Saratoga Springs Utah North Stake Trek 2018 Learn, Listen, Light the Way June 25-28, 2018
This journal belongs to: In our own helplessness, He becomes our rescuer, saving us from damnation and bringing us to eternal life. In times of despair, in seasons of loneliness and fear, He is there on the horizon to bring succor and comfort and assurance and faith. He is our King, our Savior, our Deliverer, our Lord and our God. Those on the high, cold plains of Wyoming came to know Him in their extremity as perhaps few come to know Him. But to every troubled soul, every man or woman in need, to those everywhere who are pulling heavy burdens through the bitter storms of life, He has said: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28 30.) President Gordon B. Hinckley, October, 1991. 2
Learn, Listen, Light the Way June 25-28, 2018 D&C 19:23 Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS My Pioneer Ancestor.. 5 My Trek Family..6 Letter from the Stake Presidency..7 Walk With Light Program..8 Overview of the Pioneers Westward Migration.18 Handcart Companies.20 Chart of Ten Handcart Companies...21 Life and Death on the Trek.22 Journey to Zion by Handcart: One Young Woman s Experience..23 Brief History of the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies.26 Stories from the Trail...29 Maps..38 Songs/Hymns...42 Journal Pages 55 Clothing and Supply list.69 4
My Pioneer Ancestor The pioneer I honor as I walk is: A little about this person: Born: Birthplace: Died: Place of death: Married: Children: Other important information (brief biographical information such as hobbies, interests, employment, faith building experiences, etc): 5
My Trek Family Ma and Pa: Sisters: Brothers: 6
From the Stake Presidency As we approach the final preparations of the stake trek of 2018 we are encouraged about the things that have and will continue to happen. We are confident that you will draw closer to the Spirit of the Lord, increase you faith and strengthen your testimony. As you find yourself thinking as you walk, sing, or fall asleep at night we are confident that you will feel the Holy Ghost in your life. That as you feel Him close, you will continue to desire to be close to Him. That this experience of the trek will be a springboard for your life and your future. We are certain that as you realize the many ways the early Saints sacrificed and what they went through to be obedient and serve the Lord, your own testimony will be strengthened. We are hopeful you will carry these experiences through your life and reflect on them as you strengthen your own faith. We are also confident that this trek experience will strengthen your testimony. We know that you will have the opportunity to reflect on what these early Saints sacrifice means to you and your own young testimony. We pray that you will take full advantage of these moments to feel of the Savior s love and guidance. As we walk down the trail together and as you walk down the path of life, we hope you will have the motivation to use this trek experience to get closer to the Savior, Jesus Christ. We want you to use this trek experience to increase your faith so that when the cold winds of the adversary blow, you can return to the warm feelings and promptings of the Spirit that you had while on this trek. We are certain that your testimony will be strengthened as you forge ahead on the trek and in your own life. With love, Your Stake Presidency President Sterling Brown President Ted Boren President Adam Vance 7
Walk with Light Program The Walk with Light Program requirements are for all trek participants and will help you spiritually and physically prepare for the 2018 Trek. Some of these activities may also fulfill some requirements from Duty to God(DTG) or Personal Progress(PP), which are noted after some of the goals. All stake members are invited to complete these goals as well. 2018 Trek theme: Learn, Listen, Light the Way Based on the 2018 mutual theme D&C 19:23, Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me. January: Learn about the Handcart Pioneers and the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies President Gordon B. Hinckley said, There is no story of greater sacrifice in the history of this nation, than the overall story of the handcart pioneers...there is no tale more gripping, with heroism and faith and forward-looking confidence, than the story of these pioneers, who from 1856-1860, some 3000 of them, made their way to this valley. What can we learn about faith in Jesus Christ, obedience, and sacrifice from the handcart pioneers? Read the history of the Martin and Willie Handcart companies included in this journal. (page 26 in this journal) Watch at least 1 pioneer video, such as 17 Miracles (2011), Ephraim s Rescue (2013), The High Road (2017-the story of James Kirkwood, 16 minutes), Faith in Every Footstep: The Epic Pioneer Journey on lds.org, Tried in All Things on the Church History DVD. Visit the Mormon Handcart Historic Sites website and learn more about these handcart pioneers: https://history.lds.org/subsection/historic-sites/wyoming/mormon-handcart-sites Choose your own: (This could be done on a ward, trek family, or individual level) 8
January Journal: Write down your thoughts about some of the experiences of the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies that you learned about. What can we learn from the handcart pioneers? Physical: Designate a pair of sturdy and comfortable athletic shoes/boots as your Trek Shoes. Use these to walk and hike in regularly before trek. These will be the shoes/boots you will use on trek. Read D&C 89 and Read Isaiah 40:28-31 and come up with a personal plan to improve your health, nutrition, and fitness prior to trek. (PP Knowledge Project #3, DTG Physical Health Section for Deacons) Walk and/or run 1 mile at least 3-5 times per week.* Start drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day (the ideal you are shooting for is to drink ½ your body weight in ounces each day). *Other cardio/strength training exercises or participating in sports can be substituted for walking and running in the earlier months; however, during the later months walking, hiking, or running becomes very important to be physically prepared for trek. Use this chart to keep track of days you walk/run. You could also mark how much water you drink and what you study in the scriptures. January 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 9
February: Learn about our Ancestors Let us never forget that we have a marvelous heritage received from great and courageous people who endured unimaginable suffering and demonstrated unbelievable courage from the cause they loved. -President Gordon B. Hinckley Find out about your pioneer ancestors. Talk with your family members, and use one or more of these online resources: 1.Go to www.relativefinder.org and use your FamilySearch account to login. 2. Find pioneer ancestors on FamilySearch at https://www.familysearch.org/campaign/pioneers?et_cid=51416895&et_rid=129940216 1&linkid=CTA&cid=em-pc16-5188#/ or 3. Mormon Pioneer Overland Database: https://history.lds.org/overlandtravel Choose an ancestor to walk in remembrance of on trek. Find out who was the 1 st person in your family to join the church. Write a history of your ancestor in this booklet on the pages provided and be prepared to share it during trek (page 5). **Choosing a Pioneer: Pick a Mormon Pioneer from your own ancestry, such as the 1 st person in your family to join the church, or from the Martin or Willie Handcart companies or other pioneer companies. Find out all you can about this person. What is their story? When and where were they born? How old were they when they came across the plains? What do they have in common with you? Find out what this particular person went through and how it can help you today. (DTG Spiritual Strength/Understand Doctrine Section-Eternal Families and Family History Work, PP Faith Project #3, Individual Worth #6 or Project #1) Choose your own: (This could be done on a ward, trek family, or individual level) Choose at least one of the following: Learn how to index a name on FamilySearch.org. Complete at least 10 names. Login to: https://familysearch.org/indexing. Perform baptisms for the dead in the temple. If possible, research names in your ancestry and find someone who needs some temple work done. Prepare the name(s) for the temple and complete their baptism and confirmation. (PP Good Works Project #3, DTG Spiritual Strength/Understand Doctrine Section-Temples and Family History Work) 10
