The B.S. Kimball sailed from Hamburg with 558 persons (mostly Scandinavians), with Anders Winberg in charge. The Belle Wood sailed from England with 636 persons with William Shearman in charge. The Mexicanna brought 47 persons from South Africa with Miner G. Atwood in charge. 31 others came on two other ships.
Pixton (age 46), returning from a mission to England, landed in Castle Gardens with his luggage expecting the railroad cars the next day; five days later his group went to St. Joseph by way of Albany and Niagara Falls, through Chicago and Quincy and arrived at Wyoming, N.T. (June 14). They stayed 8 weeks [other immigrants waited 2-6 weeks] while there was lots of sickness as they waited for Brother Taylor to come. Taylor arrived in July and outfitted the train, buying wagons and three yoke of cattle to each wagon. Maria Lofdahl Andelin paid $71 for the overland trek, but the ocean fare had only been ten dollars less. Peter Nielsen wrote that the cost of wagons was $200/each and a yoke of oxen cost $150. A Dane (30 years of age) Lars Pedersen, who had disposed of his property in Denmark for $10,000 and had paid for about 20 persons to emigrate to Utah, was drowned and buried at Wyoming, N.T.
In previous years, the Church had sent 400-500 teams to the frontier to assist the emigrants to Utah, but this year, no teams were sent out. Brother Taylor, emigration agent, who was bringing merchandise to Salt Lake City for his own store, wanted to help the Saints and was willing to include them in his company. One record states that he brought about one-third of the people who could not have made it in the States at that time. [Note: it is not clear from the record if this number of persons are included in Atwood’s group, or not.]
Atwood wrote in his journal that 11 Danish wagons were without oxen and good teamsters when they left Wyoming, Nebraska (July 31). Atwood said he was assisted with the Danes by Brother Walker and that Thomas Taylor and John G. Holman organized the company (Aug 1) with Anders Winberg, chaplain, and Taylor as captain of the guard. Atwood was assisted with the Danes by Brother Walker. Walker reported to Atwood that when he left Wyoming, N.T. (Aug 3) sickness was raging. Peter Nielsen also noted that of the large group of Scandinavians (484), 73 persons had died before they reached Salt Lake City.
Albert Wesley Davis (age 25), a down-and-back teamster for the Church, was placed in charge of 13 wagons in the Thomas Taylor mule train freighting merchandise overland to Utah. The train included Danish emigrants. Davis was in charge of the mule teams and Atwood was in charge of the ox teams.
The most serious problems began at Ft. Laramie, first with soldiers, then a few miles west with Sioux Indians. Finally, they had to be rescued with food and relief teams from the valley. Davis became a hero and saving force against the Sioux at Cottonwood Hollow, where Jenssine Grundvig was kidnaped, 7 Danes were wounded (including Jenssine’s husband) with arrows, but the cattle and another woman were saved.
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