Diary Excerpts Of Pioneer Women

voices from the past diary excerpts from Pioneer women traveling through the Bennington area a presentation of the Bennington Historical Society Bennington is located on a historically important area of western expansion the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 traveled up the Missouri River just ten miles east of us another ten miles to the south the Union Pacific Railroad laid tracks westward creating the Transcontinental Railroad much closer and even within sight of Bennington is the Mormon trail a trail used by an estimated 90,000 pioneers moving west those pioneers were an amazing group of people who gave up nearly everything their homes family members in some cases even their own lives in search of their dreams they faced starvation thirst disease hostile Indians robbers blizzards sandstorms rattlesnakes and dangers that would be hard to imagine today we'll listen to some of their hopes dreams and despairs as they traveled through this area Kenneth Holmes compiled a group of Diaries written by pioneer women we would like to share some of those stories as they traveled through this area from the Missouri to the Elkhorn River this material was taken from mr. Holmes's book entitled covered wagon women diaries and letters from the Western trails 1853 to 1854 volume six there are several historical sites mentioned in the following excerpts which you should consider visiting if you haven't already they include Gainesville which was located on the northern side of Council Bluffs Iowa and it's the site of a Mormon Tabernacle winners quarters was a temporary settlement built by the Mormon in 1846 at the current site of Florence the Mormon trail Center is located at 32nd and state street it has a museum that has oral and video presentations that describes that community in the Mormon trail not far from the trail Center is the Mormon cemetery where nearly 300 pioneers who perished are laid to rest one diary specifically mentions the Papio Creek and it's undoubtedly mentioned as a small creek and several others the Elkhorn River was the last deep river they faced going west the area where Pioneers crossed the river in 1847 is now a popular river access area called Elkhorn crossing the following Diaries were written in 1853 in 1854 Iowa had been granted statehood in 1846 in the country west of the Missouri River was Indian Territory until 1854 when Congress passed the kansas-nebraska Act creating the Nebraska territory by crossing the Missouri River pioneers left civilization and entered the front tier wilderness in Indian Territory so let's start listening to what these ladies had to say my name is Amelia Knight this is what I wrote on May 4th 1853 whether fare traveled four miles today pass through Keynes Ville and camped in a lane not far from the Missouri River and waited our turn to cross no feed for the stock have to buy flour at three dollars of fifty cents per hundred to feed them may 5th we crossed the river this morning on a large steamboat called the Hindu after a great deal of hurrying trouble to get the cattle all aboard one ox jumped overboard and swam across the river and came out like a drowned rat the river is even with its banks and the timber in it which is mostly cottonwood is quite green cost us $15 to cross after bidding Iowa a kind of farewell we traveled eight miles and camped about noon among the old ruins of the Mormon town here we join another company which will make in all 24 men ten wagons and a large drove a cattle have appointed a captain and are now prepared to guard the stock four men watched two hours and then call up four more to take their places so they by that means no person can sleep about the camp such a wild noisy sight was never heard may 6th pleasant we have just passed the Mormon graveyard there is a great number of graves on it the road is covered with wagons and cattle here we passed up train of wagons on their way back the head man had been drowned a few days before in a river called Elkhorn while getting some cattle across and his wife was lying in a wagon quite sick and children were mourning for a father gone and with sadness and pity I passed those who perhaps a few days before have been well and happy as ourselves came across 20 miles today May 7th cold morning thermometer down to 48 in the wagon no wood only enough to boil some coffee good grass for the stock we have just crossed a small creek with a narrow Indian bridge across it paid the Indians 75 cents - my hands are numb with cold May 8th Sunday morning still in camp waiting to cross there are 300 or more wagons in sight and as far as the eye can reach the bottom is covered on each side of the river with cattle horses there is not a fairy here and the men will have to make one out of the Talia's wagon been every camp should have a waterproof wagon bed for this purpose everything must now be hauled out of the way head over heels and he that knows where to find anything will be a smart fellow then the wagons must be taken into pieces and then my means of a strong rope stretched across the river with the tight wagon bed attached to the middle of it the Rope must be long enough to pull from one side to the other with men on each side of the river to pull it and in this way we have to cross everything a little at a time women and children last and then swim the cattle and horses there were three horses in some cattle drowned at this place yesterday while crossing it is quite lively and merry here this morning and the weather is fine we are camped on a large bottom with a broad deep river on one side of us and a high bluff on the other my name is Rachel Taylor and my story begins at May 27th 1853 went to the ferry on the Missouri River but found such a crowd of wagons and cattle that we could not cross until afternoon when about two miles beyond the ferry and encamped May 28th we were hindered by some of the company branding their cattle encamped near a small stream where we found a spring and woods sufficient for campfires May 29th Sunday had preaching in one of the tents I think that I did not say that father royal and two of his sons were preachers during the day 27 teams came to the stream but could not cross on account of high water May 30th after traveling about 8 miles over a smooth and pleasant road we came to a log bridge not the best kind surely a little further on we came to Elkhorn River where the was a ferry this was crossed then came a long slew after we reached the end of that we encounter my name is Elizabeth Myrick and this portion of my diary starts at May 10th 1854 rose early this morning and washed some clothes in the afternoon went to Council Bluffs City and bought a few articles saw an elk May 11th started on our journey got to council bluff stayed there half a day seen two beggar Indians there was a good deal of money given them by the immigrants went from there to the Missouri River and camped for the night may 12th crossed the river in a steam ferryboat went a quarter of a mile and camped owing to a hard storm of wind and rain the same visited us today there is a company of 48 persons from Savannah Illinois they have joined our company making in all 64 persons may 13th raining