February Journal: What can you learn from the experiences of your ancestors? Physical: Walk and/or run 1.5 to 2 miles at least 3-5 times per week. Continue drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Use this chart to keep track of days you walk/run. You could also mark how much water you drink and what you study in the scriptures. February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 11
March: Listen to the Prophets The pioneers followed the prophet by leaving their homelands and gathering to Zion. The rescuers who came and helped the Saints also were following the prophet. What blessings come to us from following the prophet today? Learn about the Rescue of the Martin and Willie Handcart companies and how the rescuers listened to the prophet Brigham Young. Read Go and Bring Them In, Ensign Dec. 2006. Link: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2006/12/go-and-bring-them-in?lang=eng What can we do to follow the prophet today? Read, listen to, or watch the last message given by President Monson in April 2017 General Conference entitled, The Power of the Book of Mormon. Make a personal goal for how you will follow the counsel of the prophet. Memorize all verses to the hymn Come Come Ye Saints (page 44) (PP Knowledge #6) Choose your own: (This could be done on a ward, trek family, or individual level) March Journal: Why is it important to follow the prophet? What blessings have come to you from following the prophet? Physical: Aim for running and/or walking 3 miles at least 3-5 times per week. Continue drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Use this chart to keep track of days you walk/run. You could also mark how much water you drink and what you study in the scriptures. 12
March 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 April: Listen to the Spirit Church members in 1856 found numerous ways to help in the efforts to rescue the Martin and Willie Handcart companies. How will you rescue others? What can you do to go and bring them in and help rescue the people in need around you? By listening to the Spirit, you will know how to reach out and rescue those around you. President Monson declared,...the world is in need of your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. Read Our Mission of Saving, Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, October 1991. Link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1991/10/our-mission-of-saving?lang=eng Go and Bring Them In -Pray for an opportunity to serve someone. Look for someone who needs lifting up and help without being asked. (DTG-Priesthood Duties-Serve Others Section, Divine Nature Value Project #2) Participate in a group service activity. (DTG-Priesthood Duties-Serve Others Section, PP Good Works #6, Good Works Value Project) Choose your own: (This could be done on a ward, trek family, or individual level) 13
Go the Extra Mile (optional): Rescue your ancestors. Research those who need temple work done and go do baptisms for the dead. (PP Good Works Project #3, DTG Spiritual Strength/Understand Doctrine Section-Temples and Family History Work) April Journal: Write about your recent service experiences with rescuing those around you. Physical: Aim for running and/or walking 3-4 miles at least 3-5 times per week. Continue drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Use this chart to keep track of days you walk/run. You could also mark how much water you drink and what you study in the scriptures. April 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 14
May: Jesus Christ will Light the Way Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Elder M. Russell Ballard stated, Truly the Lord encourages us to walk in faith to the edge of the light and beyond into the unknown. After the trial of our faith, He once again shines the light ahead of us, and our journey of faith in every footstep continues. The pioneers had faith in Jesus Christ and His way. How can you follow His way? Find at least one story from a member of the Martin or Willie Handcart Company and share their story with your family at a FHE or another setting. Here is a helpful link with handcart stories: https://www.lds.org/youth/activities/bc/pdfs/stake/handcart-stories.pdf Discuss the following: How did their faith in Christ sustain them through their trials? How can faith in Christ sustain us in our trials today? Choose your own: (This could be done on a ward, trek family, or individual level) Do at least one of the following: Ponder and memorize the mutual theme scripture for 2018, D&C 19:23 Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me. How can this scripture help you in your life right now? Pray for a missionary experience. Invite a friend to a church meeting or activity, or share your testimony with them. (PP Good Works #7, DTG Priesthood Duties Section) May Journal: How did Christ light the way for the pioneers? How does He light the way in your life right now? 15
Physical: Aim for running and/or walking 3 miles at least 3-5 times per week. Go on at least a 3 mile hike in your trek shoes. Continue drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Use this chart to keep track of days you walk/run. You could also mark how much water you drink and what you study in the scriptures. May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 June: We can Light the Way for Others Elder M. Russell Ballard stated, A trek back to our Heavenly Father is the most important trek of our lives, and it continues each day, each week, each month, and each year as we increase our faith in Him and in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. How can you be a light in your family as well as your trek family? Read The Trek Continues!, M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, November 2017. Link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/the-trek-continues?lang=eng Pray morning and night for 3 weeks prior to trek. Mark on chart below. (DTG Spiritual Strength-Pray and Study Scriptures section, PP Faith #1) Read the scriptures at least 10 minutes a day for 3 weeks prior to trek. Mark on chart below. (DTG Spiritual Strength-Pray and Study Scriptures Section, PP Choice and Accountability #1, Virtue Project) 16
Choose your own: (This could be done on a ward, trek family, or individual level) June Journal: How does scripture study and prayer help you recognize His Light? How can you light the way for others on our pioneer trek? How can you light the way for others through your trek of life? Physical: Aim for running and/or walking 3 miles 4-5 times per week. Be able to walk 4 miles on level ground in 60 minutes or less. Continue drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. Use this chart to keep track of days you walk/run. You could also mark how much water you drink and what you study in the scriptures. June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 17
turned bitter cold. The river froze; they crossed on the ice. Once they said good-bye to Nauvoo, they consigned themselves to the elements of nature and to the mercy of God. WESTWARD MIGRATION From President Gordon B. Hinckley, True to the Faith, April 1997 In a period of seven years, our people, who had fled the extermination order of Governor Boggs of Missouri, came to Illinois and built the largest city then in the state. It was on the shores of the Mississippi, where the river makes a great sweeping bend. Here they constructed brick homes, a school, chartered a university, erected an assembly hall, and built their temple, reportedly the most magnificent structure then in the entire state of Illinois. But hatred against them continued to enflame. It culminated in the death of their leader, Joseph Smith, and his brother Hyrum, who were shot and killed at Carthage on June 27, 1844. Brigham Young knew they could not stay there. They determined to move west, to a faraway place where, as Joseph Smith had said, the devil cannot dig us out. On February 4, 1846, wagons rolled down Parley s Street to the river. Here they were ferried across and began to roll over the soil of Iowa. The weather subsequently When the ground thawed, it was mud deep and treacherous mud. Wagons sank to their axles, and teams had to be doubled and tripled to move them. They cut a road where none had been before. Finally reaching the Grand Encampment on the Missouri, they built hundreds of shelters, some very crude and others more comfortable. It was anything to get out of the treacherous weather. All during that winter of 1846 in those frontier establishments, forges roared and anvils rang with the making of wagons. My own grandfather, barely out of his teens, became an expert blacksmith and wagon builder. No vocation was more useful in those days than that of the ability to shape iron. He would later build his own wagon and with his young wife and baby and his brother-in-law set off for the West. Somewhere on that long journey, his wife sickened and died and his brother-in-law died on the same day. He buried them both, tearfully said good-bye, tenderly picked up his child, and marched on to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. In the spring of 1847, the wagons of the first company pulled out of Winter Quarters and headed west. Generally they followed a route along the north side of 18
