Primary Source Journals

  Left Pittsburgh  [2] this day at 11 ock with a party of 11 hands 7 of which are soldiers, a pilot and three young men on trial they having proposed to go with me throughout the voyage.  [3] Arrived at Bruno's Island  [4] 3 miles below    halted a few minutes.    went on shore and being invited on by some of the gentlemen present to try my airgun  [5] which I had purchased brought it on shore charged it and fired myself seven times fifty five yards with pretty good success; after which a Mr. Blaze Cenas  [6] being unacquainted with the management of the gun suffered her to discharge herself accedentaly    the ball passed through the hat of a woman about 40 yards distanc cuting her temple about the fourth of the diameter of the ball; shee fell instantly and the blood gusing from her temple    we were all in the greatest consternation    supposed she was dead by [but] in a minute she revived to our enespressable satisfaction, and by examination we found the wound by no means mortal or even dangerous; called the hands aboard and proceeded to a ripple of McKee's rock*  [7] where we were obleged to get out all hands and lift the boat  [8] over about thirty yards; the river is extreemly low; said to be more so than it has been known for four years; about [blank] we passed another ripple near [erasure]    Past another bear or ripple with more dificulty than either of the others    halted for the night much fatiegued after labouring with my men all day—  [9]    the water being sufficiently temperate was much in our favor; gave my men some whiskey and retired to rest at 8 OClock— -From the Diary of Lewis and Clark

First Day, Friday, April 12th, 1850Left Milwaukee at 1 o'clock for California with 6 wagons and 16 men. Cold day. Roads very bad. Went 19 miles. April 13, Saturday, Second Day Very cold morning. All well. Broke kink bolt on William's Buggy. Went to Darien. Traveled 33 miles. Put up for the  [April] 15 Left Darien at 1/2 past 6 o'clock. I like the country very much. Past through Beloit at 12 o'clock. This is a beautiful place. A large town with 5 churches. A great business place. Swapped a pair of horses for a pair of mules. Gave 20 dollars to boot. Mules is very high. Bought 1 Horse for 75 dollars. 3 o'clock. Passed Rosco Downs, a small place with 1 church. 5 o'clock. Went through Rockford. A very fine place with 5 churches. Went 5 miles from there and put up for the night. Prairie on fire .April 16 - 5 Day Out A fine morning. All well. Started this morning at 7 o'clock. About 1 mile from this place is an old building intended for a seminary, all in ruins, built by P.M. Johnson of Grafton. Passed over fine valleys and fine prospects. Drove too far yesterday. One of our horses is about give out. One of Charles' horses has got lame. Drove 31 miles to Dixon, a small place on the Fox River. Good land. Traded our poor horse, gave 50 to boot. Thursday April 18 - 7 Day outLooks like rain. Charles traded a lame horse, gave 10 dollars to boot. Came to Albany, crossed the Mississippi river. Charles [and] Mr. Han got a touch of the dysentery. 12 o'clock. Crossed a small river in ferry boat. I had touch of dysentery this morning. I am Better now. PM. At the ferry that we have just crossed, there is a book kept that they put all the names down in. We had all the company's names put down. We found Mr. Rattery and Mr. Muns' names there. Went 24 miles to postern[?] grove and camped out for the first time. The country is mountainous and uninhabited. Passed a dead horse.

Frontier Journal You will be making a multi entry journal as if you were a settler moving out West to live on the frontier following the Homestead Act You may write five longer, detailed entries (about one page each) that check in with your family’s progress at various points in the journey, or fifteen shorter daily entries that note your daily progress (one paragraph each 5-7 sentences) single spaced You must include: your starting point, your destination, supplies and family members, reasons for moving, fears you have about moving, where you are looking to move to, why you want to move difficulties you have on the route, what mode of transportation you are using (can’t use train the whole time) and the final outcome You must be specific in showing your knowledge of the Homestead Act, difficulties on the road, tensions between settlers and Native Americans, what towns were like, what job you want to have the route you take and motivations for settling, Must include a map and diagram of your route, pictures of what you see on the way (5 pictures total with your map being one of them) etc Be as creative and detailed as possible