A/N: This is actually a project for U.S. History. We were required to pick one of six selections; one of which was to write three diary entries. You'll see when all of them are up, that I chose to write four for the sake of page-length.
Jimmy and his family are traveling to California in the Donner Party. When pioneers traveled to the West, tragedy wasn't uncommon; I tried to make this pretty realistic, so tell me how I did with that!
Disclaimer: The members of Avenged Sevenfold and their families are the complete proud owners of themselves.
May 22, 1846
We are leaving Missouri today. For several months we have been selling our useless possessions and packing up the essential ones. Pa said that once we reach California, all of this will have been worth it; all that gold will make our lives better. Ma doesn't quite believe him. I can tell by the way she crinkles her nose when he talks about it. She, too, is excited by the prospect of gold; of wealth, but she doubts our efforts will pay off. Kelly says that Ma's intuition has never been wrong, and I believe her. She's the oldest child after all.
Pa decided a few days ago that we would travel with George Donner and his family. After we are added to their traveling party, there will be at least 87 of us. We will most likely travel in smaller groups on the way, but how interesting that shall be! This way, there is less chance some sort of wild beast will attack us. I've heard the stories; grizzly bears lumbering out from the underbrush, cougars leaping bravely off of rock piles. Each story holds a gory death, but also a heroic savior. With a party of 87, there will be more chance of survival. No one will be traveling all the way to California without a weapon.
We are close to crossing the Missouri River. Pa feared we would lose many in those strong currents, and Kelly had to reassure him. Ma couldn't, she's close to giving birth. We worry that the stress of travel will affect the child, but she begs us to continue anyway. She wants a better life for the baby. I didn't worry about the river too much. We had many strong men who would dive in to save someone without a second thought; another benefit of traveling in large numbers.
It was midday when we crossed the river. I misjudged it's width. It was not a petty little thing, as I first thought, but a generous length. The water rushed quickly, too, and we knew it would be hard to get across without losing something. I was sitting in the wagon with Ma and Kelly. Pa ordered me to before stepping out to get the oxen ready. As we started out into the swift current, I heard Mr. Donner yelling from the other side of the river. He was shouting encouraging words to the crossing wagons. I could hear him say that it was only rough in spots, but it already felt as if the wagon would be torn away from the riverbed and swept off by the raging waters. I could tell Kelly felt the same way; she was shuddering uncontrollably. I placed a hand on her shoulder, but said nothing. There were no words that could really help. It was only by the will of God that we got through it.
It felt like forever and a half before we reached the opposite banks of the river. I heard Pa exclaim in relief; we were safe. He called me out to join him on the riding seat, and we looked out at the rest of the crossing wagons. We watched for a while, and suddenly a woman fell into the river! Pa and I gasped simultaneously as a young man jumped in after her. I could see her small frame being swept under the current and just like that she was gone. The man continued searching, but even a few hours later, he had no luck finding her. The bubbly young lass was gone forever.
The rest of the day was spent traveling in near silence. Everyone was shaken by the quick loss. Ma cried for hours. Kelly comforted her for a while, then came out and walked with me. She said that Ma needed some time to herself. I didn't blame her. Even though it wasn't her child that died, I'm sure she knew that could happen to Kelly or me. That's enough to make even me double check my steps, making sure each one is safe.
I can't help but wonder what California is like. I've heard stories from the boys in Independence how warm it is compared to Missouri. I definitely like the sound of that. It's too cold in the East. For now, I think I'll dream about that, instead of dwelling on this afternoon's unexpected events.
~James Sullivan
