Some renewed symptoms of hostile feeling had however determined the
pioneer party to begin their work before the spring. It was of course
anticipated that this would be a perilous service; but it was regarded
as a matter of self-denying duty. The ardor and emulation of many,
particularly the devout and the young, were stimulated by the
difficulties it involved; and the ranks of the party were therefore
filled up with volunteers from among the most effective and responsible
members of the sect. They began their march in midwinter; and by the
beginning of February nearly all of them were on the road, many of their
wagons having crossed the Mississippi on the ice.
Under the most favoring circumstances, an expedition of this sort,
undertaken at such a season of the year, could scarcely fail to be
disastrous. But the pioneer company had to set out in haste, and were
very imperfectly supplied with necessaries. The cold was intense. They
moved in the teeth of keen-edged northwest winds, such as sweep down the
Iowa peninsula from the icebound regions of the timber-shaded Slave Lake
and Lake of the Woods.
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