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Show 2 Tragedy and New Beginnings W, HEN WORD CAME of the death of Joseph and Hyrum, the people were all thunderstruck. What could they do? What, indeed? They could hurry into Nauvoo to learn more of the details, to share in the general mourning. Everywhere were crowds of people, weeping and talking through their tears. Gloom on every face, hopelessness, confusion. With their Prophet gone, what could they do? Later, as the bodies lay in state, the Leavitt family all passed to take their last look at Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. Dudley was so impressed by the calm majesty of their faces that even after he was an old man himself, he declared that if he had ever been uncertain before of the divine mission of this man, he now knew of a surety that here was a Prophet of the living God. No hardship could shake his faith. Now the threat of mobbing grew to such a state that the Mormons agreed upon the sound of a great drum to warn the Saints. They were gathered at the home of William Snow, who was the husband of Dudley's sister Lydia. The women and children were in the darkened house, while men stood guard outside. "Arm and be ready," a rider called as he passed by. "The mob is out to destroy every Mormon!" One of the women began to cry, begging her husband not to go. 16 Tragedy and New Beginnings "If I had forty husbands and as many sons, I would urge them all to go," Dudley's mother said. "If I could, I'd go myself." But that night they did not need to go nor for some time later. For several months the people went about their labors in peace, but they were like sheep without a shepherd. They lacked direction and purpose. "What can we do now?" they asked each other. In the meantime the members of the Council of Twelve Apostles began to gather in Nauvoo. Most of them had been absent at the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet, and they had hurried home as soon as the word reached them. Sidney Rigdon was one who felt that he should be the next president of the church, since he had been a counselor to the Prophet. Joseph's wife, Emma, felt that the leadership should remain in the family. It was not until Brigham Young and a number of the Twelve had returned that a public meeting was held to determine the successor to Joseph Smith. All the Leavitt family were present on that occasion, August 8, 1844, for to them this was a matter of great importance. Fourteen-year-old Dudley was with his friends near the back of the large audience which had gathered to hear the talks of the authorities. On the stand the men were arranged according to their rank in the priesthood, the different quorums grouped together. After the preliminary opening exercises, Brigham Young arose to speak. Sidney Rigdon had already pressed his claims at a meeting the day before, but no vote had been called. On the edge of the crowd, Dudley whispered to some of his companions. Suddenly they all stopped and listened. It was their Prophet Joseph speaking! How well they knew his accents. They raised up and looked toward the stand. For a second, they thought it was the Prophet who stood there. But they knew it was not, and soon the vision passed. It was so real to Dudley that it made a lasting impression. For him, the mantle of Joseph had in reality fallen upon Brigham. As long as he lived he loved to retell the incident. On the Ragged Edge 17 The whole audience seemed to have had the same experience, for when a vote was called they were almost unanimous in saying that they would be led and directed by the Twelve Apostles, with Brigham Young at the head. United again under a competent leader, the people went on with their work, finishing the temple and carrying on their church duties. The persecutions, temporarily stopped, now began again. Again marauding bands scoured the countryside at night; again burnings and mobbings became common. At The Mound the Leavitt family kept a constant watch, for two roads went directly past their home, one from Warsaw and one from Carthage, and they must be alert for enemies from either. Dudley took his turn at standing guard with the older boys. With the Prophet dead and the new leadership under Brigham Young getting organized, the unrest everywhere quieted somewhat. Converts continued to come; new businesses were established. Work on the temple was being pushed in all haste that this part of their ordinances might be performed. True, the Old Police remained intact and were increased in numbers; the cavalry still had their horses and uniforms and arms; and the two pieces of ordnance were ready for immediate use. Hosea Stout, in charge of this, kept a daily diary; John D. Lee did also. By the fall of 1845 the Mormons felt that they could defend themselves against thefts and marauders and, if necessary, strike back. The state officials were much disturbed by the evidence of Mormon military might. There should be some understanding between the leaders of the two factions to prevent civil war. Meanwhile, the temple had been finished, and the faithful were crowding to get their endowments in it, secure in the knowledge that it was kept under heavy guard day and