I missed the beginning of this thread, but thought the following might be of interest to children. In 1864 my Howard family headed west from Iowa. A close knit family the train was made up almost entirely of family with only 4 hired teamsters and 75 family. One member of the wagon train was NANCY HOWARD, b. 5 June 1850 in Bloomington, IL. Nancy was a striking 14 year old beauty with long blonde hair. The Howards had been traveling for a long time when they came to the Platte River country where were reported to be very warlike tribes of Sioux Indians. One evening a large band of warriors circled on their horses around the Howard camp. The men quietly got their guns and kept a close watch, the train leader, William Henry Howard (and Nancy's father) advised them not to make the first hostile move. The Indians showed a friendly attitude and began coming into the camp. Finally they made known their purpose, expressing that they would like to buy Nancy Howard. It seems that she had been riding her horse behind the wagon train and had been sighted by the Indians who had taken a fancy to her. After calm was restored and the Indians left, Nancy was instructed to stay inside the wagon until they were out of the Sioux country. I have many children in my families who made the trip from 1847 to this one in 1864, including many others on this wagon train, but this is the only one I have with a specific story. Richard C. Smith E-mailto:slugs@gorge.net Home page: Http://www.angelfire.com/wa/family/