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Description
One of the most dramatic events in American pioneering history is undoubtedly the Mormons' migration through the Great Plains and across the Rocky Mountains to the Great Salt Lake. Following fierce religious persecutions culminating in the murder of their first prophet, Joseph Smith, Latter-day Saints sought the "new Zion" and found it in the salt-desert of today's Utah. Their train was the first mass migration on the Oregon Trail, which is sometimes referred to as "Mormon Trail". To save costs and speed up the trek to Utah, the plan was to use wagons pulled by oxen or mules and simple, light handcarts pulled by the humans themselves and contained only the most necessary belongings. These handcart companies, often made up of immigrant Mormons from Europe, had unimaginable hardships. On foot, pulling the handcart behind them, they crossed the glowing plains, rushing rivers, rugged valleys, repellent mountains, braving the climatic extremes. Their train became a myth of the pioneer era. However, the flawless saga of the well-organized, Heroic Exodus into the Promised Land requires some corrections. In the autumn of 1856, one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of the Western migration occurred. An early, violent onset of winter in the rugged expanse of Wyoming revealed massive weaknesses in the organization and leadership of the handcart companies. Two-hundred and fifty people from the Willie and Martin handcart companies, who set off late contrary to the advice of national experts, lost their lives: They starved to death, died of frost, and died of exhaustion. Their fate is exemplarily and emphatically documented in this book.
Table of Contents
Vorwort
Hintergrund des Desasters
Der Handkarrenplan nimmt Gestalt an
Von England nach Iowa
Vorgeritungen für die Handkarrenpioniere
Die Willie-Handkarrenkompanie bricht auf
Die Martin-Handkarrenkompanie verläßt Iowa City
Die Willie-Handkarrenkompanie auf ihrem Weg von
Florence nach Fort Laramie
Die Martin-Handkarrenkompanie durchquert Nebraska
Die Rettungsaktion wird organisiert
Die Willie-Handkarrenkompanie in Wyoming
Die tragische Rettung der Willie-Kompanie
Die Martin-Handkarrenkompanie in Wyoming
Die Errettung der Martin-Handkarrenkompanie
Nachspiel
Bibliographie
Keywords
Mormon Trail, western migration, Mormon migration, Oregon Trail, Mormons, Willie and Martin handcart company, Utah
Language
German
ISBN
3-89510-040-4
Publication Date
1995
Rights
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
Copyright Status
© 1995 Verlag für Amerikanistik
College
Harold B. Lee Library