Features
THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE: Willie and
Martin Handcart Pioneers, by Susan Easton Black 2

HEROES OF THE RESCUE, by Grant E. Barton 12

A COVENANT OF FIRE, by Elder Merrill J. Bateman 18

Departments
President’s Message: by Grant E. Barton 1

National News 27

Pioneer Spotlights: James Thomas and
Cyrus H. Wheelock, by Angus Belliston 28

Guest Editorial: by Mary A. Johnson 30

LEFT: Elder Merrill J. Bateman of the Presidency of the Seventy with SUP President Grant E. Barton at the Sons of the Utah Pioneers Days of ’47 Sunrise Service, July 24, 2006. See page 18.


COVER ART: Handcart Pioneers by Minerva Teichert, © by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., courtesy Museum of Church History and Art.



Published by the Sons of Utah Pioneers © 2006, The National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers. The Pioneer is a trademark owned by the National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers, registration pending.

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Grant E. Barton

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SUP MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers is to preserve the memory and heritage of the early pioneers of the Utah Territory. We honor the pioneers for their faith in God, devotion to family, loyalty to church and country, hard work and service to others, courage in adversity, personal integrity, and unyielding determination.
The society also honors present-day pioneers worldwide in many walks of life who exemplify these same qualities of character. It is further intended to teach these same qualities to the youth who will be tomorrow’s pioneers.

Presidents Message

Grant Barton

Why the Sacrifice?
More than 200 people of the Martin and Willie Handcart companies died. Why were they willing to risk death to come West? Could it be that whether they lived or died was not as important as that they lived right and that the Lord accepted of their sacrifice? Years ago, while supervising the writing of the Adult Manuals for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one writing committee labored for years on a manual that was never printed. Were they discouraged? Were they mad? No! Because they received a revealed assurance that their sacrifice was acceptable to the Lord. And it was enough.

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Iowa City, where the railroad ended and the trek began. Thousands celebrated the Sesquicentennial of the handcart trek—a unique experiment in the history of westward migration. Near a four-lane road entitled “Mormon Trek Boulevard” there is a large grassy field called, to this day, “The Campground,” where the Martin, Willie and other companies weighed out their 17 pounds, received their single pole tents and handcarts, and began their bonewearying journey of almost half a continent. What drove them? What put the steel in their backbones?

Three Reasons Why were the handcart pioneers willing to risk losing legs to the cold, or even laying down their lives, to make the trek? I came away from Iowa City convinced that
   (1) The Call of a Prophet,
   (2) A desire to raise a family in Zion, and
   (3) The fire of temple covenants burning in their bones was what gave our pioneer forefathers the fire for the deed . . . come what may.

We, like the pioneers, are equally blessed to live the principles taught by prophets, to establish Zion, and to live (and if necessary, die) by our temple covenants. On a list at the Mormon Pioneer Campground, I found the name of my relative, the father of a family, who died near Chimney Rock, secure in the knowledge that his sacrifice had great eternal meaning for himself and for his numerous posterity.

Remember . . . Remember Many times in the scriptures, the Lord admonishes us to “Remember, Remember.” This year, let us each carry in our pocket the symbol of our

willingness to remember those who were willing to sacrifice the last full measure of devotion at Martin’s Cove. Let’s each purchase and carry with us a “Remember Martin’s Cove” medallion!

It’s appropriate that we take time often to remember the values of our forebears. Renowned historian Will Durant said “We are drowned with news, but we are starved of history.”1 Remembering our noble ancestors is to remember our moorings, our roots. “History,” said Durant, “is the present, rolled up for action.”2 Every generation must rediscover the principles our ancestors used to establish our civilization . . . principles to which we must recommit in order that it may be perpetuated.

