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This Week in 1856 – Rocky Ridge to Bear River – Mary Taylor

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From John Jacques:

By this time, the shoes of many of the emigrants had “given out,” and that was no journey for shoeless men, women and children to make at such a season of the year, and trudge it on foot. As the emigrants proceeded on their terrible journey, there was no appreciable mitigation of the piercing wintry cold, but its intensity rather increased. The Rocky Ridge and the South Pass were crossed on the 18th of November, a bitterly cold day.

Mary received a pair of shoes from one of the rescuers. Her shoes had long since worn out and she wrapped her feet in canvas from discarded tents.

From John Jacques:

The snow fell fast and the wind blew piercingly from the north. For several days, the company had been meeting more relief teams, which had been urged on by the Joseph A. Young express, and as the company was crossing the South Pass, there was a sufficiency of wagons, for the first time, to carry all the people, and thenceforth, the traveling was more rapid. But it was much colder to ride in a wagon than to follow afoot, and a few of the sturdier of the emigrants preferred to hold on to the wagons and walk behind them. One stubborn pedestrian held out as long as he was allowed to do so. The driver repeatedly urged on him to get up and ride. “Oh, I shall freeze, if I do,” he replied. “Well, we are going to drive faster, and you’ll be left behind,” said the driver. Finally, with such argument, the emigrant was persuaded to get into the wagon. When he was seated, the driver said, “There now, you don’t get out to walk anymore.”

William Bert Simmons, one of the rescuers, put Mary in his wagon. She was semiconscious at times and half frozen.

From John Jacques:

That night, the company camped in the willows at Pacific Springs, about four miles west of the South Pass. The snow was still falling furiously, with one or two feet of it on the ground. Here, Robert T. Burton took charge of the relief companies.

On the 19th, the company camped at Little Sandy, having sage brush for fuel, and on the 20th, on the Big Sandy.

While camping on the Big Sandy, it seemed impossible to get warm, sleeping in a wagon. It was warmer sleeping with beds on the ground, where if the biting, frosty air got the upper hand of you, it could not get the underside of you as well, but it could do both in a wagon.

The handcart company all riding, was now traveling at the rate of twenty-five to thirty miles a day, and my narrative will naturally proceed more rapidly. On the 21st, the company camped at Green River, on the 22nd, near the junction of Ham’s and Black’s forks; on the 23rd, at Bridger; on the 24th, in the cedars on the Muddy, were good fires were had; and on the 25th at Bear River.

At this camp there was an abundance of dry and fallen timber, and great camp fires were made of a cor or more of logs and branches. Here Joseph Young and his brother Brigham were in camp.

Waffle Book – Wonderful

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After all is said and done Waffle is a wonderful girl. She can be sweet and cuddly or she can be willful and frustrating but we love her just the same. She is a bit of a daddy’s girl and listens for the sound of the garage door opening that signals that Bill is home. Then Waffle watches and waits for him to sit down on the floor so she and Casey can get their nightly dose of snuggly papa time.

Waffle Book – Woeful

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Have you ever seen a sadder looking face. Waffle has a way of using her favorite “woe is me” look to get strangers to talk to her. With her pouty lower lip and her long coppery red eyelashes and her sad puppy dog eyes she knows how to look pathetic. It is kind of funny because she is actually a very happy go lucky kind of pup other than not always being sure about new or different situations.

 

Waffle Book – Witty

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Waffle has a fun way of interacting with the world. When we first got her she was such a busy-body getting into everything. She is curious and loves games and finds ways to play them anytime she can. She tries to start games with our cat and he usually plays along. She is very smart and perceptive.

Waffle Book – Wipeout

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When Waffle is tired she is tired and her favorite way to sleep is on her back. I’ve learned that dogs only sleep this way when they feel safe and secure in their environment. It sure makes her look like she is dead to the world. Sometimes I wonder what she has done to make herself so wiped-out by the day. Probably it is just growing up.

 

Waffle Book – Winner

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Waffle’s pronounced under-bite got her pulled from breeding watch but it is hard to imagine her without it. The first time we took her to the vet for shots he pointed it out to us thinking that we already knew about it. Now that we are aware of it, it is there it is obvious and adds to her charm.

Waffle Book – Willful

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Waffle has a very well-developed willful side. When she doesn’t want to go somewhere she will dig in her heals and do everything in her power not to move forward.

