Church Historical Writings

A CONDENSED DAY-BY-DAY HISTORY OF THE WILLIE HANDCART COMPANY OF 1856


by
John E. Enslen
2010

Preface

This document contains a series of e-mails that I sent to my friend, movie producer T. C. Christensen, a genius in the movie industry who not only writes scripts, produces, and directs, but does all of his own actual camera work.

These e-mails contain 18 historical reports that I drafted for T. C.’s study. (There is a report numbered 13 and a report numbered 13-A, and thus the last of the 18 reports is numbered 17. But there are a total of 18 reports.) The reports in the aggregate present a day-by-day chronological history of the Willie Handcart Company of 1856. Most, but not all, of the material set forth below is my abridgment of a book titled The Willie Handcart Company by Paul D. Lyman. His book is well researched and is based on the actual journals that were kept by four of the handcart company participants.

At the time I prepared these reports, T. C. was in the early process of filming a movie about the Willie Handcart Company. My wife Dianne, an experienced movie extra, was working as a featured extra in the movie, and we were minor investors. The movie premiered in theatres in the summer of 2011 with the title 17 Miracles and has been a huge success.

Dianne and I first met T. C. when we took his oral history as senior full-time missionaries working in the Church History Department. I was very favorably impressed with him. I told him that I would have no reservations about investing in his theatrical works. When he undertook to produce his first full-length motion picture (17 Miracles), he approached us about being investors. We were enjoying a meal together at the Olive Garden in downtown Salt Lake. I shortly thereafter sent him the following e-mail on March 17, 2010:

T.C.:

We believe in you. We believe in what you are doing. The manner in which you have honestly answered our questions passed our tests. We will be honored to support you in what we believe is a righteous endeavor. In the end, no matter how well we analyze it, there are no financial guarantees. I have never known of a worthwhile project that did not take longer and cost more than was originally anticipated. There will be adversity—powerful evidence that you are on the right storm-delayed trail. We see the inherent and uncontrollable risks, but we are nevertheless willing to join this trek, but only because you are the captain of the company. If in hindsight we are judged to be people of poor business judgment on Judgment Day, then that will put us in some good company with the likes of untold others who did what their hearts told them to do. In our case, it is only money, not our limbs or lives.

We will be good for the amount you requested, and you can count on it.

If there is any other way we can help, let us know. I read, study, ponder, and write LDS history. That’s what I like to do. I don’t try to publish it or make money with it. I just donate it to the archives for future generations.

With each passing day, Dianne becomes more prepared and suited and anxious to play the role of an elderly grandmother extra.

We are most proud to be on your team, T.C. You are a good man, in the finest sense of those words.

With admiration,

Elder Enslen

[End of e-mail to T. C.]

T. C. accepted my invitation to send him more historical information on the Willie Handcart Company. My first historical report on the Willie Handcart Company was sent to T. C. on Saturday, August 28, 2010, during early filming of the movie’s summer scenes—the first part of the movie to be filmed. The last report was sent to T. C. on Thursday, November 18, 2010. This latter date was prior to the filming of the winter scenes and in plenty of time for T. C. to make corrections and use my information in “voice over” portions of the movie and in the epilogue.

I received a kind and appreciative e-mail from T. C. following each report that I sent him, but I have not included those e-mails in this document as they are primarily personal and do not add to the history. T. C. told me that he modified some of the scenes because of the historical information which I provided to him. His e-mails are preserved in my personal journals, along with hundreds of photographs relating to the filming of the movie. I was on the set for much of the filming.

T.C. kindly credited me as one of the historians at the end of the movie.

I have attached at the conclusion of this history some photographs of T. C. Christensen at work. Most of these photos are not a part of my personal journal.

I hope that the reader will enjoy learning a little more about the Willie Handcart Company. I stand in profound awe of those early Mormon pioneers who would sacrifice their very lives to gather to Zion. Their iconic example of sacrifice has left an indelible legacy of devotion worthy enough for every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worth his or her salt to emulate.

John E. Enslen

[End of Preface]

HISTORY OF THE WILLIE HANDCART COMPANY

T. C.:

Your work ethic and talent are greatly admired. Thanks for allowing me to hang around the set. I am learning a lot, but I was starting at zero. Even more thanks for allowing Dianne to participate. I think she is having the time of her life and feels honored to have even the smallest part in doing something that is as monumentally important as this project.

I think I sense a strong desire from you to be true to history. Mark my words, the heaviest criticism for the type of movie you are producing will come from the history buffs. Rank and file members throughout the Church will unquestionably accept your film as true history—the way it really happened. For the sake of both groups, who are at different extremes in their search for historical purity, it is good that you are serving them as much historical accuracy as you can.

As you well know, history takes us to an understanding of how the world was rather than how we might wish it to have been. Ironically, how the world was almost always turns out to be more astonishing than how we might wish it to have been. Accurate history will consistently elicit feelings of awe and reverence from those who learn of it. Of course, an enjoyable movie requires a balance between entertainment and education in history, but you can know you got it right when the people are left with feelings of awe and reverence for the truth. Your prior movies have certainly done that.

I want to help the historicity in some small way, notwithstanding I have never read the script. I would like to furnish you the benefit of my limited study of the Willie Handcart Company. I can point you to a written record for everything I write to you. Of course, I realize that you already know most of what I have learned, but I suspect you will pick up a little tidbit here and there that could possibly be of use to you. If my intrusion is a burden, then you can always hit “delete” at anytime.

Here is what I have learned thus far:

Report Number One

The company journal kept by Willie began on May 1, 1856 in Liverpool on the ship Thornton, a two-year-old, three-decker, three-mast, 191-footlong, sailing ship manufactured in New York. Steam engine ships existed, but wind sailing was cheaper passage. Passengers entered the ship on May 1, and the ship left port in Liverpool on May 4, 1856.

There were 560 adult passengers, 172 children, and 29 infants, one being born on ship prior to departure. (Other children would be born during the voyage.) That’s a total of 761 passengers by Willie’s account. Another record by Peder (sometimes Peter) Madsen shows 772 members of the Church on the ship—11 more. A young boy member was discovered as a stowaway during the voyage, and members put up his fare for him. Whatever the total, of that number 164 of them were Danish and Danish speaking.

Franklin D. Richards (age 35), who would later play a role in the lives of many of the passengers, was the Church leader in Britain that spoke to the passengers on the ship before they set sail. (He would have almost certainly mentioned this when he met with them again on the trail west.) He appointed and installed their leaders. Willie (age 41), a Utahn, was made president. Millen Atwood (age 38) was a counselor, along with Moses Cluff (age 28) and Johan Ahmason (age 29). Seven wards were created and members were assigned to live within a certain deck. John Chislett (age 24) was appointed Captain of the Guard to keep the crew from going below. Danish-speaking Peder Madsen had been appointed secretary over the Danish members when they left Denmark for England, and he served as a translator during the voyage, as well as did Ahmason, who under Willie presided over the Danish Saints. During the voyage, the Danish were given lessons in how to speak English.

There was a marriage on the date of departure. Other marriages would occur later during the voyage.

The Danish were well known for music, singing and dancing. A choir was formed early.

Seasickness was universal for several days. There was a competent doctor on board and the ship’s captain, Charles Collins, was sympathetic to the passengers.

There were lots of meetings, not just on Sundays, but throughout the week, and there was fasting on a regular basis, too, more often than monthly. Prayers were held morning and evening in the wards. Large meetings depended on good weather and smooth seas which allowed for the gathering of everyone to the open deck, as opposed to having large meetings at set times. All could be gathered on rather short notice.

At three days into the voyage, the first death was suffered, a 75-year-old sister who was sick when she boarded. Seven more would die before they reached New York, including one stillborn child. All deaths other than the first would be children, the oldest child to die being ten years of age. A seven-year-old Danish boy fell through a hatch 20 feet and fractured his skull. He died four days later. The other deaths were all infants. There were a total of eight burials at sea. That was a death average of 1.3 persons per week. The company was familiar with death before reaching America.

During the trip, they began sewing the tents that they would use on the plains. Presumably, they were creating the triangular pieces that would need to be sewn together to produce the tent shape. [More about the issue of tents will be presented later. Too much emphasis has been given to the lack of ready handcarts, when the lack of tents was a problem of equal magnitude.]

The ocean trip took slightly more than six weeks from Liverpool to New York City. That was longer than normal. The ship encountered headwinds for most of the way and had to tack. They occasionally encountered heavy storms, during which the Saints stayed below deck in their beds. Some water from the rolling sea still entered closed hatches. There were dangerous floating icebergs in the sea lanes. They met other ships going to Europe every few days. There were frequent fogs which required that a bell be rung every minute, often for a full day, during periods of fog. Near New York heavy fog caused a delay of days before the ship could enter the harbor proper.

