June 23 -25, 2016  ~  Wolf Creek State Park

A rapid overview of the Willy handcart company trek,   by Sister GC.

 

A rapid overview of the Willy Company trek, by Sister GC.

 

There are some places all over the world that have absorbed so much sorrow that you feel something sacred when you stand in those places. It's like they have become holy grounds.

 We were invited by our leaders to never forget what happened to our pioneers. I know my soul has been changed when I stood on the Mormon trail, in Martin's Cove, Rocky Ridge and Rock creek Hollow in Wyoming. Even if we can't make it there, we can still read about them and be inspired by their life, their faith and devotion and obedience. I promise you the names "Rocky Ridge", "Rock Creek Hollow", "Wyoming's Black Hills", "Fort Laramie", "Independence Rock", "Levi Savage", "Ann Jewel Rowley","James Hurren", "James Kirkwood", "Eliza Chapman Gadd", "Ephraim Hanks",or "Bodil Malene Mortensen", and so many others will bring tears to your eyes for the rest of your life once you have read about them. 

 

 After a plague of grasshoppers during the summer of 1855, the economy of Utah was not doing well and even though a PEF (Perpetual Emigration Fund) had been created in 1849, the funds were not enough to help emigrants and so to reduce the emigration costs by a third to a half for each person, President Young invited the Saints to build handcarts. 

The Willy company was the fourth company of handcarts crossing the plains from the East to Utah following the admonition of their beloved prophet.

The first three companies had their share of adventure and trial but made it safely, most of them arriving in SLC at the end of September.

 

The Willy company had started late from Liverpool and was delayed in Iowa City, and a domino effect of unfortunate events started.

 

Despite those unfortunate situations, the Pioneers of the Willy company have left a tremendous heritage of faith to each one of us.

The company was constituted of around 300 Scottish, 50 Scandinavians and 50 English travelers with a lot of elderly people and a lot of children. They would walk 10 to 20 miles/day, 5 of them pushing or pulling a 100-lb handcart, carrying on top their precious and few belongings (quilts, clothes) for a total of up to 500 lbs.  

 

To start with, instead of building their handcarts with well-seasoned hickory elm and white oak, they used green lumber that would later dry out and shrink, a plague according to Levi Savage.

 

Then, in mid-August, 30 of their oxen (almost half of them) who were in charge of pulling the supply wagons, followed a herd of wild Buffalos and were never to be found.

Their beef cattle and milk cows had to do the job but were too weak to do so.

 

They didn't have lubricant or oil for the wheels of their handcarts, and so they used bacon or soap, which was worse because it attracted more sand.

The roads were either up hill or down hill, and were either dusty or muddy! 

The scenery of prairies would be monotonous for miles and miles. They met ferocious wolves, blisters, dysentery, cold weather, scarcity of food, lassitude, over-exertion, hunger and the worst, the hunger of their children. Their shoes became quickly worn and along the way they met emotional exhaustion and death. " At first the death occurred slowly and irregularly, but in a few days at more frequent intervals, until we soon thought it unusual to leave a campground without burying one or more persons." wrote John Chislett. 

Death touched the old and infirm and soon the young and naturally strong men as well as they were helping their families. John Chislett who was single was very touched by the love of those fathers. He shared, " their greatest regret seemed to be leaving their families behind them." With the death of the men, pitching the tents became a problem and those who were still alive faced even more exhaustion. In their book Tragedy and Triumph, the Bangerter wrote that they "marched on in misery and sorrow, trudged like zombies as the shrill wind pierced their flesh and then their bones..."

 

They met death but they also saw miracles.

Ann Rowley, direct ancestor of my Relief Society President in SLC, noted: "There came a time, when there seemed to be no food at all...I asked God's help as I always did. I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that were still in my trunk. They had been left over from the sea voyage, they were not large, and were so hard, they couldn't be broken. Surely, that was not enough to feed eight people, but five loaves and two fishes were not enough to feed five thousand people either, but through a miracle, Jesus had done it, so, with God's help, nothing is impossible. I found the biscuits and put them in a dutch oven and covered them with water and asked for God's blessing, then I put the lead on a pan and set it on the coals, when I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food."

 

They were only allowed to carry 17 lbs of luggage/ pers. (8kg) and if you have girls you know how hard it is for them to travel just with a little duffle bag! They had to leave behind their belongings before embarking on the ship and again before starting their trip on the plains. Anne Rowley shared :" there were many keepsakes that I wanted to take, but I couldn't." She had held on to a feather bed. "But there was no room for it!" she said, " a feather bed is a feather bed and when it came to choosing between Zion and a feather bed, well it was too late to turn my back on Zion, so I ripped it open and emptied the feathers on the ground and used the tick to cover the supplies."

