September 6, 1850 - Traveled 16 miles. Camped on the Greese Wood near the Sweet water 8 miles below Independence Rock. Brother [Ephriam K.] Hanks caught a wild mare the fatest & most beautiful animal of the Horse kind I ever saw. He run by the side of Her on a small bay horse flung a larriett over her head flung himself from his horse onto the ground. The wild horse drew him half a mile over the sage plains until she was stopped by being choked down. She then tryed to bite, kick & strike him but he fought her by whiping her with a rope until he conquered her & led her in triumph into camp.

Present:

B. Young Niles Olsen H. C. Kimball A. Moffat D. H. Wells J. W. Young O. Hyde Jas. A. Little O. Pratt Howard Stringham W. Woodruff Arza Hinkley J. Taylor W. H. Kimball E. Y. Benson Jas. Ferguson F. D. Richards R. T. Burton E. Snow John Kay John Young Jos. A. Young L. D. Young Brigtham Young Jr. A. Carrington E. K. Hanks Fred. Kesler N. V. Jones P. H. Young J.R. Winder F. Little J. W. Cummings Stephen Taylor Frank B. Woolley B. Stringham H. B. Clawson R. Golden Seymour Young Jos. M. Simmons Nelson Empy Wm Nixon Chas Decker Ed. Ellsworth Howard Spencer John Y. Green Lacy Stillson Henry Heath G. Stringham Dan Johnson Howard Spencer Jas. M. Barlow Hugh McIlwraith

(Wilford Woodruff Journal, Vol. 5, Pg. 203-204.)

January 6, 1862 - All the mountains & vallies are covered with snow. The snow has fallen about 1 foot deep in this City. There is a good deal said about the Govornor getting badly whiped at Ephraim Hanks in the mountain by a set of Rowdies.

President Young called his family together this evening to take into consideration the best way proceed in business & emegration. (A foot note to this entry states: John D. Lee, at this time was Brigham Young's private secretary, kept detailed minutes of this meeting. He named first the members of the "family" who were present, listing them in the order of their "adoption."

Alphabetically arranged, they were:

Angel, Solomon Angel, T. O. Atwood, Miillen Brown, Benj. Busbee, Jas. Carns, Daniel M. Chace, Isaac Cook, Phineas Davis, David Dayton, Hyrum Decker, Chas. Dun, S. A. Dusette, E. P. Earl, Syslvester H. Ellsworth, Edmond Empy, Wm. Everett, Addison Free, A. P. Grant, G. D. Grant, George D. Grover, Thos. Gully, Samuel Hanks, Sidney A. Hutchinson, Jacob F. Kesler, Frederick Lee, J. D. Lyttle, John Major, Wm. Morly, Isaac Pierce, Robert Rockwood, A. P. Sanders, Moses M. Scofield, Jos S. Shumway, Chas. Sprague, Samuel L. Weeks, Wm. Wilder, Jacob Wooley, Edward [Edwin?] D

(On the Mormon Frontier, Diary of Hosea Stout, Vol. 1, Pg. 242.)

Monday, 24 March 1851 - Hanks came today with the mail from Larimie. This is the January mail from the States & it brings Papers from St Louis to Jan the 10th.

This evening I went with Ephraim Hanks to visit and administer to the sick and had an opportunity of seeing the suffering and privations through which they had passed. Some were merry and cheerful some dull and stupid some sich some frosted & some lazy and mean but all seemed to be elated more or less with the idea of speedily arriving in the valley. ( A foot note to this entry states: " Stout now had an opportunity of seeing the results of what he had earlier called a "new and improved method of emigration." Strangely, Ephraim Hanks makes no mention of Stout in his story of the handcart disaster. He says that he set out alone as the result of a prompting of the "Spirit" and was able to carry fresh buffalo meat to the rear companies. Hanks does name George D. Grant and William H. Kimball as helping with his administrations to the sick. Since the book was written in his later life, the omission is understandable. See Sidney Alvarus and Ephraim K. Hanks, Scouting for the Mormons on the Great Frontier, Salt Lake City, 1948.)

(On the Mormon Frontier, Diary of Hosea Stout, Vol. 2, Pg. 653.)