the Platte River. Those going to California and Oregon followed a route on the south side. The road of the Mormons later became the right-of-way of the Union Pacific Railroad and the transcontinental highway. As we all know, on July 24, 1847, after 111 days, they emerged from the mountain canyon into the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham Young declared, This is the right place. I stand in reverent awe of that statement. They might have gone on to California or Oregon, where the soil had been tested, where there was ample water, where there was a more equable climate. Jim Bridger had warned them against trying to grow crops in the Salt Lake Valley. Sam Brannan had pleaded with Brigham to go on to California. Now they looked across the barren valley, with its saline waters shimmering in the July sun to the west. No plow had ever broken the sun-baked soil. Here stood Brigham Young, 46 years of age, telling his people this was the right place. They had never planted a crop or known a harvest. They knew nothing of the seasons. Thousands of their numbers were coming behind them, and there would yet be tens of thousands. They accepted Brigham Young s prophetic statement. that 1847 beginning to the coming of the railroad in 1869, they came by the tens of thousands to their Zion in the mountains. Nauvoo was evacuated. Its temple was burned by an arsonist, and its walls later fell in a storm. Missionary work had begun in England in 1837. It spread from there to Scandinavia and gradually to Germany and other countries. All who were converted wanted to go to Zion. That gathering was not a haphazard operation. Church agents were responsible for every detail. Ships were commissioned to bring the immigrants to New Orleans, New York, and Boston. The ultimate goal was always the same: the valley of the Great Salt Lake, from which place many of them would spread in all directions to found new cities and settlements, more than 350 of them in the Rocky Mountain area. Homes soon began to spring from the desert soil. Trees were planted, and the miracle is that they grew. Construction of a new temple was begun, a task that was to last unremittingly for 40 years. From 19
HANDCART COMPANIES The large backlog of needy LDS converts awaiting passage from Europe and reduced tithing receipts at home persuaded Brigham Young in 1855 to instruct that the "poor saints" sailing from Liverpool to New York and taking the train to Iowa City should thence "walk and draw their luggage" overland to Utah. In 1856 five such handcart companies were organized to make the 1,300-mile trip on foot from the western railroad terminus at Iowa City to Salt Lake City. Success seemed assured when the first two companies, totaling 486 immigrants pulling 96 handcarts, arrived safely in Salt Lake City on September 26, 1856. They accomplished the trek in under sixteen weeks. The third company, and presumably the last of the season, made up of 320 persons pulling 64 handcarts, arrived on October 2. But at that point the two remaining companies, totaling 980 people and 233 handcarts, were still on the way, having started dangerously late. One of these companies, under James G. Willie, left Iowa City on July 15, crossed Iowa to Florence (Omaha), Nebraska, then, after a week in Florence, headed out onto the plains. The last company, under Edward Martin, departed Florence on August 25. Three independent wagon companies, carrying 390 more immigrants, also started late Six more handcart companies crossed the plains after 1856. To demonstrate that the idea was still viable, seventy missionaries made the trip in the opposite direction in the spring of 1857. Five companies, totaling 1,076 immigrants with 223 handcarts, crossed west with little difficulty: two in 1857, one in 1859, and two in 1860. In all, 2,962 immigrants walked to Utah with handcarts. About 250 died along the way-all but about 30 of those in the Willie and Martin companies. For Latter-day Saints, the handcart story, particularly the account of the Willie and Martin companies, has darkened the collective memory of the westering saga. But that episode is also remembered for the unparalleled gallantry exhibited by so many, immigrants and rescuers alike. Of particular note is the superb performance of the women; their courage and mettle contributed enormously to the eventual survival of both companies. It was at once the most ill-advised and tragic, the most heroic, and arguably the proudest single event in the Mormon pioneer experience. (Written by Howard A. Christy, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1992 20
The 10 LDS Handcart Companies 1856-1860 Handcart company Captain Ship to America First Second Third (Welsh) Fourth or Willie Company Fifth or Martin Company Sixth Seventh ( Scandinavian ) Eighth Ninth Tenth Edmund Ellsworth Daniel D. McArthur Edward Bunker James G. Willie Edward Martin Israel Evans Christian Christiansen George Rowley Daniel Robison Oscar O. Stoddard Enoch Train, sailed March 23, 1856, to Boston Enoch Train, sailed March 23, 1856, to Boston; S. Curling, sailed April 19 to Boston S. Curling, sailed 4/19/1856, to Boston Thornton, sailed May 4, 1856, to New York Horizon, sailed May 25, 1856, to Boston George Washington, sailed March 27, 1857, to Boston L.N. Hvidt, sailed April 18, 1857, from Copenhagen to Britain; Westmoreland, sailed April 25 to Philadelphia William Tapscott, sailed April 11, 1859, to New York Underwriter, sailed March 30, 1860, to New York William Tapscott, sailed May 11, 1860, to New York Arrived Iowa City Departed Iowa City Departed Florence Number of individuals Number died en route Arrived Salt Lake City May 12 June 9 July 20 274 13 Sept. 26 from Enoch Train, May 12; from S. Curling, early June June 11 July 24 221 7 Sept. 26 early June June 23 July 30 320 < 7 Oct. 2 June 26 July 15 August 17 ~500 left Iowa City; 404 left Florence July 8 July 28 August 27 576 >145 April 30 May 22 June 20 149 68 November 9 Unknown (>0) June 9 June 13 July 7 ~330 ~6 November 30 September 11 September 13 June 9 235 ~5 September 4 May 12 (Florence) July 1 (Florence) June 6 233 1 August 27 July 6 124 0 September 24 21
R etrieved f rom BY U M agazine Spring 2015 22
Journeying to Zion by Handcart: One Young Woman s Experience By Jennifer L. Lund, 15 July 2016 Like tens of thousands of other Latter-day Saints in the 19th century, Kirsten Ericksen wanted to gather to Zion in Utah Territory, USA. Accompanied by her parents and grandmother, the 20-year-old young woman left her native Denmark in the spring of 1857 and began a journey that was unlike anything she had experienced before. It was an adventure fraught with peril yet also imbued with purpose to give up much of what she knew and loved for her faith and the promise of a new life and temple covenants that could be made only in Zion. This painting of an emigrant ship likely portrays the Westmoreland, on which Kirsten Ericksen and artist C. C. A. Christensen traveled in 1857. After five weeks at sea on the ship Westmoreland, the immigrants landed in Philadelphia and began making their way westward by railroad. 1 Somehow Kirsten got left behind at one point in the journey. She later said she was a young girl in a strange land [she had] no friends and could not speak English or make [her] wants known. 2 The pioneer company s captain telegraphed a description of her along the rail line, and she was recognized because of her clothing. By pointing at a watch, the stationmaster communicated that if she took the 6:30 p.m. train, she could find her company, which she did. Kirsten s unfamiliarity with English was a particular challenge. One observer noted of the company of 330 immigrants: It was the most motley crew I ever beheld. Most of them were Danes with a sprinkling of Welsh, Swedes and English.... Most could not understand what we said to them. 3 The Handcart Trek Begins At the end of the railroad in Iowa City, Iowa, 68 handcarts with three wagons and 10 mules were waiting for the company of immigrants. 4 The wagons would carry tents, flour, rice, other foodstuffs, and sick members of the company. We were only allowed to take 15 pounds weight of clothing to each person, Kirsten recalled. She particularly regretted that our new clothing and even Bedclothes had to be left laying on the ground. 5 Kirsten and another young woman were assigned to help an elderly couple pull their cart as they crossed the rolling hills of Iowa. At Florence, Nebraska, they stopped to rest and reorganize under their new captain, Christian Christiansen, a returning missionary. 23
