Transcript

During this winter there was conciderable sickness around these parts, and there was a man by the name of George Cooper and his wife died and left one only child about one and a half years old and Father being the only ordained Bishop on that side of the river he was instructed to take the child and take care of her and any property that mite belong to the family, and with that Father got on yoke of old gentle oxen and an old wagon, and Father had one wagon and two yoke of oxen.

So in the Spring of 1847 Father made up his mind that if he could get ready in time he would go to the rocky mountains that Summer, acordingly early in this Spring we started into Missouri to make an outfit for the valeys Father driving the one team of two yoke and I driving the one yoke[.] I was not large enough to keep out of the way of the wagon at all times and consequently had my feet and leg run over two or three times when Jumping out of the wagon to Stop the team. We made two trips into Missouri that spring one as far down as St. Joseph

Then <the> 7th of June we left Missouri river and drove the Same three yoke of oxen into Salt Lake valey arriving there on the 24th day of September being only 62 days behind the first Pioneer company into the Great Salt Lake valey[.] (We were organized into companies of 100 and of 50 and of 10's. We were in the A[braham]. O[wen]. Smo[o]ts 100 Geo[rge] B[enjamin]. Walles [Wallace] 50 and John Nebekers 10)