Charles E Griffin Crossing the Plains

Chapter-4 Crossing the Plains------------- From Charles Emerson Griffin’s autobiography, “My father worked and got a pair of young steers which he traded for another ox. Father had succeeded in getting two cows for work and that was to be our team to go to Salt Lake with. President Young and the rest of the pioneers having gone on to Salt Lake Valley and returned the year before. When spring broke we started for the “Valley” with one yoke of oxen and one yoke of cows with the understanding that we would have to take provisions enough to last us until we could raise a crop. Besides taking our other things, farming tools ect. Our wagon cover was a few strips of carpet and a couple of oiled quilts or blankets. Our bread stuff was principally corn meal with the exception of one barrel of flour. Flour bread was, as I remember, quite a rarity and only used once in a great while. We started west in President Kimball’s company and traveled in it most of the way. My father was a captain of Ten. Nothing of importance occurred on the plains excepting one stampede, which resulted only in a good scare to all. Our traveling was necessarily slow on account of our heavy loads. We were on the road three months. As last we arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.” Charles Emerson Griffin left us this brief account of the journey that he made with his parents, Albert Bailey Griffin and Abigail Varney Griffin, across the plains from Winter Quarters to the Salt Lake Valley. Charles wrote the account late in his life his view of the journey colored by the prism of a twelve year old boy’s eyes. Charles had lived his whole life on the pioneer edge of America. First as his father carved a farm out of raw land in Ohio, then in Nauvoo. As a nine year old he made the trek to Winter Quarters where for the next two years he helped his father carve new farmland out of the prairie in Nebraska. Spending a summer on the plains did not represent a totally new adventure to the twelve-year-old boy. As a result he tells a very simple version of a very complex and bold story. Joseph Smith had set the vision for a haven in the western mountains early on in the Church’s history. The events in Missouri had set in motions the factors that saw a fulfillment of that dream howbeit on a timetable that was much shorter than most had ever imagined. Forced out of Nauvoo in the spring of 1846 the Saints gathered themselves at places along the trail in Iowa and at Winter Quarters. The next year, 1847, Brigham Young’s party pioneered the route across the plains and identified the place of Joseph’s dreams. 1,800 Saints made the trek to Salt Lake City that first year. In 1848 the church was ready to begin the process that would see the Church completely transplanted to the American west. 1848 saw four large companies organized in Winter Quarters. That year over 2,500 Saints made the journey west. The 1848 companies were better organized, transporting whole families with all of the necessities, to establish a permanent society. These large, heavily laden, wagon trains moved at a slower, measured pace. Their size and complexity required more coordination and cooperation. Those factors demanded a more complex organization. Charles’s brief account touches on none of the points we have just raised. In the following pages we will attempted to fill in the empty spaces in Charles’s story. The Griffin journey west starts on the Kimball Farm, which was located six or seven miles north of Winter Quarters. The estimation is that there were about thirty families working together on several hundred acres under the supervision of Heber C. Kimball. By all account the farm was very successful raising large crops of buckwheat, potatoes and corn. Although Charles tells of his mother pounding corn the farm operated a large gristmill, which could process large quantities of corn meal. Charles’ father, Albert Bailey Griffin, traded his labor for the resources that he used to transport his family to Salt Lake City. The family had left Nauvoo with an older wagon and a yoke of oxen. Two years later one of the oxen had died. Albert bartered for a second ox to complete the yoke. The family also acquired a pair of cows. The four animals would make up the team that pulled their wagon across the plains. This set up was very common among the teams traveling the plains that year. The team is the only animals mentioned by Charles. They certainly represented the family’s most important resource. However it is very unlikely that they represented the only livestock that the family owned and took with them on the trip. For starters as you review the roles Albert assumed and the duties he performed as part of the Heber C. Kimball Company it is hard to imagine that he did not own or at least have easy access to a saddle horse. In the journal history from the trip there is an entry describing the sorts of animals that were taken along. With the 64 wagons in one particular group there were, 21 horses, 16 mules, 199 