while driving up the horses, made a motion
with his gun at one of them, as if to frighten him,
& in so doing, the lock caught in his pocket &
the piece discharged taking effect in the horse's flank -
He died during the night - He belonged to Pres't.
Young & was considered the best horse in the
camp - We put our horses on {an} island opposite this
afternoon, as the grass there was better than here -

    Friday the 25th. - Clear day, with a strong
wind from the west. We started at 7 A.M. the em-
igrants ahead, having preceded us - after fording
the river to the island, & travelling over it was 1/4 of a
mile, we again crossed the river to the main shore -
Leaving it now to our left, we travelled 3 miles over a
hilly, sandy road, & came to it once again - We
now pursued a west course alternately ascending &
descending rugged, stony hills, & occasionally trav-
elling over the bottoms along the stream, & halted
on its banks in a beautiful grassy plain, {at 25 m. past 11.} surrounded
by loftie, & sandy hills, having come 8 3/4 miles
Just before we stopt, we crossed a small creek which
empties near here into the river. We again started

[Page 98 of 124]

at 1 P.M. & went about 2 miles, when we found
the company of emigrants encamped, who went
ahead of us this morning - We now again began
to bear {away} from the river & pursuing a west course
over lofty, sandy, rocky hills & valleys alternately
& crossing 4 small spring creeks, we at length
encamped {at 1/2 past 6 P.M.} in a small & beautiful valley on the
banks of a clear & murmuring rivulet, having come
11 1/2 miles this afternoon, & 20 1/4 during the day.
I noticed during our route this afternoon, on the
summits of the highest hills we passed over, 2
or 3 extensive ponds of water, formed by the
melting of the snow - Bro. Jacob Burnham passed
my wagon with a handful of the latter that he had
picked up in a ravine, & gave me a portion of it,
which seemed quite a curiosity to be seen in summer.
The banks of the stream on which we are encamped
abounded on either side in extensive shrubbery & un-
derbrush, which answers to us the purpose of fuel.
This evening my eyes are quite sore, in consequence
of the dust blowing all day in our faces the wind
being in the west - The air is quite chilly this evening.

    Saturday the 26th. - Clear, cold morning - so much
so that we were obliged to don our overcoats. - We
started at 8 A.M., & pursuing a west course 4 miles
we came to a stream having the appearance of being
a Fork or branch of Sweet Water running south -
about 1 1/2 mile beyond we crossed {the same} {ket "another" crossed out} stream
twice, first to an island & then to the main shore,
running in general about the same direction - On
the banks of the first of these we noticed quite
a large bank of snow, apparently 8 or 10 feet deep.
Travelling over a rough, sandy, & hilly country, we
halted to bait at 20 minutes to 1 P.M. after
having first forded another deep & rapid
stream, running also in {serpentinely} in a southern direction
This we take to be the middle Fork of Sweet Water.
We were obliged, (the most of us,) to elevate our
wagon beds on account of its depth. We have made
11 miles this forenoon. - To the south-west of us at
this place can be seen at a distance 2 huge, high
rocks, standing apparently a few rods apart These
are mentioned in Fremont's map & journal as "Table Rock".                                The banks of this stream on either side are fringed
with abundance of shrubbery & underbrush - Only
a few rods from my wagon this noon, in a kind
of ravine, is a huge bank of crusted snow -

[Page 99 of 124]

the vegetation advancing to the very edge of it -
& has the appearance, like that we saw to-day on
the first stream we crossed, of being 8 or 10 feet deep.
It is indeed to me quite a singular sight, as the
weather having become much warmer that it was
this morning, & the sun pouring his burning rays
upon us, afford {us the opportunity of visioning} a striking contrast between the
2 extremes, heat  & cold - It is the general supposition
that we cannot now be far from the entrace or foot of
the " South Pass" which is 20 miles wide - While
here this noon, Bro. Eric Glines rode up on a mule -
He had come from the place where we left the brethren
since Wednesday last. He reported that they {had} transferred
the ferry down the north Fork about 8 miles, & that a
number of the brethren were engaged in burning coal pits.
We again started at 1/4 to 2 P.M., & journeying, as usual,
over a sandy & somewhat hilly country, we encamped
in a circle {at 1/2 past 6 P.M.,} on the banks of the same stream we
crossed at noon, in a small valley, environed by
gentle, undulating hills, having come 18 3/4 miles
during the day, & 129 3/4 miles during the week, & are
this evening 276 1/4 miles from Ft. John, & 816 1/2 miles
from Winter Quarters - Latitude this noon, 42° 22' 42"
The stream here on either bank abounds in green bushes
& shrubbery of different kinds, affording us fuel. We
have {heard} of only 2 antelope being killed to-day by Lewis
B. Myers & Sterling Driggs. To the north west of
us a great distance, we can discover a lofty range
of mountains, whose summits are covered with snow.
The grass here is tolerably good - The air this evening
quite chilly though but little air stirring - about dark
it was discovered that Bro. Heber, Geo. A. Smith, O. Pratt
& one or two others who had gone ahead this afternoon to
seek a good camping place, had not yet returned. -
Accordingly, Brigham, Phineas Young, Porter, Colonel
Markham, Howard Egan, & one or two others rode
out after them - they had not gone far before they
met Heber on his return - he said that ahead some
distance on {ket "the Little Sandy River" crossed out} {a small stream} were 10 men
with pack mules encamped, on their way to the States.
With these, or near them, the remainder of the brethren,
(O. Pratt & others,) had tarried for the night.

    Sunday the 27th. - Fine, clear morning, though some
what cold - I stood on guard 1 hour watching cattle
We started this morning at 9, & soon after crossed
the "dividing ridge", which separates or forms

[Page 100 of 124]

the boundary between the waters flowing
east & west into the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans.
We now began to descend, instead of ascending
as we have {done} for a long time - After going about 4
miles we came across one of the mountaineers
above referred to, whose name is Major Harris, -
he has been in this western country some 20
years, & is familiar with all its localities -
He has the appearance of being about 40 years
of age - He did not give a very favorable account
of the country in the vicinity of the Salt Lake, but
spoke in high terms of a valley {ket one word crossed out} there {north of 40 miles} called
Cash valley, which is some 70 miles in length,
& from 15 to 30 miles in breadth - Bear river runs
through it at right angles, on the west side of which
the soil is sandy, & barren, except considerable
wild sage, which on the east side, there is less
wild sage, & quite a heavy body of timber, such
as cotton wood, box elder &c. He had quite a
number of newspapers with him, some of which were
published in Oregon: among the rest was one {dated Feb. 13, 1847,}
published by Samuel Brannan at a place in
California called "Yerba Buens" - The name
of this is the "California Star" - I noticed in it a
horrid account of the condition of some emigrants
who in attempting to go over the mountains
last fall, were frozen to death, while the
survivors being destitute of food were ob-
liged to consume the bodies of their friends,
to such an extent of hunger & suffering were
they reduced. - This man's comrades have
gone on to the east - he, himself talks of going
back west. He advises us to take a northern route
to the place of our destination instead of going by
Ft. Bridger, there being more feed on the one than
the other - We proceeded about 2 1/4 miles further
west & halted to bait at 1/4 to 12 M. after crossing
a small, clear rivulet abounding in small fish -
having come 6 1/4 miles. We again started at 1/4
past 2 P.M., - we travelled in a western direction
over comparatively a level, sandy road, without
the occurrence of any particular incident & en-
camped in {a} circle at 6 P.M., on the banks of a small
spring creek, called "Dry Sandy". having come
15 1/4 miles to-day - This stream at this time does
not run, but on the contrary lies apart in
kind of springs - The grass here is somewhat

