CHAPTER XIX.

PREPARATIONS FOR LEAVING NAUVOO—LABORS IN THE TEMPLE—ELDER TAYLOR'S SACRIFICE—JOURNEY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS—ARRIVAL AT COUNCIL BLUFFS—HELPS TO RAISE THE MORMON BATTALION—"WHO CANNOT TRUST THE UNITED STATES?"—RUMORS OF TROUBLE IN ENGLAND—CALLED TO A MISSION IN ENGLAND—THE DEPARTURE.

All through the winter of 1845-6 the Saints in Nauvoo were busy making their preparations for the contemplated exodus. Early dawn and the latest twilight saw them hurrying to and fro gathering together provisions, cattle, carriages, wagons, seeds, farming implements—everything that was likely to be of service to them in the new homes they were going to make somewhere in the wilderness. Nor did their labors end with the light of day. Often it happened that the dingy smithies were illuminated through the night by the blazing forge, and the stillness of midnight was broken by the merry ring of anvils, while others sat in council devising the best methods of traveling and organizing into companies those whose arrangements were nearing completion.

Meantime the temple had been so far completed that endowments could be given to the faithful; and in this work Elder Taylor with others of his quorum was employed during that eventful winter. He also continued to publish theTimes and Seasonsup to the time of his departure for the wilderness. TheNeighborwas discontinued shortly after the Quincy Committee requested the Saints to leave the state.

While making every effort to fill his part of the agreement with said committee to leave the state in the spring, he was continually harassed by his enemies seeking to arrest him on illegal writs. The whole community, in fact, was frequently threatened with mob violence. Their enemies were as impatient for Nauvoo to fall into their hands as hungry tigers are for their prey. The wheels of time moved altogether too slowly for them. They sought to make the people of other counties believe that the Mormons had no intention of leaving in the spring, and therefore to wait for spring to come before driving them out was only a waste of time, for to that issue it would come at last. Their ingenuity exhausted itself in concocting schemes to justify an invasion of Nauvoo. Finally, that all doubts as to the settled intention of the Saints to leave the United States might be put at rest, a large company, four hundred families all told, including nearly all the leaders of the Church and their families, left Nauvoo on the 11th of February, crossing the Mississippi on the ice. The exodus was not commenced so early, and at such an inclement season of the year because there was anything in the treaty the Saints had entered into that demanded it, but the movement was made to give proof that it was their intention to leave, and to take away from the mob all excuse for violence or bloodshed.

Elder Taylor and his family crossed the river on the 16th of February, and joined the Camp of Israel in the wilderness of the Territory of Iowa. For his own family and those who had lived with him in Nauvoo, he had eight wagons and a carriage, with the necessary force of teams. Snow was on the ground when he left Nauvoo, and shortly after crossing the river a thaw set in, which made travelling difficult. An encampment was made at a place where wood was plentiful, and there the exiles made themselves as comfortable as possible, until traveling should become less disagreeable.

There they lay, exposed to the inclement season, while only a short distance away—almost in view—were their comfortable houses, their beautiful city and magnificent temple! These homes which they had left, and that city were still theirs, for so hurried had been their departure that they had no time to dispose of property.

Elder Taylor had left a large, two-story brick house well furnished, with a brick store on one side and a new brick building that he had erected for a printing office on the other, and a large barn in the rear. This lot and the buildings were worth $10,000. In addition to this property, a short distance east of Nauvoo he had a farm of 106 acres of unimproved land, another of 80 acres, 40 of which was under cultivation and the remaining 40 timber. He also had a corner lot 101 x 85 feet on Main and Water street, opposite the Nauvoo Mansion. All this—to say nothing of breaking up his printing and book-binding establishment—he had been compelled to leave with but small hope of ever receiving anything for it; while he himself was driven forth an exile to wander, perhaps to perish, in the wilderness, a victim of religious intolerance.

This was in an age of boasted enlightenment—in the 19th century! In the great American Republic—the vaunted asylum of the oppressed!

To facilitate travel and for the better regulation of the people, the exiles were divided into companies of from seventy to a hundred wagons; but these companies followed each other so closely that they formed an almost unbroken procession across the Territory of Iowa.

