Bad things happen to good people - this I know, but when we seek to raise our hand against God's people, we incur the just wrath of a perfect God. There is always more to the story than meets the eye. It is for this reason that I particularly enjoy the book, Fate of the Persecutors of the Prophet Joseph Smith; because it details what one can expect for one's troubles in hounding/harassing/hating those who are doing God's bidding. When this nation turns fully against what is right and good again, all will be in awe at the power of God in delivering, just as they were at the fury of the Lord against the Egyptians in Moses' day.
I pity those who have to go through it who have chosen to kick against the pricks.....
I hope you enjoy what Deila had to write for a talk on Pioneer Day:
I became fascinated in their story; included in this version were journals kept by some of the people. It was 1846 when they left Illinois for Calif, there were young and old including many nursing babies and children. I read about the difficulties of traveling, of the mistakes they made, the conflicts that resulted in deaths. This was just one year before the Mormons set off for the Rocky Mountains.
After reading this, I wondered about the people in this Donner party that might have mingled with Mormons in Illinois and Missouri.
I did a little research and found that there was a family in this group-- the Murphys -- husband and wife had been baptized in Tenn by Wilford Woodruff and Reed Smoot in 1836--and had 7 kids. Wilford Woodruff wrote about them in his journal:
"Preached at Mr Alexanders and Baptized 2 BrotherThe husband died two years later, and it shows in journals that Lavina, the wife and children moved to Nauvoo for a season. But for some reason left and returned to the south. It was from there that she decided to go west to Calif. Her story is monumentally sad as she loses children, a son in law--but some did manage to survive and live on to tell her story--a daughter named Mary who stayed in Calif, married a catholic and was then rebaptized a catholic --Marysville, Ca is named after her. Lavina, the mother --She was one of the last women in the Donner camp, having stayed back to care for her grandchildren, her fate not so good-- according to Wilford Woodruff--
& Sister Murphy. Brother Murphy was dissatisfied
because he had not received the Holy Ghost as he
expected. Probably looking for [a person was?] not
the [cause/case?]. We told him to consider the subject
well" (Wilford Woodruff Journal 1:79)The subject was brought up again concerning theMingled with this story is another--
emigrant Company who perished in the Mountains
last winter. They were mostly from Independence &
Clay Counly Missouri And were A mob company &
threatned to drive out the mormons that were in
Calafornia & started for Calafornia with that spirit in
there hearts. But it seemed as though they were ripe
for Judgment. The snows fell upon them 18 feet
deep on a level & they died & eat up each other.
About 40 persons parished & were mostly eat up by
those who survived them. Mrs L. Murphy of Tenn
whom I Baptized while on a mishion in that Country
but since Apostitized & joined the mob was in the
company died or was killed & eat up. Her bones
sawed to peaces for her branes & marrow & left
stre[we?]d upon the ground-(WW Journal, 10 July 1847)
I read that another family, the Rhoads, joined the church in 1835--and while living in Nauvoo, lost their home to the mob about this same time, 1846. They asked Bro Brigham if they could head out to the Rockies, to Calif, and blaze a trail for the saints to come later. Brigham gave them his blessing to go:Go with my blessing. Your company will be theThey happened to meet up with the Donner party and the Murphy family-- and two men from that group came over to the Rhoads family and asked them if they could join their camps. They traveled together for some time, until they came to the Hastings cutoff. According to one of the daughters of the Rhoads family:
Trailblazers that will pave the road to Zion When
the spring comes, I will follow with the strongest of
my company and after that, amther will follow me,
and so forth until all the Saints have been removed
from this place; and soon, we may be able to establish
the Zion of which Brother Joseph spoke of. . .
wherever westward that place may be (Crossroads in the West)“Some of the discontented were strongly in favor of taking the hastings cutt off, while the conservative people wanted to continue along the mddle route, while donner and his followers declared their intention of following the hasintgs cut off. " (Ibid)The Rhoads family arrived safely in Sutters Fort by making this choice. And two of the sons became part of the rescue team that went back to save the Donners. John and Daniel Rhoads made 4 trips and John carried three year old Naomi Pikes of the Murphy family on his back 40 miles out of the snow. The two remained in Calif, but one of them was later baptized catholic with a second wife.
Samuel Brannan, who had led the Mormons to San Francisco, raised money for the Donner rescue as well.
The Mormon Battalion also had some connection with the Donner Party. Fifteen members of that group were traveling with a general back to Fort Leavenworth as guards, with John C. Fremont and came across the remains of the Donner party,A more revolting and appalling spectacle [wrote one
member ofthe party] I never witnessed. The remains
were, by an order of Gen Kearny, collected and
buried under the superintendence of Major Swords.
They were interred in a pit which had been dug in
tbe centre of one of the cabins for a cache. These
melancholy duties to the dead being performed, the
cabins, by order of Major Swords, were fired, and
with every thing surrounding them connected with
this horrid and melancholy tragedy, were consumed.
The body of George Donner was found at his camp,
about eight or ten miles distant, wrapped in a sheet.
He was buried by a party of men detailed for that
purpose. (Ibid)
The next year, 1847, the Mormons followed this trail, with one exception, they took what was called Pratts Cut off (after Parley P. Pratt).
The Part I did not tell: I started off with this talk, but turned and asked the bishop--Bishop Murphy--if he was related. He nodded, and I made a quick decision not to share the apostasy part of the story. No need to bring that part up in front of his congregation. And there is no way of knowing Lavina Murphy's true sentiments without a personal journal left.
More reading:
http://www.donnerpartydiary.com
Thank you for this interesting information! I not only love your blog, I learn from it and apply the principles in my life and the life of my family. After I read this I got to thinking about the timelines. I just pulled some information from the internet because the dates didn't match up.
ReplyDeleteHere is what I found:
On February 4, 1846 Brigham Young leads Latter-day Saints out of Nauvoo. Also on this day the ship Brooklyn cleared New York harbor and began its nearly 6 months voyage to the Pacific coast of the then Mexican Territory of California.
May 10, 1846: The Donners and Reeds arrive at Independence, Missouri, where they spend the next two days completing their outfits for the journey [before they started].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party_timeline
In June of 1846 the Saints decide to stay in Winter Quarters for the rest of the year.
In July of 1846 the Mormon Battalion is organized and enlisted for one year of service.
On July 29, 1846 the ship Brooklyn finally arrived in Yerba Buena (San Francisco).
November of 1846 the Donner Party gets trapped in the mountains and are not rescued until spring of 1847.
On January 29, 1847 the Mormon Battalion arrived in San Diego and were in that area for the next five months until their discharge on 16 July 1847.
On July 24, 1847 Brigham Young arrived with the first pioneers in the Great Salt Lake Valley.
On January 24, 1848 the California Gold Rush began when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.
Anyway, I am not exactly sure what the intentions were of the Donner/Reed party regarding Mormons. I don't believe there were any Mormons in California before July of 1846. Either way they sure ran into very sad and pitiful circumstances. Thanks again and keep posting the good stuff.
Very interesting - I knew the dates were close. I used to be a 49ers fan, so the date of the discovery of gold in '48, the year before the rush, at Sutter's mill is not lost. I do know that Joseph had been talking about going to California country for several years before his martyrdom, so a shipload of Saints leaving for San Fransisco on the Brooklyn might have been interest enough to attempt to throw a wrench in the works. There was extreme prejudice against the Saints in the day.
DeleteHere is some interesting history I dug up:
California Gold
An Authentic History of the First Find
With the Names of Those Interested in the Discovery
By James S. Brown
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah,
Jan. 24, 1894.
Just forty-six (46) years ago to-day the great and memorable discovery of the California gold was made at Capt. John A. Sutter and James W. Marshall’s sawmill, on American Fork River, California.
