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Show GRIZZLED VETERANS I win PAST Handcart Veterans Meet in Re-union Re-union at Fourteenth Ward 3Ieefiiig-IIousc. I MEN AND WOMEN ALONG IN YEARS TALK OF PAS'l ,Trij) From Iowa City co Salt Lake Is Recalled in Story. Thai shrewd old, non-stopablc old, Rriai old rascal, old Father Time, was almost turned backward in his flight Thursday as the minds and the memories memo-ries ot' hundreds of men and women of. Mho Handcart Veterans' association took hold of his llu tiering raps, and bid him stay awhile. It was the first meeting, meet-ing, the jubilee meeting of the veterans, in iifty years. Tu the Fourteenth Ward meetinghouse meeting-house all day Thursday the sad, yet. glad, reminiscences of the days of "'06 wero recalled by iottcring. trembling, old men and women with the shaking limbs of the present, -the thoughts ot v their youthful past and the prophetic insight into the days of the future. Ranged on all sides of the hall were men and women who had braved tho terrors and the hardships of an overland over-land trip of almost 2000 miles, begun in the early da3rs of IS06 from Iowa City, Iowa. Toothless old patriarchs, blear-eyed, palsied and feeble, listened with painful intensity to the talcs of those days, told by "men and women with whom ihev had trudged tho weary way. pushing the handcarts iu which were, the pots and pans and beds and babies of their pi'grimage. Bocomes a Boy Again. One old man, wrinkled chin on cane, sat with mouth wide open, his quivering quiver-ing Hps and faint smile gi.'ing evidence evi-dence of the joy and the sorrow and the sentiment within him. Whou ho heard certain, anecdotes concerning tho inevitable handcart, how heavy it became be-came with tho stretching miles, of the mishaps, the funny things that, happened hap-pened to Brother "SoanJso and tho sharp tongue of Sister Goodsoul, the bleared eyes became bright, tho lax jaws set firm and the old man was a I j bov again. The meeting was devoted to the re-cital re-cital of incidents connected with the trip westward toward Zion. Each f sneaker took delight in recalling those days, and spoko both of the joys and Hj the sorrows. S. S. .Tone's of " Provo presided, and Alfred Jones of the Gar-den Gar-den City was secretary. Almost, every town and settlement in the State was represented. The morning session was opened at ' 10:30 o'clock with an address, of wel-come wel-come by S. S. Jones. "Come, Come, Ye Saints,' was sung by the audience, which was followed bv a prayer delivered bv James G. Bleak of St. Georee. Another sonc. "Come, Lot Us Anew,'"' was rendered by those-present, those-present, aud then all retired to the basement, where members of the Old Folks' committee, served them with lunch. Organization of Companies. An audience considerably larger than that which assembled iu 'the morning gathered at' 2 o'clock in the afternoon and was again welcomed by S. S. Jones. John T. McAllister, iu an address, told of the original organization of the handcart companies. In 1356, he stated, the Ellsworth, McArthur, Bunker. "Wil- Hj lie and Martin companies were organ- ized; in 1S57 the Evans aud Christian-son: Christian-son: iu 1S59 the .Rowley company, and in I SCO the Robiusou and Stoddard companies. In all, 2951 men. women and children walked the weary way over the old emigrant route, by way of Omaha, the Platte river, and through the South Pass, into Zion. Handcarts to the number of 050 carried the bc-longings bc-longings of the pilgrims. Prayer by John Duko followed a song hy George Harrison. Henry Mo3lc of Alpine then talked of the days of old. A song was then sung by tho audience, a song of the handcart days, a song "which had encouraged them and put new life into them when the da3's were BS darkest. BV Mrs. Jeannetta Hamilton of' Payson, BBV who was lavecly instrumental in b'ring- BBV intc the veterans together, then sang. BBV "Fifty Years Ago." an original poem, BBV -was delivered by E. E. MeBride. An- BBV nther song, also of the old handcart BBV days, closed the afternoon meeting. Survivors Present, fl Surviving members of the companies BBV appointed the following as repiesenta- BBV lives: Ellsworth companv, Henry Movlo BBV of Alpine; D. D. McArthur company, BBj .Tames Gardner; Bunker company. Ed- vard Thomas; Willie Companv, William BV Woodward of St. George; Martin and BB Tyler companies, James G. Bleak of St. BBj George; Christianson comp3H3-, C. C. A. BBj Christianson of Ephraim Rowley eom- BB panv, George Rowley of Americau BBj Forks; Robinson company Alfred Bir- BBj mingham: John Huut companv, John BBj Hunt of Bear Lake. The handcart mis- BBj Hionaries were represented by William BBj Bramhall of Springville, and the Rns- BBj ruers by Ben W. Drigg3.of Pleasant BBj Grove. BBj The following composed a uomuiiUcu BBj 011 arrangements: S. S. Jones, J. R. BBV Twelves, James Gardner, L. A. Bailey, BBj Lorenzo Argyle. Thomas Dobson, James Bjj G. Bleak and Alfred Jones. BBV Several addreKC3, mostly in a rcmin- BBB iscent vein, made up the major portion BBB tif the evening's programme and at tho BBfl rlose of the exercises the former board BBfl i)f directors and committees were r!- BBfl lained by unanimous vote and it was BBV decided that the handcart veterans con- BBVI tinuc as heretofore to hold ' annual BBB meetings in this State. The session BBB closed with a vote of thanks tu the BBW church Presidency and all who took BBfl part in the exercised. President Joseph BBB F. Smith, who was exnectod to speak BBB during the closing Hcsnion did not ap- BBB pear, being detained, it was announced, BBB by the business which had accumulated BBV during his recent trip. BBfl Gov. Cutler read from manuscript a BBfl congratulatory addruss in which he BBj commended the qualities which enabled BBj tho veterans to nuke tho hazardous BBj journey across the plains. Andrew BBj Jensen, at the conclusion of a sneech BBB in which he dealt for the most part BBB w'uh the history of the handcart vet- BBB crans, gave the. following !(tatintk-B re- BBB gard'mg the companies which made the BBB ourne', tneir captains, the number of BBB people composing them and tho year BBB uuring which tho journey was made: BBB IS5G Capl. Edmund Ellsworth, "75, BBB Cipt. D. D. McArthur, 222; Capt. E. nuulccr. 300; Capt. James G. Willie, oOO; Capt. 13. Alnrthi, 57(3. 1S57 oapt. Israel Evans, 151; Capt. Christian Christianson, .'530. ISoO Capt. Goorgo Kowlov, 235. lSb'0 Capt. Dan Robison, 2;to; Capt. Oscar O. Stoddard, 12(5. As some of these figures arc onlv approximate it is estimated that about 3000 people caino to Utah with .these companies and thero was a total of 050 hand carts. The other speakers wore John A. Hunt, K. W, Lee. A. Jones, John Henry Smith and S. S. -Jones. |
