Lodisa Frizell

“ It seems hard to believe, but it is nevertheless true, that this immence distance is nearly destitute of timber, particularly near the road. It comenced raining a little, we reached the outskirts of the timber, called the bluffs, as the land raises here, we encamped pitched our tent, soon had a large fire, got supper, turned the cattle out to graze on the grass & bushes, for they were vary hungry & devoured whatever came in their way, they soon filled themselves & they were drove up & tied each one by a rope, to the waggon, or bushes nearby. ”

“ We travel about 20 ms. a day our cattle are thriving, look well; but this Gy [p] sy life is anything but agreeable, it is impossible to keep anything clean, & it is with great dificulty that you do what little you have to do. Turned down to the left; tolerable grass only; here we saw the first buffalo sign; the wolves kept barking all night. [May 21—38th day] Raining some, came 7 or 8 ms, the rain still continuing, we put up for the day, down to the left, near a dry sandy creek, here was a fresh grave; there being some timber along this creek, we soon had a large fire, & prepared our dinner. ”

“ Crossed the Big Nimahaw, [36] nooned here, there were so many teams here crossing that we had to wait some 2 hours, for many would not go through, until they had doubled their team; but we crossed with our 4 yoke of small cattle, & the largest waggon there, without any difficulty, but a little snug pulling; George said we done it easy; our team is certainly no. 1. This is a fine mill stream, some very good timber on its banks, & as rich prairie around as I ever saw, there is no reason why it should not be settled some day. ”

“ There is no reason why a ferry should not be kept here at a reasonable rate, for ferriage. On the high bluffs, on the south side of the river, is plenty of excellent pine, & cedar timber, as the gunwales of their boats show, for they said they got them there, & provisions for a few men, could be had at a reasonable rate, of the emigrant. ”

“ We started out, but I would gladly have stayed today, rested & cooked some more, for the guides said we would have no more wood for 200 ms, & we must now take to "picking up chips." [48] When a few miles out we came to a very bad slue, deep & muddy, it would be a fortune to some one to bridge it, it could be easily done, for it is not wide & the timber could be had on Elm creek which is but a few miles back, & any one would rather pay a reasonable toll, than to pull his team (cattle) so hard. ”

“ Who is there that does not recollect their first night when started on a long journey, the wellknown voices of our friends still ring in our ears, the parting kiss feels still warm uppon our lips, & that last seperating word Farewell! ”

“ The roads still sandy; we are about 100 ms. above Ft. Laramie saw a horned frog [59] which appears to be the link between the toad and the terapin, or mud turtle; it is about the size of a small toad, his body very flat & round, light colored but specked with red & black specs; has two knots, or horns on his head, a short peaked tail, & crawles around very lively, but does not jump, like a frog or toad. Where we nooned today, as we started out, we saw some men on the opposite side of the river chaseing a buffalo, which on coming to the river, plunged in, & made for our side ”

“ To day Sunday passed through the beautiful town of Greenville which approached from the east has a very picturesque appearance from the hill which overlooks the town & surrounding country, Crossed Lookingglass Prairie [9] which is the most beautiful & fertile prairie I ever saw, but being so large it is but thinly settled, encamped on the west side of it, at a house, it being to late to reach the timber that night. ”

“ The road is sandy, & some rocky, but not steep in no place here. We traveled about 25 ms to-day, & encamped below the Pacific [Pg 30] Springs, [77] poor place to camp, for where there is any grass, it is so miry that it is dangerous for stalk [stock] to go, 2 or 3 of ours got in the mire & a good many others, they were got out, but with much difficulty. We now consider ourselves about half way, but the "tug of war" is yet to come. ”

“ Passed some bluffs on our right which presented a very singular & picturesque appearance, resembling a ruined wall & buildings. A few miles onward to the left we found good camping. In a tent near by was a man very sick, the Dr. went & stayed with him till morning [July 7—55th day] , when he died, leaving a wife & one child, they put him in his narrow bed & left him there to sleep (rest) alone. Traveled about 25 ms, & encamped on the bank of the river opposite Chimney rock, which appeared to us to be very near the other bank of the river but I am told it is 3 ms. ”

“ Blocking up our waggon bed, we started in, for our cattle do not mind mud, or water, the men with their coats, hats, & boots off, with a kerchief around their heads, with whip in hand, into the Platte river we go; but we are only one team in 20 that is now in the river, making a line from bank to bank ”

“ Saw several antelope but could not get a shot at them it being so level, There is no wood here, except what is procured from the island, the river was not fordable at this time, but some swam accross on horseback & procured some; but with much difficulty and danger, the current being very swift, & the bottom quicksand; we contented ourselves with a few willow bushes; there were some buffalo chips, but we had not as yet got in the way of using them. [May 26—43d day] We are about 5, ms below Ft. Karney. ”

“ They set up straight on their hind feet when they bark, & they are so near the color of the sand that you can hardly see them, unless in motion. Shot a young hare, which made us a fine dinner. The water along here is very poor; the river water is said to be healthiest, but it is warm, & muddy.
[May 30—47th day] The road is along the bank of the river, which is very straight, & on each side of which, are high sandhills or bluffs, from 2 to 10 ms. ”

“ Lodisa Frizzell, who, with her husband, Lloyd Frizzell, and their four sons, set out on April 14th, of that year, from their unnamed home, not far from Ewington, Effingham County, Illinois, on the upper reaches of the Little Wabash River, on an overland journey to California. The journal records her observations and experiences from the Little Wabash, across Illinois and Missouri, to St. Louis and St. Joseph, and over the St. Joseph and Oregon Trails to the Pacific Springs, in Fremont County, Wyoming. ”

