Mother Bathgate's miraculous healing from a rattlesnake bite
Published October 15, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Contributed by
Young Woman's Journal Research
During a handcart journey across the plains, an elderly woman named Mother Bathgate was bitten on the leg by a rattlesnake. The company stopped, and the Elders administered oil to her, after which she was instantly healed and continued the journey.
In Their Own Words
“One day as she sat down to rest, a rattlesnake bit her on the leg. The word came, “Stop the train!” All stopped instantly. The Elders ran with the oil and administered to her, and she was instantly healed. Rode in the wagon that afternoon, but was able to cheer the company next day. I know she was bitten, for I saw her leg myself, and held the bottle of oil while Brothers Leonard and McAllister administered to her. — The Young Woman's Journal 6:7”
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 6 no. 7 (April 1895). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/11525 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high)
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