oxen, 93 cows, 28 sheep, 28 hogs and 71 hens. Milo Harmon described his families’ animals as, 2 ox, 2 cows, 2 heifer, 2 sheep, 1 pig and 1 horse. There are a couple of hints concerning the Griffin family’s animals. Charles describes his father’s trade for the extra ox as involving 2 young steers that he had acquired. This seems to hint that Albert was able to trade for and acquire animals. Anther hint is the fact that Albert was assigned to manage the sheep herd on the journey west. Was this an indication that he himself owned sheep? Everyone who has lived in the country understands how easy it is to acquire chickens, trade for a few chicks and watch them grow. Chickens were easily transported in cages hung on the outside of the wagon. Why is the accounting for animals important? Access to milk, butter and eggs turned a corn and flour based diet from the bare basics to a pleasant variety. Having a beef supply that could transport itself until needed was an integral part of the planning for all groups who crossed the American plains. Whatever the makeup it is almost certain that the Griffin’s owned animals other than those pulling the wagon. All of the animals taken on the journey by the individual families were managed as a communal herd. Although we have no records to so indicate it is easy to imagine that a milk cow was brought along with individual wagons. The chickens almost certainly were transported in cages carried in the wagons. What about the foodstuffs and other items that they may have carried? Charles indicated that they carried enough food for the journey with enough left over to carry them until the next harvest season. The, “Immigrants Guide to the West” makes the following recommendation for a family of 4 for food for the crossing; 600 lb flour, 120 lb hard tack, 400 lb bacon, 60lb coffee,100 lb sugar, 200 lb lard, rice & beans, dried fruit, baking soda, corn meal, dried beef, molasses, vinegar, salt & pepper. According to Charles’ description the 600 pounds of flour for them was more likely to have been 200 pounds of flour, a barrel of flour was about 150 pounds, and 400 pounds of corn meal. Of course these numbers would need to be multiplied if we account for the extra needed to see them through the next winter. If you spend any time studying the Mormon immigration story you soon gain an appreciation for their organizational genius. Starting with the moment they arrived in Winter Quarters it is a safe assumption that the Church set about accumulating all of the items in the Immigrant Guide. Sitting on the Missouri River, Winter Quarters had access to the full range of goods transported on the waterways of America. That meant that whatever items they could not produce could be bartered for. It is then probably a safe assumption that the Griffin’s lauder reflected the same recommendations even if it was based, according to Charles, more on corn meal than flour. Also included in the Guide is a list of cooking equipment and tools; Dutch Oven, skillet, kettle, reflector oven, tea pot, table ware and a water keg. For tools, augers, gimlet, axe, hammer, hoe, shovel and a plow. And for the wagon, kingbolts, ox shoes, spokes, extra wagon tongue, spare axels, heavy ropes and chains and a block and tackle set. Charles noted that they took their “other things, farming tools etc”. What about their wagon? Charles indicated in his autobiography that they left Nauvoo in an “old wagon that he repaired sufficiently”. In response to the constant movement west, that had become part of the America culture, we see the birth of the prairie schooner. This type of wagon was purpose build for transport goods over long journeys. It was build with higher sides but its defining feature was the cover stretched out over the wagon bows that provided protection for the contents from the weather. The typical wagon had a nine or ten foot long box that was four feet wide and two feet deep. The box was usually sealed at the joints to prevent water seepage at river crossings. Many wagons had a second removable floor above the first. This area was used as a protective storage area for the families most valuable and fragile possessions. To a nine-year-old boy a common farm wagon when compared to the image of the cover wagon was just an old wagon. A purpose build covered wagon cost about $70.00, a farm wagon less than half as much. Historical references indicate that as a means of transport both were equally capable of hauling over 2000 pounds. A common farm wagon could be fitted with wagon bows and a cover added. Charles describes the cover for their wagon as a few strips of carpet and a couple of oiled quilts or blankets. Again we must remember that his description comes from the memories and understanding of a 12 year old. The ideal cover was made of good canvas. The most common wagon cover was made out of homemade cloth that was waterproofed with beeswax or linseed oil. My interpretation of the events with the wagon is that Albert made a deal for an older wagon that he got for a good price. Using