Transcript

We remained on the banks of the missouri for about two weeks, and while there my father bought a cow, and appointed me to take charge of her and drive her acrossed [across] the plains, a task that I succeeded in doing, taking her into Salt Lake city in good condition after traveling over one thousand miles and being milked every day, on that long journey.

We left the Missouri River on July 24th to cross the plains. It was quite sport at first, for a few days at least, to go on ahead of the train of wagons in the morning, but it soon lost its novelty after we had been at it for a week or two.

There were in the train between eighty and nin[e]ty wagons, with from three to four yoke of oxen to a wagon and when we were traveling reached about a mile in length and so we wended our way, day after day towards the setting sun.

Many little things occured on the road during that journey of over one thousand miles, that would make matter enough for a whole volume, but the most of them are gone from my memory. I made almost the entire journey on foot and drove my cow. Father [John Crane] sometimes drove her a little while to give me a little change.

My parents had the misfortune to lose one of their children. The youngest boy of the family [Samuel Crane]. He had sickened soon after we left home and slowly pined away until we neared Fort Bridger. When we stopped for dinner one day, he passed away. We carried him till night and then buried him by the road side next morning and left him there alone. After many ups and downs, and many trials and privations, we arrived in Great Salt Lake City on Sept. the 28th 1866 in fare condition, having been traveling just seventy days all enjoying pretty good health except mother [Sarah Crane] who with the care of the family and fatigue of the journey was nye worn out.