took possession of the temple, and by them it was defaced and ruthlessly desecrated.

On November 19, 1848, it was burned by an incendiary. Soon after this it passed into the hands of the Icarians who made elaborate preparations to repair it. But their hopes were soon blasted, for on May 27, 1850, a tornado blew in the north wall After this, the other walls were taken down and the stones were used in the construction of dwellings and other buildings. The property is now owned by a Mr. Reimbold.

In the spring of 1849, three years after the "Mormons" were

John Taylor's printing office where the Nauvoo Neighbor and Times and Seasons were published, Main Street. House at extreme right was John Taylor's residence.

driven out, Nauvoo was again incorporated as a city, and so continues today. It is inhabited by an industrious, frugal and peaceable people, made up largely of Germans. Grape raising and wine making are extensively followed. The city and its suburbs are thickly dotted with well planted and neatly kept vineyards. Good varieties of peaches are grown and exported on an extensive scale. Their nearest railway station is Montrose, on the opposite side of the river. During the summer the steamboat traffic on the upper

Mississippi between St. Louis and St. Paul is quite heavy, giving Nauvoo a good outlet for her products.

There is now a movement under way to build an interurban line which will connect Nauvo with Niota, via Appanoose and Sonora townships. It is said to be financed by Dr. J. A. Bartz.

The company is also negotiating to instal an electric light plant for the city.

The "Mormon' Springs" a few miles north of the city furnish a good supply of pure water, and there is some talk of piping this water into the city for culinary purposes.

Mulholland is the business street of the city. It is paved with macadam and has cement sidewalks. Among State Bank of Nauvoo and There are two saloons from

A group of grape pickers, Nauvoo, Ill. the business houses are the the Nauvoo First National Bank. which the city receives an annual revenue of four thousand dollars. The city also supports two weekly newspapers.

Nauvoo has a good public school system, embracing common schools and a high school. There are also seminaries built and maintained by the Catholic church.

Farm lands in and around Nauvoo sell for about one hundred dollars per acre, and city property, which greatly depreciated in value after the "Mormons" left, can now be purchased for a very low figure.

But the most substantial and best houses in Nauvoo are those erected a generation ago by the "Mormons." These humble builders stamped their work with their own character and personality, giving the place a delightfully homelike atmosphere.

An effort is now being made to erect a monument to the memory of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Nauvoo. The following news item is clipped from the Nauvoo Rustler, under date of Aug. 25, 1908:

Last relic of the Nauvoo Temple-the Old Well.

People from left to right: Howard R. Driggs, Salt Lake City; B. W. Driggs, Pleasant Grove; F. W. Cox. Manti; and John Z. Brown, Salt Lake City.

We are in receipt of a letter from Heman C. Smith, of Lamoni, Ia., historian of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stating that he was in receipt of the subscription paper signed by a number of Nauvooites welcoming the contemplated monument to the memory of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in the city of Nauvoo, and that he will present it to the committee at once, and to extend to the citizens of Nauvoo their thanks for this consideration.

Salt Lake City, Utah.

THE FIRST HANDCART COMPANY.

BY LYDIA D. ALDER.

On Good Friday, in the year 1856, there sailed from Liverpool on the ship Enoch Train, three hundred Saints who were leaving the British Isles bound for America, and who were to

Phyllis Hardy Ferguson.

draw handcarts across the great

western prairies to the city by the Great Salt Lake.

The six weeks they were crossing the mighty deep were happily spent. "O we had such a good time," they say, "making the tents we were to use on the inland journey, and singing the songs of Zion; the melody floated far and wide over the boundless sea."

They dreamed of Zion, and the castles they built were filled with joyous anticipations of the time when they should reach the goal of their homes. The voyage was a prosperous one and good health prevailed.

The larger part of the company were from Scotland, and were under the care of Captain Dan McArthur, of St. George, Truman Leonard, of Kaysville, and Elder Crandall of Springville, three returning missionaries from Utah, men staunch and true, brave and loyal to the cause they had been sent forth to advocate. The Scots, fresh from climbing their native hills, or from their simple life on the heath, were physically adapted to the hard journey, and could easily surmount the difficulties that had to be met. Not so

the English company, though they were as brave and full of faith. Captain Edmund Ellsworth was in charge of the company, and by appointment of President Brigham Young, he was to bring the first handcart company into Salt Lake. The minor part of the company were from other points of Great Britain. Boston was their port of landing, and in June of the same year, they reached the frontiers of Iowa. Here six more weeks were consumed in making the handcarts to be used on the overland journey. The time, though full of excitement, passed but slowly, as all were eager to be on the way. One or more handcarts were appointed to each family, according to its size. A number of wagons carried the necessary tents, bedding and cooking utensils. Thus was undertaken this long, unknown journey. Every effort was made and care taken to secure wood and good water for every night's camp-ground, while the people vied with each other to see who could walk all the way, and not have to ride in the wagon.

Some have said: "What, tied to the handcarts, no wagon to carry you?" That was not it. The great desire of these earnest Saints was (also their boast and pride) that they walk all the way to Zion, drawing their handcarts. Among those who still tarry with us of that company are Sisters Mary Crandall of Springville, Phyllis Hardy Ferguson, and Agnes Hardy Lynch of Salt Lake, the two latter, daughters of Janet Hardy, who has long since passed the Divide.

Of herself, Sister Ferguson (widow of James Ferguson, private secretary to President Young) says:

"I was a very delicate girl when I left Edinburgh, whom people thought was going into a decline, but I walked every step of the way from Iowa to Salt Lake, and waded every river, except the Elkhorn and Green, and arrived in sound health."

What wonder, then, that those whose hearts were full of faith and religious zeal started each morning's walk with a cheerful, buoyant step, drawing their handcarts up hill and down dale, and every day outstripping the wagons, which always started first.

The Scottish Saints chafed under the thought that the English company (always ahead) were to be the first to enter the valley. The average daily walk was about fifteen miles, but on one