the experience that he gained from his wagon-making father in law he then made the repairs necessary to bring it back to a good working order. At the end of its working life most wagons probably still had very few of the their original parts with constant repair being the understood. The wagon certainly served the family well on the demanding trip across the plains. While the wagon served the Griffins well in transporting their food and possessions across the prairie, home for the trip was a tent. While the wagon cover may have been assembled out of available materials that were adapted to fit a need the tents were almost assuredly made out of good canvas. By 1848 there was even a rubberized canvas available to make tents out of. Setting up the tent was probably the first chore taken care of each evening. The tent, a fire pit for a kitchen and water from the water barrel hanging on the side of the wagon was home. In the morning the tent was taken down and the bedding hung to air out. Both were then folded and reloaded on the wagon. On reaching Salt Lake City the tent and the by then empty wagon would serve as home until a cabin could be constructed. What does a corn meal based diet look like? Most days probably started with cornmeal mush. The mush was made by slowly stirring cornmeal into boiling water. A teaspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of lard and maybe some dried fruit was added. The mush took about 3 minutes to cook. If available the mush was toped with milk, butter or molasses. Extra mush would be spread out and allowed to dry. The dried cake was lightly fried and served as a meal for lunch. Johnny Cakes were a popular use for corn meal. The batter was baked as a cake cooked for about 20 minutes or they were served as a morning hot cake. The recipe called for 2 cups of corn meal, ½ cup of flour, 1 tsp salt then add 2 cups of buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of molasses. The batter was made lighter with the addition of eggs if they were available. Corn Dodgers represented an easily transportable ration. In addition they stayed good for a period of time. It’s easy to picture a man eating a lunch of Corn Dodgers that he had transported tied up in a handkerchief. The recipe called for 2 cups of corn meal, 2 tbs butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbs sugar, 2 cups of milk and 1 tsp of baking soda. Cook corn with butter, salt, sugar, and milk until it boils then remove and let sit for 5 minutes. Spoonfuls were then added to a Dutch Oven where they baked for 10 to 15 minutes. For dinner the corn meal was probably cooked into the cornbread that we are all familiar with. A variation on standard cornbread saw the addition of sour dough starter. The buckwheat that they raised was primarily used for hotcakes adding a little variety. The availability of milk, buttermilk, butter and eggs added richness to all of the recipes. You could probably not tolerate a corn meal diet without having molasses available. Even with the given that the simpler times included a simpler view of the world the constant corn diet certainly had to become monotonous. Those good pioneer women certainly had to be inventive to add as much variety to one ingredient as possible. For Charles the appearance of a loaf of white bread was an occasion. A pot of beans flavored with a ham hock or bacon was probably a welcome change as was rice instead of bread served with the meat and gravy. With potatoes being a key crop on the Kimball Farm they probably carried a supply. The key shortage as a food source for travelers was vegetables. The only vegetable with a long enough shelf life to survive the trip was onions. On the frontier it is almost impossible to imagine a day without meat. For all people living away from home bacon, with its good shelf life, was the absolute go to for meat protein. It is hard to imagine that an occasional steer or a pig or sheep was not butchered and shared among the company. Each company assigned men to serve as hunters for the group. It is not uncommon in the diary entries recorded on the trip to include a report of 2 or 3 buffalos being killed in a single day. A large bull bison can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. In one of the journals the writer described the success of his hunting party, July 4, 4 buffalo, 6th--2, 7th--3 , July 8th men selected from every 10 to hunt, killed 4 buffalo, 3 deer and 1 calf. The meat that was not quickly eaten was processed into dried meat or jerky. Today we talk of a meat and potatoes diet for them it was a meat and bread diet. Outfitted and ready to go the wagons would leave Winter Quarters and head 27 miles west to the river crossing on the Elkhorn River, west of present day Omaha. In 1846 Albert Griffin had been sent to the Elkhorn to build the infrastructure for a bridge and ferry. Once across the Elkhorn the scattered wagons were organized into companies for the journey west. Traveling in tandem were two major companies that year. One has led by Brigham Young. It was