Standing at the summit of Little Mountain, where the road drops sharply to Salt Lake City in the west, it is almost possible to imagine the wagons coming out of the tree line on the left, turning on the brink of the narrow gulch and dropping dangerously into the canyon below. Almost.
Most people concentrate on the "why" of the pioneers' journey to their desolate land of promise. It is more difficult to picture the "how."By the middle of July 1847, the Mormon pioneers, a wagon train of 155 men, women and children, had crossed Wyoming, met Jim Bridger and moved on to Utah through Echo Canyon.
Brigham Young and a number of other pioneers came down with the mysterious "mountain fever," which left them deathly ill and unable to travel. By vote, it was decided to split the company into three: scouting party, main company and sick detail bringing up the rear.
The scouting party was to search for, improve and mark the dim remnants of the Donner trail for those following. Reaching the valley of the Great Salt Lake, they were to explore and find the best location for planting crops and building a new city. This part of the company was led by scientist, scout and inventor Orson Pratt.
Willard Richards was in command of the main body of pioneers, second in line, further improving the roadway and bringing along the manpower and supplies for building a new society.
Those too sick and weak to do much more than survive the violent movement of wagon over rocks and stumps lagged behind with their leader, Brigham Young. They suffered through long days of pain, fever and delirium covering ground the rest of the company traveled in hours.
After finding the overgrown Hastings' cutoff on the impassable Weber River, the pioneers turned to the southwest, cutting endless willows and trees, moving rocks and filling holes. Moving deliberately, making their unique contribution to the westward migration by preparing the road for those to follow over the next 22 years, they inched along the river bottoms.
Anyone who has hiked the Wasatch knows the heat of July and the still, suffocating air resting in the narrow canyon bottoms. Orson Pratt recorded a temperature of 93 degrees during the final days of the journey. No wind would cool the air in those willows as the incredible work of forging the trail was accomplished mile after mile, for endless hours.
The wagons climbed from mountain to mountain, locking wheels and dragging dead weight down the other side, sliding and plunging, risking all possessions to take a straight line down inclines now driven on winding, goose-necked asphalt.
The narrow end of Parleys Canyon made the decision to cross, exhausted, over Little Mountain into Emigration Canyon the only possible one. Looking at the choked opening of Emigration Canyon into the valley leaves a 20th-century observer puzzling over how forbidding Parleys must have been before modern road crews blasted and filled the way for a six-lane highway.
Stuck in the throat of Emigration Canyon is Donner Hill, today covered with condominiums instead of desperate wagon ruts. Wallace Stegner notes that by the time the Donner party had chopped their way to that steep, stubborn hill, that company would have climbed a vertical wall rather than cut one more willow.
Crossing that obstacle, the Donner party lost precious needed days, exhausted their livestock and killed their morale. Still they faced the barren stretches of the salt flats on their way to frozen deaths in the Sierra Nevada.
That same barren valley that must have depressed the Donner travelers took on a much different appearance to the Mormons.
Diarist William Clayton wrote they were cheered "by a handsome view of the Great Salt Lake . . . there is an extensive, beautiful, level-looking valley from here to the lake which I should judge from the numerous deep green patches must be fertile and rich. . . . There is but little timber in sight anywhere, and that is mostly on the banks of creeks and streams of water which is about the only objection which could be raised in my estimation to this being one of the most beautiful valleys and pleasant places for a home for the saints which could be found."
Noting the many rattlesnakes "of a large size on this valley," Clayton also mused that "the ground seems literally alive with the very large black crickets crawling around. . . . They look loathsome but are said to be excellent for fattening hogs."
No time was lost waxing poetic about the new Zion. Plows were immediately taken from storage, City Creek flooded, and today's downtown area put to the plow as the sunbaked soil gave way, after centuries of rest, to the demands of agriculture.
Typical of the pioneer spirit, potatoes and other crops were placed prayerfully into the ground even though the short season could not possibly produce a harvest. At least the seed potatoes would be protected for the next planting and future appetites.
As Brother Brigham arrived near the site of the future This Is The Place monument on July 24, 1847, rested and much recovered from the fever, Wilford Woodruff stopped the carriage to allow the pioneer leader to see the object of their journey. Since the words were not officially quoted until years later, some modern scholars doubt that Brigham dramatically declared the valley to be "the place" for his people.
But, as Stegner notes, `It is a great statement, one that gathers up in a phrase history and hope and fulfillment . . . one is glad that Woodruff either resurrected or happily misremembered Brigham's words. If Brother Brigham didn't make that reverberating phrase, he should have."
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
THE JOURNEY
The valley of the Great Salt Lake was the end of a 1,073 mile trek that began April 5, 1847 from Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Comprising the first company of Mormon pioneers were:
144 men 52 mules
3 women 66 oxen
2 children 19 cows
73 wagons 17 dogs
93 horses 1 cannon
chickens
JULY 14, 1847
Orson Pratt is sent ahead of the main encampment with 23 wagons and 42 men to scout and clear the trail. A second division of the camp is made when the sick, including Brigham Young, are left to follow the main encampment.
