  PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY INTO THE WILDERNESS—THE OUTFIT—THE RENDEZVOUS—ORGANIZATION—MANNER OF TRAVELING—MEETING THE PIONEERS—A SYLVAN FEAST—ARRIVAL IN SALT LAKE VALLEY—"WORK ENOUGH FOR ONE FALL"—SOCIAL FEAST—CHARACTER OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETY. The Saints at Winter Quarters had been instructed to organize into companies and follow the pioneers into the mountains as soon as practicable. As Elders Taylor and Pratt did not arrive in time to fit out and accompany the pioneers; and as they were members of the quorum presiding over the Church at the time, Elder Taylor was associated with Elder Pratt in a general superintendency of affairs at Winter Quarters and especially in organizing the companies destined to follow the Pioneers that summer. The plan of organization for traveling was to divide the people into companies of one hundred wagons, subdivided into companies of fifty wagons, and ten wagons, with captains over each division, the captains of fifties being subordinate to captains of hundreds, and captains of tens being subordinate to captains of fifties—all being subject to the direction of the Apostles. Each fifty had a blacksmith with tools for repairing wagons and shoeing animals. Three hundred pounds of breadstuff were required for each person. Every man had to have a gun with one hundred rounds of ammunition; and each family was expected to take along its proportion of seed grain and agricultural implements. As fast as individuals and families were found who had the required outfit, or could obtain it, they rendezvoused at a point on the Elk Horn River, where the organization for the journey to the mountains was perfected. The families who had traveled with Elder Taylor from Nauvoo to Council Bluffs, desired to be again enrolled in the company in which he traveled. That request was granted, and they were chiefly enrolled in the first fifty of the hundred of which Edward Hunter, afterwards Presiding Bishop of the Church, was the captain, and Joseph Horne was captain of the fifty. In preparing for this journey Elder Taylor was kept extremely busy. Wagons had to be overhauled, tires re-set, horses and oxen to be collected and shod, supplies obtained, and only a limited number of hands with which to accomplish it all; for five hundred able-bodied men, it will be remembered, had been taken into the service of the United States, and about one hundred and forty more had gone as pioneers, and those who from their circumstances had to remain at Winter Quarters were busily engaged in putting in crops for supplies for another season. During the early part of June, however, some six hundred wagons gathered on the Elk Horn ready to start. There were 1553 souls in the company, 2213 oxen, 124 horses, 887 cows, many of which had to do service under the yoke, 358 sheep, 716 chickens and a number of pigs. On the 21st and 22nd of June this large company began its journey. It was late in the season for starting on such an expedition. It was too late for them to put in crops that season, even if they stopped far short of the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. They barely had provisions to last them a year and a half, and if their first crop failed, starvation must follow, for they would be from ten to fifteen hundred miles from the nearest point where food could be obtained, and no swifter means of transportation than horse or ox teams! It was a bold undertaking, this moving over fifteen hundred souls—more than half of whom were women and children—into an unknown country, through hostile tribes of savages. Had it not been for the assurance of the support and protection of Jehovah, it would have been not only a bold but a reckless movement—the action of madmen. But as it was, the undertaking was a sublime evidence of their faith in God and their leaders. This company differed from the pioneers. The latter was made up of able-bodied men, excepting three women—none were helpless. They had the best of teams, and if they failed in finding a place of settlement they could return to the place of starting. Meantime their families were not endangered. They were secure at Winter Quarters. Not so with the Pratt and Taylor company. They had their all upon the altar, including their wives and children, who must share their hardships and their fate. They knew not their destination, they entrusted all on a single venture, from which there was no chance of retreat. If they should fail to find a suitable location and raise a crop the first season, there was no getting provisions to them, nor them to provisions. They must succeed, or perish in the wilderness to which they had started. With a faith that has never been surpassed, they placed themselves under the guidance and protection of their God, and we shall see in the sequel that they trusted not in vain. CAMP AT WOOD RIVER CAMP AT WOOD RIVER Usually on the journey this great camp traveled in sections of one hundred wagons each. The company in which Apostle Pratt traveled took the lead, and the one in which Elder Taylor traveled followed next, and then the others in their order. Between the hundreds in which Elders Taylor and Pratt traveled was a company of artillery, commanded by Charles C. Rich. When feed for the cattle was scarce, or roads bad, or water not abundant, then they traveled fifty wagons in a section, but always sufficiently near each other to readily unite for protection in case of an assault from the Indians. When the prairies were wide and the ground unbroken, two companies often traveled abreast. Crossing the level plains that now form the state of Nebraska, they came in contact with immense herds of buffalo, which supplied them with plenty of beef. Public prayer was offered up daily in the camps. Sunday was observed as a day of rest, religious services were held in each camp, and the stillness of the great wilderness of the west was broken by Saints singing the songs of Zion. Thus day after day, week after week, the sections of the great company drew their slow length along, until the wide