Derek, who had stayed with his team through the excitement to keep them calm, left them now and pulled Joseph out of the wagon. “Take him to Lydia,” Nathan commanded. Derek nodded and started back. Savannah was coming forward to see what was happening. She stepped back so Derek could pass, reaching out to touch the boy’s hand. “It’s all right, Joseph. Your mama’s right back here.”
Nathan and Joshua now closed in on the two men, Nathan from one side of his team of oxen, Joshua from the other side. Matthew, who had also stayed at the head of his mules, came around from the front of the wagon. Benjamin stepped in behind Nathan as backup. Derek moved back to the head of his team, watching the developments but still needing to make sure his team did not spook.
“Why don’t you boys just move to the back of the boat and stay there until we’ve got these wagons unloaded?” Joshua said in a low voice.
The two men didn’t move, but their heads swung back and forth between Nathan and Joshua and there was fear in their eyes now. Finally, the one man spoke. “A bit touchy, aren’t we?” he muttered.
“You might say that,” Joshua said shortly. “Now, move!”
The man who had spoken dropped his eyes and pushed past Nathan, who stepped aside to let him pass. The second one stood his ground for a moment, his jaw working furiously as he chewed his tobacco. Then he swore under his breath and started to follow his companion. As he approached Nathan, who was now standing at the side of his yoke of oxen, the man turned and squirted a stream of tobacco juice between his teeth at the nearest ox. The foul-smelling liquid hit the animal squarely in the left eye. Stunned, it let out a bellow of pain and jerked its head around, nearly pulling its companion off its feet.
Nathan grabbed the man by the shoulders and slammed him around against the wagon wheel. But there wasn’t time for retaliation. The ox went wild in its traces, kicking violently, swinging its head back and forth, trying to escape the searing pain in its eye. The man jerked free of Nathan’s grasp and darted away.
Joshua leaped forward, grabbing at the yoke, trying to get the oxen under control. But both animals were bellowing and blowing, pawing wildly, throwing their powerful necks against the yoke in an attempt to free themselves. The one lifted its back leg, trying to kick free, and got tangled in the traces. Down it went with a crash, dragging the other one with it.
That jerked Nathan’s wagon around, its locked wheels skidding across the decking. Since Derek’s team of horses had their noses almost right up against the back of Nathan’s wagon, the sudden movement startled them. The one snorted loudly and reared up.
“Whoa, boy!” Derek shouted, leaping for its head and grabbing at the reins. Already frightened by the unsteady platform beneath them, the horses fought back, eyes rolling, snorting wildly, trying to buck. Now the flatboat was rocking sharply as the oxen and horses both fought to get free.
“Get their heads! Get their heads!” the captain was shouting. He didn’t dare abandon the rudder oar, since they were now only thirty or forty yards from shore and closing fast.
Derek fought the horse down again, hanging on to the harnessing. Nathan was having less success in controlling his animals. He grabbed at the horns of the blinded and crazed ox as it lunged to its feet again, dragging its yokefellow up as well. He was dimly aware of children screaming, the captain shouting wildly at him, the oarsmen running forward to help, Savannah standing just behind the wagon, ashen-faced and staring. But before he could bring the ox under control, the animal gave one massive yank of its head, bawling with pain. He heard something in the yoke snap and felt himself go flying.
“Watch out!” Joshua yelled.
As Nathan scrambled frantically to stop from pitching over the side of the boat, his feet tangled and he went down on the deck hard, slamming up against the sideboard. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the wagon slewing around as the oxen plunged forward. He rolled away, trying frantically to get clear. Slashing hooves came within inches of taking off his scalp. Then the front leg of one of the oxen hooked up and over the sideboard. That part of the boat was meant only to keep people from stepping off into the river, not to take the weight of a thousand pounds of wildly thrashing animal. The sideboard snapped like a twig and broke free. Down went the ox, its front legs plunging into the river. It would have been able to pull back except that the second ox, feeling the terrible yank of its teammate throwing its weight to the right, lunged now in the same direction. For one awful moment, the two oxen teetered on the edge of the boat, bawling and pawing for a grip with their back feet; then they toppled over the side, dragging the wagon with them as the steel-rimmed tires gouged great gashes in the planking of the flatboat.
