Page 23 - Keays Diary with forward 1866 and Cover

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it was about all the Stage Station that was not destroyed last year by

Indians. They had fixed it all up lately tho, for it had a shingle roof

and a Board fence , the first we have seen since we left Cotton Wood, it

is 30 miles from there to the Junction, wonder of wonders, there was a

large frame barn for the Stage Horses, which shows that we are getting

to civilization. At the Junction there are two roads to Denver, one

across and one by the river; we saw a lot of shoats here, the first of

the Hog kind we have seen since we got on the Platte.

Sunday May 27 – We camped last night 9 miles from the Junction,

and still we have not had a glimpse of the Royal Rocky Mountains, the

envious clouds still keeping their thick veil down over its countenance.

This morning they deigned to give us a glimpse with but a

filmy gauze between us and it; when they shut down, a cap of clouds so

thick that not a shadow of mountains shows through, we hope soon to be

near enough to behold them face to race in spite of clouds or caps.
We passed the Junction without being halted, left our Train

and came on Kiting , and now, Hurrah for Collins.

If no preventing providence intervenes, we shall soon end our

tedious trip.We still hear marvelous tales of Indians, which as near

as we can trace them up, are like the "Three Black Crows".

Monday morning May 28. Wonderful to tall, we had a genuine

snow storm last night. We got on swimmingly yesterday, found the sand

not nearly so had as we bad feared, and got to Fremonts Orchard, when it

set in to snow thick and fast; it had keen growing cold all day, and we

had been putting on extra coats and shawls till we were all wrapped up

fit for winter, but we got up in the valley of Fremonts Orchard, found

splendid grass, and got our tent pitched before it had snowed enough to