THE WORLD RUSHED IN … AND SO DID DANIEL STARK
This is a continuation of the diary kept by Daniel Stark on his journey from Auburn, Illinois to the gold fields of California. This starts with his third day out, May 7, 1850.
May 7, 1850…Marched today 12 miles. Camped at a place called Lone Elum, which is a place in the Plaines on a small stream and there is but one tree here. We seen some oxen run away and it is a frightful sight.
May 8…Marched today about 15 miles and encamped in the open plain near a point of timber.
May 9…Started this morning and went two mile and come to old Spybucks, an Indian chief. We bought some corn off him at one dollar per bushel. Chief of the Shawnees.
May 10…Marched today 18 mile. We crossed the Wakarusa, a stream about the size as Mill Creek. This stream has considerable timber on it.
May 11… Marched today 15 mile and encamped on a small stream, the name not known. There is no timber on the prairie, only on the streams, and very little there.
May 12…Marched today 14 mile and crossed the Caw and Kansas Rivers. There are three ferries here. We crossed at the middle one at the trading post. We ferried our wagon and forded our oxen.
We saw some buffalo calves here that the Indians had caught. They are different in shape. There foreparts are much the highest and their tail is like that of a colt. We are not in Buffalo country yet.
The Pawnees stole some of the Pottawattamie horses and they followed them and killed two of them and scalped them and took three white men’s scalps from them. They cut the heart out of the Pawnee and brought it home with them and made soup of it and had a war dance for three days. They danced under the American flag.
This Caw River is near as large as the Wabash and runs swift. Our wagon cost a dollar.
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