The
weather was clear and warm. The wind
kicked up later in the day. During the
morning, Wilford Woodruff sat and had a portrait taken which was to be put into
a book with other portraits of the Twelve.
Hosea Stout went digging for “Hartachokes.”1
In the
afternoon, the Twelve met with Joseph A. Stratton, who had recently arrived
from St. Louis, where more than two thousand Saints were spending the
winter. The minutes of the St. Louis
Conference were read. Brother Stratton
read all the names of the St. Louis Branch.
Brigham
Young officially turned the Winter Quarters flouring mill over to John Neff,
who had recently purchased it for $2,600.
In the
evening, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards read newspapers
and met with brethren who came to visit.
They were particularly interested in newspaper articles about the war
with Mexico. A special council meeting
was held at the home of city marshal, Horace S. Eldredge. Rodney Badger confessed that he had stolen a
horse from a Missourian. The council
decided that he should take two men with him, return the horse, and pay all the
expenses and damage.2
A letter
of recommendation was composed to the Nauvoo Trustees for W.W. Phelps. Brother Phelps was about to travel to the
east to procure a printing press for Winter Quarters. Included in the letter from the Twelve was recent news.
The
Council, with as many as can fit themselves out, will start as pioneers in a
few days, to find a location west of the mountains, leaving their families here
till they have prepared a place, then come and take them forward. Brethren who have small families, and means
to take with them from 300 to 500 lbs., of bread stuff per soul, will follow
our trail, when grass will warrant; others will tarry here, raise grain, and
prepare for another spring’s march; and no doubt many will gather in this place
this season and be preparing for their departure for the wilderness. . . . Any
company of seventy‑five men, with or without families, can leave this
place for the west as late as the first of July, if they have good teams and
eighteen month’s provisions.
A
daughter, Julia Pratt, was born to Parley P. and Sarah Huston Pratt. Patty Sessions helped with the
delivery. Joseph E. Walker, age two
months, died of cold. He was the son of
John and Elizabeth Walker.
During the
morning, John D. Lee laid the foundation for two houses. Afterwards, he started heading back to
Winter Quarters (about thirteen miles to the south.) He arrived at 4 p.m. Brother Lee gave Charles Shumway a span of
mules, a wagon, and grain to help them prepare for the pioneer journey.
Mary
Richards continued her journey to return to Winter Quarters with the Duel
family. They arrived at a large
settlement of Saints about four miles east of Keg Creek and camped with Brother
Allen. Mary Richards wrote in her
journal, “After supper I took a short walk from the waggon, and kneeled down
under a tree and offered up a prayer.”
The
battalion drilled as usual. News
arrived from San Luis Rey Mission that Private David Smith died there on March
23, 1847. He was part of the small
detachment of sick and others left behind to guard the mission. The men blamed the death on medicine
administered by Doctor Sanderson before he left the mission. Private Smith’s illness had become
worse. Two days before his death he was
speechless. Daniel Tyler commented, “He
died as he had lived, true to his God, his country and his religion.”
It rained
and was quite cool. This was refreshing
to the men and the first rain seen for many weeks. Azariah Smith wrote, “I feel very lonesum and want to see home
but comfort myself thinking that it is only a little more than three months
more till our discharge.” A “Young
Men’s Club” was organized for lecturing, debating, and reciting poetry. An express came in from Monterey, covering
1,000 miles in just ten days. The
express delivered government papers.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 544; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal,
3:145; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 140‑41; Brooks, ed., On
the Mormon Frontier, 1:245; Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, 115; Nibley,
Exodus to Greatness, 349‑50; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The
March of the Mormon Battalion, 216; “Private Journal of Thomas Dunn,”
typescript, 23; Bigler, The Gold Discovery Journal of Azariah Smith, 82;
Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion, 135; Tyler, A Concise History of the
Mormon Battalion, 274; “The Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical
Quarterly, 4:90; Smart, ed., Mormon Midwife, 77
Signs of
spring continued to be seen at Winter Quarters. The Missouri river had risen two feet from continued thawing
upriver. The cottonwood trees were
budding and grass was starting to spring from the ground. The men in the city were busy moving houses
into a stockade line.
A meeting
was held at the Winter Quarters stand to divide the city into lots for
planting. Bids were accepted to fence
in these lots.
Brigham
Young met with the Twelve, Bishop Newel K. Whitney, and Bishop George
Miller. Bishop Miller expressed his
views that the Saints should emigrate to Texas instead of the Great Basin. He wanted to head south to make a treaty
with Mexico and to obtain land for the Church.
President Young wrote: “I
informed Bishop Miller that his views were wild and visionary, that when we
moved hence it would be to the Great Basin, where the Saints would soon form a
nucleus of strength and power sufficient to cope with mobs.” Hosea Stout recorded: “A very few words from different ones on the
subject caused him [Miller] to confess the impractibility of his plans.”
John D.
Lee spent the day working to have wheat and corn ground at the mill for the
pioneer company. Brother McGee Harris
generously donated eighteen pounds of bacon and ten bushels of corn for the
pioneer company.
The Sessions
family also donated provisions for the pioneers. They gave them twenty-four pounds of pork and two bushels of
corn. They sold seventy-five pounds of
beef to Jesse C. Little.
Mary
Richard continued her journey with the Duel family. They crossed Keg Creek where they found quite a few Saints
settled and then continued on for sixteen miles. They spent the night camped by a “Widow Smith’s” house, where there
was a large settlement of the Saints.
Mary Richards wrote: “I went and
kneeled down under [a tree] poured out my soul in prayer to Heavenly Father
that he would protect and preserve me and my dear Samuel [away on a mission to
England] from every danger and permit us to live long upon the earth and do
much good in our day and generation, and be blessed with all things that our
hearts should desire in righteousness.”
The
battalion drilled again. Henry Standage
took time to wash his clothes. An
Indian was sent to San Luis Rey Mission to instruct the men of the battalion
stationed there to go to Los Angeles.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 544; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee,
140‑41; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:245; Ward, ed., Winter
Quarters, 115; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the
Mormon Battalion, 216; Bigler, Chronicles of the West, 52; “The
Journal of Nathaniel V. Jones,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:14; Smart,
ed., Mormon Midwife, 77
Wilford
Woodruff recorded in his journal:
It was a
busy day with me preparing to start on the journey. We are now about to start on the pioneer journey to go to the
mountains of Israel to find a location as a resting place for the Saints. . . .
I have never felt more weight upon my mind at this time while leaving my family
to go on a mission than now. My prayer
to God is that He will sustain myself & family to meet again on earth as he
hath done in the many mansions I have taken on the earth in the vineyard of the
Lord.
Horace K.
Whitney recorded: “It is the intention
to start most of the teams on Monday, who are to go up to the Elk Horn River
and then wait till all shall come up.”
A conference was planned in Winter Quarters for April 6th. Levi Jackman, one of the pioneers, left this
day with his team, heading for the Elk Horn River.
John D.
Lee distributed flour to pioneers and to wives of battalion members. He then took one of his teams to travel back
to Summer Quarters. Rodney Swasey went
along with him to bring the team back.
After they had passed the fort ruins at Old Council Bluff, they met
Isaac Morley and Edwin D. Woolley. They
traveled together but experienced an accident when they crossed over the bridge
on Mudd Creek. His wagon broke through
part of the bridge, injuring one of his mules.
It took them three hours to free the wagon. By that time, Brother Pace had come up from Winter Quarters on
the way to the farm with his family.
They all decided to camp for the night by Mudd Creek.
About this
time, Brigham Young’s brother Lorenzo came to a decision that he could not
leave his sick wife Harriet behind, while he went ahead with the pioneers. Lorenzo asked permission to bring her
along. President Young strongly
objected, but Lorenzo finally decided that he would not go without
Harriet. President Young needed his
brother to be part of the pioneer company and he eventually gave his
permission. Harriet could not be the
only sister in the company and after consultation, Brigham Young and Heber C.
Kimball decided to each take a wife on the journey. Clarissa Decker Young3
and Ellen Sanders Kimball4
would also make the trek. Lorenzo Young5 would also take his son
Lorenzo S. Young6 and his
stepson, Perry Decker7
(Harriet’s son).
A son,
Garret W. Mikesell, was born to Garret W. and Ruth Cunningham Mikesell. A son, John Smith, was born to George A. and
Bathsheba Wilson Smith.
Mary
Richards and her group passed by an Indian burial ground. Mary stopped to take a look. “One grave was covered with logs laid in the
form of a small crib. The bones was
laid on the out side of the ground.
While passing one of the wigwaams an Indian peaked out & called to
me and said ‘say Squaw come in.’” Mary
continued on her journey toward Winter Quarters. They met Reuben W. Allred going to Keg Creek in a carriage,
expecting to return to Winter Quarters the next day. Mary agreed to travel with Brother Allred to visit the Bird
family and then to return with him to Winter Quarters. She bid good‑bye to the Duel family
who had been so kind to her, and then went and spent a very pleasant night at
the Birds’ home.
A son,
Samuel David Carson, was born to William H. and Corilla Egbert Carson.
Robert
Bliss, while thinking about his family whom he had left at the Missouri River,
wrote: “As our time passes away I think
of home the More & wish for the time to come when I can once more live with
my Family & friends far away.”
After
spending one week in Louisville collecting donations for Garden Grove, Luman
Shurtliff made arrangement to leave for Cincinatti, Ohio. He first obtained letters of introduction
from editors of the Louisville newspapers and then boarded a boat in the
evening. He was quite sick and could
not eat.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 544; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal,
3:145; “Excerpts from the hitherto unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement
Era, 50:202; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 142‑43;
“Levi Jackman Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 26; Ward, ed., Winter
Quarters, 11; “The Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical
Quarterly, 4:90; “Luman Shurtliff Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 73
The first
two pioneers to leave Winter Quarters, Tarlton Lewis and Stephen H. Goddard,
arrived on the east bank of the Elkhorn River.
They began to build a raft that would be used to ferry the pioneer
wagons across.
Hosea
Stout wrote that the day was “Dark, Damp, Warm, Pleasant.” In the morning, Orson Pratt and Ezra T.
Benson preached at a Sabbath Service.
Wilford Woodruff did not attend the meeting because he was busy with a
baptismal service down by the river. He
baptized three members of Brother Dewey’s family and also confirmed them.
John Y.
Greene arrived with mail from Nauvoo, Mount Pisgah, and other places in
between. Thomas Bullock made a copy of
John C. Fremont’s topographical map of the road to Oregon which would be
valuable to the pioneer company. Lyman
Stoddard was given a letter of recommendation and certificate of authority to
enable him to preach on Pottawatomie Indian lands. The bishops were asked to work with the presidencies of the
emigration companies to help supervise the stockading of the city. Brigham Young proposed that eight to ten men
go and raise a crop for the Omahas to keep them away from the Winter Quarter’s
crops in the fall.
Mary
Richards returned to Winter Quarters after a six-week visit with families in
Iowa. She found her mother‑in‑law,
Wealthy Richards, quite sick and feeble.
Joseph Stratton met Mary and mentioned that he had brought her some
letters from St. Louis. One was a letter
that her husband, Samuel W. Richards, had written to her parents in St. Louis,
which had been forwarded to her. Mary
wrote: “I was glad to have one line
more from my dear Absent Husband for near six months had past since I had a
line from him.”8
The Twelve
wrote a long letter to Lucy Mack Smith, the mother of the Prophet. It began, “Beloved mother in Israel, Our
thoughts, our feelings, our desires and our prayers to our Heavenly Father, in
the name of Jesus, are often drawn out in your behalf, and we can truly say,
unceasingly; for we can never forget our beloved brother Joseph.” They were not sure where Mother Smith was,
but they wanted to be sure to tell her about the pioneer plans:
We are
speedily to depart from this place, with other pioneers, and go westward over
the mountains, as we shall be led by the spirit of the lord, to find a location
for a stake of Zion, we felt that we could not take our leave without
addressing a line to mother Smith, to let her know that her children in the
Gospel have not forgotten her. . . . If our dear Mother Smith should at any
time wish to come where the Saints are located, and she will make it manifest
to us, there is no sacrifice we will count too great to bring her forward, and
we ever have been, now are and shall continue to be, ready to divide with her
the last loaf.
Eliza Jane
Sanders, age three, died. She was the
daughter of Moses M. and Amanda Sanders.
John Smith, born the day before, died.
He was the son of George A. and Bathsheba Wilson Smith.
John D.
Lee escorted Isaac Morley and Edwin Woolley to examine the location chosen for
the Brigham Young family farm. “Father”
Morley approved of the location chosen and spoke to the family members
assembled there. He appointed John D.
Lee to preside over the farm in his absence and asked that they settle together
in a block and fortify it against possible Indian aggression. He mentioned that Brigham Young would likely
visit the site before he left with the pioneers. John D. Lee was authorized to survey the location and to divide and
assign lots to the brethren. John D.
Lee, Alfred D. Young and Miles Anderson measured the land consisting of 140
acres. During the night a heavy rain
storm blew in, dumping rain on the campers all night.
In the
afternoon, Captain Jefferson Hunt led a dress parade of the battalion
companies. About twenty ladies from Los
Angeles were present. These ladies
later visited with Susan Davis and Phebe Brown. Henry Standage observed that these Los Angeles ladies were the
most richly dressed of any women he had yet seen.
Robert
Bliss, while thinking about his family whom he had left at the Missouri River,
wrote: “I think my Family with the
first Camp is on their way by this time for California. I pray the Eternal Father to Bless them
& give them a safe & pleasant Journey.” Thomas Dunn had similar feelings: “The hours seem to pass slowly the nearer the time of our
discharge appears. My mind is almost constantly
reflecting on my wife and little one who are anxiously looking for my return to
their embrace.”
A meeting
was held at which Sergeant William Hyde preached to the men from the
scriptures. Many of the non‑Mormon
citizens, officers, and sailors of the ships attended.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 545‑46; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness,
350‑52; James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 1:319‑21;
Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:145; Kelly, ed., Journals
of John D. Lee, 142‑43; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier,
1:246; “The Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly,
4:90; “Journal Extracts of Henry W. Bigler,” Utah Historical Quarterly,
5:59; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion,
216; “Private Journal of Thomas Dunn,” typescript, 23; Ward, ed., Winter
Quarters, 115‑16
The
weather was cloudy, with occasional thunder showers on this historic day. Heber C. Kimball officially started the
pioneer journey. He left Winter
Quarters with six teams, traveled four miles to the west and made an encampment
for the night near the hay stacks.9 Elder Kimball wrote about this historic
day: “On the 5th day of April, 1847, I
started with six of my teams and went out about four miles, where I formed an
encampment with several others of my division.
The same day I returned home.”
Wilford
Woodruff intended to start the journey but delayed his start because of heavy
rain during the morning. Horace K.
Whitney loaded his wagon during the afternoon after the skies cleared.
A letter
was received from Almon W. Babbitt, one of the Nauvoo Trustees. He stated that he had visited many cities in
the east and that $100,000 was the largest offer that he had received for the
temple and Church property. In
addition, forty law suits had been issued against the Church for debts claimed
during the Kirtland period.
In the
evening, Mary Richards went to visit her uncle Willard Richards’ family. In the office she was read the letter
written to Lucy Mack Smith. Elder
Richards asked Mary about her visit with the Burtons on the Nishnabotna River. He then spoke of the Richards family and
told Mary, “You have been a good girl.
You have not come a whining around because your husband is gone but you
have endured his absence patiently and you shall be blessed for it. I know your desires are to do right, and to
do whatsoever is right in the sight of God.”
Elder Richards said that he was going to talk to Brigham Young about
sending her husband, Samuel W. Richards, home from his mission in England. Mary made it clear that she wanted him to
come home when his mission was through, not because she missed him so
much. “I want to see him so bad I
scarcely know how to wait til the time comes, but I trust the Lord will give me
strength and patience to endure all things through which I may be called to
pass.” Later in the evening, after
talking with President Young, Willard Richards told Mary that Samuel would be
given permission to return home in the fall.
John H.
Williams, age six, died. He was the son
of Peter and Elizabeth Williams.
John D.
Lee and others cut down trees for their cattle to browse on. They also built a bridge over a small stream
to help them haul timber back to the farm site.
Colonel
Mason arrived at the mouth of the San Pedro river in a ship and a letter was
brought to Captain Jefferson Hunt from Monterey. This letter probably spoke of two cannons that would soon be arriving. They had been taken from Fremont’s
rebellious volunteers.
Henry W.
Bigler wrote: “Spent the day mending my
ragged clothes, made a pair of trousers out of old sail duck or sail cloth.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 546; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee,
144; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:145; “Excerpts from the
hitherto unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era,
50:203; Kimball, Historic Sites and Markers Along the Mormon and Other Great
Western Trails, 54; Jenson, Day By Day With the Utah Pioneers, 1;
Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, 117; Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C.
Kimball, 363; “Journal Extracts of Henry W. Bigler,” Utah Historical
Quarterly, 5:59; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the
Mormon Battalion, 216; Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion, 147
Levi
Jackman arrived at the Elkhorn River where he found four other pioneer teams
who had left Winter Quarters ahead of him.
He crossed the river on a raft and set up camp to wait for the remainder
of the pioneers to arrive from Winter Quarters.
A short
General Conference of the Church was held at 10 a.m. Wilford Woodruff wrote:
“The sun shone bright, the Heavens smiles upon us. Our hearts were made glad. President Young spoke to the people good
doctrine.” Brigham Young spoke of those
who persecuted the Church. He said that
if the mob gave back one hundredth part of what they had stolen, it would be enough
to “carry us over the mountains.” He
prayed that their enemies’ hearts would be softened. He warned the people to avoid the evils of dancing because such
evils would be a snare, and instead they should sing hymns.
William W.
Phelps presented the leaders of the Church for a sustaining vote. Brigham Young was sustained as President of
the Church and of the Twelve Apostles.
The other members of the Twelve were also sustained: Heber C. Kimball,
Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Willard Richards, John Taylor,
Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman and Ezra T. Benson. Lyman Wight was not received unanimously,
but his case was held over to another time.
Elder Wight had been away for months in Texas. Heber C. Kimball said that he had seen Elder Wight in a
dream. He had become stuck in the mud
up to his knees and was pulled out with the help of the brethren.10
Other
positions sustained: Willard Richards as Church Historian and John Smith as
Patriarch in the Church. As members of
the High Council: Alpheus Cutler, President, George W. Harris, Isaac Morley,
Reynolds Cahoon, David Russell, Alanson Eldredge, Thomas Grover, Henry G.
Sherwood, Cornelius P. Lott, Winslow Farr, Ezra Chase, and Phinehas
Richards. As Presidents of the
Seventies: Joseph Young, Benjamin L. Clapp and Jedediah M. Grant. As Presiding Bishop, Newel K. Whitney. Bishop George Miller’s name was not
presented for vote.
Mary
Richards attended this conference and wrote:
“Bro B[righam] & Kimball gave us much good instruction in regard to
the future proceeding of the Camp in this place etc. after which we were
dismissed with the Blessings of the Lord.”
Erastus Snow added his impressions of the conference: “Spent a few hours in the exchange of
feeling and in exhortation, and in transacting some important business, and
adjourned by advice of President Brigham Young, as the most part of the pioneer
company were about ready and anxious to be on their journey westward.”
William C.
A. Smoot, one of the pioneers, left Winter Quarters to head for the Elkhorn
River to stand guard.
Amy Sumner
Porter, age thirty-two, died of scurvy.
She was the wife of Chauncy W. Porter.
Summer
Quarters was measured off and divided into city plots. John D. Lee called the family together and
they discussed whether the land should be pooled together as a family or
divided up privately. Those who wanted
the land pooled together were: Alfred D. Young, David Young, James Woolley,
Henry Woolley, George Laub, Allen Weeks, William Allen, T. Allen, Levi North,
George W. Hickerson and some others. T.
Johnson, William Pace, and Miles Anderson wanted private ownership. There were some sharp words spoken during
the discussion and John D. Lee had to reprove some of the men. Brothers Harris, Simeon Dunn and James Busby
soon arrived at the camp.
Luman
Shurtliff continued to labor in collecting donations for the destitute Saints
at Garden Grove, Iowa. He wrote:
I called on
one wholesale merchant who refused me money, finally hunted up some men’s hats
that were out of style and gave me two dozen.
These hats sold in upper Missouri for three dollars each. Sometimes I would get a box of soap,
sometimes a pair of boots or a coat or pants or dishes or a looking glass. At one place I got a gross of spoons, a
gross of knives and forks. I made many
trips a day to my room which was four pair of stairs up. On an average my travel was about two miles
each load. I was walking and talking
all day and this affected my lungs and I was failing fast.
A wagon
was sent to the coast, to load provisions from a ship. Colonel Cooke issued an official order to
discontinue the post at San Luis Rey Mission.
“1st Lieutenant, Oman, Mormon Battalion, will march his detachment,
composing its garrison, to this city without delay. He will drive here all the public mules and bring with him other
public property in his charge.”
Elder
Addison Pratt, on the first leg of his voyage to home from his long mission,
noted in his journal that this was his daughter Lois’ tenth birthday. He wrote:
Again is my
dear family brought fresh to my mind by this anniversary. And to reflect that I am now on my way to
them is a pleasant thought. But the
next thought that arises is, Where are they?11
Or where am I to find them? It is true I have started for California, in hopes
to find them there. But as I have not
heard a word from them since August, 1844, who can tell me that I am to find
them there?