Now to give a clear conception of that most notable event, we must go back to the time when the project of building the mill was first conceived by Messrs. Sutter and Marshall, which was on or near the 1st of June, 1847. But, for want of skilled labor, the matter was delayed for a time, as the class of white men that was to be hired could not be trusted so as to justify a man in the undertaking of an enterprise of such importance as building a gristmill, which he already had under contemplation, and a sawmill forty miles away, in an Indian country; and again, the unsettled condition of the country as it was, so soon after the war, and considering the scarcity of money, caused Mr. Sutter to hesitate until a detachment of 150 men of the Mormon Battalion came up, August 26, and camped on the American Fork River about two miles from Sutter’s Fort. After they had a short consultation it was decided that about one hundred of the party would remain over till the next year, and seek employment as best they could. Accordingly, a committee was appointed to wait upon Mr. Sutter, to learn from him what the prospect for employment was. The committee informed Mr. Sutter that we had carpenters, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, millwrights, farmers and common laborers, and that we should want horses, cattle, and a general outfit for crossing the plains early the next summer, and if we could not get all money, we could and would take a part of our pay in the above mentioned stock and supplies. This proposition seemed to meet with favor from the Captain, as he had an abundance of the above mentioned property, and, if my memory is not at fault, he told the committee to call again, or for the men to come in two or three days, and he would speak further with them.
I understood then that in two or three days he decided to construct the two mills above mentioned, for the greatest obstacle that confronted him had been removed by the propositions that our committee had made to him. I have not heard the foregoing statement denied, therefore it is confirmed in my mind that had it not been for this opportunity the sawmill at least would not have been built, nor the discovery of gold been made at that time. The State of California would have waited indefinitely to have been developed and to be christened the “Golden State,” and the entrance to San Francisco Bay might never have received the title of the “Golden Gate.”
ReplyDeleteQuite a number, say from forty to sixty of us, called on Mr. Sutter between August 29th and September 5th. Some were employed to work on the gristmill, others took contracts on the mill race of that mill, the race was seven or eight miles long and was also designed for irrigation.
Alexander Stephens, Henry W. Bigler, James Berger, William Johnson, Azariah Smith, James S. Brown, and Israel Evans, were hired to follow; James W. Marshall (Mr. Sutter’s partner), mill-wright. Peter L. Wimmer and family and William Scott had preceded us two or three days. I think that they had only two wagons loaded with tools and provisions; the teams were oxen and were driven by two of Mr. Sutter’s tame or civilized Indians.
It must have been between the 8th and 11th when we came up to the party who had already commenced the erection of a rough cabin, half a mile from the spot or site that Marshall had selected some time before for the mill.
Now the work commenced in earnest; the cabin was pushed, and a second room put on in true frontier style. Some finished up the cabin, others worked at getting out timbers and preparing for the erection of the mill. The site chosen for the mill was at a point where the river made considerable of a bend, and just in the bank of what appeared to be the old bed of the river, which was lowered to carry the water from the mill.
Sometime between the 15th and 20th of January the mill was started up, and it was found that it had been set too low and the race would not carry off the water, but that it would drown or kill the flutter wheel. To avoid this difficulty several new pieces of timber had to be got out, and as there was found suitable timber within ten or fifteen rods from where the tail race entered the river, all hands were set to work getting out the timber at that place.
It had been customary to hoist the gates of the force bay when we quit work in the evening, letting the water through the race to wash away the loosened sand and gravel, then close them down early in the morning, and a gang of Digger Indians had been employed to dig and cast out the cable rock, such as was not moved by the water.
I, having picked up sufficient of the Indian dialect to direct the Indians in that labor, was set to look after that work, and as all hands were getting out timber so near the race, I had stepped away from them and was with the white men when Mr. Marshall came down to look after the work in general. Having talked a few moments, he stepped away to where the race entered the river. He discovered a bed of rock that had been exposed to view by the water the night before; the rock that was in sight was in the bottom of the race and was from three to six feet wide and fifteen to twenty feet long. It appeared to be granite, but so soft that it might be scaled up with a pick, yet too solid to be carried away by the water.
However, Sidney Willis and Wilford Hudson began to feel that they would like a little venison, and with that for an excuse took their guns and set out on foot, having been assured that by following up the river they would come to the sawmill, which they succeeded in doing the first day. I think that it was only thirty-five miles distant. I think that they stayed one day and two nights with us, then after a thorough examination of the bed rock, sand and gravel, and the surroundings, they gathered a few specimens, among which was one nugget worth about five dollars, the largest by odds that had been discovered up to that time.
