The morning fine and very pleasant. Saw two small herds of buffalo a
few miles from camp. At seven-thirty continued our journey. I went
on foot about two miles and then stopped to count the horses, mules,
oxen, etc., and afterwards walked on again to the first wagons. Here
Elder Kimball offered me his horse to ride. I then went ahead with the
horsemen. We soon after came to a very bad slough and had to bear off
to the north to find a place to cross it. The prairie after we crossed
this slough about a mile wide from the river was very soft and it was
necessary to bear still farther to the north. The horses' feet cut
through the sod and the ground appeared wet under, although there has
been no rain for some time. At eleven-thirty we stopped to feed on a
small patch of unburnt grass, having come about nine miles, course
about west, with a very strong south wind. There were two buffalo
within about a half a mile from camp, grazing. Some of the brethren
went to view them, but the orders of the day are not to kill anything
which the men cannot carry to camp. There are no appearances of Indians
near except the prairie which is still burning ahead of us, supposed
to be set on fire by them. About one p.m. continued our journey and
traveled till three p.m., when some of the hunters came in, bringing a
live buffalo calf, also one they had killed. They reported that John
Brown, Jackson Redding and John S. Higbee, Luke Johnson had each killed
a calf, the one killed by Brother Higbee having previously been shot by
Amasa Lyman. Joseph Mathews killed a cow and Elder Kimball, O. P.
Rockwell and John S. Higbee chased the one brought in alive until a dog
seized it and Porter left his horse and caught it without shooting at
it and led it to camp. The revenue cutter was unloaded and sent after
the cow and calf left, they being about three miles off. We traveled on
about a half an hour and found the prairie all in a blaze. President
Young and Kimball thinking it unsafe to risk the wagons near the fire,
ordered the camp to go back a half a mile to an island where we can
have water for our teams and be secure from the fire. The prairie is
all burned bare and the black ashes fly bad, making the brethren look
more like Indians than white folks. There is some feed on the island,
and the cattle easily ford the stream to it. The calf is tied in the
circle. When a dog goes near it, it will attack the largest and they
flee from it, though not more than six or eight weeks old. About half
past six the revenue cutter arrived with the meat, which was fatter
than any we have had. They also brought in another calf which they
killed while out for the cow, making a total of one cow and six calves
brought into camp today. The meat was divided amongst the companies of
ten, each having either a calf or half a quarter of a cow.