Sweetwater Rescue (Mormon Handcart Journey)

in the mid 19 century tens of thousands of British Welsh and Scandinavians crowded the docks at Liverpool to take a oneway ocean Voyage to America these immigrants dreamed of a new life A New Beginning for the most part these religious imigrants were poor they would pull wooden handcarts loaded with only what they needed to survive they cross the Great Plains and the Rockies to travel the whole Voyage at the cost of about 20 from Liverpool to the Salt Lake Valley um that would uh would represent more than a year's salary for for individual in all its history the American West never saw a more unlikely band of pioneers most of them until they were hered from their crowded immigrant ship had never pitched a tent slept on the ground cooked Outdoors built a campfire they had not even the rudimentary skills that make frontiersmen Wallace ster this was an experiment this hand card business was an experiment first year it had ever been tried lots of people walked West but but no one ever had done an organized uh outfitted hand card track across to to the West there were five hand card companies in 1856 the first three companies arrived at Iowa City at the end of March and mid April the first shiploads of uh immigrants that were using the hangar CL got to Iowa City they just had to wait nothing was ready for them and so any of the Craftsmen that that came across on these ships were immediately put to work in building hand carts completing construction of so many handcarts stall the immigrants getting out on the trail they finally left in June and arrived in the valley without serious incident late September and early October but the last two companies captained by James G Willie and Edward were not so fortunate July 24th we have traveled upwards of 1700 Miles by Railway to this place for the last fortnite we have been living in a tent James Blake Iowa City the three hand card companies ahead of them had depleted the supplies of seasoned Lumber in Iowa City as had the building boom in the community we expected to find these handcart Vehicles already at hand on our arrival at Iowa City Elizabeth orx Jackson precious weeks passed before the Hand cards and Tents were completed the first leg of the journey 277 miles from Iowa City to Florence Nebraska took 4 weeks Wily's company arrived August the 11th Martin on the 22nd a few who had been to the valley were wary of travel so late in the season and urged wintering in Nebraska we cannot cross the mountains with a mixed company of aged people women and little children so late in the season without much suffering sickness and death Levi Savage the immigrants were entirely ignorant of the country in climate simple honest eager to go to Zion at once John chislet Willie company a few leaders were still hesitant to continue the Journey about 100 people chose to stay behind in the basket they knew that they were late everybody knew that they were late Richards frankly admitted that he anticipated that they would have some snow from the outset clear back in 1847 it was very clearly stated that they must get an early start early enough so they could get all the way across during the summer months this was the the Cardinal guideline and unfortunately it was ignored company leaders determined to push on trusting a Divine hand would temper the elements and Shore up The Travelers seeing you are to go forward I will go with you 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 may God in his Mercy bless and preserve us Levi Savage willly company something in their soul kept them coming even though all common sense would say hey just stop here and they didn't Saturday August 26th we started with our handc car this morning James Blake marting company each person was a lotted 17 of personal belongings a handful of wagons carrying supplies and Tents trail behind the carts in addition 385 immigrants who could afford teams traveled behind the Martin company in either the 33 wagons with WB hodet or the 50 wagons with John a hunt soon the monotony and rigor of the trail wore down the immigrants we continued our toil day after day pulling our hand carts with our Provisions or rations our little children Etc through deep Sands Rocky Roads or foring streams it was a dreary Journey Elizabeth horx Jackson Martin company the carts broke down as the unseasoned lumber dried out and shrank sand and rocks ground down the wheels and axles repairs caused further delays their troubles worsened when on the night of September 3rd a violent thunderstorm and a buffalo stamped scattered their cattle the loss of the Willie company's livestock signal of disaster we hunted for our livestock three days in every direction but did not find them John chislet Willie company through losing our cattle and having to camp on the plains for several weeks it threw us late in the season and made our Provisions short for the latter part of our journey Susanna Stone Willie company uh Willie fully aware that they were running out of time said that they would go on but they were definitely hampered by not having these animals they had to Hitch