[Page 101 of 124]

thin, though very good. Major Harris has come back
with us this far, & stops near here to-night - This
stream, as also the one we crossed this noon are
probably tributaries of the Green River - The weather
the latter part of the day, has been unusually warm
& sultry. - Latitude this noon, 42° 18' 58". I have
heard of but one antelope being killed to-day - done by Porter.
We are still in full view of lofty mountains covered
with snow. Between these we can distinguish a large
hollow, & near there is probably the source of "Sweet Water".                        This evening Bro. Heber again called upon me to take a
walk with him - We went a short distance from
the camp & knelt & prayed alternately for the mem-
bers of the 2 families to which we belong in W.
Quarters, & for all the Saints there & elsewhere - Major
Harris has a large number of skins to sell at the
following prices, viz: - elk skin, $3 - deer do, $1.50
ready-made pants & hunting shirts, $4. -

Monday the 28th. - Beautiful weather this
morning - I stood on guard last night from 12
till daylight - The horses and cattle are considerably
scattered this morning in consequence of the scarcity
of grass - We started at 20 minutes past 7 A.M.,
& pursuing a west course over a dry, even, &
sandy road, & halted to bait at 1/2 past 12 M.
on the banks of the Little Sandy River, having come
13 1/2 miles - This stream is now as large as Sweet
Water, being considerably swollen by the melting
of the snow in the mountains - The banks
are lined with shrubbery, & near its margin, the
grass is tolerably good -- The opposite banks are
composed of sand & are quite high - The weather
has grown extremely warm & sultry - We left Mr.
Harris this morning at the Dry Sandy - he intends
waiting there for other emigrants to come up - a
number of the brethren exchanged ammunition, &
clothes of different kinds, particularly shirts with
him for elk & deer skins - he would give one of
the latter for a "hickory" or cabies shirt, or for 2
boxes percushing caps - I perused a paper this morning
that I got of Dr. Richards, called the "Oregon Spectator" ,
dated March 4, 1847. published at Oregon city.
The principal news contained therein, refers to the
suffering condition of the emigrants & petitions
to the people of Oregon to step forward & assist
them, a number of them being entirely destitute of

[Page 102 of 124]

clothing, horses & cattle, wagons, &c. &c. --
We forded "Little Sandy", & pursued our journey
at 4 P.M. - went west about 2 miles, & turned a                                                         little aside from the road & encamped in a
circle at 6 P.M. on the banks of the same stream
having come 15 1/2 miles over a tolerably level &
sandy road - Just before we arrived there we
were met by Mr. Bridger & two others on horse
back. - the former being the proprietor of the
Fort, from whom its name is taken - They re-
traced their steps to camp with us to-night
along the banks of the river on quite an ex-
tensive bottom we found the grass quite green
& high. In the distance to the west we can dis-
tinctly see this evening a line of trees marking,
as we are told, the progress of "Big Sandy River"
with which this, {running west,} effects its junction, apparently {ket one word crossed out}
{ket two words crossed out} {a number of} miles hence. - There is plenty of shrubbery
& underbrush on the banks of the stream, which
affords us abundance of fuel. There were {but} 2
antelope killed to day that I have heard of - one,
a young fawn by Joseph Rooken, the other
by Bro. Marble - An interview was held with Mr.
Bridger this evening at which the following information
was obtained - That we were about 200 miles from
the ”Salt Lake", his fort being half the distance.
The country of which he gave us a description is
situated between the 2 lakes Eutaw & Salt,
{ket "them being" crossed out} {consisting of} a valley of 100 miles in extent. - {ket "between" crossed out}
{ket "the 2" crossed out}. The soil is good, producing wild flax
in abundance, {also} white & red clover & is {ket I am unable to decipher the last word of the line}
adapted to the growth of corn & wheat - Between
the 2 lakes, 3 large streams coming from the
mountains, traverse the valley, & empty into the
Salt Lake. These abound in various kinds
of fish, & their banks are heavily lined with
timber, consisting of pine & oak, also quite
a number of groups of sugar maple, which
have been used for the making of sugar these
20 years. - That Gold, silver, copper, iron, sul-
phur, saltpeter, &c. are found in abundance in
the mountains, he giving a description of a num-
ber of places where the above minerals were to be
found - That near to the road is a spring
that issues {forth} both fresh & salt, hot & cold.{alternately waters}
He also gave a description of another {valley} country some

{pages are out of order; the following page for this page is page 105}

[Page 103 of 124]

{ket pages are out of order; the preceding page for this page is page 50}

some of the brethren dug a well, which supplies us with good
drinking water -- this is very convenient, as otherwise we would
be obliged to go to the creek 1/2 a mile distant -- Bro. Heber
came to me this evening, & invited me {to} take a walk with
him -- we went out about a 1/4 of a mile on the prairie, where
we remained near 1/2 an hour in conversation on different mat-
ters, -- past, present, & future -- among other things, he spoke
of the anxiety he had for our friends whom we have left
behind in Winter Quarters, & in particular of the affection
he had for his wife Vilate & all his family -- also of the
great friendship he cherished towards our family -- that he
verily believed he had the prayers of father & mother for his
welfare -- he spoke in the highest terms of Vilate & Sarah
Ann, praising them for their steadfastness, integrity, and
uprightness in sustaining him, whenever he felt weighed down
with care & perplexity -- He gave me a great deal of good ad-
vice -- said he hoped that I would continue to dignify myself
and become a mighty man of honor before God & all men
that the "{begin underline} steps {end underline}" that I had taken should redound more to my
honor & glory, than if they had been taken "{begin underline} for time and
all eternity {end underline}" as I was in a manner acting for a number of
persons, viz: -- Joseph, father, himself & myself, inasmuch
as the {begin underline} former had promised that our two families should
dwell near him in the eternal world {end underline}. -- That he hoped no
discord would arise between our two families, as we are
bound by {begin underline} double ties {end underline}, & he did not wish them ever to be
{begin underline} severed {end underline}. He then spoke of the prospects ahead -- that in
about 2 months he thought we would reach our place of des-
tination -- that he had never thought of getting there in time
to raise a spring crop, but would, in all probability {ket word possibly cut off}
time to plant turnip seed, make gardens, build a few hous
&c., & for thos who went back to return in the fall -- {ket "that" crossed out}
he would like to have Orson & myself build a house, so
that in case father should send on any of his family this
season, they might have a home & a shelter -- after talk-
ing some few minutes longer, he proposed that we should
pray -- We accordingly knelt down, & he made a beauti-
ful prayer, which for sincerity & depth of feeling cannot
be surpassed -- he manifested so much {ket one word crossed out} {paternal} feeling to-
wards his family, in the desires that he offered up before the
Lord for their happiness & welfare, that, if they could have
heard him, and had even cherished any doubts of his friendship
& affection towards them, they would have been immediately
banished by the conviction that they lay closely entwined around
his heart -- he prayed for father & mother, for my wife, and
finally for the saints in Winter Quarters, & throughout all
the world -- that the Twelve might have wisdom to guide this
people aright even in the present undertaking, that we might be

