The poor man continued to grow worse, and it soon became evident that he must die. One morning, when the train was ready to start, the Captain came to the tent of the sick man, and finding him dying, said to Mrs. Chapman, "Your husband must die; leave him in the hands of God, and proceed on your journey." "What!" said the heart-stricken woman, "leave my husband on this barren waste, a prey to wolves? No; while there is breath in his body, I shall remain by his side, and share his fate. Leave us if you will, for the wild beasts of the desert cannot be more cruel than you have been." In five minutes more, he breathed his last; and throwing him into a hole dug in the sand, they dragged the weeping wife and children from all they held dear on earth. In a few days the same woman left her baby, too, on the sands of the desert, a prey to wolves. She says, "I never see Franklin D. Richards, but I feel hand-carts from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet."
One day, as they approached their Mecca, an old white-haired saint said to the Captain, in a weak voice,--"Captain, I feel as if I should die, drawing in this hand-cart; can't I ride a little while?"--"Draw till you die then," replied the hard-hearted wretch, "for I'll be d----d if you can ride." "Oh, well," said the old man, "I suppose I shall draw till I die." He took out his watch. "A quarter of four. It will soon be over. Ten minutes. Oh dear; oh, my God! Five minutes to four,--four;"--and the old man fell down in his place,--he was dead.
Every day witnessed the death of large numbers by cold and starvation. Those who survived were more like walking skeletons than human beings. They were covered with vermin, and loathsome to behold. Some were so badly frozen that their flesh fell from their bones. Many remained disabled for life.
"Oh Religion! what crimes are perpetrated in thy name!" When Mormons speak of the hand-cart company, they shudder and grow pale. All this suffering was the result of an attempt, on the part of the leaders of the church, to save a still larger sum from the emigration fund. It was a speculative experiment, which was never repeated. These people bought their carts with their own money; but on their arrival in Salt Lake, the carts were claimed by Brigham, in behalf of the church, and were afterwards sold from the tithing-office at five dollars each.