Counselbluff May 5th 1850

Dear Brother

It is with pleasure that I write you a few lines there has ben many
objects along the road that was interesting to the travler we past
though a small portion of Ioway that was well improved the best
farms and the best houses and barns than I ever saw in any Country
it was a small portion of it is well improved the rest of the
Country is not improved at all there is some mormon setttlements
along the road from Desmoin River onto the Councilbluff. it is a
verry broken country some butiful Prairie but no timber worth
anything the mormons that are setled on the road are miserable
looking objects both their person and their houses their houses are
about six or seven feet high they are made of round logs some of
them are coverd with boards some with dirt and some with bark and
some with straw I saw one coverd with hollow logs they were split
open the hollow turnd up and then the joints broke with the hollow
turnd down. we are campt on the missourie river at the place caled
council bluff it is about ten miles to Kanesville it is a mormon
town and the most extravagant place that I ever saw flouer is worth
$12 per bbl bacon 10 cts per lb everything in acordances our cattle is
doing well on the grass we have not fed our cattle any for one week
the grafs is not sufficient to travle on yet we think that we can
start in four or five days some of the company dont want to start
before the 15th of this month I would like to start in the morning
if the rest of the company was wiling we are a head of the croud of
emigrance it has ben a verfry backward spring here we had a snow
sorm on the 16th of april and the snow lay on for three days we
have had high winds all the time or nearley so we found Elijah
Jones at Hanesvill they are with us we have organized our selves in
to a company we held an election and elected Peter Shelton Capt E
D Butler Lieutenant we have all agreed so far verry well
considering my boys have done first rate this far and I think that
we will get through without any trouble. we have onley three
cowardly men in our company they are so fraid of the Indians that
they are nearley sick

It has cost me about one hundred dollars for feed and ferriag.
we have paid from 25cts to two dollars and 10 cts per
bushel hay from $5 to 20 per tun we are all well and have ben ever
since we started I am stouter than usual none of us wish ourselves
back yet I should like to hear from you all before we start it is
a very tiersom job to write much on the road I wrote to Father one
week ago to day no more at present I shall write as often as I can
I would like to write oftener if it was convenient

Your affectioate brother E.D. Butler

[to] John M. Butler