Memoirs of John R. Young, Utah Pioneer, 1847Young, John R.
History
Memoirs of John R. Young, Utah Pioneer, 1847
Young, John R.
Latter Day Saint pioneers -- Utah -- Biography; Young, John R., 1837-
We crossed the road, pulled through the town, down the river two miles,
and stopped with William Bacon. They gave us their best room and bed,
and Tamar rested comfortably for two days. Again in the night, an
unseen power said to me, "Move on." Tamar's body was sore; but I knew
the road was sandy and free from rocks, and she said she would rather
go than be arrested. We crossed the river in Brother Bacon's field, and
followed an old wood road up a sandy hollow, until we struck the main
road.
Just before reaching it, we saw the tops of three wagons passing.
They drove to the ford near the store, and camped. They had scarcely
unharnessed when Armstrong and McGary drove up. The freighters assured
them we were not on the road, as they were direct from Green River and
had met no one.
The officers then wheeled and took the road for Hall's Ferry. Twenty
miles out they met Dan Dalton, who assured them we were not on that
road. They then returned to the store and questioned Sister Jorgensen,
threatening to arrest her unless she would tell them where we were;
but she maintained stoutly that she had not seen Mrs. Young, and knew
nothing of her whereabouts.
When the marshals first reached the store, twenty minutes' drive would
have taken them to us; but when they came back from a forty-mile run,
their team was exhausted. They offered fifty dollars for the use of a
fresh team; but no one in. Hanksville wanted the money, and to this day
I have a warm spot in my heart for those good people.
The day we left Brother Bacon's was full of painful anxiety to Bishop
Wright and myself. The sand was deep, and our loads heavy; we had to
move slowly, walking by the side of our teams and resting every few
rods. These, however, were minor troubles; the atmosphere was full of
apprehension and danger. From the top of every ridge we looked back,
expecting to see our enemy coming; and I had determined that Tamar
should not be dragged into court if I had power to prevent it.
Our wives were innocent of crime; they were virtuous, honest, bashful
girls, unused to public life. In their innocence and spiritual
devotion, they had trusted us for guidance and protection; and I was
not going to see my wife slurred and brow-beaten by a profligate
lawyer, nor humiliated by a missionary judge. We might suffer by
flight--and we did suffer more than my pen can tell; as a matter of
fact, Tamar suffered for years from the effect of the accident she met
with--but we escaped arrest, and there was comfort in that. I had never
felt that the road to exaltation was through the Utah penitentiary;
I did not owe Uncle Sam a cent; and I certainly did not want to be
honored by wearing the uniform of his boarding house. One more incident
and then I am done with the marshals.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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