A Force to Be Reckoned With

I'm reading 111 Days to Zion, by Knight and Kimball just for kicks, and I learned a couple of interesting things today. William Clayton (who wrote "Come, Come, Ye Saints" and a trail guide for immigrants), wasn't even planning on being part of the vanguard company. He was laying in bed with a toothache, and was told he had 30 minutes to get ready to head west. He had no wagon, and became a passenger in Heber C. Kimball's wagon.

Now for the explanation of the title of this post: There were 3 women who came along in the first company. There were really only supposed to be 144 men (12 to represent each of the 12 Tribes of Israel), but Harriet, the wife of Brigham Young's younger brother Lorenzo, insisted on coming along with Lorenzo, or HE wouldn't be going. Apparently she had plenty of pull, because she was included in the company. It was determined that one woman couldn't travel alone with a company of all men, so one of Brigham Young's wives and one of Heber C. Kimball's wives also came along. Harriet also insisted on bringing two children. One of the men dropped out after only a few days, so that is how the company ended up with 143 men, 3 women, and 2 children.

During the first 2 weeks on the trail after leaving Winter Quarters, the leaders went back and forth to Winter Quarters constantly to pick up supplies and meet missionaries coming back from Great Britain. They also went back to pick up $500 worth of scientific instruments that John Taylor brought from England. These included barometers, sextants, and a telescope, among other things. Five hundred dollars would have been a princely sum in those days, especially since these people had virtually no cash. Interesting stuff.