The Story of Jane - History Blog

This is the story of Jane Gould Tortillott who traveled West on a wagon train in 1862. One thing that stood out to me from her account was people trying desperately to have a normal, happy life in the midst of catastrophes and disasters. At one point on her trip, a woman died of childbirth leaving behind 6 children including the baby. Another woman died by being trampled to death by runaway cattle and wagons. There were several accounts of children being seriously injured by falling off the wagons and a woman being injured after being thrown from a horse. As with most wagon trains they had to deal continually with rain, cold, and mud, trying to cook meals, shivering as the rain poured down on them.

Along the Snake River, they came across trains just ahead of them that had been attacked by Indians. One of those trains had eleven wagons and all of the men were killed, possessions plundered and teams of mules and oxen stolen. Jane’s train stopped to bury the dead and to join forces with other trains in the vicinity, bringing the total up to over 180 wagons.

On August 15th, at one o’clock in the morning, Jane’s train was wakened by an Indian attack. In Jane’s words; “I hurried for the children and had them dress and get into our wagon, put up a mattress and some beds and quilts on the exposed side of the wagon to protect us. The firing was from the willows and from the mouth of the corral.”

Shooting continued back and forth with no casualties. But for days the fear of another attack hung over the weary travelers. For almost a week, at every stop, they dug trenches to hide in. As they moved into a different area, they were able to successfully negotiate with the new tribes a peaceful passage.

Jane was a wife to Albert and a mother to two little boys. Her job went way beyond cooking and doing laundry for her family. She was responsible for their safety and their emotional well being. What a mother wouldn’t do to ensure her children are not only safe but, if at all possible, are not terrorized by the horrific events they experienced. I can just imagine her crouched down in the wagon during the attack, holding them tightly and whispering soothing words in their ears.

In the midst of all the chaos and trauma, the travelers worked to make life as pleasant and as normal as possible. May 31st: “Gus was fiddling in the evening and two ladies and one gent came over. Albert [her husband] played some. They wished us to come up to the house and have a little dance.” (Early in the trip it was common for them to be in the vicinity of small villages or small farms.)

July 20th: “The men had a ball-play towards night. Seemed to enjoy themselves very much, it seemed like old times.”

September 8th: “Some of the train had a dance.”

In October, Jane’s family finally arrived in Santa Clara County, California where they rented a house for ten dollars a month. Her husband got a job at a lumber mill but died less than six months later. Jane went to work at the same mill as a cook where she met Levi Tourtillott. They married the following year and had five more children. Jane’s grand-children and great-grand-children live in California today.

Again the persistence of these pioneers amazes me. Giving up wasn’t much of an option. Some did, though. Toiling away day after dreary day was what the vast majority chose to do. They arrived at their destination and built new lives in a new land. If we could go back in time and interview these people five years after they arrived, I’m sure most of them would say they’d do it again to gain what they did.

One woman wrote a letter home to her relatives in Massachusetts; “I cannot say that I wish to go back to the states to live at present if ever. I know when one gets comfortably fixed here they can live as well as they can anywhere else with half of the labor that you do in the states.

Lillian Schlissel, the author of Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey, wrote of these emigrants, “a hardy enthusiasm for life sustained them.”

“A hardy enthusiasm for life”! I would love to have someone say that of me at the end of my life. Of all people, Christians should be those that are recognized for this kind of spirit. But far too often we’re not.

We’ve gone through some tough times this year of 2020. Are we among the whiners? The grumblers? The disputers? Or among those that stand out with positive, helpful, encouraging attitudes?

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” (Philippians 2:14‭-‬15)

Diary quotes taken from Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey, by Lillian Schlissel. *Photocopy from Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley