Transcript

In 1864, I was called to go back to the Missouri River after Mormon immigrants. Our company was composed of sixty wagons with eight head of oxen to the wagon which made a total of four hundred eighty head of cattle in the company. My calling in the company with three others was the night herding of these cattle. It was a hard task and I slept but very little night or day for six weeks. It was also a year of unusual high water. Every creek and river being flooded. We had to swim our cattle and wagons in crossing the South Platt[e] River. When we were on our journey about six hundred miles, we came to a section of country of much rain at that season of the year. We had rain and thunder storms every night for two weeks or more. We journeyed on and finally reached the Missouri River. The Mormon immigration was there ready to be loaded. We started back for Utah but the Indians were very troublesome. A small company of three wagons four mules to each wagon bound for Oregon, traveled with us until we passed Forth [Fort] Le[a]venworth; then they left us as we were traveling too slow for them. But in two days we came upon the place where the Indians had killed them all, set fire to their wagons and stolen their mules. At this time the country was being settled to some extent. Men were coming out and taking up ranches and building homes. Indians were killing them and setting fire to their homes and stealing their belongings. As we were traveling along at night we could see the homes burning on the horizon. When we were about five hundred and forty miles on our journey we camped about one half mile from some freighters, forty wagons in all. They had been to Denver, Colorado, with their loads and were on their way back. In the night we heard yelling and shooting. Presently we saw the fire start burning. The Indians had set fire to all the wagons and driven their cattle away and killed all the men.

As night herders we had many narrow escapes from the Indians. But the blessings of the Lord were upon us and we landed home in safety.