Mary Ann Smith McNeil: With Her Parents From England to Brooklyn to St. Louis to Utah

"Mother has told me many times how the saints had suffered while they were crossing the plains. Many times they were delayed by the Indians driving away their ox teams and cattle and many times delayed on account of storms, sickness, and deaths. The following are a few incidents she told me about:

There was a young lady in the company that mother was in whose name was Mary. Everyone called her Moll. Other than being a little fat, she was a very pretty, healthy looking girl with nice rosy cheeks. She had a pleasing personality and was always pleasant looking. Oft times while on the plains, she would get quite sick. She couldn't walk and keep up with the others so she told the Captain. They were afraid if she couldn't keep up, the Indians would pick her up. The Captain ordered her to ride on one of the wagons that wasn't so heavily loaded. Some of the younger folks would make fun of her and say that if they were as big and fat as Moll, maybe they could ride to Zion. She took their teasing in good part, but Mother said she could see that it made her feel bad. Mother had taken a liking to Moll and would always give her a cheerful greeting whenever she saw her. She often wondered why such a healthy looking girl should be so sick.

One morning, the people were about a mile or so ahead before the wagons started out. When the wagons caught up to them and were passing them, Moll gave Mother a very pleasant good morning. Before noon, she had died of heart trouble, while sitting in the seat of a wagon. That noon they had to stop and bury her. Mother said that this always taught her a lesson that no matter how well and healthy a person looked, they could still be sick. It also taught the younger people a lesson who had made fun of her.

Whenever anyone died, they would have to stop and bury them. If anyone had large dry good boxes with clothes in them, they would have to take their clothes out so the boxes could be used for a casket. Any sheets or pillow cases, etc., that could be gathered went to bury the dead. The men were buried in their shirts, pants and socks. When they held the funeral, they would sing and pray and dedicate the grave.

There was one man in the company who was sort of a blacksmith and was quite handy, at carving on iron or boards. Therefore, if they had any boards, or could get poles and split them, they would use them for headstones. After the pole had been hewn as level as possible on both sides, this man would carve the names and dates of birth and death on the headboard.

Whenever they came along a creek or river where there were trees, they would cut a few down for poles and drag them behind their wagons with pieces of rawhide, so in case they would need them if their wagons broke down.

Mother has often told how terrible sand and wind storms would come up. Frequently while traveling, the wagon wheels would sink half way up to the hubs in sand. Often, as soon as they left their camp grounds and were again on their journey, they would have to be on the lookout for buffalo chips, because of scarcity of fuel. At that time of the year, buffalo chips were getting scarce. Mother has stated that many times they would run races to get a chip. Some of the women would gather them in their bonnets and others would take off their petticoats and carry the buffalo chips in them. The reason for this was that they had to gather them while they were traveling, in order to obtain enough fuel to build a fire. She has often stated that many times they would break a chip in two to divide with their neighbor, because the chips were so scarce. Usually three or four families would go together and build one fire because of scarcity of fuel.

The flour they had to make their bread and Johnny-cakes with got wet and mildew so that they had to eat moldy bread. Mother said that many times she could not eat the bread that had been cooked over the fires made of buffalo chips, because the smoke would scent the bread. Some of the Saints had bake ovens and could bake their bread in them. Others were less prepared for the journey and because they had no bake ovens, would have to boll their bread in a camp kettle.

When they camped for the night, the first team would drive around and the next one would drive up behind it so that the tongue would be pushed under the first wagon. This was continued with all the wagons until a circle was formed The women and children were ordered to stay inside the circle of wagons to protect them from the Indians, because the Indians would come down at any time of the night. They would appoint so many men each night to stand guard outside and inside of the circle of wagons to protect them from Indians and buffalo stampedes.

Oft times when they were camped for the night and supper was over, they could hurry and get their clothes washed if they were close by a creek or stream of water. One big camp fire was built to heat the water on and all those who were going to wash could heat their water on this fire. Not all washed their clothes at a time, just a few. Sometimes they would have to wash off the wagon wheels and hang their clothes on them to dry. They also used the bows of the wagons to hang clothes on. Sometimes they were near willows and trees and would hang their clothes on them to dry.

