Trip From Oregon

-1

DIARY OF LUCY LANE GROGAN EVANS TRIP HOME FROM OREGON June 11, 1894 We left Elgin. It snowed today as we were leaving Elgin. We have 5 horses and one mule. We have camped two miles from town. We have a little tent and a stove. The mountains are straight up to the top; tall pine trees all covered with beautiful flowers. I hear a hoot owl. Oh ain’t it jolly! Goodnight. June 12, 1894 We have seven children, Frank, Walter, Charley, Jessie, Louella, Fred and baby Pauline. We came half way through the great grand Round Valley. The potatoes were all frost bit. It is a beautiful valley, nicest waving grain as far as eyes can see. We came by Imbler and on by Alicel. Charley went ahead with the horses and he got lost. Walter went to find and Charley beat him in. We came by Island City and bought a lot of groceries and camped at the railroad, the main track of the Oregon short line. Charley caught a nice lot of fish so we had fresh fish for supper. June 13,1894 We came all the way through the valley today. Ah, such a lovely valley. We came by houses and beautiful orchards and most beautiful of them all was fields of white starlight daises. We came out of the valley and up through Lads Canyon. The mountains shut in till it was only a wagon road and one side the rocky wall seems to reach above the sky, craggy and rugged, put there by Natures Hand, On the other side a steam flowed, danced and bubbled over the great boulders, white as snow. We had company for dinner. Got stuck most all of the afternoon. Camped at a sheep shed as we came out of Lads Canyon. There was one solitary house here. A man brought baby some new milk. I am so tired. Ah, so tired, but isn’t it jolly. June 14, 1894 We came all through Powder Valley today and, ah it was so cold I almost froze. There was some grain but the most was sagebrush. Lots of cattle and horses. We took our lunch at North Powder. We came on and camped at a town named Haynes. The boys gave way our little colt here. We are in Baker County now. June 16, 1894 Today we came into Pleasant Valley and by Pleasant Town and on to Durkee station. Mr. Evans tried to trade a mare and colt for a mule but could not make it. We came over some of the roughest road I ever saw. The mountains seemed to crowd the wagon off in the river far down below the ledge a 100 feet. Here nice clear water came leaping down the rocks as clear as crystal. A storm came up at 5-o clock. The rain just poured down isn’t it jolly. We came through Burnt Valley and camped on Burnt River tonight. June 17, 1894 As we came on today I saw some rough country. The road is graded out in the mountains. The road is high up on one side. We had to look up to the sky. On the other side we could reach out and pinch the top out of the tallest tree. We saw a railroad tunnel. It is a dark hole in the ground. We saw some gold mines, saw them washing gold in one place. As we came by a town named Weatherby, the wagon came near running off the bank one time. We have camped in Huntington tonight. In the morning we will be leaving Oregon. June 18, 1894 Today the wind blew so hard we could not get across Snake River. We had to stay in an old house with some sheepherders. We got a job off a sheep man.

