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Franklin Allen

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Franklin Allen diary

Franklin Allen diary, July 1846.

1847 July 8 Thursday Afine day[.] started early[.] very sandy roads[.] about noon we met some of the Pioneers going back to meet the first company then forded[.] left Sweet water[.] cross avery Sandy Prairie[.] no timber[,] some grese wood &amp; sage[.] camp on sweetwater[.] 15 [miles]



9 Friday A cool morning[.] lots of snow to be seen[.] left the creek[.] crossed arolling Prairie[.] we are still rising[.] higher large Peaks all covered with Snow before us[.] some sand today[.] the roads are getting better[.] 23 [miles]



10 Saturday Started early[.] cross sweet water[.] went over a point of bluffs to the place where we cross it twice in short distance[.] went up the valley for several miles then left it &amp; cross a large ridge of the mountain[.] the roads rocky[.] there's some fine sceneary to behold here[.] 19



July 11 Sunday Afine day[.] we rested today, &amp; had preaching[.] Br A Lyman gave us a good discourse on the duties &amp; obedience[.] some traders from Oregon[.] passed A Frenchmen came up from Fort Tacoma says the Brethern left Winter Quarters on the first of June



12 Monday A cold morning[.] crossed a rolling Prairie to a large branch of Sweet water hence asnow bank[.] afew miles farther another small branch went to the Main Branch of Sweet Water[.] crossed it[.] hence a large snow bank[.] went on a camp on Creek. 21



13 Tuesday Afine day[.] this day we crossed the top of the Rocky Mountain to the Green Springs[.] here the water runs to the Pacific Ocean for several days[.] on the right hand there is large peak covered with snow[.] 16



July 14 Wednesday Started early[.] crossed arolling Prairie to the forks of the Oregon &amp; California roads[.] took the left hand road[.] went on to little Sandy[,] a handsome Stream[.] some willows[.] went across to Big Sandy &amp; Camped. 20



Thursday A warm morning[.] cross the Creek[.] went over a poor sandy Prairie[.] very stony dusty &amp; disgreeable traveling &amp; Camped on Big Sandy[.] 20



16 Friday Late of Starting this morning[.] the Boys found a few guns in memory of the day that made the free or ended the year with Uncle Sam[.] came to Green River a large Rapid stream[.] we raised our Waggon Boxes &amp; forded[.] it was deep[.] all got &lt;over&gt; safe[.] 12 [miles]



17 Saturday S[t]arted early[.] went down the river six miles[.] went on the Bluffs[.] cross abroken [.oo.] a stony prairie to Blacks fork[.] went [-] it five &lt;5&gt; miles &amp; camp[.] 25



1847 July 18 Sunday Afine day[.] Late of Starting[.] cross Hams fork[.] went over to Blacks fork[.] more prairie gravel hard on the Cattles feet[.] [c.es.] &amp; camp in the evening[.] Capt Brown gave us a lecture on discipline &amp; driving Cattle &amp; other matters[.] 15



19 Monday late of starting[.] in two a[nd] half miles cross the creek[.] bad roads turns round a bluff on the Left Came to a beautiful vale[.] Cross Seven Streams Clean &amp; swift[.] Pass Frot [Fort] Bridger &amp; is 3.97 miles from Frot [Fort] John in 417#176;.-19”.-13’. N. Latitude &amp; 6.6.65 feet above the level of the sea[.] 17



20 Tuesday Late of starting[.] cross the vale &amp; up along hill[.] pass over to asmall stream[.] go up along hill &amp; across a sage Prairie[.] went down asteep hill[.] cross Muddy &amp; camp[.] 13 [miles]



21 Wednesday went up the hill across sage flat[,] down hill into avale[.] past on a mile[.] raise steep hill 3.00 feet higher than the pass[.] across hill to acreek &amp; camped near a Cold Shiny[.] 13



1847 July 22 Thursday went down creek cross over to Bear River a handsome little stream[.] took over the Bridge[,] hence fine land[.] cross some hill[.] good grass &amp; camped[.] 16



23 Friday A fine morning down a handsome vale[.] some land good. The Canion gets very narrow[.] road bad &amp; stony[.] one Lieut. [William Wesley] Willis Waggon upset[.] broke front of the box[.] Camped[.] 16



24 Saturday late of starting[.] the cattle hard to find[.] went down the Canion to Weber River[.] the road bad[.] went down the river[.] 9



25 Sunday A fine day &amp; rested in the afternoon[.] Elder A. Lyman gave us a discourse on the principle of self-government &amp; other things.



26 Monday went down the River two miles[,] crossed it &amp; went up the Canion[.] cross the Mountain &amp; down a small branch[.] cross to Canaion Creek &amp; camped[.] 14



1847 July 27 Tuesday started early[.] went up Kenion Creek. Six miles to steep a Canion for five miles to the top of the Mountain[,] down steep hill &amp; then down asmall &amp; camped[.] 17



28 Wednesday lay by waiting for Capt Higgins &amp; Co. Some of the boys came back from the Camp of Israel which is twelve miles ahead[.] Stoped &amp; planting



29 Thursday went down the Canion &amp; then cross the mountain to another Canion[.] went down it &amp; met Prest. Young with some of the Twelve which was a glad sight to see them once more[.] came to the Salt Lake vally &amp; camp[.] 12 [miles]

Transcript for Franklin Allen diary, 1846 July-1848 October

Franklin Allen diary.

