The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-20
Martins Handcart Company, 1856
BY JOSIAH ROGERsoN.
No. 2.

blended there and became one company
to Salt Lake.
Now TO our journey, from Brother
James q. Bleaks diary and our memo
ry: Crossing the Iowa river between
and 3 p. m. on the 4th, Schuttler
wagons laden with provisions TO the
bows, eight or ten yoke of oxen, one
hight spring wagon, one span of mules
and two riding horses, about eighty
handcarts and 400 men, women and
children, We turned abruptly to the
west after crossing the bridge on to the
old stage road, and for a breaking in
made four and one-half TO six miles
that day. Elder Edward Martin. for
merly member of the Mormon batta-
non. was our captain. with Elder Dan
lei Tyler, also a member of the Nor
mon battalion. as advisory counselor"
not of captain, although he was made
captain of the guard from here and till
the guarding and the snow had buried
many of his mighty platoons between
tile crossing of the North Platte and
the South Pass.
Sunday, July 27-Held sacrament
meeting; didn't travel today.
Monday July 2S-Traveled a few
miles; camped, and this evening lost
some loose cattle.
Tuesday, July 29-Traveled a short
distance, apparently delaying for the
return of the cattle and the hunters)
Wednesday, July 30-Traveled about
the same distance as yesterday
Thursday, July 3l-Traveled five
miles, MIR. Bleak also says, II visited
today the remains of a conicaI stone
monument on the banks of one of the
forks of the Des Moines river. supposed
to be the remains of an Indian council
house"
Friday Aarar ID
miles. Nothing particular worthy of
record, only we are now on the beauti-
full waving meadows of Iowa
Saturday, Aug. 2-Traveled ten miles.
Sunday, Aug. 3-Traveled seven
miles.
Monday Aug. Travelled eight
Tuesday, Aug. 5TraveIed twelve
and half miles.
Wednesday, Aug. 6-Traveled eight
miles.
Thursday. Aug. Travelled thirteen
miles.
Friday, Aug. s-Traveled twenty
lmiles, and passed through the town of
Newton. which was quite a village of
farmers. They came TO our camp and
entreated of US earnestly and sincerely
not 10 go any farther on account of the
latenesS of the season, and seemed to
be very anxious in wanting us to stop.
That they could and would furnish us
employment for a number of our able
bodied men. etc, but we were west
ward bound, and none stopped. Up to
! this date there had been no deaths and
the aged were picked up and put in the
wagons as they became tired, and the
| children, after walking a while in the
morning and afternoons. were nut on
the carts and rode TO noon and even
ing camps.
We were commencing now to make
good time; feed splendid, our work
oxen doing Well and we had fairly
plenty to eat. Farms every few miles
on each side of the road, where our
fathers and mothers could buy a few
pounds of cOrn-fed smoked bacon near
/ ~ every day since we started, and in
the thirteen days travel we had MAZE
about 10 miles, with, from the babe i'm
the arms. the middle-aged and feeble,
TO the veteran of Waterloo, aged 50.
The writer remembers seeing several
villages and towns on each side of the
road during this distance, but not the
names, nor is it material, as when
night came We turned out of the road
and camped. water, grass and fuel be-
ing favorable, so that the stage could
pass unobstructed. Tens of thousands
or Iowa We Travelled over, unpre-empt-
ed and unfenced.
Again to our journey and journal.
Saturday, Aug. 9-Traveled thirteen
miles. a very violent thunderstorm to-
day.
Sunday. Aug. 10-Rested today. Ell
der William Wignall, the captain of
our and the first hundred from Preston.
Lancashire, England, blessed a daugh-
ter of Brother Charles Twelves, and the
sacrament was administered, and here
it is in place to say that every morn
ing before starting and every night
before retiring to our tents, every
member of the party was called togeth-
er with the cornet by John Watkins
for prayer and, with bowed and uncov-
cred heads, prosperity on our Journey
and the blessings of God were invoked
from the day we arrived on Iowa hill.
Iowa, July 9, till we reached the South
pass.
Monday, Aug. IA brother Gn the
church, and a child were buried TODAY
(names not in the journaD. We trav-
eled twelve miles today. First deaths
on our journey.
We passed the town of Marengo a
few days before, on the north side of
the road, and on our right, then the
town OF Newton on the Sth: and i'm this
part of Iowa, now / remember numer-
Gus patches and groves of hardwood
timber, with wild grapes and hazelnuts.
that the white mans ak had never as
sailed. Indeed, for miles at a stretch.
it was the red mans primeval meadow.
and the paradise of his hunting
grounds.
Tuesday, Aug. 12-Traveled twelve
miles; water very bad.
Wednesday, Aug 13-Traveled eight
cen miles today, and camped on Coon
river.
Thursday, Aug. 14-Traveled sixteen
miles
Friday Aug. 15-Traveled ten miles,
and had general washing day.
saturday. Aug. 16-Traveled sixteen
miles, and all day without water.
Sunday. Aug. 17-Traveled seventeen
miles; no water on the road. A thun-
derstorm this evening. AS the thun-
derstorm abated in the afternoon, Re-
corder Bleak, the writer and his older
brother. Thomas Dobson and his
younger brother, and others in Wig
nails hundred, leading the company
that day, distinctly observed a meteor
that appeared not more than few
hundred yards ahead of us, and right
on our track, about thirty or fifty yards
i'm the air, and going in a westerly
course. 1t seemed to be about the size
of a oua-fOot Chinese lantern. All of