Food and water was rationed to the passengers, and there was never a serious shortage. Cleanliness was a constant concern, and there was an outbreak of body lice. Cooking took place on ship, and a fire in the galley one day was fortunately extinguished quickly.

The young men from England had to be moved to the forepart of the ship to segregate them from the young women.

The captain was pleased with the unusually good demeanor of his passengers, and the passengers were pleased with the kindness of the captain.

A steamboat tug piloted the ship to dock on the southwest tip of Manhattan Island on June 14, 1856. The next day was Sunday, and many attended a Church meeting in New York. It would have been at this meeting that some of the company would have met for the first time Levi Savage, who was returning from his mission to Siam. New York members would later visit the company at the harbor.

The next day, June 15, Apostle John Taylor addressed the immigrants. Friendly newspaper writers circulated amongst them and later wrote favorable articles.

The next day, June 16, Levi Savage would report in his journal that he was in the company of about 500 Saints. Thus, more than 250 of the ship passengers would travel other than by handcart, and a few no doubt stayed in the east. A notable sacrifice is found amongst those who had the money for wagon travel, but rather chose to give money to the poor and travel with them by handcart. It is highly likely that some of those noble souls were amongst the 68 who died.

The next day, June 17, a barge and then a steamboat took the 500 or so to the New York/Erie RR depot. They took a train to Dunkirk on the shores of Lake Erie. That was a 460-mile trip covered in 36 hours. The train travel was described as better than that in Europe. (Madsen describes the inside of the train.)

In Dunkirk, they boarded a propeller steamboat called the Jersey City. They traveled 280 miles in calm weather along the shoreline of Lake Erie before arriving in Toledo, Ohio, on June 21. Along the way to Toledo, they stopped first at Cleveland for provisions, and then at Sandusky on June 20. Levi Savage left the group at Sandusky to visit relatives. Levi would not rejoin the company until three-weeks later on July 10. He rejoined them in Iowa City.

[This is a good stopping place for now. You have read four pages of large print which were condensed from 43 pages of smaller print. I don’t want to bore you out of your gourd. I will pick up with events in Toledo with the next edition, if you remain interested.]

Anytime you have a specific question, just let me know and I will do my best to hunt down an answer for you.

With appreciation,

John

[End of Report Number One]

T. C.:

Here is historical installment Number Two. It covers the high points for the remainder of the month of June of 1856. I hope you find this information to be of benefit to you in some way.

Report Number Two

The company encountered its first outward anti-Mormon sentiment at the hands of railroad authorities in Toledo on June 21, 1856, as the Saints were boarding the train for Chicago. There was nothing physical, simply verbal insult and forced inconvenience.

The company arrived in Chicago 20 hours later. They were treated poorly by the conductor in Chicago, but the superintendent of the railroad allowed them the use of a warehouse for night shelter. Madsen reports that people tried to “disturb” them that night, but does not further elaborate, an indication that it was more in the nature of sleep-deprivation harassment than violence.

On Monday, June 23, the company was divided into two groups due to the lack of cars to accommodate all of them on one train. Leaving at 3:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. respectively, the two groups were able to reunite at Pond Creek where an infant died.

On Tuesday, June 24, they arrived at Rock Island, Illinois, at 11:00 p.m. and slept that night in their railroad cars.

On Wednesday, June 25, the railroad superintendent allowed them to use a warehouse as shelter for the evening as the company had to wait on a ferry to take them across the Mississippi River. The ferry was necessary because of the prior destruction of a railroad bridge that was still under repair.

There was persecution on this night at the warehouse location. The persecution was in the form of a rowdy mob which had to be dispersed by the police. Willie supervised a strong guard by the Saints, and the mob was prevented from obtaining access to the young women in the company, which seems to have been the mob’s primary intent.

It is important to note that Levi Savage was not present during this mob action or any other harassment of the company at railroad stops. He was absent from the company from June 20 until July 10. The protection of the company fell under the leadership of Willie at the warehouse in Rock Island. [Based on a scene that I watched being filmed, the movie script erroneously portrays Levi Savage providing leadership against the mob at a railroad stop.]

On Thursday, June 26, the company crossed the Mississippi River on a steam ferry in the early morning. By mid-morning they were back on the train and in route to Iowa City.

They arrived in Iowa City about 1:30 p.m., having traveled 460 miles across New York, 280 miles on Lake Erie, and 465 miles crossing Ohio, Illinois, and part of Iowa. That’s a total of approximately 1200 miles.

On Friday June 27, the company walked in the afternoon in heat and humidity three miles west of Iowa City to a campground at Clark’s Mill (present day Coralville) where they were to be fitted out for travel under the direction of Daniel Spencer (age 62). Two handcart companies (Ellsworth with 274; McArthur with 297) had previously departed from this staging area, and a third handcart company (Bunker with 320 Welsh) left the next day, one day after the arrival of the Willie Company.

Sufficient food was rationed daily, but otherwise Spencer was not ready for this fourth company. The most pressing need was tents. One tent would sleep 20 people; thus 25 tents total were needed. The handcart ratio was one handcart to five people; thus 100 handcarts were needed. Furthermore, one in five handcarts was a covered handcart which required additional canvas work. The sisters in the company worked hard at making the tents. There was no shelter in this area other than a few tents, so regular rains were simply endured by the majority best they could. Sleeping in the rain on wet bedding and walking around in wet clothing was a significant sacrifice endured by many.

Occupants slept in the few tents with feet toward the single center pole. There was no perpendicular skirting as with the tents used at the Church studio in Provo. More slept in tents as tents became available for use.

On Saturday June 28, John Van Cott (age 42), returning President of the Scandinavian Mission, brought 400 head of cattle for use of the handcart companies.

On June 29, some community people attended the Sunday meetings, morning and afternoon, which were addressed by Willie, John Hunt, and Dan Jones.

On Monday, June 30, tent-making work continued in dry and hot weather. A two-year-old boy in the camp died. There was significant murmuring because the baggage per person had to be reduced from 50 pounds to 17 pounds per person. Leaders were required to address the complaining. Trips by some would be made to Iowa City to try and sell excess items. Some items were given to others to replace inferior or insufficient items.

[That completes the month of June and is a good stopping place for now.]

Are you sure you want me to continue? You may not want to hear some of this. Then again, perhaps you would rather hear it now than hear it later from someone else.

With appreciation,

John

[End of Report Number Two]

T. C.:

Hope all went well with the filming near the Siever River today. Dianne enjoyed her last day of work. Thanks for allowing her to participate. If you want her to return for the winter scenes, she will be most delighted to do so. Just let us know one way or the other.

Here is my next installment of historical information. I am keeping it to no more than four pages.

Report Number Three

During the first week of July, the unfinished tents continued to receive more attention from the leaders than the unfinished handcarts. Willie encouraged the sisters to press on with their sewing. A large part of the motivation for encouraging the tent sewing was the wet weather. There were two days of hard rain during the first week of July which resulting in most of the camp members receiving a good soaking.

One child died and two children were born during the week.

Trips to town by some to sell their excess poundage were disappointing. Prices were extremely low.

On Monday, July 1, those who had traveled on the Thornton with the assistance of the Perpetual Emigration Fund (PEF) were required to sign receipts for passage along with an agreement to repay the fund.

Despite the need for their tent-sewing and handcart-building labors to continue with haste, the Saints ceased their work for the celebration on July 4th, it being the 80th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The weather was cooperative for the event which included a flag raising, patriotic speeches, and target practice with their guns. Strangers were impressed with the national loyalty of the company.

From a recordkeeping standpoint, an important event occurred on Saturda, July 5. A consistent journal keeper named William Woodward (age 23) was assigned by Ferguson, assistant to Spencer, to join the company. Woodward was a missionary returning from England. He had already helped to outfit preceding companies, having been in the camp since June 2. As will be noted later, Woodward would assume the keeping of the company journal on October 1.

The Sunday meetings with several non-members present went well, and there seemed to be a spirit of unity within the company.

The second week of July (through Sunday, July 13) saw significant events. In midweek, 800 Saints from the ship Horizon arrived in the camp. They would become the Martin Handcart Company. The 23 tents were finished only hours prior to the arrival of the additional 800 Saints during a driving rainstorm. The 800 arrivals were accommodated by the Willie company in their 23 tents as best they could. The influx of 800 additional members provided increased impetus for the Willie Company to depart the area.

Almost simultaneous with the arrival of what would become the Martin Company, Levi Savage arrived in camp. He had visited with relatives since his separation from the company at Sandusky, Ohio.

The canvasses for the covered handcarts were finished. The primary purpose for the coverings was for the protection of infant children who were not large enough to walk.

People were busy washing their clothes in preparation for the departure.

The Willie Company was officially organized for travel. The 5 Captains of Hundreds were selected. They were all former missionaries: Savage, Atwood, Woodward, Ahmanson (over the Danish), and Chislett. The latter two, although former missionaries, had never been to Salt Lake. There were also appointed a Captain of the Guard and a Captain of the Commissary, namely Leddington and Griffiths respectively.

