May, 1849......................
The Fly's departure from Missouri was dependent on the birth of their seventh child. Mary Percival Fly, wife of Boon Fly, was near term and did not want to deliver her baby on the trail. On May 2, 1849, Camillus Sidney Fly (C.S.) arrived in good health, and on May 24 Captain Boon Fly ordered the wagons to begin the trek to California. On board the wagons were: *Captain of the Wagon Train: Boon Fly: 38 years old *Wife Mary Percival Fly: 35 yrs, *Robert Percival Fly: Age unk. Children: *Alice Jane Fly 13 yrs *Camilla Ann Fly 12 yrs * Mary Boon Fly 7 yrs * Leonadas Alexander Fly 9 yrs *Quintus Cincinnatus Fly 7 yrs * Flavious Josephus Fly 5 yrs * Robert Percival Fly 2 yrs * Camillus Sidney Fly 3 weeks old. The baby of the family, Webster Washington Fly, was born in 1859. Mary Percival Fly was 47 years old at the time of Webster's birth.
Like many 49ers, Captain Boon Fly kept a diary during the trip west. His entries began on May 24, 1849 and ended on September 12, 1849. The following is a sampling of his comments:
May 24: "This day at 1 o'clock we started for California and traveled 11 miles and camped for the night."
June 6: "Passed the Morman villages called Centerville and _____ville. Had a tremendous storm of wind, thunder and rains in the evening." [On many nights during the trip heavy rains poured down on the travelers. these thunderstorms made the road a sea of mud, but kept the grass green and nutritious for draft animals.]
June 12: "Nothing of importance. Saw a lot of Indians."
June 15: "Today our partially organised company siperated by a portion that we had come up and joined with, driving off, breaking orders and left us, so we hauled in and traveled by ourselves, only 6 wagons and 9 men strong."
June 18: "this morning about 9 o'clock, Robert Percival died. Some will say Colera, but I say of Billious Sianhed. We buryed him.....and moved on the bank of the Pawnee fork of the Platt and camped for the night. Today we traveled over some beautiful prairie as man could wish to see." [Robert Percival was either Captain Boon Fly's father-in-law or brother-in-law.]
June 22: "Started without breakfast, traveled 2 miles, crossed a prairie branch, got breakfast and traveled on. Saw some antelopes. tried to kill one but could not cause it out run a horse all hollow. Quintus fell off the wagon tongue. Wheel ran over him. Thought he was killed, but that he is not seriously injured." [Quintus Fly, eight-year-old brother of Camillus, survived but walked with a limp the rest of his life.]
July 1: "This morning before sunrise, a Buffalo came in sight of our camp. no sooner was his arrival announced than some half dozen guns was on the march for the sean of action and in 25 minutes the poor fellow lay at our feet with some 5 or 6 balls in his chest, shoulders and hips. We then got our breakfast, hitched up some steers and drawed him in to camp and butchered him. Took about one third of the meat and left the balance togeather with the hide for the wolves and resumed our journey....."
July 9: "Today we passed a number of Dead Indians. I cannot say buryed for they were only wrapped in robes or skins and placed on top of the ground, the atmosphere about them was very offencive. Some of them were towrn out and partly devoured by wolves."
Courtesy Kim/John Thorntown
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Three week old Camillus Sidney Fly eventually settled in Tombstone and became the "Father of Frontier Photography." C.S. Fly also earned the position Sheriff of Cochise County in Arizona, was a participant in the Shootout "Near" the Ok Corral and took the only known photographs of native American Indians still to be considered hostile by the United States government. (Geronimo & the Chiricahua Nation) Mr. "Buck" Fly died at the age of 52 in Bisbee, Arizona and is buried in Tombstone, AZ............
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