James Sayre Griffing wrote from Topeka, Kansas Territory, to William Smyth, editor of the Owego (New York) Times. Griffing described in some detail his family's overland journey to Kansas Territory in a "double waggon." He commented upon the quantity and nature of provisions to take on an overland journey, methods for crossing streams and rivers, and the advantages of a good "fowling piece" for hunting wild game. Griffing also observed that the amount of travel in and through Kansas Territory had increased during 1859, due in part to the Pike's Peak gold rush. Griffing also mentions interactions with Native Americans in the area.