The Lehi 10th Stake was thoroughly enjoying their annual handcart trek through a blistering heatwave when fate blessed them with an inspiring disaster. It turns out Jedediah Smith’s family wasn’t the only thing starving on the trail. Just as they stopped for a moment to make sure they were still out of food, a disheveled looking Cosmo the Cougar leaped out from behind a tree and began viciously attacking Jedediah’s third wife, Suzan.

Although it quickly became clear that Cosmo could do only minimal damage with his plush, stuffed-animal body, onlookers gained a deeper appreciation for their ancestors’ trials.

“While I watched Cosmo try to gnaw my mom’s leg off, I couldn’t help but think of everything my ancestors sacrificed to come to Utah.” 12-year-old Jimmy Gage related, teary-eyed and staring off into the distance as Cosmo finished with Suzan and began attacking the rest of the handcart train.

“It’s hard to run away when you know how much it would strengthen your testimony to get mauled by a cougar like a real pioneer.” Catherine Montel explained. Eventually the Smith family was able to scare Cosmo off and help the spiritually-reborn Suzan off the ground.

In the interest of preserving the trek’s authenticity, Jedediah fetched a shotgun and ran off to hunt Cosmo down while a team of men began digging Suzan’s shallow grave.