made up of 1054 souls and 397 wagons. The Heber C. Kimball Company, which included the Griffins, was made up of 701 Saints and 226 wagons. Each immigrant company was divided into administrative units. There were Hundreds and divisions of Fifty. The larger divisions were then subdivided into Tens. A man, elected by a vote of affirmation, led each of these administrative units. It was not uncommon for a unit to vote to change leadership. According to Charles, “My father was a captain of Ten”. The Heber C. Kimball Company was divided into four subdivisions. Henry Harriman was elected Captain of a Hundred. Titus Billings, John Peck and later Isaac Higbee were elected as Captains of Fifty. Henry Harriman after whom Herriman, Utah is named captained the Hundred that the Griffins belonged to. The company roster listed Albert Bailey Griffin age 39, Abigail Varney Griffin age 38 and Charles Emerson Griffin age 12. Names that many would recognize that were part of the company including William Clayton. Howard Egan, Charles’s future Nauvoo Legion commander was in the company. Included were Joseph Fielding and his sister Mary Fielding Smith along with Hyrum Smiths children including a 10-year-old Sarah. Bishop Newel K. Whitney, who had lived next to the Griffin’s on the Kimball Farm, was also in the Company. Once organized the companies left the Elkhorn and traveled on another 12 miles until they hit the Platte River. The Oregon Trail started in Kansas with Fort Leavenworth being the principal starting point. It traveled along the southern side of the Platte River. The Mormon’s chose to travel along the northern side of the Platte. The decision in no small part was a deliberate attempt to separate themselves from the other immigrants traveling across the plains. The trail followed the Platte across Nebraska. Fort Kearny and the confluence of the North and South branches of the river 358 miles from winter Quarters were the first two major reference points on the trail. Scotts Bluff at a distance of 472 miles marked a change in topography as the trail entered Wyoming. The single most important stop on the trail was Fort Laramie at a distance of 512 miles. Here the Mormon Trail crossed over to the south side of the Platte River. At Casper the trail left the Platte. After crossing the Platte at Casper the trail headed in a more southerly direction for 68 miles until it came to Devil’s Gate. From Devil’s Gate to South Pass was anther 95 miles. From South Pass on to Salt Lake City was another 232 miles. The journal history of the trip is replete with references to having reached these famous milestones. By June 4th most of the wagons had crossed the Elkhorn. From Heber C Kimball’s journal, “On Sunday the 4th most of the saints assembled for prayer meeting near Prest. Kimball’s wagon, and were addressed by Bishop N. K. Whitney and Prest. Kimball on various subjects of interest, touching on the journey before us, and the necessity of walking humbly and righteous before God, that we may realize the blessings we need during our journey”. The journey itself got off to a shaky start. On the morning of the 6th the herd boys came rushing into camp and announced that the Indians were raiding the cattle herds. A number of the men immediately began a pursuit. After a six mile chase a firefight ensued. Three of the men were wounded one seriously all however were to survive. The net result of the raid, excluding the wounding of the men, was the loss of a single ox. The raid however hastened the effort to complete the formal organization of the company, which was finalized on that same afternoon. Albert Bailey Griffin was named Captain of the 5th Ten in the First Hundred. The official start date listed for the company is June 7th. What was life like for the Griffins on the journey west? A typical journal entry reads as follows, “Saturday July 1st this morning be began our march about 9 0clock. All things were prosperous with us this day. We traveled 14 miles and corralled near Pres. Young’s camp. Three Buffalo were killed and brought into camp.” With their farm wagon loaded to the brim the pace was set by the slow moving oxen. A man on foot could easily keep up. Unlike horse teams or mule teams the oxen were not controlled with reins. The bull-whacker walked along side giving verbal commands and liberally applying the rod. With only three in their family it seems logical that all of them took turns managing the oxen and cows pulling the wagon. Charles noted in his autobiography that he had started herding cows while they still lived in Winter Quarter’s. With his father busy with his other non-family related responsibilities there were many times when in all likelihood it fell to the twelve year old Charles to keep the wagon moving. The primary task for each day was managing the animals. The search for grass was the number one topic in the journal history of the trek. A lost or a single missing animal was a cause for concern. At the end of each day the wagons were drawn in to a circle forming a corral. The