Mart Martins ns Handcart 1856 BY JOSIAH ROGERSON No 6 G t My last lam chapter concluded with the death of oC Aaron Jackson and the first on the North Platte river Returning to my tent from the then nights n guarding I found there in one of the most moat touching pictures of grief and bereavement in the annals ann ls of our Journey Mrs Irs Jackson apparently but Just awakened from her slumber was sitting Bitting by the side of or her dead hus husband husband husband band her face suffused in tears and her bursts burst of grief and walls waits of sorrow would wring her hands bands and andt tear tar t ar her beautiful head of ot hair hall her children blending their cries of Path Fath ei et with that of the mother This was love 10 this was yas ns affection grief of the heart and amI bereavement the like of which I havo hava never seen since and would have immortalized any artist by its faithful portraiture a counterpart of the death scene of Minnehaha Aarons arons demise was not the only one by a half dozen that night but I am writing only what wha I saw and know Traveling In the Snow At t midnight the snow was four or five inches deep and some more fell before daylight It was a wet ret heavy hean and the striking of oC our tents this morning was hard work Brother Journal for today Monday Oc October October October tober 20 is blank and the same on Tuesday October 21 and the toe and while his memory says we were snow snowbound snowbound snowbound bound these three thre days I must for tor the fhe first time kindly differ with him as it itIs its Is 28 s miles from the crossing of the North Platte to the Red fled Buttes which ve we reached on Thursday Octo October October ber her 23 1856 18 6 The morning after the first snow October 20 I remember well our travel travelIng traveling Ing and that the wind blew and the snow Jell f ll and beat in our faces all the time while making only four or five miles As we tugged and pulled our carts the snow stuck and rolled up on th tires two and three Inches deep the ground having been een quite dry be before before fore tore the snow fell While it thawed th wed some today as the snow fell it must have been six or eight inches deep this afternoon when we camped earn Red The next day lay Tuesday October 21 we made an another other four or five miles with the wind and snow falling and beating in our faces and on Wednesday October 22 I Ido Ido Ido do not remember traveling as the last two days pulling in the snow had wilt wilted wilted wilted ed and downed the best and strongest of our company The Red Buttes On the next day Thursday October 23 Brother Bleak says traveled five miles today reaching the Red Buttes where we camped cam d for the night I have talked with numbers of our com corn company company pany since then as to the last four days daysi i and the least distance e computed from fromI I our memories and traveled has been forty miles though only in fact sixteen but they were the longest forty miles we e evir r covered Tonight or the next morning Cap Captain Captain tain tam Martin must have taken an inventory Inventory inventory tory of the physical condition of his company and realizing our predicament predicament ment with the snow clouds still hang hanging hangIng ing lug around us he must have decided not hot to place any more miles between us and the fort near the Platte bridge and the nearest source of ot supplies if I perchance we should be compelled to remain here for the winter The Wagon Companies True to their promise of assistance and protection since leaving Florence Neb Hunts and Hodgetts wagon companies would not pass or leave us usand usand usand and according to General Robert T Burtons Journal which will be blend blended ed with my narrative from now on to the close these two companies were camped only ony a mile mUe or two east of ours ourson ourson ourson on the North orth Platte and to the end Before General Burtons advance ex express express express press reaches us here Brother diary must come in again He says Friday October 24 In camp snow snowbound snowbound snowbound bound no travel Saturday October 25 The same as yesterday but this morning our rations were again reduced to eight ounces of ot flour for adults and four ounces for children Sunday October 26 In camp I Deaths at the Red Buttes I must now come in with a paragraph I or two from memory The weather at I night particularly had been very cold since we stopped here bere on the evening I of the with six to eight and more deaths every hours The aged and seemed In an hour or two to relinquish all their desire for life II fe passing away like an infant in slumber Dream DreamOn On the Sunday morning Just quoted the sun broke through the clouds at in intervals Intervals intervals shedding a few rays of warmth on the uncovered heads of the company I as M we stood in the snow about 8 or 9 a 0 m at our prayer meeting and im immediately Immediately immediately mediately after the supplication Broth Brother er Rodwell announced that during the night or early morning he had a very impressive dream presaging th future of our company He said I dreamed that it was Tuesday or Wednesday and about noontide as near as I could Judge I saw a mule packed with blankets and cooking utensils come right In the middle of our camp as we are now followed by three Californians wear blue soldier overcoats riding mules or horses They stopped and told us of teams and relief from the valley valle after which we started again on our Jour Journey journey journey ney Closed with a few more words that he ho believed we should all see this dream come true find and we felt then and every member in that snowbound camp every word of oJ that vision islon Relief Express From Utah Today passed and the weather seemed to abate in its severity Mon Monday Monday In day pared and the dream as yester yesterday yesterday day da was the theme of the camp Tue day morning came canie Prayer meeting was called with remarks rema s of hope com corn comfort comfort fort and cheer One meager bite for breakfast over the sun shone again a afew afew afew few at a time as on the Sun Sunday Sunday day referred to and noontide was ap approaching approaching approaching when all ati of a sudden Rudden the stillness of the camp was broken by shout of Joy and gladness the mule was in camp the mute messenger of f relief and life Ufe was there motionless and tame as a Shetland pony sur surrounded surrounded rounded by b a score of women and aged men all in lu tears and several of our mothers mother arms around his neck God GoJ was praised and the heavens were thanked We Ye saw sawall all this and we had been looking leaking for It for three days After a few minutes of this frantic joy joyin joyin in rode our rescuers Joseph A Young Dan Jnes and Abe Abc Garr Hand shak shah ing ng thanks and praises followed for some time and if there was a dry cheek in that company com pan it wasn t in the three of the relief express Imme Immediately Immediately a meeting was called the news and md particulars of the whereabouts of the relief teams from the valley vaHey made known a pound of flour per head or ordered ordered ordered dered to be issued to every adult and anda a proportionate amount for the chil children children children dren and the balance of the day da was spent In cooking baking and getting ready for another start in the morning morningto to reach some eight or ten of the mule and horse relief teams forty five miles west of us near the first crossing of jf the Sweetwater Sw and a few miles east of Devils Gate The pessimist and doubtful may think of the dream as they choose but butI I have recorded it as truthfully as it itcan Itcan itcan can be narrated Before leaving here I have two more entries from the diary to record Monday Oct 27 In camp at the j I Red Buttes Tuesday Oct 28 In ln camp Were met by Joseph A Young and others Recorder Bleak further says sas As told the brethren from Utah by b Cap Captain Captain tain tam Martin that fiftysix members of our company up UD to the time that we were met here today since leaving e Neb a distance of miles Snowbound at the Buttes We remained here five days and six nights and a column of Interesting in incidents Incidents incidents and detail could be added as asto asto asto to our ur stay here the depletion of our ranks scarcity of food and fuel the latter consisting of only green small willows and small Plate Platte thorns and the burial of our dead but the writer prefers to leave all this to be read as asa asa asa a corollary between the lines ipes The late historian John Jaques It that we stayed here eight or ten days but Brother diary Is confirmed by bythe b bythe the relief Journal Several of our oxen ocen died here out of the twelve yoke and numbers out of the two wagon companies The captains and members of the companies many came cameto I Ito to visit us daily One more incident which resulted in inthe Inthe inthe the death of one of ot our company and the life of the second only onh saved sayed by a hair and then to General R T Bur Burtons Burtons Burtons tons relief Journal Narrow Escape in the Platte We had been camped at the Red Buttes but two or three days d when the writer was detailed to go across the North Platte rIver Driver Iver apparently on the southeast of our o r camp with a man manfrom manfrom manfrom from the north of England fully six feet In height and a widower with one or two boys In his family We were to look up the oxen and loose cattle belonging to our camp and as many more as we e night might find belonging to the wagon companies The snow in this direction on the hills had melted faster than around our camp since we stopped and the cattle had rambled here for bare ground and feed This being a Joint service that day da for the benefit of the two wagon companies s as aswell aswell aswell well as our handcart company a young man was sent from one of their com corn company compan pany pan to carry us across the river horse horseback horseback horseback back the river In Its bed forming two or three and one too deep to wade The men and I were car carried red ried across soon after atter breakfast in the morning and closely following in our our trail a Danish Mormon from one of the wagon companies In search of one or his last cow cO that he found In a few Cew miles ml es from ha ho river The two of us v continued our search for the oxen as asfar astar asfar far tar as we w ere iere able and early in the afternoon having found l twenty or hirty head ead turned them back ack it to the river leaving them close to t some feed and cottonwood browsing Getting along towards sundown we reached the place where the Danish brother broter had killed the cow cw and as we remember was strapping and tying on onnis onis onis nis is horse the last quarter at the skirt of a thick grove 0 and gove close Iose to the river I had just fin finished finIshed finIshed his meal of ot broiled meat and leaving us u a good slice we broiled and ate ae it I for our supper Then the night commenced to close in while we were looking and watching and waiting waltg for forur jur ur young friend to come from the wagon vagn company compy as a he had promised and carry crY us back across the river It I became dark but no man with the horse and soon the sharp shap bark and yelping of Platte wolves was the only sound that came to our ears We turned turn and saw their red eyes eye spark sparkling sparkling ling and glistening in the moonlight between the trees tees the river In front of ofus ofus ofus us the te pack smelling the offal ofal head and hide left of the te cow ravenous for forthe forthe forthe the feast tet behind us Jumping to my feet I called caled for him to come on and andas andas andas as we ve made for the divisions of the river the wolves made for the remain remainder remainder der del of the carcass One division was wa waded and crossed with wih safety Mak Making ak akIng ing lug for the second the man following I was soon carried off m my feet but by struggling reached a sandbar An Another Another Another other yell yel of the wolves at their feast and preferring drowning to being eaten alive frantic with wih ibar and chilled to the marrow I plunged Into the third thir division but was soon off my feet again agin with ice and snow around me Catching a glimpse of a low place in inthe inthe Inthe the bank where we had come down in inthe tho the morning I made a last las attempt at swimming and grasping some willow or cottonwood roots that reached out In the water pulled myself to shore I Iwas Iwas Iwas was too nearly frozen to look back for formy formy my companion my my clothing was filled fled with snow and ice water Freezing 1 I found Cound the trail trai to our camp by moon moonlight moonlight light Reaching to tent mother soon had me wrapped In a blanket and buffalo buffalo buffalo falo robe rebe with wih a strong cup of f cay ene cne tea for supper I was around again by noon the next day da The man with we managed to get across the river but how will wi never be known for after reaching the bank he lost his way among the willows and thorns that night for tor some time as I was in informed Informed informed formed only reaching camp late at night and died that evening ev or the next day So much for the broken promise of the young oung man who succeeded in get getting getting ting through to Salt Lake the same fall fail fal but taking a bath In the Jordan ordan the next summer he was drowned Now for General Burtons Journal General Robert T o Burtons camp Journal Rescuing and relief train tin Captain George D Grant to help the te emigrants 1856 Tuesday October 7 1856 left lef Salt Sal Lake City east to meet the be belated belated belated emigration companies We camped tonight at atthe the toot foot of the Dig Big Bg mountain Wednesday October S 8 passed over oer the Big mountain and camped in East canyon Had a light snowstorm Tuesday October 9 had good roads camped in Echo canyon canon Friday October 10 camped near a alte little grove at the head of Echo Saturday October 11 1 traveled down the Old Pioneer road camped to tonight tonight night at a biz big hollow good feed and water Sunday October 12 arrived at t Fort Bridger left lef some of or our our flour fotr feed etc at this place got some some beef etc camped here tonight Monday o October 13 left Fort Bridger er r camped tonight on Blacks fork met Brothers Smoot Dan Jones and others the some teams returning that had been back backon on the road got tired tire of waiting Tuesday October 14 H Brother Smoot returned with us to meet his son camped tonight on Blacks forg again agin sent on an express east to meet the th companies and report back to us their situation whereabouts etc C H Wheelock Joseph A Young Stephen Taylor Abe Garr Wednesday October 15 traveled to Green Gre n River left lef some flour four feed etc camped tonight on Big Sandy at 8 o Thursday October 16 at the Big Sandy met Captain Smoot i camped here tonight Let ret him have some flour beef and teams and ad eighteen men Friday October 17 started late camped on little Sandy feed scarce looked like a storm Saturday October 18 clear cear and fair storm passed to the right and left of ofus ofus ofus us camped tonight on the head of Sweetwater good god feed and wood wod looked like a storm Sunday October 19 killed one beef started In the afternoon camped below the mouth of Willow creek Tonight it i commenced storming very cold good feed fee Monday October 20 in the t le same place today Brother Willie Cap Captain Cp tain tam Willie Wilie of the Fifth handcart com corn company company pany came to us near nightfall Tuesday October 21 started sted early erly in inthe Inthe inthe the morning to meet Captain Willies company compa camped with wih them tonight dealt deal out flour four and ad clothing to them William Kimball and several others Kimbal re returned returned returned