June 5th 1845
We have reached the building which turned out to be a Fort (Fort Laramie). I’m writing while everyone stocks up on supplies. There seems to be a nice man here who my dad said is extremely helpful. He told us there was another fort up ahead, but he said that was a long way away; over what he called the Rocky’s. I haven’t seen any more Indians yet, although I fear that we shall. I think were lucky we found this place as we may have ran out of supplies if we never. That wagon we built for the journey is useful, but it doesn’t half make me sick. I’ve actually started to prefer walking when I can just to stop me from being sick. It’s not all bad though. A man made a guitar using horse hair for the strings. We are staying here for a while for some rest.
July 7th 1845
It’s my 11th birthday today. I got a car my brother and had carved from wood before we left. I didn’t expect much as it’s not likely I’m going to use them with all the travelling. We have reached the Rocky Mountains. There seems to be a lot of people here. My friends John and Elizabeth from back home are here. They said they’ve stayed here because there parents like it here a lot and are scared that if they go further, there will be nothing. I told them we were heading for Fort Bridger, but they thought we were kidding ourselves. I saw more Indians, but this time, they chased us! We had to run for our lives. Some of the people behind us were killed. An arrow hit the top of our wagon. I’ve got it in the wagon. It’s my souvenir to say ‘I survived an Indian attack’ but in the end, I don’t think it’ll be that big a deal. These Indians looked different to the other Indians we saw. These ones had darker skin and had painted there faces with white markings. Got to stop writing; I need my sleep!
August 28th 1845
We have finally reached Fort Bridger! I know the man way back in Fort Laramie said it was a long way, but I didn’t think it would take over two months! Mr Bridger (he just makes us call him Jim) said he would guide us for as long as we needed him. The only thing I found peculiar about him was that he was dressed like an Indian. It’s all too confusing. Why would you want to dress like someone who tries to kill you!? I’m Exhausted after crossing the Rocky’s. We virtually went non-stop. But I was shocked when I saw a man waiting to carve names into a huge rock (called ‘Independence Rock’). He would carve the names of all the people who had passed through. I was pleased to see a lot of my friends’ names there. To think they’d made it all this way, just like me. Jim is teaching me about different Indian Tribes and why some attack and some don’t. He said certain tribes think you’re crossing their territory, so they attack, and some just watch to see if you’re doing anything to disrupt their way of living.
September 17th 1845
Things have gone terribly wrong. A group of Indians have stolen one of our horses. But it’s not just us. One family had four horses, and now there left with none! A nice family, who hadn’t had any of their horses taken, loaned him one until one of them decided to stop. The majority of the group has had something stolen. Jim said it was a group called the Shoshone Indians who had done it. He said they were well known for theft. To make things worse, James has become really ill. He keeps being sick and keeps going to the toilet. A girl who used to be in our group had the same symptoms, but she died and they had to leave her behind. I hope the same thing doesn’t happen to James. I’ll have no one to play with or to make me laugh. I have prayed every night that he will stay with us. But we will just have to wait and see.
September 30th 1845
We have reached the Sierra Nevada. We have just been travelling through what Jim calls Humboldt Desert where we were hit by a sand storm. It was the most depressing place I’ve been to in my life. The whole track was covered in skeletons and shallow graves with a stick of wood with the name of the person carved in it. Jim says this was either done by a savage tribe, or people having to resort to cannibalism. I tried to stay with James most of the time to avoid the horrible sight. It could be the van that’s making James sick. Why not? It still makes me throw up! He’s looking worse than ever. What if he dies, will we have to leave him like in a grave all the ones outside of the wagon? But I’m still convinced it’s this horrible wagon!
October 10th 1845
Jim went back to his Fort to guide more people through. He gave me his necklace he had made himself to remember him by. I gave him my hat as I didn't think I’d need it whilst going across the Sierra Nevada. We are at the top of the Sierra Nevada. It’s terribly hard work and it’s freezing cold because of all the snow. I feel sorry for the rest of my family. There are no passes so we have to hike up and over. I have to guide the horse, and my mum dad and sister are pushing the truck by hand! I’m too tired to write anymore. Hopefully the way down will be easier than the way up!
October 25th 1845
We’ve finally got over the Sierra Nevada, but something horrible has happened. James has died. I’m heart-broken. I used to tell him everything. He used to be such good fun. He died about three days ago. We had to bury him and put a piece of wood where he is lying. I carved in it – James Kennedy: rest in peace. I can’t believe I had to do that to my big brother. He was only nineteen. I’ll miss him so much. I just can’t stand the thought that he spent the last few months of his life looking for something, and then not seeing what he was finally looking for. I will write when I get to the end of our trail. It can’t be far now.
November 12th 1845
I can’t believe it. We have finally reached a perfect place called California. I was determined to get here for James. I know he would have wanted to get here, so we’re going to go back to where we buried him and are going to re-bury him here. It’s great here. It’s just the right heat and just the right amount of rain for farming and my dad said it has great fertile soil (but I don’t really know anything about that). It was a big risk coming here, but it was worth it.
