Tragedy Springs, California

In 1848, a company of Mormons who fought in the Mexican-American War made their way from Placerville toward the newly established Mormon settlement of Salt Lake City, Utah. Many groups were looking for alternatives to the Truckee River Route after the recent horrors the Donner-Reed Party faced.

Forty-five men, one woman, 150 each of oxen and horses/mules, 17 wagons and two cannons began their eastward journey. Daniel Browett left the main group on June 22 to scout the trail. He was accompanied by Ezra Hela Allen and Henderson Cox. Others advised against separating, but in hopes of locating an alternative route over the Sierra, Browett did not heed their warnings.

When Browett and the others had not returned by July 5th, scouts were sent to find them, but they returned without success. On July 19th, the main company arrived at a spring to find a freshly dug grave littered with arrows.

Yesterday we trailed about eight miles when we came to the place where the Brethren were supposed to have been killed and thrown in into that hole, and covered with dirt by the Indians. After examining till we were sure that they were all three there, we again covered them up….built a wall around the place where the Brethren were buried, and filled it up level with stone inside.

Azauriah Smith 1848

The company investigated and found the bodies of their missing scout party. They were riddled with arrows, stripped, burned, mutilated and robbed. The company determined the murders happened on June 27th.

They dug a new grave and built a rock cairn to protect the bodies. Wilford Hudson engraved a memorial into a nearby tree. The tree was later cut down and the inscription was sent to the Marshall Gold Discovery Park in Coloma. The International Society of Daughters of Utah Pioneers created a bronze replica of the inscription and mounted it to a boulder by the grave in 1967.

Tragedy Springs has a several memorials to the fallen Brethren. On the rock cairn over the grave is a plaque with the names and dates of birth of the victims. In 1967, the Sons of the Utah Pioneers dedicated a fountain and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers erected a memorial at the road below the springs.

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Cold, clear water continues to flow from the spring. The area is covered in wildflowers. Ironically, Tragedy Springs is now a National Forest Service picnic area. An inviting table sits in a pleasant clearing a short distance from the site of the vicious murders.

We visited Tragedy Springs while following the Carson River Route of the Emigrant trail. Nearby you can visit the Real Maiden’s Grave.

Visited 8-16-2020

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References

• Calexplornia: The Murderous Tale of Tragedy Spring and the Mormon Emigrant Trail
• El Dorado County: Tragedy Springs
• Fey, Marshall. Emigrant Trails: The Long Road to California, A history and Guide to the Emigrant Routes from Central Nevada to Crossing the Sierra. Nevada Publication, 2019. Pages 171-172.
• Historical Marker Database:  Tragedy Springs
• Tortorich, Frank Jr. Gold Rush Trail: A guide to the Carson River Route of the Emigrant Trail. Wagon Wheel Tours, 1998. Pages 59-62.
• Up and Over Carson Pass: Historic Sites on Carson Pass
• Waymarking: Tragedy Spring, California – Natural Springs
• Wikipedia: Tragedy Springs

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