Trail Life A handcart company near South Pass, Wyoming, by Kimball Warren. Only three weeks into the journey, Kirsten s parents and grandmother knew they could not stand the rigors of the trail and decided to stay in Nebraska for a time. Kirsten faced a difficult decision she could stay in Nebraska or keep going with the company. I came to the conclusion, she said, that I could not leave my aged parents in a strange country and so made up my mind to stay with them. The Captain... came to me and advised me to leave my parents and promised me if I would do so, God would bless me and them and preserve us this was a very sore trial to me. But I put my trust in God. Kirsten never forgot July 7, 1857, the day she left the outfitting post, full of sorrow in parting from [her] parents. 6 After just a few days, Kirsten was so worn out pulling over the rough roads up hills and through the sand that she lay down in the grass, expecting to die. She was discouraged and lonely and came to the conclusion that [she] might as well die there as suffer longer. 7 But Captain Christiansen found her and promised to help her over any rough spots on the trail. Until she was reassigned to a cart with more pullers, whenever she faced a steep hill or deep sand, the kindly captain appeared to help her pull. At the Loup Fork River, the immigrants faced a treacherous crossing. Though not deep, the river was roughly a mile wide and punctuated with deep holes, sandbars, and pockets of quicksand. Along with the others, Kirsten emptied her handcart and loaded her belongings and food rations into the raised bed of a wagon. The wagons ferried the goods across the river and were unloaded on the other side. Then the wagons returned for additional loads. The captain hired local Indians as guides to navigate the crossing. The Indians carried the women on horseback and tied ropes to the handcarts to assist as the men maneuvered the carts in the strong current. The crossing took a full day, but everyone made it safely. 8 During the long days, the sun beat down intensely. Kirsten cut rawhide from dead cattle along the road to make moccasins to replace her worn shoes. Crossing the Creeks and Rivers would make the Raw hide soft, and the hot sun and Roads would make them hard, she recalled. Our feet were nearly all the time sore and bleeding. 9 Each night the immigrants raised large, 20-person tents to protect against the rain and cold. 10 Since Kirsten had given up her bedclothes to meet the weight limit, she spent the long nights wrapped only in a shawl, grateful for the body heat of her fellow pullers as well as three or four other families. Even though they were desperate for sleep, their slumber was interrupted to take turns baking bread. Kirsten recalled of her turns at the campfire, I was very often too warm on one side and much too cold on the other side. 11 Never Enough to Eat 24
Bread was the staple of their diet, with a little salt pork, rice, sugar, and other seasonings. One member of Kirsten s company recalled that after three weeks on the trail, most of their supplies were gone, and there was naturally flour, flour, flour, and only flour to eat. They baked bread and made porridge, gruel, soup, and pancakes, but there was still just flour, flour, flour; and at one point flour was scarce, too. 12 Before resupply wagons from Salt Lake City appeared with additional foodstuffs, daily rations were often cut in half and sometimes down to a quarter, leaving hungry pioneers to travel on only a few ounces of flour a day. One of Kirsten s fellow travelers reminisced, I went hungry most of the time. 13 Just east of South Pass, Wyoming, Kirsten was grateful to see the resupply wagons that had been sent from Salt Lake City. They brought food and provided a way for some of the immigrants to ride the last two weeks of their journey. Kirsten continued to walk, but she no longer had to pull a handcart, for which she was most thankful. 14 Thirty miles from the Salt Lake Valley, more wagons appeared, this time loaded with bread, cake, and fruit all in celebration that their journey was almost over. 15 Reaching Zion at Last Kirsten arrived in Salt Lake City on September 13. The company had traveled slightly more than one thousand miles from Florence, Nebraska, in 68 days. And before that, she had pulled a handcart for three weeks from Iowa City to Florence, covering another 300 miles. Was Kirsten s heart full of gratitude and joy? Unfortunately, we don t know. She recorded only her regret at having to leave behind most of her clothing and her surprise at the ragged pioneers she met in Utah. Another traveler that same year summed up the experience of those who pushed and pulled handcarts: There could not have been a more difficult mode of travel.... I knew when I left England that ours was to be a handcart company, but it was impossible for me to realize the hardships I had to meet. 16 Shortly after arriving, Kirsten was taken to the home of her sister in Lehi, Utah, where she recovered from the journey. On November 1, just a month and a half after arriving in Utah, she married her brother-in-law Jens Peter Benson as a plural wife. Brigham Young performed the sealing ordinance. 17 The following year, Kirsten was reunited with her parents and grandmother, who arrived in a wagon train. And so were fulfilled the promises of our Captain... made to me when I left my parents, she recalled with joy. Kirsten realized her dream of gathering to Zion and concluded, I have been blessed of the Lord. 18 Footnotes 1] See C. C. A. Christensen, By Handcart to Utah: The Account of C. C. A. Christensen, trans. Richard L. Jensen, Nebraska History, vol. 66 (Winter 1985), 336 37. [2] Kirsten Ericksen Benson, Recollections of Kirsten Ericksen Benson coming to Zion in 1857, in Kersten E. Benson biographical file, 1, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. Kirsten s first name is spelled alternately as Kersten. This article uses Kirsten, which is used in the manuscript version of her recollection cited here, and which appears on the parish register record of her birth, in her obituary, and in the Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia. The headstone on her grave spells her name Kersten. [3] Henry Buckingham, in The Massacre on the Plains, Nashville Daily News, Nov. 25, 1857. [4] J. M. Tanner, A Biographical Sketch of James Jensen (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 1911), 23; LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion: The Story of a Unique Western Migration (Glendale, California: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1960; 1988 reprint), 193. [5] Benson, Recollections, 1. [6] Benson, Recollections, 2, 3; spelling and punctuation modernized. [7] Benson, Recollections, 3. [8] See Tanner, Biographical Sketch, 27 29; Soren Jacobsen journal, June 16, 1857, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. [9] Benson, Recollections, 4. [10] See Lyndia McDowell Carter, The Mormon Handcart Companies, Overland Journal, vol. 13, no. 1 (Spring 1995), 6. 25
[11] Benson, Recollections, 4. [12] Christensen, By Handcart to Utah, 340. [13] Lars C. Christensen autobiography, 5, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. [14] See Benson, Recollections, 4. [15] See Tanner, Biographical Sketch, 39 40. [16] Susan M. Witbeck autobiographical sketch, 5, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; William Clayton, The Latter-day Saints Emigrants Guide, ed. Stanley B. Kimball (Gerald, Missouri: Patrice Press, 1983), 80; Carter, Mormon Handcart Companies, 5. [17] See Sealings of the Living, Endowment House, Book C, 19 Jan. 1856 22 Nov. 1861, 248, Special Collections, Family History Library, Salt Lake City; see also Peter Benson biographical sketch, 1, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. [18] Benson, Recollections, 5; spelling modernized. A Brief History of the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies The majority of the Willie and Martin Companies came to America on one of two ships. They were the Horizon and the Thornton. A fund was set up to facilitate the immigration of the poor. Money would be given to immigrants in need, who would later repay the fund, to be used again by other immigrants. It was called the Perpetual Emigration Fund. Most of the handcart pioneers were too poor to afford any other means of