Orson Hyde
arrived in New York from Liverpool.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 546‑47; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D.
Lee, 144; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:146; “Luman
Shurtliff Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 73; Ward, ed., Winter Quarters,
117; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:246; “Levi Jackman
Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 26; Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts, Improvement
Era 14:633; Knight and Kimball, 111 Days to Zion, 5; Beecher, The
Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 164; Journal of Henry Standage in
Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion, 217 Tyler, A Concise
History of the Mormon Battalion, 275; Ellsworth, ed., The Journals of
Addison Pratt, 325; Norton Jacob Journal, typescript, 44; Wight, The
Wild Ram of the Mountain: Lyman Wight, 266-82
At about
noon, Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Orson Pratt, and others started their
historic pioneer journey for the Rocky Mountains. Norton Jacob recorded: “I
left my family and started on the great expedition with the pioneers to the
West.” Wilford Woodruff left with his
company of eight wagons. He wrote: “When we were on the top of the ridge west
of the city, I took a view of the Place & looked at my wife & children
through my glass. I then led the
company to the old camp ground12
from thence on the Ponkan road about 7 miles & camped for the night 10
miles from Winter Quarters.” Soon,
Orson Pratt arrived with his company, followed by Brigham Young and his
company. They all camped together with
about twenty‑five wagons near a west branch of Little Papillion Creek. Heber C. Kimball was still camping about
four miles to the east at the haystacks.
Albert P.
Rockwood was in Brigham Young’s division.
He reported that they left Winter Quarters at 2:15 p.m., passed through
Cutler’s Park and then camped at the headwaters of the creek that flows into
the Missouri near Old Council Bluff.
They found Wilford Woodruff and others already camping at this
location. The afternoon turned cold,
causing Brother Rockwood to put on his mittens and buffalo warmers. Stephen Markham drove in after sunset
hauling the cannon.
The
brethren had to quickly adapt to being without their wives. Albert Rockwood wrote: “For the first time on the journey I
experienced the inconvenience of not having a wife to git my supper, for just
as I was to set to supper, I had the misfortune to tip over a nice pan of milk
in my wagon, this put me to the inconvenience of making other arrangements for
my refreshments.” The camp retired by 9
p.m. with one guard to watch the horses and mules.
Lorenzo
Dow Young, his wife Harriet, and their children, left Winter Quarters at about
4 p.m., with their milk cow in tow.
They only traveled about a half mile and camped for the night. Thomas Bullock, with Willard Richards’ teams
left Winter Quarters at 5 p.m., traveled by the cemeteries and camped on the
prairie. The pioneers took with them a
package of nearly four hundred letters for the Mormon Battalion. The wind blew quite hard during the night.
For many
of the pioneers, it was very difficult to leave their families behind. Sylvester Henry Earl wrote: “It is hard to leave my family here, sick
and among howling wolves and the roaming savages of the west, but the servants
of the Lord says go, and I feel as ever to leave all for the Gospel and the
salvation of the people.”
Fourteen‑year‑old
Andrew Purley Shumway wrote:
When father
told me he was selected to go I burst into tears. My mother having just died, it seemed more than I could endure to
be left. This affected my father very
much and he went and told President Brigham Young how I felt and that I wished
to go with him. The President said:
‘Let him go, it will be all right.’ The news gave me great joy. Brother John D. Lee furnished us with a span
of mules and a light wagon for the journey.13
Heber C.
Kimball held a meeting with his family.
He warned them against those who might try to come in the family and sew
discord among them while he was gone.
He told them to place their complete confidence in Bishop Newel K.
Whitney while he was gone, that he was “a worthy, good and exemplary man.” Horace K. Whitney recorded: “He [Elder Kimball] told his wife Vilate
that if any person should presume to come into his house and speak against him,
or any member of his family, while he was gone, to arise and command them to
leave the house, in the name of Heber C. Kimball!”
Ezra T.
Benson and Lyman O. Littlefield visited with Mary Richards. Elder Littlefield informed her that he was
about to leave for England in a few days and would take letters or anything
that Mary wished to send to her husband, Samuel W. Richards.
Jacob, a
twenty-three-year-old black servant of John Bankhead died of winter fever.
The day
was spent in cutting and hauling timber for houses. John D. Lee, Alfred D. Young, and several of Brother Lee’s wives,
raised the body of one house. Isaac
Houston and Jacob F. Secrist arrived from Winter Quarters. Brother Houston reported that the rest of
the pioneers were leaving Winter Quarters during the morning. Brigham Young and Isaac Morley intended to
visit Summer Quarters on the following day.
A petition
was organized by the enlisted men to be presented to the battalion officers
asking for the discharge of the battalion, since the war appeared to be
over. Most of the men signed it, but
the officers rejected it because they wanted to extend the service of the
battalion to build forts for the army for further pay. The enlisted men were very angry at this. Nathaniel Jones wrote: “This evening the officers met and
counselled together about the matter, and the honorable body threw the bill
under the table.” The officers who
supported the petition were: Daniel
Davis, James Pace, Andrew Lytle, and Samuel Thompson. Those who argued against it were: Jefferson Hunt, Lorenzo Clark, George Rosecrans, and George
Dykes.
Two
cannons were brought from the San Gabriel Mission. They had been taken from Colonel Fremont’s volunteers and were to
be guarded by the battalion. Two wagons
returned from San Pedro loaded with flour and clothing.
Azariah
Smith wrote: “I and Thomas [Dutcher]
went down to the Coast again, and there are fish in the Ocean which have a
stinger on the tail. We went in
swimming and one of them stung Thomas on the foot, and he was in great pain
four or five hours when it ceased to pain him, and got well.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 546‑47; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D.
Lee, 144‑45; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:146;
“Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 14:155; Egan, Pioneering
the West, 21; Our Pioneer Heritage, 2:532, 543, 8:243; Jenson, Day
By Day With the Utah Pioneers, 3; Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, 117;
“The Journal of Nathaniel V. Jones,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:14‑5;
Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion,
217; Whitney, Life of Heber C.
Kimball, 364; Bigler, The Gold Discovery Journal of Azariah Smith,
82; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 1
Wilford
Woodruff noted history when the first game was killed in the camp of the
pioneers ‑‑ a squirrel. He
proposed that since it was the first fruits of the journey, that it be
presented to Brigham Young for breakfast, which it was. Lorenzo Dow Young’s family arrived at the
camp. They visited with Charles and
Vilate Decker, Lucy Decker Young and Margaret Peirce Young. Thomas Bullock arrived in camp in the
morning and counted three carriages and twenty‑eight wagons.
Brigham
Young and Isaac Morley left for Summer Quarters. Wilford Woodruff and several others spent the day hunting. He noted that they “caught nothing but weary
limbs & wet feet.” Albert P.
Rockwood headed back to Winter Quarters to retrieve some things for Brigham
Young.
Brigham
Young and his company returned from Summer Quarters in the late afternoon. Young fourteen‑year‑old Rodney
Swasey (the boy who had been hung by his heels by a mob near Farmington, Iowa,
see March 9, 1847) received news that his stepfather and mother had been freed
from prison by the mob. He wished to
return to them instead of going with the pioneers. John D. Lee agreed to let Thomas Woolsey take his place. Amasa Lyman had brought word that Parley P.
Pratt had returned to Winter Quarters from his mission. Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, John Young,
Amasa Lyman, Isaac Morley, and others left for Winter Quarters and arrived by
sunset.
When
Wilford Woodruff returned to the camp from hunting, that evening, he received
word that the rest of the Twelve had headed back on horses to Winter
Quarters. It was too late for Elder
Woodruff to make the trip that night.
At about
noon, Brigham Young and Isaac Morley arrived with George D. Grant, Charles
Kennedy, John Young, Joseph Young, and President Young’s son. They were pleased with the farm location
that was chosen. President Young and
his brother John laid down to rest for a while after the long ride and then
arose to a great meal. President Young
gave some instructions regarding the assignment of lots and then invited John
D. Lee to return to Winter Quarters with him to help Thomas Woolsey fit out for
the pioneer journey. They left at 2:40
p.m., and returned to the pioneer camp.
Howard
Egan arrived at Heber C. Kimball’s camp at the haystacks, about three miles
east of Winter Quarters. Horace K. and
Orson F. Whitney also arrived at this camp, accompanied by Heber C. Kimball and
his wife, Ellen. Soon, Orrin Porter
Rockwell arrived on horseback with news that Parley P. Pratt had arrived home
from England. Brother Egan traveled
back to Winter Quarters with Heber C. Kimball, Ellen Kimball, Newel K. Whitney,
and Horace K. Whitney.
In the
morning, Erastus Snow, ready to leave his family, called them together and
“dedicated them to the Lord.” He
encouraged them to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to pray
always. He laid his hands on his
children and blessed them, beginning with the youngest, three‑month‑old
Mahonri, and ending with his oldest daughter, six-year-old Sarah. He administered to his wife Artimesia, who
was ill and then committed his family into the care of Caleb Edwards. Brother Snow then joined James Craig to
journey to the pioneer camp. They
arrived that evening, just as the Twelve and others were returning to Winter
Quarters on horseback. Brother Snow
joined them in returning to the city.
Parley P.
Pratt returned home from his mission in England at noon. During the past few days he had been cared
for each night by many Saints as he made the final leg of his journey from
Mount Pisgah. Elder Pratt wrote:
I crossed
over the ferry at noon of a fine April day, and came suddenly upon my friends
and family. . . . I found my family all alive, and dwelling in a log
cabin. They had, however suffered much
from cold, hunger and sickness. . . . One of the family was then lying very
sick with scurvy. . . . I found, on inquiry, that the winter had been very
severe, the snow deep, and consequently, that all my horses (four in number)
were lost.
Elder
Pratt only had seven cows left and four oxen.
In the
evening, the Twelve returned to meet with Elder Pratt. He gave a report of his mission at Willard
Richards’ office. Heber C. Kimball
recorded his warm feelings on this occasion:
“It was a time of rejoicing with us to behold our beloved brother and
companion in tribulation.”
Elder
Pratt reported that the British Mission had been “set back in order” and that
he had collected tithing, 469 sovereigns in gold, from the British Saints. This money would soon arrive with John
Taylor along with astronomical and other instruments that would be useful to
the pioneers. Parley P. Pratt recorded: “The President and Council seemed well
pleased with our mission and management.
They expressed an earnest wish for me to accompany them on the pioneer
trip to the mountains; but my circumstances seemed to forbid, and they did not
press the matter.” The Twelve decided
by vote that the pioneers should move on from their camp seven miles out, to
cross the Elkhorn River. The Twelve
would return on next Tuesday to meet Elder Taylor and retrieve the instruments.
John
Knowls died of scurvy. He was the
husband of Hannah Knowls.
Teams were
sent to retrieve seven more cannons from the San Gabriel Mission.
In the
afternoon, a signal was issued from the fort, announcing the arrival of the
ship, Barnstable. It sailed in
from San Francisco with 40 barrels of flour for company B. An express arrived, with letters from
Colonel Cooke and General Kearny, stating that the battalion should be paid
soon and that they should receive full rations of flour when the ship
arrived. The pay was desperately needed
to buy clothing.
Autobiography
of Parley P. Pratt, 357‑58; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s
Journal, 3:146‑47; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 145‑46;
Egan, Pioneering the West, 21; Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts, Improvement
Era 14:633‑34; “Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah Historical
Quarterly, 14:155; “Excerpts from the hitherto unpublished Journal of
Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era, 50:203; Jenson, Day By Day With
the Utah Pioneers, 4; Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, p.364;
Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion,
217; “The Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:90;
“Journal Extracts of Henry W. Bigler,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 5:60;
“Private Journal of Thomas Dunn,” 23; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,”
typescript, BYU, 2
Brigham
Young met with the Twelve at 8 a.m. to hear more about Parley P. Pratt’s
mission. Elder Pratt mentioned that the
British Parliament supported an idea to colonize the Saints on Vancouver Island
at the expense of England. He also
related news of the Mexican War. He
heard while at New Orleans that Zachary Taylor’s army had been hemmed in by
Santa Ana, cutting off their supplies.
Taylor refused to surrender and a battle took place.
At noon,
Brigham Young and the other members of the Twelve rode out to the pioneer
camp. William Kimball (Heber’s son)
drove the Kimball’s carriage containing Brigham Young, Newel K. Whitney (going
for the ride), Willard Richards, and Heber C. Kimball.
Mary
Richards went to see Parley P. Pratt, hoping that he might have a letter for
her from her husband. She was
disappointed that he did not have one, but Elder Pratt told her that Samuel was
doing well on his mission in England.
Eliza R. Snow was quite sick in bed.
Sister Swan brought her “a fine mess of wild onions.” Sister Snow wrote: “The weather . . . is now fine‑‑cattle have been
brows’d for several days, in marshy places the grass affords them a fresh
bite.”
William
Clayton and the Quadrille Band crossed over the Missouri River on the
ferry. They played in the boat as they
crossed, but when they made a return trip, the wind was so strong that it made
the crossing dangerous.
Wilford
Woodruff mounted his horse in the morning and started to ride back to Winter
Quarters to meet with the Twelve. The
rest of the pioneers engaged in a little dancing to pass the time. When Elder Woodruff was within a half mile
of the city, he met the rest of the Twelve heading toward the camp. He turned his horse around and returned to
camp with them.
At 1:50
p.m., George A. Smith and Luke S. Johnson brought word that the Twelve were on
the road and the pioneer company should be ready to move out of camp when they
arrived. Orson Pratt gave orders for
the teams to be hitched up.
When the
Twelve arrived at 3 p.m., the camp consisting of sixty‑four wagons
resumed their journey. John D. Lee, who
was along for the ride, commented about the procession, “When the waggons were
all on the road in a line they made a sublime appearance.” There was one bad muddy spot that required
some doubling of teams but most of the wagons made it through by being pulled
with ropes by about thirty pioneers.
Brother Lee parted with the pioneers in the afternoon. He now had second thoughts about not joining
them. “I should like to have been in
Co[mpany] with them, had wisdom ordered it so.”
The
pioneers continued along a crooked route to a location fourteen miles west of
Winter Quarters, near a beautiful spring, “in a little valley where there was
no wood, but water, and a sprinkling of grass.”
Albert P.
Rockwood commented: “I looked hard to
see if any timber could be seen. None
was visible except the tops of a small grove to the south, the face of the
country is high rolling prairie.”
Brigham
Young and Willard Richards cut grass with their knives to provide feed for
their horses. Heber C. Kimball lodged
in Brigham Young’s wagon. They had
prepared the wagon so that they would be able to both sleep in it throughout
the journey.
Heber C.
Kimball recorded:
In the
course of the evening Bishop Whitney and myself went some distance upon the
prairie, where we bowed down before the Lord and both offered up our prayers to
the Most High God in behalf of the pioneers and the Twelve, that they might be
protected and upheld and sustained by the Almighty; that His angels might go
before them to lead them to a land which the Lord should designate to be a
resting place for His people, Israel; also in behalf of our families, our wives
and children, and all Israel that are left behind.
Wilford
Woodruff camped about three miles ahead.
Erastus Snow also went further.
He recorded: “Went up the divide
near the Missouri waters a few miles, and bore off to the west and camped in
the open prairie about ten miles from our first encampment.” Others, including Howard Egan and Charles
Harper, camped near this location on the prairie.
At about 6
p.m., John D. Lee arrived back to Summer Quarters with David Young and Rodney
Swasey. Charles Kennedy and George Laub
had moved their property to the camp.
James
Brown and Nelson Higgins returned from Santa Fe. They reported that there was no one there who had the power to
discharge the Pueblo detachment, or give them any orders to leave until General
Kearny returned from California. John
Steele recorded that they “brought some barrels of whiskey from Taos that they
paid $2.50 and sold it at $8 per gallon and the boys are getting themselves
drunk as fools.”
Some of
the men went to put flour which had arrived the previous day on the ship Barnstable,
in the storehouse. Robert S. Bliss
wrote, “We are getting acquainted with the Spaniards here they are very
friendly & intelligent, many of them they live like gentlemen.” The Indians were their servants and their
sport was to ride on horseback with lassos.
He added, “Figs are now full size on the trees & pears & peaches
are as large as the end of my finger.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 547; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal,
3:147; “Excerpts from the hitherto unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement
Era, 50:203; William Clayton’s Journal, 73; “Erastus Snow Journal
Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:634; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D.
Lee, 146‑47; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 356; Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball,
365; Jenson, Day By Day With the Utah Pioneers, 5; Ward, ed., Winter
Quarters, 118; Beecher, ed., The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow,
164; “John Steele Diary”; “The Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical
Quarterly, 4:90; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,”typescript, BYU, 3
The
weather was still very nice, but cool.
Because of no timber, the pioneers had to gather up weeds to burn in the
morning to warm themselves. They broke
camp at 7:30 a.m. and traveled toward the Elkhorn River. They used a bridge to cross over the Big Papillion
Creek.
Wilford
Woodruff arrived at the Elkhorn River and crossed over his teams on rafts
before dusk. The river was about 180
feet across. Other companies, including
Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball’s did not quite make it to the river crossing. They stopped about six miles short and
camped on the prairie, near a ravine with water. Bishop Newel K. Whitney was still traveling with the company.
Because
there was no wood to cook with in the morning, Erastus Snow crossed Big
Papillion Creek, found some scattered cottonwood trees, and a portion of the
company stopped to cook breakfast. The
rest continued on toward the southwest and arrived at the Elkhorn at noon. Brother Snow crossed his teams over during
the evening. A guard of eight men were
posted because some Indians had been seen “prowling around.”
Norton
Jacob also arrived at the Elkhorn. He
wrote: “We were in sight of the Elk
Horn River, and the valley of the great Platte, affording a full view of the
river as it stretched away from many miles to the west, like a line of silver
glistening in the setting sun, through the scattered timber upon its banks.”14
A meeting
of the police guard was held at Hosea Stout’s home. Concerns were expressed because the police had only received
about half of their pay and it did not appear that there was further tax money
to continue to pay the police. They
were concerned about their families and wondered if they should start spending
time planting crops for the summer. It
was agreed that this matter should be brought before the High Council on the
following day.
Mary
Richards was very busy. She wrote that
she “gave our tent a regular cleaning out.”
At 6 a.m.,
John D. Lee, Brother Jacob F. Secrist, Alfred D. Young, George Laub, and D.
Young started to clear off a garden spot.
At 10 a.m., Brother Lee sent a team to gather bricks at the fort ruins,
at Old Council Bluff. Rodney Swasey
left Summer Quarters to return to his parents.
Families continued to arrive, including Allen Weeks, Charles Kennedy and
N. Knight. At 2 p.m., Jacob F. Secrist
left for Winter Quarters in search of a team to go to Missouri for seed
potatoes.
Private
Mervin S. Blanchard, age twenty-two, of the Mormon Battalion, died at Pueblo. He had been sick for a long time. He was the son of Simeon and Eunice
Blanchard.
Lt.
Sylvester Hulet submitted his resignation of his commission so he could return
to his family.15 Henry Standage commented, “Our Commanders
are softening their hearts very fast, more willing to listen to our petition
[to be discharged.]”
Henry
Bigler went with several men six miles out to cut wood for burning bricks.
Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal 3:147; Egan, Pioneering the West, 21; “Erastus
Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:634; “Excerpts from the
hitherto unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era,
50:203; Jenson, Day By Day With the Utah Pioneers, 6; Kimball, Historic
Sites and Markers Along the Mormon and Other Great Western Trails, 54;
Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:246; Ward, ed., Winter
Quarters, 118; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 356‑57; “Journal
Extracts of Henry W. Bigler,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 5:61; Journal
of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion, 217;
Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion, 148; Jenson, Church Chronology,
April 10, 1847; Our Pioneer Heritage, 1:505; Kelly, ed., Journals of
John D. Lee, 147‑48; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,” typescript,
BYU, 4
During the
morning, about twenty wagons crossed over the river on rafts made from dry
cottonwood logs. Soon, Brigham Young
and Heber C. Kimball arrived with their companies. The men worked hard to take their wagons across this first major
obstacle to the pioneer company. The
wagons were taken across the river on rafts pulled across by ropes attached to
cattle on the opposite side of the river.
The trip across took about five minutes for each wagon. Thomas Bullock and Willard Richards
carefully counted seventy‑two wagons that crossed. They swam the horses and cattle across the
water which was about four feet deep.
At this point the pioneer company numbered 136 pioneers, three women,
and two children. Willard Richards was
among the last to cross because he was looking for his “lead mare” that had
wandered away.
Horace K.
Whitney wrote: “Went about a mile,
after crossing, down the stream, and camped for the night ‑‑ the
wagons formed in a line, our horses being hitched to stakes and fed on
cottonwood trees.”
Heber C.
Kimball commented on the decision to travel on Sunday. “It was not our intention to have encroached
on the Sabbath, but the camps were in a disordered state, some being on one side
of the ‘Horn,’ and some on the other, and it was thought wisdom to get them
together, lest they should be attacked by Indians and be unprepared for
defense.”
Albert P.
Rockwood proudly wrote in his journal that he preferred to walk. He stated that he “had not rode the first
rod in my wagon.” He thought it best to
walk than to burden his mules with the extra weight.
In the
evening, one of the pioneers was very ill.
