Wyoming, an Adventure into Mormon Pioneer History

[pam]

Summer Travel Series: Wyoming, an Adventure Into Mormon Pioneer History - LDS Newsroom

Martin’s Cove

Wyoming: the rugged west, cowboys, horses, plentiful wildlife and a lot of Mormon pioneer history. There are many things to do and learn in the great outdoors in America’s 44th state.

Years before Wyoming was settled, groups of Mormon pioneer wagon trains traversed the rugged wilderness, crossed rivers, negotiated with Native Americans and coped with the ever-changing weather.

[confuzzled]

I have deep roots in good ole Wyoming and am truly thankful for those pioneers!!!! One location that few know about is the Cody Mural Visitor Center ..... if your up there it is a must see!!!!

The Cody Mural Visitor Center in Cody, Wyoming

[RipplecutBuddha]

I was raised in the stake that was the focus of the Willies and Martins Handcart Company Second Rescue.

In short, many people died along the trail in Wyoming in those companies because they got a late start across the plains. Early snow storms in Wyoming pinned them down multiple times and the result was many tragic deaths. In many cases they had to build a fire on the burial site just to thaw the ground enough to dig shalow graves. When Brigham Young heard of their plight, he immediately interrupted General Conference to gather supplies and manpower to rescue them and bring them to the Salt Lake Valley as soon as possible.

When I was a youth the Stake Presidency felt something urgent about those who died along the trail, and one of the councilors felt the urge to check the status of their temple work. As the investigation went on, it was realized that none of these people had any of their proxy work done. Thus the Second Rescue began of the Willies and Martin Handcart Companies.

In the process it was discovered that there were two wagon companies, the Hunt and Hogett companies, that were behind the handcart groups, and also suffered dearly in the storms that still hit the high plains of Wyoming today. The Second Rescue was a stake-wide effort in discovering all the names of those who had died during the crossing and attending to their proxy work in the temple as soon as possible.

Along with doing the temple work for a couple men, I had the privilege of doing a lot of work on the memorial sites, the bridge at Martin's Cove, and many items at the Willie's rescue site. I even helped seal and finish the handcarts that are used at Martin's Cove for day-treks. I got to take two two-day treks on the trail itself, including the section called Rocky Ridge. That section was a place my father refused to take his four-wheel drive truck. It was that rough. As hard as it was to do at that time, I cannot imagine what the saints felt as their ordeal unfolded.

I cannot imagine the faith they posessed to continue on a journey with so much tragedy. Truly the Lord was with them every step, and the survivors passed their trial of faith yet in the flesh. A few occasions are recorded where the survivors stood and testified of how those days were among the greatest blessings of their lives. If only we posessed a fraction of that faith in us today.

Also, the Stake Center in Riverton WY has a museum of journals from the people of the handcart and wagon companies, artifacts discovered along the trail, and detailed information about the Second Rescue.

An interesting trivia bit, President Hinkley was a frequent visitor to the sites as well as the Stake President's office during the Second Rescue. The entire Quorum of the Twelve also visited, individually, and I got to shake President Faust's hand on my first trek as he greeted us for lunch on the second day, handing out Snickers bars to everyone personally. He held a brief meeting after we ate that was deeply spiritual in ways I cannot describe. There are few times in my life before or since that I have felt the spirit as strong.

President Monson (then 1st councelor to Pres. Hinkley) was the only one who never had the chance to visit before all the memorial sites were dedicated. He eventually made a planned visit because, and this is a quote "Each time the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve met together, everyone was talking about Martin's Cove, and Rock Creek (The Willie's Rescue Site), and I was the only one that didn't know what they were talking about!"

He said this in a Stake Sacrament Meeting that was yet another amazing spiritual event.

Edited August 4, 2011 by RipplecutBuddha

[pam]

After seeing the movie 17 Miracles, I would love to go up and see some of these places of history.

[RipplecutBuddha]

I'm going on a vacation with my parents to visit the areas again. It's been a while since I've been there. Also, another historic museum has opened in Casper WY (roughly two hours east of Riverton) that covers the history of all the trails in Wyoming including the Mormon trail, Oregon Trail, etc. This new museum is what we really want to see because it sounds very interesting.

