Transcript

During the remaining portion of this year and the winter and spring of 48 I was busy engaged in making preparations in Florence to move with my family to Salt Lake Valley. So anxious were we to leave that we started with a wagon not ironed as they usually are (the iron not being in the region around). The only iron about the wagon at this time of starting was the king bolt, draw bolt and the linch pins [linchpins]. In the latter part of May we left Florence for Elk Horn where on our arrival we were organized into President [Heber C.] Kimballs hundred and Captain [Henry] Herimans [Harriman's] fifty. While in camp at Elk Horn our second son was born on the fourth day of June 1848, whom we named Jonathan McKay [Pugmire]. While we lay in camp at Elk Horn a band of the Omaha Indians attempted to drive off our cattle in which our temporal salvation to a very great extent lay.

In connection with the brethern of the company I was engaged in repelling the attack thus made us and we recovered our stock. Howard Egan and Thomas Ricks were wounded and two horses belonging to H.C. Kimball. Thomas Ricks was severely wounded in the back and lay not far from the Indian Camp. Many of the brethern felt a little afraid to try to rescue T. Ricks. I was riding an old horse belonging to H. C. Kimball and feeling somewhat vexed at the brethern being so slow to go to the resuce [rescue] of T. Ricks and the slowness of the old horse that I was riding, I jumped off the old horse and made better headway on foot to the wounded man and we brought him safely to camp and with good nursing he recovered. During the excitement my wife got out of her bed still being weak, but feeling anxious for my safety, she ventured beyond her strength, which gave her a heavy set back, and she did not fully recover her strength until she arrived in Salt Lake Valley. On account of the late attack made by the Omaha's we left Elk Horn a little sooner than we intended, and moved westward. As we were traveling one of H.C. Kimball's wagons broke down, which circumstances enabled me to get a couple of tires, which I put on two of my wheels, which enabled me to dispense with two of my hickory tires. A short time after that I got two more iron tires and arrived in safety in Salt Lake Valley in the month of September 1848.