To tell in detail the story of that journey from Nauvoo to Council Bluffs—how the Saints struggled on through trackless prairies converted into vast bogs by the spring thaws and rain and sleet which seemed to fall continuously; how the bleak winds from the pitiless northwest were more cruel than the sharpest frosts; how the young and strong left the main companies to go into Missouri and districts in Iowa remote from their line of march to exchange household furniture for corn or flour; how those who had merely enough provisions for themselves—no one had a surplus—divided with those who had none; how heroically they struggled against weakness and disease brought on through exposure; how they laid away their dead in nameless graves—to tell all this would fill a volume of itself, and belongs rather to a history of the whole people than to this biography.

RESIDENCE OF JOHN TAYLOR, NAUVOO, ILL., 1846

The 5th of June found Elder Taylor with his company at Mount Pisgah, in Iowa, about one hundred and sixty miles from Nauvoo, where the companies under Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball had encamped and were putting in crops for those who would come on later to harvest.

From Mount Pisgah to the "Bluffs" he met numerous squads of Pottawattomie Indians, all of whom he treated kindly, and generally distributed tobacco among them, a thing with which they were highly pleased. These Indians had been removed from their lands east of the Mississippi some years before, and were themselves exiles. Perhaps it was that fact which led them to treat kindly the exiled Saints. At any rate they gave them permission to pass through their reservation, and finally permitted them to settle for a time upon their lands and use what timber they needed to build temporary abodes.

Elder Taylor brought his company up to the main encampment[1]at Council Bluffs on the 17th of June. Soon afterwards he was busily engaged with his brethren in raising a company of pioneers to go to the Rocky Mountains in advance of the main body of the people. He was going as one of this company and began putting his wagons in order.

It was in the midst of these preparations that Captain Allen of the United States army came to the encampment and called upon the Saints in the name of the United States for five hundred volunteers to march to California. The strained relations which for some time had existed between the United States and Mexico had resulted in a declaration of war, and an actual beginning of hostilities in May. It was part of General Scott's plan of campaign for the "Army of the West" to rendezvous at Fort Leavenworth, invade New Mexico and co-operate with a fleet which was to sweep around Cape Horn and attack the enemy on the Pacific coast of his territory. It was to assist in carrying out this part of the campaign that the exiled Saints were called upon to furnish five hundred men.

In that moment of supreme trial the leaders of the Church did not permit the memory of their wrongs to outweigh their patriotism. They resolved to raise the number of men required. For this purpose meetings were called and the proposition of enlistment made to the brethren. It was not at first received with much enthusiasm by the people. Perhaps they could not forget that the general government had witnessed without protest their expatriation and expulsion from the confines of the United States. They also remembered that their repeated appeals for justice had been met with repeated and increasing indifference, and it required no small amount of persuasion at the first to induce men to enlist.

In this work of arousing the people to trust the government of the United States to deal justly by them, no one was more earnest than Elder Taylor. In a speech he made at a meeting held in George A. Smith's camp, he said:

"Many have felt something like rebelling against the government of the United States. I have myself felt swearing mad at the government for the treatment we have received at the hands of those in authority, although I don't know that I ever swore much. We have had cause to feel as we have, and any man having a spark of the love of liberty in him would have felt likewise. We are now something like Abraham was, wandering about we know not whither, but fleeing from a land of tyranny and oppression."

He then explained that it was the present intention to settle in some part of California, which at that time belonged to Mexico; but to go there they must have a legal pretext else they would be regarded as interlopers. As the United States was at war with Mexico, they had a right, according to the law of nations, to invade her territory; and if they enlisted in the service of the United States they would have a right to go there; and as the stipulations offered by the government provided as the stipulations offered by the government provided for their being disbanded in California, they would be at or near the place of their proposed destination, with a right to remain. There they would be the "old settlers," and bringing in some thirty thousand people, there was a prospect of obtaining a state or territorial government, where they could live in peace. Their children could boast, too, that their fathers had fought and bled for their country. "Although," he remarked, "I do not think you will have much fighting to do. Still, I do not say this to encourage cowards to go on this expedition.

"A great many seem to distrust the government," he continued, "and are afraid they will not be carried to California, but be sent to Texas or somewhere else. They will not be—they need not fear. Who cannot trust the United States? Her flag floats over every ocean, and her ministry are in every nation. I know it is a great journey for a man to undertake and leave his family; but Captain Allen says he will give absolute permission for the families to remain here. He has also obtained a writing from the Pottawatamie sub-agency, signed by the chiefs and braves to that effect, so that everything is straightforward."

He concluded by making a motion that a body of five hundred men be raised, and make Captain Allen Lieutenant-Colonel, a promotion he had been promised providing he raised the battalion. That motion was carried.

It was the 30th of June that Captain Allen arrived at Council Bluffs and asked for the battalion, and by the 16th of July the men were organized and placed under his command, ready to start for Fort Leavenworth.

About the time the battalion was made up, the men Elder Taylor had sent out form his company to trade for corn and flour and to swap horses for cattle returned without having met with any success. "I now found myself in the wilderness without the means of procuring the necessary provisions for a year and a half;" and then he adds, half reflectively, "Twelve months prior to this time, I had ten thousand dollars' worth of property at my disposal!"

The day following the return of his men, however, a brother named Stewart called upon him for counsel; and before leaving loaned him a sum of money sufficient to relieve him of his embarrassments, and we have him saying joyfully, "I felt thankful to the Lord that He had opened my way, as He always does in time of need."

Meantime from England reports of transgression, wild financial schemes, chicanery and fraud reached the authorities—reports which were confirmed by manifestations of the Spirit to President Young.

After the Twelve took the direction of the affairs of the Church, in August, 1844, they sent Wilford Woodruff to preside over the British Mission, a post he filled until called away to join the Saints in their exodus from the United States. On his departure Reuben Hedlock was appointed to preside over the mission with Thomas Ward and John Banks for counselors. Soon after the departure of Apostle Woodruff an agitation was set on foot to found what was called "The British and American Joint Stock Company." The ostensible purposes for which this company was organized were to engage in commercial enterprises with a view of enriching the Church, emigrating the poor Saints to America, shipping machinery, etc., and founding manufactures in the new gathering place in the wilderness, and to operate in building up the kingdom of God generally.

Announcing these as the objects to be accomplished, it was not difficult to induce the Saints to take stock in the concern, and hundreds of pounds were subscribed and paid to Hedlock and his coadjutors. Much of this means was squandered by Hedlock and his associates instead of being used for the purposes for which the company had been organized.

Upon hearing these reports Elder Taylor, in connection with Orson Hyde and Parley P. Pratt, was sent to England to correct these abuses and set in order all the affairs of the Church in that land. He left his family in the wilderness with the other exiled Saints, and with his companions took passage in an open flat boat that was passing down the Missouri River about the time they were ready to start. This boat was owned by a party of Presbyterian missionaries who had been laboring among the Pawnee Indians, and were now returning, with their families, to St. Joseph, Missouri.

At St. Joseph the brethren purchased the boat and continued their journey, rowing all day and tying up the boat and sleeping on shore at night. They reached Fort Leavenworth before the departure of the Battalion for the west and from those brethren—just then drawing their bounty of forty dollars each from the government—received some assistance to help them on their journey. The brethren of the Battalion were also desirous of sending some means to their families in the wilderness, and Parley P. Pratt was chosen to carry it to them. While he returned to the encampment of the Saints, Elder Taylor and Orson Hyde continued their journey to England, arriving in Liverpool on the 3rd of October.

1. The encampment is thus described by Thomas L. Kane, who visited it shortly after the arrival of Elder Taylor: "They were collected a little distance above the Pottawatamie Agency. The hills of the high prairie crowding in upon the river at this point and overhanging it, appear of an unusual and commanding elevation. They are called the 'Council Bluffs.' * * * To the south of them, a rich alluvial flat of considerable width follows down the Missouri some eight miles, to where it is lost from view by a turn, which forms the site of an Indian town ofPoint aux Poules.Across the river from this spot the hills recur again, but are skirted at their base by as much low ground as suffices for a landing. This landing, and the large flat or bottom on the east side of the river, were covered with covered carts and wagons; and each one of the Council Bluff hills opposite was crowded with its own great camp, gay with bright white canvas, and alive with the busy stir of swarming occupants. In the clear blue morning air the smoke streamed up from more than a thousand cooking fires. Countless roads and by-paths checkered all manner of geometric figures on the hill-sides. Herd boys were dozing upon the slopes; sheep and horses, cows and oxen were feeding round them, and other herds in the luxuriant meadows of the then swollen river. From a single point I counted four thousand head of cattle in view at one time. As I approached, it seemed to me the children there were to prove still more numerous."—Historical Address.

