After a
frosty, early morning, the camp arose.
The first fifty and the band moved out of the Chariton River Camp, their
home for the past ten days, at about 9 a.m.
Other companies, including Heber C. Kimball's company, would stay behind
another day.
Early in the morning,
a search for the lost traps was conducted.
Another trap was found in a hollow tree, a quarter mile from the
camp. Some of the men found a bee hive
in another tree but only found a little bit of honey.
After they traveled
for about six miles, they came to the east fork of Shoal Creek. On the way, the roads were still soft and
bad and several wagons broke down.
Helen Mar Whitney, the daughter of Heber C. Kimball wrote: “The road lay
over a prairie, and the earth being soft and inundated with the previous rains,
all that could were obliged to walk to favor the poor animals. Our feet would sink into the deep mud at
every step, and some of us came near being minus of shoes.”
At Shoal Creek, they
crossed over the water using a bridge which had been constructed by Brother
Elisha Averett and his company of pioneers.
On the other side of the river, they found Benjamin F. Johnson's company
camped. The main body continued on for
about a mile and camped on a rise in the prairie. Others camped about five hundred feet to the east, where George
A. Smith was camping in the edge of some woods containing beautiful oak.
John D. Lee had some
success hunting. He brought in a thirty‑pound
wild turkey. William Clayton had very
sore muscles and joints during the day's journal. After he set up camp, he tried wrestling and jumping, hoping to
loosen up his sore muscles. Instead, he
over‑exerted himself without even perspiration. He then was so sick that he had to go to bed.
Elisha
Averett's company of pioneers was busy constructing two bridges over Locust
Creek. One was seventy feet long, the
other twenty feet.
Robert
Cowden Egbert and Seviah Cunningham were married.1
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 115‑118; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea
Stout; Nibley Exodus to Greatness, 144‑45; William
Clayton’s Journal; Black, Membership of the Church 1830‑1848
There was
a slight frost overnight, but the morning was clear and pleasant. At 6 a.m., the temperature was thirty‑four
degrees. A Council meeting was held, at
which a letter was written to Elder Orson Hyde in Nauvoo. It contained news of the camp's movements
and the counsel he requested regarding the difficulties back in Nauvoo. (See March 27, 1846.) Brigham Young counseled Elder Hyde to
prepare to move the poor of Nauvoo out of the city to farms in Iowa, as far
west as possible, where they could put in a crop. Orrin Porter Rockwell was assigned to return to Nauvoo with a
load of mail. He would travel with
Shadrach Roundy and Charles Decker.
The Council decided to
move the Camp of Israel another seven miles.
Brigham Young rode ahead and found the roads to be very bad. Because many from his company were out
finding grain and work, he decided to keep his company at Shoal Creek for
another day. John Taylor's company, and
a few others, did move on. Now that the
companies were better organized, they could travel and camp as more separate
groups. Brigham Young's company of
fifty camped in a square. The guard and
the artillery arrived into camp in the afternoon and formed the west part of
the square.
Heber C. Kimball's
company arrived at Shoal Creek, but decided to continue pressing on five more
miles. They camped on the opposite bank
of the west fork of Shoal Creek, where Orson Pratt was camping.
The company at Shoal
Creek did have some good success hunting,
finding corn, and getting hired for work. Four fine turkeys were brought into camp by the hunters. John D. Lee shot at, but missed an elk. Sixty‑five bushels of corn were
purchased. Four hundred pounds of flour
and five bushels of meal were brought in from Chariton Mill. Work was found for sixteen men to split
rails. Others who remained at Shoal
Creek during the day, took teams down to the creek to browse on grass. In the evening it started to become very
windy, signaling that a new storm was on its way. The band played for some citizens for payment of eight bushels of
corn.
Eliza Partridge Lyman,
wife of Amasa M. Lyman, arrived at Chariton River. She wrote:
At the river we came
across Henry Jacob’s wagon in the mud.
His wife Zina, sick in bed on top of the load, so near the wet cover she
could hardly raise her head, a babe in her arms, but a few days old, and no
other wagon near or friend to do any thing for her except her husband.
The Lymans were
helped to reach the main camp by some men from Elder Pratt’s company.
James
Cummings and John Butler continued their journey to the Emmett Company on the
Missouri River. Their breakfast
consisted of a squirrel that had been killed the day before. A serious misfortune struck during the
night. John Butler's horse caught its
foot in a rope, causing it to fall on tree roots. The horse died because of this accident. This was a devastating blow to their plans. They decided that they would have to travel
by putting all their baggage on the remaining horse while they both traveled on
foot. The high point for their day was
when Brother Butler shot a duck which they had for supper. They were able to cover fifteen miles during
the day.
A
daughter, Isabella Jan Forsyth, was born to Thomas and Isabella Forsyth. Also born was Julia Ann West to Charlotte
West.2
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 120‑121; Beecher, The Personal Writings
of Eliza R. Snow, 124; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 190;
Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout; William Clayton’s Journal; Eliza
Marie Partridge Lyman Diaries; Holzapfel, Women of Nauvoo, 169-70
Shortly
after sunrise, before breakfast, the camp started to move on. The first fifty moved out by 7 a.m. It was a dark, dreary, and windy morning. After five miles they reached the west fork
of Shoal Creek and crossed over the creek on a bridge built by the advance
group of pioneers. This was the
location where Orson Pratt had been camping for some time. Heber C. Kimball had arrived there the day
before. Brigham Young had breakfast with
Elder Kimball in his tent. Some of the
company ended up stopping at this point while others continued on for two miles
where George Miller was camping at a creek lined with timber. This was the first time in many weeks that
Brigham Young had caught up with Bishop Miller.
Brigham Young's lead
company continued to press on. They
soon came to a long hill which required doubling the teams, causing delays and
waiting for the wagons in the rear. Heber
C. Kimball's company and the band camped on top of this bluff. Brigham Young's lead company was able to
travel much further, a total distance of twenty miles. They stopped at Hickory Grove, about one
mile east of the east fork of Locust Creek.
Some of the guard and artillery went on to Locust Creek and quickly
built some fires to warm themselves.
During their day's
journey, rain and hail fell in the morning and then a steady rain started at
noon, continuing until about 5 p.m.
This caused many wagons to become stuck in deep mud. They worked hard to double up teams to pull
wagons out of the mud. Many of the
wagons continued traveling after dark.
Willard Richards stopped three or four miles behind, separated from his
wagon that contained his tent and food.
Others shared their food with Elder Richards’ family, who spent the
night sitting in their carriage. For
this dreary night, the Camp of Israel was scattered in many groups across the
prairie.
About this time,
Eliza P. Lyman wrote:
Our beds and our
provisions were out on the prairie with D[aniel] P. Clark and wife and Pricilla
Lyman, without fire nor food for their teams.
We had to sleep as best we could, some on boxes, some on chairs, some in
wet beds. . . . I do not know why I did not freeze, for I had no bed and very
little covering.
Brigham Young
received a message from Henry G. Sherwood at
Grand River. He stated that
there was work available, but corn was scarce.
Jobs could be contracted in exchange for oxen. The roads were good and dry in that area (or they were before
this most recent rain).
The evening was rainy
and very windy, causing much discomfort in all the camps across the
prairie. Hosea Stout recorded: “The wind blew uncommonly hard and beat the
rain into the tents but we rested well.”
James
Cummings and John Butler pressed on.
They too, were severely affected by the storms which caused them to stop
at 3 p.m. They crossed a road that ran
southwest between “the barracks”3 and
Missouri. At this point they met a man
who told them they were forty miles from “the barracks” and forty miles from
Missouri. At night, they pitched their
tents in some scattered timber and built a fire to dry themselves out after
being soaked all afternoon from the rain.
Brother Butler tried to hunt, but had no luck, so they boiled some corn
for dinner.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 121‑123; Stanley B. Kimball, “The Iowa Trek
of 1846"; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 124‑125;
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 190; “Allen Stout Journal,”
typescript, 24-5; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals; Lyman Amasa Mason
Lyman, Pioneer, 153
Many in the camp woke
up completely soaked from rain that had leaked into the tents. The temperature in the morning stood at
thirty-nine degrees. Willard Richards
arrived into camp during the morning.
The roads were so muddy that his wagon required two yoke of oxen to haul
it in. Brigham Young's large wagon also
arrived, requiring eight yoke of oxen.
Teams were sent back to help those who were stuck in the mud across the
prairie. Moving the camp further west
on this day was totally out of the question because of the weather.
There was very little
corn in the camp and none to be found in the neighborhood, but some work was
found splitting rails. The payment was
in bacon.4
The rain continued to
fall in scattered showers throughout the day.
Brigham Young rode down by Locust Creek to search for a dryer place to
camp. The creek had risen several feet
since the day before. He also spent
time cutting wood and fixing his tent.
In the evening, the
clouds broke away allowing the moon to shine down on the camp. William Clayton was quite sick. He wrote:
“I was so distressed with pain it seemed as though I could not
live. I went to bed and put a bag of
hot salt on my chest which seemed to give me some ease but I suffered much
through the night, and it continued to rain until after midnight. We put an extra cover on our sleeping wagon,
which kept out the rain.”
James
Cummings and John Butler also halted during the day because of the
weather. Brother Butler was feeling ill
because of rheumatism.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 124; William Clayton's Journal; Haven,
Hollon and Rister, Western America, 265; Reed C. Durham Jr., “The Iowa
Experience: A Blessing in Disguise,” BYU Studies 21:4, 467; Brooks,
The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1:148; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 334; Hartley, My Best for the
Kingdom, 190
The camp
was greeted with white frost on the ground in the morning. It was a welcome change from all of the
rain. The skies were clear and the day
warmed up to be very nice. John Taylor
rode into camp and ate breakfast at Willard Richards’ tent. Elder Taylor had spent the previous night,
five miles back on the prairie. After
breakfast, he continued on to Locust Creek.
His company was totally out of corn.
Brigham Young
received a letter from George Miller, who was back on Shoal Creek. Bishop Miller mentioned that a friend of
his, Mr. Cochran, sold a yoke of oxen to a camp member and it was discovered
later that part of the fifty dollars was counterfeit. Bishop Miller was referring Mr. Cochran to President Young to
solve the problem. President Young
wrote back to Bishop Miller expressing his surprise that Bishop Miller would
refer this man to him. He knew that Mr.
Cochran was swearing out vengeance against the camp and President Young was
displeased that Bishop Miller would even describe President Young's wagons to
the man. He condemned anyone involved
with this bogus money and he counseled Bishop Miller to settle the affair
quickly by having the oxen returned. He
then asked for Bishop Miller's company to join the main camp as soon as
possible.
Because the camp was
severely low on corn, the cattle were sent off to browse. Several brethren went throughout the camp to
collect money to purchase corn.
Stephen Markham
became injured when an axe fell out of his wagon, landing on his foot.
Hosea Stout and Jesse
Hunter took a long walk north of the camp.
He wrote: “We went over rolling
prairie of very rich soil and came to a beautiful grove of trees which had all
been killed by the fire and presented a striking sensation of destroyed
loveliness and made us think on the destruction of our enemies.” As they were walking, they ran into John
Taylor's company moving on. They were
“astonished” because they did not think anyone would move on ahead of Brigham
Young after the Bishop Miller incident.
(See March 26, 1846.)
They observed that Elder Taylor's wagons were cutting up the road so
deep that it would make it impossible for others to use it.
At 3 p.m., Brigham
Young and others rode on the prairie across the middle branch of Locust Creek
and arrived at the east fork of the Creek, where many were camping. They camped on a beautiful, high, dry and
rolling prairie, but the timbered land was very soft. He returned to Hickory Grove at sunset.
In the evening,
instructions were given to the camp to be ready to move at sunrise. President Young wrote several letters
instructing brethren to catch up with the main camp. He also wrote to the Nauvoo Trustees, asking them to send several
reams of ruled foolscap paper with the next company.
At Heber
C. Kimball's camp, the companies were instructed to hold Sacrament Meetings for
the first time since leaving Nauvoo.
Eliza R. Snow recorded: “We
attended to the ordinance for the first time since we left the City. My heart was made to rejoice in the privilege
of once more commemorating the death of him whom I desire to behold.” At 4 p.m., William Clayton called the band
together for their Sacrament Service held in front of his tent. Brother Clayton spoke for forty‑five
minutes, followed by Brother Haws.
Eliza R. Snow wrote
this poem in the front of her wagon.
She entitled it, “Song for the Camp of Israel.”
O ye! toss'd to &
fro and afflicted
Rejoice in the hope of your lot;
For you're truly the
children of Israel
But the gentiles know you not.
And it matters not
when or whither
You go, neither whom you're among
Only so that you
follow closely
Your great leader, Brigham Young.
Let the spirit of
peace & union,
And the practice of righteousness
Be your prominent
characteristics
As you go to the wilderness.
And the blessings of
heaven will attend you
Both in time & eternity
If you strictly
adhere to the counsel
Of Brigham & Heber C.
The spirit and pow'r
of Jehovah
Will be guiding your feet along:
For the Lords &
the Gods are with you,
They are number'd in Israel's throng
In the sunshine, in
storms & in tempests‑‑
In all changes console yourselves
That your sharers in
sorrow & joy are
Brigham, Heber & all the Twelve.
At the
camp of Orson Pratt and George Miller, a Sunday service was held. Elder Pratt and Bishop Miller spoke, after
which the Sacrament was blessed and passed.
In the evening, arrangements were made to send men out for corn.
James
Cummings and John Butler resumed their journey on this day. They first had to find their remaining horse
which had wandered about a mile away. Their
breakfast consisted of boiled corn and a little bacon. They walked twenty miles across very rough
country and entered Pottawatomie Indian hunting grounds.
A public
meeting was held in the temple. Orson Hyde
and Joseph Young were among the speakers.