 

The conditions they lived in were hard, no more comfort of their homes, no showers, no bathrooms... Summer was hot, insects and the other joys of outdoor life met them! 

20 of them had to share a tent, leaving them no room for privacy.

 

Remember also they had already come from Europe by ship and had already gone through a great deal at sea and had travelled from eastern US seaports by train to Iowa City.

 

Mid-September, they tasted their first frost and a bitter, strong wind. Levi Savage wrote in his journal on

Sept. 18: " Sister Reade...was missing...She is not at camp and no one knows where she is."

Sept. 22: "Brother Empy departed this life..."

Sept: " Sister Briant...was found dead in the wagon in a sitting posture, apparently asleep."

Sept 27: "The old appear to be failing consistently."

 

The company reached Fort Laramie hoping to restore their dwindling supplies. They had kept their precious keepings for that purpose, but alas the Fort was desolate and they found there was no flour to buy and had to be content with a barrel or two of crackers and a bit of bacon and rice. Rations were reduced.

 

The road became steeper and soon they decided to get rid of their clothing and bedding and burned them along the way. When I was in Wyoming, that very act impressed me about our pioneers. Somehow I couldn't understand why they burnt their things. I thought about it again and again. At that time I was struggling in my own life with a decision I had made a long time ago. Did I make the right decision? or did I not? I was drown to my past and was beginning to drown into doubts and regrets, not sure I had taken the best decision. I continued to think and ponder about their actions. Why didn't they leave their belongings for those who would come later? why would they burn everything? As I listened to a missionary one morning talking about the trial it was to walk the plains, I got my answer! The pioneers burned their belongings so they would never be tempted to go back! Because they wanted to go to Zion and never wanted to look at their past, they went on and burned everything that could have stopped them from obeying the Lord. And so I had to do myself! I felt the love of the pioneers that day as if they knew my trial and as if they were permitted to come for a short moment and whispered to my soul that I had chosen a long time ago to go to Zion and that I had indeed make the best decision ever and that i needed to go forward not backward and trust in the Lord! I know since then that the pioneers can help us and inspire us in our daily challenges as we learn from them and ponder their life.

 

The Sweetwater if it was beautiful at first lost soon its beauty. "The chill which it sent through our systems drove out from our minds all holy and devout aspirations, and left a void, a sadness..." wrote John Chislett.

 

One October morning, the last rations were given. There were still 300 miles to get to SLC. That day must have been counted among the most discouraging days of their life but the Lord chose to reveal His hand. And like Captain Willy wrote, God had send them "messengers from the courts glory." Joseph A. Young, Cyrus Wheelock, Stephen Taylor and others drove a light express wagon. Those fresh Returned missionaries didn't have time to rest and linger with their loved ones for they came to rescue the very people they had taught on their missions! They came to rescue their converts. 

 

But even though the Rescuers were there, the end was not yet there for them. October 23 was to be remembered as the worst day of their life. The Saints endured a 25 hour non stop forced march to the top of the highest point on the Mormon Trail to get to Rock Creek Hollow where the wagons filled with food and supplies given by the Saints of the Valley waited for them. All along, captain Willy and all those who were called captains of 100 labored and gave their all to succor, serve, encourage, cheer up and save the exhausted Saints. 

You will never forget James Kirkwood, 11 years old, who carried his little 4 years old brother Joseph on his back all the way up. As he arrived in camp, James dropped his precious load carefully and then closed his eyes for the last time, reminding us that Jesus our older brother too has carried us through his Gethsemane's trial and laid down his life for each one of us.

You will never forget the faith of Elizabeth Cunningham's mom who couldn't let the body of her collapsed daughter on the side of the road and remembered the blessing she had received before the trip that each of her family members would arrive safely in the Valley and who poured hot water on her daughter's feet and revived her.

You will never forget little 10 year old Bodil Mortensen who took care of the little 5 year old Niels that day and died of exhaustion.

You will never forget James Hurren, the direct ancestor of the wife of my Bishop in SLC, James was strong and courageous and did more than his share, his cheerfulness was a delight and he often carried the loads of others on his own cart. He often did more night guard duty than he should have and often started his day bleary and fatigued from sleepless nights. Everybody wanted to travel with him I am sure.  

 

October 24, 13 were buried and 2 of the men who buried them were buried as well.

 

Reddick Allred, known as Bulldog because he stayed at his post when encouraged by others to turn back and go back to SLC in front of the terrible weather, arrived with seven provisions wagons. Ten more wagons came to the rescue. More rescuers came making about fifty wagons total to assit them, allowing them to discard their carts and ride till they reached the SLC Valley November 9, 1856.   

 

I took my sources from a lots of books. If there are mistakes, they are all mine!

Sister GC.