THE UNJUST STEWARDS CALLED TO ACCOUNT—DISPOSED OF—TOUR THROUGH THE CHURCHES—OVATIONS—ARTICLES FOR THE STAR—MODERATE SPIRIT OF THEM—WORK ACCOMPLISHED—START FOR HOME—STORM BEATEN—RETURN TO LIVERPOOL—SECOND START—SUCCESSFUL VOYAGE—FAREWELL FROM AMERICA—IN THE NICK OF TIME.

The very day of arrival in Liverpool Elders Hyde and Taylor issued a circular to the Saints in which they stated that the Joint Stock Company was an institution wholly independent of the Church. The circular also appointed a conference to convene at Manchester, on the 17th of the month—October.

By that time Elder Pratt had arrived. The unfaithful stewards were called to account, severely reproved and the chief offenders, excepting Hedlock, disfellowshipped until they could appear before the authorities in the camp of Israel to be further dealt with. Hedlock would not meet the American deputation of Elders; but fled to London where he lived in obscurity in company with a dissolute woman. He was excommunicated at once. On the fall of this man Elder Taylor wrote the following reflections:

"Elder Hedlock might have occupied a high and exalted situation in the Church, both in time and in eternity; but he has cast from his head the crown—he has dashed from him the cup of mercy, and has bartered the hope of eternal life with crowns, principalities, powers, thrones and dominions, for the gratification of his own sensual appetite; to feed on husks and straw—to wallow in filth and mire!"

It was arranged that Elder Hyde should take charge of theStarand the office at Liverpool, while Elders Taylor and Pratt visited the various conferences and branches of the Church. Everywhere they were received with demonstrations of joy. Elder Taylor traveled sometimes alone and sometimes in company with Elder Pratt; but whether alone or with his companion, he was always made welcome by the Saints. He labored in season and out of season, and God worked with him and his associates.

Through their promptness in dealing with the unfaithful stewards, and the power which attended their administrations, confidence was restored, the Saints were re-baptized, many new members were added to the Church, and it was a general time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Social gatherings were frequent, and while he fed the Saints the bread of life, they administered to his necessities and made his heart glad with their songs and rejoicing. His reception in Wales was especially enthusiastic,—it amounted to an ovation; indeed the same may be said of his reception throughout the British Mission.

Still in the midst of these busy scenes he found time to write a number of articles for theStar,one of which is especially worthy of mention—hisAddress to the Saints in Great Britain.In that address he writes the very best sketches I have yet seen of the evacuation of Nauvoo and the journey of the Saints to Winter Quarters. Its chief value consists in its accuracy and temperate tone—much more temperate than one could reasonable expect it to be from a writer who was a participator in those cruel scenes, and one of the chief sufferers.

He makes prominent the fact that even if the persecution which expelled the Saints from Nauvoo had not arisen, their destiny would have led them to the mountain valleys of the great West. "Many living witnesses," he writes, "can testify that we proposed moving to California,[1]leaving the land of our oppression, preaching the gospel to the Lamanites, building up other temples to the living God, establishing ourselves in the far distant West. The cruel and perfidious persecutions that we endured, tended to hasten our departure, but didnotdictate it. It jeopardized our lives, property and liberty, but was not the cause of our removal."

"Many a time" he continues, "have I listened to the voice of our beloved Prophet, while in council, dwell on this subject [the removal of the Saints to the Rocky Mountains] with delight; his eyes sparkling with animation, and his soul fired with the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God. It was a theme that caused the bosoms of all who were privileged to listen, to thrill with delight; intimately connected with this, were themes upon which prophets, patriarchs, priests and kings dwelt with pleasure and delight: of them they prophesied, sung, wrote, spoke and desired to see, but died without the sight. My spirit glows with sacred fire while I reflect upon these scenes, and I say, O Lord, hasten the day! Let Zion be established! Let the mountain of the Lord's house be established in the tops of the mountains!"—a thing, I may add,—and which he plainly intimates,—could not have been done had the Saints remained in Nauvoo. The Saints did not come to these mountain valleys because they were compelled to by their enemies, they came here because it was their destiny to come; because the Lord would have them here; and because there were problems to work out in connection with the work of God which could be worked out nowhere else.

While he admits that the Saints had suffered great loss by being driven from Illinois—that they had been obliged to make a great sacrifice—yet, speaking relatively, he held that the Saints were better off than if they had remained in Nauvoo, a remark that then seemed paradoxical, but its truth is now confirmed by history; for the little one has become a great people, occupying an immense area of country, and they have attained a strength they never could have known in Nauvoo.