Gardner, Hamilton. History of Lehi: Including a Biographical Section (Salt Lake City: The Lehi Pioneer Committee, 1913), 110-111

Gardner, Hamilton. History of Lehi: Including a Biographical Section (Salt Lake City: The Lehi Pioneer Committee, 1913), 110-111.

But the hand cart immigration was not without its tragic side. In the fall of 1856, several companies started from the Platte so late that the winter snow caught them when they reached the mountains. They suffered untold hard- ships from cold, hunger and exposure, and many gave up their lives. To assist them, Brigham Young called for volunteers during the month of October. Many men with teams and provisions responded and went out to meet these ill-fated travelers. A second call brought out the following men from Lehi who, forgetting the extreme vicissitudes which they had been compelled to undergo in the recent past, left their homes to give whatever aid they could to their brothers in distress: John R. Murdock, William H. Winn, Frank Allen, John S. Lott, Jonathan Partridge, and Alonzo D. Rhodes.



Concerning this incident, John R. Murdock says :



 



"There were six of us called from Lehi as a second relief party to go and meet the hand cart sufferers. We proceeded as far as the Weber where we met them, and after distributing the supplies we had brought with us, undertook to help them on the road to the valley. Through the falling snow and the chilling blast our progress was necessarily very slow, but by night we had managed to reach the Cottonwood Grove where we camped. Next morning we started to cross the- Big Mountain. In going up the mountain in advance of the company, we found the snow becoming deeper and deeper, and when we reached the top, we discovered that it had drifted to a depth of ten or twelve feet. Here we met men and teams who inquired where the men and teams from Provo were. When I told them that they were a long distance back, they proposed to return to their camp. To this proposition I said 'No' most emphatically, and told them to go and help bring the immigrant train up, which they finally did.



"Frank Allen and Jonathan Partridge were now sent forward to make fires for the immigrants at their proposed stopping place, while the rest of us worked with all our might to get the train over the mountain. We hitched three yoke of big cattle to each of the two lead wagons, and with a great deal of labor succeeded in getting a trail opened for the hand carts."



John R. Murdock was a mountaineer of wide experience and unlimited energy, and there is no doubt but that his wise planning and untiring labor saved many lives on that memorable occasion.



No sooner had these men of Lehi helped bring the hand cart companies to safety than they received another call to assist an independent immigration company which was in distress near Fort Bridger. Brigham Young requested Bishop Evans to fit out a relief expedition and proceed to the assistance of the unfortunates with all possible speed. A company of twenty men with teams and ten wagons provided with provisions and feed was the response. The captain of these men was Joseph Skeens and some of his companions were Alonzo D.Rhodes, Abraham Brown, Samuel Cousins, Newal A. Brown, Riley Judd, Henry McConnell, Paulinas H. Allred, and William Dawson.



This company left Lehi on December 10. On account of the great drifts of snow which they encountered in the mountains, they could travel only with great difficulty and but very slowly. Finally, however, they reached Fort Bridger and found the immigrants on the verge of starvation. Their provisions were exhausted and their teams so poor that they could not continue their journey. The arrival of the company from Lehi saved them from a most pitiable condition and the possibility of death from starvation.



Now began the return march. More snow had fallen, so the homeward journey'was more difficult than ever. It was almost impossible to get the teams through the deep drifts. They arrived at the Big Mountain one day about sundown and found the snow near the top to be about twenty feet deep and so loose and dry that it would not pack. With great exertion, Captain Skeens crawled to the top, and to his great joy found a company of men camped on the other side. When he told them the condition of his expedition, they came at once to the rescue. Hitching together four yoke of oxen, they drove them over the top of the mountain down through the snowdrifts to the first wagon. This they pulled back to the top while its team in turn helped bring the second wagon. In this way the trail was opened, and the company passed safely over.



The expedition encountered no further trouble and reached home in safety, having traveled about three hundred and thirty miles over the mountains in fifteen days. The cold had been so severe that every member of the party had fingers or toes frost bitten.

Transcript for Gardner, Hamilton. History of Lehi: Including a Biographical Section (Salt Lake City: The Lehi Pioneer Committee, 1913), 110-111

Norma Baldwin Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion: U.S. Army of the West, 1846-1848 (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1996), 238

Norma Baldwin Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion: U.S. Army of the West, 1846-1848 (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1996), 238.

Norma Baldwin Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion: U.S. Army of the West, 1846-1848 (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1996), 38

Norma Baldwin Ricketts, The Mormon Battalion: U.S. Army of the West, 1846-1848 (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1996), 38.

Franklin Allen

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