The colony went into camp at Valentine, until they could make their land entries, Valentine still being the terminus of the railroad in March, 1884. From here they made their overland trip to near where Gordon now stands and here most of them made their permanent abiding place. Mr. Scamahorn drove the oxen, which being slower than horses, gave him and his wife much of the drive alone, but usually at night they would overtake the balance of the party, for while the others had to put up tents and make down beds, their bed was in the wagon.

The prairie had been swept by a prairie fire, and no grass was to be found except in gulches and creek bottoms. The barrels of feed that they had brought along soured and neither the cow nor the oxen would eat it, so their anxiety was first concerning the shortage of ration for their stock. One day they stopped at a little sod house by the way, to see if they could get some feed, but the woman of the house when she saw a woman in the wagon ran out crying and screaming, and begged her to come in. Her baby was sick, and she feared it was going to die. Her greatest lament was that it had never been baptized. Great was her manifestations of joy when Mrs. Scamahorn told her that her husband was a minister, and that he would baptize the baby. So here in the humble sod cabin, Rev. Scamahorn read the first baptismal service in that part of the state, and the mother in her gratitude, gave him two dollars, and Mrs. Scamahorn a warm peach pie.