travel. From 1856 to 1860 there were 10 handcart companies that traveled across the plains. The Willie and Martin Companies arrived in Iowa City a month after the other companies, and were not expected. Wood was scarce; handcarts had to be constructed out of green wood which further delayed their journey to the valley. This also meant that these companies wouldn t arrive in Utah until early November. These companies were almost twice as large as the earlier companies, and many were very poor. July 15: The Willie Company leaves Iowa City with 500 people, 120 handcarts, and 5 wagons. July 28: The Martin company leaves Iowa City with 576 people, 146 handcarts, and wagons. August 13: The handcart companies are in Florence, Nebraska and leaders are discussing whether they should stay for the winter in Florence or continue on to the Salt Lake Valley. Levi Savage makes his tear-filled promise to help the handcart companies after he counsels the Willie Company to not go further on their Trek and wait until spring to continue: Brethren and Sisters, what I have said I know to be true, but seeing you are to go forward I will go with you, I will help you all I can, will work with you, will rest with you, will suffer with you and if necessary I will die with you. The previous handcart companies arrived in Salt Lake Valley with relatively few problems. The typical handcart trek took 9 weeks and crossed 1400 miles. The Willie and Martin Companies took 17-18 weeks, twice the expected time to travel. September 4: Most of the oxen and cattle in the Willie company are lost during a buffalo stampede. It was a crisis of major proportion. They spent 3 days searching for the cattle, during which time they used 1,000 pounds of flour and did not make any progress on the trail. The milk cows and the beef cattle had to be used to pull the wagons. About 100 lbs. more of flour was added to each handcart to ease the load on the wagons. 26
September 30: When the Willie Co. reached Fort Laramie, a restocking location for the companies, they are unable to buy the food they need because there was very little available. They are informed that there are no supply wagons waiting for them. Past Fort Laramie, the mountain terrain was much rougher than the plains had been. Deaths increased. They reduced rations from 16 ounces of flour a day to 8 ounces to 4 ounces a day. They were literally starving. Someone died almost every night. Throughout the entire trek the pioneers never had enough to eat. The hunger was overpowering. October 4: Elder Franklin D. Richards arrives in Salt Lake City and reports that additional companies are still on the plains. President Brigham Young begins to formulate a relief plan. October 5: Brigham Young sends out a call of action and rescue. Teams are prepared to leave the Salt Lake Valley. October 19: A terrible winter storm stops the Willie Company. They walked 10 miles in the storm to the 6th crossing of the Sweetwater River. Last rations are given out. October 19: The Martin Co. is stopped by the terrible winter storm at the fording of the Platte River. Many die this night and their food rations are reduced. They are 100 miles behind the Willie Company. October 20: Capt. Willie and Joseph Elder left the Willie Co. on horseback to try to find the rescue parties. Twenty-five miles down the trail they found a sign that Harvey Cluff had posted saying that the relief party was camped one mile off the trail. Had Br. Cluff not been inspired to post the sign, they would have continued on the main trail in the dark without food or bedding and frozen to death. Capt. Willie and Joseph Elder informed the rescue party that the immigrants were 25 miles up the trail, waiting for the rescuers or death, whichever would come first. They reached them by the next night and handed out some food, clothing, and buffalo robes. Mary Hurren Wight, a member of the Willie company, said: Tears streamed down the cheeks of the men, and the children danced for joy. As soon as the people could control their feelings, they all knelt down in the snow and gave thanks to God for his kindness and goodness to them. October 21: The first rescuers find the Willie Company, but they are only a scouting group with little supplies, but they bring hope. The rescuers must press on to find the Martin Company. October 22nd and 23: The weakened Willie Co. makes the ascent up Rocky Ridge (The Trail of Blood.) Deep snows, chilling wind, and starvation result in a 20 hour journey over the 15 miles of the most difficult portion of the trail to Rock Creek Hollow and the supply wagons. They continued pulling their handcarts up the ridge with the blizzard blowing in their faces, knowing that if they stopped moving they would freeze to death. 15 more die. October 24: Rescuer Reddick Allred arrived with 6 more wagon teams. Even though many of the rescue parties had lost hope and turned back to Salt Lake, Reddick Allred and his rescue party had waited for 2 weeks at South Pass, until the Willie handcart Co. was found. 27
October 31: Rescuers, lead by George D. Grant, find the Martin Co. and record, Children crying, their limbs stiffened by the cold, their feet bleeding, and some of them bare to the snow and frost, the sight is almost too much for the stoutest of us. November 2: Martin Company arrives at Devil s Gate and reduces rations. November 4: The temperature dropped to 6 degrees below zero and the winds were strong. It was decided to move the Martin Co. over to a hollow in the granite mountain now known as Martin s Cove. In order to reach the cove, the handcarts had to cross the Sweetwater River. At this point the river was only knee deep, but chunks of ice were floating on the river. Many of the gaunt faced handcart men and women sat on the bank and pulled tattered blankets around themselves; a few started to sob. After the North Platte River crossing, the handcart people could not face wading another river. All of the rescue party helped, but four young men were singled out in one journal for carrying people across on their backs. The tireless young men waded back and forth in the icy water until all of the pioneers were on the other side of the Sweetwater River. The strain was so terrible, and the exposure so great, that... all the rescue boys suffered from the effects of it. For five days, they wait in Martin s Cove. 56 people die. November 9: The Willie Co. arrives in Salt Lake. 68 total had died along the trek in the Willie Company. Martin Co. leaves the shelter of the cove. November 10: Rescuer Ephraim Hanks finds the Martin Co. near Cottonwood Creek. He arrived with buffalo meat and robes. He cared for frost bitten limbs and gave many miraculous priesthood blessings. November 16: Martin Co. crosses Rocky Ridge and meets ten more rescue teams from the valley. November 30: Martin Company arrives in Salt Lake Valley. About 145 people in total from the Martin Company died along the trail. Through it all, the pioneers and rescuers acknowledged God's power and mercy. Their faith strengthened them through their trials. "The time to go is now. Something may come up to hinder us if we wait. I will put my trust in God, and He will see me through."-janet McNeil "We will go right up to Zion, [even] if we go ragged and barefoot."-john Jaques I had a very real job to do. The children had to be fed and clothed, but the big task and the one I must accomplish, is to get us all to Zion. I must be among the people of my faith and I must get the Temple work done for us. -Ann Rowley 28
