Fort Victoria Jan 28/55

Vancouvers Island

Pacific Ocean,

 

Dear Brother George

​

In one of your letters you asked me for a brief account of my journey across the plains and the principal incidents of my life here. This evening I will commence the task you have imposed on me and continue it from time to time as I shall have opportunity and inclination until it shall be complete up to this present time.

On the 25th of March/52 I left Franklin at an early hour in the morning on the stage coach for Hancock by the way of Walton.

That evening and the day following I was whirling through the villages of western N. York and the following evening was on Lake Erie.

In the morning the boat made some little progress when she became fast in the ice Most of the passengers including myself remained on board for a week. The solid body of ice in which the boat was fast all the time floating down the Lake towards Buffalo. After a week’s time we left on the ice and travelled to the shore some five miles - a rather dangerous experiment for the body of ice in which the steamer was fast was still floating to the East sometimes grinding against that which remained frozen to the shores and sometimes leaving a broad chasm between.

Our baggage remained on board directed by way bills to such ports as were most convenient. The boat was not able to extricate herself under twenty days and I never saw my baggage though others in my company got theirs. This terminated my first disaster. 

On reaching shore I found myself above twenty miles nearer home than when I took the boat. I now went on to Cleveland by land, then by Steamboat to Toledo, then again by land to Chicago and on some 40 miles farther west to a town called Batavia where our teams and outfit were purchased. April 20th I left Batavia, putting everything in the care of Parsons my companion and on the 21st reached Mr. Waterbury’s place in western Illinois almost on the borders of the Mississippi where Ade was then staying. On the 26th of April I saw the Father of waters. I went down in a boat to Burlington, then struck across the Prairies and fell in with my train on the 5th of May - had left our team with a man from Delhi by the name of Holmes who wished to wait a few days longer at Batavia for his baggage and mine which had not reached Chicago at the time of the setting out of the train. On the 18th of may we crossed the Mississippi, civilisation is now behind us and before us wilderness of forest and solitary expanse of Prairie of such awful extent that the keenest eye is not able to define its utmost verge. On the 19th we left the west band of the Missouri which is bordered by a heavy forest of six miles in breadth at the place St. Joseph where we crossed viz St. Joseph. Once on the plains one day’s as another - always travelling west, all Prairie, now and then a small stream, no forest, water generally bad, much disease and plenty of graves.

Sometimes we encamp for an entire day on some beautiful stream bordering these great natural meadows to recruit our horses and rest ourselves. My team had not yet come up and I was obliged to travel on foot by which circumstances I was so excessively annoyed that I could not enjoy this part of the journey. On the 25th May Holmes came up with us. He had remained some 10 or 11 days after the setting out of the rest of the train - had got his baggage but not mine - had over driven and wearied the team - had left it in the care of a company who had oxen and overtook us on foot and I now returned along with him getting the loan of a pair of horses to bring them up. On the 28th we overtook the rest of the train. My horses were fast wearing away by the excessive toil of the journey - we had a heavy waggon. My two companions had each a heavy trunk well filled with clothing and also each a heavy rifle. Beside the carrying of my provisions I was not benefited to the value of a penny by the team and I had borne more than three fourths of the expense of the fitting out. I went always on foot whilst my companions were often forced to ride on account of their health. I saw the horses every day growing thinner and weaker and could provide no remedy. I was vexed with myself for joining with men who could not do their share of the fitting out for had each one done as much as I we would have had four or six horses instead of two and I was displeased with my companions because I thought they were not willing to bear their share of the labor and so instead of the journey being pleasant as I had anticipated I was made excessively miserable. On the 2nd June we reached the river Platte which we first struck near Fort Kearney. We followed up this stream until the 10th when we crossed the South fork by fording and the next day we reached the North fork of the Platte which we followed up until the 28th when we crossed over this branch also and here poor Holmes was drowned in attempting to swim over his horse. 

The Platte is a very shallow stream generally - its bed is quicksand and its water is muddy and very cold especially for the west.

Upon this river there is some fine scenery. It has a very level valley of some 10 or 15 miles in width back of which are bluffs all broken up into Peaks somewhat resembling stacks of hay or corn with deep gullies between. In some of these gullies there is grass and the Antelope and Buffalo feed and secrete themselves here. The ridges are barred, the perpendicular sides resembling at a distance the ruined walls of some brick castle. Some of these peaks and pinnacles are altogether isolated standing in the center of some broad plain and rising to the height of several hundred feet, sides perpendicular of a red marble and a long distance away strikingly remind one of some legendary castle of most Magnificent dimensions.

A little west of Fort Laramie the valley grows narrower and the country more uneven and rocky. Here we left the river for a day or two and travelled among mountains and hills. A great variety of scenery, some of the barren bluffs red as blood, some green, some almost black, some nothing but rock and some entirely free from stone. We passed over some very high land on one of these days and found the weather severely cold but had an excellent view of nature in her wildest mood. Having crossed the north fork of the Platte we left it on the south and saw it no more. We were now on very high land and rather barren. On the 30th of June we passed some Alkaline ponds upon the surface of one of which was a crust of pure Salseratus clear as crystal like ice on a fresh water pond of the thickness of an inch.

 

(remainder missing)