START TO UTAH--OBSTACLES IN TRAVELING--STRAINED FROM
OVER-LIFTING--HALTED THROUGH ILLNESS--JOURNEY TO UTAH ABANDONED--GO TO
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS--NEW OCCUPATION--MONEY MADE AND LOST--JOURNEY
RESUMED--PROVIDENTIALLY HELPED--UNEXPECTED MEETING OF RELATIVES--WORK
AT OUTFITTING POST--JOURNEY ACROSS THE PLAINS--ARRIVAL IN SALT LAKE
CITY.
IN THE fall and winter of 1861 Thomas had better health, and he hauled
wood from Janesville, twenty-one miles distant, buying it for $1.00 per
cord and selling it for $5.00 or $6.00 per cord, accumulating something
thereby.
About the middle of April, 1862, Thomas, his wife and their four
children started for Salt Lake City, a distance of nearly two thousand
miles, with their earthly chattels loaded into one wagon, drawn by a
span of horses.
The roads were bad in many places, streams frequently high, bridges
in some cases washed away, houses occasionally long distances apart
and feed scarce, all of which rendered travel very difficult for one
who was unacquainted with the country and had no definite idea of
the course he should take. Once they had to make an extra long drive
because of not being able to obtain feed for their horses, and while
crossing a series of swamps had the wagon mire down so that the horses
could not pull it out. Leaving his wife and children in the wagon,
Thomas went ahead until he found a house, roused the owner out of bed
and hired him to take a fresh team back to help pull the wagon out of
the mud. Both teams failing to move the wagon, the goods were carried
out to where the soil was firm. Even then they had great difficulty
in getting the wagon out of the mire, and Thomas, while standing in
the mud and trying to raise the hind axle with a pole, so strained his
side that he was unable to travel for the next three weeks, during
which time they were under constant expense. By the time he was able to
resume his journey the season was so far advanced it was feared they
would not be able to cross the plains that year.
Thomas' sister had married some time before, and was living at
Springfield, Illinois, and, on finding that it was too late to journey
to Utah that year, he decided to go to Springfield and see his sister,
as he feared he might never have another chance of doing so. They
arrived there in June, and finding his sister and her husband living
in the back part of a building that had formerly been used as a store,
Thomas fitted up the front part as a restaurant, and made some money by
operating it, but his health was quite poor and his leg very painful.
At the commencement of the year 1863 Archibald Buchanan, his
brother-in-law, rented a stall in the market and proposed for Thomas to
go in partnership with him, Thomas to do the buying and he to do the
selling. Thomas closed up the restaurant and accepted the proposition.
They did well during the year, and were feeling very much encouraged,
but they bought very heavily of poultry and other perishable stuff for
the holiday trade, and a thaw set in and caused so much stuff to spoil
on their hands, that they lost nearly all they had accumulated.
A very sorrowful Christmas was spent as a result of their loss and
disappointment, for they were counting upon what they had saved
to migrate to Utah with. Thomas maintained hope in spite of the
discouraging circumstances, and declared that he would go to Utah the
following year if he had to walk all the way with a pack on his back,
and his wife said she was willing to put up with any hardship she could
to reach that goal.
After deep thought on the subject, Thomas took his team and son
Ephraim, who was then a little over nine years old, and set off for a
final trip through the surrounding region, to buy up supplies for the
market, and announced to his wife and sister that it would be his last
trip for that purpose.
For the first two days he met with little success, then fortune favored
him; he was able to buy what he required for his load remarkably cheap,
and arrived home and got his goods on the market just at a time when
there was a strong demand for them at high prices. The profits from
that single trip supplied him with sufficient means to warrant him
in resuming his journey--not what he would require to go with a good
outfit, but he feared if he waited for that he would never reach Utah.