Cattle, mules, and wagons were selected for the trip.

A weighing process was instituted to restrict each person to 17 pounds of baggage. Some men, who had been unwilling to nearly give away their property in town, decided to buy an ox and wagon so that their surplus property could be hauled. They combined their resources and bought an ox. (The record does not say whether they also bought a wagon, but such would be the assumption.)

Two infants and an adult sister died during the week, and two other people were re-baptized for health purposes, a now discontinued practice, of course.

The third week of July saw the company’s departure from the camp. After a Monday of final preparations, they headed west in the afternoon of Tuesday, July 15, but traveled only the short distance of three miles. That same day there was a marriage and two births in the camp. Peder Madsen recorded that there were 92 handcarts and 23 tents, 5 mules, and 5 wagons pulled by from 4 to 6 oxen each. The wagons carried the food, tents, tools, and any too sick to walk. Only about 25% of the company was composed of men.

Not all families chose to depart for the valley. Two notable exceptions who remained in Iowa for the time being were the McKay and Evans families. President David O. McKay would later be a direct lineal descendant of these two families that decided to migrate in another year.

Wednesday, July 16 was still a day of practice travel and testing in which they covered only three miles. The handcarts were faster than the oxen.

On this date, a 16-year-old boy disappeared, but the family learned later that he stopped at a local farmhouse and obtained work. (The record did not reveal the eventual outcome of his detour.)

On Thursda,y July 17, Spencer and Ferguson came to the camp and took a census. They also gave instructional talks. Savage and Atwood both spoke also. Some local friendly Indians demonstrated their skills with their bows.

Friday, July 18 was the date for commencing their normal routine. They arose at 4:00 a.m. After breakfast, they had their day’s provisions imparted to them at 8:00 a.m. They had a later start than they would have liked, leaving at 11:00 a.m., and traveled six miles that day through rough roads, but the next day they made 12 miles after arising at 4:00 a.m. and leaving at 9:30 a.m.

On the evening of Saturday, the 19th, a Gentile threatened to bring 50 men and tear down their tents. But it turned out to be nothing but an idle threat.

Sunday was a day of rest and no travel was attempted. On this date four adult sisters and two children decided to drop out. That does not mean that they necessarily apostatized. They may have decided to wait until they could go by wagon. Only one church meeting was held. There were some friendly local visitors who were in attendance at the meeting.

[That’s about four pages and enough reading for tonight. Get some sleep. You are one more driven human being—but for highly commendable purposes.]

With continued appreciation and admiration,

John E. Enslen

[End of Report Number Three]

T. C.:

I trust you had another good day of filming at the Siever River today. Our bearded son Jacob is looking forward to the Mormon Battalion work tomorrow. I was somewhat surprised that he is so willing to sacrifice the BYU game to participate. The enticement for fame is a powerful human motivation. Perhaps he will be able to catch the second half.

I hope you are able to get a much-deserved substantial rest over several days following tomorrow’s work. I am sure that your body needs some recovery time in light of the pressing, super-human schedule you have been keeping.

Perhaps Dianne and I will come with Jacob tomorrow just to observe and take some final photos before we return home next Tuesday.

I have sent multiple photos to all of the extras who provided me with their e-mail addresses, as well as the stars, and the feedback has been entirely positive from all of them. The photos give even the little guys some family mementoes to treasure.

I have another installment of handcart history for you. This one will take you entirely through the month of July. Although there is nothing overtly monumental taking place, there is some information that will give you a genuine feel for the way things truly were. I hope the information will add to the wonderful vision that you already have of the handcart episode.

Here goes:

Report Number Four

This report will cover Monday, July 21 through Thursday, July 31, 1856—11 days. This time period contains the first full calendar week of ground travel. The Saints’ foot travels will remain within the state of Iowa this entire time. Their ability to travel expeditiously increases, and there are several good distance days during this time, including a new record of 21 miles covered on Wednesday, July 30.

A normal travel routine became more established. A bugle consistently awakened the travelers at 4:00 a.m. Breakfast was followed by a group prayer. The tents were dismantled and placed on a tent wagon. (I cannot tell from the record thus far whether a group got the same tent each night, or whether there was natural dissemination. I suspect the latter was the case, and I suspect there were slight changes from time to time with respect to the inhabitants of any particular tent.)

The wheels would need to be greased daily, and bacon grease was often used due to the limited supply of commercial axle grease.

The camp began to depart on a more regular basis around 7:30 a.m.

On July 21, there was only one person in the sick wagon, but over the next 11 days, this number would increase and then decrease. The decrease would occur as the travelers overcame the blisters and body soreness that would naturally afflict the group—a people generally unaccustomed to long days of walking while at the same time exerting the effort necessary to pull the carts. During this time, much of the travel was up and down hills, requiring more effort than flat land travel, but those who endured were becoming stronger.

As they walked through Iowa, and especially as they approached more settled areas, there were always some gawkers, as well as occasional threats by Gentile ruffians. However, the men were armed and kept their arms close to them. They were well organized in their guard duties. Rarely did a threat turn out to be anything other than a verbal threat, but the continuous bombardment of verbal threats would have been very disconcerting, especially to the women.

As this 11-day period progressed, they were able to cover greater distances. They settled into a schedule of traveling several miles and then resting for a couple of hours. They would go through this procedure either two or three times a day. They progressed toward doing it three times a day, thus setting up camp at a later hour and covering a greater distance in their travels. Iowa allowed for multiple choices on campsites due to the presence of ample wood and water. By choice, they would choose the more rural areas for camping in order to decrease the likely number of gawkers or intruders.

The weather was very hot and humid during this particular time period. Only once did it rain for a couple of hours. Fatigue and exhaustion were prevalent as a result of the intense heat. On Wednesday, July 23, a 50-year-old woman died from sunstroke. Complaining about the conditions increased. The next day’s funeral cut into the travel time. Following the funeral, the people were admonished to be more unified and less murmuring.

An infant would die five days later on July 28th, apparently from thrush which is very treatable today.

During the evenings, Willie and Griffiths gave many blessings to those desiring them.

On the same day that the 50-year-old sister died, there was another desertion. The Peat family of six left the group.

The next day, another family left to live with the Gentiles.

Six days later, a lone man would dessert. Through death and desertion, the numbers were decreasing.

In his journal of the evening of the 24th of July, Levi Savage reduced to writing his strong personal complaints regarding the reduced food rations.

The lack of sufficient food motivated some to do what the Mormon Battalion had done 10 years earlier under similar conditions of deprivation. Rarely publicized by Mormon historians, members of the company began to steal from local farmers when the opportunity presented itself. This included milking unattended cows and killing pigs. Of course, these acts only added to the already poor Mormon reputation.

On Friday the 25th, the Sheriff of Poweshiek County came into the camp with a search warrant, but his visit was unrelated to thievery. A man had sworn out a warrant stating that women were tied up in the inside of the wagons against their will—the old charge of human slavery for polygamy purposes. The Sheriff was allowed to freely search the camp, and he concluded that the criminal claims were totally without merit. That same evening, three local anti Mormons were thwarted by the guards.

Contrary to popular notion, the camp did travel on Sunda,y July 27, but only half of the day. They held meetings in the second half of the day, and Levi Savage was a major speaker on this Sunday, along with Woodward. As usual, curious non-members came to hear what they had to say, and the baser elements made some idle threats.

On July 30th, the Danish were asked for the first time to take the lead in the procession. Due to the language barrier, the Danish did not stop where the English leaders had requested. As a result, the group traveled 21 miles to the eastern outskirts of Ft. Des Moines.

The next day, there was a bright spot. A truly Christian man by the name of Charles Good came into the camp and gave them 15 pairs of children’s boots, thus counter-acting the harshness of some ruffians the same day. This last day of July the Saints crossed the Des Moines River on a floating pontoon bridge.

[That’s more than enough reading for one sitting. I apologize for going a little long this time. I hope you get a good night’s rest.]

With continued admiration,

John E. Enslen

[End of Report Number Four]

T. C.:

I have kept today’s report to four pages. Dianne and I hope to see you today somewhere prior to our departure for the football game.

Report Number Five

This episode of handcart history will take you from August 1 through August 11, 1856. It was on August 11 that the Saints crossed the Missouri River at Council Bluff into Florence, formerly Winter Quarters in 1846-1847.

During this period the company had settled into a more regular travel routine. It generally consisted of leaving earlier than before (about 6:30 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m.) traveling about ten miles, halting for a couple of hours to rest and eat “refreshments” as they called them, and then traveling about five miles to a nighttime campsite. When they referred to the mid-day meal by a name other than “refreshments,” it was “dinner.” “Supper” was the name of the evening meal. (That is the same way that the South has traditionally described these two meals.)