[Page 104 of 124]

{ket some text on the left and right margins is missing, possibly because of tape}

enabled through the assistance & guidance of the Lord, to
reach a land where we could build & inhabit, plant vineyards
& eat the fruit thereof, & have a place to set our feet "where there
would be none to molest, nor make afraid." - After he had
closed, he asked me if I wished to pray? - which I did, & we
rose and retraced our steps to the camp, after having enjoyed
one of the happiest, (& apparently the briefest,) meetings that I
have experienced in a long time. - Bro. Heber, almost daily
is accustomed to go ahead on horseback, & survey the trac
{ket some letters crossed out}                                                                                        {ket illegible word} out good camping-places for the night, &c. - Some-
imes he is attended by a few of the hunters, at other time
lmost unattended - I neglected to mention that Prof. Pratt
ok an observation to-day noon, & ascertained us to be
latitude 41 deg. 7 min. & 44 sec. north - at this place. -

   Wednesday the 12th. - Fair weather - the wind still strong
from the south-east - We started this morning at 20 min
utes past 9 - travelled, as heretofore over a sandy soil,
without the occurrence of any particular incident, & halted
at 1/4 past 1 P.M., to feed, on the banks of the "North Fork" of
the Platte River - It is the general opinion that we passed
the junction of the North & South Forks during yesterday's travel
s here noticed a heavy body of timber, which apparently mad
the progress {to the N. E.} of another large stream, a number of miles beyond
the one, along which we are now travelling - Our course this
forenoon has been about "N.N.W.", having come 8 miles, ac-
cording to the piece of mechanism, lately constructed by Apple
ton Harmon. - It is with considerable satisfaction the we
have at least discovered a mode of telling the distance we
travel each day, as hitherto, we have principally relied upon
conjecture, through which, we have, no doubt, overrated the dis
tance somewhat, since we left Winter Quarters - at the
place where we stopt this noon, there are a number of ravin
or hollows, in which the grass was quite green & luxuriant -
Since writing the above, I learned that Prof. Pratt in his
observation yesterday noon, discovered our camping ground
of last night to be 2 1/2 miles above the junction of the
2 "Forks" - He also took an observation this noon -
showing that we are in latitude north 41 deg., 9 minute
44 seconds, being 10 1/2 miles above the junction - at 1/2
past 3 we were again in motion; travelled 4 miles & en-
camped at 1/4 to 6 P.M., in a circle, near a bayou that
sets back from the river {ket two words crossed out} {at this place} opposite us is quite
a group of islands, which however afford us no wood
as there is but little growing upon them, except shrubs
& low bushes - We have travelled about the same direction
we did this forenoon, with the exception that, when
we went round a bend in the river, we verged a
little to the South-west -- The travelling has been very

{ket pages are out of order; the next page after this page is page 51}

[Page 105 of 124]

{ket pages are out of order; the preceding page for this page is page 102}

200 miles south of that, stating it to be similar
to the one just described, & that wheat & corn are
there raised in great abundance by the Indians. -
In fine, he gave a minute description of the
whole country, which differed materially from the
account given us by Major Harris - The above, though
not minute, is the substance of the information gleaned
from the statements of Mr. Bridger & the 2 others - they
are now on their way to Ft. John - They moreover
told us that it would be necessary for us to start
back, at least, as early as August, else we would
be in danger of perishing with cold, & that the grass
would, in this region, be cut off by the frost, if we
deferred our departure to a later period - Oson &
myself bathed this evening in the river.

    Tuesday the 29th. - Pleasant, though somewhat
warm & sultry through the day - Mr. Bridger &
his two comrades left us this morning at about 7
o'clock, on their way to Ft. John - Soon after, we
started - travelled a west course over a sandy, level
road, noticing on our right {& left} the "Big" &  "Little Sandy "
Rivers, & at length forded the former stream, probably
2 or 3 miles above its junction with the latter. - Here
we halted to bait at 11 A.M., having come 6 3/4 miles. -
This stream is somewhat muddy & quite high at this
time, being at the place where we forded it some
60 yds. wide -- about half the teams stopt the other side
as the grass was somewhat better there than here -
We again started at 1 P.M. - travelled S.S.W. over a
comparatively level {sandy & in some places, quite stony} road, occasionally ascending &
descending small hills, & encamped on the banks of
the "Big Sandy" River some time after dark, in a circle,
having come 17 miles this afternoon & 23 3/4 miles
during the day, the longest ascertained day's
travel since we left Winter Quarters - The river
here takes a serpentine course, though its general
direction is west. - The opposite banks are quite
high - but little or no timber growing around - grass
of the slim "wiry" kind in plenty - There was
that I have heard of but one antelope killed to-day
shot & brought in this evening by Henson Walker. -
Latitude this noon on ”Big Sandy" 42° 6' 42"

     Wednesday the 30th. - Warm & sultry - We started
this morning about 8 & pursuing a S.W. course
along the river for some distance over a sandy
& somewhat uneven road with a range of
low, sandy hills to our right & encamped at

[Page 106 of 124]

noon on the banks of "Green River." having
come 8 miles - We found on our arrival, that the
emigrants who were ahead of us had all got across
& were encamped some 5 miles above here - This
we learned from 2 horsemen who we found
here - Immediately each Division was called
together & men selected by Cols. Markham &
Rockwood to make a raft {&} stand guard -
I was chosen, with a number of others to do
the latter duty & to stand 1/2 a day alternatly
while we remain here - The 2 rafts were
completed by evening - we found no diffi-
culty in getting timber for their construction,
as there is plenty of cotton wood growing
on the banks of the river. This stream {run S.E. at this place &} is
quite deep & rapid. & at this place, about 100
yds. in width - From all appearances it has
been considerably swollen {this spring} beyond its banks.
The bottoms being covered with weeds, flood-wood,
&c. left by the receding of the waters. - During
this afternoon, we were all much surprised by the
unexpected arrival of Elder Samuel Brannan.
{ket "who" crossed out} who was at the head of the company of
brethren that went round by sea last year.
from New York city to California - He was ac-
companied by 3 men, 2 of whom had come thro'
with him from the latter country - with 1 of these
I was well acquainted - His name is                 Smith,
& I believe is some distant relation of our prophet
Joseph - He left Nauvoo, (where I made his ac-
quaintance,) some 2 years since for Oregon.
One of the other 2 men was one of the individuals
we saw with Mr. Bridger the other day - the
other man I did not know. Elder Brannan gives
a very favorable account of the climate, soil, &c. of
California & appears quite anxious that we should
immediately go there & take possession of the
country before it becomes occupied by others - He
had left Yerba Bueno April 13th - This place
is situated on the bay of San Francisco & from
all accounts, bids fair to become in time a flour-
ishing city - He brought a number of news papers
with him which he distributed among the
"Twelve" - among these was a pile of his own
entitled the "California Star". 12 or 14 in number.
Mr. Smith informed us that in Oregon they had
2 seasons, {begin underline} wet & dry - The former continuing 7 m.
The latter 5 months, the winters being quite mild. -

