The Ellsworth and McArthur companies both arrived jubilantly in Great Salt Lake City the same day, September 26. A brass band and Brigham Young himself, along with hundreds of others, gathered at the mouth of Emigration Canyon and welcomed the handcart companies with hymns and a feast. The entire population considered the handcart an overwhelming success and a viable means of transporting thousands of less-privileged Mormons. Captain Ellsworth had succeeded in leading the company through with fewer deaths and problems than a normal ox train. He had also walked with and courted both Mary Ann Bates and Mary Ann Jones, who he would soon marry and bring to his home. There already was an earlier wife named Mary Ann Dudley.

The third handcart company to make the trek was under the direction of Edward Bunker, a veteran of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War. It arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on October 3, 1856, which was considered to be late in the season for such travel. Any train leaving Florence later than the end of June was risking tragedy in the Wyoming passes.

With the arrival of Bunker’s company, three handcart companies had made the crossing with minimal losses, in record time and for considerably less cost than a normal ox train. The timing could not have been better for the last company to arrive, as it was only two days before the semiannual general conference of the church. In the old tabernacle, now replaced by the famous domed oval structure, President Brigham Young would publicly give thanks for bringing more travelers to Zion and out of ‘Babylon.’ However, Brigham’s elation would soon be dashed with the news that more than 1,000 handcarters were struggling through blizzards in Wyoming on the verge of starvation and death.

The initial delay of these two companies occurred because of two late-arriving vessels from Europe. Thorton arrived June 26 in New York, and Horizon July 8 in Boston, with a combined total of 1,620 passengers. It would be several weeks before these emigrant groups reached Iowa City–later than most experienced frontiersmen would dare to attempt the trek.

The church agents in Iowa City were not at all prepared for the unexpected arrival of some 1,600 converts. They hastened to make contracts to buy and build handcarts, but because of the short notice, only green lumber could be obtained.

The lateness of the year concerned several of the brethren, but with faith in God and their leaders the fourth handcart company left Iowa City July 15. Captain James G. Willie led his company of 500 people, 120 handcarts and five wagons west toward Zion. On July 26, Edward Martin followed suit with 576 people, plus 145 handcarts and seven wagons.

Willie arrived in Florence (Omaha), Neb., on August 11 and rested for repairs and restocking provisions. While at Florence, some of the pioneers began to voice concerns about the lateness of the year, the long march ahead, the low provisions on hand and the constant need for repairs of the handcarts because of the green lumber used in their construction. William H. Kimball and George D. Grant, two of the agents from Iowa, were on hand to press the travelers on to Zion. Many felt that they would rather risk the dangers on the Plains than spend a winter in a dugout on the Missouri River.

One strong voice opposed the continuation of the march. Experienced plainsman Levi Savage argued that it was far too late in the year; there were too many women, children and elderly mixed in the group; and the handcarts would not endure the rigorous trail. A vote was taken, and Savage was the only dissenting hand. The other leaders were determined to make it to Zion. The Lord would calm the winter winds and provide sufficient game to feed the company. Savage nobly cast in his lot with his fellow Mormons by saying: ‘Brethren and sisters, what I have said I know to be true; but seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you, will help you all that I can, will work with you, will rest with you, will suffer with you, and if necessary I will die with you.’

Thus, the members of the Willie handcart company departed Florence on August 18 with a prayer in their hearts and singing a marching song some anonymous Mormon had composed: ‘For some must push and some must pull/As we go marching up the hill/As merrily on the way we go/Until we reach the Valley, ho.’

As the Willie company left, the Martin company was arriving at Florence. Then on August 21, Apostle Franklin D. Richards arrived from his mission in England. Richards strongly encouraged the emigrants to make the trip and rely upon the providence of God. Richards, putting more faith in God and ignoring the realities of the American frontier, fortified the emigrants in their desire to winter in the Great Salt Lake Valley. The people were almost intoxicated in their belief that they would be preserved if they manifested their faith and followed the counsel of their leaders.

Richards, Grant, Kimball and the other missionaries boarded faster moving horse teams and carriages and headed for Utah. A few days later, they passed the Willie company at North Bluff Fork and again exhorted the pilgrims to their goal. Richards, for some unknown reason, bought a few dozen buffalo robes at Fort Laramie and asked that they be held for the handcart ‘Saints.’ Why he did this was never explained and was out of character with his earlier attitude and his expressed belief that the companies would have no trouble crossing the Plains.

Resupplied and rested, the Martin company was ready for its long march to the Salt Lake Valley. Each cart had an extra 100 pounds of flour–communal provisions and not just for the particular party that provided the space. As dawn broke on August 25, the last handcart company of 1856 lined up in Florence and began its trek to the promised land.

The Martin company was not, however, the last group to leave for Utah. On September 2, W.G. Hodgett with 33 ox wagons and John A. Hunt with 50 wagons, having 385 Mormons between them, started their own march. Of course, the wagon travelers would have an easier journey, riding most of the way and carrying more supplies; however, it was seriously late in the season even for wagons.

As the handcart companies progressed across the Plains, the dull routine of camp life continued. Each morning, the dreaded bugle signaled the beginning of another day of toil and sore feet. After the evening prayers, the bugle announced time for the company to retire. During the first few weeks, a musician or two would join in to get the people to dance and enjoy an evening of music and fun; then, as their feet and muscles became more and more sore, the people had little time or energy for dancing.

Predictably, the calamities of frontier travel first claimed the weak and the old. But there also were happier moments, as when the Loader family celebrated one day with a newborn.

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