In this area of Iowa, wood was more scarce than in previous areas, but they managed.

On August 1, the locals were “civil.” The lead group went past the pre-selected campsite again. Instead of following them as they had done on the day they traveled 21 miles, the main body halted, and a mule team was sent to retrieve those who had overshot the mark.

On August 2, some townspeople attempted to entice a couple of young sisters (the Hill sisters, ages 20 and 23) away from the company with handwritten and hand-delivered letters. The sisters resisted, and one of them, Emily Hill, later in life authored the words to the hymn “As Sisters In Zion.” There was considerable interaction along the trail with local people, more than historians have perhaps allotted.

On Sunday, August 3, they traveled ten miles before resting for the remainder of the day. Outward religious observance on the Sabbath seems to have become less pronounced. There was some rain during the nights. On August 5, they waited a couple of hours for their tents to dry before putting them into the wagon. Evidently, folding and packing the wet tents would have caused a problem, perhaps mildew, odor, and/or speedier deterioration. Waiting the two hours delayed their departure.

Due to the night rains and colder temperatures at night, about a dozen people developed colds.

A child was born on August 6th.

On Thursday, August 7th, the Saints connected to and began to travel the same trail that the Nauvoo Saints had traveled during their 1846 exodus from Nauvoo ten years earlier. This trail led to Council Bluffs. Along this trail, they stopped at a small town to do some shopping. Isaac Smith inadvertently left his purse in a store. It had six gold coins in it (Sovereigns), quite a sum because two of those coins would pay the entire ocean passage to America. Even with a warrant secured the next day by four men remaining behind for that purpose, neither purse nor coins were ever recovered.

On the 9th of August, a man named Garner left the camp, taking his daughter and son with him. However, his wife refused to abandon and remained with the Saints. The next day, the man returned with the two children and asked for forgiveness, which was freely given by Levi Savage, his caption, and evidently his wife.

On Sunday the 10th, the morning was spent washing clothes, and nine miles of travel did not commence until 4:00 p.m.

Monday the 11th was a monumental milestone day as the Saints crossed the Missouri River amongst gawkers. The Church agent in Florence, James McCaw (age 32) had all that he could stand. He beat up two gawkers with his fists.

The Saints were now in Nebraska Territory. They had traveled 300 miles from their camp near Iowa City to Florence. Deaths and desertions had reduced their ranks somewhat, but they were now unique, seasoned, veteran travelers of the American plains.

With appreciation,

John E. Enslen

[End of Report Number Five]

T.C.:

It’s Tuesday, September 7, 2010. Dianne and I are on the plane headed back to Alabama. We have met three Alabama Mormon friends we know who are on the same flight. I have enough time to draft this small dose of handcart history to send you by e-mail tonight after we get back to the Internet wireless in our river condo.

Report Number Six

We pick up with Tuesday, August 12, in Florence, Nebraska. I will cover only six days, but they are an important six days that will take us through Sunday, August 17, 1856. The company is about to commence crossing what will become the State of Nebraska. They are still 49 days (September 29) from reaching Ft. Laramie. In crossing Nebraska, seven will die, four of them being over age 60.

August 12 through noon on August 16 was spent in Florence. There they repaired handcarts and replenished their supplies. They were able to rest some, too, not arising as early in the mornings as when traveling. This would be their last area of civilization, and crossing Nebraska would be unlike crossing Iowa where they encountered several small towns and villages.

During this stay in Florence, the ranks of the company would be reduced by almost 100 Saints, all of the dropouts being English except for one Danish couple that were enticed by the opportunity for good employment. A handful over 400 would depart Florence in two groups.

There continued to be some fever-type of sickness in Florence. One 52-year-old Danish woman died, and seven Danish Saints were re-baptized for health purposes.

Wednesday, August 13, was the date of the famous speeches by Willie and Savage with which you are very familiar. So I would like to add Elder Atwood’s speech which is not as well known. He spoke after Willie and Savage and Willie again. Said Atwood: “I have been listening to what has been said. I exhort each of you to pray to God and get a revelation and know for yourself whether you should go or stay, for it is your privilege to know for yourself.”

At 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 16, Willie led a part of the company out of Florence. He had with him 11 wagons and 85 handcart Saints. Almost half of the wagons would have been “independent” wagons instead of PEF wagons. (PEF stands for the Church’s Perpetual Emigration Fund; thus, the PEF wagons are wagons whose purchase was financed by the Church from funds donated by members to assist other members who were emigrating to the Salt Lake Valley.) They traveled six miles to a campsite on Little Papillion Creek. Based on the principle of safety in numbers, a new group consisting of 26 members and four wagons was annexed to the company. Also, Colonel Almon W. Babbitt, Secretary of the Utah Territory, temporarily joined them with his four wagons. (A few days later hostile Indians destroyed his four wagons, and Babbitt himself was subsequently killed.)

On Sunday, August 17, the remainder of the handcart company joined Willie’s group at Little Papillion Creek. They had with them 37 beef and milk cows. There were a couple of “smart showers” that day. Atwood gave a “last chance to leave” speech that evening. There was insufficient wagon space to haul all of the provisions, and each handcart was given a 98-pound bag of flour to carry. This flour would be used first so as to lighten the load of the cart pullers.

The company is now ready to trek into the wilderness.

Your friend,

John

[End of Report Number Six]

T.C.:

Hope you had a great Sabbath today. Here is another short report for you.

Report Number Seven

This report covers the mostly uneventful one-week period from August 18 through August 24, 1856. There were no births or deaths, and there was no anti-Mormon harassment. They would travel approximately 94 miles during this week (a little over 13 miles a day on the average for the week) and find themselves located about 100 miles west of Florence.

I will present the events of the week in a day-by-day format.

Travel on Monday, August 18, did not get started until 3:00 p.m. and they only traveled three miles before camping at Big Papillion Creek located nine miles west of Florence.

On Tuesday, August 19, the camp departed at 6:00 a.m. By mid-day, they were ferrying the Elk Horn River as the cattle all swam it. (The Elk Horn had served as a starting point for many trains headed to Salt Lake, beginning with the vanguard company in 1847.) The Willie Company camped three miles west of the river, which means they had covered a handsome 18 miles that day.

A change in part of the leadership took place this day. John Ahmanson, who had served as captain over the Danish contingent, was replaced by returning missionary Niels Larsen Christensen (age 27). [Are you related?] This action received the unanimous support of the Danes. No reason for the change was expressed in the journals.

A newborn calf was lost, so they left the mother cow in the area with the hope that the cow would find her own new calf. As a cattleman myself, I have relied on that same plan many times, and it usually works. The plan was to send someone back the next day to see if they could retrieve both the cow and her new calf.

On Wednesday, August 20, the group did not leave until 1:00 p.m. While they waited on the cow and calf to be retrieved, they washed themselves and their clothes and cleaned their weapons, knowing that they might be relying on their weapons for protection in the days to come.

Guess who was sent back to retrieve the cow and calf? You guessed it, Levi Savage. He found the cow, but the cow had still not found her calf. Levi returned to camp with the cow, and they then departed. They traveled 12 miles to the Platte River, arriving at dusk. They endured a stormy night.

Thursday, August 21, was a day of high humidity, the common weather pattern following a summer rain the evening before. They broke camp at 6:30 a.m. to avoid traveling so much in the heat of mid-day. They rested from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and then traveled a ways further before camping on the open prairie without the benefit of wood or water. They covered 16 miles on this day.

On Friday, August 22, they left early and without eating breakfast to both avoid the heat and because there was no wood or water. They ate a late breakfast after traveling eight miles to Shell Creek. There was a trading post there, and some people purchased a few supplies.

I have never seen your script and I don’t even know what your 17 miracles are, but on this day there was a little miracle. The iron wheel of a heavily loaded supply wagon probably weighing close to two tons ran over the foot of Sister Geary. She was given a blessing to be able to walk despite the accident, and the next day she walked the entire 11 miles covered by the company.

They camped at sunset on the edge of a lake after having traveled 20 miles this day.

On Saturday, August 23, they left camp at 6:30 a.m. As I stated above, they traveled 11 miles this day. After ferrying the Loup Fork River, they traveled the river’s south side. There was plenty of wood and water and forage for the animals in this area.

That evening, the company received a treat from Captain Willie. He had a cow and calf butchered and each person was given about one pound of fresh meat. I bet there was a welcome odor of beefsteak on open fire grills pervading the evening camp.

On Saturday, August 24, they traveled 14 miles on a hard surface road, much preferred to a sandy road which made pulling the carts much more difficult. There was plenty of grass, wood, and water, and they were able to go fishing and catch some fish to supplement their diet.

Overall, this had to be one of the most pleasant weeks that the company had experienced during their handcart travels.

What are your thoughts?

