Causing the Meal to go Black

https://drop.ndtv.com/albums/COOKS/black-food/blackburger.png

According to John Jacques Sept. 9th, 1856 journal, what caused the evening meal to go black?

a.                  Boiling blueberries found that day with the meal

b.                  The fire got too hot and burnt the meal

c.                   Using dirty water

d.                  Cooking with stale flour

Yesterday’s answer:

B   Collect buffalo chips and watch young children

1856, From Iowa to Wyoming, Willie Company, William James History:   We got away ahead of the slow wagons and head to wait for them. We had plenty of time to see the country we were passing through—to run here and there and explore. There were many things to catch the eye in a strange land.

At Council Bluffs the company outfitted for the journey West. It was organized much the same as the wagon trains had been. Captains were placed over hundreds, fifties, etc. The Saints were put on a strict schedule. Each member had his chores for the company as well as for his own family. The strong were to pull the carts. Everyone over seven years of age was expected to walk. The very old and the very young could ride. The young men were expected to act as herders for the cattle. Reuben James was one of these. The young women and girls were expected to look after the children who were walking and to gather in the fuel for the camp at night. The girls in the James family had their chores. Sarah and Emma took turns with their parents in pulling the carts. Maryann and Martha watched over their little brother George. John Parley rode in the cart. Maryann tells of what fun they had. She says, “When we started out on the trail each morning there was always something new to see. Maybe it was a bird running along the road which we chased but never did catch. There was always flowers and pretty rocks to pick. This land was so different from the one in England that it kept us interested. We were constantly being warned not to get too far away from the trail, but I can’t remember that we heeded the warning until we had one or two experiences which made us more careful.

“One day as we were skipping alongside the carts and singing, where we was always happiest as I remember it, a group of Indians on horseback rode up and followed along with us for a while. We didn’t know the Redman well enough to be too friendly, so we quieted down and stayed close to our parents. One of the Indians seemed fascinated by the contraptions being pulled along by people. Finally his curiosity got the best of him. He leaped off his horse, ran over to one of the carts which was being pulled by a women and her daughter and gave it such a hard push that it nearly ran over them. The women and girl screamed and got out of the shafts as fast as they could. The Indian pushed the cart a little ways and apparently satisfied, he jumped on his horse and drove off. He, with some of his friends, came back later to beg food. We gave it to them because we were told that the Indians were our brethren and that we should treat them. So. We never did have any trouble with them except that they never seem to learn that it is stealing to take something that didn’t belong to them.

“Another incident was to cause the timid and even the impulsive to watch wearily for dust clouds and small black specks in the distance which could prove a menace very quickly. One evening as we prepared to stop for the night, a large load of buffalo came thundering towards us. It sounded like thunder at first, then the big black animals came straight for our carts. We were so scared that we were rooted to the ground. One of the Captains, seeing what was going on, ran for the carts which was still coming in, jerked out some of the carts to make a path for the steady stream of animals and let them go through. They went past us like a train roaring along. I am sure that but for the quick thinking of these men, many of us would have been trampled to death. The animal’s acted as if they were crazy the way they ran. We hoped that we wouldn’t meet such a large herd soon again. After they had gone somebody called out that the cattle had gone with them. This was our only supply of meat, so the men started to ride out after them. The men on foot soon lost sight of the herd. Those of us who were left made preparation for the night hoping the men would be back with our cattle by dark. As the sun went down, a terrible storm came up. A strong wind tore the tents out of our hands and sent everything flying in all directions. The thunder and lightning was like nothing we had ever seen before. We had all we could do to keep track of each other. The noise terrified the children so that they ran for any shelter they could find. Soon we all did for the rain came down in torrents, and in a matter of minutes we were soaked to the skin. The men came in from the hunt empty handed but in time to gather up our belongings and get ready for our meal. We all went to bed wet and cold.

“The cattle were never found, even the tracks were washed away by the rain. This was to prove a serious thing for the company. With no oxen or mules to pull the wagons, it was necessary to hitch the milk cows to the wagons. It was a sorry group which started out on the trail the next morning. Now was the time when they needed the special song, so they sang as they trudged through the mud, ‘for some must push and some must pull as we go marching up the hill, for merrily, merrily on we go until we reach the valley-o.’” Maryann James said that that was a wonderful song, and she sang it as loud as she could.

It was now September and heavy frost lay on the ground in the morning. The roads were deeply rutted from the storms and frost and it made it hard to walk for those who had poor shoes or none at all. The carts which had been giving trouble from the start were breaking down regularly and causing delays along the way. Rawhide was used to hold parts together, but the green wood gave trouble, especially the axle. . .  Most of the party did not realize the seriousness of the situation, but Captain Willy and his Captains were well aware of it. William James was concerned. He had talked to some of the women who were familiar with the country. Quietly but with fear in his heart, he worked harder to keep his cart in repair so there would be no delays. . .

Flour was rationed to 6 oz. per day per person, and there wasn’t much to go with it. Many were weakening from the lack of nourishing food. The young and the old and the weak began to die quietly. Even the strong men, who were secretly giving their portion to families, pulled their carts until they died. Soon rations were cut again. Clothing was in rags, especially shoes. Any piece of rag, burlap or canvas was tied around the feet. All too soon this was chewed through by the torturous terrain.  

Stewart E. Glazier and Robert S. Clark, Journey of the Trail (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1997), 35-37.