My westward journal #4
4-10-1820
Dear journal,
We crossed the Kansas River today. It was deep and swirly. We crossed the river using the Pappan Ferry. My family paid four dollars and thirty cents to cross the river. Once we got to the middle, a little girl that was four years old fell off her wagon into the river. She went under and never came up. Her mother screamed, “Annie!” Her mother tried to jump in the river to save her little girl, but her husband held her back. After seeing Annie drown, I stayed close to either mother or father. During the rest of the rest of the crossing, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. After our wagon train got to the other side we stopped for lunch. The men unhitched the oxen teams while the girls helped prepare the food. After a rushed meal of cornbread, we hitched the oxen back on the wagon. We started up again and I once again fell asleep against father’s shoulders.
Maggie, 9 years old
Dear journal,
We crossed the Kansas River today. It was deep and swirly. We crossed the river using the Pappan Ferry. My family paid four dollars and thirty cents to cross the river. Once we got to the middle, a little girl that was four years old fell off her wagon into the river. She went under and never came up. Her mother screamed, “Annie!” Her mother tried to jump in the river to save her little girl, but her husband held her back. After seeing Annie drown, I stayed close to either mother or father. During the rest of the rest of the crossing, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. After our wagon train got to the other side we stopped for lunch. The men unhitched the oxen teams while the girls helped prepare the food. After a rushed meal of cornbread, we hitched the oxen back on the wagon. We started up again and I once again fell asleep against father’s shoulders.
Maggie, 9 years old
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