1920^th Sunday we hitched up early in the morning without feed
or watering & left our encampment of death, poison waters,
salt marshes &c & rode 3 miles to A good camp ground & sweet
water & turned out & bated 2 hours & took breakfast. this
camp ground was on the willow spring branch about 3 miles from
the head. President Young wished me to go on about 15
miles & look up a camp ground for the night, so I went forw[ar]d
G. A. Smith went with me to the head of the willow springs
we there found A doctor belonging to a Missouri company who
had been doctoring A sick family in a company that was
forward He was of opinion that the willow springs were
still 10 miles ahead which was incorrect as he was then
sitting at the head of them. Br Smith stoped with the
dDr to wait for our waggons to come up & I rode on alone
After travling several miles Br John Brown came up
with me & we rode on together over A sandy barren, sage
country to a creek of good water containing some small
fish about 10 miles west of the willow springs we arived Here

at half past 1 oclok we turned out our Horses to bait & tarried untill 4 oclok
watching for our company to come in sight, but we could see no
waggons, but saw two horsman approaching us, we waved A small
flag for them to come to us supposed they were some of our company, but
they were two Hunters Capt Smith & another man from the Mo co
mpany]] carrying in Buffalo meat to there camp they thought we were
Indians in the distance & made off. I mounted my horse & put after
them & soon overtook them, And made inquiries about our camp
they said they had not seen it, but had seen A company of about
A dozen waggons coming by themselves, I then concluded our camp
had stoped at the willow Springs, so Captain Smith who was the
leader of the Mo Company invited us to go on & camp with them for
the night As they did not expect to go but a few miles further than the
creek we were now on. As it was 5 oclok & we could see 5 miles on
the road back & no waggons in sight I concluded our company would
not come on & if they should they would go no further than the
creek so we accepted Capt Smith proposal & went on with him
to spend the night with his camp dut insted of his going but little
distance he continued on mile after mile & could neither find feed
or water except the salt & Alkalie ponds & lakes untill we struck
the sweet water river at Indipendance Rock which is so noted
in Freemont^s Journal & other travellers which was about 12 miles west
of the creek before spoken off their oxen had tiered out having
travled about 27 miles & much of the road vary sandy & we had
road about [FIGURE] 30 miles And was quite weary, the sweet water is
truly sweet to man & beast after travling through so
much ground coverd with salt, perlash, And Alkilie water as is found
on the way we turned out our horses in good feed got supper which
was Bacon, Buffalo, corn bread, coffee Milk &c then lay down
upon the ground & spent the night under A tent with the Missour-
ians but did not rest well. I found A great differance between the
Missouri emigrant companies & our own, for while the men, women
& children were all cursing, swaring, quarelling, scolding finding
fault with each other & other companies, there was nothing of the
kind allowed or practiced in our own camp. But to return to
our camp I will say At a late hour they came up to the creek that
we left back 12 miles, & grass being poor continued on 4 miles
west of the creek & camped for the night they travled 20 miles
while I travled 30 miles 30 miles

The camp not finding me at the creek, nor hearing from me
at all felt some Alarmed lest I was lost, or got into trouble with
the Indians or some difficulty they blowed their bugle &
watched for me untill midnight & finally fired there cannon
while I was camped 10 miles from them not thinking that I
was giving them any trouble