animals were kept in the corral until usually about three in the morning when they were taken out to graze. By holding them until morning the animals were eager to start grazing instead of wandering off. Within the first week of being on the trail one of the first organizational tasks was to formally organize a guard, their number one priority, the safety of the animal herds. In addition to his duties as a Captain of a Ten, Albert Griffin was appointed to be the Sargent of the 6th company of guards in charge of eight other men. When it was their turn in the rotation they were responsible to see that the animals and camp went undisturbed through out the night. From camp rules that have survived concerning having a primed rifle in camp etc. it is clear that Albert conducted his duties as Sargent of the Guard fully armed. Heber C. Kimball noted in his journal, “I feel sleepy this morning being on guard after part of the night”. Jacob Norton recorded in his journal on June 15th, “Our cattle remain quietly within our corral by close watching, Albert Griffin’s company being on guard”. By early morning the animal herds were driven back to camp where each wagon sought out their own animals and hitched them up. The men assigned to manage the herds were organized along the same lines as the organization of the guards. One of the things on the minds of the guards was the threat posed by the Indians. In the first week of the journey west they had a major confrontation with causalities on both sides. The Nebraska plains were very much Indian territory. There are a number of references to the Indians in the journal histories, “some Indians were discovered in our rear crawling up to some of the wagons who were behind the main body no damage was done by them”. There are a number of references to the scene witnessed when they passed the Pawnee Mission Station, “The Sioux have burned their new mission house”. In one instance they recovered an ox that the Indians had hidden in a deep depression. A number of accounts note encounters with groups of friendly Indians. The number of hours spent on the road each day was not necessarily long. It was impractical to over work the draft animals. There were many days when the company only made five miles. An eighteen or twenty mile day was quite unusual. Brigham Young recorded that the daily average was twelve miles. He also noted that they rested for twenty-two days on the journey. They still traveled for part of the day on most Sundays. Robert T. Burton noted in his journal, “ We would occasionally lay over for a few days. The sisters could bake bread, wash, iron, mend etc.”. It may have been on these rest days when Charles’s mother had the time to bake him a loaf of white bread. Concerning the same subject another journal entry reported, “females a chance to do their washing etc. which was attended to with alacrity.” There are a number of descriptions in the journals of planned rest days. The entries note that the wagons equipped with the blacksmith shop were sent on ahead in order to be set up and be made ready to make needed repairs. What was required of Albert as a Captain of a Ten? As part of the documentation noting the appointment of the Captains of the Tens was the following entry, “The following is a report of the several Captains of Tens setting forth the names and numbers of persons, wagons, horses, mules, oxen, sheep etc., etc. in each company of Ten”. Albert was responsible for everything connected with the ten or so wagons under his care. The Tens were kept together as a close group. They would have marched together and camped together. Each morning he probably made a quick inspection to make sure everyone was up and ready to go. Under his leadership the people in his Ten would have worked together to solve the problems that came up. Over difficult patches on the trail they would take turns doubling up the yokes of oxen to affect a passage. Working together to fix or supply parts for a broken wagon was a common occurrence. Families that had an extra teenage boy lent him to other families that had a shortage of able hands. Albert had been in charge of the family of Winslow Farr Sr., who had been called east on a mission in Winter Quarters. Winslow Farr Jr. made the trip west with the Griffins. The young Farr was later to return to Winter Quarters and cross the plains again with his family in 1850. I am quite sure there were any number of other communal activities undertaken by these small groups. The women in each ten and related Fifties and Hundreds almost surely worked together to produce and share the butter, eggs and milk that made their diets more palatable. By July 15th there had been eight new babies born on the trail. For a Ten the birth of a child was certain to have been a cooperative event. The journals note Tens dropping out of line to search for missing animals belonging to one of their members. As the Captain, Albert was also responsible for their religious life leading morning and evening prayers. As the journey moved further and