My JellyBellies: April 2011

Ryanne's Artifacts

At Martin's Cove there were several buildings that displayed artifacts, tools, weapons, clothing, etc. from the 1800's. Ryanne was quite taken with these items. She really loves history and is quite obsessed with old things. She loved browsing through the little homes and cataloging the items. She even read all the signs. She's cool.

Here are some things she wanted to remember and took pictures of.

Old fashioned fancy clothes and wedding dresses.

Native American Arrowheads.

Belts?

A rattle snake. Ooooh, scary!

Pistolas, sabers, weaponry!

Rocks and minerals from the area.

A picture of the boy who actually lived on the ranch at Martin's Cove (after the pioneer's time). Yes, that is a mountain Lion.

Just so she could remember what it really means to, "sleep tight."
Also to remind her why she is grateful for indoor plumbing.
There is no pot under her bed.

There were once creatures called wolves . . .

Some real gear that would have filled a handcart.

Another wedding dress, this time and Indian Maiden's garb.

??? I'm really not sure ???

This is what Ryanne's car will look like when she turns sixteen.

Ready for some outdoor grub?

Bones!

Devil's Gate

Devil's Gate (Wyoming) is a natural rock formation, a 370-foot high, 1,500-foot long fissure carved over the centuries by the Sweetwater River a few miles southwest of Independence Rock. The site, significant in the history of western pioneers, was a major landmark on the Mormon Trail and the Oregon Trail although the actual routes of travel did not pass through the very narrow gorge. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Gate_(Wyoming)).

I agree with those who say instead of Devil's Gate, It should have been named Heaven's Avenue. It is a beautiful place; one I always longed to see. I wished I could have stayed longer to hike and explore the country around the gorge.

The Legend of Devil’s Gate

Shoshone and Arapahoe legend is one explanation of how Devil’s Gate was formed. A powerful evil spirit in the form of a tremendous beast with enormous tusks ravaged the Sweetwater Valley, preventing the Indians from hunting and camping. A prophet informed the tribes that the Great Spirit required them to destroy the beast. They launched an attack from the mountain passes and ravines, and shot countless arrows into the evil mass. The enraged beast, with a mighty upward thrust of its tusks, ripped a gap in the mountain and disappeared through the gap, never to be seen again.
(http://www.ultimatewyoming.com/sectionpages/sec5/extras/devilsgatesigns.html)

We walked the short trail as the sun was setting

and the shadows of evening were beginning to fall.

The trail was lovely, minus mosquitoes, which swarmed me

as I secretly changed into my swimsuit. Why the swimsuit?

Because I had to swim in the Sweetwater River.

I just had to!

It was cold.

And I wasn't really supposed to get in it . . .

At least that's what the signs said.

Do you ever have a crazy idea you just can't pass up?

Well, this was one of those.

So I swam the river.

And got my feet muddy.

And, of course, I felt pretty awesome afterwards!

Oh yeah!

The Cove and The Sweet Water Crossing

When we were done pulling our handcart, we walked further on the trail, heading up behind the hill. This was the actual cove, or shelter where the Martin handcart company set up camp and waited out a snowstorm. Many saints froze to death here. And many lived. All were faithful.
It didn't seem like much of a place to shelter, but I guess the arms of the hills protected the saints somewhat from the Wyoming winds and snow drifts. I can't possibly imagine what it would be like to wait out a storm for several days with no food but flour, and little of that, while I watched my children or husband freeze to death.

The missionaries told us stories from journal entries while we were in the cove. What kind of faith would it take to move a family from a suitable home in England, across a vast, fathomless sea, then onto a crowded railway car for days? And after all that, having spent all the money for passage, to take a bundle of clothes, barefoot children, and a handcart across the plains on a thousand mile journey to a place you had never seen?

It was a pretty place, but what was it like in winter?

A story is told of the weary, desperate saints arriving at another crossing of the Sweet Water River. They gazed on the river with fear and anticipation of death. Many sat down and cried, knowing their emaciated, weakened bodies would not recover after wading through the freezing water. They looked upon the water as a sure death sentence.

A rescue party from Salt Lake had joined the handcart company a little further back, and among them were some young, hardy boys. These young men looked upon the fear and desperation of the weary travellers and, being filled with compassion, determined to carry the saints across the river. This they did, one by one, old and young, men, women, and children. Taking no thought for themselves, they suffered the freezing waters over and over again to spare the handcart companies.

Those Christlike gifts of service and self-sacrifice are noted in heaven.

On Earth we remember them to inspire us to develop compassion and charity in ourselves.