Wilford Woodruff and Ezra T. Benson laid their hands on him and blessed
him to recover. Brigham Young called
together a meeting and asked the pioneers to vote whether they should travel
fourteen more miles on the next day or stay where they were. The Twelve expected to return to Winter
Quarters to meet with John Taylor who was to arrive back from his mission. The pioneers voted to go ahead because it
was considered wise to get across some lowlands along the Platte River before
the water level rose too high. Heber C.
Kimball encouraged the pioneers to keep the Sabbath day holy. He asked that they refrain from hunting or
fishing on the Sabbath “as this was a day set apart for the service of the Lord
and not for trivial amusements.”
A Sabbath
meeting was held at the Winter Quarters stand.
Parley P. Pratt spoke and shared a history of his travels while on his
recent mission to England.
William
Clayton was worried about previous threats from Hosea Stout to take his life
after the Twelve would leave. Winslow
Farr stopped by during the evening and warned Brother Clayton to be on his
guard.
Eliza R.
Snow wrote a poem:
The
Twelve: To Prest. B. Young
They have
gone‑‑they have gone new privations to share
Gone as
Abraham went when he knew not where
They have
gone like the deer when pursued in the chase
To secure
to the saints a safe hiding place.
Why? O why
must they go to the depth of the wild
Where
benign cultivation of late has not smil’d
Wherefore
thus on a pilgrimage must they go forth
And forsake
all the comforts and blessings of earth?
They are
call’d to be saviors, and saviors must flee
To a
wilderness home for security
While the
anger of nations is raging abroad ‑‑
While the
Gentiles are feeling the judgments of God.
They have
gone ‑‑ they have gone; may the Spirit’s sweet voice
Whisper
comfort and peace that their hearts may rejoice:
May an
angel of presence on each one attend
To protect
from all ill and preserve to the end.
And when
God shall direct may they retrace their track
And to
these Winter Quarters in safety come back
That the
saints who shall tarry may be of good cheer
When with
heartfelt rejoicings we welcome them here.
A son,
Edward H. Martin, was born to Edward and Alice Martin. Gardner Clark, age fifty-six, died of
scurvy. He was the husband of Delecta
Clark.
John D.
Lee, Absalom P. Free, Alfred D. Young, and Brother Houston walked about two
miles below the farm to look at the possibilities of expanding the farm to that
land. They found a field of good
soil. To start the work of clearing the
land, they set the old grass on fire.
Company C
was ordered to be ready for a march to go guard Cajon Pass. Lieutenant Rosecrans was to lead the men to
this pass in the Sierra Nevada range about 80 miles to the east. Because of rumors of danger, they were sent
to guard the pass against the advance of an enemy force.
Robert
Bliss wrote:
San Diego
is a small town built after the Spanish fashion with a public square &
house of worship, 3 or 4 stores & as many Groceries. Our Flag waves in center of the town &
another one on the Fort above the town; the shipping lies 5 miles South of town
& the Breakers of the Sea are in Sight West 4 miles & the roar of the
same would not let us sleep were we not used to the noise of a still
night. There is a toluble Harbour &
perfectly secure for vessils from a Storm; between us & the coast west is
another bay but not Sufficient water at the Bar for vessils to pass in; here
are Seals, Walrus, Whales &c on this coast.
About
forty to fifty Indians came into town and had a “frolick.” They spent the day gambling, singing,
drinking, fighting. Robert S. Bliss
commented that “it was quite amusing to see them.” A number of sailors were put under guard for fighting.
Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, 3:147; “Excerpts from the hitherto unpublished
Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era, 50:203; William
Clayton’s Journal, 73; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:247;
Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, 365‑66; “Erastus Snow Journal
Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:634‑35; Egan, Pioneering the West,
21; Jenson, Day By Day With the Utah Pioneers, 7; Nibley, Exodus to
Greatness, 357; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 147‑48;
Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion,
217; “The Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:90‑1;
John Brown, Giant of the Lord, 92; “The Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah
Historical Quarterly, 4:91; Beecher, ed., The Personal Writings of Eliza
R. Snow, 165; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 4
The
pioneer camp traveled fourteen miles up the north bank of the Platte
River. The men were impressed by the
width of the Platte River. It was wider
than they had expected. After the camp
was established, a meeting was held in the evening. It was decided that Thomas Grover, Henry G. Sherwood, and Stephen
Markham should lead the pioneer company until the Twelve returned. Brother Markham gave some instructions about
guarding the camp. James Case and
Jackson Redden were appointed to scout ahead on the following day. The meeting was closed with prayers and then
the pioneers enjoyed some music and dancing.
After the guard was established for the evening, Brother Markham asked
the men to have prayers together in their meal groups (messes).16
Brigham
Young, the other members of the Twelve, Erastus Snow, John Brown, Norton Jacob,
Albert P. Rockwood, Bishop Newel K. Whitney, and others crossed back over the
Elkhorn and traveled back to Winter Quarters, hoping to meet with John Taylor
the following day. Norton Jacob made the
return trip to fetch his rifle and cow.
The only wagons that remained at the Elkhorn were those belonging to
George A. Smith and John Brown. Part of
the company traveled by horseback on an Indian trail which saved 15 miles of
traveling. The wagons had to travel
thirty‑five miles along the established roads which did not follow a
direct route.
William
Clayton spent the day at home. Thomas
and James, members of his family, were cutting wood and preparing to go to
Summer Quarters. The High Council
decided to levy another tax to continue to fund a police guard.
In the
evening, after all of them had arrived at the city, the Twelve held a Council
meeting. They discussed what to do with
the tithing money that Parley P. Pratt had collected in England. Various individuals were mentioned who
needed assistance. Brigham Young was
appointed by the Council to distribute the funds. A letter was written to Orson Spencer in England asking him to
release Franklin or Samuel Richards, Lucius N. Scovill and others who could be
spared. “But if not in accordance with
the spirit of time, let them wait in patience, and they shall have their
rewards.” They shared with Orson
Spencer the most recent news:
The
Council, Parley P. Pratt excepted, left 69 pioneer wagons and teams on the west
side of the Elk Horn this morning, prosecuting their journey for the Great
Basin, in search for a location for a stake of Zion. We expect to overtake them in two or three days, and point the
site as the Spirit directs, and return in the fall, and in the spring following
take out our families.
The
Council approved the call of Lyman O. Littlefield to serve a mission in the
British Isles. Thomas Bullock was asked
to keep the official journal of the Pioneer journey. The meeting concluded at midnight. George A. Smith wrote: “I
went to bed feeling much tired and bruised by riding horseback thirty‑five
miles on a rough going nag.”
John
Patten, age sixty, died of scurvy. He
was the husband of Hannah Ingersoll Patten.
William J. Lance, age three months, died. He was the son of Jacob and Mary Lance.
John D.
Lee was busy working on his cabin. He
also cleared off some of the land for a garden, but had to spend one quarter of
the day pulling cattle out of a mire.
James Leavens and Brother Markham arrived on their way to the cattle
herd further up the Missouri River. The
river was very full of water, nearly level with its banks.
A son,
Samuel Nebeker, was born to John and Lurena Fitzgerald Nebeker.
Company C
marched toward Cajon Pass under the leadership of Lt. George W. Rosecrans. Lt. James Pace hated to see the battalion
divided up into so many groups. He
recalled the counsel from Brigham Young to never divide the battalion. Colonel Mason visited the battalion at Los
Angeles and praised them. He said that
they were “the best volunteers of any he had ever seen in the manual of arms.”
Thomas
Dunn wrote about a little bit of trouble in town. A sailor, Mr. Russell and a Spaniard argued over a debt of $1.50.
Some
conversation ensued after which Russell fired a pistol at the Spaniard, but did
not hit him. He [the Mexican] then caught a stone and threw at Russell but
missed him. He next threw a cow’s foot
which knocked Russell from his horse.
The citizenry gather round the two.
They were immediately arrested, Russell was put in irons.
Luman
Shurtliff packed up all the goods he had collected in the city for the Saints
at Garden Grove, and hired a man to haul the things to a boat which would leave
the following day, bound for St. Louis.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 547; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal,
3:147; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 149; “Charles Harper Diary,”
15; Diary of Howard Egan, Pioneering the West, 22; “Luman Shurtliff
Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 73; Autobiography of John Brown, 73; William
Clayton’s Journal, 74; “Excerpts from the hitherto unpublished Journal of
Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era, 50:203; Our Pioneer Heritage, 8:243; “Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences,”
190; Kimball, Historic Sites and Markers Along the Mormon and Other Great
Western Trails, 48; “Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era
14:633; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:247; Nibley, Exodus to
Greatness, 358‑59; “Private Journal of Thomas Dunn,” typescript, 23;
Yurtinus, A Ram in the Thicket, 568; “The Journal of Nathaniel V.
Jones,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:15; “Journal of Albert P.
Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 5
The
pioneers spent the day setting up three blacksmith forges. The blacksmiths were James Davenport, Thomas
Tanner, and Burr Frost. Clara Decker
Young washed and Harriet Young cleaned her wagon. Howard Egan spent the day fixing Heber C. Kimball’s wagon. Charles Harper put two new axletrees on
it. The men who were sent to scout the
road ahead returned in the evening and reported that the road ahead was
bad. They would not be able to travel
on it if more rain fell. Stephen
Markham called the pioneer camp together to give some instructions about
obeying counsel and following the first principles of the gospel. He spoke about the purpose of life and the
premortal world of spirits. He
testified that they had chosen to come to the earth during this dispensation to
a choice lineage. Charles Harper wrote
that the sermon was not very edifying to the men. After the preaching, Brother Markham assigned the night
guard. The camp said their prayers and
retired to their beds.
Wilford
Woodruff was very busy painting a wagon that he planned to sell. He obtained another horse to take on the
pioneer journey. The Twelve were very
busy trying to find additional teams.
Willard
Richards wrote a letter to the Nauvoo Trustees. He gave some direct counsel regarding the question if the temple
should be sold for a very low price.
“Has the Lord turned bankrupt? Or are his children so needy that they
are obliged to sell their Father’s house for a morsel of bread?” Besides, if
the temple was sold, the money would be sought by those filing unjust
lawsuits. “We wish you were here ready
to go with us to a place of peace and safety, and then we would all be ready to
do each other good, and in a situation to roll on the great cause of
Zion.” Then, speaking of the deserted
city of Nauvoo: “And if we get no other
reward for past labors, we have left monuments which will memorialize the
diligence of the Saints forever‑‑a greater glory than safes of
gold.”
Heber C.
Kimball asked Appleton M. Harmon to go with the pioneers to drive an ox team
for him. Brother Harmon consulted with
his father, quickly situated his family, and left Winter Quarters with Addison
Everett, Norton Jacob, and Roswell Stevens.
They left in the afternoon, traveled four miles, and camped in a hollow
for the night.
William
Clayton visited with Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball in the Winter Quarters
store and told them about his worries that Hosea Stout was plotting to take his
life after the Twelve would leave.
At about 5
p.m., Thomas Bullock and George D. Grant left Winter Quarters with Willard
Richards’ extra teams. They crossed
over Turkey Creek by the mill, went through the woods, and camped on the
prairie at some crossroads.
At about
sunset, John Taylor returned from his mission to England and arrived back in
Winter Quarters. He brought with him
two sextants, two barometers, two artificial horizons, one circle of
reflection, several thermometers and a telescope. The instruments were packed up to be taken by the pioneers. Elder Taylor and Parley P. Pratt gave a
report of their mission. The brethren
expressed joy and satisfaction on hearing the good report regarding the state
of the Church in England.
As he
retired for the night, Wilford Woodruff wrote:
“I spent the remainder of the night at home, the last night I shall
spend at Winter Quarters for a long time.”
Wilbur Earl,
age eleven months, died of scarlet fever.
He was the son of Wilbur and Harriet Earl. Harriet Shumway, age three years, died of canker. She was the daughter of Charles and July
Shumway.
Alfred D.
Young brought in a nice turkey from his morning hunt. John D. Lee broke two plows.
One of them was sent back to Winter Quarters for repairs, the other was
fixed and he plowed a field for some early potatoes and garden seed. A large herd of cattle was driven through
the new settlement, on the way to Winter Quarters. They were driven by Winslow Farr, Brother Blozard, Brother Allen,
Brother Merchants, and others. John D.
Lee sent Brother T. Johnson to the upper herd for his cattle. They were located about 25‑30 miles up
the river.
During the
afternoon, the small detachment left at San Luis Rey arrived as ordered.
The
Sailors from the ships continued to get into trouble. One was put into stocks for being drunk and showing
insubordination. Another was marched
back to his ship and put under guard.
Luman
Shurtliff arrived at Louisville and collected all of the goods that he had left
there. He was feeling very sick and had
pains in his stomach. Even medicine
made him feel worse.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 547; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal,
3:148; “Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:817; Diary of
Lorenzo Dow Young, 14:155; Appleton Milo Harmon Goes West, 15; William
Clayton’s Journal, 74; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 149;
“Luman Shurtliff Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 73; Diary of Howard Egan, Pioneering
the West, 22; “Charles Harper Diary,” 15; Our Pioneer Heritage,
8:243; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 359‑60; Journal of Henry
Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion, 217; “The Journal
of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:91; “Journal of Albert
P. Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 6
It rained
for a while in the morning but later cleared.
John S. Higbee, Jackson Redden, and others went up the Platte River to
find a place to fish. They returned in
the evening with two dozen fish. Howard
Egan’s horses strayed. He took one of
Brother Redden’s horses, traveled back toward the Elkhorn river and found
them. He only succeeded in catching one
of them.
A council
meeting was held in the morning and then preparations were made by the pioneers
for their final departure from Winter Quarters. Wilford Woodruff called his family together, blessed his wife and
children and “left them in the hands of the Lord.”
George A.
Smith wrote in his journal, “Took my leave of my family and started for my camp
about 9 o’clock a.m. Left my youngest
child, Nancy Adelia with inflammation of the brain; it was the opinion of most
that she would not live but a few hours.
Two others of my family were sick.
I left corn meal enough to last my family three days, but no other
provisions.”
Members of
the Twelve and other pioneers started their journey to overtake the pioneer
company. One group, including Orson
Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, Erastus Snow, Amasa M. Lyman, John
Brown and others, traveled on horseback on the Indian trail and soon reached
the Elkhorn river. They crossed over on
a raft and camped two miles below the ferry, near the Platte River. They had a “splendid supper” of catfish,
pork, and beans.
Back at
Winter Quarters, Brigham Young and Willard Richards visited William Clayton at
11 a.m. They told him to “rise up” and
leave with the pioneers in a half hour.
President Young also took time to stop and say good‑bye to Eliza
R. Snow.
Albert P.
Rockwood and Phinehas Young left Winter Quarters driving the “boat wagon.” This was a large leather boat, also called
“Revenue Cutter” which had been used to cross the Missouri River. It was placed on the running gears of
Brother Black’s wagon.
Another
group left Winter Quarters at 2 p.m. and traveled in the carriages and wagons,
went about nineteen miles and camped on the prairie. This group included Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, William
Kimball, Ellen Sanders Kimball, Newel K. Whitney, Ezra T. Benson and William
Clayton.
Margaret
Sheets, age three months, died. She was
the daughter of Elijah F. and Margaret Sheets.
Catherine Stevenson, age seventy-seven, died of scurvy.
Appleton
Harmon, Addison Everett, Norton Jacob, and Roswell Stevens arose and made their
breakfast in their camp four miles west of Winter Quarters. As they were preparing to leave, they
discovered four Omaha Indians on the ridge south of them. The Omahas soon came into the pioneers’ camp
and started begging for food. The
pioneers tried to explain that they were going where no food could be obtained
and needed everything that they had. Norton Jacob wrote that they “were very saucy because we would not
give them our provisions.” The Indian’s
insisted and threatened to shoot a cow.
Brother Harmon gave them each an ear of corn, but they refused to leave
until they were each given another ear.
Once they
left, the pioneers started their journey.
They traveled about twenty‑one miles. During their travels, Brigham Young and about twenty others
passed them on horses. Brother Harmon’s
company continued to travel after dark until they caught up with Brigham
Young’s group. They camped in a deep
hollow by the road.
The Omaha
Indians also bothered Thomas Bullock and George D. Grant’s company that
morning. Brother Bullock wrote: “While I was in the act of hitching my
cattle, four Omaha Indians came rushing down upon us, waving their standards
covered with turkey feathers and hallooing and yelling like savages.” The cattle broke away from the wagon and ran
two to three miles back toward Winter Quarters. Brother Bullock was able to turn them back after losing an
hour. During that time one of the
Indians drew his bow and arrow and threatened to shoot one of the oxen. The brethren had to give the Indians some
bread to appease them. But even after
that, one Indian wanted to take the front of Brother Bullock’s wagon cover to
make a headdress. Brother Bullock would
not let him and he went away angry.
The
brethren quickly hitched their wagons and moved on. They stopped to feed their cattle at Little Papillion Creek, went
on and crossed Big Papillon Creek.
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Ezra T. Benson passed them at 6
p.m. The Bullock company stopped at the
next creek to establish the night’s camp.
But Albert P. Rockwood and Lorenzo D. Young came by in the “boat wagon”
so the Bullock company pressed on and reached Brigham Young’s camp which was on
the bluffs, about five miles up the Elkhorn from the river crossing.
Gerry
Putney, age thirty-eight, died of scurvy.
He was the husband of Eley Putney.
The day
was spent building and planting. At
about dusk, David Young arrived with his two sisters.
William
Garner baptized a marine from the Congress named Beckworth. The men believed that this was the first
person baptized in California.17 Henry W. Bigler wrote: “By this time we had become very short of
everything and no money to buy more and everything we had in the clothing line
was in rags. We were forced to cut up
our tents to make shirts and pants and this too, contrary to the wishes of our
Captain.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 548; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal,
3:148; Diary of Howard Egan, Pioneering the West, 23; Kelly, ed., Journals
of John D. Lee, 150; William Clayton’s Journal, 3:74; Appleton
Milo Harmon Goes West, 15; Beecher, ed., The Personal Writings of Eliza
R. Snow, 166; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 361‑63; Our
Pioneer Heritage, 8:243; Jenson, Day By Day With the Utah Pioneers,
10; “Journal Extracts of Henry W. Bigler,” Utah Historical Quarterly,
5:60; Autobiography of Pioneer John Brown, 73
The group
of pioneers traveling with Brigham Young arrived at the Elkhorn River at 9:15
a.m. While waiting for his turn to
cross, Albert P. Rockwood wandered around and found some sandstone on which he
engraved his name for others to later see.
The company was all across the river by 11:30 a.m. and then journeyed west along the Platte
River bottoms. They overtook and were
joined by Wilford Woodruff and Orson Pratt.
Thomas Bullock and George A. Smith’s wagons became stuck in the mud, but
were pulled out by doubling the teams.
At about 3:30 p.m., all arrived at the pioneer camp established on the
Platte River. Most of the pioneers
arrived during the afternoon.
The
morning was cool and pleasant. Howard
Egan and William A. King18
conducted a search for Brother Egan’s lost horse. It was finally found ten miles from camp. Some of the pioneers traveled back to the
Elkhorn to fish.
After
Brigham Young arrived into the camp, he had supper with his brother,
Lorenzo. During the evening, Elder
Jesse C. Little arrived in the camp from his mission to the Eastern
States. He had been presiding over the
Church in the East and had been asked to join the pioneer company. He had arrived at Winter Quarters, left all
his things, and rushed to join the pioneers.
He brought news of their friend Thomas L. Kane, who sent presents for
the Twelve. Wilford Woodruff received a
“Patent Life Preserver and Stop Compass.”
The camp
was called together as usual to assign the guard, but they were so slow in
assembling that President Young stood upon a wagon tongue and called out,
“Attention, the Camp of Israel!” This
time, the brethren quickly assembled.
President Young spoke to them about being faithful, humble and prayerful
on the journey. He cautioned the camp
to be on their guard against possible Indian raids. It was rumored that the Indian Agents and Protestant missionaries
were stirring up the Indians to steal horses and goods from the Saints. The pioneers should retire early to bed each
night and rest on the Sabbath. Their
lives should be conducted in such a way that they would be able to claim the
blessings of Heaven. They should cease
playing music, dancing and lightmindedness.
A number
of rules were established. 1‑ A
bugle would blow each morning at 5 a.m.
Each man was to arise, pray, take care of the teams, get breakfast, and
be prepared to travel by 7 a.m. 2‑
Each man was to have a loaded gun within reach while walking beside their
team. 3‑ The camp would halt at
noon to rest the animals and to eat a pre‑cooked lunch. 4‑ In the evening, the wagons were to
be in a circle, with the animals inside.
5‑ The bugle would blow at 8:30 p.m. Everyone was to return to their wagon, pray, fires put out, and
be in bed by 9 p.m. 6‑ The camp
would travel together and no one would stray very far away. 7‑ No one would be idle and each
should look after his brother’s cattle.
8‑ Guns should be taken care of and protected. 9‑ A guard would attend to the cannon
in the rear and see that nothing was left behind.
Hosea
Stout crossed over the Missouri River to find a yoke of his oxen that was in
the “stray herd.” He located the
animals which he had lost back in July while at “Hyde’s Ridge” (Mosquito Creek
Camp). He visited with his in‑laws
who were preparing to put in crops.
Mary
Richards wrote a letter to her missionary husband, Samuel, in England. She planned to give it to Elder Lyman O.
Littlefield to take with him to England.
