[4] He began recording events of his life in journals in 1847 after being inspired by the documentation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

[4] In 1855, he traveled in a wagon from Illinois[2] and settled on a farm near Indianola, Shawnee County, Kansas, with his sister and his aunt.

[4] He served as a sergeant of the Indianola Guards, a local militia group, and was a member of John Brown's forces, opposing slavery and supporting Kansas as a free state prior to the Civil War.

[4] In 1856, he participated in the conflict against the Border Ruffians and fought in the Battle of Hickory Point, coming "under fire" for the first time.

[4][3] He was a second lieutenant and later paymaster of Company D of the Kansas state militia during the Civil War and fought in the Battle of Little Blue River (October 1864).