The Handcart Story Part 4: The Journey of the Willie Company

August 16, 1856, the Willie Handcart Company, led by Captain James Grey Willie, pulled out of Florence, Nebraska, bound for the Salt Lake Valley. They were about 400 in number with some 85 handcarts. There had been an earnest discussion, centering around Levi Savage, about whether to continue so late in the year. When the discussion was over, about 100 people who had been with the company from Iowa City chose not to go on. This episode tells the story of those in the Willie Company who did go on. Why did they continue toward Zion, and could they have all stayed on the Missouri River had that been the decision?