[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 20th Sunday We hitched up early in the morning without feed[ing?] or watering & left our encampment of death, poison waters, salt marshes &c & rode 3 miles to A good camp ground & sweet water & turned out & bated 2 hours & took breakfast. This camp ground was on the willow spring branch about [3?] miles from the head.
President Young wished me to go on about 15 miles & look up a Camp ground for the night, so I went forward. G. A. Smith went with me to the head of the willow springs. We there found A doctor belonging to a Missouri company who had been doc-toring A sick family in a company that was forward. He was of [the] opinion that the willow springs were still 10 miles ahead which was incorrect as he was then sitting at the head of them. Br Smith stoped with the Dr to wait for our waggons to come up & I rode on alone.
After travling several miles Br John Brown came up with me & we rode on to gether over A sandy barren, sage country to a creek of good water containing some small fish about 10 miles west of the willow springs. We arived Here at half past 1 oclok. We turned out our Horses to bait & tarried untill 4 oclok watching for our company to come in sight.
But we Could see no waggons but saw two horsman approaching us. We waved A small flag for them to Come to us. Supposed they were some of our company, but they were two Hunters Capt Smith & another man from the Mo company Carrying in Buffalo meat to there camp. They thought we were Indians in the distance & made off. I mounted my horse & put after them & soon overtook them, And made inquiries about our camp. They said they had not seen it, but had seen A company of about A dozen waggons coming by themselves.
I then concluded our Camp had Stoped at the willow Springs, So Captain Smith who was the leader of the Mo Company invited us to go on & Camp with them for the night As they did not expect to go but a few miles further than the creek we were now on.
As it was 5 oclok & we could see 5 miles on the road back & no waggons in sight I concluded our company would not Come on & if they should they would go no further than the Creek so we accepted Capt Smith proposal & went on with him to spend the night with his Camp.
But instead of his going but little distance he continued on mile after mile, & could neither find feed or water except the salt & Alkalie ponds & lakes untill we struck the sweet water river at Indipendance Rock which is so noted in Freemonts Journal & other travellers which was about 12 miles west of the Creek before spoken off. Their Oxen had tiered out having travled about 27 miles & much of the road vary sandy & we had road about 30 miles And was quite weary. The sweet water is truly sweet to man & beast after travling through so much ground coverd with salt, pertash, And Alkilie water as is found on the way. We turned out our horses in good feed got supper which was Bacon, Buffalo, corn bread, coffee Milk &c then lay down upon the ground & spent the night under A tent with the Missourians but did not rest well.
I found A great differance between the Missouri emigrant companies & our own. For while the men, women & children were all Cursing, swaring, quarell-ing, scolding finding fault with each other & other Companies, there was nothing of the kind allowed or practiced in our own camp.
But to return to our camp I will say At a late hour they came up to the Creek that we left back 12 miles, & grass being poor continued on 4 miles west of the creek & camped for the night. They travled 20 miles while I travled 30 miles. 30 miles.
The camp not finding me at the creek nor hearing from me at all felt some Alarmed lest I was lost, or got into trouble with the Indians or some difficulty. They blowed their bugle & watched for me untill midnight & finally fired there Cannon while I was camped 10 miles from them not thinking that I was giving them any trouble.
[source: Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
No comments:
Post a Comment