Elder Hyde wrote to Brother Ward in England. His letter was later published in the Church periodical, Millennial
Star. He reported that the
followers of James Strang were telling “the most horrid lies that men ever did
tell in creation.” The Strangites
claimed that hundreds of Saints had joined them, but Elder Hyde discounted this
as false. He only knew of a few, former
followers of Sidney Rigdon.
Elder Hyde reported
that John E. Page had been disfellowshipped.5
Returning to Elder
Hyde's letter, he reported, “Every thing in relation to this church goes well;
many are coming to Nauvoo and being baptized daily . . . hundreds of families
are coming here from other States, and fitting out for a campaign in the wilderness.”
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 123‑125; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 334; Brooks, The Diary of
Hosea Stout, 1:148‑49; William Clayton's Journal, 13‑14;
Delila Gardner Hughes, The Life of Archibald Gardner, 32; Millennial
Star, Vol. 7 No. 10, May 15, 1846, 157‑58; Beecher, The
Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 127; Hartley, My Best for the
Kingdom, 190
It rained again
during the night and continued all day.
Part of the camp still moved out on this sixteenth anniversary of the organization
of the Church. Brigham Young decided to
move some of the camp because a new pasture was needed for the cattle. Erastus Snow explained that this move was
made for two reasons, “first because there was a prospect of a long storm,” and
they had learned that it was better to be near stream bottoms than on a
ridge. “Secondly, because these bottoms
were extensive and well‑timbered and afforded Browse for our teams, which
was our only means of sustaining them.”
The first teams started moving out at about 6 a.m. By noon, the ground where Brigham Young's
company had camped was cleared except for Willard Richards’ tent and
wagons. He was not able to leave
because the creek had risen so high, making it impossible to cross.
The companies
traveled three miles, passing over the east and middle forks of Locust
Creek. They made their camp on the west
bank of the middle fork. At the east
fork, they used a bridge that had been built by the advance pioneers. They had intended to reach the west fork of
Locust Creek, but the weather caused them to halt three miles short of their
goal. Locust Creek was thickly skirted
with timber.6
The traveling was
very difficult in the pouring rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Hosea Stout recorded: “This day capped the climax of all days for
travelling. The road was the worst that
I had yet witnessed up hill and down through sloughs on spouty oak ridges and
deep marshes, raining hard, the creek rising.
The horses would sometimes sink to their bellies.” Brigham Young had to make two trips,
doubling his teams, because of the terrible, muddy roads. Patty Sessions saw Brother Brigham at work
and wrote: “Brother Brigham came up
with his company driving his team in the rain and mud to his knees; was happy
as a king.”
There was still no
corn in the camp, so the cattle were sent out to browse on trees. Back at Hickory Grove, when the weather
cleared a little bit in the afternoon, the band played for some of those who
remained. A company of men had been
sent out in the morning to finish a job splitting rails. They worked all day in the rain and joined
the camp at Locust Creek, “all dripping wet and merry.”
At Locust Creek, a
strong wind blew over a tree across Brother Tanner's wagon containing three
people. No one was injured. Many of the companies camped in a dense
forest which provided some protection from the storm. Those without this protection had many of their tents blown down. Willard Richards’ tent stakes were seen
“flying in the air.” Elder Richards worked
hard to get the stakes back in, sometimes lying flat on the ground holding the
tent while the stakes were being driven into the ground. He ended up “wet to the skin.” In the evening, another terrible storm
brought strong winds, heavy rain, hail, lightning and thunder. William Clayton wrote: “The rain beat through the wagon covers and
drenched the families and effect. It
was the most severe storm we have experienced and with such wind it seems
impossible to preserve our little clothing and provisions from being
spoiled. But in the midst of all, the
camp seems cheerful and happy and there are but few sick.” During this storm, Hosea Stout had to get
out of bed, go outside and hold his tent down until someone came to help him
secure it.
Nine or
ten wagons left Orson Pratt's camp to obtain corn in nearby settlements. In three days, they would return mostly
empty. In the evening, the storm blew
down most of the tents. The water in
Shoal Creek rose so high that it threatened to overflow its banks and flood the
camp.
Many miles
to the west, James Cummings and John Butler skipped breakfast in order to put
in some miles before the rains came.
They traveled twelve miles and then camped in some timber where they
found some Indian wickiups which had probably been used a month before.
A
conference of the church was held in the basement of the Nauvoo temple, where
the baptismal font was located. They
could not meet in the upper levels because the workmen were painting and could
not meet in the grove near the temple because of the rainy weather. Elder Hyde prayed and the conference was
quickly adjourned until the following day because of their cramped
conditions. Elder Hyde conducted a
baptism of ten people in the Mississippi River at Main Street. Included were probably: Benjamin and
Margaret Cherry, Susanna Evertson, and Mary Hadlock
The first
church conference of the followers of James Strang was held in a grove of oak
trees on the banks of White River. This
conference was more like a political convention. John E. Page and William Marks (former Nauvoo Stake President)
were in attendance. James J. Strang was
sustained as President of the Church, Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and
Translator. William Marks and Aaron
Smith were sustained as counselors.
Reuben Miller was appointed president over the Voree Stake. Several men were appointed as “missionary
Apostles” including Zenos H. Gurley (one of the later founders of the RLDS
church). John E. Page was appointed
“Chief Apostle and President of the College of Apostles.” Strang, next boldly “excommunicated” Brigham
Young and the rest of the Twelve from his church. He then pronounced a curse on the followers of Brigham Young full
of blood and gore, asking for their misery and gruesome deaths.
Sidney
Rigdon's Church of Christ held their general conference. Rigdon told of a recent vision where he saw
that thousands of honorable men of Pittsburgh, who would help with the
redemption of Zion. He also mentioned
that “the devil had sought to overthrow this kingdom.” At this conference it was agreed to purchase
a farm in Antrim Township, Pennsylvania.
Sidney Rigdon peached that “he was treading upon ground unexplored by
man, for he had no predecessor, either in ancient or modern times. He had been assailed by malice, and the
tongue of slander had poured its poisonous and vindictive tide upon his head.”
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 125‑126; The Orson Pratt Journals,
334‑35; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout, 149‑50; William
Clayton’s Journal, 14‑15; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 145;
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 190; Lason, Erastus Snow, 107‑08;
Little, From Kirtland to Salt Lake City, 51; Riegel, Crown of Glory,
67‑9; “Isaac Haight Autobiography,” typescript, 30; Kimball, Heber C.
Kimball ‑ Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer, 133; Black, Membership of
the Church 1830‑1848; Messenger and Advocate (Greencastle) June 1846,
466; Wagoner, Sidney Rigdon, 380‑81
It became
very cold overnight. The morning
temperature was twenty‑nine degrees which caused the ground to
freeze. Many of the puddles had iced up
and a light snow fell. The creek rose
six feet during the night creating an island where the cattle were
located. They had plenty of grass on
this temporary island and were left there until the water level lowered. However, during the day, the water level
continued to rise to a point where the bridge was in danger of floating away. The roads were impossible to travel, but a
few men were still able to go out on a job to split rails.
Sister Marie Stewart,
wife of Rufus Putman Stewart delivered a son.
On the previous evening, Sister Stewart had walked two miles through the
dark and crossed the creek on a log.
When her labor pains started, she was taken to a vacant house where she
was shielded from the storm. While she
waited there, Brother Stewart rode on his horse through the darkness and rain
to find the midwife, Patty Sessions. Sister
Sessions mounted the horse behind Brother Stewart and the poor horse made its
way back through the mud and water, “some of the way belly deep.” They did not make it in time. While her husband was away, Sister Stewart
gave birth to her son.
Brigham Young spent
the day repairing wagons in his company.
In the afternoon, he wrote letters, including several to Nauvoo
encouraging people to help the families of the guard leave Nauvoo.
As the camp
awoke, they saw that many of the tents were still lying flat on the ground
where they had been abandoned during the storm. Many of the Saints, including the band, were running low on provisions. The band played for the camp in the evening.
James
Cummings and John Butler arose after a chilly night on the frozen ground. They started their journey late because the
horse had again wandered off. It was
found eight miles from their camp. They
finally were off and followed an Indian trail for some time. During their journey, they saw a flock of
turkeys but could not catch any. They
soon noticed some fresh tracks on the
trail and after following the tracks,
they spotted a wild pony ahead.
They tried hard to catch it, but were not successful.
The
conference was again postponed until the following day. One of Brigham Young's wives back in Nauvoo,
Harriet Cook, wrote a letter to him describing Nauvoo, “It seems like an old
house deserted of all its inhabitants.
I have been up into the Temple.
I looked west as far as I could see, but could see nothing of the camp.”
A daughter, Eunice
Sevy Baxter, was born to Zimri and Eunice Baxter.7 Also, a daughter, Lucy Jane Merrill to
Philemon and Cyrena Merrill.8
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 126‑27; William Clayton’s Journal,
15; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 335; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea
Stout, 150; Black, Membership of the Church 1830‑1848;
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 190‑1; Nibley, Exodus to
Greatness, 146; Dean C. Jesse, “Brigham Young's Family: The Wilderness
Years,” in BYU Studies, 19:4:485; Esshom, Pioneers and Prominent Men
of Utah, 743; Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:375
The
morning was clear and cold. The temperature
at 7 a.m. was thirty‑four degrees.
At about 8 a.m., Brigham Young and a couple other brothers rode out to
the west fork of Locust Creek to examine the roads which were still bad. There were several men working on the road,
cutting down the bank of the river, and putting logs across the road on the
hill for wagons to travel over. Brigham
Young returned to camp at about 1:30 p.m.
While they were away,
Willard Richards arrived from Hickory Grove.
The hunters brought in a turkey and a deer. The company of artillery completed their job of making 3,000
rails in exchange for a milk cow and 100 pounds of bacon. Many in the camp stayed very busy doing blacksmithing,
wagon repairing, and rearranging loads.
Heber C.
Kimball decided to move their camp about a quarter mile west to a dryer
spot. It took the company all day to
make this move. Some of the loads
required triple-teaming to drag them through the mud. Elder Kimball had wanted to move further, but it was decided to
wait for the men to return with the corn.
At 5 p.m., Howard Egan brought in fifty‑seven bushels of much
needed corn. Heber C. Kimball went to
get some of the corn but Parley P. Pratt arrived in the evening and asked for
some. He reported that his teams had
not eaten since the day before. Elder
Kimball felt that it was more important for Elder Pratt to be given one of the
loads for his company. The camp received
a letter from President Young requesting that they all go on and join him in
the main camp.
Eliza R. Snow wrote:
Elder [Heber C.]
Kimball was passing my 'study' to day when after the usual compliments, I told him
as I was number'd among his children [Elder Kimball's Hundred], I wished to
know if he would acknowledge me as one.
He said he would & I told him that I should claim a father's
blessing. He said he would give me
one. I asked when? to which he replied
'now' I told him I was ready; he said to me then, 'A father's blessing shall
rest upon you from this time forth.' From this time I call him father.
Seven
miles behind, at Orson Pratt's camp, many of his company arrived from Chariton
River. William Rice came in. Brother Rice was going to leave Elder
Pratt's goods at Evan's Camp and return to Nauvoo but decided to continue
on. He said that he would only take six
hundred pounds of Elder Pratt's load in his wagon. Elder Pratt had to crowd six to eight hundred pounds of good onto
his other already very heavy wagons.
Orson Pratt sent back three yoke of oxen to help his brother, Parley, to
travel through the mud from the east fork of Shoal Creek. Parley P. Pratt continued on to Hickory
Grove.
William Huntington
moved out of camp traveling about eight miles.
He caught up with his daughter, Zina Huntington Jacobs, who had given
birth to his grandson on the bank of the Chariton River on March 28. It was the first time he saw his grandson,
because he had stopped on the Fox River to work on a job to obtain provisions.
In the
morning, John Butler got up early and rode for five miles trying again to catch
the wild pony. His companion, James
Cummings recorded: “It was very wild at
first but he succeeded in catching it.”
The pony was only about two years old and was too small to ride. They decided to load some baggage on it
which made room for one of the men to ride on the horse. They resumed their journey at about 1 p.m.
with one riding and the other walking.
They covered eight miles and camped in some timber, at an Indian
campsite, by a stream that they thought was the east fork of the Grand River.9
There was a fresh grave nearby.
They were able to shoot a duck for dinner.
The
Church's General Conference was held at the grove, west of the temple. Mephiboseth Serrine offered the opening
prayer. Elder Orson Hyde spoke in the
morning. In the afternoon he again
spoke and was followed by Almon W. Babbitt.
The conference adjourned until the following April which they hoped
would be held in the Rocky Mountains.
At the close of the meeting, Elder Hyde was delivered a threatening
blank letter containing a bullet. Isaac
Haight wrote that this “created some excitement and hurt our feelings to think
that anyone could be so depraved as to threaten the lives of the servants of
God when in the discharge of their duty.”
A baptism was later held at which Elder Hyde baptized twenty people.
A son, Easton Kelsey
Jr., was born to Easton and Abigail Kelsey.10
A company
of fourteen families of Saints led by William Crosby, George W. Bankhead, and
John Brown left their homes to travel to the Camp of Israel.11
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 127‑28; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
150; The Orson Pratt Journals, 335‑36; William Clayton’s
Journal, 15‑6; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow,
126; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 191; Black, Membership of the
Church 1830‑1848; “Isaac Haight Autobiography,” typescript, 30;
“William Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 53; Comprehensive History of
the Church, 3:225
The
morning was cloudy and cool. At about
10 a.m., John Taylor moved his company across the creek and ahead about one
mile, near the edge of the creek. This
movement took all day. On about this
day, Sister Ann Pitchforth lost her prized possession. Three teams and a dozen men struggled in
knee-deep mud with the wagon Ann Pitchforth was riding in, trying to steady her
piano. John Taylor recommended that Ann
should get out at this troubling spot.
She insisted on staying inside.
