8 “Go We Must”

Perrigrine and his family—his two wives, two children, and parents—traveled across the plains to the Great Basin with the Big Company. Indeed, this company was big, composed of 1,489 persons who went west from Winter Quarters, Nebraska, in 1847, following the pioneer company of 148 persons that Brigham Young had led more than two months earlier. The Big Company was carefully organized into groupings of hundreds, fifties, and tens, though historical accounts aren’t clear about whether these groupings were of able-bodied men, wagons, or families. Daniel Spencer led the first hundred of the Big Company, consisting of 151 wagons and about 360 men, women, and children. In this first hundred there were 63 men and boys who bore arms and carried ammunition. Perrigrine Sessions was captain over the first fifty of Spencer’s hundred.

The Sessions family traveled under the leadership of Daniel Spencer to the Great Basin in 1847. Courtesy Church Archives.

Individual wagons left Winter Quarters as they were ready and traveled to the Elkhorn River, where they were established into companies and then continued on. Patty Sessions wrote on June 5, 1847: “We start for the mountains and leave winter Quarters . . . . We now leave many good friends here and I hope they will soon follow on to us I drive one four ox team go 4 miles camp Sunday 6 go 15 miles camp on the Pappy [Papillion Creek] 51 waggons Monday 7 . . . go 7 miles get to the horn [Elkhorn River] camp.”¹

Spencer’s group left the Elkhorn River on June 17 and 18, 1847, Perrigrine’s fifty leaving first. The second hundred, with 353 people and 131 wagons, left June 17 under the direction of Edward Hunter. Jedediah M. Grant led the third hundred, composed of 331 people and 100 wagons, beginning their journey on June 19. The fifth hundred, captained by Abraham O. Smoot had 100 wagons, 318 people and 500 animals, and also left on June 19. On June 21, Charles C. Rich started out with his company of three tens, with a total of 126 people in 25 wagons.²

Perrigrine’s company had 87 wagons, but thirty of those didn’t have drivers until women volunteered, including Patty Sessions. In 1890, Emeline Grover Rich recalled the following about women teamsters on the trail:

I think it was on the 14th of June <1847> that we (a number of large companies) started on our journey across the plains - some with cow teams, some with wild steers yoked with cows - while some had good, ox teams, and there were a few horse teams, and the beauty of this was, (If I may be allowed the expression) that of the teamsters of this motley outfit - there were 9 out of 10 who were girls, women, or children. I can but laugh now, when I look back upon that picturesque scene (for be it understood that I was one of those teamsters) and at the time it was no <laughing> matter but real, reality in the full sense of the term - Some there were who was equipped with big ox whip 6 or 8 feet long who I doubt not had never seen, much less handled a whip of this kind - and knew not gee from haw perhaps had been raised tenderly and who owing to scarcity of male members in our camp had to take the whip in hand and drive their teams - walking of course as they couldn’t drive their unbroke ox teams and sit in the wagon, else when they espied a spear of grass outside the road (of which there was but a faint track made by the pioneers) they would sometimes turn off and break the wagon tongue - all these things we had in our camps.³

Perrigrine recorded that his group was delayed by waiting for two pieces of cannon. His mother wrote on June 21, 1847, “The cannon and temple bell has come and sciff.”⁴ The next day she recorded, “Start 8 oclock AM we are organised to move five a breast the two cannons sciff and temple bell heading the midle line.”⁵ Moving five wagons abreast proved to be too cumbersome and was soon abandoned in favor of moving two abreast. Although the separate hundreds did not attempt to caravan, they did keep track of each other and at times joined forces to find lost cattle, to hunt, and to perform other duties.

The Saints had their challenges along the trail. One huge difficulty was keeping track of the livestock. Another was simply getting along with each other and making decisions that were fair.

