said he would hit it in the centre[sic] but he missed and I shot and beat him by quite a little bit. We put our blankets around the fire and laid with out feet towards it drying them off. Charley wrote a letter to his folks laying on his stomach in front of the fire. At about 10 o'clock we retired to our downy couch upon the muddy mother earth.

Wednesday July 10th 89
We got up at about 5.45 am. Had oat meal and coffee and crackers for breakfast. Got started for Hazard 15 mi away at 7 a.m. We passed fair sized hills saw lots of game shot at lots of game. Got some game. We got to Sodtown and from there to Nantasket. We now started for Ravenna. Before we reached it we crossed the South Loup River. There was no mail for any of us. I got this book and a tablet. Also Mr Thompson and I got a glass of awful poor Soda Water. We camped just outside of Ravenna for

lunch at noon. We had Pie Plant sauce, sardines cookies, crackers etc etc. We shot at a mark, played catch and spread our quilts out and dried them. About 1.35 P.M. we hitched up and left the fair town of Ravenna. We travelled[sic] from here up the valley of the Mud. In the morning I shot a hammerhead woodpecker and when we ad travelled[sic] along farther we came to a man who said That shot had scart[sic] his horses and broke his cultivator and would have killed him if he hadn't got out of the way. Nr. T offered him a $1 but he wanted $1.50 & said $1 wasn't anything at all. We left him and his "cul'va'ter"

in peace. At night we camped in a canyon where we had to use the clear ??? waters of the Mud for all cooking drinking etc purposes. Gus and Chas went fishing but didn't get anything. After supper Chas Gus & I went swimming. Then wrapped our blankets around us and took about a ½ mile run up the road. We retired at about 10.30 in grass nearly 1 ft. high and a passing farmer made us feel real secure as he told us that rattlesnakes were quite common around there.

Thursday July 11 1889.
Passed through Hazzard[sic] early in the morning and travelled[sic] on to Litchfield we camped in the west side of town for a cold lunch and I got a buis[sic] letter from papa. We played ball etc etc. From here we went on towards Mason City. These were the worst roads we had come to, but to make all even the scenery was the best We travelled[sic] in a canon part way with straigh[sic] rock or tall trees on one side and down 25 ft to the creek on the other. The rock was a kind of limestone and I got a specimen. We bent one of the hind axels to our wagon and went to Mason City about a mile away here we camped on two

vacant buis.[sic] lots across from a blacksmith shop and got supper while waiting for the axle to be fixed. As it was good roads we hitched up and drove about a mile out of town. Across from the mill I shot a large rabbit with my rifle and had to dress him for breakfast. We camped on the edge of a large creek and it rained awful hard. Mr T. sat up till it got through blowing. I guess he was afraid. I turned in with my shoes on as we were ofraid the tent would go. We painted Mason City red by tying Mr T's horrid straw hat on old Benjamin with a nice string and

very slowly driving up the main street. We all wore a solemin [sic] face or expression just as if it was an every day occurrunce[sic] & the people didn't dare laugh because we looked so grave and stared back at them so profoundly.

July 12. Friday
We had fried rabbit for Breakfast. It rained a little in the morning, So we stayed in camp and all of us went out hunting on the creek. In shooting at a muskrat the breech of my gun flew open ½ an inch of my head and I couldn't hear for over an hr. with that ear) I went to the tent fixed the

gun and went up the track with Gus. We ran across some quail and I shot one of their heads clear off. We got a cold lunch and started on about 12 o'clock[sic.] We passed through Ansley, Algernon & Janesville and camped at Berwyn nearly opposite the depot There are 5 or 6 houses and a few stores up on the hill and they call it a station .
We obtained very poor water also some wood at the stock yards. At night it rained very hard nearly also night in fact. Thompson left on the 7.08 train for Broken Bow to get his mail. Before he left we went to the photograph tent to get our

pictures taken. But He would only take great large one for a monstrous price so we restrained ourselves from having our likness's[sic] taken.

Saturday July 13 '89.
We all got up at 4.50 a.m. as Mr. T. was to come back to go to Gr. Isl[sic] and we all wanted to see him. He had got a letter from home and had to go on but he had intended to surprise us by getting off the train and staying another wk with us. I mailed some letters and Chas and Gus rustled 2 ½ ears of corn apiece at the stock yards. They could not buy any oats anywhere

It rained all morning so we could not start till 12.30 PM. We made the ten miles to Broken Bow in the late P.M. over awful rough roads. We had just got in sight of town when it began to form awful black clouds right over us. We hurried along and us 3 set the tent in quite a wind. In about 10 minutes we had the tent set and all the things inside and in about 8 min. it began hailing, blowing and raining perfectly grand. Charley said it was the worst storm the tent had ever stood. As soon as it stopped hailing the worst I went down

created: September 23, 2003 by Karen Keehr
up-dated: September 23, 2003