The Hand-cart Tragedy

In 1855 the crops in Utah were almost a failure, and the church
authorities found themselves very much embarrassed by their
debts. A report in the seventh General Epistle, of April 18,
1852, set forth that, from their entry into the valley to March
27, of that year, there had been received as tithing, mostly in
property, $244,747.03, and in loans and from other sources
$145,513.78, of which total there had been expended in assisting
immigrants and on church buildings, city lots, manufacturing
industries, etc., $353,765.69. Young found it necessary therefore
to cut down his expenses, and he looked around for a method of
doing this without checking the stream of new-comers. The method
which he evolved was to furnish the immigrants with hand-carts on
their arrival in Iowa, and to let them walk all the way across
the plains, taking with them only such effects as these carts
would hold, each party of ten to drive with them one or two cows.

Although Young tried to throw the result of this experiment on
others, the evidence is conclusive that he devised it and worked
out its details. In a letter to Elder F. D. Richards, in
Liverpool, dated September 30, 1855, Young said: "We cannot
afford to purchase wagons and teams as in times past. I am
consequently thrown back upon MY OLD PLAN--to make hand-carts,
and let the emigration foot it." To show what a pleasant trip
this would make, this head of the church, who had three times
crossed the plains, added, "Fifteen miles a day will bring them
through in 70 days, and, after they get accustomed to it, they
will travel 20, 25, or even 30 with all ease, and no danger of
giving out, but will continue to get stronger and stronger; the
little ones and sick, if there are any, can be carried on the
carts, but there will be none sick in a little time after they
get started."*

* Millennial Star, Vol. VII, p. 813.


Directions in accordance with this plan were issued in the form
of a circular in Liverpool in February, 1856, naming Iowa City,
Iowa, as the point of outfit. The charge for booking through to
Utah by the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company was fixed at 9
pounds for all over one year old, and 4 pounds 10 shillings. for
younger infants. The use of trunks or boxes was discouraged, and
the emigrants were urged to provide themselves with oil-cloth or
mackintosh bags.

About thirteen hundred persons left Liverpool to undertake this
foot journey across the plains, placing implicit faith in the
pictures of Salt Lake Valley drawn by the missionaries, and not
doubting that the method of travel would be as enjoyable as it
seemed economical. Five separate companies were started that
summer from Iowa City. The first and second of these arrived at
Florence, Nebraska, on July 17, the third, made up mostly of
Welsh, on July 19, and the fourth on August 11. The first company
made the trip to Utah without anything more serious to report
than the necessary discomforts of such a march, and were received
with great acclaim by the church authorities, and welcomed with
an elaborate procession. It was the last companies whose story
became a tragedy.*

* The experiences of those companies were told in detail by a
member of one, John Chislett, and printed in the "Rocky Mountain
Saints." Mrs. Stenhouse gives additional experiences in her "Tell
it All."


The immigrants met with their first disappointment on arriving at
Iowa City. Instead of finding their carts ready for them, they
were told that no advance agent had prepared the way. The last
companies were subjected to the most delay from this cause. Even
the carts were still to be manufactured, and, while they were
making, many a family had to camp in the open fields, without
even the shelter of a tent or a wagon top. The carts, when
pronounced finished, moved on two light wheels, the only iron
used in their construction being a very thin tire. Two projecting
shafts of hickory or oak were joined by a cross piece, by means
of which the owner propelled the vehicle. When Mr. Chislett's
company, after a three weeks' delay, made a start, they were five
hundred strong, comprising English, Scotch, and Scandanavians.
They were divided, as usual, into hundreds, to each hundred being
allotted five tents, twenty hand-carts, and one wagon drawn by
three yokes of oxen, the latter carrying the tents and
provisions. Families containing more young men than were required
to draw their own carts shared these human draught animals with
other families who were not so well provided; but many carts were
pulled along by young girls.