With continued admiration,

John

[End of Report Number Seven]

Report Number Eight

This is another one-week report. It covers the period Monday, August 25 through Sunday, August 31, inclusive. During these seven days the Saints traveled about 118 miles for an average of almost 17 miles a day. This was an exciting week for the company, filled with lots of “firsts.” There was also another miracle involving Capt. Willie’s faith, but I don’t know whether it is in your 17 or not.

It was hard to keep 400 people and a mass of animals together. Separations naturally occurred. Just a few days previous to this instant week, Joseph Wall (age 18) became very sick. The leaders decided to leave him to either die or to be picked up by the Martin Company if still alive by that time. His younger sister Emily (age 15) would not hear of it. She had been promised by a church leader that she and Edward would make it to the valley. Over the next three days, Emily pulled her brother in her handcart until he was well again.

Edward Griffiths was sent to search for three lost cows. After a close encounter with two wolves, he returned with only one cow. This was their first encounter with wolves.

For the first time, they had to double the teams to climb a sandy hill.

Elizabeth Smith (age 13 during the trek) wrote a later recollection regarding the praying power of Captain Willie that probably occurred on this particular day. A heavy thunder and lightning storm arose. Willie stood in the middle of the road and stopped all of the handcarts. He asked the Saints to join him in prayer. He talked to the Lord as one man talks to another, and the storm divided hither and thither, leaving the road unmolested. The storm did not return to its former overhead position until they had set up their tents for the evening.

As an example of conflict in the written records, Willie’s and Woodward’s journals recorded 20 miles of travel. Madsen wrote 18, and Savage wrote 15. They did not have odometers.

On this same date, just a few days travel ahead of the camp, the Babbitt wagons that had passed them on the 16th of August were attacked by Cheyenne Indians who killed two men and a child, wounded another man, and carried a woman away captive. Babbitt, who was not present during the raid, lost all of his wagons and teams.

On Tuesday, August 26, they had their first major mechanical problem with a wagon. The king bolt on the wagon of Chislett broke. Who came to the rescue? None other than Levi Savage. He stayed behind with his own wagon to help repair the Chislett wagon by manufacturing a wooden king bolt. They caught up with the company by the end of the day.

This was their first day of traveling in cool weather which was comfortable in comparison with the days of heat and humidity.

That late afternoon, Levi Savage caught a fine mess of catfish. They were around water and feed, but not much wood for fires. This was basically open prairie land in a river valley.

There was another first. They saw their first buffalo tracks and knew that soon they would be seeing these unique beasts—strange indeed to the eyes of the Europeans.

On Wednesday, August 27, they parted ways with the river and started across open prairie on sandy roads that required more human pulling power. Sandy roads would continue to be the norm for days ahead. For the first time, they encountered large numbers of lizards along the route.

On Thursday, August 28, they saw their first buffaloes. There were only four of them, but that was enough meat enticement for Levi Savage and another brother to give a fruitless chase for several miles. These two men were able to catch a glimpse of a large herd in the distance, but their diet that evening did not change.

An old man named Haley turned up missing on this day. A night search party was unsuccessful in finding him.

On Friday, August 29, there was a tremendous early morning rainstorm. A drenched search party renewed their efforts to find Brother Haley, and they were rewarded with success.

They did not break camp until 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon. They saw their first mounted Plains Indians that afternoon. They were friendly Omaha Indians who lived in a village nearby. The village numbered about 800 inhabitants. These Omaha Indians told the company the disturbing news about the Cheyenne raid on Babbitt’s wagon group.

The company camped within a half mile of the Omaha village. Willie, Savage, two other leaders, and some of the others with their handcarts visited the Indians that evening and were well received. These company members traded personal items like clothes or handkerchiefs or mirrors or trinkets for buffalo meat. The Indians were fascinated with the wheeled handcarts and played around with them.

The Europeans in the company had now witnessed for the first time the two most prominent symbols of the great American West, mighty buffaloes and mounted migratory Indians.

After doing a little more trading with the Indians for both buffalo meat and Indian-made shoes, the camp departed at 7:00 a.m. on August 30, 1856, a Saturday. That day the company encountered Californians headed east with a large herd of horses. These Californians confirmed that which the Omaha Indians had said about Babbitt’s party, confirmed the good health and progress of the handcart companies ahead of the Willie Company, and were friendly toward these Mormons.

The handcart pioneers received their own personal confirmation of the Babbitt party’s ill fate when they came upon a pervasive noxious odor and three graves. They piled more dirt on the five-day-old graves to cover the scent that the wolves would otherwise surely discover.

That evening Savage and a brother named Joseph Elder captured a couple of wild oxen that had obviously been lost by another group. One cannot help but notice that Savage is involved in almost every adventure that is undertaken and almost every service opportunity. His heroic status seems to me to be quite genuine based on the record.

On this evening, Colonel Babbitt, who had survived the Indian attack, came to the camp with another man and an elderly Scotch woman named Nancy Stewart. He was able to arrange for Sister Stewart to travel on Brother Cantwell’s wagon in the Siler wagon group. (She would later switch to the Hodgett Wagon group while at Ft. Lamamie.) It was fortunate for Sister Stewart that she attached herself to the company instead of traveling further with Babbitt. He would be killed by Indians a few days up the trail.

This evening, young Brother Caldwell (age 14) broke his collarbone when an uncooperative cow he was trying to catch and milk bolted. Caldwell was promptly administered to by Captain Willie.

Sunday, August 31, was uneventful, which is my favorite type of plane ride. After 18 miles of travel, they camped near what is today Kearney, Nebraska.

Hope you enjoyed this report, and that an interesting idea or two galloped across your fertile mind.

With continued admiration,

John

[End of Report Number Eight]

T. C.: [Who was in between filming sessions]

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. We would love to hear what you are doing these days.

This report will cover the one-week period consisting of the first week in September, September 1-7, 1856. This week’s misfortune could be Exhibit “A” in proving that the Willie Handcart Company’s disaster was the product of a whole lot more than just a late start. This week saw a major setback that paved the way for their inability to make substantial progress in their travels prior to and during the early winter storms.

It has taken me longer to get you this report number nine than I would have liked. My excuse—I was called to the stake high council and given responsibility for missionary work. We are starting nearly at zero. No one has had the calling I have since last June, and nine of our twelve units don’t even have a functioning ward mission leader who lives within the boundaries of the unit. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it (and not mentioning the two rounds of golf I played this week).

Report Number Nine

Monday, September 1, started the week well enough. Three men went hunting in the afternoon and came back at 11:00 p.m. with the first buffalo kill.

Levi had a disagreement on this date with Captain Willie. Levi felt the order of the procession was out of whack. Levi felt that the handcart-support wagons should be in line immediately after the handcarts that they were supporting, which makes good sense from a practical standpoint. Instead, Captain Willie insisted that the PEF wagons that supported the handcarts bring up the rear behind the independent wagons.

Some of the tension on this issue related no doubt to the question of who should eat the most dust every day. If the wind was just wrong, you traveled in a continuous dust cloud. It’s akin to the old sled dog adage: “If you ain’t the lead dog, then the scenery never changes.” The point is that tensions were running a little high at this point in time. Of course, Captain Willie’s point of view prevailed because he was the captain.

On September 2, the company was late getting started because they had to cut, weigh, and parcel out 1.5 pounds of buffalo meat per person. They were on the move by about 9:00 a.m.

September 3 brought the first death in about three weeks of travel. She was an older sickly sister who had been carried in a handcart ever since leaving Iowa City. (Seems like a Chevy Chase movie picked up on this idea.) They took the time to bury her five-feet deep and erect a tombstone, a luxury that would not be afforded the bodies of the dead only six weeks “down the road,” so to speak.

Two friendly and overly curious buffaloes made the mistake of walking within rifle range of the camp, and both defenseless animals were gunned down in cold blood. This resulted in 2.0 pounds of meat per person, but the meat had to be cooked over a woodless fire of buffalo chips. Buffalo meat has plenty of natural flavor without adding the flavor of buffalo chips. (As you know, there is no connection between buffalo chips and potato chips.)

The travelers were better supplied in food as a result of the buffaloes, but the distances they were traveling were greatly reduced by the buffalo-related activities. It takes time just to clean the burly rascals.

Sometime that night and well before daylight the next day, there occurred a grave misfortune. There is not a great deal of information in the journals about the exact details of the cause, but there was a disastrous stampede. Thirty head of cattle were lost, including almost all of the trained oxen used to pull the wagons. This proved to be the single largest disaster yet to occur.

About the same time as the stampede, there erupted a raging windstorm with lightning and thunder. This natural event could have been the primary cause of the stampede. Not a single one of the animals was ever recovered, despite the large number of man-hours and resources dedicated to their recovery.

On Thursday, September 4, Babbitt came to the camp and told the company of an expected battle between nearby Cheyenne and the U.S. Army. This raised the already-high anxiety level of the travelers considerably.

