John Morgan Diary, November 27-30, 1888

November 27

Rained all night and raining this morning. President [Jesse N.] Smith returned to Snow Flake. The Mail Driver reported the Rio Perqua [Puerco] was very high and that it would be impossible to cross it for several days. At 2 p.m., brother Ellsworth [probably Edmund Ellsworth II] and Lillywhite [I’m guessing 20-year-old Joseph Lillywhite, Jr., whose father had died earlier that year leaving his mother with seven living children] drove up with a four horse team. Brother Hulet and myself and wife, with them as passengers drove ten miles to the river and found that it had fallen low enough to allow us to cross which we did, by the blessings of the Lord safely. [I assume this is the incident described in this post.] Had supper at Sister Clawsons and bed at Hotel. [Holbrook]

November 28

At 1:40 a.m. took train for Alburquerque [sic] where we arrived at 12. Snow had fallen along the entire route of travel nearly to the city. Had dinner at Arnojo Hotel [the Armijo House] after which we visited the old part of the city, the Cathedral and Catholic Schools etc. We enjoyed ourselves very much during the afternoon and in evening I wrote a number of letters and retired early.

November 29

At 3 a.m. took Santa Fe train south to Denning [Deming], the snow extended down the Rio Grande Valley 150 miles. Dinner and two hours lay over at Rincen. [Rincon] ? [Question mark penciled into the text.] Arrived at Denning [sic] at 3 p.m. Lay over an hour and then took S.P. Railroad for Bowie where we met brother J.R. Welker [James Robert Welker] with a team to convey us to the settlements on the Gila River. The country we have gone over today is almost barren, except on the Rivers where Mexican cultivation and civilization have found root.

November 30

After a good breakfast, started on a 44 mile trip, the roads were almost impassable on account of the recent heavy rain that has fallen at at 7 p.m. it was quite dark when we got in.


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[Very interesting route through New Mexico. Almost 700 miles by road (I’m not sure how long the route would be by train) in order to skirt the White Mountains.]

Sources:

Albuquerque Remembered
Church Chronology (Jensen)
Conquerers of the West
Edmund Ellsworth II
Eller Family Association
Flickr: The Wash
Mormon Settlement in Arizona (McClintock)
Mormon Settlements in Arizona Collection (Tanner) at the Archives of the University of Utah Marriott Library
Washington County Early Marriages (many Honeymoon Trail)
West American History (Bancroft)