night. Finally, a truce was made in which the state military and local citizens would cease to rob and pillage among the Mormons if they would promise to leave the state en 18 Tragedy and New Beginnings masse "as soon as grass grows and water runs." This, it was generally understood, meant April through May. But by early February the mob became restless again, and the Mormon leaders knew that they must leave. Among the first were Brigham Young himself with a part of his family, John D. Lee, and Hosea Stout. Behind them, in Nauvoo, the people were busy building wagons and securing tents, wagon covers, and supplies. Soon after a part of the families of the leaders were across, the thermometer fell until at one point the river was frozen over strong enough that some wagons were driven over on the ice. Perhaps the most vivid account of the hazards was written by Hosea Stout, captain of the military and also of the police. On the ground or on a horse, Stout was a man of great courage; he had repeatedly given evidence of his clear-headness in a crisis. But evidently he was afraid of the water, so that his experience in crossing the river was a traumatic one indeed. Monday Feb 9th 1846 . . . I went with my family to the river to cross over into Iowa . . . at length we went aboard an old small boat and started over. The wind being quite high & the river very ruff. While on the watter I beheld the most heart rending and dangerous scenes that I was ever called upon to witness . . . . there was a man and two Boys in a Skiff coming from one of the islands with a load of wood. The Skiff was loaded down almost to the top and upon coming out into the open water began to fill with water. The man did not know how to manage a water c r a f t . . . . The boys were fritned at every wave and would scream . . . in a short distance his Skiff Swamped . . . all on our boat stood petrified . . . while the screemes of the boys thrilled through every heart. A short distance behind us was another larger ferry boat coming over with two waggons, two yokes of oxen, and about twenty people on board. They saw the situation . . . and turned downstream & took them in & Saved them from a watery grave . . . but we were called upon to see a ten-fold more melancholy event transpire. We were alarmed by the Shrieks & cries of the men, women & children on the On the Ragged Edge 19 b o a t . . . we saw that their boat was sinking in the middle of the river. They made every sign token cry scream gesture & manisfestation of distress that I ever saw in my life . . . and all was hushed as the boat went down. In a few minutes we saw them scattered like so many wild foul in the water . . . some were on feather beds, lumber, sticks of wood . . . and some climbed up on the wagon, which did not quite go under, while the cows and oxen were seen swimming to the bank from whence they came.... A Boat which was crossing back empty came to them and with some Skiffs & Sail boats Succeeded in Saving them . . . not one were lost, though some were so near gone that they could not speak. And one yoke of oxen was drowned. Stout concluded that God had cursed the water! Thomas Cottam, a convert from England, was on this boat, and he told the story much as it is told here, but he gave blame for the trouble to a young man who spit tobacco juice into the eye of one of the oxen. The animal, crazed with pain, floundered around until he broke some of the planks off the boat. The official account in the History of Brigham Young was much more explicit, though it did not name the guilty man: A filthy, wicked man squirted some tobacco juice into the eyes of one of the oxen attached to Thomas Grover's wagon, which immediately plunged into the river, dragging another ox with him, and as he was going overboard, he tore off one of the side boards, which caused the water to flow into the flatboat, and as they approached the shore the boat sank to the bottom . . . . Some of the brethren were picked up in an exhausted condition. Two oxen were drowned and a few things floated away and were lost. The wagon was drawn out with its contents damaged. The point to be made here is that the top men of the Mormon Church were first to cross the river to safety in Iowa. At this point they were not certain of their destination; they knew that there must be way stations where people could stop a season to raise crops or in some way 20 Tragedy and New Beginnings earn the means they would need to reach their final homes. The Leavitt family had felt safe in their location on The Mound, but with the coming of spring they realized their precarious position. Sarah later wrote in her record book: We soon found that we had to leave the place if we meant to save our lives, and we with the rest of the brethren got what little we could from our beautiful farm. We had forty thousand bricks that my husband and sons had made for to build a house, and part of the rock to lay the foundation. For this we got an old bed quilt and for the farm a yoke of wild steers, and for two high post bed-steads we got some weaving done. Our nice cherry light stand we left for the mob, with every other thing we could not take along with us. The Leavitt family had lived