All of this day, and all of the next to the end of daylight on Friday, September 5, were expended searching for the lost cattle. Captain Savage led a mule company in vain, and other groups on foot had the same bad luck. (My wild guess is that wild Indians on horseback saw them and herded them away. Everything makes somebody happy, even if it’s the undertaker.)

On Friday, two notable personalities in Mormon history met with the handcart company that evening. Orin Porter Rockwell and Abraham O. Smoot were leading separate wagon trains to the valley and were passing nearby. They lent their experienced minds to a consideration by the leaders of a solution to the pressing and perplexing problem—more heavy wagons to haul than they had animals to haul them.

On Saturday, September 6, circumstances dictated that they attempt a new method of travel. The few animals they had were used to haul seven of the wagons six miles, and then the same animals were taken back to the camp and used to haul the remaining five wagons the same six miles. They were yoking wild cows and untrained milk cows to pull as oxen. Their daily progress by this method amounted to only about 1/3 of their pre-buffalo-country progress. The procedure was not workable, and the stress level of the sojourners to Zion was on the rise.

Sunday’s long journal entries by all of the journal keepers reflected the foreboding seriousness of their plight. Speeches, interspersed with some singing (including “How Firm A Foundation”) were given all day long. [By the way, the words of Hie to Kolob had not yet been put to the old English musical tune to which it is sung today. That combination first appeared in the 1985 hymnbook. We are both mighty glad you are learning this fact far too late to eliminate some of the great music in your previous movies.]

The leaders asked the independent wagon owners to consecrate their wagons and animals to the good of the entire group. Further, those who had ridden in the independent wagons or walked beside them carefree were asked to assist with the pulling of the carts. Further, it was proposed that some of the flour in one of the PEF wagons and some of the tents in another PEF wagon be distributed to the handcarts. This added substantially to the burden of the human draft animals. The leaders were unanimously (although inwardly with reluctance on the part of some) sustained in these requests. By these changes, they were hoping to be able to travel between 10 and 15 miles per day.

We will see how they did in the next episode. Stay tuned.

Respectfully submitted,

John E. Enslen

[End of Report Number Nine]

T.C.:

Here’s another one-week report of handcart history. I will be very glad when I get to the time frame that you have not yet filmed. I had much rather prevent than point out errors. I need to speed up my output with your filming recommencing in early December. General Conference and college football are the main distractions today.

Report Number Ten

This report will cover the period September 8-14, 1856, a Monday through Sunday. I suppose the most eventful occurrence during this week is the visit of Franklin D. Richards and his party.

Monday, September 8, was expended redistributing wagon loads to handcarts and performing the rodeo-like job of training milk cows to pull a wagon in yoked tandem.

A lone horseback traveler named Bauicter (or perhaps Boerichter) came into camp and gave a grisly report of an Indian attack on a small eastbound party with which he had been traveling. The party appears to have been two families of Mormons who decided to leave Salt Lake and return to the east. (I can provide more detail on this incident if you are interested.) His report would have raised concern amongst the members of the company.

The available journals are reduced by one on this date. Peder Madsen’s journal abruptly ends, although he would live for almost two more months, dying in Echo Canyon. The cessation of his journaling might reflect a personal sense of surrender to a doomed fate, but that is just my conjecture.

On Tuesday, September 9, the company entered the sand dune hills area of Nebraska, and they had to double-team the animals for much of the day. By their estimates, they had traveled 285 miles from Florence (Winter Quarters).

On September 10, the brethren had to carry the sisters across a large stream. This was done mainly because of the sisters’ long skirts that became very heavy if soaked in water. The traveling conditions were worse than the preceding day due to the increased prevalence of sand dunes. They covered ten miles. There was no wood for the fires at evening, only buffalo chips.

Thursday, September 11, brought better roads and thus more progress. They were still in buffalo country, and a buffalo was killed this day. They camped for the evening a few miles past (west of) present day North Platte, Nebraska.

On September 12, Captain Atwood took action against some habitual late sleepers. They had been leaving later and later each day. Some of the members were sleeping in their tents for up to 1.5 hours after the horn sounded for arising. Pursuant to a previous threat, Atwood pulled down and away a tent containing sleeping inhabitants, exposing them to some laughter and ridicule. He had evidently gathered a little crowd before performing the appearance act.

Buffalo meat was eaten for breakfast. They did not have the means or time for drying the meat, so it had to be consumed soon after the kill due to quick spoilage.

It was in the evening of this day that Franklin D. Richards arrived with three carriages and two wagons. He was well received by the company. They held an evening meeting wherein Brother William C. Dunbar of the Richard’s company began the meeting by singing a solo hymn. Dunbar was a returning missionary who had lost his wife and two children in the explosion of the steamboat Saluda in 1852.

I have the substance of Richard’s speech that night, but I suspect you would not be interested since you have already filmed that portion of the movie. He was basically optimistic and encouraging about their future travels and God’s protection of them. (Contrary to the movie scene already filmed, it would be in the daylight of the next morning, as opposed to the prior evening’s meeting, that Franklin would give another speech which contained the anti-Savage element.) Both of Richards’ two counselors (Daniel Spencer and Cyrus Wheelock) spoke this evening following Richards.

Franklin took an inventory of the people, animals, and their supplies so that he could give a report of the same to Brigham Young.

On the morning of September 13, the people arose earlier. I cannot determine whether this was because of the tent-pulling incident or because visiting authority Richards was present, or both. There was another meeting commenced with a Dunbar solo. In his address to the people, Richards confirmed Captain Willie as their absolute authority. (I believe they had a fear of Savage’s charisma, popularity, and natural leadership ability. I will tell you one thing that is almost certain. Any man who had traveled to California with the Mormon Battalion had endured unimaginable hardship, deprivation, and sacrifices for the Kingdom and was entitled to and received hero status in the eyes of the ordinary man. It is a shame you do not have the time to increase Savage’s heroic status by showing more of what he endured as a member of the Mormon Battalion.)

Both Savage’s and Woodward’s journal for this day reflect that the purpose of a significant part of Richard’s speech was to chastise and reprimand Savage for his comments in Florence and his recent confrontation with Willie regarding the procession order of the independent wagons. The humble and dutiful Savage asked for forgiveness. The Savage chastisement was a daylight episode, and not an evening episode. My supposition is that Willie reported to Richards the preceding evening, following their night meeting, his disappointment with Savage at least in these two regards.

Richards instructed the company to cross the Platte River at their current location instead of following the normal Mormon trail to Ft. Laramie. It is not improbable that this instruction saved the life of many, if not all, because it placed the mile-wide river between the company and the marauding Indian band that was attacking other trains. I think in the next life we will learn about many situations wherein our leaders were inspired to save us from physical and spiritual danger.

When Richards and his party departed, they received from the company three hip-hip-hurrahs and a fresh killed calf.

As a result of Richards’ instruction, most of the day was spent crossing the river which, as I said, was one-mile wide at this point and not a regular crossing place.

There was a death this evening. Remember the old man who was lost on August 28, 66-year-old William Haley? He is the one who died basically from old age.

On the morning of Sunday, September 14, a funeral service was held for Brother Haley and he was buried. They then made reasonable progress and benefited from the killing of two buffalo that evening.

That’s it for this report. I need to go listen to General Conference.

With appreciation,

John E. Enslen

[End of Report Number Ten]

T. C.:

Dianne sends her “thanks” for the script. I know she will enjoy reading it.

We hope that you enjoyed Conference today.

Here is another handcart history report.

Report Number Eleven

This handcart history report will cover the one-week period of September 15-21, 1856, a Monday through Sunday.

On Monday, September 15, the company was still traveling the south side of the North Platte River. Another 66-year-old man died this date.

This afternoon, the company met with three Arapaho Indians with bows and arrows. Using sign language, the Indians warned the travelers about a nearby Sioux raiding party and invited the company to camp with them away from the river. The leery company declined the invitation and with their own sign language let them know that they had plenty of rifles and bullets.

This night, they kept a vigilant guard, and the cows were chained to the wagons. No cows were lost and the evening passed uneventfully. The feed and water were poor at this location.

On Tuesday, September 16, they followed a pre-determined plan to arise at 3:00 a.m. and depart by 4:00 a.m. They traveled in the bluffs area.

It was on this date that Agnes Caldwell (age nine) and Mary Hurren (age seven) held hands as they jumped over rattlesnakes for a long distance.

On Wednesday, September 17, their departure was delayed due to the need to repair broken handcarts. They were able to leave at 9:30 a.m. They fought cold heavy winds and sandy roads all day long, making only ten miles this day.

Here is a non-miracle that you may not know about. Ellen Cantwell (age seven) was not so lucky with the rattlesnakes. She was bitten on the hand while playing in the sand, probably during the noon stop. She endured and survived the bite with the aid of some whiskey. (Mormons always seemed to have some whiskey around, but I am sure it was for medicinal purposes only.) Unfortunately, she was not fully recovered until the next January, and her hand was permanently scarred.