As the wagon was pulled forward, the right front end hit a hidden
boulder and the left wheel plunged into a hidden hole. Elder Taylor yelled a word of warning but it
was too late, the wagon tipped over.
Ann found herself face down in the mud, helpless, unable to
breathe. Elder Taylor quickly slashed
the wagon cover and dragged her out.
The piano lay deep in the mud.
Poles were used to pry the piano out of the muck and The front panels had shattered and it was
full of mud. Ann told them to leave it
where it was. She remarked that she
should have brought a cooking stove instead.
One of the hunters
brought a turkey into the camp. Another
hunter, Edmund Ellsworth, shot a turkey and a deer, but he lost his way back to
camp and ended up leaving the game on the prairie.
Employment was found
nearby, herding cattle. Many in camp
spent the day repairing wagons. The
rain started to fall again at noon, causing the water in the creek to
rise. Hosea Stout wrote, sarcastically,
“it started raining again for a rarity.”
Heber C.
Kimball's company moved out of camp at 7 a.m.
He had received a message from Brigham Young requesting him to move
forward. Because of the hasty
departure, Hannah Markham had to do her butter churning in the wagon. Parley P. Pratt and William Clayton's
companies were also soon on their way.
The roads were very muddy and the rain that started at noon made matters
much worse. George A. Smith wrote: “About noon it began to rain in torrents and
every driver soon got wet to the hide.
It seemed as though the bottom of the road had now fallen out, for
wagons sunk in the mud up to their beds and the women and the children had to
get out in the rain so that their teams might pull the wagons through the
mud.” They frequently had to use eight
to ten yoke of oxen to pull one wagon out of the mud. There would be a dozen or more wagons all sunk in the mud at
once.
Elder Kimball's son‑in‑law,
Horace Whitney, a twenty-three-year old school teacher, found it necessary to
drive the oxen for the first time.
“Started this morning about eight o'clock‑‑took my first
lesson in the science of oxology.” His
wife, Helen, described: “On taking the ox whip to driver, the first thing he
did was to go on the wrong side, and then had to endure the roars of laughter
from several of the boys who were standing ready to witness his first effort.”
They had planned to
go about eight miles, but by late afternoon, the camp had only traveled four
miles. The animals were totally worn
out. Benjamin F. Johnson remembered,
“our mules' feet, like pegs, could find no bottom and could go no
farther.” So they decided to turn off
the road and camp near a small stream.
Several of William Clayton's teams were stuck in the mud and they had to
work until dark to get one of the two teams into camp. The other team had to camp out on the prairie
with several others who couldn't make it all the way. Parley P. Pratt and most of George Miller's company were able to
make it to the camp. They spent the
night wet and cold, without fires, because there was nothing to burn. William Clayton wrote: “This is the most severe time we have had
but yet the camp seems in good spirits.”
Heber C. Kimball
pressed on a mile and a half further, and camped on the prairie. Eliza R. Snow wrote: “We had not sufficient wood to keep warm and
the teams were let loose without food to shirk for themselves. There we pass'd a dreary night of wind &
rain.” There were about two hundred
teams scattered across the wet prairie over a three mile stretch. William Huntington wrote that they “spent
one of the most uncomfortable nights that so many of the Church ever suffered
in one night. The ground filled with
water. The mud knee deep around our
tents and little or no feed for our teams.
One cow, through fatigue, laid down by the wagon on the prairie, chilled
and died. A general scene of suffering
for man and beast.”
Further
back to the east, after staying at Shoal Creek for three weeks, Orson Pratt's
camp moved on. Sadly, a cow had just
given birth to a calf. They had to
sacrifice the calf in order to move on.
The company traveled for about six miles through the deep mud and
continual rain. They made their camp at
sunset in some timber. Orson Pratt
recorded: “The mud and water in and
around our tent was ankle-deep. The
rain poured down in torrents and continued through the night.” They cut brush and limbs from the trees and
placed them on the ground in their tents to keep the beds from sinking into the
mud. Many wagons in his company could
not reach the timber and ended up camping on the prairie in the mud, unable to
start fires. The suffering was
intense. The animals were turned loose
to find food for themselves, dry prairie grass, bark, and tree limbs.
James
Cummings and John Butler moved twenty‑five miles on a trail that led them
to the middle fork of the Grand River.
They had covered many miles in the cold and rain taking turns riding and
walking.
The
Canadian Saints (who had been “greeted” by the Strangites) arrived in Nauvoo in
good health and spirits. Archibald
Gardner described the city: “There were plenty of homes open to us. We could have brick, frame, log or stone
houses without cost. The Saints had
nearly all left who were able to go, and their homes were standing empty and
unsold. They had been driven out and
what could not readily be disposed of was left behind. Some had furniture in‑‑chairs,
bedsteads, etc.”
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 128; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
150; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 336; William Clayton’s Journal,
16; Hughes, The Life of Archibald
Gardner, 32; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 148‑49; Beecher, The
Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 126;
Johnson, My Life's Review, 111; Hartley, My Best for the
Kingdom, 191; Taylor, The Kingdom or Nothing, 109‑10; Woman's
Exponent, 12:126; Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri, 37; “William
Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 53
The rain
showers continued in the morning.
During the night the creek rose five feet and was still climbing in the
morning. At 10 a.m., the brethren in
Brigham Young's company met together.
Brigham Young discussed with them a proposal to send as many men and
some families as could be spared, to the Weldon fork of the Grand River. There, they could find jobs and get grain
for the teams. Others would wait for
the roads to get better and for the grass to grow. It was decided to start traveling further north, back into
Iowa. They had recently traveled into an
area which was disputed land between Missouri and Iowa.
President Young
suggested that Orson Pratt and some others be sent to the Grand River to select
a location for a settlement. While the
weather was improving, they could spend their time clearing and fencing one
hundred acres. Those families who were
not ready to move on would plant a crop.
This settlement would also serve as a resting place or “way‑station”
for those who would follow. The poor
from Nauvoo could travel there, find work, and prepare for the journey further
west.
President Young was
concerned about the spirituality of his company. He asked each group of ten families to select a “fatherly man”
who would serve as “teacher” to see that prayers were offered in all the tents. He recognized some of the companies were
having a difficult time keeping up with the lead company because they did not
have as many teams. Some teams would be
sent back to the rear companies to help them come forward.
In the late morning,
a terrible wind arose, followed by rain.
Many quickly ran for cover in their tents.
At 11:38 a.m., many
of the leaders of the Camp of Israel met in the Post Office for a council
meeting. Brigham Young proposed that
the camp wait a day or two before moving on, giving the rest of the camp time
to catch up.
Work was found
thirteen miles ahead at Big Medicine Creek.
The job consisted of making one thousand rails for $5.00 and board, and
to thresh one hundred bushels of oats for fourteen bushels and the straw. A man pledged $5.00 if a bridge would be
built over Medicine Creek. Brigham
Young decided to send a messenger to the location to close on a contract for
the work.
It was
very windy in the morning causing many tents to blow over. The rain and the wind made it very
uncomfortable for everyone, especially the women and children. Teams were sent back to bring in the wagons
that were left out in the mud the day before.
Theodore Turley’s buggy tipped over and injured his teams. At 4 p.m., a gale of snow started causing it
to become bitter cold.
Heber C. Kimball's
company pressed on after they gathered their cattle and horses which had wandered
off during the night. They doubled
their teams, leaving some wagons behind and arrived at Hickory Grove after
dark. Eliza R. Snow wrote that they
“were once more on 'Terra Firma' before us with plenty of wood, & fires
blazing, & browse for the beasts together with the blessing of an unburnt
sod for our carpet which was very delightful.”
Back about five
miles, Orson Pratt's company continued to struggle in the mud. The beds inside their tents were sunken into
the mire. Elder Pratt was determined to
find a dryer spot. He located a spot
nearby on a ridge where the ground was sand and gravel. He moved his wagons to that spot and was
soon followed by many others.
The
weather turned colder. James Cummings
and John Butler ran into freezing rain and snow. They did not travel because of the poor weather. They killed a squirrel and two ducks and
Brother Cummings wrote: “for which we
were very thankful having lived on boiled corn for several days.” The winds that night were “very tedious.”
A son,
Asahel A. Lathrop Jr., was born to Asahel Albert and Jane Lathrop.12
Also, a son, John Henry Worsley, was born to John and Sarah
Worsley. Henson Walker Jr. was married
to Elizabeth Foutz. The marriage was
performed by Orson Hyde.13
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 130‑33; William Clayton’s Journal,
16‑7; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout, 151‑52; Watson, The
Orson Pratt Journals, 336‑37; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom,
191; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 127; Black, Membership
of the Church 1830‑ 1848; “William Huntington autobiography,” typescript,
54
It was
much colder. The camp woke up to hard,
frozen mud on the ground. At 8 a.m.,
the temperature was thirty‑three degrees. At about 10 a.m., Brigham Young and some other leaders of the
camp walked back three miles to Hickory Grove where Heber C. Kimball was
camping. President Young wanted to
determine the situation of Elder Kimball’s camp and to set up a council meeting
for the following day.
Brigham Young
returned to his camp at Locust Creek in the afternoon, spending time trying to
locate three of his cows that had strayed.
Due to the lack of grain, many of the men were cutting down elm trees,
giving their cattle something to eat.
There were several cases of measles reported in the various camps, which
was always a serious concern. Many
members of the camp stayed busy hunting, watching over the cattle, cleaning
guns, and repairing bridges.
William
Clayton and others traveled back to help Jacob Peart get his wagon out of a mud
slough. It took five yoke of oxen and
twelve men to drag it out. Twelve yoke
of oxen were sent back to bring others forward to William Clayton's camp, about
four miles from Hickory Grove.
The situation in
Orson Pratt's camp, about five miles back, started to become serious. The animals were starting to starve. Many would wander off in an attempt to find
food. Orson Pratt lost two of his
horses. Many of the people were
destitute for food. Women and children
were suffering from exposure to the weather.
Several wagons were sent to the Missouri settlements for corn and other
provisions. Elder Pratt wrote: “But in the midst of all these temporal
afflictions, the Saints were comforted in anticipation of better days; they
looked forward to the time when these light afflictions should cease, and when they
should have the privilege of sitting under their own vine and fig trees, with
none to molest them or make them afraid.”
Brothers
Cummings and Butler awoke to find the ground frozen and the trees coated in
ice. As the ground thawed, it became
very slippery, making travel very difficult.
After eight miles they came to the west fork of the Grand River.14 They
camped that night on a branch of the Nodaway River.
Isaac
Haight watched several families cross the river to the west and he wished he
could also leave. He wrote: “I have but little prospect of getting away
very soon as we have no chance to sell our land. My mind is filled with great anxiety about getting away, but my
trust is in the Lord that he will open the way for us to get away from this
wicked nation stained with the blood of the prophet.”
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 130‑31; The Orson Pratt Journals,
337; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout, 151; “Sarah Leavitt History,” 29;
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 191; Black, Membership of the
Church 1830‑1848; “Isaac Haight Autobiography,” typescript, 30-31;
“William Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 54
The ground
froze again overnight. The temperature
at sunrise was a chilly, twenty‑five degrees. The day was windy and cold, but there was no rain, which was a
welcome relief. Brigham Young, other
members of the Twelve, and the bishops, traveled back three miles to Heber C.
Kimball's camp near Hickory Grove for a council meeting.
George Miller's camp
arrived at the Locust Creek Camp. They
set up their camp on the side of the hill above Brigham Young's camp.
The
council meeting at Heber C. Kimball’s camp began about 10 a.m. Thirty brethren attended. Brigham Young expressed his approval of the
camp, “I did not think there had ever been a body of people since the days of
Enoch, placed under the same unpleasant circumstances that this people have
been, where there was so little grumbling, and I was satisfied that the Lord
was pleased with the majority of the Camp of Israel.” He did however condemn some activities that were taking place
including the passing of counterfeit money and stealing. He proposed that the current plan to travel
southwest into Missouri be changed.
Instead, the camp would proceed to the northwest, to the east fork of
Grand River and build about twenty log cabins on two square miles of land, part
of an area recently purchased by the government from the Indians. They would plow and put in a spring crop. Some of the camp would stay there while
others would proceed westward to Council Bluffs. This forward company would include Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, and other members of the Twelve.
He also proposed that
men be sent back from Grand River to find a better route from Richardson's
Point. It would be wise to find a route
that did not dip into Missouri and would follow better roads. He proposed the men be sent on ahead the
next day to Judge Miller's neighborhood on the Grand River to find work, to get
corn and other provisions. A company
would also be sent to scout out roads in a northwesterly direction. President Young still hoped that they would
cross the mountains this year, but only one hundred wagons should be sent. All of President Young's proposals were
accepted.
After the meeting,
Heber C. Kimball invited President Young and William Clayton for dinner. They wrote a letter to the Nauvoo Trustees
and then returned to their camps.
In the afternoon,
Heber C. Kimball conducted an open‑air Sacrament Meeting in his
camp. It was chilly during the meeting
but the camp received excellent instructions.
He expressed his disappointment that some had hurt feelings because
their teams were needed to be sent back to help others. He warned “that those who were selfish about
helping others would find their teams weakening and dying.” During the meeting, Eliza R. Snow felt a
strong impression that she would one day be able to visit the land of Palestine
(Israel) despite her present feeble health.15
While
Orson Pratt was away at the council meeting, he sent men back toward Shoal
Creek in search of his lost horses.
After sundown, to his delight, his horses were brought into camp. They had been found two miles to the south.
Brothers
Cummings and Butler traveled twelve more miles. In the afternoon they met a Pottawatomie Indian named
Wacakasuck. John Butler could speak in
one of his languages. Wacakasuck
claimed that the pony they had found belonged to an Indian woman in his
camp. He invited them to his wickiup
three miles ahead where he treated them very kindly. He gave them some maple sugar and corn mush. They took their baggage inside and were
given mats to sleep on. They noticed
that the Indian had pots, pans, cups, saucers, knives, and forks. Wacakasuck told them that they were one day
from an Indian village named Polawas.