heers and milk cows to their wagons just to keep moving their progress was slowed by at least the third maybe almost in half now the Martin company when when they left Florence it was late enough in the year that in my opinion they were Doom from the beginning September 8th we traveled 18 miles over a very heavy Road no water in place James Blake Martin company traveling fast in light wagons immigration agent Franklin D Richards and about a dozen returning missionaries passed the Martin and Willie companies on the trail Richards promised to send food and supplies from Salt Lake as soon as he arrived by early September the immigrants were beginning to run out of food on September 30 we arrived at for laramy having necessarily expended considerable time in the repair of hand cards John chislet Willie company due to the lateness of the Season Fort Lam's shelves were bare of Food Supplies except for a couple of barrels of crackers and a bit of bacon October 8th our old people are nearly all failing fast Levi Savage Willie company shortly after leaving Fort laramy it became necessary to shorten our rations that they might hold out and that the company be not reduced to starvation the reduction was repeated several times we pushed ahead Elizabeth horx Jackson Martin company it was ascertained that at our present rate of travel and consumption of flour the latter will be exhausted when we're about 350 mil from our destination John chislet Willie company those who knew the trail could not ignore the heavy frost on the ground each morning they were cold hungry and utterly exhausted from pulling the carts and taking their turn at guard Duty no relief was in sight the mountains before us revealed themselves to view mantled nearly to their base in snow and tokens of a coming storm were discernable in the clouds which each day seemed to lower around us John chisler Willie company strips of burlap or canvas replaced worn out shoes temperatures dropped dramatically their ragged clothing wet from River Crossings never dried one day to the next October 14th some would sit down by the roadside and die my younger sister Caroline 17 years old after after traveling all day took off her apron to tie some Sage Brush in they found her chilled and dying and carried her into Camp she was placed in an unmarked grave Robert reer Willie company October 16th our rations of flour was reduced from1 pound to 12 O for adults and 8 ounces for my children to 6 ounces a day James Blake marching company there was not enough food to maintain the body heat they they required there was not enough bedding or clothing to keep them warm particularly at night uh and uh they became exhausted and uh this brought them down October 17th good blankets and other bedding and clothing were burned as they could not be carried further there was yet 400 miles of winter to go through John Jake Martin company they had to lighten their loads to take this load off their men to give them a better chance of surviving because it was mostly the men that were dying um so the loads were lightened and everything that wasn't absolutely essential was burned even some essential things were burned bedding and and warm clothing but just because they couldn't carry it anymore October 18th fourth crossing of the Sweet Water the air is cool Levi Savage Willie company October 19th we crossed the plat very trying in consequence of its width and the cold weather James Blake Martin Company Men Women and Children waited through the current many needing assistance and then the snow hail and wind came we were overtaken by a snowstorm which the shrill wind blew furiously about us the snow fell several inches deep as we traveled along but we dared not stop John chisler Willie company winter came all at once and that was the first day of it John Jake AR and Company the weather hit then the Sleep the snow uh they were already wet from the from the crossing the the wetness froze on their bodies which is the worst thing that can happen in um cold weather is to be wet and so that that very first night we have a large number of desks but we don't know we have some people saying that there were 14 the night after they had had crossed we had to travel in our wet clothes until we got to Camp our clothing was nearly Frozen on us that night the ground was frozen so hard we were unable to drive any tent pins in and the tent was wet he stretched the tent open and got under it until morning patience loader Martin company I listened to hear my husband breathe he lay so still put my hand on his body went to my horror I discovered that my worst fears were confirmed he was cold and stiff rigid In The Arms Of Death Elizabeth horox Jackson Martin company it was just cold and cold can kill you especially if you trying to survive and and if you're a man trying to to uh provide for your family you're expending energy and that that can sap your strength enough to where when the Night Comes you may not be there in the morning they did not remove my husband's clothing he had but little they wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a pile with 13 others who had died