She had not received a letter from her husband in eight months. “Has my husband forgotten me? Has he no
spare moments to spend in communicating his thoughts & wishes to me? . . .
had you but known what we have had to pass through this Winter and how long and
dreary it has seemed to me, without a home save a tent and without my greatest
comfort, that is your society.” She
wrote of Samuel’s seventeen-year-old brother, Joseph Richards, who died while
serving in the Mormon Battalion: “I
loved brother Joseph. He seemed near
& dear to me. I cannot tell why it
is that so lovely a young man should be taken away in his bloom but ‘tis good
to be resigned to the Will of Heaven.
Oh! How much his death caused me to think of my Samuel and pray that his
life might be spared to him.”
Isabella
Bullock, age two, died of scurvy. Jane
Jones, age one month, died. She was the
daughter of Richard W. and Ann Jones.
A number
of men worked together to enclose a nice piece of ground for a garden
spot. In the afternoon, Isaac Morley,
the leader of the settlement, arrived from Winter Quarters.
A son,
Benjamin Franklin Hall, was born to Benjamin K. and Katherine Sawyer Hall.
The Providence,
with Elder Addison Pratt on board, crossed over the equator. Elder Pratt was returning home from his
mission. For the past ten days the
winds had been light, but on this day the winds increased.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 548‑49; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s
Journal, 3:148‑49; Knight and Kimball, 111 Days to Zion, 25;
Luke S. Johnson, “Pioneers Journal of 1847,” typescript, BYU, 1; Howard Egan
Diary, Pioneering the West, 23; Our Pioneer Heritage, 8:244;
Kelly, ed. Journals of John D. Lee, 150; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness,
363; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:247; Ellsworth, ed., Journals
of Addison Pratt, 326 ; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 6
The
morning was “gloomy, windy, and cold.”
At 8 a.m., the pioneer company was called together by the bugle. They assembled near the rear of Brigham
Young’s wagon. The company all knelt
down in a circle with President Young in the center. He offered a prayer to dedicate the mission and all that they had
to the Lord, after which George A. Smith and Heber C. Kimball gave
instructions. Elder Smith “spoke upon
the necessity of strictness of discipline, for our preservation.” Elder Kimball said “if there was any along
who did not like to obey the necessary rules of the camp, without murmuring, to
turn back now.” He reminded them of the
deaths by illness that occurred in Zion’s Camp led by Joseph Smith because of
murmuring against their leader.
Bishop
Newel K. Whitney shared some parting remarks with the pioneers, as he was about
to return to Winter Quarters. He
promised to do all he could back at Winter Quarters to help the families of the
pioneers. His heart was full and he had
difficulty expressing his feelings as he bid his brothers farewell. He encouraged them to obey counsel and then
blessed them “by all his authority.”
Joseph B. Nobles, who was also returning, expressed his warm feelings and
best wishes to the pioneers.
The
pioneers were organized into a “military capacity” with Stephen Markham and
Albert P. Rockwood to serve as Captains of Hundreds. The Captains of Fifties were: Tarlton Lewis, James Case, Addison
Everett, John Pack and Shadrach Roundy.
The Captains of Tens were elected and then they selected fifty men to be
divided into four watches to stand guard over the camp. The pioneer camp numbered 143 men and youth,
three women, and Lorenzo Young’s two children, Isaac Perry Decker (age six) and
Lorenzo Sobieski Young (age six). There
were 72 (or 73) wagons, 93 horses, 52 mules, 66 oxen, 19 cows, 17 dogs, and
some chickens.19
President
Young promised “that if they would abide his council and observe his
directions, they should go safe, and they and their teams be preserved from the
Indians and from every enemy.”
Willard
Richards wrote a letter for the Twelve to be carried back to Winter Quarters
for Patriarch John Smith, the presiding authority over the community.
Beloved
brethren: We have now completed the organization of the Pioneer company, of
which we are members, and whom we are about to lead to the mountains, or over
the mountains, as we shall be commanded by our leader, in search of a resting
place for ourselves, our families and all who desire to follow us and work
righteousness; and by doing this, we prove . . . that we are willing to take
our full share of trouble, trials, losses and crosses, hardships, fatigues,
warning and watching, for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake . . . and if we fail in
the attempt, having done all we could, our Father will not leave his flock
without a shepherd.
The letter
further instructed that the first company to follow after the pioneers was to
carry the Nauvoo Temple bell with all the fixtures for hanging. It should be rung at the proper times to
call the people to prayers and other duties.
“The bell may be needed, particularly in the night, if the Indians hove
around, to let them know that you are at your duty.” They were warned to not send any companies after July 1, because
news had arrived that thirty people in a company had perished in the mountains.20
Heber C.
Kimball, quickly wrote a letter to his wife Vilate. “I am well and in good spirits.
So is the camp. Now my dear
Vilate I Love you as true as I am [capable] of Loving according to my capasity
for you do have the Love of my youth which is first Last and now and fore
Ever.” He sent back money and told her
to keep the gifts from Thomas L. Kane, brought by Jesse C. Little. He added, “Kiss and bless those little
ones.” Howard Egan later read this
letter before it was sent and commented:
“It portrayed the feelings of his heart and his affection for his
family, in the most simple and beautiful language that would touch the soul and
cause the heart to rejoice.”
Brigham
Young wrote a letter to be sent to George Watt in the British Isles. He was asked to purchase 200 pounds of
“phonotype” to be used to print a book next year in Winter Quarters. Elder Orson Spencer should assist him in
this mission. “By our date you will
perceive that we are on our way to find a location for a Stake of Zion, beyond
the mountains; but we expect to spend the next winter at Winter Quarters. We have time to say but little; neither is
it necessary only our camp is in good health and fine spirits.”
At about
noon, Orrin Porter Rockwell, Jesse C. Little, Joseph B. Nobles, Newel K. Whitney,
Lyman Whitney, Joshua Whitney, Jackson Redden, and William Kimball started
their journey back to Winter Quarters.
Some of the men were returning to help Brother Little bring his things
from Winter Quarters.
The
pioneers started their journey again about 2 p.m. Each company of ten traveled together. They traveled about three miles and camped for the night near a
good grove of timber and an “island of rushes.” The wagons were arranged in a line about six hundred yards from
the timber. The horses and cattle were
taken down to the timber where trees were cut down, a fence made for the
horses, and a guard placed around them.
William Clayton21
shared a quilt with Philo Johnson22
but was very cold during the night. The
wind blew very hard.
In the
evening, Andrew Lamoreaux invited Mary Richards to attend a “going away party”
at the Council House for Lyman O. Littlefield, who was getting ready to leave
on his mission to England. She went and
danced with several of the brethren including Elder Littlefield. She wrote, “Once he danced proxy for Samuel”23
Julia Ann
West, age one year, died of consumption.
She was the daughter of Sharlott Ameila West.
At 7:30
a.m., Isaac Morley called the brethren of the new farming settlement together
to discuss how to divide up the land.
He instructed that John D. Lee, George D. Grant, and himself would be
given the first choice of land.24 The rest would be divided between the others
in Summer Quarters: Joseph Busby, G. Arnold, Simeon A. Dunn, Edwin D. Woolley,
William Pace, Thomas Johnson, Miles Anderson, Absalom P. Free, Josiah F.
Martin, William Martin, McGee Harris, Levi Stewart, Isaac Houston, N. Knight,
Samuel Gully, and Moses M. Sanders.
Before he left for Winter Quarters, Brother Morley instructed John D.
Lee to organize the settlement into companies of five and to appoint a captain
over each.
Mr.
Russell stood trial and was found guilty for his fight with a Mexican. He was put into irons and the Mexican was
set free. A report of the trial was
sent to General Kearny in Monterey. A
regular mail route had been established between San Diego and Monterey. It took two weeks for mail to make a round
trip. Thomas Dunn wrote, “I now hope
for some cheering news to enliven and cheer the mind, also to pass the
time. For more lonesome days I never
saw. Nothing to interest the eye and
but little the mind.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 548‑49; Brigham Young to Brethren at Winter
Quarters, 16 April 1847, LDS Archives; “Charles Harper Diary,” 16; Luke S.
Johnson, “Pioneers Journal of 1847,” typescript, BYU, 2; William Clayton’s
Journal, 74‑8; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow,
816‑17; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:149; Howard
Egan Diary, Pioneering the West, 23‑5; Kelly, ed., Journals of
John D. Lee, 150‑51; Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, 118; Nibley, Exodus
to Greatness, 363‑68; Kimball, Heber C. Kimball, Mormon Patriarch
and Pioneer, 152‑53; Our Pioneer Heritage, 12:349; “Private
Journal of Thomas Dunn,” 23‑4 ; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,”
typescript, BYU, 7-8
The
pioneers woke up to a very cold morning ‑‑ twenty-six degrees. Ice at least a half inch thick was found on
their standing water. They started out
at 9 a.m., and traveled on a difficult sandy road. The wind was blowing very hard as they traveled.25
At noon, after about seven miles, they camped by a cottonwood
grove. Because there was no grass, the
pioneers chopped down hundreds of trees for the teams to feed on. They prepared to stay over at this camp on
the next day, Sunday. The wagons were
formed into a long line, parallel to the river. A small lake was found nearby, but the water was poor.26
In the
afternoon, some traders arrived from the west, from the Pawnee Village. They shared with the pioneers dried buffalo
meat and warned them that they were a two-days journey from a large body of
Pawnees. The traders had a wagon loaded
with buffalo robes and they camped nearby.
At 5 p.m.,
the bugle was sounded, and the pioneer camp was called together for a
meeting. Albert P. Rockwood paraded the
first division and Stephen Markham paraded the second. Brother Rockwood reported to Brigham Young
that the camp was ready for orders. The
company was further organized into a military regiment. Brigham Young was elected Lieutenant General
of the company, with Albert P. Rockwood as his aid. Stephen Markham, colonel, Shadrach Roundy and John Pack,
majors. The Captains of Tens were also
re‑elected into this organization: Wilford Woodruff, Ezra T. Benson,
Phinehas H. Young, Luke S. Johnson, Stephen H. Goddard, Charles Shumway, James
Case, Seth Taft, Appleton M. Harmon, John Higbee, Norton Jacob, John Brown and
Joseph Matthews. Thomas Tanner was
elected Captain of the Cannoniers and Thomas Bullock as the clerk of the
company.
Brigham
Young instructed: “After we start from
here, every man must keep his loaded gun in his hand, or in the wagon where he
can put his hand on it at a moment’s warning.
If they are cap locks, take off the cap and put on a little leather to
keep wet and etc. out. If flint locks,
take out the priming and fill the pan with twine or cotton.” He further reminded the men that the wagons
must travel together, not separate as was previously done. He instructed the Captains of Tens to no
longer permit a man to leave their ten to go off and shoot prairie chickens,
ducks, or deers, for fear that the Indians would harm them.
In the
evening, Ellis Eames and Hans C. Hansen entertained the camp with music from
their violins while some of the brethren danced.27
William Clayton wrote, “All peace and quietness.” Brother Eames prepared to return to Winter
Quarters because of sickness. Howard
Egan, however, felt that the true reason was that “he is weak in the faith.”
Some of
the brethren who had been visiting the pioneers on the Platte River arrived
back in Winter Quarters. They reported
that the pioneers were about seventy-five miles to the west.
Charles C.
Rich left Winter Quarters to return on business to Nauvoo. His wife Sarah Rich wrote that he left,
committing
his family into the hands of the Lord, at the same telling the family, “If you
pray for Sarah D. (his wife, meaning me) that I would see that they would have
enough to eat until his return.” He was not able to leave enough on hand to
last until he could return, and had no means to buy with, but on his going back
at that time depended our prospect to go with the first company across the
plains.
Nancy
Adelia Smith, age one, died. She was
the daughter of George A. and Nancy Clement Smith. Cornelia M. Pitt, age one year, died. She was the daughter of William and Cornelia Pitt.
The
morning was very cold. The ice was an
inch thick. John D. Lee called the camp
together to discuss guarding the cattle during the nights to keep them secure
against the Indians. They decided that
a fence should be built to keep in the herd.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 549; William Clayton’s Journal, 78‑9;
Luke S. Johnson, “Pioneers Journal of 1847,” typescript, BYU, 2; Howard Egan
Diary, Pioneering the West, 25; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s
Journal, 3:149‑50; Appleton Milo Harmon Goes West, 16; “Levi
Jackman Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 26; “Sarah Rich Autobiography,”
typescript, BYU, 66; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 150‑51;
Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:247; Knight and Kimball, 111
Days to Zion, 31 ; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 10
The
morning was “snowy, blustering, and cold.”
Ellis Eames left the pioneer company to return back to Winter
Quarters. He traveled with the traders
who had camped nearby and took letters back for some of the pioneers. The rest of the camp rested on this Sabbath
day. Horace K. Whitney wrote, “Today
being set apart by the Lord for his people to rest, we do not intend to
travel.”28
The Twelve
took a walk out to view the country.
Near the bank of the river, they sat down under a grove of plum bushes
and talked about the safety of the camp.
They decided that for each camp, the wagons should be arranged in a
circle and that all the fires should be outside the circle. The horses and cattle would be put inside
the circle.
At 10
a.m., seven more traders’ wagons arrived from the west, loaded with buffalo
robes and furs, heading toward Council Bluffs.
They shared with the pioneers some buffalo meat. They had with them a Mexican who had been
held a prisoner by the Pawnee Indians for some years. The Pawnees had killed everyone in his company except him. The traders had rescued him by trading with
the Pawnee a horse in exchange for his freedom. The traders were hopeful that the government would reward them
and send the man back to Mexico. The
weather cleared in the afternoon.
At 4:30
p.m., James Case was chopping down a cottonwood tree when the wind blew it the
wrong way.29 One of the limbs struck an ox on the neck,
knocked it down, and poked an eye but it seemed to recover all right.
At 5:00
p.m., the officers gathered to meet with Brigham Young to officially write the
rules for governing the camp.
At 8:30
p.m. the bugle would sound and all should retire to their wagons and bow before
the Lord and offer up their supplications before going to bed, and all fires
should be put out; also the bugle would sound at 5 a.m., when all would arise
and offer up their thanks to the Lord, and at 7 o’clock be ready to start. All the spare hands were to walk by the off
side of their wagons with their rifles loaded.
Wilford
Woodruff wrote about the Platte River:
It is the
most singular river I ever beheld. It
is from a quarter to a mile wide & its shores & bed one universal body
of quick sand. It is a rapid stream yet
many places a person can wade across it.
Frequently nearly the whole bed of the river is covered with but few
inches of water & at other places it is deep & Rapid. Notwithstanding it is quick sand. Horses & cattle can walk down to the edge
of the river & drink like walking on the edge of a smooth sea beach &
some times while walking on the apparent hard beach or bed of the river a man
or hose will suddenly sink into the quick sand & the more he struggles to
get out the more he will sink & will soon perish if assistance is not
near. Many horses & men have been
lost in this way on the Platte.
A Sabbath
meeting was held in the morning. John
Taylor gave a history of his journey and mission to England. He told the assembly how the Saints in
England were being drained of their money by the Joint Stock Company under the
pretense that it would help them emigrate to America. Reuben Hedlock had taken the money for his own use. Elder Taylor reported that this association
had been dissolved.
Hosea
Stout attended a meeting at the Council House.
He listened to the reading of a letter from the Twelve written on April
16. The High Council then discussed
problems with the Omaha Indians driving off the Saints’ cattle. Hosea Stout recorded:
They will
lay around in the grass and groves untill an opportunity offers and then sally
forth and drive all the cattle in their power, even some times they will rush
in among the herds, when there is no men present and attempt to drive them off
before our eyes or they will appear on horse back and run all the cattle that
stray off, away. The amount of cattle
killed by them the past winter & spring is incredible.
In the
evening, Mary Richards took a walk with Lyman O. Littlefield, who was about to
leave on his mission to England. Sister
Richards wrote, “Spent the evening very pleasantly. I tried to appear as happy as possible so that he might carry the
news to my Samuel, thinking perhaps it might add to his comfort to know that I
was well and appearing happy.”30
Orrin
Porter Rockwell, Jesse C. Little, and others left Winter Quarters to rejoin the
pioneer company.
Arvin
Weeks, age one year, died of scurvy. He
was the son of William and Caroline Weeks.
Hariet Cummings, age three, died of scurvy. She was the daughter to George and Jane Cummings.
A cattle
drive passed by on the way to Winter Quarters from the northern herding
grounds. John D. Lee found a few of his
cattle in the herd. In the afternoon,
he started for Winter Quarters with four yoke of oxen to obtain provisions and
to move some of the families in his care up to Summer Quarters. Moses M. Sanders and G. Lemons went with
him. They arrived at Winter Quarters
after dark but could find very few provisions.
A young man from the other side of the river informed them that a load
had just come in from Missouri.
A meeting
of the Seventies was held, presided over by Stephen M. St. John. A quorum was organized and business was
attended to. John Allen was cut off
from the Church. The leaders strongly
condemned the practice of stealing public property, drunkenness, swearing, and
other sins. They all voted to put down
these vices.
Some of
the men attended a Catholic meeting.
Elder
Addison Pratt, in a ship that crossed the equator a few days earlier, viewed
the North Star for the first time since 1843.
He was anxious to return home from his long mission and wrote: “This reminds me that I am drawing near my
native latitude.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 540; Luke S. Johnson, “Pioneers Journal of 1847,”
typescript, BYU, 2; William Clayton’s Journal, 79‑81; “Excerpts
from the hitherto unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era,
50:203; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:151; Howard Egan’s
Diary, Pioneering the West, 25‑6; Kelly, ed., Journals of John
D. Lee, 151‑52; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:250;
Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, 119; “The Journal of Nathaniel V. Jones,” Utah
Historical Quarterly, 4:15; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The
March of the Mormon Battalion, 218; Bigler, The Gold Discovery Journal
of Azariah Smith, 82; Ellsworth, ed., The Journals of Addison Pratt,
326 ; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 10-11; Smart, ed., Mormon
Midwife, 78
The
pioneer camp arose at 5 a.m. to the sound of the bugle. At 7:20 a.m., the company was in motion with
orders to travel in double file. They
passed through a large battle field where they observed a mass grave about one
quarter mile wide. Howard Egan wrote,
“We passed over a beautiful level prairie in sight of the Platte river, and
passed a number of small lakes between us and the river. The brethren shot a number of ducks as we
passed along.” Two of the ducks were
presented to Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.
At 1:30
p.m., after thirteen miles, the company stopped to rest the cattle near a bend
in the river. The wagons were formed
into a circle. Jesse C. Little, Orrin
Porter Rockwell, Jackson Redden, and Thomas Brown returned from Winter Quarters
carrying many letters from loved‑ones.
On their return they had found Willard Richards’ lost mare. George A. Smith received word that his
youngest child, Nancy Adelia Smith died on the 17th.
William
Clayton recorded his feelings when he received letters from his wives Ruth and
Margaret.
In my
letter to them I requested them to attend to family prayer in my absence, a
thing which I have neglected since leaving Nauvoo. They informed me that they had done that when I was at home but
unknown to me, and they had then, and still continue to bear me up before their
Heavenly Father. Oh, what integrity,
what faithfulness. I feel unworthy to
possess two such treasures.
Jesse C.
Little brought more gifts from Thomas L. Kane for the Twelve. Wilford Woodruff received a pocket compass
which delighted him. William Clayton
received from Porter Rockwell a few fish hooks, lines, and three pencils.
Appleton
M. Harmon described this stopping point:
“The flat here is from twelve to fifteen miles wide interspersed with
numerous small lakes or sloughs. The
river is full of islands with several channels. In places, the water is only from four to six feet lower than the
bottom, or flat.”31
At 2:40
p.m. the journey started again. William
Clayton recorded: “I walked some this
afternoon in company with Orson Pratt and suggested to him the idea of fixing a
set of wooden cog wheels to the hub of a wagon wheel, in such order as to tell
the exact number of miles we travel each day.
He seemed to agree with me that it could be easily done at a trifling
expense.”
About
another eight miles further, at 6 p.m., a camp was established near a grove of
timber on the bank of the Platte. The
wagons were arranged in a semi‑circle against the river to enclose the
horses and cattle. The wagon tongues
faced outward and the front wheel of each wagon was placed against the rear
wheel of the wagon next to it. Wilford
Woodruff described: “The river was
about one mile wide where we camped & on the north side joining by our
encampment. It was deep & rapid.”
William
Clayton went to Luke S. Johnson, to have him examine a tooth which had caused
Brother Clayton pain for some time.
While there, Stephen Markham came to use the boat wagon named “Revenue
Cutter” in a lake two miles down the river.
John S. Higbee, Stephen Markham, William Clayton (keeping his tooth for
now) escorted the boat, to try their hand at fishing. As they walked, William Clayton shared his idea for an odometer
with Brother Higbee. Brother Higbee
also agreed that it was a great idea.
“After arriving at the lake,” wrote Brother Clayton, “they only caught a
snapping turtle, four small turtles, one duck, two small cat fish, and two
creek suckers.”
A special
meeting was held at Samuel Russell’s home.
In attendance were Parley P. Pratt, John Taylor, John Smith, W.W.
Phelps, Hosea Stout, and others. The
killing of cattle by the Omaha Indians was getting worse every day. Elder Pratt stated that the Saints would
face starvation unless the Indians stopped their attacks. It had been thought that the Indian Agents
had been stirring up the Omahas against the Saints in order to convince the
Saints to depart from the Missouri River.
