...and walked and walked."

Remember that cheerful little song?

Yeah, right, I'm sure they sang all the way to Utah...

More likely, they were not happy campers. More likely, they complained as they walked and walked and walked...

"But I'm tiiiired! I wanna go back hoooome! I liked it there better. I miss the cat. Why'd we have to leave, anyway?"

"Shssh, honey, I've already told you a hundred times. The prophet had certain needs, on account of his great libido, and that made some people angry and now heavenly father wants us to walk 2,000 miles through bad weather to show him that we love him."

"But whyyyyy? Why did the prophet have a great bedildo, anywaaay?"

"Hush, you'll startle the rattlesnake. It's libido, not bedildo."

How about, "Mommy, I feel cold all over. Please make it better!"

What a tragedy, doing that to children. I wonder how many children died in the Willie and Martin handcart companies?

“Mom, she’s touching me!”

“Are we there yet?”

"Mom, Uncle Malachi is touching me!"

Clever and entertaining thread.

Children are the best and certainly miss no punches in telling it how they see it.

"Mommy, I really, really, really don't like this new religion. My prayers are never answered. I prayed and prayed that I could just go back to my old home and my best friend. I prayed and prayed that we would not have to walk and walk and walk so much and eat the same stupid thing every single day. I just want to see Liza again. I miss her so much. Mommy, wake up. You fell asleep again when I wanted you to hear what I was saying. No, I won't be quiet....I want you to hear me!"

Children were seen but not heard then.

They worked hard, like their parents did to make their lives.

Regardless, without pioneer parents, this country would not have become the United States of America.

In all honesty, we owe those pioneer parents (and their children,) a big debt of gratitude.

I thought you were going to talk about child labor. Make America great again.

We worked potato harvest each fall before combines took over manual labor. We'd get a two week fall "harvest vacation" from school so we could bust our chops off picking spuds for two or three cents a bag. That was child labor for you!

The task masters would walk past us telling us to work harder, lol. Yeah, we were slaves alright. And from our measly earnings we paid a full tithe.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2018 10:11AM by Amyjo.

...I wonder if there will be a time when much of what was lost; in terms of the strength and fortitude of those pioneer people, will be once again be required to survive whatever is ahead for us, as a society?

Potato harvest was only ONE of the things we did from end of school into the following winter. I swore I would never marry a farmer. I almost did. I should have.

I was dating the farmer after I found out my boyfriend was gay. Then my gay "friend" decided he was afraid I'd marry the farmer, so decided to get married. Farmers are great men.

I "picked spuds" several times during my growing up years. It was such back breaking work and I remember we wanted to get 100 gunny sacks a day at least. Then we would earn $6 each! I think about young people now days and know there is no way they would do such work.

Oh, heck no. I doubt I would either given a choice.

:)

Only because the right spud picking app hasn’t been invented yet. The dirt under the fingernails is the tricky part.

It's even worse!

In the book, "Devil's Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy" it is explained that since the children were slower they would send the children out early by themselves across the plains. As I recall it would include children as young as 5 or 6.

I could not finish the book.

That doesn't sound too bad! You know, after a big dinner, a long night's sleep, then a big breakfast, and off they'd go, a on a jolly little hike, til time for lunch, and then maybe a nap!

The GAs would come by with a horse and buggy and eat a big dinner the handcart company provided, and off they'd go to SLC or back East. I had a relative in the Martin Handcart Company.

What you have all written is certainly true. In the Bible those who left Egypt got tired and many wanted to return! I would imagine that all were told of the impossibility of going back because they would be attacked by indians, etc. and have no food if they left.

BTW, when some of my ancestors - especially my grandfather - were in the west they returned to the east. Some of my relatives were much earlier to the west than the Mormons. One of them actually settled in what is now Colorado in the 1820s. He is noted in some histories as the first settler in what is now Colorado (obviously not including the indians). Interestingly, he married four daughters of the indian chief where he settled.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2018 02:10PM by rhgc.

I think of the poor Pilgrims and Quakers who came to America so they could practice their religion without persecution by their government.

They started from scratch aka nothing.

Sorry for the late reply but the Pilgrims were free to practice their religion in Holland but felt they were losing the English customs. I am descendant of them as well as having a puritan ancestry and a Quaker ancestry as well as Welsh and French ancestry...and Scottish Presbyterian ancestry.

We're probably related, rhgc. We share some common ancestry strains. Some of mine came over early also (way way back in the early Americas, like 1500's and on.) Have Welsh, French, Scottish and a mix of most western European w/concentration from Great Britain/Ireland/Scotland/Wales.

If we could go on the Wayback Machine, I doubt first that I'd survive the trip. And then second, survive the lives that our ancestors had to suffer through. They had it much worse than we do.

Once again

B U L L S H I T S K I!!!

It's a common thing in many cultures to tell myths of exceptional, heroic, perfect people to inspire/shame the young ones to not be the self-centered whiners they are.

"The pioneer children didn't complain, so shut up!"