Heritage Gateways

William Clayton Journals

July 5, 1847

Location: Fort Bridger - 96 miles left, Wyoming - (You cross four gushing creeks, within half a mile, before you reach the Fort, and by traveling half a mile beyond the Fort, you will cross three others, and then find a good place to camp.) - 917 miles from Winter Quarters.

Journal entry: MONDAY, 5TH. At eight o'clock we pursued our journey, many of the brethren still being sick though generally improving. After traveling three and a half miles on the bank of the river the road then leaves it bending westward. We have now a very pleasant view of the Bear River mountains far to the southwest, their summits capped with snow. We found the land somewhat rolling, destitute of grass and several very steep places of descent.

At 4:45 we arrived on the banks of Blacks Fork and formed our encampment, having traveled twenty miles, the last sixteen and a half without sight of water. This stream is about six rods wide, very swift current but not deep. The bottoms on each side are very pleasant but not much grass for teams. There is one place in the road where we might have saved a crook of nearly a mile by digging down bank which would probably have detained us about twenty minutes, but it was not discovered till most of the wagons had passed over.

Source: William Clayton's Journal

Published by the Clayton Family Association, and edited by Lawrence Clayton. To the best of our research, this contents of this book are no longer under copyright.