and then covered him up with snow the ground was frozen so hard that they could not dig a grave Elizabeth horx Jackson Martin company the crossing of the North Plat was fraught with more fatalities than any other incident of the entire Journey Josiah Rogerson Martin company both the Willie and Martin companies reached as I can see a breaking point on the 18th and 19th of October interestingly both at the same time before the storm struck October 4th Franklin D Richards rode into the Salt Lake Valley with distressing news there were as many as 1200 immigrants still out in the plains president young called for the men horse and mule teams to Stage an immediate rescue he asked the women to bring food blankets and clothing of any description to fill the wagons the sisters stripped off their Peds stockings and everything they could spare Lucy misery Smith Salt Lake City Tuesday October 7th the first wagons and Teamsters headed by captain GE D Grant began the climb of the Steep Canyon heading east the idea of The Rescuers they're going on and they haven't even got a clue where Willie is and his people warmart it's this idea we're going to go out and try to rescue these people but we don't even know uh what we're facing the leaders of the rescue were Trail seasoned men with them were a select group of young men who had tendered cattle logged clouded gated fed male and a few had clashed with Indians a better outfit and one more adapted to the work before us I do not think could have possibly been selected if a week had been spent fitting it up Daniel W Jones rescue Weeks Later more teams loaded with additional tons of flour and other Provisions joined the rescue estimates projected that Captain Willie and his company might be be found 2 days past Fort Bridger about 130 m east of Salt Lake October 15th our hearts began to ache when we reached Green River and yet no word of them Daniel W Jones rescue the rescue party kept riding bewildered that the hand card companies were so far back on the trail this relief party proceeded Eastward as rapidly as possible and in due time passed over the South PA pass the backbone of the continent Harvey KF rescue October 18th no sign of the hand card companies Captain Grant stationed reic olwood 11 men and four Supply Wagons at South past to restock the relief companies when they returned with the immigrants he had earlier dispatched four express Riders to find the two companies and assure them help was on its way on Horseback the express Riders could make more than 30 m a day as they continued on across Southwestern Wyoming and then towards South pass the weather had held but right around the South pass area we have the weather start falling apart and just on the east side of South pass the the rescue teams experienced a terrible snowstorm and they have to take shelter the Raging winter storm brought The Rescuers and both handcart companies to a standstill the Willie company on the swe water and the Martin company at the North Plat more than 100 miles apart the storm raged with increasing Fury until it reached the capacity of a northern blizzard javey kluf rescue the express Riders from Captain Grant's rescue party were riding hard they finally found the Willie company camped on the Sweetwater October 19 met brother Wheelock and Company who have come to our relief he reported 40 loads of flour one day in advance of us this was joyful news Levi Savage Willie company being surrounded by snow a foot deep out of Provisions many of our people sick and our cattle dying it was decided that we should remain at our present Camp until the supply train reached us John chislet Willie company October 20th the snow increasing in depth daily seemed to drag the life completely out of us all and from the last crossing of the plat we commenced to bury the exhausted rapidly Josiah Rogerson Martin company the express had found the Willie company out of food and desperate such craving hunger I never saw before and may God in his Mercy spare me the sight again John chislet Willie company Captain Willie with 21-year-old Joseph Elder left their Camp to search for the promised Aid they spent several hours on the trail uncertain of the rescue wagon's location for protection of ourselves and animals the company moved down the river to where the Willows were dense enough to make a good protection against the raging Storm from the north I volunteered to take a sign board and place it at a conspicuous place at the main road this was designed to direct the Express party who were expected to return about this time so they would not miss us I had only been back to Camp a short time when two men rode up from Will's hand card company the signboard had done the work of Salvation Harvey kluf rescue Joseph Elder and Captain Willie would have gone right past the rescuers you can't see the trail from where The Rescuers were the report that they get from Captain Willie is that they have to get to these people and so the very next day they're on their way racing ahead to to rescue the Willie company so that that sign post on the road was definitely a lifesaver October 21 just as the sun