After he had announced his intention to start, and while he was busy
making preparations to do so, several different persons came to him
with offers of partnership or other business propositions--some of
them quite attractive--but he didn't dare to entertain them, lest the
Lord would be displeased with him. In fact, he told his wife it was a
trick of the devil, to get him to remain in that country. He and his
wife conferred together in regard to the matter, not with any thought
of accepting any of the offers, but to devise a way of hastening their
departure if possible, lest they might be tempted to stay. They bowed
in prayer before the Lord, committed themselves into His hands and
asked Him to spare their lives and those of their children, and enable
them to reach Utah in safety, and had faith that He would do so.
His brother-in-law did not want them to go, and not only did all he
could to discourage them, but frequently declared that he himself would
never go to Utah. The wives especially dreaded to part, lest they might
never see one another again.
When the time for starting arrived, Thomas said to his brother-in-law:
"Archie, you will yet come to Salt Lake City, and bring my sister with
you!" He only scoffed at it, however, and insisted that he never would.
On the 29th of April, 1864, the family left Springfield, Illinois, with
Utah as their destination--a distance to be traversed by team of about
sixteen hundred miles. They had a good horse team and wagon, a good
supply of provisions and $80.00 in cash. The eldest child was not yet
ten years old, and the youngest three years of age. The parents were
both in poor health, but they did not dare to give up or fail to hurry
on because of that. Thomas' leg grew worse after starting, and soon got
so bad that he could not even harness the team, the wife and eldest
boy having to do that. They aimed to travel about twenty-five miles a
day, but could not always do so, the roads being often bad, and storms
frequently interfering with their travel.
They crossed the Mississippi at Keokuk, twelve miles below Nauvoo,
which years before had been the home of the Saints. In passing through
Iowa they traveled much of the time along the route the Saints pursued
in their journey westward from Nauvoo. It was generally alluded to by
the settlers as the "Mormon Bee Trail," and Thomas felt a certain pride
in following in their footsteps, and also found comfort in comparing
his circumstances with those of many of the Saints. Much of the country
was very sparsely settled, and there was scarcely an able-bodied man to
be met in the region, all seemingly being absent in the army. Many of
the bridges along their route had been washed away, and he had to stop
and make or repair bridges before he could proceed.
Many times on the journey they had reason to feel that there was a
special Providence over them. Brother Briggs mentions one case in
particular to illustrate the fact.
They came to a stream one day that was about fourteen feet wide, and
too deep and miry to be forded. His wife wept from discouragement when
she saw it. He tried to cheer her up, and went back to the last house
they had passed to procure help if possible, but found only women and
children there. Then he went down stream a long distance, in the hope
of finding at least part of the bridge that had been washed away, but
all in vain. There were no large trees growing near, but on each side
of the creek some small cottonwood saplings were growing, none of them
more than four inches in diameter. These he cut down and laid across
the stream and put small brush on the top of them. He found it would
bear his weight when he walked across it, but it was very springy, and
not at all of a character to support a team and wagon; but it was the
best he could do. He had his wife and children get out of the wagon and
stand on the bank, and, after an earnest prayer to the Lord to help him
in the emergency, he got in the wagon and whipped up the horses. To his
astonishment, they crossed over the frail structure with ease, and the
wife and children walked over.
Soon afterwards they met a man with a few sacks of corn in his wagon,
which he was taking to a mill, to get it ground. They inquired of
him how far distant the mill was, and he said fifty miles--a fair
indication of how sparsely that region was settled.
After passing Garden Grove, where the Saints journeying westward from
Nauvoo established a settlement, the roads were found to be better, and
faster time was made in traveling.
They arrived at the Missouri River, opposite Nebraska City, in the
night, and camped there before crossing. Very early in the morning they
heard the whistle of a steamboat coming up the river, and knew from
that the boat was going to stop. Thomas said to his wife: "Ann, what
would you think if Archie and Elizabeth should be on that boat?" She
replied that she couldn't think of any such improbability, and lapsed
into slumber again.
When it was fairly daylight they crossed the river on a ferry
boat, and when they landed, there, sure enough, was the sister and
brother-in-law, thus confirming the promptings of the Spirit, and they
had a joyful reunion.
His sister explained that after the Briggs family left them in
Springfield they could get no rest until they packed up and followed
them by the fastest conveyance they could find.