Stories from the Trail Joseph Smith Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never had power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation. (Lectures on Faith, Kirtland, December 1834)...there is a place of safety preparing for [the Saints] away towards the Rocky Mountains. (Writings of Jonathan Dunham quoting Joseph Smith) Louisa Mellor Clark - Martin Handcart Company The first snowstorm left about two feet of snow on the ground, and we began to feel very nervous. We had to wade through more streams, and sometimes up to our waists, and when we got through our clothes would freeze on us until a great many gave up and many died, mostly old people. At last the snow got to be four and five feet deep and often we had to shovel a road before we could move. Thus our traveling was very slow and our provisions nearly gave out. My mother, still being weak, finally gave up and said she could go no further. The company could not wait for her, so she bade my father good-bye and kissed each one of the children Godspeed. Then my mother sat down on a boulder and wept. I told my sister, Elizabeth, to take good care of the twins and the rest of the family, and that I would stay with mother. I went a few yards away and prayed with faith that God would help us, that He would protect us from devouring wolves, and asked that He would let us reach camp. As I was going back to where my mother was sitting I found a pie in the road. I picked it up and gave it to mother to eat. After resting awhile we started on our journey, thanking God for the blessings. A few miles before we reached camp we met my father coming out to meet us. We arrived in camp at 10:00 p.m. Many times after that mother felt like giving up and quitting, but then would remember how wonderful the Lord had been to spare her so many times, and offered a prayer of gratitude instead. So she went on her way rejoicing while walking the bloodstained path of snow. - Our Pioneer Heritage, Vol. 17, p. 305 Lucy Ward - Willie Handcart Company To each hundred there were five tents with twenty persons to a tent; twenty handcarts and one Chicago Wagon drawn by three yoke of oxen to hold provisions and tents, each person was limited to seventeen pounds of clothing and bedding. The strength of the company was equalized as much as possible by distributing the young men among the different families to help them. Several carts were drawn by young girls exclusively. Lucy was one of these. She had just turned 23 years old in May. At this time, (6 Oct. 1856) the Salt Lake Conference was taking place and Brigham 29
Young was sending a rescue party to the stranded handcart companies. James Barnett Cole, went with them. One night he dreamed he would meet his future wife with the stranded Saints. He even was shown what she looked like. She had a fur cap and a green veil tied over her cap to keep the wind off, she was very beautiful. He told his dream to Brother [William} Kimball and he remarked, "We will see no beautiful girl with a fur cap and a green veil in these frozen Saints." Reminiscing, James Barnett Cole said that they saw the encampment just as the sun was sinking in the west. It looked like an Eskimo village which was fully a mile away. The snow was very deep and paths had been made from tent to tent giving the camp that appearance. It was located on a plain near the river. When the people caught sight of the train coming, they shouted, they cried, they threw off all restraint and freely embraced their deliverers. Just then, William Kimball caught sight of Lucy Ward in the green veil. He drove up to her and said, "Brother Jim, there is your dream girl." James asked her to get in the wagon and her reply was, "No I don't know you." She got used to the idea of having him around, because on the way to Salt Lake, on November 2, 1856, they were married at Fort Bridger by William Kimball. - Story or Lucy ward by Ruby M. F. Hall, Granddaughter. Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson - Martin Handcart Company "Some of the men carried some of the women on their back or in their arms, but others of the women tied up their skirts and waded through, like the heroines that they were, and as they had gone through many other rivers and creeks. My husband (Aaron Jackson) attempted to ford the stream. He had only gone a short distance when he reached a sandbar in the river, on which he sank down through weakness and exhaustion. My sister, Mary Horrocks Leavitt, waded through the water to his assistance. She raised him up to his feet. Shortly afterward, a man came along on horseback and conveyed him to the other side. My sister then helped me to pull my cart with my three children and other matters on it. We had scarcely crossed the river when we were visited with a tremendous storm of snow, hail, sand, and fierce winds.... "About nine o'clock I retired. Bedding had become very scarce so I did not disrobe. I slept until, as it appeared to me, about midnight. I was extremely cold. The weather was bitter. I listened to hear if my husband breathed, he lay so still. I could not hear him. I became alarmed. I put my hand on his body, when to my horror I discovered that my worst fears were confirmed. My husband was dead. I called for help to the other inmates of the tent. They could render me no aid; and there was no alternative but to remain alone by the side of the corpse till morning. Oh, how the dreary hours drew their tedious length along. When daylight came, some of the male part of the company prepared the body for burial. And oh, such a burial and funeral service. They did not remove his clothing he had but little. They wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a pile with thirteen others who had died, and then covered him up with snow. The ground was frozen so hard that they could not dig a grave. He was left there to sleep in peace until the trump of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall awake and come forth in the morning of the first resurrection. We shall then again unite our hearts and lives, and eternity will furnish us with life forever more. "I will not attempt to describe my feelings at finding myself thus left a widow with three children, under such excruciating circumstances. I cannot do it. But I believe the Recording Angel has inscribed in the archives above, and 30
that my suffering for the Gospel's sake will be sanctified unto me for my good" (Elizabeth Jackson, as quoted in LeRoy and Ann Hafen, Handcarts to Zion [1960], 109 12). Robert Reeder - Willie Handcart Company Our rations were growing shorter, and we reduced them by common consent from day to day. Nights were getting colder, and some would sit down by the roadside and die. My younger sister, Caroline, seventeen years old, after traveling all day and seeing the camp being made for the night, took off her apron to tie some sagebrush in to bring into the camp. She sat down to rest, leaning on her bundle, exhausted. They found her chilled and dying and carried her to camp. She died without gaining consciousness. She too, was placed in an unmarked grave near Three Crossings, Sweetwater River. She died the evening of October 14, 1856. Her death was another real loss to us, but we must hurry on in threatening weather and colder nights on the Wind River Pass. So it was with others, as many as thirteen being buried in one grave at one time. George Cunningham - Willie Handcart Company Our Captain intended to keep his word, and commenced to kill off the cattle but they were nearly as poor as we were. We used to boil the bones and drink the soup and eat what little meat there was. We greedily devoured the hides also. I myself had took a piece of hide when I could get it, scorched off hair, roasted it a little on the coals, cut it into little pieces so that I could swallow it and bolted it down my throat for supper and thought it was most delicious. Many were frozen to death. I think that there were only five of six men in camp towards the last but what were frozen. Our Captain drove all he could and did his duty. He was badly frozen and came very close to dying. Some would sacrifice themselves by giving their food or perhaps some old blanket that covered them. In common cares, we cannot tell who our friends and neighbors are, but there are circumstances which undoubtedly prove them. - Journal of George Cunningham. James Kirkwood - Willie Handcart Company James Kirkwood, an eleven year old boy was responsible for his four year old brother Joseph. As they climbed Rocky Ridge, it was snowing and there was a bitter cold wind blowing. It took the whole company twenty seven hours to travel fifteen miles. James carried the boy on his back as he slogged through the snow on frozen feet. His widowed mother could not help, for she, and his brother Robert were pulling their crippled nineteen-year-old brother Thomas and their meager belongings on a cart that barely budged. Faithful to his charge and dutiful to the end, James staggered into camp with his precious load, put Joseph down by the fire, and then died of exposure and overexertion. 31