was sinking beautifully behind the distant Hills on an Eminence immediately west of our camp several covered wagons each drawn by four horses were seen coming towards us shouts of Joy rent the air John chislet Willie company when the people of the camp SED us approaching they set up such a shout as to echo through the hills Harvey k rescue we found them in a condition that would stir the hardest heart they were out of Provisions freezing and starving to death Daniel W Jones rescue the men from the valley turned over to me flour potatoes onions and a limited supply of warm clothing besides quilts blankets Buffalo robes Woolen socks that evening for the first time in quite a period the songs of Zion were to be heard in the camp John chislet Willie company in my opinion um had the rescue not come when it did within 48 Hours of the uh of the storm on the 19th of October the death would have begun to Skyrocket our help came too late for some and many died after our arrival Daniel W Jones rescue we know that many of them perished before The Rescuers got there and so their time was short uh they probably could not have gone much more than a week before The Rescuers got to them a week or more um there's at least a possibility everyone perished this certainly would have been great catastrophe the timing of the rescue is stunning six well-loaded wagon teams and Teamsters were left with the company and the rest of us pushed on for as yet we had no information as to where the other handcart and two independent wagon companies were Harvey kluf Rescue by now The Rescuers had been on the trail for weeks but their own Provisions were nearly gone having seen the sufferings of brother Wily's company we more fully realized the danger the others were in Daniel W Jones rescue the rescue party was not sparing their horses they were moving as fast as they could uh literally running their stock into the grave in order to get to the stranded handcart people before they were all in the grave captain George D Grant's rescue party of eight wagons and about twice that many men rushed East hoping to find the Martin hunt and hodet companies camped near the four-year-old Stockade at Devil's gate there they met the express Riders but there was no sign of the imigrants meanwhile October 23rd the Willie company faced a 5 Mile climb up Rocky Ridge in the snow I had not gone far up before I overtook a cart that the folks could not pull through the snow I helped them along and we soon overtook another by all hands getting to One cart we could travel so we moved one of the carts a few rods and then went back and brought up another thus by traveling twice forward and one back I succeeded in bringing my little company to the summit John chislet Willie company even with help many could not make it chislet and others went back and forth on the trail bringing in stragglers until 5: in the morning a fierce wind and driving snow met these folks just as they Crossing arguably the most difficult part of the entire Mormon Trail my calculation is that the wind chill equivalent was probably 70 below zero it's hard to imagine how they were able to get through that terrible day and it was a long day all day all evening all night long the the rear elements didn't get in until dawn was breaking the the next morning there were so many dead and dying that it was decided to lie by for the day in the for noon I was pointed to go around and collect the dead 13 corpses all stiffly Frozen John chislet Willie company there's been uh speculation that it wouldn't have really been necessary for the handcart companies like for the Willie company to have gone on what amounts to a forced March but if you put yourself in the in the shoes of the rescue group uh the hardest part of the trip was yet ahead of them and that was crossing the wasach mountains and one real good snowstorm would have closed those roads over the wasach so they needed to get down the trail and get over those mountains as quickly as possible meanwhile the Martin company had floundered after crossing the north plant Thursday 23rd of October we've traveled 5 miles for several days we have been weather Bound in consequence of a heavy fall of snow Friday the 24th no traveling Saturday the 25th no traveling our Russians reduced to 8 ounces of flour for adults and 4 ounces for children James Blake Maring company I was six or 7,000 miles from my native land in a wild Rocky Mountain Country a destitute condition the ground covered with snow the waters covered with ice an i with three fatherless children with scarcely nothing to protect them from the merciless storms Elizabeth horx Jackson Martin company ahead on the trail the Willie company began to move again towards the valley October 25th we commenced our March again nothing much of note transpired except people died daily Levi Savage willly company the Martin company was still trapped in the snow at Red butes the wagon trains behind them Sunday the 26th no traveling Monday the 27th no traveling while Captain Grant and the wagons waited at Devil's gate stockade three Express Riders on fast horses were searching for the