June 18, 1894 Well, here we are in Idaho. Goodbye old Oregon, goodbye. As we came down in the ferryboat we broke bank. Such a smash up we had. There was over a hundred sheep drowned in the Snake River. We lost our dog and we camped with the sheep outfit on the Weiser Ditch. June 19, 1894 We came ten miles today and stopped half a day. Came through Weiser. Boss stopped and bought some things in Weiser. Walter and charley are driving horses and a young man with them by the name of Hank. Frank is herding sheep for Mr. Taylor Green. We camped at a river at Weiser. Oh how I get tickled to hear them quarrel. June 20, 1894 We have started again. Mr. Taylor Green has hired another herder. He stopped to get some more horses. Idaho is much better than Oregon. It is not so mountainous as Oregon and some of the nicest gardens I ever saw at a man’s house. His name is Glasscook and has got some good berries. June 21 1894 Today is an awful hot day and the Green brothers had a little scrap in the camp. There is Mr. Taylor Green and Mr. Hance Green and Aunt Eliza, his wife and Mr. Snyder and Mrs. Snyder and the old sheepherder. There is a young man. His name is Hank Watson. Frank is herding sheep and Hank and Walter are herding horses for Mr. Taylor Green. We left our stove this morning and now we have to do our cooking by the campfire. They did not get here tonight. They had to sit up by a sagebrush fire. We camped at Little Willow Creek tonight. We came by the city of Payette. We are in Payette Valley now and a lonely valley it is, too. June 22, 1894 Today we had uphill grade all the way. We lay over till afternoon. The herders got lost with their sheep. Frank said he liked to starved for water. They had to suck the old ewes they were so thirsty. I said poor boys. We camped at Little Willow tonight. The boys caught a couple of messes of fish. Oh, nice they were. June 23, 1894 We came down the rockiest canyon I ever saw. I saw two jackrabbits scamper away through sagebrush. We had noon at the Payette River. We killed some rabbits for breakfast and camped at big irrigation ditch. Mrs. Snyder lost her canary bird. We came by Crosses Store. June 24, 1894 We waked up this morning and it rained before breakfast and all the afternoon. We took lunch in the wagons. We came through level sagebrush country for 12 miles. We pitched our tents close to Caldwell on the Boise River and in Boise Valley. Bob has gone up to take in the town. June 25, 1894 We got lost and went out of the way and turned back and the old boss cursed all the way. Oh, such a time they did have that night in camp. Bob ten rabbits. We had a big pot full for supper. Walter killed one for the first time. Charley went to kill him one and stayed so long I sent them to hunt for him. We camped on Indian Creek, Idaho. June 26, 1894 Uncle Hance was up all night running horses. This part of Boise Valley is a level sagebrush country, as far as the eye can see. We came through a town named Nampa. A woman made Mr. Green pay $2.00 for crossing the ditch. The old sheepherder cursed Mrs. Snyder on the street. I wouldn’t had it to me for anything on earth. We saw some folks here we knew in Milton, Oregon. The Marshall came and talked pretty savvy. We camped the second time on Indian Creek. Oh, how strange it is in camp tonight. It is the first quiet we have had.

June 27, 1894 Dear me, what a time we do have. Surely we want to get out of this desert looking country. It is level and flat but not an inhabitation in sight to be found. We nooned at Indian Creek. Drove on and camped at Indian Creek at the old stage station and stone corral. We came by the granite mountain and the stone mountain and a little butte that looked like a rock house. June 28, 1894 I can see the snow clad peaks far away. There is no farming here, only sagebrush. I am getting tired of it. Oh, so tired. We have stopped to noon on Indian Creek again. We came about three miles and stopped and camped in the open prairie. We have not seen but one house and a woman has just died at that a few days ago. June 29, 1894 We are going on still and grub is almost out. I hope we will come to a town soon. We have camped tonight in this lone, wild country. We will cook some beans and fry a jackrabbit. It is rabbit or no breakfast. Camped in the brush. June 30, 1894 We just keep coming on. It seems we are never going to get through this everlasting wild prairie. Camped in the sand. July 1, 1894 Today we left the sheep outfit and traveled a half-day alone. We camped in bottom of reservoir. It is Sunday today. July 2, 1894 We came along and caught the sheep outfit at noon. We came to an old house and found good cool water. Oh, how nice to get a good drink once more. Mary, Aunt Eliza and I went to the house and took a rest. We saw some nice farms and cherries were ripe. We camped at Abe Carter’s. He lives by skinning the people but he didn’t skin us. This is the last place on Indian Creek. Goodbye old Indian Creek. July 3, 1894 Now we started for Camas Prairie. I saw some of the biggest rocks. They went straight up for 100 feet. They looked like huge archways. The boys went hunting and stayed so long. We were left behind. We ate our supper and went till it was so dark we could not see and we camped on Squaw Creek. July 4, 1894 This is the 4th of July. We have had a big celebration. We came on some of the roughest roads I ever saw. It was down one rocky wall and up another. The wagon double tree broke. Bob and the horses went out and we went back. Oh, how it did scare me. As soon as the wagon stopped we were all out but baby. We camped at a little branch. Mr. Green killed three sage hens and bob killed one. We had chicken and dumplings for supper. July 5, 1894 We started through the Devil’s Den this morning. Oh, such a place. I walked and carried baby up the hill. It is the roughest hill I ever saw. We came down, oh the longest hill, and I begged Bob to let me get out but he wouldn’t let me. We camped at Syrup Creek and lay over a half of the day. I did a big washing and the boys caught a mess of fish. July 6, 1894 We had a long and steep hill to come up this morning. I started up to carry the baby. I stopped and listened. They had a row down there. Bird and Dollie did crouch to get up the hill. They threw gravel back on the wagon. The wheels ground the rocks into blue powder. I walked till I was oh so tired. Walter and Louella one horse and Charley scotched. Jessie and Fred rode another horse. Oh, wasn’t it