“ Territory of Nebraska. We soon had our tent up got some dinner, the indians came round the tent, some begging, some having a few articles to trade, and as they concluded a bargain or "swop" as they call it, they shake hands with all around and say, good, good, & then depart. ”

“ But when we came up, he signified that he wished to trade, but they wishing to proceed, & not wanting to be detained, they gave him some crackers &c., each waggon as they passed, throwing him something on a blanket, which he had spread on the ground beside the road; but I saw the indians chuckle to one another, upon the success of the old chiefs maneuver. This old chief accompanied us to the rest of the indians, & he gave the doctor a buffalo robe for his vest, which he immediately put on, buttoned it up, and appeared much pleased with his bargain ”

“ A man fell overboard this morning, he was a deck passenger going to California, broke two of his ribs, he is not expected to live, he has no family as I could learn. there are about 200 passengers on board for California. ”

“ Roads rocky & hilly, came to the river at noon [June 15—63d day] , where there was a grove of cottonwood trees, here were several indians incamped, & a frenchman who kept a few articles to sell, the principle article was whiskey, which he sold at 12 dollars per gallon, or 25 cts a drink, there were several indian families, I went round to their lodges, saw one old indian 106 years old, he shook hands with us, smiled, appeared well, but he looked very aged ”

“ Passed where they were diging a grave for a girl 12 years old; how hard it must be to leave ones children on these desolate plains, but "God will watch over all their dust till He shall bid it rise." [June 10—58th day] To-day & yesterday the roads very sandy & in some places hilly, had a small shower of rain, turned down to the river, nearly 2 miles from the road, found excellent wood, which had been drifted there by the river in high water, & likewise fine grass. We are about 5 ms. from Ft. ”

“ This river rises in the Wind River Mountains and is a western affluent of the North Platte River. For the roads and fords in this region, see Delano, p. 104-105.
[66] Independence Rock is said to have received its name from the circumstance of a party ascending it on July 4th and celebrating there Independence Day. It is an isolated mass of gray granite in length about 1950 feet, and in height about 120 feet, according to Frémont's observation in 1842, at which time he marked a large cross thereon, a fact which was introduced adversely against him during his presidential campaign in 1856. ”

“ There was the man of business, whom you could distinguish by his brisk walk, important airs, fine dress & appearence, he would merely glance at the signature, put it in his pocket, & hurry back to his shop, but I noticed one old man as he broke open his letter & was reading it, appeared dejected ”

“ Started out soon this morning, passed several graves, we hear that it is sickly on the route, that there are cholera, smallpox, & measles, but rumor says so much, that you do not know when to believe her, but the graves prove that some have died, & it must be expected that from such a number, some would die ”

“ This is a pretty place, we also passed Ft. Levenworth [19] which is pleasantly situated on an elevated plain, which affords a fine view, this as its name indicates is a military station. Saw several of the black war dogs [20] standing around there, but I guess they have very little to bark at now.
[Pg 9]
[April 28—15th day [21] ] Arived at St. Josep [h] this evening, the banks of the river & all around the town were white with waggons, & tents; while the people came running down to the wharf by hundreds, a great many came on board for their families, or to look for some expected friend ”

“ The Platte or Nebraska R., and well-known affluent of the Missouri R. Her description is similar to Frémont's, in his first exploration of ten years earlier.—Frémont. Report. Washington, 1845, p. 16.
[44] Fort Kearny, Nebraska, named after Col. Stephen W. Kearny who, in 1845, conducted the first military expedition through the West, from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. It was at first named Fort Childs, in honor of Gen. Thomas Childs, of the Mexican War. The post was abandoned permanently in 1871. ”

“ Chimney Rock, near the western boundary of Cheyenne County, Neb. Its height, in 1832, as given by Captain Bonneville, was 175 yards.—Irving's The Rocky Mountains. Phila., 1837, vol. 1, p. 45. It has become greatly reduced in height by erosion.—Chittenden's Hist. of American Fur Trade, vol. 1, p. 467. For a description and view in 1842, see Frémont's Report. Washington, 1845, p. 38.
[55] Laramie Peak, the highest point of the Laramie Mountains of Wyoming, altitude 9020 feet. ”

“ This is considered th [e] starting point [27] from this river is time reconed, & it matters not how far you have come, this is the point to which they all refer, for the question is never, when did you leave home? but, when did you leave the Mississouri [sic] river? Our team looked bad one ox had died, the roads through Missouri were muddy & bad. ”

“ But we proceeded onward & found that they had nearly all packed up and gone, some of the squaws were mounted on their little ponies 2 on each, seated on [Pg 11] opposite sides, so as to ballance. We turned to the tent, heard that the Majors teems had arrived in town, & would be over in the morning. ”

“ Narative of a Journal [sic] across the "Plains" in 1852 by Mrs. Lodisa Frizzell. Illustrated by several original drawings. And to my relatives, and friends, respectfully subscribed. A later hand has written over the title the words, "The Overland Route to California." Among the numerous amateurish illustrations drawn by lead pencil and tinted with colors, three are reproduced here; also her three route maps. The other illustrations include the following: "The home I left behind me" (Her home in Illinois) ; "Crossing the Nimehaw"; "Killing a buffalo"; "Independence Rock" ”

“ One of our company quite sick to-day. The grass is very good along here, looks like a meadow. Saw four buffalo feeding near the bluffs, some 3 ms. distant, 2 of our party, & another man, went in persuit ”