Martin company we saw a white man's shoe track in the road brother young called out here they are we put our animals to the utmost speed and soon came inside of the camp at Red Blu Daniel W Jones rescue Tuesday the 28th of October when they first made their appearance I do not think there was one in Camp but shed tears of joy James Blake Martin company many declared we were angels from Heaven Daniel W Jones rescue the three walked through what seemed to be a frozen death camp words spread that wagons food and supplies were only 3 days distance with resignation the half Frozen starving immigrants began again next morning a condition of distress here met my eyes that I never saw before 4 cents Daniel W Jones rescue the three Express Scouts Joseph A young AEL gar and Daniel W Jones began leading the suffering imigrants toward Devil's gate and the waiting rescue wagons the train was strung out for three or four miles there were old men men pulling and tugging their carts sometimes loaded with a sick wife or children women pulling along sick husbands little children 6 to 8 years old struggling through the mud and snow as night came the mud would freeze to their clothes and feet Daniel W Jones rescue they're dying on a daily basis we don't know how many but people are dying every day as they struggle 5 six s 10 m a day trying to get to uh Devil's gate November the 1st there was a foot or 18 in of snow on the ground as there were but one or two Spades in Camp the immigrants had to shovel the snow with their frying pans or Tim plates before they could pitch their tents and the ground was frozen so hard that it was almost impossible to drive the temp pegs into it John Jakes Martin company the snow lay several inches deep upon the ground the night was bitterly cold I sat down on a rock with one child in my lap and on each side of me in that condition I remained until morning Elizabeth horx Jackson Martin company Captain Grant and the main rescue party moved East and met the last hand card train at Grease Creek a day's ride from Devil's gate they dispense supplies inadequate for the numbers but gratefully received you can imagine between 500 and 600 men and women and children worn down by drawing hand cards through snow and mud fainting by the wayside falling chilled by the cold we have prayed without ceasing and the blessing of God has been with us Captain George D Grant gwood Creek The Rescuers began again leading the Martin hunt and hodet companies towards Devil's gate November the 2nd we arrived at Devil's gate that night to camp in the snow which was deep and freezing we found several big fires there and several log hoods John Jakes Martin company every room Nook and Corner was taken wagons and Tents were filled to their utmost capacity Harvey kluf rescue ahead on the trail the Willie company pushed on to the valley they left all but a few of their hand cards at Fort Bridger November 2nd we found a great many teams at Fort Bridger that had come to our help all our company rode this day I also rode for the first time on our journey John chisled Willie company the final days of the Willie company's Journey continued to be marked by death and cold Peter Madson from Copenhagen age 66 years died during the day the snowstorm came on this evening will company journal in a letter to Brigham Young carried by two express writers Captain Grant reported the last hand cart and wagon companies had been found November 3rd The Rescuers and leaders from The Martin hunt and hodet companies met to determine whether to winter at Devil's gate or try to reach the valley with supplies insufficient the leaders decided to press on to Salt Lake leaving many of the hand cuts and the freight from the hunt and hodet wagons as well a unanimous vote was taken that all would be willing to do as they were instructed even if it was required of them to leave all they had behind and be glad to get into the valley with their lives only hunt company Journal Devil's gate our company is too small to help much it is only a drop to a bucket in comparison to what is needed I think that not over onethird of brother Martin's comp is able to walk we will move every day toward the valley if we shovel snow to do it the Lord helping us Captain George D Grant Devil's gate November 4th the imigrants and Rescuers began to move to a nearby Cove for shelter but first they had to cross the Sweetwater for many it was a frightening experience the thought of going into the water they recalled vividly in their mind what had happened with winded across the plat about 16 days earlier on the day the storm overtook the company while there was little bits of ice on the plat now there were large chunks in the water the crossing of the Sweet Water at this point was the worst river crossing of the Expedition and the last the ice was 3 or 4 in thick before the crossing was completed the shades of evening were closing around the coldest hour of the 24 or at least it seemed to be so John Jakes Martin and Company the river was only about 2 or 3 ft deep it's only about 30 ft wide as far as the crow flies but the Ford that they had to take was