jolly. I saw a herd of horses. They looked beautiful. Then we camped on Comas Creek. The boys caught lots of nice trout. July 7, 1894 We came on to the Longton Creek and nooned. There is a mining camp there. We came to Little Camas store. Here we camped. They lived my skinning the people too. They had whiskey here. Some got tipsy. This is Little Camas Prairie. Oh how tired I am of this. Such a sad day this has been for me. I don’t want to remember this day. I wish I could wipe it out of existence. We camped at the tall chimney rocks of Idaho. They were a grand sight to behold. They were 100 feet high, 200 yards at least. People have written names all over them and dated far back. They set on little stems and taper up as large as a big building. July 8, 1894 We have come upon big Camas Prairie. The crickets are as thick as hail balls. Every bunch of weeds are covered. We camped at Eagle Creek tonight. July 9, 1894 We traded horses today. We struck settlement today and got baby some new milk. We camped at a creek. I never could learn the name. Had lots of neighbors and three other outfits besides ourselves. July 10, 1894 It rained today an awful hard rain. We came to a town named Soldier. While we were there another band of sheep came through. This is as nice a valley as ever I saw but it is a cold climate. We came out on the open prairie. Mr. Green hauled a barrel of water enough for all. July 12, 1894 We have been traveling all forenoon on Camas Prairie. I am sick today. I can see the snow clad peaks far away and such a lovely mountain. No one is taking in the country but me. Oh, isn’t it lovely. I can see the pine timber once more. We have camped again at a dry camp. We stopped and fished some but could not catch anything. July 13, 1894 Dear me, how tired I am. We only came two miles and a half today and stopped for noon. We came by a nice little butte and some rocks that looked like they growed up like mushrooms. There we found a nice little spring. We camped at a creek where a bachelor lived that had lots of cows. He sent baby some milk. Mary said he was dirty but I didn’t see no dirt about him. July 14, 1894 Well, here we go again. Mary and uncle Hance had a row this morning. It looks as though we will never get out of Idaho. July 15, 1894 Well, this morning is Sunday morning. All the folks went to town but Aunt Eliza and I. Bob is herding sheep today. I went to the old silver mine away up on the mountain. All alone it was, so lonesome I was afraid, oh how I was afraid my horse would get loose and leave me. When I looked down, it made me dizzy. Oh how surprised I was to see such a big pile of rocks. I started to see the mines and I was determined I would see them. I own up I was afraid. It was so lonesome. The boys caught a big mess of fish today. We camped on a creek at the mines. July 16, 1894 Well this morning the sheep outfit busted up. They are going to stop here and rest up and try to sell their sheep. We came on to Bellevue and bought some groceries. We crossed Wood River. Oh, such beautiful alfalfa farms there were. We sold one horse in Bellevue for $15.00. We camped on Silver Creek tonight. We came across some old acquaintances from old Wallowa.

July 17, 1894 This morning when I arose I look around and thought what a wonderful world we live in. The mountains loomed up all around us, higher than the clouds. Everything was as still as death and the Silver Creek waters moved on and on. Now we are at Little Wood River and the boys are having a good time fishing. Oh such a nice lot of spotted trout they have caught. The nicest eating in the world. We came on to Fish Creek and here we camped for the night. Frank and Hank killed two sage hens so we had chicken and dumplings for supper. July 18, 1894 We struck an awful sight of rocks as far as the eye could see. Rocky wall, after rocky wall. Then we came on by a beautiful lake. It had rushes taller than a man’s head and oh, such a lovely sight of wild ducks. We came by millions and millions of acres of lava rocks with great deep cuts large enough for one to walk in. here a wall, there a cave. I have an idea it is a home for the rattlesnakes. We stopped to get dinner and cooked on the rocks. It is a wonderful sight. All this afternoon was around the lava rocks. We camped at the Cotton Wood Creek. We had company tonight. July 19, 1894 Well we have started in with the rocks again. We came sixteen miles on the desert. Came up with a family of folks going to Montana and overtook a band of sheep. We have camped tonight at Lost River. July 20, 1894 Out on the desert the great American desert, 36 miles. We came 20 today. Came to the big butte where the people sell water. We bought water here. It comes from the butte in pipes a mile. We have eaten supper and will start pretty soon. 35 miles more. It is 35 miles to the next water. We will have to drive it in the night. Oh, isn’t it jolly. July 21, 1894 Last night we drove till 3 o’clock. The moon shone bright and the roads were good. Across the desert it looked like a silver thread so far away. It got so cold we stopped till sun up, then made some coffee and breakfast was ready. We came by the twin buttes. They call it the Two Sisters on the desert. We came on to Snake River and then on to Blackfoot. We camped at Blackfoot. July 22, 1894 We bought some groceries here and drove out of town on to the Blackfoot, sandy and nooned here. We had a Blackfoot Indian to see us. He had two big rings in each ear. He looked so funny. We came by the Indian schoolhouse. Oh, such nice buildings they are. We camped at a little spring a way up on the Indian Reservation. How lovely it is up there. July 23, 1894 I got up early this morning to view the scenery. Such lovely hills with dwarf junipers all over them. I can hear some coyotes having a jubilee. July 24, 1894 Today we came by the Morman settlement. Oh, such a nice farming country. The Mormans were celebrating the 24th of July. Going to have a big dance. We came on and camped at a big ditch with some Indians. One Indian came to our camp. The children were eating breakfast. He said papoose heap hungry. I will say he was good looking. He had such beautiful black hair. July 25, 1894 Today we came by the Soda Springs and oh, such a beautiful sight. We saw one soda spring with a housetop on it. It boils up like a pot. It pops and fries and it burns. There are lots of people here. It is a fine summer resort. Oh what a jolly time they do have. We camped here at the Soda Springs. July 26, 1894