Perrigrine shared with Parley P. Pratt one such incident that caused a disagreement between John Taylor and himself. Not giving a detailed description, Pratt wrote,

On one occasion Peregrine Sessions, who was captain of our company of fifty, and myself found two horses which had probably strayed from some former travellers, and which, after several unsuccessful attempts by different parties, Brother Taylor, succeeded in driving into camp, and he and I captured them. We were at the time ahead of the company, following up a stream to try and find a ford. This was a very timely providence to me, as I had lost all my horses the previous winter, and was now pioneering for the company without any horse, and on foot.⁶

Pratt saw the find as being fortuitous for him. Perrigrine mentioned finding the horse, but no disagreement about it. In fact, he reported how much easier it was to ride than to walk. His mother and descendants referred to it, as well. On July 8, 1847, Patty Sessions wrote, “found two horses PG was the first that saw them Br Pratt was with him Brs Pratt and Taylor caught them and kept them.”⁷ But out of this experience came a dispute that had to be settled through an action of the high council.

Perrigrine and Pratt first found the horses, but it was Taylor who successfully drove them into camp. The dispute arose when Taylor claimed ownership of one horse. Some time later, Pratt recorded, they met Brigham Young on his way back to Winter Quarters, and “A council was called, in which I was highly censured and chastened by President Young and others. This arose in part from some defect in the organization under my superintendence at the Elk Horn, and in part from other misunderstandings on the road.”⁸

John Taylor was a member of the first ten of the Edward Hunter company. Although it is hard to imagine that Perrigrine, who showed such reverence for Church leaders, would have challenged President John Taylor in a Church court, contemporary accounts record that he did.

While Perrigrine didn’t write much about the incident with the horse, he did note the group’s joy at meeting Brigham Young and others who were going back to Winter Quarters for their families.

After the conflict with Mexico ended in California, a confrontation ensued between Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearney and Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont, both of whom claimed the governorship. The federal government confirmed the appointment of Kearney, but Frémont insubordinately refused to submit to orders. Consequently, Frémont was scheduled for court-martial at Ft. Leavenworth. Because Latter-day Saint soldiers who served under Kearney were so loyal to him, he chose fifteen of them to act as escorts during the trek back east. Jeremiah Willey, a relative to Perrigrine by marriage,⁹ was one of the fifteen chosen and one of three who went by boat with the General from San Pedro Bay to Monterey, California.

The detachment left Monterey on May 31, 1847, by horse and traveled by muleback. Passing through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, they encountered the grisly remains left by the Donner Party, which had crossed Utah in fall 1846. Unfortunate circumstances caused the Donners to start late across the Sierras, and trapped by early snows, they became desperate, even cannibalistic. Kearney’s soldiers stumbled onto and stared first-hand at the horrid scene. Willey might have been one of five Mormons ordered to bury the bones and could have related some of the story to Perrigrine.

The soldiers reached Independence Rock,Wyoming, on July 27, where “Nathaniel Jones and several escorts, including Willey, asked for permission to ride ahead to meet another approaching company. Twenty miles east of Fort Laramie, they met . . . a large group of pioneers who had left Winter Quarters in June.”¹⁰ This group, which included Perrigrine, was still two months from its destination.

The escorts accompanied Kearney all the way to Fort Leavenworth, where they were each given $8.60 for their extra service, $75.00 severance pay, an issue of clothing, and were discharged.¹¹

In late September, Perrigrine’s group finally arrived at the Salt Lake Valley but not without difficulty. The Journal History for September 22, 1847, reported: “Captain Sessions’ fifty was divided so that each Ten could go by themselves. The Ten to which Capt. Sessions belonged camped on a fork of the Weber River, their wagons standing in the road.”¹² According to the Journal History, that same day a member of Perrigrine’s group, John Smith, the uncle of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Patriarch to the Church,¹³ wrote, “Cold morning John and Thomas have gone back to right up the wagon which was tipped over four miles back; we passed through a handsome grove of timber tall and straight.” The next day Smith recorded, “The morning was cold, ice one inch thick. We crossed a creek [East Canyon Creek] eight times in two miles and traveled over the worst road we have seen so far.” And on September 24, 1847,

Started early to go down the mountain. Crossed a bad stream a great many times and finally came out into a broad expanse of prairie which was a pleasant view to us. We could see the Great Salt Lake and the Fort of the Saints, and we felt to thank our Heavenly Father for preserving us to behold the scene before us.