substantially longer so they were in the water for a period of time greater than just 30 or or 40 ft uh for most they were able to do it on their own we know names of five and there may have been more that were there to help those who were having trouble getting across on their own they would carry the them across our ration of flour was reduced to 4 o and 2 O for children making one pound a day for the six of us James Blake Martin company temperatures dropped by more than 10° below zero for 5 days they waited it out in a nearby Cove and they buried their dead it was so cold that some of the company came near freezing to death the sufferings of the people were fearful and nothing but the power of a merciful god kept them from perishing Elizabeth horx Jackson Martin company that same period the Willie company neared the end of the trail it snowed most of the day the camping ground presented a most dismal appearance as we rolled on to it late at night Willie company Journal November 9th the Willie company entered the valley receiving a somber reception settlers opened their homes and took in the members of this fourth handu company the Sun was shining our toysome journey was hard to endure but the lord gave us strength and courage Susanna Stone Willie company back at Devil's gate Daniel W Jones and 19 men were appointed to stay behind and guard the belongings unloaded from the hunt and hodet Wagon Train the wagons were now needed to help transport the Martin company there was not money enough on Earth to have hired me to stay but I remembered my assertion that any of us would stay have called upon I could not back out Daniel W Jones rescue Daniel W Jones and his men stayed the winter five months living on very little resulting to roasting raar hiide to stay alive Captain George D grants wanted the 20 left at Devil's gate to sleep with one eye open and one leg out of bed for there were Devils Mountaineers and Indians round about here John Jake Martin company November 9th the weather broke and the desperate immigrants left the Ravine and headed for the valley the wagons carried the weaken ill still most had to walk nearly all the hand Couts have been left behind James Blake marting company the great object now was to save as many of the people as possible it was a trying time that day leaving the Ravine one perplexing difficulty was to determine who should ride for many must still walk there was considerable crying of women and children and perhaps a few of the men whom the wagons could not accommodate with the ride John Jakes Martin company November 10th Just Before Sunset seasoned Trail Rider Ephraim hgs riding one horse and leading another Laden with buffalo meat rode toward the Train 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 Ephraim hex rescue there was no Mitigation Of The Piercing wintry cold John Jakes Martin company many of the immigrants whose extremities were frozen lost their limbs ephra from hgs Rescue November 12th at three Crossings on the Sweetwater four wagons loaded with flers and surprise met the Martin company November 14th no deaths in camp tonight Robert T Burton rescue November 16th 10 more rescue wagons met the Martin company at the top of Rocky Ridge November 17th we shall travel by mule team to the valley leaving the O teams behind and expect to travel between 20 to 25 M A Day James Blake Martin company now in wagons the Martin company reached the Bear River on November 25th progress to the valley was rapid though deaths continued at Big Mountain a handful of Rescuers including Joseph A young were keeping the road open by tramping down the waste deep snow with o 20t drifts line parts of the Canyon Road leading to the Valley November 30th as Sunday meetings concluded 104 wagons carrying the members of the Martin company rolled into Salt Lake City I felt to Rejoice greatly and give praise to God for my safe arrival with my wife and children after a journey of six months and one week James Blake Martin company I think think the tally is somewhere around 69 70 deaths in the in the Willie company whereas the Martin company possibly as many as three times that number relief teams carrying the hunt and hget companies straggled into the valley between December the 11th and 15th their arrival concluded the ordeal for some 1200 immigrants there's no doubting that it would was the worst tragedy uh in the history of the Oregon Trail the winter setting in at least a month early and the mistake of starting us a month too late are the main causes of that Calamity Josiah Rogerson Martin company the journey with its great and incessant toils its wearing hardships and wasting privations was a hard and bitter experience wholly unanticipated whom do I blame for the misadventure I blame nobody I have no doubt that those who had to do with the management meant well and tried to do the best they could John Jake Martin company for

Channel: Dan Holt

Views: 94,028

Keywords: Mormon Handcart Journey, Handcart Journey (Mormon), Mormon Pioneers trek to Salt Lake City

Id: GpFVLOzMmpA

Length: 46min 10sec (2770 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 15 2015