As Derek had passed with little Joseph, Savannah had stepped back to let him by. Now, rooted to the spot in horror, she stood against the opposite sideboard. When Nathan’s wagon jerked around, the back end nearly sideswiped Savannah, and with a cry, she jumped back to get clear. The top of the sideboard caught her right at the back of her knees. She screamed, flailing her arms to try and catch her balance, then flipped over the side and hit the dark, icy water with a splash.
“Savannah!” Mary Ann screamed.
Joshua was on his knees, staring at Nathan across a now empty deck, making sure he was all right. His mother’s scream spun him around. All he saw was a flash of blue and the splash from a body hitting the water. In one mighty leap he was up and sprinting toward the spot. “Savannah!” There was a swirl of hair, a momentary glimpse of a terrified face, one hand clutching at the air. Like a madman, Joshua tore his coat off and flung it aside. He dove into the river, shouting her name again even as he hit the water.
It was like throwing himself against a stone wall. The shock of the icy water was so violent, so stunning, that for a moment he couldn’t get his breath. He groped wildly in the water around him. There was nothing. He opened his eyes, but the water was so dark and murky, he could see nothing. He kicked hard, shooting upward to break the surface. “Savannah!” It was a primal scream.
Benjamin leaped to the side of the boat. The women were screaming. Children were shrieking in terror. Derek was still fighting to get his team under control so they didn’t lose a second wagon. Nathan staggered to his feet, shaking his head in a daze. A moment later, Joshua broke the surface, gasping, looking around wildly. “Where is she? Where is she?”
Not waiting for an answer, he took in a huge gulp of air and went under again.
Benjamin leaned over the side, searching the swirling, muddy black water. There was nothing.
“Row! Row!” the captain was screaming. With the one sideboard off, water was gushing into the flatboat and the decking was already two inches under water. They were nearly to shore now, and the men there waiting were shouting at them. Several, including Solomon Garrett, leaped into the river and started wading out to help the boat come in.
Benjamin raced across to the other side of the boat. They were out of the main part of the current now, but the water still moved beneath them at a steady rate. The thought flashed into his mind that Savannah might have been swept beneath the boat. He stared down, frantically searching the water. There was a momentary flash of blue cloth, then it was gone again. It was enough. He never even thought to remove his heavy coat. Over the side he went, keeping his eye on the spot where the blue had appeared. Behind him he heard Mary Ann cry out, but it barely registered. He had one thought and one thought only. Get his hands out. Catch that blue dress. Hold on no matter what.
The shock of the cold made him gasp. Unfortunately, his body plunged deep into the water and when he gasped, he took in not air, but water. He tasted mud and felt the choking cold shoot down into his lungs. But he also felt his hands close on something soft. He clamped his fingers tight, sinking them into the cloth like an eagle clutching with its talons. In a moment he broke the surface and felt a thrill of elation to see Savannah’s face in front of him.
“He’s got her! He’s got her!” he heard someone above him shouting.
Choking, spitting, fighting desperately not to lose his grip, Benjamin started kicking his feet, moving toward the shore. Then he saw a head coming toward him. It was Solomon. He felt big hands brush past him and take the weight of Savannah from him.
“I’ve got her,” Solomon shouted. “Hold on to my coat, Father Steed. Swim!”
“I can’t,” Benjamin gasped. The weight of his coat made it seem like he carried a hundred pounds of flour on each shoulder. He couldn’t feel his hands now. His feet were a vague impression of pain and leaden weight somewhere far removed from him.
“Hold on!” Solomon shouted over his shoulder.
But Benjamin had already lost his grip on Solomon’s coat. He felt the current take him and turn him over. Down he went again, into the blackness. He fought it, kicking out, clawing with his hands. In a moment he saw light above him and thrust his head back, breaking out into air again.
“Benjamin!” It was Mary Ann, screaming out his name. He saw Matthew’s body arcing through the air, then heard a splash. He tried to turn his head to see, tried to raise an arm so it could be seen. But once again the current took him, pulling him down and down into its cold embrace.
