must write in the course of three or four months & direct it to San Francisco, California & I will write you as soon as I get there. And now near Matilda keep up good courage & don't worry about me more than you can help & take good care of little sis but I am not afraid but what she will be taken good care of while you are able to be about & old Mother Greenwood I know will do her part at least she always has. Tell Collin to be a good boy & do as you tell him. You must keep Mother with you, it is my sincere request that she will stay with you. Give my best respects to Uncle Robert Reid, James McDaniel & wife, Granny & Bennett's folks, Uncle Tommy & all the Lisbon folks & everybody that asks about me. I have written about all I can write in this letter. So farewell for this time Dearest May 20th lay encampt in the Shawnee County, they have a fine territory of prairie land & three Missions. An amongst them viz the Baptist the Methodist & the Quakers. We hitched up this evening & traveled five miles & encampt with two companies one from Miss & the other from Tenn. Both united in one which company we attached ourselves to under the direction of Capt Dickey. May 21st got an early start rolled out on a fine prairie, high rolling ground without any timber to be seen except along the borders of two small water courses. We traveled this day 21 miles an encampt for the night. May 22d rolled out on a fine prairie & passed several Californians encampt, passed by a fine grove of timber on Coon Creek which is a fine little stream, upset one of our carts but without doing much damage, crossed a small run & encampt on the bank having traveled 18 miles. May 23rd got a late start the morning was very rainy. This days travel was also on a fine high rolling prairie passed two streams names not known passed a settlement of Shawnees on the Bank of the Wakabicie we could not cross at the old ford on account of high water & the bank being steep we traveled up the stream four miles & crossed one broader which has steep banks. We got over without much difficulty & traveled on passing over several mounds & in sight of several after, very high ones. We encampt this night on the right bank of the main Branch of the Wekalucie having traveled 13 miles. May 24th crossed the Wakalucie without much difficulty. This is a fine stream but the banks are very steep & current rapid. We traveled this day still on a fine high & rolling prairie in sight of several high bluffs. We encampt for night having traveled 12 miles. May 25th fell in with a company of Californians thirty three men traveled together an encampt upon the bank of the Calosco not being able to pass on account of there being a number of mule teams passing. We traveled this day 11 miles. May 26th Crossed the Calosco which is a fine stream with steep banks & rapid current. This day we had more level road the prairie being more level. We passed this day by several Indian huts on the banks of a short creek which has a fine growth of timber along its Borders. We next crossed the Mission creek which is also a fine stream but a steep bank. We crossed without any difficulty, we went two miles further & encampt before night. Three miles from the Kansas river owing to there being a great number of teams at the crossing we could not get over this evening. We encampt among the Pattawatamies having traveled 10 miles. May 27th Lay in camp all day it being Sunday several Indians came to our encampment some of them dressed very fine, the squaws riding with a leg aside. May 28th passed Pattawatama town which is situated near the Bank of the Kansas river & contains about 25 log houses. We had to swim our cattle over the stream which was done without much difficulty & towards evening we cross our wagons on two flat Boats & encampt on the Bank among the sand it being late & we could not yolk our cattle. The kansas is quite a large stream with muddy water. May 29th Traveled two miles & encampt on the bank of Souldier having to repare one of our wagons here. May 30th rolled out on a fine prairie crossed Souldier creek which is a fine stream with steep bank & rapid current. We traveled this day but 10 miles it raining most of the fore noon. We encampt for the night by a fine spring in the Pattawattamy Country. They own fifteen miles square on each side of the Kansas river. They have two Missions among them the Baptist & the Roman Catholic. May 31st got an early start, was joined by another Company from Illinois consisting of horse teams, they had thirteen men we crossed a small stream the name not known we next crossed the little Vermillion which has very steep banks & rapid current. We crossed without much difficulty. On the bank of this stream there was 6 graves, all died with the Colery & out of a company of seven from Tenn. We traveled this day on a fine level prairie covered with beautiful flowers. We encampt on the bank of the Vermillion having traveled 18 miles. June 1st Got an early start rolling on a high rolling prairie passed several small streams & in one we saw some fine fish. The streams are all fine water we passed this day 11 graves of Californians. We had this day bad roads we encampt for the night having traveled 18 miles. June 2nd got an early start this morning, the country this day was more level. We crossed several small streams but the main stream we crossed was the big which is a very finc stream with gravel bottom & steep bank on the left side there is a fine timber along its bank. We encampt for the night on the right bank in the Pawnee Country the Pawnees are a thieving set of Indians, consequently we have to keep a close watch of our stock. We traveled this day 18 miles. June 3rd lay in camp all day it being the Sabbath. This was the first day I done any washing since I left home. June 4th struck our tents early in the morning rolled out on a fine level prairie crossed Turkey creek & then we crossed the big blue which is a fine stream, the water being quite blue we crossed without any difficulty passed through a fine strip of timber & then crossed a small creek where we halted for dinner. Here we found a fine spring of water which comes out of a perpendicular rock about eight feet high. One mile up the blue on the left side is a spring called cover spring which is a most beautiful place. We traveled this day 23 miles & encampt by a small bunch of timber off from the road. June 5th got an early start traveling on a fine level prairie crossed a small creek this day the water was very scarce & bad, having to use water out of pools. Halted for noon by a small grove of timber water bad this day we traveled 22 miles & encampt for the night by a small grove of timber water very bad more or less of the Company being troubled with the Dioreah on account of bad water. June 6th struck our tents & traveled on a fine level prairie Country but bad water, nothing of importance happened this day, we encampt for the night by a small creek off from the main road, the water still being very bad. We traveled this day 10 miles. June 7th this day was very bad we could not travel fast we had this day very level prairie, water