Index
Nebr. Map
Wyo. Map
Utah Map
Cal-Nev Map
Trail Links
Home
Journal of Western Travel
by John McTurk Gibson
edited by Weldon Hoppe
June 26th, 1859 -- Last night the boys came in with another antelope, and one sagehen, being Sunday we laid over as usual, and the three boys who joined us near Plattesmouth, traded their wagon, and joined teams with Ben Owen, so we now have only two wagons, and thirteen able bodied men and a boy, the latter is the best ox- driver in the crowd.
The whole country is impregnated with alkali, and round Saleratus Lake, which lays in our immediate vicinity, the ground is fairly encrusted with the stuff, much resembling a winter morning after a hard freeze, when there is an inch or so of snow under foot, it crackles and crisps as we go along.Powell
We are laying over to day. Some of the boys have been a hunting. We lost an ox yesterday morning, he had been sick one day. Bellows boys are joining with Owens. They are going to leave one wagon. Wallace Hamilton brought to camp the imitation of a snake formed of prickly pear. It is covered with stickers. It is one inch in diameter with a crease along the back. It was all quoiled up as a snake in the act of striking. It was slightly grown together all along it had the regular taper each way from the center.