Transcript

We Know {now} started on our jurney for G.S. Lake by way of Counsil {Council} Bluffs or winter quarters distance about 350 miles. Br. {Brother} James and I went by land with a span of horses. The rest of the family went up the Mossuri {Missouri} river by steamboat; meet at Council Bluf{f}s Bought oxen and wagons for our jurney across the plains. Started from winter quarters. June 1^st 1848. In precedant {president} Brigham Youngs company, I could injoy myself the best those days that I could find leasure to go out into the hills and hunt Buffalo. I used to injoy myself in company with a young man named. Jarvis Johnston, one circumstance of a buffalo hunt may answer for the whole; one day before leaving sweet-watter {Sweetwater}. we stoped for the purpose of killing and drying some buffalo meat; Early in the morning 4 of us started namely Anw. {Andrew} Cahoon a Br. Wooley. Jarvis Johnston and my self we took with us a ox team. about 10 miles where we left it and struck out 2 and 2 promising to meet at this place at a cert{a}in time. Jarvis and I went together. we traviled untill we thought it time to return. when we saw 2 buffalos feeding at a considerable {distance} ahead{.} this was two {too} good a chance to let slip so on we went. by the time we got to them they were laying down in a hollow. We creapt along to the nighest point when we agread that. Jarvis should fire first and if he killed I should take a run{n}ing shoot at {the other} as soon as he fired a way they both went we followed and kept firing away at the same one. Untill he got mad when he stopt in a thicket of brush. we wa{l}ked up until within 25 yards. when I rested my rifle over the sho{u}lder of my partner and fired. but the first thing we saw he was bounding towards us. We run about 100 yards, when looking around we saw him laying dead. The next thing was to have him halled {hauled} to camp. But on our return to where we left the team, we found that. Bros. Andrew and Wooley had started for camp. we had know {now} 10 or 12 miles to travel before we could reach the camp on Sweetwatter {Sweetwater}. This seamed rather hard after traviling all day through the mountains, with nothing to eat only a small peice of sea bread in the morning, however we started. And arived at camp about midnight Tireder if not wiser than when we left. We got along very well throu{ghou}t the jurney. enjoyed good health. although a good many cattle died on the way by drinking elkeley {alkali} watter. we arr{i}ved in Great Salt Lake valey Sept 23^rd 1848.

the distance on this rout{e} is about 900 miles