The Cholera Scourge at Rush Creek

Jacob Gates provided a firsthand account of the cholera epidemic that struck Zion's Camp near Rush Creek in late June 1834. He specifically recorded that his wife, Mary Snow Gates, was present during the outbreak, which he described as a time when "14 or 15 of our Brethren were slain by its ravages." While the epidemic was a severe trial and resulted in many deaths, Gates and his wife were among those preserved. His writings serve as primary documentation for the impact of the disease on the camp's members and the survival of the women involved.