Other Indians arrived during the afternoon.
A Sunday
meeting was held at the stand in the Temple.
Joseph A. Stratton and Orson Hyde spoke. During this time in April, one of the Trustees, Almon W. Babbitt started
to persuade many of the Saints to stay in Nauvoo for a while. Some felt Brother Babbitt wanted the Saints
to stay for his own protection until he could complete the business of the
Trustees. An article appeared in the
St. Louis American which warned that if Almon W. Babbitt and others were
successful in persuading the Saints to remain in Nauvoo, “there would be
trouble after June next, and it will not be so easy to allay the storm as it
was last year.”
A son, John Solomon
Fullmer Jr., was born to John and Mary
Fullmer.16 Also born was, a son, Daniel McRae, to Alexander and Eunice
McRae.17
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 131‑33; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
151; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 337‑38; William
Clayton’s Journal, 17‑18; Rich, Ensign to the Nations, 15‑16;
Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 127; Crockett, The
Life and Journal of Robert Clarkson, 101; Black, Membership of the
Church 1830‑1848; Barron, Orson Hyde, Missionary, Apostle,
Colonizer, 164‑65; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 191, 192;
“William Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 54
The
morning was cold, with a temperature of twenty‑nine degrees, but the day
warmed up to be very pleasant. Brigham
Young sent a letter of instruction to Elisha Averett and John Gleason,
instructing them to not build a bridge over the west fork of Locust Creek as
planned. Instead, they were to complete
their other contracts and travel to Judge Miller's on Grand River to get a job
there. They were to leave as much corn
as possible at Locust Creek. Four
wagons were sent back to the west fork to pick up the corn.
Albert P. Rockwood,
George Miller, Erastus Snow, John D. Lee, and others, went with Brigham Young
to examine the route to the next campground at Medicine Creek.
On their return,
Brigham Young moved most of his company to the edge of the prairie, on top of a
hill, about a half mile from the main camp.
It took Hosea Stout three trips to get his wagons up the hill, using
extra oxen for each trip.18
William
Clayton's company had planned to stay
for another day, but when extra teams arrived to help them on, they started
moving out at about noon. Three wagons
still had to be left behind. Several
members of his family had to walk all the way.
After four miles, they arrived at Heber C. Kimball's camp near Hickory
Grove and the east fork of Locust Creek.
Some wagons arrived
at Orson Pratt's company, bringing in badly needed corn for their starving
animals. The company later moved on
over bad roads and arrived at the main camp on the middle fork of Locust Creek.
Brother
Cummings and Butler spent the day with the Pottawatomie Indians. The Indians cooked a duck that John Butler
had killed the day before and baked some cornbread. The breakfast consisted of the old stand-by: boiled corn and
bacon. Soon Indian hunters arrived and
built more than a dozen wickiups and “formed quite a village.” All the families were very kind to the two
brethren. They gave them sugar and
honey. When the chief arrived from the
nearby village, he dined with the two men.
Elder
Wilford Woodruff approached Nauvoo by boat.
He was with his father, Aphek Woodruff, stepmother, daughter Phebe and
other friends. He wrote:
We stopped at
Warsaw. I gazed upon the place for a
time and thought of their wickedness, opression and cruelty towards the Saints.
. . . At about 2 o'clock we started to ascend the rapids. In about 2 hours we came in sight of the
splendid Temple built by the Latter‑day Saints and also the city of
Nauvoo. Immediately got my spy glass
and examined the city. The Temple truly
looked splendid. We stopped at Montrose
and then crossed to Nauvoo at the upper landing.19
It was a very happy
reunion for him to greet the rest of his family in Nauvoo. He wrote: “I had the Happy Privilege of meeting
with my Dear wife & children. I
found them all well as could be expected.
They like myself had a hard voyage across the ocean.”20
The Nauvoo Trustees
gave Lucy Mack Smith a deed of a house and lot which had been occupied by Joseph
B. Noble, valued at twelve hundred dollars.
Earlier, the Trustees wanted to place a condition on the deal. They were worried that William Smith would
inherit the property from Mother Smith.
They wanted to deed Mother Smith a home if either William gave his
support to the Twelve, or she refused to let him live with her. Mother Smith responded, “I am wronged out of
a home, long promised to me by my son .
. . you . . .
put limits to my affections, threaten me with poverty, if I do not drive my children
from the door.” Apparently the Trustees
withdrew this condition and Mother Smith accepted the home and moved in.
A article appeared in
the Warsaw Signal, apparently written by a sister in the Church, which
blasted the ordinances performed in the temple.
Robert Lewis Johnson
married Polly Ann Guymon.21 A daughter, Sarah Jane Smith, was born to
John and Jane Smith.22
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 133; William Clayton’s Journal, 18;
Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 339; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea
Stout, 151; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 192; Black, Membership
of the Church 1830‑1848; Cowley, Wilford Woodruff, 245; Wilford
Woodruff's Journal, 3:38; Stanley B. Kimball, “The Iowa Trek of 1846";
Newell, Mormon Enigma‑‑Emma Hale Smith, 233; Holzapfel, Women
of Nauvoo, 159
The
weather was quite a bit warmer. At 7
a.m., the temperature was forty‑five degrees. Brigham Young sent out orders for the various camps to gather
near his camp on the edge of the prairie.
Orson Pratt's company also joined the camp. A number of teams were sent back to Hickory Grove to help bring
forward Heber C. Kimball's company and William Clayton's company (the
band). William Clayton was away hunting
when the teams arrived. When he came in
with five squirrels, he discovered most of the camp was gone. He quickly broke camp and made the difficult
journey over muddy roads.
At this point there
was a large number of campers on the ridge.
For the first time in many weeks, nearly the entire Camp of Israel was
together in one location. Hosea Stout described
the scene, “It formed a beautiful sight to see so many waggons & tents
together and could be seen for miles on the prairie.” William Huntington wrote that it was “as beautiful a sight as
ever was seen in this region of country.
A city of tents and wagons inhabited by the Saints of the last days.”
George Patten, a
seventeen-year-old young man, was traveling with the Charles C. Rich family,
driving one of their wagons. George's
mother had died several years earlier.
Young George had become very sick with “mountain fever” which caused
Charles C. Rich to have his family stay near Hickory Grove for another day.
Charles Decker came
in from Nauvoo with about thirty letters.
He had traveled from Nauvoo in four days.23
At 2 p.m., Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, and others met
to read several of the letters.
Hosea Stout and his
brother Allen Stout went hunting and killed two plovers (birds) and a
snake. He then went with Jesse Hunter
to gather ground nuts and filled a basket.
The cattle were driven about one and a half miles to feed on new spring
grass that had started to grow on the wettest portions of the prairie.
On about this day,
Erastus Snow and Albert P. Rockwood traveled fifteen miles to a small
settlement at the junction of the east and west forks of Locust Creek to
purchase cows. On their return journey,
darkness overtook them and they lost their way. They had to stay out all night without fire because neither of
them brought a flint to start one.
Brother Snow wrote: “From this
lesson, I learned not to be caught away from camp again without fireworks.”
Hosea Stout's wife,
Louisa continued to be very sick with pleurisy, at times near death. Brigham Young came to their tent in the
evening, laid hands on her, and gave her a blessing. Also in the evening, a package was delivered to Eliza R. Snow
from Sister Kimball. It contained a
roll of gimp (silk twist or edging).
During the night, the
guard was not doing its job. The cattle
and the horses started to break into the tents and wagons.
Brother
Cummings and Butler traveled fifteen miles to an Indian village by the
Nishnabotna River. The houses there
were built of bark and “shaped considerable like a house but very irregularly
situated, no two of them fronting the same way.” Some Indians there, who had been to Nauvoo, asked them if they
were from “Smith Town.” When the
brethren told them they were, the Indians were pleased and treated them
well. They also met a couple of traders
who said part of the Emmett company had been to Council Bluffs.
Wilford
Woodruff and Orson Hyde met together to discuss the progress of removing the
Saints from Nauvoo. Elder Woodruff was
very grieved to find out that his sister Eunice and her husband Dwight Webster
were following after James J. Strang.
The Websters had even received their temple ordinances in January.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 134; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals,
339; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout, 151‑52; William
Clayton’s Journal, 18‑9; “Sarah Rich Autobiography,” typescript,
52-53; Larson, Erastus Snow, 108; Beecher, The Personal Writings of
Eliza R. Snow, 128; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:38‑9;
“William Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 55
The
morning was still a chilly thirty degrees.
Little did the camp know, but a historic moment occurred in the camp on
this morning, which would have a spiritual impact on the Church for decades in
the future. William Clayton composed
the words to the hymn, “Come, Come, Ye Saints.” He recorded in his journal,
This morning Ellen
Kimball came to me and wishes me much joy.
She said Diantha has a son.24 I told her I was afraid it was not so but
she said Brother Pond had received a letter.
I went over to Pond's and he read that she had a fine fat boy on the
30th (see March 31, 1846) but she was very sick with ague and
mumps. Truly I feel to rejoice at this intelligence
but feel sorry to hear of her sickness. . . . This morning I composed a new
song, “All is well.” I feel to thank my
heavenly father for my boy and pray that he will spare and preserve his life
and that of his mother and so order it so that we may soon meet again. O Lord bless thine handmaid and fill her
with thy spirit, make her healthy that her life may be prolonged and that we
may live upon the earth and honor the cause of truth. In the evening I asked the President if he would not suffer me to
send for Diantha. He consented and said
we would send when we got to Grand River.”25
Come, come, ye
Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend
your way.
Though hard to you
this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your
day.
'Tis better far for
us to strive
Our useless cares
from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your
hearts will swell‑‑
All is well! All is
well!
Why should we mourn
or think our lot is hard?
'Tis not so; all is
right.
Why should we think
to earn a great reward
If we now shun the
fight?
Gird up your loins;
fresh courage take.
Our God will never us
forsake;
And soon we'll have
this tale to tell‑‑
All is well! All is
well!
We'll find a place
which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come
to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will
be blessed.
We'll make the air
with music ring,
Shout praises to our
God and King;
Above the rest these
words we'll tell‑‑
All is well! All is
well!
And should we die
before our journey's through,
Happy day! All is
well!
We then are free from
toil and sorrow too:
With the just we
shall dwell!
But if our lives are
spared again
To see the Saints
their rest obtain,
O how we'll make this
chorus swell‑‑
All is well! All is
well!
During the morning, a
number of companies, including the Orson Pratt, John Taylor, and George A.
Smith companies, moved out of the camp, pressing on toward the west. William Huntington was impressed by the view
which he wrote was “one of the most splendid sights I ever witnessed. So great a number of wagons spread out on
one of the most splendid wide prairies that ever was seen.” They left the road and traveled to the
northwest, over the prairie for about six miles and camped next to some
timber. Others camped about two miles
behind. The animals were turned loose
to feed upon the new spring grass.
Twenty‑eight
bushels of corn were brought into the camp.
Jeremiah Willey started for Nauvoo with about 150 letters. Hosea Stout had to again deal with problems
among the guard. Some in the guard did
not recognize the authority of others to make assignments. Brother Stout had a difficult time finding
enough brethren willing to stand guard that night.
Eliza R. Snow was
very pleased to see her brother Lorenzo for the first time since the Chariton
River.26 He had been delayed for several reasons. His wife, Sarah Ann, was sick, the axel on
his wagon broke, and his wagon became stuck in the mud. To free the wagon, Lorenzo Snow had to
unload everything out of the wagon, to lighten the load.
In the evening, the
band played. Afterward, William Clayton
invited several people to his tent for a celebration and the naming of his
son. He named him William Adriel Benoni
Clayton. They celebrated by playing and
singing until midnight.
Helen Whitney may
have really been the sister to bring the birth news to Brother Clayton. She recorded: “I bore the tidings to
William, whose delight knew no bounds, and that evening Horace, myself and a
number were invited over to their camp . . . and which event Horace mentions
thus: ‘In the evening there was a grand christening held at Bro. Clayton's camp, in celebration of the birth
of his child in Nauvoo.’”
After a
breakfast of boiled corn with the Indians, Brothers Cummings and Butler bid
good-bye to the Indians. They traveled
twenty‑five miles and passed through the Pottawatomie Village.27
As they traveled, they helped a trader free his mule loaded with goods
from a muddy stream bottom. Their
dinner consisted of two small ducks.
Wilford
Woodruff, with his parents, wife, cousin and others, visited the temple. He was taken on a tour of all the rooms,
from the basement where the font was located, to the top of the tower. Family records indicate that he was also
married on this day to Mary Ann Jackson.
Anson Call and his
brother-in-law, Joseph Holbrook, sold their farm for 25 bushels or corn worth
$2.50. The farm had been worth $300 a
few months earlier. Joseph Holbrook
described Nauvoo:
The city of Nauvoo now
presented a scene of desolation: broken down fences, with covered wagons, every
man making every effort in his power to leave his home and a great many of the
Saints were obliged to go without realizing one cent for their dwellings. Thus
the hand of persecution had prevailed over the honest industry of our beloved
and prosperous city.