this morning a very cold and windy day cross two creeks the men had to dig the banks to make it passable May 14th Sunday started early we are now on the banks of Elkhorn River waiting to be ferried across have to pay $2 for each wagon across the cattle swim across the river seen a grave where the Indians had buried their dead they buried their dead on top of the mountain all in a heap thrown up into a mound met six Indians the creation of the Nebraska territory allowed people to set up businesses in a new territory to take advantage of all the pioneer traffic going west apparently the Indians found ways of profiting at times they built a brush bridge across the Papio Creek and attempted to collect tolls some pioneers paid some did not hi I'm Mary Burrell may 2nd 1854 cross the Missouri River on the ferry which cost nine dollars and ten cents goodbye to the state's saw old Sarpy and several Indians about a mile from the ferry is the Bellevue mission and trading post seven log houses a beautiful situation and delightful scenery rolling Prairie with scattering groves good roads fine weather and good spirits if we are in Nebraska camped at noon near a little creek got dinner camped where there had been in Indian village hitched up and within a few miles before the Elkhorn we crossed a creek called the little Papio the Indians tried to make us pay a toll at the little bridge but we showed pistols and they let us pass mother gave the old a silk tab off of a stock she seemed very much pleased may 3rd passed many teams fine farming country as we neared the Elkhorn on a large plane and was a beautiful sight could see the Platte River twelve miles distant seemingly on the top of a plane is glistened and looked delightful to the beholder plenty of timber and side hills ravines camp the east side of the Alcorn ready to cross in the morning fine stream and bordered with timber May 4th cross the ferry about noon after Putnam had found the old cow about 12 miles back washed baked Ginger Snaps shook hands with several Pawnee Indians and bid them goodbye very dusty and Sandy the Missouri River was the demarcation point where Pioneers left civilization and entered the wilderness they had to carry all our provisions if it broke they had to fix it nearly everyone suffered from malnutrition there were virtually no doctors in cholera and other contagious diseases were common it is estimated roughly 10% of these pioneers died along with thousands of head of cattle and horses along the trail graves and skeletons of dead animals were all too common dealing with sickness and death on a daily basis took its toll especially on women lillian sluzzle remarked about that and her work entitled excerpts from women's Diaries on the western frontier she wrote and I quote the most singular pattern that emerges from the frontier Diaries comes from the accounts kept by women of the journeys death toll records with a book keepers care are the number of grave sites passed the carcasses of dead animals and the record of miles crossed these particular records reoccur in the diaries of women who were unknown to each other on different adventures and with different destinations they provide a startling access to the psychology of women and suggest how desperate were the emotional worlds of men and women on the westward migration unquote just imagine months without adequate shelter no place to get out of the dust heat and insects no clean water or adequate food no fresh vegetables or fruit cooking over dried buffalo dung or chips no hospitals no doctors no modern medicine most walked and some pulled a cart holding their belongings nearly 2,000 miles there were outbreaks of contagious diseases some folks were abandoned for the safety of others your chances of dying on the trip was about 10% imagine losing a child and having to leave them in an unmarked grave in the middle of a vast Prairie the challenges they these folks faced is amazing and let's continue our story my name is mrs. Cecilia McMillan Addams and this is a portion of what I wrote on my family's journey from Illinois to Oregon in 1852 July 1st past 8 graves made 21 miles July 2nd one of our company died past 8 graves July 3rd made 16 miles July 4th past two graves made 16 miles July 5th past 9 graves made 18 miles July 6 past 6 graves made 9 miles July 11th past 15 graves made 13 miles July 12th past 5 graves made 15 miles July 18th past four graves made 16 miles July 19th past two graves made 14 miles July 23rd past seven graves made 15 miles July 25th past three graves made 16 miles July 27th past three graves made 14 miles July 29th past 8 graves made 16 miles July 30th I have kept an account of the dead cattle we passed and the number today is 35 the tally of graves and miles traveled continued day after day after day of their entire trip in some journals the daily accounts of grave sites were transcribed as weekly aggregates but they were never ignored not even births seemed to be recorded with such tenacious attention my name is Leticia Frisell we traveled west in 1852 here is part of my diary on the 30th day of the wagon train we passed several graves I do not think there would be as much sickness as there usually is for we have passed less than 100 fresh graves hope the Wolves will not disturb the graves saw one old cow a paper pinned on her head it stated that she had been left to die but requested that no one abused her as she had been one of the best cows it called up so many associations to mind that it affected me to tears past where they were burying a man scarce a day but someone is left on these Plains on the 72nd day of the journey I wrote we are hardly halfway the heart has a thousand misgivings and the mind is tortured with anxiety and often as I passed the fresh made graves I have glanced at the sideboards of the wagons not knowing how soon it would serve as a coffin for someone of us the families who traveled through this part of the country heading west did so at great peril in their search for a better life their journey was hard and dangerous many didn't make it many of the graves can be found along the wagon trails in the Platte River corridor information of their passage can be found in local museums on historical markers in our libraries next time when you think you're having a hard day consider what those pioneers went through based on their standards we really have very little to complain about we want to give credit and thanks to Kenneth Holmes and lowlands level for their remarkable efforts in preserving this portion of our American history and occurred you to read their entire works this presentation was created and narrated by Gordon Muller Amelia Knight was read by ginger McGurk Rachel Taylor was read by Linda Muller Mary Burrell was read by Lois muscle Elizabeth Myrick was read by Jan McKelvey Cecilia McMillan Adams was read by Ruth saruba and Load Issa Frizzle was read by Linda claw Bundy this is a presentation of the Bennington Historical Society thank you for watching

Channel: Bennington History

Views: 54,163

Rating: 4.85641 out of 5

Keywords: Bennington, Pioneers, Mormon Trail, history

Id: XghkGNSluXY

Length: 21min 36sec (1296 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 19 2017