Transcript

Transcript for Andrew Jenson, "Rasmussen, Niels," Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 1 (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901), 597

While staying two days at Wyoming, preparing for the journey across the plains, and during the early part of that journey, across the plains, and during the early part of the journey, the mortality continued among us at a fearful rate, until about one hundred persons out of a total of between two and three hundred, who left Scandinavia in the spring, had perished by the wayside. My own brother [Hans Peter] and mother [Rebecca] fell victims to the terrible disease Aug. 16th and 24th respectively, and were, like the other dead, buried without coffins, in shallow graves by the roadside, after being sewn up in sheets. The survivors passed on, never more to behold their lonely resting places again. We traveled in the ill-fated train in charge of Captain Abner Lowry, who was ably assisted by Elder Geo. Farnsworth, of Mount Pleasant, Sanpete county. His name will ever be held in affectionate remembrance by all the survivors from that fearful journey, especially by those who recovered from their sickness through his untiring efforts in alleviating their sufferings, which he did in many instances very successfully. A relief mule train, under Captain Arza E. Hinckley (sent out by Pres. Brigham Young), met us about four hundred miles east of Salt Lake City. All the orphans, of which there were many in our company, were taken by that train. This included our family, which now had been reduced to five in number. We arrived in Salt Lake City Oct. 7, 1866, while the main company, which lost nearly half their cattle in the snows in the mountains, reached the valley about two weeks later. The day after our arrival in Salt Lake City the orphan emigrants were all provided with homes.