Part 46 (1/2)

”It is scattered over an area of eight or ten square miles, and contains from 1500 to 2000 houses, four-fifths of which, at least, are wretched cabins of no permanent value whatever. There are, however, 200 or 300 houses, large and small, built of brick and other desirable material.

Such will mostly sell, though many of them, owing to the distance from the river and other unfavorable circ.u.mstances, only at a very great sacrifice.” *

* ”A score or more of chimneys on the northern boundary of the city marked the site of houses deliberately burned for fuel during the winter of 1845-1846.”--Hanc.o.c.k Eagle, May 29,1846.

A general epistle to the church from the Twelve, dated Winter Quarters, December 23, 1847, stated that the property of the Saints in Hanc.o.c.k County was ”little or no better than confiscated.” *

* See John Taylor's address, p. 411 post.

CHAPTER II. -- FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MISSOURI

The first party to leave Nauvoo began crossing the Mississippi early in February, 1846, using flatboats propelled by oars for the wagons and animals, and small boats for persons and the lighter baggage. It soon became colder and snow fell, and after the 16th those who remained were able to cross on the ice.

Brigham Young, with a few attendants, had crossed on February 10, and selected a point on Sugar Creek as a gathering place.* He seems to have returned secretly to the city for a few days to arrange for the departure of his family, and Lee says that he did not have teams enough at that time for their conveyance, adding, ”such as were in danger of being arrested were helped away first.” John Taylor says that those who crossed the river in February included the Twelve, the High Council, and about four hundred families.**

* ”Mormonism Unveiled,” p. 171.

** ”February 14 I crossed the river with my family and teams, and encamped not far from the Sugar Creek encampment, taking possession of a vacant log house on account of the extreme cold.”--P. P. Pratt, ”Autobiography,” p. 378.

”Camp of Israel” was the name adopted for the camp in which President Young and the Twelve might be, and this name moved westward with them.

The camp on Sugar Creek was the first of these, and there, on February 17, Young addressed the company from a wagon. He outlined the journey before them, declaring that order would be preserved, and that all who wished to live in peace when the actual march began ”must toe the mark,”

ending with a call for a show of hands by those who wanted to make the move. The vote in favor of going West was unanimous.*

* ”At a Council in Nauvoo of the men who were to act as the captains of the people in that famous exodus, one after the other brought up difficulties in their path, until the prospect was without one poor speck of daylight. The good nature of George A. Smith was provoked at last, when he sprang up and observed, with his quaint humor, that had now a touch of the grand in it, 'If there is no G.o.d in Israel we are a sucked-in set of fellows. But I am going to take my family and the Lord will open the way.'”--Tullidge, ”History of Salt Lake City,”

p.17.

The turning out of doors in midwinter of so many persons of all ages and both s.e.xes, accustomed to the shelter of comfortable homes, entailed much suffering. A covered wagon or a tent is a poor protection from wintry blasts, and a camp fire in the open air, even with a bright sky overhead, is a poor subst.i.tute for a stove. Their first move, therefore, gave the emigrants a taste of the trials they were to endure. While they were at Sugar Creek the thermometer dropped to 20 degrees below zero, and heavy falls of snow occurred. Several children were born at this point, before the actual Western journey began, and the sick and the feeble entered upon their sufferings at once. Before that camp broke up it was found necessary, too, to buy grain for the animals.

The camp was directly in charge of the Twelve until the Chariton River was reached. There, on March 27, it was divided into companies containing from 50 to 60 wagons, the companies being put in charge of captains of fifties and captains of tens--suggesting Smith's ”Army of Zion.” The captains of fifties were responsible directly to the High Council. There were also a commissary general, and, for each fifty, a contracting commissary ”to make righteous distribution of grains and provisions.” Strict order was maintained by day while the column was in motion, and, whenever there was a halt, special care was taken to secure the cattle and the horses, while at night watches were constantly maintained. The story of the march to the Missouri does not contain a mention of any hostile meeting with Indians.

The company remained on Sugar Creek for about a month, receiving constant accessions from across the river, and on the first of March the real westward movement began. The first objective point was Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the Missouri River, about 400 miles distant; but on the way several camps were established, at which some of the emigrants stopped to plant seeds and make other arrangements for the comfort of those who were to follow. The first of these camps was located at Richardson's Point in Lee County, Iowa, 55 miles from Nauvoo; the next on Chariton River; the next on Locust Creek; the next, named by them Garden Grove, on a branch of Grand River, some 150 miles from Nauvoo; and another, which P. P. Pratt named Mt. Pisgah, on Grand River, 138 miles east of Council Bluffs. The camp on the Missouri first made was called Winter Quarters, and was situated just north of the present site of Omaha, where the town now called Florence is located. It was not until July that the main body arrived at Council Bluffs.

The story of this march is a remarkable one in many ways. Begun in winter, with the ground soon covered with snow, the travellers encountered arctic weather, with the inconveniences of ice, rain, and mud, until May. After a snowfall they would have to sc.r.a.pe the ground when they had selected a place for pitching the tents. After a rain, or one of the occasional thaws, the country (there were no regular roads) would be practically impa.s.sable for teams, and they would have to remain in camp until the water disappeared, and the soil would bear the weight of the wagons after it was corduroyed with branches of trees. At one time bad roads caused a halt of two or three weeks. Fuel was not always abundant, and after a cold night it was no unusual thing to find wet garments and bedding frozen stiff in the morning. Here is an extract from Orson Pratt's diary:--”April 9. The rain poured down in torrents.

With great exertion a part of the camp were enabled to get about six miles, while others were stuck fast in the deep mud. We encamped at a point of timber about sunset, after being drenched several hours in rain. We were obliged to cut brush and limbs of trees, and throw them upon the ground in our tents, to keep our beds from sinking in the mud.

Our animals were turned loose to look out for themselves; the bark and limbs of trees were their princ.i.p.al food.” **

* Millennial Star, Vol. XI, p. 370.

Game was plenty,--deer, wild turkeys, and prairie hens,--but while the members of this party were better supplied with provisions than their followers, there was no surplus among them, and by April many families were really dest.i.tute of food. Eliza Snow mentions that her brother Lorenzo--one of the captains of tens--had two wagons, a small tent, a cow, and a scanty supply of provisions and clothing, and that ”he was much better off than some of our neighbors.” Heber C. Kimball, one of the Twelve, says of the situation of his family, that he had the ague, and his wife was in bed with it, with two children, one a few days old, lying by her, and the oldest child well enough to do any household work was a boy who could scarcely carry a two-quart pail of water. Mrs. F.

D. Richards, whose husband was ordered on a mission to England while the camp was at Sugar Creek, was prematurely confined in a wagon on the way to the Missouri. The babe died, as did an older daughter. ”Our situation,” she says, ”was pitiable; I had not suitable food for myself or my child; the severe rain prevented our having any fire.”