[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 11th I wrote 3 letters to John Druce, D. S. Hollister David Turner [ ?] to the following persons: Mr Isaac Moorehouse JS likeness, O [Pratt?] letter & Epistle David Turner portrait & O P Letter Frederick Webster portrait & Letter John Druce 3 portraits 10 O Pratts Letters. All sent by Express to D. S. Hollister 259 4th Avenue New York. I Mailed Elder Pratts Letter & sent him A Copy of his letters which I published. I recieved the following account of the Boston Daily Times which I forwarded to O Pratt in his letter:
"From A letter from Fort Leavenworth May 15 The Amount of Emigration over the plains is immense beyond all estimate. It is predicted there will be great distress & privation among the Emigrating Caravans The Teams travel about 16 miles per day. There have more than 20,000 Mules oxen & Horses gone from Indipendance alone from St Joseph 14,000 And the whole region at this moment seems like one tented field for miles & Miles in all directions. There are more than 50,000 animals on the plains at the vary lowest estimate & more than nine tenths are travelling along the same track. Recommendations are about to be made officially from this point to the general Government to furnish relief as soon as possible to be forwarded on to the plains for the vast multitudes who otherwise must inevitably leave their bones to bleach by the way. Col Summers the Commanding officer at this point who has had much experience on the plains & knows their peril says he fears there will be more deaths on the road to Calafornia this summer than there was in mexico during the war."
[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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