ReplyDeleteAs they passed down on their way home they discovered a small ravine or creek in which there was some of the same kind of bed rock that they had seen at the mill race, and by picking around in the sand and gravel they discovered quite a rich prospect that was just opposite what was afterwards called Mormon Island, about twelve or fifteen miles above the gristmill and about the same distance below the sawmill. Then they returned to the mill and told their story and showed the specimens to the boys. Then some went to Sutter’s Fort, to a little grocery store kept by a Mormon by the name of Smith, that came around by the ship “Brooklyn.” The story of the find was told to him and specimens exhibited to him, and he wrote to Saml. Brannan, who was publishing a paper in San Francisco at that time, and from that press the news went forth to the world. Brannan was a Mormon elder, and the press was owned by a company of Mormons that had come from New York around Cape Horn and were presided over by S. Brannan.
Having explained briefly the find and proclamation, we will return to the mill race, while from 100 to 150 Mormons flocked to Mormon Island, and then people from every part of the States followed, and the search for gold was commenced in earnest. With jack, butcher, and table knives the search was made in the crevices, after stripping the soil from the bed rock with pick and shovel. Next, we conceived the idea of washing the sand and small gravel in time pans, but these were scarce and hard to get hold of. Alexander Stephens dug out a trough, leaving the bottom round like a log. Filling that with sand and gravel that we scraped off the bed rock, he would shake it, having arranged it so as to pour or run water in on the gravel; finally he commenced to rock the trough, which led to the idea of a rocker, which caused the gold to settle at the bottom, and he had it arranged on an incline so that it would naturally not only work to the bottom, but to the lower end of the trough, then at short intervals he would turn it into a tub of water, and at night it would be cleaned and weighed on a pair of wooden scales that he also made, using silver coins for weights, counting the silver dollar equal to one ounce of gold. The rocker above mentioned led to the renowned gold rocker; I am under the impression that Stephens did make the first rocker ever used in California. We made buckskin pouches or wallets to carry the gold in; it was not dust, nor yet nuggets, but small scales.
The next and last process that we used in gathering was to spread a sheet on the sand beach of the river, placing some big rocks on the corners and sides to keep it well stretched, then fill the rich dirt on the upper edge, then throw water on to wash the dirt down in the river, leaving the gold on the sheet, occasionally taking up the sheet and dipping it in a tub of water, thus washing the gold off the sheet into the tub, and at night clean up our day’s work, averaging from $12 to $15 per hand. Our best paying dirt was carried on our shoulders from Dry Gulch all the way from fifteen to sixty rods, to where we could find water to wash it with.
In the latter part of June, 1848, we left the gold fields of California to meet our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, and our dear friends in what was called the Great American Desert, now called Utah Territory.
ReplyDeleteTo Sutter’s capital and enterprise and Marshall’s shrewd sagacity has been given the credit of the great gold discovery of California. The facts are that James W. Marshall discovered the first color, and in less than an hour six Mormons found color as well, and in less than six weeks had discovered it in hundreds of places that Mr. Marshall had never seen, the most notable of which was Mormon Island, to where the first rush was made, and from where the news was spread to the uttermost bounds of the everlasting hills and to all the nations of the earth.
As to Sutter’s enterprise and capital, he did furnish the Graham flour and mutton, wheat and peas, black coffee and brown sugar, teams and tools, while we, the members of the Mormon Battalion, did do the hard labor that discovered the metal, and it is also true that we were in Sutter’s employ at that date, and that we did not get paid for our labor.
I worked 100 days for the firm, and never received one farthing for it. I heard a number of other men say that they never got their pay. Then it was our labor that developed the find, and not theirs, for many of them were never paid; and when we went for a settlement we were told by Capt. Sutter that he could not settle with us for his bookkeeper had gone to the mines and his books were not posted. He cursed Marshall and the mines, and declared that he was a ruined man, that the discovery was his ruin, for it had drawn off his laborers and left everything to go to rack, and he was being robbed.
