ord pity, & bless the widows & orphans, who are left behind.

[June 5--53d day] Nooned nearly opposite Castle Bluffs,[52] here we were
joined by 2 teams, a man & his family, & his widowed sister with her
family, she was going only to Salt Lake, they had 5 or 6 cows which gave
milk, they gave me an excellent one to milk, for they had more than they
could well tend to, & we were willing that they should travel with us,
which they did to the end of our journey.

[June 6--54th day] Most of the soil here is very barren, the wild sage
sets in here it is very small, not much wood about this. Came in sight
of Courthouse[53] and Chimney[54] rocks some 30 or 40 miles distant,
they have a beautiful appearance. Passed some bluffs on our right which
presented a very singular & picturesque appearance, resembling a ruined
wall & buildings. A few miles onward to the left we found good camping.
In a tent near by was a man very sick, the Dr. went & stayed with him
till morning [July 7--55th day], when he died, leaving a wife & one
child, they put him in his narrow bed & left him there to sleep (rest)
alone. Traveled about 25 ms, & encamped on the bank of the river
opposite Chimney rock, which appeared to us to be very near the other
bank of the river but I am told it is 3 ms. distant & that is why it did
not look larger to me, but I knew it was much larger than it seemed to
be there, for when we were 10 ms distant it did not appear any smaller &
not much farther off. There was a man very sick in a tent near by,
supposed to be cholera.

[June 8--56th day] A fine cool breeze from the mountains makes it very
pleasant. Passed a large prarie dog town it was about 2 ms long by one
broad, they kept up a wonderful barking, & running from house to house,
but disappeared on our approach & kept perfectly still, until we got a
little passed, when they would jump up, & stand as straight & bark with
all their might, & no doubt they were saying some very hard things
against us, for the boys shot several of them, although I beg[g]ed them
not to hurt them, for it is pitiful to see them when one is wounded or
killed outside, & cannot get into his hole; others will rush out, & drag
him in, when they will commence barking with all their might, & directly
the whole town join in, as if they had been informed, & understood that
one of their number was wounded or dead. If there were any of these
little animals in Ireland, we might easily account for their lege