It has been twelve days since I last wrote I this journal, and a lot has happened. I am just glad to have left all of the mosquitos behind at Alcove Springs. The Platte river leads all the way from Alcove Springs to Fort Kearney. The Platte provides enough clean water for the entire train. Caroline and Cheyenne are covered in blisters. I am thinking about letting them ride on the back of the wagon. On the third day after leaving Alcove Springs, I was rested and refreshed. It surprised me when it seemed like the oxen were moving away from me. The whole wagon seemed to slow down. It was. The oxen had broke free from the tongue of the wagon. The reigns were getting shorter, and I tried pulling the reigns back towards me. It took all the…show more content… The howling wind carried off anything less than thirty pounds. The wagon covers all blew off, sending our supplies over twenty feet away. I was scared, so I grabbed Cheyenne and Caroline and took shelter under the wagon. The wagon blew over, so we hid behind the overturned wagon and used it like a wind break. The storm lasted for an hour like this. Then, the hail started falling from above us. The balls of ice hit the ground and shattered into a million pieces. When the hail stopped falling and the wind stopped blowing, the train was in ruins. All but Pat’s wagon blew over. The damage seemed catastrophic, but the looks were deceiving. Once the wagons were all back on four wheels, nothing was really broken. We were lucky, because people have died in storms less aggressive than this. The days following the storm were uneventful. But on the twelfth the day, we finally arrived in Fort Kearney. It's name is Fort Kearney, but it is little more than a group of sod buildings. We stopped for two days, and I went into the trading post to look at some supplies. I saw stationary, and I decided to write to Jackson. I told him that I would soon see him in Oregon, and that I wished him luck in his new life. I also decided to get two tires replaced after the storm. They gave me a deal where I got a free spare