spreading plains of La Platte are behind them, they enter the Black Hills and at last approach the Rocky Mountains. On what was known as the Upper Crossing of the Sweetwater, east of the South Pass, between three and four hundred miles east of Salt Lake, Elder Taylor's division met the returning pioneers. That band of men had entered the Salt Lake Valley, selected a site for a city, commenced the erection of a fort, plowed several acres of land and planted late crops; and having left a few of their number with some members of the Mormon Battalion who had joined them there to continue the work, they were now on their way back to Winter Quarters with the glad news that a gathering place had been selected for Israel. The morning that Elder Taylor's division met the returning pioneers, there was a flurry of snow. The heavens were darkened, the bright sunshine which they had enjoyed without a cloud to obscure it for weeks together, was now shut out from view, and snow fell two or three inches deep. Snow! and in September, too! Was that the kind of climate they were going to? The hearts of some sank within them, and the prospect looked gloomy enough. But that which produced fears in the breasts of the timid, only provoked laughter from Elder Taylor. He bade them be of good cheer, and laughingly proposed to insure the lives of the whole company at five dollars per head. Elder Taylor and other leading brethren in his division met in council with the Apostles in the pioneer company. What a weight of responsibility rested upon these men! They had selected a location for a great people in an unknown climate; they had planted seed in an untried soil; they knew they would have to depend upon new methods of agriculture to mature their crops—irrigation—would it succeed? There were tens of thousands of people on the banks of the Missouri waiting for them to return to lead them forth into the wilderness, to the new home; the means of getting them there this body of men in council must devise; they were founding a commonwealth in the wilderness; the whole world was watching their movements and would hold them morally responsible for any disasters that might occur. With this burden upon them, they might well hold council meetings, whenever convenient, in order to discuss their present situation and future prospects. But while the brethren were in council the clouds cleared away, and before the warm sunshine the snow soon disappeared. There was a nervous activity in the camp, mysterious movements among the sisters. Trunks that had been undisturbed on the journey were opened, their contents investigated and certain articles hurriedly conveyed to a beautiful, natural lawn enclosed by a dense growth of bushes. Several improvised tables of uncommon length, covered with snow-white linen, and fast being burdened with glittering tableware, gave evidence that a surprise was in store for the weary pioneers. The "fatted calf" was killed; game and fish were prepared in abundance; fruits, jellies and relishes reserved for special occasions were brought out until truly it was a royal feast. Moreover, though the place selected for the spread was adjacent to the camp, it was successful as a surprise. The pioneers knew nothing of what had taken place until they were led by Elder Taylor through a natural opening in the bushes fringing the enclosure, and the grand feast burst upon their astonished vision. One hundred and thirty sat down at the supper; and if for a moment rising emotions at this manifestation of love choked their utterance and threatened to blunt the edge of appetite, the danger soon passed under the genial influence of the sisters who waited upon the tables and pressed their guests to eat: in the end they paid a full and hearty compliment to the culinary skill of the sisters. Supper over and cleared away, preparations were made for dancing; and soon was added to the sweet confusion of laughter and cheerful conversation the merry strains of the violin, and the strong, clear voice of the prompter directing the dancers through the mazes of quadrilles, Scotch-reels, French-fours and other figures of harmless dances suitable to the guileless manners and the religious character of the participants. Dancing was interspersed with songs and recitations. "We felt mutually edified and blessed," writes Elder Taylor, "we praised the Lord and blessed one another." So closed a pleasant day, though the morning with its clouds and snow looked very unpromising. The morning following they separated, the pioneers going towards the rising, the others towards the setting sun. On the 5th of October, Elder Taylor reached Salt Lake Valley. After so long and so tedious a journey, a few days' rest would have been the proper thing, but there was no time for that. They must prepare for the winter, of the mildness or severity of which they knew nothing only through report. The pioneers and members of the battalion had made some progress in erecting a square fort, enclosing ten acres of ground; this was known as the Old Fort. On the arrival of the Pratt and Taylor encampment, they commenced the erection of a fort on the south side of it, the same width but twice its length. Each family had its allotment of ground according to the number and necessities of its members. Some built with adobies, others with round logs and others with split logs. Whip-saws were called into requisition for the manufacture of lumber by hand. FIRST RESIDENCE IN UTAH FIRST RESIDENCE IN UTAH "Our houses," writes Elder Taylor, "were built on the outside line [of the fort] in shanty form, with the highest wall outside, the roof sloping towards the interior. The windows and doors were placed on the side facing the enclosure, the outside being left solid, excepting loop holes—for protection. Our corrals, hay-stacks and stables were some distance behind and outside the fort. "About Christmas, I had put up, enclosed and covered about ninety feet of building made of split logs, out of which was taken a four-inch plank. The plank was used for partitions, etc. * * * In addition to this, I had