Cholera epidemic in Zion's Camp (Rush Creek / Fishing River), June 1834

In late June 1834 (accounts give the outbreak between June 21 and 29), a cholera epidemic struck members of Zion's Camp while encamped near Rush Creek / Fishing River. The outbreak afflicted many in the camp and resulted in deaths—accounts vary, reporting approximately 14 dead in some sources and Parley P. Pratt’s account estimating 15–20 fatalities. Lyman Wight, who had joined the main body of the camp at Salt River, recounted the event in an 1857 letter and grouped the "breaking out of the cholera" together with the Fishing River storm as "miracles rought," interpreting the timing and the eventual cessation of the plague as acts of God. Parley P. Pratt recorded the outbreak at Fishing River and described it as a fulfillment of a word of the Lord delivered by Joseph Smith, a divine chastening linked to murmuring and insubordination within the camp. The episode led to the discharge of the camp. Named individuals associated with this incident in the sources include Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, John S. Carter, Parley P. Pratt, and other members of Zion's Camp.