The Iowans bestowed on the travellers both kindness and
commiseration. Knowing better than did the new-comers from Europe
the trials that awaited them, they pointed out the lateness of
the season, and they did persuade a few members to give up the
trip. But the elders who were in charge of the company were
watchful, the religious spirit was kept up by daily meetings, and
the one command that was constantly reiterated was, "Obey your
leaders in all things."

A march of four weeks over a hot, dusty route was required to
bring them to the Missouri River near Florence. Even there they
were insufficiently supplied with food. With flour costing $3 per
hundred pounds, and bacon seven or eight cents a pound, the daily
allowance of food was ten ounces of flour to each adult, and four
ounces to children under eight years old, with bacon, coffee,
sugar, and rice served occasionally. Some of the men ate all
their allowance for the day at their breakfast, and depended on
the generosity of settlers on the way, while there were any, for
what further food they had until the next morning.

After a week's stay at Florence (the old Winter Quarters), the
march across the plains was resumed on August 18. The danger of
making this trip so late in the season, with a company which
included many women, children, and aged persons, gave even the
elders pause, and a meeting was held to discuss the matter. But
Levi Savage, who had made the trip to and from the valley, alone
advised against continuing the march that season. The others
urged the company to go on, declaring that they were God's
people, and prophesying in His name that they would get through
the mountains in safety. The emigrants, "simple, honest, eager to
go to Zion at once, and obedient as little children to the
'servants of God,' voted to proceed." *

* A "bond," which each assisted emigrant was required to sign in
Liverpool, contained the following stipulations: "We do severally
and jointly promise and bind ourselves to continue with and obey
the instructions of the agent appointed to superintend our
passage thither to [Utah]. And that, on our arrival in Utah, we
will hold ourselves, our time, and our labor, subject to the
appropriation of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Company until the
full cost of our emigration is paid, with interest if required."


As the teams provided could not haul enough flour to last the
company to Utah, a sack weighing ninety-eight pounds was added to
the load of each cart. One pound of flour a day was now allowed
to each adult, and occasionally fresh beef. Soon after leaving
Florence trouble began with the carts. The sand of the dry
prairie got into the wooden hubs and ground the axles so that
they broke, and constant delays were caused by the necessity of
making repairs., No axle grease had been provided, and some of
the company were compelled to use their precious allowance of
bacon to grease the wheels. At Wood River, where the plains were
alive with buffaloes, a stampede of the cattle occurred one
night, and thirty of them were never recovered. The one yoke of
oxen that was left to each wagon could not pull the load; an
attempt to use the milch cows and heifers as draught animals
failed, and the tired cart pullers had to load up again with
flour.

While pursuing their journey in this manner, their camp was
visited one evening by Apostle F. D. Richards and some other
elders, on their way to Utah from mission work abroad. Richards
severely rebuked Savage for advising that the trip be given up at
Florence, and prophesied that the Lord would keep open a way
before them. The missionaries, who were provided with carriages
drawn by four horses each, drove on, without waiting to see this
prediction confirmed.

On arriving at Fort Laramie, about the first of September,
another evidence of the culpable neglect of the church
authorities manifested itself. The supply of provisions that was
to have awaited them there was wanting. They calculated the
amount that they had on hand, and estimated that it would last
only until they were within 350 miles of Salt Lake City; but,
perhaps making the best of the situation, they voted to reduce
the daily ration and to try to make the supply last by travelling
faster. When they reached the neighborhood of Independence Rock,
a letter sent back by Richards informed them that supplies would
meet them at South Pass; but another calculation showed that what
remained would not last them to the Pass, and again the ration
was reduced, working men now receiving twelve ounces a day, other
adults nine, and children from four to eight. Another source of
discomfort now manifested itself. In order to accommodate matters
to the capacity of the carts, the elders in charge had made it
one of the rules that each outfit should be limited to seventeen
pounds of clothing and bedding. As they advanced up the
Sweetwater it became cold. The mountains appeared snow-covered,
and the lack of extra wraps and bedding caused first discomfort,
and then intense suffering, to the half-fed travellers. The
necessity of frequently wading the Sweetwater chilled the
stronger men who were bearing the brunt of the labor, and when
morning dawned the occupants of the tents found themselves numb
with the cold, and quite unfitted to endure the hardships of the
coming day. Chislett draws this picture of the situation at that
time:--

