Page 17 - Keays Diary with forward 1866 and Cover

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Monday night 14 – Camped at Plum Creek, 38 miles from Adobe

Town; we are corralled in with the Train for the first time, we have

quite a village, there is a baby wagon next, and a Bride on the corner,

with quite a sprinkling of others. The Leader (Wagon Boss) of the train

has a family, his daughter called on us this morning; they all sympathize

with us for our loss. We have good hay for the horses, and are all feeding

it; they think it cheap at $1.00 per hundred.

I do not get a bit tired of riding, but the wind is terribly

annoying it is so sandy that it blows right into ones eyes and throat,

and such high winds, as we never have at home more than one day in a year.

We have had but little dust since we left S. Tho., we had such

hard rains on the Little Blue, and they say it has been unusually well

along here.

Sunday morning. Last night we had the most magnificent storm

cloud I ever saw. I watched it gather for some time, when there was a
fire built on the prairie between us and the cloud and burned splendidly;

it lighted up the cloud and with the keen lightning and heavy thunder, was

a spectacle nearly as grand, as one of the gentlemen said as seeing Atlanta

on fire.

The storm passed round to the east, as they say it seldom rains

on the Platte it is like the Nile in that respect, but not to be compared

for fertility.

There is a strip in the valley here that is the most of the way,

good grassing, but I think nothing else would grow without irrigation.

We had a little shower this noon, so we pitched the tent to eat

under, when it stopped we went to the river, which looks as if it were

five miles wide here and so muddy.

Wednesday morning -- Some of my neighbors called on us