This 26th day of July we lay over at the Soda Springs. A way up on a mound there is a spring. There is a rock in the mountain that the water jumps up three feet high. Oh, such a curiosity. There is a hotel for the people’s accommodations. Some people came here that are acquainted with. We all went to a concert. July 27, 1894 This morning it is so cold I thought I would freeze. We came up to the town and groceries and now we have stopped for noon. We came on and camped at Georgetown. We got supper and went to bed. July 28, 1894 This morning we got up and the frost was all over the bed as white as could be. We came by Mont pelier nooned two miles below town. We got lost and had to stop and stay all night. There is the most towns along here I ever saw. I don’t begin to know what their names are. July 29, 1894 This morning we turned around and came back to where we started. We came through another town and by a post office and on to Bear Lake. Oh, such a nice lake. We killed some ducks. The most ducks and geese and mallards and hens too. Such a beautiful sight and lots of fish too. We camped on the side of the lake right on the water edge. It is a long ways around the lake. The mountains on each side are so tall I have to look straight up. It looks as though the mountains would crowd the wagons off into the lake. July 30, 1894 Well, I guess I am out of Idaho. Goodbye old Idaho, goodbye. We came by Lake Town. Here Mr. Evans traded old Jack for a little black horse. His name is Coley. Oh, how tickled Frank is. He gave him to Frank. Hank killed a grouse and a cottontail. We had chicken and dumplings for supper tonight. There are beautiful rocks in Bear Lake. All colors. I think and all shapes crowned by tide and time. July 31, 1894 Today we have been traveling over the valley and the roughest road. Oh, my, we came along a place that is a shelf on the wall, I call it, and made of solid rock a quarter of a mile long. I tell you it did look suspicious. It would take one with steel nerves. I am used to it myself. If the wagon had turned over, it would have turned three times before it struck the bottom. Utah is the mountainous country I ever saw yet. It is mountain peaks behind mountains, craggy and rugged where it seems no human foot ever trod. We camped on a creek. I don’t know its name here. There were a lot of people camped. Ladies and gentlemen hunting and fishing. August 1, 1894 Well, on this first day of August we are in a deep, deep canyon with rocky on every with here and there an evergreen peeping out from under some enormous boulder while the little river plays at the bottom, gargles and foams with silver sprays. It is the loveliest I ever saw. I never tire of looking around at the beautiful work put there by God’s hand. We have camped tonight in the canyon. Oh, I am so afraid of rattlesnakes I can’t hardly sleep tonight. August 2, 1894 Oh dear me, we are not out of the canyon yet. We came by a tollgate and had to pay 25 cents to get through. We have come to Cash Valley. It is a lovely place. Came to a town named Hyrum. Lots of fruit here. It looks so nice and tempting. We came to a little house on the hill and stayed all night. August 3, 1894 We came to a town. A Danish town that is named Mantua and then through a canyon and then another town named Brigham. This is a very pretty town. A woman gave Charley some peaches to eat. They were nice ones too. They bought eating apples and we camped at a place where the people lay on