"Our old and infirm people began to droop, and they no sooner
lost spirit and courage than death's stamp could be traced upon
their features. Life went out as smoothly as a lamp ceases to
burn when the oil is gone. At first the deaths occurred slowly
and irregularly, but in a few days at more frequent intervals,
until we soon thought it unusual to leave a camp ground without
burying one or more persons. Death was not long confined in its
ravages to the old and infirm, but the young and naturally strong
were among its victims. Weakness and debility were accompanied by
dysentery. This we could not stop or even alleviate, no proper
medicines being in the camp; and in almost every instance it
carried off the parties attacked. It was surprising to an
unmarried man to witness the devotion of men to their families
and to their faith under these trying circumstances. Many a
father pulled his cart, with his little children on it, until the
day preceding his death. These people died with the calm faith
and fortitude of martyrs."

An Oregonian returning East, who met two of the more fortunate of
these handcart parties, gave this description to the Huron (Ohio)
Reflector in 1857:--

"It was certainly the most novel and interesting sight I have
seen for many a day. We met two trains, one of thirty and the
other of fifty carts, averaging about six to the cart. The carts
were generally drawn by one man and three women each, though some
carts were drawn by women alone. There were about three women to
one man, and two-thirds of the women single. It was the most
motley crew I ever beheld. Most of them were Danes, with a
sprinkling of Welsh, Swedes, and English, and were generally from
the lower classes of their countries. Most could not understand
what we said to them. The road was lined for a mile behind the
train with the lame, halt, sick, and needy. Many were quite aged,
and would be going slowly along, supported by a son or daughter.
Some were on crutches; now and then a mother with a child in her
arms and two or three hanging hold of her, with a forlorn
appearance, would pass slowly along; others, whose condition
entitled them to a seat in a carriage, were wending their way
through the sand. A few seemed in good spirits."

The belated company did not meet anyone to carry word of their
condition to the valley, but among Richard's party who visited
the camp at Wood River was Brigham Young's son, Joseph A. He
realized the plight of the travellers, and when his father heard
his report he too recognized the fact that aid must be sent at
once. The son was directed to get together all the supplies he
could obtain in the city or pick up on the way, and to start
toward the East immediately. Driving on himself in a light wagon,
he reached the advanced line, as they were toiling ahead through
their first snowstorm. The provisions travelled slower, and could
not reach them in less than one or two days longer. There was
encouragement, of course, even in the prospect of release, but
encouragement could not save those whose vitality was already
exhausted. Camp was pitched that night among a grove of willows,
where good fires were possible, but in the morning they awoke to
find the snow a foot deep, and that five of their companions had
been added to the death list during the night.

To add to the desperate character of the situation came the
announcement that the provisions were practically exhausted, the
last of the flour having been given out, and all that remained
being a few dried apples, a little rice and sugar, and about
twenty-five pounds of hardtack. Two of the cattle were killed,
and the camp were informed that they would have to subsist on the
supplies in sight until aid reached them. The best thing to do in
these circumstances, indeed, the only thing, was to remain where
they were and send messengers to advise the succoring party of
the desperateness of their case. Their captain, Mr. Willie, and
one companion acted as their messengers. They were gone three
days, and in their absence Mr. Chislett had the painful duty of
doling out what little food there was in camp. He speaks of his
task as one that unmanned him. More cattle were killed, but beef
without other food did not satisfy the hungry, and the epidemic
of dysentery grew worse. The commissary officer was surrounded by
a crowd of men and women imploring him for a little food, and it
required all his power of reasoning to make them see that what
little was left must be saved for the sick.

