Fritz Stander's miraculous survival in a slough with the assistance of his dog
Published October 5, 2026 at 9:40 PM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
While traveling between Newton and Bear River, Fritz Stander attempted to cross a high-water slough that submerged the bridge. His horses drowned, but he survived by holding onto ice for four hours until help arrived. He was assisted in keeping his head above water by his dog, which grabbed onto his coat.
In Their Own Words
“Fritz Stander of Benson, while traveling between Newton and Bear River, attempted to cross a slough, the water in which was so high as to submerge the bridge, and in doing so drowned his horses, valued at $300, and was himself kept struggling in the water, holding on to the ice for four hours, until assistance came, and would have sunk in the water from sheer exhaustion had his dog not assisted him by holding on to his coat. — Millennial Star 46:14”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 7 April 1884 (Vol. 46, No. 14). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1884-04-07_46_14 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high)
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