May 3, 1843

           On my final trip to Oregon I saw a sign that said “Santa Fe” this way, “Oregon Trail” that way.  I decided to go to the Oregon side. 

Because I took all this time to get to this point, and Oregon was where I was headed.  I saw no point in changin’ my mind now! 

           Jed Sawyer went by way of Santa Fe.  He decided that the way to Santa Fe might be shorter.  Turns out, he got water...but not the kind he wanted!  They got stuck in a mud pit from a horrible thunderstorm that came up on ‘em all of a sudden.  Tore up his wagon something’ fierce!  They all had to turn back and join us again on the Oregon Trail.  I have to admit, I was glad to see Jed again.  But, I felt kinda sorry for him, so I let him sleep over in my wagon for what was left of that night.  In the mornin’ I am gonna help him fix up his wagon before we head out  again. 

 

May 5,6,7, 1843

           We have spent the last three days crossing the Wakarusa river.  We didn’t have enough oxen to cross safely, so we had to pay ‘Fish’ 5$ to help us pull our wagon out of the mud.  I was devastated and I am beginning to think we will never get to Oregon.  Mud was everywhere, and we were all covered in it by the time Fish finished helping us.  I imagine Fish made good money on that part of the trail, since a lot of people seemed to not have many oxen. 

           Now, I am plum tuckered out...so I am going to try to get some sleep before we go again in the mornin’.  My kitten is sure glad to get some sleep too.

 

May 14, 1843

           During my travels, after Jed got a good nights sleep and his wagon was fixed we went over to head to Oregon.  The trail has gotten so harsh with lots of thunderstorms and we even saw a tornado!  This place was almost  as bad as baked beans!  Lord I am tired of baked beans! 

 

May 20, 1843

           Sean Spankenheimer was bitten by a rattle snake today.  It drew a lot of attention from the wagon train, because we were all waiting to cross through the ‘narrows’ a very small passage we had to go through single file.  It was slowin’ our progress greatly.

           We had a choice of sawing off his leg, or finding a cure.  I washed the bite out with some soap and water.  I made a splint  from an old piece of wood I got in somebody’s wagon.  So then I bandaged him up right tight, and kept Mr. Spankenhiemer quiet for a few days.  I think he will be on the mend soon, and able to continue his walk to Oregon. 

           My kitten was very worried about him.  He licked his face the whole time I was mendin’ on him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 30, 1843

           Today we arrived in Fort Kearny.  What a joy to see!  I decided to stock up my supplies.  I got me 5 lbs of bacon, 30 lbs of flour, and 45 lbs of beans.  I sent 5 letters back to my folks and friends telling them that if they was thinking of going on the Oregon Trail that it was a very hard journey and they should bring lots of supplies. 

           My kitten was happy to see some more food in the wagon for him to eat.  He likes beans and bacon, and milk too. 

 

June 11, 1843

Gilman’s station

           We found somebody I never expected to find on the trail...a blacksmith.  When I saw a sign that said “Blacksmith” I was overjoyed because my animals will be able to be more sure footed along the trail.  Jud Gilman was a little bit of a crook, because when I thought I could trust him, he backstabbed me.  I traded in two of my oxen, And he gave me one back.  He said mine were too old, and too tired and it would cost him a lot to get him better.  I was going to ask for my oxen back, but then the captain shouted “Time to move on out!”  So there was no time.  You can guess I was mighty mad!

           The day just got worse, because when we stopped at a beautiful oasis I decided to keep moving after I filled my water kegs, I rolled on out, and when I out, I got a blazing sunburn and you can imagine it HURTS!  I almost screamed!  But, I didn’t want to because it would make everybody get angry at me. 

 

June 25, 1843

           Today we found ourselves having to lower our wagon down a big ravine.  We tied some ropes to a really sturdy tree and lowered ourselves down carefully.  Very carefully!  It took us about 3 hours to get to the bottom.  Norman, the kitten, was terrified!  He was meowing the whole way down!  When we got to the bottom we realized that our dog was gone!  Pa said we’d have to leave him behind, but I hope he catches up to us soon!

 

June 26, 1843

           Climbing down that hill was worth it because at the bottom was Ash Hollow Spring.  Since everybody stops here we decided to leave a message that said “Have your seen this dog?”  With a picture of Watch on it.  Then we saw this wanted poster, which made us all a little worried...he looked familiar...but we were keeping’ a close eye on our cattle from here on out!

 

 

 

 

Does he look familiar?

Have you seen this dog?

“Watch” 

Come to wagon number 48