further west the large companies divided into smaller and smaller groups in order to expand the search for grazing. The smaller the subdivisions the greater the responsibly faced by the Captain of Ten. The Captains in some ways assumed the role of a Stake High Council. From Brigham Young’s journal, dated July 16, speaking concerning the Tens from the two large companies, “The Captains of Ten, were called together in our corral to know their minds relative to the companies”. We have no information other than that written in his autobiography that tells the story of Charles’s experiences crossing the plains. In much of his personal writings he explains his life as it related to his father. In this story we have been forced to do the same. For the three Griffin’s the story of crossing the plains is one and the same story. However there are a few insights from the perspective of the young men in the Company. His future brother in law, the fifteen year old John Smith, wrote this in his journal, “I had to be the boy who brought the wood and water, herded the cows, and assisted to double teams over bad places, up hills, etc. On one occasion a circumstance occurred, which I shall never forget. At sundown, while we were encamped on the Platte River, it was reported that a woman was lost. Without ceremony I took my coat on my arm and a piece of corn bread in my hand and started out up the road”. There are two references to a buffalo stampede that seem to fit the description of the stampede that Charles described, “Killed the first Buffalo at the head of the Pawnee Swamps ……….. This was a pell mell hunt, a small band being started down the swamps toward the river, came running and dashing through our line and receiving showers of bullets and being pursed by men, women and children”. “This day a herd of Buffalo was drove towards the wagons, and five or six of them were killed. This was something new to us to see the chase they ran between our wagons”. The members of the two large companies joined together often for Sunday services. On the journey west they had the opportunity to hear some of the leading Priesthood holders in the church speak, Lorenzo Snow, Heber C. Kimball, Bishop Newell K. Whitney and the Prophet Brigham Young. There must have been some very powerful testimonies offered given what those men and personally witnessed and been party to. Among the common themes found in the recorded sermons, living the commandments, building up the Kingdom of God and following the Prophet. One eyebrow-raising theme that is mentioned often is the condemnation of the profanity that seemed to have been common in the camps. From a journal entry, “Sunday 18th The Saints gathered midway between the camps on the banks of the river for worship. Brother Brigham opened the meeting by prayer and then address the saints on the object that should be constantly kept in view on this journey, the building up of the Kingdom Of God on the earth, that an individual might believe Mormonism to be true and be all his life in the midst of the Saints and be damned and go to hell at last because they did not keep and retain the influence of the Holy Ghost within their own breast to govern and rule the whole man”. From William Thompson’s journal, “ The camps met together at 4 o’clock. The meeting was opened by singing and prayer by Father Isaac Morley. President Young arose and said there was some items of business to attend to, as for preaching, my preaching is for every person to do right. Let them act on the principals of right according to the light that he posses for Jesus is the light of every man that cometh into the world, both Saint and savage. This people know a great deal; the know the principals of the Gospel and it far exceeds the knowledge of the Christian world. There is some among us that has been slow to learn, yet their knowledge of theology is ahead of the religious portion of mankind. Then, brethren, live according to your knowledge. I am as liable to do wrong as other men but I keep trying all the time to do right. I know what is right. Since I have been called to judge I always have been able to discern the good from the bad, right from wrong. God is very kind and compassionate; more ten times than we are to our children, or any kind friend. Was it not that he is we would fall far short. Let us act perfect as men and we will be as perfect in our sphere of action as God is in his. I have always been faithful in my calling. I feel as willing to day as to my duty as I ever did. I am now willing to go to the ends of the earth and preach the gospel it was my calling as ever I was. I have traveled and preached till the blood has squashed in my boots. But I am for the mountains; this is my calling at present. I feel that we should divide into small companies, so that our cattle can have more time to feed. I have traveled believing all the time I have pushed the people up. I have seen the companies over all the bad places before I crost. There has been no murmuring among us, all has been well. I expect