The Story of the Mormons:

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In 1847, at the suggestion of Taylor, Hyde, and Pratt, who were
still in England, a petition bearing nearly 13,000 names was
addressed to Queen Victoria, setting forth the misery existing
among the working classes in Great Britain, suggesting, as the
best means of relief, royal aid to those who wished to emigrate
to "the island of Vancouver or to the great territory of Oregon,"
and asking her "to give them employment in improving the harbors
of those countries, or in erecting forts of defence; or, if this
be inexpedient, to furnish them provisions and means of
subsistence until they can produce them from the soil." These
American citizens did not hesitate to point out that the United
States government was favoring the settlement of its territory on
the Pacific coast, and to add: "While the United States do
manifest such a strong inclination, not only to extend and
enlarge their possessions in the West, but also to people them,
will not your Majesty look well to British interests in those
regions, and adopt timely precautionary measures to maintain a
balance of power in that quarter which, in the opinion of your
memorialists, is destined at no very distant period to
participate largely in the China trade?" *

* See Linforth's "Route," pp. 2-5.

The Oregon boundary treaty was less than a year old when this
petition was presented. It was characteristic of Mormon duplicity
to find their representatives in Great Britain appealing to Queen
Victoria on the ground of self-interest, while their chiefs in
the United States were pointing to the organization of the
Battalion as a proof of their fidelity to the home government.
Practically no notice was taken of this petition. Vancouver
Island, was, however, held out to the converts in Great Britain
as the one "gathering point of the Saints from the islands and
distant portions of the earth," until the selection of Salt Lake
Valley as the Saints' abiding place.

On December 23, 1847, Young, in behalf of the Twelve, issued from
Winter Quarters a General Epistle to the church a which gave an
account of his trip to the Salt Lake Valley, directed all to
gather themselves speedily near Winter Quarters in readiness for
the march to Salt Lake Valley, and said to the Saints in
Europe:--

"Emigrate as speedily as possible to this vicinity. Those who
have but little means, and little or no labor, will soon exhaust
that means if they remain where they are. Therefore, it is wisdom
that they remove without delay; for here is land on which, by
their labor, they can speedily better their condition for their
further journey." The list of things which Young advised the
emigrants to bring with them embraced a wide assortment: grains,
trees, and vines; live stock and fowls; agricultural implements
and mills; firearms and ammunition; gold and silver and zinc and
tin and brass and ivory and precious stones; curiosities, "sweet
instruments of music, sweet odors, and beautiful colors." The
care of the head of the church, that the immigrants should not
neglect to provide themselves with cologne and rouge for use in
crossing the prairies, was most thoughtful.

* Millennial Star, Vol. X, p. 81.

The Millennial Star of February 1, 1848, made this announcement
to the faithful in the British Isles:--

"The channel of Saints' emigration to the land of Zion is now
opened. The resting place of Israel for the last days has been
discovered. In the elevated valley of the Salt and Utah Lakes,
with the beautiful river Jordan running through it, is the newly
established Stake of Zion. There vegetation flourishes with magic
rapidity. And the food of man, or staff of life, leaps into
maturity from the bowels of Mother Earth with astonishing
celerity. Within one month from planting, potatoes grew from six
to eight inches, and corn from two to four feet. There the
frequent clouds introduce their fertilizing contents at a modest
distance from the fat valley, and send their humid influences
from the mountain tops. There the saline atmosphere of Salt Lake
mingles in wedlock with the fresh humidity of the same vegetable
element which comes over the mountain top, as if the nuptial
bonds of rare elements were introduced to exhibit a novel
specimen of a perfect vegetable progeny in the shortest possible
time," etc.

Contrast this with Brigham Young's letter to Colonel Alexander in
October, 1857,--"We had hoped that in this barren, desolate
country we could have remained unmolested."

On the 20th of February, 1848, the shipment of Mormon emigrants
began again with the sailing of the Cornatic, with 120
passengers, for New Orleans.

In the following April, Orson Pratt was sent to England to take
charge of the affairs of the church there. On his arrival, in
August, he issued an "Epistle" which was influential in
augmenting the movement. He said that "in the solitary valleys of
the great interior" they hoped to hide "while the indignation of
the Almighty is poured upon the nations"; and urged the rich to
dispose of their property in order to help the poor, commanding
all who could do so to pay their tithing. "O ye saints of the
Most High," he said, "linger not! Make good your retreat before
the avenues are closed up!"