Elder Pratt reported that he had met with Indian Agent John Miller. Agent Miller said he understood that the
Saints could not leave immediately. A
committee was appointed to go meet with Omaha Chief Big Elk. This committee consisted of Alpheus Cutler,
Daniel Spencer, Cornelius P. Lott, and W.W. Phelps. All the brethren agreed that harsher measures were needed to stop
the depredations by the Omahas.
Eliza R.
Snow wrote in her journal: “The
atmosphere chang’d to soft fanning breeze of Spring. My strength returning.”
She referred to the “City Difficulties” involving the Omahas. They continued to “kill our cattle &
molest the men ‑‑ having strip’d & badly injur’d a man &
woman at the upper herd. Our brethren
are seeking some measures to prevent further trouble.”
John D Lee
went over the river to buy corn and bacon.
Then, with the help of Bishop N. Knight and Andrew Lamoreaux, they
loaded up the provisions in two canoes and made it back across, rowing against
a strong current. At noon, Brother Lee
departed from Winter Quarters, heading to Summer Quarters, taking with him
Woolsey and Lytle families. At 11 p.m.,
they finally reached their destination.
Julie Woolsey delivered a baby one hour later. She had gone into labor before they left that day at Winter
Quarters, but prayers were offered that the delivery would be delayed until
they reached Summer Quarters. The
prayers were answered.
A
daughter, Amanda Milissa Norton, was born to James W. and Nancy Hammer
Norton. Carolina Earl, age two, died of
scarlet fever. She was the daughter of
Wilbur and Harriet Earl.
Robert S.
Bliss stood guard over two Indians in stocks and one white man in irons. He wrote, “A ship is in sight this morning
coming towards this port with a fair wind to enter the Harbour there is 3 now
laying in port.”
Luman
Shurtliff arrived by boat to St. Louis from his trip to Louisville and
Cincinnati to gather donations for the poor at Garden Grove. He wrote, “I landed at St. Louis and walked
to Dr. Richardson whom I knew. When he
first saw me he said, “Why, Brother Shurtliff, you are a sick man. You must have something done for you or you
will not get home.” He gave me some
medicine which had a good effect. I
went on board the boat and at eve started up the river.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 540; “Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah
Historical Quarterly, 14:156; Howard Egan Diary, Pioneering the West,
26; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:152; Appleton Milo
Harmon Goes West, 16; William Clayton’s Journal, 81‑84; “Luman
Shurtliff Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 73; Kelly, ed., Journals of John
D. Lee, 152; Stephen F. Pratt; BYU Studies 24:3:375; Brooks, ed., On the
Mormon Frontier, 1:250‑51; Beecher, ed., The Personal Writings of
Eliza R. Snow, 166; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 369‑70; “The
Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:91; Bagley,
ed., The Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 125
The
pioneers arose at 5:30 a.m., ate breakfast, and were on the trail at 7:30
a.m. The wind kicked up sand and dust
on the wagons as they traveled. Wilford
Woodruff recorded: “There are many
water fowls about the Platte such as ducks, geese, brant, but the most numerous
of all are the sand hill cranes which fly in large flocks on every side of
us.” They passed by numerous islands in
the river. One of them was about ten
acres, covered with timber.
At 9:15
a.m., after traveling about five miles, they arrived at Shell Creek, which was
about eight feet wide. They found a
poor bridge which had been built over it.
They managed to get all the wagons safely across using the bridge. After passing through a small grove of
trees, they came out on a wide, open prairie.
They were fascinated by a large prairie dog village that covered about
six acres. “They were about the size of
a cat,” wrote Albert P. Rockwood, “and looked much like a ground squirrel or
wood chuck. They bark like a lap dog.”
At 11:30,
after traveling another five miles, the company rested near a muddy lake. While there, three deer were spotted. Orrin Porter Rockwell and Thomas Brown tried
to chase after them on their horses, but did not succeed in catching them.32
John S. Higbee, Luke S. Johnson, and Stephen Markham left while the
company was still resting, to go ahead with the boat wagon, hoping to catch
fish ahead. Orson Pratt and Wilford
Woodruff went forward to scout the road.
At 1:00
p.m., the main group of pioneers continued their journey. The road was dry and level with an
occasional gopher hole to bump the wagon wheels. Some of the holes were six feet across with three‑inch
ridges. Brigham Young and Heber C.
Kimball went on ahead to choose the next camping site. After about ten more miles, making twenty
total, the night’s encampment was established at 5:30 p.m near a cottonwood
grove on the banks of the Platte River.
The wagons were arranged in a semicircle next to a small island near the
bank of the river. The teams were
turned loose to feed on the island for the night. Cottonwood trees were cut down for the horses to browse on. Additionally, each horse was given about
three quarts of corn.33
The men
who had gone ahead with the boat wagon soon returned with about 213 nice fish
which had been caught with a net. The
fish were distributed around the camp, about two to each wagon. Many enjoyed cooking fish for supper. In the evening, Thomas Tanner set up his
portable forge and set several wagon tires.
William
Clayton wrote:
I went to
the river and washed my feet which were very dusty and sore. I also washed my socks as well as I could in
cold water without soap. After Brother
Luke Johnson had got through distributing fish, I went and asked him to draw my
tooth. He willingly agreed and getting
his instruments, I sat down in a chair, he lanced the gum, then took his
nippers and jerked it out. The whole
operation did not take more than one minute.
He only got half the original tooth, the balance being left in the
jaw. After this, my head and face
pained me much more than before. I ate
but little supper and then lay down, but could not sleep for pain till near
morning.
Because
the camp was only about eight miles from the Pawnee Village, it was thought
wise to raise a patrol guard for the night.
Many of the men took time during the late evening to write letters to
their wives. They planned to send these
letters back with the traders at the Pawnee Village.
Brigham
Young wrote a letter to his wife Mary Ann Angell, back at Winter Quarters.
The camp is
in good health and first rate spirits.
They have never felt better in their lives. I think my health has very much improved yesterday and today. You mentioned in your letter that you heard
I lay on the ground the night I left home.
I did but do not think it hurt me, but when I arrived in camp I found my
self completly tired out. I thank you a
thousand times for your kind letters to me, more especially for your kind acts
and still more for your kind heart.
He added a
note to his sons Joseph (age 12) and Brigham Jr. (age 10). “My son Joseph you must not go away from
home and Brigham also must stay at home.
How do you suppose I would feel when I come home and find one of my
children destroyed by the Indians? I pray this may not be the case.”
Thomas
Bullock wrote a letter to his wife which included:
Driving a 2
yoke ox‑team is a different kind of work than I am used to and having to
tend to the cattle myself, leaves me little time to read. I was glad to hear from you the second time,
but sorry to hear by G. A. Smith that my little Charles is worse. Get into your new house and be happy and
contented until I come for you next fall.
I have just washed my shirt and sox in the wilderness fashion. I have taken a bath also. President Young says I did right in making 2
copies of the route and leaving them behind.
He has just been instructing me of God’s works in the eternity of
space. He has ordered me to ride as
much as possible. I have just been in
his carriage and a very comfortable place he has got and I am glad for it. Take care of the waterbottle and find the
other one if possible. Be a good girl
and take care of yourself and my children.
Howard
Egan wrote to his wife Tamson:
I never in
my life had such feelings while away from home as I have on this trip. I cannot say that I feel sorrowful because I
am where I delight to be in the society of my Father Heber [C. Kimball] where I can receive instruction and
counsel from his lips. My health has
been very good since I left home and we are all getting along first rate, we
are about 100 miles from Winter Quarters tonight. We travel at the rate of 20 miles per day; the roads are very
good and it is a beautiful country.
Tamson I feel sorrowful when I reflect on your situation for I know your
feeling when I am away from you, but I feel easy when I realize that you have a
kind and generous hearted mother who will do all that she can for the comfort
of those around her.34
An early
morning meeting was held by Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor to discuss the best
way to protect the herds from the Omahas.
It was decided that each bishop would establish a herd for his
ward. Armed guards would be appointed
to defend the cattle against the Indians.
The bishops were also asked to count the cattle that had been killed, so
that a report could be sent to Omaha Chief, Big Elk. Hosea Stout was ordered to take ten men on horseback to travel
around the country to search for any Omahas.
They were to whip any that they found hiding, thus hoping to steal
cattle. Brother Stout did as he was
asked, armed with horse whips, but returned in the afternoon without finding
any Indians.
The High
Council wrote to Daniel Spencer and Daniel Russell across the river, asking
them to haul corn for the Omaha Indians from Waldo’s ferry on the Nishnabotna
River to Bellevue.
Mary
Richards received word that Joseph Cain had a chest brought from England for
“Mary and Jane Richards,” from their husbands, Samuel and Franklin
Richards. Mary quickly went to Jane’s
house but was very disappointed to learn that the key to the chest was still on
the other side of the river. She did
enjoy hearing Brother Cain talk about her missionary husband and that Samuel
and Franklin Richards were loved by the British Saints. After a two‑hour visit, Joseph Cain
left. In the evening, the key arrived
and Mary had a wonderful time reading three letters from her husband and
looking at the gifts that he had sent back for her.
During the
night, Hosea Stout was awakened by Thomas Clark, who reported that a large
number of Indians were in the city. The
police guard was immediately gathered.
They patrolled the town for several hours but did not find the reported
group of Indians.
John D.
Lee and others worked to put a roof on one of the cabins. They also finished the chimney, and plowed a
garden. In the evening, the brethren
met at John D. Lee’s house to discuss building a lot to secure the cattle. A place was chosen. A heated discussion began about the policy
of dividing up the land. Some of the
men were dissatisfied about the fairness of the division. Brother Lee spoke firmly that the men should
sustain the decision of the leaders.
“Unless we are united we cannot prosper and that [I] would sooner
undertake to fortify against the Indians with 20 families well united than to
risk 100 that are not.” Soon good
feelings again were established.
Lydia
Hunter, wife of Jesse Hunter, gave birth to a son whom they named Diego. He was believed to be the first child born
to American parents in San Diego.
Another ship arrived in the harbor.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 540; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee,
152‑53; Luke S. Johnson, “Pioneers Journal of 1847,” typescript, BYU, 2;
“Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:818; Kenney, ed., Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, 3:152‑53; Howard Egan’s Diary, Pioneering the
West, 26‑7; “Brigham Young’s Family: The Wilderness Years,” The
Exodus and Beyond, 40; Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, 119; Brooks, ed.,
On the Mormon Frontier, 1:251; Our Pioneer Heritage, 8:238,
14:505; Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion, 135; “The Journal of Robert S.
Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:91; “Journal of Albert P.
Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 12-13
The
weather was cloudy and cooler. The ox
wagons started their journey on the trail at 7:30 a.m. The horse teams left two hours later. At 8:55 a.m., an Indian appeared on a mound
about five miles ahead, mounted on a pony.
He went out of sight, then came back, and approached the pioneers at
full speed. He was greeted warmly and
soon seven others approached on foot from some timber about a mile to the
left. They went from wagon to wagon,
shaking hands as the pioneers passed, and said “How de do!” About two miles later, a wheel on one of
Heber C. Kimball’s wagons fell off and some of the wagons halted for fifteen
minutes while it was repaired.
At 10
a.m., they reached a fork in the road.
Brigham Young consulted with James Case, who had worked in this area for
the government during the past summer.
The road on the left led to the new Pawnee Indian Village. The one of the right bypassed the village
and headed up the Loup Fork, toward the Pawnee Mission, which had been sacked
by the Sioux in June. They chose to
take the road to the right. At 12:25
p.m., the pioneers came within sight of the new Pawnee Indian Village, on both
sides of the Loup Fork. It consisted of
nearly one hundred lodges made from skins, close together, in several neat
rows.
Peter
Sarpy, from Trader’s Point, was in the village bartering for their buffalo
robes in a new trading post. Wilford
Woodruff wrote, “We drove on by the villages & they soon began to sally out
to come to us. We camped in a half
moon, the bank of the river forming a parallel line in front. The Indians to the number of about 200 on
the south side of the river came down to the shore. Some waded over. About 75
came into camp including the grand Chief of the Nation with many war
Chiefs.” Levi Jackman described the
Indians:
The Pawnees
are much fairer complexioned than most other Indians. They had their heads shaved with the exception of a strip about
two inches wide from a little back of their foreheads to the back of their
necks and that was about two inches long and stuck straight up resembling a
rooster’s comb. Their dress was a
breach clout and a buffalo skin or robe, a blanket to throw over their
shoulders. Some had leggings.
Brigham
Young and Heber C. Kimball gave them some gifts, but the Indians were not
satisfied. Erastus Snow wrote: “President Young proposed to shake hands and
part in friendship, but he [the chief] refused, and appeared very angry. Upon inquiring into the cause of his
passion, he stated, through his interpreter, that the heap (presents) was too
little. . . . He said we would kill and drive away their buffalo, and that we
should go back.” The brethren ignored
their threats and continued the journey at 2 p.m., traveling northwest, up the
Loup Fork ‑‑ a river that empties into the Platte River. Soon, a severe thunderstorm rolled in and
the rain fell in torrents for thirty minutes.
After about ten more miles, they established their next camp on the Loup
Fork, north of Looking Glass Creek.
William Clayton wrote: “The
country is beautiful and pleasing to the eye of the traveler, although you can
only see one kind of scenery for several days.”
At
sundown, the bugle was sounded, calling the men to a meeting. Stephen Markham organized a huge detail to
stand guard during the night. They were
deeply concerned about the Indian threat and believed that the traders and
Missourians were stirring up the Indians against the pioneers. Fifty men would stay up during the first
half of the night, and fifty would guard the camp during the early morning
hours. The cannon was prepared for
action. Small companies of picket
guards were stationed away from the camp with mules to help them detect any
approach by the Indians. It was a
“bitter cold” night. As Wilford
Woodruff stood guard, he rolled himself up in a buffalo skin for protection
against the rain and wind. Erastus Snow
recorded: “The Indian fires we saw all
around us and near our camp opposite on the south side of the Loup Fork, but a
few guns and other demonstrations let them know that we were on hand.”
Alpheus
Cutler, W.W. Phelps, Daniel Spencer, and Cornelius P. Lott went to the Omaha
Indian camp, on the Papillion Creek.
They first met with Indian Agent, John Miller, and then entered the camp
to meet with Indian Chief Big Elk.
Daniel Spencer spoke thirty minutes, explaining the Saints’
grievances. Big Elk admitted that the
young braves were killing the Saints’ cattle, but countered with a complaint
that the Saints had destroyed the Omahas’ timber. “You can’t raise up our timber, can’t raise up our dead men; so,
you are the aggressors.” Big Elk
complained that the Saints had still not left his lands. Brother Spencer explained that the government
had taken 500 of their men for the Mormon Battalion. Big Elk responded: “If
your father the great president [Polk] employ 500 men to fight his battle let
him appropriate your lands. We don’t
pay his debts.” The Indian Agent, John
Miller, was of no help. He told the
Omahas that they were justified, especially if the Mormons did not deliver the
corn that they had promised. Big Elk
stated that the Mormons could stay on the land if they hauled their corn. He said he would stop his braves from stealing
the cattle.
It was an
exciting day for Mary Richards. She
delivered to her family several gifts, which had been sent by her missionary
husband, Samuel W. Richards. Her tent
was busy all day as people called to see the gifts she had received in the
trunk from England. She enjoyed reading
Samuel’s letters over and over again to her friends and family. Her sister‑in‑law Jane, invited
her to come to her home, where recently returned missionary Joseph Cain was
visiting. “He stayed about an hour, we
had another good talk with him about Samuel and F[ranklin] and he seemed to
take pleasure in talking to us about them.”
Eliza
Oakey, age twenty-seven, died of scurvy.
She was the wife of Edward Oakey.
At 5:30
a.m., a war party of forty Omaha Indians rushed down upon the camp and made
angry signs that the settlers were tilling their land. They demanded a beef steer. When the ten brethren refused, three of the
Indians were told by their leader to go butcher a beef. John D. Lee ran into their midst with a long
pole and warned them if they did shoot any cattle, he would kill “every devil
of them.” When the chief saw that
Brother Lee was serious, he stopped the three men and held out his hand in
friendship. They promised peace and
said they were in pursuit of the Sioux.
Brother Lee gave them some bread and gun powder as a token of
peace. Later, after the Indians left,
it was discovered that they had killed seven cattle the day before, and that
they were killing cattle daily near Winter Quarters.
Reuben
Miller wrote a letter to Brigham Young asking for him to support Brother
Miller’s personal mission to combat the apostate Strangite movement.
Brother
Young, my object is to do good and be useful in the day and generation in which
I live, magnify my priesthood, and assist to build up the kingdom of God, and
truly as far as in me lies be a servant of the Lord. Therefore I consider it right to use all honorable means to
redeem the Saints from the spiritual darkness in which the devil has thrown
them and bring them back to the true fold and the principles of immortal glory.
Brother
Miller asked for direction and reported that the Strangites were planning a
mission to England, to lead away more of the Saints. Brother Miller (who had for a time followed after James J. Strang
and then returned to the Church) wished to publish a full account of Strang’s
secret ceremonies.35
Luman
Shurtliff landed at Keokuk and arranged with a member of the Church to
transport the goods he had collected to the poor at Garden Grove. Brother Shurtliff wrote:
While he
was preparing, I went to Nauvoo and found two letters from my folks. They were well and got along better than I
expect for which I felt thankful. Most
of the city of Nauvoo was deserted. It
was without house or inhabitant. No
home or fence or any improvement marked my home except the cellar over which
one year ago a good brick house stood.
This is all that was now left to mark the place of my labors for six
years. The little group of young trees
at my place still remained in which the grave of my wife and child was made
manifest by a rock which I placed deep in the earth on end, rising above the
surface to mark the place of their remains.
I felt sorrowful to see the destruction of so many years of labor of the
persecuted Saints. Hundreds of buildings
were torn down and taken away. With
feelings much better felt than described, I turned from the view for the fourth
time bidding adieu to all things dear and interesting to me in the once
beautiful Nauvoo.
Paymaster
Jeremiah Cloud returned from Monterey with gold to pay the battalion. The men were anxious at the thought of
finally being paid again.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 540; Howard Egan’s Diary, Pioneering the West,
26‑7; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal 3:154‑55; Bagley, ed., The
Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 126‑27; “Excerpts from the hitherto
unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era, 50:204; Appleton
Milo Harmon Goes West, 17; “Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement
Era 14:818; William Clayton’s Journal, 85‑88; Jenson, Day
By Day With the Utah Pioneers, 17; “Levi Jackman Autobiography,”
typescript, BYU, 27; Richard Lloyd Anderson, BYU Studies, 8:3:287;
Stephen F. Pratt; BYU Studies, 24:3:376; Ward, ed., Winter Quarters,
120; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 154‑55; “Luman Shurtliff
Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 73‑74; Journal of Henry Standage in
Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion, 218
There was
much joking in the morning because during the night some of the men had fallen
asleep at their guard post and other men would steal their guns. Even Stephen Markham’s hat was taken. The pioneer company traveled two miles and
then crossed over Looking Glass Creek at 8:24 a.m. The stream was only about fifteen feet across. They observed many otters on the water. Numerous swallows were seen flying and an
eagle’s nest was spotted. William
Clayton went ahead on foot and stopped to see the view on top of a high mound,
the site of an Indian grave.
After
eight miles, at noon, they stopped to feed the horses and cattle at a stream
called Beaver Creek, which was about thirty feet wide and two feet deep. The temperature was sixty‑eight
degrees. Many of the men went to work
on preparing the banks of the creek to cross.
At 2 p.m., the company hitched up and started again. Their first obstacle was to cross over
Beaver Creek. The opposite side of the
creek was so steep that it required twelve men, pulling on ropes, to bring the
wagons up the banks.36
Howard
Egan wrote: “This afternoon we traveled
through a beautiful country, with the Loup Fork on one side and a ridge on the
other and groups of trees that resembled orchards in an old settled
country.” Norton Jacob agreed: “This country is so beautifully adapted to
cultivation that there is driven from the mind all idea of its being a wild
waste in the wilderness. The fields in
the woods and the habitations of men one is continually looking out for.”37
The
pioneers arrived at the Pawnee Missionary Station and set up camp for the
night. Howard Egan described the
land: “There is quite a large farm
fenced in and some very good buildings on it.
We had plenty of corn fodder and hay for our teams. It is the prettiest location that I have
seen this side of the Mississippi River.”38
William
Clayton added these words about the settlement:
The Plumb
Creek runs through it, and but a few rods from the missionaries’ house. Its banks are lined with a little timber. .
. . There are a number of good log houses here, considerable land under
improvement enclosed by rail fences, and a good quantity of hay and fodder,
large lots of iron, old and new, several plows and a drag. All apparently left to rot. There are also two stoves, etc.
Lorenzo
Young also wrote about the missionary settlement: “I went and viewed the houses where they once dwelt, but it
looked lonesome, and I thought those that were driven from there had suffered
something as well as us. It is a
pleasant location, and people could live at home if they could be let alone.”
At 6 p.m.,
George A. Smith had a mishap with his horse.
Thomas Bullock recorded:
As George
A. Smith was watering his horse, he [the horse] sprang suddenly, throwing
George against the bank, the horse having his hind foot on G.A.’s foot, &
his fore foot on G’s breast, in which situation he continued until the brethren
took the horse off him. It was very
fortunate that the place was muddy, so he escaped with only a few bruises,
having his life lengthened out & spared to him, for further usefulness.
