Transcript
Transcript for Madsen, Christian to Brother Widerborg, 25 July 1858, in Frederick Hale, ed., Danes in North America, [1984]
Dear Brother Widerborg,
We arrived happy and well on 9 July after traveling across the prairie for thirty-nine days. The company consisted of about forty men with forty-seven mules and horses. Brother H[orrace]. Eldridge was our captain, and Joseph W. Young was captain of the guard. We assume that the rest of the company, including Brother [Iver N.] Iversen, left Iowa three weeks after us and that they will arrive here early in September. I drove one wagon with four mules across the prairie. Knud Svendsen from Vendsyssel drove another. Each of these two wagons accommodated five people, and each constituted a kitchen. Ædler was our cook, Oman cooked for the second kitchen, and [Niels Christian] Poulsen for the third. The entire company consisted of thirteen wagons and five horsemen. Everyone, both people and animals, survived the ordeal. All of the Indians we met were friendly. We kept a strong watch at night and sometimes during the day. . . .
Christian A. Madsen