Nate Page March 3, 1854

Dear diary,  
                  It is March 3rd 1854. We are off on the frontier, and we are heading on the trail to Oregon. However, we are at the Fort Independence where we are to meet people to make a wagon train. We have passed textile mills, immigrants that were also heading west, and we have seen a radical women going out on the trail by herself ! It is arduous to walk alongside our wagon the whole way to Fort Independence. My son and I were tired after the first couple of hours. We are are worried about the ferry. I have heard it is as broken down as our house, but James and I look forward to the business we will get and the money we will make. We suspect that on the Oregon Trail we will get there in a few weeks, and hope the people we travel with aren't thieves that steal from you and leave you in the heat. It was very important to pick out all of our possessions to bring like how much animal feed to bring. With all our animals, especially our oxen, we need them to pull our wagon.

My son, James Page, is 15. To get our supplies faster to take out on the trail we split up for he is already 15 and so we could finish getting supplies in under an hour. We felt bringing food was very very important but we didn't want the animals to get some of our food and we also didn't want the dried meet going bad so we brought salt to help with our food problems except the animal problem of them getting to the food i guess we will have to risk it. We had to leave our home it was falling apart and breaking down but it still has sentimental value. James feels bad about leaving his friends Jack and Daniel smith. I feel Bad about leaving my small nice town with its baker named john he is the best gave me a free cake for my journey his bakery fills the square with its apple tarts and pies. Me and my son both miss the clash of my blacksmith shop the sparks flying on every hit the fire burning in the little cackling fire place by the side of my anvil. Me banging on different tools and my son feeding the fireplace and helping with orders from different people around the square and go through our news.  We hope we will get more work with people out west because of the gold rush and the need for tools in the gold rush. It wont be as quaint as our little town much more dirty and not as nice. Its for the business i guess. Uhh we need to move from this fort so we can get on to the Oregon trail and to the gold rush so we can get over this long journey.