Shannon Stirnweis (B. 1931) "Mormons Arriving in Salt Lake" Signed lower left. Original Oil painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting appeared in the Fleetwood Trails West Collection of Fine Art Prints as "Exodus of the Saints" published in 1983. On April 16, 1847, an advance party of persecuted Mormons set out from the north bank of the Platte River, near modern-day Fremont, Nebraska, to find their Promised Land. Heading for the valley of the Great Salt Lake, the First Pioneer Company started west under the stern leadership of Brigham Young. The expedition numbered 144 men and boys, three women, and two children, plus assorted horses, mules, oxen cows, dogs, and chickens. As the seventy-two wagons rolled over endless prairies, there were only rare signs of other human life, when Indians would occasionally appear along the horizon. Westward these first saints toiled, always keeping in mind the thousands who were to come after them. They mapped the trail for those who were to follow, writing messages on rock and buffalo skulls. They even planted some grain to ripen for the settlers who were soon to follow this same route west. Mountain Fever flared among them, until even weakened Brigham Young was forced to ride in a wagon. But on July 24, 1847, they came into full view of the Great Salt Lake. "This is the place," said Young, "Drive on!" They had found their Promised Land. Thousands more would come down the Mormon Trail -- some riding in wagons, and some pushing two-wheeled handcarts in search of Zion. The great migration of the saints established the Mormon Trail as one of the most important of the all Trails West. Image Size: 18 x 20.75 in. Overall Size: 20 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B07499) See More