The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-11-24
Martins Handcart Company, 1856
~ ~
No. 8.
BY JOSIAH ROBERTSON

Possibly this is true as Brother Bleak
has it recorded. but the writer remem-
bers that he and mis- brother pulled a
cart most of the way to Willow
Springs, beyond the three crossings of
| Sweetwater.
Snowbound at DEVILS Gate.
Our camp at the fort at DEVILS Gate
which as | remember, and corroborated
! by Elder Samuel s. Jones OF Provo,
| Utah, was inclosed by two sides, or
wings of a StOckade fence. inside of
which were eight or ten log cabins con-
| structed of dry balsam. We reached
there between 1 and p. m, Sunday
! Nov. ,. possibly earlier, and the relief
boys from Utah soon we're pulling up
and chopping down the stockade posts
for fires. AS the night came on it was
getting bitterly cold, and the wind had
a full sweep at all of US that couldn't
| get shelter in the cabins.
| 1t had been cloudy all the time during
| our travelling today, and | remember
well that we had only once seen the
/ disc of the sun, as we were passing
/ through Devils Gate. The next day
| and the three succeeding days not a
| glimpse of the sun, and the weather
/ increased I'm cold and severity. as will
| be seen from General Burton's and
Brother Bleak's journals. and during
=, this period the two wagon companies
! had come up to our camp here and,
with General Burton's relief teams,
| formed quite a camp. Brother Bleak
says:
Tuesday. Nov. 4-In camp.
/ "Wednesday. Nov. 5-No travel; wea-
Their very severe. Sister Mary Harper
! died, aged "a. Ration of flour was re-
duced to four ounces for adults and
/ two ounces for the children, and MAX
! ing a pound of flour a day for the six
/ of US (Brother Bleak's family. yet we
were as cOntented as when we had one
pound per head.
Thursday. Nov. 6-No travelling;
/ weather bound.
Friday. Nov. THE same as yester-
/ day; weather bound.
Saturday. Nov. S-No travelling but
/ the weather somewhat more favora-
| BILE"
General Burton's Journal Again.
I shall now insert eight days record
/ from General Burton's journal. which
our readers will find invaluable and in
/ teresting:
Friday. Oct. 51-Fine and clear.
Started this morning to meet the (our)
handcart company. Met them on
CROSSWORD creek. Camped with them
tonight. and dealt out to them -four.
clothing, etc.
Saturday. Nov. started back to
the valley (Utah. Brothers Grant and
r T. Burton went back to meet Broth
er .Hodgetts company. four or five
miles back, About noon it commenced
showing; showed until late at night
! Camped near Independence rock
ioI,r
the Devils Gate. Snow deep and very
cold l ask our surviving comrades to
now note closely the length of time we
stopped here.
Monday. Nov. S-Remained at same
place: so cold that the companies could
not move. Sent on an express to Salt
Lake City today. Joseph \. Young and
Abe Carr, to report our situation and
get counsel and help.
Tuesday Nov. 4-COld continued very
severe. People could not move. Slowed
away the goods of the train (of the
wagon companies) in the log houses"
And now comes the record of our di-
Verging from the old Pioneer road
three TO four miles, west and across the
SWeetwater into Martins cove" First
Lieutenant of the Guard Brother Sam
;. Jones of Provo. and of whom / shall
have several para graphs to record be
lore l finish my narrative. calls it
Martins raVine. and well NAV ne re-
member it, as il came within a hairs
breadth of being his mountain grave
through hunger. exhaustion and cold
Note the next sentence from General /
Burton's Journal, of which there is no [
record in Captain Hunts or Brother /
Bleak's journal:
Captain Martins company moved /
(acrosS the Sweetwater west. to a cove
in the mountains) three miles today
and camped."
Ihis cove, or ravine, was indeed our
Valley Forge or graveyard and though
some have censured Captain Martin
Tor taking us there, yet if we had STAYED
at the DEVILS Gate fort it would have
been more fatal, on account of the full
sweep the bitter cold winds had on us
there, and one day or night with the
thermometer II degrees below zero.
Here we had plenty of good cedar wood
and shelter on three sides.
Again L resume General Burton's
journal at DEVILS Gate:
Wednesday, Nov. 5-Weather con-
tmued cold; neither of the companies
moved. Captain Hunts wagon com
pany arrived here at 8 p. m.
Thursday, Nov. 6-Colder than ever
thermometer II degrees below zero.
slowed away the goods of Captain
hunts train. None of the companies
moved; so very cold the people could
not travel.
Friday, Nov. Remained here to-
lay so very cold could not travel.
slowed away goods, trying to save the
2eople, stock, etc
saturday, Nov. S-Wind did not blow
% hard. Some warmer this morning. :
hunting up the horses and cattle to
] I
lay
Sunday, Nov. Slime warm morning. !
me handcart CMartin's) and Captain :
iodgetts company moved on at IL :
'clock a. m. Captain Hunts company :
lot yet done "caching' goods (at the :
DEVILS Gate" !
rms evening we had a meeting of the I
'Incefs OF the companies to appoint $
brethren to remain with the goods left @
iere by Captain Hodgett's and Hunts I
ompanies- Dan Jones was left i'm {
harge, or president; F. NJ. Alexander @
nd Benjamin Hampton, his counsel I
rs with seventeen other brethren from [
ne two companies. The brethren we've Y
instructed in their duties r
during our stay here we had meet a
ngs every evening to counsel together Y
nd ask the Lord TO turn away the cold 0
M storm so that the people might 4
We. =