[Hosea Stout Diary] Tuesday March the 3rd 1846. The weather continued to be warm and pleasant.& horse food scarce â€" At nine oclock the President called a meeting and spoke on the proper order of traveling and reproved the camp as a general thing for the disorder in which they had traveled hitherto[.] Immediately after meeting the camp commenced moving. After seeing matters start in proper order I went on leaving Hunter in command & had went but a little ways on the road ere I came to the river Des-Moines, it was a beautiful stream with a rock bed but appeared very narrow after being so long accustomed to the broad rolling Mississippi.the road was now good and dry & level.Immediately on the bank of the river I soon passed the advanc teams again and overtook the Artillery which had encamped the night before about three miles behind us and taking an early start came in ahead of our camp.Here Br Gillett of the Artillery accompanied me and we rode on to Farmington where we arrived at 12 where I stoped and traded for some articles which I needed and then we went on. It is situated on the riverthe site is level and not very romantic but rather dull looking and I should think sickly.When we went into the store there were a group of men standing by who manifested every symptom which looks could to pick a fuss with usbut I was armed with 2 Six shooters & a large Bowie knife all in sightwhich they eyed very close and when I came near any of them they would give me a wide birth
But when the waggons came along one of Br Rogers boys drove his team by accident over a hog and killed it[.] The owner who saw it was about to bleed it and so make use of it not appearing to think the least hard of it when some of these bye Standers interfeared & swore that he ought to have pay for it and thus commenced a parly[.] Some of the brethren thought it no more than right also and some thought not and thus matters were when Hunter came up and saw what was going on he ordered the teams to move on and told the people that they might think themselves well off to get the hog dead for they generally took the hog also whereupon the teams drove off and that ended the matter. Some of the men made some remarks about Hunters arms & he gave them to understand that they could be used very easy if he was molested which entirely put to rest the hog Scrape
We proceeded on to the camp where we arrived at two oclock it being now three & a half miles[.] The roads along here was uncommonly bad both rough & muddy[.] Here I found Bishop Miller at work with his company. He had cleared and fenced a field wherein the camp was to stop & had also with the help of the pioneers a pen filled with corn which we very much needed.I selected a place for the guard & Gillett another for the Artillery to encamp in the field.but we soon found that the selections we had made would have to be occupied by President Young & others.So we selected another in an adjoining woods which was a beautiful level thick set with Sugar maple.We were told by the brethren who were at work that the owner of the land did not permit any to encamp without the field but we thought as all the best ground within was or be taken up that we would venture to "take the responsibility" and piched our tents accordingly when our teams came up which was about four oclock[.] After the teams had drove up and we all properly encamped the owner of the land came and seemed well satisfied and told us we were welcome to use any timber in the woods except the green & even that if we needed it.but to leave such as would make saw logs or be useful for timber for which I thinked him & promised that all should be as he desired but that I would see that no green timber was cut as there was plenty of dry.
About dark met the council where it was decided to stay here to morrow after which I called a council of my officers to make arrangements to send for Capt Gully & Dillie, as they were yet unable to move on and there decided to send back one yoke of oxen which we thought would enable them to over take us perhaps before we started and then wrote a letter to them instructing them how to proceed and how to dispose of the property which they had which was not needed on our campaign. Nothing more.
[source: Diaries of Hosea Stout]
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