ll timber along the banks of
this creek, I had a severe headache this evening, our folks having got
their supper, they were soon seated around a blazing fire, & were soon
joined by several indians, who likewise seated themselves by the fire, &
as one of them could speak a little English, they kept up quite a
conversation. They said they no steal white mans cattle, they good
indian, but the Pawnee he bad indian, he steal, no good, Loyd gave them
a drink of brandy which when they had tasted, said strong, strong, but
smacked their lips as if it was not stronger than they liked. I lay in
the waggon looked out upon this group, which as the glare of the fire
fell on the grim visages, & bare, brawny arms, & naked bodies; having
nothing on the upper part of the body but their loose blanket, & as they
move their arms about when speaking, their bodies are half naked most of
the time, the contrast was striking between their wild looks & savage
dress, to the familiar faces of our own company, & their civilized dress
and speech. [May 12--29th day] I felt quite well this morning, we soon
dispatched our breakfast, yoked up our cattle which were as full as
_ticks_, started out into the broad road, or roads, for here there are
several tracks, there is plenty of room for horse, or mule teams to go
around, which will be quite different when we come to the Mountains, we
passed the indian mission,[33] where there are several hundred acers of
land cultivated by indians under the superintendince of the
missionaries. Rested our teams at noon, took a lunch, went on some 10
miles farther [sic], & encamped, where there was good grass, but very
little water & no wood, we succeeded in boiling the tea kettle, & making
some coffee, & having plenty of bread, meat, & crackers, fruit pickles,
&c, we done very well for supper, it was quite cold tonight, but slept
well till morning.

[May 13--30th day] Started out soon this morning, passed several graves,
we hear that it is sickly on the route, that there are cholera,
smallpox, & measles, but rumor says so much, that you do not know when
to believe her, but the graves prove that some have died, & it must be
expected that from such a number, some would die; but it is very sad to
part with them here, for the heart can hardly support the addition, of
so much grief, for there are few whose hearts are not already pained, by
leaving so many behind. We came to another indian toll bridge, which
crossed a small ra