PIONEER LIFE IN RICH COUNTY, 1871.
Arrest of President Young and Others.--Experiences in Randolph.--Caught
in a Snow Storm.--Reaches Salt Lake City.
The year 1871 found the anti-Mormon element entrenched behind a
considerable adverse eastern sentiment against the Latter-day Saints,
and persecutions therefore took on a renewed vigor.
There was a contest on between the Federal and the Territorial officers
respecting the control of the penitentiary, which had been constructed
in part by the Territory, and in part by the Federal government. As all
such questions were decided by Federal and hostile courts, the Mormon
people were, of course, losers at every step in the controversy.
Salt Lake City was, at this time, visited by large numbers of
strangers, who were generally en route for California. That state
was the eldorado of an adventurous and speculative class of citizens
who had learned how to take advantage of new conditions. They were
naturally quite curious to attend services in the Tabernacle, and in
the evening they usually visited the Fourteenth Ward meeting-house,
that assembly room being in close proximity to the Townsend Hotel, at
that time the chief hostlery of the Territory.
In October of that year, President Young was arrested by United States
Marshal Patrick, on the charge of unlawful conduct with his plural
wives. A little later President Wells and George Q. Cannon were also
arrested on the same charge.
Elder Woodruff said in his journal of October 28th that President
Wells, Hosea Stout, and William Kimball were arrested on a false
charge, made by William A. Hickman, a notorious murderer, who sought
an opportunity at a time when there was great excitement against the
leaders, to shield himself from accusations and prosecution. The
chief purpose of these arrests was to excite the public indignation
throughout the United States against the Mormon leaders. They were
therefore taken to Fort Douglas, and there kept under military guard.
The one excuse {471} for such extraordinary action, was that there
might be an uprising among the people, which would require the military
power to overcome.
While these brethren were thus confined at the Fort, they were visited
by Apostle Woodruff, who says that he found them cheerful and satisfied
that they would be delivered from the power of their enemies. One
General Morrow asked President Wells if they (the Mormons) would give
up polygamy and submit to the demands of the government, or fight. He
replied:
"We will neither submit nor obey,
Neither fight nor run away."
While Elder Woodruff was not personally selected as an object of the
enemies' attack, he was nevertheless deeply interested in the safety of
his brethren, and watched over them with a brotherly love. He was ever
ready, if necessary, to lay down his life for his brethren.
When President Young was on trial, Elder Woodruff was in the court
taking notes of the proceedings, and listening with eager and anxious
feelings. At that time President Young was prosecuted by Maxwell and
Baskin, and defended by Major Hempstead and the eloquent Thomas Fitch,
then the most noted attorney in the Territory.
On the 28th of June, the year following, he reported his sermon in
honor of Mary Philipps of Kaysville, who died in her ninety-eighth
year. She had been baptized by Elder Woodruff in England in 1840. He
always manifested a strong attachment for those who had been the fruit
of the gospel in his early labors.
A little later a peculiar experience came to him in the death of a
Sister Allen, who was sorely afflicted at the home of one of Abram O.
Smoot's wives. She had suffered severely for two years and very much
desired that she might be released from her sufferings in this life.
She therefore called upon Elder Woodruff to bless her to that end. He
prayerfully asked the Lord to let her go, and being impressed that it
was proper that she should go, he dedicated her to the Lord, and in one
hour she passed peacefully to the great beyond.
About this time, Apostle Woodruff entered on some new and rather
extraordinary experiences in an effort he made to {472} assist in the
colonization and development of Rich County, Utah. He therefore made
a home at Randolph for his wife, Sarah. His son, Wilford, had been
released from the Muddy Mission, and returned to Randolph to assist his
father, and to establish a home for himself there.
His new activities in the early settlement of Randolph brought him into
somewhat close relation with the people who were, at this time, busily
occupied in the settlement of Bear Lake.
While on a visit to Soda Springs, where he met President Young and
party, there died a Mrs. Rose, a wife of Major Rose, both of whom he
had baptized thirty years before in England. The Rose family were then
and have since been somewhat prominent in the affairs of that part of
the country.
Besides visiting people for their spiritual edification, he also
occupied a part of his time in hauling wood from the near-by canyons to
his family in Randolph.
On one occasion he recorded his experience as follows:
"David and myself went to the canyon to get wood, and as it was all the
way down hill, we put on about two and one-half cords of dry quaking
asp. While going down a very steep hill, the ring of the neck-yoke
broke and the wagon pushed on at great speed. One of the mules fell
just as the wagon was about to stop. The front wheel run over it and
pinioned it fast to the ground, with the sway bar across its back,
while the tongue of the wagon ran into the ground nearly six feet. The
mule had to lie there until we unloaded the wood, uncoupled the wagon,
dug the tongue out of the ground with an axe, and tipped the wheels
over to release it. We thought it would be almost if not quite dead,
but to our surprise, the mule rose up, shook itself and began to eat.
"The neck-yoke and irons of both whipple-trees were broken, yet I
strapped them up and reached home with one cord of wood."
Continuing his journal, he said: "During those days it was very
stormy, and on the 24th of November it rained nearly all day. I felt
impressed, strongly impressed, that I should return to Salt Lake City.
