Joseph Trego wrote from Mound City, Kansas Territory, to his wife, Alice, at their family's home in Illinois. Trego described his overland travels to an Osage Indian trading post and his encounters with the Osage people. He and his friend, Edwin, traveled through Fort Scott, Bourbon County, on their way back to Mound City. Trego recounted their tour of the town, describing its large homes, a plaza at the town's center, and a steam mill much like his own. Trego reported that, if they had stayed longer in Fort Scott, they may not have been allowed out, as free state men were collecting in large numbers to capture proslavery "thieves" and destroy the town in the process.