Running with the Saints: day 31-32

It sounds like the Saints had a couple of pretty tough days:

Monday, July 1

We set out at 7:20 AM. The roads in the morning were very good, hard and gravelly. The bluffs were rocky and covered with pines on the opposite side. We had dinner at a point where the bluffs approach the river, sometimes called Cobblestone Bluffs. From their summit, Chimney Rock is visible. After crossing the bluffs, the road descends to the bottom, where there is some sand. We camped where the road nears the river, which makes a large island near the shore. The ground to the west is crossed by numerous sloughs, and to the east, it is high and sandy. We passed the bodies of two men shot for stealing cattle from emigrants. We lost a cow that drowned in a slough. There was a dance in camp, and everyone seemed to participate with great pleasure. Both old and young made merry at the sound of the fiddle. We covered about 18 miles.

Tuesday, July 2

We set out at the usual time. We had dinner near Court House Rock, about 10 miles away. The roads were pretty good with some sand, but the feed was poor. In the afternoon, a smart shower accompanied by hail hit us. Some of us unhitched and turned sideways to the wind, while others drove on into camp. The road here lies some distance from the river. We drove for some time after dark, finding it impossible to reach the river until very late. We encamped on a slough about 2 miles from the river and nearly opposite Chimney Rock. The water was very poor, with a strong taste of alkali. Some members of the camp did not arrive until quite late.

Keeping up in the future

July 1st was Canada Day. I’m using this as another excuse to take a rest day. In reality nothing really prevented me from getting out. Happy Canada Day, y’all. But this really means I needed to get out on July 2nd. One rest day is bad enough, 2 is almost unconscionable. Three rest days would be a disaster. So, out I went. I ran from my little town to St. Paul, Alberta and its little swimming pool. I took the most direct route for a distance of 34.5k. It is Toonie Tuesday at the Pool so I could get a soak in the hot tub for just 2 bucks. Lisa picked me up afterwards and we grabbed some dinner.

Things I did not see on my run to St. Paul today: Murdered cattle thieves, Chimney Rock, hail, or wind strong enough to compel me to stop. For all their hardships I love that the Saints take time to dance.

Hyrum Smith Despain’s curious names

Hyrum Smith Despain was just 15 years old when this trip began. His brother William, was his senior by about 3 years. Hyrum was born in Illinois in May of 1846. Clearly his parents admired church Patriarch Hyrum Smith. It is curious to me that they would give their second son both the first and last names of that unique man. I wonder if Patriarch Hyrum Smith had some special connection to his parents? Sometime after Hyrum’s birth the family slides into inactivity or at the very least is disconnected from the main body of the Saints. A missionary by the name of Isaiah Moses Coombs connects with them in Arkansas in February of 1857. He rebaptizes the family of Solomon Joseph Despain. Hyrum was about 11 at this time and is baptized, for the first time, with the family. You can read Coombs original journal of this encounter via the Church History Catalog.¹

Hyrum would eventually grow to manhood, and marry Ruth Amelia Griffith in August of 1870. He was 24 and she was 17 (not uncommon in those days). What we should be asking, though, is how is it that Hyrum’s mother and his wife have the same name? It turns out that this Ruth’s mother (Nancy Catharine Despain) was the daughter of Hyrum’s father’s brother (James Harris Despain). So, his uncle’s daughter’s daughter. Confused yet? (Second cousins). I don’t know the story here, but I’m going to assume a special relationship existed between Nancy and Ruth Amelia Newell that she’d give her first born the same name, Ruth Amelia. In the end, family historians are not pleased Nancy… Or maybe we are? Certainly it makes it easy to mix up who is who but without this naming we might miss the special connection between these families.

Hyrum and Ruth would have 9 children. Ruth would tragically pass away 3 days after the birth of her 9th child. She was just 33 years old. Family records indicate that Hyrum attempted to make a go at raising his family with the help of his oldest daughters (who were 13 and 15). After they left to start families of their own he fostered the children out to relatives. He died at the young age of 56 years old in Oakley, Idaho where he was in business with his late wife’s brothers.

Catch up

• Lakeland Circuit Review: Gorgeous, Gritty, and Worth It
• Running with the saints: days 56 to 73 and the end
• Canadian Death Race: enduring the suck with joy
• Running with the saints: days 52 to 55
• Running with the saints: days 41 to 51

1. Isaiah M. Coombs collection, 1835-1938; DIARIES; Volume 4, 1856 October 31-1857 February 21; Church History Library, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/assets/0f5fc553-4ca0-4514-8fdb-14d60f2b79f1/0/116?lang=eng (accessed: July 2, 2024) ↩︎