When she wants to go somewhere that you don’t want her to go she puts all her weight into it so that she actually is leaning way out from her legs. When she was little it was a standard part of her relieving. Now it only happens some of the time. She often does this on slick tile floors with her toe nails out. Then when she gets a correction for pulling Waffle slips and falls on the floor. Silly girl!

Waffle Book – Wild

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Like most labs, Waffle has moments of wildly racing through the house. She has one funny habit. She is a toy collector. There is a spot in the living room that she likes to collect most of the dog toys. And her favorite thing is to have two toys at once. One to chew on and another toy underneath to hold the toy up to make it easier to reach.

This Week in 1856 – Ephraim Hanks – Mary Taylor

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From John Jacques:

While on the Sweetwater Ephraim Hanks was met one day. He had left his wagon behind him and came on alone, on horseback, and he managed to kill a buffalo. Some of the others of the relief parties, further this way, had come to the conclusion that the rear companies of the emigration had perished in the snow, but Ephraim was determined to go along, even though alone, and see for himself.

From Ephraim K. Hanks:

Ephraim Hanks, a prominent member of the 19th-...

Ephraim Hanks, a prominent member of the 19th-Century Latter Day Saint movement, a Mormon pioneer and a well known leader in the early settlement of Utah. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Being deeply concerned about the possible fate of the emigrants, and feeling anxious to learn of their condition, I determined to start out on horseback to meet them, for this purpose, I secured a pack-saddle, and two animals from Brother Allred, and began to make my way slowly through the snow, alone.

After traveling for some time, I met Joseph A. Young, and one of the Garr boys, two of the relief company which had been out from Salt Lake City, to help the companies. They had met the emigrants, and were now returning with important dispatches from the camps, to the headquarters of the church, reporting the awful condition of the companies.

In the meantime, I continued on m lonely journey, and the night after meeting Elders Young and Garr, I camped in the snow in the mountains. As I was preparing to make a bed in the snow, with the fe articles that my pack animal carried, I though how comfortable a buffalo robe would be on such an occasion, and also how I would relish a little buffalo meat for supper. Before lying down for the night, I asked the Lord to send me a buffalo. Now, I am a firm believer in the efficiency of prayer, and after praying as I did on that lonely night, on the South Pass, I looked around me and spied a buffalo bull, within fifty yards of my camp. I had certainly not expected so immediate an answer to my prayer. . . taking deliberate aim at the animal, my first shot brought him down. . . I was soon busily engaged skinning my game.

Early the next morning, I was on my way again, and soon reached what is known as the Ice Springs bench. There, I happened upon a herd of buffalo, and killed a nice cow. . . I was impressed to do this, although I did not know why until a few hours later, but the thought occurred to my mind, that the hand of the Lord was in it, as it was a rare thing to find buffalo herds around that place, at this late part of the season. I skinned and dressed the cow, then cut up port of it’s meat, in long strips, and loaded both my horses with it. Thereupon, I resumed my journey and traveled on till towards evening.

I think the sun was about an hour high in the west,w hen I spied something in the distance, that looked like a black streak in the snow. As I go near to it, I perceived it moved; then, I was satisfied that this was the long looked for handcart company, led by Captain Edward Martin. I reached the ill-fated train just as the emigrants were camping for the night.

The sight that met my gaze as I entered their camp, can never be erased from my memory. The starved forms and haggard countenances of the poor suffers, as they moved about slowly, shivering with cold, to prepare their scanty evening meal, was enough to touch the stoutest heart. When they saw me coming, they hailed me With joy inexpressible, and when they further beheld the supply of fresh meat I brought into their camp, their gratitude knew no bounds. Flocking around me, one would say, “Oh, please, give me a small piece of meat,” another would exclaim, “My poor children are starving, do give me a little,” and children with tears in their eyes would call out, “Give me some, give me some.” At first, I tried to wait on them, and handed out the meat as they called for it, but finally, I told them to help themselves. Five minutes later, both my horses had been release of their extra burden, the meat was all gone, and the next few hours found the people in camp busily engaged cooking and eating it with thankful hearts.

A prophecy had been made by one of the brethren, that the company should feast on buffalo meat, when their provisions might run short. My arrival in their camp, loaded with meat, was the beginning of the fulfillment of that prediction, but only the beginning, as I afterwards shot and killed a number of buffalo for them as we journeyed along.

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