Transcript

Transcript for "William Henry Cottle," In Biographical Information Relating to Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel database

My name is William Henry Cottle i was born in the town of Dudley in Staffard Shire England in the year of our lord 1852. my Father was a colar or sinker by traid my father stayed in england untill i was fore years of age and then he sailed for americk. in two years a later in 1856 my Father sent monney to bring mother and us three children to america but throw my mothers parrents sum how or auther my brother wear and me wear left in England for two years more when Father sent monney to bring my granfather and granmother and my Brother and me to america.

We rived in the fall of the same year about 12 clock at knight and i tell you it was quite a site of huging and kissing going on for my self I though mother [illegible] me in two[.] we lived in levenworth city in the state of cansas untill the war broak out in the spring of 186[?]. My Father bought one yoak of cattel and wagon and one horse and lightwagon and we started for Denver City in Colorado. Father ad quite a time in crossing the plains his oxen gaiveout and he had to make several [illegible[racts be fore we got throught. Father stayed in denver about a year and then Father moved up to the mines in the City of blackhawk and then Father moved to a place called dig town about a mile above senterl city. we stayed there two years Father working in the mines [illegible] wagges I worlked in the brickyard two [summers?] at two dollars per day.

In the Spring of the year 1866 Father started to by outfit to move to utah with. we had two yoak of cattel one horse and light wagon we had anew stove and towels of all kinds to start with in a new cuntery. Father sold our house and lot for $125 (one hundred and twenty five Dollars) witch was worth five hunderd dollars for thay thought that he had to sell and they would not buy only on a big discount it was sum time in April of 1866 that we left dig town and started on our Journey for utah. We got as far as Denver when Father tuck sick and we stayed in denver about one month. we left denver about the 25 of may. Nothing of very [illegible] transpired untill we got to the big termey river only that we catch up with a big fraight train of wagons teames witch we ust to travel with for compy and my Brother Thomas drove one of their teames and Father ust to feel very sick [illegible] on a count of drinking bad water. on this [illegible] morning July the 24 1866 Father went to the wagonmaster and asked him if he was going to travel on that day and the wagonmaster sed that he was going to start early for it was 17 miles to water. this was at big larmmey river and there was tole brige and father payed the tole and went over [illegible] started a head as we ust to travel a little a head of the train to keep out of the dust. The wagon master and the tole man got in to a dispute about the amount tole so the wagon master would not pay the tole witch was 2 dollars A wagon so the wagon master forded the river with is train of teams wich tuck him untill one clock. about this time my father ad got ten miles from the river all a lone. when we ware six miles from little larmmey river. we could see the indians coming to tirade us and thay keep on coming untill they got within five hundard yards of us then they stope and held a little concel of war for a bout five minnets then thay serrounded our wagons and then thaycammence to fire on us and i supose thay shot 500 rounds at us and then thay stoped fireing at us then one of the indians speak to my Father saying com out here Jack and we will make peace with you so father went out and about 75 yards from the wagon and met the indians about 8 or 10 in number so thay talked the thing over for quite awile and finley the indians agraeed if father would give theam all of the sugger and coffee and baken he had got and one hundard pounds of flower thay would let us travel on with out hurting us so father sed that he would do it so father turn around to go to the wagon and one of the indians shot him down like a dog and then the indians made a rush for the wagon and then the cattle stampeded and then one of the indians shot one of the cattle and it fell dead and broak the wagon tong. th indians kild my granmother and strok my granfarther over the head with the but of a pistel and he dide in six weeks after thru the affects of it and thay tuck my mother prisner and we have not heard anneything of her since.

My father was not ded as we first thought he was but he had only got a skalp wound. the bullet just grase his skull and nocked him senceless for a will. Father and my sister and myself run fore miles back. my sister being shot fore times in the back with arrows when we had run a bout fore miles we met the stage wich turnaround and took us back to big Larmmery river station. When we got back to big Larmmery every boddy was [illegible] and Capten Smith was there with one company of a bout 45 men and he started after the indians and follard them three days and knights and had a fight with the indians but thay could not get my mother back all throw thay seen her. the government then took us back to forte Camp Collins we stayed in forte camp collins about two months and then the qartermaster of the fort let us have a six mule team to take us to denver. the peple of denver gave father between three and fore hunard dollars when we got to denver. us three children tuck with the mounttain fever and it touck very near all of the monney that father had to get us well. my granfather kept geting wours from the affects of the wound with he got from the indians. father sent him up in the mountains for his health but he got wourst and he started to com back to denver but he dide on the road.

We stayed in Denver untill the spring of 1867 when Father heard that the indians was going to make peace with the government at forte larmmey so father took us two boys and left my sister in colorado on a farm a bout [illegible] miles from Denver. we had quite a good time going to fort larmmey. Captain Wilson tuck us with him he had two government [illegible]. we had a great time shooting deer all the way. we got there three days before the Peas commission arrived from Washington. the was quite an excited time among the indians at that time an when all of the indians arrived in fort larmmey there was between eight or tenn [thousand?] of them and there was only about four or five hundard soldiers in the fort. i think we stayed in the fort for about three months but we could not find annything out about mother for sum of them would tell one story and sum would tell a nother and we could not believe anny of them. father then hired himself out and us two boys to drive team. my father got 50 dollars pur month and us tow boys got 40 dollars a peas a month. we stayed with the train untill we got to green river and then we quite working for the wagon master and then we went from green river over to hams fork and then we hired to sum [illegible] to drive team to montana. we had quite a time with the cattle for thay where very neer all of them wilde and it tuck us untill noon every day to get yoked up. 

but finely we got to provo city and loaded our train with flower but we had quite time geting away from there for the roads was very bad and the mud was up to the wagon hub. wile the men ware loading the wagons i had to board the stock and i had quite a fine time of it. we stayed in provo city about a week and then we started for salt lake city and it took us three days to make the trip. we stop in salt lake city three days bieng [illegible] to eat on the road.