Often after their days journey, if they were not too tired, some of the men who had brought their violins would play while the others danced. They danced square dances and taps. Sometimes they would hold camp meetings. Some of the missionaries and other good speakers would be called on to preach the Gospel. They would sing songs of Zion such as: Come, Come Ye Saints; We Thank Thee, Oh God, For a Prophet, and others that were sacred to them.

On one occasion the company had to travel extra distance in order to have grass and water for their cattle. They were fortunate indeed, for the scouts had located a lovely spot. The saints drew their wagons into position and camped beside a cool pleasant stream where there was plenty of shade trees, and enough grass for the cattle. It was a blessing to the Saints to have such a relaxing camp after the hard days trek on the plains during the heat of the sun. The stream was exceptionally cool and pleasant.

The men built a large fire in the center of the camp and of course there were a few smaller fires built by individuals. The women busied themselves with the regular camp duties of cooking, washing clothes, and various other things. The men took care of the cattle and horses to see that they were put to feed. They also milked the cows and did other tasks. They soaked the wagon wheels, greased the wheels that needed attention and completed the necessary repair jobs on wheels, wagons, harnesses for horses, yokes for the oxen, etc.

They were late getting camped and so dusk came fast. It was during the busy activities of the camp that a grief stricken mother called for help. She had been busy with her tasks beside the campfire. Though an attentive mother, her baby had suddenly crept away unnoticed. Unable to find it herself, members of the camp joined in the search. The Captain was notified. He called upon the scouts to search the nearby area outside of the camp.

Since the child (the sex of the child is not known for sure, but Mother seems to recall it as being a boy) could only crawl, it could not have gone far from camp. They searched for tracks of Indians. Not too far distance from camp, the scouts found the tracks of a mountain lion and those of the baby's near by them.

Night came on. Still they had found no further trace of them. Torches were made for the scouts and others helping in the search. They searched about in the darkness along the stream and the surrounding area some distance from the camp. They searched far into the night. To continue the search in the dark would be in vain. They may destroy any footprints of the animal that might furnish a clue to his whereabouts. It could frighten him so that he would hide until they would not be able to find him. This would mean that he would kill the baby. The Captain called the Saints together and asked that they pray for the life and safety of the child during the night and that they might be able to find it in the morning.

Early the next morning at the first rays of dawn, scouts and searchers again went out to look for the missing baby. Their prayers were soon answered. One of the men noticed something moving some distance upon the hillside. There was sort of a formation of rocks that made a place for a den. By it was a rocky ledge on which they noticed that the object they had seen moving was the lion. The lion would lie on his stomach with the baby between his paws. He would lick the baby and play with it like a cat plays with a mouse. Then he would let it crawl away from him for a short distance. He would then go after it, carrying it by its clothes, back to the original spot to play with. The men wondered how they could shoot the lion without killing or injuring the child. If it crept too close to the edge, it would fall off and be killed. If the child could not creep far enough from the lion, they could not shoot without killing it.

The Captain quickly counseled with the scouts and he ordered them not to fire until he gave the signal, but that they wait and pray that the Lord would let the child creep to a safe distance from the lion that they might be able to kill him without hurting the baby. He told them to all fire when he gave the signal so that if one shot missed, another would kill the lion. Soon the lion let the child creep away. This time it crept a farther distance than before. The Captain ordered to "shoot now". The men fired and the lion was killed. The baby was unharmed but very dirty and its clothes soiled. They returned the child to its mother and a prayer of thanksgiving was offered by the camp unto the Lord for His great blessing unto them for sparing the life of the baby. They counted it as a miracle.

When the Saints came to streams that had to be crossed, the men and women would all have to wade unless they were sickly. The children were allowed to get in the wagons and ride across. Father had to carry one of the little girls a good deal of the way (He carried Hannah, as Mary Ann was about 9 years of age). He was allowed to put her in the wagon when crossing a stream. A couple of times when he went to put the little girl in the wagon, he put her in first and then he crawled in himself. Some of the people asked him how he could get across the streams and not get his clothes wet. He said, "Why take your clothes off and tie them around your neck". Some of them got wise to what he was doing, and reported it to the Captain. The next stream they crossed, father put the little girl in the wagon and started to crawl in with her. He was very much surprised when the Captain gave him a switch with his quirt (a riding whip with a short handle and a rawhide lash ) and told him to get out and walk along with the rest, and not to let him catch him doing anything like that again. Mary Ann walked quite a lot of the way. She was often permitted to ride on the reach of the wagon ahead of the wagon Mother was in.