On Wednesday, September 18, the travelers awoke to their first heavy frost. But it was still hot during the middle of this day and the next. They departed camp at 9:00 a.m. and traveled away from the river due to marshes and cliffs along the river. They had to double-team the wagons in the bluffs.

Remember Nancy Stewart who was added to the group when Babbitt deposited her with the company on August 31 following an Indian attack on his party? Today she became lost in a forested area, taking a wrong turn when she was out in front of the company. Efforts were expended to find her during the afternoon and evening, but they were unsuccessful.

On the morning of Friday, September 19, they killed a cow to eat. I suspect they chose whichever animal was the least cooperative in the pulling of wagons. Two different search parties were dispatched to continue their efforts to find Sister Stewart. Other men stayed to repair handcarts which needed axles. There were lots of trees in the area, and a few men took their axes and went to look for trees they could cut for suitable axles.

Sister Stewart heard the axe chopping and found her way to the group cutting the trees. The two search parties continued their unnecessary searching and returned that night to find that Sister Stewart was fortunately already in the camp. During Sister Stewart’s 36 hours of being lost, she experienced a nerve-racking night alone and an encounter with a wolf pack that followed her for some of the time.

Saturday, September 20, was cool following a midst of rain that continued through some of the day. The axle repairs were not completed until afternoon, and the company did not break camp until 2:00 p.m. The roads were a little better this day. Due to Sister Stewart’s foray and the need to repair handcarts, little progress had been made of late in distances traveled.

On Sunday, September 21, they were still having trouble with a couple of handcarts and did not break camp until 9:00 a.m. It was wet and unpleasant, and the wet sandy roads made for difficult travel.

They suffered their third death in eight days. A two-year-old male child died of “canker in the stomach.” The number of sick was increasing, thus increasing the number riding in wagons.

That’s my report for today. I will try to get you another week soon, and then we will be in the month of October.

On another matter, I have a really nice, fairly large, framed photo of C. J. McMillan with a metal plate on it giving his birth and death dates. [Elder C. J. McMillan, a young fulltime missionary in Wetumpka, Alabama, was killed by a drunk truck driver in November of 1974.] I would like to see the photo put in the hands of one of his family members. Do you have an address for his brother Craig or any other family member to whom we could ship it?

With appreciation,

John E. Enslen

[End of Report Number Eleven]

T.C.:

Thanks for sending Craig’s address. [Craig McMillan is the brother of Elder C. J. McMillan who was killed in Wetumpka, Alabama in 1974 while serving a fulltime mission. Elder McMillan was riding his bicycle when he was hit in the rear by an intoxicated truck driver. I had a large portrait of Elder McMillan that I wanted to send to his brother in Layton, Utah.] That was kind of you to take the time to do that. We have previously been to the home located at that address and recognize the street name and number.

Report Number Twelve

This report of handcart history will close out an important chapter of the trek—the achievement of a milestone. The Saints will finally complete their arduous travels through the expansive Nebraska Territory and reach the outskirts of Ft. Laramie, Wyoming.

Chronicled below are eight days: Monday, September 22 through Monday, September 29, 1856 inclusive. This time period consisted largely of humdrum, monotonous, exhausting walking and pulling. The physical demands on their bodies were taxing them to their limits. Their spirits were low, and there was not much cause for excitement about anything. The personal goal to survive the day so that he or she could crawl into a tent for rest at night seemed almost insurmountable, and it did become insurmountable for some, especially some of the older ones.

On the Monday of September 22, the body of the two-year-old boy, William N. Leason, was buried at 7:00 a.m., after which the company was on the road again. The weather was getting colder, but the middle of the day remained warm. They traveled 18 miles that day according to Willie’s journal and 12 miles according to Savage’s journal. Perhaps that difference provides a miniature glance at their differing personalities. Savage seemed to have a more pessimistic, perhaps more realistic under their circumstances, view of things and Willie seemed to have a more optimistic view of things. The actual distance traveled that day was probably somewhere between 14 and 16 miles.

Jesse Empy, age 31, died in the mid-afternoon. They continued to carry his lifeless body with them, not wanting to stop for a burial. He had sores on his hands and arms. The journals say he died of “scrofula.” That word is no longer in technical use. It was almost interchangeable with the word “tuberculosis” prior to a better scientific understanding of that disease. During this era, it most often meant tuberculosis of the lymphatic glands.

On Tuesday, September 23, Empy’s body was buried first thing in the morning, and the company rolled out at 8:30 a.m. in cold and fog. Some were still not arising early, and they were being strongly urged by their leaders to make greater progress in their travels. Some of the tired and weary Saints interpreted this urging to be “harsh treatment,” but considering their circumstances, their complaints of harsh treatment would be more akin to “murmuring.” Their exhaustion caused many to simply hold on to the wagons during the day when occasion permitted so as to lessen their burden of walking.

The roads were getting a little better, but there were still plenty of sand spots in them.

On Wednesday, September 24, they were able to break camp by 7:30 a.m. After an uneventful day of travel, they camped that evening two miles from Chimney Rock. A cow was killed to share with the company. The leaders evidently felt that a substantial meal would lift everyone’s spirits. A night meeting was held at which Willie, Atwood, and Savage all spoke.

On Thursday, September 25, the roads continued to improve as they drew nearer to Ft. Laramie. This day they found a stray horse and added him to the caravan. They passed two vacated Joseph Robidoux trading posts. It was so late in the season that the trading posts were closed and without supplies. These trading posts were located about three miles west of present day Melbeta, Nebraska.

On Friday, September 26, a journal describes the roads as “half sandy and half not.” Whether the wheels were in two inches of sand or four inches of sand or six inches of sand made significant differences in burden to those who were pulling the carts.

The trail split in the Scott’s Bluff area, and they took the older Robidoux Pass. They traveled 14 miles without water, and that evening water remained scarce. By damming a trickling stream, they were able to produce a place where the cows could drink water.

During this day, 69-year-old Ann Bryant was found dead in her wagon in a sitting position. The majority of those dying of late had been the older people. Note that the deaths to this point, which are mounting in number, had nothing to do with the early snows or frigid weather conditions, although their numbers are often included by writers in describing the disastrous effects of the early snows.

On the morning of Saturday, September 27, they buried the body of Sister Bryant. Their travels that day united them with the former trail located on the south side of the Platte River where feed and water were more plentiful. They camped that evening near the Nebraska/Wyoming border.

September 28 was a Sunday, but Sundays had become just another day of travel, and the days of the week held little meaning for them at this point in time. This day they met a train of 11 wagons consisting of approximately 100 apostate Saints from the Salt Lake area who had decided to return to the east. You may recall my report of two other apostate families who were killed by Indians a few days earlier. Not much has been written in Church history about a somewhat steady stream of those who forsook Zion and returned to a more civilized environment back east. They were larger in number than one might suppose from reading the standard Church histories. No one in Willie’s company appears to have even considered joining the apostates. At this point in time, the handcart travelers would have felt themselves nearer to Salt Lake than the apostate’s eastern destination, and they had an expectation that they would be resupplied at Ft. Laramie. But above all that, their actions indicate that they still had a deep and abiding testimony in their call to gather to Zion.

From the apostates, the company learned that Colonel Babbitt and his two men had been killed by Cheyenne Indians. The report of the apostates was confirmed shortly thereafter when a company of U. S. soldiers met the handcart company and confiscated the earlier-found stray horse without discussing the matter with Captain Willie.

There had been a long series of retaliatory massacres and battles in this particular area between Indians and soldiers. In 1854, Sioux Indians had killed 30 soldiers who were trying to capture the Indians that had taken a cow from a Mormon caravan. In 1855, there was a retaliatory massacre of 86 Lakota Indians by 600 soldiers under Harney who had the advantage of new long-range rifles. (Military action might be taken against the Indians of one tribe as retribution for the actions of an entirely different tribe. In the eyes of the army, the only good Indian was a dead Indian.) At the time the handcart companies came through this area, the Indians were cross-retaliating by preying on the wagon trains. This handcart company in their weakened condition would have been easy prey to a surprise attack by the Indians, and it is a miracle in itself that they were never attacked. One must wonder if the strangeness of their site might not have aroused some type of taboo in the minds of the superstitious Indians. It is near certain that the lack of a large number of animals was a deterrent to the Indians. The Indians had acquired a taste for beef over the taste of buffalo, and understandably felt justified in replacing buffalos killed by white men with cattle belonging to white men. (Unrelated, it is a miracle that no one died of cholera, perhaps the most common cause of wagon-train travel.)

Following their travels of Monday, September 29, the company camped within four miles of Ft. Laramie. They chose this distance from the fort so that their cattle could at least have something to eat, even if it was weeds and the leaves of young cottonwood trees.

