Transcript

About the 15th of July the church trains commenced to arive. They had four joke [yoke} of Oxen on each wagon, soon after their arrival they were loaded partly with Iron and other heavy merchandice, and twelve persons to each wagon with their baggage provisions and tent. We traveled in Captain John Jurdoe’s [Murdock’s] company, who started from camp on the 24th of July. I with hundreds of others walked nearly the whole distance. Old people and those who were not well, would change about riding on the wagons on top of the baggage; To me being young and strong the trip was a pleasure, and I receaved here some of my first lesons in [the] english langich [language] and also in the art of driving Oxen according [to] the american method, from our teme [team] master, a young man from Sanpete County.

The train would camp for noon and nigth [night], as near to watter and grass as convinient. The Wagons were drew in a kind of circle on the inside of which we peatched [pitched] our tents and made our camp-fires, it also served as a coral to drive the Oxen into so as to catch them. The catle and also the camp was guarded every nigth [night]. We saw quite a number of Indians, but hath no trouble with them.

We arrived in Salt Lake City in the latter part of September, and our hearts swelled with gratitude to God, for his kind protection over us, both on Land [and] on Sea, until we had safely landed in the Butyful [Beautiful] City of the Saints[.]