Perrigrine’s wife Mary accompanied Perrigrine’s group on its trek, but little information is recorded about her. She must have lived in Sessions Settlement because she often came “down” to Salt Lake with Perrigrine or with him and Lucina, or with other family members. She and Patty Sessions visited with friends from time to time, and Patty mentioned her on numerous occasions, even recording that Mary spoke in tongues a couple of times. Mary washed and ironed, and she brought food to Patty when she was ailing. And in Mary’s last illness, she received her temple initiatory ordinances from Eliza R. Snow on October 22, 1865. Mary died a month later on November 25.

Of Lucina it has been written,

She was one of the best types of American womanhood; she did not look back, but looked upon life as something worth while for which to live. . . .

In 1858 she was counselor to Sister Elizabeth Barlow in the Relief Society where she served for 23 years. In 1883 Sister Barlow resigned and Sister Sessions was appointed to fill the place of president.¹⁴

Perrigrine did not go into lengthy details about the trek west, but his recitation of trail experiences gives information enough to illuminate existing accounts.

Perrigrine’s Memoirs

JUNE 1847

this [the flour] we got and got redy and started on the 5 of June 1847 my sister Sylvia and David started back to Ioway on the 9 of May this seamed to bee all most our last look at them in this world but to return to our journey at this time the Indians seamed to bee stured up against us and we dare not travil in small companies and had to keep up gards night and day this caused us much troub[l]e as men were scarse in camp as we were now six hundred men short in camp five hundred had gone to the Mexican war and over one hundred Poineers this left us with all most half the teams with out teamsters except females this was a sene of things that looked hard indeed but go we must at this cricess and under these circumstances and the God of Heaven only knew when our journey would end but with a chearful heart with the whole camp we roled out on to the trackless plaines with out a gide save the Allmighty whome we trusted in camped about five miles with about thirty wagons I was caled upon by P. P. Parley Parley P. Pratt to call out a gard for the night and untill otherwise directed this I done and in the morning severil wagons came up and we started with about forty wagons in my charg to see that all kept there places and were redy for any atack of the Indians made a good drive to a stream caled the Papeo [Papillion, Nebraska] camped againe in a storm of hale and raine thunder and litening the alarm was given that the Indians had scared the cattle all turned out and run after the cattle we followed them by the litening when it litened we could see them plaine and then for a moment all was dark here I had on shirt hat and shoes went some mile and a half and back got the cattle all safe in the morning built a bridg and crossed the stream and traviled to the Elk horn river this about thirty five miles found it very high and about one hundred and twenty feet wide here I selected ten men and left the rest in charge of the camp and went up the river some five miles got some dry timber built a raft to cross our wagons in too days we were all safe across at this time the wagons came as fast as we could cross them I then selected some fifteen men and went to build a Publick corell [corral] to put the cattle & in too days I had some ten acres [southwest of Fremont, Dodge County, Nebraska] well fenced I then raised a liberty Pole about seventy feet high with a white flag¹⁵ here the People gathered and Organized for there journey there was captins of Hundreads fifties and tens here I was apointed captin of fifty the first organised and in the company was Father John Smith the Patriarch of the whole Church & Parley. P. Pratt one of the Twelve after we were all Organised in my company was eighty seven Wagons and fifty men over fourteen [years old] and four hundred souls in all and four hundread head of stock here we had some thirty wagons with out a Man to drive them but the females volunteered to drive them my Mother was one of them this looked hard as we had no road there was six hundread and sixty wagons in all in camp here we had to wate for too pieces of canon that we had left this detained us severil days dureing which time we caught plenty of fish for my company here I found my self under a great responsibility to keep up gards and provide for other camp duties when the canon came Parley P Pratt with me and company were apointed to lead the whole camp this was another task as we had no roade only what we made here I was Oblige to direct allmost the move of the Whole camp Brother Pratt and I had to go [ahead] of the camp and that too on foot to hunt out the [road] build Briges hunt fords acrost the streams this exposed us to the Indians more then any other men but we had not traviled far before one day as we were some four miles a head of the camp we found each of us a fine horse one of them had sadle and Bridle on this gave us much joy and a thankful hart as we found it much