Captain
Thomas Tanner drilled his men in the use of the cannon.39
A meeting was held and Brigham Young forbade the men from taking
anything from the mission. However,
since James Case had been in charge of this mission for some time, and the
government owed him money, he was permitted to sell things from the mission to
the men and report to the government. A
guard of only twenty men was raised for the night. They no longer feared that the Pawnee would trouble them, but
they were worried that the Sioux might try to steal some horses. At 7 p.m., the temperature was sixty
degrees. William Clayton again spoke
with some of the men about constructing an odometer to measure the distance
traveled each day. Several of the men
thought it was a great idea and were confident that the machine could be
constructed.
The High
Council met at the Council House in the evening to receive the report of the
committee that visited with the Omaha Indians.
They reported that the Indians said they would stop killing the cattle
if the Saints would haul two hundred dollars worth of corn from Missouri which
Indian Agent John Miller had bought for them.
Parley P. Pratt asked the members, “Will we haul the corn or not?” No
firm answer was given. Elder Pratt said
that he wanted a better way of herding their cattle to help find a peaceful
solution to the problem with the Omahas.
If their cattle continued to be killed, harsh measures would be needed.
The David
Sessions family had a wonderful family dinner.
Patty Sessions wrote: “I was
almost overcome again. My children were
soon (all that were living) seated around the table with their Father and
Mother. We rejoiced together and
thanked the Lord.”
Richard
Cormack died.
Colonel
Cooke gave orders to have James Pace lead a company of twenty‑nine men to
relieve Company C stationed at Cajon Pass.
That detail was to return to Los Angeles to receive their pay of forty‑two
dollars. The official order read: “1st Lieutenant Pace, of Mormon Battalion,
will march to‑morrow morning with twenty‑seven non‑commissioned
officers and men, with rations for thirty days, to the Cajon Pass, where he
will relive Company C, Mormon Battalion, and occupy the same position and
perform the same duties of defending the pass from the passage of hostile
Indians.”
In the
evening, Captain Jefferson Hunt called the men together for a Church
meeting. David Pettigrew and Levi
Hancock preached on “the necessity of keeping ourselves from being polluted and
remember our covenants and told those who had sinned to sin no more.” Captain Hunt was the concluding speaker.
Howard Egan’s Diary, Pioneering
the West, 27‑8; Kenney, ed., Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 3:155‑56;
“Charles Harper Diary,” 17; “Diary of Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah Historical
Quarterly, 14:156; Appleton Milo Harmon Goes West, 17; “Erastus Snow
Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:818; William Clayton’s Journal,
88‑91; Bagley, ed., The Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 127‑28;
Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:251; Stephen F. Pratt; BYU
Studies, 24:3:376; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the
Mormon Battalion, 218; Tyler, A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion,
278; “Norton Jacob Journal,” typescript, 51-2; Smart, ed., Mormon Midwife,
78
The
morning was cold, thirty-four degrees.
The pioneers stayed in camp during the morning while Brigham Young, and
others went to Loup Fork to try to find a place where the wagons could cross. They understood there was a good place about
four miles up the river that had been used by George Miller the previous
summer. But that crossing was thought
to be near another band of Pawnees, so they hoped to use a different crossing
point. In the mean time, the rest of
the men spent time fixing wagons and washing.
Others filled their bed ticks with fresh hay.
The
pioneers’ scouting team consisted of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford
Woodruff, Ezra T. Benson, Amasa M. Lyman, Luke S. Johnson, Albert P. Rockwood,
James Case, Jackson Redden, Orrin Porter Rockwell, and Joseph Matthews. Wilford Woodruff reported that the scouts
“went down the stream some distance & several men waded across the stream
& found the water so deep & so much quick sand we concluded to drive
higher up to the old Pawnee Village.”
Brigham
Young and his company of scouts returned at 11 a.m. and informed the camp about
the new plans. He felt that James Case
was justified in taking much of the plows and iron at the missionary settlement
as compensation for the pay that the government owed him. A large quantity of iron was loaded into
various wagons. All spare hands went to
work with shovels to grade the hill down to the creek.
Thomas
Bullock went to see the deserted Pawnee Mission.
It consists
of two double log houses and six single smaller houses with pig pens &
ashes cribs to each set, also two ricks of good hay, & a yard to enclose
corn fodder, several yards to enclose horses & cattle, two fields fenced in
with posts & rails where corn had grown last year. Also fruit trees & a beautiful little
creek of Soft Water running behind the same, the whole making a very pleasant
retired spot for a farm.
The
pioneer company crossed Plumb Creek at 12:10 p.m. After two miles, Albert P. Rockwood looked back and saw heavy
smoke rising from the last campground.40 Brigham Young ordered Brother Rockwood and
Jackson Redden to return and put out the fire.
When they arrived, they found several of the brethren working hard to
put out the fire by raking away all the dry stuff near the fire. It had already burned down some fencing and
was making its way to stacks of hay and houses. Luckily, they soon had it under control and it was extinguished.
After the
pioneers passed by beautiful plowed fields, they soon came to Cedar River which
was difficult to ford because of the sand.
Soon they came to the proposed crossing at Loup Fork. It looked like it would be difficult because
of the sandbars and the rapid current.
There were two channels of water with a sand bar in the middle. The water was only three to four feet deep
in the deepest spots, but there were many places full of quicksand.
Luke
Johnson was the first to try crossing.
He unloaded “Revenue Cutter” (the boat) and tried to pull across only
the running gear of the wagon. He made
it with great difficulty. Orson Pratt
tried to cross with a small load. He
had only gone a few yards when his horses began to sink in the sand. William Clayton wrote: “A number of brethren jumped in and lifted
at the wheels, etc., till they got him to the bar in the middle. He then started for the other bar and about
half way across his horses sank in the quicksand so badly that one of them fell
down.” The horses were taken off the
wagon and led across to the sand bar.
Heber C. Kimball recorded: “When
I jumped into the river I was astonished at the strength of the current.” Wilford Woodruff also struggled to get
across, as his cattle and wagon sank into the sand. “The horses were taken from the waggons the load taken out &
carried to shore by hand & the waggon drawn out by the help of me.”
Brigham
Young tried to get his carriage across by having men pull it with a long
rope. After awhile, Brigham Young
realized that this crossing point would not work and ordered that no more
wagons should be taken over. Instead,
they would move up the river about a quarter mile and camp for the night. This plan left six men, including Wilford
Woodruff and Orson Pratt, stranded over on the other side of the river without
men to guard them from the Pawnee. They
organized themselves into two groups of three to stand guard during the
night. Wilford Woodruff wrote, “I stood
guard in my wet clothing one half the night and slept in them the other half.”
The rest
of the pioneer company camped very close to the old destroyed Pawnee village,
forming a semicircle on a bluff by a stream.
In the evening the captains of tens were called together to vote on
building two light rafts, sixteen feet long.
Tarlton Lewis would superintend the building of one, and Thomas Woolsey
the other. The leather boat would be
used to carry over as many loads as possible and teams would pull over empty
wagons. It was believed that after several
wagons were taken across that the sand would become firm.
Some of
the men went to explore the ruins of the Pawnee Village. Charles Harper wrote: “I went to the ruins together with many of
the brethren to get wood to cook our suppers.
We surveyed the ground where the city once stood. The houses or wigwams were nearly all
burnt. They had the appearance of
having been large and commodious.”
Brigham Young added: “Dr. Richards
reported that he had rode through the Pawnee town about half a mile west of us
and had seen the ruins of 175 houses or lodges averaging from twenty to sixty
feet in diameter, all of which had been burnt to the ground. . . . The town had
been partially fortified by an embankment of earth and sod about four feet
high, having a ditch on the outside.”
The only
lodge that was not burned had belonged to the Pawnee Chief. Levi Jackman described the lodge:
The one
remaining was about 45 feet on the inside and about 15 feet high in the
center. They were built round with a
row of posts about seven feet high, standing nearly straight up and down. On the top of these posts were plates to
support the upper part. The timbers
were put on those plates running quite steep to the top, leaving a hole in the
center for the smoke to go out. The
fire being in the center of the lodge, from the east side an entry was made
running out about 20 feet and of good width.
Brigham
Young sent five men across the river in the boat to help protect Wilford
Woodruff’s small group. The river was
about a quarter mile across at this point.
At Brother
Leonard’s home, a meeting was held, presided over by Brother Sessions. Many sisters including Eliza R. Snow
attended. The Spirit was strong. They prayed, prophesied, and spoke in
tongues.
Hosea
Stout weighed his baby. She was 19
pounds. One year ago he had weighed all
of his children, included his two little boys who later died on the trek across
Iowa. On this day he wrote, “I weighed
all my children this day one year ago, she weighed then 8 pounds and the others
O! where are they now!! hush.”
The men
were busy clearing land, hauling logs, and building cabins. Brothers Potter and Dalton came from Winter
Quarters and reported that a treaty had been made with the Omahas. The terms called for the Saints to pay them
five hundred bushes of corn as soon as it could be hauled from Missouri. If this was done, the Saints could use their
land and the Omahas would stop killing their cattle.
Twins,
Triphena and Mary Fullmer, were born to Almon L. and Sarah Follett Fullmer.41
A
detachment led by James Pace started out for Cajon Pass, to relieve Company
C. Nathaniel V. Jones recorded: “They had bought themselves some horses and
Col. Cooke came out just at the time they were starting, and ordered them all
back, took all their horses from them, sent them off on foot and ordered their
horses sold to the highest bidder, which was done accordingly.” After they left, Colonel Cooke sent word to
the rest of the battalion that they would be moving to another camping location
for their safety. The Missouri
Volunteers had threatened to harm the Mormon Battalion. The men moved to a green about one half mile
below the Pueblo.
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 551; William Clayton’s Journal, 91‑94.;
Wilford Woodruff’s Journal 3:156‑58; “Excerpts from the hitherto
unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era, 50:204;
“Charles Harper Diary,” 17; “Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era
14:819; Heber C. Kimball Diary, Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine,
30:78‑9; Bagley, ed., The Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 128‑30;
“Levi Jackman Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 28; Leonard J. Arrington, BYU
Studies, 20:1:45; Beecher, The Personal Writings of Eliza R. Snow, 166; Brooks,
ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:251; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D.
Lee, 155; “The Journal of Nathaniel V. Jones,” Utah Historical Quarterly,
4:15; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion,
218; “Journal of Albert P. Rockwood,” typescript, BYU, 16
As the
pioneers arose for the day, they discovered that one of Brigham Young’s horses
had choked to death during the night.
It had been chained to a stake and had stepped back into a hole, causing
the chain to pull tight. This was a
significant loss.
Lorenzo
Young got up early and rode into the old Pawnee Village. Lorenzo wrote: “It looked desolate, I assure you. It is beautiful for situation.
I counted 30 skulls that lay on the ground to bleach, beside a number of
graves. My feelings were peculiar. While walking among the ruins I picked up a
skull bone and took to camp and showed it as a curiosity.” Thomas Bullock also was in the village and
added: “Some of the brethren went thro’
their burial ground & saw about 40 skulls & bones scattered about, no
doubt dug up by Wolves. I went up the
high hill about a mile North & went round several graves on the highest
tip. There were also graves scattered
about on the side of the hill.”
William
Clayton described his visit to the village:
On the east
and west of the village is a beautiful level bench of prairie extending many
miles, and to the ridge of bluffs which run east and west touching within a
mile of the village. On the top of the
bluffs can be seen a number of Indian graves.
To the northwest about a mile distant, and at the foot of the bluffs is
an extensive corn field, the stalks still standing. On the south is a beautiful view of the nice level prairie
extending to the main branch of the Platte, the timber on the banks can be
faintly, but plainly seen.
After
William Clayton finished a sketch of the village, he went back to camp because
he saw that the pioneers had started to cross the river. About thirty men were busy making rafts, but
the others wanted to try another method to take the wagons over the river. The goods were unloaded from the wagons and
put into the boat, “Revenue Cutter” to be taken across. Horses and cattle were driven back and forth
across the river to pack down the sand.
Stakes were driven at intervals across the river to guide the teamsters
to cross where the sand was firm. After
awhile, they were able to take loaded wagons across by doubling teams.
William
Clayton wrote:
I prepared
to wade over the river, inasmuch as the wagon I am with was gone over, and in
fact, all Heber’s wagons were over except one, but Jackson Redden brought me
Porter Rockwell’s horse to ride over, and I mounted and proceeded. I found the current strong indeed, and about
as much as a horse could do to ford it without a load. I soon got over safe and wet only my
feet. At 3:00 p.m. the last wagon was
over on the solid sand bar, and about four o’clock all the wagons and teams
were safely landed on the bank on the south side of the Loop Fork without any
loss or accident, which made the brethren feel thankful indeed.
Thomas
Bullock added: “The last Wagon crossed
over at 20 minutes to 3, thus passing our greatest obstacle on our route
without any accident for which blessing from our Heavenly Father all the camp
felt to render thanks & praise to the Lord, & rejoicing at the
prosperity of our journey to this place.”
Shortly
after this, one of the completed rafts, which no longer was needed, floated
down the river and arrived at the crossing.
The pioneers started their journey to find the next encampment. Both men and animals were very tired from
the crossing of Loup Fork and looked forward to resting on the Sabbath. Howard Egan wrote: “I thank the Lord the morrow is a day of rest.” The trail was sandy, but the grass appeared
higher on this side of the river. They
passed the remains of several Indian wickiups.
After about three miles, they camped by a small lake, not far from the
river. Porter Rockwell discovered that
there were sun fish in the lake. The
men caught many nice fish and had a great supper.
Fresh foot
prints were discovered on the bluffs to the south, so the pioneers knew that
they were being watched. The cannon was
again prepared to guard the camp.
William
Clayton wrote: “Evening I walked over
to Orson Pratt’s wagon, and through his telescope saw Jupiter’s four moons very
distinctly never having seen them before.
I went over to my wagon and looked through my glass and could see them
with it, but not so distinct as with Orson’s.”
A meeting
was held at the Council House to meet with the Otoe Chief, Big Caw. The land on the west of the Missouri was
disputed between the Otoes and the Omahas.
The Otoe chief stated that the Saints were on their land and he was
satisfied with letting the Saints stay where they were, because he knew they
were his friends. He felt strongly that
the Saints should not give payment to the Omahas, instead he wished the Saints
would haul corn for the Otoes, but if they did not want to, it would be all
right. He had hard feelings against the
Omahas and condemned their actions in killing the Saints’ cattle. The Otoes went to Hosea Stout’s home to
spend the night.
After Big
Caw left, the council discussed the Otoes’ proposal and voted to haul corn for
both the Otoes and the Omahas, agreeing that “$60 to $80 is nothing to get
peace for we lose that amount in two or three days by their killing our
cattle!!”
John
Taylor and Sophia Whitaker were married.
At 5 p.m.,
Cornelius P. Lott and nine other men arrived at Summer Quarters on their way to
provide more protection for the herds against the Omahas.
Colonel
Cooke issued a new order:
The Mormon
Battalion will erect a small fort on the eminence which commands the town of
Los Angeles. Company A will encamp on
the ground to‑morow forenoon. The
whole company will be employed in the diligent prosecution of the labors for
one week, but there will be a daily detail of non‑commissioned officer
and six privates for the camp guard, which, with the cooks absolutely
necessary, will not labor during their detail.
The hours of labor will be from half past six o’clock until 12 o’clock,
and from 1 o’clock until 6 o’clock.
Elder
Addison Pratt’s ship, Providence, came within sight of Hawaii. He wrote:
“A pleasant sight to see land again.”
Watson, ed., Manuscript
History of Brigham Young, 551‑52; William Clayton’s Journal,
94‑102; Howard Egan’s Diary, Pioneering the West, 29; “Diary of
Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 14:156; Bagley, ed., The
Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 131‑32; Ellsworth, ed., The Journals
of Addison Pratt, 326; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 155;
Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:252; Stephen F. Pratt; BYU
Studies 24:3:377; Tyler, A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion, 279;
Albert P. Rockwood Journal, typescript, BYU, 16
Because it
was the Sabbath, the camp rested and an order was issued that there was to be
no fishing or hunting. Only necessary
labor was to be performed, such of tending the cattle. Thomas Bullock recorded: “All was harmony, peace, & love, and an
holy stillness prevailed throughout the day.
The principal sounds heard were the tinkling of cow bells & the
screams of wild geese as they flew past our camp.”
Wilford
Woodruff was fascinated to see some antelope and elk for the first time in his
life.
William
Clayton wrote: “Afternoon Elijah Newman
was baptized by Tarlton Lewis in the lake for the benefit of his health. Brother Newman has been afflicted with the
black scurvy in his legs and has not been able to walk without sticks, but
after being baptized and hands laid on him he returned to his wagon without any
kind of help seemingly much better.”42
In the
late afternoon, the camp was called together near Brigham Young’s wagon. The meeting was opened by a choir singing,
“This Land was Once a Garden Place.”
After a prayer offered by Heber C. Kimball, Brigham Young invited anyone
who wished to speak, to do so. William
Henrie was the first to speak. He gave
thanks to God for the blessings that they were enjoying.43
Erastus
Snow remarked that he had never been more happy in his life, that he had no
thoughts of turning back. He prophesied
that future generations would read about their historic trek in the camp
journal. It was clear that the Spirit
of the Lord was in the camp because of the peace and union felt by all.
James Case
expressed similar feelings. He said
this was “new business” to him as a recent convert, but he never felt so well
in his life. During the previous year,
he had traveled with the Presbyterian missionaries to this location, but they
were constantly contending. This
pioneer camp traveled in peace and harmony.
George A.
Smith spoke about his experience marching with Zion’s Camp in 1834. He made mention of Joseph Smith’s teachings
regarding the evil of killing animals just for the sake of destroying
them. During his talk, a wolf walked
boldly across the prairie near the camp.
The irony of this event was felt by the men as they listened to Elder
Smith’s counsel against needless killing.
Brigham
Young stated that he was well pleased with the proceedings of the camp thus
far. He testified that the Lord was
leading them and would continue to lead them if they were faithful. He then turned to some camp business. He asked for a daily report to be made, to
take roll in the companies twice per day, to make sure that no one was missing. He chastised the guards for their
carelessness, resulting in the death of his horse. He felt that the guards were so busy working with passwords,
countersigns, and technical formalities that they had lost sight of their main
duty. He asked that all the
technicalities like passwords by set aside in this camp because everyone knew
each other.
President
Young remarked that some believed that the Twelve were oppressing the
people. He testified that the Twelve
were doing all that they could to remove the yokes of oppression from the
people rather than putting more on their shoulders. He further testified that he knew that they were being led by the
Spirit of God and that if the camp continued faithful, they would be healthy
and be able to perform their mission.
President
Young, probably with a smile, appointed Henry G. Sherwood to “murmer for the camp
and no man had a right to murmer unless authorized to by him.”44
Norton Jacob wrote: “Well, this
arrangement of making him chief grumbler of the camp had an effect in putting a
check upon some persons, especially one by the name of [Solomon] Chamberlain
who had all the time been quarreling with his team or somebody or another, but
after this he was tolerable decent.”45
Joseph
Matthews closed the meeting by sharing an experience from earlier in the day.46
He and three others went across the river at the place where they forded
it the day before. His horse got caught
in the quicksand which nearly dumped bother of them in the river. He lost his gun in the “scrape” and
considered himself blessed to have his life preserved and also the life of his
horse.
In the
evening, under moonlight, another meeting was held, at which Brigham Young
proposed that every five wagons cook their meals together in order to save
labor. A company of seventeen hunters
was organized to hunt during the week.
Seven of them would hunt on horseback, ten of them on foot. No longer would every man be allowed to run
ahead with his gun, scaring away all the game.
The Twelve could hunt whenever they wished.
Hosea
Stout took Chief Caw to Alpheus Cutler’s home for breakfast. The High Council met with the Otoes in the
morning at 8 a.m. They told them that
they were willing to help them haul corn.
The Otoes were pleased and asked for gifts. John Taylor gave them some calicos. Daniel Spencer and Hosea Stout gave them a small sack of
crackers.
At 11
a.m., a meeting was held at the Winter Quarters stand. John Taylor shared more experiences from his
mission to England. Parley P. Pratt
discussed with the Saints a significant problem that had recently arisen. Many of the Saints were fleeing across the
Missouri River into Iowa, feeling that it was a safer place because of the
recent Indian problems. Elder Pratt
gave a report regarding the meetings with the Indian tribes and the High
Council’s decision to use more force to protect the Saints’ interests. If the Omahas attacked their cattle, they
were to “whip the Indians with a hickory but don’t kill them.”
Elder
Pratt condemned those who were diverting their attentions from preparing for
the migration to the West.
The Lord
had called us to gather & not scatter all the time except when counselled
to do this is the object of God. . . . Ye who want to scatter go and scatter to
the four winds for the Lord can do without you and the church can do without
you for we want the pure in heart to go with us over the mountains. . . .
Strain every nerve to go on in the Spring.
Wake up & go if you possibly can.
Those who remain don’t farm one here & one there, for union is
needed & we are weak having so many men drawn from among us. So be united.
Lorenzo
Brown recorded that William McCarey, the black/Indian musician from New Orleans
had still been promoting himself as Adam.
