Heritage Gateways

William Clayton Journals

May 28, 1847

Location: Mitchell, Nebraska - Location: 41:56:25N 103:48:29W Elevation: 3945 feet

Summary: Rain delay and amusements to pass the time. Good fish and cold water. Indian hunting party near.

Journal entry: The morning cool, damp, cloudy and some rain. Wind northeast.

At about eight o'clock the brethren were called together and the question asked : shall we go on in the rain or wait until it is fair? All agreed to stay until it was fair.

I went to writing in Heber's journal and wrote till nearly eleven o'clock. Elder Kimball came to the next wagon where some of the boys were playing cards. He told them his views and disapprobation of their spending time gaming and dancing and mock trying, etc. and especially the profane language frequently uttered by some. He. reasoned with them on the subject and showed them that it would lead from bad to worse if persisted in until the consequences would become serious. He exhorted them to be more sober and wise.

It growing fair, we started out at eleven o'clock, our first four miles being north of northwest in consequence of a bend in the river. We traveled beside a creek of very clear water about a mile. It rises about four miles northwest of where we camped last night and runs in a crooked direction till it empties into the river about a mile west of the camp. It rises from springs as was proved by Horace Whitney who traced it to its source where there is a spring rising out of a circular kind of wet swamp about six feet in diameter. The creek is about eight feet wide but not deep, the bottom is gravelly.

Near where it empties into the river, they discovered a number of large spotted trout, suckers and dais of a good size. The water tasted very good and cold.

At the distance of four miles we arrived and traveled at the foot of the bluffs, the road sandy and heavy on teams. We soon turned from the bluffs on a level barren prairie, hard and good traveling. At nine miles descended on a - lower bench of prairie where we found it wet and soft though not bad rolling.

At 4:45 formed our encampment near the river, having traveled eleven and a half miles, the last seven a little south of west. The feed here is not very good. Driftwood tolerably plentiful. We have seen a few small trees on the islands today but none on the north bank. Vast quantities of southern wood and prickly pear grow on these sandy prairies where there is no grass.

The evening cloudy and dull with cold northeast wind. While Thomas Brown and Porter Rockwell were out hunting about five miles north of here, the former saw five or six Indians about a quarter of. a mile from him. They also saw many new footprints of horses, which shows that there is a hunting party near.

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.