John Tanner and his family

Page 143

132 John Tanner and His Family Biographical Encyclopedia states that: "After giving up the herd he, [John Tanner] moved to the Chimneys on the river, three miles above Winter Quarters where he spent the winter.?" The Tanners would spend two winters at this location and would plant and harvest a crop, mostly corn, in 1847. Shortly before this move they experi­ enced a disastrous fire which destroyed most of their clothing, to­ gether with wagon boxes and covers and groceries. Elizabeth Beswick relates the events concerning the fire as follows: We were camped out at Winter Quarters where we had our cabin where we had most of our things burnt. The boys on the range with the cattle had some bedding which was saved but the chest con­ - clothing with many other things were burned. change of clothing except print for one dress." taining my without a The "Reminiscences as reported the story of the fire as follows: by Francis I was M. Llman left gives About the middle of January 1847, his [John's] home and three wagon boxes with covers, used for bed rooms, supplies of provisions and groceries, and most of their wearing apparel was destroyed by fire. Nothing was saved but the beds and about half of the bedding." Of especial interest to the author was the salvaging of the Book of Mormon which John had purchased from Jared Carter and which was instrumental in his conversion. Nothing is said in the Tanner "Reminiscences" regarding the place this highly prized book was kept or who managed to save it from the blaze, but the marks of fire are clearly visible and portions of some of the pages were destroyed. The book has only recently come and pictures are produced in this volume. to the author's attention 12 As far cause of the to as is known no one was for gratitude for all the family. trip took its toll, and most of mourn the loss of dear injured in the fire which was But the hardships and exposure the Tanner families had cause ones. The death of Philomelia, the three-year old daughter of John and Elizabeth who died near Indianapolis, Indiana, on the trek to Missouri has been mentioned previously. Her death would seem to have been related to the privations and exposures of the long journey with poor food and almost nonexistant sanitary facilities. This was but a foretaste of the dreadful mortality which would be suffered