Many other letters were published in the Millennial Star in
1848-1849, giving glowing accounts of the fertility of Salt Lake
Valley. One from the clerk of the camp observed: "Many cases of
twins. In a row of seven houses joining each other eight births
in one week."

In order to assist the poor converts in Europe, the General
Conference held in Salt Lake City in October, 1849, voted to
raise a fund, to be called "The Perpetual Emigrating Fund," and
soon $5000 had been secured for this purpose. In September, 1850,
the General Assembly of the Provisional State of Deseret
incorporated the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company, and Brigham
Young was elected its first president. Collections for this fund
in Great Britain amounted to 1410 pounds by January, 1852, and
the emigrants sent out in that year were assisted from this fund.
These expenditures required an additional $5000, which was
supplied from Salt Lake City. A letter issued by the First
Presidency in October, 1849, urged the utmost economy in the
expenditure of this money, and explained that, when the assisted
emigrants arrived in Salt Lake City, they would give their
obligations to the church to refund as soon as possible what had
been expended on them.* In this way, any who were dissatisfied on
their arrival in Utah found themselves in the church clutches,
from which they could not escape.

* Millennial Star, Vol. XII, p. 124.

There were outbreaks of cholera among the emigrant parties
crossing the plains in 1849, and many deaths.

In October, 1849, an important company left Salt Lake City to
augment the list of missionaries in Europe. It included John
Taylor and two others, assigned to France; Lorenzo Snow and one
other, to Italy; Erastus Snow and one other, to Denmark;* F. D.
Richards and eight others, to England; and J. Fosgreene, to
Sweden.

* Elder Dykes reported in October, 1851, that, on his arrival in
Aalborg, Denmark, he found that a mob had broken in the windows
of the Saints' meeting-house and destroyed the furniture, and had
also broken the windows of the Saints' houses, and, by the
mayor's advice, he left the city by the first steamer. Millennial
Star, Vol. XIII, p. 346.

The system of Mormon emigration from Great Britain at that time
seems to have been in the main a good one. The rule of the agent
in Liverpool was not to charter a vessel until enough passengers
had made their deposits to warrant him in doing so. The rate of
fare depended on the price paid for the charter.* As soon as the
passengers arrived in Liverpool they could go on board ship, and,
when enough came from one district, all sailed on one vessel.
Once on board, they were organized with a president and two
counsellors,--men who had crossed the ocean, if possible,--who
allotted the staterooms, appointed watchmen to serve in turn, and
looked after the sanitary arrangements. When the first through
passengers for Salt Lake City left Liverpool, in 1852, an
experienced elder was sent in advance to have teams and supplies
in readiness at the point where the land journey would begin, and
other men of experience accompanied them to engage river
portation when they reached New Orleans. The statistics of the
emigration thus called out were as follows:--

* See Linforth's "Route," pp. to, 17-22; Mackay's "History of the
Mormons," pp. 298-302; Pratt's letter to the Millennial Star,
Vol. XI, p. 277.

YEAR VESSELS EMIGRANTS
1848 5 754
1849 9 2078
1850 6 1612
1851 4 1869

The Frontier Guardian at Kanesville estimated the Mormon movement
across the plains in 1850 at about 700 wagons, taking 5000 horses
and cattle and 4000 sheep.

Of the class of emigrants then going out, the manager of the
leading shipping agents at Liverpool who furnished the ships
said, "They are principally farmers and mechanics, with some few
clerks, surgeons, and so forth." He found on the company's books,
for the period between October, 1849, and March, 1850, the names
of 16 miners, 20 engineers, 19 farmers, 108 laborers, 10 joiners,
25 weavers, 15 shoemakers, 12 smiths, 19 tailors, 8 watchmakers,
25 stone masons, 5 butchers, 4 bakers, 4 potters, 10 painters, 7
shipwrights, and 5 dyers.

