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Show Sugar House Sermonettes hy E. Cecil McGavin This is the eighteenth in a scries of articles on 1 ho early day history of Sugar Honse. The series is presented under the sponsorship of Sugar House Cams, Soma of Utah Pioneers. While the nation celebrated the Fourth of July, 1852, the great caravan moved out of the city and headed for the west. The new wheels mourned mourn-ed bitterly as they ground to powder the dry earth that was carpeted with a thin coat of buffalo grass. The 50 wagons wag-ons made a caravan of commanding com-manding appearance as they followed the trail toward the setting sun, yet there should have been many times that number to bear the great burden bur-den that must be borne to the Salt Lake Valley. The Scotch ship builder whose vessels could plow the great deep without being broken by the waves or sunk by the loads they carried, had not made his wagons strong enough for the heavy burdens that they must bear. More disappointments were in store for them, as the great wagons broke under their vast loads, adding days of delay and sorrow to the members mem-bers of the expedition. On that historic natal day the caravan travelled but four or five miles, while as many axel-trees broke under the strain. The cattle were wild, unbroken, and difficult to handle, han-dle, and the teamsters were unfamiliar with the new task of taming and driving the stubborn beasts. These teamsters team-sters with a raw English accent ac-cent had so much trouble breaking the oxen that they had great fears of ever breaking break-ing the wilderness once they should reach it. i |