[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 31st There are many portions of this country vary barren. We travel over several miles at a time of level prairie with little or no grass upon it. In this ground we find great quantities of the Prickelly pair & they are an excellent plant to eat though coverd with thorns like needles which have to be carefully paired off with A knife & fork. They are quite delicious. Have A little tart but vary plesant.
We had A plesant morning. Our cattle was strayed so far it took about 2 hours to get them up & get ready for starting. We however started at 8 oclock & travled 9 1/2 miles & nooned on a green flat. Most of the ground through the day was vary barren. Grass is again getting vary scarce. Br Pratt took an observation & found the Lattitude to be 42°4'30".
We travled in the Afternoon 7 1/4 miles & camped upon the bank of a creek about 15 or 20 miles below Laramie. The Hunters brought in one long tailed deer. Saw several Elk & Antilope but go none of them.
I went forward to pick out the road through the day. I felt some unwell with teeth ake & canker in my mouth. Distance of the day 16 3/4.
I would here mention that which belonged to the mornings Account that there was A Crust of frost over the grass. The Thermometer stood at 35, At 5 oclok. We Passed to day A grove of large cotton wood but the Sioux had wintered in it & Cut down the most of it for brows & wood.
We are begining to come to wood more plenty but the Camp has had much difficulty to obtain wood to cook with for the last weeks as we had neith[er] timber nor Buffalo Chips. The men would follow the river bank all day & Islands to pick up any wood sticks barks or chips that might chanced to have lodged on the bank by the flood or that the Indians may have left. But it is now to be readily obtained. It is supposed that the Creek we camp on to night is the rawhide.
[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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