The statistics of the Mormon emigration given by the British
agency for the years named were as follows:--

YEAR VESSELS EMIGRANTS
1852 3 732
1853 7 2312
1854 9 2456
1852 1854, Scandinavian
and German via Liverpool 1053
1855 13 4425

In 1853 the experiment was made of engaging to send adults from
Liverpool to Utah for 10 pounds each and children for half price;
but this did not succeed, and those who embraced the offer had to
borrow money or teams to complete the journey.

In 1853, owing to extortions practised on the emigrants by the
merchants and traders at Kanesville, as well as the
unhealthfulness of the Missouri bottoms, the principal point of
departure from the river was changed to Keokuk, Iowa. The
authorities and people there showed the new-comers every
kindness, and set apart a plot of ground for their camp. In this
camp each company on its arrival was organized and provided with
the necessary teams, etc. In 1854 the point of departure was
again changed to Kansas, in western Missouri, fourteen miles west
of Independence, the route then running to the Big Blue River,
and through what are now the states of Kansas and Nebraska.

CHAPTER IV. The Hand-Cart Tragedy

In 1855 the crops in Utah were almost a failure, and the church
authorities found themselves very much embarrassed by their
debts. A report in the seventh General Epistle, of April 18,
1852, set forth that, from their entry into the valley to March
27, of that year, there had been received as tithing, mostly in
property, $244,747.03, and in loans and from other sources
$145,513.78, of which total there had been expended in assisting
immigrants and on church buildings, city lots, manufacturing
industries, etc., $353,765.69. Young found it necessary therefore
to cut down his expenses, and he looked around for a method of
doing this without checking the stream of new-comers. The method
which he evolved was to furnish the immigrants with hand-carts on
their arrival in Iowa, and to let them walk all the way across
the plains, taking with them only such effects as these carts
would hold, each party of ten to drive with them one or two cows.

Although Young tried to throw the result of this experiment on
others, the evidence is conclusive that he devised it and worked
out its details. In a letter to Elder F. D. Richards, in
Liverpool, dated September 30, 1855, Young said: "We cannot
afford to purchase wagons and teams as in times past. I am
consequently thrown back upon MY OLD PLAN--to make hand-carts,
and let the emigration foot it." To show what a pleasant trip
this would make, this head of the church, who had three times
crossed the plains, added, "Fifteen miles a day will bring them
through in 70 days, and, after they get accustomed to it, they
will travel 20, 25, or even 30 with all ease, and no danger of
giving out, but will continue to get stronger and stronger; the
little ones and sick, if there are any, can be carried on the
carts, but there will be none sick in a little time after they
get started."*

* Millennial Star, Vol. VII, p. 813.

Directions in accordance with this plan were issued in the form
of a circular in Liverpool in February, 1856, naming Iowa City,
Iowa, as the point of outfit. The charge for booking through to
Utah by the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company was fixed at 9
pounds for all over one year old, and 4 pounds 10 shillings. for
younger infants. The use of trunks or boxes was discouraged, and
the emigrants were urged to provide themselves with oil-cloth or
mackintosh bags.

About thirteen hundred persons left Liverpool to undertake this
foot journey across the plains, placing implicit faith in the
pictures of Salt Lake Valley drawn by the missionaries, and not
doubting that the method of travel would be as enjoyable as it
seemed economical. Five separate companies were started that
summer from Iowa City. The first and second of these arrived at
Florence, Nebraska, on July 17, the third, made up mostly of
Welsh, on July 19, and the fourth on August 11. The first company
made the trip to Utah without anything more serious to report
than the necessary discomforts of such a march, and were received
with great acclaim by the church authorities, and welcomed with
an elaborate procession. It was the last companies whose story
became a tragedy.*

* The experiences of those companies were told in detail by a
member of one, John Chislett, and printed in the "Rocky Mountain
Saints." Mrs. Stenhouse gives additional experiences in her "Tell
it All."

