Happy Birthday Easton!!!

Hi Easton:

This is another special birthday for you. Grandma and Grandpa love you very much. You are 6 years old today so we found a story about a 6 year old boy that we thought you might like.
Peter Howard McBaride - 6 years old - Martin Handcart Company. When Peter was a little older he wrote this story about what had happened when he was 6 years old.
Peter was born May 3, 1850 in Scotland. He came to America with his family. He had four brothers and sisters. From Peter's and his sibling's writings, we pick up some of the stories of what they experienced on their heartbreaking trek across the Plains:
"We had to burn buffalo chips for wood, not a tree in sight, no wood to be found anywhere. Just dry earth and rivers. We children and the old folks would start early so we wouldn't be too far behind at night. A great many handcarts broke down, oxen strayed away, which made traveling rather slow. Quite and undertaking to get nearly one thousand persons who had never had any camping experience to travel, eat, and cook over campfires. It took much patience for the captain to get them used to settling down at night and to get started in the morning.
We saw a great many buffalo as we traveled up the Platte River. The people were forbidden to kill them, as it made the Indians angry. One time our company met three thousand Sioux Indians, all warriors and all in war paint. Our people were much frightened, fear held the whole camp in its grip as they all expected to be killed. But their fears were groundless. They told our interpreters they were going to fight the Pawnee tribes. They wouldn't hurt us because we were mostly squaws and papooses. It would be cowardly to fight us, so they let us go by.
"My baby sister and I were really hungry. Our teams gave out and died, and we were glad to eat the meat. I remember some men passed us one day and stopped to talk. They gave my baby sister some cookies. She carried them in her little pocket, and I was always with her and would tease for a bite. She would give me a taste once in a while, and it was so good. The exposure to cold, rain, snow, and ice, pushing carts all day, the scarcity of food and wood caused many strong men to die.
"My parents both became very ill. It was very difficult for this young family of children to take care of each other, as well as their sick parents, and the brunt of the responsibility fell on the two oldest siblings who were Janetta 16, and Heber 13.
On October 19, 1856, as the company crossed the Platte River for the last time, it began to snow. Peter's father made the supreme scarifice here. Even in his weakened condition, he worked all day pulling, pushing, and wading through the icy water. He made an estimated 25 trips across the river, helping to get all the people and carts across. By the next morning there was 6 inches of snow on the ground. Peter's father was so ill he could hardly sit up. "We had to travel that day through the snow and we managed to get Father into one of the wagons that morning. That was the last we saw of him alive. We only made one mile, as it began to snow very hard. When we camped the snow was getting very deep. My sister and I had to pitch our tent and get some wood. After we had made Mother as comfortable as we could, we went to try to find Father. The wind was blowing the snow so bad, we could not see anything and the wagons had not yet come into camp. It was then dark, so we did not find him that night. The next morning, the snow was about 18 inches deep, and awfully cold. While my sister was preparing our little bit of breakfast, my older brother went to look for Father. At last he found him under a wagon with snow all over him. He was stiff and dead. It felt as though my heart would burst. He was buried the next day in a common grave with 14 other men who had died.
We camped at the Sweetwater River and it was decided that we could go no further, the snow was so deep and no food. We were doomed to starvation. They gave me a bone of an ox that had died. I cut off the skin and put the bone in the fire to roast. And when it was done some big boys came and ran away with it. Then I took the skin and boiled it, drank the soup, and ate the skin, it was a good supper"
"The next day we had nothing to eat but some bark from trees. Later we had a terrible cold spell; the wind drifted so much I knew I would die. The wind blew the tent down. They all crawled out but me. The snow fell on it. I went to sleep and slept warm all night. In the morning I heard someone say, 'How many are dead in this tent?' My sister said, 'Well, my little brother must be frozen to death in that tent.' So they jerked the tent loose, sent it scurrying over the snow. My hair was frozen to the tent. I picked myself up and came out quite alive, to their surprise.
"That day we got word that some teams were coming to meet us from the Valley. Three teams came that night. No one but a person having gone through what we had suffered can imagine what a happy moment it was for this belated handcart company. Men, women, and children knelt down and thanked the Almighty God for our delivery from certain death. It put new life into all the Saints. The next day several more teams arrived, and there was room for all to ride.
"We finally arrived in Salt Lake City, November 30, 1856. All my life I have worried for fear my children might get as hungry as I was, but thank goodness they have never wanted for food.
Peters family settled in Ogden first, then later in Eden. He grew up and became the father of 22 children. He later moved with his family to Gila Valley, Arizona, where they had a 160 acre farm and he taught vocal classes at the St. Joseph Academy in Thatcher. He served in the bishopric for 20 years.
We hope you enjoyed this story Easton. Peter was just your age when he was a pioneer in a handcart. We love you very much and are happy that you had an "awesome" birthday.

