Elder E. H. Hanks's providential delivery of a buffalo
Published October 5, 2026 at 9:42 PM
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Millennial Star Research
While traveling on the plains with a company, Elder E. H. Hanks, a skilled horseman and roper, encountered a herd of buffalo. Noting their presence, he informed his captain, Allen Taylor, that he believed he could procure food for the group. He took down his lasso and, riding out, successfully roped a fine yearling buffalo. He then returned to camp with the animal hitched to his saddle horn, where it was immediately butchered to provide meat for the company. Years later, at a church meeting in Loa, Utah, Hanks recounted the miracle and reminded his former captain, Allen Taylor, of the event by asking, 'Do you remember me catching a buffalo for you?'
Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 46, No. 29 (21 July 1884), p. 454):
Elden Taylor then related that one evening, as he and his company were on the plains, Brother Hanks came into the camp and said there were some buffalo just around or over a little hill, and thought he could get one. He took down his lasso, and started leisurely out to try. In a little while he returned, bringing, with lasso hitched to the horn of the saddle, a fine yearling buffalo, which was brought right into camp to be butchered. Brother Hanks, who was present, then asked, 'Do you remember me catching a buffalo for you?'
Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 46, No. 29 (21 July 1884), p. 454):
Elden Taylor then related that one evening, as he and his company were on the plains, Brother Hanks came into the camp and said there were some buffalo just around or over a little hill, and thought he could get one. He took down his lasso, and started leisurely out to try. In a little while he returned, bringing, with lasso hitched to the horn of the saddle, a fine yearling buffalo, which was brought right into camp to be butchered. Brother Hanks, who was present, then asked, 'Do you remember me catching a buffalo for you?'
In Their Own Words
“Elden Taylor then related that one evening, as he and his company were on the plains, Brother Hanks came into the camp and said there were some buffalo just around or over a little hill, and thought he could get one. He took down his lasso, and started leisurely out to try. In a little while he returned, bringing, with lasso hitched to the horn of the saddle, a fine yearling buffalo, which was brought right into camp to be butchered. — Millennial Star 46:29”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 21 July 1884 (Vol. 46, No. 29). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1884-07-21_46_29 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Stephen L. Prince, 'Allen Taylor and Early Mormon Emigration,' Mormon Historical Studies 1, no. 2 (Fall 2000): 81–86. https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/mhs1.2PrinceFall2000.pdf Fuller account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 46, No. 29 (21 July 1884), p. 454 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1884-07-21_46_29 Fuller account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 46, No. 29 (21 July 1884), p. 454 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1884-07-21_46_29
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