"clear & warm [ ] traveled up the river 17 miles [ ] crossed 2 streams in the afternoon"
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They start the day out following the river to seek a fording place on the Platte. The recent melting snow made the coarse difficult with the swollen river. Little did they know, or even care, that the present country they were traveling through would someday be very wealthy once oil is discovered around the turn of the coming century.
The Missouri emigrants very near them all this time and when camp is made for the nights, the pioneers can hear the Missourians in their camp about a half mile from them. Then can clearly hear their......."bawling and profanity". It must have been frustrating for them to be so far from the troubles of Illinois and Missouri, and then to have their old nemesis' right next to them on a lonely spot of the earth.
As Thomas Bullock says:
" Friday 11 .... planted a hill of Corn as usual [ ] a lovely morning & birds singing in a pretty grove of Timber [ ] onions grow in plenty about here & on all this days journey also the Mustard in patches [ ] at 7.30 Camp starts from Deer Creek & soon comes to an ugly pitch in a gulley which we got thro' safe follow the course of the Platte nearly in a strait line & passing a couple of ravines on descending a hill halt at 11.40 in the bottoms near some Cotton Woods & plenty of mustard & Grass [ ] I found several mushrooms on our road [ ] at 1.30 the Camp again start come to a rapid muddy creek about 15 or 20 feet wide & two deep [ ] water the Cattle cross it & then travel on generally a level road [ ] cross another very small Creek [ ]scend a hill passing strait across it [ ] come in sight of two of the Camps at halt ahead when we turn down to a Cotton Wood grove and halt at 5.30 [ ] about ½ mile from them where Prest. Richards had previously been to explore a good place for the night [ ] Prests. Kimball, Woodruff, Benson & Smith ride ahead & report crossing place 10 or a dozen miles from this place [ ] hunters kill 7 Antelopes 9¼ [+] 7¾ [=] 17½ M(iles) [ ] The rugged bluffs have disappeared from our course [ ] they are now more gradual & at the top of some bluffs about 7 miles off [ ] patches of Snow are still left [ ] the two Camps half a mile off make more noise by ten times than all our Camp put together [ ] I clearly hear their bawling while writing this [ ] there is a Wood pecker tapping a hollow Cotton Wood Tree over my head [ ] some of the men in next Camp brought down a ball of Snow which A.P. Rockwood held in his hand [ ] Elder Kimball saw it [ ] the Snow was several feet deep on the drifts"