Mother has often mentioned how she learned to love the sun flower and how much it came to mean to her while crossing the plains and also throughout her life. She said there would be no sign of flowers of any kind over long stretches of desert. Then occasionally they would pass a lone sunflower and sometimes several sunflowers that would be growing along the side of the wagon road where the pioneers had gone before and where their horses and cattle had wet on the ground while passing and encouraged a sunflower or more to grow.

Sometimes when they were crossing a stream, the Indians would gather along the side of the river bank and say, "See white man go downstream." One time the saints were fording a river and two or three of the wagons were washed downstream, probably because of the light load. The Indians thought they would drown, but when they saw them come safely upon the bank, they shooped and hollered and rode their horses up and down the riverbank. The scouts always went ahead and found the fording places.

One day they had to make an extra long drive in order to get range for their cattle, which put them after dark. It clouded up and began to rain, making it hard for them to see the road. The guides had gone on ahead and knew they had to cross this stream. It was an extra hard stream to cross on account of large rocks in the bottom of the creek, and being on a mountainside. The teams were all waiting for the head teams to go across and lead the way. Men had lanterns and were standing on each side of the creek so they would know where to go. The oxen were tired and hard to handle and didn't like to go into the water. It was a very dangerous crossing. When the wagons started to ford the stream, the wagon ahead of the wagon Mother was in had run over some large rocks in the bottom of the stream, causing it to tip over. Before the men could get it tipped upright again, two little girls were drowned.

Mother prayed that they might cross safely over. The wagon she was in went safely over, but the wagon back of her also tipped over. She said that this was one time her prayers were certainly answered. They had to lay over the next morning and bury the little girls before they could continue their journey. She said the rain clouds passed by and the sun came up very beautiful and the birds sang sweetly as though they were singing a funeral song.

The saints had camped near the Platt River, eight miles west of Deer Creek on Nebraska territory. It was here that Mother gave birth to her fourth child at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 10, 1862. They named her Lucy D. Platt. Lucy after the Prophet Joseph Smith's Mother, D. stood for Deer Creek and Platt after the Platt River, as the Saints had camped between the Platt River and Deer Creek and it was here that she was born.

Mother was awful sick while crossing the plains and father had to hold her many times to keep her from fainting.

They arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 5, 1862. They lived for awhile with Father's half brother, John Dale. It was here their baby, Lucy D. Platt, died on October 5, 1862, about two weeks after they arrived. All the money they had when they arrived was a bit which is 12½ cents. The baby was buried in the Bountiful graveyard.

The Smith family lived but a short time with John Dale, then rented a log house. The following year, 1863, they moved from Bountiful to Porterville. They lived by what used to be called the old Fort at Porterville. Father had gone to work for one of his neighbors. Mother was sick and wasn't well enough to go to any of the neighbors, so she stayed in bed. After father had left, mother felt worried and uneasy as though something was going to happen. She prayed very earnestly to the Lord that he might protect her from any harm while father was away. Their home was a one room house, so that their kitchen and bedroom were one.

As she was laying there with her face toward the wall, she heard the door softly open, and someone enter. As she turned her head to see who it was her eyes met those of an Indian. She didn't move or say anything, .but just kept looking at him. He walked over towards her with his tomahawk raised above his head as though he was going to kill her. He said, "Ugh, you heap sick?" Mother nodded her head yes, but did not speak. He said, "Ugh, Huh," and walked backwards out of the door and closed it. She never saw him again. This was another time she felt to thank God for answering her prayers.

Another time, the saints saw dust rising along the hills and canyon roads. They wondered if it could be the Indians. They soon saw that it was. The Indians were all on horses, driving a large band of horses ahead of them. They were dragging their tent poles and began to shoop and holler. When they came down to the village, they began driving their horses in on father's hay and grain as he didn't have it fenced in. When father and a few of the other neighbors saw what the Indians had done, they sent to them and told them that they were not to do that, and started to drive their ponies out. The Indians became angry and wanted to fight. Father tried to reason with them and make them understand that their horses would eat white man's flour. The Indians kept following father around trying to get behind him and stab him in the back. He knew what they were up to, so he went over and stood with his back against a pole fence, and faced them until some of the other men could come to him.