Memorial Statues At the Sweet Water Crossing

Lift mine eyes Lord,

to the burdens of others.

Give me the patience

To bear with my brothers

The burdens they carry

the load each does bear

Inspire my heart

as their sorrows I share.

Though my own body

be troubled and worn

Give me the courage

To bind up the torn

Sick or afflicted

Sinfilled or weak,

Inspire my heart

To champion the meek.

Pioneers and Handcarts

Martin's Cove, 993 miles from Nauvoo

Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from England, Wales, Scotland and Scandinavia desired to join their fellow saints in the United States. They secured passage overseas and then, upon reaching America, travelled by steam boat or train as far as Iowa or Nebraska. From there, the only means of travel was by horse-drawn-cart, or by foot. Most of these saints, having used all their funds to travel across the sea, could not afford to buy wagons and oxen. Instead, they travelled on foot pulling their belongings and provisions in handcarts. Nearly 3,000 Mormon pioneers, travelling in 10 different handcart companies, crossed the vast plains of America this way.
For most of these companies, travel was rigorous and long, but safe. Two of these companies however, the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies, left much too late in the summer of 1856 and, encountering early winter snows, met with tragedy. More than 210 of the 980 pioneers in these two companies died along the way of exposure and starvation before rescuers from the Salt Lake Valley assisted them in reaching the Salt Lake Valley.
Martin's Cove is an historic landmark and memorial to these two companies. It was here that the Martin company sheltered with some of their rescuers as they waited out a snowstorm. Many pioneers died during that storm. We honor and revere these saints and the faith they had to carry them forward despite ominous struggles and heart-wrenching tragedies.

At Martin's Cove, families and youth groups can come experience what it was like to pull a handcart. Some groups pull their carts for several days, living off of "true pioneer rations" and camping over night along the trail. Our family only pulled a handcart a few miles. We started out by letting the kids pull the cart alone, without adult help. Empty, the cart was not that heavy.

Ryanne, Mckay, and Elias. Where's Leah?

There's little Leah!

Pioneer Handcarts were small, having about a 5-foot-long box set between two narrow, lightweight wheels. They could carry 500 pounds of provisions and stores. Sometimes the pioneers were able to add a hooped cover. Most of the carts were made of hickory or oak It was rare for the wheels to have any iron parts--even the axles were made of wood. The dust and sand from the trail would get into the axles, grinding them down and causing them break. There were many delays for repairs along the trails. The Martin and Willie handcart companies had to use green wood instead of seasoned lumber for their handcarts. This proved fatal, in a sense, because the green lumber caused many problems and delayed the companies severely.

Wes is showing Mckay how to hold the yoke.
See how Elias is helping?!

Ahh--now Elias is putting some muscle into it!

Ryanne and Mckay are a good team.
They were tough.

Pioneer children sang as they walked?

After a while, Dad got in the yoke to help the kids pull.
I was still playing photographer.

Wait a minute-- now he is getting a ride?!

Looks like Ryanne wanted a break too.

Is that a body lying in the road behind the cart?

I think she is quite content with these pulling arrangements.

Now the boys are enjoying a ride.
Despite the fact that pioneer children did not ride in the carts (unless they were very ill), our children seemed to think that riding was the proper thing to do. I guess since we didn't have 100 pounds of flour in the cart, we had to see what it was like to have some weight to pull.

This is Mckay's face when I told him it was time to get out.

This is me telling the kids that our trail goes, "way over there, behind that hill."
It looks soooo far to them.

Elias has decided he cannot make it any further.

Just kidding mom! Look, I can pull this cart all by myself.

Ryanne on her own. Piece of cake. She can't wait for the real thing--in two years she'll get to pull a heavily loaded cart with other teens until 1am, eat dried biscuits, drink broth, and sleep in the dust on her own mini pioneer trek.

Mckay takes over while Ryanne ties her shoe.

And, we're back to Elias who thinks this is pretty fun, can he go home now?

After a while, it wasn't as fun:
"How far were we going?"
"When could we refill our water?"
"My legs hurt; my arms are tired; can I have a ride?"

Oh look! Mommy did actually help pull the cart.

Here are Ryanne and Mckay sauntering along having a good chat while Elias is putting his whole body into the job at hand.

Blue Wyoming skies and dusty trails.

Uh, is something under the cart? Did we run over something?

Yes, it was Elias' brain-child. He wanted to lay in the middle of the trail and have us drive over him. Anything to get out of pulling the cart? Well, we all needed a few laughs along the way. Leave it to Elias to bring on the humor.