Mormon History, Apr 3, 1846

[Hosea Stout Diary] Friday April the 3rd 1846. This was a dark cloudy morning and a heavy East wind blowing and the appearance of rain and presented a dreary looking time for traveling.notwithstanding the camp commenced moving before sunrise. All was hurry and bustle for every one started as soon as they could get ready without waiting for the rest.All started before breakfast[.] I waited as was my custom with the guard, untill the rest of the 50 was gone before I started but I was off by seven oclock.The road ran on a ridge and of course was very crooked.The ground was very soft[.] Some of the heavy waggons cut in deep & was uncommonly hard on the teams.
By nine oclock however we came to the camp of H. C. Kimball & the Artillery a distance of five miles & found them all well[.] It was in a point of timber on one of the prongs of Shoal Creek.
We went on without making any halt about two or three miles further and camp to Bishop Millers camp also on another prong of Shoal Creek. This is the first time that we had been up with him since he left Flat rock run on the other side of the Des Moines.They were all doing well.This was about ten oclock[.] Here we let our teams bait a while.
While here it commenced raining in showers with every appearance of rainy wether. About half past one I started on having a ten mile prairie before us.I was on horse back and rode across in two hours.Shortly after we started across the prairie it commenced a regular rain which continued all night.When I got across I with some others who was with me built up some fires on a branch of Locus creek & warmed ourselves.But when Rockwood came he concluded that we had best camp further back as the teams would be tired.So I went with him back about one mile and there met President Young when after some considerable deliberation we turned about half a mile to the right to a point of timber and encamped which we called hickery Grove because most of the timber was hickery.This was a hard day for my wife and was very sick at night.The teams were coming in all the evening and many laid out in the prairie unable to cross for the road was very soft[.] After regulating the guard I went to bed earley. The wind blew uncommonly hard and beat the rain into the tents but we rested well[.] In some of the tents the watter ran into the tents and the people in them were completely soaked in morning.

[source: Diaries of Hosea Stout]