Mary Ann Sherrill: Rejoicing to be Nearly to Half Way to Oregon.

The day before yesterday our wagon train crossed to the south side of the Platte River so that we could buy supplies at Fort Laramie. The Fort has the only general store of any note for eight hundred miles. At first, the men planned to wade across the Platte, or ride their horses, and leave us all camped on the north side of the river. What a great outcry was heard when they told us their plan! We all felt it was worth the trouble of another river crossing, to be able to choose what we wanted. After shopping, we stayed camped outside of Fort Laramie, among the many wagon trains camped here. Closer to the Fort are the teepees of tribe after tribe of Sioux Indian, who live here for protection against their enemies.

After a meeting with the wagon master, of all the section heads in the wagon train, my father came to ask each head of a family to meet with him. James went to the meeting, as did Jacob Thompson, William Leach, Thomas Martin, and the rest of the heads of families in our section. James returned to our wagon to tell me what has been decided. He said that Fort Laramie is over 600 miles from where we crossed the Missouri River, and it is the last outpost on the Oregon Trail for getting worn oxen shoes replaced, and cracked wagon wheels repaired. With all the other wagon trains camped here, we have to wait a couple of days for our turn with the blacksmith.  Everyone agreed with the wagon master, that we must take this opportunity to renew our preparations for the rest of the trip.

We ran out of sugar a week ago, so I bought more sugar at Fort Laramie. Tonight, with the concentrated  lemon syrup, also from the fort's general store, I made lemonade with cold water from the swift running, nearby Laramie River, which joins the Platte River by the Fort. After our nightly prayers of thanksgiving, we had a dance. You'd think that after a long and strenuous day of toil, we would all just want our dinner and our beds, but dancing, in squares or in circles, was exactly what we all needed. We wanted to celebrate the distance we had come already, and rejoice that we are nearing the half way point of South Pass. Other sections of the wagon train were making music and dancing also, and some joined together for a larger group of dancers. Even with the celebrations, all the men took their turns at their assigned guard duties, making sure the horses and oxen were not stolen or strayed overnight.