easer to ride than go a foot I will say this was a Blessing of God to us when we reached the Platt[e] river we found fresh Indians tracks and the Body of a man or his bones that had been killed but too or three days but the wolves had eaten the flesh from the bones we gathered them up and Buried him and set up a sign by it this told us plane that we were in danger and put is [us] more on our gard but we proseedid on our journey killing some game when we got to the Loop [Loup] fork of the Platt river found it high and had to travil up some forty miles here we found a place to ford the river altho we had to drive all our cattle severil times acrost to tamp the quick sand so that we could cross our wagons the stream about one half mile wide this hindered us too days but all got safe over we then had about thirty five miles with out water over a sandy plaine in the after noon it began to raine this furnished us with plenty of water for the stock camped with out wood here we found plenty of Antilope killed severil continued our journey to Wood river this is a fine stream of water runing through a levil plaine and emptys it self into the Platt river here we found a sign of the Poineers and a letter that gave us much joy I will here say that once in a while we could find the traile of the Poineers here we found whare they had killed eleven Buffalow but no new sign of Buffalow saw but few Indians here we were amongst the Pauneiges [Pawnees] continued our journey to elm crick here we found Plenty of Buffalow here the camped all stoped to hunt I selected five men in my company and started about eleven Oclock and returned the next night with some twenty five hundread lbs of meet this cheared the camp continued our journey until near chimney rock when the cattle of one fifty took a stampeed and they lost many cattle they stoped the whole camp and I had to let fourteen yoke of Oxen out of my company this weakened our teams so that we could move but slow as our lodes were hevy and the cattle began to dy here we made slow headway when near Larime [Laramie] met Curnul Cane [Colonel Kearney?] from California with a bout forty men here we met Brother Jerry Miah Willey returning from the battalion or the Mexican War here we herd from the Poineers this gave us all much joy continued our journey to Ford Larime here we bought severil yoke of Oxen repared our wagons set tier &c found the Platt river very low so that we could ford it with out difficulty made our way over the black hills here we struck the old Californy road and we found altho a hilley roade that we could travil much easier yet our teams were worn out and many of the cattle dying and made slow headway here we left the Buffalow that we had used plenty of them for the last three hundread miles but the antilopes were quite plenty and we killed many of them this was great help to the camp for food ^this^ made our journey more agreeable altho it pased off slow had but few axidents one day as we were traviling one of Parley . P. Pratts children fell out of the wagon and the wheal run over the childs body and it was picked up for dead but too or three elders were caled and laid there hands on the child and it was made whole this is one among the many that was healed by the Ordinance of laying ^on^ of the hands¹⁶ we held metings on the sabath in our various companies and the Gifts of the Gospel atendid the camp in all our travils met with the Lamanites allmost daley but they seamed friendley and glad to see us when we arived at the uper crossing of the Platt we met severil of the Poineers on there way back after there families this gave us fresh courage altho our teams quite feble and hardley able to move the camp but by the blessing of God we continued our journey and met the first Presidency of the Church on a stream caled the little sandy here we caled a holt and they gave us a brief acount of the Valey with many instructions pertaining to the coarse that the camp should persue when we got into the Valey this was chearing to the camp as we had but about too hundread miles to travil before we could begin to build and inhabit altho in the midst of the wild men of the mountains yet our spirits were refreshed and it seamed as though our burdens were light altho we were worn out with the long and tedious journey when we got to the Big sandy there fell about four inches of snow this was the first of september and the wether cold the ground frosen some but after too or three days the wether turned warm and we were able to travil on the most of the saints were oblige to walk on foot and many with out shous but after a long journey of all most four months

Chimney Rock is a well-known geographical reference along the Mormon Trail. Many Saints camped near Chimney Rock on their journey to the Great Basin. Courtesy L. Tom Perry Special Collections, BYU, Provo, Utah, Frederick Piercy, Route from Liverpool to the Great Salt Lake Valley, 1854.

SEPTEMBER 1847

we landid in Great Salt Lake Valey on the twenty fourth of September 1847 all well and not a death had been while on the journey in my company of four hundread Souls yet severil children were born on the way[.]