The immigrants met with their first disappointment on arriving at
Iowa City. Instead of finding their carts ready for them, they
were told that no advance agent had prepared the way. The last
companies were subjected to the most delay from this cause. Even
the carts were still to be manufactured, and, while they were
making, many a family had to camp in the open fields, without
even the shelter of a tent or a wagon top. The carts, when
pronounced finished, moved on two light wheels, the only iron
used in their construction being a very thin tire. Two projecting
shafts of hickory or oak were joined by a cross piece, by means
of which the owner propelled the vehicle. When Mr. Chislett's
company, after a three weeks' delay, made a start, they were five
hundred strong, comprising English, Scotch, and Scandanavians.
They were divided, as usual, into hundreds, to each hundred being
allotted five tents, twenty hand-carts, and one wagon drawn by
three yokes of oxen, the latter carrying the tents and
provisions. Families containing more young men than were required
to draw their own carts shared these human draught animals with
other families who were not so well provided; but many carts were
pulled along by young girls.

The Iowans bestowed on the travellers both kindness and
commiseration. Knowing better than did the new-comers from Europe
the trials that awaited them, they pointed out the lateness of
the season, and they did persuade a few members to give up the
trip. But the elders who were in charge of the company were
watchful, the religious spirit was kept up by daily meetings, and
the one command that was constantly reiterated was, "Obey your
leaders in all things."

A march of four weeks over a hot, dusty route was required to
bring them to the Missouri River near Florence. Even there they
were insufficiently supplied with food. With flour costing $3 per
hundred pounds, and bacon seven or eight cents a pound, the daily
allowance of food was ten ounces of flour to each adult, and four
ounces to children under eight years old, with bacon, coffee,
sugar, and rice served occasionally. Some of the men ate all
their allowance for the day at their breakfast, and depended on
the generosity of settlers on the way, while there were any, for
what further food they had until the next morning.

After a week's stay at Florence (the old Winter Quarters), the
march across the plains was resumed on August 18. The danger of
making this trip so late in the season, with a company which
included many women, children, and aged persons, gave even the
elders pause, and a meeting was held to discuss the matter. But
Levi Savage, who had made the trip to and from the valley, alone
advised against continuing the march that season. The others
urged the company to go on, declaring that they were God's
people, and prophesying in His name that they would get through
the mountains in safety. The emigrants, "simple, honest, eager to
go to Zion at once, and obedient as little children to the
'servants of God,' voted to proceed." *

* A "bond," which each assisted emigrant was required to sign in
Liverpool, contained the following stipulations: "We do severally
and jointly promise and bind ourselves to continue with and obey
the instructions of the agent appointed to superintend our
passage thither to [Utah]. And that, on our arrival in Utah, we
will hold ourselves, our time, and our labor, subject to the
appropriation of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company until the
full cost of our emigration is paid, with interest if required."

As the teams provided could not haul enough flour to last the
company to Utah, a sack weighing ninety-eight pounds was added to
the load of each cart. One pound of flour a day was now allowed
to each adult, and occasionally fresh beef. Soon after leaving
Florence trouble began with the carts. The sand of the dry
prairie got into the wooden hubs and ground the axles so that
they broke, and constant delays were caused by the necessity of
making repairs., No axle grease had been provided, and some of
the company were compelled to use their precious allowance of
bacon to grease the wheels. At Wood River, where the plains were
alive with buffaloes, a stampede of the cattle occurred one
night, and thirty of them were never recovered. The one yoke of
oxen that was left to each wagon could not pull the load; an
attempt to use the milch cows and heifers as draught animals
failed, and the tired cart pullers had to load up again with
flour.

While pursuing their journey in this manner, their camp was
visited one evening by Apostle F. D. Richards and some other
elders, on their way to Utah from mission work abroad. Richards
severely rebuked Savage for advising that the trip be given up at
Florence, and prophesied that the Lord would keep open a way
before them. The missionaries, who were provided with carriages
drawn by four horses each, drove on, without waiting to see this
prediction confirmed.

On arriving at Fort Laramie, about the first of September,
another evidence of the culpable neglect of the church
authorities manifested itself. The supply of provisions that was
to have awaited them there was wanting. They calculated the
amount that they had on hand, and estimated that it would last
only until they were within 350 miles of Salt Lake City; but,
perhaps making the best of the situation, they voted to reduce
the daily ration and to try to make the supply last by travelling
faster. When they reached the neighborhood of Independence Rock,
a letter sent back by Richards informed them that supplies would
meet them at South Pass; but another calculation showed that what
remained would not last them to the Pass, and again the ration
was reduced, working men now receiving twelve ounces a day, other
adults nine, and children from four to eight. Another source of
discomfort now manifested itself. In order to accommodate matters
to the capacity of the carts, the elders in charge had made it
one of the rules that each outfit should be limited to seventeen
pounds of clothing and bedding. As they advanced up the
Sweetwater it became cold. The mountains appeared snow-covered,
and the lack of extra wraps and bedding caused first discomfort,
and then intense suffering, to the half-fed travellers. The
necessity of frequently wading the Sweetwater chilled the
stronger men who were bearing the brunt of the labor, and when
morning dawned the occupants of the tents found themselves numb
with the cold, and quite unfitted to endure the hardships of the
coming day. Chislett draws this picture of the situation at that
time:--

