Some Pioneer Experiences - Morse Coffin
My Coffin Roots Ethel Coffin
HOME

- Edward's Descendants
- Descendent list (txt)
- Edward's parentage
- Wills and Deeds
- Biographies & Obits
- Colorado Pioneers
- Census Information
- Family Researchers
- Misc. Notes
- Coffin Gravestones
- Waldo/Coffin docs & pics
- Useful Links

Census Information

1790-1840
1850, Oneida Co., NY
1850, Herkimer Co., NY
1850, other
1860, Oneida Co., NY


View or Sign Guestbook

Some Pioneer Experiences, Longmont Ledger, 25 Jun 1909

Trip Across Platte to Fort Kearney

The camp was some five miles above Fort Kearney, which was on the opposite side of the river and as this was a point we were all supposed to see mail, the next morning volunteers were called for to make the trip. Charles L. Woods of Fond du Lac, Wis and myself responded.

We dressed in the thinnest clothes and Pawnee Indian moccasins on our feet. Instead of hats we each had a small package of letters tied on the crown of our heads to mail at the Fort post office. We each took some change in our pockets for postage and to get our dinners. The river was likely one and a half to two miles wide here, and very high and its roaring could be heard for miles. We waded and swam as necessity required and were a long time getting over. When well across we learned we had lost most of our precious cash in the floods. We soon dried off in the hot sun.

At the post office we mailed our letters and after paying postage on same, as I remember, we had sixty cents left with which to buy our dinners. There was a boarding house close by kept by a husky Irish woman, and there Charley proposed we dine. I wanted to invest our stock of cash in bread or anything we could eat; but Charley would not have it that way, and as he was a polished young Irish American just out of college and was sure he could fix matters, and also as the cash was all his � mine was all in the Platte � he had his way. He first tried to explain to the landlady that we only had a little money, etc., but she would not listen to any such excuse, but seemed to think him joshing. And as Charley insisted, we seated ourselves at the table with the other hungry ones. We aimed to eat but little more than half a meal each (as I recall it the meals were 50 cents each) but likely to others we seemed to eat as much as the soldiers. Once or twice I suggested to Charley that we quit, but he said we had better eat a little more as he was confident of being able to make it all right. But now came the �tug of war�. The woman was bound to believe he had more money and his �now, my dear madam� did not answer at all. Charley was very suave and polite, but no good. She poked her fist close to his face and called him several uncomplimentary names, and as there were a lot of big husky Irishmen around to help her if she called for it, matters looked squally for a time. At the first lull in the breeze we dug out for the river.

At the river bank we found a small squad of soldiers in charge of the most primitive sort of a floating scow or boat I ever saw. In this an officer with several soldiers had just made the trip from Fort Laramie, some 300 miles up the river. As I recall it they had been some four days on the trip.

I believe the river at this place is called two miles wide, and has several small islands. We were obliged to swim most of the way, making it from head of one to foot of the next island. We were glad when we reached the north bank, and we both agreed we would have had a hard time making it at all only for the landlady�s good hearty dinner of soup, beef, and bread.

The walk to camp was just easy fun except for one thing � we carried not a solitary letter for the long list of names we had. This was poor pay for our strenuous day.

M. H. Coffin