Grateful for the opportunity to
serve . . .
—Grant E. Barton

“If courage and endurance make a story, if human kindness and helpfulness and brotherly love in the midst of raw horror are worth recording, this half-forgotten episode of the Mormon migration is one of the great tales of the West and of America.”¹ —Wallace Stegner

From 1856 to 1860 nearly three thousand Latter-day Saints successfully pulled their earthly possessions in wheeled carts from Iowa City to the Salt Lake Valley. The tragic exception were pioneers of the Willie and Martin Handcart companies in 1856. Late starts, unexpected delays, insufficient provisions, and unseasonable weather are reasons they encountered problems and did not pull their own carts into Salt Lake City. In          remembrance of their struggles in Wyoming’s              frigid climes, the story of the Willie and                 Martin Handcart companies is presented.                       Learn of the problems that beset the                            pioneers in these companies from the                               outset at Liverpool until they                               reached Martin’s Cove in Wyoming                               and of the heroic rescue of the                               weary sojourners.

                             Handcart Plan In September 1855,                                  Brigham Young, President of The                                      Church of Jesus Christ of
                                         Latter-day Saints, wrote to                                              Franklin D. Richards,                                            president of the Church’s                                         European Mission,                                 “We cannot afford to purchase                     wagons and teams as in times past, I am           consequently thrown back upon my old plan—to make “If courage and endurance make a story, if human kindness and helpfulness and brotherly love in the midst of raw horror are worth recording, this half-forgotten episode of the Mormon migration is one of the great tales of the West and of America.”¹ —Wallace Stegner Susan Easton Black,

Professor of Church History and Doctrine, Brigham Young University hand-carts, and let the emigration foot it.” Confident of the plan, Brigham added, “They can come just as quick, if not quicker, and much cheaper—can start earlier and escape the prevailing sickness which annually lays so many of our brethren in the dust.”² In response to Young’s letter, Richards penned, “The plan proposed is novel, . . . the device of inspiration, and the Lord will own and bless it.”³

On October 29, 1855, in the “Thirteenth General Epistle of the First Presidency of the Church” the handcart plan was presented: “Let the Saints, who intend to immigrate the ensuing year, understand that they are expected to walk and draw their luggage across the plains.”4 News of the epistle and the proposed plan to transport possessions in wooden carts was well received by hopeful immigrants. One expectant Irish immigrant, musician, J. D. T. McAllister, was so enthusiastic he took poetic license with the epistle, composing “The Handcart Song”:

     Ye Saints that dwell on Europe’s shore Prepare      yourselves with many more To leave behind your      native land For sure God’s Judgments are at hand.      Prepare to cross the stormy main Before you do      the Valley gain, And with faithful make a start To      cross the plains with your handcart.
Chorus
     Some must push and some must pull As we go      marching up the hill, As merrily on the way we go      Until we reach the Valley, oh!⁵

McAllister, believing himself capable of expressing the sentiment of many, added, “From the oldest to the youngest, all feel Zionward, and are, at the present time, rejoicing in the anticipation of pulling or pushing a handcart to their home in the west.”6

As time neared for the first handcart pioneers to immigrate to America, President Richards expressed anxiety about the handcart plan. On February 2, 1856, he wrote, “None of the emigrating Saints have ever crossed the plains who have had greater demands on the shepherds of the flock, than those who will travel in the handcart companies the coming season.”7 Richards believed that the carts were mere copies of those drawn by street sweepers in urban centers. He wondered whether the carts would be sturdy enough for the rough terrain of frontier America, a valid concern since the axles, made of hickory poles, lacked iron skeins for support, and no one had taken them on such a long journey before.

Then, of course, there was the larger issue of safety. Many of those who planned to immigrate were women and children; others were elderly, frail, and infirm. Could these immigrants make the strenuous journey, pulling possessions in carts, and not fall by the wayside?8 If such were feasible, timing and weather was critical. Late starts, unavoidable delays, and early storms could turn the success of the handcart plan to suffering and tragedy seemingly overnight.

Troubles from the Outset
The Willie and Martin companies faced significant delays leaving England. The sailing vessel Thornton with 764 Latter-day Saints aboard under the leadership of James Willie delayed its departure until May 3, 1856, from Liverpool. The vessel Horizon, carrying 856 Saints under the direction of Edward Martin, did not sail until May 25. The late start caused the Willie Company to arrive in Iowa City on June 26. The Martin company arrived 12 days later on July 8. Latter-day Saint agents in Iowa City were unprepared to outfit the new arrivals. Although they had successfully outfitted three handcart companies earlier that year, providing additional carts and other provisions for


The typical construction of THE MORMON HANDCART was made according to Brigham Young’s specification usually of oak or hickory:
Hubs: 7 inches in diameter x 8 inches long.