to be judged by my works not by my good feelings and I mean that they will be good all the time and the leave the result in the hands of the Lord.” “Erastus Snow said I arise to bear testimony to the principles that President Young has been speaking of. They are calculated to make us dignified as angles and Gods.” I am more than a little intrigued by the idea of the campfire conversations that occurred on those months on the plains. It is easy to imagine Bishop Whitney relating his accounts of the events at Kirtland and elsewhere. There must have been any number of conversations concerning personal remembrances of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum. In the journal history for the Heber C. Kimball Company Albert Griffin’s name comes up much more frequently than most. I think it is a fair conclusion to say that he was well known and well respected. On July 2nd Kimball wrote, “It was agreed that Brother Ricks and Brother Griffin’s 10 drives the sheep and that they start in the morning before the camp”. This puts Albert as the leading group of wagons on the journey. There are a number of other reference to where he had made camp seeming to indicate that as the lead group the others followed his lead as they sought camps sites based on the availably of good grazing. August 13, “He informed me that Brother Isaac Higbee’s camp left there in the morning also Brother Griffin 10”. August 18, “Brother Baldwin was camped on the east about 1 mile from us and Brother Griffin’s Ten.” August 20, Brother Baldwin and Griffin’s Ten moved off at 11”. The journey across the very flat plains of Nebraska went very smoothly. The only complaint was that there were days when there was a shortage of pasture. The company only suffered two deaths in Nebraska one a new convert and one a little girl who was killed in a wagon accident. As the Company moved into Wyoming the search for grass for the animals took on more urgency. We see notes in the dairies of the need to travel three miles or more off the trail to find adequate grazing. One reference refers to a ten-mile detour to find grass. The first real trouble on the journey west starts in the vicinity of Devil’s Gate. The journals note that because of their lack of familiarity with the west they did not understand the nature of alkali tainted water and flats. As a result the death of cattle and oxen became a severe problem. August 22, “Part of Brother Harriman’s company has come up this evening. They have lost so many cattle that they have to take part of the wagons on and come back for the rest.” The Griffin’s were part of the Harriman Hundred. Heber C. Kimball wrote to Brigham Young from Seventh Crossing, “although I have been weakened considerably by the loss of cattle, though my loss is not to be compared with many others behind, for some of them have to go along part at a time, and go back after the rest…….it would be better for us to stop here, as there is good range for the cattle”. Up to this point on the journey they had enough draft animals that when the need arose extras could be used to double up and aid the wagons over rough spots. The numbers of deaths among the oxen and cattle created a situation where the companies had to more closely coordinate their animals in order to overcome hard to pass areas. Brigham Young, in the larger company, organized his extra draft animals and sent them back to help the Kimball Company. By the time the Companies reached South Pass, Brigham Young had organized a resupply of draft animals to be delivered from the Salt Lake Valley. There are no references to Rocky Ridge in the journals. In fact the closer to Salt Lake City they got the less was written in the journals. Following references to Harriman’s Hundred we can track the Griffin’s movements. “September 3, Cold frosty morning, Brother Harriman’s camped moved off at 10 AM.” September 8th found then at the Green River, by the 12th they were at Fort Bridger. “September 17, Cool frosty morning 2 miles west of Echo creek by the cold spring on the right of the road we past Brother Harriman’s camp in corral.” On September 22, 1858 the Griffins got their first look at the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, from Heber C. Kimball’s journal, “when we got to the top of the high mountain we had a view of the south part of the valley. When descending the steep hill we had to lock both wheels of the wagons. The road to descend being new was pretty good”. From William Burton’s journal, Sunday Sep 24th 1848, “This morning was pleasant. We started about 9 & passed into the Valley. We arrived at the Great Salt Lake City about 2 0Clock P.M. and was Joyfully received. Brother Kimball’s Com. Was almost all together. We corralled on City Creek.” The Griffin’s had arrived in Utah. References; Thompson, William, In Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jacob Norton, Reminiscence and Journal Kimball, Heber C, Journal, June-Sept. 1848 written by William Thompson Kimball, Heber C., Journal in Autobiography written by William Clayton