I'll be sure to post the times the sites are open for the year as well as hours of operation when I get back. I'll be gone for the first seven days of september.

One more personal story about the Rock Creek site;

The Rock Creek site was the first one connected to the Willies Handcart company and the only one we really knew about. An old memorial listed the names of the people who died in one night at the location. (thirteen individuals) We would hold regular stake camp-out meetings in the summer to remember the tragedy. The willies story was one we knew well in the Stake. What we didn't know was where the graves were, nor where the handcart company found shelter while they waited for the rescuers.

My fondest memory of those days was when my three older brothers kicked around Rock Creek itself with a plastic shopping bag and brought mom a loving gift of ten water snakes and two frogs the size of tennis balls. It would have been a mellow gift if they had thought to tell her what they were before she opened the top of the bag. When she saw what was in the bag, she nearly tipped backwards out of her folding chair. In the end the animals were put back in the creek and all was well.

Once the second rescue was started, however, the entire site itself changed. There were massive tailings piles along the banks of the creek from when it was mined for copper, gold, and silver. They were removed and spread elsewhere due to donated time and machinery. I helped restore a fence that crossed the creek and I recall it clearly because we spent roughly an hour setting up the crossbucks, and three hours standing in the freezing water setting them up on stones in the creek. The water was ice cold even then....in the middle of the summer. My legs were numb for most of the time, so I had to pay extra attention to where I was standing.

Ground penetrating radar was used to locate the mass grave where the dead were laid to rest, and it was roped off. Knowing where the grave is, I can clearly recall walking, running, and wrestling on the very spot as a child. I'm not sure how to feel about it, but in the process of studying the journals of the survivors, two more graves were located some distance from the main one. They were also roped off.

The most personal event however was when an attempt was made to place a flagpole at the site. Rock Creek is an area with multiple layers of hard shale under a very modest layer of dirt. I worked for the man that made the flagpole and its base. It needed four feet to be underground in order to be stable with the concrete poured around it. After four attempts at locating such a spot free of rock for the required depth, and meeting four failures, the group almost decided to come back another day with rock drills and just punch through it. However, one young man, George Broce stood on a spot of ground and said "Put the flagpole here!" There was enough time for one more try, so they went ahead and started digging. They expected to find rock about a foot down, like all the other times, but it wasn't there. Nor was it there at two feet, three feet, or the four feet they needed. There was even adequate space for the concrete to be poured around it. When the concrete was poured it butted up against the rock underground in all directions, making it a very solid foundation for the flagpole.

George Broce was either a teacher or a first-year priest. He was younger than me, and less than a year later he was killed in an accident. I was close with his family and his father was in the National Guard. At the funeral his father was in his class A uniform. When the dedication of the grave was complete, his father looked at me right in the eyes. We shook hands, both of us nearly crying, then he embraced me in a very strong hug. He then pulled back, looked me in the eyes again with is hands on my shoulders and said "You know what you have to do." I knew immediately that I could not put off a mission any longer. I replied "I will." without even thinking about it. A year later I turned in my papers.

The sites of the handcart rescues have a wealth of spiritual history for us all. However those of us who were involved in the second rescue were given an extra gift of truly unforgettable spiritual trials and blessings in the process that we hopefully will never forget.

There was a book compiled by the Riverton Wyoming Stake after the Second Rescue was completed containing many of the journal entries of the pioneers. Also included were comments and poetry contributed by various members of the Stake. When publishing began, a copy was given to President Hinkley. He placed it in the Library of the First Presidency. It is made up of select books chosen by the Prophets, and there aren't many volumes in it. I have a copy of it myself as a gift from my mother, and every time I read parts of it, I am overcome with the spirit.

This post wasn't supposed to be this long, but I'm having a hard time stopping, so I'll end here by thanking Heavenly Father for his love, his blessings upon us all, and for the truly unforgettable moments when he pulls back the veil just enough to give us a glimpse of his true feelings for us all.

Edited August 4, 2011 by RipplecutBuddha