On Monday, August 25th, all but the second ten of the Garden Grove Company left the ford at the Upper Platte. The second ten "stopped back on upper Platte for a ferry." Evidently they had the money to take advantage of the ferry.

For the rest of the company, the coming week of travel would be through a bleak and dangerous landscape of mineral springs, alkali beds, and poisonous swamps. Zimmerman remembered that many of the families lost cattle to the alkali during this portion of the trek.

Tuesday, August 26th, Crooks wrote "good roads - no feed - very windy and very little water. No springs. This evening - no grass - no water."

It was probably on this date that the company arrived at the alkali springs and lakes. It was customary for the pioneers to stop here for an hour so the women could gather salaratus. Susan Zimmerman remembered that there were "large beds of salaratus, white as snow. We gathered some, we brought it with us. It was the only soda we used."
On Wednesday the 27th, they started out at five o'clock in the morning and drove six miles to a place with a little grass. They then stopped to let the cattle feed and waited to rendevous with the second ten.

On Thursday morning the second ten still hadn't arrived so they moved on to Sweetwater, a river they would have to ford numerous times in the next week.

On Friday the 29th Crooks wrote that "our teams tired out and our wagons wanting repairs, we thought it best to stay a day or two. Our Captain took lead and proceeded us up a beautiful creek and meadow where we had an abundance of feed and water."

It was probably during this week that the company passed Independence Rock. The Immigrants Guide of 1848 describes this area. "Independence Rock is one of the curiosities to be seen on the road, mostly on account of its peculiar shape and magnitude. There are many names of visitors painted in various places, on the southeast corner. At this corner most travelers appear to have gone up to view the top. The road along the Sweetwater is mostly sandy and heavy traveling. You will find many steep places, and as you approach the Rocky Mountains, you will find some high hills to travel over. You will have to make some long drives to obtain water for camping. There is a great lack of timber, from the upper Platte ferry to Fort Bridger, and in fact scarcely any kind but willows. In all this region the willows and wild sage form you chief ingredient for fuel."

I believe it was also in this area that the pioneers found a naturally occurring supply of tar. Susan Zimmerman wrote "we used tar to grease our wagons with, the tar was carried in buckets swinging under the wagons. We were almost out of tar when we came to "tar springs." The men filled the buckets with the tar."

August 31st was a Sunday. I am not sure how Sunday was spent as none of the Garden Grove Company left any detailed description of a Sabbath Day. Susan Zimmerman recorded the following brief note: "Captain Brown always stopped and held meeting on Sundays. Our captain, not being a Mormon, generally passed them then, but stopped later on where there were trees to rest beneath and water to wash our clothing and soak the wagon wheels. At these times, Captain Brown would pass us."

There were three companies traveling together, the Garden Grove Company, captained by William Walton, "Captain Brown's" Company, and "Father Allred's" Company. It sounds like there was some competition among them to find the best place to camp.

Did you wonder why the pioneers made a point of gathering salaratus at the alkali lakes? They used it instead of yeast as leavening in their baking. For next week's letter I've gathered together everything the Garden Grove pioneers wrote about what they ate along the way. They had a lot more to say about food than they did about religion.

 

Part 11

Part 13