About eight miles farther up the river was a place called Wyoming, the
starting point for the trains crossing the plains at that time, and
they made their way to that point. They found that only a few of the
Saints intending to journey to Utah had yet arrived, and so they had a
chance to rest and let their teams recuperate before continuing their
journey.
Trains of teams and wagons from Utah, sent east to convey the poor
Saints from Europe and other countries across the plains, soon began
arriving, as did also teams sent by Utah merchants for merchandise,
which at that time had to be freighted by teams a thousand miles.
Steamboats loaded with freight for the west also began arriving, and
Wyoming soon presented a busy scene. Among the first of the cargoes
were wagons, which had to be put together, and Thomas was hired for
that task. Then the merchandise began pouring in, and it had to be
guarded at night to keep it from being stolen, and he was next employed
in that line. During their stay there, his wife and sister also did
washing for the Utah boys who were there preparing to return home with
emigrants or freight, all of which helped to replenish their funds,
which were running low.
Before starting from Wyoming Thomas was advised to sell his horses and
buy a yoke of oxen instead, and did so.
Henry W. Lawrence, a merchant of Salt Lake City, was there for a train
load of merchandise, and persuaded Thomas to accompany his train of
twenty-five wagons, and also hired his brother-in-law to drive team for
him, thus insuring his passage to the valley and the fulfilment of the
prediction Thomas made concerning him before he left Springfield.
Acting upon advice, Thomas bought a cook stove before starting, as it
would only cost $30.00 in Nebraska City, and would be worth $250.00
when he got to Salt Lake. When he was ready to start he had only $3.00
in cash left, but he had two yoke of cows and one yoke of oxen, and
plenty of provisions. As two of the cows were giving milk, he counted
upon deriving some profit from the sale of milk on the road.
For the first few days everything went well with Thomas and his family,
but then his leg grew worse again, and for a time he was not able even
to yoke up his cattle. However, the wagon master had some of the Utah
teamsters hitch up his team for him.
On reaching Julesberg the Platte river was found to be so high that the
wagon boxes had to be blocked up to the top of the standards to keep
the merchandise from getting wet, and they hitched fifteen yoke of oxen
on to each wagon to go through. It took the train four days to cross
the river.
Some of the oxen soon grew tender-footed, and had to be driven in a
herd behind the train. George Merrick, the wagon master, furnished
Ephraim a horse and hired him to ride behind and drive the loose
cattle. Then it was found necessary to herd the cattle at night, and
Thomas' brother-in-law was given that job, and kept it all the way.
Many dangers were encountered on the journey, some of them due to
Thomas' helpless condition, but all were safely passed, and Salt Lake
City was reached on the 4th of September, 1864, after a journey of 1800
miles in a wagon.
The journey had been fruitful in experience, and not wholly
unprofitable, as he landed with $40.00 in his pocket, part of it having
been earned by Ephraim driving the loose cattle, but most of it the
proceeds of milk sold during the journey. The best of all, the family
was in excellent health, and overjoyed at reaching the valley and
finding people who manifested a friendly interest in them.
One of the first friendly acts of which they were the recipients, was
the privilege granted them by Father John Vance, of keeping their
animals in his pasture without charge.
For Thomas, Salt Lake valley and the surrounding mountains had a
familiar appearance. He had seen them before in vision in Minnesota,
when he lay wavering between life and death, and now as he recognized
them his heart swelled with gratitude to the Almighty for sparing the
lives of himself and family to reach the valley, the goal for which he
had hoped and prayed and struggled for so many years. He felt that he
could not do less to show his appreciation for what the Lord had done
for him than to devote his remaining days in mortality to the service
of the Lord. He felt that he would gladly do that and endure without
complaint any further hardships that might fall to his lot if his
children might only be preserved in the faith and manifest throughout
their lives a love for the truth.
When he saw the walls of the Temple, then in course of construction,
and realized its purpose, and at what infinite sacrifice it had been
so far built, he was forcibly reminded of the dying exhortion of his
father, to "never forget the dead," and determined, if the Lord spared
his life, to fulfill his father's hopes in that respect.