built corrals and stables behind, and enclosed a garden spot in front, with a board-rail fence. I assisted in all this labor of sawing, building, hauling, etc.,—enough for one fall." In the midst of these busy scenes the spiritual instruction of the people was not neglected. After the arrival of the several divisions of the company that left Winter Quarters in June, they were called upon to repent and renew their covenants in baptism, Elders Taylor and Pratt setting the example. The Saints very generally responded to this requirement and the Spirit of God rested upon them in great power. A Stake of Zion had been organized by the Apostles of the pioneer company before they returned to Winter Quarters, and John Smith, uncle to the Prophet Joseph, was chosen president. The Saints had no public place for worship, but they met in the private houses of leading elders on the Sabbath, and sometimes in the evenings of week days to be taught in their duties. All through that winter Elder Taylor was diligent in that labor, going from house to house to instruct the Saints. Meetings for his own family were frequently called, and there he taught them how to live in peace, to be courteous, kind and considerate of each other's feelings; and there, doubtless, was laid the foundation of that kindly feeling and courteous deportment toward each other, and that union which today is a characteristic of his large family. The condition of the Church during that first winter in the valley of Salt Lake was very similar to that of the Nephite Church in the first years of the Nephite Republic, of which the historian says; "when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God, and when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God, they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers; for the preacher was no better than the hearer; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength."[ So Elder Taylor labored through that winter. His days were spent in the saw-pit, where he manufactured lumber by hand with a whip-saw; his evenings and the Sabbaths were spent in councils with his brethren and in the meetings of the Saints, where he taught them the way of life. Occasionally a social party broke the monotony of their life in the wilderness, and for several reasons I give Elder Taylor's description of one of these parties held at his own house. It seems there had been an order or agreement entered into by the Saints that they would have no dancing until after their first harvest in the valley—such an agreement was law to this primitive community—so originated all their laws; but when new year's came, and with it the recollection of the merriment of former years, they seemed to repent of the strictures they had placed upon themselves, and it was rumored as New Year's day approached that license had been given by the president of the stake for dancing on the evening of that day, but there was to be no more until harvest—so much is necessary to the understanding of the following: January 1st, 1847: "As today was New Year's day, several of my family spoke to me about having a party as usual upon that day. The plan they proposed getting it up on was that every one should bring his own provisions. The principle itself was repugnant to me, but still under the circumstances, if we had a party, this must be the principle we must have it on, as I could not possibly spare provisions for so large a company as we must necessarily have; and upon this plan there was one gotten up. We had an excellent supper, sixty-nine sat down and we enjoyed ourselves very much. I gave the presidency to Brother Sherwood. I sat at the head of one table, Brother Hunter at another, Brother Horne and Shurtliff at others. After the tables were cleared, the order was given for dancing. My reasons for indulging in this recreation were that Brother Shurtliff went up and saw Uncle John Smith (the president of the stake) and told him that we had made calculations upon having a dance; but when I heard there was a law against it, I was resolved not to have any unless Uncle John should say I was justified in doing it. He said if he was me he would have the dance as it had been arranged for. "I sent to Uncle John to see about this, not because I thought there was any harm in dancing, but because I did not wish to encourage law-breaking by my example in this thing. There was an intermission in the dancing when we had some singing and a comic sermon from Brother Sherwood, after which dancing was resumed and continued until a little after eleven o'clock. Brother Sherwood called the house to order and told them the time had come to separate; but before parting he had a few remarks to make. He spoke on a variety of principles and made some very good remarks. Upon his concluding I arose and made some remarks upon the object of our meeting, my object in having dancing, on the principles of power existing in the kingdom, and the active part we are destined to take in the affairs of kingdoms." In the above appears the large and generous nature of Elder Taylor which shrank with repugnance, even in those days of scarcity, from the idea of having his guests bring their provisions with them to a feast in his house. There is also manifested his respect for law. There was no assumed airs because he was an Apostle, followed by a haughty disregard of a rule established by the president of the stake—but a humble disposition to submit to it. The conclusion of his description of this party gives us to understand that although he, with the rest of the Saints, had been expatriated, and driven into exile in the wilderness, and well nigh stripped of all their earthly possessions—he had lost none of his faith in the future high destiny of the people of God,—they were yet to be active in the affairs of kingdoms! Lastly his description of this party enables one to see something of social life in the infant commonwealth of Deseret—the homely joys of the people; their simple, guileless ways; their unfeigned enjoyment of innocent, natural pleasures:
Far better this than—
Footnotes |
|
