On the Catlet place, I had my "first" and only experience with “tobacker” as a chew. A neighbor of ours, whose name I have completely forgotten had a boy I recall as Jack, and he had mastered the art of chewing the weed. Byram and my self were with him about all the spare time we had, and watched him, as he would spit here and there and we finally asked him if he were chewing tobacker. He said he was and wanted to know if we wanted to learn. I took it up and took a life sized chew and what I did not spit out I would swallow. I had not been told what to do with it and what happened to me is all history, for it has happened to too many boys before and since then. We were in the woods gathering berries, especially mulberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries which were plentiful near our home. Things were not rosy very long. The trees started cutting up capers, and I became so dizzy I couldn’t navigate. I called to the others that something was wrong with me, I wanted water and finally got it, but that did not improve conditions at all, so we started for home, Jack on one side of me and Byram on the other. Within about one hundred yards of the house we happened on to David, burning a pit of charcoal. Here I fell on the ground and waited the outcome. As soon as David saw me he called to mother that I was poisoned, which brought her to me at once. Jack had his wits about him too, for he left for home without any ceremony, and well he did, for mother discovered the trouble at once. As a result I spent the next two weeks in bed, and very sick at that, really poisoned.

Before Father left Heber C. Kimball at the upper crossing of the Sweetwater, they had an understanding about the time, as near as they could calculate, when we should start West. Heber C’s advice to father was to return to Kainsville, Iowa and take his family to Missouri where he thought we could prepare our- selves in about two years for the trip. As stated, father did move us to Missouri, but just before we left Daniel Smith's place we were joined by Lee Bybee, my father’s uncle and his three sons, Alfred, Absolom, and Lee Jr. and their families for they were all married. Here also lived Alexander Beckstead, the father of Henry Beckstead, who married my sister Lucene. This gathering was made in anticipation of the move West. We intended to travel together, and when we left them at Kainsville, Iowa, to go to Missouri they received the impression that we would return for them to start the move in 1850. It was in our minds that we would start when we were able, tentatively in 1851, and when we were satisfied that we could make it by then, Father and I started for Kainsville to make sure we understood each other correctly, and to see if they would be ready by then also. Father had a scheme to help raise a little more money also, so we started out. This was suggested by one Mr. Burns, a neighbor who lived near us; that we take a supply of bacon which we had on hand and sell it to the families going west, both Mormons and the gold seekers off to California, as we might contact them enroute to Kainsville. Mr. Burnes propossed to pay father a wage for his service. It seemed a lot of bacon, but not a load, but when we reached Kainsville we had only a small supply left.

When we were about to Kainsville, and traveling along the river, paralleled but some distance from it, father saw quite a number of wagons, and decided it was a good prospect to dispose of his bacon, so we went over to them. To our complete surprise it was our people from the Little Pigeon, above Kainsville. They were ready to start west and were waiting for us to come from Missouri to go with them. It was of course out of the question for them to wait for us, so after a careful discussion of the whole situation, they decided to go ahead without us, and they did. When we reached Kainsville we found my brother John there at Daniel Smith’s and preparing to go West with Lee and his people. My father and I stayed long enough at Kainsville to see our people safely across the river, then started for home. This trip was made in the month of June and our return to our people, on the Catlet place, was about July 1st.

At one of our camps on the way home, Father was approached by a stranger who evidently lived near and asked father if he would sell him a yoke of oxen. Father thought a few minutes and then decided to sell for $35.00 and the offer was accepted. I guess the reason I remember it so well was from the fact that the entire amount was paid in fifty-cent pieces. Everything was ok, when we reached home, but the folks were disappointed because our people had gone west without them and the trip could not be made with them, this was especially true of mother, who thought things were so unsettled that it was best to stick together. Then Lucene and Elizabeth and John had gone on and this had quite a lot to do with mother’s feelings.

About the time of our return one of Mr. Catlet's slaves, a negro boy about 16 years old, put on a show that we enjoyed a lot even if it did cause Dick some inconvenience. He was working in the cornfield with a horse that knew the meaning of the dinner bell as well as Dick did, and it he wanted to go to the house with his horse he must show considerable speed. So Dick unhooked the horse, climbed on, and was off for the barn. The corral, or barnyard, was guarded by a set of bars, the top one of which had been left up for some cause. Dick's failed to notice the bar for he made no effort to free himself from the horse, and the horse was on a high trot and the bar caught Dick about midsection and pulled him to the ground. Mr. Catlet saw the whole affair and asked Dick why he didn’t get off, or fall off, and Dick said, "How the Debil could Ah fall off, when all Ah could do was to hang on."

It was in September when we burned our last coal pit. Levi was spending his entire time on the wagons, Dave was working most of the time for Mr. Burns, while the rest of us were caring for the details and also for the stock, all we thought of was to get ready for the spring move. We were saving everything we could find that promised to be of any help, and saving every penny. Talk about pinching pennies, we were surely good at it, and it was well that we were.