Here in Nauvoo lay
buried many of our friends: our Prophet Joseph Smith . . . also his brother
Hyrum Smith, our patriarch . . . and scores of others with my wife Nancy
Holbrook and our daughter Nancy Jane Holbrook. With their memories sacred upon
our minds, we could not but dedicate the place of their sepulcher to the God of
heaven, hoping that their remains might rest in peace, unmolested until the
morning of the first resurrection where all the Saints can rest and come forth
to meet a full and complete redemption under the counsel of their prophet,
priest and king.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 134; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals,
339; William Clayton’s Journal, 19‑2; Whitney, “Our Travels beyond
the Mississippi”; Ben E. Rich, Conference Report, April 1909, 48; Reed
Smoot, Conference Report, October 1912, 51; Heber J. Grant,
Conference Report, April 1918, 24; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report,
October 1919, 3; Paul E. Dahl, “'All Is Well. . .': The Story of 'the Hymn That
Went around the World,'” BYU Studies, 21:4, 515‑27; Rich, Ensign
to the Nations, 16; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout , 1:152;
Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 128, 277; Hartley, My
Best for the Kingdom, 192; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:39; Gordon
W. Romney, “Pioneer Song Inspires Generations,” Church News, April 9,
1996; “Joseph Holbrook Autobiography,” typescript, 76-7
The
weather was warm, clear, and pleasant with a few gentle rain showers during the
day. The rest of the camp at Locust
Creek started moving out around 8 a.m.
By 10 a.m., the ground was clear.
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards remained behind
until all had left Missouri.
The camp traveled on
a zigzag road over the prairie for about six miles and camped at a beautiful
prairie which called, Rolling Prairie Camp.
Brigham Young's company camped on a slight rise. Heber C. Kimball's company camped about
three quarters of a mile to the north and William Clayton's company would later
camp a quarter mile to the east. Eliza
R. Snow described Heber C. Kimball's camp: “The 50 wagons being arrang'd in
double file, with the appearance of a public square between.”
William Clayton's
company had a late start because they sent out men to find Henry Terry's
missing horses. Soon, another man
brought the horses into camp. It was 2
p.m. before all the men returned. They
were far behind the camp and traveled slowly because the teams were so
weak. They finally arrived at 6
p.m. George Hale's cattle were so worn
out that they stopped about a mile from camp.
Fifteen brethren were sent out to help.
They took a rope, tied it to the wagon, freed the cattle and then
brought in the wagon themselves, singing all the way.
The band played in
the evening. Soon, a cold wind started
to blow. The cattle were sent out on
the prairie to browse, with guards posted so they would not stray. Rattlesnakes were becoming a problem. Several had bitten the cattle as they were browsing. Horace Whitney wrote: “Today eight rattlesnakes were killed by our
company, and two of the oxen . . . were bitten. One of William Kimball's horse’s lips was swelled considerably,
supposed to be occasioned by the bite of a rattlesnake. Today is the first time we have seen any of
these reptiles on our journey.” His
wife, Helen recalled, “I remember that day of seeing our men killing snakes in
the grass where our tents were afterwards pitched, and it was enough to give
one nervous spasms to see them, and then to think of sleeping in the
neighborhood of such dangerous enemies.”
Orson
Pratt moved on for another eight miles to a very beautiful timbered ridge, not
far from Medicine Creek, that they called Paradise. There was very good grass there for the animals. Elder Pratt saw several rattlesnakes during
the day.
Finally
the two men arrived at the Council Bluffs area. They crossed over many hills and small creeks. By sunset they reached the bluffs. Below them the Missouri bottoms spread from
eight to ten miles across. Brother
Cummings and Butler camped that night without a tent and became soaked from the
rain. John Lowe Butler and James
Cummings were the first Latter‑day Saints from the Nauvoo exodus to
traverse Iowa and reach Council Bluffs.
Word was
received that Governor Ford would be withdrawing his troops from the county on
May 1. Those in Nauvoo felt that this
would be a signal for the mob to start doing their evil deeds again. Some of the troops were in town showing a
“spirit of hostility.”
Jesse Turpin and Jane
Louisa Smith were married.28
At about
this time, the ship Brooklyn with about two hundred thirty‑five
Saints headed into the treacherous waters of Drake's Passage. Through the skilful seamanship of Captain
Richardson, Cape Horn was rounded, and they safely passed by the feared
graveyard of ships. One passenger
wrote: “We had a quick passage to Cape
Horn and found that the terrors of the passage round it were all
imaginary.” However, it was very
cold. Ice formed on the sails and
rigging. Another passenger wrote,
"The days were very short; we could hardly get a glimpse of the sun for
several days but we got around first rate."
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 134; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 339‑40;
Stanley B. Kimball, The Iowa Trek of 1846; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
1:153; William Clayton’s Journal, 20; Beecher, The Personal Writings
of Eliza R. Snow, 128; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 192‑93;
Bailey, Sam Brannan and the California Mormons, 34‑5; Nibley, Exodus
to Greatness, 153; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:39; Journal
History, May 8, 1846; Mulder, Among the Mormons, 189; Emmaline Lane
letter, Our Pioneer Heritage, 3:514
The
morning was clear, cold and windy. At 8
a.m., the camp moved out. After eight
miles, they reached Paradise Camp where Orson Pratt and Parley P. Pratt were
camping. Many stopped at this
location. Others pressed on further,
including Brigham Young's company. They
crossed Medicine Creek, and after another two miles camped at a high and dry
location on the prairie which they named Pleasant Point. It was just north of the disputed Missouri
state line, on a wide prairie where there was no road except for the one made
by the wagons.
When the first fifty
came into the new camp, the dry grass caught fire. Lorenzo Dow Young described the horrible scene:
. . .crossed a creek
and beheld a scene that was indiscribable.
Some one had set fire in the long grass and we were almost surrounded by
fire and it seemed as if there was no chance for retreat for the road behind us
was blockaded with teams and the scene was awful but the men succeeded in
puting out the fire with whips and water.
We then proceeded a half a mile and encamped for the night.
Some hunters in the
camp found a treat. They cut down two
“bee trees” and brought in three pails of sweet honey. They also killed two deer and some turkeys.
Late in the evening,
two of Brother and Sister Boswick's children died and were buried. Their death was caused by measles. There were many cases of measles and mumps
in the camp.
Brothers
Cummings and Butler faced the difficult task of descending from the bluffs to
the Missouri River bottom. They could
not find a road, but followed a trail, winding along the sides of the
bluffs. At one point their horse slid
on its side into mud, so they had to unpack it in order to pull it out. Soon they reached a creek which they could
not cross. They had to backtrack and
went five or six miles climbing over bluffs.
They finally found a road which led them down to a settlement which was
eight miles north of Trader’s Point and would have been at the center of today's
Council Bluffs. There, they also found
four families from Emmett's company who had made the long journey south from
Camp Vermillion on February 19, arriving March 15. It was a happy reunion for John L. Butler to see these Saints. They were all still firm in the faith,
working to obtain supplies. They told
him that the Emmett company, far to the north, was nearly out of provisions
when they had left. In the evening, the
small group of Saints assembled together to hear the letter from Brigham Young
and the other members of the Twelve. (See
March 26, 1846.)
Wilford
Woodruff started preparing for the journey to the west. He sold some property and tried to buy a
stove. In the evening he started to
pack his trunks.
A daughter, Emma Cordon,
was born to Alfred and Emma Cordon.29
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 134; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals,
340; William Clayton’s Journal, 20‑1; Brooks, The Diary of
Hosea Stout, 1:153; “Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young” in Utah Historical
Quarterly, 14:136; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow,
128‑29; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 193‑94; Nibley, Exodus
to Greatness, 153; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, April 17, 1846; “William
Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 56
The
weather was warm and pleasant. The
cattle rested and found plenty of good grass.
A meeting for all the captains in the Camp of Israel was held at 10
a.m. Fifty‑three men attended the
meeting. The Spirit whispered to
President Brigham Young that men should be selected to cross over the
mountains. The rest of the company
should go to the Grand River to stay for the season. Teams then would be sent back to Nauvoo to help other families
leave the city. President Young expressed
the frustration that the Twelve needed help to be able to go over the mountains. The teams that had been put aside for Church
use, were now being used by individuals.
These teams were needed to haul the public property. The Twelve continued to deplete their food
to help others who left Nauvoo ill‑prepared. The question was asked, who should go? Brigham Young suggested that anyone could go who was properly
outfitted. The Council decided that the
captains should make an inventory of all the company property to find out who
still had the resources to make the trip over the mountains. All families who had been using public teams
and wagons must be unloaded by Monday morning, and they should be turned back
over to the Church. The families would
then be helped ahead to the contemplated settlement and be left there until
they had means to continue their journey.
William Huntington
was one of those who had been using Church‑owned teams for his
family. When he learned that the teams
must be returned he wrote:
Here, I have one of the
most trying scenes I ever have had as I have no team nor waggon here of my
own. I expect on Monday morning to
unload the waggon here of my own I put my goods on the ground and be helped up
to the stopping place having agreable to councel previous to leaving Nauvoo,
given a deed of my lot to the trustees in order to fulfill my covenant made at
October conference . . . therefore I am now according to the President's order
to be left on the campground and my effects to be carried up to Grand River
settlement and fit out myself.”30
Hosea Stout had to
report that he was totally out of provisions.
He had used many of his goods to help support others in the guard. Looking for any way to obtain provisions, he
gave some of his books to some men going out hunting and asked them to try to
sell the books to any local people whom they might meet. The books were sold for some bacon.
The camp was very
busy repairing wagons, particularly those repairs that required
blacksmithing. They would burn coal
(charcoal) in portable forges.
John D. Lee returned
from a trading expedition. While he was
away, he had met a man, Patrick Dorsey, who was suffering with very sore
eyes. Brother Lee explained to him
about being healed by faith in God. He
then laid hands on the sick man's head and asked the Lord to restore his
health. He was miraculously
healed. Mr. Dorsey was so overjoyed
that he was ready to do any business he could with Brother Lee. Mr. Dorsey agreed to exchange provisions for
Brother Lee's property back in Nauvoo.
John D. Lee wrote: “I reflected
a little and gave him a list of city property at Nauvoo that I would turn out
to him at one‑fourth its value. . . . He said he had twelve yoke of oxen
and some twenty-five cows and other stock.”
He also had wagons, blankets, rifles, plows, beds, and many other items
which he exchanged for the deeds to the Nauvoo property.
There was
trouble in the Woodruff household.
Elder Woodruff's sister, Eunice, and her husband, Dwight Webster, were
working hard to prejudice his parents' minds against the Church in favor of
Strangism.
Elder Woodruff called
the family together and made clear what his feelings were on the subject.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 135‑36; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
1:153; Larson, Erastus Snow, 109; Beecher, The Personal Writings of
Eliza R. Snow, 129; Brooks, John Doyle Lee, 83‑84; Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, 3:39‑40; Stegner, The Gathering of Zion: The
Story of the Mormon Trail, 28; “William Huntington autobiography,”
typescript, 56
The Saints
assembled for a Sabbath meeting at 10 a.m. in a beautiful grove, north of the
encampment. The grove had been prepared
beforehand for this special meeting.
The weather was cool, windy, but very pleasant. This was the first Sabbath meeting for the
whole camp since the exodus began.
William Pitt and John Kay sang for the congregation. Bishop Miller offered the prayer. Brigham Young expressed his thanks that the
weather permitted them to hold a meeting like this one. He commended the camp for their
faithfulness, “I never felt a sweeter spirit than that which I have enjoyed
since we started.” He mentioned that
there have been problems and things that he has disapproved, “but I could not
get angry, when I saw any of this people taking a course that would finally
destroy them it caused me to rise in the strength of the Lord and admonish them
using the authority of the priesthood.”
He then presented the
current plan to locate a settlement on the Grand River for those who did not
have provisions to go over the mountains during this season. Crops would be planted and resting places
established. Men who did have
provisions would be assigned to move forward.
Elder John Taylor spoke about their trials and reminded them of the important
mission to raise a standard of liberty around which the nations of the earth
would assemble. Elder Heber C. Kimball
condemned the practice of continuing to waste provisions. If this practice was continued, destruction
would be brought upon the camp and it would be scattered.
President Young
warned that if they continued their journey short on provisions, there would be
much sickness. But if they prepared
carefully, he prophesied that many who could not walk a mile when they started
this journey would be able to walk twenty miles in a day before their journey's
end. He made reference to Elder Willard
Richards, who had been so ill. He
promised that before they passed over the mountains that he would skip and run
like a boy, with a gun on his shoulder, hunting after deer, elk and
buffalo. He stated that provisions must
be rationed. He asked for a rule to be
established that flour be rationed at only one half pound for each person per
day. This was voted upon, but some
thought the amount was too small.
Several of the
brethren bore testimony regarding President Young's words. Elder Kimball testified that while on his
mission in England they lived for three days on a penny loaf of bread not
larger than his fist and they did not feel hunger. George A. Smith confessed that he wished they had more, but
promised not to murmur. He said, “I
find that smoke, rain, snow, wind or hail is good for my health for I am
feeling it improving.” George Miller
boasted that he could survive on one quarter pound of flour per day, and added,
“I don't mean to brag but I can outrun any horse in the camp.” Lorenzo Dow Young cautioned the group with
an important reminder of those who started this journey thinking that it could
be accomplished on two or three bushels of parched meal. “Have they been able to sustain themselves
thus far‑‑no, they have not only eaten all the food in the camp and
have complained of hunger already.
Therefore brethren‑‑don't let the bump of ideality get so
high and be carried away in anticipation.”
William Clayton did
not attend the meeting, but instead took an inventory of the Church's
property. He worked on it all day. At 3 p.m., Orson and Daniel Spencer arrived
into camp with their company. At 5 p.m.,
Orrin Porter Rockwell arrived from Nauvoo with a package of three hundred and
six letters. William Clayton finally
received a letter from his wife, Diantha confirming the birth of his son. The brethren spent the evening reading
letters, including one from Wilford Woodruff reporting on his mission to
England.
Word was received
that the men who had been sent to the east fork of Grand River on April 13, were busy building a jail and
storehouse.
James
Cummings and John Butler left the Mormon encampment at Council Bluffs and
headed north toward Camp Vermillion where the rest of the Emmett company had
spent the winter.31 Still with one horse, they traveled eight
miles and crossed Pigeon Creek. After
eight more miles, they reached the Boyer River which was fifty feet wide and
ten feet deep. They could not find a
place to ford the river, so they had to unload the horse and swim it
across. They then hand‑carried
their baggage across a fallen tree.