through the winter in their home in comparative comfort, for they waited until April to move. By this time the bitter cold of February, the flood time of the March thaws in crossing the river, and the first hazards of loading and docking had been cleared. Even so, they had troubles enough. They had been forced - "called upon" sounds better - to give up one wagon for the general emigration which meant that the one remaining was overloaded. All must walk, all the time. The general plan for the migration was that the authorities, along with the police and the guards, should go ahead as far as Council Bluffs and there make a temporary settlement until they could be better prepared for the long trip across the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains to their new home, wherever that might be. The route of travel was due west across lower Iowa. The Leavitt family stopped at the Mountain Pisgah station about midway on the road. Winter Quarters, on the east side of the Missouri River, would be the main settlement. Jeremiah chose a location near one of the families of Lorenzo Snow, and Sarah was most appreciative of the help they gave her. On the Ragged Edge 21 Jerry and his wife had come ahead and had left the main line of travel to get work at a place called Bonaparte, so Jeremiah decided to join them there, taking Dudley along. It seems that the three sons of Nathaniel also went, for by now they were able to draw men's wages. This left the mother with only Mary, Tom, and the two younger children, Betsy and Priscilla. After her husband had been gone about two weeks Sarah became very ill, and if it had not been for the help of these good neighbors she well might have died. But they brought her food, took care of her laundry, and sat with her at night until she finally recovered. One little incident says much for her character: One morning after the people who had stayed through the night had left, she raised up to see a "monstrous, big rattlesnake with eight rattles" coiled up on a bench. It had evidently been there all night. She called Tom and told him to take it out and toss it off the bank but not to hurt it, for it had been a friend in the house and company all night. It was past time for her husband to return; she looked for him day and night. Then just before daylight one morning a horseman came carrying the news of his death. He was so reliable, so dependable, it had not even occurred to her that he might die. But she knew she must be strong to keep the children together and get them to Zion. She sums up the situation: Wier and Lemuel had gone to Council Bluffs, and got news of their father's death and my sickness, and Lemuel came to Pisgah with a team and some medicine that would stop the ague, and other things for our comfort. Jeremiah came with the team his father had taken to Bonaparte and brought Dudley with him . . . . My husband died 20th of August 1846. He had but two children married, Louisa and Jeremiah, and one grandchild, Jeremiah's daughter, Clarisa. He sang "Come let us Anew, our Journey Pursue, Roll Round With the Year and Never Stand Still Till the Master Appear. 22 Tragedy and New Beginnings He sang that hymn as long as he had strength to sing it, and then wanted Elsa to sing it. He died without a struggle or a groan. Dudley, now just sixteen years old, had been at his father's bedside through it all, and was deeply affected by the experience. Many years later he would sing the same song as he passed into eternity. A most interesting item, in the hand writing of Jeremiah II, was found and is preserved at the Genealogical Library files: Genealogy of Jeremiah Levet who was born May 30th 1797 in the state of New Hampshire town of Grantham, my father's name was Jeremiah. In my first year my father moved to Lower Canada and died there in his 46th year of his age in full assurance of a glorious resurection leaving nine children. I returned to Vermont where I married Sarah Sturde-vant. We removed to Canada-where we joined freewill baptists. We remained with them until we saw the Book of Mormon & Covenants and believed them without any preaching. We went to Kirtland where we was baptised. Went to Twelve Mile Grove where I was ordained a Teacher under the hands of King Follett, and from there went to Nauvoo where I was Ordained into the Sixteenth Quorum of Seventies by order of the Council.... One of the most tragic periods of all Mormon history is that of the two years at Winter Quarters, built in an area now adjacent to the city of Omaha, Nebraska, where there are literally hundreds of graves. Old and young, they died of exposure, malnutrition, and actual starvation, until at some times, in some areas, there were none able to bury the dead. Council Bluffs, across the valley, was also a part of the great encampment. Dugouts, cellars in the ground, mud-covered willows - few, indeed had adequate shelter. The mother wrote: The boys made a camp of hay and I crawled into it, glad to get any place of shelter. I had to live there On the Ragged Edge 23 while they built a house, and suffered very much for want of proper food and with the cold as we could have no fire in a hay camp . . . . In all my sickness, I have never complained