Chapter Notes
Though the incidents in this chapter are shown as having happened to the Steed family, they are based on real events. On the ninth of February, the temple roof did catch fire about three-thirty in the afternoon. It was caused by someone drying temple clothes too close to a stovepipe in the upper room of the temple. Fortunately, it was seen immediately and the alarm sounded. Men came from all over the city and the fire was extinguished in about half an hour. It burnt a hole some sixteen feet long by ten feet wide in the roof. (See
HC
7:581.)
At the same time as the fire, a flatboat filled with wagons and Saints leaving Nauvoo was hailed by a passing skiff in danger of swamping in midriver. It was a man and two boys. Barely had the man and boys been rescued, when a person whom Brigham later described as a “filthy wicked man” squirted tobacco juice into the eyes of one of the oxen on board the flatboat. The animal, crazed with pain, kicked off one of the sideboards and dragged a second ox and the wagon into the river. Both oxen drowned. In the case of this actual incident, the flatboat sank a short distance offshore. The wagon was later recovered, though most of the contents were ruined. (See
HC
7:582; also “Journal of Thomas Bullock,” p. 49.)
Chapter 33
Brigham Young, in company with John Taylor and Parley P. Pratt, arrived shortly after dark. Caroline, Carl, and Melissa had already come across an hour before. Word of the accident had swept through Nauvoo like a storm, and they left immediately, leaving the older children in charge of the younger.
When the Apostles reached the little encampment—three wagons in a half circle around a blazing fire—it was a grim and stricken camp that greeted them. Joshua, Matthew, and Solomon were stripped to the waist and wrapped in blankets, seated nearest the fire, their hair not yet dry. Caroline sat across from them, holding Savannah—also wrapped in a blanket—rocking her slowly back and forth and singing softly to her. One tent had been pitched and it glowed a warm yellow from a lamp. A shadowy figure could be seen moving inside. Though it was still early, all but the older children had been bedded down in the wagons. The adults stood around the fire in numbed silence, staring into the crackling flames.
Brigham paused for a moment, taking in the scene, then strode up immediately to Caroline. Elder Taylor and Elder Pratt stayed back for the moment. When Caroline saw who it was, she straightened, and Savannah slid off her lap to stand beside her. Brigham dropped to his knees and took Caroline’s hands. “I just received word,” he said softly. “We came as quickly as we could.”
“Thank you, President Young.”
He turned to Savannah. Her red hair was still damp and there were smudges of mud on one cheek. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded mutely, then great tears welled up and spilled over. “Grandpa saved my life,” she whispered.
“I know,” Brigham said, taking her in his arms and holding her tight, weeping with her now as well. “I know. Your grandfather was a brave man.”
Caroline started to sob, and Joshua stood and came over. He reached out and touched Brigham’s shoulder. “Thank you for coming,” he said; then he put his arms around Caroline and held her to him.
“I am so sorry,” Brigham said, still holding Savannah. “What a tragedy.”
Matthew and Solomon came over to join them. Brigham stood, sending Savannah back to her mother’s embrace, and looked at Matthew. “Are you all right?”
Matthew nodded. “I . . . I got to him.” He stopped, and then his face crumpled and he turned away, great shudders racking his body. “It was too late.”
Brigham stepped forward and threw his arms around Matthew. They stood that way for almost a minute, neither speaking. Elders Taylor and Pratt stepped closer to the fire. “The ferry captain told us what happened,” Elder Taylor said to Joshua and Solomon. “What about the two men who started all this?”
Solomon’s face turned hard as flint. “They didn’t even wait for the boat to dock. They jumped off and swam ashore. They’ve not been seen since.”
“They’d better keep running,” Joshua muttered. “A long, long ways.”
Brigham pulled away from Matthew and they turned to face the group. “Everyone else is all right?”
“Yes,” Joshua said.
“The wagon?”
“We’ve got it located and a rope tied to it. We’ll pull it out in the morning.”
Parley spoke up. “The ferry captain said both oxen drowned.”
Solomon nodded. “Thank heavens there wasn’t room for the other yoke, or we would have lost them too.”
“Where’s your mother?” Brigham asked Matthew.
He turned and gestured toward the tent. “She’s in there with Papa and Nathan.”
Brigham nodded and moved away. He walked to the tent, stopped at the door, and called out softly. “Nathan, it’s Brigham Young. May I come in?”