Show I In n nth t the h e Beg B Beginning e g I inn n n i n g 9 B By B T. T Cecil Alter Diaries of Mormon Pioneers The original stories stones of ot the past repose in lit the dairies of ot the plo pio Joseph Smith and Brigham Youn Young were speaking in the interests inter inter- ests is of ot posterity when they urged the saints to keep personal records and turn them into the church hurch historians historian's his his- torian's brians office oUke Scores of frontier men and women did keep such journals from day to da day and by means of such heirlooms have enriched enriched en en- riched the thc Latter-day Latter Saints church historians historian's office beyond the resources resources resources re re- re- re sources of ot any other repository of the thc kind known in the world Many such valuable journals were v terminated only with the demise of ot the diarists themselves and those precious writings deserve a better fate than the their I present sepulcher sep sep- they are ripe for a resurrection tion Dozens of ot such journals alread already already al al- al- al read ready have b been n published in full fuJI or in port part by family associations to the great credit of the original I journalists and their descendant families and especially to th the satisfaction sat sat- of ot the historian or student of oC the thc past Original Language Preserved I The most valuable of ot these pub pub- Iterations are the ones one in which the journalists journalist's writings are ore left practically unchanged using all his idioms idi Id- Id oms oats words and phrases for those quaint expressions form the pioneer plo pio neer atmosphere and give to the writing date p place ce b beauty uty and ond distinction dis dis- dis- dis when published to touch them all out would be to devastate and de destroy oy those alluring but elusive elu sive pictures that ever cr lurk between the lines and hold the interest o of the reader We would people the past with and depict our own forefathers as models or puppets largely o of our 00 0 own remaking if It we were to portray portray por por- tray these pioneering journalists as devoid of oC antipathies and troubles trouble and problems and human frailties in general by over editing and thus emasculating their scripts Hundreds Hundreds Hun Hun- of ot writers have written thousands thousands thou thou- sands of ot lurid pages on the discovery disco ery cry of at California gold but Henry W. W Bigler's few old old fashioned phrases and sentences still remain the original and only first sources for only he was there who wrote down the record at the time others rewrote or remembered So much then in ia praise of or the diarist and in defense of oC his ori original nal nat script in the hand hands of a Q publisher pub pub- Usher lisher all ill of which is preliminary to saying that tl many highly valuable able writings of this character are still tul in in the hands of oC descendants family historians or publication committees awaiting redi rediscovery covery and resurrection Old Journals Uncovered Unco The Thc editor of ot The Telegram expressed expressed ex pressed editorially at the inception of ot this series his hopes that some such old writings would be dis dL disinterred disinterred dis- dis interred as a result of ot these ramified rami fied tied journeys In The Beginning of ot Things In Utah and it has been so sot sotA A number of ot hitherto unpublished journals have been brought to our attention and a oil few of ot them have b been n placed in our hands temporarily temporarily tempo tempo- with leave to quote extract or publish in full as may be Voluminous writings cannot C be produced in their entirety in this space nor can we be led afield from froman rom an original purpose when the journalists journalists jour jour- letters or records record relate to some foreign land Nevertheless we propose to present from at least leasta a few diaries worthwhile transcriptions tran iran that picture in some way definite events and phases of the life and times of ot the pioneers In Inthis Inthis Inthis this way we shall introduce speakers speak speak- ers on this program whose voices have never before b been n heard forthe for forthe forthe the want of ot permission n or a m me mc- Catharine J The first to appear in this parade of the pioneers is Mrs Catharine E. E Woolley wife vUe of Bishop Samuel A A. Woolley a pioneer of 1843 b beginning with her journey across the tho plains carefully extracted extract extract- ed to preserve the spirit of ot every 5 scene using only her own language This journal was loaned by her son Amos M. M Woolley of Salt Lake City for lor use in this space We were wen married May 1846 1845 In Nauvoo Crossed the Mississippi river in June leaving Nauvoo for forthe forthe forthe the unknown west We traveled as far as as Winter Quarters and there remained until the spring of ot 1848 Mr Woolley and his brother Edwin D. D having been called to take charge chargi of ot the thc store etore at Winter Quarters Quarters during the summer and winter of 1847 Early in May Mar 1848 we prepared for lor the journey to the valleys of or the One hun bun dred dred wagons were vere in the com company pan headed by President ident Bri Brigham ham Young who had returned from Great Salt Lake valley to pan pany the the first division of ot emigrants emigrants emi emi- grants of or this year We were assembled about four lour miles mUes out of ot Winter Quarters ready to start for Elk Horn river 12 miles distant as soon as Brigham Youn Youngs Young's s 's family arrived ey came into camp about dusk the of or orMay May 1848 Mr Woolley stood guard this night May 27 Fair Started early this morning and traveled without any accident only Old Ma Ma- oxen broke their yoke Ar rived at the Elk Horn about 4 All well Sunday Sunda Mr Woolley went to hunt goose goose- berries Sister Billings s and Elizabeth Eliza beth Colvert came to see me roe this afternoon made arrangements for tor Elizabeth Elizabcth to go 10 with us to the moun moun- talus Tuesday Arranged the companies for tor our journey Fell Felt out of ot my wagon was injured some but able to get around I was prayed for immediately and I think that helped me Death on the Journey Wednesday Laid Lad by bp and did some washing and ironing and fixing up Mr Woolley on guard tonight Thursday June 1st Sister Taylor died this morning 2nd Buried Bur Bur- lcd Sister Taylor Sister Pratt and andI I went and C called on Heber C. C Kimball's Kimballs Kim Kim- balls ball's camp after the funeral found them all aU well and in good spirits Ezra T. T Benson and Or Orson on Hyde came to see ee us said all was well when they left len the valley 3rd Traveled to the Platte river wagons in all Mrs Groves fell teU from her wagon and andas was as run over breaking bre-aking her leg Traveled Trav Tray all mixed up today every person person per per- son on a captain aU all in a huddle traveled trav tray two abreast divided into companies com corn panics from their forties to seventy seventy sev sev- sev enty and ninety Thursday June Rain Staid here Shell Creek all da day Fixed clothes and wagons Traveled 18 miles Oliver Duncan got his leg lei broken feU fell out of his wagon Samuel on guard Saturday Saturday Saturday Sat Sat- Traveled Travel d 16 miles camped for the night at Loupe Fork river Mr Woolley Wooley and I took a walk called on some tome of ot our friends Sister Pratt accompanied us m on our way back Sunday Samuel went ent to me meeting I did some ome bak b in ing John Warner rou caught ht three fish ish David Cods Code two Franklin one gave Ja it to mc me Pleasant this evening moon shining brightly Weare We Wear ar are an still at Loupe Loup Fork Yorke |