The party with aid from the valley had also encountered the
snowstorm, and, not appreciating the desperate condition of the
hand-cart immigrants, had halted to wait for better weather. As
soon as Captain Willie took them the news, they hastened
eastward, and were seen by the starving party at sunset, the
third day after their captain's departure. "Shouts of joy rent
the air," says Chislett. "Strong men wept till tears ran freely
down their furrowed and sunburnt cheeks, and little children
partook of the joy which some of them hardly understood, and
fairly danced around with gladness. Restraint was set aside in
the general rejoicing, and, as the brethren entered our camp, the
sisters fell upon them and deluged them with kisses."

The timely relief saved many lives, but the end of the suffering
had not been reached. A good many of the foot party were so
exhausted by what they had gone through, that even their near
approach to their Zion and their prophet did not stimulate them
to make the effort to complete the journey. Some trudged along,
unable even to pull a cart, and those who were still weaker were
given places in the wagons. It grew colder, too, and frozen hands
and feet became a common experience. Thus each day lessened by a
few who were buried the number that remained.

Then came another snowstorm. What this meant to a weakened party
like this dragging their few possessions in carts can easily be
imagined. One family after another would find that they could not
make further progress, and when a hill was reached the human
teams would have to be doubled up. In this way, by travelling
backward and forward, some progress was made. That day's march
was marked by constant additions to the stragglers who kept
dropping by the way. When the main body had made their camp for
the night, some of the best teams were sent back for those who
had dropped behind, and it was early morning before all of these
were brought in.

The next morning Captain Willie was assigned to take count of the
dead. An examination of the camp showed thirteen corpses, all
stiffly frozen. They were buried in a large square hole, three or
four abreast and three deep. "When they did not fit in," says
Chislett, "we put one or two crosswise at the head or feet of the
others. We covered them with willows and then with the earth."
Two other victims were buried before nightfall. Parties passing
eastward by this place the following summer found that the wolves
had speedily uncovered the corpses, and that their bones were
scattered all over the neighborhood.

Further deaths continued every day until they arrived at South
Pass. There more assistance from the valley met them, the weather
became warmer, and the health of the party improved, so that when
they arrived at Salt Lake City they were in better condition and
spirits. The date of their arrival there was November 9. The
company which set out from Iowa City numbered about 500, of whom
400 set out from Florence across the plains. Of these 400, 67
died on the way, and there were a few deaths after they reached
the end of their journey.

Another company of these hand-cart travellers left Florence still
later than the ones whose sufferings have been described. They
were in charge of an elder named Martin. Like their predecessors,
they were warned against setting out so late as the middle of
August, and many of them tried to give up the trip, but
permission to do so was refused. Their sufferings began soon
after they crossed the Platte, near Fort Laramie, and snow was
encountered sixty miles east of Devil's Gate. When they reached
that landmark, they decided that they could make no further
progress with their hand-carts. They accordingly took possession
of half a dozen dilapidated log houses, the contents of the
wagons were placed in some of these, the hand-carts were left
behind, and as many people as the teams could drag were placed in
the wagons and started forward. One of the survivors of this
party has written: "The track of the emigrants was marked by
graves, and many of the living suffered almost worse than death.
Men may be seen to-day in Salt Lake City, who were boys then,
hobbling around on their club-feet, all their toes having been
frozen off in that fearful march." * Twenty men who were left at
Devil's Gate had a terrible experience, being compelled, before
assistance reached them, to eat even the pieces of hide wrapped
round their cart-wheels, and a piece of buffalo skin that had
been used as a door-mat. Strange to say, all of these men reached
the valley alive.

* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 337.


