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- Title: Devils Gate and the Tragedy of 1856
- Description: Devil's Gate is a natural rock formation, a gorge on the Sweetwater River in Wyoming, 5 miles southwest of Independence Rock. Although the actual routes did not pass through the narrow cleft, the site was a major landmark on the Oregon and Mormon trails, and is particularly significant in the history of the latter. Here is Martin's Cove, site of the 1856 Handcart Disaster. On October 19, the Martin Handcart Company crossed the North Platte River near present Casper, Wyo., where the trail left the river and headed across country toward Independence Rock and Devil's Gate on the Sweetwater River. That day, a winter storm struck and a blizzard brought heavy snow. The group camped for several days in a small cove in the rocks, a mile or two up the Sweetwater from Devil’s Gate.Two small Mormon wagon trains that had been traveling close behind the large handcart company, meanwhile, arrived at Devil’s Gate about the same time. The people with these trains were also in bad shape and also nearly out of food. With the help of rescue parties sent east from Salt Lake City, the Martin Company finally reached their destination on November 30. A historian calculated at least 135 deaths in the Martin Company, a rate of over a quarter of the company’s members.
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- Added: Feb 18, 2018
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