Transcript

About this time the call came for volunteers to meet the Hand Cart Companies. I was in the third call which was composed of myself and a man named Dave Osborn[e]. We went as far as Fort Bridger where we met the last company coming in. We turned around and came back with them. This was the saddest sight I have seen. The biggest part of them were given out and nearly frozen to death; some with their feet frozen, some with their hands frozen. It was a sight that would make one's heart ache just to look at them. The next morning after leaving Fort Bridger I was called on to help bury children that had died during the night. We were camped in a big cedar grove and buried the children on the side of the mountain.

Everything went along all right as there was plenty of fuel and provisions, until we came to East Canyon stream. There I was called on again to bury two more children. We had a hard time for the Canyon was full of snow and it was all we could do to get through. The authorities had sent out wagons and men from Salt Lake to put up tents, clear the snow from the ground, and to set the fires to [so] they could start them as soon as we came in sight. They did and it was a welcome sight to see them. I returned home in East Weber.