scarce and bad we crossed two small streams & encampt on the bank of Doe creek which is very sandy. We traveled this day 10 miles. This night there was a company of six men from Columbus, Ohio encampt with us, returning back having seen the Elephant. June 8th got a fine start day cool & prairie level crossed little sandy water bad met two more wagons returning from the gold mines but not heavily loaded with the shiner. This day we reached the little blue & we were a happy set of fellows for we got good water. We encampt on its bank it is a fine stream water good. We traveled this day 20 miles. June 9th struck our tents our course lay up the little Blue 16 miles which was fine level traveling. We was this day joined by a company from Cincinnati consisting of thirteen men & five wagons making our number 60 men strong, 21 wagons. After leaving the valley of the river we diverged into the high table land of this prairie which is very level. We traveled four miles & had to leave the road some distance to get wood & water. We encampt on the bank of the little blue where we had fine camping ground we here caught some fine fish we traveled this day 20 miles. June 10th we lay in camp all day, it being the Sabbath. June 11th This morning it blowed & rained tremendous hard until 9 o'clock when it cleared away & we hitched up & rolled out the road was very slippery this day was still up the Blue, the road being very level nothing of importance happened this day. We encampt for the night on the bank of the Blue having traveled 12 miles. June 12th Struck our tents & got early start rolling out on the valley of the Blues on which we traveled until 11 o'clock when we into the high table land of the prairie again the soil is here more barren & vegetation presents a stunted appearance, the grass is short & in turfs & flowers less frequent. We encampt for the night after a days travel of 18 miles. June 13th It began some time in the night to rain, it blew, rained, thundered & lightened tremendous heavy which continued late in the morning after clearing away we pulled up stakes & rolled out on a very slippery road & the Country more taken with some deep reveines the soil here is very sandy & barren & the grass very short. We expected this day an attack from the Pawnees but we were happily disappointed. We encampt this night on the valley of the Big Platt after a days travel of 16 miles. June 14th got an early start, it being a fine morning the roads more level not so mudy, but the soil sandy & barren. We passed this day several skeletons of Buffaloes we traveled this day up the valley of the Platt we passed Fort Kearney, this was formerly a trading post among the Indians. It contains in & about the fort about 20 huts they are built out of the turf or sod of the prairie which they spad up in blocks about three feet square & then lay them up in coarses with the grass side down leaving places for doors & windows the (y) make the roof water proof by covering them with brush & the turf the (y) make quite a novel appearance. There is a building now in process for a hospital which will be a good building when finished. The place is handsomely situated about one half mile from the river there is stationed about one hundred and twenty soldiers here to protect the Emigrants from the Indians. The soil is here good & the grass fine they informed us there had been upwards of four thousand Californians here, that is wagons. We traveled this day 18 miles & encampt for the night close to the river, grass & water good. June 15th struck our tents & got an early start, traveling up the Platt Valley. The road was very level & good the river is here from one mile to one mile & a half wide, being very muddy & shallow a man can wade it any place & full of Islands of all sizes. Timber is scarce having to wade to the Islands to procure wood to cook with. We traveled this day 20 miles. June 16th struck our tents early in the morning still continued our course up the valley of the river nothing of importance happened today. We encampt early having good grass for our stock, the land here is very rich & productive. We traveled this day 18 miles. June 17 lay in camp all day, it being the Sabbath. (To Matilda Dewolf, Springfield, Ohio.) Dear Wife: Platt River June 17, 1849 Having once more an opportunity to write you a few lines I improve the time by writing you a short epistle to let you know how we are getting along. We are now between Fort Kearney & Fort Laramie & are getting along fine & all well & in good spirits. We travel from eighteen to twenty miles a day & our cattle are doing fine. We have been expecting some trouble from the Indians, but they have not troubled us yet but the Californians not all fared so well for some have been robbed & some been killed. We are now among the Pawnees & they are a thieving set of Devils. There was one that left his trains to go out & hunt & had not got out of sight when the Indians who were watching him shot him dead on the spot & then robbed him & got on their ponies & run like Devils & another Company they stole their cattle in the night & drove them off & the Californians followed them the next morning & overtook them in their wigwans having killed three of the oxen & was cooking the meat. They the Californians charged on them & shot five of the Devils. The first round the Indians shot at them once with their arrows & wounded one man bad & then run like thunder but they have not attacked none but small trains. We have sixty men in our crowd, 21 wagons, 122 oxen & thirty horses. I will tell you where the different Companies are from, one Company is from Mississippi, one from Tennessee one from Illinois one from Cincinnati & our own so you see we are a mixed up multitude but we all get along fine. Some of them get in a spur now & then but soon get over it. This trip binds us together like a band of brothers. You would laugh I know to see me going along with a bag on my back gathering Buffalo dung to cook with but we have to do it. The darn stuff burns fine in a stove for I'd have you to know we have a cooking stove along with us in our Company & we live fine we have Pork & Beans. We started with 20 bushels of beans & you know I can go it on them. We have first rate hams, codfish herring flour hard bread, dried apples & peaches, coffee tea chocolate rice fish venison & so you see we live fine. We have one years provisions with us. We have not seen any Buffalo with us but in a day or two we will be right among them then I am going to kill a white bull that you used to plague me about. We see lots of Antelopes. The man that I send this by is a Mormon just from the Salt Lake or Mormon settlement going to the states on business. He brings good news from the gold mines. Tell Mary Bailey to have her paddle ready when I get back for I expect to be full of gold. We pass a great number of graves of Californians that have died on the road with the Colery. We passed six graves in one place there was a Company from North Carolina with seven in it & six died & but one was spared to tell the tale of woe. The Colera has taken thousands of poor |