Then we moved on Mr. Catlet's place we camped near a grove of sugar maple trees. For some reason these trees had never been tapped. Father asked about them and was given permission to tap them, and asked to do them as little harm as possible. The month of March is the best month for this work, and we took advantage of this opportunity during March of 1851 so when we left we had a nice quantity of sugar and several gallons of syrup. I recall the race we had every morning with Mr. Catlet's pigs to be the first to the syrup that dripped out during the night. Mother discontinued her butter business, it did not pay to go to the market for it alone, and the travel on the highways seemed to be at a standstill.

It was always a family custom in the fall of the year to gather a plentiful supply of nuts for winter. They grew in abundance in the woods near us, and the pleasure was not entirely when we ate them in winter, but was great fun to go as a family into the woods and gather them. There were black walnuts, butternuts, and hazel nuts; no winter was complete without them. Associated with these pleasant evenings cracking nuts, I recall a very large negro slave belonging to one of our neighbors, his master was very kind and good to him, but the slave liked Father very much and spent as much time with him as he possibly could, nearly every evening he was there to help with the nuts. He was always asking father to take him west when he went, but Father told him we could not, for he was the property of another man, and it would be stealing to take him. He then proposed that he run away a few days a head of us and join us at Kainsville, Iowa, but father refused to have any thing to do with the matter. (as he belonged to someone else) We never saw him again after we left the Catlet place. While we were living on Mr. Catlet's place, in fact soon after we reached there, one of Polly’s little girls contracted some ailment, some fever, and passed away and we buried her there, I can not recall her name.

Everything moved nicely with us our preparations to move west, and the excitement increased as the time approached to leave. Some three or four days before the start we were all taken to St. Joseph, Missouri to take a last look at the city, and to purchase supplies for the trip. In looking back to the time I can see Father in one of his stunts. The money we had saved was all put together in a meal bag large enough for several times as much money. We had no paper money at all, and with a few exceptions for the gold we had, our entire fortune of over $200.00 was in silver. We had been advised by the Church Authorities to bring sufficient flour to last at least six months after we reached Salt Lake Valley, so all our cash was put into provisions except for the fare on the ferry and other incidentals, as we could estimate them. I remember Father as he sauntered in the Riddle Store and the Bedeford, carrying the sack containing the money over his right shoulder. He tossed it to the floor and at the same time telling them it was his last trip to St. Joseph for provisions, and it was. I remember very little about the prices of the goods there, except sugar, which was sold for eighteen pounds for a dollar, ordinary brown sugar, for this was long before the appearance of the beautiful white sugar of today.

After completing our trading we returned to the Catlet place. The arranging of our load and all details occupied the last three or four days on the place. Finally the day arrived for the start, and one beautiful morning early in June 1851 we took to the trail. Levi Hammon did not leave here for a week or ten days later, owing to some uncompleted business between him and Mr. Litz. Levi was supposed to meet us in Winter Quarters as soon as he had cared for his affairs

We took things easy, traveling short hours and caring for the stock, on which so much depended. We spent enough time so when we reached the Ferry we did not have long to wait for Levi. Immediately on his arrival we made arrangements to cross the River on the Ferry. We made the trip first, and Levi followed us, and we went into camp at Winter Quarters for about a week while the arrangements were completed for our place in the train with which we were to travel.

I wish to say a something about the organization of the train, and some of the conditions that obtained during the trip. There were one hundred wagons, formed into the companies, of 50 wagons each. These two companies were under the control of a captain, a captain was also placed over each of the 50 wagon trains, and they were responsible to the head captain. Each 50 wagon trains were divided again into five divisions each, and a captain placed over each of them, responsible to the captain of fifty. In every division of ten, there was also appointed a man as its hunter, whose duty it was to supply his company with meat. My brother David was the hunter for our company. It was also enjoined on every able bodied man to take his turn doing guard duty at night.

The departure of the two companies was so arranged so they would be about two weeks apart. This lapse of time was to safe guard the feed for the cattle. It could not always be depended upon on account of the roaming herds of buffalo, when they passed over the fee, often there was none left. In order to avoid dissatisfaction in the companies as far as possible, the wagons changed positions every day, and it was my lot to be in the lead but once as we crossed. This order stood good for the five companies in each division also, the leading company falling to the rear of the organization each day. When we made camp for the night the leading wagon would turn in a half circle to the right and be followed in turn up to the 25th wagon and including it. The 26th wagon would take a course from the same point, only to the left and when his half circle was made the circle was complete. Each driver would stop his wagon with his left front wheel close to the right rear wheel of his pal ahead, thus forming a corral into which our stock was placed at night if it was thought necessary, and we were placed at an advantage in case of an attack by an enemy.

