Lee County, Iowa, April 10th, 1850

Mathew Kilgore, R. D. Kepley and myself formed in Company for a California expedition and after everything in the way of an outfit was prepared viz Four good middle Sized Horses, and one mule, with a good new waggon, Harness, 160 lb Hard Bread, 200 lb Bacon, 25 lb Coffee, 25 lb Rice, 100 lb Flour, with the expectation of getting a greater Supply of the latter, at the Missouri River; Sugar, Tea, Pepper, Cheese, Brandy, Vinegar, Pills, Matches, Caps, Powders, Lead, Guns &c &c amounting to about one thousand pounds.

This morning the 10th one of our horses are taken Sick, 11 Oclock we Started drove 1 1/2 miles our horse unable to travel, Consequently we returned in order to Doctor our horse, 10 Oclock, our hors very Bad.

The morning of the 11th we left our horse verry Bad. We Drove 23 miles encamped for the Night lay in our waggon, the wind blew hard Cold & Some Rain.

12th We Started the wind blew hard & Cold with a Mixture of Snow, we passed through Winchester, Birmingham, & Libertyville, we have Stoped for the night & it being So Cold we have to lay in a house, hear oats is worth 35 Cts Corn, 40 & verry Scarce. 20 miles for the Day.

13th The Wind is So high & So Cold that we have to lay by all Day. My Family is with us they are going on a visit to Poke County, to my Fatherinlaw's, My Wife two Small Children & a little Neace, the ground froze 3 inches Deep.

14th The Wind has laid, the weather a little more moderate we again Start go through Agency City, here we disposed of our hard Bread, in order to liten our load we pass on through Delonega, & put up for the night 16 miles for the Day.

15th We Started again pass through Kirksville, a small Village, Stoped for the Night after driving 25 miles. We have passed a great many California Waggons that are waiting for warm weather & grass as Corn & hay are verry Scarce. We are not able to get Hay for team tonight.

16th We this morning pass through the Town of Pella, this place was founde, in the year 1847, by a Colony of Hollanders, it now Contains about 250 houses, it has a high & pleasant location a Salubrious atmosphere and must be a healthy Place, it has also a beautiful Surrounding Country & a great portion of it in a high State of Cultivation every thing Seems to bid fore prosperity among them, the prevailing Religion Protestant. We have this evening a verry Severe Snow Storm, put up for the night after travelling 27 miles.

17th This morning the weather being a little more favourable we Set out again, as our Course is N.W. & an open Prairie the most of the time it renders it verry Disaggreable for us & especially my family, we pass through Fools Point, through Monroe City, a Place once Dissignated for the Seat of government of the State. Nothing has been done at this Place more than being Surveyed and staked, we pass Michaels Point and stoped in the evening at Mr Hanlon's (my Father-inlaw,) this is 7 miles East of Grt Desmoins, we found grain verry scarce we have the promise of 5 lbs at $1.25 per lb, the weather a little warmer. 31 miles today.

18th We are resting and visiting toDay, we are at a SugarCamp where they are making sugar, we think it late in the Season for Sugar Making.

19th This is one of the trying mornings with me as I now have to leave my Family, or Backout, Suffise it to Say we Started. We passed through Gt. Desmoines this place is Cituated in the forks of Rivers Desmoins and Rackoon Fork, is a citely place & has about one hundred Houses. We ferried both forks of the river here went 14 miles further to the wright and encamped in the Point of a grove. 21 miles to Day.

20th The morning being fair we again Started Crossed North river a Stream about 4 rods wide, we Cross at Brwns frd. 18 miles for the day.

21st We travel thrugh the Prairie all Day without Seeing a house and stop at middle river here we see a liquor establishment in a little Cloth tent, about 30 California waggons Encamped here I went to hear a Sermon at the dore of a tent two families at Camp. 25 miles to Day.

22nd We have a Cold North wind this morning we go 12 miles & Cross East Nodaway, 12 miles & we Come to West Nodaway, here we found the handsomest grove of young timber Hickery, Buckie, Elm, linn & Walnut, 25 miles for the Day.

23rd We have Come about 20 miles & I set on the prairie, writing where there is about 20 waggons & Some Packers. Now is slight ice this morning on 1/2 inch thick. 13 miles & we Cross East Nishnebotony, a Stream about 5 Rods wide & 2 1/2 feet Deep. Two miles below the ford & at the junction of this & the Eddyville roads, is the old Indian Village, no Indian there now but about Six families resid their, they live in miserable huts & have no land in Cultivation. We passed on to Pilate Grove & encamped for the night. We had 65 miles without a house before we Come to the village. 27 miles for the Day.

24th We proceded 5 miles & Crossed the West Nishnebotony a hansome Stream Six rods wide and 2 1/2 feet deep. 10 miles further to Silver River, this a Small Deep muddy Stream. We See here about 14 Families living in log Cabbins, forming a Sort of village. Those people are Mormons. We have encamped for the night. There are about 45 waggons here in Camp. 15 miles for the Day.

25th To Kegs 5 miles, to Cartersville Eight miles. Here we have Encamped. This 3 miles from Kanesville, the Mormon town or what is known as the Council Bluffs. Kanesville has about 350 houses principally of logs. A great rush of Emegration at this place at this time. Provisions & grain verry high & no Steam Boats running to this place as I expected, only been two Boats up this Season. Some Smallpox here among the emegrants. We have to pay here two Dls for Corn & Nine Dls a hundred for hard Bread Six Dls a hundred. Kanesville is Cituated four miles from the river.

29th We have thought propper to Start on our journey. We went up the river 12 miles to the Ferry. They were very throng[ed?] but Succeeded in getting our horses aCross but Could not get our waggon aCross. This evening Kepley and myself cross[d] with the team, we went out a half mile to a Camp that we expected to Joine. It dark by this time & the wind blew a perfect herricane, whirled in the tents topsie tervy an the fire Came in flames & Sparks filling the whole heavens. This Came from an old Mormontown that was on fire. It has been built of Cottonwood logs had Stood long enough to get thoroughly Dry and then evacuated and on fire. The town Contained about Six hundred houses and nearly all on fire. This was Called winterquarters. It is Cituated on the west Bank of the Missouri and is as hansome a Cite for a City as I have ever Saw. The wind Continued and after we got to Bed it turned Cold & began to raine the Storm was so violent that it blew our Tent down and we lay there in the Cold and the wet tent Slaping on us all night. I think I never Suffered So much from the Severity of the weather in all my life.

30th The morning verry disagreeable. I recrossed the river got my Breckfast and the wind raised So the Boats were Stoped untill evening when we Succeeded in getting our waggon over. The river here is about four hundred yds wid & has a Current of twelve miles an hour. This is a very Sickly place from every apearance. There are a Considerable number in inhabitance on the East Side of the river. They have a very Sickly appearance.