Transcript

We went on the Railroad and steam boat Sir Isac Nution [Newton] to Florance [Florence,] Naberasca [Nebraska] Teritory ware we landed in about 1 week and wa[i]ted at Florance about 2 weeks for our hand carts to be made to cross the plaines with. After witch we started on ffot [foot] to pull our hand carts across the plaines 1000 miles which we did with pleasure until our provisions begun to get short then we begun to feel the sting of hunger very sensebly and a greait deal of sufering was experanced & 5 deaths.

22 Mariges & 2 Deaths & 2 Births. Cap Bell.

To satisfy my hungery apetite I cut meat from dead oxen on the road side and strenged it on strings to eat on the way while pulling my hand cart along the road and that meat seemed to me to be the swest meat I ever ate. It was reported that our captin of the hand cart company for 1859, James [George] Rowley by name sold some of our flour and bacon at woodriver [Wood River] for a pony to ride to find feed and water &c ahead of the company[.] James Rowley is now known as the Blind Orgenist [Organist.] he travels through the terrytory with a Uagie Lante Lanteran show and plays an orgin. Sister [Jane] Jarvis died just before we crossed green river and they rapt [wrapped] her in a pice of cloth and buried her by the road side about 50 YARDS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE WE CROSSED THE FORD[.] I crossed the river 4 times to help others across, When we all got across with our hand carts we camped for the night, and killed one of our old work oxen to keep from starving to death and it was divided around in small peaces. We ware traveling from 20 to 30 miles a day on less than one good meail [meal] a day. We ware doing our best to meet the breathren from the vallies as soon as posable so as to get fresh supplies of food to satisfy our hungrey appetites. at one of our camping places one of the sisters lost a gould [gold] ring and was inquireing about it of the nearest sister a sister by the name of Shanks and she said she had not seen the ring[.] in a few days brother [Edward] Shanks hosband [husband] of sister Shanks went out into the brush and got bit by som venamus insect or reptile and the same day sister Shanks stayed behind the Company and did not come up at night when we camped so the captin sent me and another young man ought [out] into the night to hunt her up and fatch [fetch] her into camp but we could not find her[.] she had left the road and the wolves had torn her all to peaces. During this time her husband was at the p[o]int of death from his poisened arm which had swellen to a greait Thickness and he died about 2 houres before we got the news from some mule teams that they had found sister shanks torn to peaces by the wolves and buried the peaces of the body and brought some piceses of her dress to our camp with her dress pocket and the lost gould r[ing] in it[.] after we got brother Shanks buried we traveled on a[s] fast a we posably could and we was by this time intirely out of Provisions and sufering very much from [h]unger[.] at this time our captin borrowed a few sacks of Flour at a station on the road and just after we got the Flour the brethren came in sight with 2 six mule teams loaded with four bacon crackers onions &co—so then we paid the Flour back to the Station Keeper and dealt out Flour and bacon to the company and we had pleanty the rest of the Jorney which was about 10 or 12 days jorney[.] in a few days we met Eilliam Gunington my Aunt Sally's husband[.] he come to meet me and take us to his house he brought some water melons and butter which was quite a treat to us. So I tied my hand cart behind his wagon and had a ride in the wagon and we got into Salt Lake City on the 4th of September 1859 . . .