MOUNTAIN FEVER
Most likely the debilitating illness that struck Brigham Young and other pioneers was Rocky Mountain spotted fever. It is caused by microscopic organisms transmitted through tick bites. The patient develops rash, high fever, painful muscle aches and weakness. If untreated, the disease can lead to sever nausea, intense pain, unconsciousness, and even kidney, lung, blood and liver damage.
JULY 15, 1847
Pratt's company camps near present-day Henefer. They decide Weber Canyon is the trail the Donner Party was warned against then, find the faint traces of the Donner wagons leading toward the present site of East Canyon Reservoir. In clearing the trail, Pratt's men cross East Canyon Creek 13 times on July 17th, and spend Sunday, July 18, near the junction of East Canyon and Main Canyon.
JULY 19, 1847
Leaving the area of present-day Henefer, the main company of pioneers have 26 miles of the mountain country to travel into the Salt Lake valley. They climb up and over Hogsback Summit, damaging wagons. Wilford Woodruff: "the worst road we have had on the journey."
JULY 19, 1847
At sunrise, Orson Pratt and John Brown climb Big Mountain and see the Salt Lake Valley. They drop into Mountain Dell Canyon where the Donner Trail "ascended quite abruptly" and "passed over a mountain (Little Mountain) and down into another narrow valley (Emigration Canyon) and thus avoided the canyon - on the left (Parleys Canyon)."
JULY 20, 1847
More wagon repairs and more victims of mountain fever add to the problems of dense undergrowth and the troublesome creek. The main camp is made at the base of Big Mountain and the pioneers prepare for the ascent.
JULY 21, 1847
The main company climbs Big Mountain then descends the severe west slope with wheels locked and drag tied to the wagons. After 10 hours of labor, the animals are left in harness and pushed up Little Mountain in the heat of the day. Camp is made 1/2 mile behind Orson Pratt's men in Emigration Canyon. Brigham Young's company does not travel.
JULY 21, 1847
Pratt's company crossed Little Mountain in the morning and descends into Emigration Canyon. Eratus Snow, sent by the main party, delivers instructions for Pratt and Snow to explore the valley "searching out a suitable place for putting in our seed." In the afternoon, Pratt and Snow enter the valley and explore toward the Jordan River before Snow retraces their path looking for his lost coat. Following Brigham Young's instructions, Pratt turns north to City Creek before returning to the canyon.
JULY 22, 1847
Moving down Emigration Canyon, the men avoid Donner's Hill after it is decided it would be easier to clear the narrow gulch in the mouth of the canyon. Most of Pratt's men and the main company enter the valley at about 4 p.m. and make camp on Parleys Creek in the neighborhood of today's 400 East 1500 South.
DONNER HILL
When the Donner party was confronted by the steep hill blocking the mouth of Emigration Canyon, they chose to pull their wagons one by one over the obstacle rather than slash and dig their way to the valley. An estimated 50-60 oxen were required on each wagon at great cost in time and animals. The Mormon pioneers went around Donner Hill and completed the task with four hours' labor.
JULY 23, 1847
The serious business of planting crops begins with plowing in the area of today's Main and State Streets between 100 and 300 South. After breaking plows in the concrete-hard soil, City Creek is diverted, and the famous Mormon irrigation system is begun. Crops include turnips, potatoes, corn and beans. Brigham and the sick party climb Big and Little mountains and camp in Emigration Canyon.
JULY 24, 1847
Brigham Young, riding the last six miles in Wilford Woodruff's carriage, is one of the last men to reach the valley. Stopping near the mouth of the canyon, according to Woodruff, Brigham says of their destination, "This is the right place. Drive on."
*****
Orson Pratt
One of the most significant members of the pioneer company, Pratt acted as astronomer, scientist, inventor and scout. After locating the faint traces of the Donner trail near the Weber River, Pratt became, with John Brown, the first member of the company to look from Big Mountain into the Salt Lake valley. On July 21, he and Eratus Snow explored the valley on a 12-mile route and selected the future site of Salt Lake City.
Shadrach Roundy
Roundy, along with William Carter and George W. Brown, put the first plow to valley soil near modern-day 100 South Main Street on the morning of July 23. After the city was surveyed, Roundy, a bodyguard for Joseph Smith in Illinois, located his family at the intersection of 100 North and 300 West. He later became a captain in the local militia, helped form ZCMI, led a committee to rid the city of rats and died in 1872.
Erastus Snow
Erastus Snow was sent ahead by Willard Richards on July 21 to join Orson Pratt in exploring the valley. Sharing one horse, the two men would take turns riding ahead, tying the horse, then walking until the next man reached the horse and repeated the process. Thus, the two became the first of the Mormon pioneers to walk the valley floor. Heading toward Mill Creek, Snow realized he had lost his coat and returned to the mouth of Emigration Canyon to find it while Pratt made a loop through the valley.