Love, Grandpa and Grandma

"When The Angels Come"

This is a picture that we saw several days ago and with the snow blowing around us here and the below zero weather we get, it really makes my heart ache for these incredible pioneers. If you click the picture it will enlarge it and you can see the pained looks on their faces. You can see the men, women, and children trying to make it through the storm and you can see the angels helping them. The story behind this painting is as follows:
"The Cart Began Pushing Me"
President David O. McKay, in an address given at an annual Relief Society Conference in 1947, the centennial year of the Saints' arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, talked of the criticism given by a teacher conducting a class, who commented that it was very unwise to have even permitted the Saints to cross the plains under such circumstances, and they were talking about the Willie and Martin handcart companies who left later than they shoud have. President David O. Mckay said:
"Some sharp criticism of the Church and its leaders was being indulged in for permitting any company of converts to venture across the plains with no more supplies or protection than a handcart caravan afforded.
An old man in the corner (and this was written by Pres. William Palmer, who was present) sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it, then he arose and said things that no person who heard him will ever forget. His face was white with emotion, yet he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity.
In substance, the gentleman above mentioned said, "I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the handcart company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and my wife was in it and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited was there, too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you every hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Not one of that company ever apostatized or left the Church, because everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities!
"Ihave pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it." (And a wife with a baby in her arms by his side.) "I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.
"Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company."

Devil's Gate

This picture of Devil's Gate was taken from our front porch. The pioneers didn't go through it as the Sweetwater River runs through it. It was a landmark for the early pioneers. The road you can see in the forefront of the picture is the actual Oregon, California, and Mormon Trail plus it was the Pony Express Route. The following are some journal entrys made in regards to Devil's Gate.

On November2, 1856, the second day after the rescue wagons met up with the Martin and Hodgetts companies, the group arrived at Devil's Gate. Samuel Openshaw of the Martin company described the arrival. "The brethren who came out to meet us did administer every comfort and help that was within their power to the sick and the infirm. At Devil's Gate we were obliged to stop, the snow being about 14 inches deep on the level, and notwithstanding the teams that had come out to help us, there was not sufficient help to move the aged, sick, "On account of the nightly fatalities of the male members of our company for two or three weeks previously, there were many widows in our company, and the women had to pitch and put up the tents, shoveling the snow away with tin plates etc.

"One night I dropped to the ground in a dead faint with my baby in my arms. I had some pepper pods with me, and recovering from my stupor I took some of them to recover my strength. During these times we had only a little thin flour gruel two or three times a day, and this was meager nourishment for a mother with a nursing baby. My husband died and was buried at or near Devil's Gate, and the ground was frozen so hard that the men had a difficult task in digging the grave deep enough in which to inter him and nine others that morning, and it is more than probable that several were only covered with snow. Here I was left a widow with two young children". Alice Walsh

The Martin company camped at Devil's Gate on the nights of November 2nd and 3rd. The rescuers then decided to move them to an area that would provide better protection from the elements and more plentiful firewood. This is the place that came to be known as Martin's Cove.

Herds of deer in our yard.

