Personal Recollections of Pioneer Life

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. I was born in Belvidere, New Jersey. Parents moved to Oakland County, Michigan, when-1 was two years old. Resided there during childhood and boyhood days. The last schooling was at a small academy at Pontiac, Michigan. Left home March, 1857, for Kansas and the Great Plains. The summer of 1857, made a trip from Lawrence, Kansas, out in the Smoky Hill and Republican River country, hunting buffalo. Killed some buffalo, but had no Indian fights on that trip. Spent the winter of 1857 and 1858 south of Lawrence, Kansas. Remained there until April, 1859.<br><br>Outfitted for Pike's Peak<br><br>Outfitted with four other young men for Pike's Peak. Our outfit consisted of five yoke of oxen and a Murphy wagon, with grub enough to last us one year. Our objective point was Pikes Peak gold mines - there being great excitement about the streams and rivers of what is now Colorado being lined with gold dust and nuggets. Our route was over the old Santa Fe Trail via Council Grove, Great Bend of the Arkansas River, Bent's Port, up the river to Pikes Peak, thence to the head of Cherry Creek, down the creek to Denver, or where Denver now stands, camping there the 3rd day of June, 1859, then going to the gold diggings up Clear Creek to Black Hawk, or what was then Gregory Diggings.<br><br>Indians and Buffalo<br><br>As to the trip across the plains: while the country was full of Indians and buffalo, we encountered no Indians that were on the war path against the whites.