THE JOURNEY...

 Of Canute and Sarah Ann...

The hardest thing for Sarah to do was tell her family of her decision to go west. Her mother was not so willing to have her only daughter make the dangerous journey with this extremely unpopular new religious sect. She cried and plead with her not to go. But as much as she hated to hurt her mother, Sarah felt this was God's will. She sensed the hardships, but even this couldn't deter her determination. So amid tears, she told her family of her love for them, bid farewell to her comfortable home and surroundings, and started her journey into the unknown....



Among the few possessions she took along with her was the little package of willow branches from their old willow tree. She wrapped them in moss, paper and cloth to keep them damp. She would plant them when she got settled after the long journey.
*note* Sarah planted branches from these trees in two areas of Utah. Some of these willow trees, over 100 tears old, are still growing in a town 20 miles away from where I now live. I'll share some pictures of them when they leaf out this spring and summer.  They're known as *Sarah's Trees*

Hoping that Sarah Ann would weaken and return home, her mother sent 2 of her sons to accompany their sister for a couple of days. They could bring her back if she should change her mind. But after traveling with the company for miles, Sarah was firm in her determination to go west. So the brothers headed back home. Sarah looked back to wave goodbye and saw her brother Peter sitting on the ground sobbing, and she knew she would never see her family again...

Canute had assured the brothers all along that he would personally see to her safety. Coming up to her wagon, he found her silently crying. So he rode along side the wagon and in a short time had cheered her up with his good humor. This would become something special between both of them and would get her through some very hard times.

After traveling for about 200 miles, they came to Burlington Iowa. It was deserted except for a ferryman and a few guards . The town was strewn with lime...a Cholera epidemic. So they passed quickly, then camped about 8 miles away for the night.
Canute spent some time with Sarah as the group sang songs and enjoyed the rest.

As they traveled along, several in the company were seized with the dreaded Cholera cramps. So they had to stop and take care of the sick. Sarah was among the women who went from wagon to wagon taking care of the very ill.  But after a few days, she was seized with violent cramps that crumpled her to the ground. The women took her to her wagon, put her to bed and did all they could do for her, yet feared for her life. Canute heard of this and spent what time he could with her. If you believe in the power of prayer, you'll know why this little company lost no one to the Cholera outbreak...
So they traveled on, enjoying the company of each other, working together and keeping their minds on the journey ahead.

Once when they'd stopped for the night, Canute asked Sarah if she'd like to take a walk to the stream for water. Of course she did, so hand in hand they went. When they had the pails filled, they sat down to talk. That's when Sarah thanked Canute for taking care of her on this trip and being there when she was so ill. He told her how until then, when he thought he may lose her, he never realized how much she meant to him. They talked of their love for each other and how it had blossomed since they were children and first held hands. That's when Canute kissed Sarah for the first time.The next lines in quote are from Canute's journals..."I don't have much to offer you, other than the hardships ahead. Would you marry me Sarah sweetheart?" Her answer was "You know the answer Canute. I'll be proud and happy to be your wife."

Then Canute tried to explain how much he loved her. His words again.. "There's not enough space in the whole universe to hold my love for you. Compare my love to all the grains of sand on this earth, placed in a sack, it would be the largest sack in the world. So from now on, either alone or among others, if I call you Sack, you'll know I'm saying in one word how much I love you." Sarah was called Sack quite often in her life.

The company traveled on with the sense of joy for the news of Canute and Sarah. They traveled on until they reached Kanesville. The feed in town was pretty much gone so they decided to go farther and pitched camp about six miles from Council Bluffs Iowa. After
supper that night, Canute went to Sarah's wagon and asked if she knew what today was. She said "July first and tomorrow will be the second, why do you ask?" Then he told her one of the church officials would be in Council Bluffs tomorrow and would she like July second to be her wedding day. Of course she thought that would be wonderful, but what would she wear? She'd been sewing a dress when she could but hadn't intended it to be a wedding dress. Yes, she could finish it tonight.

So after planting a kiss on her cheek, he ran to spread the news. All the women came to hug Sarah and offer any help. And the men started making some secret preparations. Everyone was up at dawn to make the finest wedding possible for the beloved couple.
At the appointed hour, Canute came forth in his best Sunday apparel while Sarah was so beautiful in her new dress, with wood violets in her hair and a bouquet of laurel blossoms carried in her arms. Canute offered his arm as they heard one of the men play the wedding march on his violin. They went a little further and that's when Sarah saw what Canute and the other men had done. There stood a little bower made with willows and covered with flowers and blossoms they'd gathered. What a beautiful, unexpected surprise to Sarah  and the other women.

So, three months after the start of their journey, Canute being 25 and Sarah Ann being 22, they stood in the wilderness with this little company of witnesses, beneath a bower of blossoms, bathed in the afternoon sunshine, and joined their souls in holy matrimony the second day of July, eighteen hundred forty nine.

And spent their Honeymoon in a covered wagon....

There's so much more to their story that I'll tell if enough of you want me to continue.
Most of what I've written comes from pages of Canute and Sarah's journals, put into book form by my Aunt as mentioned in a previous post. Ive shared bits and pieces of about a third of it...
And thanks for all your comments from the previous posts. I'm glad you've enjoyed this.


I'll be back again Yesterday...
~Vicki~