"To these homes, without lease or sale, they had just bade a final adieu, and with what little of their substance could be packed into one, two, and in some instances, three wagons, had started out, desertward, for—where? To this question the only response at that time was, God knows.
"From the 13th to the 18th we had several snowstorms and very freezing weather, which bridged the Mississippi sufficiently for crossing heavily loaded wagons on the ice. We were on timbered land, had plenty of wood for fuel, and the men rolled heavy logs together, and kept large fires burning, around the bright blaze of which, when not necessarily otherwise engaged, they warmed themselves. The women, when the duties of cooking and its et ceteras did not prompt them out, huddled with their children into wagons and carriages for protection from the chilling breezes.
"My dormitory, sitting-room, writing-office, and frequently dining-room, was the buggy in which Sister Markham, her little son David, and I, rode. One of my brother's wives had one of the old-fashioned foot-stoves, which proved very useful. She frequently brought it to me, filled with live coals from one of those mammoth fires—a kindness which I remember with gratitude; but withal, I frosted my feet enough to occasion inconvenience for weeks afterwards.
"When all who designed traveling in one camp, which numbered about five thousand, had crossed the river, the organization of the whole into hundreds, fifties, and tens, commenced, and afterwards was completed for the order of traveling; with pioneers, commissaries, and superintendents to each hundred, and captains over fifties and tens. It was impossible for us to move in a body; and one company filed off after another; and, on the first of March we broke camp and moved out four or five miles and put up for the night, where at first view the prospect was dreary enough. It was nearly sunset—very cold, and the ground covered with snow to the depth of four or five inches; but with brave hearts and strong hands, and a supply of spades and shovels, the men removed the snow, and suddenly transformed the bleak desert scene into a living town, with cloth houses, log-heap fires, and a multitude of cheerful inhabitants. The next day, with weather moderated, the remainder of the original camp arrived with the Nauvoo band, and tented on the bluff, which overlooked our cozy dell, and at night stirring strains of music filled the atmosphere, on which they were wafted abroad, and re-echoed on the responsive breezes.
"Lo! a mighty host of people,
Tented on the western shore
Of the noble Mississippi,
They, for weeks, were crossing o'er.
At the last day's dawn of winter,
Bound with frost and wrapped with snow,
Hark! the sound is, 'Up, and onward!
Camp of Zion, rise and go.'"All, at once, is life and motion—
Trunks and beds and baggage fly;
Oxen yoked and horses harnessed—
Tents, rolled up, are passing by.
Soon the carriage wheels are rolling
Onward to a woodland dell,
Where, at sunset, all are quartered—
Camp of Israel, all is well."Soon the tents are thickly clustered—
Neighboring smokes together blend—
Supper served—the hymns are chanted,
And the evening prayers ascend.
Last of all, the guards are stationed;
Heavens! must guards be serving here?
Who would harm the homeless exiles?
Camp of Zion, never fear."Where is freedom? Where is justice?
Both have from the nation fled,
And the blood of martyred prophets
Must be answered on its head.
Therefore, 'To your tents, O, Israel,'
Like your Father Abram dwell;
God will execute his purpose—
Camp of Zion, all is well.
"From time to time, companies of men either volunteered or were detailed from the journeying camps, and, by going off the route, obtained jobs of work for which they received food in payment, to meet the necessities of those who were only partially supplied, and also grain for the teams.
"As we passed through a town on the Des Moines river, the inhabitants manifested as much curiosity as though they were viewing a traveling menagerie of wild animals. Their levity and apparent heartlessness was, to me, proof of profound ignorance. How little did those people comprehend our movement, and the results the Almighty had in view.
"On the 2d of March we again moved forward—and here I will transcribe from my journal: 'March 3d—Our encampment this night may truly be recorded as a miracle, performed on natural, and yet peculiar principles—a city reared in a few hours, and everything in operation that actual living required, and many additional things, which, if not extravagancies, were certainly convenient. The next day, great numbers of the people of the adjacent country were to be seen patrolling the nameless streets of our anonymous city, with astonishment visible in their countenances. In the evening, Sister Markham and I took a stroll abroad, and in the absence of names to the streets, and numbers to the tents, we lost our way, and had to procure a guide to pilot us home.'
"At this point Brother Markham exchanged our buggy for a lumber wagon, and in performing an act of generosity to others, so filled it as to give Sister M. and me barely room to sit in front. And when we started again, Sister M. and I were seated on a chest with brass-kettle and soap-box for our footstools, and were happy in being as comfortably situated as we were; and well we might be, for many of our sisters walked all day, rain or shine, and at night prepared suppers for their families, with no sheltering tents; and then made their beds in and under wagons that contained their earthly all. How frequently, with intense sympathy and admiration, I watched the mother, when, forgetful of her own fatigue and destitution, she took unwearied pains to fix up, in the most palatable form, the allotted portion of food, and as she dealt it out was cheering the hearts of her homeless children, while, as I truly believed, her own was lifted to God in fervent prayer that their lives might be preserved, and, above all, that they might honor him in the religion for which she was an exile from the home once sacred to her, for the sake of those precious ones that God had committed to her care. We were living on rations—our leaders having counseled that arrangement, to prevent an improvident use of provision that would result in extreme destitution.
"We were traveling in the season significantly termed 'between hay and grass,' and the teams, feeding mostly on browse, wasted in flesh, and had but little strength; and it was painful, at times, to see the poor creatures straining every joint and ligature, doing their utmost, and looking the very picture of discouragement. When crossing the low lands, where spring rains had soaked the mellow soil, they frequently stalled on level ground, and we could move only by coupling teams, which made very slow progress. From the effects of chills and fever, I had not strength to walk much, or I should not have been guilty of riding after those half-famished animals. It would require a painter's pencil and skill to represent our encampment when we stopped, as we frequently did, to give the jaded teams a chance to recuperate, and us a chance to straighten up matters and things generally. Here is a bit from my journal: