Devil's Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy [Paperback]

This book provides an important perspective on one of the greatest horrors of the settlement of Utah.

My great-great-great grandmother was a member of the Hunt wagon train that trailed the two hand cart companies that are the focus of this book. She died a day before the remains of her family arrived in Salt Lake City in December, 1856. Three of her children died along the trail. Two others arrived seriously frostbitten. All available evidence suggests that the surviving family members remained true to the Church. But it is hard to believe that the family would have made the trek from England to Utah had they had any realistic notion of what awaited them.

My grandfather was a man of faith, a good Mormon, who lived his entire life in Utah; all of it with a serious attitude about the leadership of the LDS church. I have often wondered about the roots of his somber hostility toward higher ups in the Church, whom he generally regarded as feckless fancies more concerned with appearance than truth. I find this same strain of disgust in the attitudes of my uncles. In my family, there is great appreciation and affection for everyday people who live in the understory of the the Mormon hierarchy, and very often a generally accepted bitterness toward Church leadership, in word and manner.

I have long suspected that the strain of deep bitterness evident in the family had its roots in a deep sense of great injustice sometime in the past. This book may provide the answer.

The stories my grandmother shared about the horrors of the last emigration of 1856 were honest yet focused on faith and enhancing understanding and appreciation for the hardships suffered by our ancestors. There was never mention that the suffering was caused in large measure by the bad decisions of Church leadership.

I've read dozens of accounts of the emigration of 1856. This book matters. It is the best yet.

The author writes with a profound respect for the humanity of all involved, but also with a clear head about the causes and consequences of terribly flawed decisions.

When I take people to the mouth of Emigration Canyon and relate the story of my great-great-grandmother who arrived there, "dead in the wagon," I will look at the men on the top of the great monument there with respect, but not with the reverence that is commonly promoted. I will also wish for them the fruits of their faith - the opportunity to face the souls of the good people who didn't make it to Salt Lake in 1856 for all eternity - as equals.

Devil's Gate by David Roberts proves to be a well written account of the Mormon Handcart expeditions. Although the handcart expeditions constituted only about 10% of new Mormons coming into Utah Territory during this period, the legends and mythology of the trials and suffering of the members of these handcart expeditions make them a near demi-gods to Mormon historians. The book explained very well the essence of these handcart expeditions and their history.

However the key elements of this book lies in the Willie and Martin Handcart expeditions, both handcart trains that left on their journey to Utah Territory late in the season and how they were caught in the on-coming winter storms. Over 200 Mormons died due to exposure, weakened by lack of food, clothing and burdened with physical and mental hardship. The author's intent was to proved that these deaths did not have to happened and could have been preventable. Once more, the deadly finger of blame lies toward the leadership of the LDS Church who created the handcart expedition plan for that year. Brigham Young, ultimately stand in the center of this since he was the leader of the Church, helped initiate and plan the handcart expeditions. Thus as the leader, the buck stops with him. The blames can equally be shared with lower level of Mormon command structures, the elders who shared Young's plans and encouraged by his mindset. They encouraged Willie and Martin handcart companies forward into the wilderness. The people who made up these companies were just new arrivals from England, knowing nothing of the terrain they were about to go over nor the weather they could be expecting. They relied solely on their American Mormon breathens and the leadership from Salt Lake City that took them this far. They were sorely let down by all of them.

Still, this is an amazing story of courage and valor that would make anyone proud. The book is very descriptive of their activities, relying greatly on journals and notes of the people involved. Despite of the hardship, despite of deaths, they never give up, and even after they were rescued, they never blamed a soul for their suffering. They were the true heroes of the story. I am sorry to say that I can't say much about the people who sent them on nor the leadership in Salt Lake City that urged that mindset.

Overall, a great history book that tell a story that needed to be told. Its scattered the mythology created by the modern day Mormons regarding the Willie and Martin handcart expeditions that highlights their rescue but not the reason why they needed rescuing. And its a great book for anyone interested in American western history as it shows that not all wagon trains were pulled by four-legged animals.

I am afraid, those of the LDS faith will probably have troubles with this book. While the book talked highly of Mormons of Willie and Martin handcart companies, it does not talk very highly for the Mormon leadership at any level. Brigham Young defenders will not doubt go up in arms by his portrayal in this book. Others may go up in arms because the author mentioned Will Bagley quite a few times. I think for a Mormon, Bagley and Sally Denton are the anti-Christ of their faith based history.

Still for the rest of us, this is an easy to read, highly interesting and quite educational book that should be an eye-opener for many.

I found Devil's Gate absolutely fascinating! I had never heard of the Handcart Migration, and to discover that the tragedy that befell the handcarters exceeded the suffering of the far-more-famous Donner Party was a revelation. The author does a great job of fleshing out the individuals whose story he tells, from the Mormon leaders down through the handcarters themselves, including children. I especially liked the end of the book, when the author visits the important sites of the migration, and even pulls a handcart himself - a modern replica, much better engineered and built than the originals, and still an almost indescribably difficult mode of travel. I thought his account was very well balanced between admiration and crticism, and between the basic facts of the historical story and the very moving human experience he relates. A real page-turner, and an absorbing story that very much deserves more widespread recognition. Highly recommended!

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