I do not wish it to be understood that I charge them with being dishonorable, for I do not, but I charge it to the general confusion of the country. I think they were honorable men in a business way. But the facts are they were perfectly overrun with all classes of people, and confused, so that the people took advantage of them, and their business affairs were undermined, and there was a general collapse of every industry and business. The cry was “gold! gold! more gold! away for the gold fields!” Every other enterprise was sacrificed at the sight of gold.
With all due respect to Capt. John A. Sutter and James W. Marshall, to whom the world has given the credit of the great find, I do believe if they had been taken out and shot to death the day of the discovery they would have suffered less, and would have met their Maker just as pure, if not more honored in this world, than to have lived and endured what they did.
As far as I am concerned, I say peace to their remains, for on this earth they have been greatly wronged, if I have read their history correctly. Like a lynching scrape where there is an outburst of the people, it is very difficult to find those who are responsible for the crime; so with the wrongs done these men, it seemed as if the whole country or people picked upon them.
The above has been written from memory, as it has been indelibly impressed upon the mind of the writer by the greatness of the results flowing therefrom, and the numerous inquiries that have been made of him, which have been answered by reciting it so repeatedly–if not all at once, it has been at different times–so that after reading and revising it, I can testify from the best of my knowledge, it is strictly correct.
The following are some extracts from letters received, showing the relation of the writer to the gold discovery and incidents of close connection to the history as given in this work:–
ReplyDeleteST. GEORGE, Utah,
Dec. 20th, 1885.
DEAR BROTHER JAMES:–I have just received a letter from John S. Hittell, San Francisco, Cal., an entire stranger to me. He wishes to get all the information he can in relation to the discovery of gold at Sutter & Marshall’s sawmill, in 1848, and if any of the mill hands knew of a man by the name of Humphrey, who claims to have been the first person who introduced the Rocker there and taught the mill hands how to wash gold. I have answered his letter, saying there may have been a man there by that name, but as for introducing a Rocker and showing us how to wash the Platter was something I have no knowledge about. The tin pan was used, and they were scarce. A wooden tray, made by Alex. Stephens to knead dough in, was used by me, and as for Rockers, up to the time we left, in ’48, there was none that I saw or heard of at Marshall’s mill, or anywhere else in Cal. And again, he says he wants the exact date of the discovery. I have told him that my journal has the discovery on the afternoon of January 24th, 1848, and he says he has corroborative evidence that such was the fact, instead of the 19th of January, as Marshall has it in his history, and he wishes to establish that fact–that Marshall was mistaken in his date–and Mr. Hittell wants the address of yourself, E. Stephen, and others who may have been present at the sawmill when the precious metal was discovered. I shall, to-day, write and send him your address, as he wishes to write to you, also to Stephens, but I have not his address. Please tell me where Alex. lives by giving me his post office address. I think I will tell Hittell he can write to Alex. and send it to your address or care, and you will forward it to him. Can you give me Berger’s and Azariah Smith’s post office address? I write this that you may understand more fully, should you receive a letter from Mr. Hittell. He has written to me two letters, and it appears he is a person of prominence, is an author, and is writing the History of Cal. and its resources.
Yours truly,
HENRY W. BIGLER.
1025 HYDE STREET, SAN FRANCISCO,
Dec. 26, 1885.
JAMES S. BROWN,
DEAR SIR:– I mail to you to-day a copy of an address delivered by me before the Pioneer Society, of this city, in reference to the gold discovery. I have recently heard from Henry W. Bigler that you are living and are in Salt Lake City, and as I am in want of some information, I write to you.
Do you know on what day gold was discovered at Coloma?
Do you know when the first rocker was used in gold mining, at or near Coloma?
Do you know who used it?
Do you know whether anyone at Coloma, except H. W. Bigler, kept a diary about the time of the gold discovery?
What is the post office address of Alexander Stephens? Could he probably tell me anything more than you can tell me?
Any corrections of my statements in the pamphlet, or remarks upon them, will be welcome.
I inclose an envelope for your reply if you favor me with one.
Yours,
JOHN S. HITTELL.
THE WORKS OF HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT
THE HISTORY COMPANY,
No. 607 Market Street,
N. J. STONE, MANAGER.
SAN FRANCISCO,
Dec. 20, 1886.