He had recently left the Saints to return to his tribe because of a
sermon preached by Orson Hyde against his doctrine. He had convinced some others to follow after him, across the
river, to Mosquito Creek.
Elder
Pratt ordered that no one could cross over the river on the ferry without a
certificate from Isaac Morley. He hoped
that this policy would stop those who fleeing from the city.
Eliza R.
Snow wrote a poem in for Lyman O. Littlefield, who was about to leave on a
mission to England.
Go,
brother, go forth in the spirit of Jesus,
Enrobed
with salvation, encircled with power;
Go forth as
a herald and publish glad tidings ‑‑
Go call to
the nations and tell them the hour.
Go,
brother, be humble ‑‑hold fast your profession ‑‑
Continue to
cling to the strong “iron rod:”
‘Twill lead
thro’ the mists and the clouds of thick darkness,
To the
fountain of light and the glory of God.
Go,
brother, thy country has chased thee in exile,
With an oft
oppress’d people, the Saints of the Lord;
Who are
passing the furnace of deep “fiery trials,”
Rejoicing
in hope of the “better reward.”
Go, brother,
go tell our dear brethren in Europe
The
suff’ring and patience and faith of the Saints,
Who, for
righteousness sake, on the earth are but strangers ‑‑
But God is
their Lord, and their spirit ne’er faints.
Go,
brother, and say to the Saints that are faithful
That God is
preparing a kingdom of rest;
And when
they have pass’d thro’ the tide of affliction,
With the
fullness of blessing they’ll truly be blest.
Go,
Brother, be faithful, and God will protect you
And bear
you in safety across the great deep;
And your
guardian angel will bring you instruction,
And whisper
sweet comfort to you when you sleep.
Go,
brother, and when from the friends now around you,
You are
breathing the air of a far distant clime,
Look oft in
the mirror of your recollection
And the
sweet sounding harp‑strings of friendship will chime.
May the God
of our fathers preserve you from evil,
And fill
you with wisdom and light evermore;
And when
you with honor have finished your mission,
Return you
in peace to America’s shore.
Company A
moved into town to start building a fort.
Rumors were afloat about an expected attack from Mexicans and Indians
during the night. Colonel Cooke ordered
Jefferson Hunt to have the battalion ready to form a battle line at a moment’s
notice. Most of the men were up all
night because they believed that they would be attacked. A dispatch was sent via pony express to
Cajon Pass ordering all the men stationed there to return to Los Angeles.
Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, 3:159; “Excerpts from the hitherto unpublished
Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era, 50:204; “Diary of
Lorenzo Dow Young,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 14:156; “Charles Harper
Diary,” 18; “Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:820;
Luke S. Johnson Journal, typescript, BYU, 4; Bagley, ed., The Pioneer Camp
of the Saints, 132; Lyman Littlefield Reminiscences (1888), 208; Stephen F.
Pratt; BYU Studies 24:3:378; Nibley, Exodus to Greatness, 375; Brooks,
ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:244, 252; Tyler, A Concise History of
the Mormon Battalion, 279; Norton Jacob Journal, typescript, BYU, 56-7;
Albert P. Rockwood Journal, typescript, 18-19;
At about 3
a.m. an alarm was sounded, indicating that Indians were attacking the
camp. Luke S. Johnson’s journalist
recorded:
About 3 O
clock the guards perceived 6 Indians making for the camp as fast as
possible. The guards stept out of the
way untill they crept up close to camp.
The guards then fired twice, snapt a pistol once, but did not hit
them. They retreated back. Suddenly the bugle gave the alarm. Every man in camp was soon up with his
rifle. Col Markum then ordered a strong
guard to be placed around the camp.
After
examining the tracks, it was determined that the Indians were Sioux. Thomas
Bullock recorded this version of the incident:
John
Eldredge47 says he thought he
saw a couple of Wolves coming to the Camp within four rods & determined to
have some fun, run as if to chase them, when they rose up on their feet &
turned out to be two Indians. He
levelled his pistol but it did not go off.
He then called to [Levi] Kendall48
& [Stephen] Kelsey49
who fired their Guns, four other Indians having jumped up & run. A general alarm being raised nearly all men
were found to be at their posts, under their commanders of Tens who continued
on Guard till Sunrise.
At 8 a.m.,
the camp was on the move. There was no
road to travel on, so Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Amasa
M. Lyman and others scouted ahead for the best route to follow along the south
banks of the Loup Fork. The horse teams
traveled first to break the strong grass so that it would not hurt the oxen’s
feet. Wilford Woodruff and others went
off hunting. They saw eight deer and
four antelope, but could not catch anything.
The country was beginning to change.
The large trees had disappeared and instead they saw small scrubby trees
and willows near the river. The
pioneers had to cross many mud sloughs and small ridges. The company went seven miles and then
stopped at 11:30 a.m. near some ponds to feed the teams. About one hundred Indians trails were
crossed during the day. They could see
“an old dilapidated Pawnee Indian village” across the river.
Ezra T.
Benson discovered that one of his iron axles was broken. He shifted the load in the wagon so that
very little weight would be but on the broken portion, and traveled this way
the rest of the day.50
At 1:45
p.m., they continued the journey. After
a few miles they saw another deserted village across the river. At 6:15, they established the night’s camp a
half mile from the Loup Fork, near a small gravel creek named Elk Sand
Creek. Some signs of buffalo were found
for the first time. William Clayton
recorded:
About a
mile back from this place situated on a high bench of land on the banks of the
river is the remains of an Indian village, the houses or lodges being all down
and no appearance of timber left. The
entrances to these lodges all face to the southeast, the same as those back at
the other village. There has evidently
been a garden around the village as the land has been broken and bears marks of
cultivation.
In the
evening, Ezra T. Benson unloaded his broken wagon, the axle was taken off, and
Thomas Tanner’s forge set up. William
Clayton reported: “The axle was welded
and fixed ready to put on the wagon again.
This work was done in the short space of one hour after the encampment
had been formed, the welding being done by Burr Frost.”51
Wilford
Woodruff wrote: “Just at dusk, a
tremendious alarm was given through the camp that Indians had cralled up &
taken Porter Rockwell & his horse & made off with him. Many men mounted their horses & made off
after him with all speed but it was soon discovered that Rockwell was in the
camp but two horses were gone.” These
horses belonged to Willard Richards and Jesse C. Little. Because they ran off at full speed, it was
thought that they were stolen by Indians.
Men were sent out to find them.
They searched long and hard, aided by a bright half moon, but returned
at 11 p.m. without finding them.
Howard
Egan wrote:
About 3
o’clock Brother [Joseph] Matthews was out hunting his horses and saw a horse at
a distance, supposing it to be Brother Little’s, went toward him. Before he got near him the horse put off at
full speed toward the river. He then
supposed there was an Indian on him. He
returned to the camp and gave the alarm, when five or six men jumped on their
horses and followed in the direction, but could not see or hear anything of the
Indian.
William
Clayton summarized: “The brethren have
been repeatedly warned not to let their horses go far from their wagons, but
every time we stop they can be seen around for more than two miles. These are two good horses and the owners
feel bad enough, but it will be a warning to others to be more careful.”
Hosea
Stout and Horace Eldredge rode to Bellevue to take a letter to the Indian Agent,
John Miller. They arrived at noon, but
Miller was not at home, so they left it with his clerk who seemed pleased at
the proposal to haul corn for the Indians.
Hosea Stout recorded some alarming news:
While
there, we were informed that four Omaha women went out near to the big spring
where we first camped after crossing the river [Cold Spring Camp] to get some
corn and while there were attacked by some Sioux . . . who killed two and
wounded one more of the women. They
fled to the village and gave the alarm whereupon 150 Omahas & Otoes started
after them on horse back and over took & killed seven, who they found in a
deep ravine. There were two Omahas
killed in the conflict, one by an Otoe through mistake.
While returning to Winter Quarters, Hosea Stout
saw the war party on the prairie returning to Bellevue.
George
Eddins, age thirty-eight, died.
At 11
a.m., Isaac Morley and Charles Bird arrived from Winter Quarters. They reported that the chief of the Otoes
had met with the leaders. The Otoes had
emphasized they owned the land, not the Omahas. The Otoes requested the Saints to help them haul corn.
Luman
Shurtliff left the Mississippi River with Brother Tidwell and two yoke of oxen,
taking the provisions collected, and headed for Garden Grove.
Samuel
Brannan, Charles Smith, and another man left Sutter’s Fort with mules and
horses loaded with provisions, hoping to locate the pioneers heading for
California. They also carried copies of
the California Star. “At first
they were somewhat fearful they might meet the same fate as the Donner party in
the high Sierras, but they made the forty‑mile crossing of the Truckee
Pass in about 26 hours ‑‑ the same pass that had trapped the ill‑fated
Donner party. Sam in his writings, gave
credit to his Heavenly Father who, he said, led them on their way.’”
Companies
D and E received six month’s pay of $42.
The two companies joined Company A on the hill where they were building
the fort. The pony express returned
after delivering the dispatch to the companies at Cajon Pass, ordering them to
return. The express traveled 120 miles
in just sixteen hours.
Lydia
Hunter, wife of Captain Jesse C. Hunter died at 10 p.m.. She had given birth to a son six days
earlier. Juanita Wrightington, a local
lady, agreed to take care of the infant.
Luke S. Johnson
Journal, typescript, BYU, 4; Howard Egan’s Diary, Pioneering the West,
29‑30; “Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:820;
“Luman Shurtliff Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 74; Kenney, ed., Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, 3:160; Kelly, ed., Journals of John D. Lee, 156‑57;
Bagley, ed., The Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 133‑34; Brooks, ed., On
the Mormon Frontier, 1: 252 Our Pioneer Heritage, 3:480, 2:516; William
Clayton’s Journal, 105; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The March
of the Mormon Battalion, 219; “The Journal of Nathaniel V. Jones,” Utah
Historical Quarterly, 4:17; “Private Journal of Thomas Dunn,” typescript,
24; Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion, 136
Before
breakfast, William Clayton and Porter Rockwell went back to see if they could
find the tracks of the two lost horses.
One of the trails was found, but they returned to camp because they were
not armed. At 8:30 a.m., the wagons
rolled out of camp. They crossed the
creek, left the Loup Fork, and started heading southwest toward the Platte
River. The country was dry, sandy, and
barren. Not a tree could be seen.
William
Clayton wrote: “President Young and
Kimball discovered a dog town a piece back, and many little prairie dogs. In one hole was a very large rattlesnake,
and around the holes many small owls which seem to correspond with what
travelers have said previously ‑‑ that the prairie dog,
rattlesnakes, and owls all live in the same hole together.”
After
traveling twelve miles, the pioneers stopped at 2:30 p.m. near a ravine to rest
and feed the animals. The afternoon was
hot, eighty-six degrees. They had to
dig wells to find water. From this
point they could see a good view of the Platte River in the distance. Orrin Porter Rockwell, Thomas Brown, Joseph
Matthews, and John Eldredge were sent back in an attempt to find the lost
horses.
At 3:15,
the wagons were on the move again. The
afternoon was hot, eighty‑seven degrees.
The roads were dusty. Wilford
Woodruff and others shot an antelope.
“Just as we were starting in the afternoon, we rose a small bluff &
saw two Antelope before us in the valley. . . . Br Brown first fired upon
him. Another man & myself fired
also. We all hit him with our balls but
he did not fall.” They rode up,
finished it off, skinned it, loaded the meat into the wagons and continued
on. This was the first antelope killed
by the pioneer company.
The
night’s encampment was formed at 5:30 p.m. near a beautiful prairie
stream. They had difficulty finding
wood for fire. Some of the ox teams had
failed during the day from lack of water, so horses had to be sent back to help
them catch up.
Soon,
Porter Rockwell and the others returned from their search for the horses. They found the trail of the two horses and
came within a mile of Saturday’s camp.
They noticed something black just ahead of them in the tall grass. Thomas Bullock gave this action‑packed
version:
Porter
Rockwell thought he saw a Wolf, determined to shoot it, descended from this
horse, levelled his gun to fire, which brought up the resurrection of 15 Pawnee
Indians, who [were] running to seize his & Mathews’ horses; Rockwell jumped
on his horse & levelled his pistol, which caused them to draw back. The 15 Indians were armed with Bows &
Arrows & Guns, Ready for fight, but were bluft by the 4 brethren. The Indians got enraged, retreated about 50
yards, & fired 6 Guns at the brethren, sending the balls whistling close by
their heads.
Nothing
was seen of the lost horses and it was concluded that the Indians had stolen
them. Some of these Indians were
recognized as the same Pawnees who greeted the pioneers near the Pawnee village
and had eyed the horses. They had
probably followed the pioneers closely for days.
John Brown
wrote of an accident that caused the loss of the fourth horse in four
days. “I accidentally fired a gun and
the shot broke a horse’s leg, after setting a sack of clothes on fire. It was Brother [Matthew] Ivory’s gun.52
He had put it into the wagon loaded and capped. I was drawing my coat out which caught the
hammer and fired it off in the wagon.”
The horse belonged to Lewis Barney.53 The fire was quickly put out.
Luke
Johnson shot a very large rattlesnake which he then brought into camp to be
used for oil. Roswell Stevens killed a
hare.54 A storm blew in during the evening. The wind blew very hard. All the men had to lock the wagon wheels to
prevent them from rolling during the storm.
There were much lightning and thunder, but very little rain.
Hosea
Stout and the city marshal, Horace Eldredge, went to the ferry and told Brother
Higbee (the ferry operator) not to take anyone across who had not paid their
city tax. Brother Stout explained, “for
there were now great numbers going off through disafection & we took this
plan to secure their portion of supporting the police. Some paid it willingly while others made
bitter complaints.”
Rumors
were received that Company C and James Pace’s detachment had been attacked by
Mexicans at Cajon Pass.
James S.
Brown wrote that Company C and James Pace’s detachment left Cajon Pass as
ordered. They were not attacked by
Mexicans but were pursued by another hostile force.
On our
march out, the wild cattle, which were there by thousands, became excited and
began to bellow and crowd toward us. We
could see them for miles coming on the run.
They closed in quickly until we were surrounded by them on three sides,
with a deep gulch or very brushy ravine on the fourth. We retreated in double‑quick time to
this gulch, and were compelled to remain in what shelter it afforded until the
next day, before we could pass on in safety.
Sister
Lydia Hunter was buried. William Hyde
spoke on the resurrection. She was
buried near the harbor, at Point Loma where fallen soldiers had been buried.
Diary of Howard Egan, Pioneering
the West, 30; Autobiography of John Brown, 74; “Erastus Snow Journal
Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:820‑21; “Charles Harper Diary,” 19‑20;
Bagley, ed., The Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 134‑35; Kenney, ed., Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal, 3:161‑62; Luke S. Johnson Journal, typescript,
BYU, 4; William Clayton’s Journal, 107‑11; Brooks, ed., On the
Mormon Frontier, 1: 252‑53; Brown, Giant of the Lord, 92‑3;
“Private Journal of Thomas Dunn,” typescript, 24; “The Journal of Robert S.
Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:91; Ricketts, The Mormon
Battalion, 136; Albert P. Rockwood Journal, 19-20, 22;
At 6 a.m.,
the temperature was fifty‑nine degrees.
During the morning, Brigham Young decided to have the wounded horse put
out of its misery. Luke S. Johnson shot
the horse. Rodney Badger55 provided a replacement horse for
Lewis Barney. Orders were given during
the morning for no man to leave the wagons except the hunters. The men had to grade a road down to the small
creek nearby, so the wagons could cross it.
They continued in this work until 9 a.m., when the wagons started
crossing. Albert P. Rockwood
wrote: “Some buffalo made their
appearance in sight of the camp for the first time on our journey.”
The
pioneers traveled to the Platte River and rested the animals on the banks near
Grand Island at 2 p.m. Many deer were
seen running across the large Island.
Levi Jackman recorded: “The bottom had the appearance of a vast green
sea; no timber in sight only a narrow strip on our left along the river
shore.” The roads were extremely dusty and
a strong wind blew it into the wagons, covering everything.
They
traveled six more miles and at 6 p.m., established a camp on Wood Creek. A circle was formed and the horses put
inside. Brigham Young advised the
hunters to not go on Grand Island for fear of an Indian ambush.
Erastus
Snow wrote: “The country we have passed
over today is the most beautiful I ever beheld. A continuous, unbroken plain covered with green grass, from one
to six inches high, as far as the eye can see in all directions, without any
timber or other objects to obstruct the view, except the timber on Grand
Island, south of us.”
Phinehas
Young returned to camp at sunset after exploring Grand Island. He said that the Island was four miles wide
at this point and that there was a road near the center of the island that
appeared to travel nearly the whole length of the island.
In the
evening Luke S. Johnson gave Thomas Bullock a bunch of rattles taken from the
huge four‑foot snake that he had killed the day before. The oil was taken out and rubbed on Zebedee
Coltrin’s black leg which helped a great deal.56
Ann Agatha
Walker Pratt wrote in her history:
My wedding
day was April 28, 1847. I married
Brother Parley P. Pratt, an Apostle in the Latter‑day Saint church ‑‑
a very fine man, a true and loving husband always. My husband, being in charge of the company, was extremely busy
mending wagons, hooking up yoke‑bows, making boy‑keys, or pins to
hold the bows in the yokes, hunting up the cattle, mating them, finding chains,
especially lock‑chains, for, bear in mind there were no brakes to hold
wagons back going down steep hills in those days. These and a hundred other things occupied his time. Meanwhile we were busy making and mending
wagon covers and in every way aiding and assisting to prepare for the long and
toilsome journey.
Parley P.
Pratt and Martha Monks were also married this day. Walter Elias Gardner and Martha Ann Tuttle were married.
A meeting
was held in the evening at John D. Lee’s house. The brethren discussed how they should herd their cattle. It was proposed that one big herd be created
for the safety and protection of the animals.
After debating for two hours, the men agreed to appoint N. K. Knight to
superintend the herd. In exchange, the
other brethren would till his land. The
boys in the settlement would aid Brother Knight with the herd.
A son,
Joseph Heber Rogers, was born to Russell and Lydia Trumbull Rogers.
Twenty‑eight
men from each company were assigned to work on the fort. The day was very busy for some. Henry Standage stood guard through the
night, worked on the fort ten hours, paraded with his arms, and did his own
cooking. He wrote:
The fact is
if our Battalion Officers who profess to be our brethren would act as fathers
to us we could have easier times but they seek to please the Gentiles and to
gain favor at our expense. Our officers
will even find fault with us even in these times, for not having our guns in
good bright condition when it was impossible for us to do in consequence of our
being tented out and crowded 9 into a tent calculated at first for only 6. Being compelled to leave our guns outside
the tent or lay them on the ground in the night time.
In the evening, Company C and Lt. James
Pace’s detachment arrived safely from Cajon Pass.
Henry
Bigler commented on “something of a human form” who was seen on the streets of
San Diego begging for food. He claimed
to be one of Fremont’s men and said he had been traveling in the Rocky Mountains
for years. One of his shoulders was
disabled and he had a wound in his head.
Horace M. Alexander recognized him from Missouri. The man acknowledged that he was one of the
mob who massacred the Saints at Haun’s mill in Missouri. He begged for forgiveness.
Robert S.
Bliss wrote in his journal while sitting on a ten‑pounder gun above San
Diego:
The
prospect is delightful the Town is below me still farther South lies the Ships
in the Harbour & farther still lies the Ocean; North & West lay another
Bay & still farther West the Pacific with its Breakers is in Sight for many
leagues at Sea. Yesterday the Congress
Sailed on a short Cruise. She will be
back in a few days; East 2 leagues is the Mission we quartered when we first
Came to the Coast in Sight of the Fort; I also can see far to the South a
number of Islands where I am told Walrus & Seals abound; It is rumored that
a body of 1500 Mexicans are coming here to take the country from us if they do
they will have to fight hard for our Guns are loaded ready to apply the match
any moment.
Elder
Addison Pratt’s ship dropped anchor in the harbor of Honolulu. He wrote:
“I have been on shore and had a ramble.
This place is verry much altered since I was here in the year 1822. The town is laid out in streets mostly
crossing at right angles, and the houses are mostly well built, considering the
climate and materials.”
Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal 3:162; “Erastus Snow Journal Excerpts,” Improvement
Era 14:821; Diary of Howard Egan, Pioneering the West, 31; “Levi
Jackman Autobiography,” typescript, BYU, 29; Our Pioneer Heritage,
8:244; William Clayton’s Journal, 111; Kelly, ed., Journals of John
D. Lee, 1846‑1847 and 1859, 158; “The Journal of Nathaniel V. Jones,”
Utah Historical Quarterly, 4:16; Journal of Henry Standage in Golder, The
March of the Mormon Battalion, 219‑20; “Journal Extracts of Henry W.
Bigler,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 5: 60 Elsworth, The Journals of
Addison Pratt, 326; “Albert P. Rockwood Journal,” 22
The bugle
sounded at 4:15 a.m., and the pioneer company started their journey at 5 a.m.
in search of better feed for the animals.
After three miles, they stopped and ate breakfast at 6:30 a.m. They saw bunches of prickly pear
cactus. The temperature was sixty‑one
degrees. Hunters went over to Grand
Island and saw about 30 antelope and 8 deer.
Four geese were shot.
After a
couple more miles, they crossed Wood Creek and continued their journey west
along the Platte across from Grand Island.