[Page 107 of 124]

I stood on guard this afternoon, & at sunset, with
others, drove the horses & cattle to camp -

     Thursday the 1st of July. - Fine weather, though
somewhat windy - The brethren, this morning, com-
menced ferrying at a very early hour. & by night
had got over about 10 wagons, chiefly belonging
to the 1st Division - The raft belonging to the
2d D., on trial, proved to be too unwieldy for
use, consequently they commenced to-day to build
a new one. which was nearly finished by night -
however, the old one was used through the day.
Orson stood on guard last night, the first watch.
He also stood the fore part of to-day, watching
horses & cattle, myself the latter part - Within
2 or 3 days past, a kind of fever has appeared &
is quite prevalent in our camp. there being
more than 20 men prostrated with it at this
time. a number of whom are unable to sit up. -
Quite a number of cattle & horses were also
swam over to-day. -

         Friday the 2d. - Fair day - a number of
horses & cattle were swam over the river this
morning. mine included. I crossed the river &
with 12 others stood {on all day} guard to prevent the
horses & cattle from straying away. Here I
tried my luck at fishing & caught a good
sized salmon, weighing between 2 & 3 pounds.
with which kind of fish this river abounds.
Towards evening the remainder of the horses & cattle
were swam over. -- The ferryage commenced early
as usual this morning, & this evening, there are but
about 18 wagons remaining on this side including
my own - There is no lack of musquitoes at this
place, on account of the river having so recently
overflown its banks, & they "present (or put in)
their bills" this evening, like a creditor to a
debtor, greatly to our annoyance. -

      Saturday the 3d. - Tolerably fair this morning,
though considerably windy, with a slight rain
this afternoon. - The wagons were all got over
safely by about 2 P.M. - Brigham & Heber went
ahead to seek a good camping place for the
night - After their return we started about 3 P.M.
& proceeding a south course along the river
over an even, sandy road, we at length de-
scended a steep hill & came to an extensive
bottom. were we encamped in a line at

[Page 108 of 124]

1/2 past 4 P.M. on its banks having come 3 miles.
Here we found the grass quite good, though some-
what thin & short - plenty of underbrush for fuel,
& swarms of musquitoes in proportion - On this
side the river the banks are low & even, on the opposite
high & sandy. - We have travelled the past week
65 1/2 miles, & are this evening distant from Ft. John
342 3/4 miles, & from Winter Quarters, 882 miles. -
This evening the brethren of the camp were called together
at Pres't. Young's wagon to receive instructions per-
taining to our future movements. - President Young
then stated that it was necessary that some individ-
uals should go back to meet the next company of
brethren, in order to pilot & assist them on the road,
& that it would be advisable to select those for that
purpose that had families who would need their
help, in preference to single men, who had no such
demands upon them. He said he was willing that
6, or even 8 or 10 individuals should go, as they deemed
proper - At length the following {ket one word crossed out} were chosen or
volunteered their services, viz: - Phineas H. Young, Aaron
Farr, George Woodward, Eric Glines & Rodney Badger. -
President Young proffered them the use of the wagon
which has formerly drawn the "Revenue Cutter " - they
are also to take 3 hourses with them, 1 for riding the
other 2 to draw the wagon. - He then stated his wish
that there should be a meeting held to-morrow com-
mencing at 9 A.M., & this to be under the supervision
of the Bishops as himself with some of the brethren
of the Twelve intended to accompany the 5 men
as far as the river, to see them safely across &
also to draw ashore the rafts we have left behind -
That he wished every man in the camp punctually
to attend meeting at the time appointed, except those
who were stationed on guard, & that there should
be no fishing, hunting, &c. on the Sabbath Day.
He further said that when we arrived at Ft.
Bridger, there would probably be some trading done,
& that there would be men chosen for that purpose.
but that if a man wished to make a trade for himself,
let him do it & step aside, & not stand in the
way of others who also wished a chance - That he
himself had been hindered from trading by the latter
circumstances, & that if they would let him trade at
the Fort first, both the men & boys would get
better bargains, "for," said he, "if there is any

[Page 109 of 124]

burthen to be born. I would rather bear it, & I
consider myself better able to bear it than any other
man in the church. & would rather, by throwing out
$10 as a bait, lose it at once, than that any of
you should lose twenty-five cents - these are my
feelings. & God knows it. & so does every man who
knows my heart" -

     Sunday the 4th. - Warm & pleasant, with but
little air stirring. - The horses & cattle were all
drove down to a bottom about a mile from here,
where the grass grows much more luxuriant than
at this place. - Agreeably to yesterday's arrange-
ment, a speaking & payer meeting was held
to-day, commencing at 9 A.M. - Soon after the
5 men spoken of above started back, being ac-
companied by Brigham, Heber, & some others as
far as the ferry. - About 3 P.M., the latter re-
turned accompanied by 12 of the soldier brethren
from Pueblo, who had left that place the 24th
ultimo - these were originally 13 in number, one
of whom, William Walker, meeting with A.
Farr this morning at the Ferry, has gone back
with him to meet their families - they had left
the Ferry on the North Fork of the Platte, on
Monday the 28th inst. - Their destination is
Ft. Bridger, where they are going in pursuit
of horses stolen from them near Pueblo, {by French traders} a
part of which they recovered at Ft. John -
2, a horse & a mule being yet missing. -
When they arrived, they formed in a line on
horseback, near Pres't. Young's wagon, where,
by his suggestin, 3 loud cheers & 4 "hosan-
nahs" were given for their safe return to us.
The remainder of their company, they left at
the North Fork., who were intending to start
the next day after their departure - these had
21 Government wagons - there was also a                                                                    company of Missouri brethren with them,
consisting of 40 or 50 wagons - Among those
who arrived here this afternoon, were 3 of my
acquaintance, vis. John Buchanan, James Oak-
ley & Thomas Williams, the latter being at the
head of the pursuing expedition. - They informed
us that the brethren at the North Fork Ferry,
had been threatened by three Missourians with
being mobbed, but on Luke Johnson {ket one word crossed out}
{ket one word crossed out} telling them to commence as quick