Axles: 2 1/2 inches x 3 inches x 52 inches long, axle bearing being 2 1/2 inches tapering to 1 1/2 inches.

Wheels: 4 feet in diameter, 10 spokes, Fellies 1 inch x 1 1/4 inches in width. 1 1/2 to 2 inches dish.

Box, Bed: 36 inches x 48 inches x 9 inches deep. 4 cross pieces padded with carpet or rags.

Shaft: Extended 2 1/2 to 3 feet beyond bed with a hickory cross bar.

Most of the carts would weigh from 100 to 160 lbs., and they were limited to 500 to 600 lbs., carrying the needs of 6 to 7 people.

the unexpectedly large body of late arrivals in these fourth and fifth companies proved difficult. It was not until July 15, nine days after the fourth company reached Iowa City that it was able to proceed west under Captain Willie. The fifth company, under Captain Martin, did not proceed until the 28th, 20 days after arriving in Iowa City. At the time of its departure, the count for the Willie Company was 500 emigrants, “120 handcarts, 5 wagons, 24 oxen, and 45 beef cattle and cows.” The Martin Company included 576 emigrants, “146 carts, 7 wagons, 30 oxen, and 50 cows and beef cattle.”9

For both companies, the journey across Iowa to Florence, Nebraska, was completed in four weeks without incident. The Willie Company arrived at Florence on August 11 and the Martin Company came 11 days later. There, each company paused to repair carts, procure additional supplies, and, most importantly, question whether to proceed to the Salt Lake Valley or wait until the next season to finish their trek. John Chislett, a member in the Willie Company, wrote that Levi Savage proposed the pioneers wait until the next season to advance. Savage feared the handcart companies “could not cross the mountains with a mixed company of aged people, women, and little children, so late in the season without much suffering, sickness, and death.” His opinion was considered and then dismissed as enthusiasm heightened for continuing the westward trek. Although Savage did not concur with the notion of advancing, he expressed a willingness to move forward: “Brethren and sisters, what I have said I know to be true; but seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you, will help you all I can, will work with you, will rest with you, will suffer with you, and, if necessary, I will die with you. May God in his mercy bless and preserve us.”10 Having traveled so far from their homes in England, the members of the Willie and Martin companies were eager to reach their final destination in the Salt Lake Valley.

Trail from Florence to Wyoming
The last handcart pioneer left Florence August 27, 1856. A week later, on September 3, Franklin D. Richards penned, “Everything seems equally propitious for a safe and profitable wind-up at the far end. . . . I visited Captain Edward Martin’s train, several of whom expressed their thanks in a particular manner for being permitted to come out this year.”11 President Richards’s optimism for a safe and prosperous journey was shared by Cyrus H. Wheelock, who recorded on September 2, 1856, “All were in good spirits, and generally in good health, and full of confidence that they should reach the mountains in season to escape the severe storms. I have never seen more union among the Saints anywhere than is manifested in the handcart companies.”12 Pioneer Chislett also wrote optimistically: “Everything seemed to be propitious, and we moved gaily forward full of hope and faith. At our camp each evening could be heard songs of joy, merry peals of laughter.”13 Poetess Emily H. Woodmansee captured the cheerful mood of the pioneers in the “Hand-cart Song”:

Hurrah for the Camp of Israel!
Hurrah for the hand-cart scheme!
Hurrah! Hurrah! ’tis better far
Than the wagon and ox-team.
And Brigham’s their executive,
He told us the design;
And the Saints are proudly marching on,
Along the hand-cart line.14

As the pioneers moved farther west, Levi Savage’s fears became a distant, if not forgotten, foreboding of the future. Franklin D. Richards, who had passed the companies en route to the Salt Lake Valley, had promised to send extra supplies to the handcart pioneers with all possible haste. As the pioneers pressed ever onward, few spoke of concerns until late September, when the Willie Company reached Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and learned the promised provisions had not arrived yet.

