Transcript

The old town of Julesburg brought to my mind our experience in 1864 when I went as a teamster to bring emigrants from the River that is from Wyoming on the Missouri. At Julesburg we saw Bro. Rawlin’s train cross the Platte. We prepared to remain on the west side so as not to have our cattle mix with those of Rawlins Co. That night there was a cloud burst up in the Pole Creek Valley. Our cattle and herders were on the south side and we could not reach them the next day as the creek was a raging river. It took us a week to cross the South Platte. We had to build boats of our wagon boxes. Bro. Commander from Spring City was made our commander and the boys had much fun with him. When they had ferried a load of ours over the river they took back a load of Oregon emigrants. These would treat the Commander and sometimes he got gloriously drunk; but then he was all the more commanding! He would cry: "Eavy hon the lower – oar!"

One hour would have taken us across the river when we first reach[ed] it now it took us a whole week.