or looked back, for I was sure there was better days coming. I knew that Mormonism was true and better days would surely come. My health was poor all winter. At first I could get but little that was fit for a sick person to eat, but soon we had plenty . . . . We lived only a few rods from the Pottowatamie chief. He told the boys that if there was anything that they wanted that he had, to come and get it and he would wait until they could pay for i t . . . . There was violence as well as suffering in the camp. She witnessed a murder in front of her house. Brother Lilace W. Conditt was shot through the heart by John Gheen (she spelled the name Jean) in a dispute about land. According to her story, Brother Conditt had been very sick and was not well when he put on his blue coat and stepped out onto Gheen's land - or his own land which Gheen claimed. After he had been dead a few days, one night after his family were all asleep but Sister Conditt, he came in and went to the bed where she lay and commenced talking. At first she was frightened, but soon all fear left her and she talked to him without any fear . . . he told her he wanted his body took up and buried on high land, as the place where he lay would be washed off into the river. . . . She had his body took up and buried where he wanted it, and the land did wash off as he said it would. John D. Lee wrote the full story of the Conditt death but did not name the murderer, probably because he was a brother of two of Heber C. Kimball's wives: Summer Quarters Sund April 16, 1847. . Reported that Bro Lilace W. Conditt was shot through the heart by [John Gheen] who had before forbid him passing through his garden 3 times & just before a mob passed through to taunt him. He raised his piece, but it missed fire, As soon as the Horrid Deed was done the man whose hands was stained with Blood was 24 Tragedy and New Beginnings. most shockingly beat by the Spectatores & then bound in chains. Sarah Sturdevant Leavitt mentioned several people whose names appear later in Utah history. One was a Dr. Vaun (Dr. Vaughn) whom she distrusted very much. She also reported that there was a bogus press in this place and that a man drowned in the river trying to drive cattle while his companions stood on the bank and made no move to help him. Thomas told them if they would let him have ahorse, he would go and save him, but they did not like to venture their horses in such a dangerous place. Benway, the merchant, cursed them and told them . . . There was little Thomas Leavitt that would have gone into the river and would have saved him, too, but you was afraid your horse would drown - Oh, Shame! Benway was a great friend to Thomas and gave him many presents. Thomas was thirteen years old and his good conduct made him many friends. Also how Jean's wife had a frightful monster born; and how I had the offer of marriage; and Sister Adams and Lydia Snow both died; and Robert McLean and Father Richards both apostatized, and how many debates I had with them; and a thousand other things too numerous to relate. For all, the first and major concern was food. John D. Lee was appointed to go on trading missions upon which he would accept whatever a man had to spare: fancy dishes, kitchen gadgets, quilts, clothing, tools - just anything they could spare. Lee and the owner agreed upon the value of the articles and a record was kept, the pay to be in food. He took a train of three wagons and made a number of trips out among the farms and settlements, where he would buy whole beeves, pigs slaughtered on the ground or cut up and cured, corn, potatoes, wheat by the two-bushel sack, butter, lard - anything edible. Lee was a good trader, and these trips saved many lives. On the Ragged Edge 25 So many stories have come out of this starvation time. One is of Apostle George A. Smith, later called "the Potato Saint." His family had only potatoes to eat, so, being kind to his wife and children, he gave them all the heart of the potato while he subsisted upon the raw peelings. "The Lord blessed the peelings, so that Brother Smith was able to work hard all day, while his wife and children died," his neighbors said. At that time vitamins were unknown. How eagerly the people welcomed the spring. Digging wild roots and gathering dandelions, pigweeds, or any succulent plant for greens became daily tasks for all. With the spring came better health. The 1847 company, consisting of 143 men, 3 women, and 2 children, was organized to cross the plains, select a location for the church, make a preliminary survey, and help build a fort for the first winter. Most of the teams and all the horsemen would return to Council Bluffs to assist in the mass migration of the next year, but instead of the one hundred men left, the population of the Salt Lake Valley that winter was increased by newcomers from Pueblo, Mississippi, and Winter Quarters to total 1,671 souls. Somehow most of them managed to survive. The 1848 emigration drained Winter Quarters. All who could go did so, some leaving quite comfortable homes. The Leavitt family moved into one of these where they got along very well indeed. Meanwhile, Jerry and his family remained at Bonaparte, Pottawattomie