Eph Hanks: Fearless Mormon scout

by Ivan J. Barrett

Seldom in Church History does a figure emerge with such compelling strength, diversity of character, and raw bravery as Eph Hanks. Fascinated by the man, Ivan J. Barrett researched journals, and read old letters and accounts written about him. Brother Barrett began to dream of a more complete telling of Ephâ s incredible story. This book is the fulfillment of that dream. ? prefix = o ns = "" / Eph Hanks was converted to the LDS Church under conditions of extreme sacrifice. His unfailing devotion to the leaders of the Church, particularly Brigham Young, made him a legend. He rescued handcart companies, carried the pioneer mail across the continent and made peace with the Indians. Eph was well-known for his spirituality as well as his courage. Indians, even those hostile to other white men, would ask him to come bless and heal their sick. Eph fathered three families, founded Park City, and was a fearless hunter and daring explorer. Many times he walked into the very jaws of death and miraculously escaped. Ivan J. Barrett has faithfully recorded the known facts of the life of this astounding man. Then, like an artist working on fine canvas, he added needed details to create a finished panorama of adventure and romanceâ a fictionalized life story that will captivate and intrigue you. Share this exciting story with your family and friends. Eph Hanks, Fearless Mormon Scout will appeal to anyoneâ age nine to ninety. ? prefix = v ns = "" /

Genres: Historical Fiction, Lds Non Fiction, Fiction, Religion, Lds

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

My younger brother Stephen read parts of this to our family when I was young. Ephraim Hanks was a tough outdoorsman and a man of God. He crossed the plains to and from Utah dozens of times. He always carried a large flask of consecrated oil and had the gift of healing; the miraculous healings he helped bring about were often attended by Ephraim bathing the entire afflicted area of the body with consecrated oil. He was one of the first in the rescue parties to reach the ill-fated Willie and Martin handcart companies, having left immediately after the call for help came to the Salt Lake Valley. He also was chosen to be one of those who stayed behind, all through the winter, to guard some of the supplies that had to be left. He and a few other tough frontiersmen nearly starved, subsisting for a time on boiled rawhide. They found that they could boil out the glue and eat it in strips. They asked God to adapt their stomachs to the unnourishing meal, rather than ask Him to bless the food. They all survived and none got the gout.

[LeeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book about Ephraim Hanks although I wish I had noticed the second half of the title: A Novel. This is written as a factual book with conversations and thoughts that were not likely to have been recorded. It is written in a more prosaic style than other books such as Orrin Porter Rockwell's biography, and there were some grammatical problems that the editor should have corrected. At the end, a person who spoke at his funeral said that "he was somewhat rough, as he had but little opportunity to attend school", but the style of the book made me think he was fairly polished.

All that aside, I loved the layout of the book. Each chapter could stand alone because each told a different story from Eph Hank's life so it would be easy to relate them around the dinner table. His life intertwined with so many of the historical events of the early Saints in Utah, making it very interesting especially to those of the LDS faith and ancestry. He was involved with saving several handcart companies, including the Willey and Martin companies as well as a group in 1857, from certain death after being stranded on the plains by blizzards. He was beloved by the Indians as a peacemaker who often negotiated peace between the Mormons and the Indians and sometimes between Indian tribes. He was known as a prophet, frequently foretelling future events with great accuracy, to a healer, twice healing sons of Indian chiefs who had been injured and could not walk.

I struggled with the rating for this book. My heart wanted to give it 5 stars, but it wasn't written in as captivating of a style as other books. Still, I could not drop to 3 stars because it tells the thrilling story of a hero of the American West. So I settled for 4 stars. I highly recommend it however, as his life represents so many faithful early Saints mixed with an absolute daring love of adventure. A study of Mormon history is not complete without learning about this man.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband and I recently went on a Pioneer Trails Workshop, tracing the steps of the Pioneer Trail from Scottsbluff, Nebraska to SLC, Utah. What an awesome experience to see the landmarks the pioneers used to guide and measure their travel, to see the wagon ruts still visible through rock and the wagon trail swells still visible over the prairie. No one, it seems, was as brave as Eph Hanks and the book is full of many stories of his courage and daring feats taking on bear, bull, buffalo, Indian warriors and extreme weather elements. But, there was one person Ephraim feared to offend... God. Because of this he was obedient, in all things, to the prophet Brigham Young and other church leaders and prayed daily to be of service to his fellow man. It was especially interesting to learn of the good relationship he cultivated with the Indians through his kindness and respect for them and his ability to heal many people through the power of the restored Priesthood of God.

I only gave it four stars because the writing is a bit disjointed and sloppy in parts.

[Sherrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great adventure story. It reminded me of the book I read about Dan Jones and his interesting life. Eph was a man who faithfully obeyed Brigham Young and basically all of his church leaders. He was instrumental in rescuing the Martin handcart victims and like my own great, great, grandfather he was given the gift of healing which was sorely needed out there in the wild west. Like my other great, great, grandfather he became a friend to the Indians and they trusted and respected him. It is clear that when white men were unafraid and fair with the Indians that they reacted accordingly. This book was written by my old BYU professor Ivan J Barrett. I remember thinking he had to know just everything. Ephriam Hanks is the main character in the recent movie Ephriam's Rescue which I recommend highly as a good family home evening activity.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author wrote, “This book is based on the life of Ephraim K. Hanks and has been carefully researched. However, the story is fictionalized and does not purport to be accurate in every detail.” This is a biography of the early Mormon pioneer Ephraim. He was an amazing man who rescued handcart companies, worked to gain peace between the settlers and the Indians, carried the mail, and helped to settle the Utah area. He was known for spirituality and the blessing of the sick. He was so successful in working for peace with the Indians that at his death, a guard of one thousand Indians stood on the ledge above his ranch in silent tribute to their friend and brother, Ephraim Hanks. This book is only 134 pages so does not take too long to read.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I whipped through this volume pretty quickly, and with some disappointment. Not in the man who is the subject of the book, but simply in that the book appears to have been intended for a young (pre-teen?) audience. It reminded me of biographies I read when I was in fifth and sixth grade, that were really more fiction than biography. This one incoporates the author's imagined dialogue, day-to-day events of which he could have no knowledge, and the barest bones of actual events that could have been more fully described and considered with better research. It wasn't what I had hoped for.

[Stephanie Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ephraim K Hanks is my father's great, great grandpa so I especially love the stories in this book. It was also special to read it prior to my first pioneer trek. It's a fun book that I will share with my boys.

[Tenille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting it to be more like a story, as it is labeled as a fiction. It read more like a biography. It was good, There were some interesting stories and Ephraim sounds like he was quite the character, and so brave.

[Challis · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a pretty poorly written book, but an incredible true story about an amazing, inspiring pioneer.

[Abram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about an amazing man, and some faith promoting stories.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

The man is incredible the writing not. Which is why I'm giving it a 3 star review.

[Erika B. (SOS BOOKS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ephraim Hanks=one hard core pioneer mountain man! I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who is preparing to participate on the Wyoming Trek reenactment!

[Lori]

This is not very well written with no footnotes etc to tell you how much is truth and how much is fiction. Nevertheless, he was certainly an interesting man and worth a quick skip-read.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book. Mixes facts with speculation but worthwhile. I was sidetracked for awhile but finished it at last. Goes well with movie, Ephraim's Rescue.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED the book! What incredible life Ephraim Hanks had lived. INSPIRING!

[Brenda Nicholson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand this is advertised as a novel, but I didn't expect it to be so far off from the truth.

I'm sure the effort to distance from the realities of polygamy that Eph Hanks believed in and lived played a large role in the completely inaccurate account of his marriages. To do so, he had to attribute stories to the wrong wife and completely erased a third wife from the story.

The story of the kidnapped boy was inaccurate, blaming the Indians where the truth is it wasn't an Indian at all.

There are some serious racist overtones as well.

If you're interested in a more accurate version of the story, look for "The Tempered Wind." It's written by Thisbe Reed Hanks and is a much better read.

Erasing the true past doesn't change it. It only disregards the trauma and pain caused by harmful beliefs and practices - which changes nothing and only contributes to the harm.

How accurate are his other books?

[Lyndee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book drove me nuts! Eph Hanks was my great-great-great grandmother’s (Harriet Little) 2nd husband. I’m not actually related to him so I didn’t feel a connection with him. But as I read this book, I researched more on Family Tree and found there were a ton of inaccuracies. The book was published on 1991 so there’s a lot more information available now. Still, simple facts, like Harriet was born in the Inited Stares and not England. Eph was married 4!times, divorced/annulled 3 times. One of those marriages was never mentioned in the book. I feel this book could have been better researched. Good news, I know a lot more about Harriet Little than I ever knew before. And I learned how my 4th great grandfather died after leaving Nauvoo, but before Winters Quarter.

[Becca Stephenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

After watching the film “Ephraim’s Rescue”, I decided to read the book to learn more about Eph Hanks. A very interesting and inspiring life, although the writing made parts difficult to follow. It was as if parts were just thrown into the storyline, because the author wanted to include them but didn’t know where.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ephraim Hanks was an incredible person who gave his all to the church. I enjoyed reading about his experiences, especially how he was able to heal so many people. But the writing was choppy, flowery, and unemotional.

[Lu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Eph Hanks and his life, challenges and faith. The history was interesting.

The writing is either for youngsters or just not that good. Didn’t like how author wrote the conversations with the Native Americans.

[Mike Maughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting young adult biography of an incredible and brave man who did immense good because he had courage, conviction and proper preparation.

[Nancyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

 A fun, little biographic novel. He lived a faithful, extremely hardworking life, and was dealt some hard blows. But his faith and testimony always supported him.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about this man in a novel format. It was a bit simplistic writing but I enjoyed it.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning more about Ephraim Hanks. He definitely had an interesting life!

[Zina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite the individual who tried to live according to the promptings of the Spirit, no matter how difficult. I found that part, and his life, inspiring. Not terribly well written, but informative, nonetheless.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this 4 stars because of the stories that were related and the information about Ephraim Hanks, not because of the actual writing. The writing was simplistic and dull at times, but learning about Ephraim and his life was fascinating. He is my new hero.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome stories, but who knows exactly how many of them are true. This book made me want to read a biography of him without the added "fiction gap fillers."

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing book. I love it!!

[John Sorensen]

A book aimed at adolescents, entertaining, simple and fun.

[Ty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. life changing. I highly recommend it.