In this article, while he dwells at some length on the sufferings of the Saints from the fury of the pitiless storm—the drifting snow, the pelting hail and the icy chills of storm and tempest, Elder Taylor does not forget to vindicate God whose part it was to stand very near to His people in such trying times. In continuing his remarks on the exposure of the Saints to cold and storm he says:

"We sustained no injury therefrom; our health and our lives were preserved—we outlived the trying scene—we felt contented and happy—the songs of Zion resounded from wagon to wagon—from tent to tent; the sound reverberated through the woods, and its echo was returned from the distant hills; peace, harmony, and contentment reigned in the habitations of the Saints."

So, too, in speaking of the privations of camp life: "It is true that in our sojourning we do not possess all the luxuries and delicacies of old established countries and cities, but we have an abundance of the staple commodities, such as flour, meal, beef, mutton, pork, milk, butter and in some instances cheese, sugar, coffee, tea, etc., etc. We feel contented and happy in the wilderness. The God of Israel is with us—union and peace prevail; and as we journey, as did Abraham of old, with our flocks and herds to a distant land, we feel that like him, we are doing the will of our Heavenly Father and relying upon His word and promises; and having His blessing, we feel that we are children of the same promise and hope, and that the great Jehovah is our God."

Such remarks as these lighten the rather sombre picture that is usually drawn by writers who relate the story of the evacuation of Nauvoo and the subsequent journey in the wilderness; and who in their anxiety to give a vivid picture of the sufferings of the Saints, forget to vindicate the goodness of God who was with His people in those trying times, and who, by opening the way before them to obtain food and lands to dwell upon, and giving them strength as their day, made their afflictions light as air. These things, Elder Taylor in his sketches does not fail to recognize.

At the time of Elder Taylor's visit, great distress existed among the laboring classes in England, and as the Saints were chiefly of that class, they suffered with the rest. The trouble arose very largely from over-population. This being the case, the queen was memorialized by the Saints to adopt a system of emigration to Oregon, a general name given to an immense but indefinite tract of country in the western part of the British possessions, Vancouver's Island forming part of it. To return the means that government was asked to expend in emigrating the people, it was proposed that in a tract of country divided into sections of six hundred and forty acres, and numbered, that each emigrant be entitled to settle on the sections bearing even numbers, and that government retain the odd sections. The presence of the settlers and their improvements on the even sections would give a value to the odd sections and bring them into market, and through the sale of these lands government would soon be repaid the sum expended for emigration.

In the interest of this scheme, Elder Taylor called upon, and obtained an interview with the Earl of Dartmouth, but the government refused to engage in the business.

Having accomplished the object of his mission to England, Elder Taylor's heart turned to his family in the wilderness. He left the port of Liverpool in the shipAmerica, in company with Elder Pratt, and a few Saints—fourteen in all. No ship ever left that port with brighter prospects, but no sooner were they fairly out into the Irish Sea, than they met a heavy gale and for nine days were tempest-tossed and utterly unable to reach the broad Atlantic. At last they were compelled to return to Liver pool.

"I had strange presentiments," says Elder Taylor, "before we went on board, of danger or ship-wreck—the spirit did not manifest which; and I was glad when we safely returned to Liverpool."

A second start was made on the seventh of February, and after a pleasant voyage of thirty-six days, the vessel made the port of New Orleans. Here Elder Taylor wrote to the editor of theStar, his farewell address to the Saints, which virtually is a review of his brief mission among them. Following are extracts from it:

"As I had no time before I left England, I now wish to say a few words to the Saints. When I was there, in consequence of having so many places to visit, and to travel so extensively, my stay was necessarily short at the various branches; and it made it impossible for me to visit so many places, to form so extensive an acquaintance with the Saints as I should gladly have done had time permitted. If my stay had been longer, I should gladly have spent two, three, or six months more, in order to have visited all the branches and seen the Saints at their homes, for I love the people of God, and delight in the habitations of the righteous. There peace reigns—there reigns the spirit of God—and there is my home. And here I wish to say, that although very much pressed and hurried, I have seldom enjoyed myself better than I did on my late visit to the British churches. I saw an honesty and simplicity which I admired. The Saints seemed to vie with each other in many little acts of kindness and charity which were duly appreciated by me, and which I have taken pleasure in acknowledging. They were esteemed not so much on account of their intrinsic value as for the feelings of those who administered them.