[Page 110 of 124]

they pleased for that there was plenty of as-
sistance near at hand, (referring to the company
from Pueblo.) they thought best to desist & say
no more about it We also learned that the
emigrants after getting over the river cut their
rafts loose & let them drift away. being so de-
ficient in charity that they were not willing
that members of their own companies should                                                                                           cross over without paying heavily for the use
of them. Bro. Amasa Lyman is also at the Ferry
there, with the remainder of the brethren - he had
met them on "Horse Creek",  between Pueblo & Ft                                                                                                                      John bout 75 miles from the latter place. -
An ox beloning to Bro. Robert Crow died this
afternoon. - Orson & myself used the last of our
second bag flour this evening. - I omitted to
mention that we got our horses reshod at the
Ferry on Green River by Bro. Burr Frost. -                                                                                                   

   Monday the 5th. - Pleasant morning. though
it clouded up, & rained a very little this afternoon.
We started at 8 A.M., & pursuing a south
course along the river about 3 miles, we {left it &} bore
to the right of it, & going a south west course
over a stony, sandy, uneven road. we en-
camped on the banks of {ket "Harris Fork" crossed out} {"Black's Fork"} about
5 P.M., having come 20 miles. - This stream
is a tributary of Green River, & at this place
winds serpentinely in {a} S. E. direction, being about
8 rods in width, & quite deep & rapid. -   I
know of no occurrence of interest to-day except
the killing of an antelope by Lewis R. Myers.
The grass here is tolerably good, & {there is also} plenty of
underbrush for fuel - A few musquitoes though
not so abundant or voracious as on Green
River. - This evening to the south west, we can
discover, at a great distance, a lofty range of
mountains covered with snow. - The twelve
brethren from Pueblo, as also Elder Brannan
& his 2 comrades, have travelled with us to-day -
& intend doing so as far as {Ft. Bridger} {ket one word crossed out} though
I know not how much farther. - This stream
also abounds in fine fish of the salmon kind -
I caught a {ket "fish" appears to be rubbed out} small one this evening. -

    Tuesday the 6th - Pleasant weather although
a strong wind from the south-west - we
started about 8 A.M., & pursuing a south
west course, over an uneven, rugged road

[Page 111 of 124]

for 3 1/2 miles we crossed "Ham's Fork" - going                                                             still 1 1/2 mile further we forded another stream
called also "Black's Fork" - We now continued
our route in the same direction, over, as usual
an uneven, sandy & stony soil, & encamped
again on the banks of "Black's Fork", (after
first crossing it,) at 6 P.M., having come 18 1/4
miles- These streams are of uniform size & ra-
pidity, being both tributaries of "Green River"-
Just before we arrived here, we met 2 men
with 3 pack-horses, who informed me that the
distance to "Ft. Bridger" is about 15 miles.-
The grass here is tolerably good- also plentyfull,
to be obtained from underbrush growing on the banks.
My eyes feel quite sore this evening, owing to
the excess of dust encountered to-day in travelling.

    Wednesday the 7th. - Fine weather, though windy &
very dusty travelling.- We started at 1/2 past 8 A.M.,
& travelled S.W. over, as usual an uneven, sandy,
stony road, & stopt to bait at 1 P.M. on the banks
of Black's Fork having come 9 miles.- This stream
we have crossed twice on our route this forenoon,
its course being very crooked. - A short time previous
to our halt, while descending a hill the neck to
our wagon was broken in two.- as we happened to have
a spare one with us the damage was soon repaired.
We again started about 2 P.M. & continuing the
same course, we arrived at Ft. Bridger, sun
about an hour high, & encamped in a circle about
1/2 a mile beyond it, having come 17 3/4 miles to-day.
after coming in sight of the Ft. we crossed 7
small, rapid strams, before reaching our camping
place - These all unite some distance below, &
form the stream called "Black's Fork". - This is
not a regular fort, as I at first supposed but
consists of 2 log houses, where the inhabitants live,
& also do their trading. - Adjacent to these as also
about a mile back, is a number of lodges
made of skins - these belong to the "Snake In-
dians".  a few of whom reside here - The majority
of them inhabit "Snake River", some 3 days
Journey distant from this place - I saw a fine
trout this evening caught by Bro. Truman Angel
in this stream - These are the first of the kind
I have seen, since I left Massachusetts, in
1844. - The ground where we are stiuated is
somewhat low & wet, owing to the recent over

[Page 112 of 124]

flow of the waters which accounts for the nu-
merous small streams spoken of above, {crossed out word} con-
sists of an extensive plain, abounding in high
grass, both green & luxuriant, thus affording the
best pasture land, we have seen in a long time.
Thomas Williams & his company, who have come
on here in pursuits of the stolen horse & mules,
were disappointed in their search. The men sus-
pected of taking them, having left here some 4
days since - There is one man here however
by the name of Timothy Goodell, to whom, he
with his comrades, attact some suspicion, as
being concerned in the affair but as he has privi-
ously borne a good character from the accounts we have
recieved of him from Mr. Bridger & others, as we came
along, the majority of the brethren, are inclined to ac-
quit him of any participation in the transaction.
However as he was anxious to leave here imme-
diately, he gave Mr. Williams a horse in place
of the mule, rather than wait here till Capt.
Brown with the remainder of the company shall
come up - This place is distant from Ft. John
397 3/4 miles & {from} Winter Quarters, 948 miles. - The
latitude of Ft. Bridger is 41° 19' 13"

     Thursday the 8th. - Fine weather, though very windy.
This morning, Orson & myself went down to the Ft.
& bought 2 pair of pantaloons made of deer skins.
He gave for his 3 pints of sugar 2 of coffee 1 bar of
lead, & a shirt - I for mine, 3 shirts & 1/2 a box
of percussing caps. In the afternoon, Orson went
about a mile below there to some lodges &
bought 4 pair of moccasons in exchange for
some little articles he had. - I got Hans C. Hansen
to alter my pantaloons as they were considerably too
large. - A trifling difficulty having accured between
Andrew J. Gibbons & George Mills. {crossed out word. Could be: The} matter
was, this evening, brought before Pres't Young
for adjustment. It appears that the former
had struck the latter on account of being
taunted  & reproached by {crossed out words} {him} who is
quite aggravating sometimes - After hearing
the case, Pres't. Young called upon the brethren
of the Twelve separately for their opinion, which
was substance as follows: - That they con-
sidered they were both to blame, but of the two,
Bro. George the most so. - after which the
President adressed himself to Bro. George &
told him, that he was an old man, &

[Page 113 of 124]

should learn to respect himself, & he would be respected,
& quit all his boyish notions, & not condescend to the
manners of boys, but set a good example before them.
He then, told Bro. Andrew that he was to blame for
striking Bro. George, & that it was his duty at all times
to respect old age - Both parties finally acknowledged
themselves to be in the wrong, & asked the forgiveness of
the brethren, which was cheerfully granted. - The President
then called upon the captains of 10's to know if they
knew of anything to hinder our departure to-morrow.
Thy replied in the negative, accordingly it was voted
& carried that we start early to morrow morning.-
Howard Egan, Porter, J. Redden & myself this
evening rode down to the lodge of Timothy Goodell
& his comrades. Where we spent the evening quite agree
-ably in their company.-

