Transcript

We stayed at Florence (which was three miles above Omaha). Omaha had six houses and Florence seven all of which were trading posts.

We started across the plains with a train of sixty-two wagons drawn by three to five yoke of cattle. Some of them were trail wagons. The captain of this company was W[illiam]. B. Preston. He lived in Cache Valley.

The Platt[e] River was very high. We had considerable trouble in crossing several streams. We had several heavy storms, one I remember was near Chimney Rock, a lot of lightning and thunder. Our cattle stampeded and started running away. The teamsters unyoked them as best they could. Some of them two and three yokes together. Three of the oxen were drug to death. The night herders went after them on horses.

Devil's Gate was quite a scenic place. The train went around and up a canyon and most of the passengers went over the mountain.

Just as we got over the mountain and into the valley on the west the sage brush was as large as fence poles and eight to ten feet high.

We arrived in Great Salt Lake City Thursday Sept. 10 just as peaches were ripe.