Ann Jewell Rowley - Willie Handcart Company I was left a widow with 7 children under 12 years of age and the step children of William's first marriage. I was very grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the comfort it gave me. I knew that our parting was only temporary and that viewed from the eternities, this was but a fleeting moment. I also knew that no matter how fleeting a moment it was, I had to make the best of it. I had a very real job to do. The children had to be fed and clothed, but the big task and the one I must accomplish, is to get us all to Zion. I must be among the people of my faith and I must get the Temple work done for us. There came a time, when there seemed to be no food at all. Some of the men left to hunt buffalo. Night was coming and there was no food for the evening meal. I asked God's help as I always did. I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that were still in my trunk. They had been left over from the sea voyage, they were not large, and were so hard, they couldn't be broken. Surely, that was not enough to feed 8 people, but 5 loaves and 2 fishes were not enough to feed 5000 people either, but through a miracle, Jesus had done it. So with God's help, nothing is impossible. I found the biscuits and put them in a Dutch oven and covered them with water and asked for God's blessing, then I put the lid on the pan and set it on the coals. When I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan Filled with food. I kneeled with my family and thanked God for his goodness. That night my family had sufficient. - Autobiography of Ann Jewell Rowley. Sarah Franks and George Padley - Martin Handcart Company Sarah and her sweetheart [George Padley] were assigned to the Edward Martin Company. Sarah and her sweetheart were going to be married when they reached Zion. Sarah became so weak and ill with chills and fever that she was taken into one of the wagons. Her sweetheart also became very ill from hunger and exposure and developed pneumonia and died. Sarah took her long-fringed shawl from her almost freezing body and had the brethren wrap her sweetheart's body in it. She couldn't bear to think of his being buried with nothing to protect him from shoveled dirt and ravages of the weather. It has been said that the weather was so severe that his body was hung from a tree [in Martin's Cove] for others, who followed, to bury. - Descendants of Thomas Mackay - Utah Pioneer, Volume I. Jens Nielsen - Willie Handcart Company Jens, a relatively prosperous Danish farmer, heeded the call to bring his family to Zion. In Iowa he wrote that he had let all of his money go to the Church except enough to buy a handcart and stock it with 15 pounds of belongings per person. The people for whom Jens was responsible were himself, his wife Elsie, their 6-year-old son Neils, and a nine-year-old girl, Bodil Mortensen, whom Jens offered to take to Utah. In the early Wyoming blizzard, temperatures plummeted below zero. The Neilsons had consumed 32
their last pound of flour days before, but somehow they made it over the treacherous Rocky Ridge, urged on by their indomitable courage and unconquerable faith. Tragically, 13 of the company died at Rock Creek, and were buried in shallow, snow-covered graves -- among them Jens and Elsie's son, Neils, and young Bodil Mortensen. Jens arrived at Rock Creek, 11 miles beyond Rocky Ridge, with both feet frozen. He was unable to walk another step and pleaded with Elsie: ''Leave me by the trail in the snow to die, and you go ahead and try to keep up with the company and save your life.'' Elsie, with her unfaltering pioneer courage, replied: ''Ride, I can't leave you; I can pull the cart.'' Of their experience, Jens said, No person can describe it, nor could it be comprehended or understood by any human living in this life, but those, who were called to pass through it Obedience is better than sacrifice. Bodil Mortensen - Willie Handcart Company Born in Denmark, little Bodil Mortensen, age 10 immigrated to America with her parents friends, Jens and Elsie Nielson. Bodil s older sister had crossed the plains the year before, as her parents could not afford to send everyone at the same time. One of Bodil s responsibilities was to care for Niels Nielson, the 5 year old son of Jens and Elsie. On October 23, 1856, Bodil made the twelve mile journey to Rock Creek with the rest of the Willie Company. The forced march (they could not stop or they would freeze to death) took some of the pioneers 27 hours to complete. When she got to Rock Creek, in the wee hours of October 24 th, she fulfilled her duties of going out and gathering firewood. All she could find was sagebrush. The next morning she was found leaning up against the wheel of a handcart, her arms full of sagebrush, frozen to death. She was buried in a common grave with twelve others, who also died that night. One of them was little Niels Nielson, just five days short of his sixth birthday. Levi Savage - Willie Handcart Company October 23, 1856, Thursday Morning. We buried our dead, got up our teams and about nine o clock a.m. commenced ascending the Rocky Ridge. This was a severe day. The wind blew hard and cold. The ascent was some five miles long and some places steep and covered with deep snow. We became weary, set down to rest, and some became chilled and commenced to freeze. Brothers Atwood, Woodard and myself remained with the teams. They being perfectly loaded down with the sick and children, so thickly stacked I was fearful some would smother. About ten or eleven o clock in the night we came to a creek that we did not like to attempt to cross without help, it being full of ice and freezing cold. Leaving Brothers Atwood and Woodard with the teams, I started to the camp for help. I met Brother Willey coming to look for us. He turned for the camp, as he could do no good alone. I passed several on the road and arrived in camp after about four miles of travel. I arrived in camp, but few tents were pitched and men, women, and children sat shivering with cold around their small fires. Some time lapsed when two teams started to bring up the rear. Just before daylight they returned, bringing all with them, some badly frozen, some dying and some dead. It was certainly heart rendering to hear children crying for mothers and mothers crying for children. By the time I got them as comfortably situated as 33
circumstances would admit (which was not very comfortable), day was dawning. I had not shut my eyes for sleep, nor lain down. I was nearly exhausted with fatigue and want of rest. October 24, 1856, Friday. This morning found us with thirteen corpses for burial. These were all put into one grave. Some had actually frozen to death. We were obliged to remain in camp, move the tents and people behind the willows to shelter them from the severe wind which blew enough to pierce us through. Several of our cattle died here. Ellen "Nellie" Pucell Unthank - Martin Handcart Company Nellie, when nine years of age, left her home in England to come with her parents to Utah where they could worship with others of their faith and assist in building a new Zion. Nellie's parents were among those who died and were laid to rest in snow banks. But those who died and were laid to rest in the snow perhaps were most fortunate of all. Poor little Nellie, nothing could be done to save her feet. When they took off her shoes and stockings, the skin, with pieces of flesh came off too. The doctor said her feet must be taken off to save her life. They strapped her to a board and without an anesthetic the surgery was performed. With a butcher knife and a carpenter's saw they cut the blackened limbs off. It was poor surgery, too, for the flesh was not brought over to cushion the ends. The bones stuck out through the ends of the stumps and in pain she waddled through the rest of her life on her knees. In poverty and pain she reared a family of six children but never asked for favors of pity or charity because of her tragic handicap. In her face there was patience and serenity for in spite of her handicap she had earned her keep and justified her existence. Margaret Dalglish - Willie Handcart Company The first of the rescued reached Salt Lake on November 9th, a day of tears and thanksgiving. For many days afterwards the others were straggling in, some riding the wagons, some still grimly hauling their battered carts, still defiantly on their own legs. Margaret Dalglish, that gaunt image of Scotch fortitude, dragged her pitiful handful of possessions to the very rim of the valley, but when she looked down and saw the end of it, safety, the City of the Saints, she did something extraordinary. She tugged the cart to the edge of the road and gave it a push and watched it roll and crash and tumble and burst apart, scattering down the ravine the last things she owned on earth. Then she went on into Salt Lake to start the new life with nothing but her gaunt bones, her empty hands, her stout heart. - Ordeal by Handcart, Collier's for July 6, 1956. Francis Webster - Martin Handcart Company It was in an adult Sunday School class of over fifty men and women. Nathan T. Porter was the teacher and the subject under discussion was the ill-fated handcart company [Martin Handcart Company] that suffered so terribly in the snow of 1856. Some sharp criticism of the Church and its leader was being indulged in for permitting any company of converts to venture across the plains with no more supplies or protection than a handcart caravan afforded. One old man in the corner sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it, then he arose and said things that no person who heard him will ever forget. 34
