Transcript

"At Omaha we awaited my brother Simon with the outfits. After camping two weeks at Fort Kearney we started out across the plains. A party of Missourians going to Oregon joined our party. There were about 20 wagons in the train in charge of Captain William E. [D.] Pritchett of Virginia. There is an interesting story regarding the election of Captain Pritchett.

"At the beginning of the journey it was decided to elect a captain, as was customary with all parties travelling in the wilderness in those days. Our boys were not familiar with oxen nor western ways so they decided to elect an experienced captain who had formerly lived in Virginia, Mr. Pritchett. The Missourians put up another candidate and our man won.

"The Missourians then were disgruntled and said they wouldn’t travel under a Mormon captain, so they took their wagons and started off by themselves, after they had tried to cause trouble in camp. They had named their oxen after leading Mormons and thought they could pick a fight with our men by insulting us. We let them depart and did not see them again until some weeks later when we came upon them one day in the Black Hills. They had been attacked by Indians and all their livestock had been taken away and they were a very contrite, forlorn, stranded group of people. We had plenty of cattle with our outfit so Captain Pritchett directed us to share with the Missourians. We let them have enough oxen to pull their ways as far as Green River, Wyoming, where they purchased enough stock to get them to Oregon.

We didn’t get any buffalo on the plains but we had plenty of good food except fresh vegetables. We had fine outfits and were equipped with sheet iron stoves and we did not have to sleep on the ground. We had spring beds in the wagons and we slept on featherbeds.

"For provisions we carried hams, bacons, dried beans, dried fruit, sugar, coffee, tea, flour, corn meal, rice and canned goods. We had two milch cows with us so we had plenty of thick cream for our coffee each morning. Mother [Louisa Ward Higginbotham] carried a tin churn and we would place the cream in the churn and then the jolting of the wagon would churn the cream into butter during the day’s travel.

"When we ran out of wood to burn, we used buffalo chips for fuel. When dry they made a good hot fire. Mother baked sour dough and salt rising bread in our iron stove.

"I remember we craved fresh vegetables very much and when we got to Echo Canyon, we met a teamster with a load of potatoes and onions. I was so eager for some fresh food that when we had purchased some vegetables, I took a big onion and sat down under a tree and ate it all, raw.

"While we were on the plains we always stopped on Sundays and did not travel. We had some trouble with the Indians in the Black Hills. We had stopped near a Fort while a train of freight wagons we were following kept on.

"Sue Pritchett the captain’s daughter was a very fine looking girl with pretty tan skin and dark hair. Two Sioux Indians came riding up and were admiring Sue. Oscar Harman jokingly asked them if they wanted to buy ‘that squaw’. They replied they would gladly give two ponies for her and turned to go get the horses. A teamster nearby said to Oscar, "Well, now you will have trouble because Indians do not joke with white men. They think you mean what you say. Sue ran and hid in a wagon. The Indians came back and parleyed and were angry when they could not get Sue. They went for a war party and we were afraid of an attack.

"All day we travelled along while the men kept guard. When we were about two miles from a stream the Indians tried to attack us but apparently were afraid of the constant vigiliance of the armed white men. Soon we came to camp of the freighters and were safe from attack because of their numbers.

"A wagon train ahead of us had been attacked and a boy shot with an arrow while he was herding the company’s livestock.

"Shortly after that we met a war party of two or three hundred Arapahoe Indians who were going to fight the Sioux. They were friendly to us and asked where the Sioux were located and then departed. We felt the Lord had sent the Arapahoes to protect us.

"I remember seeing Independence Rock where the names of the old trappers, explorerers[,] soldiers and pioneers were carved. We also saw Jim Bridger, the scout at his Fort on Black’s Fork river, Wyoming. He had an Indian squaw for a wife.

We got into Salt Lake City by way of Emigration Canyon, September 1, 1864.