[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 23d At 6 oclok O Pratt made A Barometrical observation. Mercury standing at 28.697 inch Attached Thermometer 36° detached thermometer 34°· Vary little wind from west. Fair. Also took an altitude of the sun for the time, and also A Meridan Altitude of the Sun for the latitude. Found it to be 41°25'29".
While wattering the Horses at a creek at the station last evening Brother G. A. Smiths Horse mired & pitched foreward & Jumped onto him trod upon his feet & breast & held him fast in the mud untill I caught him by the bit & backed him off. I was fearful He was badly injured but at last found that He was but little hurt.
+ This was A day of Adventures to the pioneer Camp. In the morning 12 of us started on Horsback to search out a ford across the dangerous difficulty & troublesom loup fork of the Platt river. We went down the stream some distance & several men waided across the stream & found the water so deep & so much quick sand we concluded to drive Hier up to the old Pawnee village. So we returned to the Camp. Harnessed up our Horses. My gray Horse named Titus had the belly ake or bots yet I started out with him & the Camp drove up with some little difficulty to the old Indian village or a little below it & men commenced searching out a ford & found the whole bed of the river one universal dody of quick sand which if a Horse or waggon stoped it would begin to sink down.
We had two channels of water to cross with a sand bar in the middle. The deepest water was from 3 to 4 feet deep & vary rapid & about 300 yards strait across. Some places of quick sand was found so soft as to sink man or beast instantly in & the more He strugled to get out the more He would sink. But we calculated to avoid such places as much as possible.
As I was forward with my 10 or the first ten it fell to me to make the trial. Professor Pratt having a strong pair of Horses went forward and I followed him. I had two yoke of cattle & my horses on my Carriage with about 10 hundred on. I immediately saw as soon as I started that the Cattle did but little good. Were slow & in the way. We would stop & begin to sink. I Jumped out of my carriage into the water up to my waist. About 10 men came to my assistance with a drag roap & hitched to the oxen & assisted me in getting across the first stream but with great difficulty.
I stoped on a sand bar out of water. My Horses & waggon immediately began to sink & by treading the ground a little it would become a perfect quagmire.
But though we were sinking in it the men had to leave the waggon whare it was. For O Pratt in trying to cross the second stream had sunk into a bed of quick sand and all men had to go to his relief to get his Horses & waggon out.
The Horses were taken from the waggons the load taken out & carried to shore by hand & the waggon drawn out by the help of men. I took off a part of my load or most of it in a boat & went through the second stream empty & got out two other waggons done in the same way. But it was so tarrific the rest of the camp would not follow suit.
So their were 6 men of us in all to spend the night to gether without horses & waggons to guard against the whole Pawnee band that were Camped below us on the same side of the river should they feel disposed to come upon us. There numbers were not known but it was supposed they numbered over 600 warriors. We divided our company which made ownly three of us on guard at a time. Br Pack O. Pratt & myself went on guard the fore part of the night Although I had been in the water during the afternoon I stood guard in my wet clothing one half the night slept in them the other half.
We had not more than got our position for the night untill we were joined by 5 men who crossed the river in a boat. Were sent over by President Young to assist us which made eleven men instead of 6 so we divided our force accordingly. The night past off in peace & no disturbance. Distance from the Missionary station to the ford 4 miles.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[source: Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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