After ten more miles they camped for the night.
About one
thousand Saints met together in the grove, near the temple. The speakers included, Wilford Woodruff,
Orson Hyde, Almon Babbitt and Hyrum Clark.
Elder Woodruff expressed his feelings “in plainness upon some
subjects.” He was very thankful for the
privilege of speaking to the Saints in Nauvoo in view of the Temple.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 136‑37; Brooks, John Doyle Lee, 84‑85;
William Clayton’s Journal, 21, Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
1:153‑54; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 129;
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 195; Journal of Horace K. Whitney,
April 19, 1846; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:40;
The
weather was beautiful. Horace Whitney
wrote: “The birds begin to sing, the
grass to grow, and everything assumes a pleasant aspect.” Brigham Young met with 148 brethren at 10
a.m. A report was read listing those
who had enough provisions to go to the mountains. Several letters from Nauvoo were read including articles from the
Nauvoo newspaper. One of the letters
reported the activities of Sidney Rigdon and his followers. They were located in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and would soon be moving to a new gathering place at Antrim,
Pennsylvania. One of the newspaper
articles included a description of the temple endowment which was ridiculous
and clearly the work of an apostate.
It was announced that
a Mr. Binley was building a large block house locally and wanted help. It was decided that help should be
sent. Apparently there many disruptions
during this meeting because President Young had to lay down the law by stating
that if anyone interrupts the Council from then on, by talking or otherwise,
they would be deprived of the privilege of meeting with the Council.
All of the letters
from Nauvoo caused a great feeling of homesickness in the camp. Many men started to come to Brigham Young
asking that they be permitted to go back for the rest of their families. He replied to these men, “Let your families
be! What can you do at Nauvoo now? Nothing but eat . . . Go and do what I
command you‑‑that you open a farm and raise something to feed them
when they arrive.” He recommended that
the companies send out men with wagons loaded with property that could be
spared, such as beds, chests, and other items that could be traded for oxen,
cows, and provisions.
The meeting was
adjourned. The Twelve and Bishops went
to headquarters to discuss other matters.
The inventory of the Church's provisions, wagons, and teams was
presented. It was decided to sell many
of the items for provisions. Willard
Richards’ suggested moving the camp to Grand River, where the farm would be
located. Brigham Young agreed and plans
were made to move the camp in the morning.
A company of men was sent out from the camp to go to settlements to work
and trade for provisions.
While at this camp,
one of Heber C. Kimball's horses was bit by a rattlesnake. Elder Kimball quieted the animal, laid his hands
on the horse’s head, and blessed him, rebuking the poison. The horse recovered. Some brethren asked Elder Kimball if this
was proper use of the priesthood. He
replied, “It is just as proper to lay hands on a horse or an ox and administer
to them in the name of the Lord, and of such utility, as it is to a human
being, both being creatures of His creation, both consequently having a claim
to this attentions.”
During the day,
Brother Whitney gave Lorenzo Dow Young's boys, John and Perry a fishhook. They went off to Medicine Creek, excited,
with visions of catching a fish. Soon,
little Perry returned crying as if his heart was broken because he lost the
fishhook before he could even get it on the line. Brother Whitney gave him another one which made little Perry
happy.
Brothers
Cummings and Butler were well stocked with food. Their travels for this day took them across Soldier Creek and at
noon they rested by a beautiful lake covered with ducks and geese. They later came to the Little Sioux River,
which they followed upstream for four miles until they found a place to
cross. After traveling about fifty
miles, they camped on a prairie without wood or water.
Elders
Addison Pratt and Benjamin Grouard continued to labor among the natives on the
Islands, bringing many into the Church.
Elder Grouard caused quite a stir among the natives when he married a
native girl who was a member of the Church.
Addison Pratt wrote: “The
commotion it made in the church and on the island, I need not try to
describe. Suffice it to say that the
natives delight in excitement, and a small matter makes a great noise among
them.” He added, “I presume that if my
account of Brother Grouard's bride falls into the hands of some of our American
sisters, who are acquainted with his fair face, they will think he has made a
rude choice.”
A son,
William Waterman Phelps, was born to William and Lydia Phelps.32
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 137‑38; Brooks, John Doyle Lee, 84‑85;
Kimball, Heber C. Kimball, Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer, 135; Brooks, The
Diary of Hosea Stout, 154; William Clayton’s Journal, 21; Hartley, My
Best for the Kingdom, 195; Ellsworth, The Journals of Addison Pratt,
276‑77; Black, Membership of the Church 1830‑1848; Van
Wagoner, Sidney Rigdon, 380; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 154;
“Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah Historical Quarterly 14:136; “William
Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 57
The
weather was warm and cloudy, with a few rain showers. Most of the Camp of Israel, including Brigham Young’s company,
moved out of Pleasant Point. William
Clayton stayed behind packing up the public goods, reloading and weighing
wagons. This task took all day and into
the night. They traveled nine miles to
the next patch of timber at Camp Creek (or Clem Creek) and first formed a camp
on the south side of the creek.
The grass nearby
caught fire and it required a lot of effort to control the flames. It almost ran through George Miller's
company, which was carrying two loads of gun powder. To control how the fire spread, they started controlled fires to
burn the grass around the wagons. A
bridge was built over the creek and then the camp was moved over to the north
side.
Brigham Young rode on
to scout out the route for the following day.
He returned in the evening. Two
bears and two hogs were brought into the camp.
An Indian was seen for the first time passing through the camp.
James
Cummings and John Butler started early to find water. They reached a pond at 11 a.m.
The trail disappeared, so they were forced to blaze their own trail
across the bottomlands of the Missouri River.
Their horse became very tired which caused them to slow their pace.
Emma
Smith, the widow of the prophet, was asked by a Mr. Thomas Gregg to send him
some historical information about Nauvoo and the Church. She replied to his letter on this day,
explaining that she did not have any historical documents in her possession.
All the records of Mr.
Smith’s of that nature were left with Willard Richards and Wm Clayton and they
have carried them off with them. I do
not know that I am acquainted with any event of importance that is not already
before the publick. . . . I am Convinced that there is no confidence to be
placed in the word of those who have acted conspicuously in this place. For this reason, everything that has not
come within my immediate observation remains doubtful in my mind until some circumstances
occurs to prove report either true or false.
After
crossing the Mississippi River, a son, George McKay Pugmire, was born to
Jonathan and Elizabeth Pugmire.33
A
conference of the church was held with 435 members in attendance. William Gibson served as the conference
president.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 137‑38; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals,
340; William Clayton’s Journal, 22; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
1:155‑56; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 129‑30;
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 195; Black, Membership of the
Church 1830‑1848; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 154; “William
Huntington autobiography,” typescript, 57;
Newell, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, 234;
The
weather was warm, “sultry with a damp heavy air and broken clouds.” The camp started to move out very
early. At 8 a.m., just as Hosea Stout
was about to move his wagon out, his wife Louisa went into labor and delivered
a daughter, who they named Louisa. He
wrote: “This was my first born in the
wilderness as some of the old prophets once said and from the situation of our
dwelling might be called a 'Prairie chicken.'” He decided not move out this
day.34
At 9 a.m., Orrin
Porter Rockwell started back to Nauvoo with forty letters.
Brigham Young rode
ahead ten miles and selected the next campsite at Pleasant Grove. His horse was bitten on the nose by a
rattlesnake. He cut the snake into
pieces and applied them to the wound. He
believed that this drew out the poison, leaving the horse uninjured.
Brigham Young's
company, and others, moved out of Camp Creek at about noon. They arrived into Pleasant Grove at 3
p.m. The hunters brought in two deer,
four turkeys and a woodchuck.
Back at Camp Creek,
in the late afternoon, a prairie fire was seen coming toward the camp. Hosea Stout and others crossed the creek and
set a long string of grass on fire to burn a broader space around the encampment. Eliza R. Snow described,
After getting
ourselves secured we gaz'd with admiration & astonishment at the terrific
& majestic spread of the devouring elements‑‑the flames rising
at times to the incredible height of 30 & 40 feet. I had often listen'd to and read descriptions
of 'Prairies on fire' & thought them too highly painted, but can now say
that the reality 'beggars all description.'
In the evening it
clouded up and rained very hard, causing bedding to become very wet. The thunder was very loud during the night.
William
Clayton, Orson Pratt and others moved out of the camp in the morning. At 11:30 a.m., William Clayton stopped to
rest his company's teams. The sun was
very warm. Word came that Orrin Porter
Rockwell was on his way, calling for letters.
They decided to wait until he arrived and spent the time writing
letters. But Brother Rockwell never
showed up, so they started on their way at 2 p.m. After an hour, they passed Orson Pratt who was camping east of
Camp Creek Camp because all the grass had been eaten up by the campsite. Brother Clayton chose to continue on. When they arrived at the creek, they watered
their animals and then moved on about one more mile. A nice camp was found 6 p.m., which Brother Clayton thought was
“the best campground we have had for some time.” They had seen many rattlesnakes during the day. Some of the animals had been bitten, but
most were cured.
James
Cummings and John Butler moved through an area that had been burned over by
fire, but in the afternoon came to tall grass and bushes that made it very difficult to travel. At 3 p.m., they came to the Missouri River
for the first time. Thick brush forced
them to travel back to the bluffs.
During the day they saw deer, turkey, and all kinds of game. Brother Cummings became quite ill in the
evening.
There was
much excitement in the city concerning threats from the mob to destroy the
remainder of the Saints. Editor Thomas
Sharp, of the Warsaw Signal, claimed that Orrin Porter Rockwell was on
his way back to Nauvoo and he planned to take Sharp's life and the lives of
some others.
A daughter, Jeanetta
Kay, was born to William and Mary Kay.
Also, a son, John Oakley McIntire, was born to William and Anna
McIntire.35
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 139; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza
R. Snow, 130; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout 1:155; William
Clayton’s Journal, 22‑3; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom,
195; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 340; Wilford Woodruff’s
Journal, 3:40; Black, Membership of the Church 1830‑1848;
Dewey, Porter Rockwell, 120
At 9 a.m.,
Brigham Young went with George Miller and other brethren to check out a road to
the east branch of Grand River. They
returned at 4 p.m. and reported that the road to the next timber would be
difficult to travel because of the ridges and hollows. At 5 p.m., Brigham Young's company left
Pleasant Grove and traveled one mile, camping on Muddy Creek.
The hunters brought
in two bears, four turkeys, and a bee tree.
In the evening there was a thunder shower with a beautiful rainbow.
Most of
the companies at Camp Creek traveled eight miles to Pleasant Grove. They let their teams feed on the grass for a
couple hours on the way. At Pleasant
Grove, they had to drive their animals about a mile further because the grass
nearby had already been eaten. William
Clayton took his company an additional mile to camp near Brigham Young's
company on Muddy Creek. A number of the
horses had been bitten by rattlesnakes during the day, causing one horse to
die.
Hosea
Stout remained at Camp Creek because of the newborn baby. He weighed his children: Hosea Jr. (age 3)
was thirty‑three pounds, Hyrum (age 1) was fifteen pounds, and baby
Louisa was eight pounds (age 1 day). He
went hunting during the day, but did not have any luck. In the evening, John Scott returned from
Grand River and brought back some alarming news. He said that he and other members of the artillery were almost
mobbed and that the citizens there were very hostile toward them. He seemed very agitated from of this
experience and he predicted that the men at work there would soon be driven
away.
Stephen Markham's
company (including Eliza Snow) also stayed at Camp Creek, waiting for the rest of
the Heber C. Kimball company to catch up.
Even
though James Cummings was ill, they pressed on toward the north along the
Missouri River bottoms. They reached
what is now called Floyd River and crossed it where today's Sioux City is now
located. Where the river was too deep,
John Butler would strip off his clothes and carry them on his shoulders. They traveled twenty‑five miles
through showers, hail, and thunder.
The work
on the temple was nearing completion.
The carpenters completed their work, swept up their shavings, and told
Brother Truman Angell to tell the Trustees the good news. The painters and masons were still hard at
work. Wilford Woodruff bought a pair of
mules for $115. He weighed his loads
for the wagons. His baggage weighed
2,400 pounds and his provisions weighed 1,600 pounds.
Jesse Crosby
Autobiography, typescript, 30; Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham Young,
139; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:40; Watson, The Orson Pratt
Journals, 340‑41; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout, 155;
Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 130; Hartley, My
Best for the Kingdom, 195‑96; Black, Membership of the Church 1830‑1848;
Brooks, John Doyle Lee, 86
The
weather was warm and dry. This was an
important, historic day for the Camp of Israel. The location for the first permanent “way station” was selected
and named Garden Grove. Brigham Young's
company built a bridge over Muddy Creek.
Lorenzo Dow Young wrote of his experience crossing it:
The banks were very
steep, consequently was obliged to lock the wheel. The mare crossed the bridge before I had a chance to unlock
it. While stopping to, the mare began
to sink into the mire, and she comenced flouncing; threw herself with her back
down hill and come very near getting her head into the creek, but by the help
of John Campbell and myself, we succeeded in keeping her out while the rest got
the harness off of her, and as good luck was on our side, she was not hurt nor
the buggy broke.
They traveled on for
five miles to the east fork of Grand River, where they established the
camp. William Clayton's horses were
missing, so he couldn't leave until they were found at 10 a.m. As his company traveled, they would stop to
let the teams graze for a couple hours and then move on. Orson Pratt led his company toward Garden
Grove. On the way, while they were
resting the animals, they went out hunting.
William Rice shot a turkey that weighed nineteen pounds.