His face was white with emotion, yet he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity. He said in substance, "I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes! But I was in that company and my wife was in it, and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited here was there, too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities! "I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels of God were there. "Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company." The speaker was Francis Webster. And when he sat down there was not a dry eye in the room. We were subdued and chastened lot. Charles Mabey who latter became Governor of Utah, arose and voiced the sentiment of all when he said, "I would gladly pay the same price to personally know God that Brother Webster has." - Writings of William R. Palmer. Ephraim Hanks- Rescuer In the fall of 1856, I had gone to bed when I heard a voice calling me by name, and then saying: The handcart people are in trouble and you are wanted; will you go and help them? I turned instinctively in the direction from whence the voice came and beheld an ordinary-sized man in the room. Without hesitation I answered, Yes, I will go if I am called. I then turned around to go to sleep, but had laid only a few minutes when the voice called a second time, repeating almost the same words as on the first occasion. My answer was the same as before. This was repeated a third time. When I got up the next morning I says to Brother Brown, The hand-cart people are in trouble, and I have promised to go out and help them, but I did not tell him of my experiences during the night. From his journal entries on the plains of Wyoming we read, As I was preparing to make a bed in the snow with the few articles that my pack animal carried for me, I thought how comfortable a buffalo robe would be on such an occasion, and also how I could relish a little buffalo meat for supper, and before lying down for the night I was instinctively led to ask the Lord to send me a buffalo. Now, I am a firm believer in the efficacy of prayer, for I have on many different occasions asked the Lord for blessings, which He in His mercy has bestowed on me. But when I after praying as I did on that lonely night in the South Pass, looked around me and spied a buffalo bull within fifty yards of my camp, my surprise was complete; I had certainly not expected so immediate an answer to my prayer. However, I soon collected myself and was not at a loss to know what to do. Taking deliberate aim at the animal, my first shot 35
brought him down; he made a few jumps only, and then rolled down into the very hollow where I was encamped. I was soon busily engaged skinning my game, finishing which, I spread the hide on the snow and placed my bed upon it. I next prepared supper, eating tongue and other choice parts of the animal I had killed, to my heart s content. After this I enjoyed a refreshing night s sleep, while my horses were browsing on the sagebrush. Early the next morning I was on my way again, and soon reached what is known as the Ice Springs Bench. There I happened upon a herd of buffalo, and killed a nice cow. I was impressed to do this, although I did not know why until a few hours later, but the thought occurred to my mind that the hand of the Lord was in it, as it was a rare thing to find buffalo herds around that place at this late part of the season. I skinned and dressed the cow; then cut up part of its meat in long strips and loaded my horses with it. Thereupon I resumed my journey, and traveled on till towards evening. I think the sun was about an hour high in the west when I spied something in the distance that looked like a black streak in the snow. As I got near to it, I perceived it moved; then I was satisfied that this was the long looked for hand-cart company, led by Captain Edward Martin. I reached the ill-fated train just as the immigrants were camping for the night. The sight that met my gaze as I entered their camp can never be erased from my memory. The starved forms and haggard countenances of the poor sufferers, as they moved about slowly, shivering with cold, to prepare their scanty evening meal was enough to touch the stoutest heart. When they saw me coming, they hailed me with joy inexpressible, and when they further beheld the supply of fresh meat I brought into camp, their gratitude knew no bounds. Flocking around me, one would say, Oh, please, give me a small peace of meat; another would exclaim, My poor children are starving, do give me a little; and children with tears in their eyes would call out, Give me some, give me some. At first I tried to wait on them and handed out the meat as they called for it; but finally I told them to help themselves. Five minutes later both my horses had been released of their extra burden the meat was all gone, and the next few hours found the people in camp busily engaged in cooking and eating it, with thankful hearts. Brigham Young, General Conference Address, October 5, 1856 I will now give this people the subject and the text for the Elders who may speak to-day and during the Conference, it is this, on the 5th day of October, 1856, many of our brethren and sisters are on the Plains with hand-carts, and probably many are now seven hundred miles from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text will be--to get them here! I want the brethren who may speak to understand that their text is the people on the Plains, and the subject matter for this community is to send for them and bring them in before the winter sets in. That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess, it is to save the people.... This is the salvation I am now seeking for, to save our brethren that would be apt to perish, or suffer extremely, if we do not send them assistance. The Second Rescue During the spring of 1991 the Stake Presidency of the Riverton, Wyoming Stake received the inspiration that much of the temple work for the Willie and Martin Handcart Pioneers needed to be researched and completed. During a stake meeting, all members were asked to participate in the spiritual rescue of these pioneers who died within the 36
boundaries of the Riverton Wyoming Stake. President Gordon B. Hinckley asked President Scott Lorimer why the work had not previously been done for the pioneers who perished on high plains of Wyoming and told him "President, don't you stop till it's finished". The summer of 1992, Elder James E. Faust visited the youth pioneer trek over the rough handcart trail. He told the youth and their leaders about Francis Webster. He paused in the middle and proceeded to give everyone present a blessing. Few have had the opportunity of hearing anyone bear witness of the Savior the way Elder Faust did at Radium Springs. All through the summer the people of the Riverton Wyoming Stake researched the names of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies. Members spent hours in the church library using the new computers, secured by President McKinnon, to find names and dates to be used in the temple work. After hundreds of hours of research, more than 4,000 ordinances were performed in the Ogden Temple by many youth and adults. Temple trips became common, especially for the youth 12 and up. The Bishoprics spent many long hours driving to and from Wyoming to Ogden Utah where they assisted in the temple work. One Bishop related "Words cannot express the feelings and Spirit felt while the youth were being baptized. That day I gained a sure knowledge of life after death and just how thin the veil can be at times". Along with the temple work being done, members of the Stake wanted to create a memorial to the pioneers they came to know and love. The Stake Presidency asked the Priesthood of the Stake to construct a monument in Martin's Cove. The idea was expanded to construct two additional monuments at Willie Rescue Site and the other on Rocky Ridge. President Lorimer told members he hoped that everything to do with the monuments could be done within the Stake. This request stretched the Stake to the limit but enthusiasm never waned. At the conclusion of the Second Rescue three monuments were dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency, on August 15, 1992. The monuments were at Rocky Ridge, the Willie Rescue Site, and Martin's Cove. 37
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Hymns For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads -Doctrine & Covenants 25:12 42