This morning we joined a company of three wagons with which we intend to
travel. The men are mostly Germans and not of my selection. Went about
twenty miles by one o'clock and encamped; high winds prevail. We all
have good health and strong appetites. A sort of inefficient election
was held this morning at which one of our men was chosen captain--a man
in no way calculated to act in that capacity. Strong pledges of mutual
assistance were given, etc. In looking over these vast prairies, just
beginning to freshen beneath the smile of Spring, I can scarcely believe
that they are uninhabited. Not a tree is within reach of the eye.