County, where he still had permanent work. His wife had given him another daughter, Lucy Ann. Wier who had been living with Jerry and working with him came home to help his mother move into the new quarters mentioned above, for since his father's death he felt a special responsibility to care for his mother. He was so pleased to see her situated where she not only had heat and shelter but room enough to use her own skills to advantage. An excellent cook, she could now take in two or three boarders; she could make bread, cookies, and cakes of all kinds to sell; she could do sew- 26 Tragedy and New Beginnings ing or laundry. He was pleased with all this, but he did not want her to start on the long journey west without his help. "You are not going to the Valley this year, are you, Mother?" he asked. "Don't try to go until I can come to help you." There seemed little possibility that his mother could get an outfit together in one year, but she made no promises. Wier's last words as he left were, "Mother, wait for me to help you into the Valley." In good health again, Sarah was pleased in general with the way things were shaping up for her. Lemuel had joined Bill Hamblin in driving two of the wagons of Apostle George A. Smith's family train to Utah. This would give him employment and put him in Zion early. This left only Dudley and Thomas and the three younger girls - Mary, Betsy, and Priscilla - at home. She could use the girls to good advantage in her work. Dudley had employment with Brother Peter Maughan who was running a store. Almost nineteen years old, Dudley felt that he was a man grown, while Brother Maughan constantly marveled at his strength and agility. One day a group of soldiers were wrestling among themselves in a good-humored test to see which was strongest. Brother Maughan watched for a while and then said, "I've got a boy here that can throw any one of you." This brought a loud cry of derision. They'd have to be shown! The wrestling was side-holds: the two opponents' feet placed side by side, each with one hand holding the top of his opponent's pants in the back, their other two hands clutched together in front. The object was to trip your opponent or by sheer strength to pick him up and slam him down. Dudley had played this game before. He knew that agility was important as well as strength. He threw one after another as soon as they stepped up until at last there were no more volunteers. Peter Maughan was so elated that he cupped his two hands around his mouth and gave a whoop that raised On the Ragged Edge 2 7 the echoes. Then reaching into this pocket, he threw out a silver dollar which he tossed at Dudley's feet. "Take that, for the best show I ever saw put on," he said. Meantime, though his mother was using every skill she had to make money, she knew it would be a long time before she could earn enough to even begin to get the wagons and teams she would need. Many years later, writing in the journal, she said: "But through energy and faith and the Blessing of God, we got a good fit-out." She should have added that the specific "Blessing of God" came on the day that Dudley picked up a purse containing a large sum of money. He immediately took it to Peter Maughan. "What are you going to do with it?" his employer asked. "Try to find the owner," Dudley said promptly. "Don't be silly," Peter Maughan cautioned. "Just hold it a few days and say nothing. See if anyone advertises for a lost purse. With the hundreds of outfits that are going through here every day, the real owner may be anywhere between here and the Rocky Mountains. "This just might be the Lord's way of helping you to the Valley," he went on. "Look how hard your mother is working. Think of all she has gone through. How long will it take her to earn an outfit? This may just be the answer to your mother's prayers." How true! How true! Not only had his mother been left a widow to fend for herself, but she had been forced to live in the most horrible places, and under the most difficult conditions. Not since she pulled away from her home in Hatley, Canada, had she had as good a place as she was in right now. And what was that? A deserted house that belonged to nobody. Dudley remembered how Wier had pled with his mother not to go west until he could go with her. Now Wier had been dead more than a year - dead of the same disease which had taken his father, and in the same month of the year, August 1848. This death had been especially hard for his mother; she had relied on Wier, 28 Tragedy and New Beginnings perhaps because he was so free to show his affection for her. Even with his rough handling, his "joshing" and teasing and singing, he left no doubt that he expected to take care of his mother. With Wier dead and Jerry still at Bonaparte, not able to get an outfit together for two years or more, and Lem gone ahead to Zion, Dudley was left to be the man of the family. Dudley trusted his purse of money to Brother Maughan. How much was in it? We may only guess by the list of things it purchased. To list first things first, the List begins with: two yoke of oxen, a large prairie schooner, four cows, and a good supply of flour and groceries. Now they could go to Zion! |