      Friday the 9th. - Pleasant Weather, though quite
windy, & dusty, disagreeable travelling - Thomas Wil-
liams with 6 of his men started back this morning,
to meet Capt. Brown & the remainder of the com-
pany - 5 of the men remained, & went on with us.
Pres't Young returned the horse to Mr. Goodell,
which he had given up to Mr. Williams, & told
him to retain it, till he should see him again.
A number of the brethren have made several
trades for horses, ponies, & skins, since we have
been at this place. - We started this morning
at 9 o'clock - proceeded some 4 or 5 miles over
an uneven, stony road, & came to a small
spring creek, where we halted a short time
to water - a little further on we crossed the same
creek, which winds through a narrow valley, with
lofty hills on wither side - {crossed out words}
{crossed out words} There we saw, & gathered con-
siderable snow - We now ascended a hill long
& steep, after travelling over which 3 miles, we
descended the longest & steepest descent I
have seen since we left Winter Quarters -
After going about 5 miles further a S.W. course
over gradually descending ground, we at length
crossed "Muddy Fork", & encamped in a circle
on its banks at 4 P.M., having come 13 miles.
This stream is small, & on its banks are growing
a number of scattering poplar trees. - This
was also the case on the other stream we crossed
to-day. - The grass here is remarkably coarse &
tall, though quite good. -

[Page 114 of 124]

    Saturday the 10th. - Fine morning. - I omitted to
mention, that Elder Brannan with his 2 companions,
as also Thomas Brown went back with Thos. Williams,
& his company yesterday morning. - We started this
morning about 1/2 past 8, & travelling, as usual, S.W.-
over a mountainous, rocky country. we halted to
bait at 2 P.M., in a beautiful & extensive valley
abounding in fine verdure for our cattle, having come
9 miles. - A short time before we arrived at this
place, we noticed a spring having a sulphurous taste.
Here, also, there are 2, one of which has a taste sim-
ilar to that of copperas; the other resembles that of
gunpowder. - An Indian, whom we had seen at
Ft. Bridger, followed us to this place - he had three
pack-horses - In the vicinity of this place, on a high
mountain, Lewis B. Myers took a young gray eagle
from its nest - It corresponded in size with the
one mention some time back, as having been
caught by George R. Grant. - We again continued our
Journey at 3 P.M., - we travelled some distance through
the valley environed by lofty hills, & at lengh ascending
a long & steep hill, we passed alternately over hill &
dale through a beautiful, picturesque country &
encamped a little after dark, on a small, clear
stream having come 18 miles to-day. - Our situation,
this evening, is in a beautiful valley, surrounded by a
gentle elevation of ground, while, far to the south
can be seen a number of the lofty peaks of "Bear
River" mountains, whose sides & summits are
covered with snow. - John Brown has killed an
antelope to-day. - Soon aftr our arrival, Porter rode
up & informed us, that about 1 1/2 mile distant en-
camped on "Bear River" was a number of individuals
{crossed out work} who had just come through from Cal-
ifornia - among these was a man by the name of
Miles {Goodier} whom I have before noticed as being
settled near the "Salt Lake" - the majority of them
are bound for the States. - We have travelled during
the past week 87 miles, & on this evening distant from
Ft. Bridger 31 miles, from Ft. Laramie 428 3/4 miles.
& from Winter Quarters 969 miles.-

    Sunday the 11th. - Pleasant weather. - This morn-
ing the men spoken of above passed our camp
on their way to the eastward. - among them was
a gentleman by the name of Craig - His                                                                   family were in Ray Co. Mo. & thither he
was now returning - he had left them in

[Page 115 of 124]

April 1846, & gone to California, where he had
purchased, as he informed us, some land, near
the head of "San Francisco Bay". - He did not
give a very favorable account of the country,
although, in spots, he said, there is very good
land for cultivation, when once "irrigated". - He
made the same statement concerning the country in
the vicinity of the Salt Lake - He further said
that Mr. Miles, who lived at the latter place
had there made a small garden improvement, &
that {he} had eat some of the onions, lettuce, &c., which
was quite flourishing when he left - he that their
corn had grown about 3 feet in height. - That
notwithstanding all we had heard of the richness
of the country, we would find it vastly over-
rated, & if we had formed an idea of {its} {crossed out word}
superiority, {crossed out words} we should be dis-
appointed. - Mr. Miles himself, gives a glowing
account of the country in which he is settled-
but it is the general opinion of the brethren that
he does this, on account of his anxiety that we
should travel through there{crossed out letters} thereby making
a road, & ensurring the passage of other emigrants
in that direction, which would result in his
advantage. - He, Porter, & one or two others have rode
out this morning to find a good road {to the Salt} - the re-
mainder of his compnay, 4 in number including
Mr. Craig, after halting here a few minutes, pur-
sued their journey - There is a beautiful spring
of water, not far from here which is cold &
sweet as any I ever tasted. - about 1 1/2 mile distant
some of the brethren to-day discounted a spring,
which contains matter of an oily nature, & con-
siderably resembles tar in taste - Bro Carrington
calls it "Mineral Tar" - The brethren of the camp
were this evening called together at Pres't. Young's
wagon, to ascertain, as he told them, whether they
would take, from here the North or South road to
the Lake - after some conversation & interchange
of opinion, the former route was chosen. - Bro.
Lewis Barney killed an antelope to-day.- 

     Monday the 12th. - Fine day, though quite dus-
ty travellinge - The majority of the camp started                                                   about 8 a m. - Porter, . J. Redden, & one or two others
having lost their horses which had strayed away.
Bro. Pack & myself waited for them to be found,
& we all started about 9 A.M. - proceeded about

[Page 116 of 124]

1 3/4 mile, & crossed "Bear River" - We now travelled
in a western direction, alternately over lofty hills
or mountains, & through extensive valleys, & halted
to bait at noon in one of the latter - having come
9 3/4 miles - Here we remained about an hour & then
pursued our journey - travelling over a somewhat
more level road, (though in some places quite
stony,) than we did this forenoon, we encamped
at sunset in a beautiful valley, abounding in
verdue, having come 6 3/4 miles this afternoon, & 16 1/2 miles
during the day-  opposite our wagon to-night is a high
mass of rock, while a little to the left is a cave
in the rock, the opening of which is 12 feet in width
& some 15 feet {crossed out word} extent - & is {crossed out word} {high} enough
at the mouth, to admit a man standing upright.
Pres't. Young having been taken quite sick, re-
mained at our noon halting place - a number
of other wagons, including Heber's also stopt
there - I was attacked this morning with the
"mountain fever". as it is called, & was obliged
to lie in bed the most of the day, suffering in the
meantime, the most excruciating pains in my
head & back - This evening I swallowed 2 of Wrights
vegetable pills, & the sleep which I was denied
through the day, I enjoyed quite soundly all
night. - I understood there were 12 antelopes
killed to-day by different individuals - the cave
spoken of above, was named "Redden Cave". as
it was first discovered by J. Redden - It rained a
little, accompanied by thunder & lightening soon after
our arrival at this place.-