their porch to watch us and tied their dog to the haystack. Oh my, I never was watched so before. August 4, 1894 Today we came to the great city of Ogden, Utah. It is a large city, some of the finest and the largest buildings I ever saw. The main street is ten miles long. They gave the boys some more apples. It took us from early in the morning till one o’clock to drive through. We came by Riverdale and camped at an irrigation ditch, not far from Ogden. August 5, 1894 This day is Sunday. We came by Layton and on by Kaysville and the people were boxing fruit to ship. Here we took our lunch. They gave Fred some nice peaches to eat. We came by Farmington and on by Centerville and goodness knows how many more towns we did come through. We camped at an old Mormans tonight. They gave us some wood to burn and baby some milk and they gave the boys some apricots. August 6, 1894 We had the Mormans to preach to us a little, and then we broke camp and came on by the Utah Hot Springs. It is so hot it will scald a chicken. I gave Pauline a bath in some of the hot spring water. We camped three miles from the city. This is Salt Lake City, the greatest place in Utah State I have heard of for so long. August 7, 1894 Today is Louella’s birthday. She wants a cake. We moved camp up in town. I did some washing the water was so hard I could not do much. The city Marshall came and gave us a round about our horses. We had visitors tonight. Lots of them, so good night. August 8, 1894 Well we got up and pulled out. Came through the great city again, all the way. What a nice place it is. The most brick and stone buildings I ever saw. They have a large temple that the Mormans built for Christ to live in when he comes to earth again. It is a grand building. It took 40 years to finish it. It has a statue on the front top spire like Gabriel blowing his trumpet. It looks as if it was gold. We came on through the city by the State house and camped in the lane tonight. The Salt Lake is 90 miles long and 40 miles wide. We came around the Uinta Mountains. August 9, 1894 Today we came by Lehi and the Pleasant Grove and seven other towns. I have forgotten their names. Then we camped on a beach and tied our horses to a telephone pole and fed them. August 10, 1894 We came to Utah Lake. It is 40 miles long and 6 miles wide. It is a beautiful lake too but I didn’t get to close. We came by Provo and on to Springville and now we are camped in Pole Canyon. A gentleman broke his wagon down. August 11, 1894 Today we came by Castilla Springs. Here is another hot spring. It is a great pleasure resort with nice bathhouses and hotels fixed up nice and then we came by Thistle. Here they have a depot and hotel and engine house and lots of trains. We have taken dinner in Pole Canyon. We came on to a ranch house and Dollie almost gave out so we had to hook up Sister to get to camp. We camped at the ranch house tonight. There is another camp here, French peddlers. Good night. August 12, 1894 We are now in the great Rocky Mountains. The great rocks loom up tall and craggy. A great and wondrous sight. We will soon enter the Red Narrows. It looks as if we could not get through it. No way possible. We came through the Red Narrows and on up the canyon to Mill Creek. There is some charcoal kilns. They look like big pots sitting around.

August 13, 1894 Today we came by Clear Creek and stopped to let the horses rest and graze and we lay over all this afternoon. Well good night. They are all in bed but me. August 14, 1894 We came by Soldiers Summit today. It is only a railroad house and a big long snow shed but a fine view of the country. August 15, 1894 Today we left P. V. Junction and came to Kyune and on in the lonely country. Away in southern Utah. Lots of cattle and sheep and Jennies here but no inhabitants much. We camped on a little branch in this lonely country. I heard the coyotes howl last night, fearful. Bob is sick. Very sick, hardly able to sit up. August 16, 1894 This morning the boys found two stray sheep. They got lost from the band. The boys ran them half the day but couldn’t get them. We are in Soldier Canyon. Camped in Soldier Canyon tonight. This is a lonesome place to lay down to sleep. Charley went to a camp over the ridge. There was only a man and woman. August 17, 1894 We came today over some awful rough roads in this canyon. We met a train of freighters. Met some on the grade, oh so steep. They helped to lift our wagon to one side and they squeezed through. We came to some awful fine scenery. This is the Rocky Mountains. The rocky cliff far above looks like large castles and the large round boulders hollowed out. Some would make wash tubs. Some basins, water buckets and some would do to make a bed in for a shelter in the time of storms. They were like Dutch Ovens. I have heard of the coke ovens. I think these are the coke ovens. There are large shelves in the cliffs and round holes. It looks like home of the bats and the owls and the junipers. The forest is home for the wild beast. Now we go through Castle Valley. Such a desert looking place. Nothing but snow brush, no grass, no water. The creek has gone dry. We came to a town and the railroad. The town is named Wellington. Camped at Wellington. August 18, 1894 Last night we got a wetting. It rained oh so hard. Bob and I got up and put up the tent but the rain poured down and ran under us. Ah, wasn’t it jolly. The boys lay out in the rain till they got wet and then hustled in the wagon. Our things are all wet today. We have got them strung on the fence. Frank got up and made the fire. I looked out of the tent and the mud was all sticking to his toes. He looked like a feather-footed chicken. We camped at a ranch house below the railroad track. August 19, 1894 Well, today is Sunday and we took the wrong road and went till the road gave out and turned back and started new. We nooned in the dry desert and got lost again. Oh, goodness me, how tired and discouraged I am and Bob is sick too. Oh, God, pity us and make us to walk in the way that thou would’st have us to go. We will camp here in the wild woods tonight. August 20, 1894 Dear me, dear me. What a time we did have this morning. We had to come through the wild Rocky Mountains. We unloaded our wagon and carried them over on horses and oh such a time before we got to the road. We were all dry for water and the horses were all given out. We stopped and took a little lunch then came on till we got to Sunnyside. We camped at Sunnyside tonight. August 21, 1894 Last night it rained. We had a hobo to breakfast. The woman wouldn’t sell us a little sugar for baby. It seems this is a hard world we live in. We came two miles below Sunnyside and then got stuck in the

