Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
On this Pioneer Day 2006, our thoughts go back 150 years ago to what noted historian Wallace Stegner called "one of the great tales of the West and of America."
In 1856, European emigrants heading to Utah resorted to using handcarts to make the trek across the great American plains. It had been determined that handcarts could be a more efficient and less costly form of travel than covered wagons for those poor, early emigrants.
Most of the 3000 emigrants who used handcarts between 1856 and 1860 made it safely to their destination. However history, understandably, has focused on two groups that endured inconceivable suffering after starting late in the season and encountering early winter storms in Wyoming. In October, 1856 hundreds of members of the Willie and Martin companies died of hunger, exhaustion and exposure in an episode that has achieved near hallowed status in the annals of the settlement of Utah.
The handcart saga remains a faith-promoting episode that inspires principles of dedication, endurance and dealing with adversity. It serves as a stunning example of the unimaginable hardships many early immigrants endured in their quest for a new life in the American west.
KSL honors the handcart pioneers in this sesquicentennial year of their memorable journey.