Captain Willie and Brother Elder went to Ft. Laramie to pick up any mail and assess the situation with respect to their resupply. Letters from Richards reported that no cattle or other provisions were left for them at the fort. I do not believe we have the letters or their explanative details. This news would have been devastating to the company, producing an even more ominous outlook in the minds of those who already envisioned a very bleak future for themselves. The weather was beginning to turn colder. Seven of their number had been buried during the trek across Nebraska, four of those being over age 60.

Well, Brother T. C., I am finally about to reach the un-filmed winter scenes. I will feel better about my miniscule contribution, if any, to your magnificent endeavor when I do so. Thus far, I have been like the officer who goes out onto the battlefield after the battle is completely over and shoots the severely wounded amongst his own soldiers.

Vaya con Dios, mi amigo.

John

[End of Report Number Twelve]

T.C.:

This report comes from the beautiful, sunny, sugar sand, thankfully oil-less beach in Orange Beach, Alabama. We are staying at a beach condo here for a few days after speaking and holding church meetings at the branch in Selma, Alabama, yesterday. I will try to get you another report before we depart for home.

Report Number Thirteen

This is a six-day report. It will cover Tuesday, September 30 through Sunday, October 5, 1856. Using this time frame will return my reports to a one-week (Monday through Sunday) reporting cycle.
On Tuesday, September 30, it became generally known amongst the company, to their dismay, that Richards had left no supplies for them at Ft. Laramie. (With regard to provisions that were to be sent to another location, two different shipments of provisions for the company were sent by Richards to Pacific Springs. For some reason, neither shipment ever made it to Pacific Springs. It is not known at this modern date exactly what happened to either of the shipments.)

Cattle, food, and wagons could not be obtained from any trader at Ft. Laramie. A company cow and calf were killed for the PEF members. The owners of, and travelers in, the four independent wagons were requested to stay at the fort and await the next company. They believed the Hunt and Hodgett wagon trains were likely only a week behind them. As it would turn out, the four independent wagons would prove to be of assistance to the Martin Handcart Company.

The company camped three miles west of Ft. Laramie where there was a wide river valley. This is where the Laramie River joins the North Platte River.

That evening, or in the early morning hours, several sisters abandoned the camp and took up residence in the fort. One of them named Davenport left to associate with an apostate Mormon named Forsdick who was living at the fort
.
Other women, to their everlasting credit, turned down offers from soldiers and traders to abandon the journey to Zion.

On Wednesday, October 1, they did not break camp until noon. There were now four PEF wagons remaining with the company. They traveled seven miles before setting up camp on the Platte River.

Willie and a few men returned to the fort and procured a barrel of hardtack (dried bread) which would later prove to be the last food the Willie handcart Saints ate before running out of food on October 20.

There were two deaths this date: David Reeder, age 54, who died early in the day; and William Read, age 63, who died late in the day.

Parley P. Pratt, a member of the Twelve, was camped this evening with some other missionaries about four miles upriver from the handcart company.

Woodward quit keeping his personal journal the next day because he was appointed Company Clerk on this date. Thus, he began to author the company journal on a daily basis. He would faithfully do so until the company arrived in Salt Lake City.

On Thursday, October 2, Parley P. Pratt and other missionaries, including Thomas Bullock, visited the camp. Pratt gave a mid-day sermon. (Pratt was on his last mission as he would be killed in Arkansas within a few months.) Willie accompanied Pratt to the fort and then returned to the camp in the evening and called a meeting. At the meeting, Willie, Atwood, and Savage addressed the people. They had done so in this same order on previous occasions. The theme of their talks dealt with the need to shorten their rations. They reduced the flour ration from one pound per day per person to 12 ounces per day per person.

On Friday, October 3, the company left the river and amazingly walked 21 miles through rough country. There was no water or animal food at this campsite, and the people were utterly exhausted from the day’s travel.

Peter Larsen, age 43, died.

During the day, one 18-year-old young man lay down in the shafts of his handcart and started crying. One of the leaders (unnamed in the journal) slapped him in the face. The young man got up with a changed attitude and began to run with his handcart.

On Saturday, October 4, the company was still so fatigued from the previous day’s 21-mile trek that they traveled only three miles. That brought them to a water source, and they decided to spend the remainder of the day washing their clothes and resting.

There was some internal stealing of provisions in this reduced-ration atmosphere. (This might have included dipping deeper into one’s rations than allowed as opposed to taking some other person’s rations.) To combat the problem, all of the food was transferred to three wagons and a guard was assigned to watch the food. That would have lightened the handcarts, but not by much at this particular time.

Death was now heavily stalking the company. On this date, Daniel Gadd, age 2, died. Benjamin Culley, age 61, died. George Ingra, age 68, died. George Ingra’s wife had died on September 3, and the two of them left no survivors. (68 members of the company would eventually die. That number includes those who had already died by this point in time.)

On this day, Franklin D. Richards arrived in Salt Lake City and reported on the company to President Young and others.

On Sunday, October 5, the handcart company covered 15 miles on well-traveled roads. They forded a low North Platte River and camped.

Take care, T. C.

John E. Enslen

[End of Report Number Thirteen]

T.C.:

I was still at the beach last Wednesday and Thursday when I penned most of the following report. We left that day and returned to our river condo in Wetumpka—about 200 miles away. I spoke that evening at a steak dinner for the 27 seniors on our undefeated high school football team, and the next morning I helped to cook a game-day pancake breakfast for the entire 80-man team. It is good for our Church to be involved with this type of service in the community. We are breaking down barriers over time. It doesn’t hurt that the team won last night 40-0 and secured the regional championship for the first time since 1995. We will have home field advantage in the playoffs.

The weather was beautiful there at the beach. The water is still warm enough for swimming, even in mid-October. If you ever want to take a wonderful and wonderfully cheap vacation, then fly to Alabama and let Dianne and me take you and Sister Christensen to the beach. We would love to host you for several days.

What’s happening in your neck of the woods?

Report Number Thirteen-A

This report of handcart history will cover the one-week period of Monday, October 6 through Sunday, October 12, 1856. The temperature is dropping significantly, and the cold is now another adverse factor—heaped on top of the already short food rations. The Saints and the animals are being pushed to their limit in order to cover as much distance as possible each day. The daily distance traveled on the average is quite good as compared with earlier weeks.

There are now two less journals available—Woodward’s and Madsen’s personal journals no longer exist. The entries in the two remaining journals, the company and Savage journals, have become short, cryptic, and terse. There are two obvious reasons for this. One is the dire situation in which they find themselves. The other is the total exhaustion that plagues the writers. This extreme exhaustion results from a combination of malnourishment and the physical demands of travel.

On Monday, October 6, they covered 16 miles with the exhausted oxen or cows in the rear of the caravan. They still rest or “noon” for a time during the middle of each day as a break from their travels.

On Tuesday, October 7, they continued to travel the route along the flatter river bottom instead of the hillier route, but this bottom route requires three more river crossings than the other route. They forded the Platte River again this date, but the water level was relatively low, and there was no unusual difficulty in crossing the river. They were able to travel a distance of 15 miles before camping.

On Wednesday, October 8, one of their best ox died, supposedly from eating poisonous weeds. They evidently did not eat this ox for that reason because they killed a cow that evening after traveling 15 miles for the second day in a row. Savage’s journal stated that “old people are failing fast.”

On Thursday, October 9, 42-year-old Samuel Gadd died. His two-year-old son had died only five days earlier on October 4. They traveled 16.5 miles and camped on the banks of the Platte River. Under their current circumstances, less energy is available to expend on funeral and burial services, and such services become rather matter of fact as in times of war.

On Friday, October 10, they arrived at a trading post located at the Platte River Bridge. This was a toll bridge built by mountain man John Reshaw in 1852. (I believe that this may have been the same mountain man who led the Alabama and Mississippi Saints 300 miles south from Ft. Laramie to Pueblo in 1846. That story would make for another great movie.) At this trading post, Franklin D. Richards had made prior arrangements for 37 buffalo robes to be delivered to the Saints. Disappointingly, there were no much-needed food provisions awaiting them there.

The camp did not cross the river at this toll bridge, but traveled six miles further up river and crossed at that point. The water level was still low, and there was no need to pay a toll, even if they had the resources to do so.

On Saturday, October 11, they had to leave the river bottom and commence their travels in more elevated country. They progressed 12 miles. Three working cows gave out and quit. Another one died. In addition to their difficult pulls, these animals had not been getting the quality or quantity of feed that they needed.

It was during this time frame and during the forthcoming week that several miracles occurred that would be chronicled later by the participants, there being no contemporaneous journal entries recording the same. I do not know which, if any, of the following miracles are a part of your “17.” I have chosen not to read the script until I finish all of my reporting. That way, it will be you, and not I, that discover or take note of any discrepancies.

Here are five episodes that could be considered miraculous in some degree:

THE END


[Except for attached photos of T.C. taken by John E. Enslen during the early filming of 17 Miracles]

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