Knowing their food supply was low, Captain Willie mandated that rations be cut and pioneers travel faster toward their new home in the Salt Lake Valley. A few days later, after assessing their provisions, Willie reduced rations again, this time to only 10 ounces per day of flour. Lacking proper nourishment, few pioneers could sustain the pace needed to reach their destination. Yet the nearly famished sojourners pushed on even when snowcapped mountains in the distance signaled that winter’s blanket would soon reach their trail. When snow did fall on the trail several days later, tragedy soon followed. Lack of proper winter clothing and bedding coupled with scanty shelter took a deathly toll. The line of handcarts slowed as the old and infirm succumbed: “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,” Chislett wrote. “Many a father pulled his cart, with his little children on it, until the day preceding his death.” To Chislett, the immigrants “travelled on in misery and sorrow day after day. . . . Finally we were overtaken by a snowstorm which the shrill wind blew furiously about us. The snow fell several inches deep as we travelled along, but we dared not stop.”15

Before the snow was a foot deep, provisions were all but gone. “We killed more cattle and issued the meat; but, eating it without bread, did not satisfy hunger, and to those who were suffering from dysentery it did more harm than good,” lamented Chislett. “Such craving hunger I never saw before, and may God in his mercy spare me the sight again.”16 Frantic, Captain Willie left the company in search of those who were supposed to be delivering the promised provisions.

The Martin Company’s suffering was even greater than that endured by those in the Willie Company. The Martin Company didn’t reach Fort Laramie until October 8. “Our provisions by this time had become very scant,” recorded Elizabeth Jackson, “and many of the company went to the Fort and sold their watches and jewelry for provisions.” Like the Willie Company, those with Captain Martin found no provisions awaiting them. After leaving the fort, Martin, too, shortened daily rations: “The reduction was repeated several times. First, the pound of flour was reduced to three-fourths, then to one-half of a pound, and afterwards to still less per day. However we pushed ahead.”17

Hunger combined with winter storms slowed their movement one step at a time until death claimed the exhausted. The words of Elizabeth Jackson bespeak the desperate situation of the hapless travelers:

“About nine o’clock I retired. Bedding had become very scarce so I did not disrobe. I slept until, as it appeared to me, about midnight. I was extremely cold. The weather was bitter. I listened to hear if my husband breathed, he lay so still. I could not hear him. I became alarmed. I put my hand on his body, when to my horror I discovered that my worst fears were confirmed. My husband was dead. I called for help to the other inmates of the tent. They could render me no aid; and there was noalternative but to remain alone by the side of the corpse till morning. Oh, how the dreary hours drew their tedious length along. When daylight came, some of the male part of the company prepared the body for burial. And oh, such a burial and funeral service. They did not remove his clothing—he had but little. They wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a pile with thirteen others who had died, and then covered him up with snow.”18 And thus it was, or as 12-year-old John Bond wrote, “Day after day passes and still no tidings of help coming from the westward.”19 Captain Martin lamented, “I almost wish God would close my eyes to the enormity of the sickness, hunger and death among the Saints.”20

Rescue
On Saturday, October 4, 1856, Brigham Young was informed that two handcart companies were still en route to the Salt Lake Valley. The next day, at the Church’s semiannual conference, where nearly 12 thousand Saints had gathered, President Young said: “Many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with hand-carts, and probably many are now 700 miles from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text will be, ‘to get them here.’ I want the brethren who may speak to understand that their text is the people on the plains, and the subject matter for this community is send for them and bring them in before the winter sets in. . . . Go and bring in those people now on the plains.”21

The people’s response was immediate. Women darned socks, patches shirts, and finished quilts while men saddled horses and loaded wagons with needed supplies such as flour, beans, rice, and sugar. As the wagons were being loaded, young men bid a quick farewell to family, friends, and sweethearts. Each seemed to know something of the perils ahead on the journey, but the determination to help the pioneers seemed to overshadow any fears. In public and private prayers, Latter-day Saints petitioned the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to temper the weather and assure those on the trail that help was on its way.

