What a day for the pioneers, this June 14th in 1847. The swollen North Platte River proved a challenging obstacle. Ferrying began at 4 a.m.

First, they used a raft. But it was so slow, they tried lashing wagons together and dragging them across the river. The swift current rolled them like driftwood, and damaged them too.

Heber C. Kimball:

"SEEING THAT THIS METHOD WAS DANGEROUS TO OUR WAGONS AND IT MIGHT COST US MORE TIME REPAIRING DAMAGES THAN TO RAFT THEM OVER, WE CONCLUDED TO TAKE THE SLOWEST BUT THE SAFEST METHOD."

This is a replica of the raft they used. It would take several more days to get all of the wagons across.