Transcript

. . . . And so we traveled over the same road as the saints from their expulsion from Nauvoo, three hundred miles from Keokuk to Kamesville [Kanesville] across the Missouri River to Winter Quarters, where we had to cross on a ferry boat. It took us about a week to cross that treacherous stream which was very high. After all crossed without accident, the Captian called a meeting of thanksgiving to God for our deliverence in passing through the state of Iowa, where so many of the old mobcrates then resided. We were now in the wilderness and had the red men to contend with. We traveled on and on, nothing of any importance except when the Indians came into our camp, and they did so by the hundreds[.] they spread down a blanket and made a circle around it and lit a pipe and passed around and smoked, which was a sign of peace.

When we got inot [into] the Platt[e] River valley we found another king of the forrest, the American Buffalo, which roamed those sandy plains of the Platt[e] Valley, they came down from the hills to the river for water by the hundreds and stampeed our cattle, as they were afraid of them.

Well we traveled on and on except Sundays, which was given over to worship and thanksgiving for our deliverance from week to week. So on we went until we reached the noted Echo Canyon of which I will write about later, now through Echo Canyon and down the Weber River to a point below Echo, and then up over what is called the Big Mountain the very top of the Wastach [Wasatch] Range, and then across to the Little Mountain from where we could see the Valley,

next day down Immigration Canyon to the Valley were we arrived September 29, 1853. Havine been on the long journey for 11 months and traveling over 8000 miles.