"Our old and infirm people began to droop, and they no sooner
lost spirit and courage than death's stamp could be traced upon
their features. Life went out as smoothly as a lamp ceases to
burn when the oil is gone. At first the deaths occurred slowly
and irregularly, but in a few days at more frequent intervals,
until we soon thought it unusual to leave a camp ground without
burying one or more persons. Death was not long confined in its
ravages to the old and infirm, but the young and naturally strong
were among its victims. Weakness and debility were accompanied by
dysentery. This we could not stop or even alleviate, no proper
medicines being in the camp; and in almost every instance it
carried off the parties attacked. It was surprising to an
unmarried man to witness the devotion of men to their families
and to their faith under these trying circumstances. Many a
father pulled his cart, with his little children on it, until the
day preceding his death. These people died with the calm faith
and fortitude of martyrs."

An Oregonian returning East, who met two of the more fortunate of
these handcart parties, gave this description to the Huron (Ohio)
Reflector in 1857:--

"It was certainly the most novel and interesting sight I have
seen for many a day. We met two trains, one of thirty and the
other of fifty carts, averaging about six to the cart. The carts
were generally drawn by one man and three women each, though some
carts were drawn by women alone. There were about three women to
one man, and two-thirds of the women single. It was the most
motley crew I ever beheld. Most of them were Danes, with a
sprinkling of Welsh, Swedes, and English, and were generally from
the lower classes of their countries. Most could not understand
what we said to them. The road was lined for a mile behind the
train with the lame, halt, sick, and needy. Many were quite aged,
and would be going slowly along, supported by a son or daughter.
Some were on crutches; now and then a mother with a child in her
arms and two or three hanging hold of her, with a forlorn
appearance, would pass slowly along; others, whose condition
entitled them to a seat in a carriage, were wending their way
through the sand. A few seemed in good spirits."

The belated company did not meet anyone to carry word of their
condition to the valley, but among Richard's party who visited
the camp at Wood River was Brigham Young's son, Joseph A. He
realized the plight of the travellers, and when his father heard
his report he too recognized the fact that aid must be sent at
once. The son was directed to get together all the supplies he
could obtain in the city or pick up on the way, and to start
toward the East immediately. Driving on himself in a light wagon,
he reached the advanced line, as they were toiling ahead through
their first snowstorm. The provisions travelled slower, and could
not reach them in less than one or two days longer. There was
encouragement, of course, even in the prospect of release, but
encouragement could not save those whose vitality was already
exhausted. Camp was pitched that night among a grove of willows,
where good fires were possible, but in the morning they awoke to
find the snow a foot deep, and that five of their companions had
been added to the death list during the night.

To add to the desperate character of the situation came the
announcement that the provisions were practically exhausted, the
last of the flour having been given out, and all that remained
being a few dried apples, a little rice and sugar, and about
twenty-five pounds of hardtack. Two of the cattle were killed,
and the camp were informed that they would have to subsist on the
supplies in sight until aid reached them. The best thing to do in
these circumstances, indeed, the only thing, was to remain where
they were and send messengers to advise the succoring party of
the desperateness of their case. Their captain, Mr. Willie, and
one companion acted as their messengers. They were gone three
days, and in their absence Mr. Chislett had the painful duty of
doling out what little food there was in camp. He speaks of his
task as one that unmanned him. More cattle were killed, but beef
without other food did not satisfy the hungry, and the epidemic
of dysentery grew worse. The commissary officer was surrounded by
a crowd of men and women imploring him for a little food, and it
required all his power of reasoning to make them see that what
little was left must be saved for the sick.