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Show -13- "Who comes there?• We would say sergeant with release guard. He would say, "give the co'\lilter sign." l replied, "all is well." He said1 "March forward and present arms." Then one man would drop in and the man on guard dropped out then on around till we had made the complete change • .. We had a merry time when not on. duty, jumping, running races,, pitching horseshoes and wrestling. After five days we returned home. The men who enlisted were not given a pension because they were not called by the u. S. Government. Early in the spring of 1868 three men were called fran HUIJEville, George Aldows, Frank Hamnond, and I, were called to drive ox teams back to the northi'alt terminus of the u. P. Railroad to bring saints that were coming fran the east that season. We left Ogden about the 17th of June. We were in company of John Gillespie, we traveled up through Weber Valley, through Echo Canyon. We saw the pile of rocks that were piled on timber on top of a ledge of rock to let loose on the Johnston .Army if need be. The water was very high at that spring and we had to ford the streams. We arrived at Green River at Robinson' Ferry on the Sweet Water route, on the afternoon of the. 26th of lune. We learned that six boys had been drowned the day before while crossing on the ferry boat. Two yo~e of cattle that were on the boat had erowd.eo;..:i. to the upper side of the boat which caused the boat to dep water. Th, boat went down over the men's heada which caused t he ropes not to break. 'Then the boat came to the top. Some of the boys got on the boat, others grabbed onto the .oxen thus drowning the oxen, t .hen they had to find their own way to shore.. Six of the men were drowned. There namez, were: Niels Christofferson and Peter Smith or lv!a.nti; Peter Nielson of Fairview, Chris Jensen and Chris Nebellar of Mount Pleasant and Thomas Yeates or Millville, Cache Valley. The hadn't got the rope stretched across yet wehen we arrived. Six of eight men got on the boat and tried to row across but they couldn't make it and had to come back. Next morning a number or men got on the boat and rowed up the sore as far as the rope would let them, then they started to row across keeping headed upstream by the ime they were down to shore the rope was stretched across they threw a rope to a man on the other shore. He then pulled them to shore. We worked hard all day in driving the cattle across, driving them out and making them swim across. One of the men in the train in which the boys were drowned composed same verses about the boys. Frank F...ammond happened to be in their camp and here's the verses read. He borrowed them and copied them. I learned the words and used t.o sing t he song. I have never had them copied but I believe I can repeat them all now. Tune: .rust Before the Battle Mother. We the boys of Sanpete County In obedience to the call Started out with forty wagons To bring the pilgrims in the fall. Without fear or thought of danger Lightly on our way w~ sped ,~ Every heart with joy abounding Captain. Seeley at our head. |