Thomas Bullock wrote, “We saw fruit trees in bloom & Cotton Wood
& other trees in leaf.”
After
about five more miles, they rested the animals near a lake for the noon
break. Ten more miles were traveled in
the afternoon. As they traveled, some
of the men started prairie fires to burn the dry grass so that new green grass
would grow for those who followed. Levi
Jackman recorded: “The day was very warm
and the dust arose in a dense column along the whole line. It had been so for a number of days which
made it very disagreeable.” William
Clayton added:
One of
Orson Pratt’s horses is very sick, supposed to be the bots. He has lain down several times in the
harness within the last three hours. I
am not astonished, as the wagons and everything else is shrinking up, for the
wind is perfectly dry and parching; there is no moisture in it. Even my writing desk is splitting with the
drought. . . . The clouds of dust were almost sufficient to suffocate everyone.
Erastus
Snow commented: “It (Platte Valley) is
mostly covered with rushes and the timber usually found on the islands and
bottoms of all these western streams.”
Wilford Woodruff added, “We find places on the main land bordering upon
Grand Island covered with white substance resembling salt & taste quite
saltish.”
Thomas
Woolsey found a piece of pine board floating down the river. The men wondered where it came from.57
A meeting
was held at the stand to sell prized lots of land near the south end of the
city. The lots would go to the highest
bidders who in turn would make fences.
Mary Richards went to John Taylor’s home to pick up some writing paper
that her missionary husband had sent back with Elder Taylor from England. Sister Richards thought that Elder Taylor
would visit her as he had promised to do for all the wives of the
missionaries. He explained that he was
afraid to visit the sisters because they kept falling in love with him. Sister Richards replied, “I expect it is
some what dangerous, but I should be happy to have you bring Sister Taylor with
you when you come to see me, and if I should happen to fall in love with you, I
will try to keep it to my self.” Sister
Taylor said the problem was that many of the Sisters were inviting him over
without inviting her.
Hyrum O.
Turley, age four months, died of croup.
He was the son of Theodore and Ellen Turley.
A
daughter, Mary Etta Stringham, was born to William and Eliza Lake Stringham.
Twenty-eight
volunteers arrived from Santa Barbara, bringing the battalion some cartridges.
Robert S.
Bliss wrote: “This morning arose Early
& saw a ship standing in for the Harbour she soon cast anker as the Wind
was unfavorable. We expect our
paymaster is on board & we shall be payd some money for our services for
the first time since leaving Santafee.”
“Erastus Snow Journal
Excerpts,” Improvement Era 14:821; Wilford Woodruff’s Journal
3:162; Bagley, ed., The Pioneer Camp of the Saints, 136; Howard Egan
Diary, Pioneering the West, 31; “Levi Jackman Autobiography,”
typescript, BYU, 29; William Clayton’s Journal, 112; “The Journal of
Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4;92; Ward, ed., Winter
Quarters, 121; Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier, 1:253; “Albert
P. Rockwood Journal,” 23
The
morning’s journey started at 8:20 a.m.
It was a chilly day, with temperatures down into the low forties. William Clayton remarked: “About a mile from where we camped last
night, we passed a place where the Indians have camped no doubt during their
hunt. They must have been very numerous
for their camp has covered a number of acres of ground.”
After
eight miles, the company nooned at a small creek with a gravel bottom, about a
half mile from the river. They named it
“Grass Creek.” Horace Whitney wrote: “The grass here is of the highest and most
luxuriant growth we have yet seen ‑‑ There have been three fresh
buffalo tracks seen today by the hunter.”
Buffalo bones were seen in every direction.
When they
started again at 1:20 p.m., the wind was blowing very strong, and it felt quite
cold. They traveled eight more miles
and camped in a circle about two miles away from the river near a bluff without
wood or water. The circle that was
formed was “imperfect” because each wagon was faced so that the wind would be
against it. It took more than an hour
to form the camp.58
For the
first time they picked up dry buffalo dung (chips) which made a good fire. A well was dug and water was found. Thomas Bullock explained that holes were dug
for the fires. “At Luke Johnson’s fire
I saw a Buffalo Skull made a chimney ‑‑ the smoke coming out of two
holes between the horns, combined the useful & ludicrous.”
It was a
cold evening. William Clayton
wrote: “It is now so cold that every
man wants his overcoat on and a buffalo robe over it. We have had no accident and the brethren felt well, some are
wrestling to keep themselves warm.”
Brigham Young gave permission for the men to have a dance and to enjoy
themselves because it was hard to stay warm.
Hans C. Hansen provided the tunes on his violin. Many of the men had a difficult time
sleeping because of the cold.
Some of
Peter Sarpy’s teams came in from the Pawnee village, where they had seen the
pioneer company. William Kay helped
move Mary Richards into a house on the south picket line. This was the first house she lived in since
leaving Nauvoo a year earlier. During
all that time, she had lived in a tent.
She wrote, “After I got to the house, I got dinner and Brother Kay eat
with us. After which I helped cord the
bedstead, move the bed, and regulated some of the things, felt some tired.”
Many of
the men continued to work on the fort.
David Pettigrew preached to the men about the evils of drinking. Jefferson Hunt informed the men about some
good news. A sutler traveling with the
New York Volunteers had just arrived with many clothes for sale. General Kearny had sent word that these
clothes could be purchased at a reduced price.
Since this was the end of the month, the battalion was mustered.
Robert S.
Bliss recorded, “To day is our muster day according to Law which makes the
fifth must from the time entered the Service; We have to muster once more to
conclude the year & then we hope to go Speedily to our Familys & the
Church.”
Wilford
Woodruff’s Journal 3:163; Bagley, ed., The Pioneer Camp of the Saints,
136‑37; Howard Egan Diary, Pioneering the West, 31; “Excerpts from
the hitherto unpublished Journal of Horace K. Whitney,” Improvement Era,
50:204; William Clayton’s Journal, 113‑16; Brooks, ed., On the
Mormon Frontier, 1:253; Ward, ed., Winter Quarters, 121; Journal of
Henry Standage in Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion, 220; “The
Journal of Robert S. Bliss,” Utah Historical Quarterly, 4;92; “Albert P.
Rockwood Journal,” typescript, BYU, 23
1This was the Jerusalem
artichoke, a large sunflower. The roots
were good in combating the malnutrition problems in Winter Quarters. Many people continued to suffer from scurvy.
2Rodney Badger was later in the
original pioneer company. He later served as sheriff in Salt Lake County. In
1853, he drowned while trying to rescue a family whose wagon capsized in the
Weber River.
3Clarissa Decker Young was born
in 1828, in New York. She was the
daughter of Harriet Young, by her first husband, Isaac Decker. Clarrisa was a wife of Brigham Young. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, she
spent the first winter there, while Brigham Young returned to Winter
Quarters. She died in 1889.
4Ellen Sanders Kimball was born
in 1825, in Norway. She later lived in
Salt Lake City, where she bore five children, three who died as children. She died in 1871.
5Lorenzo Dow Young was born in
1807, in New York. In 1849, he went
back to Missouri and obtained 500 sheep and 80 cattle. He settled on the west side of Jordan River
and started a sheep and cattle ranch.
In 1851, he was called as the bishop of the Eighteenth Ward, and served
for twenty-seven years. He died in
1895.
6Lorenzo Sobieski Young was born
in 1841. After arriving in the valley,
he learned horticulture from his father and became a farmer. He lived in Huntington, Utah. He died in 1904.
7Isaac Perry Decker was born in
1840. He was the son of Harriet Decker
Young, by her first husband, Isaac Decker.
After arriving in Utah, they spent the first winter in the city
fort. Lorenzo later built the family a
home near the Eagle Gate, in Salt Lake City.
Perry later settled in Provo. He
died in 1916, the next to last surviving original pioneer.
8Samuel W. Richards was
currently serving a mission in England.
9A marker is located at the
intersection of Old 36 and 72nd street near the North Omaha Airport.
10Lyman Wight and his small
colony of Mormons were at Austin, Texas.
Their mill spring dried up in October, so they were in the process of
moving to a site near Fredericksburg, Texas, on Grape Creek. In May, 1847, as Grape Creek started to dry
up, they moved to a site closer to Fredericksburg, on the Pedernales
River. A destitute German colony lived
in Fredericksburg. The Saints made special efforts to help the Germans.
11They were in Winter Quarters.
12Cutler’s Park.
13Andrew Purley Shumway was born
in 1833, in Massachusetts. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he returned
with his father to Winter Quarters for the rest of the family. In 1856 he was
called on a mission to England, but soon returned because of the “Utah War.” He
settled in Mendon, Utah, and died at Franklin, Idaho, in 1909.
14The Elkhorn River crossing was
just north of the US 6 bridge, near Waterloo.
15It appears that the resignation
was not accepted because Hulet would later be chosen to help escort General
Kearny to take John C. Fremont back to Fort Leavenworth for court martial.
16This camp was about three miles
southeast of present‑day Fremont, Nebraska. It was later named the
“Liberty Pole Camp” by the Second Company of pioneers on June, 1847. It was
about one‑quarter mile from the Platte River, and west of US 77.
17They probably did not consider
that the ship Brooklyn had arrived in California the previous year. The Brooklyn Saints probably had
plenty of missionary opportunities.
18William A. King was born in
1821. He only stayed a short time in
the Salt Lake Valley and then returned to Winter Quarters. It is believed that he died in Boston,
Massachusetts, in about 1862.
19The orginal pioneer company of
1847 at this time consisted of: Barnabas Lothrop Adams, Rufus Allen, Truman
Osborn Angell, Millen Atwood, Rodney Badger, Robert Erwin Baird, Lewis Barney,
Charles D Barnum, Ezra Taft Benson, George Pierce Billings, Francis Boggs,
George Washington Brown, John Brown, Nathaniel Thomas Brown, Thomas Bullock,
Charles Allen Burke, Jacob D. Burnham, Albert Carrington, William Carter, James
Case, Solomon Chamberlain, Alexander Phillip Chesley, William Clayton, Thomas
Polsin Cloward, Zebedee Coltrin, James Craig, Oscar Crosby, Lyman Curtis, Hosea
Cushing, James Davenport, Isaac Perry Decker, Benjamin Franklin Dewey, John
Dixon, Starling Graves Driggs, William Dykes, Ellis Eames, Sylvester Henry
Earl, Ozro French Eastman, Howard Egan, Joseph Teasdale Egbert, John Sunderland
Eldredge, Edmund LoveIl Ellsworth, William Adam Empey, Horace Datus Ensign,
Addison Everett, Nathaniel Fairbanks, Aaron Freeman Farr, Perry Fitzgerald,
Green Flake, John S. Fowler, Samuel Bradford Fox, John M. Freeman, Horace
Monroe Frink, Burr Frost, Andrew Smith Gibbons, John Streater Gleason, Eric
Glines, Stephen H. Goddard, David Grant, George Roberts Grant, John Young
Greene, Thomas Grover, Joseph Hancock, Sidney Alvarus Hanks, Hans Christian
Hansen, Appleton Milo Harmon, Charles Alfred Harper, William Henrie, John S.
Higbee, John Greenleaf Holman, Simeon Fuller Howd, Matthew Hayes Ivory, Levi
Jackman, Norton Jacob, Artemas Johnson, Luke S. Johnson, Philo Johnson, Stephen
Kelsey, Levi Newell Kendall, Heber Chase Kimball, Ellen Sanders Kimball,
William A. King, Conrad Kleinman, Hark Lay, Tarlton Lewis, Jesse Carter Little,
Franklin G. Losee, Chancey Loveland, Amasa Mason Lyman, Samuel Harvey Marble,
Stephen Markham, Joseph Matthews, George Mills, Carlos Murray, Elijah Newman,
John Wesley Norton, Seeley Owen, John Pack, Eli Harvey Peirce, Francis Martin
Pomeroy, David Powell, Orson Pratt, Tunis Rappleye, Return Jackson Redden,
Willard Richards, Orrin Porter Rockwell, Albert Perry Rockwood, Benjamin
Williams Rolfe, Joseph Rooker, Shadrach Roundy, George Scholes, Joseph Smith
Schofield, Henry G. Sherwood, Andrew Purley Shumway, Charles Shumway, George
Albert Smith, William Cochran Adkinson Smoot, Erastus Snow, Roswell Stevens,
Benjamin Franklin Stewart, James Wesley Stewart, Bryant Stringham, Gilbroid
Summe, Seth Taft, Thomas Tanner, Norman Taylor, Robert T. Thomas, Horace
Thornton, Marcus B. Thorpe, John Harvey Tippets, William Perkins Vance, Henson
Walker Jr., George Wardle, William Shin Wardsworth, Jacob Weiler, John Wheeler,
Edson Whipple, Horace Kimball Whitney, Orson K. Whitney, Almon S. Williams,
Wilford Woodruff, George Woodward, Thomas Woolsey, Brigham Young, Clarissa
Decker Young, Lorenzo Dow Young, Harriet Page Wheeler Young, Lorenzo Sobieski
Young, and Phinehas Howe Young.
20Probably the Donner‑Reed
party
21William Clayton was born in
1814, in England. He served as a
secretary to Joseph Smith. He composed
the hymn “Come, Come, Ye Saints” the previous year, in Iowa. He later served a mission to England. On his return, he was treasurer of
Z.C.M.I. He died in 1879.
22Philo Johnson was born in 1814,
in Connecticut. After arriving in the
Salt Lake Valley, he went to work making adobe bricks for houses. He later moved to Payson, Utah, and made
thousands of hats. He died in 1896.
23Samuel was her husband away in
England.
24This policy would create much
contention for many months in the settlement.
25They passed through present‑day
Fremont, Nebraska.
26The campsite was near the
present‑day Ames Post Office, near the Platte River.
27Hans Christian Hansen was born
in 1806, in Denmark. He was a popular
musician in Utah. He later settled in
Salina, Utah. He served a mission to
Denmark in 1862-63. He died in 1890.
28Horace Kimball Whitney was born
in 1823, in Kirtland, Ohio. He was the
son of Bishop Newell K. Whitney. He
traveled in the pioneer company with this brother, Orson K. Whitney. Horace was a gifted musician and learned the
printer’s trade. He set the type for
the first edition of the Deseret News and had a management position for the
paper, for twenty-one years. He died in
1884.
29James Case was born in 1794, in
Connecticut. In 1846, he worked for the
government at the Pawnee Mission and was baptized by the Saints who went there
with George Miller. In 1855, he served
as a missionary to the Indians. He
presided over the Creek Nation. He died
soon after returning from his mission in 1858.
30Her husband, Samuel W. Richards
was away in England on a mission
31Appleton Milo Harmon was born
in 1820, in Pennsylvania. He
constructed the roadometer, under the direction of William Clayton. He was among those asked to remain at the
Mormon Ferry, on the North Platte River.
There, he remained until the pioneers returned from the valley in the
fall. He then worked at For Laramie as
a blacksmith until the following spring and returned to Winter Quarters,
bringing his family to the valley. He
served a mission to England in 1850. He
later helped build sawmills and a furniture factory at Toquerville, Utah. He died in 1877.
32Orrin Porter Rockwell was born
in 1815, in New York. He was one of the
very early members of the Church. He
gained much influence with the Indians and was a terror to lawless individuals. He rode for the pony express and his house
near the point of the mountain in Utah was a station. He died in 1878.
33This encampment was south of present‑day
Monroe, Nebraska.
34Howard Egan was born in 1815,
in Ireland. In 1849-50, he traveled to
California to buy livestock and supplies.
In 1860, he became a pony express rider. He served as a member of the Salt Lake City police force. He contracted pneumonia while guarding
Brigham Young’s grave and died in 1878.
35When this letter finally reached
the Twelve, Willard Richards wrote a firm reply asking Brother Miller to stop
wasting his time and to return home to the Saints.
36They crossed over Beaver Creek
about a mile south of the present‑day city of Genoa, Nebraska
37Norton Jacob was born in 1804,
in Massachusetts. After arriving in the
Salt Lake Valley, he returned to Winter Quarters for his family, who he brought
to the valley the following year. He
buried a son during the journey. He
later worked on the temple and on the mill at Mill Creek. He later moved to Heber City and served as
justice of the peace. He died in 1879.
38The corn and hay had been
gathered by Jacob Gate’s group during the previous fall.
39Thomas Tanner was born in 1804,
in England. After arriving in the Salt
Lake Valley, he built a blacksmith shop and later was the foreman of the Church
public works’ blacksmith shop. He died
after a fall in 1855.
40Albert Perry Rockwood was born
in 1805, in Massachusetts. After
arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he returned with Brigham Young to Winter
Quarters. He brought his family west in
1849. He served in the Territorial
Legislature. He was warden of the state
penitentiary. He died in 1879.
41Both the twins died soon after
birth.
42Elijah Newman was born in 1793,
in Virginia. After arriving in the Salt
Lake Valley, he helped to build the first fort, and made the gates for the
structure. He helped settle Parowan,
Utah, where he served as justice of the peace.
He died in 1872.
43William Henrie was born in
1799, in Pennsylvania. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he helped
explore Cedar Valley, Tooele Valley, and the territory in Utah between Salt
Lake and the Santa Clara River. He was one of the founders of Bountiful and
built a sawmill there. He died in 1883.
44Henry G. Sherwood was born in
1785, in New York. After arriving in
the Salt Lake Valley, he made a drawing of the first city survey on a
sheepskin. He became a member of the High
Council. He helped colonize San
Bernardino, California. He later became
a pony express agent. He died in 1857.
45Solomon Chamberlain was born in
1788, in Connecticut. He was one of the
earliest members of the Church in 1830.
He was the oldest member of the pioneer company. In 1850, he left for the gold fields in
California, but soon returned. He died
in 1862.
46Joseph Lazarus Matthews was
born in 1809, in North Carolina. He
later helped colonize San Bernardino, California. He then settled in Santaquin, Utah and served a mission to the
Southern States. He moved to Pima,
Arizona, where he died in 1886.
47John Sutherland Eldredge was
born in 1831, in New York. He served as
a teamster and was sixteen years old at the time. He served a mission to Australia in 1852 and returned on the
ill-fated Julia Ann. He survived
the shipwreck and returned to the valley in 1856. He settled in Charleston, Utah.
He died in 1873.
48Levi Newell Kendall was born in
1822, in New York. After arriving in
the Salt Lake Valley, he returned to Winter Quarters in the fall and then went
back to the valley the following year.
He later settled in Springville, Utah, where he helped build canyon
roads and irrigation canals. He died in
1903.
49Stephen Kelsey was born in
1830. He was one of the teen-age young
men in the company and he was also a nonmember, but was baptized when he
reached the Salt Lake Valley. In the
fall of 1847, he returned to Winter Quarters and discovered that his mother and
sister had died. He brought his four
sisters west the following year and later went to California after gold. He later settled in Brigham City, Utah and
then in Paris, Idaho. He died in 1900.
50Ezra Taft Benson was born in
1811, in Massachusetts. He was a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. After
arriving in the valley, he was sent back to help the second pioneer company. He
then served a mission to the eastern states. In 1856, he was president of the
European Mission. In 1860, he presided over the Saints in newly settled Cache
Valley, Utah. In 1864, he cleared up problems in the Hawaiian Mission. He died
in 1869. He was the great-grandfather of the thirteenth president of the
Church, Ezra Taft Benson.
51Burr Frost was born in 1816, in
Connecticut. He later set up a
blacksmith shop in Salt Lake City. He
made the first nails from iron ore, in Parowan, Utah. In 1852-54, he served a mission to Australia. He died in 1878.
52Matthew Ivory was born in 1800,
in Pennsylvania. He stayed in the Salt
Lake Valley after arriving there with the pioneers. He served a mission to New Jersey. He was killed while fitting millstones in Beaver, Utah, in 1885.
53Lewis Barney was born in 1808,
in New York. He later established a
lumber business in Provo, Utah. He
lived in Arizona and Colorado and died in 1894.
54Roswell Stevens was born in
1808, in Canada. He was a member of the
Mormon Battalion for a time, but returned from Santa Fe with John D. Lee. He would later help the battalion from
Pueblo reach the Salt Lake Valley. He
settled in Alpine, Utah and later in Weber County. He helped settle Bluff, Utah, where he died in 1880.
55Rodney Badger was born in 1823,
in Vermont. Before arriving to the
valley, he would later be sent back to guide the second pioneer company. He joined this company including his wife on
the Sweetwater. They arrived in the
valley on October 2, 1847. He served in
the bishopric of the Salt Lake Fifteenth Ward and was Sheriff of Great Salt
Lake County. He drowned in 1853, while
trying to help a family across the Weber River.
56Zebedee Coltrin was born in
1804, in New York. He was one of the early members of the Church. He would
later return to Winter Quarters for his family. They arrived in 1851 and
settled in Spanish Fork. He served as one of the seven presidents of the
Seventy. He died in 1887.
57Thomas Woolsey was born in
1806, in Kentucky. He served in the Mormon Battalion, but returned from Pueblo
to Winter Quarters with mail. Later in the pioneer trek he was sent to help
guide the battalion at Pueblo, to follow the pioneers. After arriving in the
valley, he returned to Winter Quarters, where he was appointed to look after
the Saints there. He returned to the valley in 1852. He died in 1897.
58The camp was located about five
miles east of present‑day Kearney, Nebraska. Not far from this site, on
the south side of the river, the Oregon Trail converged with the Platte.