ShapeTuesday the 13th - Tolerably pleasant weather, though
somewhat cloudy - During this forenoon Bro. Heber
rode up on hasback form Brigham's camp, which
is 6 3/4 miles back - The brethren were immediately
called together, & the following companies, (consisting
of 23 wagons, including Porter's & A. Farris out of our 10.)
viz. Captain Taft of the 1st D., & capts. Matthews, Brown,
& Crow of the 2d. D, were chosen to go ahead & make
a road {instead of going} through the "Kanyon*", {crossed out words}                                    under
the supervision of Orson Pratt-  They started about
the middle of the afternoon, taking with them
crowbars, & other implements. necessary to remove
large obstacles from the path. - Bro. Heber returned                                               this afternoon to Brighams camp. - Dr. Richards, Elder
                                                                                                                                       *Kanyon. a confined stream of water flowing be-
tween rocks. -

[Page 117 of 124]
                                                                                                                                      Woodruff & some others dug out a good spring of water
near here this evening - My health to-day is much
better than it was yesterday. the fever having left me,
& my head ceased aching. although. I yet feel quite
dizzy & weak. - Most of the brethren in the camp
that have been attacked by this singular disease. have
partially recovered, though some are yet quite low with
it - among the latter is Father Solomon Chamberlain
The President's health is improving. & we shall prob-
ably resume our journey in a day or two. - We had a
light thunder shower this afternoon, which lasted
about 1/2 an hour - I understood there were 6 antelope
killed to-day, although I know of but 5 persons who
killed one apiece, viz. Henson Walker, Sterling Driggs,
Charles Shumway, Lyman Curtis. & Shoop, one of the
soldier brethren.

     Wednesday the 14th. - Warm & pleasant - The brethren
in the camp are mostly engaged in repairing their
clothes & wagons, & some have gone out in pursuit of
game - Quite dull business this, lying by.  - A
meeting was held {this evening} at Dr. Richard's wagon, at which
was taken into consideration the propriety of re-
moving hence a short distance, it not being deemed
healthy to remain encamped on {ket one word crossed out} {the same} spot of ground
for more than three days time. - It was accordingly
voted & carried that we take our wagons over the
little creek close by & there again form in regular
order - Bro. W. Woodruff, who has just returned
from the President's camp, reports that his health
is improving. but that Col. Rockwood is
yet quite sick with the prevailing complaint.
Bro. Woodruff intends to go over in the morning
& bring the invalids to the camp in his carriage. -
It rained considerably soon after we retired
for the night. - I have heard of but 4 antelope being
killed to-day. by the following men - Lewis Bainey 2
Joseph Hancock, & Norton Jacobs.

    Thursday the 15th. - Warm, but somewhat cloudy -
Nothing of particular importance occurred during this
forenoon. - about noon, Brigham, Heber, & the others
who staid behind came up, soon after which, we
all got up our teams & pursued our journey. - It
now commenced raining & in fact, continued stormy
throughout the day - after going about a mile, we
descended a long & rather steep, sandy hill. - thence
taking our course, through a beautiful picturesque
valley, bounded on either side by lofty crags, we

[Page 118 of 124]

encamped in the same at 1/2 past 3 P.M., hav-
ing come 4 1/2 miles-- the ground here is somewhat
wet in places, & is covered with high grass of the
best quality - The eminence to the left of us coc-
sists of a rugged mass of rock, of a reddish color,
whose tops & sides are studded with innumerable
cedar shrubs  - Bro. Geo. A. Smith informed me, that
he saw as we passed along, a kind of gum is-
suing out of the rocks in the side of the hill-
This Bro. Carnington who is both a chemist and
geologist, supposes to be of the nature of coal.-
The brethren have dug a spring here, which affords
very good drinking water. - I called upon President
Young, soon after our arrival at this place, & was
glad to find him in a state of convalescence, & in
tolerably good spirits. though his pale & emaciated
countenance plainly testified that he had recently
been quite ill in body. - My health is now
nearly reestablished, with the exceptions that I yet
feel considerably weak in body. - The following
are the names of those who went ahead on Tuesday
the 13th inst., under the supervision of Captain
Orson Pratt to look out a road, instead of
going through the "Kanyon" -

{begin column 1} S. Markham
O.P. Rockwell
J. Redden
N. Fairbanks
Joseph Egbert
John S. Freeman
Marcus B. Thorpe
Robert Crow
Benj. B. Crow                                                                                                                       John Crow
W.H. Crow
Walter Crow
Geo. W. Therlkill
James Chesney {end column 1}

{begin column 2} Lewis B. Myers
John Brown
Shadrach Roundy
Hans C. Hansen
Levi Jackman
Lyman Curtis
David Powell
Oscar Crosby
Hark Lay
Joseph Matthews
Gilburd Summer
Green Flake
John S. Gleason
Charles Burke
{erased letters} {end column 2}

{begin column 3} Norman Taylor
A.P. Chessley
Seth Taft
Horace Thornton
Stephen Kelsey
James Stewart
Robt. Thomas
C.J. Burnham
John S. Eldridge
Elijah Newman
Francis Boggs
Levi N. Kendall
David Grant {end column 3}

ShapeShape1st Division 7 wagons          15 men
2d         "        16      "                   27    "
                                                                                                                                            Total--           23      "                   42    "

[Page 119 of 124]

I took supper this evening at Bro. Heber's wagon
by his invitation, with himself Bro. Clayton
Howard Egan & Ellen - Bro. Jacobs showed me
a small branch of shrub oak that he had
found growing on the top of one of the mountains
in the vicinity. -

     Friday the 16th  - On awakening this morning
I discovered {it} to be raining quite hard, which
continued till we started, when it
cleared off  - We continued our journey at 1/2
past 8 A.M.,  - passed along through the
valley & halted to bait at noon near the
base of a high, rocky cliff having a per-
pendicular descent of 5 or 600 feet.  - Orson
went to the summit & took a view of
the surrounding country, which, he said,
consisted of lofty mountains as far as the
eye could reach  - We were again in mo{-tion}
about 2 P.M.  - The country now assumed a
more beautiful & grand appearance. the huge
{overhanging} masses of rocks to our right towering for sev-
eral hundred feet above our heads, &, as
it were, frowning down upon us with sullen
majesty from their dizzy height  - A small
murmuring rivulet winds serpentinely throug
the valley. & this we crossed a number of times.
Our road sometimes leading over small
hills. & at others over level ground through
dense thickets of willow, &c.  - In some
places the pass between the mountains be-
came quite narrow, & on looking up we
could see huge fragrements of rock pro-
jecting immidiately over our heads.  - Indeed,
this pass is so well fortified by nature,
that I have no doubt but that 10 men
could successfully dispute its passage
for a long time, against 100 men. - we
encamped at 6 P.M. in the valley, having
come 16 1/4 miles - A short distance ahead

