96. This is the first indication Jesse makes in his History of his marriage to Hannah Elida Baldwin on 23 November 1845 at Nauvoo, Illinois. In some ways Jesse’s “History and Journal” has the appearance of being insensitive to his wife, Hannah. However, realizing that Jesse became a polygamist in 1854, and that much of his history was compiled after that time, these omissions seem more reasonable.
97. Iowa Territory.
98. Beginning in Minnesota and flowing south-east across Iowa until it enters the Mississippi, the Des Moines River forms the north-east boundary of Missouri. As the Saints began the journey west they were just skirting the northern border of Missouri, following the east bank of the Des Moines until passing the northern boundary of Missouri. Then they would cross the river and head west through southern Iowa. Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer,507.
99. Mount Pisgah was founded 18 May 1846 in western Clarke County, Iowa Territory, approximately 180 miles from Nauvoo. Mount Pisgah served as a temporary Mormon settlement until 1852 when it was abandoned. Roberts, Comprehensive History of The Church, 3:50.
100. Originally named Council Hill, Council Bluffs, Iowa was the site of an 1804 conference between local Indian tribes and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Called Hart's Bluff when the Mormon's arrived, it was renamed Kanesville and served as a Mormon community from 1846 through 1852 and was an important supply center for both Latter-day Saint emigrants and the California gold rush. It was named Council Bluffs after the Mormons left and became the starting point for the Union Pacific Railroad. Courtlandt Canby, The Encyclopedia of Historic Places, 2 vols. (New York: Facts on File, 1984), 1:208; Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer,458.
101. Jesse seems to be referring here to his inability to travel on to Council Bluffs as a result of his losing one of his oxen the previous month (see entry for June 15, 1846). While it is possible Jesse is referring to the arrival of Captain James Allen and the Mormon Battalion recruitment this seems unlikely. There is no evidence that Jesse was interested in joining the Battalion. For details of the Battalion recruiting see Roberts, Comprehensive History of The Church, 3:64-84.
102. Samuel Wallace Crosby, Jesse Wentworth Crosby: Mormon Preacher--Pioneer--Man of God (n.p., 1977), p. 46-47. Wallace Crosby has reproduced several of the letters that Jesse and Hannah exchanged at this time.
103. This would be the Elk Horn River. William Clayton described it as being nine rods wide and three feet deep with a swift current. While timber was plentiful, Clayton thought the Elk Horn was difficult to ferry across. The Elk Horn crossing was 27 miles from Winter Quarters. William Clayton, The Latter-day Saints' Emigrants’ Guide, (St. Louis: Missouri Republican Steam Power Press, 1848).. The Emigrants’ Guide was reproduced as the addenda to volume 3 of B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1965) 6 volumes, 3:547-572. Page numbers, cited in brackets, refer to volume 3 of Roberts. All distances cited in the footnotes are based on Clayton’s charts of the 1,031 mile trail from Winter Quarters to Great Salt Lake City. I have noted instances where Jesse gives a distance that varies with Clayton’s figures.
104. Parley P. Pratt reported that the raft was made of dried cotton-wood timber. Pratt also notes that it was at this time that they organized the company for grazing purposes. His account, though less detailed, closely parallels Jesse’s record. Parley P. Pratt, Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), 329-330.
105. Five emigration companies were organized in 1847. The first hundred was captained by Daniel Spencer. It was organized June 15-17 on the west bank of the Elk Horn. The company was organized into Two groups of fifty, with each fifty divided into five groups of ten. Only the men and boys over the age of 12 were counted, so each group was significantly larger. Jesse, Hannah and George Henry traveled in the first ten of the first fifty of the Daniel Spencer hundred. The captain of their fifty was Peregrine Sessions. The captain of their ten was Elijah F. Sheets. Kate B. Carter (ed.), Heart Throbs of the West, 12 vols. (Salt Lake City: Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, 1847) 8:416-419.
106. There are several references by Clayton to the Loup Fork. Based on the mileage noted by Jesse, this site was the upper ford of the Loup Fork. Clayton wrote: "You will find the water in some places near 3 feet deep and will have to travel down the river about half a mile, to avoid deep holes, and find good place to get out." Clayton, Latter-day Saints' Emigrants’ Guide, [553].
107. Jesse has the incorrect date here. June 28, 1847 was a Monday.
108. The company had apparently hoped to find a better ford across the Loup Fork than the pioneer company had used. Clearly they were feeling their way along the north side of the Platte. Clayton, Latter-day Saints' Emigrants’ Guide, [553].
109. Ibid. Based on the mileage, Jesse should be camped on or near the Wood River. Clayton does not reference Grand Island for another forty miles.
110. Potassium nitrate (saltpeter or saltpetre) is a crystalline salt that is used to preserve meats, is found in some medical treatments, and in making gunpowder. High concentrations of potassium nitrate in the soil could cause illness in cattle, oxen and other of the pioneer’s domestic animals. Indeed this becomes a difficulty for the company later during the summer.
111. 293 miles from Winter Quarters. Clayton, Latter-day Saints' Emigrants’ Guide, [555].
112. Ibid. Clayton reports the last timber north of the river at 306 miles west of Winter Quarters. "Your only dependence for fuel will be buffalo chips and drift wood."
113. Ibid. 320 miles from Winter Quarters.
114. Ibid., [558]. Chimney Rock, located on the south side of the Platte, was still clearly visible from the north bank. The company was now 452 miles from Winter Quarters.
115. Ibid., [559]. Fort Laramie was located about a mile and a half west of the ford. this crossing of the Platte was significant. The emigrants would now be following the Oregon trail on the south side of the Platte. They were now 522 miles from Winter Quarters and only 509 miles from the valleyÑalthough they did not know they were now over halfway.
116.The sage hen or prairie chicken in a member of the grouse family. It is a mottled, ground dwelling bird indigenous to the plains and Rocky Mountain region. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 10:976.
117. Sagebrush. Indigenous to the western states, sagebrush grows as far east as Wyoming and western Nebraska. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 19:813.
118. The emigrants now knew how much further they would be required to travel. From this point forward Jesse records the mileage to Salt Lake instead of how far they had traveled.
119. Mormon Ferry was established at the last crossing of the North Platte River. It was an important milestone to many of the pioneers as they approached the valley. Wallace Stegner, The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail (Salt Lake City, Utah: Westwater Press, 1981), 46.
120. William Clayton wrote: "Here gather your Saleratus from a lake west of road. Sandy, swampy, smells bad. Water poisonous." Clayton, Latter-day Saints' Emigrants’ Guide, [562].
121.Baking soda.
122. Independence Rock is a granite outcrop located on the north side of the river. Clayton, Latter-day Saints' Emigrants’ Guide, [562].
123. Ibid. Clayton describes the Sweetwater River as being eight rods wide and two feet deep and easily forded at low water.
124. Ibid. At Devil’s Gate, the company was now only 327 miles from Salt Lake City. Clayton notes that the rocks rise perpendicular for 400 feet.
125. Ibid., [564]. At this point the company would have been approximately 265 miles from Salt Lake. To have traveled for over two months and now realize that they were only three weeks from their goal clearly encouraged Jesse.
126. Ibid. This is the continental divide. Clayton reports the altitude as 7,085 feet.
127. Ibid. This is where the California trail established by the Donner party separates from the Oregon Trail. Clayton instructs the emigrants to take the left fork.
128. A small acidic fruit related to the gooseberry.
129. This site was described by Clayton as "Black’s Fork (third time)." Clayton, Latter-day Saints' Emigrants’ Guide, [566].
130. Ibid., [567] This is most likely Cache Cave, 66 miles from Salt Lake.