"Our arrival in England was very opportune. * * Before we left [Council Bluffs], it was revealed to the authorities that the presidency in England was in transgression, and that it was necessary that some of the Twelve should proceed immediately to England. * * * When Elder Hyde and myself were in New York, and Elder Pratt in Boston, we thought it expedient, rather than to wait two or three days for him, to proceed immediately to Liverpool. We found on our arrival that we had not come any too soon. The teachers of the people were under transgression; they were corrupt: they were acting dishonorably, and dishonestly; stripping the poor of their last pittance, and yet those wanton profligates professed that they were doing the will of God, while they, under a cloak of religion, were reveling in debauchery, drunkenness and fraud! But they have their reward.

"Many of the Elders were at a loss what to do. They saw that things were out of order, but how to regulate them they knew not. * * * They felt a disposition to hope for the best, but it seemed to be hoping against hope; in fact the whole head was sick and the whole heart faint; and had it not been that the Saints were in possession of the eternal principles of truth, and had the testimony of the Spirit, giving them assurance of the truth and verity of this work, they might all have made ship-wreck of faith.

"As Elder Pratt and myself journeyed among the churches, we found them generally doing well, rejoiced to see us, and expressing a willingness to follow our advice in all things. * * * I would here say a word or two to the Saints by way of caution. Because you have been deceived by your former leaders, do not mistrust those[2]you have now, but let them have your confidence and your prayers. * * * I say again have confidence in your presidency; neither condemn one man for what another has done, neither be afraid of him. Give all good men your confidence; if they betray it, judge them according to that which they have done—not what they may or may not do. It is a devilish principle to be jealous of men who have done no wrong, and to withhold our confidence from those who ought to have our support, merely because it is possible they may abuse it.

"Now brethren, as I had not time before I left, I must take the liberty from this side of the ocean, of saying farewell—farewell! and God bless you for ever and ever, worlds without end. Amen. It is a long distance to salute you from, as I am now six thousand miles from you, but I know it will be welcome, for I came more than six thousand miles to see you, and I had to salute my family from your homes. We have yet two thousand miles to go to see our families, and part of that through mobbers, black-legs and murderers, who would gladly take our lives, but we trust in the God of Israel, that He will take us safely through, and that we shall arrive in the camp of Israel in peace, and rejoice in once more meeting our families and friends.

COUNCIL BLUFFS FERRY

"I left the camp in company with my brethren, July 3rd, 1846, and when I return shall have traveled upwards of seventeen thousand miles, three thousand of this was in England, Scotland and Wales. I now feel well in health and spirits, am thankful that so much of my mission is completed, and I bless the name of the God of Israel."

From New Orleans he took passage in the steam-packet,Patrick Henry, for St. Louis, where he arrived on the 25th of March. Here he parted company with Elder Pratt, who made his way through the country to the camp; while Elder Taylor in charge of the small company of Saints took steamer up the Missouri for the same point; but on reaching St. Joseph he left the boat and took carriage, as he desired to reach the camp before the pioneer company left for the West, as he had with him some surveying and scientific instruments purchased in England for them. Those instruments consisted of two sextants, two barometers, two artificial horizons, one circular reflector, several thermometers and a telescope.

He arrived in time to meet President Young and deliver these instruments[3]and some money sent from England to aid the Church. The pioneer camp had left Winter Quarters a day or two before, and was then camped on the Elk Horn, some twenty or thirty miles distant, so that he had returned just in time.

The labors of Elder Taylor and companions were highly approved by President Young, and he heartily welcomed them back to their families and the Church.

1. Then the general name for the great West, including what is now Utah.

2. Elder Orson Spencer was left in charge of the mission after the departure of the Apostles, and Elder Franklin D. Richards was his counselor.

3. It was with those instruments that Orson Pratt, a few months later, laid out Salt Lake City.

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

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

"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."[1]

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 waslawto 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:

Yes! let the rich deride, the proud disdainThese simple blessings of the lowly train;To me more dear congenial to my heart,One native charm than all the gloss of art;Spontaneous joys, where nature has its play,The soul adopts and owns their first-born sway!

Far better this than—

The long pomp, the midnight masquerade,With all the freaks of wanton wealth arrayed,In these, ere triflers half their wish obtain,The toiling pleasure sickens into pain;And e'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy,The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy!

1. Alma, I, 26.

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