[William Clayton Journal] Morning cold but fine. Started out at nine o'clock and traveled till one P.M., distance 7 1/2 miles, course a little West of N.W. The prairie on both sides the river are literally black with buffalo, and to try to say as to what number we have seen this morning would be folly. I should imagine that at a moderate calculation, we have seen over fifty thousand . . .
It is with some difficulty that the horsemen can drive them away from the track as fast as the wagons come up...I have counted the revolutions of a wagon wheel to tell the exact distance we have travelled . . . I found the wheel 14 feet 8 inches in circumference, not varying one eighth of an inch. I then calculated how many revolutions it would require for 1 mile and found it precisely 360 not varying one fraction which somewhat astonished me. I have counted the whole revolutions during the days travel and find it to be a little over 11 1/4 miles, (20 revolutions over.) The overplus I shall add to the next days travel. According to my previous calculations we were 285 miles from winter quarters this morning before we started. After traveling 10 miles placed a small Cedar post in the ground with these words wrote on it with a pencil. "From Winter Quarters 295 miles, May 8, 47. Camp all well. W Clayton." Some have past the days travel at 13 and some 14 miles, which serves to convince more strongly that the distances are overrated. I have repeatedly suggested a plan of fixing machinery to a wagon wheel to tell the exact distance we travel in a day, and many begin to be sanguine for carrying it into effect, and I hope it will done...Two calves have been killed and brought to Camp, and multitudes would be killed if the pres[iden]t did not prohibit the brethren from killing them only as we need the meat. Truly the "Lords Cattle upon the thousand hills are numerous."
[source: George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
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