He had his gun, but did not dare shoot because the Indians had their bows and arrows, and there were more Indians than white men and they were threatening fight. One Indian said to the other, "See Indian take white man's scalp and put it in post." Father said he thought he would have done it if some of the neighbors hadn't come.

The white men stayed on guard the rest of the day, but when they went back home, the Indians returned at night and turned their horses in and destroyed all father's crop.

I don't know what year the crickets and grasshoppers came, but I will enter the following incidents in this part of the history. When the crickets came, the people had to leave their work and fight them. The crickets were so large you would think them toads coming, only they were longer than toads. They would come in droves from one half to a mile wide. When the people would see them traveling towards the crops, they would spread the news and everyone would turn out and fight. They used sticks, clubs, ropes, shovels, hoes, and anything that came handy to fight them with. They would dig trenches about two feet wide as the crickets could jump at least one foot, and would jump over if the trench was not wide enough. The trench also had to be at least two feet deep. Some would set fire in the trenches and burn them, others would bury them. The crickets would come in quite straight droves; they would follow their leaders like sheep follow their leader. If they came to anything that was in their way, such as a house, they would not turn out and try to find their way around, but keep jumping and jumping until the ones from the back would pile upon the ones in front. Sometimes they would pile up until they were a foot deep. If the doors or windows were open, they would hop right in.

Another time, mother and father had received word some way or other that the grasshoppers were coming and were headed in the direction of their location and if they had any vegetables, to gather them and put them away so the grasshoppers could not get at them. The leaves and grass of the hills were all dried and the grasshoppers were hungry. They were in search of food and were traveling rapidly. Wherever they would light, they would eat everything ahead of them.

It was in the afternoon that father and mother had been warned and they were gathering their vegetables and putting them away. The sun seemed to go behind a cloud, and they thought it was a storm cloud passing over. When they looked up, they saw that it was a cloud of grasshoppers. Father ran with the vegetables to the cellar and turned to see if mother was coming. She had cabbages in her apron and was coming close behind him. He saw the grasshoppers come down like sparrows and told her to hurry--that they were lighting on her. She bent over her apron so that they could not get at the cabbages and ran as fast as she could. Father said they swarmed over her like honey bees would over a queen bee. Before she could get to the house, they had settled on her back and eaten the whole back of her dress out.

She said, "Oh cracky, I didn't know what to do and I had to put the whole back in my dress out of flour sack." One of her neighbor ladies had her clothes hanging on the line and before she could gather them in, they had eaten them all full of holes.

While living at Porterville, Sarah was born to them on October 16, 1864 and died three months later, January 10, 1865. William was also born at Porterville, Morgan, Utah, January 28, 1866.

While in Porterville, father worked mostly at farming and weaving. In 1866, about the fall of the year, they moved to Enterprise. They got along a little better this winter.

In 1867, they moved to Kaysville. While they were living here, father went in with his half brother (John Dale), to make brick. They had to go in debt for everything they got. They charged their groceries at the store, for which they had to sign a paper. Before the brick was burned, John left, leaving father to finish it alone.

John and his family lived well on the things they got from the store. They had plenty of good food and clothing. Father and mother said they would rather go a little saving and have a little money for the winter. She made the children go without shoes and proper clothing in the summer so they could have a little more to live on in the winter.

After John left, the people they were indebted to looked to father to pay the bills. The storekeeper brought his bill to father. Father told him he hadn't bought all those things and that part of the bill belonged to John, but because they were partners, father had to pay the bill. He had to let the people they owed take their pay in brick. They had nothing left for themselves after the brick was all hauled away.

Mother said she was so disappointed over their summer's work that she couldn't stop crying. While they were living here, father bought her a two bushel seamless sack which she used to keep her clothes in.

That fall, father worked out for different people, helping to harvest their crops. In the winter, they did weaving for a living.

John McNeil married Mary Ann Smith in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. John McNeil, age forty-five, married Mary Ann Smith, age fifteen, September 12, 1868.