The man selected as captain of our company was one Alfred Cordon, and it was our lot to leave Winter Quarters first, and in advance of the other company about 10 days. I cannot recall the captain of our “ten.”

We broke camp at Winter Quarters about July 1st 1851. Our trip was a very quiet one in comparison with some of those who made the trip before us. Outside of the daily duties connected with traveling we had but little excitement. We had men out on guard at night around the camp, as well as two or three men with the horses and cattle, so in spending our evenings around our camps in whatever capacity we chose, we felt quite secure, and really enjoyed ourselves very much, singing and dancing and always hopeful of a better future.

Every company had its "fiddler" and when the work was done for the day we would clear a piece of land and have a dance. I did not fiddle at these dances, though later I did became a "fiddler."

Our company never tried for long pulls each day, ten to fifteen miles being satisfactory. We never traveled on Sunday, except where the feed for the stock was scarce. Before we left St. Joseph, Father sold all the young stock to Mr. Burns, our neighbor, as we were advised not to try to make the trip with them, as they would not stand the strain and would be lost or have to be carried in the wagons. But Mother insisted on the cows, so we had six cows with us. Mother made what butter we needed as we went, by placing the cream in the “stone jar” and when we camped again the action over the rough roads had churned it to butter and we not only had this butter, but the butter milk also. My brother Byram and I had a spat one day at lunch and he threw all the buttermilk there was, on me and I was a mess. We have laughed about it a lot since we became men.

An interesting part of the routine was our "post office" as we called them. They served us only in one way, in that they informed those who followed only. Very frequently we found information of the company ahead of us. Nearly anywhere along the way we could find the bleached bones of the buffalo, and upon these we would write our message, as to date, location, conditions etc., then the bone was placed in some conspicuous place to be found by the man behind.

At times when we were crossing, we were forced to stop and made way for the buffalo, for in their travels and in search of food, they always follow their leader if it is in any way possible. Some of their earlier companies made the serious mistake of taking the right of way from the buffalo. It usually resulted in a stampede among the company stock, as well as among the working cattle. So when we encountered them we stopped while they went by. Now and then along the Platte River were they were drinking, we sometimes waited for three or four hours.

If I remember correctly, it was two or three days travel east of Fort Laramie, that we passed a column of rock extending into the air about 25 or 30 feet, called "Chimney Rock." It was on the south side of the river, perhaps 2 or 3 miles from the road, which was on the North Bank. We were all quite curious about it as we passed for we had been able to see it for considerable distance, it was the only outcropping of rock in this locality and this made it all the more interesting.

Covering the distance from Winter Quarters to Fort Laramie, we saw but one white man, outside of our own men. This was the man in charge of the ferry at Loop's Fork. We swam our cattle across the stream. Neither did we pass, or meet, a single company or outfit in this distance.

When we reached Fort Laramie, we saw many Indians living in their tepees near the fort. The majority of them were of the Sioux Tribe, and a mighty fine race of people, large in stature, and brave as any man. There was no way to scare a Sioux.

The trail we were following, Fort Laramie was about half way between Winter Quarters and Salt Lake City. We spent no more time here than was necessary and took to the road to complete our journey. The needs of the journey had been so well thought out, that it was unnecessary to purchase any supplies at the fort and we left there, as I remember it, about the middle of August.

From Fort Laramie we traveled up the North Platte River about a week. We crossed the North Platte the north bank about this time. As I remember, the next water that we reached of any importance was the Sweetwater. In the distance between the North Platte and the Sweetwater we saw the place where the Old Oregon Trail left the Old Mormon Trail, its general direction was northwest. Not all the people in our company were Mormons. They had joined us for protection in travel, and expected to part with us when we reached the Oregon Trail at this point. Here about 8 or 10 wagons left us and took the Oregon Trail to the Northwestern part of the Oregon Territory.

We reached the Sweetwater in the due course of events, all O.K. It was, at this time, well toward the latter part of August. We traveled up the Sweetwater River to a point called the South Pass, where we were to start over the Rocky Mountains. I remember one of the first natural wonders we came to. It was called the Devil's Gate, and it was on the Sweetwater River. With all the pioneers who passed through this section of the land, the Devil's Gate was the most conspicuous landmark. Many scenes were recalled, and memories refreshed by a mere reference to this place. The water of the river ran through this gate, which was, approximately, 100 feet high. We were approaching the Rocky Mountains and traveling nearly straight west, possibly a little to the north. The mountain, which the Gate was in, was somewhat smaller than the main range, and was a spur running out into the plains in an almost eastward direction. The walls of this Gate were almost perpendicular, and were of solid rock. The next remarkable exhibit was that of Alkali Lake. This was not only a curiosity to us, but one of concern as well. This lake did not seem to be fed by a stream from the surface, and in the latter part of the summer, the water disappeared entirely. The lake covered perhaps 25 or 30 acres. We noticed indications of alkali as we entered this district, and at the lake we found the headquarters.

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