The Overland Experience

The Overland Experience. Emigrants reached Scotts Bluff after nearly two months on the plains. , To your left, vast flatlands extend eastward – for hundreds of miles. In the mid-1800’s this expansive, semi-arid grassland was known as “The Great American Desert.” For early travelers it was an unfamiliar, often inhospitable landscape., In their diaries, emigrants described the challenges of the journey, and their mixed emotions. Enthusiasm for a new life in Oregon or California was tempered by the hardships of the trail; the dust and fatigue; the scarcity of drinking water and firewood; outbreaks of cholera and smallpox; violent thunderstorms; accidents with wagons and animals; and separation from loved ones., Emigrants gazed at Scotts Bluff with a sense of accomplishment. They had crossed the plains, and the first third of their journey was over., May 29, 1852 , “We have a great deal of sickness on the road at this time. We pass companies every hour of the day waiting for someone to get better or to die. Passenger trains hardly ever wait.”- John H. Clark. , 1853 Near Scotts Bluff , “The landmarks indicated our progress and helped to break the monotony- like the milestones along the journey of life, there was one less to pass.”- Phoebe G. Judson. , July 1, 1853 , “A great deal of alkali water in pools injurious to sheep; lost 3 head on account of drinking it. Crossed numerous creeks and sloughs. A severe tempest about 6 o’clock with hail as large as apples . . . . No campfire, for the buffalo chips were wet, and no wood.”- Thomas Flint. , May 12, 1854 , “It has been windy, cold and rainy. Can’t get enough to make a good fire. Our cattle mixed together makes a good deal of trouble. We hear more noise than if we were in the bustle of town. The men ‘Hoy, Hoy, Hoying,’ and the cattle bawling, and bells rattling. Oh what a time.”- Sarah Sutton.