At 2:30 p.m., Brigham
Young and Henry G. Sherwood rode up the river to decide if they had picked the
best place for the settlement. Evidently, they were content with the
location. They returned in the evening
to the camp and found the men busy planting, digging a well, and preparing wood
for a coal pit. The camp was about 144
miles west of Nauvoo. Garden Grove
would serve as an important resting place for those lacking provisions to continue
on. It would also serve as a gathering
place for the Saints still in Nauvoo who would need to flee the persecutions of
the mob.36
The grass at Garden
Grove was eight inches tall. The ground
was very rich. Wild onions were growing
in abundance. The leaves were already
on the oak and maple trees. In the
evening, the band went to George Miller's tent to play for Brigham Young and a
Mr. Bryant who lived nearby. Many of
the band were still back with Heber C. Kimball's company which arrived at Camp
Creek on this day.
In the
morning, John Butler shot a deer which they packed and took with them. They soon reached the Big Sioux River and
searched for a crossing point. John
Butler built a raft from green cottonwood poles tied together with
branches. By dark the raft was not
finished, so they camped for the night.
John Pyper
and Madeline Gardner were married.37
An
important event took place that would later have far-reaching effects on the
Saints' trek to the west. General
Zachary Taylor had marched to the Rio Grande with 2,000 troops, to assert the
claims of the United States in that disputed territory with Mexico. Mexican Troops crossed the river, attacked
and killed a number of Americans and captured many others.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 139; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 155; Kimble,
Heber C. Kimball ‑ Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer, 135; Brooks, The
Diary of Hosea Stout, 155; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 341;
Rich, Ensign to the Nations, 17‑8; Beecher, The Personal
Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 130; Black, Membership of the Church 1830‑1848;
Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 196; “The Iowa Trek of 1846,” in The
Exodus and Beyond, 17; Kimball, Historic Sites and Markers along the
Mormon and other Great Western Trails, 26‑27; “Lorenzo Dow Young
Diary,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 14:137
The day
was cold and windy. Four hunters
returned to the camp. Two of them, John D. Lee and Levi Stewart, had been away
since Thursday and had found very little game.
They were very hungry on their return trip because all that they had
eaten was one squirrel and two small owls.
William Clayton
returned to camp after a morning of fishing to discover that one of his horses
had been bitten by a rattlesnake. The
horse’s nose had begun to swell up quite big.
Brother Clayton bathed the wound with turpentine and washed the horse's
face in salt and water. Finally, he
gave him some “snakes master root boiled in milk.” But these remedies did not seem to help. The horse was so sick that it could barely
stand.
While Lorenzo Dow
Young was sitting on a log to rest, he heard something rattle and mentioned to
Henry Sherwood that it sounded like a rattlesnake. They looked around, but could not see anything, and decided it
was just the rustling of a leaf. But
soon he discovered the snake between his feet, all coiled up, and ready to
jump. Brother Young wrote: “I soon
despached him.”
Henry G. Sherwood
started to survey the land around Garden Grove. Men were constructing a pen for the cattle. Orson Pratt moved his camp about one hundred
feet to dryer ground, closer to good water.
William Pitt arrived
into camp and the band played a few tunes in the evening. At about 9 p.m., warm rain started to fall
and continued all night.
Hosea
Stout moved on, about eight miles, and camped near Pleasant Grove. The traveling was very difficult on the
hilly roads. Brother Stout's wife,
Louisa, was getting better, but he soon learned the shocking news that his
children came down with whooping‑cough.
He wrote: “This seemed to draw
back the dark curtain of coming evil on my family which I so anxiously
anticipated would be now so soon entirely withdrawn.”
Heber C. Kimball's
company with Eliza R. Snow also moved on to Pleasant Grove, which she described
as “a beautiful green prairie lawn by the side of a small, timber'd
stream.” She was so ill that she had to
ride all the way on her bed. But she
was able to write a poem in honor of Sister Vilate Kimball:
Thou much belov'd in
Zion!
Remember life is made
A double‑sided
picture,
Contrasting light and shade.
Our Father means to
prove us‑‑
And here we're fully tried.
He will reverse the
drawing
And show the better side.
And then we'll be
astonish'd
That ignorance could throw
Such dismal shades of
darkness,
Where light and beauty glow.
The mists that hide
the future
Are round our vision thrown;
But when, as seen,
we're seeing,
And know as we are known.
Whatever seems
forbidding,
And tending to annoy;
Will, like dull
shadows vanish,
Or turn to crowns of joy.
In the
morning, John Butler completed the raft, but when they put it in the water,
they discovered that it would only carry their baggage. So they put the horse in the water to swim,
stripped their clothes, and swam across the river, pushing the raft. They then traveled the remaining twenty
miles and finally arrived at their destination, Camp Vermillion in present-day
South Dakota.
John Butler had been
away from his family for almost seven months.
He immediately spotted Caroline across the Missouri River. What he did not know at that time, was that
she had been abandoned over there for four days. Some men had taken her over there to gather roots for her
children and they did not bother bringing her back, even though she called for
them. She made a fire and gathered
leaves for a bed. When the man who had
taken Sister Butler across the river spotted John Butler on his way to camp, he
quickly went to his canoe to bring Sister Butler back. Brother Butler was very angry when he
discovered the truth. He wrote: “I did not know hardly how to keep my hands
off Hall, I felt like I could tear him to pieces.” He learned about several other instances of mistreatment to his
family while he was away.
Brothers Butler and
Cummings found out that James Emmett was not in the camp. He had taken seven horses east to sell. They later found out that Emmett had traded
for a squaw, and had gone to St. Peters.
Brother Butler told the camp that they were to head for Council
Bluffs. The Saints at Camp Vermillion
had suffered much during the winter under James Emmett's leadership and abuses.
In the evening, the
camp gathered in the Emmett family's two story house and there read together
the letter from the Twelve Apostles.
The letter instructed them to head for Fort Laramie, but because of the
destitute condition of the camp, it was thought best to instead head south for
Council Bluffs. When the members of the
camp heard the news, many felt “new life” and were “happy to know that we would
soon be with the main body of Saints and traveling toward the Rocky
Mountains.” Some in the camp felt that
they should not leave until Emmett returned, but John Butler spoke against this
idea, stating that they should leave as soon as possible.
A
daughter, Ellen Harper, was born to Charles and Lavinia Harper.38
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 140; William Clayton’s Journal, 25;
Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 342; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea
Stout 1;156; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 196‑98; Black, Membership
of the Church 1830‑1848; “Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah
Historical Quarterly, 14:137
William
Clayton awoke to find out that his snake‑bitten horse had died during the
night. He was already short on
teams. With this loss, he felt that there
was little chance that he could move on with the Twelve.
The first Sabbath
meeting at Garden Grove was held during the morning, in the rain. John Taylor preached a sermon. The rain soon stopped and the skies cleared.
At 3 p.m., the Saints
again assembled. About three hundred
and twenty‑five people attended.
Brigham Young was the first speaker.
“Some have started with us and have turned back, and perhaps more will,
but I hope better things of you my brethren.
We have set out to find a land and a resting place, where we can serve
the Lord in peace.” He presented the
plan of establishing a settlement at Garden Grove. Some would be left at Garden Grove for a season because they did
not have the means to continue. Crops
would be planted and houses would be built.
As soon as the leaders established their new home over the mountains,
the rest would be gathered to that place.
“But let any person turn from us and go back to Nauvoo or Voree
[Wisconsin to James J. Strang] because we have allowanced him and he shall
hunger and thirst and shall yet long for the privilege of eating a piece of
cold johnny cake with us.” He
encouraged the camp to stop wasting food and to live on less provisions. He asked the Saints to all be united and to
hearken to counsel. If they would, the
Lord would bless them with every desire of their hearts.
Elder Orson Pratt
next spoke, “Joseph [Smith] had this mission in contemplation, to find a
location west of the Rocky Mountains.
Whenever Joseph spoke on that subject he proposed to send a company of
young men as pioneers to seek a location and raise a crop previous to sending
families.”
Elder Heber C.
Kimball warned that the provisions of the camp were nearly exhausted. It would take the camp years to cross the
mountains at the rate that they had been traveling.
Eliza R. Snow arrived
into camp in time to attend the meeting.
She seemed somewhat disappointed to learn that only men would be going
over the mountains that season. She
described Garden Grove: “Our location is a beautiful, undulating grove, which
apparently may become a garden of fruits in a short time. But my spirit rests not here.”
Shadrach Roundy
arrived at Garden Grove with twenty‑eight letters. He had left Nauvoo three and a half days earlier. One of the letters was from Orson Pratt, who
informed the Twelve that a wealthy Catholic bachelor wished to purchase the
temple and in doing so, immortalize his name.
He would probably pay $200,000 and also buy other properties. Elder Hyde suggested to the other members of
the Twelve that it might be wise to sell both temples in Nauvoo and
Kirtland. The funds could be used to
assist the Saints to emigrate to the west.
Before they left Nauvoo, the Twelve had agreed that the temple should
not be sold, rather it should be rented.
George A. Smith and Amasa M. Lyman were stalled at Pleasant Point for a
time, but they sent word that they thought it was wise to sell the temple to
assist the poor. They wrote,
We have felt much
anxiety on that subject until we all agreed in council not to sell it last
winter. But if you in your wisdom
should think it best to sell the same to help the poor in the present emergency
we frankly concur, notwithstanding we feel opposed to a Methodist congregation
ever listening to a mob Priest in that holy Place, but are willing to sacrifice
our feelings at all times for the good of the saints.
The Council felt that
they should not make a decision until the morning.
At 8 p.m., a council
meeting was held with the leaders of the camp, to organize the work assignments
at Garden Grove. It was reported that
359 able men were on hand. One hundred
were selected to make rails under the leadership of Charles C. Rich, James
Pace,39 Lewis D. Wilson40 and Stephen Markham. Ten men were appointed to build a fence with
James Allred. Forty‑eight men
were to build houses under the leadership of John Smith. Twelve men would dig wells with Jacob Peart.41
Ten men, under the leadership of Albert P. Rockwood, would build
bridges. A few would serve as herdsmen
to watch the flocks, and others would be sent to the settlements to trade
horses and feather beds for corn and provisions. The rest would clear land, plow and plant under the leadership of
Daniel Spencer.
A letter from Joseph
L. Heywood was read. Heber C. Kimball's
impressive home in Nauvoo had been sold for thirty‑five yoke of
oxen. Brother Roundy informed the
Council that Joseph Young's home was sold for six hundred and fifty dollars.
Members of
the artillery came into camp from their work on the Grand River. They said that they had been ordered away by
the mob from Missouri and expected an outbreak of violence against the Saints. Teams from Brigham Young arrived to bring
Hosea Stout and John Scott to Garden Grove.
John
Butler met again with the Saints expressing an urgency to leave immediately for
Council Bluffs. The Saints agreed, but
explained that it would take time to prepare because their wagons needed
repairing and they had some plowing commitments to fulfill with the people at
Fort Vermillion. It rained much of the
day so no serious preparations could be made.
A Sabbath
meeting was held in the Grove near the temple.
Orson Hyde preached to the congregation, giving them some good
instruction. In the evening, Elders Wilford
Woodruff and Orson Hyde met together with the Trustees to read a letter from
Governor Thomas Ford. The governor
stated that he would withdraw his troops from the county on May 1. Elder Woodruff wrote: “He will no more attempt to protect us but will
let the mob loose upon the remainder of the Saints.”
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 140‑144; “Isaac Haight Autobiography,”
typescript, 31; “Aroet Hale Autobiography,” typescript, 10; Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, 3:41; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout 1:156; William
Clayton’s Journal, 25‑6; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza
R. Snow, 131; Hartley, My Best for the Kingdom, 198‑99;
Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 342; Bennet, Mormons at the
Missouri, 1846-1852; Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:759;
“Autobiography of Lewis Dunbar Wilson Sr.”; Guide to Mormon Diaries &
Autobiographies
Early in
the morning, at 6 a.m., the horn sounded calling the work crews to assemble to
receive their work assignments. During
this meeting, the men became drenched from the rain. They went to work right away.
Soon the sound of axes and mauls was echoing over the countryside
“keeping perfect time.” But it
continued to rain all day, causing them to stop working after awhile.
At 9 a.m., The Camp
Council met together. It was decided
that George Shumway and George W. Langley should go immediately to Fort
Leavenworth to send word to Elders Lewis Dana (Oneida nation) and George
Herring (Shawnee tribe) to return from their missions to the Lamanites. They were needed to serve as interpreters
for the journey west.
The Council also
decided that the Trustees in Nauvoo could sell the Nauvoo and Kirtland temples
to help the poor Saints move westward.
They felt that the temples would be better protected if they were sold
rather than retained by the Church.
Bishop Newel K.
Whitney was reluctant to agree to have the temples sold. Brigham Young related a dream he had the
previous night. He was employed by an
elderly man to look over the affairs of his dominions. President Young directed that some steps
should taken that he felt were important, yet he had not been specifically
instructed to do so by his employer.
Soon the elderly man returned.
President Young told him what he had done. His master smiled and said, “You have done well. I intend to buy a large store filled with
all kinds of commodities, all of which shall be under your control as you
understand the affairs of my government and will do my people good.” After President Young related this dream,
Bishop Whitney voted in favor of selling the temple.
A letter was composed
to Elder Orson Hyde, giving him permission to sell the temple. Of the proceeds, $25,000 should be sent to
the camp. The rest should be used to
help those who had labored on the temple and the poor.
The council also
officially decided that the name of their present location should be called
Garden Grove. Previous to this they
were calling it, “the farm.”
Hosea
Stout left Pleasant Grove at about 1 p.m.
The roads were terrible because of the rain. At times they were nearly impassible. It took them three hours to cover the five miles to Garden Grove. Brother Stout describes his first
impressions of the new settlement:
When I came to the
edge of the timber I found a number of men at work clearing and cutting house
logs. It was a pleasantly situated
place from the first appearance and presented a beutiful thick wood of tall
shell bark hickory. The soil uncommonly
rich and so loose now that our teams could but draw their loads through. Farther in the timber commenced white oak
land and a harder soil where I found the camp.
