Willie Handcart Journey-James Hurren and Eliza Reeder History

JAMES HURREN AND ELIZA REEDER HISTORY

WILLIE HANDCART JOURNEY

Although Eliza Reeder had known James Hurren all her life, when he came to stay and work at her father's farm, she was beginning to have new feelings for him.  As they became better acquainted she felt feelings of being very much admired, of having someone happy to chat with her a few moments between various jobs in the fields and with the flocks.  They had both been raised in Linstead Parva, England.  It was very pleasant spending the evenings in front of the fire on the Reeder hearth.  Their sentiments progressed to the desire to spend their lives together and their pledges were made.  They got married and stayed where they were because Eliza was needed to help with her younger brothers and sisters as her mother had died a few years previously.

Two strangers, men from America, came into the countryside and preached about a new religion.  These men stirred the East Suffolk folk with the things they told about.  It caused many a heated argument.  The men called themselves Mormons or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Though many people seriously doubted the truth of the missionaries' message, those of the Hurren and Reeder households were among the first to declare that they believed the gospel principles that were being taught.  In due time the entire household of baptism age were baptized.

It was the burning desire of the new members of the church to gather with other saints in far away Utah.  The saints in England had been told they were going to travel to Utah with handcarts.  This arose an excitement in England about the prospects of arriving in Utah sooner than had been expected.  The Hurrens and Reeders readied themselves to go to Liverpool where they would board the ship, Thornton.  They sold all their furniture and said goodbye to their friends.  Those traveling to Liverpool and subsequently America were James Hurren, age 29; Mother, Eliza, age 26, daughters Mary (8), Emma (4) and Sarah (2), Grandfather, David Reeder, 53, Uncle Robert Reeder, (19) and aunt Caroline Reeder, (16).  They were each eager to see all the interesting sights.  They traveled over sea, land and finally a river boat took them up the Iowa River a short distance to the campground where the companies were to be organized for the long trek ahead.

Brother James Gray Willie would be the captain of the group.  He was known as Captain Willie.  Willie's group was disappointed to discover that the promised handcarts and tents were not waiting for them.  They quickly started making handcarts using green wood.  Some people sewed tents. Three companies of handcarts had left before them and severely depleted the supplies.  As their handcarts and tents were being made they learned what it was like living on the edge of the frontier.  Some had never pitched a tent, slept on the ground, cooked outdoors or built a campfire.  They had none of the skills that make frontiersman but they had some of the stuff that makes heroes.

On the day they were supposed to gather up everything and leave, Eliza gave birth to a baby girl, Selena.  She lived for about 15 days and died. The company was well organized.  The strength of the company was equalized as much as possible by distributing the young men among the different families to help them.  Several carts were drawn by young girls exclusively.  The young and strong went along gaily with their carts, but the old people and little children were to be seen straggling a long distance in the rear.  Sometimes, when the little folks had walked as far as they could, their fathers would take them on their carts and thus increase the load that was already becoming too heavy as the day advanced.  But what will parents not do to benefit their children in time of trouble?

The Hurrens and Reeders along with other handcart pioneers were interested in the beautiful countryside through which they walked, with such different flora and fauna from that to which they were accustomed.  Animals and fish were plentiful and sometimes became meals for the travelers.  Also enjoyed as food were the abundant wild fruits and berries.

The 300-mile trek across Iowa to the Missouri river was relatively pleasant.  While at Florence decisions had to be made.  The elders seemed divided in their judgment as to the practicability of their reaching Utah in safety at so late a season of the year, and the idea was entertained for a day or two of making our winter quarters on the Elkhorn, Wood River, or some other eligible location in Nebraska; but it did not meet with general approval.  A meeting of the elders produced all but one in favor of going on to Utah.  Levi Savage used his common sense and his knowledge of the country.  He declared positively that to his certain knowledge we could not cross the mountains with a mixed company of aged people, women and little children, so late in the season without much suffering, sickness and death.  Because they could not reach Utah with the amount of flour they had been assigned, the elders decided to put 100 lbs more flour on each handcart to help with provisions.  This flour was used first, the weakest parties being the first relieved of their burdens.  They had to continually fix broken down handcarts because of the extra weight.

James Hurren was considered the strongest man in the company.  He was also well.  Captain Willie told him after seeing him putting several more flour sacks on his handcart that if there was only one man who made it to Utah it would be James Hurren.  Grandfather Reeder sometimes dropped from exhaustion.

In their native lands the emigrants had heard a great deal about the American Indians and expected to see many more of them than they had thus seen.  The emigrants had heard tales of Indians killing men, women and children.  So when on an afternoon a band of Indians suddenly appeared at close range the saints were extremely frightened.  It turned out they were friendly Indians and members of the Willie company were most intrigued with them.  In fact, it was quite a treat to finally see Indians in the wild and up close.  The whites were grateful to buy some buffalo meat from them.

They had an incident where one evening their cattle stampeded.  The men went in pursuit of them but found they were 30 head short.  They looked for a long time but then assumed the Indians had run them off.

