Rescuing Beefsteak

Fourteen-year-old George Harrison emigrated from England to Utah in 1856. He was part of a Mormon family relocating to Zion for both religious and economic reasons. The young man, suffering from malaria and extreme food shortages in the Martin Handcart Company, abandoned his family and spent a winter with a compassionate Indian family that saved him from starvation. Soon after, at Fort Laramie, Harrison served as a civilian cook for an army surgeon. He accompanied troops during the march into Salt Lake City in 1858 and cooked at Camp Floyd. Upon the camps closure in 1861, he cooked at an Overland Stage and Pony Express station. George Harrison subsequently worked as a freighter and served in the Black Hawk War. In mid-life he built a small restaurant and hotel in Springville, Utah. Harrisons cooking, singing, and story telling attracted drummers (traveling salesmen) who gave the restaurateur the name of Beefsteak because of the quality of his steaks.