Transcript
Transcript for William Henry Freshwater, Life sketch, reel 16, box 22, fd. 10, item 1, 2
WRITTEN AT PROVO UTAH
57 West 1 North
Provo City, Utah, April 1933
No 2. June 26th, 1863. In company with my Father [William Freshwater], Mother [Martha Gooch Freshwater], and Sister [Valora Louisa], left New York, with a mormon emigration co left New York for Utah. One of the main things that happened to us through the States was just befor we reach[e]d St Joseph Mo. The rebbles [rebels] shot two cannon ball threw our train, one going threw the window and out between the windows on the other side, was eigh[t] inches above the people's head, and the other through the center of a baggage car destroying quite some property. We staid in St Joe several days dare not go any further on account of the rebbles and g[ue]rilla bands,
There were several rebble soldgers [soldiers] taken prisoners by the Union soldgers right from among us while we staid there, We took a boat from St Jo[seph] Mo [Missouri] to Omaha, Nebraska. near Florance [Florence]. At that time Omaha concisted [consisted] of five houses and Flornce six houses, most of which was tradeing posts.
We saw just a little of the war between the North and the South.
We staid in Florance two weeks then started accrost the Plains in a train of sixty two wagons drawn by three and four yoke of oxen each, the captain's name of this company was Mr. [William B.] Preston, his home was Cash [Cache] Valley, Utah. the Platt[e] river was very high we had conciderble trubble cro[s]sing the tributaries, We had several heavy storms, one I remember was at Chimney Rock, our cattle stampeded and run away, they was unyoked soon as possible, some of them went two and three yoke together, two oxen were drag[g]ed to death. the night herders took after them on horses, The Devils Gate is a beaytiful s[c]enic place. We arrived in Greate Salt Lake City just as peaches was getting ripe,
the next day bishop Hunter drove on to the public squar[e] where we was camped (the place where now stands the city and county building)[.] we staid in Great Salt Lake City three days, The Salt Lake Temple at that time was about four feet high.