Diary continues.......
Monday 14th Big Turkey Creek[7] 10
Tuesday 15th Little Arkansas 15
Wednesday 16 (footnote)[8]
Monday 21st Big Cow Creek 15
Tuesday 22nd Osage Camp, Bank of Arkansas 22
Wednesday 23rd Little Ash Creek 25
Thursday 24th Pawnee Fork, Arkansas 10
Friday 25th (footnote)[9]
Saturday 26th Elk Camp, Bank of Arkansas 22
Sunday 27th
Monday 28th Island Camp on Arkansas 22
Tuesday 29th Fort Mann 25
Wednesday 30th (footnote)[10]
Saturday 2nd Camp Joy 22
Sunday 3rd (no entry)
Monday 4th Terrapin Camp 20
Tuesday 5th Lower Chalybease Wells 20
Wednesday 6th Upper Chalybease Wells 20
Thursday 7th Sand Hill Camp 20
Friday 8th Hail Camp 21.5
Saturday 9th Camp Decision 18
Sunday 10th (no entry)
Monday 11th Camp Fitzpatrick 20.5
Letter to Harriet follows....
Little Arkansas , Grand Prairie , on the Independence road 325 miles from home, and the same
distance from this side of Bent's Fort.
May the 16th 1849 .
Dear Wife and Children,
I am now and have been ever since I left home, in good health. I hope that you enjoy the same
blessing. We intersected the road from Independence to Santa Fe [11] on the day before
yesterday, on Turkey Creek, some of the waters of the Little Arkansas. Andy and myself have had
the luck to lose three of our oxen, the red yoke and the black steer that I got off McKinney and
James Pettegrew. The left us about one hundred miles this side of the Verdigris River . We
hunted four days for them, and had to leave them at last. I think it probable that they will go back
home if they are not taken up by the Osage Indians.[12] They were making a straight shoot for
the Grand Saline. Make some inquiry for them if you have opportunity. We work one yoke of Bob
Eperson's steers and one steer of Shaw's, and we get along very well. The road from home to
this place, is as good, and a great deal better than any road of the same length that I ever saw in
my life, and it is said that the road from here to Fort Bent is equally good. You may travel here
from 15 to 20 miles in a day, and start betwixt 8 and 9 o'clock and stop two hours by sun in the
evening, and perhaps not cross a rise so steep as that from Father's spring to his house. We are
troubled a good deal in the consequence of our oxen wanting to go back. The road which we are
now on, is as plane a road as that from Van Buren to Fayettville. We have traveled this road 25
miles, and I do not think that we have at any time been out of sight of the carcass of some dead
ox. We suppose that they belonged to the government and was caught here in the sleet last
winter, and froze out. We found one ox that had stood the winter. Allan Waites found 15 dollars in
one pile along the road.
(On the back of this sheet there is another letter written at a later date. The second letter follows)
Arkansas River , Shiann ( Cheyenne ) Nation
June the 4th,1849
Dear Harriet
It has been some time since I commenced this letter. I have been waiting for an opportunity to
sent you some word back. This day we have met a train of traders going back to West Fork and I
now send you a few lines by the train. We have all enjoyed good health ever since we left home.
We are now about 160 miles this side of east of Fort Bent and about 326 west of Fort Mann . I
have but a few moments to write, so farewell till another opportunity offers.
Harriet Crawford (flourish) J. S. Crawford
June the 4th 1849
NB. We lost one other ox since I commenced this letter, with 47 more belonging to the Company.
Tuck is the last one that left us. [13] We followed them about 100 miles and had to leave them at
last. Though we are still able to travel at the rate of 20 miles a day, we have had to lay by near
two weeks on the account of hunting oxen.
Harriet Crawford (flourish) J. S. Crawford
[1]Letter to Harriet, April 22
[2]Company did not travel, letter written to Harriet.
[3]Company did not travel.
[4] Buffalo chip
[5]Elizabeth Coody's husband was Wm Shorey Coody who had died while on tribal business in
Washington D.C. Their home was on Bayou Menard, southeast of Fort Gibson in the Cherokee
Nation. The Cherokee Immigrating Company was formed there nearly a year later. The interested
reader may find a diary of that Company published in The Chronicles of Oklahoma. The six girls
were her daughters; Mary, Elizabeth, Letitia, Maria Ross, Louisa Jane, and Flora.
[6]Rachel Tinnon was the second wife of Andrew Crawford. His first wife, Minerva Buchanan, was
killed by her Negro slave with an ax. The woman who killed her was named Cal , leaving
Minerva's dead body and her six month old baby inside the house. The story as told to Mr.
Maurice Cruse by her grandfather, J. P. Carnahan, relates that she was murdered at the Mike Nail
place south of prairie grove. Her small child, Robert, played over her dead body all day until
found by her husband. Cal (actually Caroline) was chained in the old log school house known as
the White Church . At her trial she confessed that Mrs. Crawford was the fourth mistress she had
murdered. At an appointed time she was driven in an ox cart to a large tree on the Delap place.
When the rope was in place and team started up to be driven from under her, she jumped just as
ffar as she could and let out an unearthly scream.
[7]A Stone marker was erected here by Judge Davis, and a letter was left in a can which was
subsequently delivered to Fatettville. For more see Marcy and the Gold Seekers.
[8]There are no entries for the 16th through the 20th because the Company lay by four days to
hunt oxen which had escaped. A letter was written to Harriet Crawford on the 16th.
[9]No entry. Fifteen oxen escaped and the Company lay by.
[10]No intries until the second due to hunting of a large group of oxen which had escaped. twenty
one were found and returned.
{11}A stone marker was erected here reading "To Fayettville Ark. 300 miles, Capt. Evans Cal.
Com'y May 14, 1849 ".
[12] The oxen did return.
[13] Tuck did not return home. He was with 48 oxen which returned to the home of Elijah Hicks of
the Cherokee Nation near the present Claremore.
PAGE 2 OF LETTERS AND JOURNAL GOLD RUSH OF 1849
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