We have seen that Brigham Young was the inventor of this
hand-cart immigration scheme. Alarmed by the result of the
experiment, as soon as the wretched remnant of the last two
parties arrived in Salt Lake City, he took steps to place the
responsibility for the disaster on other shoulders. The idea
which he carried out was to shift the blame to F. D. Richards on
the ground that he allowed the immigrants to start too late. In
an address in the Tabernacle, while Captain Willie's party was
approaching the city, he told the returned missionaries from
England that they needed to be careful about eulogizing Richards
and Spencer, lest they should have "the big head." When these men
were in Salt Lake City he cursed them with the curse of the
church. E. W. Tullidge, who was an editor of the Millennial Star
in Liverpool under Richards when the hand-cart emigrants were
collected, proposed, when in later years he was editing the Utah
Magazine, to tell the facts about that matter; but when Young
learned this, he ordered Godbe, the controlling owner of the
magazine, to destroy that issue, after one side of the sheets had
been printed, and he was obeyed.* Fortunately Young was not able
to destroy the files of the Millennial Star.

* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 342.


There is much that is thoroughly typical of Mormonism in the
history of these expeditions. No converts were ever instilled
with a more confident belief in the divine character of the
ridiculous pretender, Joseph Smith. To no persons were more
flagrant misrepresentations ever made by the heads of the church,
and over none was the dictatorial authority of the church
exercised more remorselessly. Not only was Utah held out to them
as "a land where honest labor and industry meet with a suitable
reward, and where the higher walks of life are open to the
humblest and poorest," * but they were informed that, if they had
not faith enough to undertake the trip to Utah, they had not
"faith sufficient to endure, with the Saints in Zion, the
celestial law which leads to exaltation and eternal life." Young
wrote to Richards privately in October, 1855, "Adhere strictly to
our former suggestion of walking them through across the plains
with hand-carts";** and Richards in an editorial in the Star
thereupon warned the Saints: "The destroying angel is abroad.
Pestilence and gaunt famine will soon increase the terrors of the
scene to an extent as yet without a parallel in the records of
the human race. If the anticipated toils of the journey shake
your faith in the promises of the Lord, it is high time that you
were digging about the foundation of it, and seeing if it be
founded on the root of the Holy Priesthood," etc.

* Thirteenth General Epistle, Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p. 49.

** Millennial Star, Vol. XVIII, p, 61.


The direct effect of such teaching is shown in two letters
printed in the Millennial Star of June 14, 1856. In the first of
these, a sister, writing to her brother in Liverpool from
Williamsburg, New York, confesses her surprise on learning that
the journey was to be made with hand-carts, says that their
mother cannot survive such a trip, and that she does not think
the girls can, points out that the limitation regarding baggage
would compel them to sell nearly all their clothes, and proposes
that they wait in New York or St. Louis until they could procure
a wagon. In his reply the brother scorns this advice, says that
he would not stop in New York if he were offered 10,000 pounds
besides his expenses, and adds "Brothers, sisters, fathers or
mothers, when they put a stumbling block in the way of my
salvation, are nothing more to me than Gentiles. As for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord, and when we start we will go right
up to Zion, if we go ragged and barefoot."

Young found himself hard put to meet the church obligations in
1856, notwithstanding the economy of the hand-cart system; and
the Millennial Star of December 27 announced that no assisted
emigrants would be sent out during the following year. Saints
proposing to go through at their own expense were informed,
however, that the church bureau would supply them with teams.
Those proposing to use hand-carts were told of the "indispensable
necessity" of having their whole outfit ready on their arrival at
Iowa City, and the bureau offered to supply this at an estimated
cost of 3 pounds per head, any deficit to be made up on their
arrival there.*

* "The agency of the Mormon emigration at that time was a very
profitable appointment. By arrangement with ship brokers at
Liverpool, a commission of half a guinea per head was allowed the
agent for every adult emigrant that he sent across the Atlantic,
and the railroad companies in New York allowed a percentage on
every emigrant ticket. But a still larger revenue was derived
from the outfitting on the frontiers. The agents purchased all
the cattle, wagons, tents, wagon-covers, flour, cooking utensils,
stoves, and the staple articles for a three months' journey
across the Plains, and from them the Saints supplied
themselves."--" Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 340.


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