I took this picture from the porch of our apartment. We can look out most every morning and see 5 to 15 deer just walking around. They are mule deer and we also have antelope and lots of rabbits.

Across the road from us is a duplex where to sets of missionary couples live. One of the couples work on the cattle ranch. Martin's Cove sits on part of the Sun Ranch. The Sun Ranch consists of about 1.25 million acres. In 1997 the Church purchased about 1oo,000 acres. Elder and Sister Bolton and one other rancher take care of the church ranch. Elder Bolton brings home pelletts that he occasionally feeds the deer. Not too often because the deer become real pests if they think you will feed them everyday. There is one deer with two fawns that hangs around. She has a tear in one of her ears and they call her "split ear". The other day when we came home from Casper, Wy, on our P-day, we were unloading our car and "split ear" was about 50 feet away watching us. Then Sis. Thomas who lives next door to the Boltons walked up to us and "split ear" walked over towards her. She walked on up the hill to her apartment and the deer and her two fawns followed her up to her house. Sister Bolton said that in the morning "split ear" will come to their front window and tap it with her nose. We are really back to nature here and are loving it.

We can't wait for all of you to come and visit us and enjoy it here. We are really out in the wilderness. There are lots of rattlesnakes here but they said no one has been bitten by one. The Lord really watches out over the missionaries and those who come to visit the Cove.

Sweetwater River @ Martin's Cove

It is Sunday morning and we have just finished having our church meetings in the Gathering Room in the downstairs of the apartment building we are living in. We weren't able to have it in our little branch building today because it was 45 below zero with the wind chill this morning. It was warmer here in our building and closer for everyone. This picture was taken on the little bridge that crosses the Sweetwater River at our compound.

Going right to left the building farthest right is called the Trek Center. In the winter they store all of the handcarts in it. In the summer it is where everyone gathers to pick up their carts and have meetings and gatherings. The next building is our apartment building where we are currently living. The white buildings on the left are the Visitors Center and the office and another apartment. We will move to this apartment the first of January. It is connected to the office and the Directors usually live in it but Elder & Sister Freeman prefer living in the one we are in and so we will move when the retiring Directors move.

The picture on the left is looking down into the Cove. This is where the Martin Co. took refuge in on November 4th, 1856. Before entering the Cove they had to again cross the Sweetwater River. The Saints were weak and starving and the temperatures were below zero. This is where the four young rescuers from Salt Lake City carried so many across the river. The four men ages ranged from 16 to 24. When Brigham Young heard of what these young men had done they said he wept like a baby and said they have earned a place in the Celestial Kingdom for their sacrifice for others.

The Saints were in the Cove for 4 days at which time the storm ceased and they were able to start traveling again. During that time many died. The bodies were moved farther around in the cove and covered with rocks as best as they could as the ground was frozen. As the burial group would leave they could hear the wolves fighting over the bodies.

We are so happy to be able to be here at Martin's Cove and to feel the spirit here. It is such a sacred place. We are loving our mission and the other missionary couples are so good to us.

Our temporary home at Martin's Cove

This is the home we are living in right now. There are three apartments in it and a guest room for the general authorities when they come. We are staying here along with two other couples. We will be moving into a different apartment the first of the year and will be there until the end of our mission. There is also what is called the Gathering Room downstairs. It is like a big family room with a kitchen. We hold prayer meeting there each morning and also parties and get togethers.

Elder Warr is standing by one of the "rovers". They have about 6 of them and they are used to go all around the site where vehicles aren't allowed. Elder Warr took Sister Warr for a tour last weekend of the site. We went over to the Cove and walked around where the Saints camped the late fall of 1856 where so many died. We went a little farther in the Cove and saw where they were burried. It is a very Sacred spot. There are no markings because every morning for four days they would go to each campsite and ask if there were any dead. They gathered up the dead and layed them on the ground at this spot and covered them the best they could. As soon as they left and went back to their tents they could hear the wolves fighting over the dead bodies.