creek. We had to take out the horses and it rained awful hard and raised the creek. After the rain, we unloaded half of the things and pulled out. We had to stay here all night. August 22, 1894 This morning our horses are gone, three of them and oh it looks as though fate was against us. Frank is sick and the little boys have gone after them. Oh I am so anxious about them for this is a long and dreary desert we are on. If it weren’t for the work train nearby we wouldn’t have any water. The boys have found the horses and now we will go. I am so happy. We came to a section house where some Japanese stay in dugouts. The boss was a Portuguese but they were all good folks. They gave us water and some joe to go with it and showed us some grass of the horses. They came to our camp. They were tickled to see us and our children were tickled to see them with their long pipes. August 23, 1894 We came to the great Book Mountain. The cliff tower up 2,000 feet above the plains in a massive wall whose ramparts ever remind of ruined castles. The rains have sculptured these cliffs into the most fantastic and beautiful shapes. They are wonderful and delightful. We had such a hard time getting along. The horses gave out till they would hardly turn a wheel. We camped at the lower crossing. August 24, 1894 Today we stopped here all the day at the lower crossing and packed and shipped some of our things to Grand Junction Colorado. We will camp here again tonight. So, goodnight. Bob is sick. Oh, how sad. August 25, 1894 Today we started to go to the Green River. We came all day on the desert. We came to the section house at night and fed our horses and traveled half the night, then stopped to rest the horses. We all lay down to sleep till most day again, then we started again till the horses would not go, so no stop when day came. We were in a sandbank. We only had enough water to make a bucket of tea. August 26, 1894 We kept going till we almost famished for water. We came to Green River today. August 27, 1894 Today we get ferried across the river. I was doing some washing so we didn’t take our things across, so we camped on this side. A good man gave us some watermelons and cantaloupe. Oh, they were the finest I ever saw. August 28, 1894 Today, oh how sad. I went to town to see if I could get some help and I found a man that had no heart. He is the Honorable Justice of the Peace, at Green River, Utah. But all the people are not like him. Thank God. August 29, 1894 This morning I got up and took a look at the surroundings. I could hear the river swish and trains thunder across the bridge and the engineer clanking around the one that runs the pump engine. He gave us ice water to drink and hot water to wash with. If the world were full of such as he, this would be a better world. August 30, 1894 Today Frank and Hank went to Grand Junction. Oh how I hated to see them leave us here. I wanted to go there too. The little boys got some work to do today. They got lots of vegetables and melons. August 31, 1894 We are still here at Green River yet. The boys got work from Mr. Brown. It rained and blew the tent down and blew the sand everywhere, all in our things. Oh, such a time. Today a deaf and dumb man came to our tent. He wrote on a little slate that he wanted to buy a little to eat. I gave him some doughnuts and flapjacks and a piece of meat. He gave me his nickel (?) but I shook my head “no”.

September 1, 1894 Today a new man came to the engine house and but he is not half as good as Billie. His wife would not speak to us even. This is where the diary ended. It has been told that one of the boys had an accident in Grand Junction and died. The one they said died was Walter. But I have found Walter in the 1900 census with Robert, Lucy and several of the children. The only ones said to have gone to Grand Junction was Frank, (Frank is in another diary written by Lucy in 1906 on a trip from Witt Illinois to Stoneville NC) and Hank, joined up with the family in June from a sheep herders band.