In the middle of September they had their first frost and it was a severe one.  The way became more uphill.  The Hurrens were anxious to get moving before the weather got too cold.  Aunt Caroline Reeder was a big help with the little girls.  The girls now remember with fondness how she encouraged them.  Often she sang with them as they walked along. 

They reached Fort Laramie, Wyoming on the last day of September.  The commandant kindly let the people buy from the military stores.  They determined that they would not have enough provisions to make it to Utah and so they reduced the allowance of flour.  It was determined that Fort Laramie was half way between Florence and Salt Lake City and the last half was by far the hardest, being mountainous, high altitudes where winter came early, rocky roads and often sparse feed for the livestock.  But they went on.

Grandfather David Reeder, though extremely weary pulled his cart that day. On many an occasion he had given part of his ration of food to others. For his evening meal he ate red berries from a wild rose bush.  After everyone else was in bed Eliza checked her father and lovingly tucked the covers around him.  

Her heart ached at how weakened he was from exposure and lack of nourishment.  During the night he breathed his last tired breath, and was buried the next morning after Eliza wrapped him in a precious sheet.  His fortitude had never failed, though he was often cold, hungry, and exhausted.  His family would miss him.

It became so difficult for many to pull their carts over the rocky road and up the steep grades that articles of clothing and bedding of all kinds were piled by the way and burned, it being impossible to carry them.  This lightened the carts, which were breaking down frequently but it left the improperly clad emigrants with more exposure to the piercing winds and bitter cold that came. It is rather ironical that the buffalo robes some bought at Fort Laramie helped keep them warm, but could cause their death carrying the extra weight. Some were discarded.

Death was quite common now.  Captain Willie could see the men were beginning to be worn down by hunger and scarcity of clothing.  Many a father who was devoted to his family, pulled his cart with his little children on it until the day preceding his death.  Men were seen pulling their carts in the morning, give out during the day and die before the next morning.  Each death weakened their forces.

"Nights were getting colder and some would sit down by the roadside and die.  Aunt Caroline (17 years old) after traveling all day and seeing the camp being made for the night took off her apron to tie some sage brush in to bring into the camp.  She sat down to rest, leaning on her bundle, exhausted.  They found her chilled and dying and carried her into camp.  She died without gaining consciousness.  She, too, was placed in an unmarked grave.  Her death was another real loss to us but we must go on as the nights are getting colder." (This was written by her brother, Robert Reeder.)

Robert continues, "Our rations were growing shorter and we reduced them by common consent from day to day...potato peelings and rawhide off old handcarts were good if we could get it.  I myself, set by the campfire with brother Hurren and scraped and singed the hair off a piece of hide, some that had been taken off discarded handcarts that had been pulled through the sands hundreds of miles.  It was hard but we would boil and soften them and cut them up in small pieces and put them in our pockets to chew on the road the next day and it helped to keep life in us.  The way they ate their meager ration of flour was to cook it into a gruel and drink it warm.

They traveled on in sorrow and misery day after day.  Some days we were able to travel a good distance, but other days we traveled but a few miles.  Finally, we were overtaken by snow.  It fell several inches deep as we traveled along, but we dared not stop, for we had a 16-mile journey to make and short of it we could not get wood and water.

Apostle Franklin D. Richard told President Brigham Young the Willie and Martin handcart companies were still back on the trail.  This was October 4.  President Young called upon the bishops and people in general to raise immediately 60 mule and horse teams and all the supplies to aid the saints back on the trail.  There was much bustling gathering supplies for the destitute saints.

Back on the trail the company was resting for a short time at noon.  A light wagon driven by Joseph A. Young and Stephen Taylor came into camp and told the people that a train of supplies was coming from Salt Lake and it would be there in a couple of days.  The saints continued their travels until they reached a point they had no more provisions at all.  Captain Willie and another man were assigned to go meet the oncoming supply train and urge them to hurry.  They were able to finally reach the supply train and relayed that the people just a little ways ahead were freezing and starving and would perish without immediate aid.  The supply train continued on determined to reach the saints and rescue them.  On the evening of the third day after Captain Willie's departure, just as the sun was sinking beautifully behind the distant hills, on an eminence immediately west of our camp several covered wagons, each drawn by four horses, were seen coming towards us.  The news ran through the camp like wildfire, and all who were able to leave their beds turned out en masse to see them.  A few minutes brought them sufficiently near to reveal our faithful captain slightly in advance of the train.  

Shouts of joy rent the air, strong men wept till tears ran freely down their furrowed and sunburnt cheeks, and little children partook of the joy which some of them hardly understood, and fairly danced around with gladness.  Restraint was set aside in the general rejoicing and as the brethren entered our camp the sisters fell upon them and deluged them with kisses.  The brethren were so overcome that they could not for some time utter a word, but in choking silence repressed all demonstrations of those emotions that evidently mastered them.  Soon, however, feeling was somewhat abated and such a shaking of hands, such words of welcome, and such invocation of God's blessing have seldom been witnessed.