All seemed to be engaged at work.
I had already been classed in a company of plough makers . . . I was
well pleased with the good order and businesslike appearance which the camp had
assumed so quick in the 'Magic City of the Woods' as it seemed to be.
John
Butler continued to make preparations to evacuate the camp. He proposed that the camp disband their “all
things in common” system, and rather divide the property among the fifty‑six
people. Everyone was against this
proposal and wanted to keep common property.
They felt they were organized according to the Kingdom of God and wanted
to keep living this system until they joined the main camp.
A son, Thomas Grafton
Steele, was born Richard and Mary Ann Steele.42
Heber Kimball Journal
in Woman’s Exponent, 11:185; Watson, Manuscript History of Brigham
Young, 144‑46; William Clayton’s Journal, 27; Watson, The
Orson Pratt Journals, 342; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1:156;
“Aroet Hale Autobiography, typescript,” 10; Black, Membership of the Church
1830‑1848; Brooks, John Doyle Lee, 86; Hartley, My Best for
the Kingdom, 199
The rain
continued all through the night and during the morning. Hosea Stout described the scene: “The mud
from one end of the camp to the other was so deep that it was almost impossible
to get around.” Brigham Young was
feeling ill and stayed in bed until 8 a.m.
Several companies moved their camping locations to higher ground. The men in the camp went to work on their
assignments.
At 9 a.m., a council
meeting was held in President Young's tent.
The hostile feelings of some of the nearby Missouri settlers were
discussed. It was decided not to send
out the traders to the Missouri settlements, but to instead send them to the
settlements on the Des Moines River, in Iowa.
Brother Howard Egan was told to delay his trading trip until the weather
got better. William Clayton was busy
unloading a wagon that could be used to carry the goods to trade.
At 1:30 p.m., another
council meeting was held. The
discussion centered on sending a company of one hundred young men, without
families, over the mountains.
William Huntington,
like many others, was running low on provisions. He wrote that he was “out of provisions or I have none of
consiquence, have no meat, no flour, no meal save a few quarts of parched corn
meal . . . have a few crakers. How I
shall be provided for, the Lord knows, I do not.”
The “quadrille band”
left to go give concerts in the Platte River country. Grand River was so high that ropes had to be used to pull their
wagons across.
Frances
Selinda Spilsbury was born to George and Fanny Spilsbury.43
As the Brooklyn
headed north, drinking water was becoming so scarce that it was rationed in
pints. Firewood for the galley was
almost gone. It was time to go into
port. Everyone on the ship was looking
forward to the port of Valparaiso, Chile after being at sea for so long. When they were within the reach of the
harbor, an offshore gale started to rage. For three days and nights it raged and blew the ship back. At least one child died during the storm and
one of the sailors was washed overboard.
Captain Richardson decided to make no more attempts to enter to
harbor. The ship had been blown so far
south that icebergs were sighted. The
Captain turned for the island of Juan Fernandez, 400 miles to the west.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 146; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout,
1:157; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals, 343; William Clayton’s
Journal, 26‑7; Black, Membership of the Church 1830‑1848;
Bailey, Sam Brannan and the California Mormons, 35; Stegner The
Gathering of Zion, 62; Rich, Ensign to the Nations, 30
It rained
all night and continued during the morning.
Hosea Stout described: “This was
an uncommonly wet rainy, muddy, miry, disagreeable day . . . the ground flooded
in water.” Lorenzo Dow Young felt the
settlement looked “lonesome.”
Brigham Young was not
feeling well. At noon, the horn sounded
calling the camp together. Parley P.
Pratt relayed the plan to outfit one hundred young men to go over the mountains
to put in crops. President Young
explained what would be needed. Each
man would need 250 pounds of flour. One
wagon with four oxen or mules, and one cow would be needed for every four
men. The captains of fifty were
requested to see what could be raised within their companies for these
men. Elder Heber C. Kimball announced
the decision to sell the temples in Nauvoo and Kirtland to help the poor and
called for a sustaining vote. The
support was unanimous.
The weather cleared
up enabling the men to go to work in the afternoon. Hosea Stout went with some men to survey the north field for
fencing.
A son, Wilbur J.
Earl, was born to Wilbur and Harriet Earl.44
The
buffalo returned to the area. An Indian
killed one. The Saints in Camp
Vermillion were still dragging their feet in efforts to leave the camp. This frustrated John Butler and James
Cummings, who were trying to fulfill their mission to bring the group to the
main Camp of Israel.
A group of
temple construction workers met with their wives in the attic of the temple and
had a feast of cakes, pies, and other items to celebrate the completion of the
temple. They enjoyed themselves in
prayer, preaching, blessing children, music, and dancing until midnight.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 146‑47; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals,
343; Brooks, The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1:158; Hartley, My Best for
the Kingdom, 199; Brooks, John Doyle Lee, 86‑7;
The rains
still fell and the creeks were so high that the teams could not cross
them. The camp was very low in flour.
Shadrach Roundy left
Garden Grove for Nauvoo with fifty‑nine letters. Letters were written to Elders Woodruff and
Hyde, requesting that money be sent to the camp. They also mentioned the decision to establish the way station at
Garden Grove: “After feeding an nourishing and nursing them [the Saints] as a
mother does her infant till the last breast is sucked dry, we will give them a
good farm, send their teams back to Nauvoo, bless them, and leave them.”
Word was received
that there were several hundred wagons that had recently left Nauvoo. They were at this time strung out across
Iowa as far as one hundred miles from the city. Plans were discussed to establish another settlement like Garden
Grove, about thirty‑five or forty miles to the northwest, and then
another one on the Big Platte River, one hundred miles west of the Missouri
River.
Wilford
Woodruff finished loading his wagons and ferried them over the river.
In the evening, Elder
Woodruff, Elder Orson Hyde, and twenty others went to the temple for a private
dedication of that sacred building. A
private service was held because of the possibility of mob interference during
the service. Brother Joseph Young
(Brigham's brother) offered the dedicatory prayer. He offered the temple to the Lord as a witness that His people
sacrificed to fulfill His commandments.
He prayed for the Twelve and other authorities of the Church. He prayed for the workmen who worked amidst
persecution, for the leaders of the Camp of Israel that the way would be opened
up for them to find a gathering place for the Saints.
This was a very
significant event because so many people had predicted that the temple would
never be completed. Elder Woodruff
wrote: “Notwithstanding the many false
prophesies of Sidney Rigdon and others that the roof should not go on nor the
House be finished, and the threats of the mob that we should not dedicate it,
yet we have done both and we had an interesting time.”
At the close of the
dedication, they offered up Hosannas to the Lord. Prayers were offered for the Camp of Israel, for good weather,
and that the mob would not disturb them during the public dedication of the
temple.
Watson, Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 147‑48; Watson, The Orson Pratt Journals,
344; Bennett, Mormons at the Missouri, 1846‑1852, 42; Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, April 30, 1846; Talmage, The House of the Lord,
p.111
1Robert Cowden Egbert would serve in the Mormon Battalion. The Egbert family settled in Millard County,
Utah.
2Julia would die August 16, 1847 in Winter Quarters.
3Present‑day Des Moines, Iowa.
4There was an abundance of hogs throughout Iowa and Northern Missouri at
this time. Because hogs were fed with
corn, there was usually also plenty of corn. In Iowa, the number of hogs produced was about 300,000 in a
year. During this time, “Many herds of
swine. . .were driven great distances to market, and travelers observed that
the Iowa roads were alive with hogs.”
5John E. Page had left Nauvoo and met a company of Saints from
Canada. He told them that he was one of
the Twelve, sent to tell them that they should travel to Voree, Wisconsin
(Strang's gathering place). They did not
believe him and sent a messenger to Nauvoo to ask for the truth. Archibald Gardner was part of this company
and reported, “On the way we encountered a small company of Strangites. They extended their sympathy. We did not argue with them but when they
became impertinent, told them that if they did not leave we would have to cast
out devils.”
6At this time the Missouri boundary was ten miles north of its present
day location and it is quite probable that this camp was located in
Missouri. Hosea Stout wrote that they
were in Missouri.
7Zimri Hafford Baxter joined the Church in 1842. He would later build flouring mills and also
a grist mill at Big Cottonwood, Utah.
He also built a nail factory in Nephi, Utah. He helped build the Nephi tabernacle in 1871.
8Philemon Christopher Merrill was baptized in 1830 by Joel H. Johnson. He later served in the Mormon
Battalion. He served a mission to
Europe in 1853-56. He helped settle
Morgan County, Utah and later went to Arizona.
9If they were correct, this would have been located near the site of the
future settlement of Garden Grove.
10Easton Kelsey Jr. would die at the age of eight. His father joined the Church in 1836, in Kirkland. His family later settle in St. George, Utah.
11This group would far out-travel the main camp during this season and
would end up spending the winter at Fort Pueblo, Colorado.
12Asahel Sr. was traveling with the Camp of Israel, probably serving as a
pioneer.
13Henson Walker would later serve as mayor of Pleasant Grove, Utah.
14They were near the site of the future settlement of Mount Pisgah.
15She later did travel to the Holy Land in 1872‑73.
16John Fullmer was one of the Nauvoo Trustees. His son would later settle in Springville, Beaver, and Marysvale,
Utah.
17Alexander McRae had spent time in Liberty Jail with Joseph Smith and
later served as the bishop of the 11th Ward in Salt Lake City.
18 This camp was probably about five miles southeast of present‑day
Sewell, south of where county road J 54 crosses Locust Creek.
19After reaching the United States, Elder Woodruff had gone to his old
home in Connecticut, where his father and step‑mother were preparing to
leave for Nauvoo. He also went to Maine
to pick up his daughter, who had remained there while he was on his mission to
England.
20Elder Woodruff has sent his family ahead on a different ship. (See January 16, 1846.)
21The Guymon family would later settle in Springville and Fountain Green,
Utah, where Robert would serve as Bishop.
22The Smith family would later settle in Draper and Kaysville, Utah where
John Smith served in the bishopric.
23Charles Franklin Decker was a single, twenty-one year-old man. He later married Vilate Young. He later was one of the handcart rescue
teams. He raised his family in Salt
Lake City, Utah.
24Diantha had been left behind in Nauvoo because she was pregnant.
25It should be noted that this event has been
connected with what appears to be some Mormon folklore. For example, Ben E. Rich, President of the
Eastern States mission, told the following in the April 1909 General Conference: “Before they started from Council Bluffs
(Winter Quarters), President Young called him and said, 'Brother Clayton, I
want you to write a hymn that these pioneers may sing as we travel into the
unknown west.' In two hours' time, William Clayton had written, set to music,
and sung, to President Young that famous hymn.” Reed Smoot told a similar story
in October 1912 conference. And again,
Heber J. Grant in April 1918, said “Brigham Young, told him to write a hymn
that should cheer and bless the Saints in their great pioneer journey to these
fair valleys.” He told a similar account in October 1919. However, William Clayton's daughter wrote to
President Grant and corrected him.
President Grant replied, thanking her, stating that “I do not know where
I read or where I heard that the poem was written at the special request of
President Young at Winter Quarters.” He promised to no longer tell this version
of the story. Also, there is no
evidence found in early pioneer journals that this hymn was sung by the very
early pioneer groups around camp fires.
It was sung on the day before Christmas, 1847, at Winter Quarters, at a
Church Conference. After the hymn
appeared in the Church's hymn book of 1851, it grew in popularity and has been
the source of great inspiration and spiritual experiences. In later years as the Saints crossed the
plains, it was sung often around campfires.
26Lorenzo Snow would later serve as the fifth President of the Church.
27This was the Pottowatomie Indian village that so many of the Saints
would later pass through on their way to Council Bluffs. The village would never be the same as they
learned how to sell wares to the Mormon travelers. The site is near Lewis,
Iowa. It can be found by going west out
of Lewis on Minnesota Avenue for about one mile. The Indian town was located on the west bank of the river, to the
north of the bridge.
28The Turpins settle in Salt Lake City.
Jesse Turpin later served a mission to the West Indies. While returning from his mission he died of
cholera on the plains.
29The Cordon family later settled in Willard, Utah, where Alfred Cordon
served as bishop.
30On the following day, Brigham Young understood
Brother Huntington's situation and told him he could use the team.
31They traveled generally along the route of today's I‑29.
32Little William was the grandson of W.W.
Phelps, early member and leader of the Church.
33The Pugmire family would later settle in St. Charles, Bear Lake, Idaho.
34Little Louisa would die on August 5, 1847 in Winter Quarters.
35The McIntires would later settle in Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah.
36A community by the name of Garden Grove still exists on the site of the
old campsite on county road 204. In the
small town park is a large boulder with a brass marker that reads, “In memory
of the Mormons who founded Garden Grove, Iowa.” One mile west of this plaque is
a small monument, just north of an A‑frame shelter, in the Trailside
Historical Park which honors the Saints buried there.
37The Pypers later settled in Nephi, Utah.
38Little Ellen would die at Winter Quarters on August 27, 1847.
39James Pace joined the Church in 1839 in Shelby Illinois. He went to Nauvoo and worked on the
temple. Joseph Smith appointed him to
serve as a policeman. He later was a
member of the Mormon Battalion. He was
one of the first settlers in Payson, Utah, and would later settle in Harmony,
Utah.
40Lewis Danbar Wilson joined the Church in 1836. He served in the High Council in Nauvoo. His family
remained at Garden Grove until 1851.
He later settled in Ogden, Utah.
41Jacob Peart joined the Church in 1837, in England. He emigrated to Nauvoo and opened a cabinet
shop. He later settled in Salt Lake
City.
42The Steele family later settled in American Fork, Utah.
43The Spilsbury family later settled in Draper, Utah and then moved to
Toquerville in southern Utah.
44Wilbur Joseph Earl joined the Church in 1838. His family would later settle in Springville and Leeds, Utah.