This feeling had been upon me since Monday, though my family urged
me to remain. On the 15th the same spirit again rested upon me and I
told Sarah and Wilford that I must {473} go; so after I ate breakfast
I prepared my team, bade my family good-bye, and started about eight
o'clock in the morning.
"I drove to Woodruff, fed my horses and talked a while with Bishop Lee.
I then drove on, and when about twelve miles from Wasatch, a great
snow-storm struck me. It was terribly blinding. However, I arrived at
Wasatch in the night with my horses and wagon covered with snow and
water. I called upon Brother George Rowley, who was the one Latter-day
Saint in the place. He received me kindly and assisted me to get my
horses into the store-house, but for which I think they would have
perished, there being no stable in the place.
"I traveled thirty-five miles that day and slept little through the
night. I rose on Sunday morning, the 26th, and found the snow about two
feet deep, and falling thick and fast. It looked very gloomy and I did
not know what course to pursue.
"I could not travel the road so I went to Mr. Haven, an operator and
U. P. agent, and asked him what chance there was to take a car. He had
no baggage car he said, and if he had, he did not know how I could
get my wagon and horses on board, as all the appliances for loading
such articles were moved to Evanston. I could not buy any grain in the
place, and the only hay there, was in the hands of a Mr. Hammond, an
apostate Mormon, and a very bitter one. I brought from Randolph about a
hundred lbs. of hay, which was all the feed I had. The snow was rapidly
covering up my wagon. In that dilemma I went to the house and fed them
a little hay, and then kneeled down and prayed the Lord to deliver me.
"I could get no water to my horses except as Brother Rowley, who had
charge of the engine, would run it on a track near the horses, and turn
it into the buckets and I would then carry it to them.
"The night of that day I went to bed while the snow was still falling
and everything looked gloomy. The 27th was quite an important day with
me. I rose in the morning and found the snow three feet deep on the
level. It was still snowing furiously. I could see no deliverance for
myself and team unless the Lord opened the way for us. I had to wallow
to my arm pits in snow to get to my horses, or anywhere else.
{474} "Mr. Haven sent to Evanston for a car for me, the night before
by my request, but how to get my wagon and team into it was the great
question. Neither did the agent see how it could be done. My wagon was
covered with snow and was some three hundred feet from the station.
There was no help except the Chinamen who were under the control of
a Mr. Carpenter, whose duty it was to keep the track clear of snow.
I spoke to him but he said he had no right to take his men from the
railroad to dig out a span of horses.
"I then made my way through three feet of snow about three hundred
yards to the place where my horses were housed. I rubbed them down,
caressed them, but only had a morsel to feed them. I knelt down and
prayed earnestly to the Lord to deliver me and my team. It might be
thought a little matter to allow the horses to remain and starve in
order to take the car myself and save my own life. But my team had
wallowed through the snow some twelve miles to save my life and I felt
it my duty to do all in my power to save theirs. I prayed earnestly to
the Lord to deliver me and save my animals from starvation. The spirit
of the Lord came upon me while praying and I had a testimony that my
prayers would be answered and that I should be delivered.
"I rose from my knees and wallowed some sixty rods through three feet
of snow to the telegraph office and talked with Mr. Haven, the operator
and agent. I told him he must help me. The spirit of the Lord rested
upon him and he said he would do all in his power for my deliverance.
He went with me to see Mr. Carpenter, the same spirit came upon him and
he said he would do all he could. He then told the ten Chinamen to take
their shovels and follow him. We all went to where the horses and wagon
were and it took us nearly five hours to dig out the wagon and open the
road to the station.
"Then we had to build a staging some ten feet high and cover it with
coal cinders to get the horses up, but they would not walk up the
planks. I then went to Mr. Hammond, the apostate Mormon, who had the
only hay in the place, and asked him to sell me fifty cents worth. He
got the same spirit as the others, put up the hay for me and carried it
to the depot. I laid it on the platform at the head of the staging and
both of my horses readily {475} went to it. I then put them inside. We
then took the wagon to pieces and lifted it up, piece at a time, and
placed it in the store-house.
"When the freight train came along, Mr. Haven stopped it and had the
engineer bring up the car a hundred yards to the platform. In trying
to get my box in with the bows and cover on, it became fastened with
one end on the platform and the other against the side of the car. The
engineer would not wait any longer, but started on with his train and
left me.
"Mr. Haven then telegraphed to Evanston to send him an engine. While
it was coming, we took off the cover and bows to the wagon box, and
finally succeeded in loading my outfit. It was in order when the engine
arrived. Mr. Haven ordered the engineer to hitch on to the car. He did
so reluctantly as he had to travel something like one hundred and sixty
miles to get to Ogden and back, just to take me and my wagon and team.
"I bade my friends good-bye, and as the cars started I knelt down by
the side of my horses and returned thanks to my Heavenly Father for the
deliverance he had brought to me.
"My clothing was wet, I having wallowed in the snow all day, so I put
on dry ones.
"We arrived in Ogden about ten o'clock, when I went to Bishop Herrick
and passed the night with him. Brother Herrick lent me money to pay my
bill to the railroad, which, strange to say, was only $26.00. Had they
charged me in full, their usual rates for car and engine and all that
was done, it would have been about $150.00.
"On the 28th of November I drove my team from Ogden to Salt Lake, where
I arrived home with a grateful heart to be delivered from my perils and
to find my family all well."
{476}