On the morning of October 7, the first of what would be 250 rescue teams moved out from the Salt Lake Valley toward the windswept snowdrifts of north central Wyoming. Their journey—some 300 miles—was not easy but their determination was sure. There was no turning back.

On October 21, rescuers reached the Willie Company. “Shouts of joy rent the air; strong men wept till tears ran freely down their furrowed and sun-burnt cheeks.”22 One member of the rescue team, Harvey Cluff, recalled, “Young maidens and feeble old ladies, threw off all restraint and freely embraced their deliverers expressing in a flow of

kisses, the gratitude which their tongues failed to utter.”23 That evening, songs of Zion were sung around small fires and “peals of laughter issued from the little knots of people as they chatted.”24

Some in the first rescue party stayed with the Willie Company and attended to their needs. Others pushed on in search of the survivors of the Martin Company. Among them was George Grant, who explained, “We found the Martin Company in a deplorable condition, they having lost fifty-six of their number since crossing the North Platte, nine days before. . . . There were old men pulling and tugging their carts, sometimes loaded with a sick wife or children—women pulling along sick husbands—little children six to eight years old struggling through the mud and snow. . . . The sight is almost too much for the stoutest of us.25

Yet the rescuers went to work, caring for the sojourners as if they were family members. The resuers set up and took down camp. They cooked the food, drove the wagons, and, when needed, carefully lifted sufferers into their wagons and administered to their needs.

Unfortunately in the process, the weather took a turn for the worse. Each day became colder than the day before. Many had their feet frozen and were unable to walk, having to be lifted into the wagons. Others had their fingers and ears frozen. Anxious to relieve their suffering as soon as possible, George Grant penned, “We will move every day toward the valley if we have to shovel snow to do it, the Lord helping us.”26 Such determination bound the rescuers to the handcart immigrants in the frigid climes of Wyoming as perhaps nothing else could.

It was not until November 9 that the rescuers delivered the first members of the Willie Company to the Salt Lake Valley. Twenty-one days later, on Sunday, November 30, those bringing survivors of the Martin Company began their descent into the valley. President Young, speaking to a congregation assembled in the bowery on Temple Square, said:

“When those persons arrive I do not want to see them put into houses by themselves; I want to have them distributed in the city among the families that have good and comfortable houses. . . . I wish the sisters to go home and prepare to give those who have just arrived a mouthful of something to eat, and to wash them and nurse them up. You know that I would give more for a dish of pudding and milk, or a baked potato and salt, were I in the situation of those persons who have just come in, than I would for all your prayers, though you were to stay here all the afternoon and pray. Prayer is good, but when baked potatoes, and pudding, and milk are needed, prayer will not supply their place on this occasion.”27

When the handcart pioneers reached the valley, they were taken into warm houses and cared for with tender mercies. Among the recipients of charitable care was 10-year-old

Ellen Pucell and her 14-year-old sister, Maggie, both orphans. When the young girls’ shoes and stockings were removed, skin came off. Maggie’s legs were frozen and needed immediate attention. Ellen’s legs were amputated just below her knees. Other immigrants endured similar hardships. However, Church members in Salt Lake cared for these immigrants, nursing them back to health and helping them get established in their new city.

Conclusion
Five handcart companies crossed the plains in 1856. Two companies reached the Salt Lake Valley on September 26. The third arrived on October 2. Only the fourth, led by Captain James Willie, and fifth, led by Captain Edward Martin, suffered great tragedies on the western American frontier.

Years later, critics of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expressed the opinion that the last two handcart companies should not have been permitted to start so late in the season. Listening to these critics was Francis Webster, who at age 26 had been a member of the Willie Company. Instead of supporting the critics, Webster, then an elderly man, said: “I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Hand Cart company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that Company and my wife was in it. . . . We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that Company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that Company ever apostatized or left the Church because every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.”28

Despite the hardship and suffering, much good, as Webster attested, also resulted from the experiences of the Willie and Martin companies.