The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 73, July 1969 - April, 1970 Page: 8
605 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Mormons who first responded to the announcement that land for
their safety had been purchased in Mexico, but the directions, after
they were available, sometimes proved faulty and were often ignored.
Consequently, many of those who emigrated south in the early years
had remarkably little in the way of directional aids. In addition
to the testimony provided by the blackened ashes of old camp sites,
each company of colonists tried to leave special trail markers of one
kind or another for any who might be following. These generally
took the form of notes pinned to trees or conspicuous rock cairns."
For the most part, however, the parties had to pick their way along
using whatever hints or suggestions circumstance afforded. In the
words of one polygamist, "we . . . travelled partly after the very
imperfect written guides, partly by directions of Brother William's
company, partly by enquiring of strangers and considerable [sic] of the
time by guess.""
The greatest obstacle of all, however, was the difficulty of move-
ment itself. Not only was water from the few streams so thick with
mud that it could not be settled, but grazing for the numerous ani-
mals involved in large wagon trains proved nearly impossible to
find. Scarcity of grass and water led entire parties to break up,
disperse among settlements along the way, and, in some instances,
discontinue the journey altogether." Nor was travel in winter, ex-
cept for the accessibility of water, much easier. If large parties
travelling in summer exhausted the marginal availability of grass,
movement in winter involved the problem of gumbo and mud. Levi
M. Savage told how spokes and felloes became so covered that the
wheels were totally obscured and ceased to turn, entire wagons simply
sliding along on huge cakes of mud." More trying than either mud
or sand was the face and lay of the land. Teamsters were required
to jar their conveyances over "hills, mountains . . . ravines . . .
mud, snow, rocks, logs, etc."" With many of the wagons carrying
in excess of 1,500 pounds of poorly loaded gear, and with no more
than a single span of mules or horses to pull the weight, movement
could be extremely tortuous and slow. The ascent of a steep hill
usually proved less difficult than passage down the other side. "Mil-
ligan's Jump Off," located somewhere along the Little Colorado River,
soJenson, "Juarez Stake Wards."
31Quoted in Jenson, "Juarez Stake."
$"Wilson, "Interesting Letter from Mexico," 211-212.
"8Quoted in Jenson, "Juarez Stake Wards."
8"Ibid.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 73, July 1969 - April, 1970, periodical, 1970; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117147/m1/24/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.