[Page 120 of 124]

of us can be seen "Weaver's Fork" of "Bear
River" - I omitted to mention that during
our halt this noon, Porter rode up on horse-
back - he reported O. Pratt's company                                                                                  to be some 20 miles ahead - Father Chamber-
lain's wagon axle-tree was broken in two this
afternoon, & Bro. Wheeler this evening was
obliged to go back some 2 miles after
him to bring him up in another wagon. -

     Saturday the 17th. - Bright & beautiful
morning - We all got started at 1/2  8 A.M.
as usual. - The 10 to which Father Chamber-
lain belonged remained behind till his axle-
tree could be repaired & his wagon some
2 miles back be brought up. - We descended
a sloping hill & came to {Weaver's Fork of} {ket "the Bear" crossed out} {Weber} River when
turning sharp to our right we proceeded
1 1/2 mile & encamped on its banks about
10 A.M., having come 2 1/2 miles. The reason
of our stopping so soon was because President
Young was suddenly taken quite ill &
could not endure to travel any further to-day -
We have travelled 39 3/4 miles during the past
week & are, this evening distant from Ft. Bridger
70 3/4 miles. from Ft. John 468 1/2 miles, & from
Winter Quarters 1008 3/4 miles. - The river here
is bounded in places by lofty banks. & abounds
in trout, of which the brethren caught a number,
to-day. - The banks on either side are lined with
dry & green cotton wood trees - the grass is quite
good on the bottoms below - Bro. Heber, Dr Rich-
ards, Bro. Benson, Bro. Woodruff, G.A. Smith.
& a number of others this afternoon went up
into the mountains & clothed themselves
& prayed in behalf of President Young.
that he might soon recover his health. -
There are considerable signs of bear here
as you cannot walk far without see-
ing fresh tracks of that animal & on the

[Page 121 of 124]

sides of the mountains can be seen places
smoothly worn where they have slid down. -
On the summits are a numerous horns of
Mountain sheep - My health yesterday
and to-day has been very poor & I have suf-
fered considerably with a fever & head-ache.
in consequence of having taken cold.

     Sunday the 18th. - Pleasant day - The breth-
ren of the camp were called together this
morning, before breakfast, at Dr. Richard's
wagon, where Bro. Heber addressed them. -
He told them that the President is very
sick - that he did not feel as if he was
going to die; still he might - that it
was his mind {ket one or two words crossed out} that the brethren
should stay in camp & not go out hunting
fishing &c. but lift up our hearts to God
in behalf of the President. & others of the
sick & afflicted. that we may be speedily
enabled to pursue our journey - He further
proposed that a prayer meeting should be
held, under the supervision of the Bishops,
commencing at 10 A.M. - all the above sug-
gestions were voted & carried - at the
meeting held pursuant to appointment,
it was also voted & carried that all, except
the President, & those appointed to stay here
should pursue our journey early in the morning.
I walked down to the river {this afternoon} where after fishing
a few minutes I caught a very fine trout
weighing a pound or more. -

     Monday the 19th. - Pleasant morning. - This
morning about 8 o'clock 41 wagons went                                                               ahead (including 3 of Bro. Heber's.) - 15 remain
here including a number of Brigham's
& Heber's. - I also stayed behind on ac-
count of my ill health, by Bro. Heber's                                                                       advice

[Page 122 of 124]

Soon after the main body left, we got up
our teams & proceeded about 1 1/2 mile & again
encamped - Bro. Heber, Benson, Woodruff &
Egan rode ahead to survey the country - they
returned about 1/2 past 4 P.M. & reported the
road to be quite mountainous - about 2 miles
ahead W. Clayton put up a guide board with
the following inscription: - "Pratt's Pass,
to avoid the "Kanyon" - 74 1/4 miles from
Ft. Bridger." - President Young's health is
slowly improving - I caught a small trout
out of the river this evening. - Orson & 2 or 3
others has rode on ahead a short distance
to view the Kanyon -

Tuesday the 20th. - Pleasant weather. - Pres't.
Young {is so} much better it was thought best to pur-
sue our journey - We started about 1/2 past 5
A.M. & after going about 1 mile we crossed the
river - Leaving it & the Kanyon behind us, we
now pursued a W.S.W course through a valley
over gradually ascending ground, & halted to bait
{ket one word crossed out} & get breakfast at 8, having come about 4 1/2 miles.
A cool stream of water flows by near here - the grass
is tolerably good - in about 1 1/2 hour we were again in
motion - H. Egan, Orson, & a number of others went
ahead to repair the road, which now leads through
alternately narrow defiles, {ket al crossed out] along the sides & over
steep strong hills, & halted at noon to bait having
in a small valley, enclosed on all sides by
lofty mountains, having come about 6 miles - The
road here makes an abrupt turn to the west, which
course it pursues about 1/2 a mile & then turns again to
south-west - The same small cool stream runs near
here, & this we have crossed a number of times on
our route during this forenoon - Bro. Heber &
Benson rode on to search for a good camping
place for the night after they returned, (having found
one,) we again started at 1/2 past 4 P.M. - going
a short distance & turning to the S.W. we as-
cended a long hill, & after travelling over as
usual a rugged hilly road we descended - & en-
camped sun 1/2 an hour high in a valley {having come 4 miles}, watered
by quite a large stream of pure water {in} which we
crossed twice before stopping - Then we found 3 wagons
belonging to Bro. S. Goddard, Father Case, & Frank
Dewey - They had stop here on
account of the sickness of

[Page 123 of 124]

{ket two lines of text possibly written in pencil, mostly illegible}

               Observations at Ft. John.

By a mean of several Barometrical observations
taken during three days, the height above the level
of the sea was determined to be 4090 feet.

By a meridian observation of the sun, the lat-
itude determined was 42° 12' 13".

By a mean of six sights with a good Sextant,
the calculated longitude west from Greenwich
was in time 6h. 56m. 47s., equal to 104° 11' 53".

Latitude of "Warm Springs" west of Ft. John
42° 15' 6".

Shape{ket the following text is a continuation from the previous page}

Father Sherwood, Dewey, & Artemas Johnson
Their company having camped a little way back
from here last night. had gone ahead & left
them {this morning} - we learned that G. A. Smith's wagon had
broken down - I caught a fine trout this eve-
ning - It is supposed we have come about 14
miles, but we are obliged to depend entirely upon con-
jecture as to the distance. Bro. Wm. Clayton with
his wagon having gone ahead. - My health
to-day is improving & I now have hopes of speedy
recovery, unless I should suffer another relapse -
President Young, though somewhat tired, is quite
comfortable this evening. -

Since writing the above, I have learned
we travelled 12 1/2 miles to-day.

{ket some text in pencil at the bottom of the page, not in Horace K. Whitney's handwriting}

loaned Roy Ort to                                                                                                                                     me. Em Diary of Horace K Whitney

[Page 124 of 124]