Ellen Tootle

June 7, 1862
Three days west of Plattsmouth, NE.

Mr. Tootle put on his traveling suit for the first time. It consists of a flannel shirt, one is blue with a blue and white plaid bosom, cuffs and collar. The other is scarlet flannel with a sulfureousi striped with white for a bosom, cuffs and collar. Pants pepper salt cloth. Cold days or mornings and evenings he wears a coat.

My traveling suit is a cotton material brown plaid minus hoopes, dark stockings, brown cambric skirt, brown hat trimmed with brown ribbon and blue veil covering head and face leaving a hole through which I could see and breath. For a change I have a blue calico bonnet with a beaux at least 1/2 yd. long.

Today we came into Platte River bottom and found the dust very disagreeable, but only for a little while. The road through the Platte bottom is sand from 2 inches to Over i ft. deep. The mornings and evenings are cool indeed sometimes cold, but through the middle of the day, it is very warm. Saw 3 antelopes at a distance. Flowers like sweet-peas and fox gloves, another that resembles cow-slip exactly excepting the clusters are larger. None of the green leaves resemble the garden flowers. Nearly all the prairie flowers are fragrant. There is quite a variety of colors and shades chiefly blue, pink, red, purple, and yellow.

Covered Wagon Women 8, pg 66