Independence, Missouri April 26th, 1846

Today my family set off to join the Oregon trail. My name is Matilda Deed and I'm from Richmond Virginia! I'm 13 years old, my siblings are 5 and 6. My dad said that with the country expanding all the time, there's opportunities for our family in the west! I'm very excited, since he said one day we might be very rich. I want to be very rich and own a big house! And even marry a handsome man!

We’d already been traveling for about a month now, but we stopped in Springfield Illinois before coming here. Mother and Father had been planning this trip for months, and our father heard about a new, faster trail to take to get to Sacramento faster. A man named Hastie found a pass to go through to avoid some fort or whatever. I guess it takes us to southern California instead of northern, and dad said we don't want to be in north Carolina. He’s taking me, my little brother, my little sister, our grandmother, and mother with him for the journey!

We’re going to join a couple other families on the trail. I don’t quite remember everyone’s names, as there’s more people than I can count… But hopefully I get to know some folk more on our journey! I thought it would be a good idea to write some journal entries, I won’t have much else to do on the trip besides walk. I’m hoping to see some nice views on the way! I heard that the prairies and mountains are beautiful, so if I get the chance at camp, I’ll draw something! Anyway, I’ll write something again soon.