Hyrum North Trek 2016

"Father let mother have a little bigger part of the half ration. This shortage of food, together with having the three children with everything else we had in the handcart, made it too heavy for him to pull alone. In this hungry and also nearly worn-out condition, I have never forgotten how when I, a nine year old boy, would be so tired that I would wish I could sit down for just a few minutes how much good it would do to me, but instead of that my dear, nearly worn-out father would ask me if I could not push a little more on the Handcart.

"I will never forget how hungry I was all the time. When one of the teamsters, seeing two Buffalos near the oxen, shot one of them and the meat was divided among the whole handcart company. My parents also got a small piece which my father put in the back end of the handcart. That was in the forepart of the week. He said that we would save it for our dinner next Sunday. I was so very hungry all the time and the meat smelled so good to me while pushing at the handcart, and having a little pocketknife, I could not resist, but had to cut off a piece or two each half day. Although I was afraid of getting a severe whipping after cutting a little the first few times, I could not resist taking a little each half day. I would chew it so long it got perfectly tasteless. When Father went to get the meat on Sunday noon he asked me if I had been cutting off some of the meat. I said "yes," that I was so hungry that I could not let it alone. Then instead of giving me the severe scolding and whipping he did not say a word but started to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"As we had so little to eat I wondered why they did not shoot more Buffaloes when there were herds of many thousands traveling the opposite direction from which we were traveling. I afterwards learned that it was awfully dangerous to shoot into a big herd as they were easily stampeded and when stampeded they would run over emigrants or anything in their way. The morning that the one was shot there were only two separate from the herd near the oxen."

- Hyrum North Stake 2016 Trek History Committee